Minority Health and Health Equity Archive

Permanent URI for this collectionhttp://hdl.handle.net/1903/21769

Welcome to the Minority Health and Health Equity Archive (MHHEA), an electronic archive for digital resource materials in the fields of minority health and health disparities research and policy. It is offered as a no-charge resource to the public, academic scholars and health science researchers interested in the elimination of racial and ethnic health disparities.

Browse

Author: search.filters.author.Thomas, Stephen B.Subject: search.filters.subject.interventions

Search Results

Now showing 1 - 8 of 8
  • Thumbnail Image
    Item
    Attitudes and Beliefs of African-Americans Toward Genetics, Genetic Testing, and Sickle Cell Disease Education and Awareness
    (2011) Long, Katie A.; Thomas, Stephen B.; Grubs, Robin E.; Gettig, Elizabeth A.; Krishnamurti, Lakshmanan
    Research among African-Americans indicates this population perceives sickle cell (SCD) to be a serious disease and sickle cell trait (SCT) screening an important intervention. However, studies have consistently demonstrated a lower than desired uptake of SCD education, inadequate knowledge regarding personal and family trait status, and a low perceived susceptibility of giving birth to a child with the disease. We examined general attitudes and beliefs regarding genetics and genetic testing including prenatal testing and newborn screening; we used this information as the foundation to more specifically assess attitudes and beliefs regarding SCD and perceived barriers to SCD education and awareness. Thirty-five African-American adult men and women participated in one of four focus groups. Thematic analysis identified that both prenatal testing and newborn screening are acceptable forms of genetic testing. Based largely on their personal experiences, participants possessed an understanding of the natural progression of SCD but had a limited understanding of the inheritance and probable risk of giving birth to a child with the disease. Barriers to education and greater awareness of SCD were classified as personal, familial, and societal. Community based interventions focused on sharing the stories of individuals with first-hand experiences with SCD should be considered.
  • No Thumbnail Available
    Item
    The Urban Context: A Place to Eliminate Health Disparities and Build Organizational Capacity
    (2010) Gilbert, Keon L.; Quinn, Sandra Crouse; Ford, Angela F.; Thomas, Stephen B.
    This study seeks to examine the process of building the capacity to address health disparities in several urban African American neighborhoods. An inter-organizational network consisting of a research university, community members, community organizations, media partners, and foundations was formed to develop a community-based intervention designed to provide health promotion and disease prevention strategies for type 2 diabetes and hypertension. In-depth qualitative interviews (n = 18) with foundation executives and project directors, civic organization leadership, community leaders, county epidemiologist, and university partners were conducted. Our study contextualizes a process to build a public health partnership using cultural, community, organizational, and societal factors necessary to address health disparities. Results showed 5 important factors to build organizational capacity: leadership, institutional commitment, trust, credibility, and inter-organizational networks. These factors reflected other important organizational and community capacity indicators such as: community context, organizational policies, practices and structures, and the establishment of new commitments and partnerships important to comprehensively address urban health disparities. Understanding these factors to address African American health disparities will provide lessons learned for health educators, researchers, practitioners, foundations, and communities interested in building and sustaining capacity efforts through the design, implementation, and maintenance of a community-based health promotion intervention
  • Thumbnail Image
    Item
    Breaking The Cycle of Violence Among Youth Living in Metropolitan Atlanta: A Case History of Kids Alive and Loved
    (1998) Thomas, Stephen B.; Leite, Bernadette; Duncan, Ted
    More teenagers in the United States die from gunshot wounds than from all natural causes of disease combined. Firearm-related mortality accounts for almost half of all deaths among African American teens. Residents of central cities have the highest probability of experiencing violent crimes. This article describes an innovative community-based intervention designed to break the cycle of violence among youth in metropolitan Atlanta. The intervention, Kids Alive and Loved (KAL), emerged from the African American community as one mother's response to the violent death of her 17-year-old son. The authors describe how her response to tragedy gave birth to a culturally appropriate intervention for youth exposed to violence. This article delineates the evolution of KAL, the role of community partners in the design of the intervention, and how diffusion of innovation theory has implications for understanding the KAL approach to breaking the cycle of violence.
  • Thumbnail Image
    Item
    Managing Depression in African Americans: Consumer and Provider Perspectives
    (2007) Brown, Charlotte; Taylor, Jerome; Lee, Brenda E.; Thomas, Stephen B.; Ford, Angela
    The purpose of this project was to examine pathways to depression care and preceived barriers to care amoung African Americans who have experienced a recent depressive episode. The framework for developing specific aims and focus group questions is informed by collaborative models of care. The foundation of collaborative models of care lies in a shared understanding between consumer and provider of the nature of the problem, and agreement on treatment options and treatment plans. With this in mind, we examine factors influencing the provider-consumer encounter by evaluating the sociocultural meaning of depression for both consumers and providers. Expanding our knowledge about consumers' perception of depression, its treatment, and life-circumstances that may influence treatment-seeking behavior will enable us to inform providers about the culturally meaningful perceptions of depression that consumers bring to the encounter. Given that prior research has suggested that providers and consumers often focus on different elements of care, it is particularly important to examine the congruence between consumers and providers on perceptions of depression and its treatment. Information regarding consumers' perception of depression and its treatment, and divergence between consumers and providers can help us to develop more effective collaborative approaches for engaging depressed African Americans in treatment.
  • Thumbnail Image
    Item
    Take a Health Professional to the People: A community outreach strategy for mobilizing African American barber shops and beauty salons as health promotion sites
    (2006) Browne, Mario C.; Ford, Angela F.; Thomas, Stephen B.
    Objectives In September 2002, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services launched “Take a Loved One to the Doctor Day”, a national effort to promote health and wellness in the African American community. The Center for Minority Health (CMH) at the Graduate School of Public Health, University of Pittsburgh adopted this model and tailored it to meet local needs by partnering with seven barbershops, two beauty salons, and over one hundred health professionals (HPs) to create what is now known as “Take a Health Professional to the People Day”. The focus of this partnership was to provide screenings and health information to patrons and transform these shops and salons into health promotion sites.
  • Thumbnail Image
    Item
    The National Negro Health Week, 1915 to 1951: A Descriptive Account
    (2001) Quinn, Sandra Crouse; Thomas, Stephen B.
    In 1914, Booker T. Washington, founder of Tuskegee Institute, viewed the poor health status of black Americans as an obstacle to economic progress and issued a call for "the Negro people... to join in a movement which shall be known as Health Improvement Week" (Patterson, 1939). Health Improvement Week evolved into the National Negro Health Week, observed annually for 35 years. This article provides an overview of the structure and activities of the National Negro Health Week and suggests implications for public health in the black community today.
  • No Thumbnail Available
    Item
    Health Disparities: The Importance of Culture and Health Communication
    (2004) Thomas, Stephen B.; Fine, Michael J.; Ibrahim, Said A.
    The root causes of health disparities are numerous and relate to individual behaviors, provider knowledge and attitudes, organization of the health care system, and societal and cultural values. Disparities have been well documented,even in systems that provide unencumbered access to health care, such as the VA Healthcare System, suggesting that factors other than access to care (e.g., culture and health communication) are responsible. Efforts to eliminate health disparities must be informed by the influence of culture on the attitudes, beliefs, and practices of not only minority populations but also public health policymakers and the health professionals responsible for the delivery of medical services and public health interventions designed to close the health gap. There is credible evidence suggesting that cultural norms within Western societies contribute to lifestyles and behaviors associated with risk factors for chronic diseases (e.g., diabetes and cardiovascular disease). This is the context in which smoking cessation, increased physical activity, and dietary regulation are prime targets for intervention.
  • Thumbnail Image
    Item
    Understanding the patient's perspective on rapid and routine HIV testing in an inner-city urgent care center
    (2004) Hutchinson, Angela B.; Corbie-Smith, Giselle; Thomas, Stephen B.
    The purpose of this study was to explore patient perspectives of rapid and routine HIV-testing in an urgent care center at an urban public hospital. We conducted structured focus groups during a clinical trial comparing routinely offered rapid HIV-testing, routinely offered enzyme immunoassay (EIA) testing, and conventional EIA testing. Participants of the six focus groups were 89% African American, 60% uninsured, and had a low educational status. Four independent coders analyzed the data using iterative content analysis. Rapid testing was preferred to EIA testing because it reduced the need for a return visit and stress of waiting for test results, though there were concerns about accuracy. Participants supported routinely offering testing, but there were concerns about privacy and cost. Fear and stigma were common reasons for refusing testing and not returning for results. Distrust and misconceptions about HIV, particularly regarding the importance of testing, were very common.