Using interactive SMS support groups to prevent mother-to-child HIV transmission in South Africa: a qualitative analysis of social and psychological benefits.

Although advances have been made in the prevention of mother-to-child transmission (PMTCT) of HIV, social and psychological factors associated with learning of an HIV diagnosis and living with HIV during pregnancy can impact medication adherence and health outcomes. Mobile technology can increase social support; however, it is unclear if such technology can be used to provide social support to reduce negative psychological outcomes. This study analysed the feasibility of conducting a multi-way interactive SMS-based support group with HIV-positive women in the PMTCT programme in clinics of Tshwane, South Africa.

Building a Coalition for Change: The Yale Department of Psychiatry Accountability, Respect, Community & Humanity Task Force.

Racism remains a problem in academic medicine, and little guidance is available on how to create lasting change. This column describes the authors' efforts to develop a task force grounded in theory on community coalition development to build a representative and sustainable coalition, which was initially formed to advance antiracism in an academic psychiatry department. The authors share the processes used and lessons learned to help other departments, academic medical centers, and medical systems work to combat racism.

Neighborhood Deprivation, Trauma Profiles, Coping, and Stress Prospectively Predict Depressive Symptoms Among Young African American Mothers in the InterGEN Study: A Latent Class Analysis.

Background: Systemic inequities lead to socioeconomic disparities and increased exposure to neighborhood deprivation among African American women, which in turn may have impacts on mental health. This study examined the individual and cumulative effects of neighborhood deprivation and experiences of trauma on depression among young African American mothers.

Methods: We conducted a longitudinal study using data from the Intergenerational Impact of Genetic and Psychological Factors on Blood Pressure (InterGEN) study.

Women's Leadership Development at the Yale School of Medicine: Preliminary Evaluation of an Innovative Program.

Background: Despite strong data indicating women leaders' proven efficacy as catalysts for organizational change, there is significant attrition for women across the advancement, promotion, and leadership pathways within academic medicine. To help early-career women faculty build a network of support, enhance leadership capacity and agility, and gain the skills necessary for career advancement and fulfillment, we created the Women's Leadership Development Program (WLDP) at our medical school in 2020.

Methods: From 2023 to 2024, we collected retrospective survey data from all interested prior participants to gauge the impact of the WLDP on faculty members' confidence, sense of belonging at Yale School of Medicine, and acquisition of leadership skills.

Perceptions of Care and Perceived Discrimination: A Qualitative Assessment of Adults Living with Sickle Cell Disease.

Sickle cell disease (SCD) is a major public health concern with significant associated economic costs. Although the disease affects all ethnic groups, about 90% of individuals living with sickle cell disease in the USA are Black/African American. The purpose of this study was to assess the health care discrimination experiences of adults living with SCD and the quality of the relationship with their health care providers.

Preventing Sexual Harassment in Higher Education: A Framework for Prevention Science Program Development.

Sexual harassment is an intractable problem that harms the students, community, culture, and success of institutes of higher education (IHEs). The alarming prevalence of sexual harassment at IHEs highlights the urgent need for effective prevention programs. However, there are few empirically supported preventive interventions that effectively target the factors that most impact the determinants, trajectory, and short- and intermediate-term effects of sexual harassment.

Latent Class Analysis of Depressive Symptom Phenotypes Among Black/African American Mothers.

Background: Depression is a growing global problem with significant individual and societal costs. Despite their consequences, depressive symptoms are poorly recognized and undertreated because wide variation in symptom presentation limits clinical identification-particularly among African American (AA) women-an understudied population at an increased risk of health inequity.

Objectives: The aims of this study were to explore depressive symptom phenotypes among AA women and examine associations with epigenetic, cardiometabolic, and psychosocial factors.

The Interaction of Trauma Exposure and DNA Methylation on Blood Pressure Among Black Women in the InterGEN Study.

Objective: Despite evidence that trauma exposure is linked to higher risk of hypertension, epigenetic mechanisms (such as DNA methylation) by which trauma potentially influences hypertension risk among Black adults remain understudied.

Methods: Data from a longitudinal study of Black mothers were used to test the hypothesis that direct childhood trauma (ie, personal exposure) and vicarious trauma (ie, childhood trauma experienced by their children) would interact with DNA methylation to increase blood pressure (BP). Separate linear mixed effects models were fitted at each CpG site with the DNA methylation beta-value and direct and vicarious trauma as predictors and systolic and diastolic BP modeled as dependent variables adjusted for age, cigarette smoking, and body mass index.

Organizations in science and medicine must hold each other accountable for discriminatory practices.

Many organizations persist in working with others that engage in known, remediable structural discrimination. We name this practice interorganizational structural discrimination (ISD) and argue it is a pivotal contributor to inequities in science and medicine. We urge organizations to leverage their relationships and demand progress from collaborators.

The Cumulative Influence of Perceived Discrimination, Stress, and Coping Responses on Symptoms of Depression Among Young African American Mothers.

Background: African American women have an elevated risk for experiencing depressive symptoms, and discrimination, stress, and coping contribute to symptoms of depression.

Aims: We aimed to examine the associations between discrimination, stress, and coping on symptoms of depression among young African American mothers.

Methods: In this retrospective study, we utilized a hierarchical linear regression to explore the effects of perceived racial discrimination, stress, and general and discrimination-related coping responses on depressive symptoms in a sample of African American mothers ( = 250).

Associations Between DNA Methylation Age Acceleration, Depressive Symptoms, and Cardiometabolic Traits in African American Mothers From the InterGEN Study.

Background: African American women (AAW) have a high risk of both cardiometabolic (CM) illness and depressive symptoms. Depressive symptoms co-occur in individuals with CM illness at higher rates than the general population, and accelerated aging may explain this. In this secondary analysis, we examined associations between age acceleration; depressive symptoms; and CM traits (hypertension, diabetes mellitus [DM], and obesity) in a cohort of AAW.

Double stigma and help-seeking barriers among Blacks with a behavioral health disorder.

Objective: There is considerable evidence that racial stigma and stigma due to mental illness or addiction are each independently a barrier to help-seeking for Black adults. The present study examines empirically the "double stigma" of discrimination, marginalization, and exclusion due both to a behavioral health disorder and to race among Black adults.

Method: Interviews were conducted with 176 Black adults with a diagnosed behavioral health disorder-a mental health disorder (mental illness), a substance abuse disorder (addiction), or both-who enrolled in behavioral health treatment in a northeastern U.

DNA methylation changes in African American women with a history of preterm birth from the InterGEN study.

Background: Preterm birth (< 37 weeks' gestation) is a common outcome of pregnancy that has been associated with increased risk of cardiovascular disease for women later in life. Little is known about the physiologic mechanisms underlying this risk. To date, no studies have evaluated if differences in DNA methylation (DNAm) among women who experience preterm birth are short-term or if they persist and are associated with subsequent cardiovascular sequelae or other health disorders.

Racial Discrimination, Mental Health, and Parenting Among African American Mothers of Preschool-Aged Children.

Objective: Indirect exposure to racism experienced by a caregiver (ie, vicarious racism) is associated with poor outcomes for children, but mechanisms of vicarious racism transmission are poorly understood. The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between experiences of racial discrimination and parenting among African American mothers and to identify psychological mediators and moderators of this relationship.

Method: African American mothers (N = 250) with young children (mean age = 3.

The Influence of Discrimination and Coping Style on Blood Pressure Among Black/African American Women in the InterGEN Study.

Although research has explored the effects of racism on mental health, few studies have investigated the effects of racism on physical health. In this study, we examined the influence of racial discrimination and race-related stress and coping on blood pressure within a cohort of Black/African American women. This was a secondary data analysis of 226 Black/African American women from the Intergenerational Impact of Genetic and Psychological Factors on Blood Pressure study.

The Association Between Neighborhood Social Vulnerability and Cardiovascular Health Risk Among Black/African American Women in the InterGEN Study.

Background: Black/African American women in the United States are more likely to live in neighborhoods with higher social vulnerability than other racial/ethnic groups, even when adjusting for personal income. Social vulnerability, defined as the degree to which the social conditions of a community affect its ability to prevent loss and suffering in the event of disaster, has been used in research as an objective measure of neighborhood social vulnerability. Black/African American women also have the highest rates of hypertension and obesity in the United States.

Associations between social determinants of health, perceived discrimination, and body mass index on symptoms of depression among young African American mothers.

Purpose: The association between symptoms of depression and risks for cardiovascular disease (CVD) remains equivocal for African American (AA) mothers. We examined the association between social determinants of health (perceived discrimination), and cardiovascular risk (BMI) on symptoms of depression in a sample of young AA mothers.

Methods: Secondary data from 219 adult AA mothers between the ages of 21 and 46 with an average BMI of 29.

Examining Mother-Reported Poor Sleep and Blood Pressure in Black/African American Mother-Child Dyads.

Background: Poor sleep is a confirmed risk factor for hypertension (HTN), and Black/African American (AA) women have among the highest rates of HTN in the United States.

Objective: We examined the relationship between sleep and blood pressure (BP) among Black/AA mother-child dyads using data from the Intergenerational Impact of Genetic and Psychological Factors on Blood Pressure study.

Methods: Data for this study were derived from 250 Black/AA mother-child dyads from low-income neighborhoods, collected via 4 home visits over 2 years.

Association of Obesity with DNA Methylation Age Acceleration in African American Mothers from the InterGEN Study.

African American women are affected by earlier onset of age-associated health deteriorations and obesity disproportionally, but little is known about the mechanism linking body mass index (BMI) and biological aging among this population. DNA methylation age acceleration (DNAm AA), measuring the difference between DNA methylation age and chronological age, is a novel biomarker of the biological aging process, and predicts aging-related disease outcomes. The present study estimated cross-tissue DNA methylation age acceleration using saliva samples from 232 African American mothers.

Comparing Early-Childhood and School-Aged Systems of Care for Children with Emotional and Behavioral Difficulties: Risk, Symptom Presentation, and Outcomes.

Objectives: Most large-scale evaluations of systems of care (SOCs) have focused on school-aged populations, with limited research examining early childhood SOCs. As a result, little is known about how risk profiles, symptom presentation, and outcomes may vary between early childhood and school-aged SOC participants. This descriptive study uses data from two SOCs-an early childhood SOC (EC-SOC) and a school-aged SOC (SA-SOC)-to examine the differences across age groups in how children and families present to SOCs and the extent to which risk factors and symptoms change over six months of enrollment.

Risk and Protective Factors for Alcohol, Marijuana, and Cocaine Use Among Child Welfare-Involved Youth.

Youth involved in child welfare services (CWS) are at elevated risk for substance use. CWS involvement may provide an opportunity for intervention to prevent subsequent use; however, little is known about mitigating substance use risk in this population. Using data from the second National Survey of Child and Adolescent Well-Being (NSCAW II), the present study examined individual, psychological, and contextual risk factors (e.

Perceived Racial Discrimination and DNA Methylation Among African American Women in the InterGEN Study.

Introduction: Experiences of racial discrimination have been associated with poor health outcomes. Little is known, however, about how perceived racial discrimination influences DNA methylation (DNAm) among African Americans (AAs). We examined the association of experiences of discrimination with DNAm among AA women in the Intergenerational Impact of Genetic and Psychological Factors on Blood Pressure (InterGEN) study.

Video Game Intervention for Sexual Risk Reduction in Minority Adolescents: Randomized Controlled Trial.

Background: Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) disproportionately impacts minority youth. Interventions to decrease HIV sexual risk are needed.

Objective: We hypothesized that an engaging theory-based digital health intervention in the form of an interactive video game would improve sexual health outcomes in adolescents.