"It Takes Some Empathy, Sympathy, and Listening": Telephone Outreach to Older Detroiters in a Pandemic as a Modality to Gain an Understanding of Challenges and Resiliency.

This manuscript describes a telephone outreach project for members of a research registry program for older adults in Detroit, Michigan. From April until December 2020, the Healthier Black Elders Center designed and implemented a telephone outreach program, calling 1204 older adults utilizing 15 staff and volunteers. The calls served to check in on registry members and collect data on mental health, coping mechanisms, access to services, masks, testing, and tele-health.

Improving Antibody-Tubulysin Conjugates through Linker Chemistry and Site-Specific Conjugation.

Tubulysins have emerged in recent years as a compelling drug class for delivery to tumor cells via antibodies. The ability of this drug class to exert bystander activity while retaining potency against multidrug-resistant cell lines differentiates them from other microtubule-disrupting agents. Tubulysin M, a synthetic analogue, has proven to be active and well tolerated as an antibody-drug conjugate (ADC) payload, but has the liability of being susceptible to acetate hydrolysis at the C11 position, leading to attenuated potency.

Novel Auristatins with High Bystander and Cytotoxic Activities in Drug Efflux-positive Tumor Models.

Auristatins, a class of clinically validated anti-tubulin agents utilized as payloads in antibody-drug conjugates, are generally classified by their membrane permeability and the extent of cytotoxic bystander activity on neighboring cells after targeted delivery. The drugs typically fall within two categories: membrane permeable monomethyl auristatin E-type molecules with high bystander activities and susceptibility to efflux pumps, or charged and less permeable monomethyl auristatin F (MMAF) analogs with low bystander activities and resistance to efflux pumps. Herein, we report the development of novel auristatins that combine the attributes of each class by having both bystander activity and cytotoxicity on multidrug-resistant (MDR) cell lines.

Disparities in patient-centered communication for Black and Latino men in the U.S.: Cross-sectional results from the 2010 health and retirement study.

Background: A lack of patient-centered communication (PCC) with health providers plays an important role in perpetuating disparities in health care outcomes and experiences for minority men. This study aimed to identify factors associated with any racial differences in the experience of PCC among Black and Latino men in a nationally representative sample.

Methods: We employed a cross-sectional analysis of four indicators of PCC representative of interactions with doctors and nurses from (N = 3082) non-Latino White, Latino, and Black males from the 2010 Health and Retirement Study (HRS) Core and the linked HRS Health Care Mail in Survey (HCMS).

Enhancing vocational training in corrections: A type 1 hybrid randomized controlled trial protocol for evaluating virtual reality job interview training among returning citizens preparing for community re-entry.

The Michigan Department of Corrections operates the Vocational Villages, which are skilled trades training programs set within prisons that include an immersive educational community using virtual reality, robotics, and other technologies to develop employable trades. An enhancement to the Vocational Villages could be an evidence-based job interview training component. Recently, we conducted a series of randomized controlled trials funded by the National Institute of Mental Health to evaluate the efficacy of virtual reality job interview training (VR-JIT).

Identifying disparities in patient-centered care experiences between non-Latino white and black men: results from the 2008-2016 Medical Expenditure Panel Survey.

Background: Patient-centered healthcare in the context of a medical home (PCMH) is an important pathway to reducing healthcare inequities. To date, no work has examined the prevalence of care experiences associated with PCMH among non-elderly Black males.

Methods: We analyzed data, on 22 indicators representative of six healthcare domains associated with PCMH experiences, from non-Latino White (NLW) and Black males aged 18-64 from the 2008-2016 Medical Expenditure Panel Survey (n = 47,405).

The Role of Age and Multimorbidity in Shaping Older African American Men's Experiences with Patient⁻Provider Communication.

This study investigated factors associated with older African American men's unmet health communication needs in the context of patient-provider interactions. Responses to a health survey were analyzed for 430 African American men attending a Midwest community health fair. The outcome measure was the extent to which men could get their health-related questions answered during recent medical visits.

Intergenerational Mobility and Goal-Striving Stress Among Black Americans: The Roles of Ethnicity and Nativity Status.

Goal-striving stress refers to the psychological consequences of seeking but failing to reach upward mobility and is more common among low-income and people of color. Intergenerational mobility-or improved socioeconomic standing relative to one's parents-may be an important predictor of goal-striving stress for Blacks. We used the National Survey of American Life to investigate the association between intergenerational mobility and goal-striving stress among U.

Characterizing Mobility Limitations Among Older African American Men.

This study represents an effort to contribute to the limited body of research on biopsychosocial contextual factors that influence or contribute to mobility limitations for older African American men. Specifically, we were interested in examining associations between socio-demographic, physical and emotional health experiences with mobility limitations. A secondary analysis of 1666 older African American men was performed to investigate socio-demographic, mental and physical health correlates to a specific measures of mobility limitation.

The Paradoxical Impact of Companionship on the Mental Health of Older African American Men.

Objectives: African Americans comprise 9% of the 46 million U.S. adults over age 65.

Perceptions and receptivity of non-spousal family support: A mixed methods study of psychological distress among older, church-going African American men.

The purpose of this study was to explore the role of non-spousal family support on mental health among older, church-going African American men. The mixed methods objective was to employ a design that used existing qualitative and quantitative data to explore the interpretive context within which social and cultural experiences occur. Qualitative data (n=21) were used to build a conceptual model that was tested using quantitative data (n= 401).

The Retrospective Roles of Black Women in the Coddling of Black Boys.

This study reports the secondary analysis of a theme that emerged from a larger study on Black women's perceptions of Black men's depression. This emerging theme was concerning the role of Black women in rearing Black boys. Eight focus groups with Black women ( = 46) were used to further explore this theme.

Masculinity, Racism, Social Support, and Colorectal Cancer Screening Uptake Among African American Men: A Systematic Review.

Colorectal cancer (CRC) is highly preventable when CRC screening is utilized, yet CRC screening completion among African American men is relatively low and their mortality rates remain 50% higher juxtaposed to their White counterparts. Since a growing body of literature indicates masculinity, racism, and social support each have strong influences on CRC screening uptake, this systematic review examined the connections between these three sociocultural factors and CRC screening uptake among African American men. Potential studies were retrieved from MEDLINE, CINAHL, EMBASE, and PsycINFO.

Clues to the Blues: Predictors of Self-Reported Mental and Emotional Health Among Older African American Men.

The mental health needs of aging African American men have been overlooked and few studies have distinguished between more severe clinically diagnosable mental health challenges and less severe emotional states for this population. African American men may not identify with or internalize the terminology of "depression" despite exhibiting the symptom criteria. This exploratory cross-sectional study examined correlates of "downheartedness" as an alternative indicator of emotional health.

Self-Rated Health and Health Care Access Associated With African American Men's Health Self-Efficacy.

Health self-efficacy, a measure of one's self-assurance in taking care of their own health, is known to contribute to a range of health outcomes that has been under examined among African American men. The purpose of this investigation was to identify and contextualize predictors of general health self-efficacy in this population. A cross-sectional sample of surveys from 558 African American was examined.

The Discipline's Escalating Whisper: Social Work and Black Men's Mental Health.

Objective: Though sparse in previous years, research on the mental health of Black men has recently experienced a gradual increase in social work journals. This article systematically organizes and critically examines peer-reviewed, social work evidence on the mental health of Black men.

Methods: Twenty-two peer-reviewed articles from social work journals were examined based on their contribution to social work research and practice on the mental health of Black men.

Fatalistic Beliefs About Cancer Prevention Among Older African American Men.

Objectives: Evidence suggests that minority groups are more likely to exhibit fatalistic beliefs about cancer prevention (FBCP), which are defined as confusion, pessimism, and helplessness about one's ability to prevent cancer. This study examines the socioeconomic and psychosocial predictors of FBCP among older African American men (AAM).

Methods: AAM (N = 1,666) enrolled in Medicare and participating in a longitudinal study on patient navigation were surveyed.

Financial hardship, unmet medical need, and health self-efficacy among African American men.

Background: Health self-efficacy (the confidence to take care of one's health) is a key component in ensuring that individuals are active partners in their health and health care. The purpose of this study was to determine the association between financial hardship and health self-efficacy among African American men and to determine if unmet medical need due to cost potentially mediates this association.

Method: Cross-sectional analysis was conducted using data from a convenience sample of African American men who attended a 1-day annual community health fair in Northeast Ohio (N = 279).

Current approaches to support the psychosocial care of African American adults with diabetes: a brief review.

African Americans are disproportionately affected by Type 2 diabetes and experience significantly higher age-adjusted prevalence of the disease. Psychosocial support, material resources, and education can have a significant impact on successful diabetes management, particularly among populations with diabetes-related psychological distress such as African Americans. This brief review of the literature identifies and synthesizes current evidence on faith-based, community-based, empowerment-based, strength-based, and culturally competent strategies that may be particularly relevant for social work practitioners supporting African American adults at risk for or diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes.

Disparities in health-related Internet use among African American men, 2010.

Given the benefits of health-related Internet use, we examined whether sociodemographic, medical, and access-related factors predicted this outcome among African American men, a population burdened with health disparities. African American men (n = 329) completed an anonymous survey at a community health fair in 2010; logistic regression was used to identify predictors. Only education (having attended some college or more) predicted health-related Internet use (P < .

Social epidemiology: a tool for examining prostate cancer early-detection decision making among older African American men.

The article explores the disparate burden of prostate cancer among older African American men, and this population's minimal use of cancer early-detection strategies. Social epidemiology is introduced as an emerging field that studies the social context of disease with an emphasis on how macrostructural forces and human interactions affect population health. A conceptual model is presented as a social epidemiological tool for investigating complex health and social issues and developing culturally relevant programs and interventions based on empirical findings.

Factors Associated With Cancer Family History Communication Between African American Men and Their Relatives.

African American men bear a disproportionately high burden from cancer in the U.S. The American Cancer Society reports that for all cancer sites combined, African American men are 32% more likely to die than white men (American Cancer Society, 2011).

Social Determinants Associated with Colorectal Cancer Screening in an Urban Community Sample of African-American Men.

Background: African-American men are disproportionately burdened with colorectal cancer (CRC). Research is scarce on the social determinants that may influence CRC screening as the primary strategy for early detection among African-American males.

Methods: African-American men over the age of 18 years ( = 558) were recruited from a community health fair and anonymously surveyed about their health and cancer screening behaviors.

Integrating Education on Addressing Health Disparities into the Graduate Social Work Curriculum.

The purpose of this article is to propose an elective social work course as a means of better preparing social workers entering practice in healthcare to meet the challenges of promoting health and reducing health disparities in minority and underserved communities. Course offerings specifically targeting health or medical social work training vary widely. The additional training provided at places of employment and through continuing education after the master's degree is often inadequate for competently addressing the issues clinicians face in practice.