Factors Facilitating Academic-Community Research Partnerships With African American Churches: Recruitment Process for a Community-Based, Cluster Randomized Controlled Trial During the COVID-19 Pandemic.

African American (AA) churches are valuable partners in implementing health promotion programming (HPP) to combat health disparities. The study purpose was to evaluate AA church characteristics associated with enrollment into the FAITH! (Fostering African American Improvement in Total Health) Trial, a community-based, cluster randomized controlled trial (RCT) of a mobile health intervention for cardiovascular health promotion among AA churches. Churches located in Minneapolis-St. Paul and Rochester, Minnesota were invited to complete an electronic screening survey and follow-up telephone interview including the PREACH (Predicting Readiness to Engage African American Churches in Health) tool to assess church characteristics and infrastructure for HPP. The primary outcome was church enrollment in the FAITH! Trial. Key predictors included overall PREACH scores and its subscales (Personnel, Physical Structure, Faith-based Approach, Funding), congregation size, and mean congregation member age. Of the 26 churches screened, 16 (61.5%) enrolled in the trial. The enrolled churches had higher overall mean PREACH scores (36.1 vs. 30.2) and subscales for Personnel (8.8 vs. 5.6), Faith-based Approach (11.0 vs. 9.6), and Funding (7.3 vs. 4.8) compared with non-enrolled churches; all differences were not statistically significant due to small sample size. Twelve (75.0%) of the enrolled churches had >75 members versus six (60.0%) of the non-enrolled churches. Twelve (80.0%) of the enrolled churches had an average congregation member age ≤54 years versus six (67.0%) of the non-enrolled churches. AA churches enrolling into a community-based RCT reported greater infrastructure for HPP, larger congregations, and members of younger age. These characteristics may be helpful to consider among researchers partnering with AA churches for HPP studies.

Working Agenda for Black Mothers: A Position Paper From the Association of Black Cardiologists on Solutions to Improving Black Maternal Health.

Following decades of decline, maternal mortality began to rise in the United States around 1990-a significant departure from the world's other affluent countries. By 2018, the same could be seen with the maternal mortality rate in the United States at 17.4 maternal deaths per 100 000 live births. When factoring in race/ethnicity, this number was more than double among non-Hispanic Black women who experienced 37.1 maternal deaths per 100 000 live births. More than half of these deaths and near deaths were from preventable causes, with cardiovascular disease being the leading one. In an effort to amplify the magnitude of this epidemic in the United States that disproportionately plagues Black women, on June 13, 2020, the Association of Black Cardiologists hosted the Black Maternal Heart Health Roundtable-a collaborative task force to tackle the maternal health crisis in the Black community. The roundtable brought together diverse stakeholders and champions of maternal health equity to discuss how innovative ideas, solutions and opportunities could be implemented, while exploring additional ways attendees could address maternal health concerns within the health care system. The discussions were intended to lead the charge in reducing maternal morbidity and mortality through advocacy, education, research, and collaborative efforts. The goal of this roundtable was to identify current barriers at the community, patient, and clinician level and expand on the efforts required to coordinate an effective approach to reducing these statistics in the highest risk populations. Collectively, preventable maternal mortality can result from or reflect violations of a variety of human rights-the right to life, the right to freedom from discrimination, and the right to the highest attainable standard of health. This is the first comprehensive statement on this important topic. This position paper will generate further research in disparities of care and promote the interest of others to pursue strategies to mitigate maternal mortality.

Community-based, cluster-randomized pilot trial of a cardiovascular mHealth intervention: Rationale, design, and baseline findings of the FAITH! Trial.

BACKGROUND: Compared to whites, African-Americans have lower prevalence of ideal cardiovascular health (CVH) based on the American Heart Association Life's Simple 7 (LS7). These CVH inequities have worsened during the COVID-19 pandemic. Ideal LS7 health-promoting behaviors and biological risk factors (eg, diet, blood pressure) are associated with improved CVH outcomes. The FAITH! (Fostering African-American Improvement in Total Health) App, a community-informed, mobile health (mHealth) intervention, previously demonstrated significant improvements in LS7 components among African-Americans, suggesting that mHealth interventions may be effective in improving CVH. This paper presents the FAITH! Trial design, baseline findings, and pandemic-related lessons learned. METHODS: Utilizing a community-based participatory research approach, this study assessed the feasibility/preliminary efficacy of a refined FAITH! App for promoting LS7 among African-Americans in faith communities using a cluster, randomized controlled trial. Participants received the FAITH! App (immediate intervention) or were assigned to a delayed intervention comparator group. Baseline data were collected via electronic surveys and health assessments. Primary outcomes are change in LS7 score from baseline to 6-months post-intervention and app engagement/usability. RESULTS: Of 85 enrolled individuals, 76 completed baseline surveys/health assessments, for a participation rate of 89% (N = 34 randomized to the immediate intervention, N = 42 to delayed intervention). At baseline, participants were predominantly female (54/76, 71%), employed (56/76, 78%) and of high cardiometabolic risk (72/76, 95% with hypertension and/or overweight/obesity) with mean LS7 scores in the poor range (6.8, SD = 1.9). CONCLUSIONS: The FAITH! Trial recruitment was feasible, and its results may inform the use of mHealth tools to increase ideal CVH among African-Americans.

Who Is Caring for Health Care Workers' Families Amid COVID-19?

Amid the COVID-19 pandemic, women in medicine, including faculty, residents, medical students, and other health care workers (HCWs), are facing unparalleled challenges. The burdens of pandemic-associated increases in domestic and caregiving responsibilities, professional demands, health risks associated with contracting COVID-19, and the resulting psychosocial distress have exacerbated existing gender disparities at home, at work, and in academia. School and day care closures have created additional childcare needs, primarily for women, yet little support exists for parents and families. These increased childcare and domestic responsibilities have forced women HCWs, who make up the overwhelming majority of the workforce, to adapt their schedules and, in some cases, leave their jobs entirely. In this article, the authors detail how COVID-19 has exacerbated existing childcare accessibility and affordability issues as well as gender disparities. They argue that unless government and health care organization support for childcare increases, families, specifically women and children, will continue to suffer. Lack of access to affordable childcare can prevent HCWs from doing their jobs, including conducting and publishing academic scholarship. This poses incalculable risks to families, science, and society. COVID-19 should serve as a call to action to all sectors, including the government and health care organizations, to prioritize childcare provision and increase support for women HCWs, both now during the pandemic and going forward.

Gender Differences in Publication Authorship During COVID-19: A Bibliometric Analysis of High-Impact Cardiology Journals.

Background The purpose of this study was to examine gender differences in authorship of manuscripts in select high-impact cardiology journals during the early coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. Methods and Results All manuscripts published between March 1, 2019 to June 1, 2019 and March 1, 2020 to June 1, 2020 in 4 high-impact cardiology journals (Journal of the American College of Cardiology, Circulation, JAMA Cardiology, and European Heart Journal) were identified using bibliometric data. Authors' genders were determined by matching first name with predicted gender using a validated multinational database (Genderize.io) and manual adjudication. Proportions of women and men first, co-first, senior, and co-senior authors, manuscript types, and whether the manuscript was COVID-19 related were recorded. In 2019, women were first authors of 176 (22.3%) manuscripts and senior authors of 99 (15.0%) manuscripts. In 2020, women first authored 230 (27.4%) manuscripts and senior authored 138 (19.3%) manuscripts. Proportions of woman first and senior authors were significantly higher in 2020 compared with 2019. Women were more likely to be first authors if the manuscript's senior author was a woman (33.8% for woman first/woman senior versus 23.4% for woman first/man senior; P<0.001). Women were less likely to be first authors of COVID-19-related original research manuscripts (P=0.04). Conclusions Representation of women as key authors of manuscripts published in major cardiovascular journals increased during the early COVID-19 pandemic compared with similar months in 2019. However, women were significantly less likely to be first authors of COVID-19-related original research manuscripts. Future investigation into the gender-disparate impacts of COVID-19 on academic careers is critical.