Leveraging the Black Girls Run Web-Based Community as a Supportive Community for Physical Activity Engagement: Mixed Methods Study.

BACKGROUND: About 59%-73% of Black women do not meet the recommended targets for physical activity (PA). PA is a key modifiable lifestyle factor that can help mitigate risk for chronic diseases such as obesity, diabetes, and hypertension that disproportionately affect Black women. Web-based communities focused on PA have been emerging in recent years as web-based gathering spaces to provide support for PA in specific populations. One example is Black Girls Run (BGR), which is devoted to promoting PA in Black women. OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study was to describe the content shared on the BGR public Facebook page to provide insight into how web-based communities engage Black women in PA and inform the development of web-based PA interventions for Black women. METHODS: Using Facebook Crowdtangle, we collected posts (n=397) and associated engagement data from the BGR public Facebook page for the 6-month period between June 1, 2021, and December 31, 2021. We pooled data in Dedoose to analyze the qualitative data and conducted a content analysis of qualitative data. We quantified types of posts, post engagement, and compared post types on engagement: "like," "love," "haha," "wow," "care," "sad," "angry," "comments," and "shares." RESULTS: The content analysis revealed 8 categories of posts: shout-outs to members for achievements (n=122, 31%), goals or motivational (n=65, 16%), announcements (n=63, 16%), sponsored or ads (n=54, 14%), health related (n=47, 11%), the lived Black experience (n=23, 6%), self-care (n=15, 4%), and holidays or greetings (n=8, 2%). The 397 posts attracted a total of 55,354 engagements (reactions, comments, and shares). Associations between the number of engagement and post categories were analyzed using generalized linear models. Shout-out posts (n=22,268) elicited the highest average of total user engagement of 181.7 (SD 116.7), followed by goals or motivational posts (n=11,490) with an average total engagement of 160.1 (SD 125.2) and announcements (n=7962) having an average total engagement of 129.9 (SD 170.7). Significant statistical differences were found among the total engagement of posts (χ72=80.99, P<.001), "like" (χ72=119.37, P<.001), "love" (χ72=63.995, P<.001), "wow" (χ72=23.73, P<.001), "care" (χ72=35.06, P<.001), "comments" (χ72=80.55, P<.001), and "shares" (χ72=71.28, P<.001). CONCLUSIONS: The majority of content on the BGR Facebook page (n=250, 63%) was focused on celebrating member achievements, motivating members to get active, and announcing and promoting active events. These types of posts attracted 75% of total post engagement. BGR appears to be a rich web-based community that offers social support for PA as well as culturally relevant health and social justice content. Web-based communities may be uniquely positioned to engage minoritized populations in health behavior. Further research should explore how and if web-based communities such as BGR can be interwoven into health interventions and health promotion.

Considering Social Identity Threat Alongside the Health Belief Model to Examine Mask-Wearing Intentions of Black, Latinx, and Asian Individuals in the U.S. During COVID-19.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, U.S. public health officials have recommended various safety protocols to "stop the spread", and atop the list is wearing a mask. Individuals from particular racial groups have also contended with a surge of racial profiling and race-based discrimination that has positioned mask-wearing as a risky yet health-promoting behavior. Using the health belief model (HBM), this study considers how racism and health intersect by examining the emotions, behavioral intentions, and health outcomes of mask-wearing among Black, Latinx, and Asian individuals. Cross-sectional survey data from 521 participants from across the United States were collected and analyzed using quantitative analyses. Results did not indicate significant differences in mask-wearing intentions between racial groups as predicted by the health belief model constructs; however, group differences in experiences of racism did shape perceptions of and behaviors related to mask-wearing. Mask-wearing was also related to more positive emotional experiences, and social cues to action predicted intentions to wear a mask. Implications for encouraging health-promoting behaviors across diverse populations during public health crises are discussed.

Talking with My Sistahs: Examining Discussions About HIV Risk and Prevention Outcomes Within Black Women Sistah Circles.

Black women's health is in a state of crisis. Though Black women make up roughly 12% of the US population, they account for 66% of new HIV cases. One understudied barrier to Black women's sexual health is their communication about the topic of HIV with others and proclivity to dismiss HIV-related information based on self-exemption. Using a group-centered approach called the "sistah circle," this study examines group gatherings of Black women to assess their communication about HIV and determine potential gaps in their understanding of information and HIV-related behavior. Data were derived from five focus groups, with four Black women in each group engaging in a facilitated discussion. Findings from the project extend knowledge about how socializing agents such as school, parents, church, and interventionists have the potential to delay or deter Black women from engaging in communication that supports risk-reducing behaviors and prevention efforts.

Parents' relationship maintenance as a buffer for the stress of their adolescent's type 1 diabetes.

Having an adolescent with Type 1 diabetes (T1D) can be stressful for the entire family. This study examined the impact of parents' relationship maintenance on their ability to manage the conflict associated with their child's T1D, the parents' physiological health (inflammation), and the relationships within the family. Sixty couples and their adolescent children with T1D participated. The couples engaged in a stressful conversation about their child's T1D in their home, followed by random assignment to a 2-week intervention designed to increase the relationship maintenance in the marriage. Results from the home visit revealed that when husbands and wives received greater maintenance from each other the past month, they perceived less conflict when talking about their adolescent's T1D, which was associated with less relational load and lower levels of C-reactive protein (CRP). For wives, greater relationship maintenance was also directly associated with less relational load and lower CRP levels. In addition, the relationship maintenance received was directly and positively associated with parent-child relationship quality for fathers, but this association was mediated by interparental conflict for mothers. Finally, the 2-week intervention reduced parents' relational load and the number of stressful conversations and improved the mother-adolescent relationship but did not significantly reduce parents' CRP. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2020 APA, all rights reserved).

Testing the Theory of Resilience and Relational Load (TRRL) in Families with Type I Diabetes.

The theory of resilience and relational load was tested with 60 couples and their adolescent children (ages 11-18) with type I diabetes (T1D). The couples participated in a stress-inducing conversation task in their home, followed by a random assignment to a two-week intervention designed to increase their relationship maintenance. Before the intervention, stronger communal orientation predicted greater maintenance for husbands and wives, but maintenance only reduced T1D stress for wives. The wives' and adolescents' T1D stress were also correlated, but the husbands' T1D stress was not significantly associated with either of them. Better maintenance was associated with less conflict during couples' conversations. Maintenance was also directly associated with less perceived and physiological stress (cortisol) from the conversation. Finally, wives in the intervention reported the most thriving, communal orientation and the least loneliness. The intervention also reduced adolescents' general life stress, but it did not influence their T1D stress or thriving.