"It's Not That We Care Less": Insights into Health Care Utilization for Comorbid Diabetes and Depression among Latinos.

Despite robust knowledge regarding the socio-economic and cultural factors affecting Latino* access to healthcare, limited research has explored service utilization in the context of comorbid conditions like diabetes and depression. This qualitative study, embedded in a larger mixed-methods project, aimed to investigate perceptions held by Latinos and their social support systems (i.e., family members) regarding comorbid diabetes and depression and to identify barriers and facilitators to their help-seeking behaviors and treatment engagement. Bilingual and bicultural researchers conducted eight focus groups with 94 participants in a large U.S. metropolitan area and were primarily conducted in Spanish. The participants either had a diagnosis of diabetes and depression or were closely associated with someone who did. This study identified key individual and structural barriers and facilitators affecting healthcare access and treatment for Latinos living with comorbid diagnoses. A thematic analysis revealed structural barriers to healthcare access, including financial burdens and navigating healthcare institutions. Personal barriers included fears, personal responsibility, and negative family dynamics. Facilitators included accessible information, family support, and spirituality. These findings underscore the need to address these multi-level factors and for healthcare institutions and providers to actively involve Hispanic community members in developing services and interventions.

Human Trafficking Efforts to Protect Connecticut's Vulnerable Children and Youth: Incorporating the Voices of Community Practitioners.

Research demonstrates a growing number of exploited and trafficked children in the United States, but few studies address how practitioners continue to respond to these issues. Multiple efforts identify victims of human trafficking and provide services since the passing of the Trafficking Victims Protection Act (TVPA) in 2000 and its reauthorization. However, the TVPA oftentimes failed to protect the most vulnerable. This qualitative study included four focus group sessions with 28 practitioners from various disciplines (e.g., social work, healthcare, legal) to examine how the state of Connecticut has expanded services and programs for children and youth trafficking victims. The findings describe current statewide partnerships along with challenges and successes when working with child victims of human trafficking, offering practice and policy recommendations.

Experiencing Health Services Research in the Global South: A Collaborative Autoethnography of Two Social Work Researchers.

Maternal health services research yields the potential to improve global health outcomes across countries. Many of the low-cost and effective clinical innovations to improve maternal mental health outcomes are implemented in the Global South. However, there remains a lack of collaboration from the Global South to the Global North. In this qualitative narrative, we use a collaborative autoethnographical approach to describe a doctoral training health services research experience between North America and South America. In this paper, we describe the ways power and privilege manifest in a South American research training program and our particular positionality as North American women of color. We will also describe the role of cultural humility and awareness of colonization as it translates to research training across the North and South. In conclusion, we will share lessons learned in forming skills to establish partnerships and where our maternal health collaboration aims to continue to build mutual collaboration across countries.