A Qualitative Exploration on Risk and Protective Factors of Substance Use Among Black Adolescent Girls.

OBJECTIVE: While Black adolescent girls use drugs at much lower rates than White and Hispanic girls, Black adolescent girls often have worse health outcomes due to drug use. This study seeks to highlight the voices of Black adolescent girls in order to understand their unique risk factors for substance use and misuse. METHODS: Utilizing the intersectionality and ecological systems theoretical frameworks, the research team conducted twelve focus groups among a sample of Black adolescent girls (N = 62) between the ages of 13-18 (M = 15.6 years SD = 1.50). RESULTS: Thematic analysis was conducted to analyze the participant narratives. Four main themes arose: 1) stereotypes of Black adolescent girls; 2) the role of the physical and social environment (feeling unsafe in neighborhoods where they reside); 3) using drugs as a coping mechanism; 4) input on prevention programming for girls with a sub-theme involving family as a protective factor. DISCUSSION: Study findings deepen our qualitative understanding of risk and protective factors for substance use among Black adolescent girls. These findings provide insight on girls' lived experiences for researchers and intervention development to create and implement substance abuse prevention programs that are race- and gender-specific for Black adolescent girls.

Clients' experiences and satisfaction with produce prescription programs in California: a qualitative evaluation to inform person-centered and respectful program models.

Background: Produce prescription programs have strong potential to improve food security, fruit and vegetable consumption, and health across the life course. Understanding clients' experiences and satisfaction with produce prescription programs is critical for evaluating the person-centeredness and quality of these programs. The objectives of this study were to (1) describe client experiences and satisfaction with produce prescription programs, with an emphasis on the extent to which they felt they were treated with respect and dignity, and (2) identify recommendations for improving client experiences. Methods: We conducted four focus group discussions with clients of produce prescription programs in two Federally Qualified Health Centers in California. We used a modified framework analysis approach and organized participants' experiences with programs into themes. Results: Three themes captured participants' program experiences. First, respectful produce prescription programming encompassed interactions with individuals delivering the programs that felt respectful (e.g., program staff showing they cared about participants' health and offering timely assistance with financial incentives) and disrespectful (e.g., not receiving prompt responses to questions about incentives), as well as aspects of program design perceived to be respectful (e.g., provision of gift cards as financial incentives, which offered privacy when purchasing produce). Second, having autonomy to use gift cards to choose their preferred fresh fruits and vegetables was viewed as a positive experience, though participants desired greater autonomy to shop at stores other than the program designated stores. Third, participants frequently discussed program usability, with some reporting that joining the programs and using the cards was easy, and others describing difficulties activating cards and using them at stores due to cashiers' lack of awareness of the programs. Overall, participants were highly satisfied with the programs. To improve client experiences, they recommended increasing privacy (e.g., by educating cashiers on the programs so that clients do not need to explain in public what the card is for) and autonomy (e.g., allowing cards to be used at other chain or local stores). Discussion: Our findings inform efforts to make produce prescription programs more person-centered and respectful, which in turn may increase program demand, engagement, and impact.

Sexual Health and Drug Use Prevention for Black Girls (The Dreamer Girls Project): Protocol for an Intervention Development.

BACKGROUND: Substance use among adolescent girls is associated with numerous risk characteristics, including engaging in sexual risk behaviors, which can lead to HIV and sexually transmitted infection (STI) diagnoses. This is an important phenomenon to target as there is a significant race-gendered paradox that occurs when Black girls use and misuse drugs. When misuse occurs among this group, they are more likely to face harsher consequences and worse health outcomes than boys and other ethnic-minority girls. Therefore, there is a need to understand the risk and protective factors of drug use and sexual risk behaviors among Black girls and develop a robust intervention that can cater for this group. OBJECTIVE: We propose the development of a strengths-based prevention education intervention for Black girls between the ages of 13 and 18 years to promote protective factors. METHODS: A sequential, mixed methods study will be conducted, and we will use the first 3 steps of the ADAPT-ITT (assessment, decision, adaptation, production, topical experts, integration, training, testing) framework to begin the development of the intervention. Three aims will be described in this protocol. First, aim 1 is to explore sociocultural risk and protective factors among Black girls between the ages 13 and 18 years in drug use and HIV/STI prevention using focus group methodology and surveys. We will conduct at least 10 focus groups to include up to 75 Black girls or until we reach saturation. Our target sample size for the quantitative portion of the study will be 200 participants. Aim 2 will focus on deciding upon an intervention based on findings from aim 1 and forming a youth advisory board to guide intervention development. Aim 3 will be to conduct a pretest of the intervention with the youth advisory board to determine if the intervention is feasible and will be accepted by Black girls. RESULTS: The study is part of a 2-year research pilot study award from the National Institutes of Mental Health. Data collection for this study began in October 2021. For aim 1, data collection is 95% complete. We expect to complete all data collection for aim 1 on or before May 30, 2023. Study activities for aim 2 are occurring simultaneously as data are being collected and analyzed and will be completed in the summer of 2023. Study activities for aim 3 will begin in the fall of 2023. CONCLUSIONS: This study will be one of the few interventions that address both sexual health and drug use together and cater to Black girls. We anticipate that the intervention will be beneficial for Black girls across the nation to work on building culturally appropriate prevention education and building peer social supports, resulting in reduction or delayed substance use and improved sexual health. TRIAL REGISTRATION: ClinicalTrials.gov NCT05014074; https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT05014074. INTERNATIONAL REGISTERED REPORT IDENTIFIER (IRRID): DERR1-10.2196/45007.

Climate change on YouTube: A potential platform for youth learning.

Background: Climate change is one of the most critical threats to our society. The purpose of this cross-sectional study was to describe the content of the most viewed climate change videos on YouTube. Methods: The term "climate change" was used to search on YouTube to garner a sample of the 100most widely-viewed videos. Videos in a language other than English, or considered irrelevant, were excluded. Using a fact sheet from National Aeronautics and Space Administration, content categories were created and successively coded. Results: The mean number of views for the 100 videos evaluated was 231,140.2 views (SD=718, 399.5) and the mean length was 12.1 minutes (SD= 24.1). Most videos were uploaded by a news source (77.0%), included a belief that climate change is happening (77.0%), and mentioned the impact of climate change on the environment (71.0%). Only one-third of the videos mentioned how to prevent climate change (33.0%). More than half focused on a specific environment and, of those, 47.2% specifically focused on cities. Compared to videos that did not focus on a specific environment, the videos with an environmental focus were more often intended for adults (87.3% vs. 53.3%, P≤0.001). Conclusion: This study highlights the need for climate change YouTube videos intended for youth. Targeting youth may lead to engagement of younger generations in climate change discourse and inspire climate action. Further research is needed to determine the effectiveness of YouTube as a platform for educational videos on climate change.

Perfil de un grupo de pacientes adictos recuperados / Profile of a group of patients recovering addicts

Los autores reportan un intento de determinar algunas características del perfil del adicto recuperado. Bajo un estudio de cohorte de 62 pacientes dependientes fundamentalmente a pasta básica de cocaína, fumada que fueron tratados en la Comunidad Terapéutica Profesional de Ñaña - Lima - Perú, contrastados con un grupo control de 61 sujetos no adictos, con características sociodemográficas similares al grupo de estudio. Los hallazgos más importantes fueron que los adictos recuperados mostraron estilo de afrontamiento al estrés más eficaces, como mayor autoeficacia para no emitir conductas de consumo de cigarrillos, beber alcohol y juegos de azar. Además se mostraron sin diferencias significativas en las creencias irracionales y en la evaluación de personalidad de los cinco factores. En general, sin embargo tendieron a la extroversión, tornándose desenvueltos, activos, comunicativos y con energía en comparación al grupo control.

This is a report of an attempt to determine some characteristics of the recovered addict's personality through a controlled study between a cohort of 62 addicts mainly dependent on smoked cocaine basic paste treated in the professional therapeutical community in Ñaña - Lima - Perú and a control group of 61 nonaddict subjects with similar sociodemographic characteristics. The most important findings revealed that the recovered addicts had a more efficacious life style to cope with stress as well as a better self-efficacy to avoid misconducts such as cigarette smoking, alcohol drinking, and gambling. Moreover, this group showed no significant difference as to irrational beliefs and the five-factor personality evaluation. Notwithstanding, this group, on the whole, tended to extroversion becoming outgoing, active, communicative, and lively in comparison to the control group.

Perfil de un grupo de pacientes adictos recuperados / Profile of a group of patients recovering addicts

Los autores reportan un intento de determinar algunas características del perfil del adicto recuperado. Bajo un estudio de una cohorte de 62 pacientes dependientes fundamentalmente a pasta básica de cocaína, fumada, que fueron tratados en la Comunidad Terapéutica Profesional de Ñaña, Lima-Perú, contrastados con un grupo control de 61 sujetos no adictos, con características sociodemográficas similares al grupo de estudio. Los hallazgos más importantes fueron que los adictos recuperados mostraron estilos de afrontamiento al estrés más eficaces como mayor autoeficacia para no emitir conductas de consumo de cigarrillos, beber alcohol y juegos de azar: además se mostraron sin diferencias significativas en las creencias irracionales y en la evaluación de personalidad de los cinco factores. En general, sin embargo tendieron a la extroversión, tornándose desenvueltos, activos, comunicativos y con energía en comparación al grupo control.