Remote mental health first aid training for correctional officers: A pilot study.

Mental health first aid (MHFA) training is a low-cost, evidence-based intervention that teaches trainees to recognize signs of mental distress. Thirty correctional officers (COs) were recruited to participate in a remote MHFA intervention study. The COs were divided into three MHFA training sessions, with no more than 10 COs per group. Data collection assessments included pretest and posttest surveys and a focus group meeting. Of the 30 eligible CO participants, 27 completed the study, including follow-up assessments. Nine COs participated in a focus group meeting-one third (n = 9) of the CO participants identified as female, and the remaining identified as male. Most CO participants self-identified as White (n = 17), and two thirds (n = 18) of the CO participants were 35-54 years old. There was a strong military influence, with about close to half (48%) of COs identifying as a veteran. A paired sample t test was used to analyze whether there were any differences in mental health knowledge scores from pre- and postintervention. There were no significant differences between the pre- and postintervention results for the five MHFA knowledge items. The Wilcoxon signed-rank test was used to analyze differences in pre- and postintervention data for mental health referral items. From pre- to posttraining, COs reported that it would be easier to make a mental health referral for someone experiencing a mental health challenge (Z = -2.087, p = .037). At 12 weeks, COs referred 2.6 (SD: 4.30, range 1-20) people incarcerated for mental health services. The reasons for referral included: "suicidal thoughts," "experiencing anxiety over being incarcerated during COVID," and "considering self-harm." A phenomenological approach was used to analyze the focus group meeting. The themes identified were: (a) COs experience with MHFA training was viewed positively (facilitators); (b) there is a need to improve mental wellness in correctional settings (barriers); and (c) mental health referral process for incarcerated individuals needs enhancement when implementing MHFA (barriers). MHFA training for COs is necessary to equip COs with the skills to safely support and refer incarcerated people experiencing a mental health crisis. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved).

COVID-19 on Food Insecurity in Hispanic/Latino Essential and Non-essential Workers.

INTRODUCTION: The COVID-19 pandemic's economic fallout has further exacerbated the health and well-being among Hispanics/Latinos, who maybe overrepresented in essential job industries and are vulnerable to experiencing food insecurity. This study explores whether the COVID-19 pandemic affected food security status differently among Latino/Hispanic essential and non-essential workers in the United States. METHODS: The COVID-19 Latino health cross-sectional survey was conducted and administered in person and virtually. Bivariate analyses and chi-square tests were performed to investigate the association between essential worker status and changes in food security status during the COVID-19 pandemic. All reported p-values were two-sided; p < 0.05 was considered statistically significant. RESULTS: Of the 869 Hispanic/Latino respondents, 393 (45%) were deemed essential workers, and 476 (55%) were non-essential workers. About 22% of essential workers reported a household income of less than $20,000, whereas 19% of non-essential workers had an income above $100,000. Half (54%) of essential workers reported food insecurity. Over one-third (35%) of essential and 22% of non-essential workers reported increased food insecurity during the COVID-19 pandemic. Moreover, there was a significant difference in food insecurity status between essential and non-essential Hispanic/Latino workers (p < 0.001). CONCLUSION: The results underscore the prevalence of food insecurity due to the COVID-19 pandemic and the need to create comprehensive food policies that address the lack of availability of adequate food among Hispanic/Latino essential workers who already face pandemic-related challenges.

Social Determinant of Health Framework to Examine the Impact of COVID-19 on Latino Health.

OBJECTIVES: Evaluated how COVID-19 impacted Latino health across social, economic, and emotional dimensions and differentiated whether adverse COVID-19-related effects persisted across respondents. METHODS: In both English and Spanish, a cross-sectional survey was conducted in the USA from June 2021 to April 2022. Chi-square tests, Z-tests, and T-tests were used to test for significant differences between Spanish- and English-speaking respondents. Multiple linear regressions were carried out to understand whether previously established determinants of health for Latinos accounted for greater COVID-19-related adversity across social, economic, and mental health dimensions. English as a primary language was significantly related to greater adverse emotional/mental health COVID-19 experiences after controlling for other social determinants of health factors (ß = - 0.355, p < 0.001). Individuals who reported worrying about housing loss were significantly more likely to experience more adverse economic adversity due to COVID-19 (ß = - 0.234, p < 0.001). Household income < $35,000 (ß = 0.083, p < 0.05), having more than 5 people living in the same home (ß = -0.102, p < 0.05), and work-related transportation barriers (ß = - 0.114, p < 0.05) all increased the likelihood of household-related stressors occurring because of the pandemic. CONCLUSIONS: The study highlights the heterogeneity in the Latino community and the key social, economic, and community-level factors most strongly correlated with adverse COVID-19-related outcomes.

Understanding search autocompletes from the perspectives of English and Spanish speakers during the early months of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The purpose of the study was to explore differences in Google search autocompletes between English and Spanish-speaking users during the first wave of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. Twenty-nine individuals who were in areas with shelter-in-place state orders participated in a virtual focus group meeting to understand the algorithm bias of COVID-19 Google autocompletes. The three focus group meetings lasted for 90-120 minutes. A codebook was created and transcripts were coded using NVivo qualitative software with a 95% intercoder reliability between two coders. Thematic analysis was used to analyze the data. Among the 29 participants, six self-identified as White, seven as Black/African American, five as American Indian or Alaska Native, four as Asian Indian, and three as Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander. In terms of ethnicity, 21 participants identified as Hispanic/Latino. The themes that emerged from the study were: (1) autocompletes evoked fear and stress; (2) skepticism and hesitation towards autocomplete search; (3) familiarity with COVID-19 information impacts outlook on autocomplete search; (4) autocompletes can promote preselection of searches; and (5) lesser choice of autocomplete results for Spanish-speaking searchers. Spanish speakers expressed concerns and hesitation due to social factors and lack of information about COVID-19.

Suicidal Ideation in a Sample of Incarcerated Men.

This article examined the factors associated with thoughts of ending life in a sample of incarcerated men. Data were obtained from the Cancer Risk in Incarcerated Men Study, a pilot study designed to examine cancer health disparities and cancer health education in a racially/ethnically diverse sample of male smokers in three state prisons in the northeast region of the United States from 2015 to 2017. Of the 225 participants, only 11 reported having thoughts of ending life. The median age of the participants was 38 years. Thoughts of ending life had a significant association with race/ethnicity. Latinos and Whites were 8 out of the 11 participants who had thoughts of ending life. The majority of participants who had thoughts of ending life reported a history of solitary confinement. Almost half of all participants reported that they sometimes or often felt a risk of attack or abuse from prison officers. Findings demonstrate the need to investigate further the association of mental health symptomology with incarcerated individuals' perceived experience with suicidal thoughts and behavior.

Examining Attitudes, Expectations, and Tobacco Cessation Treatment Outcomes Among Incarcerated Tobacco Smokers.

People who are incarcerated have limited resources to help them quit tobacco smoking. This study assessed the association between baseline attitudes and expectations of the program with final smoking status as the outcome. A 6-week group-based counseling with nicotine patches was provided to incarcerated individuals to quit smoking. A cross-sectional survey was given at the first session. Questions surrounding attitudes such as interest, confidence, motivation, and expectations were used to assess associations with smoking cessation. Exhaled carbon monoxide (CO) levels were taken at each sessions. Participants were categorized as nonsmoking or continued smoking at a 6.0 parts per million (ppm) CO at their final session attended. Overall, 123 participants had a CO higher than 6.0 ppm or missed more than two sessions at their final session, and 54 had a CO under 6.0 ppm. A total of 102 participants completed the 6-week program. Differences among the two groups in exhaled CO began at Session 3 and continued throughout the study.

Exploring Tobacco and E-Cigarette Use among Queer Adults during the Early Days of the COVID-19 Pandemic.

The purpose of this narrative study is to describe the vaping and smoking characteristics of Queer people ages 18-34 before March of 2020 and to better understand how the COVID-19 pandemic has impacted those behaviors since March of 2020. In total, 31 participants were screened. Thirteen participants were screened prior to the emergence of COVID-19, and 18 were screened when study protocols transitioned to a remote setting (pre and during). Of the 27 eligible participants, a total of 25 participants completed the study. Most participants (n = 13) self-identified as male, followed by five identified as female, four self-identified as gender non-binary, and three identified as transgender. The most common sexual orientation amongst participants was gay (n = 10), with bisexual being the second-most reported. Approximately 20 Queer participants reported using cigarettes, 14 participants self-reported using electronic devices, and 11 reported using hookah. Twenty participants reported smoking ten or less, and four self-reported using 11-20 cigarettes per day. Approximately, 92% of participants (n = 23) indicate that they are using an e-cigarette and regular cigarettes, and 57% of participants (n = 12) report using one pod or cartridge per day. The three themes that emerged in this study are: (1) Queer people during COVID-19 are experiencing heightened minority stress; (2) Queer people are unfamiliar with smoking cessation; and (3) vaping and smoking are attributed to stress and anxiety. Queer participants are likely to be dual users of cigarette and vaping products. This present study provides increasing evidence that Queer people are experiencing heightened stress and anxiety and using cigarette smoking and vaping to cope during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Exploring Online Health Reviews to Monitor COVID-19 Public Health Responses in Alabama State Department of Corrections: Case Example.

BACKGROUND: COVID-19, caused by SARS-CoV-2, has devastated incarcerated people throughout the United States. OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study was to test the feasibility and acceptability of a COVID-19 Health Review for Correctional Facilities. METHODS: The COVID-19 Health Review survey for the Department of Corrections was developed in Qualtrics to assess the following: (1) COVID-19 testing, (2) providing personal protective equipment, (3) vaccination procedures, (4) quarantine procedures, (5) COVID-19 mortality rates for inmates, (6) COVID-19 mortality rates for correctional officers and prison staff, (7) COVID-19 infection rates for inmates, (8) COVID-19 infection rates for correctional officers and prison staff, and (9) uptake of COVID-19 vaccines. The estimated time to review the Alabama State Department of Corrections COVID-19 responses on their website and complete the survey items was 45 minutes to 1 hour. RESULTS: Of the 21 participants who completed the COVID-19 Health Review for Correctional Facilities survey, 48% (n=10) identified as female, 43% (n=9) identified as male, and 10% (n=2) identified as transgender. For race, 29% (n=6) self-identified as Black or African American, 24% (n=5) Asian, 24% (n=5) White, 5% (n=1) Pacific Islander or Native Hawaiian, and 19% (n=4) Other. In addition, 5 respondents self-identified as returning citizens. For COVID-19 review questions, the majority concluded that information on personal protective equipment was "poor" and "very poor," information on COVID-19 testing was "fair" and above, information on COVID-19 death/infection rates between inmates and staff was "good" and "very good," and information on vaccinations was "good" and "very good." There was a significant difference observed (P=.03) between nonreturning citizens and returning citizens regarding the health grade review with respect to available information on COVID-19 infection rates. CONCLUSIONS: COVID-19 health reviews may provide an opportunity for the public to review the COVID-19 responses in correctional settings.

Exploring the role of telehealth: A novel approach to group-based smoking cessation treatment for men incarcerated in a rural state prison.

INTRODUCTION: Tobacco smoking remains an important public health issue in the United States (US), specifically among people who are incarcerated. There is little to no information about smoking behaviors of incarcerated people in rural areas and there is a lack of resources for smoking cessation interventions in rural settings. Telehealth might be efficient for delivering care to incarcerated people in rural areas. The purpose of this study was to determine the feasibility of delivering group-based smoking cessation treatment via telehealth to incarcerated male smokers in a rural prison. METHODS: A 6-week group-based smoking cessation treatment program was conducted with 1-month follow up. Video conferencing was used from Weeks 2-5 to deliver treatment. A cross-sectional survey was administered collecting measures including criminal justice experience, smoking behaviors, withdrawal and triggers, mental health, physical health, and substance use. Baseline exhaled carbon monoxide (CO) levels were collected at Session 1, and a final CO level at Session 6 and 1-month follow-up. RESULTS: Twenty (n = 20) incarcerated male smokers were recruited from a rural prison facility. The majority of the inmates were White (85%). Approximately, 80% of the inmates smoked about 20 or more cigarettes per day, and on average smoked for 28 years (SD = 9). Most inmates scored a moderate or high dependence score on the Fagerström Test for Nicotine Dependence. CONCLUSION: Telehealth programs such as video conferencing smoking cessation treatment ought to be implemented to reduce tobacco-related disparities among incarcerated smokers housed in rural prisons.