Cancer Awareness in Alternative Settings: Lessons Learned and Evaluation of the Barbershop Men’s Health Project

Prostate and colorectal cancer are two of the leading causes of cancer deaths among African American men. This study describes lessons learned from the development, implementation and evaluation of a culturally appropriate, barbershop-based intervention to improve prostate and colorectal cancer screening awareness among African American men. Working with an Advisory Panel of shop owners, barbers, and cancer survivors, local barbers were recruited and trained as Community Health Advisors to educate, motivate, and assist their clients in becoming more knowledgeable about prostate and colorectal cancer. Survey results reveal increases in prostate and colorectal cancer knowledge and self-reported screening among participants. Lessons learned include the need for adequate project staffing and the appropriate role of the barber as a Community Health Advisor. Findings from this study suggest that barbershops are a promising setting for reaching African American men and could be used to target additional conditions that disproportionately impact this community

Role of life events in the presence of colon polyps among African Americans

African Americans have disproportionately higher incidence and death rates of colorectal cancer among all ethnic groups in the United States. Several lifestyle factors (e.g. diet, physical activity and alcohol intake) have been suggested as risk factors for colorectal cancer. Stressful life events have also been identified as risk factors for colorectal cancer. The association between stressful life events and colon polyps, which are precursors of colorectal cancer, has yet to be determined. We aimed to evaluate the relationship between stressful life events and the presence of colon polyps and adenomas in African American men and women. In this cross-sectional study, 110 participants were recruited from a colon cancer screening program at Howard University Hospital. Participants completed an 82-item Life Events Questionnaire (Norbeck 1984), assessing major events that have occurred in the participants’ life within the past 12 months. Participants also reported whether the event had a positive or negative impact. Three scores were derived (total, positive, and negative). Total life events scores were higher (Median [M] = 29 and Interquartile range [IQR] = 18-43) in patients with one or more polyps compared to patients without polyps (M, IQR = 21,13-38; P = 0.029). Total, positive or negative Life Events scores did not differ significantly between normal and adenoma patients. Total, negative and positive Life Events scores did not differ between patients who underwent diagnostic colonoscopy (symptomatic) and patients who underwent colonoscopy for colon cancer screening (asymptomatic) and patients for surveillance colonoscopies due to a personal history of colon polyps. Linear regression analysis indicated that male gender is associated with 9.0 unit lower total Life Events score (P = 0.025). This study suggests that patients who experienced total life events may be at higher risk of having colon polyps and adenomas which indicates an association between stress and the development of colorectal polyps.https://doi.org/10.1186/1471-230X-13-10

Using technology for improving population health: comparing classroom vs. online training for peer community health advisors in African American churches

Technology is increasingly used in health promotion interventions. Project HEAL (Health Through Early Awareness and Learning) compared two methods of training lay community health advisors (CHAs): 1) the traditional/classroom approach vs. 2) a new online training system.https://doi.org/10.1186/1748-5908-10-S1-A6

Mosque-based emotional support among young Muslim Americans

Despite a growing literature on social support networks in religious settings (i.e., church-based social support), little is known about mosque-based support among Muslims. This study investigates the demographic and religious behavior correlates of mosque-based social support among a multi-racial and ethnic sample of 231 young Muslims from southeast Michigan. Several dimensions of mosque-based support are examined including receiving emotional support, giving emotional support, anticipated emotional support and negative interactions with members of one’s mosque. Results indicated that women both received and antic- ipated receiving greater support than did men. Higher educational attainment was associated with receiving and giving less support compared to those with the lowest level of educational attainment. Moreover, highly educated members reported fewer negative interactions than less educated members. Mosque attendance and level of congregational involvement positively predicted receiving, giving, and anticipated emotional support from congregants, but was unrelated to negative interactions. Overall, the study results converge with previously established correlates of church- based emotional support.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/107410/1/art%3A10.1007%2Fs13644-013-0119-0(1).pd

Critical literacy as a pedagogical goal in English language teaching

In this chapter, the authors provide an overview of the area of critical literacy as it pertains to second language pedagogy (curriculum and instruction). After considering the historical origins of critical literacy (from antiquity, and including in first language education), they consider how it began to penetrate the field of applied linguistics. They note the geographical and institutional spread of critical literacy practice as documented by published accounts. They then sketch the main features of L2 critical literacy practice. To do this, they acknowledge how practitioners have reported on their practices regarding classroom content and process. The authors also draw attention to the outcomes of these practices as well as challenges that practitioners have encountered in incorporating critical literacy into their second language classrooms

Multiorgan MRI findings after hospitalisation with COVID-19 in the UK (C-MORE): a prospective, multicentre, observational cohort study

Introduction: The multiorgan impact of moderate to severe coronavirus infections in the post-acute phase is still poorly understood. We aimed to evaluate the excess burden of multiorgan abnormalities after hospitalisation with COVID-19, evaluate their determinants, and explore associations with patient-related outcome measures. Methods: In a prospective, UK-wide, multicentre MRI follow-up study (C-MORE), adults (aged ≥18 years) discharged from hospital following COVID-19 who were included in Tier 2 of the Post-hospitalisation COVID-19 study (PHOSP-COVID) and contemporary controls with no evidence of previous COVID-19 (SARS-CoV-2 nucleocapsid antibody negative) underwent multiorgan MRI (lungs, heart, brain, liver, and kidneys) with quantitative and qualitative assessment of images and clinical adjudication when relevant. Individuals with end-stage renal failure or contraindications to MRI were excluded. Participants also underwent detailed recording of symptoms, and physiological and biochemical tests. The primary outcome was the excess burden of multiorgan abnormalities (two or more organs) relative to controls, with further adjustments for potential confounders. The C-MORE study is ongoing and is registered with ClinicalTrials.gov, NCT04510025. Findings: Of 2710 participants in Tier 2 of PHOSP-COVID, 531 were recruited across 13 UK-wide C-MORE sites. After exclusions, 259 C-MORE patients (mean age 57 years [SD 12]; 158 [61%] male and 101 [39%] female) who were discharged from hospital with PCR-confirmed or clinically diagnosed COVID-19 between March 1, 2020, and Nov 1, 2021, and 52 non-COVID-19 controls from the community (mean age 49 years [SD 14]; 30 [58%] male and 22 [42%] female) were included in the analysis. Patients were assessed at a median of 5·0 months (IQR 4·2–6·3) after hospital discharge. Compared with non-COVID-19 controls, patients were older, living with more obesity, and had more comorbidities. Multiorgan abnormalities on MRI were more frequent in patients than in controls (157 [61%] of 259 vs 14 [27%] of 52; p<0·0001) and independently associated with COVID-19 status (odds ratio [OR] 2·9 [95% CI 1·5–5·8]; padjusted=0·0023) after adjusting for relevant confounders. Compared with controls, patients were more likely to have MRI evidence of lung abnormalities (p=0·0001; parenchymal abnormalities), brain abnormalities (p<0·0001; more white matter hyperintensities and regional brain volume reduction), and kidney abnormalities (p=0·014; lower medullary T1 and loss of corticomedullary differentiation), whereas cardiac and liver MRI abnormalities were similar between patients and controls. Patients with multiorgan abnormalities were older (difference in mean age 7 years [95% CI 4–10]; mean age of 59·8 years [SD 11·7] with multiorgan abnormalities vs mean age of 52·8 years [11·9] without multiorgan abnormalities; p<0·0001), more likely to have three or more comorbidities (OR 2·47 [1·32–4·82]; padjusted=0·0059), and more likely to have a more severe acute infection (acute CRP >5mg/L, OR 3·55 [1·23–11·88]; padjusted=0·025) than those without multiorgan abnormalities. Presence of lung MRI abnormalities was associated with a two-fold higher risk of chest tightness, and multiorgan MRI abnormalities were associated with severe and very severe persistent physical and mental health impairment (PHOSP-COVID symptom clusters) after hospitalisation. Interpretation: After hospitalisation for COVID-19, people are at risk of multiorgan abnormalities in the medium term. Our findings emphasise the need for proactive multidisciplinary care pathways, with the potential for imaging to guide surveillance frequency and therapeutic stratification

Search for gravitational-lensing signatures in the full third observing run of the LIGO-Virgo network

Gravitational lensing by massive objects along the line of sight to the source causes distortions of gravitational wave-signals; such distortions may reveal information about fundamental physics, cosmology and astrophysics. In this work, we have extended the search for lensing signatures to all binary black hole events from the third observing run of the LIGO--Virgo network. We search for repeated signals from strong lensing by 1) performing targeted searches for subthreshold signals, 2) calculating the degree of overlap amongst the intrinsic parameters and sky location of pairs of signals, 3) comparing the similarities of the spectrograms amongst pairs of signals, and 4) performing dual-signal Bayesian analysis that takes into account selection effects and astrophysical knowledge. We also search for distortions to the gravitational waveform caused by 1) frequency-independent phase shifts in strongly lensed images, and 2) frequency-dependent modulation of the amplitude and phase due to point masses. None of these searches yields significant evidence for lensing. Finally, we use the non-detection of gravitational-wave lensing to constrain the lensing rate based on the latest merger-rate estimates and the fraction of dark matter composed of compact objects

Religious coping moderates the relationship between emotional functioning and obesity.

Objective: Prospective research indicates that poor emotional functioning predicts obesity. The maladaptive coping hypothesis proposes that unhealthy eating is used to regulate emotion, leading to obesity. Given research suggesting that many utilize religion to cope with distress, we hypothesized that positive and negative religious coping would moderate links between emotional functioning and obesity. In addition, previous research focused on Christians and the relevance of religious coping to the Jewish context, where obesity may be of particular concern, was examined. Method: 212 Jewish participants completed self-report health and emotional functioning measures as well as the Jewish Religious Coping scale. Results: Moderation analysis indicated that negative coping had no effect, while positive coping was a significant moderator. Specifically, poor emotional functioning predicted increased obesity among those with low, but not high, positive religious coping. This effect remained even after several possible confounding factors were controlled for, and the effect was large. Conclusions: These findings further support the maladaptive coping hypothesis, indicating that religious coping may provide an alternative strategy to maladaptive eating. They also illustrate a possible mechanism by which religiosity correlates with better health and support the relevance of religious coping to the Jewish context

Psychometric properties of the mammography self-efficacy and fear of breast cancer scales in Iranian women

Abstract Background Research investigating mammography screening has often reported low mammography self-efficacy and breast cancer fear contribute to underutilization of mammography. This study aimed to examine the reliability and validity of Champion’s Mammography Self-efficacy Scale (CMSS) and Champion’s Breast Cancer Fear Scale (CBCFS) in a sample of Iranian women. Methods The adapted instruments were administered to a community sample of 482 women aged 40 years or older. They inhibited in Sanandaj, Iran. Cronbach’s α coefficients, item-total, and test-retest correlations were used to assess the reliability of the scales. Confirmatory factor analysis was applied to assess construct validity. Results The α coefficients for the Farsi 14-item CMSS and 8-item BCFS were .87 and.95, respectively. In terms of the CMSS confirmatory factor analysis, the proportion of x 2/df was 2.4, Comparative Fit Index (CFI) = 0.93, Tucker Lewis Index (TLI) = 0.96 providing a strong fit to the data induced by two-factor model. With regard to CBCFS, x 2/df was 86.33, CFI =0.99, and TLI =0.99 supporting one-factor model. Conclusion The CMSS and CBCFS exhibited strong initial psychometric properties; therefore, they are recommended to understand women’s breast cancer screening behaviors better