The Mardi Gras Queens of New Orleans

IMPACT. 1: Interviewing queens and crafting the film provided students a deeply engaging service learning opportunity focusing on cultural preservation while expanding their skills and their knowledge of African-American and women's history. -- 2. The students received grants to pursue independent research on the Mardi Gras Indian queens, which they intend to present at conferences on campus and elsewhere, increasing their academic profiles. -- 3. The film will be screened at the downtown Newark FAMFEST and potentially at the 2016 Columbus campus film festival and elsewhere, bringing attention to a unique and overlooked culture and women's crucial role in its preservation.OSU PARTNERS: Tiyi Morris, Assistant Professor in African-American & African StudiesCOMMUNITY PARTNERS: The Mardi Gras Indian Council; The Mardi Gras Queens Council; Michael Yearling, Yearling PicturesPRIMARY CONTACT: Tiyi Morris ([email protected])Five students of African-American history traveled to New Orleans to interview Mardi Gras Indian Queens, the female leaders of an African-American parading tradition that originated in the 19th century as an alternative to mainstream Mardi Gras. They worked with a filmmaker and their professor to create a documentary that highlights the role of women in perpetuating a tradition that combats marginalization and creates community cohesiveness

The Impact of Digital Health Interventions for the Management of Type 2 Diabetes on Health and Social Care Utilisation and Costs: A Systematic Review

BACKGROUND: Digital health interventions such as smartphone applications (mHealth) or Internet resources (eHealth) are increasingly used to improve the management of chronic conditions, such as type 2 diabetes mellitus. These digital health interventions can augment or replace traditional health services and may be paid for using healthcare budgets. While the impact of digital health interventions for the management of type 2 diabetes on health outcomes has been reviewed extensively, less attention has been paid to their economic impact. OBJECTIVE: This study aims to critically review existing literature on the impact of digital health interventions for the management of type 2 diabetes on health and social care utilisation and costs. METHODS: Studies that assessed the impact on health and social care utilisation of digital health interventions for type 2 diabetes were included in the study. We restricted the digital health interventions to information provision, self-management and behaviour management. Four databases were searched (MEDLINE, EMBASE, PsycINFO and EconLit) for articles published between January 2010 and March 2021. The studies were analysed using a narrative synthesis approach. The risk of bias and reporting quality were appraised using the ROBINS-I checklist. RESULTS: The review included 22 studies. Overall, studies reported mixed evidence on the impact of digital health interventions on health and social care utilisation and costs, and suggested this impact differs according to the healthcare utilisation component. For example, digital health intervention use was associated with lower medication use and fewer outpatient appointments, whereas evidence on general practitioner visits and inpatient admissions was mixed. Most reviewed studies focus on a single component of healthcare utilisation. CONCLUSIONS: The review shows no clear evidence of an impact of digital health interventions on health and social care utilisation or costs. Further work is needed to assess the impact of digital health interventions across a broader range of care utilisation components and settings, including social and mental healthcare services. CLINICAL TRIAL REGISTRATION: The study protocol was registered on PROSPERO before searches began in April 2021 (registration number: CRD42020172621)

Does a working day keep the doctor away? A critical review of the impact of unemployment and job insecurity on health and social care utilisation

While the negative impact of unemployment on health is relatively well established, the extent to which that impact reflects on changes in health and social care utilisation is not well understood. This paper critically reviews the direction, magnitude and drivers of the impact of unemployment and job insecurity on health and social care utilisation across different care settings. We identified 28 relevant studies, which included 79 estimates of association between unemployment/job insecurity and healthcare utilisation. Positive associations dominated mental health services (N = 8 out of 11), but not necessarily primary care (N = 25 out of 43) or hospital care (N = 5 out of 22). We conducted a meta-analysis to summarise the magnitude of the impact and found that unemployed individuals were about 30% more likely to use health services compared to those employed, although this was largely driven by mental health service use. Key driving factors included financial pressure, health insurance, social network, disposable time and depression/anxiety. This review suggests that unemployment is likely to be associated with increased mental health service use, but there is considerable uncertainty around primary and hospital care utilisation. Future work to examine the impact across other settings, including community and social care, and further explore non-health determinants of utilisation is needed. The protocol was registered in PROSPERO (CRD42020177668)

Book Reviews

Book reviews of: Grant at Vicksburg: The General and the Siege. By Michael B. Ballard. Carbondale: Southern Illinois University Press, 2013. Illustrations, maps, notes, index. Pp. xiii, 232. $32.95 cloth,$32.95 e-book. ISBN: 9780809332403. A Voice That Could Stir an Army: Fannie Lou Hamer and the Rhetoric of the Black Freedom Movement. By Maegan Parker Brooks (Jackson: University Press of Mississippi, 2014. Index, bibliography. Pp. 314. $60 cloth,$60 e-book. ISBN 978- 1-628646-004-9.) A New Southern Woman: T he Correspondence of Eliza Lucy Irion Neilson, 1871-1883. Edited by Giselle Roberts. (Columbia: University of South Carolina Press, 2013. Acknowledgements, illustrations, notes, index. Pp. viii, 306. $49.95 cloth. ISBN: 9781611171037.) Pageants, Parlors, and Pretty Women: Race and Beauty in the Twentieth-Century South. By Blain Roberts. (Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 2014). Acknowledgments, illustrations, notes, bibliography, index. Pp. ix, 363.$39.95 hardcover, $29.99 e-book. ISBN: 978-1-4696-1420-5.) Black Freedom, White Resistance, and Red Menace: Civil Rights and Anticommunism in the Jim Crow South. By Yasuhiro Katagiri. (Baton Rouge: Louisiana State University Press, 2014. Acknowledgements, illustrations, notes, index. Pp.xi, 392.$47.50 hardcover. ISBN 9780807153130.) Natchez Country: Indians, Colonists, and the Landscapes of Race in French Louisiana. By George Edward Milne. (Athens: The University of Georgia Press, 2015. List of figures, acknowledgments, notes, bibliography, index. Pp. xi, 293. $84.95 cloth,$26.95 paper. ISBN: 9780820347509.) In Remembrance of Emmett Till: Regional Stories and Media Responses to the Black Freedom Struggle. By Darryl Mace. (Lexington: University Press of Kentucky, 2014. Preface, introduction, illustrations, acknowledgements, notes, bibliography, index. Pp. xi, 212. $40 cloth. ISBN: 978- 0-8131-4536-5.) The Edible South: The Power of Food and the Making of an American Region. By Marcie Cohen Ferris. (Chapel Hill: The University of North Carolina Press, 2014. 496 pp., 7x10, 50 halftones, notes, bibl., index.$35 cloth, $34.99 e-book. ISBN: 978- 1-4696-1768-8.) Down to the Crossroads: Civil Rights, Black Power, and the Meredith March Against Fear. By Aram Goudsouzian. (New York: Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2014. Map, notes, acknowledgements, index. Pp. ix, 351.$30 cloth, $18 paper. ISBN: 0374192200.) After Slavery: Race, Labor, and Citizenship in the Reconstruction South. Edited by Bruce Baker and Brian Kelly. Afterword by Eric Foner. (Gainesville: University Press of Florida, 2013. Acknowledgments, images, maps, notes, bibliography, index. Pp. vii, 279.$74.95 cloth. $24.95 paper. ISBN 978- 0-8130-4477-4.) George Ohr: Sophisticate and Rube. By Ellen J. Lippert. (Jackson: University Press of Mississippi, 2013. Acknowledgements, illustrations, notes, bibliography, index, Pp. x, 163.$40 cloth. ISBN: 9781617039010.

Structured lifestyle education for people with schizophrenia, schizoaffective disorder and first-episode psychosis (STEPWISE): randomised controlled trial

Background Obesity is a major challenge for people with schizophrenia. Aims We assessed whether STEPWISE, a theory-based, group structured lifestyle education programme could support weight reduction in people with schizophrenia. Method In this randomised controlled trial (study registration: ISRCTN19447796), we recruited adults with schizophrenia, schizoaffective disorder or first-episode psychosis from ten mental health organisations in England. Participants were randomly allocated to the STEPWISE intervention or treatment as usual. The 12-month intervention comprised four 2.5 h weekly group sessions, followed by 2-weekly maintenance contact and group sessions at 4, 7 and 10 months. The primary outcome was weight change after 12 months. Key secondary outcomes included diet, physical activity, biomedical measures and patient-related outcome measures. Cost-effectiveness was assessed and a mixed-methods process evaluation was included. Results Between 10 March 2015 and 31 March 2016, we recruited 414 people (intervention 208, usual care 206) with 341 (84.4%) participants completing the trial. At 12 months, weight reduction did not differ between groups (mean difference 0.0 kg, 95% CI-1.6 to 1.7, P = 0.963); physical activity, dietary intake and biochemical measures were unchanged. STEPWISE was well-received by participants and facilitators. The healthcare perspective incremental cost-effectiveness ratio was £246 921 per quality-adjusted life-year gained. Conclusions Participants were successfully recruited and retained, indicating a strong interest in weight interventions; however, the STEPWISE intervention was neither clinically nor cost-effective. Further research is needed to determine how to manage overweight and obesity in people with schizophrenia

A mixed-methods exploration of the impact of digital health interventions on the use and costs of health and social care services for the management of type 2 diabetes

Background Digital health interventions (DHIs), such as smartphone applications, are increasingly used to help manage conditions such as type 2 diabetes. DHIs can augment or replace traditional health services but introduce significant new costs. While the impact of DHIs on health outcomes has been studied extensively, less attention has been paid to the economic impact. Aims This study aimed to understand impacts of DHIs for managing type 2 diabetes on costs and staff experience in health and social care services. It focused on one DHI, Liva, implemented through the NHS Test Beds programme in East London. Methods There were two systematic reviews and three empirical studies conducted as part of this thesis. The first review assessed UK-based qualitative and quantitative evaluations and the second international quantitative economic evaluations. The first empirical study was a documentary analysis of local, regional and national policy. Second, semi-structured interviews of staff and stakeholders were used to understand strategic priorities and DHI implementation. Third, linked health and social care data were analysed to assess Liva’s cost impacts. The empirical findings were then combined by using a joint display process for a concurrent mixed method synthesis. Results The reviews identified factors affecting patient experience and cost types more likely to be impacted by DHIs, which informed the empirical study designs. The studies found that local policies were adapted closely from national ones and prioritised tackling the social determinants of health. However, significant implementation challenges were found by staff, and the evidence for cost savings was not statistically significant. The synthesis highlighted disconnects in practice between the planning and implementation of DHIs. Conclusion The findings illustrate the potential of data linkage across health and social care and the mixed methods synthesis to help understand the relative costs and benefits of DHIs in a real-world context

Black women\u27s civil rights activism in Mississippi: The story of Womanpower Unlimited

Womanpower Unlimited was founded on May 29, 1961 in Jackson, Mississippi by Mrs. Clarie Collins Harvey. Organized initially to provide aid to the Freedom Riders, who were unjustly arrested and tortured in the Mississippi jails, Womanpower Unlimited expanded its activism to include programs such as voter registration drives, youth education, and participation in Women Strike for Peace. Womanpower Unlimited proved to be not only a significant organization with regard to civil rights activism in Mississippi, but also a spearhead movement for revitalizing Black women\u27s social and political activism in the state. This dissertation investigates the origins, goals, and activities of Womanpower Unlimited in hopes of portraying the centrality of both women\u27s and local people\u27s activism in the Civil Rights Movement. Within a womanist framework, this research examines how these women fit into the legacy of Black women\u27s activism and how they implemented the age-old ideas of race uplift within the context of the Civil Rights Movement. It also explores the role Womanpower Unlimited played in the Mississippi Movement and their efficacy in the Black community