Sexual Assault on College Campuses: The Links Between Hegemonic Masculinity, College Sports, and Sexual Violence

This paper seeks to explore the social and neurobiological factors that shape men into sexual aggressors by rewarding violent behaviors. It will critique the exploitation and the commodification of male bodies through sports, namely football

Intimacy: In Moonlight, Black Boys Look Blue

This paper will analyze the role of hegemonic masculinity and homosociality in order to highlight how these social scripts contribute to the inhibition of expressing or displaying intimacy between men, specifically in the film Moonlight

Disease Mongering: How Sickness Sells

“Disease mongering” is the practice of widening diagnostic boundaries of an illness and promoting their public awareness to expand the markets for treatment and to increase profits. This tactic typically used by pharmaceutical companies, medical equipment manufacturers, insurance companies, and even some doctors and patient groups, has become a great concern. Disease mongering has since increased in parallel with “medicalization,” which attempts to label normal human conditions as medical problems, thus becoming the subject of medical study, diagnosis, prevention, or treatment. This paper first seeks to examine how an increasing amount of life’s natural conditions and ailments are being seen as medical conditions. I will then argue that this alone does not result in disease mongering, rather third parties’ attempt to make these conditions seem more serious and widespread than they actual are contributes to the problem. Furthermore, the treatments for these problems are oversold despite sometimes being ineffective or causing more problems on top of the ones they claim to treat. De-medicalization based on respect for human dignity, rather than investor value, is long overdue. The unethical practice of disease mongering can only be combated with joint initiatives from patients, providers, and the general public

Not Queer Enough: How Current Medical School Curriculum is Failing the LGBT+ Community

Lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT+) individuals have specific healthcare needs, and often experience barriers in accessing quality and reliable health services. Research has revealed that medical practitioners are inadequately prepared to attend to the needs of the LGBT+ community.This paper will draw on the concept of intersectionality to discuss current medical school curriculum and its lack of LGBT+ education. This paper\u27s focus is specifically on older LGBT+ adults, specifically the ways in which the intersection of gender, sexuality, race, and even class play a role in the different experiences of older LGBT+ adults in regard to the medical care, or lack thereof, and attention they receive

A pragmatic clinical effectiveness trial of a novel alternative to punishment for school-based substance use infractions: study protocol for the iDECIDE curriculum

BackgroundAdolescents who use alcohol and other drugs on school campuses are at heightened risk for adverse consequences to their health and wellbeing. Schools have historically turned to punitive approaches as a first-line response to substance use. However, punishment is an ineffective deterrent for substance use and may cause harm and increase inequities. iDECIDE (Drug Education Curriculum: Intervention, Diversion, and Empowerment) was developed as a scalable and youth-centered drug education and diversion program that can be used as a skills-based alternative to punishment. We aim to evaluate the effectiveness of the iDECIDE curriculum as an alternative to punishment (ATP) for school-based substance use infractions in the context of a large pragmatic clinical effectiveness study.MethodsWe will conduct a Type 1, hybrid effectiveness-implementation trial. Using a stepped wedge design with approximately 90 middle and high schools in Massachusetts, we will randomly allocate the timing of implementation of the iDECIDE curriculum compared to standard disciplinary response over approximately 36 months. We will test the overarching hypothesis that student-level outcomes (knowledge of drug effects and attitudes about substance use; frequency of substance use; school connectedness) improve over time as schools transition from a standard disciplinary response to having access to iDECIDE. The secondary aims of this trial are to (1) explore whether change in student-level outcomes vary according to baseline substance use, number of peers who use alcohol or other drugs, age, gender, and school urbanicity, and (2) determine the acceptability and feasibility of the iDECIDE curriculum through qualitative stakeholder interviews.DiscussionSubstance use continues to be a major and rapidly evolving problem in schools. The importance of moving away from punishment to more restorative approaches is widely accepted; however, scalable alternatives have not yet been identified. This will be the first study to our knowledge to systematically evaluate an ATP for students who violate the school substance use policy and is well poised to have important implications for policy making

A randomized controlled trial of varenicline and brief behavioral counseling delivered by lay counselors for adolescent vaping cessation: Study protocol

BackgroundApproximately one-fifth of high-school seniors and college students currently vape nicotine. Adolescents express a desire to quit vaping, and case reports have shown promise for e-cigarette tapering with dual behavioral and pharmacologic therapies. However, there are no published clinical trials to date that test these intervention approaches for adolescent nicotine vaping cessation. In this three-arm randomized, placebo-controlled, parallel-group study, we aim to assess the efficacy of varenicline in combination with brief behavioral counseling and texting support on vaping cessation in adolescents dependent on vaped nicotine.MethodsThe study will enroll 300 individuals between the ages of 16–25 with daily or near-daily nicotine vaping who reside in the Greater Boston area. Participants will be randomly assigned in a 1:1:1 ratio in blocks of six to one of the three arms: (1) a 12-week course of varenicline titrated to 1 mg bid, brief behavioral counseling delivered by a lay counselor, and an introduction to This is Quitting (TIQ) texting support created by the Truth Initiative; (2) a 12-week course of placebo, brief behavioral counseling, and TIQ; and (3) 12 weeks of enhanced usual care, consisting of advice to quit and an introduction to TIQ. The primary outcome will be biochemically verified continuous vaping abstinence at the end of the treatment (week 12). Secondary outcomes include continuous abstinence at follow-up (week 24), 7-day point prevalence abstinence at weeks 12 and 24, safety and tolerability of varenicline in an adolescent vaping population, as well as change in mood and nicotine withdrawal symptoms across the intervention period. Exploratory outcomes include change in comorbid substance use behaviors and nicotine dependence. Analysis will be intent-to-treat, with multiple imputation sensitivity analyses for participants with missing or incomplete outcome data.DiscussionThis is the first study to evaluate varenicline in combination with a novel, brief, lay counselor delivered vaping cessation program for adolescents who vape nicotine. Results will inform clinicians on the effectiveness and acceptability of this promising, but not yet tested intervention.Clinical trial registration: ClinicalTrials.gov, identifier NCT05367492