Man Up Monday: An integrated public health approach to increase sexually transmitted infection awareness and testing among male students at a midwest university

ABSTRACT

Objective: This campaign sought to (a) increase awareness of sexual health and chlamydia testing; (b) motivate students, particularly sexually active men who do not pursue regular sexually transmitted infection (STI) testing, to get tested; and (c) improve the capacity of the student health center to provide free chlamydia testing and treatment for all students. Participants: Students enrolled at a 4-year public research university (N = 333). Methods: Collaborative partnerships formed the foundation of a campus marketing and testing campaign, with treatment for students testing positive for chlamydia. Results: A total of 333 students were tested over 5 consecutive Mondays, showing a chlamydia incidence of 9.6%. The incidence for females and males were 8.6% and 10.8%, respectively. Conclusions: The campaign was effective in reaching men, an at-risk population not traditionally emphasized in STI testing.     

From public health and demographic research to decision making: An intervention study in Giza Governorate-Egypt

The purpose of the current study was to develop an empirical model that shows how various contextual data are analyzed, interpreted and presented as evidence-based information for decision making and action taking. A Pre-test-Posttest intervention study was conducted at the National Population Council (NPC)-Giza governorate (GG) where all data were collected from all governmental organizations on an annual basis at the district level (19 districts), which include 28 indicators. Composite indices and indicators (n = 9) had been ranked and presented as a matrix that assigned districts into three situations: Best (green zone), prospective (yellow zone) and critical (red zone). Intervention: Presentation of the “Districts’ Enactment Matrix” (DEM) for the year 2014 in GG –Regional Council for Population (RCP) quarterly meetings, headed by the governor and attended by representatives of all ministries. The feedback and recommendation for action taking by participants were reported by the researchers. Evaluation of the intervention was done by comparing DEM 2014 and DEM 2016. Results: At the governorate level, short-term strategies were used to improve the situation. All the districts in red zone 2014 and two districts in the yellow zone had demonstrated positive changes in their 28 indicators. Conclusion: The DEM model is a simple tool that facilitates communication between researchers and decision-makers that could be applied in different public health and population programs.     

Sustaining an intimate and sexually fulfilled marriage or partnership in older adulthood with a disability: Perspectives of social workers

ABSTRACT

The American portrayal of sex is often left for only the young, attractive, and able-bodied. In contrast many studies have found that older adults with disabilities in marriages and intimate partnerships have sexual desire and sexually active lives. Social workers are often burdened with balancing the sexual intimacy desires of their older adult clients with disabilities, alongside the need to protect them from sexual abuse and exploitation, particularly among those who may lack the capacity to consent due to cognitive impairment. This phenomenological study aimed to understand the lived professional experience of social workers (N = 5) in supporting married and intimately partnered couples in which at least one person was an older adult with a disability to understand the clients’ needs and common social work practice methods used to address their needs. Inductive coding was used to identify themes and subthemes. Their role included helping their clients to learn about their ability to have sex, consenting to sex, negotiating accommodations for intimacy and sex with their spouses, and counseling those who took on caregiver roles for their spouses. Social workers reported that individual diagnosis, such as dementia, should not alone determine one’s ability to consent to sex.     

Unintended consequences in traffic-light food labeling: A call for mixed methods in public health research

Abstract

Nudge theory describes how indirect suggestions and positive reinforcement can influence decision-making. We used nudge theory to implement a traffic-light labeling and choice architecture (modifying product placement) intervention at Harvard University cafeterias, but found no significant change in sales. Survey and focus group data showed that some students thought the labeling may exacerbate eating disorders, however, there is extremely limited research on potential negative consequences of labeling. One way to describe these findings is through 20th century philosopher Michel Foucault’s concept of biopower. Biopower manipulates cultural norms and nudges individuals to engage in self-surveillance and self-discipline, de facto subjugating themselves to certain ways of being. Biopower may lead to the creation of an in-group and an out-group based on who can adopt the new behaviors, such as healthy eating. Those in the out-group may face additional unintended consequences, highlighting the need for mixed-methods research to better evaluate public health interventions.     

Psychological Distress in Older Portuguese Gay and Bisexual Men: The Mediating Role of LGBT Community Connectedness

Abstract

Objectives: Examining Psychological Distress (PD) among older Portuguese gay and bisexual men (GBM), and the mediator role of LGBT community connectedness (LGBTCC) of minority stress variables on PD. Methods: We performed a mediation analysis with LGBTCC as mediator between minority stress variables and PD with a sample of 110 elderly GBM. Results: We found moderate PD levels; LGBTCC was a significant mediator between concealment of sexual orientation and PD, but not between internalized stigma and expectations of rejection and PD. Conclusions: More attention is needed to Older Portuguese GBM’s mental health. LGBTCC is an important ameliorating factor for older GBM.     

Adolescents with learning disabilities who show sexually inappropriate or abusive behaviours: development of a research study

This paper sets out some key issues regarding sexual abuse perpetrated by adolescents with a learning disability. The limited evidence currently available is largely anecdotal or from small‐scale/case studies, but emphasizes that much behaviour of this kind never comes to the attention of either statutory social services or the criminal justice system. It is argued here that statutory services should be involved in such cases in order both to protect potential victims and to improve the ongoing life chances of alleged perpetrators. Speci?cally, it is posited that only by naming this problem can professionals hope to make effective interventions. The various organizational structures and systems adopted by four social services departments are outlined and their possible impacts on case outcomes are discussed. Little empirical research has so far been undertaken in this highly sensitive area, but an initiative from The Ann Craft Trust (formerly NAPSAC) aims to provide new evidence to help shape future best practice in this ?eld. Copyright © 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Meeting the needs of sexually exploited young people: the challenge of conducting policy‐relevant research

This article is concerned with the relationship between research, policy and service development. It outlines some of the findings of a two‐year research study exploring the extent of, and responses to, the service needs of young people at risk of sexual exploitation in London. The study is described as a case study in conducting policy‐relevant research into a ‘hidden’ social problem. Some challenges of such research are identified. In particular, we discuss our utilisation of the Multiple Indicator Method as a means of estimating a ‘hard to count’ population. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Public health,research and rights: the perspectives of deliberation panels with politically and socially active disabled people

Public health research purports to provide the evidence base for policies, programmes and interventions to improve the health of a population. However, there is increasing awareness that the experiences of disabled people have played little part in informing this evidence base. This paper discusses one aspect of a study commissioned by England’s National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) to review the implications for public health of theories and models of disability. This part of the study focused on the development of a tool or decision aid to promote ethical inclusion of disabled people in public health randomised controlled trials (RCTs) and evaluative research. The tool was introduced at four regional ‘deliberating panels’ involving politically and socially active disabled people. In addition, we held a panel with public health professionals. The deliberation panels debated how the focus of public health was narrowing, why disability was excluded and positive and negative issues with using rights to guide research and evaluative practice. Politically active disabled people argued for a social model of human rights to guide any rights based tools or decision aids in public health and disability research.     

Exploiting the Fifty Shades of Grey craze for the disability and sexual rights agenda

This paper does not present a literary critique of Fifty Shades of Grey, nor does it aim to take sides in the fierce disputes about the ‘rights’ and ‘wrongs’ of the storyline. Instead, it examines these debates with curiosity. It becomes apparent that the popular trilogy by E.L. James has encouraged more open discussions about sex and sexuality amongst groups who, until recently, have taken a backseat. The significance and usefulness of drawing on these debates is highlighted. For instance, a revived openness towards sexual issues could be an advantage for disabled people seeking support with creating spaces and opportunities for intimacy. At the same time, there is a risk that ‘kinkphobia’ could inform some adult protection interventions. This paper reflects on the opportunities that would arise if disabled people would seek to make the most of the possibilities arising from the Fifty Shades of Grey craze.     

Sexual behavior of cohabitors: A comparison of three independent samples

I tested the hypothesis that cohabitors, as a component of their lifestyle choice to live together without being married, would be more sexually experienced and sexually active than noncohabitors. Differences between cohabitors and noncohabitors were examined in three independent samples (Ns = 173, 136, and 148). Within each group, differences between cohabitors and noncohabitors were examined in regard to background variables, perceived parent sexual attitudes, sexual behavior, sexual history, sexual satisfaction, orgasmic responsiveness, conception history, social competence, and relationship attachment. In general, the hypothesis was confirmed that cohabitors have greater and earlier sexual experience than noncohabitors. Other findings indicated that cohabitors were more socially competent and had parents with more negative sexual attitudes than noncohabitors. No differences in relationship attachment (love and liking for their partner) were found.     

Stories About Child Sexual Abuse: Textual Analysis of Instruction Manuals in Israel

This paper overviews the socio-historical background underlying the construction of child abuse as a public issue in Israel, and analyzes one cultural product of this process—textbooks and manuals on child sexual abuse prevention. Analysis of the Israeli narratives reveals that they mimic American counterparts and address an ideal Jewish middle-class, ignoring other societal sectors. The narratives individualize and medicalize both victim and abuser. Focusing on stereotyped techniques for the individual’s survival and recovery, they avoid discussion of broader social and political power relations.     

Differential perceptions of a hypothetical sexual assault survivor based on race and ethnicity: Exploring victim responsibility,trauma, and need for social support

Objective: Explore the ways in which a sample of college women interpret racially/ethnically coded vignettes to understand their perceptions of responsibility and trauma experienced by a hypothetical female sexual assault survivor and her need for social support. Participants: Convenience sample of college women (N?=?51) attending a large, predominately white university in the Southeastern United States recruited between January and March 2013. Methods: Participants were randomly assigned one of three vignettes describing a hypothetical date rape scenario. Vignette scenarios were identical except for discrete statements coded to signify either an African American, Latina, or white female student. Participants responded to open-ended questions that gauged their interpretations of responsibility, trauma, and social support. Results: Qualitative analysis of open-ended responses revealed six overarching themes, including overt victim blaming/shaming, justification of the sexual assault, and perceived need for social support. Conclusions: Findings point to the significance of including race in discussions about and programs that address sexual assault on college campuses to ensure that all women who experience sexual violence receive the support that they need.     

State ideology and the status of Iranian war widows

Imbedded in widowhood are emotional loss and change in personal life. For women, depending on social constructions of gender relations, widowhood can also lead to identity change, role adjustment and change in social status. Socio-economic and emotional supports rendered by family, community and society at large can highly impact widows in coping with change and making adjustments. These changes and the corresponding societal supports find new dimensions for ‘war widows’. The political nature of their widowhood may provide them with some benefits not enjoyed by non-war widows. As a token of public gratitude, political regimes compensate war widows and their children for their losses. Some political regimes weave political ideology into their compensatory programs, and through these programs they simultaneously raise widows' self-sufficiency and control their lives and thoughts. The specific case of the Islamic Republic of Iran will be examined here.     

Enabling social support and resilience: outcomes of Family Group Conferencing in public mental health care

Family Group Conferencing (FGC) is a decision-making model where clients with their social network formulate their own plan. There is little experience with FGC in mental health care. We studied the outcomes of 41 conferences in a public mental health setting in the north of the Netherlands. We interviewed 312 respondents out of a total of 473 conference participants. In 33 cases, it was possible to obtain scores from 245 respondents on scales ranging from 0 to 10 about the situation prior and after the conference on three outcome measures, namely the quality of: (1) social support, (2) resilience and (3) living conditions. In the 33 cases, t-tests and multilevel analyses indicate on all of the three outcomes measures significant positive changes after the conferences. On average, the scores on the quality of social support (5.04–6.73), resilience (4.09–6.32) and the living conditions (3.73–6.64) had been increased since the conferences were organised. The results are modest but remarkable. That the impact of FGC is not more substantial can be explained. The clients referred to a conference in this particular study, mostly had a limited network and few recourses from whom little support could be expected.     

The health consequences of trafficking in women in Mexico: findings from Monterrey city

There has been little research on the health consequences of trafficking in women in Mexico and this study examines the effects of trafficking in women. Twenty internally trafficked women were interviewed in Monterrey city, Mexico, during the years 2007 and 2008. Although the study found that trafficking of women in Mexico results from multi-causal factors, we found that in general trafficked women suffer a wide range of physical and sexual violence. This has direct consequences on their physical and mental health and in particular their sexual health.     

The City as a Sexual Laboratory: The Queer Heritage of the Chicago School

This article documents the pioneering—and largely overlooked—sociological studies of sexuality undertaken by scholars at the University of Chicago during the first decades of the twentieth century. Focusing primarily on their investigations of a wide range of non-normative sexualities, including prostitution, cross-racial sexuality and homosexuality, it argues that these studies provided the foundation for a radical new understanding of sexuality that emphasized the social context and meaning of sexual practices and types, rather than their biological or psychological determination. Finally, it demonstrates the forgotten centrality of these studies to the establishment of the field of urban sociology by explicating the sexual subtext of several key concepts from the so-called Chicago School, including natural areas, concentric zones of urban development, mobility, social personalities and the marginal man.     

Environmental hazards and home loss: The social construction of becoming homeless

Home loss due to landslides is a recurrent phenomenon in unstable lands in Caracas, Venezuela, where poor people help themselves by building their precarious homes. The social construction of becoming homeless in such situations was studied through in-depth interviews with 27 adults who lost their homes due to a landslide. The main topics brought up by the interviewees included the meaning of their homes, the impact of having lost them, the impact on their sense of family, the meaning of having become homeless and remaining indefinitely as such, and attribution of responsibilities for the disaster and for solutions to their homelessness. We present an analysis of some of the psychosocial processes related to these topics, as well as some ideas derived from the interpretation of the information gathered regarding risk prevention and the conception of homelessness.     

Community understanding of respondent-driven sampling in a medical research setting in Uganda: importance for the use of RDS for public health research

Respondent-driven sampling (RDS) is a widely-used variant of snowball sampling. Respondents are selected not from a sampling frame, but from a social network of existing members of the sample. Incentives are provided for participation and for the recruitment of others. Ethical and methodological criticisms have been raised about RDS. In this study RDS was used to recruit male household heads in rural Uganda. We investigated community members' understanding and experience of the method, and explored how these may have affected the quality of the RDS survey data. Our findings suggest that because participants recruit participants, the use of RDS in medical research may result in increased difficulties in gaining informed consent, and data collected using RDS may be particularly susceptible to bias due to differences in the understanding of key concepts between researchers and members of the community.