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Overall, adult men are less likely to seek and receive health care than women, but male circumcision for HIV prevention has been successful in engaging men in health services. The purpose of this paper is to examine the relationship between masculine norms and health care-seeking among men participating in a voluntary male medical circumcision (VMMC) programme in the Dominican Republic (DR). We employed a mixed methods approach integrating survey data collected 6–12 months post-circumcision (n = 293) and in-depth interviews with a sub-sample of these men (n = 30). In our qualitative analysis, we found that health care-seeking is connected to masculine norms among men in the DR, including the perceptions of medical facilities as feminine spaces. Participants' narratives demonstrate that male circumcision programmes may facilitate men overcoming masculinity-related barriers to health care engagement. In quantitative analysis, we found that being concerned about being perceived as masculine was associated with health care-seeking behaviour in the past five years, though this association was not retained in multivariable analyses. Findings indicate that male circumcision programmes can familiarise men with the healthcare system and masculinise health care-seeking and utilisation, easing associated discomfort. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Previous research has drawn attention to the health risks and poor living conditions that families of Haitian descent contend with in the Dominican Republic, particularly in rural, agricultural communities. Less clearly described is whether these problems persist as households transition to non-agricultural work and increasingly urban residence patterns. This study compares the use of health care services and access to water, sanitation, and food for Haitian and Dominico-Haitian families living in the city of Puerto Plata with households located on the rural-urban fringe. Data were collected during household surveys with 61 urban and 30 rural/peri-urban families. Households residing in the rural/peri-urban community had lower incomes, more unmet sanitation needs, and less stable access to water than urban families. Overall, households lacked adequate food, with 74.4% experiencing food insufficiency. Respondents reported using diverse types of health services and treatments, but households in the rural/peri-urban community had higher rates of health care use than urban families. These findings indicate urban families have better access to some resources that promote health than rural/peri-urban households. By identifying health issues and environmental conditions in rural/peri-urban and urban areas, this study aims to provide guidance for policy-makers, agencies, and organisations that serve Haitian migrant communities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Male steady partners of female sex workers (FSW) living with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) represent a key population for treatment as prevention and/or pre-exposure prophylaxis interventions. This study uses data collected from male steady partners who were referred by FSW living with HIV participating in a multi-level HIV prevention and care intervention in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic. We conducted a socio-behavioral survey and HIV testing with all men (n = 64) and 16 in-depth interviews with a sub-sample to obtain more depth. Thirty-five of the 64 participants were living with HIV; 27 were previously diagnosed and 8 were diagnosed during our study. As a result, 45% of men were members of sero-discordant sexual partnerships. Of men with no previous HIV diagnosis (n = 37), 15 had never been tested for HIV and nine had not been tested in the past two years. Ninety-three percent of men previously diagnosed with HIV reported receiving HIV care in the past 6 months and 78% were taking anti-retrovirals. Low HIV testing was partly due to men not feeling at risk for HIV, despite having an HIV-infected partner. Additionally, a lack of tailored care inhibited engagement in anti-retroviral treatment for those infected. HIV testing was low, highlighting a need for test-and-treat strategies. Men not living with HIV would benefit from regular testing and would be good candidates for pre-exposure prophylaxis. While almost all men who had been diagnosed with HIV were engaged in care and adherent to anti-retroviral therapy, future research should assess whether they are achieving optimal HIV outcomes for their health and prevention of ongoing transmission. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The goal of the present study was to test the predictions of two contrasting claims about the role of morphology in subject–verb number agreement production. According to the maximalist view described by Vigliocco, Hartsuiker, Jarema, and Kolk, languages with relatively rich inflectional morphology may be more susceptible to the influence of notional number due to the penetration of meaning into the agreement process. An alternative proposed by Eberhard, Cutting, and Bock predicts the opposite: Languages with richer inflectional morphology are less susceptible to notional number because inflectional morphemes filter the effect of number meaning. In the present experiments, utterances differing in notional number properties were elicited from speakers of two varieties of Spanish that vary in morphological richness. In Experiment 1, participants formed sentences with overt subjects. In Experiment 2, they produced sentences with null subjects. Results supported the hypothesis that richer morphology reduces notional effects during agreement production, both within and across languages. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Background. Male circumcision (MC) is an effective strategy to reduce the risk of HIV acquisition in men. The objective of the present study was to evaluate the feasibility of introducing MC in the Altagracia Province and to qualitatively assess the knowledge and acceptability of MC among men, women, and health providers. Methods. Two surveys were administered to providers. The first, assessed their experience and knowledge of MC and the second, a 'Health Facility Profile,' included an inventory of available surgical materials in the clinics. Fourteen focus group discussions were conducted to evaluate the acceptability of MC. Results. Forty-three providers were interviewed at 37 clinics. Median age was 33 years (range 23-55 years). Most were physicians (91%) employed by the government. Only 23% had experience with MC. Almost universally (95%), providers knew that MC has health benefits. All agreed that MC improves hygiene and 67% knew that MC decreases the risk of HIV infection. Only six clinics provided HIV counseling and testing and most lacked adequate surgical facilities and equipment. Findings of the qualitative study showed that about half the men and the majority of women were accepting of MC. Conclusions. Men, women, and providers in the Dominican Republic may be accepting of MC. Education about the benefits of the procedure is needed in the community. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of this study was to examine patterns of social activity engagement in a sample of older Hispanics (Puerto Rican, Dominican, and other Hispanic) and determine whether these patterns differed significantly from the comparison non-Hispanic White group. This article also analyzes how ethnicity, sociodemographic, and health variables (health problems and depression) relate to each of the activity engagement patterns. The factor analysis of social activities from the Norbeck Social Support Questionnaire yielded three factors, which describe engagement in social activities as: children and relatives active, friends and activities active, and senior services active. The results from the regression analyses show that Hispanic ethnicity and education are positively associated with being more engaged in activities with children and relatives, whereas being male and especially a male living alone is inversely associated with this pattern. In addition, being friends and activities active shows positive association with education, the participant living alone, and experiencing more language inclusion; however, it is inversely associated with depression, age, being male, and number of health problems. Finally, engaging in activities offered by senior services is only significantly associated with increased age and the number of health problems. The interpretations of these findings, directions for future research, and implications for activity professionals/recreation therapists are also discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]