Search

In the current study, we examined individual factors, organizational factors, COVID-19 anxiety, and trauma-informed supervision as predictors of prelicensed counsellor burnout and secondary traumatic stress (STS). In a sample of 282 prelicensed counsellors, we conducted two hierarchical regression analyses for counsellor burnout and STS. The variables of interest accounted for 38% of the variance in counsellor burnout and 32% of the variance in counsellor STS. In the model of counsellor burnout, statistically significant variables included age, caseload, setting, COVID-19 anxiety, and trauma-informed supervision. For STS, statistically significant predictor variables were age, caseload, COVID-19 anxiety, and trauma-informed supervision. Implications of the findings for prelicensed counsellors, supervisors, and counselling researchers are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Women who use drugs (WWUD) have low rates of contraceptive use and high rates of unintended pregnancy. Drug use is common among women in rural U.S. communities, with limited data on how they utilize reproductive, substance use disorder (SUD), and healthcare services. Objective: We determined contraceptive use prevalence among WWUD in rural communities then compared estimates to women from similar rural areas. We investigated characteristics of those using contraceptives, and associations between contraceptive use and SUD treatment, healthcare utilization, and substance use. Design: Rural Opioids Initiative (ROI) — cross-sectional survey using respondent-driven sampling (RDS) involving eight rural U.S. regions (January 2018–March 2020); National Survey on Family Growth (NSFG) — nationally-representative U.S. household reproductive health survey (2017–2019). Participants: Women aged 18–49 with prior 30-day non-prescribed opioid and/or non-opioid injection drug use; fecundity determined by self-reported survey responses. Main Measures: Unweighted and RDS-weighted prevalence estimates of medical/procedural contraceptive use; chi-squared tests and multi-level linear regressions to test associations. Key Results: Of 855 women in the ROI, 36.8% (95% CI 33.7–40.1, unweighted) and 38.6% (95% CI 30.7–47.2, weighted) reported contraceptive use, compared to 66% of rural women in the NSFG sample. Among the ROI women, 27% had received prior 30-day SUD treatment via outpatient counseling or inpatient program and these women had increased odds of contraceptive use (aOR 1.50 [95% CI 1.08–2.06]). There was a positive association between contraception use and recent medications for opioid use disorder (aOR 1.34 [95% CI 0.95–1.88]) and prior 6-month primary care utilization (aOR 1.32 [95% CI 0.96–1.82]) that did not meet the threshold for statistical significance. Conclusion: WWUD in rural areas reported low contraceptive use; those who recently received SUD treatment had greater odds of contraceptive use. Improvements are needed in expanding reproductive and preventive health within SUD treatment and primary care services in rural communities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Proteases are critical proteins involved in cleaving substrates that may impact biological pathways, cellular processes, or disease progression. In the biopharmaceutical industry, modulating the levels of protease activity is an important strategy for mitigating many types of diseases. While a variety of analytical tools exist for characterizing substrate cleavages, in vitro functional screening for antibody inhibitors of protease activity using physiologically relevant intact protein substrates remains challenging. In addition, detecting such large protein substrates with high heterogeneity using high-throughput mass spectrometry screening has rarely been reported in the literature with concerns for assay robustness and sensitivity. In this study, we established a peptide-based in vitro functional screening assay for antibody inhibitors of mouse bone morphogenic protein 1 (mBMP1) metalloprotease using a heterogeneous recombinant 66-kDa mouse Procollagen I alpha 1 chain (mProcollagen) substrate. We compared several analytical tools including capillary gel electrophoresis Western blot (CE-Western blot), as well as both intact protein and peptide-based mass spectrometry (MS) to quantitate the mBMP1 proteolytic activity and its inhibition by antibodies using this heterogeneous mProcollagen substrate. We concluded that the peptide-based mass spectrometry screening assay was the most suitable approach in terms of throughput, sensitivity, and assay robustness. We then optimized our mBMP1 proteolysis reaction after characterizing the enzyme kinetics using the peptide-based MS assay. This assay resulted in Z′ values ranging from 0.6 to 0.8 from the screening campaign. Among over 1200 antibodies screened, IC50 characterization was performed on the top candidate hits, which showed partial or complete inhibitory activities against mBMP1. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

HIV-exposed infants born to depressed women may be at risk for adverse developmental outcomes. Half of HIV-infected women in rural South Africa (SA) may suffer from pregnancy-related depression. This pilot study examined the impact of depression in HIV-infected women in rural SA on infant development. Mother-infant dyads (N = 69) were recruited in rural SA. Demographics, HIV disclosure, depression, male involvement, and alcohol use at baseline (18.35 ± 5.47 weeks gestation) were assessed. Male involvement, depression, infant HIV serostatus and development were assessed 12 months postnatally. Half of the women (age = 29 ± 5) reported depression prenatally and one-third reported depression postnatally. In multivariable logistic regression, not cohabiting with their male partner, nondisclosure of HIV status, and postnatal depression predicted cognitive delay; decreased prenatal male involvement predicted delayed gross motor development (ps < 0.05). Assessing pregnancy-related depression among HIV-infected women and infant development and increasing male involvement may reduce negative developmental outcomes among HIV-exposed or infected infants. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of AIDS & Behavior is the property of Springer Nature and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of AIDS & Behavior is the property of Springer Nature and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of AIDS & Behavior is the property of Springer Nature and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Background: Dissemination and scale up of voluntary medical male circumcision (VMMC) programs is well supported by evidence that VMMC reduces HIV risk in populations with high HIV prevalence and low rates of circumcision, as is the case in Zambia. Purpose: At both individual and population levels, it is important to understand what stages of change for VMMC are associated with, especially across cultures. This study evaluated VMMC knowledge, misinformation, and stages of change for VMMC of uncircumcised men and boys (over 18 years), as well as the concurrent relationship between VMMC stages of change and sexual risk behaviors. Method: Uncircumcised ( N = 800) adult men and boys (over 18) were screened and recruited from urban community health centers in Lusaka, Zambia, where they then completed baseline surveys assessing knowledge, attitudes, HIV risk behaviors, and stages of change for VMMC. A series of analyses explored cross-sectional relationships among these variables. Results: VMMC was culturally acceptable in half of the sample; younger, unmarried, and more educated men were more ready to undergo VMMC. Stage of change for VMMC was also related to knowledge, and those at greater HIV risk reported greater readiness to undergo VMMC. Conclusions: Efforts to increase VMMC uptake should address the role of perceived HIV risk, risk behaviors, readiness, accurate knowledge, cultural acceptance, and understanding of the significant degree of HIV protection conferred as part of the VMMC decision making process. These results support incorporating comprehensive HIV risk reduction in VMMC promotion programs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of AIDS & Behavior is the property of Springer Nature and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Background: The process of translating scientific findings into clinical and public health settings has only recently received priority attention within the scientific community. Purpose: Fueled by 'Funding Opportunity Announcements' from the National Institutes of Health and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, scientists have begun to explore the pathways to effectively 'transfer' promising research accomplishments into effective and sustainable service programs within the health care delivery system. Method: Using Glasgow's RE-AIM ( Reach, Effectiveness, Adoption, Implementation and Maintenance) model as a guide, this research team enrolled 428 socially disadvantaged, culturally diverse women living with HIV/AIDS to test the dissemination and implementation of an evidence-based behavioral intervention designed to improve and sustain the physical and emotional health of participants into the Community Health Center (CHC) setting when conducted by trained CHC staff. Results: Findings demonstrate the ability of trained CHC staff group leaders to attain results equivalent or superior to those achieved when conducted by research staff on the three principal study outcomes: depression, medication adherence and HIV viral load. Four of five CHCs involved in the study also identified and successfully obtained funding to continue to run intervention groups, supporting the adoption and sustainability components of the translation model. Conclusion: This study confirmed (a) the 'translatability' of the Stress Management And Relaxation Training/ Emotional Supportive Therapy (SMART/EST) Women's Program, from academic to CHC settings in two geographic regions with high HIV prevalence among women, (b) the ability of local staff (using the 'train the trainer' model) to successfully achieve program fidelity and clinical outcomes, and (c) the sustainability the program beyond the auspices of research support, through supportive CHC leadership securing continued program funding. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Mean temperature anomalies in the Southeastern United States (SEUS) over the past century have reflected regional cooling hypothesized to be a result of an enhancement of warm season aerosol optical thickness caused by the oxidation of biogenic volatile organic compounds (VOCs). Aerosol and gas-phase VOC measurements were made at the Appalachian Atmospheric Interdisciplinary Research (AppalAIR) site in the southern Appalachian mountains of North Carolina during the summer of 2013 in an effort to characterize warm season chemistry. Organic aerosol (OA) chemistry was characterized through a positive matrix factorization analysis resolving a low-volatility, semi-volatile, and isoprene oxidation factor contributing 34 ± 15, 24 ± 12, and 42 ± 17 %, respectively to the total observed OA. Volatile organic compound characterization described chemistry that was typical of rural background levels with periods of elevated hydrocarbon and urban tracer loading that varied with synoptic flow. Chemical, meteorological, and aerosol optical property data suggested that measurements made at the AppalAIR site are representative of background atmospheric chemistry in the SEUS. Annual background secondary organic aerosol (SOA) production in the SEUS was estimated to be 0.15-0.50 GgC yr. Estimates of total and background SOA from this study provide evidence that the SEUS is a region of global significance in the context of global SOA budgets, and can be useful in understanding the extent of anthropogenic enhancement of summertime SOA compared to background levels. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Evidence-based HIV prevention interventions have been translated to a variety of contexts across sub-Saharan Africa. Non-specialized community health center (CHC) staff members have been successfully engaged to deliver the interventions, which can be integrated into pre-existing HIV service programs in community-based health care delivery sites. This manuscript describes the process of implementing the Partner Project, a couples HIV risk reduction intervention, and examines the ability of CHC staff to achieve risk reduction outcomes comparable to those of the highly-trained research staff. The Partner Project was implemented within the HIV Counseling and Testing program in 6 urban community health clinics in Lusaka, Zambia. One hundred ninety-seven HIV-seroconcordant and -discordant couples were sequentially enrolled to the control group or to receive the intervention from partner research or CHC staff members. Couple members completed assessments on condom use, alcohol use, and intimate partner violence (IPV) at baseline, 6, and 12 months follow-up. Sexual barrier use outcomes achieved by the CHC staff were comparable to or better than those achieved by the Partner Project research staff, and both were superior to the control group. A reduction in IPV was observed for the entire sample, although no change in alcohol use was observed. Implementation of HIV prevention interventions at the community level should take advantage of existing resources available within the CHC staff. This is especially relevant in resource limited settings as consideration of the financial and clinical requirements of intervention programs is essential to the achievement of successful program implementation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of AIDS & Behavior is the property of Springer Nature and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Advances in HIV treatment and prevention of mother to child transmission have effectively reduced mortality and morbidity for women living with HIV and significantly reduced new infections in infants. Women living with HIV require comprehensive, integrated clinical services to address their reproductive and maternal healthcare needs. Guidelines for safer conception counseling with fertile couples recommend discussing fertility and childbearing, addressing contraception with those not wishing to conceive, and clarification of strategies to conceive for those wishing to do so. Services pre-conception to postpartum should emphasize HIV testing for mother, partner and infant, encourage the maintenance of medication adherence and promote engagement and retention in care, and ensure supportive and non-judgmental patient education by healthcare providers. Behavioral, psychosocial and healthcare factors can have profound effects on pregnancy outcomes, and male involvement and enhanced provider involvement throughout the reproductive process has been recommended to reduce transmission and enhance medication adherence and uptake. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of AIDS & Behavior is the property of Springer Nature and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of AIDS & Behavior is the property of Springer Nature and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Methamphetamine (MA) use is a major public health problem in the United States, especially among people living with HIV (PLWH). Many MA-induced neurotoxic effects are mediated by inflammation and gut microbiota may play a role in this process, yet the effects of MA on the microbiome have not been adequately explored. Therefore, we performed 16S rRNA gene sequencing on rectal swab samples from 381 men who have sex with men, 48% of whom were PLWH and 41% of whom used MA. We compared microbiome composition between MA users and non-users while testing for potential interactions with HIV and controlling for numerous confounders using inverse probability of treatment weighting. We found that MA use explained significant variation in overall composition (R2 = 0.005, p = 0.008) and was associated with elevated Finegoldia, Parvimonas, Peptoniphilus, and Porphyromonas and reduced Butyricicoccus and Faecalibacterium, among others. Genera including Actinomyces and Streptobacillus interacted with HIV status, such that they were increased in HIV+ MA users. Finegoldia and Peptoniphilus increased with increasing frequency of MA use, among others. In summary, MA use was associated with a microbial imbalance favoring pro-inflammatory bacteria, including some with neuroactive potential and others that have previously been associated with poor HIV outcomes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]