April 20, 2013

Mass Media, Sex, and the HIV Chat

By the time I was 16, I was already aware of what condoms were, how they were used and who used them.  As a 20 -year-old graduating college senior, I look back on all I know about HIV. In order to address the discussion of HIV among teens, we must also talk about the sex discussion first because they are related. For one thing, I know that my parents had little to do with the discussion about sexually transmitted diseases. A curious kid at 16, I was also an avid ‘TV-watcher”. Like most of my African-American peers, we always discussed how tv shows like Flavor-of-Love, the Real World and Desperate Housewives influenced us on our view of sex. Because HIV is a sexually transmitted disease, there is much to be said about the virus.  My peers and I also know that TV, as a form of mass media sends messages to teens all across the world. Positive messages. Negative messages, perpetuating stereotypes and false information are what is shown to people everyday.  Mass media, as defined by sociology dictionary is forms of communication designed to reach a vast audience without any personal contact between the senders and receivers. Examples would include newspapers, magazines, video recordings, radio and television.

As a broadcast journalism major, I was taught that journalism, in lieu of mass media is the fourth estate. The first three estates being the Legislative, Executive and Judicial branch of the government. We are the gatekeepers of information. When I think of a gatekeeper of information, I think of a safeguard. A safeguard is someone who guards, protects and sensors something in a positive or negative way. During my teenage years, the only time I saw HIV awareness or discussion about HIV on TV was during World Aids Day and on December 1st, which is national HIV testing day. The media has more messages of free sex, sex with multiple sex partners and having sex with the absence of love, commitment or respect. There are more reality shows and sitcoms about those topics than shows that address safe sex, monogamy or abstinence. This poses as a threat to the teenage discussion of HIV because they are receive mixed messages that can lead to ignorance. For instance, some teens believe AIDS is the same as HIV, which is false. I’ve also witnessed a discussion at the university level where a student said, “ I need to take an AIDS test”, which is highly inaccurate. Where does the inaccuracy come from, one might add?   I am reminded of the huge responsibility TV plays in the discussion of HIV among teenagers. To me, there is no discussion of HIV. I do not feel that the TV industry does a good job of informing the public of the causes and symptoms of HIV/AIDS. For one, I believe that many teens do not know the difference between HIV and AIDS, and that discussion is where the media, as a fourth estate should start.

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April 15, 2013

Women’s Empowerment 2013

Last month, the PNC Arena experienced something that only happens once a year. By 11am, over 8,000 women, of all ages and races, filled the arena and were eager to be empowered! The spirit was overwhelming. 

The first person to empower me was Bishop T.D. Jakes. The title of his sermon was “Lord, don’t give me anything I can’t handle”. Here are a few notes that I took:

• God is not fair
• If I couldn't handle it, He wouldn't have given it to me!
• Fear will shut down your instincts and steal your time
• Success is intentional!

The last point stuck out to me the most. Success becomes intentional the minute you set a goal to do something. If all goes well, you will make it to a place called success and look back at your goals ready to check one off of the list. Don’t think that you are just “lucky”. Everything happens for a reason!

After this very inspirational word, I decided to get to work for myHIN! Jeremy and I went around to the vendor’s area and began passing out our business cards and telling people about our project. As I walked around, I noticed that there was a booth set up specifically for HIV/AIDS and they had information and stickers from the Greater Than AIDS movement to pass out! I was very pleased to see this booth amongst the people selling clothes, jewelry, and artwork. It was a perfect location to spread the message. 

It was great to be amongst so many women who came together for one goal: to be empowered! I can really say that after the Black Men Revealed Panel, Wendy Williams, and Erykah Badu’s performance, I left PNC Arena better than I came! I was very excited that once again, I was able to combine my love for music with my interest of helping put an end to HIV/AIDS.

Below is a picture that sums up my day at the event! 

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April 10, 2013

The Problem with Black Women’s Health

Dominant. Independent. Bitter. Empowered. Manipulative. “I can do bad all by myself”. Superwomen. Stubborn. In denial. Ladies, what do these characteristics describe? These words or phrases are often used to label African American women. Whether we categorize these features under positive or negative connotations, there is unfortunately some truth behind every single one of them. African American women are hard- working, dedicated, educated professionals but we tend to put everyone and everything before ourselves. We want the best for our families and friends, which tends to become our overall mission of life, and forget about our own personal image and health.  In many cases, African American women are single parents or just self- reliant individuals who metaphorically develop stern, powerful mindsets as their defense from real and perceived attacks. We go hard on ourselves since we automatically fall within the lower rank in American society; being classified as “double wammies” since we are female AND of the racial minority. 

The number one health-related issue that black women deal with is cardiovascular disease. According to the National Stroke Association, one half of all African American women will die from stroke or heart disease.  The death rates from heart disease and strokes for African American females are double those of White and Hispanic females. Our culture also tends to continuously struggle with health problems associated with obesity and high blood pressure. From overworking ourselves and fighting sleep, to insisting that we are in good health (bitterness), all of these cultural aspects play a role in our refusal of medical assistance when we need it most.

“Too many of us are just as crazy, walking (or running) around in denial, ignoring signs (headaches, exhaustion, dizziness, vision changes, weakness, numbness) that should send us to the doctor, not to the office or the car pool or off on that next ‘all important’ business trip. We are in denial about the real impact of our obesity, our smoking, drinking, and lack of exercise…all women should remember that whatever power we each possess is rooted first and foremost in our health. We work so hard to control so much and we’re always up for a challenge. Fine! Here’s a challenge! Commit to spending more time and attention controlling—and caring for—yourself.” (Caroline Clarke, Black Enterprise: Wealth for Life)

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April 06, 2013

Ice Cold Brothers, Bowl for Babies

On Thursday March 14th 2013, the Infamous Eta Omicron Chapter of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc. hosted their 6th annual “Bowling for Babies Tournament”. This tournament began in 2007 as an innovative way to raise monetary funds for the March of Dimes Foundation. The March of Dimes Foundation is a non-profit organization founded by President Franklin D. Roosevelt to prevent infant mortality and Polio along with improving the health of babies as well as mothers. The March of Dimes Foundation is a national initiative of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc. and has been a major philanthropic project in which the fraternity has been engaged in for years. The turnout of the event was awesome and it continues to be a success every year. 

As the President of the Eta Omicron Chapter at North Carolina State University, we really take this event seriously and we are striving to have a greater impact in educating the student body on infant birth defects. Check out Professor Gore’s article entitled, “So what’s the real deal here?” This article discusses the survival of a baby born to a mother who was HIV positive. The significance of this baby is that it was not born with the virus. Besides it being a miracle, the credit for the baby’s survival can be accredited to early detection. By being properly educated and understanding the resource.

In the future, we plan to use different method’s to increase the awareness of infant mortality, birth defects, and even the latest news of the baby being cured from HIV. The event provides the student body with information that can improve or save a life. We look forward to continuing the legacy of “Bowling for Babies” for decades to come. All proceeds made from this event are donated directly to the March of Dimes Foundation. By bowling a ball, it can save a life!
 

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April 02, 2013

App Development: My Development

For me, developing the MyHealthImpactNetwork (MyHIN) App has been more than a mere process of creating something to extend the MyHIN experience.  In fact, I can probably get away with saying that the MyHIN app and its creation process has been developing me more than I have been developing it.

Each aspect of the App which was made as an extension of the MyHIN website, and each portion developed specifically to augment a unique mobile experience required me to perform research which revealed different things about health, society, community, and personal growth.

By developing the Stats section, featuring data extracted directly from the MyHIN website, I learned of interesting statistics which gave surprising implications about the sexual practices of Americans.  Developing the Sites section, which possesses links to over a dozen different references to health empowerment websites and an imbedded Google Map which provides information about local health-related locations, I learned that there is a massive community making strides to ensure that people across America become more health conscious.  In the development of the Quiz, which prompts the user to answer information based on what can be found in the Facts section, I realized that there are a variety of unique methods of gauging a community’s perception of health in an entertaining manner.

 From all of these learnings comes the reality that, instead of working on this app, this app itself is really making me become more observant of health behaviors in the African American community.  It’s made me realize that groups, such as the MyHIN, really provide phenomenal opportunities for individuals in a local community to join a network centered on ensuring each member feels empowered.

And for that reason, we’ll strive to make sure that this app continues to be developed to the best of our abilities.

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March 26, 2013

FlyBy Music - What is that?

Dr. Payton, Khalia, Kamar and I attended the Health Disparities Conference 2013 in New York City this past weekend. The event focused on health, education, science and hip-hop.   Keynote speakers included Drs. Barbara Wallace, Christopher Emdin, David Satcher, Robert Fullilove, and even featured Hip-Hop artist Lord Jamar on a panel.

The events of the weekend provided me a new insight on what the term Hip-Hop means to New York natives, and just how powerful it has been to many in Black and Latino communities. But in the midst of all the discussion, I felt disconnected…

Hip-Hop means so much to so many people that the very term itself represents the struggle of a people, so there is no way to discuss it without checking emotional baggage. Things that accompanied the rise of Hip-Hop, DJing, breakdancing, graffiti, are soon to be considered lost arts. If there was a new Hip-Hop, could there be space in it for my cell phone? Could social media count as New Hip-Hop culture? What about how music has changed to a digital format of mp3s? I realized that if this New Hip-Hop were to exist, it would need a name.

Flyby. That’s right Fly-by. That’s the name of the genre of music that I make. In the same way that Hip-Hop was formed, so is Flyby, which takes elements of Jazz, Rock, and oh yea, Hip-Hop. The only way to get a new generation involved in their futures is to give them something of their own!

Check out some Flyby music [link]

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March 20, 2013

The Need for Couple-based HIV Interventions to Empower African American Women in Monogamous Relation

African American women continue to be disproportionately affected by HIV/AIDS. According to the CDC (2012), African Americans represent approximately 14 percent of the U.S. population, but they account for almost half of people living with HIV (44 percent, or an estimated 510,600 persons), and of new infections each year (44 percent, or an estimated 21,200 infections). African American women account for 30 percent of the estimated new HIV infections among all African Americans and 57 percent of all new HIV infections among women. The estimated rate of new HIV infections for African American women are more than 15 times as high as the rate for white women, and more than three times as high as that of Latina women. Perhaps most disturbingly, the CDC (2012) estimates that one in every 32 Black women will be diagnosed with HIV during their lifetime. 

Most of these African American women (85%) will be infected through sex with a male partner.  

While conducting focus groups with African American women undergraduate students, I’ve found that many desired information about HIV prevention while in committed, monogamous relationships with men. Much of the HIV prevention discourse places the burden on the woman to convince her partner to use condoms. However, this is extremely difficult even when the woman and her steady sexual partner want to mutually protect each other. How can we lessen this burden and keep our young women protected?

My suggestion is that we create more interventions that focus exclusively on heterosexual African American couples. The Eban HIV/STD Risk Reduction Intervention (2009) is an example of a project that was designed to address individual, interpersonal and community level factors that contribute to HIV/STD transmission risk behaviors among heterosexual African American couples. The project used both couples and group discussion sessions. The intervention included modules that focused on culture and race, and used African American co-facilitators. These factors helped couples feel more comfortable disclosing risky behaviors and facilitated learning prevention strategies that were consistent with the couples’ cultural values. 

Other HIV prevention studies have found that voluntary counseling and HIV testing provided to couples was more effective at increasing condom use than was individual counseling and testing. In one of the first studies to evaluate a couple-based voluntary counseling and HIV testing studies in the US, Padain and colleagues (1993) report that couple counseling in combination with social support appears to be an effective means to promote and sustain behavior change among HIV-infected individuals and their heterosexual partners. Nearly half (49%) of the couples reported consistent condom use before the intervention, but 88% reported consistent condom use at the first follow-up. Unfortunately, consistent condom use was not maintained at this high level during follow up meetings with the couples. El-Bassell and colleagues (2003) were among the first to conduct a study to test the efficacy of a relationship-based HIV/STD prevention intervention with low-income urban couples in the US. They found that couples meetings helped to reduce unprotected sex at both the 3-month and 12-month follow-up assessments. 

Taken together, studies such as these suggest that couple-based interventions may be an effective means for reducing African American women’s risk of contracting HIV. The Eban HIV/STD Risk Reduction Intervention (2009) and similar studies report that couples-based counseling is an effective means for increasing commitment in a relationship to protecting each other from HIV/STDs; reducing gender power imbalances that influence condom use; and increasing sexual communication and negotiation skills.  

There are also strong arguments for focusing on heterosexually active women, especially when 85% of African American women are infected through sex with male partners. HIV is also “more efficiently” transmitted from men to women, and issues of gender and power make it very difficult for women to negotiate condom use easily with heterosexual partners.

Couple-based interventions are also important for showing how gender and power frameworks advance our understanding African American men’s HIV risk. Dr. Bowleg (2011) correctly asks: where are the heterosexually active men in HIV prevention theory, research and interventions? “While same-sex behavior is salient for men in the HIV/AIDS epidemic, a similar focus on men’s heterosexual behaviors is pretty much nonexistent. In the context of the HIV/AIDS epidemic, maleness and heterosexuality, two otherwise powerful statuses, intersect to confer the dubious privilege of invisibility.” To render heterosexual African American men visible and to lessen the burden currently placed on their female partners to negotiate condom use, public health professionals should develop couple-based interventions.
 

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March 13, 2013

So What’s The Real Deal Here?!

Just a little over a week ago, when the story broke about the baby being cured of HIV infection; that was all anyone talked about for days!  It was the lead story on all sources of media: television, radio, newspaper, Twitter, Facebook, etc.  At first there was elation and hope that a cure had really been found; and then there was speculation and doubt that there ever was an HIV infection to be cured!  I guess this usually happens with any HUGE discovery like the earth being round, the law of gravity, the rise of drug addiction in the urban black community due to Hoover’s subversive tactics; oh no, wait, that would be a conspiracy, wouldn’t it? Anyway…

So as we began to follow this story about the miraculous cure for HIV infection in this baby, and in Mississippi (!); we find that this medical event occurred in 2010, and that the baby is now 2.5 years old and free of HIV infection after being ‘functionally cured’ (first word left out of headlines for days).  This means no traces of replicating HIV cells can be found even if a small amount of the virus remains in the body.  The baby had been born prematurely after the mother (who didn’t know she was HIV positive until after the birth) had come to the hospital in labor and was determined to have been infected in the womb, which is seen as rare in the United States, rather than during delivery. At 30 hours old, the baby was sent to the University of Mississippi Medical Center, where Dr. Hannah Gay aggressively treated the baby (if really infected) before the virus had an opportunity to take hold to destroy the immune system.  As everyone was speculating what this possible cure could mean to the world, Dr. Fauci, director of the National Institute for Allergy and Infectious Diseases pointed out that “adults typically don’t know they are infected right as it happens.”  Early detection and aggressive treatment were credited with the cure for the baby.

The doctor who treated the infant at the University of Mississippi Medical Center, called a doctor at the University of Massachusetts, who happened to be working on a project to document possible pediatric cures, sponsored by the Foundation for AIDS Research. It was this last group of doctors that reported the findings on the baby at the Conference on Retroviruses and Opportunistic Infections on March 3rd.  The findings were deemed particularly significant to the chief of global pediatric infectious disease at the University of California, Los Angeles, because of its implications for women in South African and other African countries, as well as many developing countries where women are less likely to be treated during pregnancy and babies born to infected women are generally not tested until after six weeks.

Being involved in the myHealthImpactNetwork.org project has shaded my perception of all the attention given by the media to the baby’s cure, functional or true.  My attention focused on the United Nations’ report of the newly infected 330,000 babies in 2011and wondered how many of these infections happened because the mother, as the mother of the cured baby, did not know she was HIV Positive. You can argue about whether the baby was cured or not, but it seems to be that it is just as important to explore how the baby was at risk of HIV infection, in the first place! It seems like such a simple thing: take a simple test! Why is this such a difficult thing to do?! Yet it must be difficult or there would not be over three million children living with HIV infection in the world today!  My grandparents taught me that ‘an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure’! It doesn’t diminish the significance of the cure but to lick this thing we have to make both ends meet the middle. We can’t stop focusing on prevention because of the excitement of the possibility of a cure.

This website encourages and provides easy access to information for a woman to seek HIV testing. What about you? Have you been tested? When was the last time you were tested? If you have never been tested and you are sexually active, I’d like to know what stops you from getting tested?

References:
Andrew Pollack and Donald G. McNeil, Jr. In Medical First, a Baby with H.I.V. is Deemed Cured. The New York Times, March 3, 2013

Sydney Lupkin. Experts Question So-Called HIV ‘Cure’. ABC News. March 6, 2013

Terrance Friday. Baby Cured of HIV has Medical Professionals Hopeful. www.KLTV.com/story/21565370/baby-cured-.... March 9, 2013

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February 27, 2013

Reciprocity: Its Role in Health & MyHealthImpact

According to social psychologists, reciprocity refers to responding to a positive action with another positive action.  Reciprocity means that in response to friendly actions, people are frequently more cooperative than predicted by the self-interest or self-serving mode of thinking.  Positive (creating a win-win) or negative (creating a sense of burdensome obligation) reciprocity leads to what social psychologists call cooperative reciprocal tendencies while the negative can result in undesirable behaviors. 

Scholars, Mallory and Holditch, conducted a study of African-American HIV-positive women and reported the importance of their relationships with researchers, in which the women received benefits while also providing a service to the researchers. Hence, reciprocity between research teams and participants proved significant in retaining African-American women in research.  Other scholars, Chandola, Marmot and Siegrist, found that relationships characterized by mutual exchange of support are associated with positive feedback, and with better mental and physical health outcomes.  Failed reciprocity leads to negative consequences, such as distrust, stigma, misaligned or false expectations, etc.  In this case, typical responses in the relationships are “I am sorry” or “I was about to”.  An important to note is that “sorry” does not undo what has been done, or correct what has not been done but expected.   Recently, a dear friend of mine spoke the phrases central to this theme: burning a bridge; biting the hand that feeds you; failed communication.

MyHealthImpact is a network of relationships.  A few terms to remember in this network effort are relationship building, voice, engagement of a generation and dialogue for an AIDS-Free Generation.  Similar keywords to note in this effort include:

• Quid pro quo – ("this for that" in Latin) most often means a more-or-less equal exchange 
• Pay It Forward

Tell us about one of your reciprocity experience by commenting on this blog.  Send us a tweet @myhealthimpact.

References:
1)    Mallory C, Miles MS, Holditch-Davis D., Reciprocity and retaining African-American women with HIV in research. Applied Nursing Research. 2002 Feb;15(1):35-41.
2)    Chandola T, Marmot M, Siegrist J. Failed reciprocity in close social relationships and health: findings from the Whitehall II study. J Psychosom Res. 2007;63(4):403–411.
3)    Wiki - Reciprocity (Social Psychology)


 

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February 21, 2013

Tracking your Health with Wearable Technology

At the top of every New Year, there seems to be a fitness trend that propagates through families, colleges, and churches, alike. The notion that this year is the perfect time to get into the best shape of your life is evident on social networks, such as Facebook and Twitter. Hash tags like #teamGetFit, #trainHard, and #bodyProud are a select few that are seen everywhere and even appended to statuses and tweets posted around the world. A lot of the time, the motivation behind this burst in healthy behavior corresponds with New Year's resolutions or the mere fact that some over indulged during the Thanksgiving and Christmas holidays! However, as the months past by and the year gets old, fitness clubs and sport gyms see a constant decline in membership and weekly attendance. Whatever the reason may be, I set out to find if this year was any different than in year's past.

In comes CES 2013, the Consumer Electronics Trade Show where the biggest tech news is announced for those of us who have a deep affinity for smart devices and innovative gadgets. Originally seen as the place where power hitters, such as Apple, Microsoft, Samsung, and Amazon, have unveiled new products, its recently transformed into the "IT" place where the little guys bring us the most joy. Welcome to the future, where your body is technology's new frontier. The mobile applications and computing power we've become accustomed to in our smartphones are starting to migrate into wearable devices. Whether it is the Nike+ Fuelband from our favorite sneaker brand, fitbit, the same company that added style to Bluetooth earpieces or the Fitbit Ultra by an upcoming start-up company focusing on health and fitness devices; the ability to upload and analyze your personal training sessions can now be done on the fly without the need of paper and pencil. Figures 1 and 2 show a quick glance of each company's wearable devices and corresponding mobile applications.

Figure 1.

Figure 2.

POLL: Does being able to track your fitness activity and sleep patterns, interest those committed to fulfilling their New Year's resolution? Does mobile health “fit” into your commitment to your personal health and wellbeing?

Sources:

Figures 1 and 2 - FashioningTech

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