Health EquityPub Date : 2025-08-27eCollection Date: 2025-01-01DOI: 10.1177/24731242251371424
Susan Mwikali Kioko, Christina Council, Cecilia Tomori
{"title":"Reducing Racial Disparities in Hypertension Control Using a Multicomponent, Equity-Centered Approach.","authors":"Susan Mwikali Kioko, Christina Council, Cecilia Tomori","doi":"10.1177/24731242251371424","DOIUrl":"10.1177/24731242251371424","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Introduction: </strong>Black Americans have the highest prevalence of hypertension among all racial or ethnic groups in the United States. They are 40% more likely to have uncontrolled blood pressure (BP) and are five times more likely to die from hypertension compared with non-Hispanic Whites. Experiences of discrimination in health care, clinician and institutional bias, and socioeconomic and environmental inequities driven by structural racism contribute to uncontrolled hypertension in this population. Multilevel, multicomponent interventions have effectively improved BP control among Black Americans but remain inadequately implemented in the clinical setting. An integrated nursing/public health quality improvement study was designed to address this gap between evidence and integration into clinical practice.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>Using a one group pre/posttest design, we examined the effect of an innovative, evidence-based 12-week intervention on BP among Black Americans with uncontrolled hypertension aged 18 and older in the primary care setting. Intervention components included remote BP monitoring, weekly phone coaching with culturally congruent care, medication intensification, and a standardized hypertension protocol.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>The average age of the participants (<i>n</i> = 35) was 64 years, and two thirds (<i>n</i> = 23) were female (66%). The mean difference in systolic BP from pre to postintervention decreased significantly (M = 23, standard deviation [SD] = 14.0), <i>t(34)</i> = -9.7, <i>p</i> < 0.001). A significant reduction in the mean difference in diastolic BP from pre to postintervention was also observed (M = 11, SD = 11.8), <i>t(34)</i> = -5.5, <i>p</i> < 0.001). At 12 weeks, 87% of participants had achieved BP control. The intervention also improved medication adherence and hypertension knowledge (<i>p</i> < 0.001).</p><p><strong>Conclusion: </strong>A multicomponent, culturally congruent quality improvement intervention may effectively improve BP among Black Americans.</p><p><strong>Health equity implications: </strong>Scaled up implementation of equity-centered, culturally congruent approaches is needed to reduce racial disparities in hypertension control.</p>","PeriodicalId":36602,"journal":{"name":"Health Equity","volume":"9 1","pages":"416-424"},"PeriodicalIF":2.5,"publicationDate":"2025-08-27","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC12412386/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145016365","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Health EquityPub Date : 2025-08-25eCollection Date: 2025-01-01DOI: 10.1177/24731242251371526
Erik J Porfeli, Sunny Nakae, Leila Amiri, Leila E Harrison, Will Ross
{"title":"A Holistic Ecosystem Model to Diversify the Physician Workforce and Enhance Health.","authors":"Erik J Porfeli, Sunny Nakae, Leila Amiri, Leila E Harrison, Will Ross","doi":"10.1177/24731242251371526","DOIUrl":"10.1177/24731242251371526","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Importance: </strong>The U.S. medical education system attracts and trains the next generation of physicians to advance the health care needs of a growing and increasingly diverse nation. This system can be credited for supplying a physician workforce achieving remarkable growth and innovation, yielding one of the world's most technologically advanced health care systems on the planet. This system, unfortunately, also contributes to educational, workforce, and health disparities.</p><p><strong>Observations: </strong>The successes and challenges of the medical education and health care system align with broader economic, health, and educational patterns in the United States. An ecological model can be employed to unite a network of partners spanning four developmental stages to support a greater diversity of students for and from underrepresented communities to enter the physician workforce, enjoy the rewards granted by a career in medicine, and enact needed changes to eliminate health, economic, and educational disparities.</p><p><strong>Conclusions and relevance: </strong>Comprehensive and ecologically attuned pathways to the physician workforce could be especially beneficial to states and communities suffering from the looming high school enrollment cliff, outflows of residents to other states, challenges in recruiting and retaining physicians, and significant educational and health disparities. The ecosystem model spurs significant changes in how we think about the developmental pathways to the physician workforce and how we may mobilize resources to promote progress and ease transitions, especially for underrepresented students who face many fewer opportunities and many more challenges along their journey.</p>","PeriodicalId":36602,"journal":{"name":"Health Equity","volume":"9 1","pages":"405-411"},"PeriodicalIF":2.5,"publicationDate":"2025-08-25","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC12412384/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145016362","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Health EquityPub Date : 2025-08-25eCollection Date: 2025-01-01DOI: 10.1177/24731242251372699
Robyn B Adams, Stacie McCormick, Amber T A Reid, D'Andra Willis, Qiana Arnold, Helen Zimba, Tambra Morrison, Marsha Jones
{"title":"Healing Outside of a Doctor's Office: Advancing Reproductive Wellness Through Storytelling in the Dobbs Era.","authors":"Robyn B Adams, Stacie McCormick, Amber T A Reid, D'Andra Willis, Qiana Arnold, Helen Zimba, Tambra Morrison, Marsha Jones","doi":"10.1177/24731242251372699","DOIUrl":"10.1177/24731242251372699","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Amber Thurman, Candi Miller, Porsha Ngumezi, Josseli Barnica, and Neveah Crain highlight the tragic outcomes of restrictive abortion bans post-Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization. Their stories underscore the need to shift away from viewing medical institutions as the only sources of reproductive care. The Afiya Center's Livable Black Futures Collective advocates for community-based knowledge through a Reproductive Justice storytelling framework. By emphasizing the injustices faced by Black women and birthing people, these narratives aim to reclaim bodily autonomy, dismantle stigma, and foster resilience, ultimately serving as a powerful catalyst for collective healing and activism against systemic oppression.</p>","PeriodicalId":36602,"journal":{"name":"Health Equity","volume":"9 1","pages":"412-415"},"PeriodicalIF":2.5,"publicationDate":"2025-08-25","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC12412385/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145016380","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Health EquityPub Date : 2025-08-22eCollection Date: 2025-01-01DOI: 10.1177/24731242251362181
Geoffrey Obel, DeWanda Harris-Trimiar, Joshua S Elmore, Taryn L Mayes, Adrienne Mays, Angela Casey-Willingham, Srividya Vasu, Steven Shoptaw, Madhukar H Trivedi
{"title":"Innovative Development of Research Engagement Manual: Strategies to Enhance Recruitment and Retention of Black Individuals in Clinical Trials for Substance Use Disorders.","authors":"Geoffrey Obel, DeWanda Harris-Trimiar, Joshua S Elmore, Taryn L Mayes, Adrienne Mays, Angela Casey-Willingham, Srividya Vasu, Steven Shoptaw, Madhukar H Trivedi","doi":"10.1177/24731242251362181","DOIUrl":"10.1177/24731242251362181","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background: </strong>The participation of Black individuals in clinical trials remains lower than that of other racial and ethnic groups. Substance abuse adds additional barriers to recruitment and retention. While significant attention has been devoted to identifying barriers to recruitment/retention, efforts have been largely unsuccessful in increasing the participation of Black individuals in clinical trials. This article details Phase 1 efforts to develop sustainable strategies to increase enrollment/recruitment of Black participants in clinical trials through an Innovative Development of Research Engagement Manual.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>Phase 1 involved a literature review and the establishment of an Expert Diversity Advisory Board, which identified barriers to Black individual participation in substance use disorder (SUD) research. Identified barriers included lack of awareness of research, mistrust, lack of comfort with research, lack of information, and time/resource constraints. Focus groups were conducted to assess the importance of the identified factors in 61 Black participants with SUD history.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>Among the focus group participants, 37.7% indicated mistrust, 45.9% indicated a lack of knowledge, and 27.9% stated safety concerns as reasons for not engaging with researchers. They considered compensation, research benefits, study duration, privacy, safety, and side effects as vital information that informed their decisions on clinical trial participation. The focus groups identified financial incentives, potential treatment options, and potential for improved awareness about substance abuse treatment as factors that determine retention in a study.</p><p><strong>Conclusion: </strong>With barriers identified, future efforts will focus on qualitative assessments of focus group material and developing and evaluating the manual.</p>","PeriodicalId":36602,"journal":{"name":"Health Equity","volume":"9 1","pages":"387-396"},"PeriodicalIF":2.5,"publicationDate":"2025-08-22","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC12412388/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145016399","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Health EquityPub Date : 2025-08-22eCollection Date: 2025-01-01DOI: 10.1177/24731242251369612
Erin R Johnson, Monica R McLemore
{"title":"Place Matters: Geographic Distribution of Abortion Fund Services.","authors":"Erin R Johnson, Monica R McLemore","doi":"10.1177/24731242251369612","DOIUrl":"10.1177/24731242251369612","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background: </strong>Where you live impacts your access to all forms of health care, but abortion in particular. In response to restrictions on abortion, communities have organized to support those seeking abortion care via abortion funds. This study documents the services provided by these organizations and examines how they have been shaped by local conditions.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>Data come from a content analysis of the websites of all abortion funds affiliated with the National Network of Abortion Funds and interviews with 22 abortion fund leaders. Content analysis data presented include data about abortion funds' catchment area and what services funds provide.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>Types of support offered by abortion funds include procedure funding, practical support, emotional support, other sexual health services, and parenting support. Interviews with fund leaders show that these services are shaped by local policies, cultural and geographic specifics of their catchment area, local clinics, and ties to other organizations in funds' communities.</p><p><strong>Discussion: </strong>Abortion funds are a diverse group of organizations that provide a variety of services to help patients overcome barriers to abortion. The geographic patterning of their services suggest that funds are responding to local environments, with the greatest variety of services being offered by funds in the South.</p><p><strong>Health equity implications: </strong>Abortion funds' service offerings clearly respond to the barriers to abortion described in the literature, driven by the needs of their local communities. This is particularly relevant in a post-Dobbs environment, as patients in some parts of the country find abortion even farther out of their reach.</p>","PeriodicalId":36602,"journal":{"name":"Health Equity","volume":"9 1","pages":"397-404"},"PeriodicalIF":2.5,"publicationDate":"2025-08-22","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC12412382/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145016356","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Health EquityPub Date : 2025-08-14eCollection Date: 2025-01-01DOI: 10.1177/24731242251365480
Maya E Gross, Mindy Pike, Julianna Alson, Patrice Williams, Mollie E Wood, Erica Marsh, Erin Carey, Til Stürmer, Ronit Katz, Whitney R Robinson, Kemi M Doll
{"title":"Beyond Bleeding: An Analysis of Presenting Symptoms Among Black Patients with Endometrial Cancer.","authors":"Maya E Gross, Mindy Pike, Julianna Alson, Patrice Williams, Mollie E Wood, Erica Marsh, Erin Carey, Til Stürmer, Ronit Katz, Whitney R Robinson, Kemi M Doll","doi":"10.1177/24731242251365480","DOIUrl":"10.1177/24731242251365480","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Objectives: </strong>Black patients have the highest mortality rate from endometrial cancer (EC), and yet remain underrepresented in EC research. Thus, currently published symptom patterns may not be comprehensive for this population. The purpose of this study is to analyze symptomatology among Black patients with EC in the Guidelines for Ultrasound in the Detection of Early Endometrial Cancer study and to compare with those undergoing benign hysterectomy.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>This is a retrospective consecutive patient sample of Black individuals undergoing hysterectomy in an academic-affiliated 10-hospital health care system from 2014 to 2020. We collected clinical, sociodemographic, and diagnostic information for 24 months before hysterectomy, using merged structured and abstracted data from electronic health records. We used descriptive statistics to describe the sample and pertinent subgroups-patients with fibroids/enlarged uteri, without postmenopausal bleeding (PMB), and patients <50 years old. Symptom distribution between subgroups was analyzed using chi-square tests and Fisher exact tests.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>The sample included 3,455 hysterectomy patients, 12% with EC (<i>n</i> = 404). Among EC patients, 77% had PMB and 7% had no bleeding history. EC patients were symptomatic beyond bleeding, with fibroids/enlarged uteri (70%), pelvic/abdominal pain (38%), anemia (30%), and more. Young patients (8% of all EC cases) had more pelvic/abdominal pain (61% vs. 36%, <i>p</i> = 0.017) and anemia requiring transfusion (33% vs. 6%, <i>p</i> < 0.001) compared with older patients. Subgroup symptom presentations overlapped between those with and without cancer, with few symptoms differing by >20%.</p><p><strong>Conclusions: </strong>PMB alone is rarely the only presenting symptom among Black patients with EC; symptoms overlap heavily with patients presenting with benign disease. Young patients, those with fibroids/enlarged uteri, and those without PMB represent subgroups with nuanced presentations, for whom EC should be considered.</p>","PeriodicalId":36602,"journal":{"name":"Health Equity","volume":"9 1","pages":"375-385"},"PeriodicalIF":2.5,"publicationDate":"2025-08-14","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC12412387/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145016370","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Health EquityPub Date : 2025-08-14eCollection Date: 2025-01-01DOI: 10.1177/24731242251363080
Ashleigh Hansen, Jessica Bayes, Janet Schloss
{"title":"Empowering Women Through Knowledge: A Systematic Review of Literature on Menstrual and Reproductive Health Literacy.","authors":"Ashleigh Hansen, Jessica Bayes, Janet Schloss","doi":"10.1177/24731242251363080","DOIUrl":"10.1177/24731242251363080","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background: </strong>Reproductive health, including menstrual health, is a critical element of the overall well-being of women. Knowledge of menstrual health increases personal empowerment and self-care. This review explores adult women's knowledge of menstrual and reproductive health.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>A systematic literature review was conducted across ProQuest, PubMed, MEDLINE, Scopus, CINAHL, and AMED, targeting original, peer-reviewed articles published between 2013 and 2023. Following the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analysis Protocols 2020 guidelines, 649 articles were screened. Eighteen cross-sectional studies met the inclusion criteria after critical appraisal using the Joanna Briggs Institute checklist for analytical cross-sectional studies.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>Mean percentages of overall correct knowledge were provided in a limited number of studies, with scores ranging between 35.6% and 57.3%. In this review, mean values were calculated to represent categorical analysis of adult women's correct knowledge of ovulation, menstruation, and female physiology. The following values represent women's correct knowledge of these factors: timing of ovulation (43.7%), definition of ovulation (75.3%), identify physical signs of ovulation (52.4%), definition of menstruation (92.8%), identify menstrual cycle length (58.9%), identify duration of menstruation (44.6%), identify physical changes that might occur 2 weeks prior to menstruation (76.8%), identify female reproductive anatomy (68.9%), identify the term reproductive \"hormones\" (37%); identify the hormone estrogen (30.4%), identify the hormone progesterone (24%), correct knowledge of reproductive functional biology (51.2%), and correct knowledge of factors affecting reproductive health (62.8%).</p><p><strong>Conclusion: </strong>Adult women's knowledge of reproductive and menstrual health remains lower than expected due to various personal, cultural, and social factors. Developing educational and health promotion interventions is crucial to improving women's reproductive knowledge globally.</p>","PeriodicalId":36602,"journal":{"name":"Health Equity","volume":"9 1","pages":"357-374"},"PeriodicalIF":2.5,"publicationDate":"2025-08-14","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC12411900/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145016333","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Health EquityPub Date : 2025-07-16eCollection Date: 2025-01-01DOI: 10.1089/heq.2024.0222
Sarah McCabe
{"title":"<i>Letter:</i> Racism as a Threat to Palestinian Health Equity.","authors":"Sarah McCabe","doi":"10.1089/heq.2024.0222","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1089/heq.2024.0222","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":36602,"journal":{"name":"Health Equity","volume":"9 1","pages":"355-356"},"PeriodicalIF":2.6,"publicationDate":"2025-07-16","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC12270526/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144660637","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Health EquityPub Date : 2025-06-27eCollection Date: 2025-01-01DOI: 10.1089/heq.2025.87633.correx
{"title":"<i>Corrigendum to:</i> Identifying Facilitators and Barriers to Increasing COVID-19 Vaccination and Trial Participation in Vaccinated Vietnamese Americans.","authors":"","doi":"10.1089/heq.2025.87633.correx","DOIUrl":"10.1089/heq.2025.87633.correx","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>[This corrects the article DOI: 10.1089/heq.2022.0032.].</p>","PeriodicalId":36602,"journal":{"name":"Health Equity","volume":"9 1","pages":"354"},"PeriodicalIF":2.5,"publicationDate":"2025-06-27","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC12411901/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145016375","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}