Stacy W. Smallwood

Examining the Relationships Between Religiosity, Spirituality, Internalized Homonegativity, and Condom Use Among African American Men Who Have Sex With Men in the Deep South.

The Sexual Health in Faith Traditions Study evaluated the relationships between religiosity, spirituality, internalized homonegativity, and sexual risk behaviors among a sample of African American men who have sex with men living in the Deep South. Participants were recruited primarily from Black Gay Pride celebrations to complete a self-administered, paper-and-pencil survey. Structural equation modeling was used to determine relationships between key constructs and condom use for insertive (n = 285) and receptive (n = 263) anal intercourse in the past 3 months. Almost half of respondents reported using condoms “every time” when engaging in insertive (48.3%) or receptive (45.1%) anal intercourse. Religiosity and spirituality were differentially associated with dimensions of internalized homonegativity. While no significant direct relationships were reported between either religiosity or spirituality and condom use, dimensions of internalized homonegativity mediated significant indirect relationships. Findings suggest that religiosity and spirituality influence African American men who have sex with men’s internalized homonegativity and, subsequently, engagement in safer sex behaviors.

Implementing a Community Empowerment Center to Build Capacity for Developing, Implementing, and Sustaining Interventions to Promote Community Health

AbstractThe Community Empowerment Center used a community-engaged approach to build capacity among residents to develop and implement interventions focused on creating a healthier environment. The Center partnered with residents living in a public housing community and adjacent low-income neighborhood and provided support through a mini-grant program. A six-session training program guided community members in mini grant development; 25 individuals attended at least one session. Six grant proposals were submitted; three were awarded

Different Dimensions: Internalized Homonegativity Among African American Men Who Have Sex With Men in the Deep South

12,000 each for intervention implementation. Findings offer a model for engaging residents from low-resource settings in intervention development, implementation, and sustainability for community health promotion.

Disease Intervention Specialist Education for the Future: An Analysis of Public Health Curricula:

ABSTRACT This study examined the psychometric properties of the Internalized Homonegativity Inventory (IHNI) among African American men who have sex with men (AAMSM) in the southeastern United States. Data from 261 AAMSM were analyzed using exploratory factor analysis. Results showed evidence of a two-factor solution: personal and moral homonegativity and gay affirmation. Internal consistencies were greater than .80, and correlations with other variables (e.g., sociodemographics, religiosity, masculinity) provided evidence of validity. Findings suggesting a two-factor instead of a three-factor solution may indicate that the IHNI manifests differently for AAMSM in the Deep South than for predominantly White MSM. Further research should examine how incorporating new conceptions of internalized homonegativity into culturally specific health-promotion interventions for AAMSM might enhance effectiveness.

Intersecting HIV Prevention Practice and Truth Among Black MSM

Objectives: The objectives of this study were to (1) determine the degree of alignment between an existing public health curricula and disease intervention specialist (DIS) workforce training needs, (2) assess the appropriateness of public health education for DISs, and (3) identify existing curriculum gaps to inform future DIS training efforts. Methods: Using the iterative comparison analysis process of crosswalking, we compared DIS job tasks and knowledge competencies across a standard Council on Education for Public Health (CEPH)-accredited bachelor of science in public health (BSPH) and master of public health (MPH) program core curricula offered by the Georgia Southern University Jiann-Ping Hsu College of Public Health. Four researchers independently coded each DIS task and competency as addressed or not in the curriculum and then discussed all matches and non-matches between coders. Researchers consulted course instructors when necessary, and discussion between researchers continued until agreement was reached on coding. Results: The BSPH curriculum aligned with 75% of the DIS job tasks and 42% of the DIS knowledge competencies. The MPH core curriculum aligned with 55% of the job tasks and 40% of the DIS knowledge competencies. Seven job tasks and 9 knowledge competencies were considered unique to a DIS and would require on-the-job training. Conclusions: Findings suggest that an accredited public health academic program, grounded in CEPH competencies, could address multiple components of DIS educational preparation. Similar analyses should be conducted at other CEPH-accredited schools and programs of public health to account for variations in curriculum.

Using CBPR to Extend Prostate Cancer Education, Counseling, and Screening Opportunities to Urban-Dwelling African Americans

Black MSM are disproportionately affected by HIV/AIDS in the United States. Although the disparities in infection rates between Black MSM and MSM of other races have been well documented, less is known about the factors that contribute to those disparities—particularly psychosocial, cultural, and historical factors. The lack of understanding regarding these factors can have serious implications for effective HIV/AIDS service provision. This chapter provides an overview of intersectionality as a framework through which the lived experiences, HIV risk, and social oppressions of Black MSM can be better understood in order to inform HIV prevention and care practice. Examples of intersectionality-based research with Black MSM in the Deep South are discussed, and recommendations for incorporating intersectionality into HIV service provision are also provided.

Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender (LGBT) Older Adults

Community-based participatory research (CBPR) is becoming one of the dominant approaches for bringing evidence- and consensus-based cancer prevention and control practices to medically underserved communities. There are many examples of how CBPR has been useful for generating culturally specific solutions for different health issues that affect African-Americans. However, few examples exist in the literature on how the CBPR approach can be applied to address prostate cancer. This paper describes a collaborative process for linking inner-city, African-American men to free prostate cancer education, physician counseling, and screening opportunities (prostate-specific antigen (PSA) testing and digital rectal examination (DRE)). The site of this community-based participatory project was the city of Buffalo, located in Erie County, New York. The collaborative, community-academic process that is described includes the following: (1) planning and conducting a community needs assessment to contextualize local prostate cancer issues, (2) organizing town and gown event planning, and (3) manipulating aspects of the built environment to build an infrastructure within the community to address disparities in screening opportunities. This paper concludes with a description of lessons learned that can help others develop and implement similar activities in other communities.