Methodology: We administered an online survey to 1,015 adults who gave birth in the last two years, oversampling Black mothers (n=279). We employed post-stratification weighting based on Census data. The weighted sample was nationally representative by region (p=0.08).

Results: Black mothers reported a higher rate of not being able to see desired maternity care providers (66%) than white mothers (51%). Doulas (21%) and midwives (21%) were the largest unmet need identified by Black mothers, followed by mental health providers (11%). Black mothers cited insurance and cost-related reasons for their unmet need (25%) more frequently than white mothers (15%). Black mothers also reported seeing a maternal-fetal medicine (MFM) specialist (18%) less frequently than white mothers (23%), while reporting greater unmet need for MFMs (11% vs. 7%). Black mothers reported labor complications at a higher rate than white mothers (20% vs. 15%), along with higher dissatisfaction with how their complications were handled (36% vs. 25%). Black mothers also reported longer postpartum hospital stays, with 10% discharged at least 4 days after giving birth.

Conclusions: Increasing access to doulas, midwives, mental healthcare, and MFMs may improve Black mothers’ experience with maternal healthcare and health outcomes.

Methods: University researchers partnered with a Louisiana Medicaid Managed Care Plan provider to understand the pregnancy-related experiences of Black birthing people in Louisiana, their experiences navigating Medicaid Managed Care Plans throughout pregnancy, and how these experiences shaped their birthing outcomes. Twelve focus groups were conducted in the six regions of the state with the highest pregnancy-related mortality. Data will be assessed via thematic coding.

Results: We hypothesize that the women will report that factors such as difficulty navigating or accessing care with the Medicaid Managed Care Plan, discrimination, trust, lack of resources, and access to insurance had the greatest influence on their birthing experience. Additionally, those with a poorer birthing experience will be more likely to report negative birthing outcomes. Implications for outreach and mitigation will be discussed.

Conclusions: Given the current state of maternal health, it is imperative to understand women’s experiences in the healthcare setting to achieve health equity. To date, there is little research related to Black women’s birthing experience in Louisiana. This study fills that gap and provides integral insights to improve maternal health and health equity in Louisiana.

Methods: We examined “incident narratives” from the National Violent Death Reporting System Restricted Access Database, abstracted from coroner/medical examiner and law enforcement (CME/LE) investigative reports. These narratives provided detailed information on the circumstances leading up to each death from interviews with the decedents’ next-of-kin. We reviewed CME/LE incident narratives for 812 decedents, who were demographically representative of all Black adult firearm suicide decedents in the U.S. from 2013-2021. Using conventional content analysis, we organized the data using “descriptive” and “in vivo” codes. This process was inductive and conducted at a semantic level, allowing codes to emerge. We categorized our first-cycle codes using “focused” coding and analytic memos, accounting for positionality.

Results: The decedents had a mean age of 38.2 years, and 88.9% were male. Eight major categories of circumstances emerged: Poor Health, Arguments & Relationship Issues, Substance Use, Unsuccessful Intervention Opportunities, Socioeconomic Disadvantages, Emotional Anguish, Legal Issues, and Firearm Accessibility. Many circumstances co-occurred. ~29.5% of the decedents had a known mental health issue.

Conclusions: Our findings may indicate potential intervention opportunities, potentially informing when interventions like lethal means assessment should be provided, e.g., for Black adults experiencing distinct circumstances like relationship issues, pain, and socioeconomic disadvantages.

Method: A cross-sectional study was used to collect data from 414 health trainees randomly recruited. Data was analyzed using Stata version 15. Bivariate and multiple logistic regressions were performed and a p-value less than 0.05 was considered statistically significant.

Results: Overall, 95.6% had breast cancer knowledge and 20.1% had ever been screened. Respondents had their information from health workers, peers, electronic and social media, 64.7% had knowledge of risk factors for BC, 57.4% agreed on high BC mortality in Ghana, 70.7% reported BC could be prevented of which 25.9% reporting that prevention could be through early screening and detection, but only 20% of respondents ever been screened. Multiple logistic regression analysis for higher knowledge found statistically significant associations for age (p= 0.040), having NHIS card (p = 0.034) and having heard of BC (p = 0.013).

Conclusion: Most of the participants were knowledgeable about BC, but a significant number had not been screened for it. It is suggested that educational programs strengthen the need to screen for BC through media campaigns focused on increased screening.

Our findings reveal diverse and complex narratives surrounding end-of-life care, reflecting the intersection of race, familial expectations, and healthcare systems. Participants shared moving experiences with family and health care providers, shaping their attitudes towards hospice and palliative care. Discussions highlighted limited knowledge of available services regarding access to and utilization of end-of-life care resources.

Thematic analysis identified several key domains, including quality of care, decision-making related to death and dying, and the role of race, highlighting the importance of culturally competent care. These findings underscore the need for healthcare providers to adopt culturally sensitive approaches.

This research illuminates the diverse perspectives and experiences within Black communities and informs the development of culturally responsive end-of-life care strategies.

Description: Project COVID-19 Health literacy, Accessibility, Management, Prevention, Intervention, Outcomes, and New Skills (CHAMPIONS) for Equitable Communities was designed to advance health literacy and enhance equitable community responses to COVID-19. Through CHAMPIONS, Vicksburg partnered with Jackson-Hinds Comprehensive Health Center, and Jackson State University’s public health program to plan, implement, and evaluate a health literacy intervention that targeted culturally and linguistically diverse population of individuals who may be most likely to have limited health literacy, experience communication mismatch during healthcare experiences, or least likely to be engaged or reached through health messages for promoting COVID-19 health recommendations.

Methods: All COVID-19 materials were analyzed for accessibility, readability, outreach activities and training sessions were evaluated using surveys and focus groups. Through CHAMPIONS, 85 partnerships were established to implement health literacy outreach activities and trainings throughout Vicksburg in which 8,931 people participated between 2022-2023.

Lessons Learned: Health literacy can be effectively done through outreach activities that appropriately respond to preventing COVID-19 infections.

Recommendations: To appropriately respond to the pandemic, preventative activities are critical for rural communities like Vicksburg.

• Background: Utilizing Intersectionality and the social-ecological model as the theoretical framework, this study provides exploratory data about how Black parents communicate with their children about sexual health and trauma within the context of religiosity and the influence of the Black Church as a cultural institution.
• Methodology: Exploratory sequential mixed methods research was conducted in three Phases. Phase 1 included focus groups with community “advisory panelists” (N=5) to discuss Black parents’ communicative beliefs, perceptions, and behaviors regarding sexual health and trauma. Phase 2 consisted of a cross-sectional survey to explore Black parents’ (N=457) rape myth acceptance, sexual communication, and religiosity. The final phase included seven focus groups (N=21) with Black parents to deepen the exploration from Phase 2.
• Results: The data triangulation across all three phases resulted in associations between the religiosity of parents with their rape myth acceptance and sex communication with their children. There was a positive correlation between Black parents’ religiosity and their acceptance of victim-blaming beliefs. Parents’ communicative behavior about sexual health and trauma was framed by their experiences of religion growing up and the intergenerational differences in perceptions about the safety and trust of the Black church regarding sexual trauma.
• Conclusions: The study provides baseline data for the development of faith-based public health education interventions that seek to promote building trust with faith leaders as safe spaces regarding sexual health through sexual health literacy interventions and the promotion of socio-behavioral change that targets the silencing within Black families and communities about sexual trauma.