Background:
Depression among Black men is a significant mental health concern, shaped by racial discrimination, socioeconomic pressures, and rigid masculine norms. Due to stigma and systemic mistrust, Black men are less likely to seek care. Research underscores the importance of culturally adapted interventions that enhance engagement and address these unique challenges. This proposal systematically reviews existing literature on such interventions to evaluate their effectiveness in improving mental health outcomes.

Methodology:
A systematic review of peer-reviewed studies published between 2010 and 2025 will be conducted using PubMed, PsycINFO, and other academic databases available through Pepperdine University’s library database. The review will assess the quality and impact of culturally tailored mental health interventions for Black men, identifying best practices and barriers to implementation.

Results:
Findings will summarize the effectiveness of culturally adapted interventions, including cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT), psychodynamic therapy, and community-based approaches. The review will highlight how cultural competence fosters trust and engagement while addressing systemic barriers such as racism, stigma, and financial constraints.

Conclusions:
The literature underscores the need for culturally responsive therapies that integrate Black men’s lived experiences. By adapting evidence-based practices, leveraging community-based support, and addressing structural inequities, mental health professionals can improve access and outcomes for this underserved population.

Issues: Black women’s (BW) experiences in the United States are not monolithic, and research should center their voices in a social, cultural, and historical lens. In 2023, 14 focus groups with 72 participants grounded in Superwoman Schema and Black Feminist Theory were conducted across Virginia to explore BW perspectives on health and wellness. After the 2024 Presidential Election, four additional focus groups were held with 18 participants, nine of whom returned from the original study

Description: Focus groups served as both data collection tools and spaces for introspection, peer support, and community-building. Initial focus group participants reflected on what it means to be a BW and whether there is a difference between a strong BW and a superwoman. Many had never previously considered these questions. Participants built connections, exchanged advice, and even prayed for one another during the 90-minute discussions. Participants who participated in both focus group discussions had reevaluated their relationship with the "strong BW" narrative and some had explored their identity further.

Lessons Learned: Focus group spaces can become healing spaces in addition to providing insightful qualitative data. Peer-to-peer- dialogue is powerful, and discussions were conducive to mutual learning and empowerment.

Recommendations: Future studies on BW experiences should adopt culturally responsive frameworks that provide a comprehensive social, cultural, and structural influences on their health and well-being. Prioritizing safe and affirming spaces allows participants to engage in meaningful dialogue beyond structured data collection, fostering deeper connections and mutual empowerment.

Issues:
Black and Brown youth remain significantly underrepresented in health professions due to systemic barriers in education, mentorship, and access to career development opportunities. Addressing this gap is critical to ensuring culturally responsive public health leadership, health knowledge, and community advocacy.

Description:
The Urban Health Fellowship (UHF) is a pathway program based in South Los Angeles designed to equip historically marginalized youth with academic preparation, health advocacy tools, and exposure to medical professions. Through a yearlong curriculum piloted in one high school, students engage in weekly sessions covering the social determinants of health, Youth Participatory Action Research (YPAR), hands-on labs with doctors from Charles Drew University, and field trips to colleges and healthcare sites. The program emphasizes identity exploration, college and career readiness, and health equity.

Lessons Learned:
Program outcomes suggest increased student confidence in public speaking, greater awareness of health disparities, and expanded interest in health careers. The YPAR component empowered students to explore local health issues through qualitative and quantitative methods, culminating in stakeholder presentations. Preliminary data from pre- and post-surveys must be included and analyzed to indicate any gain in academic engagement, self-efficacy, and knowledge of public health frameworks.

Recommendations:
Scaling the Urban Health Fellowship model in other underserved communities can support workforce diversity and health literacy. Future directions include longitudinal tracking of student career outcomes.

Learning Objectives:

1. Describe the structure and impact of a community-based pathway program targeting youth of color.
2. Identify key strategies for integrating health equity, mentorship, and research into academic programming for high school students.

Background

Black/African American (B/AA) populations face disproportionately high rates of cardiovascular disease (CVD) and poorest CVD outcomes compared to any other racial group. These disparities are not explained empirically by genetic or behavioral factors, highlighting the need for care models that integrate social roots of disease management. Our research purpose was to design a conceptual framework illustrating socially-driven mechanisms that shape CVD incidence, management and prognosis within B/AA communities.

Methods

This framework is a situation-specific adaptation of the Butterfield Upstream Model For Public Health (BUMP). Within each BUMP domain, salient conditions (social determinants of health (SDOH)) impacting successful management of CVD among B/AA communities were identified through multidisciplinary theoretical and empirical precedent.

Results

In our adaptation, confluence of structural and interpersonal racism is posited as a fundamental “determinant of equity,” that systematizes inequities in SDOH across BUMP domains. Examples of SDOH salient to the current framework include geographic proximity to nutritious food and healthcare, financial resources for housing and medication, individual/community experiences of discrimination, and potential mitigation of harms through partnerships between community, clinicians, and collaborators. We propose these SDOH, and their downstream behavioral sequelae, shape outcomes including CVD incidence, management, and prognosis. We identify points where public health workers and clinicians can partner with patients to disrupt cycles of underreach and facilitate the pursuit of well-being.

Conclusion

Findings from this framework will inform future research aimed at identifying the etiological context, upstream causes of disparity, and potential intervention points to improve CVD outcomes.

INTRODUCTION

Despite increasing prevalence of mental health challenges among Black college students, service utilization fails to increase at the same rate (Lipson et al., 2022). Research indicates belonging is an important protective factor for mental health (Allen et al., 2024). There is limited research on the mental health of students attending historically Black colleges and universities (HBCUs). The current study will assess the relationship between belonging, and mental health outcomes (e.g. depression) among Black students attending HBCUs.

STUDY POPULATION/METHODS

The current study analyzes a sample of 5,872 Black students from the Healthy Minds Study. Students completed measures of sociodemographics (e.g., gender), anxiety (Generalized Anxiety Disorder-7 scale; Spitzer et al., 2006), depression (Patient Health Questionnaire-9; Kroenke et al., 2010), and mental health service utilization (e.g. past year therapy).

RESULTS

Initial analysis indicates that Black students attending HBCUs report a higher sense of belonging on campus (p < .05) and lower levels of depression and anxiety (p < .05) compared to Black students attending predominantly white institutions (PWIs). However, among students with mental health challenges, HBCU students are less likely to receive services (p < .05).

DISCUSSION

Findings suggest that the prevalence of belonging, depression, anxiety, and service utilization may differ between Black students attending HBCUs and PWIs. This study addresses a critical gap in understanding protective factors for mental health, mental health outcomes, and service utilization among HBCU students in the US.

Background

Comprehensive insurance coverage is essential to addressing gaps in healthcare among rural residents. Black populations also face significant challenges in accessing healthcare. This study focuses on identifying the factors driving unmet healthcare needs with an emphasis on insurance coverage in Florida’s panhandle.

Methodology

A cross-sectional study using a survey administered by Community Health Workers was conducted among rural Floridians. The main outcome variable was unmet healthcare needs, the major predictor variable was insurance and covariates include ethnicity, race, gender, and age groups. Descriptive analyses were performed, and the relationship between the outcome and the covariates was assessed using unadjusted and adjusted multivariable logistic regression. Statistical analyses were performed using SAS version 9.4.

Results

A total of 943 participants were included, with 76.7% (n=723) rural residents and 80.0% (n=727) identifying as Black. Among this population, 18.42% lacked insurance coverage and 89.26% reported unmet healthcare needs. In the unadjusted analysis, lack of insurance (OR 11.95, 95% CI 8.17–17.50) and younger age groups (18–29 vs. 65+: OR 3.11, 95% CI 1.80–5.78; 30–49 vs. 65+: OR 2.87, 95% CI 1.68–5.08) were significantly associated with unmet healthcare needs. After adjusting for covariates, being uninsured (OR 12.39, 95% CI 7.97–19.98) and living in urban rather than rural areas (OR 0.53, 95% CI 0.37–1.10) emerged as the main predictors of unmet healthcare needs.

Conclusion

For Black populations in rural Florida’s panhandle, lack of insurance coverage emerged as the most significant predictor of unmet healthcare needs underscoring the pivotal role of health insurance in reducing access gaps.

Background: Maternal health disparities in the United States disproportionately affect Black mothers, who experience significantly higher maternal mortality rates compared to White mothers. While social determinants of health (SDOH) such as economic instability and limited healthcare access contribute to these disparities, environmental determinants of health (EDOH) including policies and governance structures are the upstream forces shaping these outcomes. This study aims to systematically examine and map the role of EDOH that drives Maternal Health Disparities in the US.

Methods: A scoping review will examine the role of EDOH in driving maternal health disparities in thirteen states located in the northeast, south, and west. The review will map interdisciplinary evidence across public health environmental, and healthcare policy domains, using PubMed, CINAHL, Scopus, Web of Science, ProQuest Dissertations & Theses, and Google Scholar to identify peer-reviewed and grey literature from 2015 to 2025. Eligible studies will focus on U.S. maternal health disparities linked to environmental or policy-related factors, while studies solely addressing clinical or individual-level risks will be excluded. Data will be analyzed using NVIVO and thematic analysis to identify key political drivers.

Results: The findings are expected to demonstrate that EDOH are central contributors to maternal health disproportionately burdening Black mothers.

Conclusion: It is anticipated that addressing maternal health disparities requires a shift toward upstream policy reforms that dismantle systemic barriers and prioritize equity. Recommendations may focus on expanding healthcare access, advancing reproductive justice, and addressing structural racism as essential steps toward improving maternal health outcomes and promoting health equity.

Background: Natural disasters present significant challenges to maternal and infant health by disrupting healthcare services, increasing stress, and limiting access to essential resources. Pregnant and postpartum women are particularly vulnerable during disasters, facing risks such as missed prenatal care, heightened mental health concerns, and barriers to emergency preparedness.

Methods: This literature review examines the impact of natural disasters on maternal and infant health outcomes, identifies unique risks posed to this population, and explores how Pregnancy Risk Assessment Monitoring System (PRAMS) data has been used to assess maternal health in disaster settings. A systematic search of PubMed identified four relevant studies published since 2022, focusing on maternal health and emergency preparedness in regions including Puerto Rico, Hawaii, and Tennessee.

Results: Findings highlight gaps in disaster preparedness among postpartum women, with many lacking comprehensive emergency plans. Studies also indicate an association between disaster exposure and increased postpartum depression symptoms, as well as shifts in infant feeding practices, such as increased exclusive breastfeeding following hurricanes. The review emphasizes the need for improved disaster preparedness education within maternal healthcare, particularly for low-income and high-risk populations.

Conclusions: Healthcare providers, including midwives, nurses, and doulas, play a critical role in equipping families with emergency preparedness strategies, ensuring access to stable prenatal and postpartum care, and promoting breastfeeding as a sustainable feeding option in crises. Strengthening disaster response efforts with a maternal health focus can improve health outcomes and resilience among pregnant and postpartum individuals during and after natural disasters.

Background:

Maternal morbidity and mortality have been a critical public health issue for populations at risk, resulting in negative maternal outcomes in the U.S. Previous studies indicated that elevated rates of stress may be associated with negative offsprings’ outcomes. Stress hormones, particularly cortisol, are vital in shaping interactions between mothers and their offspring, affecting maternal behaviors and the developmental trajectory of children. This literature review aimed to identify articles about maternal stress and offspring’s behavioral, emotional, mental, and developmental conditions.

Methodology:

This is a literature review of articles from the EBSCO host database to examine the relationship between parenting stress and its developmental implications for children. Articles were selected based on their focus on genetic, epigenetic, or behavioral transmission of parenting stress among parents or guardians of children aged 17 years or younger.

Results:

Out of the 32 articles initially reviewed, only 18 fulfilled the inclusion criteria. The articles reported that internal and external determinants are important to the developmental growth of offspring. Internal factors include the domestic environment, whereas external factors arise from the social context and existing hierarchies. One internal factor influencing offspring’s well-being is the emotional regulation strategies demonstrated by parents, which children may assimilate as they develop. Elevated maternal hair cortisol concentration (HCC) and depressive symptoms correlate with increased infant HCC levels. External factors, including social hierarchies can yield important insights into practical strategies for offspring development.

Conclusion:

This literature review demonstrates how maternal stress can influence offspring outcomes and is critical to developmental growth.

Background:
The involvement of African American men in maternal care during pregnancy and postpartum is a vital factor in improving maternal health outcomes. This study explores how African American fathers contribute to maternal well-being, using the Health Belief Model to examine their roles. Despite evidence showing Black fathers are active in parenting, many lack awareness of pregnancy-related complications and birth preparedness, which perpetuates disparities in maternal outcomes.

Methods:
A mixed-methods approach was used, involving 100 African American men aged 18-50, recruited through 4Kira4Moms. Participants completed surveys assessing their understanding of maternal health and their perceptions of gender roles. Focus groups were conducted to gather qualitative insights. Quantitative data were analyzed using STATA, while NVivo was used for qualitative analysis.

Results:
The findings suggest that fathers’ involvement positively impacts maternal mental health, reducing stress, anxiety, and depression. Barriers such as limited knowledge and systemic exclusion were identified, while culturally relevant programs and community support were shown to encourage greater paternal engagement.

Conclusions:
African American male involvement possibly play a critical role in improving maternal health and reducing disparities. This research highlights the need for healthcare systems to integrate fathers into maternal health initiatives, empowering them as advocates for maternal well-being. Future studies should focus on expanding these findings to larger, more diverse populations to develop scalable solutions.