In the USA, HIV transmission rates among Black women are four times higher than white women, even in the face of low-risk behaviours, a discrepancy often overlooked because of historical stereotypes. In this study, we deconstruct a specific government-sponsored HIV prevention campaign targeted at Black women. Critical discourse analysis reveals a…

A cancer partnership was established between the University of the District of Columbia (UDC) and the Lombardi Comprehensive Cancer Center (LCCC) Georgetown University Medical Center in 2000 to focus on Cancer Prevention and Control. The major goal of the Partnership was cancer research, education, and cancer outreach. African American populations…

Prostate cancer is a disease in which abnormal cells in the body grow out of control in the walnut-sized prostate gland. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, African-American men have a higher rate of getting the disease and dying from it than any other racial or ethnic group. One in five African-American men has a chance…

Despite advances in HIV prevention and care, African Americans and Latino Americans remain at much higher risk of acquiring HIV, are more likely to be unaware of their HIV-positive status, are less likely to be linked to and retained in care, and are less likely to have suppressed viral load than are Whites. The first National HIV/AIDS Strategy…

This article articulates a contextualized understanding of gender and ethnicity as interacting social determinants of HIV risk and acquisition, with special focus on African Americans and Hispanics/Latinos--2 ethnic groups currently at most risk for HIV/AIDS acquisition in the United States. First, sex and gender are defined. Second, a conceptual…

During the course of the last century, a number of historical instances of unethical human research have occurred, and risen to the forefront of the social imagination. The atrocities of the European and Pacific Holocausts, the tragic 1932-1972 United States Public Health Service Syphilis Studies at Tuskegee, concomitant with the 1946-48 unethical…

Since publication of the U.S. Surgeon General's report "Mental Health: Culture, Race and Ethnicity--A Supplement to Mental Health: A Report of the Surgeon General" (U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, 2001), several federal initiatives signal a sustained focus on addressing African American-White American disparities in mental health…

Preterm birth is the leading cause of neonatal mortality and a major public health concern. Risk factors for preterm birth include a history of preterm birth, short cervix, infection, short interpregnancy interval, smoking, and African-American race. The use of progesterone therapy to treat mothers at risk for preterm delivery is becoming more…

The World Health Organization estimates that 50% of the 30 million HIV infections worldwide occurred in young people between the ages of 15 and 24 years. In the United States, national statistics estimate that almost 40% of new HIV cases occur in youth ages 13-29 (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2011). Therefore, a focus on preventing…

The Uniontown, Alabama Community Health Project trained and facilitated Community Health Advisors (CHAs) in conducting a theory-based intervention designed to reduce the risk for cardiovascular disease (CVD) among rural African-American women. The multiphased project included formative evaluation and community organization, CHA recruitment and…

U.S. teen pregnancy and birth rates remain among the highest in the western world. And although Latina teens were the only group to experience a decline in birth rate between 2006 and 2007, they continue to experience the highest rates in most states and across the nation. About half of all Latina teens experience pregnancy before they reach their…

"Research on Schools, Neighborhoods, and Communities: Toward Civic Responsibility" focuses on research and theoretical developments related to the role of geography in education, human development, and health. William F. Tate IV, the Edward Mallinckrodt Distinguished University Professor in Arts & Sciences at Washington University in…

Dr. James E.K. Hildreth is a prominent HIV/AIDS researcher. He has just been the director of Meharry Medical College's new Comprehensive Center for Health Disparities Research in HIV since July, and he is already feeling a sense of accomplishment. Hildreth says he's happy to be at Meharry, an institution with a storied tradition of producing many…

For African Americans, medical research often connotes exploitation and cruelty, making recruiting African Americans to participate in HIV vaccine trials particularly daunting. But infusing adult education principles into such efforts is both increasing African American participation and helping heal the legacy of the Tuskegee experiment.

Sexually transmitted infections, including human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), disproportionately affect African American adolescents and young adults. Many of our current strategies and approaches have been inadequate in the promotion of risk reduction among youth and need to be reconceptualized. This article identifies issues that may guide…