Increasing the proportion of persons, including children, who are vaccinated annually against seasonal influenza is a Healthy People 2030 Leading Health Indicator. Vaccination is effective in preventing influenza. The Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices recommends an annual influenza vaccination for children aged 6 months and over. This…

Objective: The type of health education messages that communities and individuals seek to have communicated about the human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine is important if vaccine programmes are to succeed, especially in settings such as Papua New Guinea (PNG), which have a high burden of cervical cancer, low health literacy and negative experiences…

HIV disproportionately impacts young African American men who have sex with men (MSM). In this study, we sought to understand how previous relationship experiences and expectations for romantic relationships influence condom use among young African American MSM. Twenty African American MSM aged 16 to 24 years completed a semi-structured interview…

The social, economic, and environmental determinants of health include employment, housing, and education; exposure to environmental factors like lead or access to healthy food; and poverty, racism and oppression. Many of these conditions can lead to Adverse Childhood Experiences that may put children and youth at risk for abuse or maltreatment…

Relationship dynamics develop early in life and are influenced by social environments. STI/HIV prevention programs need to consider romantic relationship dynamics that contribute to sexual health. The aim of this study was to examine monogamous patterns, commitment, and trust in African American adolescent romantic relationships. The authors also…

Background: Dengue fever and dengue hemorrhagic fever (DF/DHF) are epidemic and endemic in tropical and subtropical countries including Sri Lanka. Numerous structural and community interventions have been shown to be effective in interrupting the life cycle of mosquitoes that transmit DF/DHF; however, these interventions are not always implemented…

In the United States, racial disparities in HIV/AIDS are stark. Although African Americans comprise an estimated 14% of the U.S. population, they made up 52% of new HIV cases among adults and adolescents diagnosed in 2009. Heterosexual transmission is now the second leading cause of HIV in the United States. African Americans made up a full…

African American young women exhibit higher risk for sexually transmitted infections, including HIV/AIDS, compared with European American women, and this is particularly true for African American women living in low-income contexts. We used rigorous qualitative methods, that is, domain analysis, including free listing ("n" = 20),…

African-American young men who have sex with men and transgender persons are at elevated risk for HIV infection. House and Ball communities, networks of mostly African-American gay, bisexual, and transgender individuals who compete in modeling and dance, represent a prime venue for HIV prevention with these difficult-to-reach populations; however,…

Early adolescence is a crucial period for preventing teen pregnancy and sexually transmitted infections. This study evaluated STAR LO, a theater-based intervention designed to affect antecedents of sexual activity among urban early adolescents (N = 1,143). Public elementary/middle schools received the intervention or served as a wait-listed…

Objective: Mediators of childhood sexual abuse (CSA) and HIV risk behavior were examined for men-who-have-sex-with-men (MSM). Method: Data from a dual frame survey of urban MSM (N = 1078) provided prevalence estimates of CSA, and a test of two latent variable models (defined by partner type) of CSA-risk behavior mediators. Results: A 20%…

Objective: To examine caregivers' perceptions and practices related to food and personal hygiene and its association with diarrhea in children 6 to 36 months of age who suffered recurrent diarrhea. Design: This qualitative study, conducted in March and April 2006, used both in-depth interviews and direct observation data. Setting: Urban Tangerang,…

For a university service learning educational research project addressing Legionnaires' disease (LD), a Yes/No questionnaire on community awareness of LD was developed and distributed in an urban community in North Carolina, USA. The 456 questionnaires completed by the participants were sorted into yes and no sets based on responses obtained to…

Waste management is a major challenge facing urban councils in Zimbabwe and Chinhoyi Municipality is no exception. Lack of resources and technical and administrative know-how is hindering proper waste management. Raw sewage and industrial waste flow into streams and rivers and uncollected rubbish bins and strewn litter is a common feature in the…

Although interventions based on cognitive theories can reduce rates of unsafe sexual behavior in adolescents, effect sizes remain small. This study was a qualitative investigation of inner-city adolescents' intentions to use condoms following participation in an intensive safer sex program. In-depth interviews with 26 adolescents were analyzed…