Unsupervised Machine Learning to Detect and Characterize Barriers to PrEP Therapy: A Multiplatform Social Media Study (Preprint)

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Qing Xu ◽  
Matthew C. Nali ◽  
Tiana McMann ◽  
Cortni Bardier ◽  
Hector Godinez ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Machine Learning ◽  
Social Media ◽  
Hiv Prevention ◽  
Ethnic Minority ◽  
Sexual Minority ◽  
Minority Groups ◽  
Minority Populations ◽  
Unsupervised Machine Learning ◽  
Ethnic Minority Populations ◽  
Racial And Ethnic Minority

BACKGROUND Among racial and ethnic minority groups, the risk of HIV infection is an ongoing public health challenge. PrEP (pre-exposure prophylaxis) is highly effective for preventing HIV when taken as prescribed. However, there is a need to understand experiences, attitudes, and barriers of PrEP for racial and ethnic minority populations, and sexual minority groups. OBJECTIVE This infodemiology study aimed to leverage big data and unsupervised machine learning to identify, characterize, and elucidate on experiences and attitudes regarding perceived barriers associated with uptake and adherence to PrEP therapy. The study also specifically examined self-reported experiences from racial or ethnic populations and sexual minority users. METHODS The study used data mining approaches to collect posts from popular social media platforms Twitter, YouTube, Tumblr, Instagram, and Reddit. Posts were selected by filtering for keywords associated with PrEP, HIV, and approved PrEP therapies. We analyzed data using unsupervised machine learning followed by manual annotation using a deductive coding approach to characterize PrEP and other HIV prevention-related themes discussed by users. RESULTS We collected a total of 522,430 posts over a 60-day period, including 408,637 (78.22%) Tweets, 13,768 (2.63%) YouTube comments, 8,728 (1.67%) Tumblr posts, 88,177 (16.88%) Instagram posts, and 3,120 (0.60%) Reddit posts. After applying unsupervised machine learning and content analysis, a total of 785 posts were identified that specifically related to barriers to PrEP and were grouped into three major thematic domains including the: (a) provider level (n=13 posts, 1.66%); (b) patient-level (n=570, 72.61%), and (c) community level (n=166, 21.15%). The main barriers identified in these categories included those associated with knowledge (lack of knowledge about PrEP); access issues (lack of insurance coverage, no prescription, and impact of COVID-19 pandemic); and adherence (subjective reasons for why users terminated PrEP or decided not to start PrEP, including side effects, alternative HIV prevention measures, and social stigma). Among all PrEP posts, we identified 320 (40.76%) posts where users self-identified as racial or ethnic minority, or as a sexual minority population with their own specific PrEP barriers and concerns. CONCLUSIONS Both objective and subjective reasons were identified as barriers reported by social media users when initiating, accessing, and adhering to PrEP. Though ample evidence supports PrEP as an effective HIV prevention strategy, user-generated posts nevertheless provide insights into what barriers are preventing people from broader adoption of PrEP, including topics that are specific to two different groups of sexual minorities and racial and ethnic minority populations. Results have the potential to inform future health promotion and regulatory science approaches that can reach these HIV/AIDS communities who may benefit from PrEP.

scholarly journals Community-centred interventions for improving public mental health among adults from ethnic minority populations in the UK: a scoping review

BMJ Open ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (4) ◽  
pp. e041102
Author(s):  
Cleo Baskin ◽  
Geiske Zijlstra ◽  
Mike McGrath ◽  
Caroline Lee ◽  
Fiona Helen Duncan ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Ethnic Minority ◽  
Minority Groups ◽  
Public Mental Health ◽  
Risk Of Bias ◽  
Minority Populations ◽  
Ethnic Minority Groups ◽  
Ethnic Minority Populations ◽  
The Uk ◽  
Intervention Description

ObjectivesUndertake a scoping review to determine the effectiveness of community-centred interventions designed to improve the mental health and well-being of adults from ethnic minority groups in the UK.MethodsWe searched six electronic academic databases for studies published between January 1990 and September 2019: Medline, Embase, PsychINFO, Scopus, CINAHL and Cochrane. For intervention description and data extraction we used the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses extension for Scoping Reviews checklist and Template for Intervention Description and Replication guide. Quality was assessed using Cochrane risk of bias tools. Grey literature results were deemed beyond the scope of this review due to the large number of interventions and lack of available outcomes data.ResultsOf 4501 studies, 7 met the eligibility criteria of UK-based community interventions targeting mental health in adults from ethnic minority populations: four randomised controlled trials, one pre/post-pilot study, one cross-sectional study and one ethnographic study. Interventions included therapy-style sessions, peer-support groups, educational materials, gym access and a family services programme. Common components included a focus on tackling social isolation, using lay health workers from within the community, signposting and overcoming structural barriers to access. Four studies reported a statistically significant positive effect on mental health outcomes and six were appraised as having a high risk of bias. Study populations were ethnically heterogeneous and targeted people mainly from South Asia. No studies examined interventions targeting men.ConclusionsThere is a paucity of high-quality evidence regarding community-centred interventions focused on improving public mental health among ethnic minority groups. Decision makers need scientific evidence to inform effective approaches to mitigating health disparities. Our next steps are to map promising community activities and interventions that are currently being provided to help identify emerging evidence.

Treatment of Depressive Disorders and Comorbidity in Ethnic Minority Groups

2014 ◽  
Author(s):  
Huynh-Nhu Le ◽  
Rhonda C. Boyd ◽  
Ma. Asunción Lara
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Ethnic Minority ◽  
Depressive Disorders ◽  
Minority Groups ◽  
Treatment Guidelines ◽  
Adult Population ◽  
The United States ◽  
Minority Populations ◽  
Ethnic Minority Groups ◽  
Ethnic Minority Populations

Depression is comorbid with anxiety, substance use, and medical conditions in majority and ethnic minority populations. Despite recognition of the growing diversity of racial and ethnic minority groups in the United States, there are significant mental health disparities among them. This chapter reviews literature on interventions of depressive disorders and other mental and medical health conditions in ethnic minority groups. It focuses on (1) the adult population, (1) treatment interventions, and (3) ethnic minority groups in the United States. This review illustrates that research on treatment of depression comorbidity is quite limited for ethnic minorities. Therefore this chapter also discusses how cultural adaptations of evidence-based interventions for major depression can further inform the extent to which interventions for depression comorbidity can be adapted for ethnic minority populations. Research gaps, recommendations, future directions, and treatment guidelines for practitioners related to depression comorbidity and ethnic minority groups are discussed.

scholarly journals Racial and Ethnic Digital Divides in Posting COVID-19 Content on Social Media Among US Adults: Secondary Survey Analysis (Preprint)

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Celeste Campos-Castillo ◽  
Linnea I. Laestadius
Keyword(s):  
Older Adults ◽  
Social Media ◽  
Ethnic Minority ◽  
Race And Ethnicity ◽  
Minority Groups ◽  
The United States ◽  
Ethnic Minority Groups ◽  
Digital Divides ◽  
Gender And Age ◽  
Racial And Ethnic Minority

BACKGROUND Public health surveillance experts are leveraging user-generated content on social media to track the spread and effects of COVID-19. However, racial and ethnic digital divides, which are disparities among people who have internet access and post on social media, can bias inferences. This bias is particularly problematic in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic because due to structural inequalities, members of racial and ethnic minority groups are disproportionately vulnerable to contracting the virus and to the deleterious economic and social effects from mitigation efforts. Further, important demographic intersections with race and ethnicity, such as gender and age, are rarely investigated in work characterizing social media users; however, they reflect additional axes of inequality shaping differential exposure to COVID-19 and its effects. OBJECTIVE The aim of this study was to characterize how the race and ethnicity of US adults are associated with their odds of posting COVID-19 content on social media and how gender and age modify these odds. METHODS We performed a secondary analysis of a survey conducted by the Pew Research Center from March 19 to 24, 2020, using a national probability sample (N=10,510). Respondents were recruited from an online panel, where panelists without an internet-enabled device were given one to keep at no cost. The binary dependent variable was responses to an item asking whether respondents “used social media to share or post information about the coronavirus.” We used survey-weighted logistic regressions to estimate the odds of responding in the affirmative based on the race and ethnicity of respondents (white, black, Latino, other race/ethnicity), adjusted for covariates measuring sociodemographic background and COVID-19 experiences. We examined how gender (female, male) and age (18 to 30 years, 31 to 50 years, 51 to 64 years, and 65 years and older) intersected with race and ethnicity by estimating interactions. RESULTS Respondents who identified as black (odds ratio [OR] 1.29, 95% CI 1.02-1.64; <i>P</i>=.03), Latino (OR 1.66, 95% CI 1.36-2.04; <i>P</i>&lt;.001), or other races/ethnicities (OR 1.33, 95% CI 1.02-1.72; <i>P</i>=.03) had higher odds than respondents who identified as white of reporting that they posted COVID-19 content on social media. Women had higher odds of posting than men regardless of race and ethnicity (OR 1.58, 95% CI 1.39-1.80; <i>P</i>&lt;.001). Among men, respondents who identified as black, Latino, or members of other races/ethnicities were significantly more likely to post than respondents who identified as white. Older adults (65 years or older) had significantly lower odds (OR 0.73, 95% CI 0.57-0.94; <i>P</i>=.01) of posting compared to younger adults (18-29 years), particularly among those identifying as other races/ethnicities. Latino respondents were the most likely to report posting across all age groups. CONCLUSIONS In the United States, members of racial and ethnic minority groups are most likely to contribute to COVID-19 content on social media, particularly among groups traditionally less likely to use social media (older adults and men). The next step is to ensure that data collection procedures capture this diversity by encompassing a breadth of search criteria and social media platforms.

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