scholarly journals Perceptions of Facebook and Twitter as sources of health information among African-American women

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
◽  
Casey Adams Jones
Keyword(s):  
Health Care ◽  
Social Media ◽  
African American ◽  
Heart Disease ◽  
Black Women ◽  
African American Women ◽  
Health Information ◽  
Information Seeking ◽  
American Women ◽  
Sources Of Health Information

Objective: The purpose of this study was to explore how African-American women perceive Facebook and Twitter as sources for information about heart disease. Methods: A qualitative study was conducted among 23 women between the ages of 18 and 70, who self-identified as Black and female. Participants were recruited from both urban and rural cities. Data collected during each 60-minute or less focus group session was analyzed and grouped into key themes. Results: Among the Black women who participated in the research, findings indicated that Facebook and Twitter are perceived as credible sources of health information if the material shared comes from a health care professional or organization, or a friend speaking from a personal health experience. Credibility increased if information was presented by a person of color–particularly of the same race. Knowledge gained via social media was largely deemed to be the 05 board for further research via a tool or website that is established within the health care industry. Participants also expounded upon the importance of one advocating for themselves in the doctor's office and fact checking health information and professionals. Conclusion: Health professionals may be able to more effectively communicate health information to Black women via Facebook and Twitter. Recommendations such as establishing credibility and using women of color in visuals are made that may assist in prompting health behavior changes. Key words: Women, African American, health information seeking, social media, heart disease

scholarly journals Perceptions of Facebook and Twitter as sources of health information among African-American women

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
◽  
Casey Adams Jones
Keyword(s):  
Health Care ◽  
Social Media ◽  
African American ◽  
Heart Disease ◽  
Black Women ◽  
African American Women ◽  
Health Information ◽  
Information Seeking ◽  
American Women ◽  
Sources Of Health Information

Objective: The purpose of this study was to explore how African-American women perceive Facebook and Twitter as sources for information about heart disease. Methods: A qualitative study was conducted among 23 women between the ages of 18 and 70, who selfidentified as Black and female. Participants were recruited from both urban and rural cities. Data collected during each 60-minute or less focus group session was analyzed and grouped into key themes. Results: Among the Black women who participated in the research, findings indicated that Facebook and Twitter are perceived as credible sources of health information if the material shared comes from a health care professional or organization, or a friend speaking from a personal health experience. Credibility increased if information was presented by a person of color-particularly of the same race. Knowledge gained via social media was largely deemed to be the 05 board for further research via a tool or website that is established within the health care industry. Participants also expounded upon the importance of one advocating for themselves in the doctor's office and fact checking health information and professionals. Conclusion: Health professionals may be able to more effectively communicate health information to Black women via Facebook and Twitter. Recommendations such as establishing credibility and using women of color in visuals are made that may assist in prompting health behavior changes. Key words: Women, African American, health information seeking, social media, heart disease

scholarly journals Cell Phone Information Seeking Explains Blood Pressure in African American Women

2017 ◽  
Vol 40 (5) ◽  
pp. 617-632 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lenette M. Jones ◽  
Tiffany C. Veinot ◽  
Susan J. Pressler
Keyword(s):  
Blood Pressure ◽  
African American ◽  
Systolic Blood Pressure ◽  
African American Women ◽  
Health Information ◽  
Information Seeking ◽  
Cell Phone ◽  
Cell Phone Use ◽  
American Women ◽  
Significant Difference

Although cell phone use and Internet access via cell phone is not marked by racial disparities, little is known about how cell phone use relates to blood pressure and health information seeking behaviors. The purposes of this study were to (a) describe Internet activities, cell phone use, and information seeking; (b) determine differences in blood pressure and information seeking between cell phone information seekers and nonseekers; and (c) examine cell phone information seeking as a predictor of blood pressure in African American women. Participants ( N = 147) completed a survey and had their blood pressure measured. Independent-sample t tests showed a significant difference in systolic blood pressure in cell phone information seekers and nonseekers. Linear regression revealed cell phone information seeking as an independent predictor of systolic blood pressure, despite confounders. It is possible that cell phone information seekers were using health information to make decisions about self-management of blood pressure.

scholarly journals African American Women and Domestic Violence: Addressing their Voice of Silence

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bernice Kennedy ◽  
Chalice Rhodes (Former Jenkins)
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Domestic Violence ◽  
African American ◽  
Black Women ◽  
African American Women ◽  
White Women ◽  
The United States ◽  
Slave Owner ◽  
American Women ◽  
Strong Black Women

Abstract Historically, during slavery, the international slave trade promoted normalization of violence against African American women. During slavery, African American women endured inhuman conditions because of the majority race views of them as being over-sexualized, physically strong, and immoral. This perception of the African American women as being highly sexual and more sexual than white women results in slave owner justifying their sexual violation and degrading of the African American women. The stereotypical representations of African American women as strong, controlling, dangerous, fearless, and invulnerable may interfere with the African American women receiving the needed services for domestic violence in the community. The Strong Black Women Archetype has been dated back to slavery describing their coping mechanism in dealing with oppression by developing a strong, less traditionally female role. The authors developed a model: The Multidimensional Perspectives of Factors Contributing to Domestic Violence of African American Women in the United States. This model depicts historically, the factors contributing to domestic violence of African American women in the United States. Also, this model addressed the African American women subscribing to the Strong Black Women Archetype to cope with domestic violence. Despite the increase in domestic violence in African American women, they focused more on the issue of racism instead of sexism in America. African American women have experienced the two obstacles of racism and sexism in America. However, African American women and men believe racism is more critical than sexism. Therefore, domestic violence in the African American population may remain silent because of cultural loyalty. However, the voice of silence of African American females is gradually changing with the upcoming generations.

scholarly journals The Acceptability of Text Messaging to Help African American Women Manage Anxiety and Depression: Cross-Sectional Survey Study

10.2196/15801 ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 7 (2) ◽  
pp. e15801 ◽  
Author(s):  
Terika McCall ◽  
Todd A Schwartz ◽  
Saif Khairat
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Health Care ◽  
African American ◽  
Mental Health Care ◽  
African American Women ◽  
Text Messaging ◽  
Anxiety And Depression ◽  
American Women ◽  
To Receive ◽  
Insight Into

Background The rates of mental illness among African American women are comparable with the general population; however, they significantly underutilize mental health services compared with their white counterparts. Previous studies revealed that interventions delivered via text messaging are effective and can be used to increase access to services and resources. More insight into whether or not this modality is acceptable for use to deliver mental health care to help African American women manage anxiety and depression is needed. Objective This exploratory study aimed to gain insight into the acceptability of using text messaging to help African American women manage anxiety and depression. Methods A self-administered Web-based survey was launched in June 2018 and closed in August 2018. Eligible participants were African American women (18 years or older) who reside in the United States. Participants were recruited through convenience sampling (eg, email sent via listservs and social media posts). Respondents were provided an anonymous link to the questionnaire. The survey consisted of 53 questions on the following subjects: sociodemographic characteristics, attitudes toward seeking professional psychological help, mobile phone use, and acceptability of using a mobile phone to receive mental health care. Results The results of this exploratory study (N=101) showed that fewer than half of respondents endorsed the use of text messaging to communicate with a professional to receive help to manage anxiety (49/101, 48.5%) and depression (43/101, 42.6%). Approximately 51.4% (52/101) agreed that having the option to use text messaging to communicate with a professional if they are dealing with anxiety would be helpful. Similarly, 48.5% (49/101) agreed that having the option to use text messaging to communicate with a professional if they are dealing with depression would be helpful. Among participants who agreed that text messaging would be helpful, more than 80% noted being comfortable with its use to receive help for managing anxiety (approximately 86%, 45/52) and depression (approximately 82%, 40/49; highly significant positive association, all P<.001). More than 50% of respondents (56/101, 55.4%) indicated having concerns about using text messaging. No statistically significant associations were found between age and agreement with the use of text messaging to communicate with a professional to receive help for managing anxiety (P=.26) or depression (P=.27). Conclusions The use of text messaging was not highly endorsed by African American women as an acceptable mode of communication with a professional to help them manage anxiety or depression. Concerns around privacy, confidentiality, and the impersonal feel of communicating about sensitive issues via text messages must be addressed for this modality to be a viable option. The findings of this study demonstrated the need for further research into the use of mobile technology to provide this population with more accessible and convenient options for mental health care.

scholarly journals THE SEQUEL: THE FIFTEENTH AMENDMENT, THE NINETEENTH AMENDMENT, AND SOUTHERN BLACK WOMEN'S STRUGGLE TO VOTE

2018 ◽  
Vol 17 (3) ◽  
pp. 433-449 ◽  
Author(s):  
Liette Gidlow
Keyword(s):  
African American ◽  
Black Women ◽  
African American Women ◽  
Black Men ◽  
Voting Rights ◽  
Woman Suffrage ◽  
The South ◽  
American Women ◽  
Nineteenth Amendment ◽  
Fifteenth Amendment

This essay reframes both the woman suffrage narrative and narratives of African American voting rights struggles by focusing on the experiences of southern African American women between the 1870s and the 1920s. It argues that the Fifteenth Amendment remained central to their suffrage strategy long after the failure of the “New Departure” to win court sanction caused white suffragists to abandon it. As white supremacists in the South worked at the turn of the century to disfranchise black men, leading African American suffragists such as Mary Church Terrell, Gertrude Bustill Mossell, and Adella Hunt Logan called for the enforcement of the Fourteenth and Fifteenth Amendments as well as the enfranchisement of black women. After the federal woman suffrage amendment was ratified in 1920, many southern African American women encountered the same barriers to voting—obstructionist tactics, threats, and violence—that black men had faced a generation earlier. In short, for aspiring African American voters in the South, the failure of the Nineteenth Amendment to secure voting rights for black women constituted a sad sequel to the failure of the Fifteenth Amendment to secure voting rights for black men.This interpretation offers three significant interventions. It pairs the Reconstruction-era Amendments with the Nineteenth Amendment, recognizing their shared focus on voting rights. It connects the voting rights struggles of southern African Americans across genders and generations. Finally, it finds that, for some women, the canonical “century of struggle” for voting rights continued long after the Nineteenth Amendment was ratified.

scholarly journals Increasing Physical Activity in Black Women: Results from a Randomized Trial Conducted in Faith-Based Settings

2017 ◽  
Vol 27 (4) ◽  
pp. 411 ◽  
Author(s):  
Melicia C. Whitt-Glover ◽  
Moses V. Goldmon ◽  
Ziya Gizlice ◽  
Marie Sillice ◽  
Lyndsey Hornbuckle ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Physical Activity ◽  
African American ◽  
Black Women ◽  
African American Women ◽  
Controlled Trial ◽  
Control Group ◽  
High Risk Population ◽  
Post Intervention ◽  
American Women

<p><strong>Objective: </strong>The Learning and Developing Individual Exercise Skills (L.A.D.I.E.S.) for a Better Life study compared a faith-integrated (FI) and a secular (SEC) intervention for increasing physical activity with a self-guided (SG) control group among African American women. <strong></strong></p><p><strong>Design/Setting/Participants: </strong>L.A.D.I.E.S. was a cluster randomized, controlled trial. Churches (n=31) were randomized and women within each church (n=12 – 15) received the same intervention. <strong></strong></p><p><strong>Interventions: </strong>FI and SEC participants received 24 group-based sessions, delivered over 10 months. SG participants received printed materials to review independently for 10 months. Participants were followed for 12-months post-intervention to assess long-term intervention impact. </p><p><strong>Main Outcome Measures: </strong>Data on participant characteristics, physical activity, and intervention-related constructs were collected at baseline, 10 months, and 22 months. <strong></strong></p><p><strong>Results: </strong>Intervention session attendance was greater for FI compared with SEC participants (15.7 + 5.7 vs 12.4 + 7.3 sessions, respectively, P&lt;.01). After 10 months, FI and SEC participants significantly increased daily walking (+1,451 and +1,107 steps/ day, respectively) compared with SG participants (-128 steps/day). Increases were maintained after 22 months in the FI group compared with the SG group (+1092 vs. +336 daily steps, P&lt;.01). Between-group changes in accelerometer-assessed physical activity were not statistically significant at any time point. <strong></strong></p><p><strong>Conclusions: </strong>The FI intervention is a feasible strategy for short- and long-term increases in physical activity among African American women. Additional dissemination and evaluation of the strategy could be useful for reducing chronic disease in this high-risk population. <em></em></p><p><em>Ethn Dis.</em>2017;27(4):411- 420; doi:10.18865/ed.27.4.411. </p>

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