Cultural Dominance in Dietetics; Hearing the Voices, African American Nutrition Educators Speak

2013 ◽  
Vol 1 (3) ◽  
pp. 10
Author(s):  
Jill White

Currently less than 4% of Registered Dietitians in the U.S. come from African American or Latino communities. People are often unwilling to reveal their lifestyle patterns to those they fear will be insensitive to their sociopolitical position in society. The 2002 Institute of Medicine Committee on Understanding and Eliminating Racial and Ethnic Disparities in Health Care recommended an increase of underrepresented minorities in the health care workforce. This study analyzed the impact of white dominance in the Field of Dietetics. Nineteen African American women who practice nutrition education in the African American community were interviewed regarding their own educational experiences, their practice, and their perception of the profession of Dietetics. They were also asked to give their opinions regarding changes that need to take place in the field. Critical Race Theory was utilized as a lens to analyze the findings. The women reported racism in their educational histories. The participants commented on their ability to relate to the food, economic conditions and learning styles of their African American clients. They identified a number of obstacles to becoming Registered Dietitians, many of which centered on accessing the internship process and the lack of perceived cost/benefit. The participants discussed needed changes in the educational process, including more multicultural education for dietetic students. It is hoped that this study will provide a voice from those who have been marginalized in Dietetics to project insight on how the field might become more inclusive and effective in communities of color.

2010 ◽  
Vol 38 (8) ◽  
pp. 1105-1109 ◽  
Author(s):  
James J. Annesi ◽  
Srinivasa Gorjala

Body image in obese women is generally poor, and may be affected by race/ethnicity. The impact of exercise is unclear. White and African American women who were obese started on a supported exercise and nutrition education program for weight reduction. The body satisfaction of the African American participants was significantly more favorable at baseline than the comparable group of White women. For all participants, body satisfaction was significantly related to overall mood, both at baseline, and in its significant improvements over six months. Race/ethnicity did not influence those relationships. Extensions of this research may improve theory and, ultimately, treatments.


2006 ◽  
Vol 38 (5) ◽  
pp. 317-318 ◽  
Author(s):  
Peter S. Houts ◽  
Sharada Shankar ◽  
Ann C. Klassen ◽  
Ellen B. Robinson

2020 ◽  
Vol 30 (2) ◽  
pp. 287-294
Author(s):  
Megan T. Ebor ◽  
Aurora P. Jackson

Objective: The current study sought to test the effect of an HIV prevention interven­tion on depressive symptoms in a sample of older African American women.Design, Setting and Participants: A pretest-posttest randomized control group design was conducted in a mega-church in Los Angeles with a sample of 62 older African American women, aged ≥50 years, 29 of whom were randomly assigned to the experimental condition and 33 to the comparison/control condition.Measures: A measure of psychological wellbeing (CES-D) was utilized to test the effect of the four-session group interven­tion vs the one-session informational group intervention on change in depressive symp­toms from pretest to posttest. Demographic characteristics included: measures of age in years; relationship and employment statuses (coded 1 for yes, 0 for no); and educational attainment.Results: Participation in the study was as­sociated with a significant improvement in the women’s psychological wellbeing from baseline to time 2; ie, decreased depres­sive symptoms. This change was greater for women in the four-session experimental group than for those in the one-session comparison group, due in part to a margin­ally significant interaction between time and experimental conditions.Conclusions: This study demonstrates the utility of faith-based/behavioral-scientist partnerships in HIV programming. Findings contribute to the evidence on interventions that might reduce depressive symptoms and HIV risk among older African American women. Ethn Dis. 2020;30(2):287-294; doi:10.18865/ed.30.2.287


10.2196/15801 ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 7 (2) ◽  
pp. e15801 ◽  
Author(s):  
Terika McCall ◽  
Todd A Schwartz ◽  
Saif Khairat

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.


Stroke ◽  
2017 ◽  
Vol 48 (suppl_1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Leticia C Rebello ◽  
Aaron Anderson ◽  
Diogo C Haussen ◽  
Samir R Belagaje ◽  
Jonathan A Grossberg ◽  
...  

Background: The ethnic disparities in stroke outcomes have been well described. Stroke is twice more common and leads to higher mortality rates among blacks as compared to whites. We compared the outcomes of patients undergoing endovascular stroke therapy (ET) in a high-volume center according to their racial profile after age adjustment. Methods: Retrospective analysis of a prospectively collected ET database between September/2010-September/2015. The baseline characteristics of African-American vs. Caucasian patients were compared. Given the impact of age on stroke outcomes additional analyses were performed dichotomizing patients using the median age of the overall cohort. Primary and secondary efficacy outcomes included the rates of good outcome (90-day mRS 0-2) and successful reperfusion (mTICI 2b-3), respectively. Safety outcome was accessed by rates of any parenchymal hematoma (PH-1 and PH-2) and 90-day mortality. Results: 781 patients fit the inclusion criteria and were included in the analysis; 440 were included in the Caucasian group (56% overall cohort) and 341 in the African-American group (44%). Caucasian patients were significantly older (69±13 vs. 60±14 years-old, p<0.01) but the remaining baseline characteristics were otherwise well-balanced. This included similar baseline CT perfusion core volumes (rCBF<30%, 17.6 ± 20.8 vs. 17.9 ± 32.8; p=0.93). There were no differences in the rates successful reperfusion (mTICI 2b-3: 83% vs. 85%, p=0.37), any PH (8% vs. 5%, p=0.26), or final infarct volume (32 IQR 12-89 vs. 25 IQR 9-67; p=0.12) across the two groups. In the overall cohort, there was a lower proportion of 90-day good outcome (39% vs. 49%; p<0.01) and higher 90-day mortality (32% vs. 16%; p<0.01) among Caucasians presumably due to their older age. Subgroup analysis of patients 65 years-old or younger showed similar rates of 90-day good outcomes (59% vs. 53%; p=0.33) and mortality (17% vs. 12%; p=0.22) across Caucasian and African-American patients. Conclusion: Aggressive treatment of acute ischemic stroke with endovascular therapy leads to similar outcomes across African-American and Caucasian patients. Greater availability of ET may diminish the ethnic/racial disparities in stroke outcomes.


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