Showing papers by "Cynthia R. Pearson published in 2016"

Mentoring the Mentors of Underrepresented Racial/Ethnic Minorities Who are Conducting HIV Research: Beyond Cultural Competency.

Abstract: The majority of literature on mentoring focuses on mentee training needs, with significantly less guidance for the mentors. Moreover, many mentoring the mentor models assume generic (i.e. White) mentees with little attention to the concerns of underrepresented racial/ethnic minorities (UREM). This has led to calls for increased attention to diversity in research training programs, especially in the field of HIV where racial/ethnic disparities are striking. Diversity training tends to address the mentees' cultural competency in conducting research with diverse populations, and often neglects the training needs of mentors in working with diverse mentees. In this article, we critique the framing of diversity as the problem (rather than the lack of mentor consciousness and skills), highlight the need to extend mentor training beyond aspirations of cultural competency toward cultural humility and cultural safety, and consider challenges to effective mentoring of UREM, both for White and UREM mentors.

Psychological Wellbeing in the Face of Adversity among American Indians: Preliminary Evidence of a New Population Health Paradox?

Abstract: Our objective was to determine self-reported psychological wellbeing of American Indians (AIs). Data are from two surveys, a) 218 adults from the 2011 - 2012 Mino Giizhigad study including Ojibwe adults in Minnesota and Wisconsin, and b) 146 AI women aged 15 - 35 years from the 2011 Sacred Journey study residing in the Pacific Northwest. Reports of AI mental wellness/positive mental health were on par with or higher than found in previous studies with non-AI samples despite simultaneously disparate rates of AI anxiety, depressive symptoms, and differential exposure to sociohistorical stressors. Results are a paradoxical mismatch between mental wellness and mental stressors consistent across two separate, diverse samples of AI adults.

Community-Based Assessment to Inform a Chlamydia Screening Program for Women in a Rural American Indian Community.

Abstract: BACKGROUND Rates of chlamydial infection in American Indian/Alaska Native women in the United States are approximately 4-fold those in non-Hispanic white women We conducted a community-based survey of self-identified American Indian/Alaska Native women 14 to 25 years of age on a reservation in the Northwestern United States to inform a chlamydia screening strategy METHODS The anonymous survey assessed respondents' knowledge, perceptions, and preferences related to chlamydia screening, results receipt, and partner notification We recruited women using respondent-driven sampling, school-based sampling, and direct recruitment through social media and fliers Participants in schools completed the survey as a paper-based, self-administered survey Other participants could complete the survey in person, by phone as an interviewer-administered survey, or online RESULTS We recruited 162 participants, most in schools (n = 83; 51%) or by peer referral (n = 55; 34%) Only 1 woman completed the survey online Thirty-one respondents (19%) reported a history of an unplanned first pregnancy, and 19 (12%) reported a history of a diagnosed sexually transmitted disease Most women (n = 98; 63%) recognized the potential impact of Chlamydia trachomatis on fertility The preferred site for chlamydia screening was the Indian Health Service Clinic (n = 114; 70%), but 79 women (41%) would accept a C trachomatis test at a nonclinical testing site Of the 56 women (35%) who would accept home testing, most preferred to get the test kit from a clinic CONCLUSIONS Our results suggest that Indian Health Service efforts to increase chlamydia screening in the clinic and through outreach may be more successful than promotion of home testing in this population