New Articles from Annals of Behavioral Medicine and Translational Behavioral Medicine

SBM's two journals, Annals of Behavioral Medicine and Translational Behavioral Medicine: Practice, Policy, Research (TBM), continuously publish online articles, many of which become available before issues are printed. Three recently published Annals and TBM articles are listed below.

SBM members who have paid their 2022 membership dues are able to access the full text of all Annals and TBM online articles via the SBM website by following the steps below.

1. Go to the Members Only section of the SBM website.
2. Log in with your username and password.
3. Click on the Journals link.
4. Click on the title of the journal which you would like to electronically access.

To check your membership status, or if you are having trouble accessing the journals online, please contact the SBM national office at info@sbm.org or (414) 918-3156.

Annals of Behavioral Medicine
 

Do Side Effects to the Primary COVID-19 Vaccine Reduce Intentions for a COVID-19 Vaccine Booster?

Andrew L Geers, PhD, Kelly S Clemens, MA, Ben Colagiuri, PhD, Emily Jason, BA, Luana Colloca, MD, PhD, Rebecca Webster, PhD, Lene Vase, PhD, Mette Seig, MSc, Kate Faasse, PhD

Background
Vaccines are being administered worldwide to combat the COVID-19 pandemic. Vaccine boosters are essential for maintaining immunity and protecting against virus variants. The side effects of the primary COVID-19 vaccine (e.g., headache, nausea), however, could reduce intentions to repeat the vaccination experience, thereby hindering global inoculation efforts.

Purpose
The aim of this research was to test whether side effects of a primary COVID-19 vaccine relate to reduced intentions to receive a COVID-19 booster. The secondary aim was to test whether psychological and demographic factors predict booster intentions.

Methods
Secondary data analyses were conducted on a U.S. national sample of 551 individuals recruited through the online platform Prolific. Key measures in the dataset were side effects reported from a primary COVID-19 vaccination and subsequent intentions to receive a booster vaccine. Psychological and demographic variables that predicted primary vaccination intentions in prior studies were also measured.

Results
Booster intentions were high. COVID-19 booster vaccine intentions were uncorrelated with the number of side effects, intensity of side effects, or occurrence of an intense side effect from the primary COVID-19 vaccine. Correlational and regression analyses indicated intentions for a booster vaccination increased with positive vaccination attitudes, trust in vaccine development, worry about the COVID-19 pandemic, low concern over vaccine side effects, and democratic political party affiliation.

Conclusions
Side effects of a primary COVID-19 vaccine were not directly associated with lower intentions to receive a booster of the COVID-19 vaccine early in the pandemic. However, many variables that predict primary vaccination intentions also predict booster intentions.

 

Social Genomics of Methamphetamine Use, HIV Viral Load, and Social Adversity

Michael J Li, PhD, MPH, Emily I Richter, MSPH, Chukwuemeka N Okafor, PhD, MPH, Mariah M Kalmin, PhD, MHS, Shareefa Dalvie, PhD, Sae Takada, MD, PhD, Pamina M Gorbach, DrPH, MHS, Steven J Shoptaw, PhD, Steven W Cole, PhD

Background
Social genomics has demonstrated altered inflammatory and type I interferon (IFN) gene expression among people experiencing chronic social adversity. Adverse social experiences such as discrimination and violence are linked to stimulant misuse and HIV, conditions that dysregulate inflammatory and innate antiviral responses, leading to increased HIV viral replication and risk of chronic diseases.

Purpose
We aimed to determine whether methamphetamine (MA) use, unsuppressed HIV viral load (VL) (≥200 c/mL), and experienced intimate partner violence (IPV) (past 12 months) predicted inflammatory and type I IFN gene expression in HIV-positive Black and Latinx men who have sex with men (MSM).

Methods
Participants were 147 HIV-positive Black and Latinx MSM recruited from the mSTUDY, a cohort of 561 MSM aged 18–45 in Los Angeles, CA, of whom half are HIV-positive and substance-using. Transcriptomic measures of inflammatory and type I IFN activity were derived from RNA sequencing of peripheral blood mononuclear cells and matched to urine drug tests, VL, and survey data across two time points 12 months apart. Analysis used linear random intercept modeling of MA use, unsuppressed VL, and experienced IPV on inflammatory and type I IFN expression.

Results
In adjusted models, MA use predicted 27% upregulated inflammatory and 31% upregulated type I IFN expression; unsuppressed VL predicted 84% upregulated type I IFN but not inflammatory expression; and experienced IPV predicted 31% upregulated inflammatory and 26% upregulated type I IFN expression.

Conclusions
In Black and Latinx MSM with HIV, MA use, unsuppressed VL, and experienced IPV predicted upregulated social genomic markers of immune functioning.

 

The Relationship Between Racial Prejudice and Cardiovascular Disease Mortality Risk at the State and County Level

Colin A Zestcott, PhD, John M Ruiz, Kalley R Tietje, Jeff Stone

Background
Robust evidence shows that perceived discrimination among stigmatized groups is associated with negative health outcomes. However, little work has examined whether holding prejudiced attitudes toward others is associated with health risks for prejudiced individuals.

Purpose
The study is a test of the hypothesis that holding prejudicial attitudes has negative health implications for both the holders and targets of prejudicial attitudes.

Methods
The project connected data (2003–2015) at the state and county levels on average explicit and implicit prejudice held by White, Black, and Native American respondents from Project Implicit with data on cardiovascular disease (CVD) mortality for White, Black, and Native American individuals from the CDC Wonder database. Separate analyses regressed implicit and explicit prejudice on CVD mortality risk for White, Black, and Native American individuals, respectively.

Results
At the state level, among White individuals, explicit prejudice toward Blacks (β = .431, p =.037) and implicit prejudice toward Native Americans (β = .283, p = .045) were positively associated with greater CVD mortality for Whites. At the county level, White individuals’ implicit prejudice toward Blacks (β =.081, p = .015) and Black individuals’ implicit prejudice toward Whites (β = −.066, p = .018) were associated with greater CVD mortality for Whites. Also, at the county-level, among Black individuals, higher implicit (β = −.133, p < .001) and explicit (β = −.176, p < .001) prejudice toward Whites predicted CVD mortality for Blacks. Moreover, explicit prejudice held by White individuals was positively associated with Blacks’ county-level CVD deaths (β = .074, p = .036).

Conclusions
This evidence suggests that across racial groups, holding racial prejudice is associated with CVD mortality risk for both the prejudiced and the stigmatized groups. Future research should verify the reliability of this potential public health effect with additional work explicating moderators and mediators to inform surveillance and interventions.

 

Translational Behavioral Medicine
 

Efforts to advance NIH-funded behavioral and social sciences research on structural racism and health

Dara R Blachman-Demner, Nadra C Tyus

This commentary provides background and context for the increasing attention to research designed to better understand and address the impact of structural racism on health, with particular attention to the role of the behavioral and social sciences. The manuscript describes the impetus provided to this work by recent public health crises of COVID-19 and the racial justice movement that emerged following the murder of George Floyd in the summer of 2020. A range of initiatives from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) focused on structural racism and health equity are discussed in this context and opportunities and gaps for future research are identified.

 

Improving active travel to school and its surveillance: an overlooked opportunity in health promotion and chronic disease prevention

Stephanie M George, Sarah A Sliwa, Kelly A Cornett, Van Do, Andrew A Bremer, David Berrigan

Increasing active travel to school (ATS) could reduce the deficit in youth physical activity participation; however, surveillance of ATS is limited. Given that ATS contributes to our understanding of children’s physical activity patterns nationwide, is influenced by local contexts and state laws, and occurs within communities, surveillance could be informative at the national, state, and local levels. Following a National Collaborative on Childhood Obesity Research workshop, this commentary offers insights into strengthening surveillance and data collection of ATS behavior as well as ATS environmental, policy, and program supports.

 

“Doing palliative care with my hands tied behind my back”: telepalliative care delivery for oncology inpatients during a COVID-19 surge

William E Rosa, Kathleen A Lynch, Rachel A Hadler, Cassidy Mahoney, Patricia A Parker

New York City was a “global COVID-19 hotspot” in spring 2020. Many health teams rapidly transitioned to telehealth platforms. Little is known about the experiences of inpatient palliative care services who delivered telehealth services during the pandemic. This study was aimed to explore the experiences of an interdisciplinary palliative care team in meeting the holistic needs of oncology inpatients via telehealth over a 10-week period during the first COVID-19 surge. A targeted sample of interdisciplinary palliative specialists at an urban comprehensive cancer center participated in in-depth interviews that explored participants’ experiences delivering physical, psychosocial, and spiritual care via telehealth. An interdisciplinary coding team followed a rigorous thematic text analysis approach and met regularly to reach consensus on emerging themes. Eleven palliative specialists from six disciplines (chaplaincy, medicine, nursing, pharmacy, physician assistant, and social work) participated. Seventy-three percent reported not receiving telehealth training prior to COVID-19 and 64% were “not at all” or “somewhat comfortable” delivering telepalliative care. Several themes were identified, including the barriers related to telehealth, the impact of telehealth on the quality of relationships with patients, their families, and coworkers, and the changes in perceived self-efficacy of fulfilling job responsibilities. Telehealth use has increased significantly during COVID-19, requiring further evaluation of its utility. Participants reported both positive and negative inpatient telepalliative care experiences associated with various domains of professional functioning, such as communication, relationships with key stakeholders, and self-efficacy. Enhanced telehealth training and support must be improved to sustain the palliative workforce and promote high-quality patient and family care in the future.