A phenomenological exploration of Black male law enforcement officers' perspectives of racial profiling and their law enforcement career exploration and commitment

This phenomenological study explored Black male law enforcement officers' perspectives of how racial profiling shaped their decisions to explore and commit to a law enforcement career. Criterion and snow ball sampling was used to obtain the 17 participants for this study. Super's (1990) archway model was used as the theoretical framework. The archway model "is designed to bring out the segmented but unified and developmental nature of career development, to highlight the segments, and to make their origin clear" (Super, 1990, p. 201). Interview data were analyzed using inductive, deductive, and comparative analyses. Three themes emerged from the inductive analysis of the data: (a) color and/or race does matter, (b) putting on the badge, and (c) too black to be blue and too blue to be black. The deductive analysis used a priori coding that was based on Super's (1990) archway model. The deductive analysis revealed the participants' career exploration was influenced by their knowledge of racial profiling and how others view them. The comparative analysis between the inductive themes and deductive findings found the theme "color and/or race does matter" was present in the relationships between and within all segments of Super's (1990) model. The comparative analysis also revealed an expanded notion of self-concept for Black males – marginalized and/or oppressed individuals. Self-concepts, "such as self-efficacy, self-esteem, and role self-concepts, being combinations of traits ascribed to oneself" (Super, 1990, p. 202) do not completely address the self-concept of marginalized and/or oppressed individuals. The self-concept of marginalized and/or oppressed individuals is self-efficacy, self-esteem, traits ascribed to oneself expanded by their awareness of how others view them. (DuBois, 1995; Freire, 1970; Sheared, 1990; Super, 1990; Young, 1990). Ultimately, self-concept is utilized to make career and life decisions. Current human resource policies and practices do not take into consideration that negative police contact could be the result of racial profiling. Current human resource hiring guidelines penalize individuals who have had negative police contact. Therefore, racial profiling is a discriminatory act that can effectively circumvent U.S. Equal Employment Opportunities Commission laws and serve as a boundary mechanism to employment (Rocco & Gallagher, 2004).

Relationship of Lifestyle Medical Advice and Non-HDL Cholesterol Control of a Nationally Representative US Sample with Hypercholesterolemia by Race/Ethnicity

Objective. The main purpose of this study was to evaluate the associations of lifestyle medical advice and non-HDL cholesterol control of a nationally representative US sample of adults with hypercholesterolemia by race/ethnicity. Methods. Data were collected by appending sociodemographic, anthropometric, and laboratory data from two cycles of the National Health and Nutrition Survey (2007-2008 and 2009-2010). This study acquired data from male and female adults aged ≥ 20 years (N = 11,577), classified as either Mexican American (MA), (), other Hispanic (OH) (), Black non-Hispanic (BNH) (), or White non-Hispanic (WNH) (). Results. Minorities were more likely to report having received dietary, weight management, and exercise recommendations by healthcare professionals than WNH, adjusting for confounders. Approximately 80% of those receiving medical advice followed the recommendation, regardless of race/ethnicity. Of those who received medical advice, reporting “currently controlling or losing weight” was associated with lower non-HDL cholesterol. BNH who reported “currently controlling or losing weight” had higher non-HDL cholesterol than WNH who reported following the advice. Conclusion. The results suggest that current methods of communicating lifestyle advice may not be adequate across race/ethnicity and that a change in perspective and delivery of medical recommendations for persons with hypercholesterolemia is needed.

Medical advice and diabetes self-management reported by Mexican-American, Black- and White-non-Hispanic adults across the United States

Background Diabetes has reached epidemic proportions in the United States, particularly among minorities, and if improperly managed can lead to medical complications and death. Healthcare providers play vital roles in communicating standards of care, which include guidance on diabetes self-management. The background of the client may play a role in the patient-provider communication process. The aim of this study was to determine the association between medical advice and diabetes self care management behaviors for a nationally representative sample of adults with diabetes. Moreover, we sought to establish whether or not race/ethnicity was a modifier for reported medical advice received and diabetes self-management behaviors. Methods We analyzed data from 654 adults aged 21 years and over with diagnosed diabetes [130 Mexican-Americans; 224 Black non-Hispanics; and, 300 White non-Hispanics] and an additional 161 with 'undiagnosed diabetes' [N = 815(171 MA, 281 BNH and 364 WNH)] who participated in the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) 2007-2008. Logistic regression models were used to evaluate whether medical advice to engage in particular self-management behaviors (reduce fat or calories, increase physical activity or exercise, and control or lose weight) predicted actually engaging in the particular behavior and whether the impact of medical advice on engaging in the behavior differed by race/ethnicity. Additional analyses examined whether these relationships were maintained when other factors potentially related to engaging in diabetes self management such as participants' diabetes education, sociodemographics and physical characteristics were controlled. Sample weights were used to account for the complex sample design. Results Although medical advice to the patient is considered a standard of care for diabetes, approximately one-third of the sample reported not receiving dietary, weight management, or physical activity self-management advice. Participants who reported being given medical advice for each specific diabetes self-management behaviors were 4-8 times more likely to report performing the corresponding behaviors, independent of race. These results supported the ecological model with certain caveats. Conclusions Providing standard medical advice appears to lead to diabetes self-management behaviors as reported by adults across the United States. Moreover, it does not appear that race/ethnicity influenced reporting performance of the standard diabetes self-management behavior. Longitudinal studies evaluating patient-provider communication, medical advice and diabetes self-management behaviors are needed to clarify our findings.

Obesity Indicators by Race/Ethnicity for Diagnosis of Cardiometabolic Diseases for a US Representative Sample of Adults

Background: Obesity, a growing epidemic, is a preventable risk factor for cardiometabolic diseases. Obesity and cardiometabolic diseases affect Hispanics and African Americans more than non-Hispanic Caucasians. This study examined the relationship among race/ethnicity, obesity diagnostic measures (body mass index, waist circumference, subscapular and triceps skinfold thickness), and cardiometabolic risk factors (hyperglycemia, high, non-high-density lipoprotein cholesterol, low, high-density lipoprotein cholesterol, and hypertension) for adults across the United States. Methods: Using data from two-cycles of the National Health and Examination Survey (NHANES) 2007-2010, and accounting for the complex sample design, logistic regression models were conducted comparing obesity indicators in Mexican Americans, other Hispanics, and Black non-Hispanics, with White non-Hispanics and their associations with the presence of cardiometabolic diseases. Results: Differences by race/ethnicity were found for subscapular skinfold thickness and hyperglycemia. Waist circumference and subscapular skinfold were positively associated with the presence of hyperglycemia; dyslipidemia, and hypertension across race/ ethnicity, adjusting for age, gender, smoking, physical activity, education, income to poverty index, and health insurance. Race/ ethnicity did not influence the association of any obesity indicators with the tested cardiometabolic diseases. All obesity measures except triceps skinfold were associated with hyperglycemia. Conclusions: We suggest that subscapular skinfold thickness be considered as an inexpensive non-intrusive screening tool for cardiometabolic risk factors in an adult US population

Relationship of Lifestyle Medical Advice and Non-HDL Cholesterol Control of a Nationally Representative US Sample with Hypercholesterolemia by Race/Ethnicity

Objective: The main purpose of this study was to evaluate the associations of lifestyle medical advice and non-HDL cholesterol control of a nationally representative US sample of adults with hypercholesterolemia by race/ethnicity. Methods: Data were collected by appending sociodemographic, anthropometric, and laboratory data from two cycles of the National Health and Nutrition Survey (2007-2008 and 2009-2010). This study acquired data from male and female adults aged ≥ 20 years (N = 11,577), classified as either Mexican American (MA), (), other Hispanic (OH) (), Black non-Hispanic (BNH) (), or White non-Hispanic (WNH) (). Results: Minorities were more likely to report having received dietary, weight management, and exercise recommendations by healthcare professionals than WNH, adjusting for confounders. Approximately 80% of those receiving medical advice followed the recommendation, regardless of race/ethnicity. Of those who received medical advice, reporting “currently controlling or losing weight” was associated with lower non-HDL cholesterol. BNH who reported “currently controlling or losing weight” had higher non-HDL cholesterol than WNH who reported following the advice. Conclusion: The results suggest that current methods of communicating lifestyle advice may not be adequate across race/ethnicity and that a change in perspective and delivery of medical recommendations for persons with hypercholesterolemia is needed.

Medical Advice and Diabetes Self-Management Reported by Mexican-American, Black- and White-Non-Hispanic Adults Across the United States

Background: Diabetes has reached epidemic proportions in the United States, particularly among minorities, and if improperly managed can lead to medical complications and death. Healthcare providers play vital roles in communicating standards of care, which include guidance on diabetes self-management. The background of the client may play a role in the patient-provider communication process. The aim of this study was to determine the association between medical advice and diabetes self care management behaviors for a nationally representative sample of adults with diabetes. Moreover, we sought to establish whether or not race/ethnicity was a modifier for reported medical advice received and diabetes self-management behaviors. Methods: We analyzed data from 654 adults aged 21 years and over with diagnosed diabetes [130 MexicanAmericans; 224 Black non-Hispanics; and, 300 White non-Hispanics] and an additional 161 with ‘undiagnosed diabetes’ [N = 815(171 MA, 281 BNH and 364 WNH)] who participated in the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) 2007-2008. Logistic regression models were used to evaluate whether medical advice to engage in particular self-management behaviors (reduce fat or calories, increase physical activity or exercise, and control or lose weight) predicted actually engaging in the particular behavior and whether the impact of medical advice on engaging in the behavior differed by race/ethnicity. Additional analyses examined whether these relationships were maintained when other factors potentially related to engaging in diabetes self management such as participants’ diabetes education, sociodemographics and physical characteristics were controlled. Sample weights were used to account for the complex sample design. Results: Although medical advice to the patient is considered a standard of care for diabetes, approximately onethird of the sample reported not receiving dietary, weight management, or physical activity self-management advice. Participants who reported being given medical advice for each specific diabetes self-management behaviors were 4-8 times more likely to report performing the corresponding behaviors, independent of race. These results supported the ecological model with certain caveats. Conclusions: Providing standard medical advice appears to lead to diabetes self-management behaviors as reported by adults across the United States. Moreover, it does not appear that race/ethnicity influenced reporting performance of the standard diabetes self-management behavior. Longitudinal studies evaluating patient-provider communication, medical advice and diabetes self-management behaviors are needed to clarify our findings.

Race/Ethnicity-, Gender- and Age-Specific Differences in Micronutrient Intakes of US Adults with and without Diabetes

Race/ethnicity-, gender- and age-specific differences in dietary micronutrient intakes of US adults ≥ 21 years were assessed from National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, 2007–2008. The participants included Black non-Hispanics, Mexican-American and White non-Hispanics who signed an informed consent form for the interview and who completed the in-person 24-h recall. Micronutrient intakes were based on the Institute of Medicines' classifications of recommended dietary allowances specific for age and gender. Likelihood of many micronutrient insufficiencies was associated with being female, over 65 years, having diabetes and minority status. Younger and female adults had a greater likelihood of iron insufficiency than male and older adults. These findings demonstrate the importance of considering the intersection of age, gender and race in setting policies for micronutrient deficiency screening, particularly in young female adults and minorities.

The Prison System and the Media: How “Orange Is The New Black” Engages with the Prison as a Normalizing Agent

The purpose of this project is to ascertain the ways in which Orange is the New Black uses its platform to either complicate or reify narratives about the prison system, prisoners and their relationship to the state. This research uses the works of Giorgio Agamben, Colin Dayan, Michelle Alexander and Lisa Guenther to situate the ways the state uses the prison and social narratives about the prison to extend its control on certain populations beyond prison walls through police presence, parole, the war on drugs and prison fees. From that basis, this work argues that while Orange does challenge some narratives about race and sexuality, because of its reliance on “bad choices” as a humanizing trope and its reliance on certain racialized stereotypes for entertainment, the show ultimately does more to reify existing narratives that support state interests.

Black children at integration demonstration in Canarsie

General note: Title and date provided by Bettye Lane.

Black Femininity through the White Speculum: The Implications of Medicosocialism and the Disproportionate Regulation of Black Women’s Reproductive Autonomy

At the crux of health disparities for women of color lies a history of maltreatment based on racial difference from their white counterparts. It is their non-whiteness that limits their access to the ideologies of “woman” and “femininity” within dominant culture. As the result of this difference, the impact of the birth control movement varied among women based on race. This project explores how the ideology attributed to the black female body limited black women’s access to “womanhood” within dominant culture, and analyzes the manners in which their reproductive autonomy was compromised as the result of changes to that ideology through time. This project operates under the hypothesis that black women’s access to certain aspects of femininity such as domesticity and motherhood reflected their roles in slave society, that black women’s reproductive value was based on the value of black children within slave culture, and that both of these factors dictated the manner in which their reproductive autonomy was managed by health professionals. Black people’s worth as a free labor force within dominant culture diminished when the Reconstruction Amendments were added to the constitution and slavery was deemed unconstitutional—resulting in the paradigmatic shift from the promotion of black fertility to its recession. America’s transition to the medicosocial regulation of black fertility through Eugenics, the role of the black elite in the movement, and the negative impact of this agenda on the reproductive autonomy of black women from low socioeconomic backgrounds are enlisted as support. The paper goes on to draw connections between post-slavery ideology of black femininity and modern-day medicosocial occurrences within clinical settings in order to advocate for increased bias training for medical professionals as a means of combating current health disparities. It concludes with the possibility that this improvement in medical training could persuade people of color to seek out medical intervention at earlier stages of illness and obtain regular check-ups by actively countering physicians’ past transgressions against them.

Safety and efficacy of ledipasvir-sofosbuvir in black patients with hepatitis C virus infection: A retrospective analysis of phase 3 data.

UNLABELLED: Black patients chronically infected with genotype 1 hepatitis C virus (HCV) have historically had lower rates of response to interferon-based treatment than patients of other races. In the phase 3 ION program, the single-tablet regimen of the NS5A inhibitor ledipasvir and NS5B nucleotide polymerase inhibitor sofosbuvir was shown to be safe and highly effective in the general population. The aim of this study was to evaluate the safety and efficacy of ledipasvir/sofosbuvir in black patients using data from the three open-label ION clinical trials, which evaluated the safety and efficacy of 8, 12, and 24 weeks of ledipasvir/sofosbuvir with or without ribavirin for the treatment of treatment-naïve and treatment-experienced patients with genotype 1 HCV, including those with compensated cirrhosis. The primary endpoint was sustained virologic response at 12 weeks after the end of therapy (SVR12). For our analysis, rates of SVR12, treatment-emergent adverse events, and graded laboratory abnormalities were analyzed in black versus non-black patients. Of the 1949 patients evaluated, 308 (16%) were black. On average, black patients were older, had higher body mass index, were more likely to be IL28B non-CC, and had a lower serum alanine aminotransferase at baseline than non-black patients. Overall, 95% of black and 97% of non-black patients achieved SVR12. The rate of relapse was 3% in black patients as compared with 2% in non-black patients. The most common adverse events included fatigue, headache, nausea, and insomnia. The majority of adverse events occurred more frequently in the ribavirin-containing arms of the studies. No differences were observed in overall safety by race. CONCLUSION: A once-daily dosage of ledipasvir/sofosbuvir was similarly effective in black and non-black patients with genotype 1 HCV infection. The addition of ribavirin did not appear to increase SVR12 but was associated with higher rates of adverse events.

A Systematic Review of Race and Ethnicity in Hepatitis C Clinical Trial Enrollment.

The African American/Black population in the United States (US) is disproportionately affected by hepatitis C virus (HCV) and has lower response rates to current treatments. This analysis evaluates the participation of African American/Blacks in North American and European HCV clinical trials. The data source for this analysis was the PubMed database. Randomized controlled clinical trials (RCT) on HCV treatment with interferon 2a or 2b between January 2000 and December 2011 were reviewed. Inclusion criteria included English language and participants 18 years or older with chronic HCV. Exclusion criteria included non-randomized trials, case reports, cohort studies, ethnic specific studies, or studies not using interferon-alfa or PEG-interferon. Of the 588 trials identified, 314 (53.4%) fit inclusion criteria. The main outcome was the rate of African American/ Black participation in North American HCV clinical trials. A meta-analysis comparing the expected and observed rates was performed. Of the RCT's that met search criteria, 123 (39.2%) reported race. Clinical trials in North America were more likely to report racial data than European trials. Racial reporting increased over time. There was a statistically significant difference among the expected and observed participation of African Americans in HCV clinical trials in North America based on the prevalence of this disease within the population. The burden of HCV among African Americans in North America is not reflected in those clinical trials designed to treat HCV. Research on minority participation in clinical trials and how to increase minority participation in clinical trials is needed.

Race, Power and Economic Extraction in Benton Harbor, MI

My dissertation investigates twin financial interventions—urban development and emergency management—in a single small town. Once a thriving city drawing blacks as blue-collar workers during the Great Migration, Benton Harbor, Michigan has suffered from waves of out-migration, debt, and alleged poor management. Benton Harbor’s emphasis on high-end economic development to attract white-collar workers and tourism, amidst the poverty, unemployment, and disenfranchisement of black residents, highlights an extreme case of American urban inequality. At the same time, many bystanders and representative observers argue that this urban redevelopment scheme and the city’s takeover by the state represent Benton Harbor residents’ only hope for a better life. I interviewed 44 key players and observers in local politics and development, attended 20 public meetings, conducted three months of observations, and collected extensive archival data. Examining Benton Harbor’s time under emergency management and its luxury golf course development as two exemplars of a larger relationship, I find that the top-down processes allegedly intended to alleviate Benton Harbor’s inequality actually reproduce and deepen the city’s problems. I propose that the beneficiaries of both plans constitute a white urban regime active in Benton Harbor. I show how the white urban regime serves its interests by operating an extraction machine in the city, which serves to reproduce local poverty and wealth by directing resources toward the white urban regime and away from the city.

Spatial Articulations of Race, Desire, and Belonging in Western North Carolina

The sociocultural mythology of the South homogenizes it as a site of abjection. To counter the regionalist discourse, the dissertation intersects queer sexualities with gender and race and focuses on exploring identity and spatial formation among Black lesbian and queer women. The dissertation seeks to challenge the monolith of the South and place the region into multiple contexts and to map Black geographies through an intentional intersectional account of Black queer women. The dissertation utilizes qualitative research methods to ascertain understandings of lived experiences in the production of space. The dissertation argues that an idea of Progress has been indoctrinated as a synonym for the lgbtq civil rights movement and subsequently provides an analysis of progress discourses and queer sexualities and political campaigns of equality in the South. Analyses revealed different ways to situate progress utilizing the public contributions of three Black women interviewed for the dissertation. Moreover, the dissertation utilizes six Black queer and lesbian women to explain the multifarious nature of identities and their construction in place. Black queer and lesbian women produce spaces that deconstruct the normativity of stasis and physicality, and the dissertation explores the consequential realities of being a body in space. These consequences are particularly highlighted in the dissertation by discussions of the processes of racialization in the bounded and unbounded senses of space and place and the impacts of religious institutions, specifically Christianity. The dissertation concluded that no space is without complication. Other considerations should be made in the advancement of alleviating oppression deeply embedded in United States landscapes. Black women’s geographies offer epistemological and ontological renderings that enrich analyses of space, place, and landscape. The dissertation also concludes that Black women’s bodies represent sites for the production of geographic knowledge through narrating their spaces of material trajectories of interlocking, multiscalar lives.

The Career Development of Black Female Chief Nurse Executives

This qualitative study was designed to explore the career development of Black female chief nurse executives. Although a small proportion of Black female nurses have achieved positions at the nurse executive level, there remains a paucity of Black female nurse executives in this crucial position which raised the question of what factors contributed to this lack of advancement, but, more important, what factors have contributed to the success of the few who have achieved such level of success in healthcare organizations. The purpose of the study was to explore the career paths of Black female chief nurse executives with a view of understanding the factors which both facilitate and hinder the career development of these leaders in healthcare organizations. The guiding research question was, How do Black female nurse executives in this sample describe their career development? The participants in this study were Black female chief nurse executives located throughout the United States who, for the most part, were raised in segregation with a strong family foundation. To collect data, semistructured telephone interviews were conducted with 10 Black female chief nurse executives throughout the United States. The transcripts from the interviews were transcribed, coded, and analyzed. Using Super’s (1990, 1996), and Gottfredson’s (1981, 1996, 2002, 2005) career development theories and critical race theory (Crenshaw, 1995; Delgado, 2000) as the theoretical framework, the researcher found that the participants’ career development was influenced by (a) strong support system, (b) guidance, (c) influence of diversity, and (d) servant leadership. The findings help us understand the factors that have contributed to their successes as Black chief nurse executives. With the increasingly diverse population and concurrent increasing diversity in nursing and concerns about healthcare disparities, it is imperative that organizations attract, hire, develop, retain, and advance qualified Black nurses. Future studies addressing not only the career development of Black nurses but nurses in general might be informed by the present study’s findings. Recommendations are offered for nursing practice, education, and organizational policy.