Recently, research has reported that the rates of suicide among Black children between the ages of 5 to 12-years-old are increasing as they are now more likely to commit suicide than White children. Yet, there are very few, if any, frameworks being used by researchers to explain the risks of suicide among Black children. Suicide research has overwhelmingly been focused on White youth thus leaving a critical gap in suicide research. This conceptual paper provides an integrated framework using the Interpersonal-Psychological Theory of Suicide and Intersectionality theory, as a guide for researchers, clinicians, and practitioners to incorporate culturally appropriate techniques in their work as a way to prevent suicide among Black children. This framework highlights racial discrimination, mental health, socioeconomic status, and sexual/gender minority status to be the most preeminent, yet understudied factors leading to suicide risk among Black children in the United States.

Background and Objectives:Despite advances in modern healthcare, Traditional Birth Attendants (TBA) have continued to be heavily utilized in rural communities in Nigeria. Major disparities in maternal health care in Nigeria remain present despite the goal of the United Nations Millennium Development Goal to reduce maternal mortality by 2015. The objective of this study is to review the contribution of TBAs in the birthing process in Nigeria, and to examine barriers and opportunities for utilizing TBAs in improving maternal and child health outcomes in Nigeria.Methods:A literature review of two major electronic databases was conducted using the PRISMA framework to identify English language studies conducted between 2006 and 2016. Inclusion criteria included articles that examined the role of traditional birth attendants as a factor influencing maternal health in Nigeria.Results:The value of TBAs has not been fully examined as few studies have aimed to examine its potential role in reducing maternal mortality with proper training. Eight manuscripts that were examined highlighted the role of TBAs in maternal health including outcomes of utilizing trained versus non-trained TBAs.Conclusion and Global Health Implications:Specific areas of training for TBAs that were identified and recommended in review including: recognizing delivery complications, community support for TBA practices through policy, evaluation of TBA training programs and increasing collaboration between healthcare facilities and TBAs. Policies focused on improving access to health services and importantly, formal health education training to TBAs, are required to improve maternal health outcomes and underserved communities.

No abstract

Background: The relationship between drug use and poor sexual health outcomes in Black adolescent females such as diagnoses of sexually transmitted infections, HIV, and early/unwanted pregnancy has been established in the literature. Yet, very few interventions have been successful in reducing the risk of poor sexual health outcomes and drug use for adolescent girls. Even more rare are interventions that are catered to specifically to Black girls in the United States, which is a group that has the highest rates of poorer sexual health outcomes and negative consequences associated with drug use. Therefore, this systematic review sought to identify and organize interventions that are focused on preventing HIV, STIs, early pregnancy and drug use for and include large samples of Black girls. Fifteen interventions were identified that met the review’s search criteria. Results: A total of 15 interventions that were published between 2005 and 2020 were included in the review. While all but one intervention focused on sexual health outcomes, two interventions infused drug use education for girls. Conclusion: This review provides recommendations for sexual health and drug use prevention researchers to engage in an intersectional framework and concludes with a summary of next steps to guide future research and policy work to address disparities that impact Black girls.

T he Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's (CDC) Division of Adolescent and School Health (DASH) works with local decision makers, schools, youth-serving organizations, and parents across the nation to equip youth with knowledge, skills, and resources needed for healthy adolescence and adulthood. Aligned with this effort, DASH maintains high-quality surveillance systems to understand youth health behaviors and assess school health programs and policies. The Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance System (YRBSS) is a system of surveys administered every other year to high school students. In addition to the national Youth Risk Behavior Survey conducted by CDC, YRBSS features Youth Risk Behavior Surveys (YRBS) conducted by state, territorial, and local education and health agencies and tribal governments across the nation. 1 Local decision makers collaborate with partners to develop questionnaires for their respective YRBS, then coordinate data dissemination and utilization. Since its inception in 1991, YRBSS has collected data from more than 5 million high school students in approximately 2200 separate surveys across the United States. 1 The School Health Profiles (Profiles) is a system of surveys conducted by state, territorial, and local education and health agencies and tribal governments. These surveys collect data every other year from principals and lead health education teachers to assess school-implemented health programs and policies. 2 a Epidemiologist, (

No abstract

Peer mentoring programs have proven to be extremely successful for high school students. Yet, most educational research studies rarely seek to understand the perspectives of peer mentors and the impact peer mentoring can have on their development. Even more limited is the research highlighting the experiences of Black and Hispanic peer mentors who reside in urban communities. This qualitative study examines (n = 14) Black and Hispanic high school peer mentors’ roles in providing support to their mentees and their perceived benefit of being a mentor. All peer mentors in the study attended high school in an urban, under resourced community in New Jersey. Analysis revealed three major themes: (1) leadership abilities; (2) witnessing their strengths through motivating others; and (3) Family influences on their mentoring style. We discuss the implications of our findings on future research and educational programming utilizing peer mentors to benefit urban youth of color.