Objectives-We sought to understand how African American women's beliefs regarding depression and depression care are influenced by racism, violence, and social context.Methods-We conducted a focus group study using a community-based participatory research approach. Participants were low-income African American women with major depressive disorder and histories of violence victimization.Results-Thirty women participated in 4 focus groups. Although women described a vicious cycle of violence, depression, and substance abuse that affected their health, discussions about health care revolved around their perception of racism, with a deep mistrust of the health care system as a "White" system. The image of the "strong Black woman" was seen as a barrier to both recognizing depression and seeking care. Women wanted a community-based depression program staffed by African Americans that addressed violence and drug use.Conclusions-Although violence and drug use were central to our participants' understanding of depression, racism was the predominant issue influencing their views on depression care. Providers should develop a greater appreciation of the effects of racism on depression care. Depression care programs should address issues of violence, substance use, and racism.Correspondence should be sent to Christina Nicolaidis, MD, MPH, Division of General Internal Medicine, Oregon Health & Science University, L475, 3181 SW Sam Jackson Park Rd, Portland, OR 97239 (nicolaid@ohsu.edu). Reprints can be ordered at http://www.ajph.org by clicking on the "Reprints/Eprints" link. ContributorsC. Nicolaidis originated the project, obtained funding, and supervised all aspects of the study design and implementation and the writing of the article. V. Timmons contributed to the study design, protocol development, recruitment, data collection and analysis, and the writing of the article. M. J. Thomas and A. Star Waters contributed to the study design, protocol development, recruitment, data collection and analysis, and revision of the article. S. Wahab and A. Mejia assisted the group with data synthesis and contributed to the writing of the article. S. R. Mitchell helped interpret findings, led the public awareness campaign that resulted from the study results, and revised the article. Human Participant ProtectionThis study was approved by the Oregon Health & Science University institutional review board. Participants provided written informed consent before taking part in the focus groups. NIH Public Access Author ManuscriptAm J Public Health. Author manuscript; available in PMC 2011 August 1. NIH-PA Author ManuscriptAlthough it is unclear whether racial disparities in depressive symptoms can be explained by cultural or socioeconomic factors, [1][2][3][4][5][6] there is ample evidence that important differences exist in depression care. African Americans are significantly less likely than Whites to receive guideline-appropriate depression care. 7,8 Several studies have shown that in realworld settings primary care physicians ...

Cancer randomized clinical trial (RCT) participation is low, particularly among ethnic and racial minorities. Hispanic enrollment is far below their representation in the US population, yet their cancer burden is higher. Little is known from the patient perspective about factors which influence the decision to enroll in RCTs. We asked Spanish- and English-speaking individuals what factors influence decisions about cancer RCT participation. Eight focus groups were conducted with 55 participants (25 Spanish and 30 English-speaking). The groups were taped, transcribed, and analyzed for themes. Six major themes emerged: patient-provider communication, personal relationship with provider, involvement of significant others in decision making, role of faith, need for information, and impact of discrimination on decision making. Both similarities (e.g. need for comprehensive information) and differences (e.g. need for provider acknowledgement of emotional and spiritual concerns) were found between Spanish- and English-speaking participants. Among Spanish-speaking participants, level of education was differentially related to decision-making themes. Implications for providers are discussed.

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AimMacrodystrophia lipomatosa is a rare cause of gigantism of limb which can be confused with other common causes like congenital lymphedema. It presents usually with loss of function and cosmetic problems. Four cases are described with emphasis on clinical presentation, differential diagnoses, imaging and treatment options.Methods & ResultsFour patients of macrodystrophia lipomatosa were thoroughly examined and subjected to investigations.ConclusionBesides diligent clinical examination, imaging and histopathology are crucial in clinching the diagnosis.

Previous studies indicate that Native American women experience the highest rate of violence of any ethnic or racial group in the United States. This article addresses the prevalence of intimate partner violence and sexual assault among Native Americans. We present significant substantive and methodological issues that inform research on violence in the lives of Native Americans, as well as existing interventions. Interventions discussed in this article fall within three major categories including those that are community based, those grounded in the public health and health care systems, and those grounded in federal and national organizations. We provide some examples of interventions from each of these three levels of direct service, including a brief discussion of barriers to service accessibility. We conclude with substantive and methodological recommendations for research and practice.

Social work as an academic discipline has long included women and gender as central categories of analysis; the social work profession, started and maintained largely by women, has been home to several generations of feminists. Yet, social work is curiously and strikingly absent from broader multidisciplinary discussions of feminist research. This article explores contemporary feminist social work research by examining 50 randomly selected research-based articles that claimed feminism within their work. The analysis focused on the authors' treatment of the gender binary, their grounding in theory, their treatment of methodology, and their feminist claims. Feminist social work researchers are invited to reconceptualize feminisms to include third-wave feminist thought and more explicitly engage theory and reflexivity in their work.Despite the existence of feminist social work practice, courses on feminist research methods in schools of social work, and specific journals and researchers dedicated to ''women in social work,'' social work is curiously and strikingly absent from broader multidisciplinary discussions and explorations of feminist research. To gain a better understanding of this absence, we critically explore the current state of feminist social work research in this article. We draw on previous feminist scholarship, both in and outside social work, that has been specifically concerned with feminist research to analyze current trends in feminist social work research.For this project, we randomly selected 50 research-based articles from journals with relevance for social work and of interest to social workers (details of our methods are presented later) and engaged in a critical and reflexive in-depth analysis of these articles. Guiding our analyses were the following four questions: What makes the article feminist? How does the article treat binary (essentialized) thinking, particularly in relation to gender? To what degree is the article clearly grounded in theory?

Culturally specific, community-based interventions led by peer advocates may be a promising way to help African American IPV survivors effectively address depression.

Cancer stem cells (CSCs) are cancer cells that are responsible for initiation, progression, metastasis, and recurrence in cancer. The aim of this review was to analyze the markers for identifying of CSCs in colorectal carcinoma, as well as the prognostic and therapeutic implications of these markers in the cancer. CSCs are insensitive to the current drug regimens. In colorectal carcinoma, markers, including Nanog, Oct-4, SOX-2, Lgr-5, CD133, CD24, CD29, ALDH1, EpCAM, CD44, CD166, and CD26, are commonly used for the identification and isolation of CSCs. In addition, ALDH1, CD24, CD44, CD133, CD166, EpCAM, Lgr-5, Nanog, and SOX-2 could have clinical roles in predicting pathological stages, cancer recurrence, therapy resistance, and patients' survival in patients with colorectal carcinoma. In light of the current knowledge of CSCs in colorectal carcinoma, novel potential therapeutic strategies, such as development of monoclonal antibodies or immunotoxins and targeting various cell surface molecules in colorectal CSCs and/or components of signaling pathways, have been developed. This could open new opportunities for the better management of patients with colorectal carcinoma.