This study investigated the mental health help-seeking intentions and its correlates among Chinese international students in the U.S. higher education system. An analytic cross-sectional study was conducted. Recruitment of participants occurred via a social media campaign, and participants were invited to complete an online anonymous survey. A total of 222 Chinese international students participated in the study. The majority of the participants were female (65.3%), graduate students (84.7%), and the only child in the family (83.8%). The participants had a mean age of 23.75 years old. When encountering mental health-related problems, participants reported the highest help-seeking intentions for an intimate partner, parent, and friend. A higher level of general mental health help-seeking intentions was associated with a higher level of coping self-efficacy, a higher level of social support, a lower level of stigma, being undergraduate students, and having no history of full-time employment. These findings indicated the preferred sources for mental health help seeking and the need to improve the general mental health help seeking among Chinese international students. Culturally tailored programs are needed that take into consideration Chinese cultural attitudes and beliefs with regard to mental and emotional symptoms of distress.

HIV prevalence in correctional populations is approximately five times that of the general adult population. This systematic review examines the broad question of HIV prevention and interventions to reduce inmate HIV-related risk behaviors in U.S. federal and state prisons. We conducted a systematic review of multiple databases and Google Scholar to identify behavioral, biomedical, social, and policy studies related to HIV among U.S. prison populations from 1980 – 2014. Studies were excluded if they did not focus on HIV, prison inmates, if they were conducted outside of the U.S., if they involved juvenile offenders, or if they included post-release outcomes. Twenty-seven articles met the study criteria. Evidence suggests that research related to the HIV care continuum, risk behaviors, gender, prevention (e.g., peer education), and policy are key topics to enhance HIV prevention interventions in the criminal justice system. This review provides a prison-specific overview of HIV in U.S. correctional populations and highlight effective interventions, including inmate peer education. There is an urgent need to continue to implement HIV prevention interventions across all prisons and improve the quality of life among those at heightened risk of HIV infection.

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African-American and Hispanic men are disproportionately affected by cancer experiencing higher rates of cancer-related morbidity and mortality for many cancers (but not all). These challenges may be magnified for a subpopulation of African-American and Hispanic men who have been incarcerated. A survey assessing demographics, incarceration experience, psychosocial, behavioral, and cancer health information seeking was administered to 230 previously incarcerated men aged 35 years and older. Data analysis was performed to assess the association between fatalism, perceived susceptibility, and health information seeking in this population. This study revealed the following: the majority of the participants (68.7%) held the fatalistic belief: “When I think of cancer, I automatically think of death.” Second, the fatalistic belief, “There’s not much you can do to lower your chances of getting cancer,” is more prevalent among those who perceived a higher risk of developing cancer. Third, older participants (those between 55 and 70 years old) and widowed are less likely to think of death when they think of cancer. In addition, those who use the Internet to look for health or medical information (i.e., engaging in health information seeking) are less likely to agree with the fatalistic belief: “It seems like everything causes cancer.” Given the high incidence of certain cancers among African-American and Hispanic men and the vulnerability of those involved in the criminal justice system, our findings highlight the importance of understanding perceived susceptibility to cancer, fatalistic beliefs about cancer, and information seeking in formerly incarcerated men.

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