Objectives: Our goal was to explore prenatal practices and birthing experiences among Black women living in an urban North Florida community.Design: Non-random qualitative study.Setting: Private spaces at a convenient loca­tion selected by the participant.Participants: Eleven Black women, aged 25-36 years, who were either pregnant or had given birth at least once in the past five years in North Florida.Methods: Semi-structured interviews were completed in July 2017, followed by the­matic analysis of interview transcripts.Results: Four main themes emerged: a) decision-making strategies for employ­ing alternative childbirth preparation (ie, midwives, birthing centers, and doulas); b) having access to formal community re­sources to support their desired approaches to perinatal care; c) seeking advice from women with similar perspectives on birthing and parenting; and d) being confident in one’s decisions. Despite seeking to incorpo­rate “alternative” methods into their birth­ing plans, the majority of our participants ultimately delivered in-hospital.Conclusions: Preliminary results suggest that culturally relevant and patient-centered decision-making might enhance Black women’s perinatal experience although further research is needed to see if these findings are generalizable to a heterogenous US Black population. Implications for child­birth educators and health care profession­als include: 1) recognizing the importance of racially and professionally diverse staffing in obstetric care practices; 2) empowering patients to communicate and achieve their childbirth desires; 3) ensuring an environ­ment that is not only free of discrimination and disrespect, but that embodies respect (as perceived by patients of varied racial backgrounds) and cultural competence; and, 4) providing access to education and care outside of traditional work hours.Ethn Dis. 2021;31(2):227-234; doi:10.18865/ed.31.2.227

Objective. The purpose of this study was to provide an in-depth analysis of the components and outcomes of telehealth interventions for family caregivers of individuals with chronic health conditions. Methods. A systematic review of 17 databases was conducted for randomized controlled trials published between January 2002 and January 2017. Interventions were analyzed based on type of telecommunication modality, caregiver and care recipient characteristics, intervention components, and caregiver outcomes. Results. A total of 57 articles met criteria for inclusion. Telephone was the most frequently used mode of telehealth delivery and focused primarily on caregivers of older adults with dementia and stroke. Skills training was the most prevalent treatment strategy across telephone, web, and combined telephone and web modalities. Improved psychological functioning was reported most frequently across telehealth modalities. Conclusion. Telehealth is an effective tool in delivering caregiver interventions and leads to significant improvement in caregiver outcomes. Telephone was used most often to deliver cognitive-behavioral and psychoeducational strategies as compared to web and combined telephone and web modalities. Further research is needed to examine the effects of telehealth interventions on caregiving skills and self-efficacy, as well as health outcomes.

Due to the racial and gender disparities within K-12 education for Black males, this study examines parental expectations as a moderator in the association between student’s educational expectancy and their math scores. This study utilized a national representative sample from the High School Longitudinal Study: 2009 to test hypotheses with 1,282 9th grade Black males. Results indicated significant interaction effects for parental expectations and students’ educational expectancy on their math scores. The authors discuss practical and clinical implications of the results.

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