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This Arts and Medicine feature describes use of improvisational theater techniques to train health care workers to have persuasive and respectful conversations with vaccine-hesitant patients about accepting COVID-19 vaccination.

Young men who have sex with men (YMSM) in the United States (U.S.) are disproportionally burdened by HIV and experience adverse social determinants of health. Minimal research has examined quality of life (QoL) and psychosocial/behavioral determinants among HIV-negative or status-unknown YMSM. We conducted a study with YMSM from two U.S. cities to assess their QoL scores, and whether specific QoL domains (e.g., physical, psychological, social, and environment) were associated with their demographics, psychosocial determinants, behavioral risk factors, and HIV prevention measures. Black YMSM, YMSM of low socioeconomic status (below high school education, income < $20,000, and lack of health insurance), and YMSM who did not disclose their sexual orientation had the lowest QoL scores across all domains. Substance use and unprotected anal intercourse were negatively associated with men’s physical/psychosocial health. Housing/food instability and perceived stress were among the strongest predictors of lower QoL in all domains. Higher physical/psychological and environment QoL scores were associated with a higher likelihood of HIV testing and PrEP use. The identification of YMSM within these demographic, behavioral, and psychosocial sub-groups is important for targeted intervention to enhance their well-being and engagement with HIV prevention.

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Inequities in COVID-19 vaccine uptake by racialized groups have been persistent throughout the vaccine rollout, leading to disparate burdens of COVID-19 outcomes. A cross-sectional study was conducted to determine COVID-19 vaccine uptake across racialized groups within the nine-county Finger Lakes region of New York State in December 2021. Cross-matching and validation were performed across multiple health information systems for the region to reduce the percentage of vaccine records with missing race information. Additionally, imputation techniques were applied to address the remaining missing values. Uptake of ≥1 dose of the COVID-19 vaccine by race was then examined. By December 2021, 828,551 individuals in our study region had received ≥1 dose of the COVID-19 vaccine, with ~25% having missing race values. Cross-matching and validation within existing records reduced this to ~7%. Uptake of ≥1 dose of a COVID-19 vaccine was greatest among individuals identifying as White, followed by those identifying as Black. The application of imputation techniques reduced the percent of missing race values to <1%; however, this reduction did not significantly change the distribution of vaccine uptake across race groups. Utilization of relevant health information systems, accompanied by imputation techniques, stands to greatly reduce the burden of missing race data within vaccine registries, facilitating accurate targeted interventions to mitigate inequities in COVID-19 vaccination.