Colloquia - Fall 2006

September 6 Linda Ko “Mediation in Multilevel Models” Doctoral Student Health Behavior and Health Education University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill lindako@email.unc.edu Abstract:  The presentation will describe methods to assess mediated effects in single-level model and multilevel model with SAS.  Using the High School and Beyond data set, the presentation will provide the SAS syntax, the results, and the discussion of the results of single level mediation model and multilevel mediation model.  The presenter will also discuss the advantages of using multilevel models when using a clustered data set and the limitations of using SAS with categorical outcome variables. September 20 Wendee Wechsberg “Breaking Myths about HIV among At Risk Women in South Africa:  Could Boyfriends be the Real Risk” CFAR Member/Researcher RTI International wmw@rti.org October 18 Danielle Haley “Coping and Perceptions of Release among Incarcerated HIV-Infected Persons: A Qualitative Analysis” Alumna Health Behavior and Health Education University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Danielle_Haley@med.unc.edu Abstract:  Following release, HIV-infected former inmates face multiple barriers to accessing health care and to reentering their community successfully. Little is known about HIV-infected inmates’ perceptions of release and community re-integration or how these perceptions influence post-release outcomes.  Twenty-four interviews were conducted with incarcerated HIV-infected men and women about to be released from the North Carolina state prison system.  Although many viewed HIV-related care as an important component of staying healthy and being successful, most participants saw this as a manageable part of their lives.  However, participants overwhelmingly viewed their histories of substance abuse, violence and the struggle to avoid prior drug-related and criminal behavior as critical barriers to achieving optimal medication adherence and other associated post-release outcomes. Although participants expressed hopes of living a more positive lifestyle and avoiding criminal behavior they often lacked the concrete coping strategies that would allow them to achieve these goals. November 1 Laura Richman “Perceived Discrimination, Identity, and Health:  Evidence from Community and Lab Studies” Research Assistant Professor Duke University lrichman@duke.edu  November 15 Kurt Ribisl “Harmful Products Promoted through the Internet: Threats and Policy Solutions” Associate Professor Health Behavior and Health Education University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Kurt_Ribisl@unc.edu  November 29 Sherman James “Where Have You Gone, John Henry? Disappearing Work among Less Well-Educated Black Men:  Implications for Health Disparities Research and Interventions in African American Communities” Professor Duke University sjames@duke.edu Abstract:  Social scientists and policy makers agree that growing joblessness among Black men, especially less-well educated Black men, is one of the most pressing problems facing African American communities, if not the country as a whole. The root causes of this problem are the subject of much debate. Potential explanations include accelerated mechanization of unskilled labor, off shoring of low wage jobs to developing countries, and increased competition on the domestic front for low-wage jobs from unskilled Latino immigrants. While various scholars have explored the links between growing Black male joblessness and increased income insecurity for Black families, or increased incarceration rates among young Black men, to date there has been relatively little discussion in public health circles about the implications of this phenomenon for the physical health and wellbeing of less well educated Black men and, by extension, for African American communities as a whole. A classic formulation of the potentially damaging effects of job loss, or even threatened job loss, on the physical health of less-well educated Black men can be found in the Legend of John Henry – the steel driving man. This talk uses that legend as a framework for understanding the epidemiological significance of stable, satisfying work for less-well educated Black men, and the implications of their increasing joblessness for health disparities research and interventions in African American communities. December 6 Spencer Moore “Social Capital Babel:  Are We Speaking the Same Language?” Alumnus Health Behavior and Health Education University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill spencer.moore@umontreal.ca Abstract: After nearly a decade of research on social capital and health, controversy still surrounds the concept of social capital and its application in public health research.  What are the elements of this controversy and how does it contribute to the way we study social environments and health?  To address this question, the presentation will discuss the early translation of social capital into public health research and how this translation still informs the way in which social capital is measured and examined.  While distinctions between “bonding” and “bridging” forms of social capital are an important step for research, the presentation will argue for more theoretically-driven specifications of social capital that consider the sociological models underlying the different approaches to studying social capital and health.

Last updated January 30, 2008