This federal Project Grant award from the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH), under the Mental Health Research Grants program (CFDA 93.242), provides $126,042 to Duke University to conduct a mixed methods study on intersectional discrimination and sexual health among young Black men who have sex with men (YBMSM). The overarching goals are to: Identify latent subgroups of YBMSM with different patterns of intersectional discrimination experiences. Determine the relationship between the...
This Project Grant award from the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (CFDA 93.837 Cardiovascular Diseases Research) provides $460,920 to Auburn University to conduct research on the relationship between discrimination and sleep problems in Black Americans. The study will use ecological momentary assessments and actigraphy to investigate how discrimination triggers emotion invalidation, termed "social pain minimization," which negatively impacts sleep. The research will also...
This federal Project Grant award of $2,959,308 from the National Institute on Aging (CFDA 93.866 - Aging Research) aims to study how interpersonal and social network characteristics impact health behaviors and cognitive performance among aging Black and Latino sexual minority men (SMM) in New Jersey. The key products and services to be delivered under this 5-year grant, which began on Sep 23, 2024, include: Cross-sectional analysis of the association between interpersonal factors (stigma, social...
This Project Grant award of $1,352,914 from the National Institute of Nursing Research (NINR), under the Nursing Research Federal Grant Program (CFDA 93.361), supports research to identify multilevel facilitators that help Black sexual minority men living with HIV (BSMM LWH) overcome racism and stigma to achieve durable viral suppression. The goal is to conduct qualitative interviews and ethnographic observations with "positive deviants" - BSMM LWH who have successfully managed their...
This federal Project Grant award of $752,991 from the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI) under the Cardiovascular Diseases Research (CFDA 93.837) program supports a comprehensive study to understand the socioecological factors impacting disparities in early childhood sleep health. The project aims to evaluate the effects of understudied risk factors like racism, housing insecurity, screen media use, and toxic stress on child sleep health, as well as assess how socio-cultural,...
This Project Grant award from the National Institute on Aging (CFDA 93.866 - Aging Research) provides $1,040,387 to The RAND Corporation to conduct a longitudinal mixed methods social network study examining how changes in loneliness and social isolation relate to changes in health and wellness among aging Black sexual minority men (BSMM). The study aims to (1) test associations between social disconnectedness and mental/physical health, healthcare engagement, and chronic conditions, (2) examine...
This Project Grant award from the National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities (NIMHD) under CFDA Program 93.307 Minority Health and Health Disparities Research will support a research study titled "Theoretically Informed Behavioral Intervention to Enhance QOL and Prevent HIV-Related Comorbidities in Ethnic and Racial Sexual Minority Men". The $5,274,535 award to Yale University will fund a study to develop and evaluate a virtual prevention education intervention to...
This Project Grant award of $2,768,041 from the National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities (CFDA 93.307 Minority Health and Health Disparities Research) will fund a multi-site evaluation of the SIESTA sleep hygiene intervention for improving sleep health in urban, Latino middle school students in Providence, RI and San Juan, Puerto Rico. The award, effective September 1, 2024, will support a large-scale randomized controlled trial to assess the intervention's effects on sleep...
This Project Grant award of $3,198,378 from the National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities (NIMHD) Minority Health and Health Disparities Research program (CFDA 93.307) will support a 4-year research project at Drexel University to develop, validate, and apply measures of state-level structural stigmatization and discrimination (SSD) for Latino/a/e ("Latine") and sexual and gender minority (SGM) populations. The research aims to build consensus on the key domains...
This R01 project grant, awarded by the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) under the Mental Health Research Grants program (CFDA 93.242), aims to combat HIV stigma in healthcare settings through a standardized patient (SP) approach. The $1,364,940 award will fund a cluster randomized controlled trial to measure and reduce enacted stigma experienced by gay and bisexual men who have sex with men (MSM) when seeking HIV testing and prevention services. The project will utilize unannounced...
EXAMINING THE MECHANISMS AND CONSEQUENCES OF SLEEP HEALTH INEQUITIES AFFECTING BLACK SEXUALMINORITY MEN - PROJECT SUMMARY/ABSTRACT BLACK SEXUAL MINORITY MEN (SMM) SUFFER DISPROPORTIONATELY FROM HEALTH INEQUITIES, INCLUDING HIGH RATES OF HIV, MENTAL HEALTH ISSUES, AND POOR PHYSICAL HEALTH. INTERSECTIONAL STIGMA AND DISCRIMINATION CONTRIBUTE SIGNIFICANTLY TO THESE HEALTH INEQUITIES. SLEEP HEALTH, AN UNDERSTUDIED FACTOR, MAY PLAY A CRUCIAL ROLE IN MEDIATING THESE HEALTH INEQUITIES. BASED ON EMERGING EVIDENCE FROM CROSS-SECTIONAL DATA INDICATING THAT SELF-REPORTED SLEEP MAY BE COMPROMISED IN BLACK AND SMM POPULATIONS, WE PROPOSE TO CONDUCT A COMMUNITY-BASED PARTICIPATORY STUDY USING A LONGITUDINAL MIXED-METHODS DESIGN TO INVESTIGATE SLEEP HEALTH AS A PATHWAY LINKING INTERSECTIONAL STIGMA AND DISCRIMINATION AND HEALTH CONSEQUENCES IN BLACK SMM. WE WILL COLLECT THREE WAVES (BASELINE, 6- MONTH, AND 12-MONTH FOLLOW-UPS) OF QUANTITATIVE DATA USING QUESTIONNAIRES/SURVEYS, DAILY DIARY, AND ACTIGRAPHY (OBJECTIVE SLEEP MONITORING) FROM 300 BLACK SMM. IN A SUBSAMPLE OF 60 PARTICIPANTS, WE WILL CONDUCT IN-DEPTH QUALITATIVE INTERVIEWS AT BASELINE AND 12-MONTH FOLLOW-UP. THE PROPOSED LONGITUDINAL MIXED-METHODS STUDY WILL: 1) EXAMINE QUANTITATIVELY THE PROXIMAL (DAILY) AND LONGITUDINAL ASSOCIATIONS BETWEEN INTERSECTIONAL STIGMA/DISCRIMINATION AND POOR SLEEP HEALTH AMONG BLACK SMM AND THE EXTENT TO WHICH COPING WITH THE STRESS OF DISCRIMINATION MEDIATES THE LONGITUDINAL EFFECT; 2) EXAMINE QUANTITATIVELY THE ROLE OF SLEEP HEALTH AS A MEDIATING PATHWAY BETWEEN UPSTREAM DETERMINANTS (INTERSECTIONAL STIGMA AND DISCRIMINATION) AND HEALTH CONSEQUENCES LONGITUDINALLY, AND THE PROXIMAL ASSOCIATIONS OF POOR SLEEP ON NEXT DAY'S MOOD AND SUBSTANCE USE; AND 3) TO EXPLORE QUALITATIVELY HOW INDIVIDUAL/INTERPERSONAL-LEVEL (E.G., SLEEP BEHAVIORS, EXPERIENCES OF DISCRIMINATION, COPING STRATEGIES) AND STRUCTURAL-LEVEL (E.G., HOUSING CONDITION, NEIGHBORHOOD CHARACTERISTICS) FACTORS INFLUENCE SLEEP HEALTH AND HOW SLEEP IS RELATED TO OTHER HEALTH OUTCOMES (E.G., MENTAL AND PHYSICAL HEALTH) OVER TIME. QUALITATIVE INTERVIEWS WILL ALSO EXPLORE POSSIBLE SOLUTIONS TO ADDRESS THE BARRIERS IDENTIFIED. INPUT FROM COMMUNITY MEMBERS AND STAKEHOLDERS WILL BE SOUGHT AND INCORPORATED THROUGHOUT THE STUDY. THE MIXED-METHODS RESULTS AND COMMUNITY INPUT WILL SERVE AS A BASIS TO INFORM SLEEP HEALTH PROMOTING POLICIES AND INTERVENTION STRATEGIES FOR THIS GROUP. DRAWING UPON AN ESTABLISHED COMMUNITY-ACADEMIC PARTNERSHIP, THIS STUDY WILL BE THE FIRST LONGITUDINAL MIXED-METHODS COMMUNITY-BASED PARTICIPATORY RESEARCH TO ILLUMINATE HOW SLEEP HEALTH INEQUITIES CONTRIBUTE TO HEALTH INEQUITIES AFFECTING BLACK SMM. THE PROPOSED STUDY ALIGNS WITH THE GOALS OF HEALTHY PEOPLE 2030 AND THE NIH SLEEP RESEARCH PLAN, AND ADDRESSES THE NEEDS OF SEXUAL MINORITY INDIVIDUALS HIGHLIGHTED IN NOT-MD-22-012. FINDINGS FROM THIS COMPREHENSIVE INVESTIGATION WILL PAVE THE WAY FOR TAILORED INTERVENTION EFFORTS AND HELP ADVANCE HEALTH EQUITY FOR BLACK SMM.