Solidarity and HIV Testing Willingness During the COVID-19 Epidemic: A Study Among Men Who Have Sex With Men in China

Background: Solidarity, such as community connectedness and social cohesion, may be useful in improving HIV testing uptake among men who have sex with men (MSM). This study aimed to evaluate the impact of solidarity on HIV testing before the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) and HIV testing willingness during COVID-19 among MSM in China.Materials and Methods: An online survey was conducted to collect sociodemographic, sexual behavioral, and solidarity items' information from the participants. We first used factor analysis to reveal the principal component of the solidarity items and then used logistic regression to study the impact of solidarity on HIV testing, by adjusting the possible confounding factors, such as age and education.Results: Social cohesion and community connectedness were revealed by the factor analysis. MSM with high community connectedness were more willing to undergo HIV testing before the epidemic adjusted by age [odds ratio (OR): 1.07, 95% CI: 1.01–1.13]. The community connectedness was also related to the willingness of HIV testing during the epidemic, with adjustments of 1.09 (95% CI: 1.03–1.15). People who did not test for HIV before the COVID-19 epidemic were more willing to have the HIV test during the epidemic, which was correlated with the community connectedness, and the OR value was 1.14 (95%: 1.03–1.25).Conclusion: A high level of community connectedness helped to increase the HIV testing rate before COVID-19 and the willingness of HIV testing during the epidemic among MSM. Strategies can strengthen the role of the community in the management and service of MSM.

Brief report: Does autistic community connectedness moderate the relationship between masking and wellbeing?

Background: Masking or camouflaging involves blending in or covering a stigmatised identity, to avoid discrimination and ‘pass’ within society. Autistic people often report masking, both intentionally and unintentionally, to get by in social situations. Autistic people who report high rates of masking also tend to experience poorer mental health. It is important we understand whether there are variables which can protect against the negative effects of masking. One such potential variable is autistic community connectedness – being part of and belonging to the autistic community. Past research suggests autistic people benefit from being socially connected to other autistic people. We investigated whether autistic community connectedness could moderate the relationship between masking and wellbeing.Methods: One hundred and ninety-six autistic people completed an online survey including measures of autistic community connectedness, camouflaging autistic traits and mental wellbeing. We used moderation regression analysis to test whether autistic community connectedness acted as a buffer between masking and wellbeing.Results: Higher self-reported masking related to poorer mental wellbeing. Higher autistic community connectedness related to more positive wellbeing. Higher autistic community connectedness correlated with more masking. However, there was no interaction effect, and autistic community connectedness did not moderate the relationship between masking and wellbeing. Conclusions: Although autistic community connectedness did relate to more positive mental wellbeing overall, it did not moderate the negative relationship between masking and wellbeing. If masking relates to the prejudice faced by autistic people, those with greater attachment to the autistic community may also be more aware of discrimination against their community. Further, autistic people who are more connected might experience a higher salience of masking when moving between autistic and non-autistic settings. Tackling prejudice towards autistic people is critical in helping to protect autistic people against masking, and we must endeavour to change perceptions and increase inclusion of autistic people.

Dreams from Kiribati: Maintaining identity and social resilience post-migration

<p>Climate change is widely regarded as a factor that contributes to migration through sea level rise and consequently Kiribati is expected to become uninhabitable and require mass migration. The question around how to resettle Kiribati’s population is without an answer. This thesis sought how the people of Kiribati envision their society will look, function and feel post-migration. This thesis used the strength based methodology Appreciative Inquiry to frame migration in a positive way to help get participants beyond the frightening idea of migrating and rather explore dreams for making migration work for the people of Kiribati. Fieldwork in Kiribati found participants’ dreams cover a wide array of needs such as identity, community connectedness, liveable income, recognised education and the ability to celebrate their culture. These dreams correlate strongly with the components of social resilience which indicates holistic adaptation planning is likely to be the most effective approach. Of all resilience influencing components, the relationship between culture and identity appears the most integral and if the I-Kiribati are able to reproduce their culture in ways that are less dependent on location, the migrating population will likely be more socially resilient when their location of residence changes.</p>

Dreams from Kiribati: Maintaining identity and social resilience post-migration

<p>Climate change is widely regarded as a factor that contributes to migration through sea level rise and consequently Kiribati is expected to become uninhabitable and require mass migration. The question around how to resettle Kiribati’s population is without an answer. This thesis sought how the people of Kiribati envision their society will look, function and feel post-migration. This thesis used the strength based methodology Appreciative Inquiry to frame migration in a positive way to help get participants beyond the frightening idea of migrating and rather explore dreams for making migration work for the people of Kiribati. Fieldwork in Kiribati found participants’ dreams cover a wide array of needs such as identity, community connectedness, liveable income, recognised education and the ability to celebrate their culture. These dreams correlate strongly with the components of social resilience which indicates holistic adaptation planning is likely to be the most effective approach. Of all resilience influencing components, the relationship between culture and identity appears the most integral and if the I-Kiribati are able to reproduce their culture in ways that are less dependent on location, the migrating population will likely be more socially resilient when their location of residence changes.</p>

The Necessity of Community Connectedness in Iranian Older Adults during the COVID-19 Pandemic

In last decade, COVID-19 outbreak was one of the major crises encountered the world(1). During the COVID-19 pandemic, Iranian people have been advised to stay at home and far away others. If it is essential to leave their residence, people have been urged to avoid gathering and maintain physical distance from others. Community disconnectedness for older adults was primary prevention specially for elders with comorbidities (2). For the first time, most of Iranian older adults were experiencing an unwanted and prolonged separation from others.

The Effects of Play Streets on Social and Community Connectedness in Rural Communities

Promoting physical activity (PA) is a long-standing public health initiative to improve overall health and wellbeing. Innovative strategies such as Play Streets, temporary activation of public spaces to provide safe places for active play, are being adopted in urban and rural communities to increase PA among children. As part of these strategies, aspects of social and community connectedness may be strengthened. This study analyzes focus groups and interviews from rural Play Street implementation team members (n = 14) as well as adults (n = 7) and children (n = 25) who attended Play Streets hosted in rural North Carolina, Maryland, Oklahoma, and Texas to better understand the added benefits of Play Streets in community connectedness. Overall, elements of social support and social cohesion are mentioned most frequently with instrumental and conditional support; however, concepts of social capital, collective-efficacy, and social identification are also presented. Participants expressed that Play Streets provided more than just PA; they provided opportunities to access and share resources, build perceptions of safety and trust in the community, and develop relationships with others. Fostering community connection through Play Streets may reduce health inequities in rural communities by building community resilience. Community-based PA programming that enhance and capitalize on community connectedness could be effective ways to improving the overall health and wellbeing of residents.

Developing trauma resilient communities through community capacity-building

Background Trauma is a significant public health issue, negatively impacting a range of health outcomes. Providers and administrators in public mental health systems recognize the widespread experience of trauma, as well as their limited ability to address trauma within their communities. In response, the Los Angeles County Department of Mental Health funded nine regionally based community partnerships to build capacity to address trauma. We describe partnership and community capacity-building efforts and examine community impact, defined as successful linkages to resources and changes in stress tolerance capacities among community members. Methods We conceptualized community capacity-building as dissemination of trauma-informed education and training, community outreach and engagement, and linkage of community members to resources. We measured trauma-informed trainings among partnership members (N = 332) using the Trauma-Informed Organizational Toolkit. Outreach, engagement and linkages were documented using Event and Linkage Trackers. We examined changes in the type of successful linkage after the issuance of statewide mandatory restrictions in response to COVID-19. We examined changes in stress tolerance capacities among community members (N = 699) who were engaged in ongoing partnership activities using the 10-item Conner-Davidson Resilience Scale; the 28-item Coping Orientation to Problems; and the pictorial Inclusion of Community in Self Scale. Results Training and education opportunities were widespread: 66% of members reported opportunities for training in 13 or more trauma-informed practices. Partnerships conducted over 7800 community capacity-building events with over 250,000 attendees. Nearly 14,000 successful linkages were made for a wide range of resources, with consistent linkage success prior to (85%) and during (87%) the pandemic. In response to COVID-19, linkage type significantly shifted from basic services and health care to food distribution (p < .01). Small but significant improvements occurred in coping through emotional and instrumental support; and sense of community connectedness (p < .05 each). Conclusions Community-based partnerships demonstrated effective capacity-building strategies. Despite the pandemic, community members did not report reduced stress tolerance, instead demonstrating gains in external help-seeking (use of emotional and instrumental supports) and perception of community connectedness. Future work will use qualitative methods to examine the impact of community capacity-building and the sustainability of this approach for addressing the impact of trauma within communities.