The Influencing Factors of HIV-Preventive Behavior Based on Health Belief Model among HIV-Negative MSMs in Western China: A Structural Equation Modeling Analysis

Disparities in the Care Disruption During COVID-19 and in its Impacts on the Mental and Physical Well-Being of Cancer Survivors

PURPOSE

Our study explores cancer care disruption among different demographic subgroups. It also investigates these disruptions' impacts on cancer survivors' mental and physical well-being.

DESIGN

Pooled cross-sectional survey data.

SETTING

Health Information Trends Survey for Surveillance Epidemiology and End Results, HINTS-SEER.

PARTICIPATION

n = 1234 cancer survivors participated in the study and completed the survey.

MEASURES

Outcome variables were treatment disruption in cancer care, mental health and physical health perceptions, age, race, education, income, and sexual orientation.

ANALYSIS

Multiple imputations were used to address missing data. Descriptive statistics were conducted to understand the perceptions of care disruption. Partial least squares structural equation models were employed for data analysis, adjusted for socio-demographics.

RESULTS

COVID-19 impacted cancer treatment and follow-up appointments (69.45%), routine cancer screening (60.70%), and treatment plans (73.58%), especially among elderly patients. It changed the interactions with health care providers (HCP) for 28.03% of the participants. Older adults were 2.33 times more likely to experience treatment appointment disruptions. People who thought their contact with their doctors changed during COVID-19 were more likely to be older adults (65 or more) (OR = 3.85, P = .011), white (OR >1, P = .002), and with higher income (OR = 1.81, P = .002). The changes to cancer treatment and follow-up medical appointments negatively impacted the well-being of the patients (mental: β = -.006, P = .043; physical: β = -.001, P = .006), routine screening and preventative care visits (mental: β = -.029, P = .031; physical: β = -.003, P = .008), and cancer treatment plans (mental: β = -.044, P = .024; physical: β = -.021, P = .040).

CONCLUSIONS

Our findings underscore the crucial requirement for implementing focused interventions aimed at alleviating the discrepancies in the accessibility of cancer care across diverse demographic groups, particularly during times of emergency, in order to mitigate any potential disruptions in care.

A study of the factors influencing HIV-preventive intentions among "hookup" application users

"Hooking up" refers to the act of experiencing sexual intimacy with strangers without committing to a romantic relationship. Social media provide more convenient conditions for hooking up; however, it also poses a greater risk for HIV infection. Therefore, it is necessary to study the factors influencing the HIV-preventive intentions of those who engage in online dating to devise effective strategies for preventing the spread of HIV. This study consisted of a questionnaire that was distributed to 520 users of the Hello Group application. The survey results revealed that structural equation modeling is a useful framework for understanding the risk of HIV transmission in casual hookup encounters. In addition, combining the health belief model with the theory of planned behavior can provide recommendations for enhancing HIV-preventive intentions among users of dating applications. The results showed that mindfulness, the Chinese cultural context, perceived benefits, and self-efficacy were the main predictors of users' HIV-preventive intentions when using online dating applications. Among the perceived HIV risks, only perceived barriers had a negative effect on users' HIV-preventive intentions. In addition, attitude, subjective norms, and behavior control served as mediating variables between independent variables and HIV-preventive intentions; however, the mediating effect of attitude on perceived benefits and intentions was not significant. According to our study, some users misunderstand the risks and make incorrect assessments of the cultural risks of hooking up. Therefore, it is necessary to pay attention to the research on the psychological tendencies of users and risk intervention when studying the concept of hooking up.