Public Event (Open to all who register in advance; please find registration link below)

Date: Thursday, May 27, 2021

Time: 9 am – 10:30 am EDT (U.S.) / 4 pm – 5:30 pm (Greece)

Registration: To participate, please register by Monday, May 24, 2021 following the link below: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/1st-joint-e-symposium-fighting-health-disparities-registration-153158903403

Introductions and presentation of the HMU-Rutgers University partnership

Konstantinos Petridis, Ph.D., & Kleio Koutra, Ph.D. (Hellenic Mediterranean University)

Matthew Matsaganis, Ph.D. & Riva Touger-Decker, Ph.D. (Rutgers University)

Research Presentations

(Presenters’ names appear alphabetically; bios for all event participants available below)

Nursing Practice Environment and Employee Silence Regarding Patient Safety: The Mediating Role of Experienced Professional Discrimination

George Kritsotakis, Ph.D. (Hellenic Mediterranean University)

Abstract: On many occasions, nurses are directly or indirectly discouraged to voice their concerns regarding patient safety or are ignored when they do, leading to employee silence and decreasing the standard of care. Nurses’ work-related determinants for silence are not clearly understood in the patient safety context. The aim of this presentation is to report on the associations between nurse work environment with nurses’ silence regarding patient safety and the mediating role of experienced professional discrimination in a sample of 607 Nurses and Nursing Assistants working in 7 hospitals in Greece.

Psychosocial Needs of People Living in Extreme Poverty and Introducing Brief Interventions: The Case of Crete Region in Greece

Maria G. Papadakaki, Ph.D. (Hellenic Mediterranean University)

Abstract: The financial crisis of the last decade has increased the number of people living in extreme poverty in Greece. Despite this fact, little evidence exists on their profile and psychosocial needs. The current study explored the socioeconomic circumstances and psychosocial profile of 798 people confronted with severe poverty. This article further reports on brief interventions introduced at individual-, group-, and community level to address the psychosocial burden of these people. A huge health and mental health burden was found among the participants. People also experienced long periods of unemployment, bad housing and living conditions, and absence of a supportive social/family network. Brief interventions increased people’s self-awareness, self-expression, and self-esteem and improved their problem-solving and coping skills. Integrated and family-focused care seems necessary. Mapping

the biopsychosocial needs of these people is important for health care and social welfare planning

Understanding the Impact of Engagement with Cancer (Mis)information among Latino Facebook Users

Yonaira Rivera, Ph.D., MPH (Rutgers University)

Abstract: Latinos, the largest minority in the U.S., face a high burden of cancer, making it important to deliver evidence-based cancer prevention and screening information (CPSI) to them. Social media presents an innovative platform to engage with Latinos dialogically by allowing user interaction through posts, pictures, videos, and other information sharing. This qualitatively-driven, mixed methods study explored how U.S. Latinos engage with, assess the credibility of, and act upon CPSI on Facebook. During one-on-one, in-person encounters, participants (n=20) accessed their Facebook profiles and discussed engagement with cancer-related posts with the researcher. Engagement with content prompted semi-structured, in-depth interviews discussing reasons for engagement, credibility assessments, and subsequent actions. Data were analyzed via content analysis and thematic analysis. Results demonstrate that cultural values and other cultural connectors (e.g., language and country of origin) play a salient role in how message factors and source factors influence the way Latinos engage with and assess the credibility of CPSI. Furthermore, both engagement and credibility assessments – as influenced by culture – appear to impact how some Latinos choose to act upon CPSI, both online and offline. Actions taken were sometimes informed by inaccurate credibility assessments, which may lead to potentially harmful outcomes. Findings provide important methodological, theoretical, and practical contributions to a growing area of public health research that is interested in curtailing the effects of misinformation on health outcomes.

Cancer Screening among Garifuna Women

Lois Rockson, Ph.D., MPH (Rutgers University)

Abstract: Background: Cancer screening disparities exist among immigrant groups in the United States, yet the cancer screening behaviors of ethnic Black immigrants remains relatively unknown. Low cancer screening rates among ethnic Black immigrant groups are associated with various structural, and sociocultural barriers. These barriers may be the same for all ethnic Black immigrants, but evidence is lacking. The Garifuna, an Afro-Amerindian Central American group experience structural forces in their homelands and settling communities in urbanized spaces in the US with little known of their cancer screening practices. The purpose of this study was to examine breast, cervical and colorectal cancer screening practices among Garifuna women residing in the boroughs of New York City and to identify any disparities in their cancer screening practices. The study examined level of adherence to the recommended breast, cervical and colorectal cancer screening guidelines and their association with demographic factors, access to healthcare services, perceptions/barriers, acculturation, identity, and level of guideline knowledge. Method: This study used a mixed method approach of interviews with eight key informants knowledgeable on the health behaviors of Garifuna women and surveying of four hundred Garifuna women, age 50 years and older residing in the New York City area. Content analysis was performed on key informant interview transcripts which confirmed survey sociocultural variable choices. Univariate analysis was used to describe the survey study sample and bivariate analysis to measure level of association between variables. Logistic regression examined the predictive nature of variables in explaining cancer screening adherence. Results:

Four hundred and two Garifuna women completed surveys over a 22-month period. The results show that disparities exist in cervical cancer screening and are suggested in colorectal cancer screening. Models for colorectal cancer screening by colonoscopy and fecal occult blood testing were the most predictive of the cancer screening types with knowledge and health belief models having the highest predictive variability. Conclusion: Further studies on cervical and colorectal cancer screening among the Garifuna women are recommended to identify additional barriers contributing to these cancer screening disparities and to develop culturally appropriate interventions aimed to end disparities in this unique immigrant group.

Reaction Panel, Q&A, and Discussion

A panel of Rutgers SC&I and SHP faculty named below will initiate a Q&A session, during which all audience members will be able to ask questions of the presenters. All participants will be given an opportunity to have a dialogue on the issues raised by the research projects presented and their implications, and to identify top priorities for future research, teaching, professional practice, and policymaking.

(Reaction Panel members, in alphabetical order)

George Fragiadakis, Ph.D., Hellenic Mediterranean University

Argyroula Kalaitzaki, Ph.D., Hellenic Mediterranean University

Ekaterini Miheli, Ph.D., Hellenic Mediterranean University

Lina Pelekidou, Ph.D., Hellenic Mediterranean University

Nikoleta Ratsika, Ph.D., Hellenic Mediterranean University

Pamela Rothpletz-Puglia, Ed.D., RD, Rutgers University

Charles Senteio, Ph.D., MBA, MSW, Rutgers University

Certificate of Participation

A certificate of participation will be provided to all registered participants in the public event who express interest in receiving one. Participants will be able to indicate their interest right after the event, when the organizers will follow-up with them.