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Objectives. We aimed to study self‐rated health and psycho‐neuroimmunological responses during the initial 6 months after testing positive for human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and its relationship to health literacy, that is, the ability to take in and understand information about one's illness. Health literacy plays a critical role in patients' ability to adhere to antiretroviral treatment (ART). However, there is a lack of studies on the possible impact of HIV‐induced proinflammatory processes on health literacy. Methods. Twelve patients with newly diagnosed HIV attending an urban Ryan White‐funded HIV clinic responded to a questionnaire and had blood samples drawn at baseline (first visit) and after 1, 3, and 6 months, respectively. The questionnaire measured stress, depression, and health literacy. Blood was analyzed for HIV RNA plasma viral load, CD4 cell count, pro‐ and antistress, and inflammatory markers. Results. Complete data for the entire 4 collection periods were available for nine patients. Over the 6‐month period, mean viral load decreased from 353,714.83 (standard deviation 870,334.61) to 35.89 (14.04) copies/mL (p < 0.001). CD4 cell count increased from 321.08 (167.96) to 592.44 (300.06) cells/mm3 (p < 0.001). Self‐rated stress decreased from a baseline mean of 7.33 (2.29) to 3.56 (3.21), on a 0–10 visual analogue scale, at the 6‐month follow‐up (p < 0.01). C‐reactive protein (CRP) decreased from 5757.05 (3146.86) to 2360.84 (2277.33) ng/mL (p < 0.05). Mean health literacy score at baseline was 17.67 (3.50; scale range 0–20) and did not change during the follow‐up period. However, increased stress and decreased CRP (p = 0.05) during the 6‐month follow‐up predicted higher health literacy scores at 6 months. Conclusion. Both stress and proinflammatory processes in newly diagnosed HIV‐infected patients might adversely impact patients' health literacy and thus their capacity to align with treatment guidance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Through Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration funding, Michigan State University (MSU) Extension partnered with MSU's Family Medicine and Health Department of Northwest Michigan to implement trainings for community members and health care providers to increase awareness and improve prevention efforts addressing opioid use disorder (OUD) in rural areas. We formed the Michigan Substance Use Prevention, Education and Recovery (MiSUPER) project to design and evaluate opioid misuse prevention trainings. A socio-ecological prevention model was an underlying conceptual framework for this project and drove strategies used in trainings, products created, and measurement. The purpose of this study is to determine the effectiveness of one-time online educational training events for rural community members and health care providers on community OUD issues, treatment options, and supports for those in recovery. Between 2020 and 2022, rural participants completed pre- and posttraining, and 30-day follow-up evaluation surveys. We report the demographic characteristics of community (n = 451) and provider (n = 59) participants, self-reported knowledge gained, and overall perceptions of the trainings. Findings show community members' knowledge increased from pre- to posttraining (p <.001) and was maintained at 3 months, while providers' knowledge was unchanged over time. Posttraining, community participants felt more comfortable speaking about addiction with family and friends (p <.001), and providers had better knowledge of local resources for patients who could not afford opioid misuse treatments (p <.05). All participants reported gaining knowledge of community resources for opioid misuse prevention, treatment, and recovery (p <.01). Opioid misuse prevention trainings may be most effective when adapted to leverage local resources. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Context: Psychosocial exposures commonly show large variation over time and are usually assessed using multi-item Likert indices. A construct requiring a five-item Likert index could possibly be replaced by a single visual analogue scale (VAS). Objective: To: a) evaluate validity and relative reliability of a single VAS compared to previously validated Likert based items and indices measuring the same construct, b) detect possible statistically significant differences in absolute levels between the single VAS and Likert items and indices respectively. Design: Cross-sectional study conducted in May 2004. Methods: 805 participants responded to a web-based questionnaire including both VAS and Likert based items. Intraclass correlations were utilized to assess agreement between VAS and Likert scales/indices and Marginal homogeneity tests were utilized to detect possible differences in absolute levels. Results: Moderate to strong correlations were found in responses between VAS and Likert based items and indices, and significant differences in absolute levels in seven out of eleven scales. Conclusion: Single VAS questions can, in some cases of uniform construct, replace a single Likert item and also be comparable, but not interchangeable, with multi-item Likert indices. (Contains 4 tables.)