Annals of behavioral medicine : a publication of the Society of Behavioral Medicine
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Investigating antecedents of behaviors, such as wearing face coverings, is critical for developing strategies to prevent SARS-CoV-2 transmission. ⋯ Intention to wear face coverings and observing other people wearing them are important behavioral predictors of adherence to the CDC recommendation to wear face coverings in public.
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Compared to White and high socioeconomic status (SES) patients, Black and low SES patients receive less adequate pain care. Providers may contribute to these disparities by making biased decisions that are driven, in part, by their attitudes about race and SES. ⋯ These results highlight the need to further examine the effects of patient race and SES simultaneously in the context of pain care.
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Randomized Controlled Trial
Merely Possessing a Placebo Analgesic Improves Analgesia Similar to Using the Placebo Analgesic.
Placebo analgesia studies generally reported that the actual use of a placebo analgesic reduces pain. Yeung, Geers, and Kam found that the mere possession (without use) of a placebo analgesic also reduces pain. ⋯ Our results suggest that merely possessing a placebo analgesic could enhance pain outcomes similar to that of applying the placebo analgesic.
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Conditioned pain modulation (CPM) is a task that involves measuring pain in response to a test stimulus before and during a painful conditioning stimulus (CS). The CS pain typically inhibits pain elicited by the test stimulus; thus, this task is used to assess endogenous pain inhibition. Moreover, less efficient CPM-related inhibition is associated with chronic pain risk. Pain catastrophizing is a cognitive-emotional process associated with negative pain sequelae, and some studies have found that catastrophizing reduces CPM efficiency. ⋯ Catastrophizing may contribute to NA pain risk by disrupting descending inhibition.
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The Center for Latino Health Research Opportunities (CLaRO) supports and facilitates research addressing substance abuse, violence/trauma, and HIV/AIDS among diverse and underserved Latinx populations. CLaRO runs a pilot awards program for early-stage investigators conducting Latinx health disparities research. This pilot awards program was impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic, necessitating innovative responses for research continuity. ⋯ Despite the challenges COVID-19 presents to the continuity of health disparities research, it also presents unprecedented opportunities to innovate. Such innovation is essential for solving persistent scientific, public health, and clinical challenges underlying current and emerging health disparities.