African Community Research Articles

The Challenges of Engaging African American Communities During a Public Health Crisis: The Role of Government Information, COVID-19 Discourse, and Emotional Content on Social Media

ABSTRACT During a public health crisis, social media platforms play a pivotal role in circulating information and influencing public reactions. This research investigates the dynamics of public engagement with COVID-19-related content and government information sources within African American online communities, a population that has experienced significant health risks and inequities. Using advanced computational research methods, we analyzed 199,542 posts from 1,152 communities created between January 2020 and December 2022. The present research focused on the presence of COVID-19-related content, government information sources, the emotions of anger and fear in these posts, and their associations with user engagement metrics. The results indicated that posts discussing COVID-19 and those incorporating government information sources tend to receive lower levels of engagement. On the other hand, posts with higher levels of anger generated more shares and comments. The findings suggest a “triple disadvantage” in user engagement for social media messages that reference government sources and discuss public health risks without delivering strong negative emotions. These patterns are crucial not only for understanding the challenges faced by the at-risk population but also for aiding researchers and practitioners in developing more effective communication strategies during public health crises.

Transboundary COVID-19 response on health communication in Botswana, South Africa and Zimbabwe

A global COVID-19 pandemic caused untold community disruptions, a huge toll on lives and placed major burdens on the economies of developing countries. It spread worldwide within a short period of time before nations could mobilise evidence for the best responses. Communities in Botswana, South Africa and Zimbabwe were heavily disrupted. This article focuses on exploring the transboundary differences in COVID-19 responses, plus the implications for improving the health communication strategies in a pandemic age. Health practitioners and governments were ill-prepared to inform the general public about the pandemic and enforced complete shutdowns of economic and social activities. With the COVID-19 pandemic ravaging communities, there was a dearth of focused health communication on COVID-19’s end. New tools of communication and dissemination of information were embraced in the southern Africa country-specific cases. For example, content on precautionary lifestyles, individual or personal responsibility and utilisation of community health workers in the pandemic era was prioritised to prevent or minimise infections and avoid recurrence of the disease. New communication methods were important for addressing uncertainty and can be applied for any future pandemic. This health communication topic addresses the neglected, but important gap on the efficacy of processes towards better health communication strategies. The transdisciplinary methods include improved health communication strategies informed by the experiences of three Southern African Development Community countries. While such measures to arrest COVID-19 proved plausible, these countries’ projections for the future are a concern, suggesting an urgent need to enhance and strengthen health communication in southern Africa.Transdisciplinary contribution: This is a transdisciplinary exploration of health communication and its implications for COVID-19 and future pandemic responses in Botswana, South Africa and Zimbabwe.

Book Review: Language in African American Communities

Book Review: Language in African American Communities

Widespread Misperceptions Among U.S. Adults About Tobacco Company Engagement in Black and African American Communities.

Menthol cigarettes and flavored cigars (MC/FC) bring profits to U.S. tobacco companies at the cost of Black/African American (B/AA) lives. This exploratory cross-sectional study describes perceptions of tobacco company engagement and activities in B/AA communities related to MC/FC. Among 2307 U.S. adults aged 18-45 surveyed in 2022, six items addressed beliefs about tobacco company funding of B/AA community organizations, payment of B/AA lobbyists to oppose public health policies, support of health equity efforts in B/AA communities, and targeted marketing of MC/FC in B/AA communities. Adjusted proportions were calculated for each belief overall and by race and cigarette smoking status. Among all adults, 37% believed that tobacco companies deny the harms of MC/FCs, 20% believed they pay Black lobbyists to oppose health policies, and 12% believed they fund Black community organizations. Compared with non-B/AA adults, a higher proportion of B/AA adults believed that tobacco companies target Black communities with MC/FC marketing (62% vs. 46%). More adult smokers (ie, menthol or non-MC) than nonsmokers thought that tobacco companies support health equity efforts and did not target Black communities with MC/FC marketing nor deny the harms of MC/FCs to B/AA communities. Few B/AAs and adult smokers believed that tobacco companies used B/AA organizations and lobbyists to oppose MC/FC policies in the B/AA community as well as reject MC/FC's harmfulness. Culturally tailored and community-engaged communication efforts are needed to correct disinformation about MC/FC tobacco companies' engagement and activities in B/AA communities among B/AA and menthol cigarette smokers. Tobacco companies have a history of predatory marketing that promotes flavored tobacco products to Black/African American (B/AA) individuals and more recently has spread disinformation to dissuade policy support for menthol cigarette/flavored cigar (MC/FC) bans. It is unclear what are the perceptions of tobacco company engagement and activities in B/AA communities related to MC/FC. Our study shows that B/AA adults and current cigarette smokers hold misperceptions about tobacco companies' role in spreading disinformation about MC/FC. This study identified beliefs about the industry's role in funding B/AA organizations and lobbyists who oppose policy, as well as the industry's denial of menthol cigarette and flavored cigar harms as potential messaging targets for communication efforts designed to correct disinformation about MC/FC policies among B/AA and those who currently smoke MC.

African Americans Communities Speak to Healthcare Providers: Clinical Practice Outcomes (RP322)

African Americans Communities Speak to Healthcare Providers: Clinical Practice Outcomes (RP322)

Toward a Beloved Community: Facilitated Group Listening as a Tool for Community Development and Civic Engagement

Community dialogue is critical to the success of community development and civic engagement efforts. Facilitated Group Listening (FGL) can be used to foster empathy and critical consciousness across lines of difference in communities, promoting understanding and action. After the killing of Michael Brown by then-officer Darren Wilson in Ferguson, Missouri, a community group in the rural southeastern United States used FGL to foster structured community dialogue between African American community members and law enforcement officers. Engaging in FGL contributed to increased communication and improved empathy among participants. Recommendations for future use of FGL are provided.

African Americans Communities Speak to Healthcare Providers: Clinical Practice Outcomes

African Americans Communities Speak to Healthcare Providers: Clinical Practice Outcomes

Disturbance sensitivity shapes patterns of tree species distribution in Afrotropical lowland rainforests more than climate or soil.

Understanding how tropical forests respond to abiotic environmental changes is critical for preserving biodiversity, mitigating climate change, and maintaining ecosystem services in the coming century. To evaluate the relative roles of the abiotic environment and human disturbance on Central African tree community composition, we employ tree inventory data, remotely sensed climatic data, and soil nutrient data collected from 30 1-ha plots distributed across a large-scale observational experiment in forests that had been differently impacted by logging and hunting in northern Republic of Congo. We show that the composition of Afrotropical plant communities at this scale responds to human disturbance more than to climate, with particular sensitivities to hunting and distance to the nearest village (a proxy for other human activities, including tree-cutting and gathering). These findings contrast neotropical predictions, highlighting the unique ecological, evolutionary, and anthropogenic history of Afrotropical forests.

Assessing the use of body measurements to predict insulin resistance in a South African community

Assessing the use of body measurements to predict insulin resistance in a South African community

A meta-theory of ubuntu: Implications for responsible leadership in Africa

Purpose: This study provides an outline of a meta-theory of ubuntu to illuminate how responsible leadership might be understood and enacted in African settings.Design/methodology/approach: This study presents an initial theory on ubuntu and appeals to realist philosophical principles to provide an approach to understand the structures that make ubuntu possible. The study tests and refines that initial theory using evidence about reconciliation in Africa where ubuntu has been revealed. It then discusses the key concepts of responsible leadership using ubuntu as a lens.Findings/results: Ubuntu is an important basis for responsible leadership in many African communities. It can manifest, to varying extents, when individuals engage with their environments and are exposed to an apology. Apology reveals the rights, privileges, obligations and responsibilities of individuals. It provides an environment for transformative conversations that improve understanding and promote harmony.Practical implications: Theories of responsible leadership based on ubuntu will prioritise engagement with African cultures and issues in a holistic manner. Leaders who activate ubuntu will be less interested in stakeholder management and more in citizenship. This approach decentres organisations and foregrounds humanity.Originality/value: This study contributes to the theory of ubuntu and proposes that it can support the conceptualisation and implementation of responsible leadership in African settings. It clarifies the nature of responsibility and indicates to whom that responsibility is owed. It helps bridge African and Western ideas to reverse the marginalisation of African systems of thought by positioning ubuntu as an important socio-philosophical idea.

‘Botha Cake’ and ‘Belgian Onion Soup:’ Gendered Patriotism Through Three South African, First World War, Community Cookbooks

ABSTRACT This article considers three South African community cookbooks – including The Overseas Contingent Fund Recipe Book (Turffontein, 1915) and the Paarl Cookery Book in Aid of War Funds (Paarl, 1918) alongside Wartime Cookery (Cape Town, 1915) – as expressions of gendered patriotism. These community-created cookbooks enabled contributors to participate meaningfully in the First World War by drawing together two established gendered practices: philanthropic fundraising and food and household management. This ‘domesticity in action’ enabled participants to contribute to, and feel connected to, both local and trans-empire causes. These values of philanthropy, economy and patriotism are revealed in the constitutive components of the texts – the titles, aims, prefaces and even the recipes themselves. Apart from supporting specific funds, the call for economy in the cookbooks reflected both experiences and perceptions of wartime material hardship in South Africa. A further consideration of the contributors involved with the books’ compilations highlights the intersection of local and trans-empire networks, and wartime (white) identity politics within urban South Africa. The networks suggest locally-grounded loyalisms, many marked by personal connections to men serving, as well as friend and family networks with overseas reach. Lastly, the article is a reminder of the importance of cookbooks as neglected sources in the writing of history.

The Obstacles of Women Entrepreneurship on Empowerment in Rural Communities KwaZulu Natal, South Africa

This research aims to determine barriers to the expansion of women-owned businesses in rural communities of South Africa. To collect data for the research, a quantitative research approach was adopted. The research focused on 250 female business owners in the northern KZN rural regions of Umzinyakude, Uthukela, and Ugu. According to the survey, the primary barriers to developing women-owned businesses in rural communities are financial restraints, an absence of formal education, and inadequate facilities. These hurdles, however, may be overcome by women businesses being entrepreneurs in rural South African communities. Eliminating these barriers might empower women entrepreneurs and drive growth in the economy in rural communities, lowering poverty and improving rural people's living conditions. In light of these findings, the research suggests a variety of measures, including different financing methods, focused training and schooling programs, and the development of infrastructure to help women-owned businesses flourish in rural communities. Further research should investigate more issues like cultural as well as social barriers, an absence of accessibility to marketplaces and information, and legal and regulatory obstacles that prevent women from starting business entities in rural communities.

Perspectives on African Indigenous Religion and the Natural Environment: Beings, Interconnectedness, Communities and Knowledge Systems

This article explored the intricate relationship between African Indigenous Religion (AIR) and the natural environment.  It uncovered diverse perspectives on how African communities historically engage with and conserve their natural surroundings and underscored the contemporary relevance of these insights in addressing global environmental challenges. The article covered a wide range of online and offline materials, including books, book chapters, and journal articles, offering a comprehensive understanding of the connections between indigenous belief systems and environmental conservation in Africa. By analysing key recurring themes and concepts within the literature, including African ontology, belief in God, ancestral roles, deities, community values, moral status, and Indigenous Knowledge Systems (IKS), the article synthesised insights from previous research and identified important areas for future research.

A Feminist Approach to Buchi Emecheta's the Bride Price

One of Buchi Emecheta’s well-known contemporary books, The Bride Price, features the voice of a female character. The paper discusses two topics: first is patriarchal society, in which women suffer and end up being the sole victims, and the second is African culture, which Emecheta harshly criticises. Men have complete authority over the entire family. The traditional African community adheres to its customs, especially when it comes to paying the bride from the groom's family. In certain ways, the study will identify and further explain the notion of "double colonisation" put out by Peterson and Rutherford (1986). It also reveals some cultural overlap between the two nations. Emecheta's female protagonists go through a painful experience in which they are dominated by two colonisers: the power of males and the actuality of colonisation by using the "double colonisation" idea.

Decolonizing Impact Through the Culture-Centered Approach to Health Communication: Mobilizing Communities to Transform the Structural Determinants of Health

ABSTRACT In this issue, we outline the central tenets of the culture-centered approach to health communication. What does the culture-centered approach address when suggesting the co-creation of voice infrastructures? What is the theory’s methodological emphasis for mobilizing and transforming structures that shape health inequalities for communities at the margins? Drawing on examples of culture-centered interventions in over fifty communities spread across 17 countries and three continents, a large number of them housed under the umbrella of the Center for Culture-centered Approach to Research and Evaluation (CARE) at Massey University in Aotearoa, New Zealand, we articulate the communicative processes (referring to actionable sources and targets of communicative action) that shape the building of voice infrastructures mobilizing toward structural transformation. For instance, African American communities organizing under the framework of the culture-centered approach, documented in Dutta, Collins, and colleagues study in 2019, discuss the building of voice infrastructures where community members participate in co-creating heart health information based on comparative effectiveness research, building an African American media ecosystem disseminating the information alongside community-led initiatives growing healthy food, community-led youth activities, and activism addressing the racist structural drivers that adversely impact African American heart health. In this essay, we describe the impact of culture-centered interventions reflected in the voice infrastructures within communities that witness and articulate the oppressions that threaten human health at the margins and in the transformations of these structures that organize various facets of life and livelihood at the global margins linked to health.

Invisible Wounds: Exploring the Coping Strategies of Black Survivors of Homicide Victims in Canada.

Canada has experienced a steady increase in homicide. Specifically, out of the 10 provinces and 3 territories, Ontario has consistently experienced the highest number of homicides, the majority concentrated within predominantly African, Caribbean, and Black (ACB) communities in the Greater Toronto Area (GTA). Despite this disproportionate reality, there is limited research on the ways in which survivors of homicide victims cope with the murder of their loved ones. This article explores the identification and characterization of coping strategies for ACB survivors of homicide victims residing in five neighbourhoods in the GTA. Participants in this study provided their insights and experiences, highlighting the coping mechanisms employed, the influence of cultural identity, and the challenges they experienced in accessing adequate care following the death of their loved ones. Implications for future research, policy and practice are discussed.

Balancing the three-legged pot: Benchmarking road safety institutional frameworks across SADC member states

BackgroundRoad deaths and injuries constitute a major global burden of disease, with Africa the worst affected region. Two successive UN Global Decades of Action (2011–2020 and 2021–2030) have focused on pillars of action aimed at halving road deaths. Pillar 1, Road Safety Management, requires a road safety institutional framework (RSIF) containing three legs: i) a road safety lead agency, ii) road safety funding, and iii) a national road safety strategy with timebound death reduction targets. MethodWe used a regional benchmarking approach to examine RSIFs in the 16 member states of the Southern African Development Community (SADC), which make up 26% of Africa's population and a third of its land mass. Using data from the World Health Organization's 2018 Global Status Report on Road Safety, we computed an RSIF score for each state and visually depicted its RSIF as a three-legged pot with full, partial, or missing legs. We also performed correlational analyses to determine whether there were relationships between member states' RSIF scores and WHO-estimated death rates, GDP per capita, governance scores on the BertelsmanStiftung Transformation Index (BTI-g) and scores on the Human Development Index (HDI). ResultsIn 2018, most SADC member states’ RSIFs consisted of “wobbly three-legged pots”. Leg i (road safety lead agency) was most present, being evident in 80% of the member states. Legs ii (funding) and iii (national road safety strategy) were each present in 73%; however, in most cases, they were deficient compared with global best practice. The only statistically significant correlation we found was between RSIF scores and BTI-g scores. DiscussionThe SADC lagged behind the continent as a whole with respect to lead agencies, with other researchers noting that >90% of African countries had such agencies. The two member states with the highest RSIF scores and lowest death rates (Mauritius and Seychelles) are amongst the wealthiest in the region and have extremely small populations. Overall, the SADC was skewed towards low RSIF scores (correlated with poor governance scores) and high death rates. ConclusionAlmost all SADC member states require strengthening of all three RSIF legs to bring them into line with global best practice for Pillar 1, Road Safety Management. Collective regional improvement could be facilitated by longstanding intergovernmental cooperation (with high levels of cross-border traffic) and growing civil society involvement in road safety. If the SADC could become an exemplar on the continent this would boost the chances of halving African road deaths and substantially reducing global deaths by 2030.

Health capital and economic performance in selected Southern African development Community (SADC) countries

Health capital and economic performance in selected Southern African development Community (SADC) countries

M. tuberculosis Infection Attributable to Exposure in Social Networks of Tuberculosis Cases in an Urban African Community.

The persistence of tuberculosis today and its global disparity send a powerful message that effective tuberculosis control must respond to its regional epidemiology. Active case finding through contact investigation is a standard protocol used for tuberculosis control, but its effectiveness has not been established, especially in endemic areas. To quantify the potential effectiveness of contact investigation in Kampala, Uganda, we used a cross-sectional design to evaluate the social networks of 123 tuberculosis index cases and 124 controls without tuberculosis. Tuberculous infection was present in 515 of 989 tuberculosis case contacts (52.1%) and 396 of 1026 control contacts (38.6%; adjusted prevalence ratio, 1.4; 95% CI, 1.3-1.6). The proportion of infected participants with known exposure within the social network of the tuberculosis case was 35%. The population-attributable fraction was 11.1% for any known exposure, with 7.3% attributable to household exposure and 3.4% attributable to extrahousehold exposure. This low population-attributable fraction indicates that contact tracing in the social networks of index cases will have only a modest effect in reducing tuberculous infection in a community. New approaches to community-level active case finding are needed.

Regional integration in Southern Africa: Evidence from the Southern African Development Community (SADC)

This article provides for an informative review on regional integration in Southern Africa by drawing lessons and evidence from the Souther African Development Community (SADC). It provides for a review of literature on the SADC from a regional integration perspective. SADC has expanded into a more expansive regional organisation in response to the challenges faced in the 1990s, and it currently includes South Africa, the region’s superpower. Furthermore, trade integration is receiving more attention, despite not being a main debate point at the Southern African Development Co-Ordinating Conference (SADCC). The SADC Trade Protocol has been decisive in trade integration. The purpose of the Protocol is to ensure that companies operating in each of the nations in the region may fairly compete to service the 150 million customers that comprise the market as a whole. It is anticipated that regional free trade will increase the likelihood of economic growth, increase intra-SADC commercial activity, create jobs, and elevate the standard of living for SADC residents.