Black women in the United States (U.S.) disproportionately experience adverse pregnancy outcomes, including maternal mortality, compared to women of other racial and ethnic groups. Historical legacies of institutionalized racism and bias in medicine compound this problem. The disproportionate impact of COVID-19 on communities of color may further worsen existing racial disparities in maternal morbidity and mortality. This paper discusses structural and social determinants of racial disparities with a focus on the Black maternal mortality crisis in the United States. We explore how structural racism contributes to a greater risk of adverse obstetric outcomes among Black women in the U.S. We also propose public health, healthcare systems, and community-engaged approaches to decrease racial disparities in maternal morbidity and mortality.

Black women faculty and administrators in the United States are tackling a force of socioeconomic and racial disparities, emotional tolls and invisible burdens within academia, political turmoil, social unrest, and public health crises. COVID-19 has added an additional layer related to work responsibilities, the overall well-being of Black women faculty and administrators and the diverse students they encounter, and management of work and home responsibilities. This paper discusses perspectives and evidence-based strategies regarding Black women faculty and administrators who navigate academia and teach during times of COVID-19 and social unrest. We also outline strategies for university leaders to mitigate cultural and racial gaps in the classroom or workplace and foster diversity and inclusion in academia.

Mobile health apps have been widely considered in the healthcare sector as innovative channels to reach patients and their families. Accordingly, the aim of the chapter was to investigate factors that influence the customers' adoption of digital health apps in Algeria. The authors adopted an extended technology acceptance model (TAM) framework by integrating the constructs of perceived self-efficacy and trust. A structured questionnaire survey was used to collect data from 186 participants in five cities. Multiple linear regression analysis was used for data analysis. Findings show that perceived usefulness, attitudes, perceived self-efficacy, and perceived ease of use significantly and positively predicted customers' intention to use digital health apps. However, behavioural intention to use was not significantly and positively influenced by trust in digital health system. Moreover, results revealed that the extended TAM explained 60.1% of the variance of intention. The chapter provides valuable results concerning the determinants of adoption of digital health apps.

Drug waste poses a real threat to human health and the environment. Therefore, recycling and sustainability scholars have recently sought practical solutions to the drug waste problem. Furthermore, several governments have made significant efforts to reduce the negative effects of waste, such as establishing programs to take back unwanted drugs (expired and unused) for recycling (i.e., drug reuse or drug redispersing). However, many of these programs have failed to achieve their goals. In this context, it is expected that creating green start-ups to collect unwanted drugs will contribute to solving this problem. Accordingly, this study aims to investigate the antecedents of intentions to create green start-ups for collecting unwanted drugs. To this end, the authors integrate start-up self-efficacy and drug waste collection-related knowledge constructs into the theory of planned behavior (TPB). Using a self-administered paper questionnaire and relying on a convenience sample, data were collected from 328 students in six Algerian universities. A hierarchical multiple regression was conducted to test the proposed study model. Theresults revealed that perceived behavioral control (PBC) (β = 0.187, p < 0.001), attitudes (β = 0.182, p = 0.002), start-up self-efficacy (β = 0.169, p = 0.001), drug waste collection-related knowledge (β = 0.161, p < 0.001), and subjective norms (β = 0.088, p < 0.05) have a positive significant effect on the intention to create a start-up to collect unwanted drugs. In conclusion, this paper contributes to reducing drug waste by investigating the drivers of intention to create green start-ups for collecting unwanted drugs. Therefore, our study is expected to provide valuable insights for hospitals, pharmacies, pharmaceutical manufacturers, environmental protection associations, and stakeholders interested in reverse logistics.

The rapid expansion of digital platforms has significantly influenced consumer purchasing behaviors, particularly in the agri-food sector. Therefore, this paper investigates the key factors driving customers’ intention to use green agri-food delivery apps (GAFDAs) by integrating trust and electronic word of mouth (eWOM) into the Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB) framework. Additionally, this study examines gender as a moderating variable, assessing whether its influence alters the relationships between key determinants and behavioral intention. Data were collected from 252 Algerian consumers, and the proposed model was tested using SmartPLS 4 and SPSS 26.0. The results confirm that attitude, subjective norms, perceived behavioral control (PBC), trust, and eWOM positively and significantly influence the intention to use GAFDAs, with PBC emerging as the strongest predictor. Moreover, gender moderates the effect of trust on behavioral intention, with trust significantly influencing men’s adoption decisions but not those of females. In contrast, subjective norms and PBC are stronger predictors for female consumers. These findings highlight the importance of gender-specific marketing strategies to enhance GAFDA adoption. This study contributes to the literature by extending TPB with trust, eWOM, and gender moderation, offering valuable insights for marketers, policymakers, and app developers promoting sustainable food consumption.

To compare the effects of raloxifene and soy phytoestrogens on endothelial function in healthy, postmenopausal women. Randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, cross-over trial. Subjects (n = 22; mean age 58.5 years) underwent endothelial function testing at baseline and following 6 weeks of daily raloxifene 60 mg, soy phytoestrogens 55 mg, and placebo in random sequence with intervening 6-week wash-out periods. Endothelial function was assessed as flow-mediated vasodilatation (FMD) of the brachial artery using high-resolution ultrasound; digital flux was measured with laser Doppler velocimetry. Baseline (pretreatment) FMD was almost within normal range at 9.6% (+/-6.4). FMD did not change from baseline within any treatment group, and no between-group differences were detected. FMD values following treatment with raloxifene, soy, and placebo were 10.3% (+/-12.3), 8.3% (+/-7.7), and 9.5% (+/-4.4), respectively. Area under curve ratios showed no treatment differences for digital velocimetry. In this study, neither raloxifene nor soy enhanced endothelial function in postmenopausal women. However, the cohort had relatively normal endothelial function at baseline. Further study is required to determine if particular subgroups of postmenopausal women derive vascular benefit from the use of selective estrogen receptor modulators or soy phytoestrogens.