Digital Commons Network^™

Attitudes Of Virginia Dentists Toward Dental Therapists, Adaira Latrece Howell

Dental Hygiene Theses & Dissertations

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to determine perceptions of Virginia (VA) dentists toward Mid-Level Dental Providers, specifically dental therapists (DT), and determine if American Dental Association (ADA) membership affected attitudes. Methods: After IRB approval, data was collected with an online survey sent to 1208 VA dentists. Participants responded to 11 Likert type scale questions ranging from 1 (strongly disagree) to 7 (strongly agree) assessing their attitudes toward DTs. Participants also responded to questions regarding the appropriate level of education and supervision of a DT, as well as five demographic questions. Two multiple linear regression models were used to …

Movement In High School: Proportion Of Chinese Adolescents Meeting 24-Hour Movement Guidelines, Li Ying, Xihe Zhu, Justin A. Haegele, Yang Wen

Human Movement Studies & Special Education Faculty Publications

The purposes of this study were (a) to examine the proportions of adolescents in China who partially or fully meet three 24-h movement guidelines on physical activity, screen-time, and sleep duration and (b) to examine whether there were gender differences in the proportion of boys and girls meeting these guidelines. The sample was made up of high school adolescents from an eastern province of China (N = 1338). The participants completed a self-reported survey on demographic variables and weekly health behaviors including physical activity, screen-time, and sleep duration. A frequency analysis was conducted to summarize the number of 24-h …

Surgical Gps Proof Of Concept For Scoliosis Surgery, Austin Tapp, Michel Audette

Computational Modeling & Simulation Engineering Faculty Publications

Scoliotic deformities may be addressed with either anterior or posterior approaches for scoliosis correction procedures. While typically quite invasive, the impact of these operations may be reduced through the use of computer-assisted surgery. A combination of physician-designated anatomical landmarks and surgical ontologies allows for real-time intraoperative guidance during computer-assisted surgical interventions. Predetermined landmarks are labeled on an identical patient model, which seeks to encompass vertebrae, intervertebral disks, ligaments, and other soft tissues. The inclusion of this anatomy permits the consideration of hypothetical forces that are previously not well characterized in a patient-specific manner. Updated ontologies then suggest procedural directions throughout …

Contextualizing Performance Of Coordinated Care Network Of Veteran Services In Virginia, Marina Saitgalina, Donta Council

School of Public Service Faculty Publications

Coordinated care network is an approach to human service delivery that is recognized to improve client outcomes at a reduced cost. However, general mixed findings on the effectiveness of coordinated care networks warrant research contextualization. This article seeks to discover factors influencing the performance of a coordinated care network delivering social services to veterans and their families. The study provides a contextual analysis of a coordinated care network launched in 2016 in southeastern Virginia for two samples of 1,512 and 375 veterans and their families. Results of the regression analyses indicate that initial progress has been made both in efficiency …

Using Social Media As A Platform For Increasing Knowledge Of Lung Cancer Screening In High-Risk Patients, Aimee Strong, Michelle Renaud

Nursing Faculty Publications

Background: Uptake in lung cancer screening for high-risk patients remains low. Eligible patients may not know that this preventive service is available and covered by insurance.

Objectives: The objective of this study was to explore using social media to educate patients about lung cancer screening and assess motivation to discuss lung cancer screening with health-care providers after viewing the educational program. Methods: Subjects ages 55 to 77 who were current smokers or former smokers who quit in the past 15 years with a more than 30-pack-year smoking history were recruited via a Facebook advertisement. Subjects completed a demographic survey and …

Classification Models Of Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis Patients, Mohammed Alqawba, Luis R. Rodriguez, Norou Diawara, Rebecca T. Beuschel, Maryann Kaler, Amisha V. Barochia, Stewart J. Levine, Steven D. Nathan, Geraldine Grant

Mathematics & Statistics Faculty Publications

Idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) is a chronic and fatal interstitial lung disease with no current cure. Progression of IPF is difficult to predict as the clinical course can be highly variable and range from a rapidly deteriorating state to a relatively stable state, or may be characterized by a slow progressive decline. Therefore, the need for an accurate diagnosis and improved tools for monitoring and managing IPF is of paramount importance, all for understanding the mitochondrial structure and the function played in the IPF. Mitochondrial DNA copy number (MtDCN) has been correlated with mortality in IPF patients and is a …

A Daily Diary Study Of Drinking And Nondrinking Days In Nonstudent Alcohol Users, Cathy Lau-Barraco, Ashley N. Linden-Carmichael

Psychology Faculty Publications

Background: Emerging adults with lower educational attainment are at higher long-term risk for problematic drinking and alcohol use disorders. Efforts to gain a more in-depth understanding of the drinking habits of nonstudent emerging adults are critical to reduce disparities and to shed light on targets of intervention for this vulnerable group.

Objectives: The current investigation aimed to: (1) provide a description of the daily drinking habits of nonstudent emerging adult drinkers using a 14-day diary method, and (2) examine nondrinking days by assessing their reasons for not drinking as well as strategies used to avoid drinking.

Methods: Participants were 27 …

Visual Estimates Of Blood Loss By Medical Laypeople: Effects Of Blood Loss Volume, Victim Gender, And Perspective, Rachel Phillips, Marc Friberg, Mattias Lantz Cronqvist, Carl-Oscar Jonson, Erik Prytz

Psychology Faculty Publications

A severe hemorrhage can result in death within minutes, before professional first responders have time to arrive. Thus, intervention by bystanders, who may lack medical training, may be necessary to save a victim's life in situations with bleeding injuries. Proper intervention requires that bystanders accurately assess the severity of the injury and respond appropriately. As many bystanders lack tools and training, they are limited in terms of the information they can use in their evaluative process. In hemorrhage situations, visible blood loss may serve as a dominant cue to action. Therefore, understanding how medically untrained bystanders (i.e., laypeople) perceive hemorrhage …

Pathways To Success In Anatomy And Physiology At The Community College: The Role Of Prerequisite Courses, Staci B. Forgey, Mitchell R. Williams, Shana Pribesh

Educational Leadership & Workforce Development Faculty Publications

Gatekeeper courses such as Anatomy and Physiology are often referenced in discussions regarding the national shortage of persons in allied health professions. In an attempt to bolster access to STEM professions, some community colleges are mandating prerequisite courses such as Natural Sciences and/or General Biology for STEM gatekeeping courses. In this study, we examined which of these prerequisite courses helped students to pass Anatomy and Physiology and whether the courses are an additional barrier to STEM field completion. This was the first study to evaluate whether a prerequisite course was predictive of success in Anatomy and Physiology, and it contributes …

Towards Making Videos Accessible For Low Vision Screen Magnifier Users, Ali Selman Aydin, Shirin Feiz, Vikas Ashok, Iv Ramakrishnan

Computer Science Faculty Publications

People with low vision who use screen magnifiers to interact with computing devices find it very challenging to interact with dynamically changing digital content such as videos, since they do not have the luxury of time to manually move, i.e., pan the magnifier lens to different regions of interest (ROIs) or zoom into these ROIs before the content changes across frames.

In this paper, we present SViM, a first of its kind screen-magnifier interface for such users that leverages advances in computer vision, particularly video saliency models, to identify salient ROIs in videos. SViM's interface allows users to zoom in/out …

Rotate-And-Press: A Non-Visual Alternative To Point-And-Click, Hae-Na Lee, Vikas Ashok, I. V. Ramakrishnan

Computer Science Faculty Publications

Most computer applications manifest visually rich and dense graphical user interfaces (GUIs) that are primarily tailored for an easy-and-efficient sighted interaction using a combination of two default input modalities, namely the keyboard and the mouse/touchpad. However, blind screen-reader users predominantly rely only on keyboard, and therefore struggle to interact with these applications, since it is both arduous and tedious to perform the visual 'point-and-click' tasks such as accessing the various application commands/features using just keyboard shortcuts supported by screen readers.

In this paper, we investigate the suitability of a 'rotate-and-press' input modality as an effective non-visual substitute for the visual …

Sail: Saliency-Driven Injection Of Aria Landmarks, Ali Selman Aydin, Shirin Feiz, Vikas Ashok, Iv Ramakrishnan

Computer Science Faculty Publications

Navigating webpages with screen readers is a challenge even with recent improvements in screen reader technologies and the increased adoption of web standards for accessibility, namely ARIA. ARIA landmarks, an important aspect of ARIA, lets screen reader users access different sections of the webpage quickly, by enabling them to skip over blocks of irrelevant or redundant content. However, these landmarks are sporadically and inconsistently used by web developers, and in many cases, even absent in numerous web pages. Therefore, we propose SaIL, a scalable approach that automatically detects the important sections of a web page, and then injects ARIA landmarks …

Analysis Of Personality, Suicide, And Self‐Injury In Emerging Adulthood, Amanda C. La Guardia, Robert J. Cramer, Claire N. Bryson, Kelly Emelianchik-Key

Community & Environmental Health Faculty Publications

Nonsuicidal self‐injury (NSSI) is a maladaptive coping strategy that is of significant clinical concern for behavioral health professionals in college settings. Relationships between NSSI, acquired capability for suicide, interpersonal cognitions, and five‐factor model personality traits were assessed in a survey‐based study that included 192 young adults in a college setting. Results indicated that those with an affirmative suicide attempt history, greater acquired capability for suicide, and elevated neuroticism had an increased likelihood of lifetime NSSI.

Factors Associated With Tobacco Smoking Among Saudi College Students: A Systematic Review, Saad A. Alotaibi, Praveen K. Durgampudi

Community & Environmental Health Faculty Publications

INTRODUCTION There has been an increase in tobacco smoking among Saudi college students in recent years. However, no study has examined, with a systematic approach, the extent to which specific factors are associated with tobacco smoking among this population.

METHODS PubMed, ProQuest, CINAHL, and Web of Science were utilized to retrieve studies addressing risk factors associated with tobacco smoking among Saudi college students between 2010 and 2019. After confirming their eligibility criteria, studies were imported to the NVivo software for data collection and synthesis. All included articles were critically appraised, based on a modified STROBE.

RESULTS Twenty-one out of 300 …

Exposure To Household Secondhand Smoke Among Adolescents In Kuwait: Results From Two School-Based Cross-Sectional Studies, Ali H. Ziyab, Mohammad Almari, Abdullah Al-Taiar

Community & Environmental Health Faculty Publications

INTRODUCTION: Detrimental effects of secondhand smoke (SHS) exposure are well established; however, data on SHS exposure among adolescents in Kuwait are lacking. Hence, this study sought to estimate the prevalence of household SHS exposure among two samples of adolescents in Kuwait and assess its variation by socioeconomic status and parental education level.

METHODS: Data from two large school-based cross-sectional studies were analyzed. Adolescents attending public middle (n=3864; aged 11-14 years) and high (n=1959; aged 14-19 years) schools throughout Kuwait were enrolled in 2016-2017, and parental self-reported household SHS exposure was ascertained. Associations were assessed using Poisson regression with robust variance …

Association Between Participation In Annual Physical Examinations And Risk Factors For Noncommunicable Diseases In Adults With Disabilities: Evidence From Shanghai, China, Yugang Li, Qi Zhang, Xiaohong Li, Mei Sun, Jun Lu, Gang Chen

Community & Environmental Health Faculty Publications

The relationships between regular participation in annual physical examinations and the risk factors for noncommunicable diseases (NCDs) among adults with disabilities remains unclear. To address this gap, we used data from 130,899 individuals with disabilities in Shanghai (2014-2016) and evaluated four risk factors for NCDs: hypertension, hyperglycemia, hyperlipidemia, and being overweight. Overall, 4540 individuals participated in annual physical examinations across all three years and 11,388 missed examinations in 2015 (group without regular participation). Chi-squared tests and binary logistic regression were used to assess differences in patient characteristics and explore correlations between variables. Significant differences in age (χ² = 102.620, …

Anemia And It's Associated Factors Among Adolescents In Kuwait, Lemia Shaban, Abdullah Al-Taiar, Abdur Rahman, Reem Al-Sabah, Olusegun Mojiminiyi

Community & Environmental Health Faculty Publications

We estimated the prevalence of anemia among school children and investigated factors associated with this problem in Kuwait. A cross-sectional study was conducted on 1415 adolescents randomly selected from middle schools in Kuwait. Hemoglobin, iron, ferritin, folate and vitamin B-12, in addition to many other laboratory indicators, were measured in a venous blood sample. Data on risk factors for anemia were collected from parents and adolescents. Multiple logistic regression was used to investigate factors associated with anemia. The prevalence of anemia was 8.06% (95% CI: 6.69-9.60%), which was significantly higher among females compared to males (10.96% vs. 5.04%; p < 0.001). Mean (SD) Hb level was 133.7 (9.89) g/L and 130.00 (10.48) g/L among males and females, respectively (p < 0.001). The prevalence of mild, moderate and severe anemia was 5.94%, 1.91% and 0.21%, respectively. Gender, age, iron concentration and ferritin were associated with anemia in multivariable analysis. These data indicate that anemia among school children in Kuwait is of mild public health significance. Further reduction in anemia in school girls should focus on correcting iron deficiency. Surveillance systems for anemia may consider using a cut-off point that is specific for the method of blood sampling and the method of Hb measurement.

The Role Mentoring Plays In The Transition Of Practice Of Newly Credentialed Athletic Trainers, Stacy E. Walker, Stephanie Mazerolle Singe, Julie M. Cavallario

Nursing Faculty Publications

Context: Mentoring has been identified as an important method to support newly credentialed athletic trainers during their transition to practice. Gaining a better understanding of this relationship could provide valuable insights that may assist employers and professional programs to develop a plan, which could better facilitate the transition.

Objective: To examine what aspects of the mentoring relationship provided the most benefit during transition to practice.

Design: Grounded theory.

Setting: Individual phone interviews.

Patients or Other Participants: 13 athletic trainers who graduated from a professional master's program, were certified between February and July of 2016, and obtained employment between July to …

Iot Devices In The Public Health Sector, Cayla Young

Cybersecurity Undergraduate Research Showcase

In this research, proper attention is drawn to privacy and security concerns with the integration of Internet of Things (IoT) devices in the public health sector. Often, not much attention is given to IoT devices and its vulnerabilities concerning the medical industry. Effects of COVID-19 contact tracing applications are explored through research of various source types. Mitigation techniques for these privacy and security issues is given. Focus is brought to topics outlining the risks associated with genetic testing companies and the vulnerabilities of data collection and data storage. Recommendations are provided to help consumers avoid these risks. Lastly, a comprehensive …

Quantifying The Varying Predictive Value Of Physical Activity Measures Obtained From Wearable Accelerometers On All-Cause Mortality Over Short To Medium Time Horizons In Nhanes 2003-2006, Lucia Tabacu, Mark Ledbetter, Andrew Leroux, Ciprian Crainiceanu, Ekaterina Smirnova

Mathematics & Statistics Faculty Publications

Physical activity measures derived from wearable accelerometers have been shown to be highly predictive of all-cause mortality. Prediction models based on traditional risk factors and accelerometry-derived physical activity measures are developed for five time horizons. The data set contains 2978 study participants between 50 and 85 years old with an average of 13.08 years of follow-up in the NHANES 2003–2004 and 2005–2006. Univariate and multivariate logistic regression models were fit separately for five datasets for one- to five-year all-cause mortality as outcome (number of events 46, 94, 155, 218, and 297, respectively). In univariate models the total activity count (TAC) …

Assessment Of Aloe Vera For Qualitative Fit Testing Of Particulate Respirators: A Logistic Regression Approach, Anahita Fakherpour, Mehdi Jahangiri, Saeed Yousefinejad, Mozhgan Seif, Sean Banaee

Community & Environmental Health Faculty Publications

Fit testing procedure is required for filtering facepiece respirators (FFRs) to ascertain an acceptable fit between the skin and facepiece sealing surface. The present study seeks to compare the efficacy of Aloe vera (A. vera) and commercial Bitrex^TM as challenge agents of qualitative fit testing of particulate respirators. An herbal solution consisting of A. vera at seven different concentrations was developed. Threshold Screening Tests (TSTs) of A. vera solutions were compared to Bitrex^TM. To do so, solutions were administered randomly on a total of 62 participants. A placebo was also tested to ensure the taste response being …

Quality Of Life Of Adults With Chronic Spinal Cord Injury In Mainland China: A Cross-Sectional Study, Fengshui Chang, Haixia Xie, Qi Zhang, Mei Sun, Yuhui Yang, Gang Chen, Huifang Wang, Chengyue Li, Jun Lu

Community & Environmental Health Faculty Publications

Objective: To evaluate the quality of life of patients with chronic spinal cord injury in mainland China.

Design: Cross-sectional study. Subjects: A total of 247 adults ≥ 1 year post-SCI in mainland China.

Methods: The World Health Organization (WHO) Quality of Life Scale Brief Version (WHOQOL-BREF) and the add-on modules on disability-related QoL (WHOQOL-DIS) were used to assess quality of life. Anxiety/depression was measured using the Zung Self-Rating Anxiety/Depression Scale. Quality of life was compared with that of reference populations from China, Korea, the international field trial (23 countries). Multivariate linear regression was conducted to determine the factors that might …

Predictors Of Acne Vulgaris Among Adolescents In Kuwait, Mona Aikhabbaz, Abdullah Al-Taiar, Marwa Saeed, Reem Al-Sabah, Ahmed N. Albatineh

Community & Environmental Health Faculty Publications

Objectives: The prevalence of acne vulgaris (AV) among adolescents in Kuwait has remained mostly unknown. This study aimed to estimate the prevalence of AV and its predictors among adolescents in Kuwait.

Subjects and Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted on 714 participants who were randomly selected from public schools using multistage cluster random sampling. The presence or absence of AV, as well as severity of AV, were assessed using the Global Acne Grading Scale. Data on risk factors and potential confounders were collected from the parents through a self-administered questionnaire, and from the adolescents by face-to-face interview. Weight and height …

Risk Factors For Workplace Encounters With Weapons By Hospital Employees, James Blando, Chalsie Paul, Mariana Szklo-Coxe

Community & Environmental Health Faculty Publications

Objective:The specific aim of this study was to determine which risk factors were associated with frequent weapons confiscation in a healthcare facility. This study investigated the hypothesis that hospital-related factors impact the frequency of weapons confiscation.

Study design:Cross-sectional.

Methods:A cross-sectional survey was administered on-line to hospital security directors and assessed the associations of organizational factors with the frequency of weapons confiscation.

Results:It was found that hospitals with metal detectors were more than 5 times as likely to frequently confiscate weapons, suggesting this intervention is effective. It was also found that hospitals with psychiatric units were more likely to have frequent …

Saliva Microrna Biomarkers Of Cumulative Concussion, Steven D. Hicks, Robert P. Olympia, Cayce Onks, Raymond Y. Kim, Kevin J. Zhen, Gregory Fedorchak, Samantha Devita, Aakanksha Rangnekar, Matthew Heller, Hallie Zwibel, Chuck Monteith, Zofia Gagnon, Callan D. Mcloughlin, Jason Randall, Miguel Madeira, Thomas R. Campbell, Elise Fengler, Michael N. Dretsch, Christopher Neville, Frank A. Middleton

Rehabilitation Sciences Faculty Publications

Recurrent concussions increase risk for persistent post-concussion symptoms, and may lead to chronic neurocognitive deficits. Little is known about the molecular pathways that contribute to persistent concussion symptoms. We hypothesized that salivary measurement of microribonucleic acids (miRNAs), a class of epitranscriptional molecules implicated in concussion pathophysiology, would provide insights about the molecular cascade resulting from recurrent concussions. This hypothesis was tested in a case-control study involving 13 former professional football athletes with a history of recurrent concussion, and 18 age/sex-matched peers. Molecules of interest were further validated in a cross-sectional study of 310 younger individuals with a history of no …

Somatic Symptoms And Binge Eating In Women's Daily Lives, Kelly A. Romano, Kristin E. Heron, Kathryn E. Smith, Ross D. Crosby, Scott G. Engel, Stephen A. Wonderlich, Raina D. Pang, Tyler B. Mason

Psychology Faculty Publications

Objective

The present study aimed to determine whether the momentary severity of women's somatic symptoms was concurrently and prospectively associated with their engagement in binge eating in naturalistic settings.

Method

Thirty women (M_age = 34.13, SD = 13.92) who had engaged in binge eating at least once over the month prior to study entry completed a 14-day ecological momentary assessment (EMA) protocol. During each of the 14 days, participants received five semi-random surveys via text message that assessed momentary somatic symptom severity (i.e., headaches, stomachaches/pain, chest/heart pain, faintness/dizziness, shortness of breath, fatigue) and disordered eating behaviors. Generalized estimating equations …

Innovative Collaborative Service-Learning Experience Among Dental Hygiene And Nurse Practitioner Students: A Pediatric Oral Health Pilot Study, Denise M. Claiborne, Rebecca Poston, Ahlam Joufi

Dental Hygiene Faculty Publications

Purpose: Preventive oral health behaviors are essential for children during early stages of development. The purpose of this study was to pilot an innovative, collaborative service-learning (ICSL) experience for dental hygiene (DH) and primary care nurse practitioner (NP) students to address pediatric oral health.

Methods: A convenience sample of DH and NP students (n=12) participated in the development, planning and delivery of an ICSL activity focusing on pediatric oral health to 44 pre-school aged children. A learning management system was used for the communicating, planning and evaluating the ICSL activity. The interprofessional socialization of the participants was measured using the …

Sexual Harassment Issues Among Dental Hygienists, Amber W. Hunt, Brenda T. Bradshaw, Susan Lynn Tolle

Dental Hygiene Faculty Publications

Purpose: The "#MeToo" movement has increased awareness of sexual harassment in the workplace and its detrimental effects on the work environment. The purpose of this study was to determine the prevalence of sexual harassment in a convenience sample of dental hygienists in the state of Virginia (VA).

Methods: A cross-sectional research design was used to determine the experiences of VA dental hygienists with sexual harassment in the workplace occurring over the previous twenty-four months. The revised Sexual Experiences Questionnaire (SEQ-W) measured three constructs: gender harassment, unwanted sexual attention, and sexual coercion and was administered electronically to a convenience sample of …

Postmortem Dental Records Identification By Dental Hygiene Students: A Pilot Study, Brenda T. Bradshaw, Ann M. Bruhn, Tara L. Newcomb, Hadiza Galadima

Dental Hygiene Faculty Publications

Purpose: Dental hygienists have the potential for filling critical roles in multidisciplinary victim identification teams. The purpose of this pilot study was to evaluate the accuracy of dental hygiene students utilizing dental charting, bitewings, and skull dentitions for the purpose of making identification matches.

Methods: Thirty senior dental hygiene students (n=30) independently viewed an asynchronous online multimedia-based presentation on the procedures used for collecting and recording forensic dental evidence. Following the presentation participants attempted to chart and match three bitewing radiograph sets to three human skull dentitions by correlating matches/exclusions. Immediately following the activity, each student completed a questionnaire rating …

Application Of The Unified Theory Of Acceptance And Use Of Technology Model To Predict Dental Students' Behavioral Intention To Use Teledentistry, Jafar H. Alabdullah, Bonnie L. Van Lunen, Denise M. Claiborne, Susan J. Daniel, Cherng-Jyh Yen, Tina S. Gustin

Dental Hygiene Faculty Publications

Abstract

Teledentistry is an innovative technology that can be used to improve access to care and oral health outcomes. Dental students’ intention to use teledentistry after completing dental school has not been investigated.

Purpose

The unified theory of acceptance and use of technology (UTAUT) was used to predict intentions to use teledentistry among 4th-year U.S. dental students. Methods A cross-sectional approach was performed for a 7-week period in Spring 2019. All U.S. dental schools (N = 66) were invited to participate and 16 schools agreed to participate. An anonymous survey link was emailed to academic deans for dissemination to students. …