Neurologists Look At Causes Of Baffling Brain Condition, Maggie Freleng

Capstones

It can be hard getting help for someone with mental illness, but almost impossible when that person doesn't think they are sick. At at least half of people with schizophrenia, for example, insist that the voices they hear are real. People who do not know they are ill often refuse therapy and medication -- and their symptoms can spiral out of control. Doctors call this lack of awareness anosognosia. Neurologists are trying to discover what causes this baffling condition--and how to treat it.

How N.Y.’S Biggest For-Profit Nursing Home Group Flourishes Despite A Record Of Patient Harm, Jennifer Lehman

Capstones

How N.Y.'s Biggest For-Profit Nursing Home Group Flourishes Despite a Record of Patient Harm

The state’s “character-and-competence” reviews are supposed to weed out operators with histories of violations and fines— but regulators don’t always act on the full story.

The War At Home, Joseph A. Altobelli Mr.

Capstones

This site was made to show how the cuts to and politics behind the Veterans Affairs Hospital in New York affects the veterans it is set up to care for.

When Free Is Not For Me: Confronting The Barriers To Use Of Free Quitline Telephone Counseling For Tobacco Dependence, Christine Sheffer, Sharon Brackman, Charnette Lercara, Naomi Cottoms, Mary Olson, Luana Panissidi, Jami Pittman, Helen Stayna

Publications and Research

Remarkable disparities in smoking rates in the United States contribute significantly to socioeconomic and minority health disparities. Access to treatment for tobacco use can help address these disparities, but quitlines, our most ubiquitous treatment resource, reach just 1%–2% of smokers. We used community-based participatory methods to develop a survey instrument to assess barriers to use of the quitline in the Arkansas Mississippi delta. Barriers were quitline specific and barriers to cessation more broadly. Over one-third (34.9%) of respondents (n = 799) did not have access to a telephone that they could use for the quitline. Respondents reported low levels of …

Pvt1 Exon 9: A Potential Biomarker Of Aggressive Prostate Cancer?, Adeodat Ilboudo, Jyoti Chouhan, Brian K. Mcneil, Joseph R. Osborne, Olorunseun O. Ogunwobi

Publications and Research

Prostate cancer (PCa) is the most commonly diagnosed cancer as well as the greatest source of cancer-related mortality in males of African ancestry (MoAA). Interestingly, this has been shown to be associated with single nucleotide polymorphisms around regions 2 and 3 of the 8q24 human chromosomal region. The non-protein coding gene locus Plasmacytoma Variant Translocation 1 (PVT1) is located at 8q24 and is overexpressed in PCa and, therefore, is also a candidate biomarker to explain the well-known disparity in this group. PVT1 has at least 12 exons that make separate transcripts which may have different functions, all of which are …

Willingness To Take Prep And Potential For Risk Compensation Among Highly Sexually Active Gay And Bisexual Men, Christian Grov, Thomas H.F. Whitfield, H. Jonathan Rendina, Ana Ventuneac, Jeffrey T. Parsons

Publications and Research

Once-daily Truvada (Emtricitabine/Tenofovir) as a method of pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) is one of the most promising biomedical interventions to eliminate new HIV infections; however, uptake among gay, bisexual, and other men who have sex with men has been slow amidst growing concern in popular/social media that PrEP use will result in reduced condom use (i.e., risk compensation). We investigated demographic, behavioral, and psychosocial differences in willingness to use PrEP as well as the perceived impact of PrEP on participants’ condom use in a sample of 206 highly sexually active HIV-negative gay and bisexual men. Nearly half (46.1%) said they would …

Impact Of Executive Order 13211 On Environmental Regulation: An Empirical Study, Elizabeth Ann Glass Geltman

Publications and Research

A great deal has been written about the Energy Policy Act of 2005 exempting oil and gas operations using hydraulic fracturing from the purview of certain federal environmental laws. Far less attention has been paid to George W. Bush’s Executive Order 13211 (EO 13211), entitled “Actions Concerning Regulations that Significantly Affect Energy Supply, Distribution or Use.” The executive order requires federal agencies to evaluate the impact of federal regulations on “supply, distribution and use of energy.” This study examined the impact of EO 13211 on United States environmental and conservation regulations proposed and promulgated by federal agencies. The study found …

Could Androgens Be Relevant To Partly Explain Why Men Have Lower Life Expectancy Than Women?, C Mary Schooling

Publications and Research

No abstract provided.

Changes In Familiarity With And Willingness To Take Prep In A Longitudinal Study Of Highly Sexually Active Gay And Bisexual Men, Christian Grov, H. Jonathan Rendina, Thomas H.F. Whitfield, Ana Ventuneac, Jeffrey T. Parsons

Publications and Research

PURPOSE: For gay and bisexual men (GBM), research suggests that familiarity with Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis (PrEP) has been increasing since being approved by the U.S. FDA in 2012. However, it is less clear how willingness to start using PrEP has changed over time. Likewise, some have expressed concerns regarding the potential for risk compensation (i.e., reduced condom use) were one to start PrEP; however, again, it is unclear how these may have been changing over time.

METHODS: We conducted baseline and 12 month assessments with 158 highly sexually active HIV-negative GBM in NYC who were assessed between 2011 and 2014. …

Diabetes Training For Community Health Workers, Judith Aponte

Publications and Research

Background: A 2.5-month diabetes education training for community health workers (CHWs) was developed, implemented, and evaluated.

Methods: Training methods used included case studies, role-playing, and lectures. Exams were used throughout the training for its evaluation. Teaching was delivered by different ways: a one day American Diabetes Association (ADA) course; a five day Diabetes Self-Management Program (DSMP); Conversation Maps; and a series of seven National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK) diabetes education booklets.

Results: Qualitative and quantitative evaluative methods were used during and after the training. The CHWs' diabetes knowledge was evaluated by a pre- and post-test …

'At-Risk' Places: Inequaties In The Distribution Of Environmental Stressors And Prescription Rates Of Mental Health Medications In Glasgow, Scotland, Juliana A. Maantay, Andrew Maroko

Publications and Research

Using geospatial analytical methods, this study examines the association between one aspect of the built environment, namely, the concentration of vacant and derelict land (VDL), and the prevalence of mental health disorders (using the proxy variable of mental health medication prescription rates) in Glasgow, Scotland. This study builds on our previous research, which demonstrated the spatial correspondence between the locations of VDL in Glasgow and several physical health outcomes. Numerous studies of other locales have found similar correspondence between different elements of the built environment and various health outcomes. This is the first study of its kind to look at …

Trauma, Mental Health, And Substance Use Among Homeless Families: The Importance Of Shelter Environment, Nisha Nicole Beharie

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Homelessness is at historical levels in the United States and New York City has not been immune to this nationwide trend. Homeless populations are not only increasing in number but are remaining in the shelter for longer periods of time. Homelessness, itself has been shown to have negative consequences on mental health and physical health, but its effects are particularly significant for families with children who have greater needs and who are more susceptible to negative experiences at early ages that can have lifelong impact. Despite this recent data there has been very little to no research on the potential …

Effect Of The New York City Overdose Prevention Program On Unintentional Heroin-Related Overdose Death, 2000-2012, Anne Elizabeth Siegler

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Background: Drug overdose mortality is the leading cause of injury death in both the United States (US) and New York City (NYC). Heroin-related overdoses make up the majority of overdoses in NYC. Since 2006, when a law was passed that allowed for layperson administration of naloxone, an opioid antagonist, heroin-related overdose deaths have decreased in NYC. No studies to date have investigated a possible association between the implementation of this intervention and heroin-related overdose mortality.

Objectives: To investigate the possible association between overdose prevention programs (OPPs) and heroin-related overdose mortality in NYC, using interrupted time series and geospatial analytic …

The Nutrition And Dietetics Workforce Needs Skills And Expertise In The New York Metropolitan Area, Ann Gaba, Apoorva Srivastava, Chioma Amadi, Ashish Joshi

Publications and Research

Background: There is an increased demand in the Nutrition and Dietetics field which has fostered credentialing to ensure competent graduates. The objective of this study is to conduct an exploratory analysis to identify nutrition/dietetics workforce needs, skills and expertise in the New York metropolitan area as exemplified in position announcements over a 4 year period.

Methods: We recorded position announcements for jobs in nutrition and dietetics from the New York State Registered Dietitian Yahoo group, and the Hunter College Nutrition and Food Sciences student and alumni listserv (NFS-L) over a 4 year period. Keywords were identified using job categories defined …

Water And Sanitation Hygiene Knowledge, Attitude, And Practices Among Household Members Living In Rural Setting Of India, Anjana Kuberan, Awnish Kumar Singh, Jyoti Bala Kasav, Satish Prasad, Krishna Mohan Surapaneni, Vandana Upadhyay, Ashish Joshi

Publications and Research

Background: Rural population in developing countries face water, sanitation, and hygiene-related health issues. To objectively highlight these issues, we studied the knowledge, attitude, and practices-related to drinking water and sanitation facilities among the rural population of Chennai, India.

Materials and Methods: A cross-sectional study was designed involving individuals over 18 years of age living in Thandalam village, Chennai, India. Basic information about sociodemographic profile and existing drinking water and sanitation related knowledge, attitude, and practices was collected using a modified version of previously validated questionnaire and analyzed.

Results: Forty-five percent of the participants were not following any methods of water …

A Protocol For Developing An Evaluation Framework For An Academic And Private-Sector Partnership To Assess The Impact Of Major Food And Beverage Companies’ Investments In Community Health In The United States, Terry T-K Huang, Emily Ferris, Rachel Crossley, Michelle Guillermin, Sergio Costa, John Cawley

Publications and Research

Public health leaders increasingly recognize the importance of multi-sector partnerships and systems approaches to address obesity. Public-private partnerships (PPP), which are joint ventures between government agencies and private sector entities, may help facilitate this process, but need to be delivered through comprehensive, transparent frameworks to maximize potential benefits and minimize potential risks for all partners. The City University of New York (CUNY) School of Public Health and the Healthy Weight Commitment Foundation (HWCF) propose to engage in a unique academic-private-sector research partnership to evaluate the impact and effectiveness of the food and beverage industry’s investment in obesity and hunger prevention …

Rising Gasoline Prices Increase New Motorcycle Sales And Fatalities, He Zhu, Fernando A. Wilson, Jim P. Stimpson, Peter E. Hilsenrath

Publications and Research

Background: We examined whether sales of new motorcycles was a mechanism to explain the relationship between motorcycle fatalities and gasoline prices.

Methods: The data came from the Motorcycle Industry Council, Energy Information Administration and Fatality Analysis Reporting System for 1984–2009. Autoregressive integrated moving average (ARIMA) regressions estimated the effect of inflation-adjusted gasoline price on motorcycle sales and logistic regressions estimated odds ratios (ORs) between new and old motorcycle fatalities when gasoline prices increase.

Results: New motorcycle sales were positively correlated with gasoline prices (r = 0.78) and new motorcycle fatalities (r = 0.92). ARIMA analysis estimated that a US$1 increase …

Housing And The Environment: Smoking Triggers And Tobacco Smoke Exposure, Shannon Farley

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Background: Despite decades of smoking prevalence declines and more recent smoke-free indoor and outdoor air laws, smoking causes 400,000 preventable deaths and secondhand smoke (SHS) exposure leads to 40,000 deaths from respiratory and cardiovascular disease among non-smokers annually. Built and social environment factors linked to smoking include tobacco retailer density and neighborhood poverty. Housing environments including multiunit housing are linked to SHS exposure and adverse health outcomes.

Objectives: To investigate possible associations of different environmental factors with smoking, SHS exposure, and SHS-related health outcomes.

Methods: Many data sources were used: New York City Community Health Survey, Department of Consumer Affairs, …

Inconsistencies Exist In National Estimates Of Eye Care Services Utilization In The United States, Fernando A. Wilson, Jim P. Stimpson, Yang Wang

Publications and Research

Background. There are limited research and substantial uncertainty about the level of eye care utilization in the United States. Objectives. Our study estimated eye care utilization using, to our knowledge, every known nationally representative, publicly available database with information on office-based optometry or ophthalmology services.

Research Design. We analyzed the following national databases to estimate eye care utilization: the Medical Expenditure Panel Survey (MEPS), National Health Interview Survey (NHIS), Joint Canada/US Survey of Health (JCUSH), Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS), and the National Ambulatory Medical Care Survey (NAMCS). Subjects. US adults aged 18 and older. Measures. Self-reported utilization …

Comparative Analysis Of Dietary Guidelines In The Spanish-Speaking Caribbean, Melissa Fuster

Publications and Research

Objective: Dietary guidelines are important education and policy tools to address local nutrition concerns. The current paper presents a comparative analysis of nutrition messages from three Spanish-speaking Caribbean countries (Cuba, Puerto Rico and Dominican Republic) to explore how these dietary guidelines address common public health nutrition concerns, contextualized in different changing food environments and food culture similarities.

Design: Qualitative, comparative analysis of current dietary guideline documents and key recommendations.

Results: Key recommendations were categorized into sixteen themes (two dietbased, ten food-based and four ‘other’). Only the Cuban dietary guidelines included diet-based key recommendations. Of the ten food-based …

Aggregate And Event-Level Associations Of Substance Use And Sexual Behavior Among Gay And Bisexual Men: Comparing Retrospective And Prospective Data, H. Jonathan Rendina, Raymond L. Moody, Ana Ventuneac, Christian Grov, Jeffrey T. Parsons

Publications and Research

Background: Despite limited research, some evidence suggests that examining substance use at multiple levels may be of greater utility in predicting sexual behavior than utilizing one level of measurement, particularly when investigating different substances simultaneously. We aimed to examine aggregated and event-level associations between three forms of substance use—alcohol, marijuana, and club drugs—and two sexual behavior outcomes—sexual engagement and condomless anal sex (CAS).

Method: Analyses focused on both 6-week timeline follow-back (TLFB; retrospective) and 30-day daily diary (prospective) data among a demographically diverse sample of 371 highly sexually active HIV-positive and HIV-negative gay and bisexual men.

Results: …

Rationale, Design And Respondent Characteristics Of The 2013–2014 New York City Health And Nutrition Examination Survey (Nyc Hanes 2013–2014), Lorna E. Thorpe, Carolyn Greene, Amy Freeman, Elisabeth Snell, Jesica S. Rodriguez-Lopez, Martin Frankel, Amado Punsalang Jr., Claudia Chernov, Elizabeth Lurie, Mark Friedman, Ram Koppaka, Sharon E. Perlman

Publications and Research

Purpose. Capacity to monitor non-communicable diseases (NCDs) at state or local levels is limited. Emerging approaches include using biomeasures and electronic health record (EHR) data. In 2004, New York City (NYC) performed a population-based health study on adult residents using biomeasures (NYC Health and Nutrition Examination Study, or NYC HANES), modeled after NHANES. A second NYC HANES was launched in 2013 to examine change over time, evaluate municipal policies, and validate a proposed EHR-based surveillance system. We describe the rationale and methods of NYC HANES 2013–2014.

Methods. NYC HANES was a population-based, cross-sectional survey of NYC adults using three-stage cluster …

Familiarity With And Preferences For Oral And Long-Acting Injectable Hiv Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis (Prep) In A National Sample Of Gay And Bisexual Men In The U.S., Jeffrey T. Parsons, H. Jonathan Rendina, Thomas H.F. Whitfield, Christian Grov

Publications and Research

Objectives: We sought to determine preferences for oral versus long-acting injectable (LAI) PrEP among gay and bisexual men (GBM).

Methods: We surveyed a national U.S. sample of 1,071 GBM about forms of PrEP.

Results: Overall, 46.0% preferred LAI, 14.3% oral, 21.7% whichever was most effective, 10.1% had no preference, and 7.8% would not take PrEP. There were no differences in PrEP preferences by race/ethnicity, income, region of residence, or relationship status. Those unwilling to take PrEP were significantly older than those who preferred LAI PrEP and those who would take either. Those who preferred the most effective …

Homophily, Close Friendship, And Life Satisfaction Among Gay, Lesbian, Heterosexual, And Bisexual Men And Women, Brian Joseph Gillespie, David Frederick, Lexi Harari, Christian Grov

Publications and Research

Friends play important roles throughout our lives by providing expressive, instrumental, and companionate support. We examined sexual orientation, gender, and age differences in the number of friends people can rely on for expressive, instrumental, and companionate support. Additionally, we examined the extent to which people relied on same-gender versus cross-gender friends for these types of support. Participants (N = 25,185) completed a survey via a popular news website. Sexual orientation differences in number of same-gender and cross-gender friends were generally small or non-existent, and satisfaction with friends was equally important to overall life satisfaction for all groups. However, the extent …

Mobilisation Of Public Support For Policy Actions To Prevent Obesity, Terry T-K Huang, John H. Cawley, Marice Ashe, Sergio Costa, Leah M. Frerichs, Lindsey Zwicker, Juan A. Rivera, David Levy, Ross A. Hammond, Estelle V. Lambert, Shiriki K. Kumanyika

Publications and Research

Public mobilisation is needed to enact obesity prevention policies and to mitigate backlash against their implementation. However, current approaches in public health focus primarily on dialogue between public health professionals and political leaders. Strategies to increase popular demand for obesity prevention policies include refining and streamlining public information, identifying effective frames for each population, enhancing media advocacy, building citizen protest and engagement, and developing a receptive political environment with change agents embedded across organisations and sectors. Long-term support and investment in collaboration among diverse stakeholders to create shared value is also important. Each actor in an expanded coalition for obesity …

Adipokine Levels During The First Or Early Second Trimester Of Pregnancy And Subsequent Risk Of Gestational Diabetes Mellitus: A Systematic Review, Wei Bao, Aileen Baecker, Yiqing Song, Michele Kiely, Simin Liu, Cuilin Zhang

Publications and Research

Objective—We aimed to systematically review available literature linking adipokines to gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) for a comprehensive understanding of the roles of adipokines in the development of GDM.

Methods—We searched PubMed/MEDLINE and EMBASE databases for published studies on adipokines and GDM through October 21, 2014. We included articles if they had a prospective study design (i.e., blood samples for adipokines measurement were collected before GDM diagnosis). Random-effects models were used to pool the weighted mean differences comparing levels of adipokines between GDM cases and non-GDM controls.

Results—Of 1,523 potentially relevant articles, we included 25 prospective studies relating …

Long-Term Risk Of Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus In Relation To Bmi And Weight Change Among Women With A History Of Gestational Diabetes Mellitus: A Prospective Cohort Study, Wei Bao, Edwina Yeung, Deirdre K. Tobias, Frank B. Hu, Allan A. Vaag, Jorge Chavarro, James L. Mills, Louise Groth Grunnet, Katherine Bowers, Sylvia H. Ley, Michele Kiely, Sjurdur F. Olsen, Cuilin Zhang

Publications and Research

Aims/hypothesis—Women with a history of gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) are advised to control their weight after pregnancy. We aimed to examine how adiposity and weight change influence the long-term risk of developing type 2 diabetes after GDM.

Methods—We included 1,695 women who had incident GDM between 1991 and 2001, as part of the Diabetes & Women’s Health study, and followed them until the return of the 2009 questionnaire. Body weight and incident type 2 diabetic cases were reported biennially. We defined baseline as the questionnaire period when women reported an incident GDM pregnancy. We estimated HRs and 95% …

Diagnostic Procedures Using Radiation And Risk Of Thyroid Cancer: Causal Association Or Detection Bias? An Examination Of Population Cancer Trends And Data From The Nyc Fire Department, Rachel Zeig-Owens

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Background: Thyroid cancer (TC) is a common cancer diagnosis in the United States, whose incidence is increasing. Disaster and radiation treatment studies show high doses of radiation can cause TC. Some diagnostic procedures, whose use is increasing, expose individuals to low-dose radiation but can also incidentally detect subclinical TC. Evidence regarding low-dose radiation risk is limited.

Objectives: To investigate the possible association of greater use of diagnostic procedures with TC, either causally through radiation exposure or via incidental detection.

Methods: Two data sources were used: National Cancer Institute's Surveillance, Epidemiology and End Results (SEER) data and Fire Department of the …

Multiple Risk Factors Of Alcoholic And Non-Alcoholic Myocardial Infarction Patients, Harisharan, Awnish Kumar Singh, Nidhu Ram Dangal, Krishna Mohan Surapaneni, Ashish Joshi

Publications and Research

Background: Myocardial infarction (MI) is one of the most critical medical emergency and contributor to morbidity and mortality worldwide. Myocardial infarction is the most common form of coronary heart disease and leading cause of premature death. Past century has seen substantial advancement in the field of medical sciences but still mortality trends due to myocardial infarction is increasing in developing countries including India. We have conducted this study to compare the Sociodemographic characteristics of alcoholic and non alcoholic MI patients admitted in coronary care unit of Saveetha Medical College, Chennai, India.

Methods: An exploratory cross sectional study was performed by …

Differences In Substance Use, Sexual Behavior, And Demographic Factors By Level Of "Outness" To Friends And Family About Being A Male-For-Male Escort, Christian Grov, Raymond L. Moody, Hawk Kinkaid

Publications and Research

Male sex work (i.e., escorting) is a stigmatized profession and men in the sex industry may hide their involvement to avoid negative social consequences. There is limited research comparing men who are out about being an escort to their friends and/or family with those out to neither friends nor family. Data were taken from a 2013 online study of male escorts who were categorized into three groups based on outness patterns—friends only (48.9%, n = 193), friends and family (26.6%, n = 105), or neither friends nor family (23.5%, n = 93)—and compared on demographic and behavioral variables. We hypothesized …