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Multilevel Factors Affecting Covid-19 Vaccination Among African American Communities In South Carolina, Ran Zhang

Theses and Dissertations

Background: Persistent health disparities has led to significant public health challenges, especially for African American (AAs) communities, and have been exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic. Achieving high population vaccination rates are crucial to controlling the virus’ spread. However, AAs have higher rates of COVID-19 infection and mortality than Whites, yet their vaccination rates remain relatively low. The dissertation aimed to investigate the multilevel factors and mechanisms that affect AAs’ vaccination behavior. The first objective is to assess the impact of the intrapersonal level factor (i.e., perceived barriers to vaccination) on vaccination behavior. The second objective is to investigate the impact …

Associations Between The Use Of Ssri Medication In Older Adults And Cognitive Decline And Impairment, Paige Jones

Theses and Dissertations

Previous research has indicated that depression is a risk factor for dementia. Since SSRI medication is the most common treatment for depression, it is important to determine if SSRIs are associated with reduced dementia and better cognitive outcomes. Using longitudinal data from the 2004-2014 waves of the Health and Retirement Study merged with the 2005 Prescription Drug Study, we examined potential associations between SSRI and TCA medication and cognitive impairment and cognitive decline. The study population consisted of 1,775 older adults who participated in the PDS in 2005. We found that SSRIs were associated with significantly higher odds of cognitive …

Internalizing Mental Health Symptoms And Nicotine Use Among Adolescents In Canada, England, And The Us From 2020-2022, Emily E. Hackworth

Theses and Dissertations

Background: There is a well-established bi-directional relationship between cigarette smoking and internalizing mental health (IMH) symptoms (e.g., symptoms of depression, symptoms of anxiety). However, it is unclear whether IMH symptoms are associated with using different types of nicotine products among adolescents, as adolescents are using a variety of nicotine products, including combustible products (cigarettes), non-combustible products (e-cigarettes), or combinations of both types of products. This dissertation examines associations between IMH symptoms and current use of various types of nicotine products across three countries from 2020-2022.

Methods: Data come from the 2020-2022 waves of the International Tobacco Control (ITC) Adolescents Tobacco …

Hhp-3 Comparing Fitness Data Of Cadets In South Carolina To The General Population: A Pilot Study, Justen Chatman, Ming-Chi Sung, Matthew Brisebois

SC Upstate Research Symposium

BACKGROUND: To prepare for physically challenging environments, it is expected that military personnel achieve higher levels of physical fitness than the general population. The recent COVID-19 pandemic impacted physical activity levels among many of America’s youth, and thus, new recruits may be entering military service with lower fitness levels. It is also unknown how fitness levels of army cadets in upstate South Carolina compare to the general population. Therefore, the purpose of this pilot study was to compare anthropometric and fitness variables of army cadets from upstate South Carolina to data from the general population. METHODS: A sample of 22 …

Motivations Behind The Rise And Success Of Homeopathy In India, Kavya Patchipulusu

Senior Theses

Homeopathy is a form of medicine that is incredibly controversial and is often labeled as a fraudulent, placebo effect drug, that can have potentially dangerous side effects. This is the picture that is painted of homeopathy in the United States and many other countries in which these medicines are banned in distribution or highly unregulated. In contrast, India has popularized and well-integrated homeopathy into their medical systems with government backing and consistent funding towards accredited homeopathic institutions and funding hospital systems. This paper will explore the circumstances and health care dynamics of India that allowed homeopathy to gain the level …

Decoding Implant-Related Sickness: Unraveling The Complexities Of Breast Implant Illness, Madison M. Stewart

Senior Theses

This thesis investigates the phenomenon of breast implant illness (BII), examining its potential correlation with individual factors such as obesity and poor lifestyle habits. BII, characterized by nonspecific symptoms, is often self-diagnosed by patients influenced by social media and internet sources, leading to requests for implant removal. Conducting a comprehensive meta-analysis, the study scrutinizes existing literature to evaluate the association between BII, obesity, and lifestyle choices. Employing inclusion criteria, peer-reviewed publications are analyzed through systematic review methodology to offer insights into the interplay between BII and adiposity, exploring inflammatory mechanisms and patient behaviors like exercise and smoking. The research aims …

A Historical Analysis Of Health Institutions, Professionals, And Advocates In The Civil Rights Movement In Columbia, South Carolina, Anusha Ghosh

Senior Theses

From 1900 to 1970, widespread racism severely restricted healthcare access for Black citizens in the South, leading them to establish and staff alternative healthcare institutions to support their community.

Such institutions faced debilitating issues such as chronic financial shortages and patient overflow. Despite these problems, oral histories, media, and primary written sources show that Black healthcare workers in alternative healthcare institutions demonstrated a greater ability to meet the health needs of Black patients due to cultural understanding and external community involvement.

Dr. Matilda Evans was an African-American woman physician who became a leader in medicine, public health, and education in …

"Fueling For A Healthy Life:" A Cooking Class For Adolescent And Young Adult Childhood Cancer Survivors, Hope Dominique

Senior Theses

Following cancer treatment, childhood cancer survivors (CCS) are at an increased risk of developing chronic diseases and face an increased risk of health-related death during adulthood. Recent literature demonstrates that modifying lifestyle factors such as nutrition can reduce the risk of late mortality in survivors, suggesting that interventions promoting a healthy lifestyle may improve quality and quantity of life for CCS. However, many adolescent and young adult (AYA) CCS do not adhere to national dietary guidelines and face both real and perceived barriers to adopting healthier eating habits while in a critical period for establishing behaviors that contribute to lifelong …

The Effect Of Dental Insurance Coverage And Economic Fluctuations On Oral Health Outcomes In The United States, Laura Singletary

Senior Theses

Proper oral health is imperative to overall health, but obstacles often persist in

receiving proper oral health care. Lack of dental insurance coverage and economic recessions are two main factors contributing to oral health outcomes. Extended time without cleanings or addressing current oral health concerns exacerbates oral health problems into more costly procedures for the patient that are conveniently not covered by many insurance plans. This thesis investigates the oral health outcomes associated with periods following economic downturns, specifically citing the time of the Great Recession from 2007-2009.

The Role Of Sport For Adolescents: The Effect Of Sport Participation As A Unique Form Of Physical Activity On Mental Health And Overall Subjective Well-Being During Adolescence, Caleb M. Rogers

Senior Theses

Well-being is an extremely multifaceted domain, as there are numerous factors that contribute to one’s way of life. Objective well-being focuses primarily on material factors such as access to food, housing, and a steady household income. Although these factors play a large role, it is important to analyze well-being from the perspective of the individual. Subjective well-being focuses on how one perceives one's own well-being. Physical activity has been well established as one factor associated with improvements within this domain for adolescents. This project investigates the role of one specific form of physical activity during adolescence: sport. The general assumption …

Covid-19 Vaccine Effectiveness Among People Living With And Without Hiv In South Carolina, Usa: Protocol Of A Population-Based Cohort Study, Xueying Yang, Jiajia Zhang Ph.D., Bankole Olatosi, Sharon Weissman, Xiaoming Li Ph.D.

Faculty Publications

Introduction Despite the effectiveness of COVID-19 vaccines in preventing severe COVID-19 outcomes, a small percentage of fully vaccinated persons will develop symptomatic or asymptomatic infections with SARSCoV-2, which is referred to as ‘breakthrough COVID-19’. People living with HIV (PLWH) appear to have an elevated risk of severe COVID-19 outcomes, yet the effectiveness of the COVID-19 vaccine in this population remains unclear due to the limited research efforts in this population in the real world. This study aims to characterise and compare the breakthrough COVID-19 (eg, prevalence and disease severity) between PLWH and non-PLWH and then examine whether HIV markers play …

The Relationship Between Cancer Screening Utilization And Racial Discrimination: A Systematic Review, Priya Small, Amanda M. Hinson-Enslin, Timothy Crawford, Joanna Anderson

Journal of Ideology

Objective. To assess literature about cancer screening and cancer screening adherence among people of color and how discrimination impacts cancer screening and cancer screening adherence outcomes among patients of color.

Methods. PRISMA guidelines were used for the systematic review. EBSCO/MEDLINE, Web of Science, and CINAHL were searched and articles were uploaded in to Rayyan Systematic Review software. Three independent reviewers identified additional articles by searching reference lists of relevant articles; they completed the screening process and reviewed the included articles.

Results. Nine eligible studies were included, among which two were qualitative and seven were quantitative. Studies included one cancer screening …

Dietary Inflammatory Index During Pregnancy And Changes Over Time: Associations With Post-Partum Sleep Duration And Quality And Depressive Symptoms., Nowrin Tamanna

Theses and Dissertations

STUDY OBJECTIVES: Sleep and mental health are two important factors for a new mother, as adequate sleep and a healthy mind help her prioritize self-care, seek support when needed, and create a nurturing environment for both her and her baby. Among various plausible theories exploring the etiology of sleep disturbances and depression, the concept of inflammation is gaining attention. This study examined the hypothesis that more pro-inflammatory diets during pregnancy are associated with a decrease in sleep quality and duration, abnormal sleep timing and higher Edinburg Postnatal depression score (EPDS) scores 6 months and 12 months post-partum.

METHODS: A secondary …

Social Network Attributes Associated With Conversations About Smoking And Cessation And Differences By Socioeconomic Status, Victoria Catherine Lambert

Theses and Dissertations

Conversations about smoking and cessation in response to cessation messages appear to encourage quit attempts, yet there is some evidence that smokers with lower income and education have these conversations less often than their counterparts with higher income and education. No research has investigated the social network characteristics that encourage smokers to have these conversations or the mechanisms for SES differences in these conversations. Because social factors play a role in SES disparities in smoking and cessation as well as other health behaviors and outcomes, social network characteristics likely explain some SES differences in conversations about smoking and cessation. The …

No More Loosies: A Mixed-Methods Study On The Implementation And Enforcement Of The Loose Cigarette And Bidi Sale Ban In India, Mayank Sakhuja

Theses and Dissertations

Background: Sale of loose cigarettes and bidis (loosies) is widely accepted as a key factor in promoting the tobacco epidemic in India. This mixed-methods study aimed to broaden understanding around the sale and purchase of loosies addressed three aims: 1) To determine the prevalence and correlates of loosies purchase in India; 2) To examine the association between purchase behavior and health warning labels (HWLs) exposure and responses, and 3) To conduct a stakeholder analysis regarding the ban on the sale of loosies in India. Methods: Data from the 2018-19 Tobacco Control Policy (TCP) India survey (643 current cigarette users and …

The Genetic Associations Of Circadian Rhythm And Sleep Disorder Traits With Risk Of Monoclonal Gammopathy Of Undetermined Significance And Multiple Myeloma, Brittany Crawford

Theses and Dissertations

Background: Circadian rhythm disruption and sleep have been widely studied for their roles in immunity and cancer development. Evidence for an association of circadian rhythm and sleep traits with multiple myeloma (MM) risk is inconclusive. No studies have investigated these traits in relation to monoclonal gammopathy of undetermined significance (MGUS). Given that MGUS precedes almost all MM cases, investigating sleep and circadian rhythm in relation to both MM and MGUS is necessary. The purpose of this dissertation was to explore the genetic influences of circadian rhythm and sleep traits on the risk of MGUS and MM. Methods: Data were leveraged …

Analyzing African American College Student Willingness To Participate In Clinical Trials, Caitlin B. Ulmer

Senior Theses

Previous studies regarding African American participation in clinical trials have found that African Americans participate at a significantly lower rate than other ethnic/racial groups. Scholars argue that this lack of participation in clinical trials is a direct result of historical trauma linked to unethical experiments and African American distrust in the healthcare system. However, there is a gap in the literature because these studies focus on African American individuals above the age of 30. This study aimed to fill the gap by examining clinical trial participation among African American college students within the ages 18 to 23. This study also …

Correlates Of Immunization Timeliness In Three South Asian Countries: Secondary Analysis Of Demographic And Health Surveys, Tanzir Ahmed Shuvo

Theses and Dissertations

Despite the availability of effective vaccines, 1.5 million children under the age of 5 years die every year because of vaccine preventable diseases. Improvements in vaccine delivery infrastructure have resulted in relatively high coverage of vaccines, but many children are not receiving their vaccines on a timely basis. Timely administration of routine vaccines recommended by the Expanded Programme on Immunization (EPI) ensures maximum efficacy. It is vital to explore rates of vaccination timeliness and the correlates of timely vaccination among children to design targeted interventions for improving both coverage and timeliness. We conducted a secondary data analysis of the Demographic …

Phoneme Stability In Speech Production Of Cognate And Non-Cognate Nouns In A Bilingual With Aphasia, Katherine Vlach

Theses and Dissertations

With the growing bilingual population in the world comes a greater incidence of bilingual aphasia, a communication disorder characterized by expressive or receptive language impairment in one or both of a bilingual speaker’s languages. The cognate facilitation effect, which has greatly been explored in healthy bilingual studies, has shown that cognates are named faster and more accurately than non-cognates; as the cognate facilitation effect is also retained in bilingual speakers with aphasia, it is thought that cognates could potentially be used as a treatment tool to facilitate lexical access, particularly when a bilingual speaker with aphasia presents with one of …

Exploration Of The Association Between Obesogenic Environments And Childhood Overweight/Obesity Rates In Rural Counties In The United States, Kara Lea Ferguson Davis

Theses and Dissertations

Rising obesity rates, particularly among children, pose a significant public health concern. Of particular concern is the prevalence of childhood obesity in rural communities, with up to 38% of rural children classified as overweight or obese, compared to 30% of urban children. Rural communities often lack the typical built environment characteristics associated with increased physical activity rates and healthy eating behaviors. Further, research on obesogenic environments within rural areas is limited. This study aimed to address this research gap by examining the association between obesogenic environment features and childhood overweight/obesity rates across the urban-rural continuum.

Simple and multiple linear regression …

Prenatal Depression And Breastfeeding Practices Healthy Start Participants, 2019-2022, Peyton Ashleigh Mosher

Theses and Dissertations

Background: Breastfeeding has health benefits for both mother and child, but breastfeeding practices among Black and lower-income women are the poorest in the United States. Few studies have examined the associations between maternal prenatal depression and breastfeeding duration, even fewer among a predominantly low-income Black population. Objective: To explore the association between prenatal depression and breastfeeding practices among low-income Black women during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Methods: Prospective cohort data from Midlands Healthy Start (MHS) was analyzed to examine women’s depression symptoms during pregnancy and their breastfeeding initiation and duration through two and six months. Perinatal depressive symptoms were identified using …

Bayesian Spatial And Spatio-Temporal Models For Complex Data Sets, Rongjie Huang

Theses and Dissertations

The cost of testing for infectious diseases can be high, and analyzing large amounts of historical data to forecast disease prevalence can be a time-consuming process. Group testing techniques offer a way to decrease the expenses associated with testing, but this comes at the cost of increased complexity of the data structure due to grouping and imperfect testing when compared to individual-level testing. In this dissertation research, we propose two Bayesian mixed effects spatial group testing regression models: one for areal data and the other for point process data. The former model utilizes a conditional autoregressive (CAR) prior for areal …

Predicting Adolescent Intervention Non-Responsiveness For Precision Hiv Prevention Using Machine Learning, Bo Wang, Feifan Liu, Lynette Deveaux, Arlene Ash, Ben Gerber, Jeroan Allison, Carly Herbert, Maxwell Poitier, Karen Macdonell, Xiaoming Li Ph.D., Bonita Stanton

Faculty Publications

Interventions to teach protective behaviors may be differentially effective within an adolescent population. Identifying the characteristics of youth who are less likely to respond to an intervention can guide program modifications to improve its effectiveness. Using comprehensive longitudinal data on adolescent risk behaviors, perceptions, sensation-seeking, peer and family influence, and neighborhood risk factors from 2564 grade 10–12 students in The Bahamas, this study employs machine learning approaches (support vector machines, logistic regression, decision tree, and random forest) to identify important predictors of non-responsiveness for precision prevention. We used 80% of the data to train the models and the rest for …

Undergraduate Major And Covid-19 Vaccination Rates Among University Of South Carolina Students, Rebecca Stoltz

Senior Theses

The COVID-19 pandemic brought new vaccines to the forefront of public attention, and with it came a wide array of different opinions. The University of South Carolina did not require students to receive a COVID vaccine, so the decision was left entirely to the individual. Many of my peers have shown support or voiced opposition to the vaccine, and I noticed that those who opposed tended to fall within certain major categories. This study seeks to determine whether a correlation exists between undergraduate major groups and vaccination status, and to gather student attitudes and concerns surrounding vaccines. Among 172 survey …

Girls Just Want To Be Safe: An Analysis Of Drugged Drinking And Prevention Amongst Students At The University Of South Carolina, C. Gray Forsberg

Senior Theses

Drink-spiking has become a well-known phenomenon since the turn of the century, especially on college campuses in the United States. Drink-spiking or drugging can be defined as “adding alcohol or drugs into someone’s drink without their knowledge or permission” (Alcohol and Drug Foundation, 2006). Drink-spiking is not just relevant to the concern of an illicit substance being placed into an alcoholic drink, but adding additional alcohol to drinks or adding alcohol or drugs to non-alcoholic drinks is considered drugging as well. This study collected data through a survey sent to 250 current students at the University of South Carolina regarding …

Fixing The System: A Comparative Review Of The United Kingdom, Germany, And United States’ Healthcare Systems And Lessons Learned For Potential Improvements In The United States, Jessica Goddard

Senior Theses

In an effort to provide recommendations to the United States’ considerations of a universal healthcare system, this thesis analyzes the United States healthcare system alongside the sophisticated systems of the United Kingdom and Germany. Literature review and an analysis of 10 health outcomes and indicators guided the framework for a set of interview questions to be asked of healthcare professionals in all three countries. The interview response data was then organized and used to guide the suggested recommendations to the United States in its path towards universal healthcare. While a limited number of solutions could be provided given the time …

The Intersectionality Of Race And Rurality In Polysubstance Use During Pregnancy In The United States: A Study Of National Survey On Drug Use And Health, Sophia Tavakol

Senior Theses

Importance: Though detrimental consequences, many pregnant individuals are still binging alcohol, smoking, and/or using illicit drug. Yet, little is known regarding variations in such behaviors across pregnant people in the United States.

Objective: To examine alcohol, tobacco, and drug use during pregnancy in 2015-2020 and assess their racial, ethnic, and rural disparities.

Design: This cross-sectional descriptive study derived maternal characteristics and self-reported prenatal substance use data from 2015 and 2020 National Survey on Drug Use and Health, considering the complex sampling weight per participant per year produced by NSDUH.

Setting: United States.

Participants: A scientific random sample of non-institutionalized residents …

Covid-19 Vaccine Hesitancy And Vaccination Rate Among The Latino Population In South Carolina, Brynn E. Lynagh

Senior Theses

It is common knowledge that COVID-19 disproportionately impacts racial and ethnic minorities in the United States. Furthermore, these sects of the population exhibit increased vaccine hesitancy and lower vaccination rates as compared to the aggregated population of the United States, furthering the risk posed by COVID-19 to these communities. In particular, this study focuses on the Latino population in South Carolina, the vaccination rate among this community, and the perspectives which contributed to their vaccination decision. Two hundred Spanish and Portuguese speaking residents of South Carolina were interviewed using a paper survey conducted by pre-trained interviewers. The survey gathered data …

The Associations Of Built Environments On College Students' Physical Activity Levels, Catherine M. Neel

Senior Theses

The issues with American physical activity infrastructure have been causing The United States to have lower levels of physical activity compared to other developed countries. The social and physical built environments of college students typically provide more access for students to be able to be active; however most students still do not meet the recommended amount of physical activity. The purpose of this study was to determine what in their physical and social environment that students utilize in order to participate in physical activity and what aspects of their environment discourage physical activity or limit access to being active. This …

Comparative Medicaid Policy Analysis Related To Maternal And Infant Birth Outcomes In South Carolina, Cassidy L. Lena

Senior Theses

The United States despite being one of the most industrialized and wealthiest nations in the world, has the worst maternal and child health outcomes of any industrialized nation. The rates of maternal morbidity, mortality, and infant mortality have been increasing within the past decade, when many causes of death for this population are preventable. This study conducted a literature review on Medicaid policies and associated programs between three states (South Carolina, North Carolina, and California) in order to gain background information. Secondly, a comparative Medicaid policy analysis was completed using the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention [CDC] framework, which …