Digital Commons Network^™

Driving After Marijuana Use Among Us College Students During The Covid-19 Pandemic, Yuni Tang

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports

Introduction: Adolescents and college-aged adults account for a large proportion of the United States population and are susceptible to drugs, including marijuana. Since the late 1960s in the United States, numerous states have legalized marijuana for medical and recreational purposes. These recent policy changes may alter people’s attitudes and behaviors about marijuana use, particularly young adults. The expansion of state-level marijuana legalization may also increase accessibility in younger populations and increase reckless driving behavior associated with marijuana use, including driving after marijuana use. During the COVID-19 pandemic, adolescents and young adults experienced heightened stress and anxiety, which have significantly contributed …

Relationships Among Pregnancy, Substance Use, Social Determinants Of Health And Assessment, Referral, And Utilization Of Treatment: A Secondary Analysis Of Nsduh Data, Heather Lynn Coddington

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports

ABSTRACT

Relationships Among Pregnancy, Substance Use, Social Determinants of Health and Assessment, Referral, and Utilization of Treatment: A Secondary Analysis of NSDUH Data

Heather Coddington

Background: Assessment and referral for substance use disorder during pregnancy is crucial to improving outcomes for mothers and newborns during the antepartum and postpartum period. Healthcare professionals are essential during the entirety of the pregnancy during each trimester to provide effective communication when assessing for substance use early and throughout each trimester of pregnancy. The purpose of this study was to determine if there was a relationship between assessment, referral, and utilization of treatment …

Clinical And Economic Burden Of Inflammatory Chronic Conditions Among Adults In The United States: Evidence From Three Nationally Representative Surveys, Mohammad Ikram

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports

A significant proportion of adults in the United States (US) suffer from various inflammatory chronic conditions (ICCs). They include a wide range of diseases such as diabetes, rheumatoid arthritis, asthma, and chronic obstructive pulmonary diseases. ICCs are not curable, and their management typically involves medications such as NSAIDs and corticosteroids. Recently, a whole health approach that places patients’ well-being at the center is increasingly being used for better management of ICCs. The whole health approach uses an integrated approach that includes multimodal management with complementary and alternative medicines (CAM) and prescription drugs. However, the use of CAM and prescription drugs …

Optimizing Sample Collection And Data Interpretation For Effective Wastewater-Based Epidemiology In Combined Sewer Systems, Christopher Allen Anderson

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports

COVID-19 has spurred growth in the science surrounding wastewater-based epidemiology (WBE) pertaining to the detection of severe acute respiratory virus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) in waste streams as an early warning signal for public health. However, the highly variable wastewater environment has made it difficult to standardize an approach for sampling and analysis, especially in locations using combined sewer infrastructure. This study addresses knowledge gaps of WBE via three specific aims: (1) to compare diurnal fluctuations of SARS-CoV-2 and the human fecal indicator, pepper mild mottle virus (PMMoV) in wastewater treatment plant (WWTP) influent samples collected during dry versus wet weather conditions; …

Study Of Barrier Face Coverings And Respirator Exhalation Filtration Efficiency And Exhaled Air Velocity During Wear, Weihua Yang

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports

This study aimed to assess the effectiveness of different types of respiratory protection, including National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) Approved respirators and surgical masks in healthcare settings, as well as barrier face coverings (BFCs) used by the public as source control. The assessment was based on three components: total outward leakage (TOL), particle size distribution, and exhalation airflow velocity. To achieve this, the study utilized headform testing systems to measure TOL and airflow velocity. Specifically, a hard surface headform was used for NIOSH Approved respirators and surgical masks, while two soft surface headforms of different sizes were …

Nature Based Interventions For Human Health And Wellbeing, Samantha I. Moyers

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports

Background. Nature exposure is beneficial to human health and wellbeing, but the evidence base for nature-based interventions (NBI) is still developing. Heterogeneous naming conventions, study designs, and intervention contexts create difficulty in accessing and assessing the evidence for such programming. While NBI have been utilized in a wide array of human populations, no interventions have been reported among clinical health professions students. Aims. The objectives of this dissertation project were to review the existing body of NBI literature exploring health and wellbeing outcomes, and to conduct a feasibility trial of forest bathing, a type of NBI, among clinical students. Specifically, …

Physical Activity Promotion, Assessment, And Engagement In Clinical Settings In The United States, Kristin A. Grogg

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports

Physical inactivity is an important contributor to morbidity and all-cause mortality and the 2018 Physical Activity Guidelines Advisory Committee recommended that physicians increase their role in physical activity assessment and promotion to combat physical inactivity and related comorbidities. Healthcare providers are increasingly called upon to initiate physical activity promotion with their patients to manage conditions like obesity, diabetes, and cardiovascular diseases. Still, recent reports indicate that less than half of primary care visits include some type of physical activity promotion. Although the National Physical Activity Plan includes some recommendations for clinicians and the healthcare sector on physical activity promotion, it …

The Application Of Time Series Analysis To Injury Epidemiology Data, Eric Wayne Lundstrom

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports

Introduction: Injury fatality rates in the United States (US) decreased throughout the majority of the 20th century, mostly due to declining rates of occupational and motor vehicle injuries. However, near the beginning of the 21st century, fatal injury rates in the US began to increase. This is principally due to the nation’s opioid epidemic, which has been characterized by different epidemic “waves”, each driven by overdoses associated with specific substances. Given the temporally dynamic nature of US injury trends, this study aimed to explore the application of time series analysis to injury data in the US. First, rates of non-fatal …

Exploring Prenatal Care In A Rural Appalachian State: A Project Watch Study Of Barriers And Facilitators In All Births From May 2018 To March 2022, Madelin Gardner

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports

Introduction: PNC is essential in protecting the health of birthing person and infant. Teenage and advanced maternal age (AMA) birthing persons are known risk factors for poor birth outcomes. However, less is known about whether these age groups are associated with inadequate PNC. Births to teenagers continue to be of concern in rural areas however, little is known about the association between inadequate PNC and poor infant outcomes in teenage populations. Previous studies have determined that greater risk of inadequate PNC has been linked to more rural areas compared to more urban areas. WV is the third most rural state …