Digital Commons Network^™

The Development Of Weaning Practices Among Women Of The Mombasa District, Its Effects On Children’S Public Health Issues, And The Proposition Of Intervention Plans, Rachael Bryan

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Breastfeeding is an unparalleled way of providing nourishment for the infant child in the first few years of life. A large body of literature supports that exclusive breastfeeding is optimal for the first 6 months of life, while complementary foods should be introduced in the diet 6 months and beyond. Mothers who inadequately wean their children are defined as having introduced complementary foods prior to 6 months post-natal age. The inclusive purpose of this study was to gain an understanding of inadequate weaning practices among patients and mothers of patients of the Muslim Education and Welfare Association Medical Centre (MMC) …

Girls' Perception Of Physical Environmental Factors And Transportation: Reliability And Association With Physical Activity And Active Transport To School, Kelly R. Evenson, Amanda Birnbaum, Ariane L. Bedimo-Rung, James Sallis, Carolyn C. Voorhees, Kimberly Ring, John P. Elder

Department of Public Health Scholarship and Creative Works

Background

Preliminary evidence suggests that the physical environment and transportation are associated with youth physical activity levels. Only a few studies have examined the association of physical environmental factors on walking and bicycling to school. Therefore, the purpose of this study was (1) to examine the test-retest reliability of a survey designed for youth to assess perceptions of physical environmental factors (e.g. safety, aesthetics, facilities near the home) and transportation, and (2) to describe the associations of these perceptions with both physical activity and active transport to school.

Methods

Test and retest surveys, administered a median of 12 days later, …

Human Development And Resources Use In The Coastal Zone: Influences On Human Health, Robert E. Bowen, Anamarija Frankic, Mary E. Davis

Environmental, Earth, and Ocean Sciences Faculty Publication Series

Coastal watersheds and nearshore marine areas are the most valuable and dynamic places on Earth. Human population growth is great in these regions, which are home to some of the most sensitive habitats in the world. Coastal areas provide more than half of the overall service value derived from the global environment (Costanza et al., 1997). Natural (e.g., hurricanes and tsunamis) and human pressures on this environment require it to constantly adjust. More than any other area, the global coast has defined the progress of human culture and continues to be a singular influence in how humans connect to the …

Loaning Health: The Effectiveness Of Microfinance As An Hiv/Aids Intervention Method In Kibera Slums, Lara Berlin

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Three of the major societal issues facing Kenya are poverty, gender inequalities, and HIV/AIDS, each of which acts as a catalyst for the others. In the last twenty years, microfinance has been used as an intervention method combating poverty and women’s disempowerment. As such, this study examines the effectiveness of using microfinance as an HIV/AIDS intervention method in the Kibera slums of Nairobi, Kenya. The research is primarily based upon interviews with Kibera residents and members of microfinance organizations. The findings indicate that most Kibera residents believe microfinance is the best method of reducing the spread of AIDS, especially when …

How To Bridge The Gap: An Analysis Of The Coverage And Efficacy Of Volunteer Counseling And Testing Centers In Suba District, Kenya, Joseph Lippi

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

The Suba District of western Kenya is one of the areas most affected by the HIV/AIDS epidemic. According to Kenyan Ministry of Health publications, at the end of 2005, Suba District had an HIV/AIDS prevalence of 30%. This paper focuses on the numerous volunteer counseling and testing centers (VCTs) in Suba District that test and educate members of the community in effort to curb the spread of HIV/AIDS. Great efforts have been made to attack the problem of HIV/AIDS in Suba district. This paper seeks to illuminate the numerous factors that keep people in the community from seeking VCT center …

Knowledge And Perceived Ambiguity Of Physical Activity Recommendations And Physical Activity In Men And Women In The United States, Laura G. Kiken

Theses and Dissertations

Background: The majority of Americans - especially women - do not meet physical activity recommendations. Having physical activity goals has been associated with physical activity participation, and physical activity recommendations set by public health experts can be viewed as externally set goals. However, past research has shown that goals that are specific rather than ambiguous are more likely to be achieved, and variations in recommendations over time and across sources may have created perceived goal ambiguity.Objectives: This study aimed to (1) examine the extent of physical activity recommendation knowledge among adults in the United States, (2) quantify perceptions of the …

Enhanced Disease Surveillance Through Private Health Care Sector Cooperation In Karachi, Pakistan: Experience From A Vaccine Trial, M. Imran Khan, Shah Muhammad Sahito, Mohammad Javed Khan, Shafi Mohammad Wassan, Abdul Wahab Shaikh, Ashok Kumari Maheshwari, Camilo J. Acosta, Claudia M. Galindo, Rion Leon Ochia, Shahid Rasool, Sheeraz Peerwan, Mahesh K. Puri, Mohammad Ali, Afia Zafar, Rumina Hasan, Lorenz Von Seidlein, John D. Clemens, Shaikh Qamaruddin Nizami, Zulfiqar Ahmed Bhutta

Centre of Excellence in Women and Child Health

INTRODUCTION: In research projects such as vaccine trials, accurate and complete surveillance of all outcomes of interest is critical. In less developed countries where the private sector is the major health-care provider, the private sector must be included in surveillance systems in order to capture all disease of interest. This, however, poses enormous challenges in practice. The process and outcome of recruiting private practice clinics for surveillance in a vaccine trial are described.
METHODS: The project started in January 2002 in two urban squatter settlements of Karachi, Pakistan. At the suggestion of private practitioners, a phlebotomy team was …

Constructing Whiteness In Health Disparities Research, Jessie Daniels, Amy J. Schulz

Publications and Research

There is a long tradition within the United States of constructing whiteness (the racial subject) against racialized others (the racial object) and in the process displacing the focus of critical analysis. Here we turn our lens to the often invisible--or at least underinterrogated--concept of whiteness within the context of the literature on racial disparities in health. Specifically, we examine how whiteness is constructed in the active literature documenting and interpreting racial disparities in health and the implications of these constructions for efforts to eradicate inequalities in health. We draw on the concepts of racial formation and "racial projects" that emphasize …