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Predictors Of Recovery In Advocacy-Based Refugee Treatment Outcome: The Role Of Prior Traumatic Experiences And Current Chronic Stressors, Meredith A. Blackwell

Psychology ETDs

Refugees are at an increased vulnerability to mental health disorders compared to citizens of wealthier nations. The present study looks at the symptom trajectories of 290 refugees in a psychosocial community-based participatory intervention. A three-level generalized linear mixed model examined the predictive impact of exposure to trauma and chronic stress at baseline on posttraumatic stress and mood symptoms over time. Results showed that only higher chronic stress at baseline was associated with a steeper decrease in both PTSD and mood scores, but these effects differed by nationality. However, with chronic stress entered as a time-varying covariate instead only African participants …

Essays On Emotional Well-Being, Health Insurance Disparities And Health Insurance Markets, Disha Shende

Economics ETDs

This dissertation has three research papers. First paper looks at the effect of social networks on emotional well-being of cancer patients by studying the response of social networks on their depression symptoms. Using the data from a primary survey conducted in Nepal, the study finds that social networks significantly reduce depression symptoms among cancer patients. The results strongly advocate for the importance of the social networks in improving their emotional well-being. Second paper examines the health coverage disparities among Hispanic and non-Hispanic young adults in five southwestern states of the United States. Using the pooled data from American Community Survey …

Association Between Self-Reported Dyspnea And Depressive Symptoms In New Mexico Uranium Workers, Shiva Sharma

Biomedical Sciences ETDs

BACKGROUND: Uranium workers risk experiencing dyspnea, a lung disease symptom. Previous studies found associations between dyspnea and depressive symptoms in lung disease, but this requires further study in occupational cohorts.

METHODS: This study evaluated the association between dyspnea and depressive symptoms in former uranium workers screened by New Mexico Radiation Exposure Screening & Education Program. Dyspnea and depressive symptoms were evaluated through questionnaires, Modified Medical Research Council Dyspnea Scale and a modified Patient Health Questionnaire-2, respectively. Logistic regression models were applied to cross-sectional analyses. Generalized linear models were applied to longitudinal analyses.

RESULTS: Cross-sectional analyses demonstrated higher dyspnea scores were …