Digital Commons Network^™

Disaster Communication Networks: A Case Study Of The Thai Red Cross And Their Disaster Communication Response To The Asian Tsunami, Tami J. Matthews

Theses and Dissertations

Disaster victims and vulnerable populations are audiences that communications professionals and scholars have ignored. Public relation practices dominate current disaster communication policy. This study examines the disaster communication network, including policy and practice, of the Thai Red Cross, before, during, and after the Asian tsunami. Disaster communication(s) is defined as the sharing and exchange of information with the victims immediately affected by a disaster. This definition focuses specifically on the vulnerable audience and allows response efforts to emerge from multiple disciplines. Focusing response efforts on victims' assessed needs and abilities allows for a multi-disciplinary approach to mitigate further suffering. The …

Museums In The Age Of Neoliberalism: A Multi-Sited Analysis Of Science And Health Museums., Taren Laine Dailey

Anthropology Theses

In this thesis, I explore the variety of ways museums operate in a neoliberal, global economy. I describe interactions between museums, people, governments and money. These articles examine the different dimensions and connections between these discursive relationships, such as the ways in which museums work for and also work with governments, schools, tourists and local citizens in their communities. Additionally, I discuss my experiences as an anthropologist who is studying institutions controlled by elites. I use Larua Nader's (1969) theory of "studying up," to describe how anthropolotists must be increasingly flexible when researching museums in the age of neoliberalism. I …

Empowering Senior Females By Utilizing Each Female Person's Voice To Create Desired Lifestyle Options, Icydor Aldale Mohabier

Women's, Gender, and Sexuality Studies Theses

Interviews of senior females ranging in age from 55 through 72 were conducted between September 2004 and April 2005, in order to determine what lifestyle options this group would like made available to them. The participants represented a sample of senior females who had different backgrounds, including culture, education level, and economic circumstance. Although all the participants had very different lifestyles at the time of their interviews, most were satisfied with their current lifestyles but wanted to change something about it. The research results indicate that there are three desired lifestyle options that senior females want: socializing, improving their health, …

A Dyadic Examination Of Daily Health Symptoms And Emotional Well-Being In Late-Life Couples, Jeremy B. Yorgason, David Almeida, Shevaun D. Neupert, Avron Spiro Iii, Lesa Hoffman

Department of Psychology: Faculty Publications

This study investigated the link between daily health symptoms and spousal emotional well-being in a sample of 96 older dyads. Higher negative mood and lower positive mood were associated with spousal symptoms in couples wherein husbands or wives reported higher average levels of symptoms. For wives, partner effects were moderated by husbands’ marital satisfaction and illness severity. Specifically, higher husband marital satisfaction and illness severity were associated with higher negative mood and lower positive mood for wives on days where husbands reported higher symptom levels. In their work with later-life families, practitioners and educators should address long-term and daily health-related …

“Beauty” As A Public Health Concern: An Analysis Of The Internalization And Effects Of The Western Beauty Ideal In Nairobi, Kenya, Elizabeth Lownik

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Acts of personal decoration or even body modification for the purpose of attaining a cultural norm of “beauty” have been undertaken in every human society for centuries. In certain societies, however, people engage in acts or practices to obtain such cultural beauty only at the expense of individual and community health. The current eating disorder epidemic in the United States, based on the Western beauty ideal of an extremely thin woman, is an example of such destructive behavior in the name of beauty. With the current phenomenon of globalization, Western cultural norms, including the beauty ideal, are spreading around the …

The Missing Piece: Understanding Nairobi’S Traditional Medical Practitioners, Mufaddal Dahodwala

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Currently, there is a problem of access to biomedical health services to large portions of Nairobi’s population. Traditional herbal medicine has long been practiced in Kenya, and though studies have shown that traditional medicine has been effective against certain acute and chronic illnesses, it has been marginalized in the health service sector. By integrating traditional medicine into mainstream healthcare, a larger proportion of the Kenyan population will be able achieve access to adequate health services. However, there has not been enough discussion about traditional medicine from a holistic point of view. Without adequate discussion, traditional medicine will remain in the …

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, …

Religion And Family Relational Health: An Overview And Conceptual Model, Loren Marks

Faculty Publications

This paper presents a review of research addressing religion and family relational health. Strengths of the extant data include the correlation of three dimensions of religious experience (religious practices, religious beliefs, and religious community) with certain aspects of mother–child, father–child, and marital relationships and specific connections between the three dimensions of religious experience and family relationships are identified. Key weaknesses in the research at present include a paucity of research examining the hows, whys, and processes involved behind identified religion–family correlations and a lack of data on non-nuclear families, families of color, interfaith families, and non-Christian religions including Judaism and …

Minority Women In The Healthcare Workforce In New England, Carol Hardy-Fanta, Erika Kates, Helen Levine, Kate Peery-Wolf

Publications from the Center for Women in Politics and Public Policy

Research on health disparities affecting people of color typically focuses on their health status, health treatment and health outcomes with a particular emphasis on the relatively high rates of morbidity and mortality from selected diseases for ethnic and racial minority groups. This fact sheet offers a different but related focus on gender and race/ethnicity in the health care workforce. Our rationale is that the Sullivan Commission on Diversity in the Healthcare Workforce concluded that the lack of minority doctors, nurses and dentists is a significant cause of racial/ethnic health disparities and that the ability to recruit, train and retain minority …

Adolescent Alcohol Use And Educational Outcomes, Wesley A. Austin

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

There is some controversy over whether adolescent alcohol use has deleterious causal effects on educational outcomes. In particular, does drinking reduce academic performance and school enrollment rates and increase truancy, or does the observed negative correlation between drinking and educational outcomes merely reflect common unobservable factors? This dissertation sheds further light on the issue by estimating the causal impacts of alcohol use on various educational outcomes. Specifically, an instrumental variables model is estimated to study the effects of several drinking measures on grades, school enrollment and absenteeism.

Vigilance In African Americans: Cardiovascular Reactivity And Phasic Heart Period Reactions To Cued Threat And Nonthreat Stimuli, Thomas Starr King

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

African Americans are at a greater risk of developing cardiovascular disease and associated risk factors than are Whites, and recent research has suggested that the effects of racial discrimination are a significant contributor to this disparity. Thus, a preattentive bias and vigilance for threat might serve as a mechanism through which experienced racial discrimination would negatively impact cardiovascular health. A study was conducted to investigate the physiological and attentional underpinnings of vigilance for discriminatory threat via examination of phasic heart period (HP) responses to cued threat and nonthreat stimuli. Thirty African American and forty-two European American undergraduate students from a …

A Comparison Of Hiv Stigma And Disclosure Patterns Between Older And Younger Adults Living With Hiv/Aids, Charles Emlet

Social Work & Criminal Justice Publications

The purpose of this study was to examine the relationships between age, HIV-related stigma, and patterns of disclosure. Previous literature has suggested that older age is associated with increased HIV stigma and less disclosure of HIV status. Eighty- eight individuals, 44 between the ages of 20-39 and 44 aged 50 and over were recruited for the study through an AIDS service organization in the Pacific Northwest. Subjects in each group were matched as closely as possible by gender, ethnicity, HIV exposure and diagnosis. In a comparison of sociodemographic characteristics, older adults (50+) were significantly more likely to live alone, and …

Uncovering The Key Of Success In The Utah Medicaid Work Incentive Program: A Grounded Theory Study, Renee H. Nolan

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The purpose of this grounded theory research was to determine what differentiates people with disabilities who leave Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) benefits due to increased income from those who cannot. Fifteen individuals, former and current participants in a Medicaid Buy-In program, were interviewed. Within the context of health and disability, four theoretical propositions were identified: education, opportunity to work, interpersonal support, and secure housing. Higher benefit levels were also found to be an effective barrier for many.

Losing Face: Why More Media Literacy Education Is Needed In Utah's Public School Curriculum, Natalie Andrews, Brooke Nelson

Undergraduate Honors Capstone Projects

Health programs in Utah's curriculum focus mainly on the after effects of media's influence--eating disorders, low self-esteem and other destructive teenage behavior--and no one puts the correct amount of blame on television or the advertisements that promote buying to be beautiful. However, studies have found a strong correlation in teens between media consumption and negative behaviors. Teens are, after all, a main target for over $30 million ad dollars every year. Utah has curriculum in place for media literacy, but it is scattered throughout multiple subjects and is never rightly treated as its own. Because of this, we propose protecting …

Chronic/Life Threatening Illnesses From The Perspective Of Latino Men, Melissa Sierra

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Much of the research on illness focuses on how people, particularly white men, cope with chronic/life threatening illnesses often adopting a "sick role" identity. For Latinos this type of identity transformation is complex as there is no place for dependency and passivity in traditional depictions of Latino masculinity. Latino men take pride in their manhood. As a result, they have trouble accepting their illness and the sick role. They do not tend to take their illness seriously, nor are they comfortable admitting to others the seriousness of their illness. My research focuses on how Latino men renegotiate a sense of …

The Effects Of Music On Heart Rate And Perceived Exertion During 20 Minutes Of Treadmill Running, Tara Litz

Undergraduate Theses and Capstone Projects

This study examined the effects of music on heart rate (HR) as well as ratings of perceived exertion (RPE-B) while running on a treadmill for 20 minutes. Research subjects included men and women, ages 18 to 25. All subjects completed a 20-minute treadmill run set at 5.0 mph with 0% grade. Omron heart monitors were used to measure and record subjects’ HR every 2 minutes after the start of the test. Subjects reported ratings of perceived exertion -using the Borg Scale- which was also recorded every two minutes throughout the test period. One treadmill session included music; the other session …

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 …

Economics: Labor And Health In South Asia By Vibhuti Patel, Professor Vibhuti Patel

Professor Vibhuti Patel

In Bangladesh, India, Nepal, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka, inferior terms of women’s employment perpetuate their subordination in family and society and impact their health adversely. How women are paid and valued in the fields, factories, and offices has direct bearing on women workers’ status within and outside the workplace. The statistical profile of women’s work in South Asia reveals ahigh maternal mortality rate, adverse sex ratios, low levels of literacy, the highest work participation of women in agriculture, and women’s estimated earned income as less than half that of men, signifying the undervaluation and unpaid nature of women’s productive economic …

The Influence Of Socioeconomic And Environmental Factors On Health And Obesity In Rural Appalachia, Anura Amarasinghe, Gerard D'Souza, Cheryl Brown, Hyungna Oh

Regional Research Institute Working Papers

A recursive system of ordered self assessed health (SAH) and a binary indicator of obesity were used to investigate the impact of socioeconomic and environmental factors on health and obesity in the predominantly rural Appalachian state of West Virginia. Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS) data together with county specific socioeconomic and built environment indicators were used in estimation. Results indicate that an individual’s risk of being obese increases at a decreasing rate with per capita income and age. Marginal impacts show that as the level of education attainment increases, the probability of being obese decreases by 3%. Physical inactivity …

Enhancing Human Security: U.S. Policies And Their Health Impact On Women In Sub-Saharan Africa, Tamera Fillinger

University of Maryland Law Journal of Race, Religion, Gender and Class

No abstract provided.

Evolution And Sustainability Of The Helping Hands Volunteer Program: Consumer Recovery And Mental Health Comparisoins Six Years On, Frank P. Deane, Retta Andresen

Faculty of Health and Behavioural Sciences - Papers (Archive)

The Helping Hands program commenced in 1999 and partners volunteers with mental health consumers for support and to increase social contact, recreational and friendship opportunities. The aim of the present study is to describe the evolution and sustainability of the program over the first 6 years. A description of consumers accessing the program using recovery-oriented measures and traditional measures of behavioural functioning is also provided. Service data was collected on the development of the program, service utilisation, volunteer participation and funding patterns. Cross-sectional measures of recovery and baseline and follow-up Health of the Nation Outcome Scales (HoNOS) were collected on …

Setting Directions For Research Capacity Building In Primary Health Care: A Survey Of A Research Network, Karin Ried, Elizabeth Farmer, Kathryn M. Weston

Graduate School of Medicine - Papers (Archive)

Background

The South Australian Research Network 'SARNet' aims to build research capacity in primary health care, as part of a national government-funded strategy to integrate research into clinical practice. Internationally, research networks have been a fundamental part of research culture change, and a variety of network models exist. The 'SARNet' model uses a whole system, multidisciplinary approach to capacity building and supports individuals and groups. We undertook a descriptive baseline survey in order to understand the background and needs of SARNet members and to tailor network activities towards those needs.

Methods

A questionnaire survey, assessing members' professional background, research experience, …

Working Together For Mental Health: Evaluation Of A One-Day Mental Health Course For Human Service Providers, Pamela E. Grootemaat, Cathie Gillan, Gillian Holt, Wayne Forward, Narelle Heywood, Sue Willis

Sydney Business School - Papers

Background: The Working Together For Mental Health course is an 8-hour course designed to demystify mental illness and mental health services. The main target group for the course is people working in human service organisations who provide services for people with mental illness. Methods: A questionnaire was administered to all participants attending the course during 2003 (n = 165). Participants completed the questionnaire before and immediately after the course, and at three month follow-up. Results: A response rate of 69% was achieved with 114 people completing the questionnaire on all three occasions. The responses showed a significant …

Common Ground: Exploring Policy Approaches To Addressing Racial Disparities From The Left And The Right, M. C. Gibbons

Journal of Health Care Law and Policy

No abstract provided.

The Impact Of Sleep Quality And Duration On College Student Adjustment And Health, Robert L. Krenek Jr.

Doctoral Dissertations

College years are a time of change and transition that involves complex challenges in academic, social, personal/emotional, and institutional adjustment. Stress, anxiety, and tension are often associated with college transition and adjustment; stress and worry have been related to poor sleep quality. Studies have found that college students have more sleep problems than the general public. Research has shown that poor sleep has adverse effects on cognition, mood, and other physiological and psychological aspects of human functioning. Recent research has indicated that sleep quality may be more important than amount of sleep. Relationships have been found between sleep problems and …

World Bank, Adrienne Stohr

Human Rights & Human Welfare

The mission of the World Bank is to aid developing countries stabilize their economies through financial and technical assistance. The five dominant themes that emerge in a review of the World Bank literature are: health, gender, environment, globalization, and global governance. Each of these themes is broadly related to issues that consistently influence the larger issue of how the World Bank incorporates, rejects, or impacts human rights.

Use Of Homework By Mental Health Case Managers In The Rehabilitation Of Persistent And Recurring Psychiatric Disability, Peter Kelly, Frank P. Deane, Nikolaos Kazantzis, Trevor P. Crowe, Lindsay G. Oades

Faculty of Health and Behavioural Sciences - Papers (Archive)

Background: Homework refers to between-session activities that are tied to therapeutic goals. Homework has been suggested as being an important clinical adjunct to case management practices, however, to date, research has not examined case managers’ use of homework. Aims: To identify the degree that case managers use homework within their clinical practice and explore the way it is administered with people diagnosed with a persistent and recurring psychiatric illness. Method: A survey was completed by 122 case managers (63% of those approached) comprising nurses, psychologists, social workers, occupational therapists and welfare/support workers. Results: Ninety-three percent of case managers implement homework, …

What Do We Know About Men's Help-Seeking And Health Service Use?, James A. Smith, Annette J. Braunack-Mayer, Gary Wittert

Faculty of Social Sciences - Papers (Archive)

• Men seek help and use health services less frequently than women do.

• Men’s help-seeking practices and health service use are complex issues involving biological, psychological and sociological considerations.

• Most discussion on men’s help-seeking positions them as reluctant consumers or “behaving badly” with respect to their health.

• Few studies have explored whether health service providers are equipped to deal with men’s health issues appropriately.

• The current health system appears not to be tailored to meet the health needs of men.

• Better collaboration is required across disciplines, to further investigate men’s health using both qualitative and quantitative research methods.

Failed Lessons Of History: The Predictable Shortcomings Of The Partial-Birth Abortion Ban Act, Nancy Kubasek, Daniel Tagliarina

University of Maryland Law Journal of Race, Religion, Gender and Class

No abstract provided.