Medicine and Health Sciences Commons^™

The Influence Of Temperature Variation On Dengue Fever: A Model-Based Investigation, Michael A. Robert, Paula D. Weber, Rebecca C. Christofferson, Christopher N. Mores, Helen J. Wearing

Biology and Medicine Through Mathematics Conference

No abstract provided.

A Mathematical Model Of The Spread Of Dengue Fever Incorporating Mobility, Kelly A. Reagan

Biology and Medicine Through Mathematics Conference

No abstract provided.

Dynamics Of Two Pathogens In A Single Tick Population, Alexis White

Biology and Medicine Through Mathematics Conference

No abstract provided.

General Models For Ecological Drivers Of Poverty, Calistus Ngeh Ngonghala

Biology and Medicine Through Mathematics Conference

No abstract provided.

Provision Of Hospital-Based Palliative Care And The Impact On Organizational And Patient Outcomes, Marisa L. Roczen

Theses and Dissertations

Hospital-based palliative care services aim to streamline medical care for patients with chronic and potentially life-limiting illnesses by focusing on individual patient needs, efficient use of hospital resources, and providing guidance for patients, patients’ families and clinical providers toward making optimal decisions concerning a patient’s care. This study examined the nature of palliative care provision in U.S. hospitals and its impact on selected organizational and patient outcomes, including hospital costs, length of stay, in-hospital mortality, and transfer to hospice. Hospital costs and length of stay are viewed as important economic indicators. Specifically, lower hospital costs may increase a hospital’s profit …

Incorporation Of Interprofessional Education And Special Care Dentistry Into Standard Dental School Curriculum, Marshall D. Adzima

Undergraduate Research Posters

According to dentistry, special needs is defined as individuals whose medical, physical, psychological, or social situations may make it necessary to modify normal dental routines in order to provide dental treatment for that individual. The population of special needs patients is increasing. The lack of educated professionals in special care dentistry is leading to severe and untreated systemic and oral health problems in the special needs population. The implementation of interprofessional treatment for special needs individuals has proven to be the most effective method of treatment within the special needs population. This study examines the current application of special care …

Depression Intervention Programs In Low-Income High Schools, Gopika Hari

Undergraduate Research Posters

It is estimated that 2.6 million adolescents suffer from major depressive episodes each year. Research has noted that symptoms in youth have become indicators of mental health complications later in life. Studies reveal that low income is a risk factor for depression and that socioeconomically-disadvantaged teenagers are more than twice as likely to develop mental illnesses. Only roughly 25% of children with mental illnesses receive adequate help and 80% of these resources come from schools. This study focuses on establishing the importance of depression intervention programs in low-income high schools and on designing novel guidelines for effective protocols. A compilation …

Federal Policies And Prescription Drugs, Ali Bonakdar Tehrani

Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation comprises three discrete empirical papers, with an introductory essay that evaluates the impact of different federal policies on prescription drug prices, utilization, and spending. Two main databases are used: (a) Medicaid State Drug Utilization Data and (b) the Medical Expenditure Panel Survey (MEPS) data. These two databases are designed to track Medicaid drug utilization and overall medical use and expenditures, respectively. The variables of interest in this dissertation are prescription drug price, prescription drug use and spending, and overall drug expenditures.

The objective of the first paper (Chapter 2) is to examine whether oncology drug prices have significantly …

Exploring The Role Of Intersectionality On Cardiovascular Disease Risk In Sexual Minorities, Leia Harper

Theses and Dissertations

Background: Previous research has shown that sexual minority individuals (SM) are twice as likely to smoke, twice as likely to be overweight or obese, and less likely to be physically active than heterosexual persons; all of which place SMs at an increased risk for cardiovascular disease (CVD). While information on CVD risk by race/ethnicity and socioeconomic status is well documented, there is scant literature examining race, gender, and the potential CVD risk in SMs. The purpose of this study was to examine CVD risk in sexual minorities.

Method: The current study used data from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent …

Chronic Pain Causal Attributions In An Interdisciplinary Primary Care Clinic: Patient-Provider And Provider-Provider Discrepancies, Bryan Jensen

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of the present study was to investigate the influence of pain causal attributions on patient pain-related functioning, treatment engagement, and clinical outcomes. Additionally, the impact of discordant pain causal attributions between patients and their providers as well as between interdisciplinary providers was examined. Patients rated their pain functioning and causal pain attributions during a regular clinic visit. Following the patient’s visit both the behavioral medicine provider and internal medicine resident provided ratings of similar pain-related functioning domains and causal attributions. Follow-up data were collected from the electronic medical record three months following that clinic visit. Overall, results revealed …

Prevalence, Incremental Cost And Resource Utilization Associated With Opioid Overdoses, Batul Electricwala

Theses and Dissertations

Background –

An increase in opioid prescribing has led to an increase in opioid overdoses.^1,2 No study has estimated the incremental costs subsequent to an opioid overdose event in prescription opioid users, or the prevalence and costs of overdose events in family members of prescription opioid users and in overdose victims with no identifiable source of prescription opioid. The latter group will be referred to as “others”.

Objectives –

The first objective of this study was to estimate the prevalence of opioid overdoses in aforementioned groups. The second objective was to estimate the incremental costs and resource utilization associated …

Gender And Sexual Health: Applying Gender Role Theory To Men And Women’S Intention To Engage In Sexual Health Information Seeking Behaviors, Ariella R. Tabaac

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of the present study is to examine the pathways between gender and behavioral intention to engage in sexual HISB through application of the Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB). It was found that feminine and masculine gender role stress differentially influence perceived behavioral control and behavioral attitudes, and that intention to engage in HISB was higher among women than men. Attitudes and PBC significantly predicted behavioral intention in this model. Further, women in the sample were more likely to search for sexual health information, with online sources being the most frequently reported resource. Additionally, past HISB was a significant …

Investigating The Effects Of Racial Residential Segregation, Area-Level Socioeconomic Status And Physician Composition On Colorectal Cancer Screening, Qin Shen

Theses and Dissertations

Background: The current adherence to colorectal cancer screening (CRCS) guidelines is suboptimal. How neighborhood characteristics, e.g., racial residential segregation (RRS), area-level socioeconomic status (SES) and physician composition, affect CRCS adherence are not fully understood. We assessed associations between facility proximity to RRS areas, area-level SES, physician composition, and CRCS adherence.

Methods: Data sources included 2013 Minnesota Community Measurement, 2009-2013 American Community Survey, 2012 U.S. and 2012-2013 Washington State Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System data, and 2013-2014 Area Health Resource File. Logistic regressions and weighted multilevel logistic regressions were used to assess the association between facility proximity to RRS areas and …

Influence Of Public Insurance On Healthcare Access And Cancer Care, Wafa W. Tarazi

Theses and Dissertations

Medicaid expansion under the Affordable Care Act (ACA) facilitates access to care among vulnerable populations, but 21 states have not yet expanded the program. Tennessee’s Medicaid program experienced a dramatic Medicaid contraction when the program disenrolled approximately 170,000 nonelderly adults in 2005. Pre-ACA expansions were associated with better access to and utilization of healthcare services. However, little is known about the effect of these policy changes on improvement in health outcomes for women diagnosed with breast cancer, access to care for cancer survivors, and the effect of generosity and duration of expansion on access to care.

This dissertation has three …

Development And Evaluation Of A Peer-To-Peer Intervention To Increase Self-Management Among Adult In-Center Hemodialysis Patients, Jennifer J. St Clair Russell

Theses and Dissertations

Background: Peer-to-peer (P2P) support programs have the potential to assist ESRD patients in managing their disease and improve outcomes. Yet, there is little research examining P2P programs’ impact on psychosocial outcomes and disease management behaviors.

Methods: A 4-month P2P mentoring intervention was designed and piloted in a facility serving 249 in-center hemodialysis patients in Lynchburg, Virginia. Preceded by a social marketing effort, which included a program naming contest and participant recruitment, the intervention included: (1) mentor training, (2) pairing of mentees and mentors, (3) kick-off social mixers, (4) ongoing meetings between mentees and mentors, (5) mentor training booster, and (6) …

Cancer Health Literacy And Hospitalization In The First Five Years Following A Cancer Diagnosis, Laura A. Cartwright

Theses and Dissertations

BACKGROUND: The field of health literacy research has been focused recently on developing more accurate measurement tools and understanding the relationship between health literacy and health outcomes. Individuals with lower levels of health literacy have worse health outcomes, including hospitalization rates, compared to those with adequate health literacy. This relationship has yet to be examined in the cancer patient population, although significant relationships between health literacy and cancer knowledge, screening behavior and quality of life have been found. This study is the first to examine the relationship between health literacy and hospitalization rates in a cancer patient population, and the …

Healthcare Access In Women’S Prisons: An Intersectional Perspective, Megan R. Bray

Undergraduate Research Posters

This project will be identifying the key factors that contribute to the significant lack of health care in prisons in the U.S., specifically in women’s correctional facilities. I will be lending my focus to disparities in mental health, HIV/AIDs care, reproductive health, trans health, and physical health issues among women who are either currently incarcerated or those who have completed their sentences and are at higher risk for re-entry after attempting re-integration. There is a lack of care, access, and proper treatment for women inmates in U.S. prisons and reform is needed. I foresee the best possible way to accomplish …

Socioeconomic Factors Associated With Cataract-Related Blindness Treatment In Women In Rural Regions Of Andhra Pradesh, Kiranpreet Kaur 4198353

Undergraduate Research Posters

Despite efforts of Vision 2020 in India, the Andhra Pradesh Eye Disease Study (APEDS) extrapolated, in 2000, approximately 18.7 million blind people in India and also, projected an increase to 31.6 million blind people by 2020. Within the state Andhra Pradesh itself, preventable corneal blindness increased to 1.84% from 1.5% in the late 1980s.

Numerous public health studies have been conducted to outline factors that cause and preclude treatment of avoidable corneal blindness in the India. Conclusively, the escalation of corneal blindness can be largely attributed to personal, social, and economic barriers in utilizing available eye-care services. However, due to …

An Investigation Of The Influence Of Current Public Health Policies In The United States On The Prevalence Of Rural Health Professional Shortage Areas, Hayne Noh

Undergraduate Research Posters

The healthcare professional shortage or maldistribution severely limits access to sufficient health care, affecting many Americans, particularly in rural areas. There is a range studies that agree that the health professional shortage is a pressing issue, but none that specifically evaluate the overall effectiveness and improvements to be made to government funded programs, such as Loan repayment and scholarship programs aimed at attracting primary care physicians to these rural underserved areas. This study analyzes both quantitative and qualitative data from 21 peer-reviewed journals about rural primary Health Professional Shortage Areas, Title-VII funded schools, and rural primary health care. Although effective …