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Healthy Food Options At Dollar Discount Stores Are Equivalent In Quality And Lower In Price Compared To Grocery Stores: An Examination In Las Vegas, Nv, Courtney Coughenour, Timothy J. Bungum, M. Nikki Regalado Dec 2018

Healthy Food Options At Dollar Discount Stores Are Equivalent In Quality And Lower In Price Compared To Grocery Stores: An Examination In Las Vegas, Nv, Courtney Coughenour, Timothy J. Bungum, M. Nikki Regalado

Public Health Faculty Publications

Food deserts indicate limited access to and affordability of healthy foods. One potential mediator is the availability of healthy food in non-traditional outlets such as dollar-discount stores, stores selling produce at the fixed $1 price. The purpose of this study was to compare availability, quality, price differences in ‘healthier’ versus ‘regular’ food choices, price per each food item, and summary score in dollar-discount stores to grocery stores in Las Vegas using the NEMS-S; a protocol consisting of three subscores—availability, quality, price of healthier versus regular food, and a summary score. [...] see article for full abstract


Limited Contribution Of Health Behaviours To Expanding Income-Related Chronic Disease Disparities Based On A Nationwide Cross-Sectional Study In China, Qing Wang, Jay J, Shen, Kaitlyn Frakes Aug 2018

Limited Contribution Of Health Behaviours To Expanding Income-Related Chronic Disease Disparities Based On A Nationwide Cross-Sectional Study In China, Qing Wang, Jay J, Shen, Kaitlyn Frakes

Public Health Faculty Publications

This study estimated the association of income and prevalence of cardiovascular diseases (CVD) and hypertension, and then quantified the contribution of health behaviors to the association in China. Using the 2013 survey of the China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study (CHARLS), a logit model was applied to examine income-related health disparities in relation to CVD and hypertension. A four-step regression method was then constructed to measure the role of health behaviors in income-related health disparities. Using indirect effects, mediation by health behaviors was examined. Income-related health disparities in chronic diseases were found to exist in China. Specifically, individuals in the …


Bibliometric Analysis Of Gaps In Research On Asbestos-Related Diseases: Declining Emphasis On Public Health Over 26 Years, Ro-Ting Lin, Matthew John Soeberg, Lung-Chang Chien, Scott Fisher, Jukka Takala, Richard Lemen, Tim Driscoll, Ken Takahashi Jul 2018

Bibliometric Analysis Of Gaps In Research On Asbestos-Related Diseases: Declining Emphasis On Public Health Over 26 Years, Ro-Ting Lin, Matthew John Soeberg, Lung-Chang Chien, Scott Fisher, Jukka Takala, Richard Lemen, Tim Driscoll, Ken Takahashi

Public Health Faculty Publications

Objectives The global burden of asbestos-related diseases (ARDs) is significant, and most of the world’s population live in countries where asbestos use continues. We examined the gaps between ARD research and suggestions of WHO and the International Labour Organization on prevention. Methods From the Web of Science, we collected data on all articles published during 1991–2016 and identified a subset of ARD-related articles. We classified articles into three research areas—laboratory, clinical and public health—and examined their time trends. For all and the top 11 countries publishing ARD-related articles, we calculated the proportions of all ARD-related articles that were in each …


Nonlinear Associations Between Working Hours And Overwork-Related Cerebrovascular And Cardiovascular Diseases (Ccvd), Ro-Ting Lin, Lung-Chang Chien, Ichiro Kawachi Jun 2018

Nonlinear Associations Between Working Hours And Overwork-Related Cerebrovascular And Cardiovascular Diseases (Ccvd), Ro-Ting Lin, Lung-Chang Chien, Ichiro Kawachi

Public Health Faculty Publications

Long working hours are recognized as a risk factor for cerebrovascular and cardiovascular diseases (CCVD). We investigated the relationship between working hours and different CCVD severity outcomes—death, disability, and illness—across industries in Taiwan from 2006 to 2016. We applied a generalized additive mixed model to estimate the association between working hours and the rate of each severity outcome, adjusted for salary, unemployment rate, time, and a random intercept. Industry-average working hours were significantly associated with each outcome level of overwork-related CCVD, especially when monthly working hours increased from 169 (relative risk [RR] = 1.46, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.002–2.12) to …


Pediatric To Adult Healthcare Transitioning For Adolescents Living With Hiv In Nigeria: A National Survey, Okikiolu A. Badejo, William A. Menson, Nadia A. Sam-Agudu, Jennifer Pharr, Salome Erekaha, Tamara Bruno, Gift Nwanne, Olabanjo Ogunsola, Jude Ilozumba, Olusegun Busari, Echezona E. Ezeanolue Jun 2018

Pediatric To Adult Healthcare Transitioning For Adolescents Living With Hiv In Nigeria: A National Survey, Okikiolu A. Badejo, William A. Menson, Nadia A. Sam-Agudu, Jennifer Pharr, Salome Erekaha, Tamara Bruno, Gift Nwanne, Olabanjo Ogunsola, Jude Ilozumba, Olusegun Busari, Echezona E. Ezeanolue

Public Health Faculty Publications

Introduction The period of transition from pediatric to adult care has been associated with poor health outcomes among 10–19 year old adolescents living with HIV (ALHIV). This has prompted a focus on the quality of transition services, especially in high ALHIV-burden countries. Due to lack of guidelines, there are no healthcare transition standards for Nigeria’s estimated 240,000 ALHIV. We conducted a nationwide survey to characterize routine transition procedures for Nigerian ALHIV. Materials and methods This cross-sectional survey was conducted at public healthcare facilities supported by five local HIV service implementing partners. Comprehensive HIV treatment facilities with ≥1 year of HIV …


Use Of A Unique Farmers’ Market Program Targeting Lower-Income Community Members, Brittany Lawrence, Anna E. Greer, Anne Marie Zimeri, Daphne C. Hernandez, Sangnam Ahn, Shaakira Jones, Matthew Lee Smith Jun 2018

Use Of A Unique Farmers’ Market Program Targeting Lower-Income Community Members, Brittany Lawrence, Anna E. Greer, Anne Marie Zimeri, Daphne C. Hernandez, Sangnam Ahn, Shaakira Jones, Matthew Lee Smith

Public Health Faculty Publications

We examined use of a farmers’ market that leverages community partnerships to provide free produce to lower-income persons. Participants (n = 422) were asked to complete a questionnaire and given an ID number, which was used to track market use from 2014 to 2015. Chi square tests were used to examine associations between 2014/2015 market use and reasons for market use, financial support received, and how attendees had learned about the market. Ordinal regression was used to identify household characteristics associated with increased market attendance. Although the proportion of lower-income attendees declined over the study period, a substantial proportion of …


Lagged Influence Of Fine Particulate Matter And Geographic Disparities On Clinic Visits For Children’S Asthma In Taiwan, Lung-Chang Chien, Yu-An Chen, Hwa-Lung Yu Apr 2018

Lagged Influence Of Fine Particulate Matter And Geographic Disparities On Clinic Visits For Children’S Asthma In Taiwan, Lung-Chang Chien, Yu-An Chen, Hwa-Lung Yu

Public Health Faculty Publications

Recent studies have revealed the influence of fine particulate matter (PM2.5) on increased medication use, hospital admission, and emergency room visits for asthma attack in children, but the lagged influence of PM2.5 on children’s asthma and geographic disparities of children’s asthma have rarely been discussed simultaneously. This study investigated the documented diagnosis of children’s asthma in clinic visits for children aged less than 15 years old that were associated with PM2.5 in two counties located in west-central Taiwan during 2005–2010. The result shows that PM2.5 had a significant lagged effect on children’s asthma for up to 6 days. A significantly …


Identifying Windows Of Opportunity For Active Living And Healthy Eating Policies In Connecticut, 2016, Anna E. Greer, Ann-Uriel Knausenberger Mar 2018

Identifying Windows Of Opportunity For Active Living And Healthy Eating Policies In Connecticut, 2016, Anna E. Greer, Ann-Uriel Knausenberger

Public Health Faculty Publications

We examined the relative importance of 23 community issues among elected officials and health directors in Connecticut in 2016. For this cross-sectional study, 74 elected officials (40.7% response rate) and 47 health directors (62.7% response rate), who were purposively sampled, completed a questionnaire to rate their perceived importance of 23 community issues. Eight of these issues were related to active living, healthy eating, or obesity. We used χ2 tests to evaluate differences in responses. Compared with elected officials, health directors significantly more often perceived obesity, access to healthy groceries, poor nutrition, lack of pedestrian walkways, and pedestrian safety as important. …


Biomedical Informatics Applications For Precision Management Of Neurodegenerative Diseases, Justin B. Miller, Guogen Shan, Joseph Lombardo, Gustavo Jimenez-Maggoria Jan 2018

Biomedical Informatics Applications For Precision Management Of Neurodegenerative Diseases, Justin B. Miller, Guogen Shan, Joseph Lombardo, Gustavo Jimenez-Maggoria

Public Health Faculty Publications

Modern medicine is in the midst of a revolution driven by “big data,” rapidly advancing computing power, and broader integration of technology into healthcare. Highly detailed and individualized profiles of both health and disease states are now possible, including biomarkers, genomic profiles, cognitive and behavioral phenotypes, high-frequency assessments, and medical imaging. Although these data are incredibly complex, they can potentially be used to understand multi-determinant causal relationships, elucidate modifiable factors, and ultimately customize treatments based on individual parameters. Especially for neurodegenerative diseases, where an effective therapeutic agent has yet to be discovered, there remains a critical need for an interdisciplinary …


Statistical Advances In Clinical Trials And Clinical Research, Guogen Shan, Sarah Banks, Justin B. Miller, Aaron Ritter, Charles Bernick, Joseph Lombardo, Jeffrey L. Cummings Jan 2018

Statistical Advances In Clinical Trials And Clinical Research, Guogen Shan, Sarah Banks, Justin B. Miller, Aaron Ritter, Charles Bernick, Joseph Lombardo, Jeffrey L. Cummings

Public Health Faculty Publications

Introduction New treatments for neurodegenerative disease are urgently needed, and clinical trial methods are an essential component of new drug development. Although a parallel-group study design for neurological disorder clinical trials is commonly used to test the effectiveness of a new treatment as compared to placebo, it does not efficiently use information from the on-going study to increase the success rate of a trial or to stop a trial earlier when the new treatment is indeed ineffective. Methods We review some recent advances in designs for clinical trials, including futility designs and adaptive designs. Results Futility designs and noninferiority designs …


Problem Drinking, Alcohol-Related Violence, And Homelessness Among Youth Living In The Slums Of Kampala, Uganda, Monica Swahn, Rachel Culbreth, Nazarius Mbona Tumwesigye, Volkan Topalli, Eric R. Wright, Rogers Kasirye Jan 2018

Problem Drinking, Alcohol-Related Violence, And Homelessness Among Youth Living In The Slums Of Kampala, Uganda, Monica Swahn, Rachel Culbreth, Nazarius Mbona Tumwesigye, Volkan Topalli, Eric R. Wright, Rogers Kasirye

Public Health Faculty Publications

This paper examines problem drinking, alcohol-related violence, and homelessness among youth living in the slums of Kampala—an understudied population at high-risk for both alcohol use and violence. This study is based on a cross-sectional survey conducted in 2014 with youth living in the slums and streets of Kampala, Uganda (n = 1134), who were attending Uganda Youth Development Link drop-in centers. The analyses for this paper were restricted to youth who reported current alcohol consumption (n = 346). Problem drinking patterns were assessed among youth involved in alcohol-related violence. Mediation analyses were conducted to examine the impact of homelessness on …