Medicine and Health Sciences Commons^™

Equity In Access For Veterans In The Va Community Care Program, Baligh R. Yehia, Said A. Ibrahim

Department of Medicine Faculty Papers

No abstract provided.

Gut Microbiota, Blood Metabolites, And Left Ventricular Diastolic Dysfunction In Us Hispanics/Latinos, Kai Luo, Alkis Taryn, Eun-Hye Moon, Brandilyn A Peters, Scott D Solomon, Martha L Daviglus, Mayank M Kansal, Bharat Thyagarajan, Marc D Gellman, Jianwen Cai, Robert D Burk, Rob Knight, Robert C Kaplan, Susan Cheng, Carlos J Rodriguez, Qibin Qi, Bing Yu

Student and Faculty Publications

BACKGROUND: Left ventricular diastolic dysfunction (LVDD) is an important precursor of heart failure (HF), but little is known about its relationship with gut dysbiosis and microbial-related metabolites. By leveraging the multi-omics data from the Hispanic Community Health Study/Study of Latinos (HCHS/SOL), a study with population at high burden of LVDD, we aimed to characterize gut microbiota associated with LVDD and identify metabolite signatures of gut dysbiosis and incident LVDD.

RESULTS: We included up to 1996 Hispanic/Latino adults (mean age: 59.4 years; 67.1% female) with comprehensive echocardiography assessments, gut microbiome, and blood metabolome data. LVDD was defined through a composite criterion …

Pros, Cons, And The Barriers To Implementing A Universal Healthcare System In The United States, Arpun Shah

Rowan-Virtua Research Day

Background: The United States has the most expensive healthcare system in the world. Despite that, it also has worse health outcomes than that of several other countries. The United States is also the only wealthy/developed country without universal healthcare. Universal healthcare, also known as a single-payer healthcare system, refers to the concept that the government finances and governs healthcare for most, if not all residents of the country. The United States currently has a multi-payer system, which means that healthcare is financed through various sources such as the public and private sectors. Purpose: The purpose of this is …

Travel-Time Disparities In Access To Proton Beam Therapy For Cancer Treatment, Todd Burus, Alexander Vanhelene, Michael Rooney, Krystle Lang Kuhs, W. Jay Christian, Christopher Mcnair, Sanjay Mishra, Arnold Paulino, Grace Smith, Steven Frank, Jeremy Warner

Department of Pharmacology, Physiology, and Cancer Biology Faculty Papers

IMPORTANCE: Proton beam therapy is an emerging radiotherapy treatment for patients with cancer that may produce similar outcomes as traditional photon-based therapy for many cancers while delivering lower amounts of toxic radiation to surrounding tissue. Geographic proximity to a proton facility is a critical component of ensuring equitable access both for indicated diagnoses and ongoing clinical trials.

OBJECTIVE: To characterize the distribution of proton facilities in the US, quantify drive-time access for the population, and investigate the likelihood of long commutes for certain population subgroups.

DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS: This population-based cross-sectional study analyzed travel times to proton facilities in …

Assessing The Relationship Between Racism In Medicine, Medical Mistrust And Cardiovascular Disease Among Black American Adults., Osayande Agbonlahor

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Cardiovascular disease (CVD) persists as the leading preventable cause of death and disability among Black Americans in the United States. Structural and psychosocial factors such as racism have been highlighted as a fundamental cause of persistent cardiovascular health disparities in the U.S. This study examined the associations between racism in medicine, medical mistrust and CVD among Black Americans using the Minority Stress Theory as a theoretical framework. This study evaluates the sociodemographic differences in the quality of care received among Black Americans. Data from the Health Information National Trends Survey, 2022 and the Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Provider and Systems …

Age At Lung Cancer Diagnosis In Females Versus Males Who Never Smoke By Race And Ethnicity, Batel Blechter, Jason Y Y Wong, Li-Hsin Chien, Kouya Shiraishi, Xiao-Ou Shu, Qiuyin Cai, Wei Zheng, Bu-Tian Ji, Wei Hu, Mohammad L Rahman, Hsin-Fang Jiang, Fang-Yu Tsai, Wen-Yi Huang, Yu-Tang Gao, Xijing Han, Mark D Steinwandel, Gong Yang, Yihe G Daida, Su-Ying Liang, Scarlett L Gomez, Mindy C Derouen, W Ryan Diver, Ananya G Reddy, Alpa V Patel, Loïc Le Marchand, Christopher Haiman, Takashi Kohno, Iona Cheng, I-Shou Chang, Chao Agnes Hsiung, Nathaniel Rothman, Qing Lan

Student and Faculty Publications

BACKGROUND: We characterized age at diagnosis and estimated sex differences for lung cancer and its histological subtypes among individuals who never smoke.

METHODS: We analyzed the distribution of age at lung cancer diagnosis in 33,793 individuals across 8 cohort studies and two national registries from East Asia, the United States (US) and the United Kingdom (UK). Student's t-tests were used to assess the study population differences (Δ years) in age at diagnosis comparing females and males who never smoke across subgroups defined by race/ethnicity, geographic location, and histological subtypes.

RESULTS: We found that among Chinese individuals diagnosed with lung cancer …

Health Belief Model, Demographic, And Sexual Behavioral Factors Associated With Mpox Vaccination Among Men Who Have Sex With Men, Christopher Owens, Randolph Duane Hubach

Health Behavior Research

The mpox virus outbreak (formerly known as monkeypox) in the United States created an urgent need to inform vaccination acceptance and uptake interventions. We quantitatively examined the association of the Health Belief Model, demographic, and sexual behavioral factors with men who have sex with men (MSM) getting the mpox vaccine. We qualitatively explored MSM’s perceived barriers to obtaining the mpox vaccine. A convenience sample of MSM in the United States (n = 554) completed a mixed-method online cross-sectional survey. A series of chi-square tests of independence, t-tests, and multivariable logistic regressions were used to analyze associations between participants who were …

Safety And Academic Outcomes Of College Campus-Based Advocacy Services, Rachel J Voth Schrag, Elizabeth Baumler, Dixie Hairston, Cynthia Jones, Leila Wood

Student and Faculty Publications

Intimate partner violence (IPV), sexual assault, and stalking are consequential public health and safety issues with wide reaching impacts on emerging adults, including those on college campuses in the United States. In response to high rates of violence among college student populations, universities are developing campus-based advocacy (CBA) programs, which aim to support survivors of interpersonal violence through supportive connections, resource acquisition, and safety planning. However, little data exists related to their impact on key student-survivor outcomes. Thus, this study aims to understand (a) the approach CBA programs use to address safety and academic concerns of student-survivors, and (b) the …

Racial Discrimination And Interpersonal Violence In Asian American Adolescents During The Covid-19 Pandemic, Yu Lu, Elizabeth Baumler, Leila Wood, Vi D Le, Shannon P Guillot-Wright, Jeff R Temple

Student and Faculty Publications

PURPOSE: Racial discrimination targeting Asians in the United States has increased sharply since the COVID-19 pandemic. Despite a well-established link with mental/physical health outcomes, little is known about how racial discrimination relates to interpersonal violence, particularly in adolescents. To address this gap in knowledge, we examined cross-sectional and longitudinal (1-year follow-up) associations between racial discrimination and interpersonal violence perpetration and victimization in Asian American adolescents in a large US city.

METHODS: Data from Waves 3 (2020) and 4 (2021) of a randomized clinical trial of a school-based violence prevention program were examined. We limited our sample to participants who identified …

Risk Factors For Post-Discharge Adverse Outcomes Following Hospitalization Among Older Adults Diagnosed With Elder Mistreatment, Monique R Pappadis, Leila Wood, Allen Haas, Jordan Westra, Yong-Fang Kuo, Charles P Mouton

Student and Faculty Publications

Using 100% Medicare data files, this study explored whether primary elder mistreatment (EM) diagnosis, EM type, and facility type were associated with 3-year mortality and 1-year unplanned hospital readmission among older patients diagnosed with EM with hospital discharge from 10/01/2015 through 12/31/2018 (n = 11,023). We also examined outcome differences between older patients diagnosed with EM and matched non-EM patient controls. Neglect by others was the most common EM diagnosis. Three-year mortality was 56.7% and one-year readmission rate was 53.8%. Compared to matched non-EM patient controls, older EM patients were at an increased risk of mortality and readmission. Among …

Safety And Academic Outcomes Of College Campus-Based Advocacy Services, Rachel J Voth Schrag, Elizabeth Baumler, Dixie Hairston, Cynthia Jones, Leila Wood

Student and Faculty Publications

Intimate partner violence (IPV), sexual assault, and stalking are consequential public health and safety issues with wide reaching impacts on emerging adults, including those on college campuses in the United States. In response to high rates of violence among college student populations, universities are developing campus-based advocacy (CBA) programs, which aim to support survivors of interpersonal violence through supportive connections, resource acquisition, and safety planning. However, little data exists related to their impact on key student-survivor outcomes. Thus, this study aims to understand (a) the approach CBA programs use to address safety and academic concerns of student-survivors, and (b) the …

“It’S Not That We Care Less”: Insights Into Health Care Utilization For Comorbid Diabetes And Depression Among Latinos, Sharon Borja, Miriam G. Valdovinos, Kenia M. Rivera, Natalia Giraldo-Santiago, Robin Gearing, Luis R. Torres-Hostos

School of Social Work Faculty Publications and Presentations

Despite robust knowledge regarding the socio-economic and cultural factors affecting Latino* access to healthcare, limited research has explored service utilization in the context of comorbid conditions like diabetes and depression. This qualitative study, embedded in a larger mixed-methods project, aimed to investigate perceptions held by Latinos and their social support systems (i.e., family members) regarding comorbid diabetes and depression and to identify barriers and facilitators to their help-seeking behaviors and treatment engagement. Bilingual and bicultural researchers conducted eight focus groups with 94 participants in a large U.S. metropolitan area and were primarily conducted in Spanish. The participants either had a …

Rural Racial Disparities And Barriers In Mammography Utilization Among Medicare Beneficiaries In Texas: A Longitudinal Study, Zhaoli Liu, Yong Shan, Yong-Fang Kuo, Sharon H Giordano

Student and Faculty Publications

This study examined rural racial/ethnic disparities in long-term mammography screening practices among Medicare beneficiaries. A retrospective longitudinal study was conducted using 100% Texas Medicare data for women aged 65-74 who enrolled in Medicare between 2010-2013. Of the 114,939 eligible women, 21.2% of Hispanics, 33.3% of non-Hispanic Blacks (NHB), and 38.4% non-Hispanic Whites (NHW) in rural areas were regular users of mammography, compared to 33.5%, 44.9%, and 45.3% of their counterparts in urban areas, respectively. Stratification analyses showed rural Hispanics and NHB were 33% (95% CI, 25% - 40%) and 22% (95% CI, 6% - 36%) less likely to be regular …

The Association Of Skin Cancer Prevention Knowledge, Sun-Protective Attitudes, And Sun-Protective Behaviors In A Navy Population, Rachel Newnam, Uyen Le-Jenkins, Carolyn Rutledge, Craig Cunningham

Nursing Faculty Publications

Introduction: U.S. Navy service members are primarily between the ages of 18 and 30 years and often required to be outside for extended periods of time in geographical locations with increased and often unfamiliar ultraviolet indexes that collectively increase their risk for skin cancer. Skin cancer is the country's most common form of cancer, yet there is a paucity of skin cancer prevention literature, especially within the U.S. Navy. The purpose of this study was to describe skin cancer risk and skin cancer prevention "cues-to-action" and to determine if skin cancer prevention knowledge was associated with sun-protective attitudes (e.g., prevention …

Association Of Risk Factors And Comorbidities With Chronic Pain In The Elderly Population, Neil Mookerjee, Nicole Schmalbach, Gianna Antinori, Subhadra Thampi, Dylan Windle-Puente, Amy Gilligan, Ha Huy, Megha Andrews, Angela Sun, Roshni Gandhi, William Benedict, Austin Chang, Ben Sanders, Justin Nguyen, Maanika Reddy Keesara, Janet Aliev, Aneri Patel, Isaiah Hughes, Ian Millstein, Krystal Hunter, Satyajeet Roy

Student and Faculty Publications

INTRODUCTION/OBJECTIVE: Chronic pain disorders affect about 20% of adults in the United States, and it disproportionately affects individuals living in the neighborhoods of extreme socioeconomic disadvantage. In many instances, chronic pain has been noted to arise from an aggregation of multiple risk factors and events. Therefore, it is of importance to recognize the modifiable risk factors. The aim of this study was to investigate the comorbid medical conditions and risk factors associated with chronic pain disorders in patients aged 65 years and older.

METHODS: Our team retrospectively reviewed medical records of elderly patients (65 years and older) who were evaluated …

Social Determinants Of Health Predict Readmission Following Covid-19 Hospitalization: A Health Information Exchange-Based Retrospective Cohort Study, Micaela N Sandoval, Jennifer L Mikhail, Melyssa K Fink, Guillermo A Tortolero, Tru Cao, Ryan Ramphul, Junaid Husain, Eric Boerwinkle

Student and Faculty Publications

INTRODUCTION: Since February 2020, over 104 million people in the United States have been diagnosed with SARS-CoV-2 infection, or COVID-19, with over 8.5 million reported in the state of Texas. This study analyzed social determinants of health as predictors for readmission among COVID-19 patients in Southeast Texas, United States.

METHODS: A retrospective cohort study was conducted investigating demographic and clinical risk factors for 30, 60, and 90-day readmission outcomes among adult patients with a COVID-19-associated inpatient hospitalization encounter within a regional health information exchange between February 1, 2020, to December 1, 2022.

RESULTS AND DISCUSSION: In this cohort of 91,007 …

Us Adolescent Rest-Activity Patterns: Insights From Functional Principal Component Analysis (Nhanes 2011-2014), Chris Ho Ching Yeung, Jiachen Lu, Erica G Soltero, Cici Bauer, Qian Xiao

Student and Faculty Publications

BACKGROUND: Suboptimal rest-activity patterns in adolescence are associated with worse health outcomes in adulthood. Understanding sociodemographic factors associated with rest-activity rhythms may help identify subgroups who may benefit from interventions. This study aimed to investigate the association of rest-activity rhythm with demographic and socioeconomic characteristics in adolescents.

METHODS: Using cross-sectional data from the nationally representative National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) 2011-2014 adolescents (N = 1814), this study derived rest-activity profiles from 7-day 24-hour accelerometer data using functional principal component analysis. Multiple linear regression was used to assess the association between participant characteristics and rest-activity profiles. Weekday and weekend …

Longitudinal Associations Between Cognitive Functioning And Depressive Symptoms Among Couples In The Mexican Health And Aging Study, Joan K Monin, Gail Mcavay, Katie Newkirk, Rafael Samper-Ternent

Student and Faculty Publications

OBJECTIVE: To examine the bidirectional associations between older adult spouses' cognitive functioning and depressive symptoms over time and replicate previous findings from the United States (US) in Mexico.

DESIGN: Longitudinal, dyadic path analysis with the actor-partner interdependence model.

SETTING: Data were from the three most recent interview waves (2012, 2015, and 2018) of the Mexican Health and Aging Study (MHAS), a longitudinal national study of adults aged 50+ years in Mexico.

PARTICIPANTS: Husbands and wives from 905 community-dwelling married couples (N = 1,810).

MEASUREMENTS: The MHAS cognitive battery measured cognitive function. Depressive symptoms were assessed using a modified nine-item Center …

The Relationship Between Intuitive Eating And Body Mass Index And Diet Quality In College Students, Ashley A. Reynolds

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Objective

The objective of this research was to explore the influence of intuitive eating (IE) on body mass index (BMI) and diet quality (DQ) among college students.

Methods

A cross-sectional convenience sample of college students completed an online survey consisting of the short-Healthy Eating Index (SHEI) and the Intuitive Eating Scale-2 (23 items). Body mass index was calculated using self-reported height and weight. Descriptive statistics were used to assess group characteristics. A linear regression was used to test if IE scores significantly predicted BMI. An independent t-test was used to compare BMIs of students with IE scores above and below …

Medicaid Expansion, Chemotherapy Delays, And Racial Disparities Among Women With Early-Stage Breast Cancer, Mariana Chavez-Macgregor, Xiudong Lei, Catalina Malinowski, Hui Zhao, Ya-Chen Shih, Sharon H Giordano

Student and Faculty Publications

BACKGROUND: Medicaid expansion under the Affordable Care Act extends eligibility for participating states and has been associated with improved outcomes by facilitating access to care. Delayed initiation of adjuvant chemotherapy is associated with worse outcomes among patients with early-stage breast cancer (BC). The impact of Medicaid expansion in narrowing delays by race and ethnicity has not been studied, to our knowledge.

METHODS: This was a population-based study using the National Cancer Database. Patients diagnosed with primary early-stage BC between 2007 and 2017 residing in states that underwent Medicaid expansion in January 2014 were included. Time to chemotherapy initiation and proportion …

The Correlation Between Traumatic Brain Injury And Incarceration Among Adult Males In The United States, Shadi Shams

Rowan-Virtua Research Day

The United States has one of the largest growing prison populations in the world. A large amount of social and economic resources go towards the cost and maintenance of correctional facilities each year. Additionally, the current correctional programs are insufficient in assisting inmates with getting back to society; especially those with traumatic brain injury (TBI) who often remain undiagnosed and are usually treated unfairly in the prison system instead of receiving the appropriate help. Prior scholarly work has shown that patients in the post-TBI stage are more likely to enter the judicial system. In the recent population-based cohort study, the …

Gestational Diabetes Among The South Asian Diaspora In The United States Of America: A Scoping Review, Anudeep Deevi, Mariam Sharobeem, Gabrianna Andrews, Rahul Ubrani, Venkateswar Venkataraman

Rowan-Virtua Research Day

Aim: The scoping review was conducted to review the current knowledge base regarding gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) among South Asians in the United States. In addition, the review was meant to identify any gaps in knowledge, specifically about the current care received by South Asians as well as the associated adverse health outcomes.

Methods: A systematic search of PubMed, Web of Science, Embase, and Scopus was conducted. Key words ""gestational diabetes South Asians in the United States" were used as search terms. Search was restricted to U.S. articles published on or after 01/01/2013 with key words. Articles were screened by …

Difference In Smoking Patterns And Quitting Status Between Premium And Non-Premium Cigar Users After Two Years Of Follow Up In Us Adults: Findings From The Population Assessment Of Tobacco And Health (Path) Study, 2016-2019, Sarah Valencia

Dissertations & Theses (Open Access)

Previous studies have described the demographics, purchasing behaviors, trends in frequencies of cigar use, and quitting status among cigar poly users, however, there has not been a study that evaluates differences in demographic characteristics and quitting status for premium and non-premium U.S. adult cigar users. This study used secondary data analyses of the Population Assessment of Tobacco and Health (PATH) Study public-use files dataset for adult traditional cigar users in wave 4 (2016-2018) and wave 5 (2018-2019). Traditional cigars were classified as premium or non-premium at wave 4 (2016-2018) using the brand and price per stick of cigar that was …

Comprehensive Literature Review: Assessing The Impact Of Covid-19 Policies, School Closures And Social Distancing, On The Mental Health Of School Age Children, Fatuma A. Hassan

Capstone Experience

Mental health is vital to the well-being of all individuals, especially children. COVID-19 unveiled a significant public health issue with poor mental health during the pandemic. There is limited literature about the mental health implications of COVID-19 policies for children and adolescents and preventive strategies for future pandemics. This comprehensive literature review seeks to further investigate the mental health impacts of school shutdowns and social distancing, which were nonpharmaceutical strategies, on school-aged children, 5-18 years old, and propose recommendations for public health officials to mitigate the mental health impacts for future pandemics. Additionally, the review aims to highlight the potential …

Chronic Overlapping Pain Conditions And Long-Term Opioid Treatment, Maria Ukhanova, Robert W Voss, Miguel Marino, Nathalie Huguet, Steffani R Bailey, Daniel M Hartung, Jean O'Malley, Irina Chamine, John Muench

Student and Faculty Publications

OBJECTIVES: One in 5 people in the United States lives with chronic pain. Many patients with chronic pain experience a subset of specific co-occurring pain conditions that may share a common pain mechanism and that have been designated as chronic overlapping pain conditions (COPCs). Little is known about chronic opioid prescribing patterns among patients with COPCs in primary care settings, especially among socioeconomically vulnerable patients. This study aims to evaluate opioid prescribing among patients with COPCs in US community health centers and to identify individual COPCs and their combinations that are associated with long-term opioid treatment (LOT).

STUDY DESIGN: Retrospective …

Fixing The System: A Comparative Review Of The United Kingdom, Germany, And United States’ Healthcare Systems And Lessons Learned For Potential Improvements In The United States, Jessica Goddard

Senior Theses

In an effort to provide recommendations to the United States’ considerations of a universal healthcare system, this thesis analyzes the United States healthcare system alongside the sophisticated systems of the United Kingdom and Germany. Literature review and an analysis of 10 health outcomes and indicators guided the framework for a set of interview questions to be asked of healthcare professionals in all three countries. The interview response data was then organized and used to guide the suggested recommendations to the United States in its path towards universal healthcare. While a limited number of solutions could be provided given the time …

Plasma Metabolites Associated With Cognitive Function Across Race/Ethnicities Affirming The Importance Of Healthy Nutrition, Einat Granot-Hershkovitz, Shan He, Jan Bressler, Bing Yu, Wassim Tarraf, Casey M Rebholz, Jianwen Cai, Queenie Chan, Tanya P Garcia, Thomas Mosley, Bruce S Kristal, Charles Decarli, Myriam Fornage, Guo-Chong Chen, Qibin Qi, Robert Kaplan, Hector M González, Tamar Sofer

Student and Faculty Publications

INTRODUCTION: We studied the replication and generalization of previously identified metabolites potentially associated with global cognitive function in multiple race/ethnicities and assessed the contribution of diet to these associations.

METHODS: We tested metabolite-cognitive function associations in U.S.A. Hispanic/Latino adults (n = 2222) from the Community Health Study/ Study of Latinos (HCHS/SOL) and in European (n = 1365) and African (n = 478) Americans from the Atherosclerosis Risk In Communities (ARIC) Study. We applied Mendelian Randomization (MR) analyses to assess causal associations between the metabolites and cognitive function and between Mediterranean diet and cognitive function.

RESULTS: Six metabolites were consistently associated …

Dear Pandemic: A Topic Modeling Analysis Of Covid-19 Information Needs Among Readers Of An Online Science Communication Campaign., Aleksandra M Golos, Sharath Chandra Guntuku, Rachael Piltch-Loeb, Lindsey J Leininger, Amanda M Simanek, Aparna Kumar, Sandra S Albrecht, Jennifer Beam Dowd, Malia Jones, Alison M Buttenheim

College of Nursing Faculty Papers & Presentations

BACKGROUND: The COVID-19 pandemic was accompanied by an "infodemic"-an overwhelming excess of accurate, inaccurate, and uncertain information. The social media-based science communication campaign Dear Pandemic was established to address the COVID-19 infodemic, in part by soliciting submissions from readers to an online question box. Our study characterized the information needs of Dear Pandemic's readers by identifying themes and longitudinal trends among question box submissions.

METHODS: We conducted a retrospective analysis of questions submitted from August 24, 2020, to August 24, 2021. We used Latent Dirichlet Allocation topic modeling to identify 25 topics among the submissions, then used thematic analysis to …

Research Infrastructure Core Facilities At Research Centers In Minority Institutions: Part I-Research Resources Management, Operation, And Best Practices, Paul B Tchounwou, Mohamad Malouhi, Elizabeth O Ofili, Emma Fernández-Repollet, Daniel F Sarpong, Richard Yanagihara, Renato J Aguilera, Cecilia Ayón, Xiaoxin Chen, Asok Dasmahapatra, Song Gao, Cimona V Hinton, Robert Holt, Vladimir Kolesnichenko, Michael D Powell, Fatima Merchant, Kinfe K Redda, Abiel Roche-Lima, Cecilia M Shikuma, Jacqueline J Stevens, Jose A Torres, Robert T Trotter, James Wachira, Paul Wang, Kristen J Wells, Jason White, Yanyuan Wu

Student and Faculty Publications

Funded by the National Institutes of Health (NIH), the Research Centers in Minority Institutions (RCMI) Program fosters the development and implementation of innovative research aimed at improving minority health and reducing or eliminating health disparities. Currently, there are 21 RCMI Specialized (U54) Centers that share the same framework, comprising four required core components, namely the Administrative, Research Infrastructure, Investigator Development, and Community Engagement Cores. The Research Infrastructure Core (RIC) is fundamentally important for biomedical and health disparities research as a critical function domain. This paper aims to assess the research resources and services provided and evaluate the best practices in …

Food Safety Attitudes, Behaviors, And Hygiene Measures Among Predominantly Low-Income Parents In Houston, Texas, Christina K Carstens, Joelle K Salazar, Shreela V Sharma, Wenyaw Chan, Charles Darkoh

Student and Faculty Publications

ABSTRACT: Foodborne infections in the United States affect racial-ethnic minority and low-income populations at higher rates than the general population. to identify the prevalence of food safety behaviors and demographic characteristics associated with food handling practices among a susceptible, high-risk population, a cross-sectional survey was administered to 106 parents with children enrolled at two elementary schools serving predominantly low-income families in Houston, Texas. Relationships between demographic characteristics and food safety behavioral outcomes were examined using cross-tabulations and Fisher's exact test. Most respondents were female (93.4%), Hispanic, Latino, or Mexican American (94.9%), and had no previous food handling employment experience (75.0%). …