Medicine and Health Sciences Commons^™

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 …

Experiences Of Working Sandwich Generation Caregivers, Kimberly Ben, Susan Macdermott

Spring 2024 Virtual OTD Capstone Symposium

This poster presents an insightful exploration into the lives of Working Sandwich Generation Caregivers (WSCs), a group defined as individuals aged 30-65 who simultaneously provide care for both aging adults (over 65 years old) and younger dependents (29 years old or younger), while also managing their careers. The study delves deep into the unique challenges and experiences faced by WSCs, aiming to highlight the occupational, emotional, and physical demands inherent in their roles. Through qualitative research methods, including interviews and occupational therapy assessments, the manuscript offers a comprehensive look at the balancing act WSCs perform daily. It seeks to inform …

Experiences Of Using The Mindset Self-Management Mobile Health App Among Hispanic Patients: Results Of A Qualitative Study, Refugio Sepulveda, Jenny Chong, Ross Shegog, Kimberly Martin, Charles Begley, Robert Addy, Omar Rosales, Tomas Nuño, Shiela Soto, Cecilia Rosales, David Labiner

Journal Articles

BACKGROUND: Interventions focusing on epilepsy self-management (ESM) are vital for promoting the health of people living with epilepsy. E-technology and mobile health (mHealth) tools are becoming increasingly integrated into practice to promote self-management strategies for chronic diseases, enhance care delivery, and reduce health disparities. Management Information and Decision Support Epilepsy Tool (MINDSET), a bilingual decision support tool (available in English and Spanish), was found to be both feasible and effective in facilitating goal-based ESM in the clinic.

PURPOSE: To assess the experience of using MINDSET as an ESM intervention among Hispanic patients with epilepsy to inform future interventional studies.

METHODS: …

Self-Perception Of Mental Health, Covid-19 And Associated Sociodemographic-Contextual Factors In Latin America, Pablo Roa, Guillermo Rosas, Gloria Isabel Niño-Cruz, Sergio Mauricio Moreno-López, Juliana Mejía-Grueso, Haney Aguirre-Loaiza, Javiera Alarcón-Aguilar, Rodrigo Reis, Adriano Akira Ferreira Hino, Fernando López, Deborah Salvo, Andrea Ramírez-Varela

Journal Articles

This study aimed to estimate the prevalence of alterations in self-perceived mental health during the COVID-19 pandemic and their associated factors in four Latin American countries. This is a cross-sectional study based on data collected from adults in 2021 through the Collaborative Response COVID-19 Survey by the MacDonnell Academy at Washington University in St. Louis (United States). The sample was composed of 8,125 individuals from Brazil, Colombia, Mexico, and Chile. A generalized linear model for a binary outcome variable with a logistic link and fixed country effects was used. There were 2,336 (28.75%) individuals who considered having suffered alterations in …

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

Journal Articles

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 …

Age- And Sex-Specific Reference Values Of Biventricular Flow Components And Kinetic Energy By 4d Flow Cardiovascular Magnetic Resonance In Healthy Subjects, Xiaodan Zhao, Ru-San Tan, Pankaj Garg, Ping Chai, Shuang Leng, Jennifer Ann Bryant, Lynette L S Teo, Tee Joo Yeo, Marielle V Fortier, Ting Ting Low, Ching Ching Ong, Shuo Zhang, Rob J Van Der Geest, John C Allen, Teng Hong Tan, James W Yip, Ju Le Tan, Marina Hughes, Sven Plein, Jos J M Westenberg, Liang Zhong

Journal Articles

BACKGROUND: Advances in four-dimensional flow cardiovascular magnetic resonance (4D flow CMR) have allowed quantification of left ventricular (LV) and right ventricular (RV) blood flow. We aimed to (1) investigate age and sex differences of 4D flow CMR-derived LV and RV relative flow components and kinetic energy (KE) parameters indexed to end-diastolic volume (KEi

METHODS: We performed 4D flow analysis in 163 healthy participants (42% female; mean age 43 ± 13 years) of a prospective registry study (NCT03217240) who were free of cardiovascular diseases. Relative flow components (direct flow, retained inflow, delayed ejection flow, residual volume) and multiple phasic KEi

RESULTS: …

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 …

Exploring Risk Factors For Major Depressive Disorder For Female Patients Aged 18 Or Older Living In Ocean County, New Jersey, James Mack

Rowan-Virtua Research Day

Background: The incidence and prevalence of major depressive disorder has been increasing worldwide, in the United States of America, and on a local level. The population of Ocean County, New Jersey, a predominantly Caucasian, female, middle-aged population, may be at increased risk of developing major depressive disorder.

Purpose: To explore the social determinants of health and risk factors for major depressive disorder for female patients aged 18 or older living in Ocean County, New Jersey.

Methods: This literature review mainly used PubMed and Scopus for journal articles and utilized governmental databases for additional population data.

Results: Analyses conducted on social …

Fruit And Vegetable Intake And Home Nutrition Environment Among Low-Income Minority Households With Elementary-Aged Children, Brittni Naylor Metoyer, Ru-Jye Chuang, Minjae Lee, Christine Markham, Eric L Brown, Maha Almohamad, Jayna M Dave, Shreela V Sharma

Journal Articles

Racial/ethnic and socioeconomic differences were shown to have an influence on child fruit and vegetable intake. This study examined the associations between parent and child fruit and vegetable intake and the home nutrition environment among Hispanic/Latino and African American families. Through a cross-sectional study design, self-reported surveys (

Adult Asthma Associated With Roadway Density And Housing In Rural Appalachia: The Mountain Air Project (Map)., W Jay Christian, John Flunker, Beverly May, Susan Westneat, Wayne T Sanderson, Nancy Schoenberg, Steven R Browning

UK CARES Faculty Publications

BACKGROUND: Appalachian Kentucky is a rural area with a high prevalence of asthma among adults. The relative contribution of environmental exposures in the etiology of adult asthma in these populations has been understudied.

OBJECTIVE: This manuscript describes the aims, study design, methods, and characteristics of participants for the Mountain Air Project (MAP), and focuses on associations between small area environmental exposures, including roadways and mining operations, and lifetime and current asthma in adults.

METHODS: A cohort of residents, aged 21 and older, in two Kentucky counties, was enrolled in a community-based, cross-sectional study. Stratified cluster sampling was used to select …

Clinical Outcomes Of A Large-Scale, Partnership-Based Regional Food Prescription Program: Results Of A Quasi-Experimental Study, Nalini Ranjit, Jennifer N Aiyer, Jack D Toups, Esther Liew, Kenia Way, Henry Shelton Brown, John Wesley Mcwhorter, Shreela V Sharma

Journal Articles

BACKGROUND: Food prescription programs are gaining interest from funders, policy makers, and healthcare payers as a way to provide value-based care. A small body of research suggests that such programs effectively impact health outcomes; however, the quality of existing studies is variable, and most studies use small samples. This study attempts to address these gaps by utilizing a quasi-experimental design with non-equivalent controls, to evaluate clinical outcomes among participants enrolled in a food prescription program implemented at scale.

METHODS: We completed a secondary analysis of participant enrollment and utilization data collected between May 2018 and March 2021, by the Houston …

A Survey With Interventional Components Delivered On Tablet Devices Versus Usual Care To Increase Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis Uptake Among Cisgender Black Women: A Pilot Randomized Controlled Trial, Mandy J Hill, Angela M Heads, Robert Suchting, Angela L Stotts

Journal Articles

BACKGROUND: Cisgender (cis) Black women in the USA are more likely to become HIV positive during their lifetime than other women. We developed and implemented a behavioral intervention, Increasing PrEP (iPrEP), the first pilot randomized controlled trial (RCT) aimed at motivating cis Black women to be willing to use PrEP for HIV prevention and attend an initial PrEP clinic visit following an emergency department visit.

METHODS: Eligible participants were Black cisgender women ages 18-55 years who acknowledged recent condomless sex and substance use. Participants were randomized to iPrEP or usual care (UC). iPrEP is a survey-based intervention designed to raise …

Ethnic And Racial Differences In Self-Reported Symptoms, Health Status, Activity Level, And Missed Work At 3 And 6 Months Following Sars-Cov-2 Infection., Kelli N O'Laughlin, Robin E Klabbers, Imtiaz Ebna Mannan, Nicole L Gentile, Rachel E Geyer, Zihan Zheng, Huihui Yu, Shu-Xia Li, Kwun C G Chan, Erica S Spatz, Ralph C Wang, Michelle L'Hommedieu, Robert A Weinstein, Ian D Plumb, Michael Gottlieb, Ryan M Huebinger, Melissa Hagen, Joann G Elmore, Mandy J Hill, Morgan Kelly, Samuel Mcdonald, Kristin L Rising, Robert M Rodriguez, Arjun Venkatesh, Ahamed H Idris, Michelle Santangelo, Katherine Koo, Sharon Saydah, Graham Nichol, Kari A Stephens

Journal Articles

INTRODUCTION: Data on ethnic and racial differences in symptoms and health-related impacts following SARS-CoV-2 infection are limited. We aimed to estimate the ethnic and racial differences in symptoms and health-related impacts 3 and 6 months after the first SARS-CoV-2 infection.

METHODS: Participants included adults with SARS-CoV-2 infection enrolled in a prospective multicenter US study between 12/11/2020 and 7/4/2022 as the primary cohort of interest, as well as a SARS-CoV-2-negative cohort to account for non-SARS-CoV-2-infection impacts, who completed enrollment and 3-month surveys (

RESULTS: Following SARS-CoV-2 infection, the majority of symptoms were similar over time between ethnic and racial groups. At …

Census Tract Patterns And Contextual Social Determinants Of Health Associated With Covid-19 In A Hispanic Population From South Texas: A Spatiotemporal Perspective, Cici Bauer, Kehe Zhang, Miryoung Lee, Susan Fisher-Hoch, Esmeralda Guajardo, Joseph Mccormick, Isela De La Cerda, Maria E Fernandez, Belinda Reininger

Journal Articles

BACKGROUND: Previous studies have shown that various social determinants of health (SDOH) may have contributed to the disparities in COVID-19 incidence and mortality among minorities and underserved populations at the county or zip code level.

OBJECTIVE: This analysis was carried out at a granular spatial resolution of census tracts to explore the spatial patterns and contextual SDOH associated with COVID-19 incidence from a Hispanic population mostly consisting of a Mexican American population living in Cameron County, Texas on the border of the United States and Mexico. We performed age-stratified analysis to identify different contributing SDOH and quantify their effects by …

A Genome-Wide Association Study Discovers 46 Loci Of The Human Metabolome In The Hispanic Community Health Study/Study Of Latinos, Elena V Feofanova, Han Chen, Yulin Dai, Peilin Jia, Megan L Grove, Alanna C Morrison, Qibin Qi, Martha Daviglus, Jianwen Cai, Kari E North, Cathy C Laurie, Robert C Kaplan, Eric Boerwinkle, Bing Yu

Journal Articles

Variation in levels of the human metabolome reflect changes in homeostasis, providing a window into health and disease. The genetic impact on circulating metabolites in Hispanics, a population with high cardiometabolic disease burden, is largely unknown. We conducted genome-wide association analyses on 640 circulating metabolites in 3,926 Hispanic Community Health Study/Study of Latinos participants. The estimated heritability for 640 metabolites ranged between 0%-54% with a median at 2.5%. We discovered 46 variant-metabolite pairs (p value < 1.2 × 10

An Interdisciplinary Study To Understand Treatment Seeking Behavior Among Female Survivors Of Anorexia Nervosa, Meaghan Victoria Tipton

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This study was done to examine what psychosocial factors influence treatment seeking behavior among female survivors of eating disorders. This study uses a mixed methods survey consisting of open-ended item questions regarding treatment experience and social environment, and close-ended items to measure constructs from the Health Belief Model. Fourteen participants were recruited for this study to retrospectively detail their experiences of treatment during their eating disorder. All fourteen participants identified as Caucasian, thirteen identified as female, one identified with other gender, each with a history of medically diagnosed anorexia nervosa. The mean of age of current participants was 29.46, and …

Comparison Of Advance Care Planning Interventions And Older Adults’ Advance Directive Completion Rates, Tammy Biehler

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Despite the benefits of advance care planning (ACP), only one third of older adults in the United States have completed it. To address this gap, health care organizations are implementing ACP programs to engage older adults in the process. These programs can be delivered in various ways, including 1:1 conversations, classes, and web-based tools. The purpose of this quantitative study was to investigate which ACP option was associated with highest participation and advance directive (AD) completion rates in older adults. Social cognitive theory provided the framework to understand the impact the ACP environment and personal characteristics’ have on the odds …

Co-Prescription Network Reveals Social Dynamics Of Opioid Doctor Shopping, Brea L. Perry, Kai Cheng Yang, Patrick Kaminski, Meltem Odabas, Jaehyuk Park, Michelle M. Martel, Carrie B. Oser, Patricia R. Freeman, Yong-Yeol Ahn, Jeffery C. Talbert

Psychology Faculty Publications

This paper examines network prominence in a co-prescription network as an indicator of opioid doctor shopping (i.e., fraudulent solicitation of opioids from multiple prescribers). Using longitudinal data from a large commercially insured population, we construct a network where a tie between patients is weighted by the number of shared opioid prescribers. Given prior research suggesting that doctor shopping may be a social process, we hypothesize that active doctor shoppers will occupy central structural positions in this network. We show that network prominence, operationalized using PageRank, is associated with more opioid prescriptions, higher predicted risk for dangerous morphine dosage, opioid overdose, …

Education As Important Predictor For Successful Employment In Adults With Congenital Heart Disease Worldwide., Maayke Sluman, Maayke Sluman, Silke Apers, Judith Sluiter, Karen Nieuwenhuijsen, Philip Moons, Philip Moons, Koen Luyckx, Koen Luyckx, Adrienne Kovacs, Adrienne Kovacs, Corina Thomet, Werner Budts, Junko Enomoto, Hsiao-Ling Yang, Jamie Jackson, Paul Khairy, Stephen Cook, Raghavan Subramanyan, Luis Alday, Katrine Eriksen, Mikael Dellborg, Mikael Dellborg, Malin Berghammer, Malin Berghammer, Eva Mattsson, Andrew Mackie, Samuel Menahem, Maryanne Caruana, Kathy Gosney, Alexandra Soufi, Susan Fernandes, Kamila White, Edward Callus, Shelby Kutty, Berto Bouma, Barbara Mulder

Psychology Faculty Works

Background: Conflicting results have been reported regarding employment status and work ability in adults with congenital heart disease (CHD). Since this is an impor‐ tant determinant for quality of life, we assessed this in a large international adult CHD cohort. Methods: Data from 4028 adults with CHD (53% women) from 15 different countries were collected by a uniform survey in the cross‐sectional APPROACH International Study. Predictors for employment and work limitations were studied using general linear mixed models. Results: Median age was 32 years (IQR 25‐42) and 94% of patients had at least a high school degree. Overall employment rate …

An Analysis Of The Relationship Between Humor Styles And Depression, Marisa L. Kfrerer

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

The present study examined the relationship between humor styles and depression using two methods of examination: (1) the mean humor style differences between individuals who reported that they had been diagnosed with depression versus those who did not report being depressed; and (2) a short scale assessing depressed affect. Participants were 878 adult Australians. With respect to mean differences, depressed individuals were found to use self-defeating humor more, and self-enhancing humor less than non-depressed adults. When the depressed affect scale score was analyzed, negative correlations were found between depressed affect and both positive styles of humor, affiliative and self-enhancing. Additionally, …

Neural Mechanisms Of The Rejection-Aggression Link, David S. Chester, Donald R. Lynam, Richard Milich, C. Nathan Dewall

Psychology Faculty Publications

Social rejection is a painful event that often increases aggression. However, the neural mechanisms of this rejection–aggression link remain unclear. A potential clue may be that rejected people often recruit the ventrolateral prefrontal cortex’s (VLPFC) self-regulatory processes to manage the pain of rejection. Using functional MRI, we replicated previous links between rejection and activity in the brain’s mentalizing network, social pain network and VLPFC. VLPFC recruitment during rejection was associated with greater activity in the brain’s reward network (i.e. the ventral striatum) when individuals were given an opportunity to retaliate. This retaliation-related striatal response was associated with greater levels of …

A Longitudinal Analysis Of The Impact Of Child Custody Loss On Drug Use And Crime Among A Sample Of African American Mothers, Kathi L. H. Harp, Carrie B. Oser

Health Management and Policy Faculty Publications

This study examines the influence of child custody loss on drug use and crime among a sample of African American mothers. Two types of custody loss are examined: informal custody loss (child living apart from mother but courts not involved), and official loss (child removed from mother’s care by authorities).

Methods—Using data from 339 African American women, longitudinal random coefficient models analyzed the effects of each type of custody loss on subsequent drug use and crime.

Results—Results indicated that both informal and official custody loss predicted increased drug use, and informal loss predicted increased criminal involvement. Findings demonstrate …

What Are The Characteristics Of Vitamin D Metabolism In Opioid Dependence? An Exploratory Longitudinal Study In Australian Primary Care, Albert Stuart Reece, Gary Hulse

Research outputs 2014 to 2021

OBJECTIVE: Compare vitamin D levels in opioid dependence and control population and adjust for relevant confounding effects. Nuclear hormone receptors (including the vitamin D receptor) have been shown to be key transducers and regulators of intracellular metabolism and comprise an important site of pathophysiological immune and metabolic dysregulation potentially contributing towards pro-ageing changes observed in opioid-dependent patients (ODPs).

DESIGN: Longitudinal prospective comparing ODPs with general medical controls (GMCs).

SETTING: Primary care.

PARTICIPANTS: Prospective review comparing 1168 ODP (72.5% men) and 415 GMC (51.6% men, p

INTERVENTIONS: Nil. Observational study only.

PRIMARY AND SECONDARY OUTCOMES: Serum vitamin D levels and relevant …

A New Measure For End Of Life Planning, Preparation, And Preferences In Huntington Disease: Hdqlife End Of Life Planning, Noelle E Carlozzi, E A Hahn, S A Frank, J S Perlmutter, N D Downing, M K Mccormack, S Barton, M A Nance, S G Schilling, Hdqlife Site Investigators And Coordinators

Rowan-Virtua School of Osteopathic Medicine Faculty Scholarship

BACKGROUND: Huntington disease is a fatal inherited neurodegenerative disease. Because the end result of Huntington disease is death due to Huntington disease-related causes, there is a need for better understanding and caring for individuals at their end of life.

AIM: The purpose of this study was to develop a new measure to evaluate end of life planning.

DESIGN: We conducted qualitative focus groups, solicited expert input, and completed a literature review to develop a 16-item measure to evaluate important aspects of end of life planning for Huntington disease. Item response theory and differential item functioning analyses were utilized to examine …

Mental Health Treatment Seeking Patterns And Preferences Of Appalachian Women With Depression, Claire Snell-Rood, Emily Hauenstein, Carl G. Leukefeld, Frances Feltner, Amber Marcum, Nancy E. Schoenberg

Behavioral Science Faculty Publications

This qualitative study explored social-cultural factors that shape treatment seeking behaviors among depressed rural, low-income women in Appalachia—a region with high rates of depression and a shortage of mental health services. Recent research shows that increasingly rural women are receiving some form of treatment and identifying their symptoms as depression. Using purposive sampling, investigators recruited 28 depressed low-income women living in Appalachian Kentucky and conducted semistructured interviews on participants’ perceptions of depression and treatment seeking. Even in this sample of women with diverse treatment behaviors (half reported current treatment), participants expressed ambivalence about treatment and its potential to promote recovery. …

Intimate Partner Violence And Women's Cancer Quality Of Life, Ann L. Coker, Diane R. Follingstad, Lisandra S. Garcia, Heather M. Bush

CRVAW Faculty Journal Articles

Purpose

Because intimate partner violence (IPV) may disproportionately impact women’s quality of life (QOL) when undergoing cancer treatment, women experiencing IPV were hypothesized to have (a) more symptoms of depression or stress and (b) lower QOL as measured with the Functional Assessment of Cancer Therapy (FACT-B) and Functional Assessment of Chronic Illness Therapy—Spiritual Well-being (FACIT-SP) Scales relative to those never experiencing IPV.

Methods

Women, aged 18–79, who were included in one of two state cancer registries from 2009 to 2015 with a recent incident, primary, invasive biopsy-confirmed cancer diagnosis were recruited and asked to complete a phone interview, within 12 …

Reliability And Validity Of The Hd-Pro-Triadtm, A Health-Related Quality Of Life Measure Designed To Assess The Symptom Triad Of Huntington's Disease., Nicholas R Boileau, Julie C Stout, Janes S Paulsen, David Cella, Michael K Mccormack, Martha A Nance, Samuel Frank, Jin-Shei Lai, Noelle E Carlozzi

Rowan-Virtua School of Osteopathic Medicine Faculty Scholarship

BACKGROUND: Huntington's disease (HD), is a neurodegenerative disorder that is associated with cognitive, behavioral, and motor impairments that diminish health related quality of life (HRQOL). The HD-PRO-TRIADTM is a quality of life measure that assesses health concerns specific to individuals with HD. Preliminary psychometric characterization was limited to a convenience sample of HD participants who completed measures at home so clinician-ratings were unavailable.

OBJECTIVES: The current study evaluates the reliability and validity of the HD-PRO-TRIADTM in a well-characterized sample of individuals with HD.

METHODS: Four-hundred and eighty-two individuals with HD (n = 192 prodromal, n = 193 early, and n …

Partner Influence In Diet And Exercise Behaviors: Testing Behavior Modeling, Social Control, And Normative Body Size, Brea Perry, Gabriele Ciciurkaite, Christy Freadreacea Brady, Justin Garcia

Sociology Faculty Publications

Previous research has documented social contagion in obesity and related health behaviors, but less is known about the social processes underlying these patterns. Focusing on married or cohabitating couples, we simultaneously explore three potential social mechanisms influencing obesity: normative body size, social control, and behavior modeling. We analyze the association between partner characteristics and the obesity-related health behaviors of focal respondents, comparing the effects of partners’ body type, partners’ attempts to manage respondents’ eating behaviors, and partners’ own health behaviors on respondents’ health behaviors (physical activity, fruit and vegetable consumption, and fast food consumption). Data on 215 partners are extracted …

Accuracy Of Name And Age Data Provided About Network Members In A Social Network Study Of People Who Use Drugs: Implications For Constructing Sociometric Networks, April M. Young, Abby E. Rudolph, Amanda E. Su, Lee King, Susan Jent, Jennifer R. Havens

Epidemiology and Environmental Health Faculty Publications

Purpose—Network analysis has become increasingly popular in epidemiologic research, but the accuracy of data key to constructing risk networks is largely unknown. Using network data from people who use drugs (PWUD), the study examined how accurately PWUD reported their network members’ (i.e., alters’) names and ages.

Methods—Data were collected from 2008 to 2010 from 503 PWUD residing in rural Appalachia. Network ties (n=897) involved recent (past 6 months) sex, drug co-usage, and/or social support. Participants provided alters’ names, ages, and relationship-level characteristics; these data were cross-referenced to that of other participants to identify participant-participant relationships and to determine …

New Measures To Capture End Of Life Concerns In Huntington Disease: Meaning And Purpose And Concern With Death And Dying From Hdqlife (A Patient-Reported Outcomes Measurement System)., N E Carlozzi, N R Downing, M K Mccormack, S G Schilling, J S Perlmutter, E A Hahn, J S Lai, S Frank, K A Quaid, J S Paulsen, D Cella, S M Goodnight, J A Miner, M A Nance

Rowan-Virtua School of Osteopathic Medicine Faculty Scholarship

PURPOSE: Huntington disease (HD) is an incurable terminal disease. Thus, end of life (EOL) concerns are common in these individuals. A quantitative measure of EOL concerns in HD would enable a better understanding of how these concerns impact health-related quality of life. Therefore, we developed new measures of EOL for use in HD.

METHODS: An EOL item pool of 45 items was field tested in 507 individuals with prodromal or manifest HD. Exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses (EFA and CFA, respectively) were conducted to establish unidimensional item pools. Item response theory (IRT) and differential item functioning analyses were applied to …