Medicine and Health Sciences Commons^™

Improving Informed Decision Making To Reduce The Health Risks Of Vaping Among Adolescents: A Quality Improvement Project, Lizzie A. Diaz

Nicole Wertheim College of Nursing Student Projects

Background: Smoking continues to be a concerning topic among healthcare providers as it is a common risk factor among all major diseases. A new variant, in the form of electronic nicotine delivery systems (ENDS) have arrived at this mix. E-cigarettes, or vapes, have become the most often used tobacco product among young people since 2014 (Sharma et al., 2021). Statistics from the CDC show that in 2022, over 2.5 million youth, including 14.1%‡ of US middle and high schooler kids are not just experimenting with e-cigarettes, but are using them frequently, leading to an addiction that is difficult to …

Determinants Of Waterpipe Smoking Trajectories And The Effects Of Pictorial Health Warning Label Among Young Waterpipe Smokers In The Us, Prem Gautam

FIU Electronic Theses and Dissertations

In recent years waterpipe tobacco (WPT) smoking has increased among young people in the United States (US). Adequate characterization of the WPT smoking trajectories (initiation, progression, and cessation), their predictors, and examination of the effects of a pictorial health warning label (PHWL) on WPT smokers is essential to guide interventions and policies to curb WPT smoking among young people in the US. Using the Population Assessment of Tobacco and Health Study (PATH) and clinical lab data, this dissertation assessed: 1) prevalence and predictors of WPT smoking initiation and progression among adolescents and young adults; 2) magnitude and predictors of WPT …

Characterizing The Development And Trajectories Of Nicotine Dependence Among A Cohort Of Adolescent Waterpipe And Cigarette Smokers, Mohammad Ebrahimi Kalan

FIU Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Nicotine dependence (ND) is the fundamental reason that people persist in using tobacco products, which kill more than eight million people every year globally. So far, ND research has primarily focused on cigarettes, yet for many youths worldwide, tobacco use, and addiction is maintained by means other than the cigarette including waterpipe (WP) smoking (a.k.a. hookah). It is important to better understand the WP-associated ND trajectories given its unique use features that can influence ND development such as its time-consuming preparation and consumption, intermittent use, and strong sensory and social cues. Hence, using data from 8 waves (2015-2020) of the …

The Effect Of Collective Efficacy And Neighborhood Structural Disadvantage On Depressive Symptoms Among Adolescents In The United States, Christyl Teres Dawson

FIU Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this dissertation was to examine (1) the moderating role of parental neighborhood perceptions on the relationship between neighborhood structural disadvantage and adolescent depressive symptoms, (2) if adolescent neighborhood perceptions moderated the association between neighborhood structural disadvantage and adolescent depressive symptoms, and (3) the effects of neighborhood structural disadvantage on depressive symptom trajectories as well as the moderating role of neighborhood perceptions on the relationship from adolescence to young adulthood. Data came from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent to Adult Health (Add Health) (N=12,105), and random effects multilevel modeling along with growth curve modeling were used.

Results …

Addressing Alcohol And Marijuana Use Disparities Among Latino Adolescents, Jessica Weissman

FIU Electronic Theses and Dissertations

In the early 1990s, a series of seminal research studies were published on substance use disorders among Latino adolescent males in Miami-Dade County, Florida. Expanding upon these studies, the aims of the present dissertation project were to (1) Determine whether the following adolescents’ and parents’ characteristics/cultural values are associated with current (past 30 days) or lifetime (ever) alcohol or marijuana use among Latino adolescents: sex, age, country of birth, GPA, family’s socio-economic status, living with both parents, mother’s highest level of education, father’s highest level of education, Familism Support, Familism Obligations, Familism Referents, Respect, Religion, …

Risky Sexual Behavior And The Role Of Decision-Making, Jessica M. Ross

FIU Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Risky sexual behavior (RSB) is the number one transmission method of HIV among adolescents. Reducing the rates of HIV among adolescents is of dire importance considering the rises in rates during the last several years. Minority adolescents are disproportionately affected by HIV, and a majority of the individuals living in Miami-Dade County (location of the proposed project) are minorities. RSB, externalizing disorders and cannabis use commonly occur together, such that both greater externalizing disorder symptoms and greater amounts of cannabis use have predicted engagement in more RSB. In addition, decision-making (a neurocognitive function) has found to be associated with cannabis …

Determinants Of Waterpipe And Cigarette Smoking Progression Among A School Based Sample Of Adolescents In Irbid, Jordan: A Three-Year Longitudinal Study (2008-2011), Rana Mohammed Jaber

FIU Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The prevalence of waterpipe smoking exceeds that of cigarettes among adolescents in the Middle East where waterpipe is believed as less harmful, less addictive and can be a safer alternative to cigarettes. This dissertation tested the gateway hypothesis that waterpipe can provide a bridge to initiate cigarette smoking, identified the predictors of cigarette smoking progression, and identified predictors of waterpipe smoking progression among a school-based sample of Jordanian adolescents (mean age ± SD) (12.7 ±0.61) years at baseline.

Data for this research have been drawn from Irbid Longitudinal Study of smoking behavior, Jordan (2008-2011). The grouped-time survival analysis showed that …

Life Experiences Of Youth Who Were Born With Hiv Infection In Puerto Rico: The Voices Of Young Survivors, Georgina Silva-Suarez

FIU Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The effectiveness of antiretroviral therapy (ART) transformed the pediatric HIV epidemic. The disease changed significantly over the course of three decades: while early in the epidemic it was almost always fatal, it has become a chronic condition.

This study examined how perinatally-infected youth experience the impact of HIV in their lives. A qualitative study using interpretative phenomenological analysis (IPA) was conducted. Twenty in-depth interviews were carried out among 12 women and 8 men aged 18 to 30 years in Puerto Rico. These were conducted in Spanish, audio-recorded, transcribed and translated into English. While narrating their experiences, participants were interpreting what …