Medicine and Health Sciences Commons^™

How Increasing Personal Care Service Might Delay Or Prevent Nursing Home Placement, Sandra L. Spoelstra, Charles W. Given, Tracy Dekoekkoek, Monica Schueller

Peer Reviewed Articles

There is a pressing need to retain dually eligible elderly Medicare and Medicaid beneficiaries in the community. The objective of this study was to examine median personal care services (PCS) hours, and how increasing PCS to the median (for those below), might delay nursing home placement (NHP) and save cost. Methods: Retrospective study of PCS hours, costs, and NHP in a statewide home and community based waiver program in the Midwest serving 6525 dually eligible Medicare-Medicaid beneficiaries aged 65 and older. Two Minimum Data Set-Home Care assessments and Medicaid claim files were examined to identify PCS hours and cost. A …

Knowledge, Practice, And Barriers Toward Cervical Cancer Screening In Elmina, Southern Ghana, Nancy Innocentia Ebu, Sylvia C. Mupepi, Mate Peter Siakwa, Carolyn M. Sampselle

Peer Reviewed Articles

Aims: The aims of this study were: 1) to assess the level of knowledge of women about Pap smear tests, 2) to determine the practices of women regarding Pap smear tests, and 3) to determine the barriers to Pap smear tests in Elmina, Ghana.

Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted with 392 randomly selected sexually active females aged 10–74 years using structured interview questions. The Institutional Review Board of the University of Cape Coast gave ethical approval for the study and informed consent was obtained from participants. Data were analyzed with SPSS software (v19.0) using frequencies, chi-square test, and exploratory …

Interventions Combining Motivational Interviewing And Cognitive Behavior To Promote Medication Adherence: A Literature Review, Sandra L. Spoelstra, Monica Schueller, Melissa Hilton, Kimberly Ridenour

Peer Reviewed Articles

Aims and objectives: The World Health Organization has indicated medication adherence is a global problem. Both motivational interviewing (MI) and cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) interventions alone have been found to be effective at improving medication adherence. This article summarizes research that has combined motivational interviewing and cognitive behavioral therapy to improve medication adherence.

Background: Projections indicate that by 2015, 33% of cancer treatment will be in pill form, shifting responsibility for managing medication adherence to patients. These regimens are often complex, with multiple doses, drugs, or cycling, and patients often experience side effects from symptoms, making adherence difficult. Patients taking …

Evaluation Of A New Method Of Fossil Retrodeformation By Symmetrization: Crania Of Papionins (Primates, Cercopithecidae) As A Test Case, Melissa Tallman, Andrea Morrow, Nina Amenta, Eric Delson, Stephen Frost, Deboshmita Ghosh, Zachary Klukkert, Gary Sawyer

Funded Articles

Diagenetic distortion can be a major obstacle to collecting quantitative shape data on paleontological specimens, especially for three-dimensional geometric morphometric analysis. Here we utilize the recently -published algorithmic symmetrization method of fossil reconstruction and compare it to the more traditional reflection & averaging approach. In order to have an objective test of this method, five casts of a female cranium of Papio hamadryas kindae were manually deformed while the plaster hardened. These were subsequently “retrodeformed” using both algorithmic symmetrization and reflection & averaging and then compared to the original, undeformed specimen. We found that in all cases, algorithmic retrodeformation improved …

Evidence For Transfer Of Membranes From Mesenchymal Stem Cells To Hl-1 Cardiac Cells, Robert Boomsma, David Geenen

Funded Articles

This study examined the interaction of mouse bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells (MSC) with cardiac HL-1 cells during coculture by fluorescent dye labeling and then flow cytometry. MSC were layered onto confluent HL-1 cell cultures in a 1 : 4 ratio. MSC gained gap junction permeant calcein from HL-1 cells after 4 hours which was partially reduced by oleamide. After 20 hours, 99% MSC gained calcein, unaffected by oleamide. Double-labeling HL-1 cells with calcein and the membrane dye DiO resulted in transfer of both calcein and DiO to MSC. When HL-1 cells were labeled with calcein and MSC with DiO, …

Evidence For Transfer Of Membranes From Mesenchymal Stem Cells To Hl-1 Cardiac Cells, Robert A. Boomsa, David L. Geenen

Peer Reviewed Articles

This study examined the interaction of mouse bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells (MSC) with cardiac HL-1 cells during coculture by fluorescent dye labeling and then flow cytometry. MSC were layered onto confluent HL-1 cell cultures in a 1 : 4 ratio. MSC gained gap junction permeant calcein from HL-1 cells after 4 hours which was partially reduced by oleamide. After 20 hours, 99% MSC gained calcein, unaffected by oleamide. Double-labeling HL-1 cells with calcein and the membrane dye DiO resulted in transfer of both calcein and DiO to MSC. When HL-1 cells were labeled with calcein and MSC with DiO, …

Effects Of Chronic Hepatitis B Infection On Pregnancy And Birth Outcomes In Ghana, Mate Siakwa, Dzigbodi Kpikpitse, Amandus Ankobil, Sylvia C. Mupepi, Mildred John, Patience Doe, Nancy Ebu, Shadrach Dare, E Hansen Owoo

Peer Reviewed Articles

Ghana is a known endemic area for hepatitis B virus (HBV) infections, yet the consequences of HBV infection on pregnancy outcomes are unknown. This prospective cohort study was thus conducted among 512 pregnant women attending antenatal clinic in the Cape Coast Teaching Hospital, Ghana, between January, 2011 and December, 2013 to determine the effects of hepatitis B during pregnancy on birth outcomes in Ghana. The HBsAg status of all pregnant women was determined by the latex agglutination test while a researcher administered semi-structured checklist was used to collect demographic/obstetric/medical data of respondents. We obtained 262 HBsAg positive and 250 HBsAg …

Neonatal Sepsis In Rural Ghana: A Case Control Study Of Risk Factors In A Birth Cohort, Mate Siakwa, Dzigbodi Kpikpitse, Sylvia C. Mupepi, Mohamed Semuatu

Peer Reviewed Articles

Neonatal sepsis poses a major challenge to achieving the MDG-4 due to lack of facilities to implement proposed management guidelines. Identifying risk factors of neonatal sepsis will help put strategies in place to prevent sepsis. This prospective case control study investigated risk factors of neonatal sepsis in the Asutifi District a typical rural setting of the Brong Ahafo Region of Ghana. A semi-structured check list was used to collect clinical and demographic data from 196 neonates (96 with sepsis as case and 100 without sepsis as control) and respective mothers. Maternal factors that were significantly associated with neonatal sepsis were …

Testing The Differential Effects Of Symptom Management Interventions In Cancer, Alla Sikorskii, Charles W. Given, Azfar-E-Alam Siddiqi, Victoria Champion, Ruth Mccorkle, Sandra L. Spoelstra, Barbara A. Given

Peer Reviewed Articles

Objective: The purpose of this study was to test for moderating effects of patient characteristics on self-management interventions developed to address symptoms during cancer treatment. Patient’s age, education and depressive symptomatology were considered as potential moderators.

Methods: A secondary analysis of data of 782 patients from two randomized clinical trials was performed. Both trials enrolled patients with solid tumors undergoing chemotherapy. After completing baseline interviews, patients were randomized to a nurse-delivered intervention versus intervention delivered by a “coach” in trial I, and to a nurse-delivered intervention versus an intervention delivered by an automated voice response system in trial II. In …

A Rehabilitation Program For Lung Cancer Patients During Postthoracotomy Chemotherapy, Amy J. Hoffman, Ruth Ann Britnall, Alexander Von Eye, Lee W. Jones, Gordon Alderink, Lawrence H. Patzelt, Jean K. Brown

Peer Reviewed Articles

Objective: The objective of this pilot study was to describe the effects of a 16-week home-based rehabilitative exercise program on cancer-related fatigue (CRF), other symptoms, functional status, and quality of life (QOL) for patients with non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) after thoracotomy starting within days after hospital discharge and continuing through the initiation and completion of chemotherapy.

Materials and methods: Five patients with NSCLC completed the Brief Fatigue Inventory (measuring CRF severity) and the MD Anderson Symptom Inventory (measuring symptom severity) before and after thoractomy, and at the end of each week of the 16-week exercise program. Additionally, the Medical …

A Community Of Practice: Librarians In A Biomedical Research Network, Danielle P. De Jager-Loftus, David Midyette, Barbara Harvey

Scholarly Papers and Articles

Providing library and reference services within a biomedical research community presents special challenges for librarians, especially those in historically lower-funded states. These challenges can include understanding needs, defining and communicating the library’s role, building relationships, and developing and maintaining general and subject specific knowledge. This article describes a biomedical research network and the work of health sciences librarians at the lead intensive research institution with librarians from primarily undergraduate institutions and tribal colleges and universities. Applying the concept of a “community of practice” to a collaborative effort suggests how librarians can work together to provide effective reference services to researchers …

A Nicotinic Acetylcholine Receptor Agonist Prevents Loss Of Retinal Ganglion Cells In A Glaucoma Model, Kazuhiro Iwamoto, Patrick Birkholz, Austin Schipper, David Mata, David M. Linn, Cindy L. Linn

Peer Reviewed Articles

Purpose.: The purpose of this study was to analyze the neuroprotective effect of an α7 nAChR agonist, PNU-282987, using an in vivo model of glaucoma in Long Evans rats.

Methods.: One eye in each animal was surgically manipulated to induce glaucoma in control untreated animals and in animals that were treated with intravitreal injections of PNU-282987. To induce glaucoma-like conditions, 0.05 mL of 2 M NaCl was injected into the episcleral veins of right eyes in each rat to create scar tissue and increase intraocular pressure. The left eye in each rat acted as an internal control. One month following …

Correlates Of 25-Hydroxyvitamin D Among Chinese Breast Cancer Patients, Liang Shi, Sarah Nechuta, Yu-Tang Gao, Ying Zheng, Tsogzolmaa Dorjgochoo, Jie Wu, Qiuyin Cai, Wei Zheng, Wei Lu, Xiao Ou Shu

Peer Reviewed Articles

Background

Few studies have investigated vitamin D status in association with modifiable lifestyle factors and clinical characteristics among breast cancer patients, with no studies among Chinese women, who may be at higher risk of vitamin D deficiency. We aimed to evaluate circulating 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25(OH)D) levels in association with clinical and lifestyle factors among 1,940 Chinese breast cancer patients.

Methods

Participants included breast cancer cases aged 22–77 from a population-based case-control study conducted in Shanghai, China during 1996–1998 (n = 1,044) and 2002–2005 (n = 896). Circulating 25(OH)D levels were measured in plasma samples (95% collected ≤6 months post-diagnosis). Prevalence …

Malaria Curriculum, Caroline Schairer

Honors Projects

Objectives:

I.) The students will be able to explain what malaria is, how one gets malaria, and how one prevents malaria through the creation of a brochure.

II.) The students will be able to analyze and distinguish whether or not a patient has malaria, through the use of a case study.

III.) The students will be able to compose a malaria prevention plan for their home using their knowledge and comprehension of malaria and various prevention measures.