Medicine and Health Sciences Commons^™

Antipsychotic Medication Administration In Oregon Assisted Living/Residential Care Settings: Analyzing An Action Situation, Sarah Dys

Dissertations and Theses

Antipsychotic medication use (APU) in assisted living and residential care (AL/RC) settings is an under-studied and controversial health policy issue. APU in older adults with dementia is associated with an increased risk of falls, hospitalizations, and early mortality. I operationalize the Institutional Analysis and Development Framework using a situational analysis approach, an extension of grounded theory methods, to explore the APU in Oregon AL/RC settings. Regulatory deficiency citations, Oregon AL/RC population data, and semi-structured interviews suggest that staff role clarity, organizational characteristics, and perceived agency influence decision-making around APU. AL/RC providers and caregivers are forced to simultaneously balance and prioritize …

An Investigation Into The Relationship Between Obstetric Racism And Postpartum Depression In Black Women, Miguel A. Claxton Iii

University Honors Theses

Postpartum depression is the most common postpartum mood disorder, with 13% of new mothers reporting symptoms within the first year. Adverse birth outcomes, such as low birth weight and preterm birth co-index with the development of postpartum depression. This correlation is particularly alarming considering that Black women have about a 60% higher rate of preterm birth and an 88% higher rate of low birth weight infants than Caucasian women. By utilizing theories of stratified reproduction, necropolitics, and obstetric racism, this paper aims to situate postpartum depression in Black women as a psychological response to systems of medicolegal control and domination. …

Testing For Cognitive Deficits After Mild Traumatic Brain Injury Using The Automated Neuropsychological Assessment Metric And Dual-Task Assessments, Jasmin Mabry

University Honors Theses

Cognitive deficits are common following mTBI. DT gait assessments and seated computerized exams are often used for evaluating those deficits. Little is known about DT gait and neurocognitive performance in a chronic population. We compared people with chronic mTBI and subacute mTBI to healthy controls (HC) on DT gait and neurocognitive performance and explored the relationship of DT gait performance with a traditional neurocognitive (TNC) exam.

Subjects completed a computerized TNC - the ANAM - and a motor-cognitive DT test which assessed both DT motor performance as well as the cognitive task accuracy. The DT test consisted of subjects walking …

The Longitudinal Effects Of A Family And Sleep Supportive Intervention On Service Member Anger And Resilience, Shalene Joyce Allen

Dissertations and Theses

The vast majority of workplace intervention research on employee anger and resilience primarily focuses on individual-level strategies for mitigating employee anger and resilience outcomes in the workplace, with no studies having examined these outcomes with tangible occupational health interventions utilizing organizational-level techniques. Thus, the current study extends the literature on how to provide improvements in employee anger and resilience using higher system and organizational change mechanisms by providing evidence-based support for the effectiveness of a Total Worker Health® intervention, referred to as the Family and Sleep Supportive Intervention Training (FaSST). This approach employs both health protection and health promotion strategies …

Effects Of Hormone Replacement Therapy (Hrt) On Gene Expression In The Amyloid Processing Pathway Of Ovariectomized Rhesus Macaque Females Under An Obesogenic Diet, Megan Ball

University Honors Theses

Estrogens rapidly decline at the onset of menopause, putting women at higher risk of osteoporosis, obesity, and neurodegenerative diseases, including Alzheimer’s disease (AD). Estradiol hormone therapies (HT) have been suggested to limit these negative effects on women, with controversial findings as to their effectiveness. A study at OHSU recently found differentially expressed genes (DEGs) using RNAseq between ovariectomized/hysterectomized (OvH) old (range = 19.4–23.2 years) female rhesus macaques on HT and those on a placebo on chronic western style diet (WSD). The DEGs identified in the amyloid processing pathway of the amygdala were selected for validation using RT-qPCR because β-amyloid peptide …

Addressing And Supporting Mental Health Today: Society-Wide And In Hospital Emergency Departments, Kira La Sage

University Honors Theses

Mental health has become one of the most pressing public health issues of the 21st Century. Westernized societies offer much of their attention to childhood obesity, to COVID-19, to undiagnosed and diagnosed Americans living with diabetes. America even sees extended U.S. Senate hearings focusing on opioid use and abuse. Each of these concerns legitimately commands public health official attention, but what the world does not see is any level of sustainable attention given to emotional and mental health crises affecting tens of millions in Westernized countries. Suicide, the most serious of mental health crises, has become the second leading cause …

Understanding The Effect Of Dietary Palmitic Acid On Glycolysis During Innate Immune Memory In Macrophages, Khaleda A. Aqaei

University Honors Theses

Trained immunity is long-term innate immune memory induced by a primary stimulus, which leads to hyper-inflammation upon secondary stimulation with a homologous or heterologous ligand. Trained immunity is mediated by epigenetic and metabolic reprogramming of the target cell and leads to modification of gene expression and cellular function. Classically, trained immunity is initiated by β-glucans, an inflammatory molecule found on the exterior of fungal species. Interestingly, our lab has recently described that dietary fatty acids can initiate trained immunity, working through similar pathways as β-glucans. Specifically, our data show that a pre-treatment with a specific dietary saturated fatty acid (SFA), …

Affecting Absenteeism Through School-Based Health Services Delivery: A Configurational Comparative Methods Study Of Oregon's Public Secondary Schools, Kelly Elizabeth Coates

Dissertations and Theses

A student's ability to attend school regularly can be profoundly affected by poor health-related behaviors, illnesses, and chronic diseases that are left unaddressed and unattended. The delivery of health services in the school environment is uniquely positioned to interrupt the effects these health barriers to learning (HBLs) can have on subsequent diminished educational and health outcomes. The literature widely acknowledges the intersectionality between health and education, but no comprehensive overview exists of how different structures and processes within a school work (or do not work) together to lead to higher or lower student absenteeism. This research sought to fill that …

Ancillary Data For Refining Computer Adaptive Algorithms For The Assessment Of Anomia, Emily Kathryn Tudorache

Dissertations and Theses

Computer adaptive testing formats, based in item response theory (IRT), are becoming an increasingly popular approach to testing in healthcare because they offer numerous psychometric and practical advantages to assessment when compared to static tests that rely on classical test theory. Fergadiotis and colleagues (2015) have developed computer adaptive versions of the Philadelphia Naming Test (PNT) short-forms, which have demonstrated acceptable precision and standard error of measurement when compared to the static short-forms and original full-length assessment. This study sought to use synthetic data simulations using the catIrt R package (Nydik, 2014) to investigate possible advantages of the use of …

Incarceration And Suicide: Do The Risk Factors Differ For Civilians And Veterans?, Rheannon Gail Ramsey

Dissertations and Theses

Suicide is one of the leading causes of death in United States jails and prisons. Many researchers have looked at suicides in prisons and what can potentially cause suicidal ideation but there are conflicting findings among civilian incarcerated populations and United States military veteran incarcerated populations.

The intent of this study is to examine which risk factors are most prevalent among adults in custody, with a focus on mental health and substance use or abuse and how these risk factors differ between incarcerated civilians and incarcerated veterans. Using survey data from the 2002 Survey of Inmates in Local Jails conducted …

The Relationship Between Regulation And Care Access In The Doula Industry, Charissa Billings

University Honors Theses

Birth doulas are unregulated service providers in the United States, who provide informational, emotional, and physical support before, during, and after birth. Currently, the United States has the highest maternal mortality rate amongst the most developed nations, as well as a serious racial gap, with Black women being twice as likely to die due to pregnancy-related complications when compared to White women. Birth doulas can help close the gaps with trained support and advocacy. Since over 40% of the births in the US are covered by Medicaid, providing birth doula services to Medicaid recipients could result in improved birth outcomes. …

The Effects Of Mental Illness On Capital Sentencing In The State Of Oregon, Mirtill E. Csikos

University Honors Theses

There is emerging awareness on the potential arbitrariness and unconstitutionality of executing persons with mental illness. Most states with current death penalty laws have little to no protection for severely mentally ill defendants during capital trials. The present paper looked at the effectiveness of sentencing statutes serving the purpose of protecting defendants with severe mental illness in the state of Oregon. Through a careful meta-analysis this research focused on determining how mental illness plays into death penalty decisions and if Oregon’s Guilty Except for Insanity defense provides sufficient protection. Furthermore, the question of mental illness as a mitigating factor was …

The Psychedelic Renaissance: A Convergence Of Indigenous Knowledge And Science, Ronan K. Peck

University Honors Theses

In recent times, psychedelics have come back into the public eye, mostly through scientific intrigue about their healing potential. In the past decade, hundreds of studies have been conducted to explore the possible benefits, or risks, that these substances could bring to people – and there is great potential being found. This is the psychedelic renaissance, and with this phenomenon in full swing, it is important to take a step back and look at the full picture of our history with these substances. By doing so, it starts to become clear that psychedelics have guided human perception and understanding of …

Happy 😊, Sad 😥Or Pizza 🍕: A Review Of Emoji Effects On Reading Times And Their Relation To Mood, Fetheya Alattar

University Honors Theses

With recent advancements in technology, emoji are continuously changing the way that people communicate and process language. Their use continues to evolve as a mechanism to counter the loss of the rich nonverbal cues of face-to-face communication. Subsequently, the need for research examining how emoji are processed and how they affect language and communication has become more important. This research specifically examines the scholarship on emoji effects on sentence reading times (RT) and how this relates to mood. Results on the effects of emoji on sentence RT are mixed. In some instances, emoji slowed RT and in others, they sped …

Covid-19 And Palliative Care Through The Provider Perspective, Michaelyn V. Truong

University Honors Theses

The purpose of this study was to analyze the OHSU palliative care team response to the COVID-19 pandemic and the impact of modified pandemic operations on delivering care to patients. The study was conducted through interviews with members of the palliative care teams from the Oregon Health & Sciences University and the Portland Veteran Affairs Medical Center. Questions were asked to understand the changes in care due to the pandemic and their overall perception of these changes. Responses were analyzed through the qualitative analysis software NVIVO12. The findings of this study showed the challenges with telemedicine were limitations with communications …

A Novel In Vitro Method For Pelvic Floor Dysfunction In Pcos Women, Ruben Vila

University Honors Theses

Background:

Poly Cystic Ovary Syndrome and Pelvic Floor Dysfunction are reproductive diseases with comorbidities whose novel relationship deserves further investigation.

Methods:

Levator Ani Muscle/Paravaginal Attachment was dissected from female Rhesus Macaque and subjected to tissue dissociation. Cells were treated with serum level hormones E2, T, and DHT. PCR, ICC, and IHC were used, followed by statistical analysis.

Results:

RNA analysis show differences in relative expression for endpoints ER, PR, AR, Ki-67, Col1A, and Vimentin. IHC along with ICC showed expression and localization in vivo.

Conclusions:

A novel in vitro model was created from macaque Levator Ani Muscle/Paravaginal Attachment for Pelvic …

The Effect Of Diazepam On Early Neural Stem Cells Proliferative Activity And Hippocampal-Dependent Memory After Traumatic Brain Injury, Van Khanh Doan

University Honors Theses

Traumatic brain injury (TBI) induces an upregulation of neurogenesis in the brain specifically in the hippocampus, an area pertaining to learning and memory formation. Although this upregulated response is intuitively thought to be restorative, previous studies show that the nascent neurons generated after TBI exhibit abnormalities, such as aberrant morphologies and early migrations, which could suggest to be maladaptive. The GABA-A agonist diazepam has been shown to inhibit this upregulation in neurogenesis and normalizes dendrites after TBI. To determine whether this modulation of neurogenesis is ultimately beneficial or detrimental to cognitive recovery, diazepam was administered to C57BI/6J wild-type mice following …

Roles And Regulation Of Satellite Cells In Skeletal Muscle Regeneration, Sydney Vlasman

University Honors Theses

Skeletal muscle has an innate ability to self-regenerate in response to certain stimuli. In the case of trauma, muscle resident stem cells are required to meet the regenerative needs of the tissue. These resident stem cells, called satellite cells (SCs), are crucial in the regenerative process following injury; understanding the major factors which regulate satellite cell activity can provide valuable insight for regenerative medicine. The ability to implement and properly activate satellite cells has immense potential in the treatment of conditions including trauma, degenerative disorders, and age-related sarcopenia. This review will discuss the current understanding of satellite cell-mediated regeneration and …

Covid-19 & Blm: Racial Inequity In Healthcare, Laken Berndt

University Honors Theses

In this review of scholarship on healthcare inequality, as well as recent scholarship focused on COVID-19, we find there are clear racial disparities within healthcare, seen within previous trends, as well as the current pandemic. Minorities have historically been at greater risk during prior health crises, as well as being at risk for various underlying health conditions, and now, there are higher rates of infection and mortality amongst minority groups.

Socioeconomic factors play an incredibly important role in these disparities, and much of the current discourse does regard socioeconomic status as a primary factor in these trends. However, we find …

Treatment Satisfaction And Self-Efficacy In Hispanic Diabetes Patients At A Free Clinic Setting, Lhanze Tum

University Honors Theses

Diabetes continues to be one of the leading causes of death within the United States, with the Hispanic population having an especially high risk of developing diabetes. Understanding the different factors that may affect adherence to diabetes self-care, such as self-efficacy, duration of diabetes, and patient treatment satisfaction is important to reduce diabetes-related health complications. The aim of this study is to examine the relationship between patient self-efficacy for diabetes management and satisfaction with treatment, as well as whether the duration of diabetes is associated with self-efficacy for disease management. Baseline data was collected on 16 Hispanic patients with diabetes …

The Wounded Inheritance: Epigenetics And The Family Line, Lisa Banta

University Honors Theses

Through the process of researching, conceptualizing, and creating my honors thesis I have been investigating my previously unknown family history and the events that led into generations of parental abandonment and inflicted trauma, in tandem with learning some basics about the research and science of epigenetics. In my own family line, the traumas endured by and inflicted upon the last five generations have, with no exaggeration, shaped every aspect of my life and history. Epigenetics explains how severe trauma can be passed down many generations through chemical changes in DNA. In other words, individuals may carry within their own bodies …

Exploring Connections Between Food Sovereignty, Cultural Food Access And Urban Health Promotion: A Systematic Review Of The Literature, Stephanie L. Kenyon

University Honors Theses

Marginalized urban communities face disproportionate rates of food insecurity related health outcomes and are more likely to lose important connections to traditional and cultural foods. Food sovereignty approaches, including policy changes, decolonized methods and community created perspectives to research and interventions have the potential to impact access to traditional and cultural foods, improving food security and supporting a healthier diet. The evidence in support of a food sovereignty approach to public health research and practice is limited and much of what is known is primarily based on studies at the global level or on rural communities. This systematic literature review …

Disaster And The Built Environment: How The Prephub Has The Potential To Impact Preparedness And Create Resilience During Natural Disasters., Sequoia Bellanca

University Honors Theses

Around the world, natural disasters pose a common threat to most communities. In 2015, Thecho, Nepal, suffered a magnitude 7.8 earthquake, killing 9,000 people and injuring nearly 22,000 (Reid, 2018). In the Pacific Northwest, the coast awaits a catastrophic earthquake, known as "The Really Big One" (Schulz, 2020), scientifically predicted to cause mass destruction. Although communities continue to experience and anticipate these disasters, the preparedness rate amongst individuals is shockingly low. Using this information, researchers developed a structure, rooted in interdisciplinary design, that will aid in the passive education of disaster preparedness amongst individuals and communities. Through unobtrusive qualitative research, …

Potential Therapeutic Effects Of Snake Venom Components On Pain Management In Rheumatoid Arthritis Patients, Maggie Metzger

University Honors Theses

This paper reviews the existing literature on the uses of snake venom in the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis and pain management. Venom from the families Elapidae and Viperidae have been shown to have anti-inflammatory and analgesic effects. The analgesic findings of research on arthritis murine models are discussed, and the existing uses of snake venom in medicine to suggest the therapeutic potential of venom in the pain management of rheumatoid arthritis are taken into account. Snake venom has anti-inflammatory effects by reducing levels of pro-inflammatory cytokines and increasing levels of anti-inflammatory cytokines. Additionally, snake venom can reduce structural damage from …

The Usage Of Resveratrol For Eye Pain After Refractive Surgery, Dennis Nguyen

University Honors Theses

LASEK and PRK are common laser corrective eye procedures that aim to correct the refractive errors of the eye, although these procedures do carry the potential of post-operation complications of dry eye and symptoms of pain and photophobia as a result of corneal innervation damage. Resveratrol was tested on the surface of the cornea to see if the drug would be effective at attenuating post-corrective eye pain. Male and female rats underwent a unilateral corneal abrasion surgery that aimed to mimic the post-op symptoms of PRK. The rats either received the resveratrol drug treatment or a vehicle formulation. The Rat …

Where To Draw The Line: Evaluating Visuospatial And Attentional Processing In Individuals With Autism Spectrum Disorders, Alisha Steigerwald

University Honors Theses

Objective: We investigated visuospatial processing in individuals with autism using bisection and quadrisection tasks to evaluate the presence of a possible downward vertical spatial bias that could provide insights into the preference for attending to the mouth in ASD populations.

Methods: Twenty participants with ASD and 20 age, IQ, and sex-matched control participants were recruited (ages 6-23). Participants were asked to bisect, quadrisect from the top, and quadrisect from the bottom vertical lines placed in their left, center, and right visual spaces. Distance from the true midpoint and quadripoint were calculated and compared between the two groups.

Results: No significant …

Relationships Between Coping Mechanisms And Perceived Stress Of Portland State University Community Members Amidst Covid-19, Julie Goldman

University Honors Theses

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to assess the coping mechanisms used by the Portland State University (PSU) community and their relationships to perceived stress.

Methods: A virtual survey composed of demographic questions, the Perceived Stress Scale (PSS10), the Brief COPE, and two open-ended questions was distributed to the community. Data were collected from 231 respondents, mostly PSU students. Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) was used to compute mean PSS score, adaptive coping score, and avoidant coping score. Pearson correlations and t-tests were run to explore the relationship between perceived stress and coping data.

Results: Perceived stress …

A Hidden Crisis During Covid-19: How Have Intimate Partner Violence Screening Guidelines For Pregnant Patients Changed Since The Start Of The Global Covid-19 Pandemic?, Zayba Afshar

University Honors Theses

Introduction: Due to the risks of pregnancy outcomes in relation to IPV and the increased rates of IPV as a result of COVID-19 precautions, health care screening for IPV in the prenatal process is even more imperative for preventing negative healthcare outcomes for both the pregnant patient and children.

Background: Intimate partner violence (IPV) is a significant public health issue that puts both baby and pregnant patients at risk for severe negative healthcare outcomes. Healthcare screening is a tool to find a condition or to learn more about a patient before symptoms become severe.

Methods: Screening for …

Soft Lithographic Replication Of High Length-Scale Micropillars From Laser-Ablated Fused-Silica Templates, Jason Pitts

University Honors Theses

Soft lithography is a well-established route to wafer-scale reproduction of micro- and nanoscale features in a wide variety of materials. Nevertheless, micron length scales have yet to be explored, despite the potential utility of such structures. Here, polymer micropillars of 6-12 μm length, approximately 0.5-1.5 μm wide at 10 μm spacing are reproduced from a polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) mold made from patterned cellulose acetate (CA). The patterned CA was cast from a rigid fused silica template machined by a pulsed femtosecond laser. Pore topographic features were successfully reproduced in Norland Optical Adhesive (NOA), polycaprolactone (PCL), Nafion, acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS), and …

The Digital Divide And Health: Examining Digital Access As A Social Determinant Of Health, Elizabeth Melissa Withers

Dissertations and Theses

This dissertation is comprised of three papers that consider ways in which one's level of digital access may impact self-rated health. Data are from multiple years of three separate nationally representative cross-sectional surveys: National Health Interview Survey, General Social Survey, and Health Information National Trends Survey to address the primary overarching research question: Is there an association between digital access and health? The examination of the relationship between digital access and health is situated within a social determinants of health perspective and draws on van Dijk's (2005) causal and sequential model of digital access. Education, income, race and ethnicity, work …