Medicine and Health Sciences Commons^™

The Impact Of Medical Device Usability And Accessibility Information On Purchasing Decisions Of People Without Disabilities, Maysam M. Ardehali

Theses and Dissertations

The disparity between people with and without disabilities in timely diagnosis and appropriate treatment is exacerbated by inaccessible medical devices. The industry appears reluctant to address the shortcomings or provide usability and accessibility information to enhance the purchasing decisions of people with disabilities. This reluctance is mainly caused by the lack of market motivation based on perceptions of market size and the profitability of investments in accessibility evaluation and improvement. This study aims to challenge this notion by demonstrating that usability and accessibility information do not solely benefit what may be considered a “niche market,” and the purchasing decisions of …

Assessing The Impact Of Employee Wellness Programs On Healthcare Employee’S Weight, Reja F. Basyyoni

Theses and Dissertations

Introduction: Over 32% of employees in healthcare are clinically overweight with a BMI over 30. This level of obesity is more significant in healthcare than in other professions. (Aldana, 2021). The growing prevalence of diseases among employees in healthcare settings has increased the concern about their health, well-being, and productivity. (Aldana, 2021). Notably, the reduction of obesity rates holds the potential to avert 40 million instances of chronic diseases, encompassing hypertension, diabetes, and cardiovascular ailments. (Milken Institute Study, 2022) Therefore, maintaining a healthy body weight or shedding excess pounds is crucial to reduce the risk of developing these. As a …

Accessiblehomepro As An Educational Intervention: Preparing Occupational Therapy Students To Perform Home Safety Assessments, Laryn O'Donnell

Theses and Dissertations

The growing aging population of the United States urges occupational therapy practitioners to address the population's home safety needs. However, current occupational therapists need more resources and education to conduct comprehensive home safety evaluations. This study employed a pretest-posttest mixed methods design using occupational therapy students (n=17) to investigate the potential of AccessibleHomePRO as an educational intervention to enhance OT student knowledge of home safety assessments, perceived knowledge, which is known as the belief in your level of knowledge, and self-efficacy, which refers to the confidence in completing a task. AccessibleHomePRO (AHP) is a novel multifaceted assessment that leverages artificial …

Big Data Applications And Challenges In Giscience (Case Studies: Natural Disaster And Public Health Crisis Management), Amir Masoud Forati

Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation examines the application and significance of user-generated big data in Geographic Information Science (GIScience), with a focus on managing natural disasters and public health crises. It explores the role of social media data in understanding human-environment interactions and in informing disaster management and public health strategies. A scalable computational framework will be developed to model extensive unstructured geotagged data from social media, facilitating systematic spatiotemporal data analysis.The research investigates how individuals and communities respond to high-impact events like natural disasters and public health emergencies, employing both qualitative and quantitative methods. In particular, it assesses the impact of socio-economic-demographic …

Transportation Needs Of Older Adults In Suburban And Rural Areas, Dahai Han

Theses and Dissertations

The fact that the average age of the world's population is increasing, which is more pronounced in developed countries, necessitates the understanding of the challenges faced by older adults in accessing transportation services. With advancing age, individuals may experience age-related changes that can notably affect their driving capabilities, emphasizing the importance of alternative transportation alternatives. This challenge is more evident in suburban and rural settings, where transportation choices are limited, and older adults often find themselves without access to suitable transportation alternatives. Given that mobility plays an essential role in maintaining social connections, accessing healthcare services, and fulfilling daily needs, …

Black American Men's Resiliency And Persistence To Grow Old: A Midwest Qualitative Study, Kimberly Ann Walker

Theses and Dissertations

AbstractAs Black American men continue to experience the highest premature morbidity and mortality, few studies have centered on the intersection of class (low-income) and race (middle-aged and older Black men) with multiple morbidity from a critical race approach in the Midwest region of the U.S. Middle-aged Black men have 31% higher death rate than their White counterparts. A qualitative study was conducted by a community health nurse in the spring of 2021 in a metropolitan city. Thirty-one, low-income Black American men were interviewed focusing on their understanding and perceptions of their complex comorbidities, symptom management for quality of life, short …

Detection Of Pharmaceuticals, Personal Care Products (Ppcps) And Illicit Drugs In Wastewater Treatment Plants And Urban River Systems, Mary L. Seaman

Theses and Dissertations

ABSTRACT

DETECTION OF PHARMACEUTICALS AND PERSONAL CARE PRODUCTS (PPCPS) AND ILLICIT DRUGS IN WASTEWATER TREATMENT PLANTS AND URBAN RIVER SYSTEMS

by Mary L Seaman The University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, 2023 Under the Supervision of Professor Todd Miller, PhD

Pharmaceuticals, personal care products (PPCPs) and illicit drugs are a threat to human health and the aquatic environment globally. Their usage and consumption is rapidly increasing potentially due to an aging population, the development of new drugs, the overprescribing of prescription drugs and easier accessibility of drugs legally and illegally prescribed. These compounds enter wastewater treatment plants influent through urine or feces, pass …

The Context And The Commissioner: The Effect Of Milwaukee’S Health Commissioners’ Social, Cultural, And Historical Understanding Of Milwaukee’S People During The Last Five Pandemics, Madeline O'Dea Fruehe

Theses and Dissertations

Resistance to pandemic response policies was observed globally throughout the COVID-19 pandemic. This resistance has been linked by researchers to the prolonged duration and higher mortality rate of COVID-19 compared to previous pandemics, despite advancements in modern medicine, extensive surveillance networks and record vaccine production. However, the strategies implemented by public health officials during the COVID-19 pandemic closely mirrored those successful in mitigating past pandemics. To elucidate this disparity, a historical analysis encompassing the 1918, 1957, 1968, 2009, and Covid-19 pandemics was conducted within the city of Milwaukee. By examining archival documents and over 800 newspaper articles, this research found …

Using Music To Modify Step-Rate And Running Biomechanics In Healthy Runners, Erin Marie Lally

Theses and Dissertations

Context: Running-related injury (RRI) is a significant public health issue that may be caused by injurious running biomechanics. Increasing step-rate (SR) using gait retraining may prevent and treat RRI. The Optimizing Performance Through Intrinsic Motivation and Attention for Learning (OPTIMAL) theory indicates enhanced expectancies, autonomy, and external focus of attention will optimize motor learning. Music has been shown to create enhanced expectancies, can provide incidental choices (autonomy), directs attention externally, and may increase compliance. No studies have investigated if music can be used to alter SR and running biomechanics or strategies that may improve compliance to gait retraining. Objective: The …

Educational Environments And Children's Physical Activity And Sedentary Behaviors, Nathan R. Tokarek

Theses and Dissertations

Children and adolescents spend the majority of their day engaged in sedentary behaviors (SB), while also not meeting physical activity (PA) recommendations. The failure to develop and maintain health enhancing behaviors from a young age may impact an individual throughout their life. With children and adolescents spending a large proportion of their waking hours in a school setting, the educational environment presents an opportunity in which children and adolescents’ PA and SB can be positively influenced. Therefore, the purpose of this dissertation was to explore how children and adolescent’s school time PA and SB are associated with the educational setting, …

Experiences And Perspectives Of Women Veterans Use Of The Veterans’ Health Administration Services, Leanne Anthon

Theses and Dissertations

Women make up 10% of the veteran population. With a projected increase of up to 16% by 2043, this is the fastest-growing demographic in the US military (National Center for Veterans Analysis and Statistics, 2017). This population may have experiences unique from their non-military counterparts such as military sexual trauma (MST), environmental exposures, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), and stress related to their military occupation that may predispose this group to decreased quality of life (QOL). In recent years, the Veterans Health Administration (VA) healthcare system has attempted to increase the healthcare accessibility and services provided to the growing number of …

Impacting Positive Breastfeeding Attitudes Of Prelicensure Nursing Students Using An Evidence-Based Breastfeeding Module, Stephanie D. Uhr

Theses and Dissertations

Background: Robust evidence demonstrates optimal breastfeeding behaviors provide unmatched short- and long-term health outcomes. Therefore, breast milk feeding is more than a feeding decision; it is a significant public health concern. Breast milk is species-specific nutrition for a developing infant. The health impact of providing breastmilk extends to the lactating parent. However, the existing breastfeeding education is often inadequate to support the care of the breastfeeding dyad. The dissertation examines the role breastfeeding plays in prelicensure nursing education and analyzes the use of an evidence-based breastfeeding educational module (EBBM) on breastfeeding attitudes.Method: An integrative review analyzed the current state of …

Pipeline For Calculating Calories For Print Recipes With Minimal User Intervention, Karl W. Holten

Theses and Dissertations

The thesis will provide a pipeline to estimate calorie counts from print recipes. The pipeline takes scanned recipes from cookbooks and uses Optical Character Recognition (OCR) to convert the scanned images of recipes to text. Several OCR tools were tested for their accuracy on fractions using a sample of the data, and the most accurate tool is used on the data. Next, a specially trained named entity recognition model is used to identify ingredients, quantities and units. These ingredients are used to search a database of values from the FDA to compute a calorie count for the recipe. The thesis …

A Community-Engaged Narrative Inquiry Photovoice Project Examining The Health-Impacting Experiences Of Older Adult Russian And Spanish-Speaking Immigrants In Southeastern Wisconsin, United States., Maren Hawkins

Theses and Dissertations

Background: Among the nearly 10 million older adult immigrants in the United States, most come from Mexico and speak Spanish. Moreover, in addition to the hundreds of thousands of Russian-speaking immigrants from the Former Soviet Union already residing in the United States, the current war in Ukraine is fueling mass emigration of Ukrainian and Russian-speakers from Ukraine. Thus, in this study we sought to examine the health-impacting experiences of older adult Russian and Spanish-speaking immigrants in Southeastern Wisconsin. Design & Methods: This was a Community-Engaged Participatory Narrative Inquiry Photovoice Project and applied the Older Adult Immigrant Adapted Model for Health …

Impact Of Teacher Cognition On The Implementation Of Social- Emotional Learning Practices For El Students, Madeline Bliske

Theses and Dissertations

There is a well-established achievement and graduation rate gap between English Learner (EL) students and their monolingual English-speaking peers (U.S. Department of Education, 2020). The current study focuses on teacher cognition and characteristics that may impact the likelihood that they will implement culturally and linguistically sustaining (CLS) social-emotional learning (SEL) practices for EL students within their classroom. Specifically, I descriptively analyze whether personal, professional, or school characteristics are associated with teachers’ perception of EL students SEL competencies or implementation of CLS SEL practices. Utilizing the Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB), I evaluate whether teacher cognition (i.e., behavioral attitudes, subjective norms, …

Interrater Reliability Of The Accesstools Assessment With Novice Raters, Qussai Mohammed Obiedat

Theses and Dissertations

Public buildings accessibility is of societal importance for all individuals, especially people with disabilities (PWD). Despite of all the efforts that have been made on the societal and community levels, PWD are still limited from participating in the community due to inaccessible environments. One of the major limitations in the current practices regarding public buildings’ accessibility is the lack of a commonly accepted, comprehensive, and metrically sound tool to objectively measure the accessibility of public buildings. Such a measure is needed. AccessTools is a newly developed assessment tool to identify, document, and objectively measure the complete accessibility of different building …

Improving Self-Report In Quality Of Life Reporting For Individuals With Dementia, Elizabeth Grace Grade Redford

Theses and Dissertations

People with dementia (PWD) are one of the fastest growing clinical populations for speech-language pathologists. Self-reported quality of life (QoL) assessments are critical patient-reported outcome measures that align with person-centered care principles. However, proxy- report is most often used due to assumptions that PWD cannot provide reliable self-report. Visual analogue scales (VAS) have been successfully used with people with expressive and cognitive deficits to measure subjective constructs, such as QoL, mood, and pain. The purpose of this project is to evaluate the feasibility and reliability of a VAS QoL assessment tool.

Twenty healthy older adults were assessed using the QoL-AD …

Use Of Mobile Phones For Hiv Prevention And Testing Information Needs By Emerging Adult Male Population In Rural Kenya. A Qualitative Study, Augustine Boswony Kiplagat

Theses and Dissertations

Human Immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and Acquired Immunodeficiency disease syndrome (AIDS) among young people in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) is a serious public health issue which needs urgent cost-effective interventions locally, regionally, and internationally. HIV and AIDS is currently the leading cause of death among young people in SSA, calling for strategic HIV prevention approaches applicable to emerging adults. While most studies have focused on young women, studies focusing on emerging male adults are lacking. The purpose of this dissertation study was to develop an in-depth understanding of the needs, barriers, and facilitators of using mobile phone to access HIV prevention and …

Examining The Mental Health Needs And Help-Seeking Behaviors Of Online College Students, Lori Ann Bokowy Feldhausen

Theses and Dissertations

Background: There is a mental health crisis among college students in the United States, with approximately 40% of students reporting a significant mental health issue. Institutions of higher education are key venues for mental health targeted public health interventions, as the onset of mental health problems often occurs in late adolescence and early adulthood. However, as the online student population continues to grow and evolve there is little known about the specific mental health needs and help-seeking behaviors of online students in comparison to traditional, on-campus students.

Methods: A cross-sectional study design explored mental health symptoms, help-seeking intentions and behaviors, …

A Qualitative Assessment Of Screening Behavior For Sexually Transmitted Diseases Among African American Women In Milwaukee Using The Integrated Behavioral Model, Bernadette Okwu

Theses and Dissertations

Sexually transmitted diseases remain a notable public health problem in the United States. It is estimated that 1 in 5 people have a sexually transmitted disease in the country. African Americans are disproportionately affected. The situation locally in Milwaukee, Wisconsin mirrors this national trend. African American women are especially vulnerable to sexually transmitted diseases. This situation is further complicated by the fact that some of the more common sexually transmitted diseases may be present without symptoms. It is imperative that women seek testing to enable them to identify and effectively combat sexually transmitted diseases. As such, there is need to …

Full-Body Biomechanical Characterization Of Children With Hypermobile Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome During Gait And Activities Of Daily Living, Anahita Alahmoradiqashqai

Theses and Dissertations

Hypermobile Ehlers-Danlos syndrome (hEDS) is an inherited connective tissue disorder, often under-diagnosed, and presenting with frequent chronic pain and severe musculoskeletal symptoms that can drastically reduce the quality of life during one’s life span. While there are limited quantitative approaches in the literature on adult movements, the biomechanics of movements during activities of daily living (ADLs) in children have not been investigated comprehensively. Therefore, the primary purpose of this dissertation was to characterize the biomechanics of the musculoskeletal system and investigate the biomechanics of hEDS by quantifying joint dynamics and muscle activations during ADLs and gait in the pediatric population. …

Development Of New Treatments For Asthma And Neuropathic Pain Based On Ɣ-Aminobutyric Acid A Receptor (Gabaar) Ligands, Nicolas Mark Zahn

Theses and Dissertations

The γ-aminobutyric acid A receptor (GABAAR) is a ligand-gated pentameric chloride channel consisting of several identified subunits: α1-6, β1-3, γ1-3, δ, ε, π, θ, ρ1-3.1-2 Typical arrangement of subunits consists of two α subunits, two β subunits, and one γ subunit.3 GABAARs have two binding sites for the endogenous ligand γ-aminobutyric acid (GABA), between the α and β subunits. GABAARs also have a binding site for positive allosteric modulators, such as benzodiazepines, between the α and γ subunits.4-5 Due to their ability to treat anxiety, epilepsy, insomnia, and muscle relaxation, benzodiazepines are widely prescribed pharmaceuticals.6-7 Still, adverse effects result from …

Effects Of Provider Support And Psychosocial Stressors On Maternal Health-Promoting Behaviors, Mary Catherine Jessen

Theses and Dissertations

ABSTRACTEFFECTS OF PROVIDER SUPPORT AND PSYCHOSOCIAL STRESSORS ON MATERNAL HEALTH-PROMOTING BEHAVIORS

Despite technological and structural advances in the organization and delivery of health care services to pregnant women and infants, the U.S. ranks low on perinatal outcomes with profound disparities. Engagement in health-promoting behaviors during pregnancy is critical in improving birth outcomes. Women, particularly women of color, continue to experience unmet needs for emotional support with providers. Women of color experience being treated differently based on their race. The purpose of this study was to 1) examine the relationships between stress, provider support, and specific maternal health promoting behaviors (MHPB) …

Effects Of Seat And Axle Position On Pain, Pathology, And Independence In Pediatric Manual Wheelchair Users With Spinal Cord Injury, Hannah Frank

Theses and Dissertations

Manual wheelchair (MWC) users with spinal cord injury (SCI) rely heavily on their upperextremities to complete daily occupations. Due to repetitive shoulder use during wheelchair mobility and propulsion, MWC users are at greater risk of shoulder pain and shoulder pathology, and thus decreased independence, and lower quality of life. The relative fit of the wheelchair and its parameters are critical and can further impact the user’s propulsion biomechanics. Parameters such as seat angle and axle position may put the user in detrimental shoulder positions for longer periods of time, impacting health outcomes even more. Although the effects of wheelchair setup …

Effect Of Regulatory T Cells On The Humoral Immune Response To Borrelia Burgdorferi, Tanya Kozlik

Theses and Dissertations

Lyme borreliosis, caused by the bacteria Borrelia burgdorferi, is the most common tick-borne disease in the United States. Difficulties and delays in diagnosing can leave patients with long-term illness affecting multiple body systems. Therefore, understanding the immunomodulatory mechanisms affecting disease pathology will aid in the development of therapeutics and/or a safe, effective vaccine. In this thesis, we aimed to test the hypothesis that depletion of regulatory T cells amplifies the humoral response to Borrelia burgdorferi but leads to worsened clinical manifestations. To test this hypothesis, “depletion of regulatory T cell” (“DEREG”) BALB/c mice were depleted of Treg cells prior to …

Evaluating The Biological Activities Of Novel Histone Deacetylase Inhibitors (Hdaci) In Adherent And Nonadherent Tumor Cell Lines, Samer Alanani

Theses and Dissertations

Epigenetic dysregulations are linked to many human diseases including neurodegenerative disorders, immunodeficiencies, cardiac disease, and most notably cancer. Changes in the mechanisms of histone modifications have been recognized as hallmarks of carcinogenesis. One of these modifications is histone acetylation which is regulated by the activities of histone acetyltransferases (HATs) and histone deacetylases (HDACs). The reversible actions of these enzymes govern the acetylome and maintain its balance allowing for activation and repression of gene transcription. However, aberrant overexpression of HDACs in certain tumors is associated with decreased levels of transcription leading to tumor progression and survival. Hence, small-molecule histone deacetylase inhibitors …

Mass Spectrometry Directed Pre-Clinical Studies Of Asthma Candidate Midd0301 And Its Analogs, Md Shadiqur Rashid Roni

Theses and Dissertations

ABSTRACTMASS SPECTROMETRY DIRECTED PRE-CLINICAL STUDIES OF ASTHMA CANDIDATE MIDD0301 AND ITS ANALOGS by Md Shadiqur Rashid Roni The University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, 2021 Under the Supervision of Professor Alexander (Leggy) Arnold

Asthma is one of the most prevalent global health problems. More than 25 million Americans are suffering from asthma and their symptoms especially in children are not well controlled with current medications. The current therapeutic options to control symptoms are limited and are commonly based on inhaled corticosteroids. There are several reasons for uncontrolled asthma symptoms that includes steroid resistance, improper use of inhalers and very few orally available medications. …

Central Sensitization, Muscle Function, And Knee Kinematics In Females With Patellofemoral Pain, Kemery Jean Sigmund

Theses and Dissertations

Context: Females with patellofemoral pain (PFP) are at higher risk, have higher rates, and experience worse long-term outcomes than males. Structural and functional changes have been observed in pain networks and neuromuscular systems in individuals with PFP. Central sensitization describes dysfunctional pain modulation which could lead to altered neuromuscular control. Evidence examining relationships between central sensitization and muscle function in PFP is lacking.

Objective: The purpose of this study is to determine whether females with PFP exhibit signs of central sensitization compared to pain-free females. Then, after grouping each individual based on her quantitative sensory test results into a centrally …

Ultrasonography As Biofeedback To Increase Muscle Activation During The Mendelsohn Maneuver In Healthy Adults, Ching-Hsuan Peng

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to examine the effect of applying real-time ultrasound as visual feedback in addition to verbal instruction/tactile feedback to facility the accuracy of learning the Mendelsohn maneuver. The Mendelsohn maneuver is one of the commonly used swallowing exercises targeting hyolaryngeal elevation and prolonging upper esophageal sphincter opening during swallow. It was hypothesized that the additional visual cueing provided by ultrasound would significantly increase sEMG activity which may be associated with increased duration and extent of hyolaryngeal elevation during the Mendelsohn maneuver as compared to the effect of verbal instruction/tactile feedback alone. A total of twenty-four …

The Impact Of Structural Determinants On Pregnancy Intention And Reproductive Decision Making Among African American Women, Jill Strickland Denson

Theses and Dissertations

ABSTRACTTHE IMPACT OF STRUCTURAL DETERMINANTS ON PREGNANCY INTENTION AND REPRODUCTIVE DECISION MAKING AMONG AFRICAN AMERICAN WOMEN

BACKGROUND: Nearly half of U.S. pregnancies are unintended with African American women having the highest rates of unintended pregnancies and many of the poorest pregnancy-related health outcomes. Intersectional approaches are needed to better understand how intersecting oppressions effect pregnancy intentions in African American women’s lives. This study examined African American women’s intersectional identities related to pregnancy intention, experiences accessing reproductive care, and making reproductive decisions. METHODS: This mixed-methods participatory study used Group Concept Mapping (GCM) along with four questionnaires (reproductive history, Adverse Childhood Experiences, …