Medicine and Health Sciences Commons^™

Parent-Child Sexual Communication And Sexual Risk: A Meta-Analytic Review, Brittnie Star Peck

Theses and Dissertations

This meta-analysis examines the effect of parent-child sexual communication (PCSC) on sexual risk behaviors and outcomes during adolescence. Results confirm that PCSC increases risk prevention strategies and reduces sexually risky behaviors with corresponding reductions in unplanned pregnancy and sexually transmitted infections (STI). Moderating variables include extent of communication, the content of PCSC interactions, operationalization of risk, timing of the interaction, biological sex of the adolescent, the dyadic composition of the parent-child interaction (e.g., mother-daughter, father-son), and the racial or ethnic makeup of the sample. The frequency, depth, and breadth of PCSC interactions, and inclusion of descriptive/instructional and contraception/risk information are …

We All Feel Feelings, Ben Ohene

Theses and Dissertations

Consisting of three illustrated books, We All Feel Feelings is designed as a vehicle for the discussion of emotional and mental health with young boys. These books will help foster a mindset of openness and acceptance through different methods of displaying and understanding emotions.

A Mixed Methods Evaluation Of An Intersectional Bystander Program Against Sexual Violence Using The Integrated Model Of Behavioral Prediction Within A Cluster Randomized Control Trial, Rose Hennessy

Theses and Dissertations

Background: Sexual violence is a critical public health problem that is particularly salient on college campuses. Bystander intervention is a prevention approach that teaches students who are not directly affected by a situation to take action to help others. Research is needed to understand the relationship between bystander training and changes in behavior to intervene against sexual violence, racism, and unhealthy alcohol outcomes.

Methods: A cluster randomized waitlist control trial was used to evaluate the bystander program Our School TAKES ACTION. Upper-level undergraduate students were randomized by housing floor from buildings of a private, midwestern university. Data was collected in …

Substance Use Disorder: Experiences Of Affected Family Members Social Support, Eileen Kane

Theses and Dissertations

ABSTRACT

Substance Use Disorder: Experiences of Affected Family Members Social Support

by

Eileen Kane

The University of Wisconsin- Milwaukee, 2020

Under the Supervision of Dr. Julia Snethen

Background: Social support is a factor in the health and well-being of all populations (WHO, 2018). Having a loved one with SUD negatively affects family members. Affected Family Members (AFM) providing support for the individual with ISUD, are at risk of losing their social support network. Losing social support negatively influences AFMs health and well-being. The purpose of this study was to explore the affected family member (AFM) of an individual with a …

Communicating About Routine Childhood Vaccines: Meta-Analysis Of Parental Attitudes, Behaviors, & Vaccine Hesitancy, Angela Victor

Theses and Dissertations

As scientific and medical communities research the next generation of vaccines, medical providers and parents observe the current routine vaccination schedules published for children today. And despite the fact protection is available from a number of preventable diseases through the use of safe, reliable, and accessible vaccines, Vaccine Hesitancy VH (delaying or refusing vaccination for reasons other than accessibility) is a growing issue. Using meta-analysis to examine existing research on communication about routine childhood vaccines, the study explores parental attitudes, behaviors, and demographics using the Protection Motivation Theory PMT. The study explores categories influencing VH such as: alternative medicine, safety, …

The Influence Of Instructor Mental Illness Disclosure On The Perceptions Of Mental Illness, Classroom Climate, Teacher Credibility, Homophily, And Social Attraction, Kirsten L. Bridgemen

Theses and Dissertations

This study uses the lens of Communication Privacy Management theory to analyze the impact an instructor’s depth of disclosure of their mental illness can have on mental illness stigmatization, classroom climate, as well as teacher credibility, homophily, and social attraction. Participants responded to a series of quantitative-based questions regarding a hypothetical syllabus with varied levels of a teacher disclosing their mental illness. Results indicated that none of the investigated dependent variables were negatively affected by the hypothetical instructor’s disclosure, and mental illness stigmatization was lessened. Implications, limitations, and areas for future research are discussed.

Factors Affecting Blood Pressure Target Outcomes For Veterans Using Home Telehealth, Vincent Boom

Theses and Dissertations

Hypertension is the most common diagnosis among Veterans, contributing to approximately 15,000 veterans hospitalized for stroke every year. The high prevalence of hypertension found in the Veteran population suggests a need to better define the risks and benefits associated with the diagnosis and treatment of hypertension. The U. S. Department of Veteran Affairs (VA) home telehealth program provides chronic care management for hypertension to facilitate Veteran access to care. Existing evidence suggests Veterans’ monitoring of blood pressure at home may selectively assist in managing hypertension. This secondary analysis of data used a self-management lens to assign meaning to traditionally demographic …

Patients’ Needs And Preferences Regarding Radiology Test Results On Patient Portals, Mansour Abdulaziz Almanaa

Theses and Dissertations

Introduction and significance: Radiology exams are an important part of health care. To enhance the quality of health care, health care services need to be delivered in ways that meet patients’ needs and preferences. Patients were found to be interested in the timely receipt of radiology test results. One of the easiest and fastest ways to deliver radiology test results to patients is via online patient portals. It seems, however, that the method of providing radiology test results through patient portals has not reached its full maturity; it still needs a great deal of improvement. Therefore, participation of the end-readers …

Hypersensitivity Adverse Event Reporting In Clinical Cancer Trials: Barriers And Potential Solutions To Studying Severe Events On A Population Level, Christina E. Eldredge

Theses and Dissertations

ABSTRACT

HYPERSENSITIVITY ADVERSE EVENT REPORTING IN CLINICAL CANCER TRIALS: BARRIERS AND POTENTIAL SOLUTIONS TO STUDYING ALLERGIC EVENTS ON A POPULATION LEVEL

by

Christina Eldredge

The University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, 2020

Under the Supervision of Professor Timothy Patrick

Clinical cancer trial interventions are associated with hypersensitivity events (HEs) which are recorded in the national clinical trial registry, ClinicalTrials.gov and publicly available. This data could potentially be leveraged to study predictors for HEs to identify at risk patients who may benefit from desensitization therapies to prevent these potentially life-threatening reactions. However, variation in investigator reporting methods is a barrier to leveraging this data …

Practical Problems And Moral Discourses: An Ethnography Of Breastfeeding, Tara Ann Gallagher

Theses and Dissertations

Universal and bioactive, breastfeeding is a burgeoning biocultural topic because it incorporates biological and social determinants of human behavior. The topic has amassed media attention framed as part of a bigger imagining of motherhood as an idealized state directed at the female body’s performance. This paper questions media and public policy’s role in the dissemination of culture and the symbolic value of breastmilk. This study examines breastfeeding discourses through the lens of an American, mostly white, Midwestern middle-class social structure. Using participant observation data of two postpartum support groups and semi-structured interviews with six primiparous mothers, my data suggests that …

Cardiovascular Recovery From Emotional Stress: An Operationalization Of Equanamity Following Mindfulness-Based Emotional Stress, Emma Mcbride

Theses and Dissertations

Theoretical models of mindfulness suggest that meditation may improve health, in part, by regulating stress physiology, including faster recovery of heart rate (HR) and blood pressure (SBP/DBP) after emotional stress. Furthermore, improved cardiovascular recovery (CR) may be a marker of equanimity, defined as increased acceptance of and reduced reactivity to stress. No studies have tested this hypothesis, partly because methodology for assessing CR remains controversial. Using a novel operationalization of equanimity and several methods of measuring CR, this project investigated whether (1) equanimity is associated with improved CR, (2) Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) is associated with improved CR, and (3) …

An Evaluation Of The Advance Directives-Live Action Simulation Training (Ad-Last) Program, Alexandra Rosa Spinelli

Theses and Dissertations

Advance Care Planning (ACP) is a process that captures a patient’s wishes in the case of future circumstances in which they are unable to express them. Studies show that less than one third of the general population has completed some type of formal Advance Directive (AD). There are barriers to completing ADs, and these barriers operate on multiple levels, including, patient, provider and institutional. To improve providers’ capacity to help patients complete ACP, and overcome these barriers, a provider-focused intervention was conducted. The current study is an analysis of archival data collected from the Advance Directives-Live Action Simulation Training (AD-LAST) …

A Qualitative Analysis Of Caregiver Goals For Urban Children With And Without Asthma, Megan M. Carlson

Theses and Dissertations

Pediatric asthma is a major public health concern that disproportionately affects children of color and youth living in low-income, urban areas. The implications for public health, child health, and family functioning necessitates our understanding and addressing experiences by families who are facing barriers within their socio-demographic context in addition to the stressors associated with managing pediatric asthma. The current study applied qualitative methods to interviews with caregivers of children with and without asthma in an effort to more deeply connect with caregivers’ experiences and yield richer information about the intersection of identities as Black caregivers living in an urban setting …

“Is Therapy For Me?” Perceptions Of Therapy Inclusivity And Willingness To Seek Help Among Black Emerging Adults, Randl B. Dent

Theses and Dissertations

Mental health issues are prevalent among Black emerging adults; however, they tend to underutilize mental healthcare services. The goals of the current study were to examine whether: (1) perceived therapy inclusivity would predict willingness to utilize mental healthcare services and (2) the relationship between perceived therapy inclusivity and willingness would be moderated by two indices of racial identity (i.e., centrality and private regard). Results provide evidence that greater perceptions of therapy inclusivity are associated with greater willingness to seek mental health services even after controlling for factors, such as gender, self-stigma, and previous mental healthcare utilization. Additionally, there was no …

Can School Be A Source Of Trauma? Assessing Academic Traumatic Stress As A Mechanism Underlying The Health Outcomes Of Black Undergraduate Students, Ebony A. Lambert

Theses and Dissertations

Research examining Black students’ school experiences demonstrates that exposure to oppressive power dynamics in schools may lead to adverse physiological and psychological consequences. Recent conceptualizations in public discourse further posit that traumatic educational experiences, operationalized here as academic trauma or the cumulative toll of adverse and oppressive experiences in academic settings, may influence Black students’ wellbeing even after they have graduated. However, academic trauma has yet to be investigated empirically, and the health contributions of such educational harm remain unstudied. Moreover, little is known about how culturally-relevant personal characteristics (e.g., emotion regulation strategies) influence Black students’ reactivity to academic trauma. …

The Intersection Of Social Stress, Mental Well-Being, And Sexual Health Among Black Women In Emerging Adulthood, Brandi Galloway

Theses and Dissertations

With an estimated 37,000 new HIV infections each year, HIV continues to be a major public health concern. HIV affects some populations more than others. Young Black women, in particular, are disproportionately affected by HIV. While being a woman does not typically increase a person’s HIV risk, being Black and being a woman does.

Data indicate that individual-level factors do not fully address the differences in HIV and STIs between Black emerging adult women and their White counterparts. Thus, it is critical to better understand contextual factors such as social stress and mental-wellbeing which might better account for these disparities. …

Differential Identification Of Hyperacusis And Misophonia: Implications Of Discrete Decreased Sound Tolerance (Dst) Condition Subtypes, Rachel E. Wallace

Theses and Dissertations

Hyperacusis and misophonia are two conditions of decreased sound tolerance (DST) studied in the psychological literature due to their association with psychological symptoms and mechanisms. DSTs are differentiated from normal sound sensitivity due to the reported impairment and distress individuals experience. Researchers suggest that DSTs are differentiated by types of sounds and emotional reactions elicited, such that hyperacusis is a fear and pain response to ordinary environmental sounds perceived as uncomfortably loud, and misophonia is an anger and disgust response to human-made sounds, but these distinctions, and associated characteristics, have not been empirically demonstrated. Undergraduate students (N = 1572) …

Relationship Of Demographic Characteristics Of Occupational And Physical Therapists Towards Their Knowledge And Attitude On Person-Centered Care In Skilled Nursing Facilities, Sadashiv R. Aggarwal

Theses and Dissertations

The study aimed to assess the relationship of specific demographic characteristics of occupational (OTs) and physical therapists (PTs) with their knowledge and attitudes towards principles of Person-Centered Care (PCC) in skilled nursing facilities (SNFs). The study further examined if knowledge and/or attitudinal differences exist between OTs and PTs towards PCC. The proposed descriptive study used the Person-Centered Care theory, which is a holistic (bio-psychosocial-spiritual) health care delivery approach. PCC delivers services that are respectful and individualized, allowing negotiation of care, and offering choice through a therapeutic relationship where persons receiving care are empowered to be involved in health decisions at …

Adoption Of The Health Information Exchange (Hie) System And The Role Of The Healthcare Leadership, Muhammad Faisal Ashfaque

Theses and Dissertations

The advancement in technology calls for improvement in service delivery in healthcare systems, especially in the present health pandemic of the COVID-19. At present, healthcare systems utilize several electronic health techniques. However, there is a need for the creation of interoperability that can assist healthcare organizations in exchanging data more effectively through the global adoption of healthcare information exchange (HIE). The current research examines the adoption of HIEs and healthcare leadership roles to realize a fully functional interoperable patient HIE. This study utilized the systematic document analysis method to review qualitative data on the different aspects of healthcare leadership, implementation …

The Correlation Between Maternal Postpartum Depression And Child Psychopathology, T'Keyah I. Vaughan

Theses and Dissertations

Background: Postpartum depression (PPD) is a phenomenon that affects nearly 10-15% of pregnancies in the US. It is characterized by depressed mood or anhedonia and lasting for more than 2 weeks. PPD changes how moms interact with family members and child-rearing behavior. Depression is a phenomenon that is also known to affect the psychopathology of children. However, the specifics of how postpartum depression impacts children remains controversial. Many studies do not control for major depressive disorder which makes it difficult to disentangle the impact depression has within the first year of life. Furthermore, other PPD risk factors may be confounding …

Swipe Right For Condoms And Testing: Differences In High-Risk Sexual Behavior And Sexual Health Beliefs Among Dating App Users Compared To Non-App Users, Shelby A. Smout

Theses and Dissertations

Millions of Americans are currently using smartphone dating applications (apps) to socialize and meet with others. In some cases, app-based conversations lead to sexual interactions. Previous research examining the relationship between the use of dating apps and sexual behaviors has found that individuals who use dating apps and meet with partners from the app are more likely to engage in high-risk sexual behaviors such as having multiple partners and inconsistent condom use. Individuals between the ages of 18 and 24 are the group most likely to be using dating apps compared to other age groups and are a high-risk group …

Transcriptomic Profiling Of Postmortem Prefrontal Cortex And Nucleus Accumbens From Chronic Alcohol Abusers., Eric S. Vornholt

Theses and Dissertations

Alcohol use disorder (AUD) is a debilitating psychiatric illness that develops from a combination of genetic and environmental factors. While it is well documented that AUD is heritable, the shift from recreational alcohol use to abuse/dependence is poorly understood. In this dissertation, using postmortem brain tissue from individuals with alcohol dependence (AD), we profiled the genome-wide expression of circular RNA (circRNA), microRNA (miRNA), and messenger RNA (mRNA) to better understand the impact of gene expression on the development of AUD. To achieve this, we performed two independent studies that explore transcriptome differences between AD cases and controls. The first of …

Associations Between Stress, Racial Discrimination, And Cytokine Levels In Black Americans, Takia Williams

Theses and Dissertations

Inflammation is a common pathophysiological pathway for a number of chronic diseases and is influenced by exposure to stress. Although there are racial disparities in health outcomes, relatively little is known about factors that may influence the inflammatory response in Black American individuals. This study examined whether racial discrimination and other forms of stress are associated with the balance of pro- and anti- inflammatory cytokines in Black American adults. Data from 22 participants were drawn from a larger study of Black American children (ages 5-12) and their primary caregivers drawn from low income neighborhoods in Richmond, Virginia. Caregivers reported demographics, …