Medicine and Health Sciences Commons^™

Movement Matters: Encouraging Activity In Preventive Medicine, Stefanie Geiger Kelsey

Family Medicine Clerkship Student Projects

No abstract provided.

Associations Between Daily Wellness Behaviors And Outcomes Among Medical Students, Ankrish Milne, Alexandra Novelli, Carly Watson, Hakeem Yousef, William Copeland, Leigh Ann Holterman, Lee Rosen, Yang Bai, Azilee Curl, Samuel Pasqualoni, Stephen Kirby, Xixi Halvorson-Phelan, James Hudziak

Larner College of Medicine Fourth Year Advanced Integration Teaching/Scholarly Projects

Objective: Explore which wellness behaviors have the greatest impact on wellbeing outcomes in medical students.

Methods: A total of 213 medical students were enrolled in this study between June and September 2021. Participants completed a battery of online surveys, including demographic information, and 60-second nightly surveys on the WE-MD smartphone app, which assessed wellness-related indicators (exercise duration, sleep quality, nutrition quality, etc.) and wellbeing outcomes (mood, focus, stress, etc.).

Results: 116 participants completed >50% of nightly surveys between September 2021 and November 2021 and were included in the analysis. All wellness indicators were significantly associated with at least one wellness …

A Healthier Diet For Weight Loss, Hannah White

Family Medicine Clerkship Student Projects

Many patients presenting to clinic have the goal of weight loss to improve their health as obesity has many comorbidities. Many patients have multiple health concerns like Diabetes Mellitus, Hypertension, Hyperlipidemia, PCOS, or joint pain. Part of the management of their conditions include weight loss, but many patients struggle, for years, to lose weight. A referral to the Metabolic Weight Loss clinic in Newtown, which will provide patients with nutritional information, evidence based diets, medications, exercises, and more, can take up to 1 year to get an appointment. The goal of this project is to provide information to patients in …

Aging And Exercising Gracefully, Karena P. Nguyen

Family Medicine Clerkship Student Projects

Exercise and physical therapy are concerns among patients experiencing menopause and patients who near the age of menopause. Newtown Primary Care serves a population, whose census indicates an aging population. An interdisciplinary pamphlet on weight-bearing exercises and community resources for the peri- and postmenopausal population was developed with input from physical therapists and doctors.

Barriers To Exercise: Fitness Made Simple, John A. Steinharter Ms

Family Medicine Clerkship Student Projects

Lifestyle modification is a necessary component of managing chronic illnesses in order to obtain the best outcomes. Exercise has been shown to be efficacious at improving outcomes in a number of different clinical contexts. Patient adherence to exercise as a lifestyle modification is lower than desired due to multifactorial etiology including socioeconomic constraints, disability, chronic pain, and motivation. This project attempts to address all four with a site specific educational pamphlet.

Tackling Access To A Healthier Life, Edom Alemayehu Girma

Family Medicine Clerkship Student Projects

Obesity is a known risk factor for complications during childhood and later in adult life. While numerous factors play a role in the prevalence of obesity, this project focused on better intervention for obesity management in the family medicine clinic located in Plattsburgh, NY. Interviews and literature searches were conducted to determine possible strategies to better assist patients in attaining their sustainable weight loss goals and an overall healthier lifestyle.

Home Exercise For Patients With Limited Access And Resources, Justin L. Esteban

Family Medicine Clerkship Student Projects

Patients with limited resources and who are socioeconomically disadvantaged, don’t have the time or resources available to partake/pursue exercise. Having a home workout program may prove to be beneficial to patients who don't have access to a gym, equipment, or are otherwise constrained by time.

Promoting Exercise In The Elderly Population Through An Informative Handout, Stephen Brand

Family Medicine Clerkship Student Projects

Physical activity has been shown to reduce risk of morbidity, mortality and prolongs life expectancy in the elderly population. However, many factors can inhibit one’s ability to exercise, including economic strain. Fortunately, a program known as SilverSneakers provides access to fitness centers and fitness classes designed for seniors which is included with certain eligible Medicare plans. This project aims to promote physical activity in patients aged 65 or greater who may not be aware of the potential access they have to local health clubs in the greater Southern Connecticut area.

Inclusive Local And Online Resources To Stay Active During The Covid-19 Pandemic, Collin B. Montgomery

Family Medicine Clerkship Student Projects

The COVID-19 pandemic has interrupted daily life in an innumerable amount of ways. Through gym closures and overcrowded, unsafe public spaces, maintaining exercise routines and reaching physical activity recommendations is increasingly difficult for many people. As a result of this, there has been an increasing emphasis on at home exercise and routines people can do at home. However, many of these resources are not inclusive of populations such as the elderly, people with disabilities, and the otherwise deconditioned as the exercises can be too strenuous or require specific equipment. The goal of this project was to compile a list of …

Exercise As A Tool For Treating Anxiety And Depression, Lizzi Hahn

Family Medicine Clerkship Student Projects

In addition to its important role in the maintenance of physical health, exercise has been shown to have numerous benefits for mental health. Recent studies indicate that even brief engagement in physical activity can make a positive impact on the treatment of pre-existing anxiety and depression - as well as the prevention of future symptoms. Despite this relationship between exercise and emotional wellness, regular activity in the United States is still exceedingly low, and exercise remains an underused tool by healthcare providers in the treatment of their patients’ anxiety and depression. The goal of this project was to assess patient …

Frequently Asked Questions By Patients About Exercise, Julie Evans

Family Medicine Clerkship Student Projects

A significant portion of patient visits at Milton Family Practice are related to one or multiple aspects of metabolic syndrome. Exercise is a common topic during these visits either brought up by patients or providers. This project focused on creating a handout for patient education with answers to commonly asked questions pertaining to exercise and resources in the community.

Remaining Active In Vermont Winters, Sarah Kendrick

Family Medicine Clerkship Student Projects

This project explored the challenges of remaining active during Vermont winter for patients with chronic disease. It further complies resources in the community for maintaining activity levels over the winter months.

Resources For Staying Active During The Covid-19 Pandemic, Peter K. Twining

Family Medicine Clerkship Student Projects

During the COVID-19 pandemic, many patients find it difficult to stay active. Staying active when gyms are closed and school sports are cancelled can make staying active especially difficult. The purpose of this project was to compile a list of resources for patients to use to stay active and healthy at home during the pandemic.

Helping People Overcome Barriers To Exercise Through In-Office Pt Exercise Evaluation Referrals, Matthew Charles Hill Brandt

Family Medicine Clerkship Student Projects

Utilization of a poster in a primary care exam room advertising Physical Therapy Exercise Evaluations in an effort to help patients overcome barriers to exercising. The goal of the project is to capture people in the contemplative/preparatory stage of behavior change and help them reach the action and maintenance phases to improve health.

Addressing Exercise And Physical Therapy In Older Patients In Colchester, Vt, Adam Morehead

Family Medicine Clerkship Student Projects

Participation in physical activities remains low among much of the older adult population, particularly during the winter months. Many individuals who are active during warmer times of the year become more sedentary during the winter, and this physical inactivity can contribute to declining health. This project sought to develop a simple brochure outlining several simple exercises that can be performed safely at home without equipment to be distributed to patients at wellness visits to encourage indoor exercise.

Smoking Cessation Associated Weight Gain: The Role Of Diet And Exercise Counseling In Quitting Smoking, Benjamin D. Kagan

Family Medicine Clerkship Student Projects

Weight gain is a common unintended consequence of quitting smoking due to a combination of physiologic and behavioral factors. Counseling focused on diet and exercise reduces weight gain associated with smoking cessation. Reduction of weight gain related to smoking cessation maximizes the health benefit of quitting tobacco.

Low-Cost At-Home Cardio Solutions For Patients During The Covid-19 Pandemic, Anna G. Quinlan

Family Medicine Clerkship Student Projects

No abstract provided.

Addressing Rational Barriers To Lifestyle And Behavioral Modification, Ahmed Eldakroury

Family Medicine Clerkship Student Projects

Rational barriers contribute to resistance towards initiating, restarting or maintaining lifestyle/behavioral modification. Such barriers include lack of confidence in the proposed intervention(s), exaggerated perspectives, unsubstantiated beliefs and feelings of futility/hopelessness in the setting of past failures or relapse. Lifestyle and behavioral modification are core elements of preventative health and mental health—identifying and addressing erroneous thought processes, perspectives or beliefs that contribute to hesitancy may empower patients to trust the process and put an honest effort towards making those changes. Thus, a motivational pamphlet was created for patients with the goal of addressing hesitancy/resistance towards initiating or maintaining lifestyle/behavioral modification. The …

Walking Towards A Healthier Future: A Pocket Guide To Walking Routes In Colchester And The Health Benefits Of Walking, Kevin Dibona

Family Medicine Clerkship Student Projects

The obesity epidemic is a complex problem necessitating a multifaceted long-term response. While there is no single solution to this decade-evolving issue, exercise remains one of the most important health interventions available. This project aims to serve as a resource for patients seeking to lose weight; outlining some of the walking routes local to Colchester Vermont, as well as the health benefits of a sustained exercise plan.

Exercise And Physical Therapy In The Elderly, William Holden

Family Medicine Clerkship Student Projects

There are many current barriers to participating in exercise and physical therapy in the elderly. Using reputable online resources, we created a handout containing a list of exercises that can be completed safely at home without equipment. It was designed for elderly individuals, as inactivity tends to increase with age and this population is particularly vulnerable to the deleterious effects of inactivity. The strength and flexibility exercises primarily target the back, hips and core, common problem areas in the elderly. The handout will contain links to further resources for more in-depth physical therapy exercises and will be tailored for administration …

Physical Activity Levels And Depressive Disorder: A Cross-Sectional Sample Of Vermont Adults, Paige Stefanak, Obichukwu Ezennia, Marley Jurgensmeyer, Jessica Dubetsky, Elise Carlson

Master of Public Health Culminating Projects

Objective: To investigate the association between meeting physical activity (PA) recommendations and having ever been told of having a depressive disorder in a cross-sectional sample of Vermont adults.

Methods: Study participants (n = 11,429) were Vermont residents that had answered all required questions from 2015 and 2017 Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS) telephone surveys. Descriptive and binary logistic analyses were run with PA as the exposure variable and depression as the outcome variable.

Results: Study participants were 44.5% males; 93.2% white/non-Hispanic; 67.6% with some college or more; 46% age 60 or over; 45.8% employed for wages and retired. A …

Promoting Healthy And Active Lifestyles With Home Exercises In South Burlington, Vt, Jonathan Gau

Family Medicine Clerkship Student Projects

The barriers to exercise that patients face are often multi-factorial. Whether its due to weather, financial costs, lack of time, or if the individual simply isn't a gym person, we see a number of patients everyday who are not regularly exercising. This brochure is meant to provide patients during office visits with a tangible source of information that provides examples of in-home exercises, categorized by difficulty, that they can perform without any additional equipment.

Barriers To Exercise: Patients With Diabetes In Washington County, Joshua Bruce Taylor

Family Medicine Clerkship Student Projects

According to the Vermont Department of Health physical inactivity is one of the three main behaviors that predisposes patients to cancer, heart disease/stroke, lung disease, and type 2 diabetes, which result in over 50 percent of deaths among Vermonters. Washington County has a higher rate of overweight adults than the statewide average, making exercise an important component to healthier living. Barriers to exercise, especially among patients with diabetes, impose serious health ramifications for the residents of Washington County, and avenues must be made available to circumvent these barriers.

Promoting Physical Activity In School-Aged Children During The Covid-19 Pandemic, Abigail H. Belser

Family Medicine Clerkship Student Projects

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, children and adolescents are engaging in less physical activity and are increasing their sedentary behavior. These changes can lead to long-lasting negative lifestyle behaviors, which increases risk of health complications.

To ensure safety during the pandemic, guidelines have created restrictions on physical education and sports, which are both primary physical activity outlets for children and adolescents. Children and adolescents have to find alternate ways and resources to meet the recommended 60 minutes of physical activity daily.

An informational pamphlet was created to educate parents and children of current physical activity recommendations, with resources and ideas …

Emphasizing Year-Round Physical Activity Of Seniors In Vergennes, Vermont, Carley R. Mulligan

Family Medicine Clerkship Student Projects

Many senior citizens in the Vergennes community are active in the spring, summer, and fall with various activities, community groups, and walking. However, in the winter with colder temperatures and less sunlight, these activities are difficult to maintain, even more exacerbated by the current Covid-19 pandemic. Encouraging maintenance of physical activity throughout the winter months in Vermont is difficult, but can provide many benefits to these individuals both physically and mentally.

Addressing Exercise Accessibility In Winter Conditions In Milton, Vermont, Liam Du Preez

Family Medicine Clerkship Student Projects

Exercise is a critical aspect of health maintenance, especially in the context of chronic medical problems such as diabetes, heart disease, and obesity. Weather and climate conditions in Vermont directly impact Vermonters' ability to exercise, and this results in negative impacts in their health maintenance and healthcare costs nationally and locally. This project explores the direct and indirect impact of decreased exercise and explore a modality for informing patients on how to stay active safely in the winter.

Addressing Barriers To Physical Activity In Vermont's Geriatric Population, Stephanie Udawatta

Family Medicine Clerkship Student Projects

A wide array of barriers exist which prevent many geriatric patients from engaging in regular physical activity. This project addresses the barriers unique to Vermont's population of geriatric patients and explores potential solutions.

Community-Based Exercise Education During Colder Months, Cole S. Shapiro

Family Medicine Clerkship Student Projects

Approximately 50% of US adults and 75% of US high school students don't meet recommended weekly physical activity guidelines, and physical activity declines further during colder seasons. Resources describing local suggestions for physical activity should be made broadly available to community members, such as at their primary health care office.

Exercise Promotion For Patients With Mental Health Conditions In Milton, Vt, Pirapon Leo Chaidarun

Family Medicine Clerkship Student Projects

Depression and anxiety are two highly prevalent mental health conditions and can often occur together. Research shows that sustained low-intensity exercise releases chemicals that promote nerve cell growth in the brain, which helps regulate mood and relieve symptoms. Exercise may seem like a logical solution for mental health to those with a medical background, but may be a new idea to many patients who are unaware of the added benefits of staying active.

Management Of Mental Health Illness: An Actionable Non-Pharmacologic Approach, Cody J. Couperus

Family Medicine Clerkship Student Projects

Mental health illness is a pervasive and incurs tremendous cost onto society. Patients benefit from a multi factorial approach to treatment including non-pharmacological methods. This project includes development of a handout utilizing compiled resources and motivational interviewing to facilitate patient use of these interventions.