Public Health Commons^™

Community Assets And Capabilities To Recruit And Retain Gps: The Community Apgar Questionnaire In Rural Victoria, Daniel R. Terry, Ed Baker, David Schmitz

Public Health and Population Science Faculty Publications and Presentations

Introduction: Rural communities continue to experience significant challenges recruiting and retaining physicians. The Community Apgar Questionnaire (CAQ) was developed in Idaho in the USA to comprehensively assess the characteristics associated with successful recruitment and retention of rural physicians. The CAQ has been utilised and validated across the USA; however, its value in rural Australia has not been examined. The objective of this study was to use the CAQ in rural Australia to examine its utility and develop a greater understanding of the community factors that impact general practitioner (GP) recruitment and retention.

Method: The project conducted structured face-to-face interviews with …

Exposure To Traffic-Related Air Pollution In Relation To Progression In Physical Disability Among Older Adults, Cynthia Curl

Public Health and Population Science Faculty Publications and Presentations

BACKGROUND: Physical disability is common though not inevitable in older age and has direct bearing on a person’s ability to perform activities essential for self-care and independent living. Air pollution appears to increase the risk of several chronic diseases that contribute to the progression of disability.

OBJECTIVE: We evaluated long-term exposure to traffic-related air pollution (TRAP) in relation to progression in physical disability.

METHODS: We conducted our investigation within the Chicago Health and Aging Project. We measured participants’ exposures to TRAP using two surrogates: residential proximity to major roads (1993 onwards) and ambient concentrations of oxides of nitrogen (NO …

Short-Term Outcome Evaluation Of Healthy Habits, Healthy U: A School-Based Cancer Prevention Program, Alicia Anderson

Boise State University Theses and Dissertations

Healthy Habits, Healthy U (HHHU) is a school-based cancer prevention program. This program is a collaborative effort among Boise State University, St. Luke’s Mountain States Tumor Institute, and the Boise School District. HHHU started in April 2013 as a community outreach initiative designed to teach and reinforce positive health habits in students. HHHU lessons target eighth-grade students and offer a unique approach highlighting the relationships among nutrition, physical activity, sugar-sweetened beverages, and cancer risks, through a variety of educational materials.

The purpose of this study was to assess program efficacy by evaluating short-term outcomes. The study evaluated the effectiveness of …

Mythbusting The Common Cold And Flu, Matthew Dillon

McNair Scholars Research Journal

As we have created vaccines for many contagious pathogens in the last 100 years, the flu and cold still lack a “cure.” There are many things people do to try to get over the cold and flu from homeopathic remedies to the flu vaccine. While nothing can prevent the cold or flu, there are ways we can mitigate our chances of getting these viruses. By doing what we can to avoid getting these illnesses, we are also helping prevent the spread of the viruses to others. In the end, this is our best course of action until a vaccine that …

Fabric Cooling By Water Evaporation, Uwe Reischl, Ravindra S. Goonetilleke

Public Health and Population Science Faculty Publications and Presentations

Clothing can provide safety and comfort for persons exposed to both cold and hot thermal environments. To assess the potential impact of clothing moisture and wetness on fabric cooling, a series of wind-tunnel tests was conducted to quantify the evaporative cooling capacity of selected fabric samples. Single-layer cotton, polyester, nylon and silk were evaluated. The results showed that onset and magnitude of evaporative cooling was determined by the amount of water contained in a fabric sample. The results also showed that an exposed "skin" exhibited more cooling when covered with a fabric than when it was not. The information obtained …

Impact Of Dementia Behavioral Crises Events On First Responder And Family Systems In Idaho: An Exploratory Study, Trina Stolp, Mary Brown, Sarah Toevs, Mike Berlin

Public Health and Population Science Faculty Publications and Presentations

Enhancing quality of life for people with dementia is identified in Healthy People 2020 as a public health priority. In Idaho, the proportion of individuals diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias (ADRD) is projected to increase by 81 % - 127 % between 2000 and 2025. Policies designed to address needs of this population must be based on an understanding of system wide impacts of disease. The purpose of this exploratory study was to examine the impact of behavioral crises related to dementia on first responders. For the purpose of this study, “first responders” were defined as individuals employed …