Public Health Commons^™

Cyberbullying And Self-Perceptions Of Students Associated With Their Academic Performance, Maham Muzamil, Gulzar H. Shah

Department of Health Policy and Community Health Faculty Publications

The aim of this study is to explore the factors influencing students’ academic achievements in secondary school level (grades 09 and 10). Those factors include students’ self-reported psychological and issues (e.g. being bullied through social media) as well as socioeconomic status. Study participants included610 students at senior secondary level (237 male and 363 female) randomly selected from ten different government schools. The schools were randomly selected from the lists provided by their respective Education District Officer (EDO). The data were collected by researchers with the help of teachers. Participants’ were offered as incentives a drawing for a gift certificate. Bivariate …

College Of Public Health News, Georgia Southern University

Jiann-Ping Hsu College of Public Health News (2011-2023)

• Georgia Southern Examines urgent Challenges for Local Public Health Informatics
• Dr.Karl E. Peace Receives Notable Book Reviews

Health Policy & Management News, Georgia Southern University

Health Policy & Management Department News (2011-2018)

• Georgia Southern Examines Urgent Challenges for Local Public Health Informatics

An Assessment Of Data Related To Inspections Of Risk Factors For Public Swimming Pools, Shanita Shack, Maurice Redmond, R. Christopher Rustin

Environmental Health Sciences Faculty Publications

Background: The Georgia Department of Public Health (DPH) is mandated to ensure that public swimming pools are safe for those who use them. This mandate is carried out by the DPH and local environmental health professionals through regulations and inspections. In 2015, legislation was introduced proposing to reduce the authority of the DPH to inspect certain pool types (apartments, subdivision, condominiums) and thus reduce regulatory protections in place for swimmers. To ensure that the DPH had current information on the risks associated with pools, the EH team, with assistance from a graduate student, analyzed inspection data to evaluate risk factors …

A Preliminary Examination Of Elevated Blood Lead Levels In A Rural Georgia County, R. Christopher Rustin, Yu Sun, Chris Calhoun, Christy Kuriatnyk

Environmental Health Sciences Faculty Publications

Background: Rural areas are often viewed as lower risk for lead poisoning and toxic exposures seriously impacting development of the brain and central nervous system; this report examines the prevalence of elevated blood lead levels for children <6 years of age in rural Ben Hill County, GA.

Methods: Lead surveillance data from the Georgia Department of Public Health (DPH) were analyzed using SAS®v-9.3 to calculate the prevalence of elevated blood lead levels (≥5ug/dL) among those children in Ben Hill County who had been tested for lead; the results were compared to Georgia and national data.

Results: A preliminary analysis of 2010-2015 screening data for Ben Hill County indicates that 8.73% …

Epidemiology News, Georgia Southern University

Epidemiology News (2012-2018)

• Georgia Southern Examines Physical Activity Levels of Older Cancer Survivors

College Of Public Health News, Georgia Southern University

Jiann-Ping Hsu College of Public Health News (2011-2023)

• Georgia Southern Examines Physical Activity Levels Of Older Cancer Survivors

College Of Public Health News, Georgia Southern University

Jiann-Ping Hsu College of Public Health News (2011-2023)

• Georgia Southern Senior Honored as ESG Founders Award Winner

Community Health News, Georgia Southern University

Community Health Department News (2011-2018)

• Georgia Southern Senior Honored as ESG Founder’s Award Winner

College Of Public Health News, Georgia Southern University

Jiann-Ping Hsu College of Public Health News (2011-2023)

• Georgia Southern Examines Cyberbullying and Self-Perceptions of Students

Georgia’S Rapid Expansion Of Mosquito Surveillance In Response To Zika Virus, R. Christopher Rustin, Deonte Martin, Rosmarie Kelly

Environmental Health Sciences Faculty Presentations

Objective: To describe the Georgia Department of Public Health’s (DPH) mosquito surveillance capacity before and after Zika virus was declared a public health emergency, review and compare mosquito surveillance results from 2015 to 2016, and evaluate the risk of autochthonous vector transmission of Zika virus based on 2016 surveillance data of Aedes aegypti and Aedes albopictus mosquitoes.

Introduction: Zika virus was declared an international public health emergency by the World Health Organization on February 1, 2016. With Georgia hosting the world’s busiest international airport and a sub-tropical climate that can support the primary Zika virus vector, Aedes aegypti, and secondary …

College Of Public Health News, Georgia Southern University

Jiann-Ping Hsu College of Public Health News (2011-2023)

• Georgia Southern Partners with NYU in Study of the association of Perceived and Actual overweight on school Absenteeism
• Georgia Southern examines information systems
• Georgia southern examines electronic health records and meaningful use in LHDS
• Georgia Southern students inducted into omicron delta kappa national leadership honor society
• Georgia Southern studies the methods behind 2015 informatics capacity and needs assessment study

Community Health News, Georgia Southern University

Community Health Department News (2011-2018)

• Georgia Southern Partners with NYU in Study of the association of Perceived and Actual Overweight on School Absenteeism

Epidemiology News, Georgia Southern University

Epidemiology News (2012-2018)

• Georgia Southern Partners with NYU in Study of the association of Perceived and Actual Overweight on School Absenteeism

Health Policy & Management News, Georgia Southern University

Health Policy & Management Department News (2011-2018)

• Georgia Southern Examines Electronic Health Records and Meaningful Use in LHDs
• Georgia Southern Examines Information Systems
• Georgia Southern Studies the Methods Behind 2015 Informatics Capacity and Needs Assessment Study

College Of Public Health News, Georgia Southern University

Jiann-Ping Hsu College of Public Health News (2011-2023)

• Georgia Southern assesses skills and capacity for informatics
• Georgia Southern examines public health staff development needs in informatics

Health Policy & Management News, Georgia Southern University

Health Policy & Management Department News (2011-2018)

• Georgia Southern Assesses Skills and Capacity for Informatics
• Georgia Southern Examines Public Health Staff Development Needs in Informatics

College Of Public Health News, Georgia Southern University

Jiann-Ping Hsu College of Public Health News (2011-2023)

• Georgia Southern Associate Dean Serves as Guest Editor for the Special Issue on Health Informatics
• Georgia Southern:Examines Estimation of P (X>Y) when X and Y are Dependent Random Variables.

Health Policy & Management News, Georgia Southern University

Health Policy & Management Department News (2011-2018)

• Georgia Southern Associate Dean Serves as Guest Editor for the Special Issue on Health Informatics

Evaluating The Efficiency Of Treatment Comparison In Crossover Design By Allocating Subjects Based On Ranked Auxiliary Variable, Yisong Huang, Hani Samawi, Robert Vogel, Jingjing Yin, Worlanyo E. Gato, Daniel Linder

Biostatistics Faculty Publications

The validity of statistical inference depends on proper randomization methods. However, even with proper randomization, we can have imbalanced with respect to important characteristics. In this paper, we introduce a method based on ranked auxiliary variables for treatment allocation in crossover designs using Latin squares models. We evaluate the improvement of the efficiency in treatment comparisons using the proposed method. Our simulation study reveals that our proposed method provides a more powerful test compared to simple randomization with the same sample size. The proposed method is illustrated by conducting an experiment to compare two different concentrations of titanium dioxide nanofiber …

The Methods Behind 2015 Informatics Capacity And Needs Assessment Study, Gulzar H. Shah

Health Policy and Management Faculty Publications

The 2015 Informatics Needs and Capacity of Local Health Departments (LHDs) survey is the most recent comprehensive source of quantitative data on LHD informatics. Conducted by the National Association of County & City Health Officials (NACCHO), this is the third nationally representative quantitative study of LHD informatics since 2009. The previous 2 comprehensive quantitative assessments were conducted by NACCHO in 2009-2010 and 2011. Given that public health informatics is rapidly evolving, the 2015 Informatics survey is a much-needed country-wide assessment of the current informatics needs and capacities of LHDs. This article outlines detailed methodology used in the 2015 Informatics survey, …

Urgent Challenges For Local Public Health Informatics, Joseph P. Gibson, Gulzar H. Shah, Laura C. Streichert, Linda Verchick

Health Policy and Management Faculty Publications

This editorial highlights the urgent challenges for local public health informatics and provides solutions to face these challenges.

Public Health Staff Development Needs In Informatics: Findings From A National Survey Of Local Health Departments, Barbara L. Massoudi, Kelley Chester, Gulzar H. Shah

Health Policy and Management Faculty Publications

Context: Public health practice is information-intensive and information-driven. Public health informatics is a nascent discipline, and most public health practitioners lack necessary skills in this area.

Objective: To describe the staff development needs of local health departments (LHDs) related to informatics.

Design: Data came from the 2015 Informatics Capacity and Needs Assessment Survey, conducted by Georgia Southern University in collaboration with the National Association of County & City Health Officials.

Participants: A total of 324 LHDs from all 50 states completed the survey (response rate: 50%).

Main Outcome Measure(s): Outcome measures included LHDs' specific staff development needs related to informatics. …

Electronic Health Records And Meaningful Use In Local Health Departments: Updates From The 2015 Naccho Informatics Assessment Survey, Karmen S. Williams, Gulzar H. Shah

Health Policy and Management Faculty Publications

Background: Electronic health records (EHRs) are evolving the scope of operations, practices, and outcomes of population health in the United States. Local health departments (LHDs) need adequate health informatics capacities to handle the quantity and quality of population health data.

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to gain an updated view using the most recent data to identify the primary storage of clinical data, status of data for meaningful use, and characteristics associated with the implementation of EHRs in LHDs.

Methods: Data were drawn from the 2015 Informatics Capacity and Needs Assessment Survey, which used a stratified random sampling …

Using Information Systems To Improve A Mid-Sized Local Health Department’S Effectiveness In A Time Of Rapid Change, Kay Lovelace, Gulzar H. Shah

Health Policy and Management Faculty Publications

Background: Informatics capacity building is resource and personnel intensive. Many local health departments (LHDs) face tradeoffs between using their resources to carry out existing mandates and using resources to build their capacity, for example, through informatics, to deliver essential services in a more effective and efficient manner.

Objective: The purpose of this case study is to describe how a mid-sized LHD built and used information systems to support its strategic objectives, clinical services, and surveillance.

Methods: The mid-sized LHD described here was chosen for its “best practices” in informatics capacity building and use by NACCHO's study advisory committee. To conduct …

Local Health Departments' Partners And Challenges In Electronic Exchange Of Health Information, Gulzar H. Shah, Joshua Vest, Kay Lovelace, J. Mac Mccullough

Health Policy and Management Faculty Publications

Background: Unprecedented amounts of data are produced by the health care and other sectors, presenting opportunities for local health departments (LHDs) to access these data. LHDs will need to participate in health information exchange (HIE) with a number of partners in order to benefit from these data resources. LHDs' participation in HIEs with specific partners has not been studied.

Objectives: To describe the level of and challenges in LHD participation in HIE with other partners, and variation by LHD population size and governance type.

Data and Methods: This research uses data from the 2015 Informatics Capacity and Needs Assessment Survey, …

Informatics As A Strategic Priority And Collaborative Processes To Build A Smarter, Forward-Looking Health Department, Kay Lovelace, Gulzar H. Shah

Health Policy and Management Faculty Publications

This article was published in the Journal of Public Health Management and Practice.

Interoperability Of Information Systems Managed And Used By The Local Health Departments, Gulzar H. Shah, Jonathon P. Leider, Huabin Luo, Ravneet Kaur

Health Policy and Management Faculty Publications

Background: In the post-Affordable Care Act era marked by interorganizational collaborations and availability of large amounts of electronic data from other community partners, it is imperative to assess the interoperability of information systems used by the local health departments (LHDs).

Objectives: To describe the level of interoperability of LHD information systems and identify factors associated with lack of interoperability.

Data and Methods: This mixed-methods research uses data from the 2015 Informatics Capacity and Needs Assessment Survey, with a target population of all LHDs in the United States. A representative sample of 650 LHDs was drawn using a stratified random sampling …

Control Of The Public Health It Physical Infrastructure: Findings From The 2015 Informatics Capacity And Needs Assessment Survey, Kelley Chester, Barbara L. Massoudi, Gulzar H. Shah

Health Policy and Management Faculty Publications

Background: Despite improvements in information technology (IT) infrastructure in public health, there is still much that can be done to improve the adoption of IT in state and local health departments, by better understanding the impact of governance and control structures of physical infrastructure.

Objective: To report out the current status of the physical infrastructure control of local health departments (LHDs) and to determine whether there is a significant association between an LHD's governance status and control of the physical infrastructure components.

Design: Data came from the 2015 Informatics Capacity and Needs Assessment Survey, conducted by Georgia Southern University in …

An Iterative, Low-Cost Strategy To Building Information Systems Allows A Small Jurisdiction Local Health Department To Increase Efficiencies And Expand Services, Kay Lovelace, Gulzar H. Shah

Health Policy and Management Faculty Publications

Objective and Methods: The objective of this case study was to describe the process and outcomes of a small local health department's (LHD's) strategy to build and use information systems. The case study is based on a review of documents and semi-structured interviews with key informants in the Pomperaug District Health Department. Interviews were recorded, transcribed, coded, and analyzed.

Results and Conclusions: The case study here suggests that small LHDs can use a low-resource, incremental strategy to build information systems for improving departmental effectiveness and efficiency. Specifically, we suggest that the elements for this department's success were simple information systems, …