Community Health and Preventive Medicine Commons^™

Examining Barriers To Sexual And Reproductive Health Services For Adolescents And Young Adults In Nebraska, Marisa Rosen

Theses & Dissertations

Despite recent declines in unintended pregnancy rates among adolescent and young adult women, barriers to family planning services and contraception continue to exist for young women living in the United States. Various initiatives have been implemented over the years from programmatic interventions to enactment of policies around family planning, yet more work needs to be done to help adolescent and young adult women successfully prevent unintended pregnancy. The Contraceptive Access Project (CAP) is a multi-component initiative in Nebraska to reduce unintended pregnancy among women aged 15-24. This dissertation comprises three separate studies each of which contributes to the overall objective …

Increasing Physical Activity To Improve Health Through Primary Care Clinics In Rural Nebraska, Jill Reed

Theses & Dissertations

Addressing the lack of physical activity (PA) in rural adults is vital because of the role it plays in the risk for many chronic diseases. The purpose of the study was to explore the feasibility of conducting a 12-week intervention to increase PA behavior in inactive rural adults recruited from a primary care clinic. Subjects were randomized to the intervention (n=30) or control (n=29) group and wore a Fitbit to track PA. The intervention group completed action plans and received weekly motivational text messages to improve PA behaviors. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with study participants (n=10) and a focus group …

Surveillance, Prevention And Surgical Treatments For Hepatocellular Carcinoma, Kerui Xu

Theses & Dissertations

Liver cancer is the second-leading cause of cancer death, representing roughly 9.1% of all cancer mortality. Of all primary cancers of the liver, hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) accounts for roughly 85%. HCC has been increasing in the U.S. and other countries. In particular, HCC places a huge burden on the Chinese population, as China alone consists of approximately 50% of the total HCC cases and deaths. In China, chronic hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection is the leading cause for developing HCC. The two challenges in prevention and control of HCC experienced in China are low rates of HCC screening among the …

Trends In Childhood Elevated Blood Lead Levels In Nebraska, 2013 – 2017, Ellana Haakenstad

Capstone Experience

This project explored the exposure to lead among children in Nebraska. Using the Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services’ Blood Lead Level database, trends were investigated in screening; demographics; incidence; and prevalence of elevated blood lead levels, statewide and by census tract. The study further explored the geography of lead exposure and elevated blood lead level cases with maps. Based on these results, policy recommendations were made to the Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services’ Childhood Lead Poisoning Prevention Program, particularly about areas of Nebraska with high risk of lead incidence and exposure risk where testing should be …

A Characterization Of The Medical-Legal Partnership (Mlp) Of Nebraska Medicine, Jordan Pieper

Capstone Experience

This research study was completed at Legal Aid of Nebraska’s Health, Education, and Law Project through the partnership it has formed working with Nebraska Medicine and Iowa Legal Aid. Traditionally, health and disease have always been viewed exclusively as "healthcare" issues. But with healthcare consistently growing towards holistic approaches to help patients, we now know there are deeper, structural conditions of society that can act as strong driving forces of a person's poor daily living conditions that can negatively impact health. The importance of a Medical-Legal Partnership is that it considers a patient's social determinants of health (SDHs). The goal …

Matters Of Trust: Examination Of The Patient-Provider Relationship In Cancer Care, Krista A. Brown

Capstone Experience

Background: The intangible concept of trust is critical in the patient-provider relationship. Cancer patients may experience positive and negative impacts of trust in this relationship to a higher degree due to the inherently serious nature of their disease and the level of dependence upon treatment providers.

Objective: The goal of this study was to compare colorectal cancer patients’ levels of trust in their primary care physician and oncologist, along with examining trust differences associated with demographics and other characteristics.

Methods: Colorectal cancer patients (n=158) treated at Nebraska Medicine and consented into the Integrated Cancer Repository for Cancer Research IRB …

Identifying The Newly Insurable Medicaid Coverage Gap Population Under The Affordable Care Act: Who They Are And Where They Live, Samuel L. Woodruff

Capstone Experience

The goal of this Capstone Project is to better define and geographically locate the potential distribution of individuals who fall within the current Medicaid Coverage Gap and those populations who would be eligible for Medicaid under the expansion of Medicaid within the state of Nebraska. Using data from multiple United States Census Bureau sources, along with available data from the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA), this project looks to also locate populations of these individuals that may live within established Medically Underserved Areas (MUA's) or Health Professional Shortage Areas (HPSA's) within the state. American Community Survey 5-year Public Use …

Examining The Benefits And Client Satisfaction Of The Open Arms Of Minnesota Meal Service Program, Carlie Rhinehart

Capstone Experience

Chronic disease can leave individuals incapable of caring for themselves, leading to a low quality of life. Public health researchers have proven how crucial medically tailored meals are to those fighting such chronic diseases. Open Arms is a local nonprofit that started in 1986. They make and deliver meals, free of charge, to people with life-threatening illnesses.

The goal of this study is to examine the benefits of the meal services provided by Open Arms of Minnesota to clients who are chronically ill. To learn about the benefits, analysis was conducted on the client satisfaction survey data collected. The anonymous …