Community Health and Preventive Medicine Commons^™

Addressing Farm Safety: Farm Safety Dinner Theaters In The Shenandoah Valley, Tammy Kiser, Michelle Seekford, Jeremy Daubert

Virginia Journal of Public Health

Statistics demonstrate that farm safety and wellness issues affect all ages in the agricultural community. However, an increased proportion of youth and older farm workers comprise the highest rates of farm-related morbidity and mortality. Engaging farmers in increasing safe practices in the agricultural community is an important, ongoing challenge.

Methodology

Farm Safety Dinner Theaters, an initiative created through community-based participatory research (CBPR) at the University of Kentucky, provide a relaxed environment where farmers and their families can identify safety and wellness issues, watch as the actors process these issues, and enjoy a meal. Seeing the situations played out in theater …

Predictors Of Lung Cancer Screening Recommendation In Virginia Using The Community Health Assessment Survey, Aashish Batheja, Carrie Miller, Sunny Jung Kim, Bernard Fuemmeler F., Rajsh Balkrishnan

Virginia Journal of Public Health

Purpose: The purpose of this analysis was to determine the factors that may influence the probability of being recommended a lung cancer screening by a health professional in Virginia.

Methods: Data were obtained from the Community Health Assessment Survey conducted by the University of Virginia (UVA) Health System and Cancer System in collaboration with Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU) Cancer Center. SAS software was used to conduct a logistic regression with the following variables: age, sex, race, current smoking status, cancer history, education level, income level, insurance, and rurality.

Results: Statistically significant positive predictors included being a current smoker (OR: 3.504, …

Promoting Community Health Research Partnerships Through A Small Grants Program: Processes And Lessons Learned, Sophie G. Wenzel, Amanda J. Nguyen, Kristin Miller, Leigh Guarinello, Allison Mckell, Kathryn Hosig

Virginia Journal of Public Health

While there are multiple ways to engage communities in health research, one approach is through partnership-based research in which community representatives are involved as intentional partners in the research process, from conceptualization and co-creation to implementation, analysis, interpretation, and dissemination. However, there remain numerous challenges to supporting and sustaining such partnerships.

Since its launch in 2019, the integrated Translational Health Research Institute of Virginia (iTHRIV) has sought to foster community engaged health research among its four research/clinical institutions through a community partnership-based grant program. Over five funding cycles, iTHRIV has awarded 14 one-year research grants addressing topics such as opioid …

Empowering Community Health Workers In Guatemala, Oswald M. Attin, Gineska Castillo, Grace Sibert, Andrea Harper

Virginia Journal of Public Health

Introduction:

Community health workers (CHW) have been integral in helping middle- and low-income countries. This research paper discusses the benefits of the involvement of CHWs in health screenings.

Methods:

Health screenings were performed for three rural communities in Guatemala, in 2021, alongside a church in Zacapa, to identify community wide health risks. The screenings included a detailed questionnaire that collected demographic data, height and weight, a blood glucose check, a hemoglobin check, and a blood pressure reading. Additional nutritional data was collected to understand diet patterns and habits. In-depth educational sessions were done with the CHWs, emphasizing preventative care, and …

Structural Barriers To Health Care Access And Ipv Disclosure In First-Generation Latina Immigrants, Donna L. Schminkey, Deborah Elkins, Karen Jagiello, Sandra Annan, Jamie Robinson, Erika Metzler Sawin

Virginia Journal of Public Health

Background: This study aimed to describe the unique structural barriers faced by Latina women in rural areas of Virginia as they attempt to access the health care system, and, once they have gained access, to identify barriers to intimate partner violence (IPV) disclosure.

Methods: Semi-structured in-depth individual interviews with first-generation Latina immigrants were conducted after initial purposeful convenience sampling and concomitant snowball recruiting. A thematic content analysis using a phenomenological approach was employed to interpret participants' experiences. Initial findings were validated through additional interviews.

Results: The overarching theme expressed by these women was their search for dignity. Emergent sub-themes related …

Vaccine Uptake In The Era Of Covid-19: Associations Between Willingness To Receive The Influenza And Covid-19 Vaccines, Mutaz Alkalbani, Ritsa Frousios, Matilda Francis, Yousef Beidas, Jennifer Ryal, Brynn Sheehan

Virginia Journal of Public Health

Background/purpose. Despite efforts to increase flu vaccine uptake, the rate of vaccination remains below target. Additionally, many Virginians remain unvaccinated or have not maintained a booster schedule in line with recommendations. The current study investigated willingness to receive the flu and COVID-19 vaccines during the COVID-19 pandemic, associations between the likelihood of receiving the two vaccines, and differences in uptake by racial group and insurance status. Methods. Participants were adult patients seen for appointments at an ambulatory clinic in Southeast, VA. Participants completed a questionnaire assessing vaccination history and future vaccination intentions. Results. Results revealed significant associations between having received …

Policy Forum: The Tobacco Surcharge & Sugar-Sweetened Beverage Taxes: Reconciling Equity And Targeted Public Health Interventions, Ben Barber

Virginia Journal of Public Health

Virginia is poised to repeal the tobacco surcharge, an ineffective policy that disproportionately harms low- and middle-income Virginians. (Small, 2023) The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA), which otherwise strengthened health care access and equity, allows health insurers in the individual and small-group markets to charge smokers up to 50 percent higher premiums relative to nonsmokers. (ACA, 2010) The law’s financial assistance does not apply to this surcharge, forcing enrollees to bear the entire cost of the penalty. This provision was a compromise between the ACA’s drafters, most of whom opposed the surcharge, and the health insurance industry, which …

Lessons Learned: Covid-19 In Post-Corrections Secured Behavioral Rehabilitation, Jennifer G. Jones, Maria Devalpine, Erica J. Lewis

Virginia Journal of Public Health

Background: The COVID-19 case rate on June 5, 2020, for prisoners in the United States (US) was 5.5 times higher than the US population case rate (Saloner et al., 2020). Secure facilities were challenged to mitigate the spread of COVID-19. One secure behavioral rehabilitation facility made many changes to facility and program protocols to meet this challenge.

Methods: The purpose of this program evaluation was to assess newly implemented infection control measures at a secure behavioral rehabilitation facility and to inform policy and procedure recommendations for the mitigation of COVID-19 transmission in congregate living facilities in the future. Case rates, …

A Mixed Methods Investigation Of How Young Adults In Virginia Received, Evaluated, And Responded To Covid-19 Public Health Messaging, Natalie Cook, Sophie G. Wenzel, Rachel Silverman, Danielle Short, Kristina Jiles, Teace Markwalter, Mary Ann Friesen

Virginia Journal of Public Health

The purpose of this study was to investigate how young adults in Virginia received, evaluated, and responded to messages related to the coronavirus/COVID-19, a major disruptor of our time, and to understand how and when these messages influenced behavior. This was a sequential explanatory mixed methods study, including an online survey (quantitative) and virtual focus groups (qualitative). We surveyed a convenience sample of 3,694 Virginia residents by distributing a link to complete the survey online. Only data from18-24 year old adults (n=207) were included in the analysis for this study. Focus group participants were recruited from the survey participants as …

Evaluation Of Recruitment Strategies On Inclusiveness Of Populations At Risk For Health Disparities In The Statewide Remote Online Covidsmart Registry, Marilyn M. Bartholmae, Amira A. Roess, Keith D. Renshaw, Brian L. Levy, Matvey V. Karpov, Joshua M. Sill, Sunita Dodani

Virginia Journal of Public Health

Background

The COVID-19 pandemic affected health research practices. The large-scale impacts of COVID-19 and restrictions on face-to-face interaction led to increased use of remote online data collection methods. However, it is unclear if such efforts led to the representation of populations at risk for health disparities. We evaluated whether multiple recruitment strategies would capture a representative sample of individuals at risk for health disparities.

Methods

The COVIDsmart registry collected clinical, social, economic, and behavioral data in the state of Virginia from March to November, 2021. Seven hundred eighty-two adult participants were enrolled. We compared the representation of COVIDsmart participants at …

Policy Forum: Examining The Relationship Between Vacant Health Director Positions & Public Health, Ben Barber

Virginia Journal of Public Health

No abstract provided.