Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Engagement Journalism In Action: Supporting New Yorkers With Long Covid, Sarah Luft

Capstones

What do asthma and long COVID have in common? 1 in 13 U.S. adults are living with them. This report is a recap of my efforts to address the information needs of New Yorkers with long COVID as a student in CUNY's Craig Newmark Graduate School of Journalism engagement program. For my final project, I partnered with THE CITY, a nonprofit news outlet serving New Yorkers, to expand the MISSING THEM project. The report details the what, why, and how of my engagement reporting process, including a community engagement framework, a service journalism series, and lessons to carry forward. You …

Emergency Care For Youth Who Experience Suicidality And Identify As Lesbian Gay Bisexual Transgender Queer/Questioning (Lgbtq+): An Interpretive Phenomenology, Theresa Schultz

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Purpose: Suicide is a leading cause of death in children; youth who identify as LGBTQ+ are at an exponentially higher risk of suicide. The purpose of this study was to explore the lived experiences of young adults who identify as LGBTQ+ and sought emergency care for suicidality when they were adolescents.

Methods: Heideggerian hermeneutics phenomenology is the research method used in this study. Youth, ages 18-25 years, who identify as LGBTQ+ and sought emergency treatment for suicidality when they were adolescents (13-17 years) were recruited to participate;fifteen youth enrolled. Individuals ranged in age from 20 to 25 years. Participants described …

Identifying Critical Aging Care Challenges And Opportunities In High-Income Countries: A Cross-Country Comparison Of Denmark, Germany, And The United States, Cassandra Martin

Capstone Collection

Despite the rapid growth in the aging population in the United States, insufficient resources and attention are invested in improving the support systems this population relies on. This discussion explored the question of how the United States as a high-income country fails to operate an aging care support infrastructure that has comparable comprehensiveness, availability, affordability, and overall quality to other high-income countries. Comparing financing structures, long-term care models, and various aging care supports is important for answering this question. This paper approached exploring this question by analyzing specified indicators from publicly available data across the United States, Germany, and Denmark. …

Reducing The Digital Divide: Why Culturally Relevant Ehealth Interventions Can Reduce Latino Health Disparities, Blanca Flor Garcia-Silva

Master's Projects and Capstones

Objectives: This paper systematically reviews the recent literature on incorporating culturally relevant material in electronic health (eHealth) tools for Latinos. Latinos are a fast-growing ethnic population set to reach 119 million individuals by 2060 (Velasco-Mondragon et al., 2016). Latinos are also disproportionately affected by comorbidities and other poor health outcomes. Developing a culturally sensitive eHealth tool can lead to positive health outcomes among Latinos. Methods: Peer-reviewed articles and analyses were extracted to identify whether eHealth was associated with positive health outcomes among Latino adults. Four literature databases were used to extract English-language articles published from 2001 to 2022. …

No One Should Have To Give Birth Alone: An Analysis Of The Efficacy Of Community-Based Doula Programs Serving Ethnic Minorities In San Francisco, Maria Margaret Nelson

Master's Projects and Capstones

Adverse birth outcomes for both the parent and the child disproportionately affect people of color. Evidence demonstrates that one of the ways to mitigate these negative consequences is through the utilization of a doula, a trained birth companion that is not a medical provider but whose role it is to physically and emotionally support the patient through pregnancy, birth, and postpartum. Community-based doula programs, where the doula is of the same cultural background as the client, are particularly effective in improving birth outcomes in communities of color by providing culturally competent care and helping to navigate a healthcare system that …

Evidence-Based Best Practice Toolkit For Social Determinants Of Health: A Program Evaluation Review, Bryleigh Berry

Student Scholarly Projects

Despite an increase in healthcare expenditure, racial and ethnic disparities remain a substantial concern among adult primary care patients in the United States. This is largely due to the focus on medical intervention and disregard for the underlying factors that contribute significantly to health outcomes such as economic stability, educational access and quality, healthcare access and quality, neighborhood and built environment, and social and community context. The PICOT question that guided this program evaluation review project is: In adult clients seeking care at a primary care clinic (P), how does a SDOH toolkit based on the CDC framework (I) compared …

The Influence Of Recreation Engagement On Adolescent Health-Risk Behaviors, Krista Thomas

All Dissertations

The number of adolescents who engage in suicidality is staggering. Adolescence is a unique developmental period where engagement in health-risk behaviors is prominent. Factors influencing engagement in suicidality are vast and occur both internally and externally in the adolescent. Substance use during adolescence has shown an association with increased suicidality. Similarly, bullying, both cyberbullying and in-person bullying, have contributed to adolescent suicidality. Alternatively, recreation engagement has yielded benefits in both psychosocial and physical health for adolescents. However, limited research has identified that engaging in recreation can minimize suicidality. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to explore how substance use, …

Supporting Post-Secondary Implementation Of Recovery-Oriented Practice In A Stepped Care Model, Janis Campbell

The Dissertation in Practice at Western University

Student mental health has been a growing concern for higher education communities for many years. Campuses have been struggling to keep up with the increasing demand for services which has been complicated further by the COVID-19 pandemic. A Stepped Care model (SCM) developed at a Canadian university has been offering new ways of organizing mental health resources based on open access, student choice, and recovery principles. There are diverse definitions of recovery in the literature and are usually based on values such as empowerment, respect, and self-determination. SCMs have been shown to increase access to resources and reduce or eliminate …

Life Matters, Marina Fischer

Dissertations

Problem: One of the challenges facing many primary care providers is managing hypertension. Hypertension contributes to cardiovascular disease events. Consequently, the high occurrence of hypertension related visits signifies a clinical practice gap in hypertension management resulting in substandard blood pressure outcomes. The purpose of this clinical scholarship project was to assess the difference of pre and post Quality of Life Scale (QOLS) scores in a hypertensive population.

Methods: This quality improvement project used a longitudinal, observational design with prospective data collection. The sample included newly diagnosed hypertensive adults ages 21 to 64 years old. The sample was administered the World …

Increasing Mental Health Literacy In The Black Church, Jonathan Allotey

Doctor of Nursing Practice Final Manuscripts

Purpose: The purpose of this project was to increase mental health literacy, assess stigmatizing attitudes, and increase help seeking behavior in leadership within an African American church.

Background: The Black church has historically been a central institution for community support and leadership within these churches are often ill equipped to address the mental health needs of congregants. African Americans underutilize mental health services and are reported to have more chronic mental illnesses. Lack of mental health literacy may result in difficulty recognizing the risk factors, signs, symptoms, and treatments related to specific mental illnesses.

Evidence Based Intervention and Methods: Participating …

Prevalence Of Postpartum Depression In Occupied Palestine, Amneh Amro

Graduate Dissertations and Theses

In a world where everything has been modernized and progressively accepted, has modern medicine kept up? With a growing population, is the accessibility to healthcare service meeting the demand and without bias? More importantly, has the growing population broken down the stigmas associated with medical conditions, like postpartum depression? There has been a notable disparity in mental health treatment worldwide, and even more so in Palestine and other third world countries of similar nature.

Effects Of The Covid-19 Pandemic On Health Behaviors And Mental Health During Pregnancy: A Systematic Review, Kara C. Middleton

Honors College Theses

The Coronavirus pandemic had many negative impacts on healthcare. During the COVID-19 pandemic, specialist care providers closed their offices to reduce transmission. Maternal healthcare was severely impacted. Mothers were unable to receive the prenatal and perinatal care they needed. Other specialist care, such as mental healthcare was severely impacted as well. There was also a lack of prenatal care occurring due to offices being closed. There is an established link between anxiety, depression, emotional eating, and Gestational weight gain. Gestational Weight Gain is associated with a higher prevalence of behavioral health conditions that were exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Sources Of Patient Information For Type 2 Diabetes Self-Care In Northern Mississippi, Minh-Sang La

Honors Theses

Given the prevalence of Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus in the United States and the continuous rise of cases, especially within Mississippi, there is an increasing need to identify if, and how, patients with Type 2 Diabetes receive information about self-care. While there is data available on the topic of where patients receive their information and the influence it has on their health in other countries of the world, the research on the source of Type 2 Diabetes education in the United States is scarce. Therefore, this study aims to bridge the gap of understanding where patients with Type 2 Diabetes …

Caregiver-Child Conversations About Sex In African American Women, Hannah King

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Using grounded theory methods, this study examines the experience of African American women during their caregiver-child conversations about sex and the impacts of the conversations on their sexual attitudes. The process of these conversations begins with an unplanned topic and progresses further to identify six essential themes of these conversations: gender differences, race and religion, protective/emphasis on protection, lack of knowledge, withholding knowledge, and sex negativity/shame. African American women’s description of the process included feelings of shame and negativity towards their sexuality. Caregivers promoted positive messages about sex by having open conversations that advocated for equality between the genders, empower …

The Effects Of Alcohol Intoxication And Threats To Masculinity On Engagement In Sexual Aggression: Results From A Web-Based Survey Design And Alcohol Administration Study, Tiffany Lynn Marcantonio

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Background: Research examining the combined effects of men’s alcohol consumption and perceptions of their masculinity as precarious (e.g., viewing masculinity as easily threatened) on sexual aggression (SA) is lacking. The goal of this dissertation study was to assess if alcohol consumption and precarious masculinity are related to men’s SA via a web-administered survey (Study 1) and an in-person alcohol administration experiment (Study 2).

Methodology: In Study 1, two samples of young adult men (aged 18-30) were collected, 1) a community sample of 492 men and 2) a college sample of 478 men, to complete a 20-minute survey; participants answered questions …

Perceived Covid-19 Threat Across The Intersections Of Age, Race/Ethnicity, And Gender, Christina Varghese

Sociology and Criminology Undergraduate Honors Theses

Studying how perceived threat of the novel coronavirus 2019 (COVID-19) differs across intersections of age and race/ethnicity as well as age and gender will create a basis for identifying subgroups at greater risk of negative mental health outcomes. I analyzed nationally representative survey data collected in February 2021 from the Pew Research Center’s American Trends Panel (N=9,069). To measure perceived threat, the respondents were asked whether COVID-19 is considered 0) no threat, minor threat, or 1) major threat for personal and population health. Race/ethnicity, gender, and age categories are used as independent variables. Results from logistic regression models indicate that …

Evaluating The Effectiveness Of Restorative Justice Rehabilitative Services Available In Northeast Tennessee For Mothers Diagnosed With Substance Use Disorder, Claire Roberson

Undergraduate Honors Theses

Substance Use Disorder (SUD) has plagued families of rural Appalachia for many years, perpetuating involvement in the criminal justice system as well as generational trauma for people diagnosed with SUD and their children. This points to the necessity of a trauma-informed, restorative-justice based framework for rehabilitative services to most effectively heal families, address trauma, and re-integrate people diagnosed with SUD into society. A restorative justice-based program would provide health care services for addiction and any comorbid mental health disorders as well as teach parents how to properly provide for themselves and their families, manage finances, obtain employment, and further education. …

Drug-Facilitated Sexual Assault At The University Of Arkansas, Barrett Weidman

Chemical Engineering Undergraduate Honors Theses

This work was written to fulfill two main purposes. First, to help survivors of Drug-Facilitated Sexual Assault (DFSA) process their experience by compiling the toxicological, pharmacological, and distribution of the three most used date-rape drugs. Second, to gauge the knowledge and interest of University of Arkansas students regarding drug impairments, sexual assault education, and bystander intervention training. A survey was conducted for the latter and revealed that 91.6% of students believe the University’s existing sexual assault prevention education and bystander intervention training have room for improvement. Also, 37.1% of students who have received this education report that the programming does …

Eat Well, Be Well: Basic Needs Initiative's Online Hub For Nutrition Education, Misha Moseley

Capstone Projects and Master's Theses

Basic Needs Initiative at California State University, Monterey Bay is a department that provides students with food, housing, and wellness resources. Over half of the university's students experience food insecurity, and over 85% use non-academic resources to learn about nutrition. This project adds a dietary health section to the department’s website to increase students’ access to nutrition education. It addresses the micro-level agency problem that too few students eat a healthy, balanced diet. Unhealthy eating is a risk factor for food insecurity, so the project indirectly addresses the macro-level health problem that too many college students in California experience food …

Body Appreciation, Gender, Motivation, And Competitive Success In Competition Climbing, Marissa Frost

All Theses

The focus of this study was to examine the relation between the constructs of body appreciation, gender, motivation, and competitive success in competition climbers. To gather data for this study, a Qualtrics survey was created and distributed amongst the competition climbing community through USA Climbing’s Facebook page and member email list. Data was then collected from competition climbers between the ages of thirteen and sixty over 45 days in the winter of 2017. A total of 236 competition climbers participated in the survey and 202 of those responses were used in this study. Body appreciation in this study was analyzed …

An Evaluation Of Covid-19 Vaccination Rates Of The Patients At The Kentucky Racing Health Services Center., Aditya Mehta

College of Arts & Sciences Senior Honors Theses

COVID-19 vaccines have been widely available to the U.S. public since early 2021. However, vaccination rates still vary considerably across geographical areas and different populations. The objective of this study was to research overall vaccination rates against COVID-19 for Latinx patients at the Kentucky Racing Health Services Center (KRHSC). Vaccination and booster data was collected from June to December 2021 for all unique patients visiting the center. It was initially hypothesized that these rates of vaccination and booster doses for the KRHSC patients would be lower than the data reported by Kentucky and Jefferson County. After a retrospective review, the …

Creating A Backyard Buzz: Evaluating The Effectiveness Of Using A Video Infographic To Increase Knowledge About Mosquito Populations And Diseases In Tn, Caroline M. Barnes, Rebecca T. Trout Fryxell, Cristina Barroso, Julie Andsager

Chancellor’s Honors Program Projects

No abstract provided.

Covid-19 Vaccine Uptake Among College Students, Erin Hoening, Elizabeth Morse, David Phillippi, Krystal Huesmann

DNP Scholarly Projects

Background: Public health strategies to improve COVID-19 vaccine uptake among college students living in residential communities varied, some universities opted to mandate COVID-19 vaccines while other universities opted to promote and influence the choice for vaccination.

Purpose: This descriptive, cross-sectional study examined the voluntary uptake of COVID-19 vaccines among residential students on a college campus in the southeastern U.S. that elected an evidence-driven health promotion strategy that included strong health promotion messaging coupled with coordinated efforts to make the vaccine accessible and appealing to students on campus.

Methods: Analysis of vaccine uptake was derived from campus electronic health records during …

A Case Study In Resiliency: How A University Survived A Pandemic, Mary Ellen Stewart

Dissertations

This case study was conducted to investigate how the COVID-19 pandemic affected the campus of a small private university in central Mississippi, where traditionally, relational community and interaction were key contributors to campus culture. Through document analysis, individual interviews with campus leaders, and focus groups consisting of members of key departments, the role of resiliency was examined during the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic. Emerging from the data were the four thematic categories of leadership, campus culture, engagement and interaction, and challenges. Key components in each category revealed the significance of resiliency of university leaders, faculty, and staff as …

Examining The Impact Of Financial Incentive Removal On Physical Activity: A Quasi-Experimental Study Of 584,760 Mobile Health Application Users, Sean Kevin Spilsbury

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

BACKGROUND: Government interest in using financial incentives (FIs) to stimulate physical activity (PA) is increasing. The cost of longer-term incentive interventions may be prohibitive, however. PURPOSE: To examine the impact of FI withdrawal on PA. METHODS: A 25-week retrospective pre-post quasi-experimental study was conducted with users of a FI-based mHealth app. Users from three Canadian provinces were included. Daily FI were removed in Ontario (ON; intervention) but not British Columbia (BC) and Newfoundland and Labrador (NL; control). Simple linear regression models were used to examine weekly mean daily step count after FI withdrawal. RESULTS: The total sample included 584,760 users …

Testing Barriers To Non-Suicidal Self-Injury With College Students: Narcissistic Traits As Moderators, Philip Stoner

Dissertations

Research on non-suicidal self-injury (NSSI) has produced mixed findings, resulting in a lack of clarity regarding these behaviors (Klonsky & Meuhlenkamp, 2007). To address this, Hooley and Franklin (2018) developed the Benefits and Barriers Model (BBM) to provide a comprehensive understanding of NSSI, in which they identified the barriers that commonly prevent people from engaging in these behaviors (e.g., self-esteem, shame, and peer-bonding motivations/social norms). They also identified adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) as a distal predictor of NSSI, which aids people in overcoming the barriers to engaging in these behaviors. Recent NSSI literature has shown that college women in the …

Queer Survival Amidst Hiv/Aids, Covid-19 And Homelessness, Julia Young

Pitzer Senior Theses

The treatment and survival of a society's marginalized peoples reveal the true impacts of a pandemic. An analysis of homeless queer youth during the HIV/AIDS and SARS-CoV-2 crises lays bare the systemic failure of the United States government to provide equitable healthcare.

I compare the HIV/AIDS and COVID-19 pandemics in queer homeless youth to demonstrate the dangers of disease moralization via a sociocultural analyses of disease stigma and responsibility politics. Utilizing syndemic theory I draw on the synergistic relationship between disease and illness to describe the unique challenges queer homeless youth face. A syndemic framework is applied to address common …

The Assessment Of Emergency Preparedness Among University Students, Arliah Cox

All Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Other Capstone Projects

University students have been an understudied population when it comes to the topic of emergency/ disaster preparedness. While there have been a few studies carried out to examine students’ perceptions of preparedness, the level of preparedness must be determined to be able to close the gap when it comes to barriers preventing them from being prepared. One hundred and eighty-seven undergraduate participants at a Midwestern university completed both online and in-person surveys in March 2022. The survey included questions regarding emergency/ disaster preparedness, perception of being prepared, and barriers which can prevent preparedness. Results showed that a lack of time …

A Novel Approach To Reducing Adiposity Among Young Men, Jean M. Reading

Theses and Dissertations

Background

Lifestyle intervention is the first line treatment for obesity. Yet, young men are underrepresented in lifestyle interventions, which is posited to be the result of unmet needs and overall low concern for weight management. The aims of this dissertation are to:

Papers 1 and 2: Test the preliminary efficacy, feasibility, and acceptability of a self-guided lifestyle intervention for young men.

Paper 3: Explore the behavioral and physiological factors associated with changes in adiposity among young men and women enrolled in a more intensive lifestyle intervention.

Results

Papers 1 and 2: The self-guided intervention produced modest weight …

An Analysis Of Kindergarten Childhood Disease Vaccination Rates And Practices In Bay Area Counties, Janice Zelaya

Master's Projects

Immunizations are the most effective method for preventing communicable diseases, especially among children. Ensuring that children are vaccinated is of the utmost importance but remains a challenge due to misinformation and the growing anti-vaccination movement. With a population of 39.5 million people as of 2020 (Census Bureau, n.d.), California is the most populous state in the United States. In 2020, the San Francisco Bay Area, which includes the counties of Alameda, Contra Costa, Marin, Napa, San Francisco, San Mateo, Santa Clara, Solano, and Sonoma, is home to 7.7 million of those people (Census Bureau, 2021). This research will explore how …