Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Exploring Hypertension Prevalence Among Ill-Housed Individuals In Urban Environments, Lia Goldberg, Sameer Shah, Nikhila Archakam, Murod Khikmatov, Kesha Choksi, Anddee White

Rowan-Virtua Research Day

This study explores the interrelations of hypertension, homelessness, and access to healthcare in urban ill-housed populations. It was found that conditions such as heart disease and diabetes significantly exacerbate hypertension, which remains highly prevalent due to the population's limited access to consistent medical care. Homelessness further complicates the management of hypertension due to unstable living conditions, making adherence to treatment and follow-up with healthcare providers challenging. Additionally, factors like higher rates of substance abuse and malnutrition among homeless populations contribute to worsening hypertension, which, if untreated, can lead to severe health crises including heart attacks and strokes.

The research underscores …

Covid-19 Mortality Rates Were Higher In States That Limited Governments From Enacting Public Health Emergency Orders, Xue Zhang, Mildred E. Warner, Gen Meredith

Population Health Research Brief Series

State and local governments enacted various public health emergency policies during the COVID-19 pandemic, resulting in lower infection and death rates than would have occurred without these policies. However, some states limited the emergency public health authority of state executives, state governors, and other state and local officials during the pandemic. This brief summarizes the results of a study that used data from the Center for Public Health Law Research and Oxford COVID-19 Government Response Tracker to explore which states passed laws that limited emergency public health authority during the COVID-19 pandemic and the effects of those limits on COVID-19 …

Socioecological Factors Linked With Pharmaceutical Incentive-Driven Prescribing In Pakistan, Muhammad Naveed Noor, Afifah Rahman-Shepherd, Amna Rehana Siddiqui, Wafa Aftab, Sadia Shakoor, Rumina Hasan, Mishal Khan

Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine

Pharmaceutical marketing through financial incentivisation to general practitioners (GPs) is a poorly studied health system problem in Pakistan. Pharmaceutical incentivisation is seen to be distorting GPs prescribing behaviour that can compromise the health and well-being of patients. We draw on a conceptual framework outlined in the ecological system theory to identify multiple factors linked with pharmaceutical incentivisation to GPs in Pakistan. We conducted qualitative interviews with 28 policy actors to seek their views on the health system dynamics, how they sustain pharmaceutical incentivisation and their effect on the quality of care. Our analysis revealed four interlinked factors operating at different …

Marijuana Liberalization And Public Finance: A Capital Market Perspective On The Passage Of Medical Use Laws, Stephanie F. Cheng, Gus De Franco, Pengkai Lin

Research Collection School Of Accountancy

We find that the staggered passage of state-level laws that legalize marijuana for medical use increases states' borrowing costs by 7–9 basis points. Consistent with economic theory on substance use suggesting that marijuana legalization increases local consumption of the drug (by expanding its availability and reducing its perceived risks), we predict and find that increased consumption represents an important mechanism that explains the higher state bond spreads. We also show that following such laws’ passage, states incur higher marijuana-consumption-related expenditures, including for police, corrections, and public welfare.

Coh 1700: Health Care Coordination Syllabus, Sasha Harry

Open Educational Resources

This is the syllabus for a Health Care Coordination course.

The goal of health care coordination is to improve patient outcomes with better health care services. Care coordinators play a critical role in improving patient care. Students will learn how to effectively advocate for patients and interact with members of the healthcare team in finding solutions to provide high quality, value-based, and efficient care. Effective communication styles, assessing patient’s needs and goals, and helping with patients’ transitions of care are among many topics covered in this course. Upon course completion, students will have acquired basic knowledge and skills to educate, …

The Political Pandemic: The Relationship Between Political Leanings, Covid-19, And The Economy In 2020, Garrett Clark

Honors College Theses

The effect of political leanings on the pandemic outcomes, both in terms of the COVID-19 cases and death totals and the extent that the pandemic affected the economy, is the analysis of interest. The literature indicates a relationship between political leanings and the COVID-19 response. Data is gathered from a variety of sources, and a series of regressions are performed to analyze several control variables and determine their significance. The results indicate a relationship between political leanings and COVID-19 outcomes. However, results regarding the effects of politics on the economy are less clear. Possible explanations are provided for the results.

Variation In Covid-19 Outcomes In The United States: A Policy Perspective, Lauren Mcrae

Senior Theses and Projects

No abstract provided.

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 …

Ensuring Equitable Access: Theory And Methodology On Future Grant Application Design For The City Of Bloomington's John M. Scott Health Care Commission, Zachary Fabos

Stevenson Center for Community and Economic Development—Student Research

This research utilizes qualitative and quantitative methods to analyze perception and opinion of the City of Bloomington’s John M. Scott Health Care Commission’s grants program and its application process among recipient agencies and other participants. Data, gathered through surveys and semi-structured interviews, in 2020 and 2021, between representatives of each agency and the researcher are meant to inform the development of new approaches encouraging a wider reach of the Commission’s grants program in McLean County, Illinois. Questioning the theoretical purpose of merit, bureaucracy, and performance in an application process, this research aims to create a more accessible program for agencies …

Health Policy Institute Of Ohio Practicum Experience, Farhiya Hirsi

Masters Theses/Capstone Projects

My practicum was completed at the Health Policy Institute of Ohio. I was given a wide range of projects to work on. Some of these projects needed to be completed as quickly as possible while others had a longer due date. These projects included updating HPIO’s online resource pages for the addiction resource page ( AEP) and adverse childhood experiences (ACEs). I conducted literature review and other research on ACEs that was part of the ACEs Impact Project. I also analyzed COVID-19 data on race and ethnicity and learned new skills as a result. I did quality control on the …

Combating The High Prevalence Of Obesity Among Egyptian Households: A Pilot Study: Port-Said Households/ مكافحة السمنة في المجتمع المصري: دراسة تجريبية في بورسعيد, Asmaa Sedky, Marwa Gaber, Noha Magdy, Shaimaa El Safoury

Papers, Posters, and Presentations

Obesity is a major public health issue in Egypt and its repercussions are not only limited to the health dimension but also extend to affecting the productive capacity of the citizens. This adversely affects the overall fundamentals of the Egyptian economy. Moreover, there is a current political interest in promoting the health and well-being of the citizens which is reflected in the recent 100 Million Seha massive campaign that measured the weight and height of millions of Egyptians.

By applying the decision-making rule which has to do adhere to the equity, administrative, and political criteria, we recommend adjusting the Egyptian …

Female Health Networks In Yemen: An Examination Of The Impact Of Conflict On Health Infrastructure And The Role Of Women In Yemen’S Health System, Philippa S. Chadwick

Senior Projects Spring 2021

This project aims to establish the existence of informal community female-led health networks within Yemen and understand the functions of these health networks and how they have been impacted by the ongoing internal conflict in the country. Female health networks exist globally in both informal and formal sectors. But, the extent to which female health networks function and their importance is unique to Yemen, and there has been no scholarly work focusing on this phenomenon. This paper will use the information gained from 52 interviews with Yemeni women and available literature to understand the current formal and informal health systems …

Examining The Institution Of Public Health: The Case Of The James C. Kennedy Wellness Center, Hannah Hoang

Honors Theses

This thesis aims to function as an analysis of the James C. Kennedy Center and the impact capacity the Center has on community health and wellness in Tallahatchie County, Mississippi. Poor health is a global problem that is especially prominent in Tallahatchie County which ranked 81st out of 82 Mississippi counties in 2012. This thesis used institutional theory to explain the relationship between the Center and public health. Through interviews and data analysis, a broad evaluation was performed on the Center’s programs and community impact. Results showed that the Kennedy Center has made a large impact in improving the health …

A Health Disparity Action Plan: Achieving Equity Through Clinical Trials, Affordable Care, And Professional Development, Daniel Schafer, Shefa Moten, Ayesha Khan, Mauro Ferrari, Boris Lushniak, Edwin Burkett, Asad Moten

Journal of Health Disparities Research and Practice

Given the threatened nature of affordable care in the United States, it is crucial to underscore its importance. What is more, the reason such care is so important is the presence of an oft-unacknowledged disparity in access to quality care in this country and, indeed, around the world. A world without health disparities can be achieved and will be characterized by prompt and quality care available to all and at all stages of the care continuum. Further insurance reform is needed beyond the Affordable Care Act, while local care must be more accessible in rural, urban, and other underserved areas. …

La Comunicación Intercultural Entre Pacientes Bolivianos Y Trabajadores De Salud En Buenos Aires, Argentina / Intercultural Communication Between Bolivian Patients And Health-Care Workers In Buenos Aires, Argentina, Lilly Snellman

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Según la Ley de Migraciones 25.871 de 2004, los inmigrantes en Argentina tienen el mismo derecho a la atención médica que los argentinos nativos. El sistema de salud argentina es uno de los más inclusivos en el mundo, pero todavía hay barreras al acceso para comunidades e individuos marginados. Muchas veces los migrantes bolivianos son discriminados en la sociedad argentina por sus rasgos raciales, bajo nivel socioeconómico y diferencias culturales. Tres clases importantes de barreras para el acceso a la atención médica para los migrantes son las económicas, estructurales y comunicativas. En este estudio, decidí enfocarme en las brechas de …

Is Technology The Key To Prevention Of Falls Among The Elderly In Rapidly Aging Societies? A Case Study Of Kunming, China, Phoebe Kiburi

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

As the aging society rapidly becomes more dominant in the world, there is a pressing need for different stakeholders to tend to the needs of the aging sufficiently. This is crucial in ensuring the robustness of the healthcare system as a whole; given that it can only be as strong as its weakest link. This study focuses on one of the areas of need of the ageing society: fall prevention.

Numerous studies have been done on interventions by the government, private entities, elderly people and their caregivers to prevent occurrence and recurrence of falls. However, most of these have been …

Life Can Change In The Blink Of An Eye Capstone, Christopher Rutigliano, Jillian Elalaoui, Kristin Humphrey, Phillip Gates, Mohamed Ndjikam, Highness Meena, Adam Menard, Spencer Pickney

School of Professional Studies

Texting and driving is one of the most widespread and uncontrollable of epidemics that have arose to prominence in the 21st century. Texting and driving is now a global issue, that has left nations across the road scrambling to implement new laws and preventative measures to stunt the increasing rates of accidents and fatalities caused by texting and driving. The severity of the issue has lead to a multitude of different entities ranging from domestic and foreign governments, cell phone and car manufacturers, cell phone carriers, and insurance agencies to seek new methods to prevent texting and driving. Determining the …

Infant Mortality And Maternal Health In Hartford, Ct, Chelsea Armistead

Senior Theses and Projects

Infant mortality is the death of an infant within the first year of life. These deaths are measured annually as a rate per every 1,000 live births and is a key indicator about maternal and infant health in a society (CDC, 2018). The United States infant mortality rate is very high when compared to other equally wealthy nations. Black infants die at a much higher rate than other racial groups, including in Connecticut. The city of Hartford's Department of Health and Human Services has plans to reduce infant mortality by providing quality prenatal and postpartum care programs and services. In …

Australia: Prevention Of Tobacco Use And Cigarettes, Shemal Sarma

Global Public Health

The use and abuse of Alcohol and Tobacco are two concerns of public health care system in Australia. In 1995, 3.2 adults in Australia were identified at risk of developing chronic conditions from smoking tobacco. This was equivalent to around 23.5% of the adult population (quitnow). Tobacco is associated with an increased risk of a wide range of health conditions, including heart disease, diabetes, stroke, cancer, renal disease, eye disease and respiratory conditions such as asthma, emphysema and bronchitis. Higher infant and young adult mortality rate. Tobacco products are also linked to habitual forming good making the user depending on …

Mental Hell, Jesenia De Moya, Hanaa' Tameez, Maritza Villela

Capstones

Mental Hell explores how difficult it is for low-income Latinos in New York City to access mental health care. Through explanations from experts and the personal stories of three Latinas New Yorkers who have gone through the process of trying to get the care they need, the story guides the reader through the many roadblocks this demographic encounters specifically under the insurance of Medicaid.

This is an extremely important topic that affects many New Yorkers, and we believe something needs to be done to make this type of healthcare more accessible for Latinos. New York City has a very high …

Putting Care Back Into "Health Care:" An Analysis Of The Place Of Community Health Workers Within The U.S. Health Care System, Megan Schowalter

Honors Program Theses

This paper explores who a Community Health Worker (CHW) is and contextualizes the social, political, and historical factors that allowed for the growth of CHWs within the primary health care sector in the U.S. It analyzes how CHWs perceive their own roles and responsibilities within the U.S. health system as a means of highlighting the gap within health care services and the influence of Social Determinants of Health (SDH) on well-being. The second part of this paper relates CHWs to scholarship by medical anthropologist Paul Farmer and public health scholar Alicia Yamin concerning pathologies of power and the need for …

A Review Of 57 Zone: A Social Media Network For Tb Consultation And Communication In Kunming, China, India Medaris

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Yunnan, a predominantly agricultural province in southwest China, is a province with a high rate of both tuberculosis (TB) and multi-drug resistant tuberculosis (MDR TB), with nearly 25,000 cases of pulmonary TB reported each year. Former TB/MDR TB patients in Yunnan, with the support of Family Health International 360 NGO (FHI) are trying to combat this problem. They have created a social media network for TB consultation and communication, 57 Zone, where TB patients can talk about their medication, adverse drug effects, and nutrition and psychosocial concerns. The goal of this study was the look at what aspects of the …

Namibia : Hiv As A National Issue, Elisabeth Vlasak

Global Public Health

Namibia is located on the southwestern coast of Africa, bordering Angola, Botswana, Zambia, South Africa, and the Atlantic Ocean. Namibia has a population of 2,265,000, as of 2016. Namibia has many challenges, including food insecurity and malnutrition, access to health services, unequal distribution of wealth, but HIV/AIDS is one of the country’s leading challenges. It is estimated that the overall adult infection rate of HIV/AIDS is 15.4% and it is the leading cause of death in Namibia. Adults ages 18-24 are the most at-risk for the disease. Some of the major risk factors are declining condom use, misinformation, social stigma, …

Association Of Provider Communication And Inpatient Hospital Readmissions, Jeremy Dean Faulkenburg

Theses and Dissertations

Introduction: Inpatient hospital readmission rates represent an important clinical and economic problem. Clinical interventions have shown significant decreases in preventable readmissions, but are costly to implement. Another approach is to better equip patients with the knowledge and resources to manage their care after discharge. Patients receive instruction from both nurses and physicians, as well as information pertaining to post-discharge care and instructions for care while at home. This study examines the association between provider communication and inpatient hospital readmissions.

Methods: This study used survey data from the 2013 and 2014 Hospital Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems (HCAHPS). The …

The Development And Implementation Of The Off-Premise Outlet Density Expansion Initiative Within Ontario's New Beer Framework: A Case Study, Stephanie A. Simpson

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Background: In April 2015, the Ontario government announced the expansion of beer sales in up to 450 grocery stores, thereby substantially increasing access to alcohol. This policy was introduced despite a robust body of research demonstrating a positive relationship between increased outlet density, alcohol consumption, and consequent harm. Methods: This qualitative case study explored the role of health information, and the contexts and factors which shaped its use, in the development and implementation of Ontario’s policy to expand alcohol outlet density. Kingdon’s Streams Model (2011) guided a directed content analysis of policy-related documents (n=69) and transcripts from semi-structured interviews with …

The Road Into The Future Of Health Care: The Importance Of Addressing Access To Health Facilities In Transportation Infrastructure Investment Decisions, Nicola (Nikki) Van Den Heever

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Background: One school of thought argues that transportation infrastructure is not an ultimate end goal of development and therefore shouldn’t be addressed within development funding decisions while the other argues that transportation infrastructure is the crucial foundation from which all development efforts are based and therefore needs to be addressed within development funding decisions. Within this framework, there is a lack of academic and other research addressing how physical access to health care for pregnant women can better be addressed when making decisions regarding funding of transportation infrastructure projects.

Purpose: To demonstrate the importance of considering access to health care …

American Obesity: Rooted In Uncertainty, Institutions And Public Policy, James Woodward

Theses and Dissertations--Public Policy and Administration

Despite the efforts of policymakers, medical professionals, and other stakeholders, obesity and related health problems show no signs of receding from their record-high rates. Public policy has largely taken the form of consumer advice, (e.g., USDA’s Dietary Guidelines). Since consumers bear most of the costs associated with their obesity, the goal of obesity prevention appears to be incentive-compatible, prima facie. That is, there is no a priori case for much further policy intervention unless existing advice is deficient or consumers’ exhibit systematically poor decision-making.

My review of the literature shows that scholars have long conveyed a consistent narrative regarding …

Creating Healthy Community In The Postindustrial City, Brian A. Hoey

Brian A. Hoey, Ph.D.

The Ecology Of Infancy And Early Childhood In Rural Senegal; A Five Year Old Can Boot But Not Foot, An Exploration Of Where Biology Meets Culture, Heather Mills

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

This research project explores the life stages of infancy and early childhood in the village of Ndiane in the Thies region of Senegal. I will discuss how biology meets culture to influence children, parenting styles, and expectations of the life stage. How does ecology, the interaction of physical, biological and cultural landscapes, characterize childhood and the intertwined belief systems that influence parenting? The information was gathered using a combination of participant observation and free list interviews.

Cultural Competency In New Jersey: Evolution From Planning To Law, Debbie Salas-Lopez, Linda Holmes, Dawne Mouzon, Maria Soto-Greene

Debbie Salas-Lopez MD, MPH

No abstract provided.