Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Aligning Food Environments With Institutional Values: A Mixed Methods Study Of Oregon Health Care Organizations, Elizaveta Walker

Dissertations and Theses

A major driver of the obesity epidemic is obesogenic food environments, characterized by nutrient-poor and energy-dense foods that saturate the collective physical, economic and sociocultural conditions that influence nutritional status. Food environments in organizations such as hospitals and public health agencies warrant special consideration given their health-focused mission. Improving food environments within health care settings has been highlighted by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) as one of seven key strategies to prevent obesity. However, most of the refereed literature examining healthy food environment policies (HFEPs) within hospitals focuses on the inpatient dietary environment, leaving a paucity of …

Smoking Behaviors In Patients Offered Lung Cancer Screening, Sara Elizabeth Golden

Dissertations and Theses

In the United States, smoking causes preventable diseases, including lung cancer, which is the leading cause of cancer deaths. Improving smoking cessation rates is important to decrease lung cancer deaths. Health care visits with a discussion about lung cancer screening (LCS) may help in increasing prevalence of smoking cessation. Importantly, insurers now require clinicians to have a shared decision-making discussion with patients that includes discussion of smoking abstinence before they can receive an LCS scan (i.e., a low-dose computed tomography scan). This discussion may represent a unique opportunity to encourage smoking cessation since it may prompt positive smoking behavior change. …

Healthy Birth Initiatives: The Road Toward Reproductive Justice, Roberta Hunte, Susanne Klawetter, Sherly Paul

School of Social Work Faculty Publications and Presentations

This study concerns racialized experiences of reproductive oppression among Black women and the efforts of one organization - Multnomah County’s Healthy Birth Initiatives (HBI) - to combat this oppression and move towards Reproductive Justice. This study explores how Black women experience and respond to racism-related stress and its impacts on their health during and after pregnancy and subsequent parenting. The project was informed by a pilot focus group conducted in 2016 by Drs. Jenna Ramaker and Roberta Hunte in partnership with HBI, which asked HBI clients about the role of toxic stress and racism-related stress in their lives. The current …

Exploratory Study Of Obesogenic Commercial School Food Environments In The Portland Metropolitan Area, Sruthi Eapen

University Honors Theses

Objective

The purpose of this exploratory research was to study commercial food environments around high schools in the Portland metropolitan area to explore the question: How do the economic, geographic, and racial demographics of public high schools in the Portland metropolitan area affect the prevalence and make-up of obesogenic commercial food environments surrounding these schools?

Methods

Commercial food environments within a 1 km radius of 35 public high schools in the Portland metropolitan area were surveyed. The “healthiness” of the environment was calculated by establishing a “Food Environment Score.” This score was correlated with economic, geographic, and racial demographics obtained …

Ronald E. Mcnair Scholars Program Profiles And Abstracts 2020, Mcnair Scholars Program

McNair Symposium

This is the complete event program and provides presentation abstracts and biographies of McNair scholars and their mentors.

How Does The Effect Of Hurricane Katrina Influence Healthcare Infrastructure And Resilience?, Sean Y. Wei

University Honors Theses

In August 2005, Hurricane Katrina brought upon the city of New Orleans, LA one of the costliest natural disasters in U.S. history. This paper looks at how hospitals were prepared before Katrina, responded to, and grappled with the aftermath of this natural disaster. In the aftermath of Katrina, careful investigation of the healthcare system along with its hospitals, physicians, patients, and residents allow us to take innovative measures and provide guidance to create recommendations to better monitor and care for individuals in the future. Frameworks of resilience theories, studies, and recommendations display how and why disaster planning is essential. The …

Hypergraph Analysis Of Structure Models, Cliff A. Joslyn, Teresa D. Schmidt, Martin Zwick

Systems Science Faculty Publications and Presentations

Theoretical discussion on the analysis of hypergraph networks; application of analysis methods to hypergraph networks derived by applying Reconstructability Analysis to health care data (the PhD dissertation work of Teresa Schmidt).

Exploring Perceptions Of Healthcare Quality In Oregon Male Prisons: Interviews With Individuals Recently Released From Long-Term Imprisonment, Rén Rosz

University Honors Theses

The healthcare that people who are imprisoned receive is inadequate and does not meet the requirements owed to them by the Eighth Amendment. The Bureau of Justice Statistics has repeatedly surveyed inmates about the health care that they receive (Bureau of Justice Statistics [BJS], n.d.). One of the most recent iterations, in 2004, showed that there were large gaps in the health care that prisoners received: not being able to see a healthcare provider after an injury, necessary medications being discontinued, and lab tests being restricted (Wilper, et al, 2009). The surveys were implemented to highlight policies needing correction and …

Toxic Stress Among Black And African American Oregonians, Roberta Hunte, Margaret J.F. Braun

School of Social Work Faculty Publications and Presentations

Toxic stress is a reaction to ongoing adversity such as abuse, neglect, poverty, racism, discrimination, and exposure to violence; it is powerful enough to change brain chemistry and architecture. Toxic stress and associated changes to the brain can lead to poor health outcomes later in life. Adverse childhood experiences (ACEs), racism*, and discrimination can trigger toxic stress and have long term consequences for the health of many people, particularly those in the Black and African American community.

The current project examined toxic stress and its impact on the health of Black and African American Oregonians. We looked at two indicators …

The Role Of Strategic Governance In Reducing Infant Mortality Under Crisis Conditions, Lynn Christine Finley

Dissertations and Theses

The infant mortality rate (IMR) in some developing countries has decreased faster than the global average even though these countries lack strong economic growth, good governance, and democracy (often acknowledged precursors to improved health outcomes). What accounts for the improvement of the IMR in the absence of these traditional pathways to health gains? Some scholars suggest that the concept of "strategic governance" might help direct attention to intermediary factors that reduce neonatal deaths in countries that experience crisis conditions. The main objective of this dissertation is to investigate the set of governance practices that have reduced IMR in two such …

Individual And Community Supports That Impact Community Inclusion And Recovery For Individuals With Serious Mental Illnesses, Rachel Elizabeth Terry

Dissertations and Theses

The current dissertation presents two published manuscripts and discusses a third study that explored the role of social support in promoting community participation for individuals with serious mental illnesses. The first manuscript investigated sense of community as a potential mediating factor between community participation, psychological distress, and mental health functioning utilizing quantitative methods. The results indicated that sense of community acted as a partial mediator between community participation and psychological distress, as well as mental health functioning. The second manuscript is a literature review that explored the influence of social support on community integration for individuals with serious mental illnesses. …

Sex Differences In Prevalence And Psychophysiological Profiles Of Adhd, Mckenzie Figuracion

University Honors Theses

Background: Considerable research has been dedicated to understanding the etiology of Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), but the focus has been on a homogeneous subset of the population, and multiple groups go underserved when it comes to support. Previous findings suggest differences in ADHD diagnosis and referral rates based on sex, but it is less clear whether neurophysiological sex differences exist. The current study examines the effect of expert consensus diagnostic practices on rates of diagnosis in males and females, and evaluates sex differences in potential neurophysiological markers of ADHD.

Methods: 860 children and adolescents (Males=519; ADHD=516) were recruited for a longitudinal …

A Public Health Recommendation Countering The Online Anti-Vaccination Movement, Grace M. Neumann

University Honors Theses

The anti-vaccination movement had posed a threat to the health of communities, since the inception of the smallpox inoculation practice. As the anti-vaxx movement continues to grow in strength and reach, public health officials must be prepared to combat the flow of misinformation, with sound scientific data in a way that connects with individuals from all communities. Online platforms such as blogs and social media, allow newfound access to vaccine opinions and information, posing an even greater risk of vaccine misinformation being spread to the public. Different communities hold different reasons for vaccine hesitancy and avoidance. An effective public health …

Frequency Of Limited English Proficient (Lep) Patient Visits And Language Resources: An Assessment Of Rural Oregon's Health Centers And Working With Lep Communities, Gabriel I. Lehrburger

University Honors Theses

Persons with limited English proficiency (LEP) can face barriers when seeking health care. Rural communities often have reduced access to some health resources. However, little is known about how rural communities meet the language needs of their LEP populations. A cross-sectional survey and interview were designed and sent to managerial staff in rural health centers around the state of Oregon. During the months of January – March 2020, survey and interview data were collected to assess the relationship between frequency of LEP patient visits and available language resources in rural Oregon. The study also investigated staff perceptions when working with …

Organizational Risk In Multi-Sector Health Partnerships: A Case Study Of Oregon's Accountable Health Communities, Shauna Jean Nicole Petchel

Dissertations and Theses

The literature on collective action has documented that the perception of organizational risk -- both the uncertainty of potential outcomes and the meaning attached to them -- is an important factor in whether and how organizations engage in cross-sector collaborations. Yet there are few examples to date that document how health and social service leaders perceive organizational risks in cross-sector health partnerships focused on social determinants of health, or how their perceptions influence organizational commitment and willingness to engage in these partnerships over time.

This research aimed to fill this gap through a mixed methods case study of health and …

Impact Of The Covid-19 Outbreak On Long-Term Care In The United States, Courtney H. Van Houtven, Nathan A. Boucher, Walter D. Dawson

Institute on Aging Publications

The United States (US) currently has the most confirmed cases of COVID-19 of any country. Yet, adequate testing for the virus remains a major issue. Approximately 51.6 million Americans are over the age of 65 and 56 percent of adults over 65 are living with two or more chronic conditions (23 percent have 3 or more). Given the higher risk of death and complications associated with advanced age and underlying health conditions, COVID-19 has had an immense impact upon LTC in the United States. Yet, the level and intensity of impact has been sporadic in application. This is due in …

Opioid Agonist Therapy During Hospitalization Within The Veterans Health Administration: A Pragmatic Retrospective Cohort Analysis, Kelsey C. Priest, Travis I. Lovejoy, Honora Englander, Sarah Shull, Dennis Mccarty

OHSU-PSU School of Public Health Faculty Publications and Presentations

Background

Hospitalization of patients with opioid use disorder (OUD) is increasing, yet little is known about opioid agonist therapy (OAT: methadone and buprenorphine) administration during admission.

Objective

Describe and examine patient- and hospital-level characteristics associated with OAT receipt during hospitalization in the Veterans Health Administration (VHA).

Participants

A total of 12,407 unique patients, ≥ 18 years old, with an OUD-related ICD-10 diagnosis within 12 months prior to or during index hospitalization in fiscal year 2017 from 109 VHA hospitals in the continental U.S.

Main Measure

OAT received during hospitalization.

Key Results

Few admissions received OAT (n = 1914; 15%) …

Life Satisfaction In Division Iaa And Division Iii Football Players, Krista Haunani Francisco

Dissertations and Theses

Level of life satisfaction is not something of which many sit down and take appraisal. However, levels of life satisfaction, especially low levels of life satisfaction, can have a direct effect on health. Low levels of life satisfaction cause an increase in self-reported stress. Inversely, high levels of stress cause a decrease in life satisfaction. This decrease in life satisfaction is associated with poor mental and physical health outcomes. A majority of student-athlete healthcare is centered around the physical aspects of health, with mental health just recently becoming a concern. It was apparent through the research for this study that …

Association Of Use Of Rehabilitation Services With Development Of Dementia Among Patients With Rheumatoid Arthritis: Analysis Of Domestic Data In Taiwan, Ming-Chi Lu, Hanoch Livneh, Chieh-Tsung Yen, Hua-Lung Huang, Miao-Chiu Lin, Shu-Wen Yen, Ning-Sheng Lai, Tzung-Yi Tsai

Counselor Education Faculty Publications and Presentations

Objectives: Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) was found to trigger the higher risk of dementia. Limited information, however, is available on whether the use of rehabilitation services (RS), an integral part of healthcare programs, can lessen dementia risk for RA subjects. The aim of this study was to determine the relationship of RS use to the development of dementia in RA patients.

Methods: We identified 2,927 newly diagnosed patients with RA, 20–70 years of age between 1998 and 2007, from a national health insurance database. 965 patients from this sample received RS, and 1,962 patients were designated as a control group (non-RS …

A Systematic Literature Review Of Video-Based Interventions To Improve Integrated Competitive Employment Skills Among Youth And Adults With Autism Spectrum Disorder, Vidya D. Munandar, Mary E. Morningstar, Sarah R. Carlson

Special Education Faculty Publications and Presentations

BACKGROUND:

People with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) have lower employment rates than their peers without disabilities or other disabilities. Clear evidence exists regarding video-based interventions (VBIs) for improving task performance and social communication skills for students with ASD. However, such interventions have rarely been applied in integrated employment settings.

OBJECTIVE:

This systematic literature review aims to examine the utilization and efficacy of video-based interventions in improving the skills required to secure and maintain a job for youth and adults with ASD.

METHODS:

A systematic literature review was conducted on peer-reviewed articles on VBIs and ASD from electronic databases (n.d. –2019), …

Prevalence And Correlates Of Transactional Sex Among Women Of Low Socioeconomic Status In Portland, Or, Timothy Menza, Lauren Lipira, Amisha Bhattarai, Victoria Cali-De Leon, E. Roberto Orellana

School of Social Work Faculty Publications and Presentations

Background: Women who report transactional sex are at increased risk for HIV and other sexually transmitted infections (STIs). However, in the United States, social, behavioral, and trauma-related vulnerabilities associated with transactional sex are understudied and data on access to biomedical HIV prevention among women who report transactional sex are limited.

Methods: In 2016, we conducted a population-based, cross-sectional survey of women of low socioeconomic status recruited via respondent-driven sampling in Portland, Oregon. We calculated the prevalence and, assessed the correlates of, transactional sex using generalized linear models accounting for sampling design. We also compared health outcomes, HIV screening, and knowledge …