Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

The Effects Of Covid-19-Related Stressors On Bruxism And Temporomandibular Disorders, Hagir A. Saleh, Samantha Smith

Dental Hygiene Student Scholarship

Problem: COVID-19 has proven to be a major public health emergency, with an array of physical and emotional complications. While COVID-19 has its own effects on the human body, anxiety induced by the pandemic has shown to take a toll on the human oral cavity by means of causing individuals to grind and clench their teeth due to anxiety/stress, potentially leading to temporomandibular disorders and orofacial pain.

Methods: A thorough review of literature was conducted by consulting credible studies published on online databases such as PubMed, Dentistry & Oral Sciences Source, Google Scholar, and Academic Search Complete. The studies examined …

Evaluating Racial And Ethnic Disparities In Access To Primary Care Among Gay And Bisexual Men In The Us, A Population At High-Risk Of Hiv Infection, Jessica S. Kiernan, April D. Kimmel

Graduate Research Posters

BACKGROUND: 69% of new HIV diagnoses in the US are among gay and bisexual men, with disparities by race and ethnicity. Primary care providers increasingly provide HIV prevention. Racial and ethnic disparities in primary care access are well-documented, but their persistence among gay and bisexual men is unknown. We examined racial and ethnic disparities in access to primary care among this population.

METHODS: We used nationally representative person-level sociodemographic, health status and utilization data, and data on organizational- and socially determinant barriers to care, from the National Health Interview Survey, 2013-2018. Outcomes were: 1) general physician visit

RESULTS: The sample …

The Role Of Community Belongingness In The Mental Health And Well-Being Of Black Lgbtq Adults, Keith Justin Watts

Theses and Dissertations

The impact of racial and sexual minority stigma, prejudice, and discrimination on the mental health and well-being of Black and LGBTQ individuals, respectively, has been well documented in the literature. Research on these relationships for Black LGBTQ individuals who are multiply marginalized due to their position at the social intersections of gender identity, sexual orientation, and race/ethnicity is less common. Belongingness to identity-based communities can protect against the negative impact of these minority stressors for Black and LGBTQ individuals and aid coping processes. However, Black LGBTQ individuals often experience stigma and discrimination in their racial, sexual, and gender minority communities …

The Basic Rules Of Doing A Good Search And Search Tips - Revised, Roy E. Brown

VCU Libraries Faculty and Staff Publications

This is a handout that is used as a reference for those who are learning to more effectively search databases for assignments and evidence-based practice projects. The revised handout contains information related to the databases that may be searched as well as about Google Scholar.

Please contact the author for a version that can be reused and rebranded.

The Evidence Based Practice Question Development & Search Tips Checklist (Revised), Roy E. Brown

VCU Libraries Faculty and Staff Publications

The Evidence Based Practice Question Development and Search Tips Checklist is a tool that is used in instructional sessions with nurses in reference to evidence-based practice and literature searching. It is intended as a reference handout. The revised handout contains information related to the databases that may be searched as well as about Google Scholar.

It is under a creative commons license. If you would like a version that can be rebranded for your organization to use, please contact the author for an editable version.

Understanding Predictors Of Telemedicine Adoption Before, During, And After The Covid-19 Pandemic, Bradford S. Pierce

Theses and Dissertations

This study examined change in physicians’ use of telemedicine before, during, and expectations after the COVID-19 pandemic. It also examined the ability of personal and environmental variables to predict telemedicine adoption, and applied the theory of reasoned action and technology acceptance model to physicians’ adoption of telemedicine during the pandemic. A total of 230 licensed physicians currently practicing in the United States were recruited. Telemedicine accounted for 3.72% of physicians’ clinical work prior to the pandemic, 46.03% during the pandemic, and predicted 25.44% after the pandemic ends. Physicians within hospitals reported less telemedicine use during the pandemic (M = …

Modulation In Nmda Receptor Function Alleviates Safety Learning Deficit In Females Who Experienced Chronic Stress During Adolescence, Zuby C. Okafor

Theses and Dissertations

Anxiety disorders disproportionately impact women and are more prevalent in people with a history of chronic stress. Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a type of stress and trauma-related disorder that is largely characterized by hyperarousal to fear-based cues. The inability to dissociate the fear-response from a non-threatening cue is known as impaired safety learning. Given that N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) receptors are key mediators of learning behaviors, we examined the role of NMDAr function in deficient safety learning. Previous studies have shown that female rats with a history of stress have altered NMDAr gene expression and altered glutamatergic signaling; therefore, we hypothesized …

The Harm In Seeking Care: Assessing The Relationship Between Healthcare Discrimination And Healthcare Avoidance Behaviors In The Past Year And Since The Start Of The Coronavirus Pandemic In A Transgender And Gender Independent Sample, Kyle L. Mason

Theses and Dissertations

Background: Gender minorities encounter a myriad of barriers to accessing general and gender affirming healthcare. Financial disparities impacting affordability of healthcare costs and insurance-based denials for gender-affirming care are among prominent barriers discussed. Considerations of the prevalence of stigma, discrimination, and erasure of gender minority identities must not be neglected when seeking to understand healthcare accessibility and utilization in this population. Previous researchers have examined gender minority patients’ experiences of discrimination in healthcare settings and delaying care due to fear of discrimination. There is a dearth of knowledge about the relationship between lifetime exposure to varied forms of healthcare discrimination …

Influence Of Immigration Status On The 10-Year Trajectories Of Psychosocial Functioning In Individuals With Traumatic Brain Injury, Chimdindu Ohayagha

Theses and Dissertations

The population of racially/ethnically diverse groups within the U.S. is growing at an exponential rate. The U.S. Census Bureau estimated the number of foreign-born individuals in the U.S. to be nearly 40 million or 13% of the total population (Grieco et al., 2012). Racially/ethnically diverse groups in the U.S. have a higher incidence of traumatic brain injury (TBI; Gary et al., 2009). Although racial/ethnic disparities have been documented in numerous outcomes, research has yet to thoroughly explore differences in rehabilitation outcomes for immigrants relative to U.S.-born individuals. The purpose of this study was to compare the functional and mental health …

Cost-Effectiveness Of Interventions Targeting Hard-To-Reach Populations Living With Hiv In Eastern And Southern Africa, Deo Mujwara

Theses and Dissertations

In Eastern and Southern Africa, hard-to-reach populations (e.g., long distance truck drivers and female sex workers), defined as populations that are difficult to interact or engage with due to their unique behaviors and characteristics, are disproportionately affected by the HIV epidemic and are at high-risk of acquiring and transmitting HIV. Further, these populations have substantially low uptake of HIV testing services, and those that have been diagnosed with HIV and on antiretroviral therapy experience high loss-to-follow-up from treatment programs.

Hard-to-reach populations face unique barriers in accessing and utilizing routine HIV care such as provider stigmatization towards sex workers and highly …

Policies Addressing Barriers To Low-Income Women And Children’S Health Care Utilization In The United States And Kenya: The Role Of Physician Payments And Cash Transfer Programs, Muloongo Simuzingili

Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation examined two policies to improve low-income women and children’s healthcare utilization: physician payments and cash transfer programs. Higher physician payments increase the supply of healthcare services while cash transfers increase individuals’ demand for healthcare services. Cash transfer programs can improve health outcomes, yet the extent to which they are a cost-effective strategy is largely understudied. Therefore, this dissertation examines three overarching research questions:

1. Are Medicaid physician fees associated with access to substance abuse disorder (SUD) treatment among low-income women of reproductive age?
2. Do economic preferences moderate cash transfer program effects on children’s health care utilization? Evidence from a …

Psychological Sense Of Community Among Older Adults In Puerto Rico Two Years After Hurricane María, Thomas D. Buckley

Theses and Dissertations

Hurricane María devastated Puerto Rico in 2017 and resulted in adverse long-term outcomes. Psychological sense of community (PSOC) may serve as a protective factor against the effects of Hurricane María for older adults in Puerto Rico. Using a three-paper format, this dissertation draws on a resilience framework and theories of PSOC and the Ecological Theory of Aging to examine the role of PSOC among older adults in Puerto Rico two years after Hurricane María.

Paper one is a scoping review of the concept of PSOC in research with community dwelling older adults. I begin by presenting findings on study characteristics …

Health Outcomes And Utilization Associated With Renal Diseases In Patients With Cancer In The United States, Mitisha Dedhia

Theses and Dissertations

Background: Adverse events and impairments associated with cancer and its treatments causes worse outcomes. Increased incidence of renal diseases among cancer patients is of particular concern. Objective: To determine the risk factors for renal disease in cancer patients and compare healthcare costs, utilization and health-related quality of life (HRQoL) of cancer patients with a renal disease and cancer patients without renal diseases. Methods: Medical Expenditure Panel Survey files from 2009 – 2018 for cancer patients was used for this study. Multiple logistic regression, generalized linear model, Poisson regression and multiple linear regression for analyses after adjusting for demographic, socioeconomic and …

The Impact Of Healthcare Professional Students' Racial, Hiv-Related, And Abortion-Related Biases On Recommendations For Prenatal Care, Alison J. Patev

Theses and Dissertations

Black women and HIV-positive women have increased maternal mortality rates and other negative pregnancy outcomes, in part due to disparate prenatal care. Although women who seek abortions do not have the same negative outcomes, abortion stigma exists and is normalized in healthcare. Limited work has examined prenatal care provision for women in these groups, and even less work has explored the prenatal care provision by healthcare trainees (i.e., medical, nurse practitioner, and physician assistant students). Examining the role of bias on the prioritization of prenatal care items by healthcare trainees is imperative. Healthcare education sets the stage for future practice, …

Associations Between Social Determinants Of Health And Chlamydia Infections Among Georgia Counties, Bre'auna K. Beasley

Theses and Dissertations

Chlamydia is a growing public health concern that disproportionately impacts southern states. While social determinants of health are not direct causes of chlamydia infections, studies have found that these determinants do influence infections by creating environments that promote or hinder health seeking behaviors, as well as exposure to risk factors. Guided by the Social Ecological Model of Public Health and the Healthy People 2030 Social Determinants of Health Conceptual Framework, this dissertation study aimed to examine the associations between social determinants of health and chlamydia infections among Georgia counties. This study employed a correlational research design. Aggregate-level secondary data for …

Network Modeling The Impact Of Community-Based Male-Screening On The Chlamydia Trachomatis Prevalence In Women, Zhuolin Qu

Biology and Medicine Through Mathematics Conference

No abstract provided.

Utilization Of Dental Services Among Medicaid Enrolled Pregnant Women In Virginia, Shillpa Naavaal, Tegwyn Brickhouse, Jonathan W. Yu, Joann Wells

Philips Institute for Oral Health Research Publications

The study evaluated the impact of the Virginia Medicaid dental benefit on dental services utilization among pregnant women enrolled in Medicaid. Data from a total of 10,395 women who had at least one dental claim during the 2015-2017 period were included in the study. The number of dental visits and dental services utilized per person grew from an average of 2.2 visits and 7 services in 2015 to 3.1 visits and 10.5 services in 2017, respectively. In 2017, of all dental services used, 6% were for preventive services and 59% were for treatment services. Continued efforts and targeted interventions are …

Improving Access To Care In Virginia: Reaching Nurse Practitioner Training Capacity Through Preceptor Incentives, Debra Barksdale, Christine Kennedy, Shelly Smith

Translational Research Fellows Policy Briefs

Workforce data reinforces the notion that educating nurse practitioners in Virginia is critical in helping to improve access to care in the Commonwealth, particularly in underserved communities. Six of Virginia’s thirty-nine state funded colleges and universities offer nurse practitioner programs. All of these universities report their capacity to train nurse practitioners is not limited by qualified applicants but rather by a shortage of clinical preceptors. This paper provides a summary of public policy initiatives that support preceptors as an example for Virginia to consider.

Clinical Reconciliation Of Patient Social Context And Implementation Of Preventive Care Guidelines, April Williams

Graduate Research Posters

Background

Preventive care practice guidelines are disseminated regularly through federal and scientific groups as a way of promoting best practices and evidence-based health promotion. Yet rates of their implementation are historically low and complex, with cited barriers including limits on physicians’ time, knowledge or attitudes; and external factors related to the guideline itself, the clinical environment, or patient factors. The objective of this qualitative research is to understand how primary care clinicians and staff reconcile perceived patient-level factors and implementation of preventive care guidelines.

Methods

Key informant interviews (n=23) with 14 clinicians and 9 office managers from 14 primary care …

Swipe Right For Condoms And Testing: Differences In High-Risk Sexual Behavior And Sexual Health Beliefs Among Dating App Users Compared To Non-App Users, Shelby A. Smout

Theses and Dissertations

Millions of Americans are currently using smartphone dating applications (apps) to socialize and meet with others. In some cases, app-based conversations lead to sexual interactions. Previous research examining the relationship between the use of dating apps and sexual behaviors has found that individuals who use dating apps and meet with partners from the app are more likely to engage in high-risk sexual behaviors such as having multiple partners and inconsistent condom use. Individuals between the ages of 18 and 24 are the group most likely to be using dating apps compared to other age groups and are a high-risk group …

Associations Between Stress, Racial Discrimination, And Cytokine Levels In Black Americans, Takia Williams

Theses and Dissertations

Inflammation is a common pathophysiological pathway for a number of chronic diseases and is influenced by exposure to stress. Although there are racial disparities in health outcomes, relatively little is known about factors that may influence the inflammatory response in Black American individuals. This study examined whether racial discrimination and other forms of stress are associated with the balance of pro- and anti- inflammatory cytokines in Black American adults. Data from 22 participants were drawn from a larger study of Black American children (ages 5-12) and their primary caregivers drawn from low income neighborhoods in Richmond, Virginia. Caregivers reported demographics, …

The Correlation Between Maternal Postpartum Depression And Child Psychopathology, T'Keyah I. Vaughan

Theses and Dissertations

Background: Postpartum depression (PPD) is a phenomenon that affects nearly 10-15% of pregnancies in the US. It is characterized by depressed mood or anhedonia and lasting for more than 2 weeks. PPD changes how moms interact with family members and child-rearing behavior. Depression is a phenomenon that is also known to affect the psychopathology of children. However, the specifics of how postpartum depression impacts children remains controversial. Many studies do not control for major depressive disorder which makes it difficult to disentangle the impact depression has within the first year of life. Furthermore, other PPD risk factors may be confounding …

Differential Identification Of Hyperacusis And Misophonia: Implications Of Discrete Decreased Sound Tolerance (Dst) Condition Subtypes, Rachel E. Wallace

Theses and Dissertations

Hyperacusis and misophonia are two conditions of decreased sound tolerance (DST) studied in the psychological literature due to their association with psychological symptoms and mechanisms. DSTs are differentiated from normal sound sensitivity due to the reported impairment and distress individuals experience. Researchers suggest that DSTs are differentiated by types of sounds and emotional reactions elicited, such that hyperacusis is a fear and pain response to ordinary environmental sounds perceived as uncomfortably loud, and misophonia is an anger and disgust response to human-made sounds, but these distinctions, and associated characteristics, have not been empirically demonstrated. Undergraduate students (N = 1572) …

Transcriptomic Profiling Of Postmortem Prefrontal Cortex And Nucleus Accumbens From Chronic Alcohol Abusers., Eric S. Vornholt

Theses and Dissertations

Alcohol use disorder (AUD) is a debilitating psychiatric illness that develops from a combination of genetic and environmental factors. While it is well documented that AUD is heritable, the shift from recreational alcohol use to abuse/dependence is poorly understood. In this dissertation, using postmortem brain tissue from individuals with alcohol dependence (AD), we profiled the genome-wide expression of circular RNA (circRNA), microRNA (miRNA), and messenger RNA (mRNA) to better understand the impact of gene expression on the development of AUD. To achieve this, we performed two independent studies that explore transcriptome differences between AD cases and controls. The first of …

The Clinical Inquiry Process Diagram, Roy E. Brown

VCU Libraries Faculty and Staff Publications

This diagram outlines the nursing inquiry process to help answer questions that arise in the clinical setting. The diagram further helps a nurse understand how to distinguish whether a situation calls for evidence-based practice, performance improvement, or research. It also guides a nurse through clarifying the initial question, gathering the evidence, and through each step in the subsequent process.

An updated version (Version 4) of this diagram is now available at https://scholarscompass.vcu.edu/libraries_pubs/78/

This is an update of the VCU Health Nursing Inquiry Process Diagram (version 2) that was created in 2018. This is the third version of the diagram and …

The Intersection Of Social Stress, Mental Well-Being, And Sexual Health Among Black Women In Emerging Adulthood, Brandi Galloway

Theses and Dissertations

With an estimated 37,000 new HIV infections each year, HIV continues to be a major public health concern. HIV affects some populations more than others. Young Black women, in particular, are disproportionately affected by HIV. While being a woman does not typically increase a person’s HIV risk, being Black and being a woman does.

Data indicate that individual-level factors do not fully address the differences in HIV and STIs between Black emerging adult women and their White counterparts. Thus, it is critical to better understand contextual factors such as social stress and mental-wellbeing which might better account for these disparities. …

“Is Therapy For Me?” Perceptions Of Therapy Inclusivity And Willingness To Seek Help Among Black Emerging Adults, Randl B. Dent

Theses and Dissertations

Mental health issues are prevalent among Black emerging adults; however, they tend to underutilize mental healthcare services. The goals of the current study were to examine whether: (1) perceived therapy inclusivity would predict willingness to utilize mental healthcare services and (2) the relationship between perceived therapy inclusivity and willingness would be moderated by two indices of racial identity (i.e., centrality and private regard). Results provide evidence that greater perceptions of therapy inclusivity are associated with greater willingness to seek mental health services even after controlling for factors, such as gender, self-stigma, and previous mental healthcare utilization. Additionally, there was no …

Relationship Of Demographic Characteristics Of Occupational And Physical Therapists Towards Their Knowledge And Attitude On Person-Centered Care In Skilled Nursing Facilities, Sadashiv R. Aggarwal

Theses and Dissertations

The study aimed to assess the relationship of specific demographic characteristics of occupational (OTs) and physical therapists (PTs) with their knowledge and attitudes towards principles of Person-Centered Care (PCC) in skilled nursing facilities (SNFs). The study further examined if knowledge and/or attitudinal differences exist between OTs and PTs towards PCC. The proposed descriptive study used the Person-Centered Care theory, which is a holistic (bio-psychosocial-spiritual) health care delivery approach. PCC delivers services that are respectful and individualized, allowing negotiation of care, and offering choice through a therapeutic relationship where persons receiving care are empowered to be involved in health decisions at …

A Qualitative Analysis Of Caregiver Goals For Urban Children With And Without Asthma, Megan M. Carlson

Theses and Dissertations

Pediatric asthma is a major public health concern that disproportionately affects children of color and youth living in low-income, urban areas. The implications for public health, child health, and family functioning necessitates our understanding and addressing experiences by families who are facing barriers within their socio-demographic context in addition to the stressors associated with managing pediatric asthma. The current study applied qualitative methods to interviews with caregivers of children with and without asthma in an effort to more deeply connect with caregivers’ experiences and yield richer information about the intersection of identities as Black caregivers living in an urban setting …

Can School Be A Source Of Trauma? Assessing Academic Traumatic Stress As A Mechanism Underlying The Health Outcomes Of Black Undergraduate Students, Ebony A. Lambert

Theses and Dissertations

Research examining Black students’ school experiences demonstrates that exposure to oppressive power dynamics in schools may lead to adverse physiological and psychological consequences. Recent conceptualizations in public discourse further posit that traumatic educational experiences, operationalized here as academic trauma or the cumulative toll of adverse and oppressive experiences in academic settings, may influence Black students’ wellbeing even after they have graduated. However, academic trauma has yet to be investigated empirically, and the health contributions of such educational harm remain unstudied. Moreover, little is known about how culturally-relevant personal characteristics (e.g., emotion regulation strategies) influence Black students’ reactivity to academic trauma. …