Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Parchman Farm Penitentiary Exists As Modern Day Slavery, Savannah Plaisted

Annual Undergraduate Conference on Health and Society

This research explores the connections between convict leasing in the state of Mississippi and the current state of prison labor at Parchman Farm Penitentiary (Mississippi State Penitentiary). The use of unpaid labor, the grossly disproportionate representation of Black men, the inhumane and grotesque conditions of the prison, the abnormally high death rate, and the continued execution of a disproportionate number of Black men of today’s Parchman Farm and the version of the prison at its initial founding in 1901 will be analyzed. All of these factors combined provide the foundation for the argument that slavery never ended in the state …

From Beshear To Bevin: The Rise And Fall Of The Aca In Kentucky, Ellen Baker

Annual Undergraduate Conference on Health and Society

No abstract provided.

Mexicans In The U.S And Hiv: Reviewing Social And Cultural Factors, Eduardo Alvarez

Annual Undergraduate Conference on Health and Society

Mexican immigrants in the United States continue to struggle with disproportionate incidences of HIV infection. Behaviors that contributed to the development of AIDS among Mexican immigrants were the lack of condom use, engaging in risky sexual behavior, and not having HIV testing (Martínez Donate, et al., 2015). While these risk factors are preventable, religious and social stigmatization present within the Mexican community generate shame and embarrassment. This discourages Mexican immigrants from seeking health services, such as HIV testing. An estimated 20% of HIV positive Mexican immigrants are unaware of their condition, and contribute to the spread of the virus (Hall …

“Can You Hear Me Now?”: Insurance Coverage For Hearing Benefits In The United States, Reegan Whipple

Annual Undergraduate Conference on Health and Society

Public and private insurance coverage for hearing benefits underscores the gaps in coverage for treating hearing loss in the U.S. The commodification of the hearing benefits sector of healthcare in this country has detrimental consequences for personal health. Using three personal anecdotes to frame the issue, my paper explores the complex worlds of both public and private insurance as well as the implications of each type of insurance for both adults and children. Current regulations and laws for hearing benefits leave many people to suffer financially, physically, and emotionally. After reviewing the current regulations I propose changes to rectify some …

Domestic Violence In The Spotlight: From The Private Sphere To Popular Culture, Taylor Rinefierd

Annual Undergraduate Conference on Health and Society

No abstract provided.

The Notebook: An Accidental Alzheimer's Awareness Campaign, Danielle Waldron

Annual Undergraduate Conference on Health and Society

My paper examines and critiques the portrayal of Alzheimer¹s disease in the popular film, The Notebook. Based off of a Nicholas Sparks novel, The Notebook uses Alzheimer¹s disease as a vehicle to relay a love story, but in doing so, presents a distorted picture of Alzheimer¹s disease to its audience. My paper compares the responsibilities of family caregivers of Alzheimer¹s patients in today¹s world with the unrealistic family caregiver, Noah, depicted on screen. My paper also explores and exposes inconsistencies between the attractive nursing home experience presented on screen and the less than ideal treatment patients experience in long term …

The Cowl: Former Chilean President Ricardo Lagos Visits Pc, Andres Taborda

Symposium on Peacebuilding and Justice

An article from PC's student newspaper, The Cowl, describing the Lagos lecture.

Lynch Poster, Mark Lynch

Symposium on Peacebuilding and Justice

Poster promoting Lynch lecture

Lagos Poster, Ricardo Lagos

Symposium on Peacebuilding and Justice

Poster promoting the Lagos lecture

A Developing Say Against Aids, Joanna Rydzefski

Annual Undergraduate Conference on Health and Society

Lack of access to medicines is a hurdle for many countries, especially developing nations, in their fight against serious health problems. The World Trade Organization (WTO) has frequently been scrutinized regarding its impact on access to essential medicines after its Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) created a framework for the protection of physical and intellectual goods. The main goal of TRIPS is to promote scientific development through patents, but the repercussions of this monopoly over drug production sparked opposition from developing nations, specifically Brazil and South Africa (Dounis 2011, 3). This paper aims to explore how …

Combating The Stigmatization Of Leprosy: How The First Decade Of The Star’S Publication Made The Case For Romantic Relationships And The Preservation Of Domestic Life In The Carville Leprosarium, Gabriela Reed

Annual Undergraduate Conference on Health and Society

The stigmatization of leprosy has long been acknowledged as one of the primary obstacles to not only effectively treating leprous patients on a physical level, but also achieving their integration and acceptance into society. The Carville Leprosarium, founded as the Louisiana Leper Home in 1894, and the intense ostracism that it institutionalized, demonstrate one of the most influential expressions of this stigma. However, Carville residents were not passive in accepting their fate. The Star, a magazine founded by Stanley Stein and subsequently published in conjunction with his fellow residents, worked to combat such stigma. Building on the work of …

Ethical Issues In The Drug Approval Process, Meghan Mcinnis

Annual Undergraduate Conference on Health and Society

The Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) drug approval process carries great significance for both pharmaceutical companies and for patients. In recent decades, there has been a shift towards expedited approval so that drugs, especially those for terminally ill patients, can be brought to market faster. However, the FDA still has the responsibility of protecting patients from harm. The case studies of two drugs, Vioxx and Avastin, highlight several of the ethical and practical issues of the drug approval process, including the nature of clinical trial research, the risk-benefit analysis of new treatments, the growth of Contract Research Organizations (CROs) and …

Terrains Of Terror And Modern Apparatuses Of Destruction: Organ Transplantation, Markets, And The Commoditized Kidney, Ayan Kassim

Annual Undergraduate Conference on Health and Society

Recent innovations in biomedicine and medical technologies within the last 40 years have altered understandings of the body and its parts; burgeoning global markets in organs is symptomatic of this. Although procurement policies by most nations solicit organs through donation only, lengthy wait lists have prompted the fiscally privileged sick to pursue other means of survival. In light of the current global realities of kidney trafficking in particular, this paper considers the following questions: How and why has the kidney become a commodity? In what historical moment did a kidney market emerge? What and who are the key actors in …

“Listen Carefully:” A Study Of Ageist Stereotypes And Undergraduates’ Desire To Work With Elders, Genevieve Ilg

Annual Undergraduate Conference on Health and Society

“Listen Carefully:” A Study of Ageist Stereotypes and Undergraduates’ Desire to Work with Elders identifies and assesses how prior experience with elders and ageist stereotypes informs the degree to which undergraduates are inclined (or disinclined) to consider geriatrics as a potential career. Current literature indicates a lack of interest among social workers and other allied-health professionals in working with this demographic. Here, the “generation gap” not only pertains to the differences between younger people and their elders, but to the gap between the aging population’s increasing demand of need and how many individuals plan to serve the elderly. For this …

Vocalizing The Vindications Of Our Veterans: Evaluating The Needs Of Our Returning Soldiers, Alexandra Rawson

Annual Undergraduate Conference on Health and Society

The soldiers of the United States devote their lives, families, and careers in order to ensure our limitless opportunities of liberty and justice. It is therefore our duty, as grateful citizens of America to meet their needs upon return from war. This research evaluates the effects that Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder places on the returning soldiers. This study proposes that in order to support our veterans, there must be established policies that will accommodate for their mental health conditions as well as the required treatments that pertain to such diagnosis. In an effort to evaluate the necessary treatments and conditions needed …

High School And College Athletes Should Be Required To Undergo Pre-Participation Cardiac Screening Prior To Participation In Competitive Sports, Kathleen Harrington

Annual Undergraduate Conference on Health and Society

Sudden Cardiac Arrest (SCA) is the leading cause of death in young athletes. Most of these athletes are unaware they have a condition that puts them at risk. In addition it is estimated that approximately 1 in 220,000 young athletes experience Sudden Cardiac Death (SCD) each year, although, these numbers are not truly reliable because there is no national mandatory reporting system in the United States. My paper argues that all high school and college athletes should be required to undergo pre-participation cardiac screening (i.e. an ECG and extensive family health history) as a part of a required physical exam …

Sweet Freedom: Smokers’ Rights & The Rebranding Of Philip Morris, Amy Dipierro

Annual Undergraduate Conference on Health and Society

This paper discusses how Philip Morris invoked strong American values to defend its own corporate speech as well as “smoker’s rights.” In particular, it examines Philip Morris Company’s Bill of Rights advertising campaign of the early 1990s, especially focusing on an advertisement featuring Everett Alvarez, a prisoner of war during Vietnam. This strategy reveals how Philip Morris was able to manipulate the public conversation about smoking from one about health and disease to one about human rights and freedoms.

Polio Eradication: How The War On Terror Has Led To The Persistence Of Polio In Afghanistan, Pakistan, And Nigeria, John Michel Rouhana

Annual Undergraduate Conference on Health and Society

In 1988, the World Health Organization (WHO) initiated a campaign to eradicate the polio virus from the world population (Bari 2006). Since 1988, the WHO has used polio vaccines to successfully interrupt transmission of the disease to new individuals in all but three countries: Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Nigeria (WHO 2012). This paper examines how The War on Terror, stated by President George W. Bush to be a war against every terrorist group of global reach and the governments that support these groups, has led the populations of Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Nigeria, as well as vaccinators and health officials in these …

The Global Ability To Respond: Applying Sars Knowledge To H1n1 And Beyond, Meaghan Drees

Annual Undergraduate Conference on Health and Society

Influenza outbreaks may be alarming, but they are nothing new in the 21^st century. At this point, the various strains of influenza have broken into cities and homes, acted as silent killers by causing fear, death and destruction, and spreading uncontrollably. This repetitive cycle arouses the question of when people will learn how to take care of these epidemics. Well, according to Flahault and Zylberman, knowledge may not be the only factor necessary to stop influenza from disrupting lives. The authors reveal that “Influenza epidemics occur regularly and prediction of their conversion to pandemics and their impact is …

The Birth Control Cascade: How The Policies Affect Access, And Access Affects Outcome, Meghan Nestor

Annual Undergraduate Conference on Health and Society

With the passing of Affordable Care Act (ACA) in August 2012, oral contraception has become free for all women with a prescription. Unfortunately, many women in the United States are without health insurance making it difficult to benefit from the new law. Many states’ intended restrictions on the ACA make it difficult for women to access birth control. Birth control methods, which are now considered part of standard preventative health care, give women the ability to make their own decisions about family planning. Increased access to birth control can also change many of the grim statistics related to rates of …

The Individual Mandate: The Ultimate Conservative Idea, Erin Ellwanger

Annual Undergraduate Conference on Health and Society

The individual mandate is perhaps the most contested and least popular provision of the 2010 Affordable Care Act (ACA). The mandate, which requires most Americans to obtain health insurance or pay a penalty, was put in the ACA as a means to increase the number of Americans with access to health care insurance. A poll taken by Gallup in February 2012 revealed that 72% of Americans view the individual mandate as unconstitutional (Gallup poll, 2012). This extreme opposition towards the mandate intrigued me and I was interested in learning where this negativity was stemming from and why it seemed to …

The Effects Of Pre-Existing Illnesses On Pediatric Acute Respiratory Infections In South Africa, Haley Dumke

Annual Undergraduate Conference on Health and Society

The intent of this study was to explore the effect of pre-existing illnesses on acute respiratory infections, focusing on HIV and malnutrition as infection development risk factors in South African children. It investigates the economic burden imposed by these infections and analyzes how the country’s current socio-economic situation plays a major part in propagating infection development. Pneumonia and RSV were individually examined for their current role in the disease burden and potential methods for reducing incidence of pediatric respiratory infections were evaluated based on effectiveness and affordability for the country of South Africa. Data for this paper was compiled mainly …

Assessing The Effectiveness Of A Clinic-Based Diabetes Management Program In A Community Setting, Justin Lupone

Annual Undergraduate Conference on Health and Society

Diabetes in the United States occurs in approximately 8% of adults.[i] Diabetes, if not treated, can lead to many health problems such as blindness or loss of physical functioning, sometimes leading to amputation. However, Type 2 diabetes can be cured or kept under control through effective diabetes management. Many Type 2 diabetes patients let their diabetes become out of control through at risk behaviors, such as smoking, and poor diet, which in turn can lead to a worsening of their condition. With effective disease management, patients can avoid more severe effects of the disease and have higher quality of …

The Danger Of Duality: Medicare And Medicaid As A Double Threat, Erica Barnum

Annual Undergraduate Conference on Health and Society

My paper discusses the topic of dual eligible beneficiaries – a group of some nine million individuals that has rightly earned a reputation for being the most costly, frail, sickly, and vulnerable population. Individuals are considered “dual eligible” when they qualify for the benefits of both government programs of Medicare and Medicaid. The main problem within the dual eligible arena is the lack of coordination between these two programs – the federal government wholly funds Medicare but Medicaid is a joint federal-state program that varies from state to state. Because these programs were not designed to work together and sometimes …

Phillips Memorial Library+Commons Faculty Open House, Phillips Memorial Library

Providence College Open Access Week

The Phillips Memorial Library+Commons will be holding a Faculty Open House to offer information about the various services the Library+Commons provides to Providence College faculty.

Human Papillomavirus: How Social Ideologies Influence Medical Policy And Care, Fadi Hachem

Annual Undergraduate Conference on Health and Society

The purpose of this paper is to discuss the ways in which new advances in the production of a vaccine against human papillomavirus (HPV) have been received by both the general public and the medical community. Despite its high prevalence in the general population, as a sexually transmitted infection, there is a great deal of shame and stigma associated with contracting the virus (Waller, et. al. 2007). HPV is a disease of disparities in that ethnic and sexual minorities are disproportionately affected. Since the HPV vaccine is most effective at both a younger age, and before the first sexual experience, …

The Pregnancy Project: Impact Of Ultrasound Use During Pregnancy Care, Paige Ricci

Annual Undergraduate Conference on Health and Society

Use of ultrasounds during pregnancy continues to increase and there is much debate as to what the best practice is regarding their use, for what types of patients, at what volume level. Current evidence suggests, the extended routine use of ultrasound technology should be for all women that present complications to screen for structural anomalies during pregnancy. However, others have suggested that excessive ultrasound use may be both unnecessary, costly and potentially harmful. Evidence further suggests that mothers find the use of technology to be security enhancing during pregnancy and through the process of care, and that ultrasound use is …

Sacrée Et Inviolable: The Hiv+ Mother In Ivoirian Health Policy, Amber Alaniz

Annual Undergraduate Conference on Health and Society

« La personne humaine est sacrée (2)… Le domicile est inviolable. Les atteintes ou restrictions ne peuvent y être apportées que par la loi. (4) La famille constitue la cellule de base de la société. L'État assure sa protection. (5)» Constitution of La Côte d’Ivoire, Articles 2,4,5[1]

The Ivoirian national constitution, authored and enacted in July of 2000, while expressing a devotion to democratic thought (Preamble) and to the sovereignty of the individual (Article 2), also acknowledges the primacy of the Ivoirian family and collective identity as the basis of society and advances a moral duty on the part …

Recession Proof Pills: An Examination Of The Relationship Between Recession Economics And Pharmaceutical Expenditures, Kevin Gray

Annual Undergraduate Conference on Health and Society

The first decade of the 21st century proved to be a time of turbulence and volatility in the worldwide economy. Oddly enough, even as Americans’ disposable income decreased, spending on health care steadily increased. Americans spent $249.9 billion on prescription drugs in 2009, contrasted against $120.9 billion in 2000—a 105% increase.1 We may question the overall ramifications of such increases in pharmaceutical sales and the correlation to other economic factors. That is, how was the pharmaceutical sector able to boast gains when the housing market collapsed? One answer is that people place a priority on their health, even with limited …

Sick With Fear: Popular Challenges To Scientific Authority In The Vaccine Controversies Of The 21st Century, Ellen Watkins

Annual Undergraduate Conference on Health and Society

In the 20th century, vaccines were heralded as one of the greatest medical inventions in history. In the late 1990’s, however, the myth of vaccine-caused autism caught fire. Despite mountains of evidence disproving the link, panicking Americans eschewed vaccines and turned against their physicians. Why did Americans turn their backs on doctors, scientists, and the health industry? This paper follows the vaccine controversy of the last thirty years, looking in particular at the relationship between science and the media. This paper analyzes the contrast between discussion of the hypothesized link in scientific circles and in popular news sources, seeking to …