Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Disaster Communication Networks: A Case Study Of The Thai Red Cross And Their Disaster Communication Response To The Asian Tsunami, Tami J. Matthews

Theses and Dissertations

Disaster victims and vulnerable populations are audiences that communications professionals and scholars have ignored. Public relation practices dominate current disaster communication policy. This study examines the disaster communication network, including policy and practice, of the Thai Red Cross, before, during, and after the Asian tsunami. Disaster communication(s) is defined as the sharing and exchange of information with the victims immediately affected by a disaster. This definition focuses specifically on the vulnerable audience and allows response efforts to emerge from multiple disciplines. Focusing response efforts on victims' assessed needs and abilities allows for a multi-disciplinary approach to mitigate further suffering. The …

Museums In The Age Of Neoliberalism: A Multi-Sited Analysis Of Science And Health Museums., Taren Laine Dailey

Anthropology Theses

In this thesis, I explore the variety of ways museums operate in a neoliberal, global economy. I describe interactions between museums, people, governments and money. These articles examine the different dimensions and connections between these discursive relationships, such as the ways in which museums work for and also work with governments, schools, tourists and local citizens in their communities. Additionally, I discuss my experiences as an anthropologist who is studying institutions controlled by elites. I use Larua Nader's (1969) theory of "studying up," to describe how anthropolotists must be increasingly flexible when researching museums in the age of neoliberalism. I …

“Beauty” As A Public Health Concern: An Analysis Of The Internalization And Effects Of The Western Beauty Ideal In Nairobi, Kenya, Elizabeth Lownik

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Acts of personal decoration or even body modification for the purpose of attaining a cultural norm of “beauty” have been undertaken in every human society for centuries. In certain societies, however, people engage in acts or practices to obtain such cultural beauty only at the expense of individual and community health. The current eating disorder epidemic in the United States, based on the Western beauty ideal of an extremely thin woman, is an example of such destructive behavior in the name of beauty. With the current phenomenon of globalization, Western cultural norms, including the beauty ideal, are spreading around the …

Girls' Perception Of Physical Environmental Factors And Transportation: Reliability And Association With Physical Activity And Active Transport To School, Kelly R. Evenson, Amanda Birnbaum, Ariane L. Bedimo-Rung, James Sallis, Carolyn C. Voorhees, Kimberly Ring, John P. Elder

Department of Public Health Scholarship and Creative Works

Background

Preliminary evidence suggests that the physical environment and transportation are associated with youth physical activity levels. Only a few studies have examined the association of physical environmental factors on walking and bicycling to school. Therefore, the purpose of this study was (1) to examine the test-retest reliability of a survey designed for youth to assess perceptions of physical environmental factors (e.g. safety, aesthetics, facilities near the home) and transportation, and (2) to describe the associations of these perceptions with both physical activity and active transport to school.

Methods

Test and retest surveys, administered a median of 12 days later, …

Healthy Aging, Mary Walsh, Peggy Haynes, Chris Sady, Matt L'Italien

Maine Center on Aging Research and Evaluation

It has been scientifically proven that preventative measures such as regular physical activity and healthy eating are crucial in maintaining good health, reducing the impact of disease, delaying disability, and reducing the need for expensive long term care for older adults. Among individuals in Maine aged 65 or older, 43 percent are overweight, 18 percent are obese, and 36 percent do not do any leisure time physical activities. Most of these individuals suffer from one or more chronic health problems. This can be avoided by incorporating moderate physical activity, good nutrition, and no smoking, thus delaying disability by as much …

Religion And Family Relational Health: An Overview And Conceptual Model, Loren Marks

Faculty Publications

This paper presents a review of research addressing religion and family relational health. Strengths of the extant data include the correlation of three dimensions of religious experience (religious practices, religious beliefs, and religious community) with certain aspects of mother–child, father–child, and marital relationships and specific connections between the three dimensions of religious experience and family relationships are identified. Key weaknesses in the research at present include a paucity of research examining the hows, whys, and processes involved behind identified religion–family correlations and a lack of data on non-nuclear families, families of color, interfaith families, and non-Christian religions including Judaism and …

Minority Women In The Healthcare Workforce In New England, Carol Hardy-Fanta, Erika Kates, Helen Levine, Kate Peery-Wolf

Publications from the Center for Women in Politics and Public Policy

Research on health disparities affecting people of color typically focuses on their health status, health treatment and health outcomes with a particular emphasis on the relatively high rates of morbidity and mortality from selected diseases for ethnic and racial minority groups. This fact sheet offers a different but related focus on gender and race/ethnicity in the health care workforce. Our rationale is that the Sullivan Commission on Diversity in the Healthcare Workforce concluded that the lack of minority doctors, nurses and dentists is a significant cause of racial/ethnic health disparities and that the ability to recruit, train and retain minority …

Human Development And Resources Use In The Coastal Zone: Influences On Human Health, Robert E. Bowen, Anamarija Frankic, Mary E. Davis

Environmental, Earth, and Ocean Sciences Faculty Publication Series

Coastal watersheds and nearshore marine areas are the most valuable and dynamic places on Earth. Human population growth is great in these regions, which are home to some of the most sensitive habitats in the world. Coastal areas provide more than half of the overall service value derived from the global environment (Costanza et al., 1997). Natural (e.g., hurricanes and tsunamis) and human pressures on this environment require it to constantly adjust. More than any other area, the global coast has defined the progress of human culture and continues to be a singular influence in how humans connect to the …

A Comparison Of Hiv Stigma And Disclosure Patterns Between Older And Younger Adults Living With Hiv/Aids, Charles Emlet

Social Work & Criminal Justice Publications

The purpose of this study was to examine the relationships between age, HIV-related stigma, and patterns of disclosure. Previous literature has suggested that older age is associated with increased HIV stigma and less disclosure of HIV status. Eighty- eight individuals, 44 between the ages of 20-39 and 44 aged 50 and over were recruited for the study through an AIDS service organization in the Pacific Northwest. Subjects in each group were matched as closely as possible by gender, ethnicity, HIV exposure and diagnosis. In a comparison of sociodemographic characteristics, older adults (50+) were significantly more likely to live alone, and …

Losing Face: Why More Media Literacy Education Is Needed In Utah's Public School Curriculum, Natalie Andrews, Brooke Nelson

Undergraduate Honors Capstone Projects

Health programs in Utah's curriculum focus mainly on the after effects of media's influence--eating disorders, low self-esteem and other destructive teenage behavior--and no one puts the correct amount of blame on television or the advertisements that promote buying to be beautiful. However, studies have found a strong correlation in teens between media consumption and negative behaviors. Teens are, after all, a main target for over $30 million ad dollars every year. Utah has curriculum in place for media literacy, but it is scattered throughout multiple subjects and is never rightly treated as its own. Because of this, we propose protecting …

Chronic/Life Threatening Illnesses From The Perspective Of Latino Men, Melissa Sierra

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Much of the research on illness focuses on how people, particularly white men, cope with chronic/life threatening illnesses often adopting a "sick role" identity. For Latinos this type of identity transformation is complex as there is no place for dependency and passivity in traditional depictions of Latino masculinity. Latino men take pride in their manhood. As a result, they have trouble accepting their illness and the sick role. They do not tend to take their illness seriously, nor are they comfortable admitting to others the seriousness of their illness. My research focuses on how Latino men renegotiate a sense of …

Economics: Labor And Health In South Asia By Vibhuti Patel, Professor Vibhuti Patel

Professor Vibhuti Patel

In Bangladesh, India, Nepal, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka, inferior terms of women’s employment perpetuate their subordination in family and society and impact their health adversely. How women are paid and valued in the fields, factories, and offices has direct bearing on women workers’ status within and outside the workplace. The statistical profile of women’s work in South Asia reveals ahigh maternal mortality rate, adverse sex ratios, low levels of literacy, the highest work participation of women in agriculture, and women’s estimated earned income as less than half that of men, signifying the undervaluation and unpaid nature of women’s productive economic …

The Influence Of Socioeconomic And Environmental Factors On Health And Obesity In Rural Appalachia, Anura Amarasinghe, Gerard D'Souza, Cheryl Brown, Hyungna Oh

Regional Research Institute Working Papers

A recursive system of ordered self assessed health (SAH) and a binary indicator of obesity were used to investigate the impact of socioeconomic and environmental factors on health and obesity in the predominantly rural Appalachian state of West Virginia. Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS) data together with county specific socioeconomic and built environment indicators were used in estimation. Results indicate that an individual’s risk of being obese increases at a decreasing rate with per capita income and age. Marginal impacts show that as the level of education attainment increases, the probability of being obese decreases by 3%. Physical inactivity …

Bridging The Culture Chasm: Ensuring That Consumers Are Healthy, Wealthy And Wise, Donnel A. Briley, Jennifer L. Aaker

Donnel A Briley

This article pulls together streams of culture-related research found in information-processing and behavioral decision theory literature, and it complements them with a focus on motivations and goals. The authors propose a framework that suggests that (1) the treatment of culture is useful when it incorporates subcultures, including those defined by nationality, ethnicity, religious affiliation, and neighborhood or local surroundings; (2) goals are determined by both cultural background and situational forces; and (3) through its impact on goals, culture influences the inputs used to make a decision, the types of options preferred, and the timing of decisions. The authors highlight the …

Poverty, Health And Schooling In China, Shengchao Yu, Emily C. Hannum

Emily C. Hannum

No abstract provided.

Social Capital, Health And Mental Health In African American Women, Cheryl Lynn Bennett

Theses and Dissertations

Cultural and social influences on mental and physical health are increasingly recognized by social science researchers. Researchers have found that specific, Afrocultural factors are related to the functioning of African Americans. The current research considered whether interdependence is especially salient for African American women since women and African Americans tend to define themselves within the context of social relationships. The study outlines processes affecting the mental and physical health of African American women including communalism, collective efficacy, and social capital. The also study examined the relationship between socioeconomic status and both mental and physical health among African American women in …

Constructing Whiteness In Health Disparities Research, Jessie Daniels, Amy J. Schulz

Publications and Research

There is a long tradition within the United States of constructing whiteness (the racial subject) against racialized others (the racial object) and in the process displacing the focus of critical analysis. Here we turn our lens to the often invisible--or at least underinterrogated--concept of whiteness within the context of the literature on racial disparities in health. Specifically, we examine how whiteness is constructed in the active literature documenting and interpreting racial disparities in health and the implications of these constructions for efforts to eradicate inequalities in health. We draw on the concepts of racial formation and "racial projects" that emphasize …

Clinician Optimism: Development And Psychometric Analysis Of A Scale For Mental Health Clinicians, Mitchell K. Byrne, Nichole L. Sullivan, Stephen J. Elsom

Faculty of Health and Behavioural Sciences - Papers (Archive)

Clinician optimism is an important factor in achieving treatment outcomes in psychotherapy. Currently there are no measures of mental health clinician optimism which report substantial psychometric validation. This study sought to assesses the validity and reliability of the Therapeutic Optimism Scale (TOS). 223 mental health clinicians working in a range of clinical settings were administered the TOS and convergent and discriminate validity were established. Test-retest reliability was established over a period of one month. The Therapeutic Optimism Scale was found to achieve acceptable reliability (Chronbach's alpha = .68) and yielded consistent scores over a one month period (r = .68, …

The Adverse Health And Psychological Consequences Of Cannabis Dependence, Wayne Hall, Nadia Solowij

Faculty of Health and Behavioural Sciences - Papers (Archive)

People who become dependent on cannabis are more likely than infrequent users to experience any of the adverse health effects that are caused by chronic cannabis use. Dependent cannabis use is rare in comparison with the more prevalent pattern of experimental and intermittent use (Bachman et al., 1997), but it may nonetheless affect as many as 1% of adults in the USA and Australia in any 1 year (Anthony et al., 1994; Hall et al., 1999a). Dependent cannabis users typically smoke two or more cannabis cigarettes a day over periods of years or decades in a minority …

Do We Encourage Health Or Illness? A Survey Of Exercise Rehabilitation Practices For Patients In Australian Renal Units, Y. White, B. Grenyer

Faculty of Health and Behavioural Sciences - Papers (Archive)

Background: People with end stage renal disease (ESRD) have been reported as having low levels of physical activity. Sedentary behaviours increase illness risks which may lead to burdens on the public health system which include costs of medical care. Research has established that exercise is reported to improve general health and wellbeing. Benefits include better aerobic tolerance, maintenance and improvement in physical function and capacity, and improvement in self-concept and well-being. These same improvements also occur in an exercising ESRD population, even though the improvements might be of less magnitude. Renal unit staff can have a major impact on patients …

Evolution And Sustainability Of The Helping Hands Volunteer Program: Consumer Recovery And Mental Health Comparisoins Six Years On, Frank P. Deane, Retta Andresen

Faculty of Health and Behavioural Sciences - Papers (Archive)

The Helping Hands program commenced in 1999 and partners volunteers with mental health consumers for support and to increase social contact, recreational and friendship opportunities. The aim of the present study is to describe the evolution and sustainability of the program over the first 6 years. A description of consumers accessing the program using recovery-oriented measures and traditional measures of behavioural functioning is also provided. Service data was collected on the development of the program, service utilisation, volunteer participation and funding patterns. Cross-sectional measures of recovery and baseline and follow-up Health of the Nation Outcome Scales (HoNOS) were collected on …

Towards An Organizational Model Of Occupational Health And Safety Management: A Review Of The Literature, Michael Zanko, Scott Burrows

Faculty of Commerce - Papers (Archive)

The enormous, tragic and largely unnoticed problem of workplace injuries and deaths continues to beset countries around the globe. Tripartite regulatory approaches to address the issues involved often place primary responsibility on employers’ management of health and safety (OHS) at the workplace. This paper seeks to ascertain how OHS management at the organizational level has been treated in the research literature.

A review of thirteen leading management journals from 1994 to 2005 was conspicuous by the absence of interest in OHS management as the subject or field of study. An examination of six leading HRM journals over the same timeframe …

What Do We Know About Men's Help-Seeking And Health Service Use?, James A. Smith, Annette J. Braunack-Mayer, Gary Wittert

Faculty of Social Sciences - Papers (Archive)

• Men seek help and use health services less frequently than women do.

• Men’s help-seeking practices and health service use are complex issues involving biological, psychological and sociological considerations.

• Most discussion on men’s help-seeking positions them as reluctant consumers or “behaving badly” with respect to their health.

• Few studies have explored whether health service providers are equipped to deal with men’s health issues appropriately.

• The current health system appears not to be tailored to meet the health needs of men.

• Better collaboration is required across disciplines, to further investigate men’s health using both qualitative and quantitative research methods.

The Effects Of Training In Behaviour Modification Strategies On Stress, Burnout, And Therapeutic Attitudes In Frontline Inpatient Mental Health Nurses, Hamish J. Mcleod, Lisa Densley, Kate Chapman

Faculty of Social Sciences - Papers (Archive)

Psychiatric nursing is a stressful profession associated with high levels of burnout. Previous research has demonstrated that burnout in psychiatric nurses can be reduced via training that improves behaviour modification skills. However, the minimum amount of training required to demonstrate a beneficial effect is unclear. We evaluated the impact of a 4-day behaviour modification training program on stress, burnout, and therapeutic attitudes in nurses who were in frequent daily inpatient contact with patients with severe mental illnesses. Nurses working in the same wards served as a control group. Training improved therapeutic attitudes but did not alter self ratings of job-stress …

Benchmarking Community Health Centers; Efficiency: Multivariate Analysis, Shriram Marathe

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Community Health Centers (CHCs), designed to provide accessible and affordable health care services to low-income families, were first funded by the Federal Government as part of the War on Poverty in the mid-1960s. Improving healthcare organizational performance efficiency is paramount. It is an especially pressing need for CHCs' because they carry a disproportionate burden of caring for the uninsured within limited budgets. Prior studies suffer from conceptual and methodological limitations. A longitudinal multivariate analysis of factors influencing the performance of CHCs is needed. The purpose of this study is to benchmark CHC performance in terms of technical and cost efficiency, …

Ethics And Health Technology Assessment: Handmaiden And/Or Critic?, Annette J. Braunack-Mayer

Faculty of Social Sciences - Papers (Archive)

Objectives: This study examines the content and role of ethical analysis in health technology assessment (HTA) and horizon scanning publications. It proposes that ethical analysis in HTA is of at least two different types: an ethics of HTA and an ethics in HTA. Methods: I examine the critical differences between these approaches through the examples of the analysis of genetic screening for breast cancer and home blood glucose testing in diabetes. I then argue that, although both approaches subscribe to similar views concerning HTA and ethics, they use different theoretical and methodological traditions to interpret and explain them. Results and …

Missing In Action: Research On Occupational Health And Safety Management In Organizations, Michael Zanko

Faculty of Commerce - Papers (Archive)

The enormous problem of workplace injuries and deaths continues to beset countries. Reflexive OHS regulation often places primary responsibility on employers’ management of OHS in organizations. This paper seeks to ascertain how OHS management at the organizational level has been treated in the research literature. A review of leading journals (13 in management, 6 in HRM) from 1994 to 2005 showed OHS management to be largely missing as the subject or field of study. Naturally, the OHS literature was more fruitful: 5 main categories were identified. However, there was little in the way nuanced explanation of OHS management at the …

Use Of Homework By Mental Health Case Managers In The Rehabilitation Of Persistent And Recurring Psychiatric Disability, Peter Kelly, Frank P. Deane, Nikolaos Kazantzis, Trevor P. Crowe, Lindsay G. Oades

Faculty of Health and Behavioural Sciences - Papers (Archive)

Background: Homework refers to between-session activities that are tied to therapeutic goals. Homework has been suggested as being an important clinical adjunct to case management practices, however, to date, research has not examined case managers’ use of homework. Aims: To identify the degree that case managers use homework within their clinical practice and explore the way it is administered with people diagnosed with a persistent and recurring psychiatric illness. Method: A survey was completed by 122 case managers (63% of those approached) comprising nurses, psychologists, social workers, occupational therapists and welfare/support workers. Results: Ninety-three percent of case managers implement homework, …

The Impact Of Sleep Quality And Duration On College Student Adjustment And Health, Robert L. Krenek Jr.

Doctoral Dissertations

College years are a time of change and transition that involves complex challenges in academic, social, personal/emotional, and institutional adjustment. Stress, anxiety, and tension are often associated with college transition and adjustment; stress and worry have been related to poor sleep quality. Studies have found that college students have more sleep problems than the general public. Research has shown that poor sleep has adverse effects on cognition, mood, and other physiological and psychological aspects of human functioning. Recent research has indicated that sleep quality may be more important than amount of sleep. Relationships have been found between sleep problems and …

The Relationship Between Eating Disordered Behavior And Smoking In Black And White College Females, Sarah Elizabeth Trace

Theses and Dissertations

Both eating disorders and smoking are significant problems for Black and White college women. Additionally, these two negative health behaviors frequently co-occur. This study aimed to investigate the relationship between these health behaviors using a multivariate model. Two models, one for full and one for partial mediation, were tested using Structural Equation Modeling. The Model for full mediation tested whether the relationship among general distress and smoking are fully mediated by body dissatisfaction, restraint, and binge eating. The model for partial mediation hypothesized that the relationships among general distress, and smoking are mediated by body dissatisfaction, restraint, and binge eating. …