Medicine and Health Commons^™

Who Cares For The Caregivers: How Being A Caregiver Impacts Cancer Survivorship, Cristy Romero

Sociology Student Scholarship

Cristy Romero ’23
Majors: Sociology and Biology
Faculty Mentor: Dr. Brandon C. Martinez, Sociology and Anthropology

With an aging population, informal caregiving is rising and is the predominant way for people with chronic illnesses to receive care. Providing care for someone with a chronic illness can take a toll on the caregiver. Caregivers often develop their own chronic illnesses such as cancer. Compared to Whites, Latinx cancer survivors and their families experience disproportionate adverse effects of cancer and cancer therapy as a result of physical, emotional, and financial challenges. This highlights racial/ethnic disparity in cancer survivorship. Due to the interwoven …

Examination Of Factors That Influence Adherence To Public Health Guidelines During Coronavirus Pandemic, Kathryn Mcloughlin

Sociology Student Scholarship

Kathryn McLoughlin ’22
Majors: Health Policy and Management, Sociology, and Women and Gender Studies
Faculty Mentor: Dr. Brandon Martinez, Sociology

My research examines factors that influence adherence to public health guidelines during the ongoing pandemic. I apply quantitative methodology to investigate how positions of social privilege, select news sources, and beliefs in political conspiracy theories impact adherence to public health instructions and vaccine trust. I used the Sixth Wave of the Baylor Religion Survey, a national random sample, and analyzed data using multivariate regressions. The findings of the research reveal that higher positions of social privilege and subscription to conspiracy …

Success Among Incarcerated Mothers Seeking Treatment For Opioid Use Disorder, Brinna Desai

Honors Undergraduate Theses

Opioid use disorder (OUD) is a type of substance use disorder characterized by repeated use of opioid drugs. These drugs are known to be rapidly addictive with severe withdrawal symptoms, making death due to overdose a rising concern. In this study, we took a closer look at a specific population of women, all of whom had children and were incarcerated for opioid use. Our goal was to better understand the factors that would impact success among this group seeking medication-assisted treatment for OUD. We developed a set of questions focused on a variety of factors including stigma surrounding the disorder, …

The Link Between Nativity Status And Racial Infant Mortality Disparities, Hannah Pierson

McNair Scholars Manuscripts

The United States has one of the highest rates of infant mortality in the developed world. Studies indicate infant mortality varies greatly across racial groups. Black women are twice as likely to report preterm birth or infant death relative to White women. Foreign-born Black women have similar rates to that of native-born White women rather than native-born Black women, suggesting the link between race and reproductive health is more complex than previously understood. Thus, this study examines the interplay between nativity, race, and reproductive health. The cumulative disadvantage perspective has been employed to better unpack how life course stressors may …

How Race, Socioeconomic Status, And Gender Shape Feelings Of Competition Within The Pre-Med Department At A Small Liberal Arts College, Amanda B. Deming

Honors Theses

This study aims to understand how students of color navigate feelings of competition in the pre-medical (“pre-med”) track at a small liberal arts college. I argue that there are differences in navigational strategies by race, socioeconomic status (SES), and gender. Respondents in my sample (9 women and 6 men) were interviewed for 30 to 60 minutes about their relationships with fellow pre-med students, mentors, alumni, advisors, and professors. The primary findings of this project were that students who are more competitive dominate the culture among pre-med students; less competitive individuals persist through the pre-med track by forming study groups with …

Just A Chemical Imbalance: Exploring The Absence Of The Social Etiology Of Depression In Common Medical Websites, Zoe Folsom

Conspectus Borealis

In recent decades, depression has received increased attention in the United States. As diagnosed instances of depression rise, and as it has usurped all other conditions in both national and global disability costs, pressure continues to mount to address and mitigate the societal impacts of this seemingly unstoppable disease. While this has taken various forms, from campaigns to destigmatize mental illness to government entities devoting to reducing social costs of depression, the prevailing narrative proves incomplete. Despite a wealth of research supporting a direct link between social factors (such as life satisfaction and relational satisfaction) and instances of clinical depression, …

Facebook As A Social Outreach And Advocacy Tool In Intersex/Dsd Groups, Emelie J. Ali Ms

Publications and Research

My project includes a netnography of a Facebook intersex group called Families and Friends of Intersex People. I observed the group’s forms of communication within the group and which topics they discussed. It appears one of the major concerns the group has is the use of nonconsensual, sex assignment surgery on infants to “correct” their body to match a gender identity. I have also discovered a link between being intersex and affiliated with the LGBT+ community. Since the 20th century, intersex people have been stigmatized due to their assumed ability to engage in sexual, same-sex relations. I have concluded that …

Health As An Individualized Project: Gender Bio-Authenticity And Responsibilization Governance In Functional Medicine, Emma E. Radich

Senior Projects Spring 2018

Senior Project submitted to The Division of Social Studies of Bard College.

More Than Cracking Backs: Exploring Patient-Careers In Chiropractic Care, Timothy J. Loney

All Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Other Capstone Projects

The popularity of the concept of patient-career rose at the same time as more people were using chiropractic care in the United States. Yet, patient-career has yet to be applied in a sociological manner to those who seek out chiropractic care. Semi-structured in-depth interviews with 19 patients of chiropractic care reveal that pain, to the point of interference with daily-life, is what drove them to seek out help outside traditional medicine. This research investigates how holding preconceived notions of chiropractic care (positive or negative), the influence of social networks, and beliefs surrounding health and pain influence the direction of the …

The Empty Chair Appointment, Jody Long, Ken Sakauye, Khaja Chisty, John Upton

Research, Publications & Creative Work

The objective was to test an intervention to reduce failed rates for psychiatric appointments. We collected data for this study of the characteristics of patients who missed appointments from March 2011 through September 2012. A phone triage assessment intervention was implemented to address chronic first-time failed attendance appointments (N = 78). The main reason for failed appointments was transportation difficulties. The first-time appointment show rate increased after implementing an assessment intervention. Phone assessment intervention was practical and may improve nonattendance for psychiatric appointments. The discussion reflects speculations about causes and possible measures to make services more accessible.

Review Of After A Fall: A Sociomedical Sojourn By Laurel Richardson, Linda A. Treiber

Linda A. Treiber

This a review of Richardson, Laurel. 2013. After a Fall: A Sociomedical Sojourn. Walnut Creek, CA: Left Coast Press. ISBN: 978-1-61132-317-7, paperback, 268 pages. The book is an example of an autoethnography, detailing Richardson's stay in a nursing home.

The Care-Cure Dichotomy: Nursing’S Struggle With Dualism

Linda A. Treiber

Neonatal Euthanasia, David Sugarman, Robin Montvilo, Colette Matarese

Robin K Montvilo

An attributional analysis of neonatal euthanasia was undertaken in two studies to compare the responsibility attributions of nursing and non-nursing students (Study 1) and nurses (Study 2) toward a physician for a critically ill neonate's death. In both studies, vignettes about a newborn's death differed with respect to the physician's treatment of the critically ill newborn. In the student study, the physician was attributed the least responsibility for the newborn's death when cardiopulmonary resuscitation was attempted but failed, followed by the physician's issuance of either a "Do Not Resuscitate" order or an order to turn off the infant's respirator. Greatest …

Sudden Death And The Myth Of Cpr / Book Review, David B. Sugarman

David B Sugarman

Whether we think about Miracle Max, quoted above, or Dr. Mark Green from the television show, ER, our society harbors a stereotype of emergency healthcare practitioners who serve the public interest by rescuing critically ill or injured individuals from sudden death, that is, the termination of cardiopulmonary functioning. Stefan Timmermans, a Brandeis University sociologist, offers both the general public and the academic reader a backstage view of our healthcare system's failing attempt to live up to the mythical images that we have constructed. His observations are simultaneously enlightening and disturbing.

Adherence Among Women With Hiv Infection In Puerto Rico, Desiree Ciambrone, Helen Loewenthal, Lauri Bazerman, Carmen Zorilla, Brenda Urbina, Jennifer Mitty

Desiree A Ciambrone

Women are the fastest growing segment of the adult population acquiring HIV, and most women infected with HIV are in their reproductive years. The success of HAART is highly dependent upon the ability and willingness of the individual to adhere to complex antiretroviral regimens. Improved adherence among HIV-infected pregnant women will delay disease progression in the mother and should also reduce HIV transmission to the baby. Modified directly observed therapy (MDOT), may benefit this population. MDOT has been shown to be an acceptable and feasible intervention among HIV substance users; however, no-one has yet evaluated the use of MDOT in …

Sociological Impact On Cancer, Michelle Little

A with Honors Projects

Demographics of cancer and other sociological impacts on cancer.

The Sociological Impact Of Cancer: Cancer Among The World, Jenna Kooy

A with Honors Projects

Cancer among ethnic groups and in high income/low income regions.

The Social Impact Of Diabetes, Denise Lujan

Natural Sciences Student Research Presentations

This poster describes the social impact of living with Type 1 and Type 2 diabetes.

The Role Of ‘Workplace Family’ Support On Worker Health, Exhaustion And Pain, Linda A. Treiber, Shannon N. Davis

Linda A. Treiber

Dying Today: Perspectives Of The Modern Hospice Worker, Nicholas Jay Mac Murray

All Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Other Capstone Projects

From a sociological standpoint, death is relatively difficult to research. While some individuals may describe near-death experiences, the actual act of death cannot be fully known to the living. The purpose of this study is to gain insight into the nature of death and dying in the United States today. This research examines the perspective of modern hospice workers. These individuals work near death on a regular basis and therefore have a privileged understanding of what death is like in US society today. Data consist of ten in-depth interviews with hospice/ palliative-care workers in the Midwestern United States. Respondents were …

A Study To Reduce Medication Administration Errors Using Watson’S Caring Theory, Tommie Nelms, Jackie Jones, Linda A. Treiber

Linda A. Treiber

The Right To Die Debate: The Demonization Of Dr. Kevorkian And The Creation Of A Moral Panic Surrounding Physician-Assisted Suicide In The United States, Dana White

Honors Scholar Theses

The Right to Die Debate is a recent but highly controversial moral matter. In particular, physician-assisted suicide (PAS) is an issue that has been evaded by the medical community for years. As of 1990, most states had never encountered the issue before and therefore did not have any laws in place to prohibit PAS (Strate et. al, 2005). Dr. Jack Kevorkian, a retired pathologist from Royal Oak Michigan was the first to publicly address PAS. He brought the issue into the limelight through a bizarre and crude series of assisted deaths that had a lasting impact on not only the …