Medicine and Health Commons^™

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.

Factors Associated With Successful Completion Of A Comorbid Substance Abuse And Mental Health Intensive Outpatient Group, Matthew Stephen Crescenzi

EURēCA: Exhibition of Undergraduate Research and Creative Achievement

An East Tennessee community mental health center, specializing in co-occurring substance abuse and mental health services, has an Intensive Outpatient Program (IOP) that utilizes a combination of cognitive behavioral therapy, motivational interviewing, and relapse prevention. Currently, 50% of individuals who enter the IOP program fail to graduate. The purpose of this study is to identify the factors associated with successful program completion. Methods: A secondary analysis was conducted on data from 116 participants in the IOP group. A logistic regression model was used to determine which factors were related to successful program completion. Results: The overall regression model was found …

“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 …

Participation And Contribution In Crowdsourced Surveys, Robert Swain, Alex Berger, Josh Bongard, Paul Hines

College of Engineering and Mathematical Sciences Faculty Publications

This paper identifies trends within and relationships between the amount of participation and the quality of contributions in three crowdsourced surveys. Participants were asked to perform a collective problem solving task that lacked any explicit incentive: they were instructed not only to respond to survey questions but also to pose new questions that they thought might-if responded to by others-predict an outcome variable of interest to them. While the three surveys had very different outcome variables, target audiences, methods of advertisement, and lengths of deployment, we found very similar patterns of collective behavior. In particular, we found that: the rate …

Investigating Sex Positivity: Does Education And Socialization Increase Sexual Satisfaction In Young Adults, Kendall Coffman

Undergraduate Distinction Papers

Abstract

This study was designed to investigate a proposed association between exposure to sexual education, positive information, and materials, and an individual’s level of comfort, sexual satisfaction, and willingness to discuss sexual topics. This study also looked at the influence of various other variables such as gender, sexual orientation, and relationship status. Undergraduates at a small, private Midwestern college were surveyed with questions regarding the context in which they were exposed to various sexual topics as well as their current levels of sexual satisfaction and willingness to discuss sexual material with a friend, family member, intimate partner, or a stranger. …

Constructing Health Together: Validating Knowledge In The Implementation Of Community Health Initiatives, Allison L. Wolf

Undergraduate Research Symposium 2015

In the field of public health, peer-reviewed publications using randomized control trials are held in the highest regard. Unfortunately, for many members of the general public, peer-reviewed publications don't offer practical solutions to their community’s public health concerns. Additionally, when the two communities come together, conflict can arise from unequal perceptions of their own values, goals, and resources. Through the implementation and promotion of community-based participatory research (CBPR), academics and community members can produce public health outcomes that simultaneously benefit scholarly goals and practical applications when their knowledge bases are validated. The conflicts between academics and communities center around perceived …

Nutrition-Related Policy And Environmental Strategies To Prevent Obesity In Rural Communities: A Systematic Review Of The Literature, 2002-2013, Larissa Calancie, Jennifer Leeman, Stephanie B. Jilcott Pitts, Laura Kettel Khan, Sheila Fleischhacker, R. Evenson Kelly, Michelle Schreiner, Carmen Byker, Clint Owens, Jared Mcguirt, Ellen Barnidge, Wesley Dean, Donna Johnson, Jane Kolodinsky, Emily Piltch, Courtney Pinard, Emilee Quinn, Lauren Whetstone, Alice Ammerman

College of Agriculture and Life Sciences Faculty Publications

Introduction Residents of rural communities in the United States are at higher risk for obesity than their urban and suburban counterparts. Policy and environmental-change strategies supporting healthier dietary intake can prevent obesity and promote health equity. Evidence in support of these strategies is based largely on urban and suburban studies; little is known about use of these strategies in rural communities. The purpose of this review was to synthesize available evidence on the adaptation, implementation, and effectiveness of policy and environmental obesity-prevention strategies in rural settings. Methods The review was guided by a list of Centers for Disease Control and …

Analysis Of Traditional Medicine In Zanzibar, Tanzania, Jessica Baylor

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Traditional medicine is used as a major source of health care in developing countries. A small island off the coast of Tanzania, Zanzibar has traditional medicine embedded in its culture. Informal interviews of community members and healers in four different villages as well as interviews with the Department of Forestry and the Traditional and Alternative Medicine Unit were conducted over a four week study. This study found that community members of four villages in Zanzibar supported the idea of a regulation of traditional medicine by the government. It also found that the majority of traditional medicine users have noticed a …

Perceptions Of Potable Water In Rajasthan’S Jodhpur And Barmer Districts, Melissa Spross

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

This paper looks at differences and similarities in various populations’ perceptions of safe drinking water (SDW) within Rajasthan (RJ), India, developing suggestions for future initiatives addressing the movement for safe drinking water for all. For this study, surveys were used; the survey was conducted in RJ, India, both in urban Jodhpur and in surrounding rural villages. To analyze the data, all the responses were entered into Excel format to discover patterns, themes and trends within four subtopics: access, storage, quality and cultural significance. The responses indicate that while a distinct water culture spans the geographic area, each different population retains …

Confronting Cultural Challenges For Migrant Healthcare In Switzerland, Rebecca Weiss

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Switzerland is home to many migrants, and migration exacerbates health risks. In addition to physical health problems, migrants are more likely than Swiss nationals to face mental health challenges and cultural barriers, which complicate their experiences seeking healthcare. Similarly, clinicians encounter numerous challenges related to the special circumstances of migrant patients. As a response to the specific health needs of migrants, hospital networks and migrant support organizations promote the migrant health situation. However, these services are not ubiquitous in Switzerland, partly due to the partial freedoms of each canton to create its own health policy. This paper explores the barriers …

Fighting The Obesity Epidemic: Challenges And Ethics, Grace Brown

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

In recent decades, a double burden of disease has emerged that requires public health workers to fight both hunger and obesity. The obesity epidemic is unlike other epidemics in that it is largely man-made and dependent on social factors and industry influences, making it difficult to fight. The high global prevalence of obesity is partially a result of globalization, which has encouraged development and the liberalizing of economies all around the world, which in turn has increased the marketing and consumption of obesogenic products. Policy solutions have been proposed and implemented in some countries, but an international solution has yet …

The Impact Of Vaccine Hesitancy On The Polio Vaccine In South Asia, Leah Everist

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

A disease that paralyzes hundreds of children each year, polio is incurable but also entirely preventable through vaccination. Though part of the reason some children are not reached for immunization is that they are in areas too volatile for healthcare workers to access, vaccine hesitancy is increasingly being recognized as an important player. The objective of this study is to ascertain the degree to which vaccine hesitancy affects polio vaccine campaigns in Afghanistan and Pakistan, the countries in South Asia where polio continues to be endemic, to assess the drivers behind hesitancy in this region, and to present recommendations for …

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

Linda A. Treiber

Low Desire, Trauma, And Femininity In The Dsm-5: A Case For Sequelae, Alyson K. Spurgas

Sociology and Criminal Justice Studies Faculty Research, Scholarship, and Creative Activity

The recently released DSM-5 (2013) includes a new sexual dysfunction: Female Sexual Interest/Arousal Disorder (FSIAD). For the first time, the low sexual desire disorders are split along gender lines, and lack of sexual ‘receptivity’ is offered as a criterion for diagnosis in women only. Although ‘severe relationship distress’ or other ‘significant stressors’ are to be considered during evaluation for FSIAD, the patient’s trauma history is not evaluated as part of the protocol. The presence of violence or distress can potentially elicit a differential diagnosis, but what constitutes ‘severity’ is not articulated either, except to designate ‘partner violence’ as the primary …

Health Inequalities Among Older Adults In Developed Countries: Reconciling Theories And Policy Approaches, Amélie Quesnel-Vallée, Andrea Willson, Sandra Reiter-Campeau

Population Change and Lifecourse Strategic Knowledge Cluster Discussion Paper Series/ Un Réseau stratégique de connaissances Changements de population et parcours de vie Document de travail

Policies that are meant to support older people in Canada might worsen inequalities. Increasingly privatized pension schemes and lack of subsidized support services disproportionately reward those with the most social and economic means in old age. Those who benefit generally experience better health than those who are disadvantaged. Canada has opportunity to guard against such a skewed impact of programs for the elderly by drawing on approaches developed by the World Health Organization, international examples, and sociological theory and research. These approaches can to help design policies that transcend existing inequalities in older people, fostering more equitable health outcomes.

Conceptualizing Risk And Effectiveness: A Qualitative Study Of Women’S And Providers’ Perceptions Of Nonsurgical Female Permanent Contraception, Elizabeth K. Harrington, Diane Gordon, Isabel Osgood-Roach, Jeffrey T. Jensen, Jennifer Aengst

Anthropology Faculty Publications and Presentations

Objective: Novel approaches to nonsurgical permanent contraception (NSPC) for women that are low cost and require no incision or hysteroscope/surgical equipment could improve access to, and the acceptability of permanent contraception (PC). To better understand opportunities and limitations for NSPC approaches, we examined women's and OB/GYN providers' perceptions of NSPC in Portland, OR.

Study Design: Semi-structured, qualitative interviews were conducted with 40 women recruited from outpatient clinics with purposive sampling, and a focus group was conducted with 9 OB/GYNs in academic and community practice. Transcripts were coded and inductively analyzed with a grounded theory approach.

Results: The majority of women …

Accessing Healthcare: The Experience Of Individuals With Asd In Maine Report Summary, Alan Kurtz, Nancy Cronin

Health and Well-Being

A summary of report findings from the published research report, Accessing Healthcare: The Experience of Individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorders in Maine (2014).

Rac: A Program In Distress, Mary Squire

BYU Law Review

No abstract provided.

The Healthy Immigrant Effect In Canada: A Systematic Review, Zoua Vang, Jennifer Sigouin, Astrid Flenon, Alain Gagnon

Population Change and Lifecourse Strategic Knowledge Cluster Discussion Paper Series/ Un Réseau stratégique de connaissances Changements de population et parcours de vie Document de travail

Canada’s immigration admissions policy calls for individuals with high human capital (Knowles, 2007). Given the strong links between human capital and health (Jasso et al., 2004) and previous research which suggested the presence of a seemingly universal foreign-born health advantage among Canada’s migrant population, we expected to see the healthy immigrant effect across the life-course and for multiple health outcomes. What we found instead was a pattern much more complex than previously envisioned. Our review uncovered a clear survival advantage for immigrants, owing in part to positive self and state selection processes (at least for non-refugee migrants). However, there is …

Human Language Reveals A Universal Positivity Bias, Peter Sheridan Dodds, Eric M. Clark, Suma Desu, Morgan R. Frank, Andrew J. Reagan, Jake Ryland Williams, Lewis Mitchell, Kameron Decker Harris, Isabel M. Kloumann, James P. Bagrow, Karine Megerdoomian, Matthew T. Mcmahon, Brian F. Tivnan, Christopher M. Danforth

College of Engineering and Mathematical Sciences Faculty Publications

Using human evaluation of 100,000 words spread across 24 corpora in 10 languages diverse in origin and culture, we present evidence of a deep imprint of human sociality in language, observing that (i ) the words of natural human language possess a universal positivity bias, (ii ) the estimated emotional content of words is consistent between languages under translation, and (iii ) this positivity bias is strongly independent of frequency of word use. Alongside these general regularities, we describe interlanguage variations in the emotional spectrum of languages that allow us to rank corpora. We also show how our word evaluations …