Digital Commons Network^™

A Model Program For Youth Suicide Prevention, Hatim A. Omar

Pediatrics Faculty Publications

Youth suicide continues to be one of the leading causes of death in the United States. Nation wide it is the third leading cause of death in the 10-24 year old age group. The rate of suicide varies somewhat from state to state. In the state of Kentucky, youth suicide is the second leading cause of death. This article describes a grass root, community-based program for youth suicide prevention and its impact on the community. The Stop Youth Suicide Campaign was launched in October 2000 and included more than 30 local agencies. This program worked. through public education, education of …

Pathways To Ptsd, Part Ii: Sexually Abused Children, Glenn N Saxe

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

OBJECTIVE: The goal of this research was to develop and test a prospective model of posttraumatic stress symptoms in sexually abused children that includes pretrauma, trauma, and disclosure-related pathways.

METHOD: At time 1, several measures were used to assess pretrauma variables, trauma variables, and stress reactions upon disclosure for 156 sexually abused children ages 8 to 13 years. At the time 2 follow-up (7 to 36 months following the initial interview), the children were assessed for posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms.

RESULTS: A path analysis involving a series of hierarchically nested ordinary least squares multiple regression analyses indicated three direct …

Stress Levels, Psychological Symptoms, And C-Reactive Protein Levels In Covid-19: A Cross-Sectional Study, Stephen C Massey

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

The correlation between cholinergic sensitivity and the level of stratification for ganglion cells was examined in the rabbit retina. As examples, we have used ON or OFF alpha ganglion cells and ON/OFF directionally selective (DS) ganglion cells. Nicotine, a cholinergic agonist, depolarized ON/OFF DS ganglion cells and greatly enhanced their firing rates but it had modest excitatory effects on ON or OFF alpha ganglion cells. As previously reported, we conclude that DS ganglion cells are the most sensitive to cholinergic drugs. Confocal imaging showed that ON/OFF DS ganglion cells ramify precisely at the level of the cholinergic amacrine cell dendrites, …

Prescription Pattern Of Benzodiazepines For Inpatients At A Tertiary Care University Hospital In Pakistan, Muhammad Rizwanulhaq Khawaja, A Majeed, F Malik, K A. Merchant, M Maqsood, R Malik, S Mazahir, H Naqvi

Department of Psychiatry

Objective: To determine the point prevalence of benzodiazepine prescriptions for inpatients at a tertiary care university hospital in Pakistan and to correlate it with prescription patterns of various specialties, indications and demographic variables of the patients.Methods: This 24-hours point prevalence study was done at The Aga Khan University Hospital, Karachi. By convenient random sampling, 208 inpatients were interviewed. Patients' files were also studied to record the drugs administered. Data was entered into questionnaires and analyzed by SPSS 10.0.Results: The point prevalence of the benzodiazepines was 21.2%. It was higher among males than females and among surgical than non-surgical patients. Midazolam …

Religious Problem Solving And Coping With End Stage Renal Disease, Eva Bella Martinez

Loma Linda University Electronic Theses, Dissertations & Projects

This study examined the impact of end-stage renal disease life-related couple/family stressors and strains on marital satisfaction, parental satisfaction, life satisfaction, and depression on end-stage renal disease patients and their spouses, as well as quality of life for patients. Also, it examined the moderating effects of three styles of religious problem-solving on the relationship between the ESRD couple/family stressors and strains and the outcome variables. Data included a sample of two hundred subjects and their spouses. Subjects were recruited from seven dialysis centers in southern California. Both patients and spouses were given survey questionnaires (i.e. Personal History Inventory, Religious Problem-Solving …

Predictors Of Intention To Use Contraception, Given Alcohol Consumption, Among Women In Southeast Alaska, Donna Louise Hebbeler

Loma Linda University Electronic Theses, Dissertations & Projects

Fetal alcohol exposure is a serious public health problem and is 100% preventable. Traditionally, FASD prevention programs and research recommendations have targeted peri-conceptual or pregnant women. Another approach to the prevention of FASD involves preventing pregnancy in women who use alcohol. The purpose of this cross sectional study was to identify factors that predicted women’s intention to use contraception using the theory of planned behavior (TPB), to determine if predictors of the theoretical constructs varied in women depending on alcohol use, and to examine interactions between alcohol use and TPB constructs. Qualitative data was gathered to triangulate with the quantitative …

The Application Of The Transtheoretical Model Of Change To Self-Care Behaviors In Type 2 Diabetics, Heather N. Mercer

Loma Linda University Electronic Theses, Dissertations & Projects

Background. The Transtheoretical Model of Change (TTM) has been investigated as a model of health behavior change; however, it has only begun to gain recognition in the diabetic population, and has not yet been investigated as it relates to the full-spectrum of diabetes self-care behaviors.

Purpose. The purpose of this study was to compare the pattern of stages of change across four self-care behaviors between intervention and control groups, and examine psychosocial and health outcome variables.

Method. In a cross-sectional design, a sample of 132 adult subjects with type 2 diabetes completed surveys. The survey assessed stages of change among …

Psychological Stress And High Sensitivity C-Reactive Protein Levels In Overweight And Obese Men, Olivia L. Moses

Loma Linda University Electronic Theses, Dissertations & Projects

Background and Purpose. High sensitivity C-reactive protein (hs-CRP), a measure of inflammatory response, is now considered an independent marker for coronary heart disease. Psychological stress also affects the immune system and influences the inflammatory response. Ladwig, et al (2003) found a significant positive association between hs-CRP levels and depression (F=4.9, p^.008) in 726 obese males, even after adjusting for smoking, high blood pressure and age. This study investigated if there was a similar association between increased hs-CRP levels and psychological stress in overweight and obese males.

Method. Sixty-one overweight (n=28) or obese (n= 33) males, ages 20-35, were recmited …

Oncolog, Volume 50, Number 05, May 2005, Dawn Chalaire, Jonathan M. Kurie Md

OncoLog MD Anderson's Report to Physicians (All issues) Archives

• Filling the Void
• House Call: Understanding Your Blood Counts
• DiaLog: Celebrex Trials Resume, by Jonathan M. Kurie, MD, Professor, Department of Thoracic/Head & Neck Medical Oncology

Com Outlook Spring 2005, College Of Osteopathic Medicine

COM Outlook

No abstract provided.

Clinical Characteristics Of Individuals Using An Online Alcohol Evaluation Program., Daniel Z Lieberman

Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences Faculty Publications

Access to treatment for substance abuse disorders is limited, and practical strategies are needed to expand opportunities for individuals to receive effective interventions. Automated or semi-automated treatments have shown promise in other disorders. Identifying the characteristics of patients who will be able to benefit from this unconventional approach will increase the likelihood of success. The current study examined 1,297 individuals using an online alcohol evaluation program. Subjects had high scores on the Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test (AUDIT) and a substantial amount of ambivalence about the possible harm that their drinking caused, but they also had very low levels of …

Digest Of The Philadelphia College Of Osteopathic Medicine (Spring 2005), Philadelphia College Of Osteopathic Medicine

Digest

The Spring 2005 issue of the Digest of the Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine includes the following articles:

• Opening Remarks
• PCOM Updates and Kudos
• The Courage to Change Lives
• ALS Research: Surveying the Quality of Devastated Lives
• Class Notes
• In Memoriam
• My Turn
• PCOM Events

Screening For Diseases In Family Practice, Ali Khan Khuwaja, Nadya Khan Khuwaja

Department of Family Medicine

The active check-over for disease among apparently healthy people is a fundamental aspect of prevention. This is perceivable by screening, which is a search of unrecognized disease or condition by means of rapidly applied test, examination or other procedures in apparently healthy individuals. This is carried out in the hope that earlier diagnosis and subsequent management favorably alters the natural history of the disease in a significant proportion of those who are identified as 'test-positive'. Family Practitioners have privilege to provide comprehensive and holistic health care services including preventive, curative and rehabilitative on continuous and long-term basis to all members …

Attributional Styles Of Women Who Quit Or Reduce Smoking In The Antepartum, Patricia T. Alpert

Loma Linda University Electronic Theses, Dissertations & Projects

Background: Researchers in the field of smoking have sought to identify variables that predict whether or not pregnant smokers stop or continue to smoke. Most variables examined are demographic in nature and little is known about psychological variables associated with those who quit or reduce smoking while pregnant.

Purpose: To analyze attributional style and locus of control to determine which factors alone, or in combination, are associated with quitting versus reduced smoking among pregnant smokers.

Methodology: Pregnant smokers who quit (n = 66) or reduced their smoking (n = 43) were identified by the nursing staff at a women’s county …

The Price Of Palliative Care: Towards A Complete Accounting Of Costs And Benefits, Alexander A. Boni-Saenz, David Dranove, Linda L. Emanuel, Anthony T. Lo Sasso

All Faculty Scholarship

The costs and benefits of hospice and palliative care have recently received attention for many compelling reasons. First, the cost of medical care over a lifetime is largely expended near the end-of-life. The impending demographic bulge of aging baby boomers will only heighten concerns about costs. Second, hospice and palliative care have been offered as potential vehicles for reducing late-in-life spending. Third, palliative care has gained legitimacy as a distinct medical specialty, having as it does a characteristic philosophy, specialized skill sets, and specific service delivery needs. This philosophy of care is consistent with and, to some degree, builds on …

Medical Education Digest, Vol. 7 No. 1 (January/February 2005), Nova Southeastern University

Medical Education Digest

No abstract provided.

Master Of Public Health 2005, Nova Southeastern University

Health Professions Divisions Course Catalogs and Course Descriptions

No abstract provided.

2004 Cancer Care Annual Report, Children's Mercy Hospital

Cancer Center Annual Reports

Annual report of cancer care and oncology services at the Children's Mercy Hospital, Kansas City MO, a pediatric medical center, with a focus on the Ewing's sarcoma family of tumors.

Weight Loss Practices In Amateur Wrestlers And Its Relationship To Disordered Eating, Lyndsey M. Manderfield

Graduate Research Papers

The premise behind many athletic programs is to encourage wellness, a state of well being in both physical and emotional aspects. This research paper reviews how wrestling and other athletic programs where weight plays a significant role, may affect eating and other weight-related habits. It addresses whether weight loss practices in wrestling play a role in disordered eating patterns of its participants.

Early Oral-Motor Interventions For Pediatric Feeding Problems: What, When And How, C. J. Manno, C. Fox, P. S. Eicher, Mary Louise Kerwin

College of Science & Mathematics Departmental Research

Children with developmental delays often have feeding difficulties resulting from oral-motor problems. Based on both clinical experience and a review of published studies, oral-motor interventions have been shown to be effective in improving the oral function of preterm infants and children with neuromotor disorders, such as cerebral palsy. However, oral-motor problems may be under identified in other populations of children with developmental difficulties. The purpose of this paper is to provide a conceptual framework for understanding oral-motor skill development and problems that can occur in any infant and young child and to review oral-motor treatment techniques and their empirical support.

Old Legacies And New Paradigms: Confusing "Research" And "Treatment" And Its Consequences In Responding To Emergent Health Threats, Gail H. Javitt

Journal of Health Care Law and Policy

No abstract provided.

On The Utility Of Stochastic Models Of Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease, Rebecca Boehm

MUSC Theses and Dissertations

Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is a progressive and irreversible lung disease characterized by reduced lung function, abnormal inflammatory response, dyspnea, increased sputum production, and costly and debilitating exacerbations. Common treatments for COPD include smoking cessation therapy, short- and long-acting bronchodilators, inhaled corticosteroids, pulmonary rehabilitation, and home oxygen therapy. However, a recent meta-analysis demonstrated that inhaled corticosteroids fail to slow the decline in FEV1, the primary clinical marker of COPD progression. In addition, some evidence exists to suggest that long-term inhaled corticosteroid use may increase bone density loss, leading to osteoporosis. Given that the bone health effects of inhaled corticosteroid …

A Preliminary Study Of 24-Hour Post-Cesarean Patient Controlled Analgesia: Postoperative Pain Reports And Morphine Requests/Utilization Are Greater In Abstaining Smokers Than Non-Smokers, Alan P. Marco, Mark K. Greenwald, Michael S. Higgins

Anesthesiology Faculty Publications

Previous clinical studies have not examined the relationship between nicotine abstinence and opioid use for postoperative analgesia. This may be important because tobacco smokers are routinely required to abstain from smoking just before and during acute post-surgical recovery. This study investigated IV morphine self-administration [patient controlled analgesia (PCA)], subjective pain/drug effects and other measures during post-operative (elective Cesarean section) recovery.

These preliminary data suggest that a history of nicotine use and/or short-term nicotine abstinence can modulate morphine use and analgesia during post-operative recovery. These procedures provide a model for studying patterns and determinants of analgesic self-administration in medical settings.

Deference, Denial, And Exclusion: Men Talk About Contraception And Unintended Pregnancy, Scott D. Johnson, Lindy B. Williams

Rhetoric and Communication Studies Faculty Publications

Individual in-depth interviews were conducted with 20 men, ages 21-48, who have fathered at least one unintended pregnancy. The goal of the interviews was to explore the experiences of these men with unintended pregnancy, their communication with partners and others, contraceptive beliefs and practices, their relationships with their partners, and the outcomes and consequences of the unintended pregnancies. This essay describes results derived from their comments regarding their contraceptive practices and the pregnancy-outcome decisions, with thematic analysis used to identify prominent themes from participant comments. Two strong themes, "deference" and "denial," and one lesser theme, "exclusion," emerged from participant responses. …

Oncolog, Volume 50, Number 01, January 2005, Rachel Williams, Dawn Chalaire, Caren E. Blinka, Angelina Esparza, Allen W. Burton Md

OncoLog MD Anderson's Report to Physicians (All issues) Archives

• New Perspectives on Brain Metastasis
• Out of the Darkroom
• Equity and Health
• House Call: Blood and Platelet Donors Give Life
• DiaLog: Cancer Pain Control in the New Millennium, by Allen W. Burton, MD, Section Chief, Cancer Pain Management Department of Anesthesiology and Pain Medicine

Digest Of The Philadelphia College Of Osteopathic Medicine (Winter 2005), Philadelphia College Of Osteopathic Medicine

Digest

The Winter 2005 issue of the Digest of the Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine includes the following articles:

• Opening Remarks
• On the Cover: Stan
• PCOM Updates and Kudos
• Building Confidence & Competence
• Recognizing Leadership, Loyalty, Service
• Compassionate Callings
• Healthcare Centers: Hubs for Research & Medical Outreach
• Class Notes
• In Memoriam
• My Turn
• PCOM Events

Paediatric Palliative And Supportive Care: Caring For Life: The Needs Of Children And Families In Western Australia, Leanne Monterosso, Linda Kristjanson, Marianne Phillips, Sue Rowell

Research outputs pre 2011

Palliative care is the relief of symptoms, regardless of their impact on the underlying disease process. The philosophical underpinning of current international paediatric palliative and supportive care models is that palliative and supportive care should be offered to all children with life threatening or chronic illnesses/disabilities with complex care needs. This approach allows the integration of cure-directed treatment and palliative care. allowing children to benefit from both philosophies of care. In Australia, there is increasing recognition of the need for the development of appropriate paediatric palliative care services, especially in Western Australia where supportive care services for children with life-limiting …

Childhood And Adolescent Obesity: Nationwide Pediatric Healthcare Provider Practices And Their Role In Treatment And Prevention Of The Obesity Epidemic, Alison Farley

MPA/MPP/MPFM Capstone Projects

The purpose of this research is to explore screening and treatment patterns as well as the underlying provider confidence in their decision-making related to the overweight and obese child and adolescent patient. The screening and treatment of obesity in the child and adolescent population are affected by complex social implications and physical side effects. Without a clear consensus on screening, diagnosis and alternative treatment plans, healthcare providers will not maximize the opportunity to provide primary and secondary prevention to the growing epidemic.

Statistical analysis of secondary survey data was conducted to explore screening and treatment patterns as well as the …

Healing During Physician-Patient Consultation, Waris Qidwai, Ss Ali, S Ayub, S Ayub

Department of Family Medicine

OBJECTIVE: To determine the patient perceptions regarding healing during a physician-patient consultation.
DESIGN: A questionnaire-based survey.
PLACE AND DURATION OF STUDY: Family Practice Center of the Aga Khan University Hospital, Karachi, Pakistan, in June 2004.
PATIENTS AND METHODS: A questionnaire was designed that included the demographic profile of patients comprising age, gender, education and occupation as well as questions in line with the study objective. It was administered to 111 patients, visiting outpatient department of the hospital. Participants were explained the study objective, a written consent was taken and full confidentiality was assured.
RESULTS: The mean age of …

African American Breast Cancer Health Disparities, Theresa Lynn Gaul

Honors Program Theses

Health disparities are "the differences in the incidence, prevalence, mortality, and burden of cancer and related adverse health conditions that exist among specific population groups in the United States" (National Cancer Institute [NCI], 2002). Racial and ethnic minorities experience serious disparities in health access and outcomes. Disparities in the burden of death and illness experienced by African Americans in particular, as compared with our nation's population as a whole, are particularly striking. There are a variety of factors contributing to these inequalities. The purpose of this report is to examine these factors and the consequential effects on the African American's …