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Delivery Of Asthma Management Services By A Federally Qualified Health Center In An Urban Setting, Tyra T. Buckley

Public Health Theses

As a chronic disease, asthma presents a significant public health challenge nationally and in Georgia. In 2007, over 22 million people, including over 9 million children, had asthma in the United States. In Georgia, 230,000, or 10% of children have asthma, which is more prevalent among children less than 18 years of age than among adults. While asthma affects people of all ages and socioeconomic status, low income and minority populations have the highest asthma morbidity. This has proven to be the case with residents of Neighborhood Planning Unit V (NPU-V), a low-income minority community located in southeast Atlanta. Children …

Exposure To Indoor Biomass Fuel Pollutants And Asthma Prevalence In Southeastern Kentucky: Results From The Burden Of Lung Disease (Bold) Study, Anna C. Barry, David M. Mannino, Claudia Hopenhayn, Heather Bush

David M. Mannino

BACKGROUND:

Asthma is a chronic inflammatory respiratory disease, characterized by episodic and reversible airflow obstruction and airway hyperresponsiveness and is influenced by both genetic and environmental factors.

METHODS:

The Burden of Obstructive Lung Disease (BOLD) survey was used to determine the prevalence of self-reported asthma in a target population of 325,000 adults aged > or =40 in Southeastern Kentucky. Postbronchodilator spirometry was used to classify subjects based on lung function. Risk factors for asthma in this population, in particular indoor usage of biomass fuels, were evaluated.

RESULTS:

The overall study population was comprised of 508 individuals, with 15.5% reporting current asthma …

Brief Cognitive-Behavioral Interventions For Migraine In The Emergency Room: A Case Study, Rivka Berger, Orly Sarid

Internet Journal of Allied Health Sciences and Practice

Brief cognitive-behavioral intervention (CBI) was conducted in the emergency room (ER). The current literature on biomedical and psychological risk factors of migraine is reviewed briefly including studies demonstrating the effectiveness of CBI with such patients. The case study portrays CBI that assists a patient suffering from severe migraine attack. We cautiously proposed that CBI can provide patients with a sense of control and may offer empowerment for the personnel in the ER. An integrative approach to health care is suggested when assessing patients with migraine.

Elevated Atmospheric Carbon Dioxide Concentrations Amplify Alternaria Alternata Sporulation And Total Antigen Production, Julie Wolf, Nichole R. O’Neill, Christine A. Rogers, Michael L. Muilenberg, Lewis H. Ziska

Christine A. Rogers

Background

Although the effect of elevated carbon dioxide (CO2) concentration on pollen production has been established in some plant species, impacts on fungal sporulation and antigen production have not been elucidated.

Objective

Our purpose was to examine the effects of rising atmospheric CO2 concentrations on the quantity and quality of fungal spores produced on timothy (Phleum pratense) leaves.

Methods

Timothy plants were grown at four CO2 concentrations (300, 400, 500, and 600 μmol/mol). Leaves were used as growth substrate for Alternaria alternata and Cladosporium phlei. The spore abundance produced by both fungi, as well as the size (microscopy) and antigenic …

The Role Of The Ras Superfamily Small G-Proteins In The Proinflammatory Environment Of Rhinovirus-Exposed Monocytic-Lineage Cells, Michael Schreiber

Lawrence University Honors Projects

Rhinoviral infections are a major cause of asthma exacerbations, and though productive rhinovirus infection occurs predominantly in the bronchial epithelial cells of the upper airway, monocytic-lineage cells are implicated in establishing the inflammatory microenvironment observed during rhinoviral asthma exacerbation. It has remained unclear whether small G-protein activation plays a role in establishing this inflammatory microenvironment. The small molecular- weight G-proteins are known to be activated in a variety of cell types upon exposure to a range of viruses. However, it is unclear if small G-protein activation during viral exposure is a byproduct of receptor attachment, is important for viral replication, …

Bone Marrow Stromal Cells Use Tgf-Β To Suppress Allergic Responses In A Mouse Model Of Ragweed-Induced Asthma, K. Nemeth, A. Keane-Myers, J. M. Brown, D. D. Metcalfe, J. D. Gorham

Dartmouth Scholarship

Bone marrow stromal cells [BMSCs; also known as mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs)] effectively suppress inflammatory responses in acute graft-versus-host disease in humans and in a number of disease models in mice. Many of the studies concluded that BMSC- driven immunomodulation is mediated by the suppression of pro- inflammatory Th1 responses while rebalancing the Th1/Th2 ratio toward Th2. In this study, using a ragweed induced mouse asthma model, we studied if BMSCs could be beneficial in an allergic, Th2- dominant environment. When BMSCs were injected i.v. at the time of the antigen challenge, they protected the animals from the majority of …

Quality Of Life And Health Outcomes In Overweight And Non-Overweight Children With Asthma., Amy Becker Manion

Dissertations

Over the last two decades the number of children and adolescents who are overweight has more than doubled. Currently, an estimated 18 percent of children and adolescents ages 6-19 years are overweight. Following this trend in childhood overweight, there has been an alarming increase in the number of children with asthma who are overweight. The increasing trend in both asthma and overweight has led to the suggestion of a causal relationship between the two. Childhood overweight has been found to have a profound negative impact on quality of life (QOL), yet there is a dearth of research regarding the impact …

Community Violence As Psychosocial Stressor: The Case Of Childhood Asthma In Boston, Gonzalo Bacigalupe, Takeo Fujiwara, Sabrina Selk, Meghan Woo

Counseling and School Psychology Faculty Publication Series

Childhood asthma is a critical public health problem of urban centers in the United States and other industrialized nations. Population-based and laboratory research studies indicate that psychosocial stress differentially affects asthma expression. Witnessing or experiencing community violence is a psychosocial stressor that results in long-term biological changes that may in turn contribute to asthma morbidity. This is a review of the literature that examines the exposure to violence as a psychosocial stressor that is independently associated with asthma morbidity even after adjustment for income, housing, and other adverse life events. In addition to acting as a physiological trigger for the …

Community Violence As Psychosocial Stressor: The Case Of Childhood Asthma In Boston, Gonzalo Bacigalupe, Takeo Fujiwara, Sabrina Selk, Meghan Woo

Gonzalo Bacigalupe, EdD, MPH

Childhood asthma is a critical public health problem of urban centers in the United States and other industrialized nations. Population-based and laboratory research studies indicate that psychosocial stress differentially affects asthma expression. Witnessing or experiencing community violence is a psychosocial stressor that results in long-term biological changes that may in turn contribute to asthma morbidity. This is a review of the literature that examines the exposure to violence as a psychosocial stressor that is independently associated with asthma morbidity even after adjustment for income, housing, and other adverse life events. In addition to acting as a physiological trigger for the …

Challenging The Views Of Self Management For Asthma, Kelly L. Andrews, Sandra C. Jones, Melinda Williams, Judy Mullan

Graduate School of Medicine - Papers (Archive)

• Individual nature of asthma and the asthmatic are not well understood or prioritised as a starting point to improve the uptake of self management strategies • Fuller understanding of 4 P’s from a consumer perspective required • Preliminary audience segmentation herein provide a sound platform for future investigations • Consumer focused evaluations are necessary to understand the present barriers and future facilitators of health behaviour change.

Impact Of Levalbuterol Versus Albuterol In Kentucky Medicaid Patients, Velma Henry

MPA/MPP/MPFM Capstone Projects

Problem:

Asthma is a chronic pulmonary disease that occurs in approximately 10 percent of the population worldwide and is associated with a significant increase in direct medical expenditures. Levalbuterol and racemic albuterol are two short-acting β2-agonists (SABA) prescribed for the treatment of asthma. Racemic albuterol has been used for more than 40 years but is associated with several side effects including tremor. When levalbuterol was approved in 2005 its manufacturer and several studies suggested that using levalbuterol results in better respiratory parameters, fewer hospitalizations, less adverse effects and therefore, lower overall treatment costs and hence less need for β-adrenergic agonist …

Evaluation Of Oxidant/Antioxidant Status And Ecp Levels In Asthma, Ömer Emecen, Berri̇n Berçi̇k İnal, Füsun Erdenen, Murat Usta, Hale Aral, Güvenç Güvenen

Turkish Journal of Medical Sciences

Inflammatory and immune cells, such as eosinophils, macrophages, and neutrophils, generate more reactive oxygen species in patients with asthma than they do in healthy individuals, and oxygen radicals contribute to tissue injury in asthma. We aimed to measure total oxidant status (TOS) and antioxidant status (TAS) in order to assess oxidative and antioxidative capacity. Eosinophil cationic protein (ECP), total IgE, and eosinophils (%) were measured to evaluate the level of inflammation. Materials and methods: The study included 56 non-smoking asthma patients that were followed-up at the respiratory disease and allergy outpatient clinics, where they received ongoing treatment for 5 months …