Digital Commons Network^™

Review Of Toxocariasis At A Children's Hospital Prompting Need For Public Health Interventions, Mary B Fortini, Timothy A Erickson, Lauren M Leining, Karina M Robinson, Megan N Carey, Sarah J Smith, Brendan Sullivan, Alisa R Nelson, Sarah M Gunter, Jill E Weatherhead

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

BACKGROUND: Toxocariasis, caused the by dog and cat roundworm, is one of the most common zoonotic helminth infections in the United States and can lead to severe lifelong morbidity in children. Although historical seroprevalence studies have identified a high frequency of toxocariasis regionally in the United States, there are few studies linking epidemiology and clinical disease in children. The study objective was to examine the contemporary epidemiology of pediatric toxocariasis within an endemic US region.

METHODS: We conducted an epidemiologic study analyzing children diagnosed with toxocariasis presenting to a tertiary pediatric hospital in Texas from 2010 to 2021. We examined …

Rural-Urban Disparities In Video Telehealth Use During Rapid Mental Health Care Virtualization Among American Indian/Alaska Native Veterans, Isabelle S Kusters, Amber B Amspoker, Kristen Frosio, Stephanie C Day, Giselle Day, Anthony Ecker, Julianna Hogan, Jan A Lindsay, Jay Shore

Center for Medical Ethics and Health Policy Staff Publications

Importance: American Indian/Alaska Native veterans experience a high risk for health inequities, including mental health (MH) care access. Rapid virtualization of MH care in response to the COVID-19 pandemic facilitated care continuity across the Veterans Health Administration (VHA), but the association between virtualization of care and health inequities among American Indian/Alaska Native veterans is unknown.

Objective: To examine differences in video telehealth (VTH) use for MH care between American Indian/Alaska Native and non-American Indian/Alaska Native veterans by rurality and urbanicity.

Design, setting, and participants: In this cohort study, VHA administrative data on VTH use among a veteran cohort that received …

Surveillance Systems In Western Kenya: Methods, Perceptions, And Effectiveness, Marissa Duffy

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Surveillance is an important tool in monitoring and evaluating infectious disease patterns and trends. Surveillance is vital because it aids public health officials and medical professionals in creating better prevention methods and efficiently managing outbreaks. Kenya is home to many noncommunicable diseases making it an important location to conduct disease surveillance. Within Kenya, each county has its own surveillance unit which tracks and controls outbreaks. In addition, government run surveillance systems were established to determine disease burden, incidence, and patterns in specific at-risk communities around Kenya. One of these major surveillance systems is Population-Based Infectious Disease Surveillance (PBIDS) which has …

Racial/Ethnic Differences Persist In Treatment Choice And Outcomes In Isolated Intervention For Coronary Artery Disease, Rodrigo Zea-Vera, Sainath Asokan, Rohan M Shah, Christopher T Ryan, Subhasis Chatterjee, Matthew J Wall, Joseph S Coselli, Todd K Rosengart, Waleed T Kayani, Hani Jneid, Ravi K Ghanta

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

OBJECTIVE: Studies have noted racial/ethnic disparities in coronary artery disease intervention strategies. We investigated trends and outcomes of coronary artery disease treatment choice (coronary artery bypass grafting or percutaneous coronary intervention) stratified by race/ethnicity.

METHODS: We queried the National Inpatient Sample for patients who underwent isolated coronary artery bypass grafting or percutaneous coronary intervention (2002-2017). Outcomes were stratified by race/ethnicity (White, African American, Hispanic, Asian). Multivariable logistic regression evaluated associations between race/ethnicity and receiving coronary artery bypass grafting versus percutaneous coronary intervention, in-hospital mortality, and costs.

RESULTS: Over the 15-year period, 2,426,917 isolated coronary artery bypass grafting surgeries and 7,184,515 …

A Trauma-Informed Mentoring Framework For Forensic Nurses: An Overview Of Steerr—Structure, Process, And Evaluation, Sarah J. Hoffman, Tara Dillon, Kaylen M. Moore, Ellen A. Frerich, Carolyn M. Porta

College of Nursing Faculty Research and Publications

The STEERR Mentoring Framework, grounded in decolonized and feminist mentorship approaches, integrates foundational principles of mentoring with the unique and complex characteristics of the role of the forensic nurse. The primary objective of the program is to support a competent, sustainable, and resilient forensic nursing workforce. In this article, we describe the development process, framework structure, and evaluation approach implemented within a 1-year pilot initiative focused on forensic nurses in the sexual assault nurse examiner role. We reflect on strategies for broader application and replication in forensic nursing programs across the United States.

Vadadustat For Treatment Of Anemia In Patients With Dialysis-Dependent Chronic Kidney Disease Receiving Peritoneal Dialysis, Mark J Sarnak, Rajiv Agarwal, Neil Boudville, Pradip C P Chowdhury, Kai-Uwe Eckardt, Carlos R Gonzalez, Laura A Kooienga, Mark J Koury, Kwabena A Ntoso, Wenli Luo, Patrick S Parfrey, Dennis L Vargo, Wolfgang C Winkelmayer, Zhiqun Zhang, Glenn M Chertow

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

BACKGROUND: Hypoxia-inducible factor prolyl hydroxylase inhibitors such as vadadustat may provide an oral alternative to injectable erythropoiesis-stimulating agents for treating anemia in patients receiving peritoneal dialysis. In two randomized (1:1), global, phase 3, open-label, sponsor-blind, parallel-group, active-controlled noninferiority trials in patients with dialysis-dependent chronic kidney disease (INNO2VATE), vadadustat was noninferior to darbepoetin alfa with respect to cardiovascular safety and hematological efficacy. Vadadustat's effects in patients receiving only peritoneal dialysis is unclear.

METHODS: We conducted a post hoc analysis of patients in the INNO2VATE trials receiving peritoneal dialysis at baseline. The prespecified primary safety endpoint was time to first major cardiovascular …

Geospatial Artificial Intelligence (Geoai): Applications In Health Care, K S Sahana, C B Karthik, Mounika M Sree, M Chaithra, Stavelin K Abhinandithe, B Snehalatha, R Sridhar, S Balasubramanian, B Madhu

International Journal of Health and Allied Sciences

GeoAI is a new emerging research area that refers to set of technologies that integrate AI technology with a diversity of GIS (Geographic Information System) techniques. The present study observed that GeoAI goes beyond current GIS expectations and into the domain of possibility in the not-too-distant future. This emerging interdisciplinary science will lead us to sustainable decisions and explore the most suitable solutions to the existing problems. GeoAI has the potential to transform current geography and geomatics programs by incorporating a GeoAI dimension into modern GIS curricula. In this review, we have studied the application GeoAI in various healthcare fields. …

Community Mobility And Depressive Symptoms During The Covid-19 Pandemic In The United States, Roy H. Perlis, Kristin Lunz Trujillo, Alauna Safarpour, Alexi Quintana, Matthew D. Simonson, Jasper Perlis, Mauricio Santillana, Katherine Ognyanova, Matthew A. Baum, James N. Druckman, David Lazer

Political Science Faculty Publications

Importance Marked elevation in levels of depressive symptoms compared with historical norms have been described during the COVID-19 pandemic, and understanding the extent to which these are associated with diminished in-person social interaction could inform public health planning for future pandemics or other disasters.

Objective To describe the association between living in a US county with diminished mobility during the COVID-19 pandemic and self-reported depressive symptoms, while accounting for potential local and state-level confounding factors.

Design, Setting, and Participants This survey study used 18 waves of a nonprobability internet survey conducted in the United States between May 2020 and April …

Building Strength Through Collaboration: What Faith Community Nurses Need To Know, Marcia A. Potter

International Journal of Faith Community Nursing

This article is a practical guide and viewpoint narrative that offers definitions, justifications for, process steps, and a how-to checklist for Faith Community Nurses considering collaboration between multiple agencies outside of their own. The author offers simple guidelines and how-to advice on securing success, avoiding risks, and preventing costly misunderstandings between cooperating agencies when combining resources.

Social Vulnerability Of The People Exposed To Wildfires In Us West Coast States, Arash Modaresi Rad, John T Abatzoglou, Erica Fleishman, Miranda H Mockrin, Volker C Radeloff, Yavar Pourmohamad, Megan Cattau, J Michael Johnson, Philip Higuera, Nicholas J Nauslar, Mojtaba Sadegh

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Understanding of the vulnerability of populations exposed to wildfires is limited. We used an index from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to assess the social vulnerability of populations exposed to wildfire from 2000-2021 in California, Oregon, and Washington, which accounted for 90% of exposures in the western United States. The number of people exposed to fire from 2000-2010 to 2011-2021 increased substantially, with the largest increase, nearly 250%, for people with high social vulnerability. In Oregon and Washington, a higher percentage of exposed people were highly vulnerable (>40%) than in California (~8%). Increased social vulnerability of …

Expressive Arts Therapy To Support Positive Experiences Of Embodiment Among Rural Lgbtq+ Adults: A Literature Review, Ann Stromgren

Expressive Therapies Capstone Theses

This paper investigates the use of expressive arts therapy to support LGBTQ+ adult clients in rural communities. Caring professionals in rural areas often lack training on how to work with LGBTQ+ clients, and best practices for clinical mental health counseling with rural LGBTQ+ clients have yet to be defined. Some evidence suggests that using “metronormative” best practices with rural clients may be irrelevant or cause harm (Giano et al., 2020). Although some recommendations exist for using expressive therapies with LGBTQ+ clients, they are rarely evidence-based, as very few empirical studies exist evaluating the effectiveness of expressive therapy interventions with LGBTQ+ …

The Impact Of Insomnia Symptoms On Obesity Among Mexicans Aged 50 And Older, Kanwal N Momin, Connor Sheehan, Rafael Samper-Ternent, David S López, Rebeca Wong, Sadaf Arefi Milani

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

OBJECTIVE: To examine the association between insomnia and obesity in Mexican adults aged 50 and older.

MATERIALS AND METHODS: We used data from the Mexican Health and Aging Study (2015-2018). Self-reported insomnia was measured using the modified insomnia severity index with scores ranging from zero to six. Obesity was categorized using body mass index (BMI ≥ 30 kg/m2). We used generalized estimating equations to assess the association between insomnia and obesity over three years.

RESULTS: Insomnia was associated with obesity (odds ratio [OR]: 1.06, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.01,1.11), among those with no obesity at baseline. Among those with obesity, …

Microplastics In Water, Their Effects On The Aquatic Ecosystem And Human Public Health, And The Proposed Solutions, Mohanad Abouserie

The Undergraduate Research Journal

We could be swallowing a credit card's weight in plastic every week. Microplastic water pollution is becoming a threat to both humans and aquatic creatures. In this research, microplastic water contamination is discussed, and divergent solutions are proposed. This paper attempts to investigate the causes and effects of such pollution and analyze the current solutions for this issue. The adopted research method is secondary research, where several studies are explored and analyzed. This study explains numerous causes for this issue like cosmetics, cleaning products, factories, and sewage. Consequently, this contamination can negatively impact the organs and metabolisms of the living …

Determinants Of Hormonal Contraceptive Use Among Adolescent Females In The Republic Of Benin, Marlene Joannie Bewa

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Introduction: Globally, 17 million adolescent girls—ages 15-19-- give birth every year, which affects educational and professional outcomes such as school completion, future employment, and economic empowerment. In Benin, adolescent girls have a substantial unmet need for sexual and reproductive health (SRH) information and services. More specifically, the need for hormonal contraceptive products and services, as well as accurate, age-appropriate, and comprehensive sexuality education, is not met universally.

Objective: This research objective is to understand personal, behavioral, and environmental barriers and facilitators to the access and uptake of modern contraceptive methods among adolescents in Benin. This will inform recommendations for improving …

The Relationship Between Obesity And Depression Among Federally Qualified Health Center Patients, Hwanseok Choi

Journal of Public Health in the Deep South

Background: Obesity has reached epidemic levels in Mississippi. In the shadow of these skyrocketing obesity levels, there are comorbid high levels of depression. Both obesity and depression complicate and, in many cases, compromise critical health outcomes. A significant association between obesity and depression has been suspected for decades. Purpose: The purpose of this study is to examine the relationship between obesity and depression among patients receiving medical care from a Federally Qualified Health Center (FQHC) in a southern state. Methods: The sample was comprised of 3,272 subjects. The Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-9) was used to measure the severity of depression, …

Objectivity, Practicality, And Significance Of Practice Guidelines For The Practicing Neurologists: What We Learnt From Consensus Criteria In Cidp, Myasthenia Gravis And Inflammatory Myopathies, Marinos C. Dalakas

Department of Neurology Faculty Papers

The value of practice guidelines in the three most common autoimmune neuromuscular disorders, namely Chronic Inflammatory Demyelinating Polyneuropathy (CIDP), Myasthenia Gravis (MG) and Autoimmune Inflammatory Myopathies (AIM), has been extensively debated regarding their usefulness in clinical practice, objectivity and universal value considering that guidelines are also established regionally in certain countries. This commentary highlights common concerns on how guidelines are presently generated, pointing out: (a) non-sufficient diversity among Task-Force members to identify and address not only routine clinical and electrophysiology issues but also immunology, imaging, pathology, biomarkers, epidemiology or treatment economics; (b) Task-Force being often comprised by the same or …

Affective Domain Development In Virtual Education: Visual Thinking Strategies And Art Pedagogy, Jayne Josephsen

Nursing Faculty Publications and Presentations

Development of the affective domain is linked to increasing self-awareness of internal dialogue, such as biases and assumptions, which can affect the ability of nurses to engage in person-centered care and meet the identified patient outcomes. Through visual thinking strategies (VTS) paired with art-based pedagogy to examine grief, loss, and bereavement concepts in a hospice and palliative care nursing virtual education course, affective domain development was advanced. Foundational to this virtual educational intervention was using the VTS framework of questions and pairing them with art-based pedagogy promoting open-ended interpretation and response to the art presented. This assisted the students in …

Nevada Childhood Lead Poisoning Prevention Program: 2023 Blood Lead Testing And Response Plan, Erika R. Marquez, Natascha Kotte, Amanda Louise Haboush, Jelsy A. Cadenas-Santos

Nevada Institute for Children's Research and Policy Reports

Childhood lead poisoning is one of the most preventable environmental health hazards in history. While childhood lead poisoning rates have decreased substantially since the 1970s, mounting evidence suggests that chronic, low-level exposure in early childhood can have long-lasting impacts on children. In Nevada, there are over 218,000 children under the age of 6 but only 3% are tested for lead – making Nevada one of the lowest testing states in the United States (U.S.).

The Nevada Childhood Lead Poisoning Prevention Program (NvCLPPP) staff and Advisory Committee hope that stakeholders use this blood lead testing plan as guidance to prevent and …

Cancer In Louisiana: 2016-2020, Volume 38, Louisiana Tumor Registry, Lauren Maniscalco, Mei-Chin Hsieh, Christina Lefante, Yong Yi, Lisa Pareti, Brent Mumphrey, Mary Anne Lynch, Xiao-Cheng Wu, Simon Zulu

Policy & Position Papers

Mission:

To collect and report complete, high-quality, and timely population-based cancer data in Louisiana to support cancer research, control, and prevention.

Vision:

To reduce suffering and death from cancer using information collected by the Louisiana Tumor Registry.

History:

Cancer registration in Louisiana began in 1947 at the Charity Hospital Tumor Registry in New Orleans. In 1974, as part of its Surveillance, Epidemiology and End Results (SEER) Program, the National Cancer Institute provided funds for a population-based cancer incidence and survival registry covering Jefferson, Orleans, and St. Bernard parishes. Five years later, the Louisiana Tumor Registry (LTR) was transferred to the …

Making Waves: Integrating Wastewater Surveillance With Dynamic Modeling To Track And Predict Viral Outbreaks, Tin Phan, Samantha Brozak, Bruce Pell, Jeremiah Oghuan, Anna Gitter, Tao Hu, Ruy M Ribeiro, Ruian Ke, Kristina D Mena, Alan S Perelson, Yang Kuang, Fuqing Wu

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Wastewater surveillance has proved to be a valuable tool to track the COVID-19 pandemic. However, most studies using wastewater surveillance data revolve around establishing correlations and lead time relative to reported case data. In this perspective, we advocate for the integration of wastewater surveillance data with dynamic within-host and between-host models to better understand, monitor, and predict viral disease outbreaks. Dynamic models overcome emblematic difficulties of using wastewater surveillance data such as establishing the temporal viral shedding profile. Complementarily, wastewater surveillance data bypasses the issues of time lag and underreporting in clinical case report data, thus enhancing the utility and …

Centering Communities Of Color In The Modernization Of A Public Health Survey System: Lessons From Oregon, Daniel F. López-Cevallos, Kusuma Madamala, Mira Mohsini, Andres Lopez, Roberta Hunte, Ryan Petteway, Tim Holbert

School of Social Work Faculty Publications and Presentations

Context: Public health survey systems are tools for informing public health programming and policy at the national, state, and local levels. Among the challenges states face with these kinds of surveys include concerns about the representativeness of communities of color and lack of community engagement in survey design, analysis, and interpretation of results or dissemination, which raises questions about their integrity and relevance.

Approach: Using a data equity framework (rooted in antiracism and intersectionality), the purpose of this project was to describe a formative participatory assessment approach to address challenges in Oregon Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS) and Student …

Committing To Genomic Answers For All Kids: Evaluating Inequity In Genomic Research Enrollment., Natalie J. Kane, Ana S A Cohen, Courtney D. Berrios, Bridgette Jones, T Pastinen, Mark A. Hoffman

Manuscripts, Articles, Book Chapters and Other Papers

PURPOSE: Persistent inequities in genomic medicine and research contribute to health disparities. This analysis uses a context-specific and equity-focused strategy to evaluate enrollment patterns for Genomic Answers for Kids (GA4K), a large, metropolitan-wide genomic study on children.

METHODS: Electronic health records for 2247 GA4K study participants were used to evaluate the distribution of individuals by demographics (race, ethnicity, and payor type) and location (residential address). Addresses were geocoded to produce point density and 3-digit zip code maps showing local and regional enrollment patterns. Health system reports and census data were used to compare participant characteristics with reference populations at different …

Differences In Hyperandrogenism Related To Early Detection Of Non-Classical Congenital Adrenal Hyperplasia On Second Newborn Screen, Bonnie Mccann-Crosby, Mark C Liang, Mitchell E Geffner, Christina M Koppin, Nicole R Fraga, V Reid Sutton, Lefkothea P Karaviti, Gagandeep Bhullar, Mimi S Kim

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

Screening for congenital adrenal hyperplasia (CAH) remains heterogenous across geographies—we sought to determine the proportion of non-classical CAH (NCAH) detection by one vs. two newborn screens (NBS) in two U.S. regions. Data were collected at tertiary centers in Houston (HOU) and Los Angeles (LA) on 35 patients with NCAH, comparing patients identified via the NBS vs. during childhood, 17-hydroxyprogesterone (17-OHP) levels, genotype, and phenotype. The NBS filter-paper 17-OHP levels and daily cutoffs were recorded on initial and second screens. In all, 53% of patients with NCAH in the HOU cohort were identified as infants via the second NBS. Patients identified …

Evaluation Of Self-Confidence In Women With Chronic Disease, Sebahat Atalıkoğlu Başkan, Sevinç Kose Tuncer, Demet Güneş

Makara Journal of Health Research

Background: Self-confidence, which is an important emotional need in women, affects women's quality of life. This research was conducted to evaluate the self-confidence of women with chronic diseases.

Methods: This study was conducted at the internal medicine clinic of Erzincan Mengücek Gazi Training and Research Hospital in Turkey between August 2019 and June 2020. The sample consisted of 339 female patients with chronic diseases who agreed to participate in this study. Data were collected through face-to-face interviews using information form and the Women’s Self-Confidence Scale.

Results: The mean total score of the participants was 136.40 ± 24.92. …

(2012) Group Physical Exercise, Relationship Dynamics, And Curative Factors: Qualitative Findings From A Kinesiology Exercise Immunology Course, Laura Fazio-Griffith, Jennifer R. Curry

Louisiana Journal of Counseling

Qualitative inquiry was used to examine students’ perceptions of, and experiences in, a Kinesiology Exercise Immunology Course with an experiential marathon training component. Twenty-eight students participated in four focus groups. Data was analyzed according to the themes and patterns that emerged during each focus group. Major themes revealed the presence of, relationship dynamics, interpersonal learning, and multiple curative factors used to develop and enhance the relationship of the educator and student the experiential classroom setting. Implications and recommendations for human service educators are discussed.

Alcohol Use And High-Risk Sexual Behaviors Among Members Of A Latino Migrant Worker Community In Central Florida, Jesus Sanchez, Jodi-Ann Hibbert

HPD Articles

Background: Latino and Latina migrant workers constitute a vast amount of the agricultural workforce within the United States. A few studies indicate that a significant segment of the Latino migrant worker population in the United States is at high risk for alcohol abuse and related high-risk behaviors. Information about the prevalence of alcohol use and abuse and its association with high-risk sexual behaviors is needed to design effective prevention strategies in this underserved population.

Aims: To assess the association between alcohol use and high-risk sexual behaviors in this population.

Methods: Cross-sectional data was obtained from March 2018 through December 2019 …

Improving Pilot Boarding Arrangements To Prevent Transfer Accidents, Wenduan Song

World Maritime University Dissertations

No abstract provided.

International Epidemiology Of Carbapenemase-Producing Escherichia Coli, Angelique E Boutzoukas, Lauren Komarow, Liang Chen, Blake Hanson, Souha S Kanj, Zhengyin Liu, Soraya Salcedo Mendoza, Karen Ordoñez, Minggui Wang, David L Paterson, Scott Evans, Lizhao Ge, Abhigya Giri, Carol Hill, Keri Baum, Robert A Bonomo, Barry Kreiswirth, Robin Patel, Cesar A Arias, Henry F Chambers, Vance G Fowler, David Van Duin

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

BACKGROUND: Carbapenemase-producing (CP) Escherichia coli (CP-Ec) are a global public health threat. We aimed to describe the clinical and molecular epidemiology and outcomes of patients from several countries with CP-Ec isolates obtained from a prospective cohort.

METHODS: Patients with CP-Ec were enrolled from 26 hospitals in 6 countries. Clinical data were collected, and isolates underwent whole-genome sequencing. Clinical and molecular features and outcomes associated with isolates with or without metallo-β-lactamases (MBLs) were compared. The primary outcome was desirability of outcome ranking (DOOR) at 30 days after the index culture.

RESULTS: Of the 114 CP-Ec isolates in Consortium on resistance against …

Metapopulation Dynamics Of Sars-Cov-2 Transmission In A Small-Scale Amazonian Society, Thomas Kraft, Edmond Seabright, Sarah Alami, Samuel M. Jenness, Paul L. Hooper, Bret Beheim, Helen Davis, Daniel K. Cummings, Daniel Eid Rodriguez, Maguin Gutierrez Cayuba, Emily J. Miner, Xavier De Lamballerie, Lucia Inchauste, Stéphane Priet, Benjamin Trumble, Jonathan Stieglitz, Hillard Kaplan, Michael Gurven

ESI Publications

The severity of infectious disease outbreaks is governed by patterns of human contact, which vary by geography, social organization, mobility, access to technology and healthcare, economic development, and culture. Whereas globalized societies and urban centers exhibit characteristics that can heighten vulnerability to pandemics, small-scale subsistence societies occupying remote, rural areas may be buffered. Accordingly, voluntary collective isolation has been proposed as one strategy to mitigate the impacts of COVID-19 and other pandemics on small-scale Indigenous populations with minimal access to healthcare infrastructure. To assess the vulnerability of such populations and the viability of interventions such as voluntary collective isolation, we …

A Mixed Methods Approach To Understanding The Links Between Mining, Climate Change And Selected Health Outcomes In India, Mary J. Cheruvillil

Dissertations and Theses

Despite ample evidence of the significant role that mining activities play in determining health outcomes, in India there is a dearth of comprehensive health studies that draw linkages between mining and health. The purpose of the following study is to investigate the impact of mining activities on population health in India using three different methods: ecological multivariable regression, exploratory spatial data analysis (ESDA) and content analysis of government documents using a phenomenological approach. The first aim uses the ecological multivariable regression to examine associations between mining activities and children’s malnutrition outcomes at the district level. Census data, the Demographic Health …