Digital Commons Network^™

On We Go, With Hope: Remembering Our Founding Editor-In-Chief, Dr. F. Douglas Scutchfield, Rachel E. Dixon, Randolph F. Wykoff

Journal of Appalachian Health

With the passing of our founding Editor-in-Chief, Dr. F. Douglas Scutchfield, the Journal of Appalachian Health team reflects on a life well lived and a monumental public legacy left behind. We thank "Scutch" for enriching the lives of so many, and we commit to growing the Journal in his honor.

Gis Automated Delineation And Analysis Of Cancer Service Areas In The United States, Changzhen Wang

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Delineating a meaningful and reliable geographic unit pertaining to cancer care is essential in examining geographic variations in cancer care for better analysis, management, and planning. Public health researchers have devoted great efforts to defining various service areas, which; however, lack scientific rigor or are unrepresentative of the highly specialized cancer care markets, and their methods have become obsolete in the era of big data and high geo-computation. This study develops the “Spatially Constrained Leiden (ScLeiden)” method, a network community detection algorithm in Geographic Information Systems (GIS), and applies it to delineate a series of coherent cancer service …

Who And How: Telemedicine Eligibility And Participant Guidelines In The Ambulatory Setting, Tracy Jalbuena, Rebecca Hemphill, Megan Selvitelli, Jasmine Bishop, Adam Ouellette, Rachel Alfiero

Journal of Maine Medical Center

Introduction: Telehealth use has dramatically increased due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Yet there are significant gaps in evidence regarding the clinical appropriateness of synchronous visits for ambulatory telemedicine that are under the umbrella of telehealth and defined as video appointments between patients and providers. As a result, there are few sensible guidelines for day-to-day practice, resulting in a lack of standardization and risk of suboptimal care.

Methods: We developed patient inclusion/exclusion guidelines for use in ambulatory telemedicine. Complementary tools included guides on patient preparation, telemedicine physical exam, and provider etiquette. We analyzed telemedicine use by practice type and surveyed a …

Three Dimensions Of Covid-19 Risk Perceptions And Their Socioeconomic Correlates In The United States: A Social Media Analysis, Shan Qiao Ph.D., Zhenlong Li Ph.D., Chen Liang Ph.D., Xiaoming Li Ph.D., Caroline Rudisill Ph.D.

Faculty Publications

Social media analysis provides an alternate approach to monitoring and understanding risk perceptions regarding COVID-19 over time. Our current understandings of risk perceptions regarding COVID-19 do not disentangle the three dimensions of risk perceptions (perceived susceptibility, perceived severity, and negative emotion) as the pandemic has evolved. Data are also limited regarding the impact of social determinants of health (SDOH) on COVID-19-related risk perceptions over time. To address these knowledge gaps, we extracted tweets regarding COVID-19-related risk perceptions and developed indicators for the three dimensions of risk perceptions based on over502 million geotagged tweets posted by over 4.9 million Twitter users …

Three Dimensions Of Covid-19 Risk Perceptions And Their Socioeconomic Correlates In The United States: A Social Media Analysis, Shan Qiao, Zhenlong Li, Caroline Rudsill

Faculty Publications

Social media analysis provides an alternate approach to monitoring and understanding risk perceptions regarding COVID-19 over time. Our current understandings of risk perceptions regarding COVID-19 do not disentangle the three dimensions of risk perceptions (perceived susceptibility, perceived severity, and negative emotion) as the pandemic has evolved. Data are also limited regarding the impact of social determinants of health (SDOH) on COVID-19-related risk perceptions over time. To address these knowledge gaps, we extracted tweets regarding COVID-19-related risk perceptions and developed indicators for the three dimensions of risk perceptions based on over 502 million geotagged tweets posted by over 4.9 million Twitter …

Intake Of Fruits, Vegetables, And Sugar-Sweetened Beverages Among A Sample Of Children In Rural Northern Ontario, Canada, Brenton L.G. Button, Louise W. Mceachern, Gina Martin, Jason A. Gilliland

Geography & Environment Publications

There is evidence to suggest that dietary intake of children differs by rural/urban place of residence: rural children may have a higher intake of foods high in fat and sugar than those living in urban environments. The aim of this study was to examine the intake of fruits and vegetables (FV) and the frequency of sugar-sweetened beverage (SSB) consumption, among a sample of rural children in Northern Ontario, Canada, in two different seasons. Sociodemographic factors and children’s FV and SSB intake were measured using two repeated cross-sectional surveys, and seasonal information was based on the month of data collection. Logistic …

Pediatric Mtbi: Perceptions Of Michigan General Education Teachers, Kayleigh Smith, Delaney Eckstein, Alyson Peters, Tanveer Mangat

Masters Theses

Background: Mild Traumatic Brain Injury (mTBI), also known as concussion, is the most common head injury in the pediatric population. The purpose of this study was to develop evidence about teachers’ knowledge of mTBI, their experiences with mTBI, and return-to-learn protocols.

Methods: A mixed-methods survey was emailed to 567 Michigan Public School superintendents. Employing snowball sampling, superintendents were requested to distribute the electronic survey within their school districts.

Results: Fifty-three participants responded to the survey and met the inclusion criteria (N=53). Respondents were not confident with recognizing signs and symptoms of mTBI, but knowledgeable, particularly with recognizing physical symptoms more …

Seasonal Climatic Niche And Migration Movements Of Double-Crested Cormorants, D. Tommy King, Guiming Wang, Fred L. Cunningham

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

Avian migrants are challenged by seasonal adverse climatic conditions and energetic costs of long-distance flying. Migratory birds may track or switch seasonal climatic niche between the breeding and non-breeding grounds. Satellite tracking enables avian ecologists to investigate seasonal climatic niche and circannual movement patterns of migratory birds. The Double-crested Cormorant (Nannopterum auritum, hereafter cormorant) wintering in the Gulf of Mexico (GOM) migrates to the Northern Great Plains and Great Lakes and is of economic importance because of its impacts on aquaculture. We tested the climatic niche switching hypothesis that cormorants would switch climatic niche between summer and winter …

Dissecting The Treatment-Naive Ecosystem Of Human Melanoma Brain Metastasis, Jana Biermann, Johannes C Melms, Amit Dipak Amin, Yiping Wang, Lindsay A Caprio, Alcida Karz, Somnath Tagore, Irving Barrera, Miguel A Ibarra-Arellano, Massimo Andreatta, Benjamin T Fullerton, Kristjan H Gretarsson, Varun Sahu, Vaibhav S Mangipudy, Trang T T Nguyen, Ajay Nair, Meri Rogava, Patricia Ho, Peter D Koch, Matei Banu, Nelson Humala, Aayushi Mahajan, Zachary H Walsh, Shivem B Shah, Daniel H Vaccaro, Blake Caldwell, Michael Mu, Florian Wünnemann, Margot Chazotte, Simon Berhe, Adrienne M Luoma, Joseph Driver, Matthew Ingham, Shaheer A Khan, Suthee Rapisuwon, Craig L Slingluff, Thomas Eigentler, Martin Röcken, Richard Carvajal, Michael B Atkins, Michael A Davies, Albert Agustinus, Samuel F Bakhoum, Elham Azizi, Markus Siegelin, Chao Lu, Santiago J Carmona, Hanina Hibshoosh, Antoni Ribas, Peter Canoll, Jeffrey N Bruce, Wenya Linda Bi, Praveen Agrawal, Denis Schapiro, Eva Hernando, Evan Z Macosko, Fei Chen, Gary K Schwartz, Benjamin Izar

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Melanoma brain metastasis (MBM) frequently occurs in patients with advanced melanoma; yet, our understanding of the underlying salient biology is rudimentary. Here, we performed single-cell/nucleus RNA-seq in 22 treatment-naive MBMs and 10 extracranial melanoma metastases (ECMs) and matched spatial single-cell transcriptomics and T cell receptor (TCR)-seq. Cancer cells from MBM were more chromosomally unstable, adopted a neuronal-like cell state, and enriched for spatially variably expressed metabolic pathways. Key observations were validated in independent patient cohorts, patient-derived MBM/ECM xenograft models, RNA/ATAC-seq, proteomics, and multiplexed imaging. Integrated spatial analyses revealed distinct geography of putative cancer immune evasion and evidence for more abundant …

Implementation Of Postpartum Oral Glucose Testing Follow-Up In Women With Gestational Diabetes, Amanda Rose Metz

Dissertations

Implementation of Postpartum Oral Glucose Testing Follow-up in Women with Gestational Diabetes

Problem One of the most common medical complications of pregnancy is Gestational Diabetes (GDM). After delivery, guidelines recommend follow-up glucose tolerance testing (OGTT) 4-to 12-weeks postpartum. Despite these recommendations, only 16% to 22% of women complete an OGTT postpartum.

Methods The purpose of this quality improvement (QI) project is to pilot a postpartum outreach follow-up via telephone to reach women diagnosed with GDM; the communication will be sent using the institution’s electronic messaging system. Quantitative data were collected prospectively. Data collected included if the patient was contacted and …

Predicting Suicide In Counties: Creating A Quantitative Measure Of Suicide Risk, Kate Mobley, Gita Taasoobshirazi

Faculty Articles

Rising rates of suicide over the past two decades have increased the need for wide-ranging suicide prevention efforts. One approach is to target high-risk groups, which requires the identification of the characteristics of these population sub-groups. This suicidology study was conducted using large-scale, secondary data to answer the question: using the research on suicide, are there variables studied at the community level that are linked to suicide and are measurable using quantitative, demographic data that are already collected and updated? Data on deaths from suicide in U.S. counties for the years 2000, 2005, 2010 and 2015 were analyzed using multiple …

Developing Standards For Cultural Competency Training For Health Care Providers To Care For Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer, Intersex, And Asexual Persons: Consensus Recommendations From A National Panel, Mandi L. Pratt-Chapman, Kristen Eckstrand, Amorie Robinson, Lauren B. Beach, Charles Kamen, Alex S. Keuroghlian, Scott Cook, Asa Radix, Markus P. Bidell, Daniel Bruner, Liz Margolies

Publications and Research

Purpose: Lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, intersex, and/or asexual and other sexual and gender diverse persons (LGBTQIA + or SGD persons) experience barriers to equitable health care. The purpose of this article is to describe a collaborative process that resulted in core cultural competency recommendations addressing training for those who provide health care and/or social services to LGBTQIA + patients.

Methods: In 2018 and 2019, Whitman-Walker Health, a Federally Qualified Community Health Center in Washing- ton, DC, and the National LGBT Cancer Network purposively selected leaders of community clinics and community-based organizations, cultural competency trainers, and clinicians and researchers with …

Exploring Ohiohealth Employer Solutions Fitness And Wellness Team, Sammer Hamed

Masters Theses/Capstone Projects

Goal 1 I will apply the lessons learned from my coursework by becoming an advocate of corporate fitness and wellness through my research and program creation. Goal 2 I will improve my advocacy for health and wellness in the workplace by increasing my knowledge of workplace health and wellness with research. Goal 3 I will improve my understanding of the changes the pandemic had on corporate health and wellness by learning about the effects of COVID-19 on fitness in the workplace. Goal 4 I will learn about the workplace from a team perspective by integrating myself into the fitness and …

Management Of Histoplasmosis By Infectious Disease Physicians, Patrick B Mazi, Sandra R Arnold, John W Baddley, Nathan C Bahr, Susan E Beekmann, Todd P Mccarty, Philip M Polgreen, Adriana M Rauseo, Andrej Spec

2020-Current year OA Pubs

BACKGROUND: The Infectious Diseases Society of America (IDSA) guidelines for the management of histoplasmosis were last revised 15 years ago. Since those guidelines were compiled, new antifungal treatment options have been developed. Furthermore, the ongoing development of immunomodulatory therapies has increased the population at increased risk to develop histoplasmosis.

METHODS: An electronic survey about the management practices of histoplasmosis was distributed to the adult infectious disease (ID) physician members of the IDSA's Emerging Infections Network.

RESULTS: The survey response rate was 37% (551/1477). Only 46% (253/551) of respondents reported seeing patients with histoplasmosis. Regions considered endemic had 82% (158/193) of …

Safety Of Onasemnogene Abeparvovec For Patients With Spinal Muscular Atrophy 8.5 Kg Or Heavier In A Global Managed Access Program, Deepa H Chand, Susan Mitchell, Rui Sun, Nicole Lamarca, Sandra P Reyna, Thao Sutter

2020-Current year OA Pubs

BACKGROUND: Spinal muscular atrophy is a rare, neurodegenerative disorder caused by biallelic deletions in the survival motor neuron (SMN1) gene. Onasemnogene abeparvovec is a one-time, intravenous gene replacement therapy designed to deliver the SMN1 transgene. Although available in many geographies, it is not approved globally. The Global Managed Access Program (GMAP) expanded treatment access to patients in countries where treatment was not approved. Previous onasemnogene abeparvovec clinical trials included patients with body weight <8.5 kg. Through GMAP, children weighing ≥8.5 kg received onasemnogene abeparvovec. We describe safety data for heavier patients in GMAP.

METHODS: GMAP records were reviewed to identify patients weighing ≥8.5 kg at onasemnogene abeparvovec dosing. To obtain corresponding adverse event (AE) data, the Novartis ARGUS safety database …

Using Community-Based Participatory Research To Tailor A Diabetes Education Program To An At-Risk Black Church Congregation In The Mid-Atlantic, Samantha A. Mielke

Doctor of Nursing Practice Projects

Background: Prediabetes and diabetes continue to have a high disease burden in the United States (Lin et al., 2018). Many individuals are unaware of their glucose state or the impact impaired glucose can have on their quality adjusted life years and cost of living. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has underscored the importance of decreasing the incidence of diabetes and has resources available. Still, many communities, particularly minority populations, can benefit from tailoring programs to their specific populations, where typical approaches may not be as beneficial (Joo & Liu, 2020). Additionally, Black American (BA) congregations often have …

Prenatal Education For Black Mothers And Their Support Persons As An Intervention For Improving Initiation Of Breastfeeding, Sandra King

Doctor of Nursing Practice Projects

Background: The benefits of breastfeeding are commonly known; however, the rates of exclusive breastfeeding among the Black community are less than those of other ethnic groups. Providing breastmilk or formula to an infant is an individual decision. Influential factors such as cultural background, employment status, socioeconomic status, level of education, and availability of support from family members and health care providers correlate with the method a mother chooses to feed her infant. Increasing breastfeeding initiation immediately after birth is a necessary precedent for uptake in the exclusivity of breastfeeding.

Purpose: This Doctor of Nursing Practice project aims to improve prenatal …

Association Between Suicide Rate And Human Development Index, Income, And The Political System In 46 Muslim-Majority Countries: An Ecological Study, S. M. Yasir Arafat, Marthoenis Marthoenis, Murad Khan, Mohsen Rezaeian

Brain and Mind Institute

Very little has been researched assessing the relationship between the suicide rate and the ecological perspectives of the country, especially in the Muslim majority countries. We aimed to determine the association between suicide rate and the ecological parameters of 46 Muslim majority countries. We extracted the Muslim majority countries and their suicide rate, income distribution, distribution of the WHO region and continents, and Human Development Index (HDI). We assessed the correlation of the proportion of Muslim populations, the total population of the countries, number of suicides, continent, income group, political system, and HDI score with the suicide rate. The median …

Effects Of Frankincense Compounds On Infection, Inflammation, And Oral Health, Cassio Luiz Coutinho Almeida-Da-Silva, Nallusamy Sivakumar, Homer Asadi, Anna Chang-Chien, M. Walid Qoronfleh, David M. Ojcius, Musthafa Mohamed Essa

All Dugoni School of Dentistry Faculty Articles

Boswellia trees, found throughout the Middle East and parts of Africa and Asia, are the source of frankincense oil. Since antiquity, frankincense has been traded as a precious commodity, but it has also been used for the treatment of chronic disease, inflammation, oral health, and microbial infection. More recently, the bioactive components of Boswellia trees have been identified and characterized for their effects on cancer, microbial infection (especially infection by oral pathogens), and inflammation. Most studies have focused on cell lines, but more recent research has also investigated effects in animal models of disease. As natural products are considered to …

Clocking Out: Nurses Refusing To Work In A Time Of Pandemic, Yasmin Y. Ortiga, Michael Joseph S. Dino, Romeo Luis A. Macabasag

Research Collection School of Social Sciences

Social science research has long critiqued how professional ideals of public service can ignore chronic problems within the healthcare industry, placing unfair burden on the "heroism" of individual workers. Yet, fewer studies investigate how healthcare professionals actively negotiate such demands for service, amidst increasing workplace pressures and risks. This paper studies Filipino nurses' response to a government policy that banned them from working overseas in order to channel their labor to local hospitals during the COVID-19 pandemic. Based on 51 in-depth interviews, we argue that nurses' willingness to serve in the Philippines' COVID-19 hospitals hinged on the point at which …

Institute For Global Health And Development : Issue 4 - July - Sept 2022, Institute For Global Health And Development

IGHD Newsletters

• Research Highlights
• Key Publications
• News
• Reflections from IGHD’s Associate Faculty
• Reflections from IGHD’s Summer Interns
• Webinars and Dialogues
• Mark your Calendars: Upcoming Event
• Obituary
• Collaborate With Us

Estimated Size Of The Clinical Medical Imaging Physics Workforce In The United States, Sean D Rose, David W Jordan, Nicholas B Bevins, Jaydev K Dave, David E Hintenlang, Brad K Lofton, Pankaj Patel

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

There is no current authoritative accounting of the number of clinical imaging physicists practicing in the United States. Information about the workforce is needed to inform future efforts to secure training pathways and opportunities. In this study, the AAPM Diagnostic Demand and Supply Projection Working Group collected lists of medical physicists from several state registration and licensure programs and the Conference of Radiation Control Program Directors (CRCPD) registry. By cross-referencing individuals among these lists, we were able to estimate the current imaging physics workforce in the United States by extrapolating based on population. The imaging physics workforce in the United …

Examining Disparities In The Early Adoption Of Covid-19 Personal Mitigation Across Family Structures, Casey Harris, Kevin Fitzpatrick, Michael Nino, Priya Thelapurath, Grant Drawve

Sociology and Criminology Faculty Publications and Presentations

The United States' response to the COVID-19 pandemic has relied heavily on personal mitigation behaviors versus centralized governmental prevention strategies, especially early in the virus's outbreak. This study examines how family structure shapes mitigation, focusing on the intersectional effects of gender, marital status, and the presence of children while accounting for differences in worry about infection from the virus. Using data from a national survey of 10,368 United States adults early in the pandemic (March 2020), survey-weighted logistic regression models show important differences in the likelihood of personal mitigation adoption across family structures. Unmarried women with children were most likely …

Monkeypox: A Contemporary Review For Healthcare Professionals, Boghuma K Titanji, Bryan Tegomoh, Saman Nematollahi, Michael Konomos, Prathit A Kulkarni

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

The ongoing 2022 multicountry outbreak of monkeypox is the largest in history to occur outside of Africa. Monkeypox is an emerging zoonotic disease that for decades has been viewed as an infectious disease with significant epidemic potential because of the increasing occurrence of human outbreaks in recent years. As public health entities work to contain the current outbreak, healthcare professionals globally are aiming to become familiar with the various clinical presentations and management of this infection. We present in this review an updated overview of monkeypox for healthcare professionals in the context of the ongoing outbreaks around the world.

The Quality Of Life Of Regional And Remote Cancer Caregivers In Australia, Belinda C. Goodwin, Fiona Crawford-Williams, Michael Ireland, Sonja March, Suzanne K. Chambers, Joanne F. Aitken, Jeff Dunn

Research outputs 2022 to 2026

Objective: This study compares the well-being of rural caregivers with that of the general population and explores the potential drivers of poorer outcomes. Method: Patient–caregiver dyads (n = 241) residing in regional or remote Queensland, Australia, reported on QoL, chronic illness, caregiver burden, depression, anxiety and stress. Caregiver outcomes were compared with population norms and patient outcomes. Multiple regressions were conducted to identify factors associated with poorer caregiver outcomes. Results: Caregivers reported lower mental health-related QoL (M = 0.436, 95% CI = 0.410–0.462) in comparison with age-matched population norms (M = 0.556, 95% CI = 0.532–0.580). No differences existed between …

Enabling Hotspot Detection And Public Health Response To The Covid-19 Pandemic, Randi Foraker, Joshua Landman, Ian Lackey, Matthew D Haslam, Alison L Antes, Dennis Goldfarb

2020-Current year OA Pubs

INTRODUCTION: Public-facing maps of COVID-19 cases, hospital admissions, and deaths are commonly displayed at the state, county, and zip code levels, and low case counts are suppressed to protect confidentiality. Public health authorities are tasked with case identification, contact tracing, and canvasing for educational purposes during a pandemic. Given limited resources, authorities would benefit from the ability to tailor their efforts to a particular neighborhood or congregate living facility.

METHODS: We describe the methods of building a real-time visualization of patients with COVID-19-positive tests, which facilitates timely public health response to the pandemic. We developed an interactive street-level visualization that …

Table Of Contents

Journal of the South Carolina Academy of Science

No abstract provided.

A Convergent Approach To Aqueous Lead (Pb) Mitigation Of A Supplemental Self-Supply Shallow Groundwater Source Accessed By Handpumps In Madagascar, Adaline Marie Buerck

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The World Health Organization (WHO) has consistently listed lead (Pb) as one of the ten chemicals of major public health concern. Though the toxic nature of lead has been known since the 20th century it is still utilized in a wide variety of products due to its favorable properties. Exposure to lead still accounts for approximately 900,000 deaths annually and disproportionately impacts those in low- and middle-income countries (LMIC) due to a variety of reasons such as poverty, malnutrition, and lack of knowledge on the toxic nature of lead. Lead exposure routes include air, soil, dust, diet, and water. Though …

Impact Of Student Debt On Decisions Of Terminal Clinical Education Experiences In Physical Therapist Education, Jennifer W. Rodriguez, Whitney Davidson, R Joseph Palmer Iii, Mary Jane Rapport

Internet Journal of Allied Health Sciences and Practice

Purpose: Student debt is of growing concern in physical therapy and other health professions in the United States. This study explored the extent to which finances and other factors influenced student decision making when applying to and selecting terminal clinical education experiences. Methods: An online survey was developed and distributed to 250 recent graduates of a Doctor of Physical Therapy Program (2016-19). A logistic regression model was used to determine the relationship between respondents’ reported student debt and other factors when choosing a nontraditional model (the yearlong internship model (YLI)/residency model) or the traditional 4-month model. A 5-point Likert scale …

Gut Microbiome Alterations Associated With Diabetes In Mexican Americans In South Texas, Suet-Ying Kwan, Caroline M Sabotta, Aron Joon, Peng Wei, Lauren E Petty, Jennifer E Below, Xiaogang Wu, Jianhua Zhang, Robert R Jenq, Ernest T Hawk, Joseph B Mccormick, Susan P Fisher-Hoch, Laura Beretta

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Mexican Americans have a high prevalence of diabetes and burden of diabetes-related complications, highlighting the need for novel preventive strategies and noninvasive predictors of diabetes risk tailored to this population. Changes in the gut microbiome have the potential to predict diabetes. Here, we aimed to identify alterations in the gut microbiome associated with diabetes in the high-risk population of Mexican Americans in South Texas. Stool samples were collected from 216 subjects from the population-based Cameron County Hispanic Cohort. Among them, 75 had type 2 diabetes. Taxonomic and functional profiling of the stool samples were assessed by 16S and shotgun metagenomic …