Digital Commons Network^™

Accelerating Kenya’S Progress To 2030: Understanding The Determinants Of Under-Five Mortality From 1990 To 2015, Emily C. Keats, William Macharia, Neha S. Singh, Nadia Akseer, Nirmala Ravishankar, Anthony Ngugi, Arjumand Rizvi, Emma Nelima Khaemba, John Tole, Zulfiqar Ahmed Bhutta

Paediatrics and Child Health, East Africa

Introduction: Despite recent gains, Kenya did not achieve its Millennium Development Goal (MDG) target for reducing under-five mortality. To accelerate progress to 2030, we must understand what impacted mortality throughout the MDG period.

Methods: Trends in the under-five mortality rate (U5MR) were analysed using data from nationally representative Demographic and Health Surveys (1989–2014). Comprehensive, mixed-methods analyses of health policies and systems, workforce and health financing were conducted using relevant surveys, government documents and key informant interviews with country experts. A hierarchical multivariable linear regression analysis was undertaken to better understand the proximal determinants of change in U5MR over the MDG …

Is The Relationship Between College Drinking Behaviors And Social Anxiety Mediated By Alcohol Expectancies And Traumatic Life Experiences?, Cortney Lin Kingsmill

Masters Theses

The relationship between alcohol consumption and social anxiety is difficult to understand, as there have been mixed findings in the research. In general, a positive correlation has been found between the two, with a focus on the mediating effect of alcohol outcome expectancies. Both positive expectancies and trauma have been correlated positively with social anxiety and drinking behavior. This paper reviews the literature and examines the relationship between social anxiety and alcohol consumption. A mediated model between these two variables with the mediators being alcohol expectancies and traumatic experiences was proposed, but this model did not fit the date. Specifically, …

Awareness And Prevalence Of Human Milk Sharing And Selling In The United States, Elizabeth O'Sullivan, Sheelagh R. Geraghty, Kathleen Maher Rasmussen

Articles

There are limited data available about the prevalence of human milk (HM) sharing and selling in the general population. We aimed to describe attitudes toward HM selling among participants in a qualitative‐interview study and prevalence of HM sharing and selling among a national sample of U.S. mothers. Mothers (n = 41) in our qualitative‐interview study felt that sharing or donating HM was more common than selling; none had ever purchased or sold HM. Three themes related to HM selling emerged from this work: questioning the motives of those selling HM, HM selling limits access to HM to those with money, …

Visual, Attentional, And Cognitive Risk Factors For Motor Vehicle Collision Involvement Among Older Adults, Carrie Huisingh

All ETDs from UAB

Motor vehicle collisions are a major public health problem for older adults in the United States. In 2013, there were 5,671 older adults killed and an estimated 222,000 injured in motor vehicle crashes. After adjusting for miles driven, the risk of crashing increases rapidly after age 70, nearly equal to that of younger drivers whose crash rate is the highest among all age groups. Driving is a highly complex task that relies on a variety of visual and cognitive functions. A large body of work has demonstrated that drivers with visual sensory impairments and/or higher-order visual-cognitive processing deficits, those who …

Exploring Long-Haul Truck Drivers' Cpap Use When Working Over The Road, Kenya D. Kirkendoll

All ETDs from UAB

Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) is a chronic health condition affecting an estimated 13-26% of U.S. adults. The condition is characterized by partial or total airway collapse. It has been associated with increased cardiovascular disease, hypertension, and diabetes mellitus morbidity. Risk factors include middle-age, obesity, male gender, narrowed airway, and smoking. Continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) is the recommended treatment for OSA. Though it is an effective treatment modality, uptake and adherence to CPAP remains low. With concern for public safety, OSA has received a great amount of attention in the trucking industry. When working over the road, long-haul truck drivers …

Exploring The Relationship Between Social Support, Pharmacy Access And Medication Adherence, Favel Leah Mondesir

All ETDs from UAB

Barriers of medication adherence exist among people with coronary heart disease (CHD) and CHD risk factors, including, poor social support, poor pharmacy access and other patient, social/economic, therapy, condition, and health-care system/health-care team-related factors. However, there are few data on influence of these factors on medication adherence among people with CHD risk factors other than diabetes. Therefore, this dissertation aimed to investigate associations of medication adherence with social support (n=17,113) and pharmacy access (n=8,250) quantitatively using data from the REasons for Geographic and Racial Differences in Stroke (REGARDS) study (black and white adults with CHD or CHD risk factors ≥45 …

Adiposity And Health In Zoo African And Asian Elephants, Daniella Chusyd

All ETDs from UAB

African (Loxodonta africana) and Asian (Elephas maximus) elephant populations are rapidly declining due to poaching, and habitat fragmentation and loss. Due to the precarious situation elephants are facing worldwide, captive elephant populations are being viewed as an insurance policy against extinction. Unfortunately, captive elephant populations are not self-sustaining, in part because of reproductive and health issues. One hypothesis for the observed reproductive and health issues is zoo elephants are obese. The current method of assessing obesity in elephants is based on a qualitative visual tool, the body condition score, which does not quantify fat mass. The purpose of this dissertation …

Effects Of Medicare Reimbursement Policies On The Quality Of Hospital Care, Monica Aswani

All ETDs from UAB

This dissertation is composed of two papers related to the role of social risk factors in the Hospital Readmissions Reduction Program (HRRP). As value-based initiatives like the HRRP become more commonplace, there is growing need to understand the relationship between performance in these programs and social risk factors, such as race and poverty, which are not incorporated in the program’s risk adjustment methodology. To address this gap in the literature, this dissertation specifically focuses on three areas: 1) how hospital and community factors are related to average HRRP penalties, taking the context of geography into account, 2) how hospital and …

Risk Factors Associated With Multiple Myeloma, Stephen Gragg

All ETDs from UAB

Multiple myeloma (MM) is a hematologic malignancy in which clonal plasma cells accumulate in the bone marrow, leading to the formation of lytic bone lesions, hypercalcemia, anemia, renal insufficiency, and immunosuppression. It develops from a pre-malignant condition known as monoclonal gammopathy of undetermined significance (MGUS), which is prevalent in up to 3% of White populations over the age of 50 years, and twice that in Black populations. Although much progress has been made toward understanding the large scale genomic aberrations that facilitate the formation of MGUS clones and the various copy-number variations and mutations that trigger the development of MM, …

Improving Household Surveys And Use Of Data To Address Health Inequities In Three Asian Cities: Protocol For The Surveys For Urban Equity (Sue) Mixed Methods And Feasibility Study, Helen Elsey, Ak Narayan Poudel, Tim Ensor, Tolib Mirzoev, James Nicholas Newell, Joseph Paul Hicks, Christopher Cartwright, David Wong, Caroline Tait, Sushil Baral, Radheshyam Bhattarai, Sudeepa Khanal, Rajeev Dhungel, Subash Gajurel, Shraddha Manandhar, Saidur Mashreky, Junnatul Ferdoush, Rumana Huque, Tarana Ferdous, Shammi Nasreen, Hoang Van Minh, Duong Minh Duc, Bao Ngoc, Dana Thomson, Hilary Wallace

Medical Papers and Journal Articles

Introduction: As rapid urbanisation transforms the sociodemographic structures within cities, standard survey methods, which have remained unchanged for many years, under-represent the urban poorest. This leads to an overly positive picture of urban health, distorting appropriate allocation of resources between rural and urban and within urban areas. Here, we present a protocol for our study which (i) tests novel methods to improve representation of urban populations in household surveys and measure mental health and injuries, (ii) explores urban poverty and compares measures of poverty and ‘slumness’ and (iii) works with city authorities to understand, and potentially improve, utilisation of …

Growing South Dakota (Winter 2018), College Of Agriculture &. Biological Sciences

Growing South Dakota (Publication of the College of Agriculture, Food and Environmental Sciences)

[Page] 2 Learn About Our Leaders
[Page] 4 Academic Programs at a Glace
[Page] 6 New Precision Ag Major Takes Off
[Page] 9 Raven Gives $5 Million Gift
[Page] 10 New Plant Science Research Facility
[Page] 13 Technical Training to Four-Year Degree
[Page] 15 Ag-Bio Career Fair Hits Record
[Page] 16 Breaking Ground : SD ADRDL
[Page] 19 Distinguished Professor Eric Nelson
[Page] 20 SDSU’s Veterinary Students
[Page] 24 Conservation Planning and Park Management
[Page] 25 Natural Resource Law Enforcement
[Page] 26 Medical Stethoscope Ceremony
[Page] 29 Master’s Degree in Human Biology
[Page] 30 Scott Pedersen Prepares Students
[Page] 32 …

A Comparative Assessment Of Food Deserts Using Geographic Information Systems (Gis) In El Paso County, Tx And Loudoun County, Va, Amit Ugamraj Raysoni

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

BACKGROUND & SIGNIFICANCE: Consumption of processed foods high in sodium and fat can have a plethora of health complications, including, but not limited to hypertension, high cholesterol levels, obesity, diabetes and cancer. Previous studies have documented that lack of access to viable healthy eating options' grocery stores selling affordable fresh fruits and vegetables - in any neighborhood or area can result in negative public health outcomes. These areas devoid of such grocery stores and healthy eating options can be classified as "Food Deserts", as per one of the criteria adopted by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA). In addition, …

A Systematic Review: Factors For Burnout And Compassion Fatigue In U.S. Nurses, Kaitlyn Marcum, Tabitha Rusnak, Mckenzie Koch

Williams Honors College, Honors Research Projects

Many nurses suffer from burnout and compassion fatigue. Compassion fatigue is “fatigue, emotional distress, or apathy resulting from the constant demands of caring for others or from constant appeals from charities” (Compassion Fatigue, n.d.). Burnout develops over a long period of time as a result of cumulative frustrations within a work environment (Sacco, Ciurzynski, Harvey, & Ingersoll, 2015). Burnout and compassion fatigue both result in physical and mental strain on the person experiencing it. Compassion fatigue and burnout in nurses are associated with decreased patient satisfaction and poorer outcomes with care (Potter et al., 2010). The goal of the systematic …

Indigenous-Black Identity: Two Manuscripts Concerning Indigenous-Black Identity, Identity Formation, Mental Health, And Trauma, Ann Marie Beals

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

This thesis was written in the form of two different, yet similar stand-alone manuscripts. The overall premise of my thesis was the exploration of Indigenous-Black identity – Indigenous to both Turtle Island and the continent of Africa. This introduction to the thesis is to give an overview of my work and the manuscripts, and to provide information that is relevant to the understanding of the thesis that may not necessarily be required for manuscripts that are to be submitted for publication. Manuscript one, titled Indigenous-Black Identity, Mental Health, and Trauma explored, as the title suggests, concepts of Indigenous-Black identity regarding …

Physician-Assisted Suicide And Euthanasia: Emerging Issues From A Global Perspective, Charles L. Sprung, Margaret Somerville, Lukas Radbruch, Nathalie Steiner Collet, Gunnar Duttge, Jefferson P. Piva, Massimo Antonelli, Daniel P. Sulmasy, Willem Lemmens, E Wesley Ely

Medical Papers and Journal Articles

Medical professional societies have traditionally opposed physician-assisted suicide and euthanasia (PAS-E), but this opposition may be shifting. We present 5 reasons why physicians shouldn’t be involved in PAS-E. 1. Slippery slopes: There is evidence that safeguards in the Netherlands and Belgium are ineffective and violated, including administering lethal drugs without patient consent, absence of terminal illness, untreated psychiatric diagnoses, and nonreporting; 2. Lack of self-determination: Psychological and social motives characterize requests for PAS-E more than physical symptoms or rational choices; many requests disappear with improved symptom control and psychological support; 3. Inadequate palliative care: Better palliative care makes most patients …

Vitamin D Deficiency And Segregation Status In Prisoners, Zelda Doyle, John Dearin, Joe Mcgirr

Medical Papers and Journal Articles

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to investigate if any exposure to segregation minimal association in a single male prison population had any association with an increased risk of vitamin D deficiency.

Design/methodology/approach: A retrospective case study was undertaken with all inmates who had a 25-hyrdoxy-vitamin D test taken during the study period deemed eligible. Hand searching of the medical records by an independent party identified eligible participants whose data were recorded for analysis.

Findings: In total, 124 prisoners were deemed eligible for inclusion; 67 were vitamin D sufficient and 57 were vitamin D deficient by Australian standards. Time …

Prevalence Of And Factors Associated With Utilization Of Herbal Medicines Among Outpatients In Primary Health Centers In Cambodia, Hattie Pearson, Tyler Fleming, Pheak Chhoun, Sovannary Tuot, Carinne M. Brody, Siyan Yi

BACKGROUND: Traditional, complementary and alternative medicine (TCAM) is seen as a way to provide healthcare in both developed and developing countries across the world. In Cambodia, there is a long tradition of using TCAM. However, scant studies have been conducted on the extent of Cambodian TCAM use and how it interacts with allopathic health care to date. In this study, we examined the prevalence of and factors associated with utilization of herbal medicines among patients with chronic diseases in primary health care settings in Cambodia.

METHODS: A cross-sectional survey was conducted in 2015 with outpatients receiving treatment and care for …

Belonging At Itb: The Use Of Photovoice Methodology (Pvm) To Investigate Inclusion And Exclusion At Itb Based On Ethnicity And Nationality From A Student Perspective, Fionnuala Darby

Articles

The aim of this research is to sensitise readers to issues of inclusion and exclusion on campus at ITB in order to deepen our capacity to empathise with our students in a meaningful, accessible and evocative way in relation to ethnicity and/or nationality. Using Photovoice Methodology (PVM), the objective is to investigate the use of space and place that students occupy on campus. The outcomes of the research through images and text reveal surroundings on campus that students find inclusive and exclusive. The paper begins with a review of the literature salient to the topic. Then follows a description of …

Association Of Body Mass Index With Blood Pressure Among 1.7 Million Chinese Adults, Khurram Nasir

All Publications

No abstract provided.

Whole Genome Sequencing Of Moraxella Bovoculi Reveals High Genetic Diversity And Evidence For Interspecies Recombination At Multiple Loci, Aaron M. Dickey, Gennie Schuller, John D. Loy, Michael L. Clawson

School of Veterinary and Biomedical Sciences: Faculty Publications

Moraxella bovoculi is frequently cultured from the ocular secretions and conjunctiva of cattle with Infectious Bovine Keratoconjunctivitis (IBK). Previous work has shown that single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) diversity in this species is quite high with 81,284 SNPs identified in eight genomes representing two distinct genotypes isolated from IBK affected eyes (genotype 1) and the nasopharynx of cattle without clinical IBK signs (genotype 2), respectively. The goals of this study were to identify SNPs from a collection of geographically diverse and epidemiologically unlinked M. bovoculi strains from the eyes of IBK positive cattle (n = 183) and another from the eyes …

Patient-Centered Medical Homes And Parental Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder Medication Beliefs And Adherence, Sydney L. Watkins

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

As many as 87% of children discontinue ADHD medication, which can lead to clinically significant academic, cognitive, and social impairment. ADHD costs billions of dollars to the healthcare and educational systems, and previous attempts to stem these costs and increase ADHD medication adherence have been unsuccessful. The purpose of this study was to determine if patient-centered medical homes (PCMH), which have been shown to improve patient health outcomes, impact parental beliefs (benefits vs. risks) about ADHD medication and adherence to ADHD medication. The theory of planned behavior was the theoretical framework for this study. There were 294 parents of children …

Access To Primary Care In Pennsylvanian Rural Townships, Ann Eneh

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Access to primary care is limited in rural communities across the United States. Evidence supports primary care as the cornerstone of healthcare. The purpose of this project was to explore community perceptions of barriers to primary care access with the aim of learning about ideas for possible interventions that could improve primary care access for Mifflin County residents. Penchansky and Thomas's model of healthcare access provided the theoretical framework for this qualitative phenomenological study. Using a community-based research approach, semistructured, open-ended telephone interviews and qualitative surveys were conducted with 26 participants, including physicians, nurses, and residents. Data were analyzed using …

Relationship Between Employee Wages, Number Of Employee Referrals, And Employee Turnover Intention, Robert Brown

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Employee turnover is a significant contributor to the overall loss of hundreds of billions of dollars in profitability for many business organizations in the United States and abroad combined. Grounded in Maslow's theory of human motivation, the purpose of this correlational study was to examine the relationship between employee wages, number of employee referrals, and employee turnover intentions. The population was composed of employees working in the Southeastern region of the United States. A convenience sample of 92 participants answered questions regarding their wages, number of employee referrals, and completed the Turnover Intention Scale. Results of the multiple regression analysis …

Program To Prevent Subsequent Fragility Fractures, Kathleen Jean Forti-Gallant

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

One out of 2 women and 1 out of 5 men over age 50 will sustain a fragility fracture (FF) in their lifetime. The risk of a 2nd FF increases dramatically after the 1st fracture and can lead to pain, disability, and mortality. Despite the evidence that secondary prevention programs are effective, the local facility did not have a formal mechanism to address this need. The purpose of this project was to design a program for secondary prevention of FFs and to address the need for a program for secondary FF prevention that was sustainable locally. The program was designed …

Catheter-Associated Urinary Tract Infection In New York And North Carolina, Kehinde O. Abiodun

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

In the United States, many hospitalized patients with indwelling urinary catheters acquire catheter-associated urinary tract infections (CAUTI) during their hospital stay. CAUTI negatively affects peoples' health and quality of life and causes a financial burden to individuals and the nation. The purpose of this quantitative cross-sectional study was to explore the relationship between gender, age, and hospital types and CAUTI incidence in New York and North Carolina over a 3-year period. The theoretical framework of choice was the Donabedian model. Simple logistic regression and hierarchical multivariable logistic regression analysis were performed on archival data that was requested from Healthcare Cost …

Complementary Infant Feeding Practices In Afghanistan, Hasibullah Na Niayesh

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Children are at greater risk of malnutrition in Afghanistan than they are in many other countries. Malnutrition impairs the mental and physical growth of more than 50% of children in Afghanistan. It also exacerbates the risks of mortality by 45% in infants and children in Afghanistan. The purpose of this study was to determine the association between mothers' knowledge, attitudes, and practices regarding complementary feeding and malnutrition in children in Afghanistan. The precaution adoption process model served as a theoretical framework in this quantitative cross-sectional research study. Data analyzed were collected from 306 mothers and children at 6 randomly selected …

Factors Affecting Completion Of Childhood Immunization In North West Nigeria, Sule Abdullahi

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

North West Nigeria has the lowest vaccination rate of the geopolitical regions of the country. The purpose of this cross-sectional study was to examine associations between the parents'/caregivers' biological, cultural, and socioeconomic factors and the completion or noncompletion of routine immunization schedules. Andersen's behavioral model provided the framework for the study. Data were obtained from the 2013 National Demographic Health Survey. Descriptive statistics were calculated for all variables. Chi-square tests were used for categorical predictor variables, simple logistic regression models were used for the age variable, and multiple linear regression models were used for the biological, cultural, and socioeconomic variables …

Latent Tuberculosis Infection Treatment Completion And Predictors Of Noncompletion Among Visa Holders In The Rural Setting, Scott Hutton

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Latent tuberculosis infection (LTBI), a product of exposure to Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb), can lead to tuberculosis (TB) and further cause death if untreated. Fortunately, TB can be prevented with LTBI treatment. Targeting newly arrived visa holders for LTBI screening and treatment is an effective strategy for decreasing future TB burden. However, LTBI treatment completion rates are low, and researches had primarily focused on the nonrural U.S. setting. This study, using a retrospective cohort design under the epidemiological disease triangle framework evaluated (a) the treatment completion rates for 2 cohorts of visa holders (i.e., immigrants, N = 31 and refugees, N …

Chemosensitizing Effect Of Peptides From Lentinus Squarrosulus On Cisplatin-Induced Apoptosis In Human Lung Cancer Cells, Hnin Ei Ei Khine -

Chulalongkorn University Theses and Dissertations (Chula ETD)

Cisplatin, platinum-based chemotherapy, is one of the standard chemotherapies for the treatment of lung cancer. However, its usefulness is limited due to the adverse effects and susceptibility to chemoresistance which lead to therapeutic failure. Nowadays, natural chemosensitizers, which can enhance the efficacy and decrease the effective dose of chemo-drugs, have been found to be interested in novel therapeutic. Recently, the anticancer activity of peptides extracted from Lentinus squarrosulus Mont. in human lung cancer cells has been reported. The novel potential of L. squarrosulus peptides as a chemotherapeutic adjuvant to increase cisplatin-induced apoptosis was uncovered in this study. Crude peptides extracted …

Asperger's Syndrome In African American Children, Suzette Bailey

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The prevalence of autism in the United States is 1 in 68 children. African American children are less likely to receive advance testing to confirm the diagnosis of Asperger's Syndrome (AS) compared to other ethnic groups. The purpose of this study was to determine if demographic factors (parental education level, family annual income, marital status of custodial parent(s), parent ethnicity, number of children in home, other children with disability, family location, mother age at time of birth, gender of child, birth status of child, adoption status and age, child order, and other disability) have any predictive relationship to AS diagnosis …