Digital Commons Network^™

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 …

Understanding Parenting Styles Of Second-Generation Parents Of Residential School Survivors Within Treaty 8 Reserves, Judy Kim-Meneen

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Approximately 150,000 First Nation, Metis, and Inuit children attended Canadian residential schools from the 1840s to 1996. Most residential school children had negative experiences of physical, verbal, and sexual abuse that led to parenting repercussions once these children became parents. These repercussions of residential schools led to a rate of neglect for First Nation children 12 times higher than non-First Nation children. The purpose of this qualitative phenomenological descriptive study was to explore the lived experiences of second generation parents, who were schooled in residential schools as children and their current parenting styles. The conceptual frameworks of trauma theory and …

Exploring The Cultural Intelligence Of Nurse Leaders, Valerie D. Campbell

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Today, nurses represent many cultures and ethnic backgrounds. In their leadership style, nurse leaders must learn to embrace cultural intelligence or cultural quotient (CQ), that is, an extension of emotional intelligence that affords them the ability to manage a culturally diverse workforce. Historically, CQ has been relevant to business, locally and globally. But it is also important to explore the CQ of nurse leaders. Scholarly studies show that leaders with CQ are responsible for developing innovative employee behaviors, forward-thinking ideas, and creativeness in the workplace. CQ has a theoretical foundation in the 2003 research of Early and Ang who focused …

Lgb Help-Seeking For Mental Health And Substance Abuse Services In Rural Northern Michigan, Jennifer Towns

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Lesbian, gay, and bisexual (LGB) individuals are often exposed to stressors based on their nonheterosexual status; they may have unique needs related to help-seeking for mental health in a rural area where more people identify as religious or as politically conservative. To date, there have been no studies on the mental health help-seeking experiences of LGB individuals in rural Northern Michigan. This qualitative, single case study was completed to explore the help-seeking experiences of 10 LGB individuals who were recruited through criterion and snowball sampling. In-depth, semi structured interviews were conducted. Transcribed interview data were entered into Nvivo software for …

Complementary And Alternative Medicine Careers Following A Science Academy For Underrepresented Minority Students, Tolulope Oyelowo

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Minority groups experience disproportionately worse health outcomes. An identified solution is to increase the number of minorities providing healthcare in their own communities. Primary care complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) providers are a potential resource. Many investigators have demonstrated the efficacy of science-based pipeline programs for increasing the roles of students in allopathic health professions. Whether these programs influence matriculation of minorities into a CAM university is unknown. The main purpose of this study was to gain an understanding of a pre-college science academy at a CAM university and determine whether the experience increased interest in and motivation for CAM …

In Case Of Emergency: Local Medical Services And Emergency Air Transportation In Southeast Alaska, Kourtney B. Johnson

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Alaska, often referred to as “The Last Frontier”, is a vast, geographically diverse and sparsely settled landscape. Although many popular reality shows tend to exaggerate and dramatize life in Alaska, they do point to an important fact: when an emergency occurs, or someone experiences serious health complications, immediate access to sufficient medical services may not be available. Much of the state’s population faces barriers to accessing needed medical care due to large distances between communities and limited road networks due to coastal locations or challenging terrain.

Using Penchansky and Thomas’s five components of Access Theory (1981), this thesis explores factors …

Regional Differences In Feto-Infant Mortality In The U.S. - Mexico Border Region: Using The Perinatal Period Of Risk (Ppor) Approach, Dyanne G. Herrera

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Introduction. Infant mortality (IM) is a critical indicator of the health of communities because societal factors that affect population health directly impact the mortality rate of infants. There is limited infant mortality data for the U.S. side of the U.S.-Mexico Border Region, defined as the areas within 100 km north of the border. Data from 2005-2007 show that the average IM rate for the border states combined was 5.8 infant deaths per 1,000 live births; for the border counties, the rate was 5.4 per 1,000. Although IM rates were lower in the border counties than in the border states, risk …

Temporal Trends In Human Vulnerability To Excessive Heat, Scott C. Sheridan, Michael J. Allen

Political Science & Geography Faculty Publications

Over recent decades, studies have examined various morbidity and mortality outcomes associated with heat exposure. This review explores the collective knowledge of the temporal trends of heat on human health, with regard to the hypothesis that humans are less vulnerable to heat events presently than in the past. Using Web of Science and Scopus, the authors identified all peer-reviewed articles that contained keywords on human impact (e.g. mortality, morbidity) and meteorological component (e.g. heat, heatwave). After sorting, a total of 71 articles, both case studies and epidemiological studies, contained explicit assessments of temporal trends in human vulnerability, and thus were …

Strategies To Address The Complex Challenge Of Improving Regional And Remote Children’S Fruit And Vegetable Consumption, Stephanie L. Godrich, Christina R. Davies, Jill Darby, Amanda Devine

Research outputs 2014 to 2021

Fruit and vegetables (F&V) are imperative for good health, yet less than one per cent of Australian children consume these food groups in sufficient quantities. As guided by Social Cognitive Theory (SCT), this paper aimed to: (i) understand key informant perspectives of the amount, types and quality of F&V consumed by rural and remote Western Australian (WA) children; and, (ii) determine strategies that could increase F&V consumption among rural and remote WA children. This qualitative study included 20 semi-structured interviews with health, school/youth and food supply workers, focusing on topics including: quantity and type of F&V consumed and strategies to …

Geographical Variations In The Clinical Management Of Colorectal Cancer In Australia: A Systematic Review, Fiona Crawford-Williams, Sonja March, Michael Ireland, Arlen Rowe, Belinda Goodwin, Melissa Hyde, Suzanne K. Chambers, Joanne Aitken, Jeff Dunn

Research outputs 2014 to 2021

Background: In Australia, cancer survival is significantly lower in non-metropolitan compared to metropolitan areas. Our objective was to evaluate the evidence on geographical variations in the clinical management and treatment of colorectal cancer (CRC).

Methods: A systematic review of published and gray literature was conducted. Five databases (CINAHL, PubMed, Embase, ProQuest, and Informit) were searched for articles published in English from 1990 to 2018. Studies were included if they assessed differences in clinical management according to geographical location; focused on CRC patients; and were conducted in Australia. Included studies were critically appraised using a modified Newcastle–Ottawa Scale. PRISMA systematic review …

Cognitive Impairment And Risk Of All-Cause And Cardiovascular Disease Mortality Over 20-Year Follow-Up: Results From The Blsa, Ji An, Haibin Li, Zhe Tang, Deqiang Zheng, Jin Guo, Yue Liu, Wei Feng, Xia Li, Anxin Wang, Xiangtong Liu, Lixin Tao, Chengbei Hou, Feng Zhang, Xinghua Yang, Qi Gao, Wei Wang, Xiuhua Guo, Yanxia Luo

Research outputs 2014 to 2021

Background-Cognitive impairment may increase the risk of all-cause and cardiovascular disease (CVD) mortality. This study examined the association between cognitive function and risk of all-cause and CVD mortality among the elderly in Beijing, China. Methods and Results-A total of 1996 participants aged ≥55 years at baseline were enrolled from the BLSA (Beijing Longitudinal Study of Aging). Cognitive function was assessed using the Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE), and participants were categorized as:

E-Learning Innovations: Implementation Of Video In An Occupational Therapy Classroom, Amanda K. Giles, Dusti Annan, Ashlyn Gober, Lisa Greene

Journal of Occupational Therapy Education

Given the growing emphasis on educational technology, it is necessary to inform educators on the best use of video as a course study tool. The aim of this project was to assess the difference between two types of video delivery methods in relation to occupational therapy student satisfaction and usage. Eighty-nine occupational therapy students used one of two types of video delivery methods for learning upper extremity goniometry: short videos embedded within e-learning modules or live lab video recordings available via a learning management system. Qualitative and quantitative data on student perceptions and usage were collected and analyzed. Students with …

The Delivery Of Primary Health Care In Remote Australian Communities: A Grounded Theory Study Of The Perspective Of Nurses, Kylie Mccullough

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

Around 85% of Australia’s landmass is remote and sparsely populated. Across these vast areas of desert, wilderness and tropical islands, nurses provide the majority of health care services. The residents of Australia’s remote communities have poorer health status than their metropolitan counterparts. The proportion of Indigenous people is high and health and social disadvantage is widespread. The characteristics of each remote community are unique and often reflect challenges associated with distance to tertiary health services and limited health resources. As a result, nursing practice within this context is very different to other nursing contexts. Despite recognition of Primary Health Care …

A Comparison Of Quality Indicators Between Medicare Accountable Care Organizations And Health Maintenance Organizations Using Publicly Available Data, William W. Campbell Iii

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study is to explore differences in quality between Medicare Accountable Care Organizations (ACO) and Health Maintenance Organizations (HMO). Three outcomes measures reported by these plans use different methodologies but possess enough alignment to permit comparison: percent of diabetic patients with last HbA1c > 9.0%, colon cancer screening rate and ER visits per 1,000. These outcomes are the dependent variables (DV). A secondary purpose is to explore differences in quality based on the size of the beneficiary population served, using the same measures.

As the Medicare program faces threats to its solvency in coming decades, with 10,000 baby …

Hospital Variation In Costs – A Challenge To The Value Proposition, Aaron B. Caughey, Jonathan M. Snowden

OHSU-PSU School of Public Health Faculty Publications and Presentations

Mini Commentary on 2017-OG-19978R1: Hospital Variation in Cost of Childbirth and Contributing Factors: A Cross-Sectional Study. To view this article visit https://doi.org/10.1111/1471-0528.15007.

Impact Of Numeracy On Understanding Of Prostate Cancer Risk Reduction In Psa Screening, Kevin Koo, Charles D. Brackett, Ellen H. Eisenburg, Kelly A. Kieffer, Elias S. Hyams

Dartmouth Scholarship

Prostate-specific antigen (PSA) screening for prostate cancer in men of average risk remains controversial. Patients’ ability to incorporate risk reduction data into their decision-making may depend on their numeracy. We assessed the impact of patients’ numeracy on their understanding of the risk reduction benefits of PSA screening. Men attending a general internal medicine clinic were invited to complete a survey. Four versions of the survey each included a three-item numeracy test and PSA risk reduction data, framed one of four ways: absolute (ARR) versus relative risk reduction (RRR), with or without baseline risk (BR). Respondents were asked to adjust their …

An Investigation Of Factors Predicting The Type Of Bladder Antimuscarinics Initiated In Medicare Nursing Homes Residents, Daniela C. Moga, Qishan Wu, Pratik Doshi, Amie J. Goodin

Pharmacy Practice and Science Faculty Publications

Background: To examine factors predicting type of bladder antimuscarinics (BAM) initiated in nursing home (NH) residents.

Methods: Incident BAM initiators following NH admission were identified by constructing a retrospective cohort from Medicare files and Minimum Data Set (MDS). Participants included all residents 65 years and older admitted in Medicare-certified NH between January 1, 2007 and December 31, 2008 who were prescribed BAM and had continuous Medicare (Part A, B, and D) enrollment. Patient characteristics, medications, and comorbidities were derived from Medicare enrollment and claims. NH characteristics and health status were derived from MDS assessments. The outcome was defined as type …

Home-Based Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis (Prep) Services For Gay And Bisexual Men: An Opportunity To Address Barriers To Prep Uptake And Persistence, Steven A. John, H Jonathon Rendina, Christina Grov, Jeffrey T. Parsons

Publications and Research

Gay, bisexual, and other men who have sex with men (GBM) are disproportionately affected by the HIV epidemic. Despite the promise of pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) in reducing HIV transmission risk, barriers for uptake and persistence exist. We sought to identify whether GBM in a nationwide cohort who have not yet initiated PrEP (n = 906) would prefer to get PrEP-related care from a primary care provider (PCP) compared to a specialist clinic or provider. We then sought to identify their level of interest and factors associated with preference for using home-based PrEP services (i.e., HB-PrEP), defined to participants as conducting …

Of Rats And Men, Thomas S. Walsh

Capstones

This capstone is a data-driven investigation into New York City's rat problem. By using publicly available government data to map rat activity in NYC, I identified several socio-economic variables that correlate with rat populations at the community district, borough, and city-scale. I used these findings (mainly that rat problems are linked to lower incomes) as the basis of an investigation, which includes interviews with residents, experts, and city officials. Prof. Bobby Corrigan, urban rodentologist and formerly with the NYC Department of Health criticizes the city's efforts for the first time on the record.

https://thomasseiyawalsh.wixsite.com/ratstone

Identifying Ways That Institutional Staffing And Scheduling Committees Engage Nursing Staff In Resource Allocation At The Unit And Institutional Levels, Kevin M. Shimp

Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) Final Clinical Projects, 2016-2019

The American Nurses Association (ANA) recommends that at least fifty percent direct care providers are involved in staffing and scheduling decisions at the institutional level (ANA Staffing, 2015). This recommendation coincides with Magnet recommendations for the staff most impacted by staffing levels. Magnet organizations are recognized for superior nursing processes and quality patient care, which lead to the highest levels of safety, quality, and patient satisfaction (ANCC, 2015). Existing research, largely at the unit level, shows that registered nurses in acute care environments have higher general work satisfaction and morale when they are engaged in decision making around staffing (Ellerbe …

Relationships Between Complex Pediatric Health Conditions And The Built, Physical And Social Environments, Brittany Corley

Theses & Dissertations

The relationship between human health and the environment is complex and overall poorly understood. The environment has a lasting impact on health, and the processes appear to start at conception. Thus, this dissertation examines the potential relationship between pediatric health and the environment.

The first relationship examined was between the built environment and comorbid Attention Deficient Hyperactivity Disorder and Autism Spectrum Disorder. Many publications have reported the relationship between socioeconomic disadvantage, Attention Deficient Hyperactivity Disorder, and Autism Spectrum Disorder. However, the link between the built environment and Attention Deficient Hyperactivity Disorder and Autism Spectrum Disorder symptom severity is poorly understood. …

Implementation Of A Fruit And Vegetable Voucher Program In San Francisco, Alexandra Kambur

Master's Projects and Capstones

Chronic disease has emerged as the predominant public health challenge of the 21st century. Chronic diseases like cardiovascular disease, cancer, type 2 diabetes and obesity have maintained their top positions as the leading causes of poor health, disability, death, and high health-care expenditures for over a decade. Health and hunger go hand-in-hand. Today over 15 million households in the United States struggle with food insecurity, meaning they do not have sufficient access to food that meets their dietary needs for an active and healthy life. The issue of food insecurity in cities like San Francisco, California is exacerbated by the …

Embodied Nonverbal Microaggressions From The Perspective Of Dance/Movement Therapists: Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis, Rebecca A. Schultz

Creative Arts Therapies Theses

This interpretative phenomenological analysis (IPA) study explored dance/movement therapist’s embodied experiences of nonverbal microaggressions and how they experience nonverbal microaggressions in the clinical relationship. Data were collected via hour-long, video recorded, in-person interviews of four (N = 4) current practicing dance/movement therapists in the Chicago area. Data analysis was conducted using IPA of verbal and movement data where five key themes emerged (a) personal offense, (b) anger, and (c) curiosity towards experiences of nonverbal microaggressions; and microaggressions have the potential to both (d) strengthen and (e) harm the clinical relationship. Their experiences implicate the vital role the body plays in …

Establishing An Active Reproductive Health Center And A Sliding Fee Scale At Bellevue Health Clinic, Gbadero Yerokun

Capstone Experience: Master of Public Health

Abstract

Goal

To collect preliminary data that will be used by Bellevue Health Clinic leadership to make decisions about expanding upon reproductive health services, and creating a sliding fee scale for services provided.

Objectives

To describe aspects of the scope of reproductive health care services provided by Title X-funded clinics in Lincoln, Omaha, Fremont, Grand Island, Tecumseh, Hastings, Gering, Norfolk and North Platte (14 total). The project will also compare and contrast existing sliding scale fees provided at these sites and provide subjective answers from key informants of how Title X funding and a sliding fee scale impact the population. …

Epidemiologic And Spatial Differences In Colorectal, Lung, Breast, And Prostate Cancer Mortality-To-Incidence Ratios Between Blacks And Whites In Louisiana, Anas Almatrafi

Capstone Experience: Master of Public Health

Mortality and Incidence rates are widely used as indicators of health disparities among different racial groups. The current study used the mortality-to-incidence ratio (MIR) to provide a better population-based indicator of survival that can be used as an alternative and more accurate measure of the fatality based on incidence. This study intended to calculate and map MIRs for colorectal, lung and bronchus, breast and prostate cancers in Louisiana by race (Blacks vs Whites), sex, age groups, and geography. Age-adjusted mortality and incidence rates were calculated using the latest data release of the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) Program (1973-2014). …

Youth Focus Groups: Design And Analysis Plan For The Bears Project, M. Renee Beacom Claborn

Capstone Experience: Master of Public Health

This capstone project produced a qualitative research design and analysis plan for youth focus groups as part of a Quality Improvement project at OneWorld Community Health Center (OWCHC) School-Based Health Center (SBHC) located at Bryan High School (BHS) in a program called BEARS. The intended use of this project is to serve as a reference guide for BEARS program planners to utilize as part of the data collection and analysis processes. The purpose for collecting qualitative data for this project is three-fold. 1. To explore adolescents’ perspectives of risk behaviors and associated health determinants common to their age group 2. …

Evaluating Work Place Wellness In Greater Louisville's Technology Organizations : A Case Study., Andrew L. Mccart

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Employers in the Southern Indiana and Greater Louisville region are looking for strategies to help them become a healthier workplace. Many employers see the expense of paying for an unhealthy workforce and they are looking to limit these expenses. The purpose of the study is to determine the state of workplace wellness activities in organizations in Southern Indiana and Greater Louisville. Due to the poor health statuses of Indiana and Kentucky, 39th and 45th, respectively, this study is significant for a number of stakeholders in our area. The purpose of this case study was to understand the state of health …

Moving Mountains : A Study Examining Long-Term Impacts Of Mountaintop Removal Coal Mining On Mortality In The Appalachian Region Using Geographic Information Sciences Techniques., James Howard Kent Pugh

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Over the last hundred years, the Appalachian region has been dominated by the coal industry. It has also been and currently is one of the unhealthiest regions in the United States. Recent scholarship has examined the relationship between coal mining and health and mortality rates in the Appalachian region. The first study incorporates air quality and pollution data to examine if coal mining counties have higher levels of pollution and if this pollution contributes to mortality disadvantage. In the second study, I construct a population-based coal-exposure measure to better evaluate the relationship between coal mining and health I find that …

Developing Algorithms For Quantifying The Super Resolution Microscopic Data: Applications To The Quantification Of Protein-Reorganization In Bacteria Responding To Treatment By Silver Ions, Sai Divya Challapalli

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Histone-like nucleoid structuring proteins (HNS) play significant roles in shaping the chromosomal DNA, regulation of transcriptional networks in microbes, as well as bacterial responses to environmental changes such as temperature fluctuations. In this work, the intracellular organization of HNS proteins in E. coli bacteria was investigated utilizing super-resolution fluorescence microscopy, which surpasses conventional microscopy by 10–20 fold in spatial resolution. More importantly, the changes of the spatial distribution of HNS proteins in E. coli, by addition of silver ions into the growth medium were explored. To quantify the spatial distribution of HNS in bacteria and its changes, an automatic method …

Scheduling Hearing Appointments Prior To Hospital Discharge Improves Follow-Up After Failed Newborn Screening, Tri Tran, Lili Schindelar, Terri Ibieta, Jeanette Webb, Wendy Jumonville, Melinda Peat, Susan Berry

Journal of Early Hearing Detection and Intervention

The study aimed to identify if there was a relationship between a follow-up hearing appointment scheduled prior to hospital discharge (hospital scheduled appointment) and follow-up status, including loss to follow-up or loss to documentation (LTF/LTD); early follow-up initiation; and early completion of audiological diagnosis. The study included 4,597 children who were born between January 2015 and June 2016 in Louisiana birthing hospitals and failed newborn hearing screening (NHS) prior to hospital discharge. Of the study population, 56.1% of children were scheduled for a follow-up hearing appointment prior to hospital discharge. Among children without a hospital scheduled appointment, the rate of …