Digital Commons Network^™

Increase Access To Community-Based Health Care For Underserved Individuals: A Quality Improvement Project, Piper Oneal

Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) Manuscripts

Abstract

Background: Health care access disproportionately affects certain populations. Health care opportunities for uninsured adult members of a rural community can be limited. Suwannee County is a rural community with a population of 43,814 of which 40.8 % live below the 200% poverty income level (WellFlorida Council, 2020). Problem: In 2016, 23.8% of adults in Suwannee County were unable to see a doctor in the past year due to the inability to pay and lack of insurance (Florida Department of Health, 2020). Community-based health care initiatives can address such issues by targeting underserved individuals, reducing barriers, and making health services …

Examining Food Security, Choices And Barriers Among Community Supported Agriculture Participants During Covid- 19 In Kentucky, Martha J. Biddle, Junghee Kang, Julie Derringer, Anna Rose, Dawn Brewer, Misook L. Chung, Terry A. Lennie, Gia Mudd-Martin, Timothy A. Woods

UK CARES Faculty Publications

The coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic is challenging food security. Our study’s purpose was to examine relationships among food security status, eating patterns and perceived barriers to food choices among shareholders (N = 209) in a Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) program during stay- at-home restrictions due to the pandemic. The food insecure group (n = 33) reported lower consumption of fruits/vegetables, whole grains and greater consumption of fast foods and more barriers to food choices compared to the food secure group (p < .05). A low food insecure proportion (16%) among the CSA participants suggests a potential role of a CSA program to prevent food insecurity.

Spiritually Influenced Health: Results Of A Health Promotion Initiative In Houses Of Worship, Crystal C. Shannon

International Journal of Faith Community Nursing

Promoting health within communities is a primary responsibility for nurses and other healthcare professionals. This involves the active incorporation of spiritual and faith-based approaches to health. Challenges remain in the delivery of effective health delivery that incorporates faith for at-risk communities. This is a retrospective descriptive study designed to explore the effects of faith-based health promotion sessions on existing health habits within local faith organizations from 2015-2018. The protocol utilized nursing students as project developers in collaboration with faith leaders and subject matter experts in the delivery of health education on nutrition, cardiac health, and physical activity. Findings suggest positive …

Mid-Atlantic Ethics Committee Newsletter, Fall 2021

Mid-Atlantic Ethics Committee Newsletter

No abstract provided.

2021 Celebration Of Scholarship, Creativity, And Engagement, Todd Bruns, Beth Heldebrandt

Programs

At this annual celebration, we, as a shared community, are pleased that the important work of faculty continues and evolves as faculty have broadened and redefined the boundaries of scholarship, creativity, and innovation throughout the COVID, late-COVID, and soon-to-be post-COVID eras. While we are pleased to return to more familiar campus-based traditions, functions, and activities, the experiences of 2020-2021 have contributed to the development of new forms and strategies for scholarship and creativity that reflect the core principles of faculty life and ensure that student learning remains central to the mission of Eastern Illinois University.

For that reason, our faculty, …

4-H Student Nutrition Advisory Councils Support Positive Youth Development And Health Outcomes Among Underserved Populations, Shannon Klisch, Katherine E. Soule

Journal of Extension

4-H SNAC Clubs engage youth in low-income schools with majority Latinx enrollment in leadership activities to increase schoolwide health and wellness. 4-H SNAC Clubs aim to develop youth health leaders, establish youth-adult partnerships, and increase access to 4-H in Latinx communities. Outcomes related to healthful living and positive youth development were assessed using the Teen Teacher Retrospective Survey (n=59) across five 4-H SNAC Clubs. Results show positive outcomes related to self-reported health behaviors for students and their families and leadership development. 4-H SNAC Clubs can increase access to 4-H among Latinx youth and support healthier communities through the Supplemental Nutrition …

Medical School Watercooler Newsletter - September 10, 2021, Lindsey Lyle

Watercooler Newsletter

This is the September 10, 2021 edition of the Frederick P. Whiddon College of Medicine's newsletter - Watercooler.

Contents include:

• Apply now: CCTS Partner Network Pilot Program
• Video online: 'Weight Management for Children and Adults'
• USA Medical Alumni Association to host event at Alumni Reunion Weekend
• Mark your calendar for upcoming grand rounds
• USA researcher awarded grant to evaluate the disease threat of Asian longhorned tick
• Meet a Med Student: Claudia Stephens
• Faculty Spotlight: James Slauterbeck, M.D.

Disease, Development, And Disorder: Examining The Effect Of Health On Subnational Development And Conflict In Sub-Saharan Africa, Dlorah C. Jenkins

Doctor of International Conflict Management Dissertations

Progress towards achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) has been uneven across and within countries - particularly in Africa, least developed countries, and low-income countries. The COVID-19 pandemic has threatened to reverse much of the progress made towards achieving the SDGs, especially SDG 3, which aims to “ensure healthy lives and promote well-being for all at all ages”.

The tendency for disease, underdevelopment, and conflict to occur concomitantly suggests potential causal mechanisms linking them. This study attempts to address two pieces of the puzzle: the causal effect of disease on underdevelopment and the impact of development on conflict risk. Focusing …

The Community Health Worker (Chw) Common Indicators Project: Engaging Chws In Measurement To Sustain The Profession, Keara Rodela, Noelle Wiggins, Kenneth Maes, Teresa Campos-Dominguez, Victoria Adewumi, Pennie Jewell, Susan Mayfield-Johnson

Faculty Publications

Despite progress in documenting the outcomes of Community Health Worker interventions, the lack of standardized measures to assess CHW practice has made it difficult for programs to conduct reliable evaluations, and impossible to aggregate data across programs and regions, impeding commitment to sustainable, long-term financing of CHW programs. In addition, while CHWs have sometimes been involved as data collectors, they have seldom been engaged as full partners in all stages of evaluation and research. This manuscript details the current work being done by the CI Project, demonstrating how CHWs are able to contribute to the integrity, sustainability, and viability of …

Sustainability Of Community Engagement At Institutions Of Higher Education: A Look At Compassion Fatigue And The College Student Mental Health Crisis, Katherine A. Chiu, Briana G. Craig, Naomi L. Rabago

VA Engage Journal

This study investigated one of the many factors contributing to the sustainability of community engagement efforts at institutions of higher education. Extensive literature shows that burnout and compassion fatigue disproportionately affect those in caring roles and helping professions. Moreover, studies have found significant correlations between levels of burnout and compassion fatigue and the likelihood of human error, which directly affects the safety and long-term outcomes of people within their care. However, there is still limited exploration of how these phenomena may manifest, and similarly, cause unintentional harm to vulnerable populations, in the context of student community engagement efforts. This paper …

Implementation Of Childhood Obesity Prevention And Control Policies In The United States And Latin America: Lessons For Cross-Border Research And Practice, Rafael Perez-Escamilla, Mireya Vilar-Compte, Elizabeth Rhodes, Olga L. Sarmiento, Camila Corvalan, Rachel Sturke, Susan Vorkoper

Department of Public Health Scholarship and Creative Works

Progress has been made in the development and widespread implementation of effective interventions to address childhood obesity, yet important challenges remain. To understand how the United States and Latin American countries achieved success in implementing obesity policies and programs (PAPs) and identify improvement opportunities using implementation science principles. We identified three comparative case studies: (1) front-of-food package labeling (Mexico and Chile); (2) Open Streets/play streets (Colombia and the United States); and (3) the Baby-Friendly Hospital Initiative (Brazil and the United States). Information from multiple sources (e.g., scientific and gray literature and key informant interviews) was synthesized to describe barriers, facilitators, …

Building Back Healthier: The Role Of Public Health In State Disaster Recovery Law, Claire Pendergrast, Nicole Errett

Population Health Research Brief Series

When communities are impacted by disasters, state officials must implement efficient and competent recovery strategies with the health and wellbeing of residents in mind. This research brief summarizes findings from a peer-reviewed study showing that few U.S. states explicitly integrate public health into their disaster recovery laws, and the types of public health requirements and authorizations vary substantially across states.

Recruitment And Advocacy For Clinician Involvement In Pro Bono Physical Therapy Service-Learning Program, Gilberto Carrillo, Gavin Brady, Felicia Doblado, Alyssa Woo Hatch

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Background and Purpose: Service-learning allows Doctor of Physical Therapy (DPT) students to develop important professional skills and addresses community-based needs. When integrated into physical therapy education, it can be a powerful tool for increasing students' altruism and social responsibility. Many clinicians desire to participate in pro bono physical therapy (PT) services. Therefore, the responsibility of promoting and advertising these programs falls upon the student. This paper describes various methods for recruiting clinician involvement to improve the sustainability of a student led pro bono clinic, as well as how the students advocated for pro bono services in the state of Nevada …

Examining The Benefits Of A Sustained Balance And Fall Prevention Programming For Independent Older Adults Living In A Community Setting, Noah Davis

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

Falls have been an identified public health and social problem since the 1980’s and now recognized as a global health problem in many of the developed nations. The National Council on Aging and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention acknowledge many evidence-based fall prevention programs. However, there are identified concerns to the programs; for example, a lack of sustained programming for older adults in the community setting. The literature review on fall prevention interventions identifies that few programs are sustained after two years, primarily due to a lack of funding and a lack of interest by older adults. However, …

Developing Strategic Partnerships To Impact Population Health: A Professional Development Module, Andra S. Scano

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Massive organizational changes occurring in our health care delivery system have provided opportunities for nurse leaders who think in terms of population health, to develop new skills needed to impact the populations they serve. Aspects of these changes include a focus on the delivery of primary and community-based care and the development of partnerships, alliances, and other linkages across settings to build integrated systems (Williams, 2020, p. 17). Turner (2020) asserts that population-focused nurse leaders are charged with creating a new future for healthier communities which often involves strategic partnership development. However, strategic partnership development is a complex task that …

Healthy Food Accessibility In Rural Mississippi And Potential For A Corner Store Intervention, Anna Conner

Honors Theses

Some areas of the United States have poorer food environments than others. The Mississippi Delta has limited access to nutritious food, often relying on corner stores for sustenance. The impact of a poor diet can increase chronic disease prevalence, creating additional barriers to health and nutrition for Mississippians. The purpose of this study was to document and explore the rural food environment and discuss urban intervention studies in light of the current state of stores in the Delta. An adapted version of the Baltimore Healthy Kids survey and store impact questionnaire was used to record owner perceptions and food availability. …

Evaluating Urban Parks Accessibility And Equity: A Case Study Of Hartford, Ct And New Haven, Ct, Natalie Roach, Mara Tu

Honors Scholar Theses

Public parks provide cities with environmental benefits, positive health effects, recreational opportunities, community building, educational spaces, and public amenities. However, certain populations have been systematically denied their fair share of these benefits because of unjust practices in the creation and maintenance of urban parks. With a lens of environmental justice, the goal of this research was to assess park quality and accessibility of two Connecticut cities, Hartford and New Haven, by gathering publicly available information as well as using GIS tools.

The Trust for Public Land (TPL) has an existing ParkScore rating system that evaluates the quality of a city’s …

“I Done Been Through Hell”: An Existential Phenomenological Study Of The Lived Experience Of Fathers Who Have Lost A Child, Dynisha Wigginson

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The rise in American pediatric death led to a shift in pediatric end-of-life care from focusing care only on the dying pediatric patient to include focus on the family. Most literature has focused only on mothers’ experiences or the combined experiences of mothers and fathers. Fathers’ experiences at their child’s end of life, as an individual phenomenon, is overlooked and ignored. Hence, significant knowledge gaps exist related to the repeated exclusion of fathers’ individual experiences. This study aimed to begin to fill this gap. Using the lens of Merleau-Ponty, this existential phenomenological study aimed to describe the lived experiences of …

Pulling The Food System Up By The Roots: How Do We Build An Equitable Food System In The Twin Cities?, Aubrey A. Hagen

Geography Honors Projects

Prior to 2020, food insecurity was already a pervasive problem in the United States, with limited access to adequate, nutritious foods being linked to numerous poor physical and psychological outcomes. With the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic and civil uprisings in response to police brutality and state-sanctioned violence, the Twin Cities communities are facing overlapping crises that threaten individual and community wellbeing and food security. How do we build a just, equitable, and “crisis-proof” food system? Drawing from theoretical frameworks in social epidemiology and radical food geography, this paper assesses how the local food system and community food insecurity in …

Postpartum Support: Application Of A Local Peer Support, Community Care Model, Stephanie E. Ward

Theses and Graduate Projects

The postpartum period is one of the most influential developmental stages of a women’s life and represents a time of heightened risk for mental health decline. Perinatal mood and anxiety disorders have been implicated as a key influence of negative parenting experiences, poor newborn psychological outcomes, delayed newborn development, and inadequately adaptive family development behaviors. Integrating established resiliency components against mental illness, such as social support, into a postpartum care model can benefit postpartum women and secondarily positively impact the aforementioned outcomes. A community care model highlighting social support for postpartum mothers was integrated into a rural Minnesota region and …

Stakeholder Perspectives And Sustainability Of An Integrated Care Model For The Prevention And Management Of Obesity: The Childhood Obesity Research Demonstration (Cord) Project, Rebecca E Lee, Nathan H Parker, Allen M Hallett, Dennis Kao, Maria J Modelska, Hanadi S Rifai, Erica G Soltero, Daniel P O'Connor

Children’s Nutrition Research Center Staff Publications

Although reliable strategies exist to promote healthy habits that reduce childhood obesity, the sustainability of these strategies remains an ongoing public health challenge. This study aimed to identify factors experienced in a large, multisite project aimed at reducing childhood obesity that might contribute to project sustainability. Hypothesized constructs underpinning sustainability included replicability, continuation of benefits, institutionalization, and community capacity. Key informants (n = 27) completed 60 min, in-depth interviews, which were audio recorded and transcribed. Transcripts were first coded using a combined deductive and inductive approach. Four major themes emerged (with numerous subthemes): developing partnerships, challenges to the sustainability …

Facilitators And Barriers To Implementation Of Community-Based Socio-Ecological Approaches To Obesity Prevention Among Cooperative Extension Agents, Denise Holson, Jessica Stroope, Melissa Cater

Journal of Human Sciences and Extension

Perceptions, knowledge, and attitudes of Cooperative Extension Service (CES) Family and Consumer Science (FCS) agents related to the planning and implementation of community-based multi-level ecological obesity prevention strategies were identified through qualitative, exploratory research. Focus group discussions (FGD) were conducted in the five regions of the Louisiana State University CES (LSU AgCenter). Participants included CES FCS Extension agents (n = 35; 97% of agents). Participants were female and responsible for conducting programming in parishes (counties). Thematic analysis of data found principal factors that influenced FCS Extension agents’ perceived ability to plan and implement community-based multi-level obesity prevention approaches to include …

Coronavirus Trauma And African Americans’ Mental Health: Seizing Opportunities For Transformational Change, Lonnie R. Snowden, Jonathan Snowden

OHSU-PSU School of Public Health Faculty Publications and Presentations

The COVID-19 pandemic is a natural disaster of historic proportions with widespread and profound psychological sequelae. African Americans fall ill and die more than whites from COVID and more survivors and loved ones face psychological risk. African Americans also experience greater personal, social, and financial stress even when not personally touched by COVID illness, and they are again vulnerable as COVID diminishes African American community’s capacity for mutual support. Enactment of the American Rescue Act of 2021 can moderate if not eliminate African Americans’ greater adversity and greater psychological challenge; other provisions can move the mental health treatment system beyond …

Authentic Youth Engagement In Environmental Health Research And Advocacy, Kathryn M. Cardarelli, Melinda J. Ickes, Luz Huntington-Moskos, Craig Wilmhoff, Angela Larck, Susan M. Pinney, Ellen J. Hahn

Health, Behavior & Society Faculty Publications

Training in environmental health (EH) engages and inspires youth to tackle health promotion and policy change. Yet, there is little guidance on how to successfully nurture and sustain youth engagement. This paper compares four case studies of youth engagement to promote EH in rural and urban communities using the Youth Empowerment Solutions (YES!) framework. Of the case studies in rural (Central Appalachia) and urban (Cincinnati, Ohio) communities, two employ citizen science approaches using PhotoVoice and environmental sampling; one engages youth in a science communication camp; and one focuses on policy advocacy. We compare and contrast these case studies using the …

Vaccine Hesitancy In The Era Of Covid, Nicole Parkerson, Md, Faap, Amy Leader, Drph, Mph

Population Health Leadership Series: PopTalk Webinars

In 2019, the World Health Organization named vaccine hesitancy a top 10 threat to global public health. Vaccine hesitancy threatens to reverse progress made in tackling vaccine-preventable diseases and could compromise our ability to curb a raging global pandemic. Learn about the underlying causes of vaccine hesitancy, what health care professionals can do to lessen vaccine hesitancy among patients, and how research is uncovering the most effective ways to message vaccines to the public.

Smoking Cessation Interventions In South Asian Countries: Protocol For Scoping Review, Sajid Iqbal, Rubina Barolia, Laila Ladak, Pammla Petrucka

School of Nursing & Midwifery

Introduction: Unfortunately, like many other health risks, smoking rate has been on the rise in developing countries. Half of current smokers in the world reside in only three countries of Asia that include India. Many smoking cessation interventions that were developed and successfully implemented in the context of developed countries have not been equally successful in South Asia. Hence, there is a dire need of culturally relevant smoking cessation interventions. We propose a scoping review with objectives to explore the extent and nature of interventions for smoking cessation and its associated factors in South Asian Region by systematically reviewing the …

Facilitators And Barriers To Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Partnership Sustainability In The United States, Tristen L. Hall, Charlene Barrientos-Ortiz, Griselda Peña-Jackson, Courtney Fultineer, Kevin Werner, Justine Sunshine

Journal of Patient-Centered Research and Reviews

Purpose: Engaging patients in research can enhance relevance and accelerate implementation of findings. Despite investment in patient-centered outcomes research (PCOR), short-term funding cannot maintain such efforts beyond the program timeframe. Sustained interaction between researchers, practitioners, patients, and other stakeholders is needed to sustain use of evidence-based practices and achieve maximum benefit. While previous literature describes components of public health program sustainability, such factors do not necessarily apply to the partnerships that implement those programs, and facilitators are likely to differ across disciplines. We sought to determine facilitators and barriers to PCOR partnership sustainability from participant experiences with sustainable and unsustainable …

An Overview Of Virtual Communities Of Faculty Practice, Narjis Hyder, Amy Adcock, David Brown

Journal of Educational Research and Practice

Virtual communities of faculty practice (CoP) provide support for and supplement the demanding doctoral curriculum with the purpose of assisting doctoral students through a holistic support system. This virtual community provides a positive private environment where faculty engage, share, and discuss current research questions or issues to encourage scholarship and collegiality. This scholarly essay presents an overview of faculty virtual CoPs in the context of mentoring online doctoral students. Attention is given to the definition of communities of practice, Wenger’s communities of practice model, producing and sustaining communities of practice, and incorporation of virtual CoPs at the doctoral level.

The Impact Of Socioeconomic Status And Ethnicity On Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease Patients, Donald Garret Abshier

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is a progressive and debilitating respiratory condition that leads to significant medial and financial burdens. For many patients with COPD, multiple socioeconomic factors contribute to health disparities, including income, education, employment status, and race/ethnicity. The purpose of this study was to examine the impact of SES and race/ethnicity on COPD patients. For this cross-sectional study, using secondary data analysis, the Social-Ecological Model (SEM), which discusses five levels of influence, was utilized. Data from over 3,222 participants aged 18 and over, living in Nevada were obtained from the 2018 Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS) study. …

Sars-Cov-2: An Investigation On Mutagenicity And Its Effects On Infectivity And Mortality, Tyler Elliott Silverwood

Honors Theses and Capstones

SARS-CoV-2, the etiological agent of the COVID-19 pandemic, has rapidly become a worldwide public health concern. Classified as a betacoronavirus, it is the third human coronavirus (HCoV) to emerge in the 21st century that causes severe disease, alongside SARS-CoV and MERS-CoV. The genome consists of open reading frames encoding accessory proteins and four structural proteins, including the spike protein which is a key determinant of host cell tropism. Mutations within the genome, particularly the spike gene, have been linked in-vitro to increased binding affinity to the human receptor angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (hACE2), increased fitness in human hosts, and immune evasion. …