Digital Commons Network^™

Schedule H: New Community Benefit Reporting Requirements For Hospitals, Eileen Salinsky

National Health Policy Forum

In recent years, some policymakers have questioned whether not-for-profit hospitals benefit the communities they serve at a level commensurate with the tax exemptions they receive as charitable organizations. This background paper reviews the new community benefit reporting requirements hospitals will face in 2009 under Schedule H of the Internal Revenue Service's revised Form 990 (the return used by organizations exempt from federal income tax). The paper provides a descriptive summary of the quantitative and qualitative information to be reported on Schedule H, such as charity care, bad debt, and the unreimbursed costs of Medicaid and Medicare.

Coordinating Care For People With Multiple Chronic Conditions: The Guided Care Model And Other Innovative Approaches, Judith D. Moore, Carol O'Shaughnessy

National Health Policy Forum

The Forum sponsored two site visits to explore the Johns Hopkins University's research and demonstration program on Guided Care, in April and August 2009. Guided Care is a patient-centered medical home model that uses an interdisciplinary approach to coordinating health care for older people with multiple chronic conditions. Guided Care nurses located in primary care practices work with Medicare patients on a long-term basis, coordinate their care among various providers, provide transitional care, and assist patients with self-management skills. Site visit participants learned about the complexities of caring for frail Medicare patients, some of whom see multiple physicians and other …

Overview Of Mapping Applications In Health Research, Helen Hemminger Mmhs

Disability & Aging

No abstract provided.

Constructions Of Disease In Mayo Village, Rachel Eades

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Understanding how individuals and institutions negotiate illness and construct ideas about disease is important to public health efforts across the globe. Countries in sub-Saharan Africa suffer from a variety of health problems that many regions of the world have long since eradicated. Economic hardship, combined with high rates of communicable diseases, food poverty, lack of sanitation, and poor water quality make countries in sub-Saharan Africa some of the poorest and sickest in the world. Tanzania is a prime example. The purpose of this study was to explore how people in one rural, Tanzanian village construct ideas about disease – its …

The Effect Of Obesity On State Health Care Expenditures: An Empirical Analysis, Kristen Collins

Honors Projects in Economics

The purpose of this study is to examine the effects of obesity rates on per capita state health care expenditures. A two-stage least square regression model is used. In the first stage of the estimation, factors influencing obesity rates are determined. The determinants of obesity rates are outlined throughout the research process. In the second stage, the impact of obesity rates on per capita health expenditures across states is evaluated. The empirical results indicate that obesity rates do indeed have a direct effect on state health care expenditures. After reviewing the project’s results, various solutions are proposed as possible methods …

Revisiting The Regulation Debate: The Effect Of Food Marketing On Childhood Obesity, Nicole E. Hunter

The University of New Hampshire Law Review

[Excerpt] “Despite the widespread concern regarding childhood obesity, there is broad divergence of opinion regarding responsibility for the crisis. Whether the government, food industry, or parents are accountable has become the focus of much debate. Public health groups have attempted various strategies to confront childhood obesity, such as litigation, legislation, and government regulation. While many researchers and advocates agree that government should play an affirmative role with respect to childhood obesity, they are very much divided over what that role should be. For example, although none of these acts has become law, eighty-six bills have been proposed regarding obesity since …

A Human Capital Approach To Reduce Health Disparities, Saundra H. Glover, Sudha Xirasagar, Yunho Jeon, Keith T. Elder, Crystal N. Piper, Harris Pastides

Faculty Publications

Objective: To introduce a human capital approach to reduce health disparities in South Carolina by increasing the number and quality of trained minority professionals in public health practice and research.

Methods: The conceptual basis and elements of Project EXPORT in South Carolina are described. Project EXPORT is a community based participatory research (CBPR) translational project designed to build human capital in public health practice and research. This project involves Claflin University (CU), a Historically Black College University (HBCU) and the African American community of Orangeburg, South Carolina to reduce health disparities, utilizing resources from the University of South Carolina (USC), …

Interdisciplinary, Translational, And Community-Based Participatory Research: Finding A Common Language To Improve Cancer Research, James R. Hébert, Heather M. Brandt, Cheryl A. Armstead, Swann Arp Adams, Susan E. Steck

Faculty Publications

Preventing cancer, downstaging disease at diagnosis, and reducing mortality require that relevant research findings be translated across scientific disciplines and into clinical and public health practice. Interdisciplinary research focuses on using the languages of different scientific disciplines to share techniques and philosophical perspectives to enhance discovery and development of innovations; (i.e., from the “left end” of the research continuum). Community-based participatory research (CBPR), whose relevance often is relegated to the “right end” (i.e., delivery and dissemination) of the research continuum, represents an important means for understanding how many cancers are caused as well as for ensuring that basic science research …

“The Womb People” : Detection, Treatment, And Prevention Of Cervical Cancer With The Khayelitsha Cervical Cancer Screening Project In Khayelitsha, South Africa, Kirsten Lynch

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

The current policy concerning cervical cancer screenings is not effectively addressing the specific needs of the female South African population. The program, as outlined by the South African Department of Health, is not sufficiently accessing women due to problems in availability, access, organization, and education. As women are living longer with HIV/AIDS, due to antiretroviral (ARV) treatment, they are becoming more susceptible to opportunistic infections that can lead to cervical cancer, such as Human strains of the virus can be prevented with administration of an HPV vaccination and advancement of precancerous lesions can be detected and treated with current technology. …

Mandatory Measles Vaccination Program: Is There A Place For One In Switzerland?, Anne Rushman

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

The investigation of this topic began as a curiosity from the measles outbreak in the canton of Vaud, Switzerland in early 2009. As I began to gain a deeper knowledge of the subject of measles and measles vaccination in this community I saw the potential it held as a topic to explore my interests in the juncture of public policy and public health. As I approached the topic of measles vaccination from not only a public health perspective but also from that of political and ethical perspective I was able to make an analysis of potential changes in the health …

Public Health Ethics: Establishing “Durable Solutions” Within The Global Polio Eradication Initiative In Nigeria, Tiffany T. Mason

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Discussions on public health ethics often appeal to the same codes of conduct established in the field of bioethics. Principles of bioethics contribute to the morality of the study of public health—proposing an optimal code of conduct in the medical care and human research aspects of the field. For example, public health researchers are aware of their obligations to consider informed consent, confidentiality, and the equal distribution of risks and benefits in the implementation of their studies and interventions. However, public health practice extends far beyond medical care and human research. Thus, it is inappropriate to assume that codes established …

The Effect Of Semantic Set Size On Word Learning By Preschool Children, Holly L. Storkel, Suzanne M. Adlof

Faculty Publications

Purpose - The purpose was to determine whether semantic set size, a measure of the number of semantic neighbors, influenced word learning, and whether the influence of semantic set size was broad, showing effects on multiple measures both during and after learning.

Method - Thirty-six preschool children were exposed to 10 nonobjects, varying in semantic set size, paired with 10 nonwords, controlling phonotactic probability and neighborhood density. Nonobject-nonword pairs were presented in a game format. Learning was measured in naming and referent identification tasks administered before, during, and 1 week after training.

Results - Results showed no differences in naming …

Adult And Child Semantic Neighbors Of The Kroll And Potter (1984) Nonobjects, Holly L. Storkel, Suzanne M. Adlof

Faculty Publications

Purpose - The purpose was to determine the number of semantic neighbors, namely semantic set size, for 88 nonobjects (J. F. Kroll & M. C. Potter, 1984) and determine how semantic set size related to other measures and age.

Method - Data were collected from 82 adults and 92 preschool children in a discrete association task. The nonobjects were presented via computer, and participants reported the first word that came to mind that was meaningfully related to the nonobject. Words reported by two or more participants were considered semantic neighbors. The strength of each neighbor was computed as the …

Beliefs And Behaviors Regarding Substance Use And Hiv Risk Among Men Who Have Sex With Men (Msm) In A Mid-Sized U.S. Community, David A. Patterson Silver Wolf (Adelv Unegv Waya) Phd, Martin Hall Mssw, Seana Golder Phd

Brown School Faculty Publications

This paper explores the beliefs and behaviors surrounding substance use and HIV risk among a convenience sample of 98 MSM in a mid-size community located in the central U.S. Several interesting patterns were identified in the descriptive analyses. Multivariate analysis identified two variables, belief that recreational drug use made sexual experiences better and reports that most MSM friends drank alcohol or took recreational drugs that were significant predictors of engagement in substance using behavior. Models accounted for 24% of the variance in drinking behavior and 15% of the variance in drug using behavior. Suggestions for HIV/AIDS prevention and intervention and …

What Do Young Adults Know About The Hiv/Aids Epidemic? Findings From A Population Based Study In Karachi, Pakistan., Syed Farid-Ul-Hasnain, Eva Johansson, Gunilla Krantz

Community Health Sciences

Background: HIVAIDS is spreading globally, hitting the younger generations. In Pakistan, the prevalence of HIV in high-risk subpopulations is five per cent or higher. This poses a serious threat of a generalised epidemic especially among the younger population. In the wake of HIVAIDS epidemic this is worrying as a well informed younger generation is crucial in restricting the spread of this epidemic. This study investigated Pakistani young adults' (male and female) knowledge and awareness of the HIV/AIDS disease. Methods: A population-based, cross-sectional study of 1,650 male and female adults aged 17-21 years living in Karachi was conducted using a structured …

The Importance Of Scale For Spatial-Confounding Bias And Precision Of Spatial Regression Estimators, Christopher J. Paciorek

Harvard University Biostatistics Working Paper Series

Increasingly, regression models are used when residuals are spatially correlated. Prominent examples include studies in environmental epidemiology to understand the chronic health effects of pollutants. I consider the effects of residual spatial structure on the bias and precision of regression coefficients, developing a simple framework in which to understand the key issues and derive informative analytic results. When the spatial residual is induced by an unmeasured confounder, regression models with spatial random effects and closely-related models such as kriging and penalized splines are biased, even when the residual variance components are known. Analytic and simulation results show how the bias …

Field Evaluation Of A Novel Exposure Assessment Strategy Using Respirable Coal Dust Exposures During Heat Plant Coal Receiving Operations, Timothy W. Batten

Theses and Dissertations

An exposure assessment strategy (EAS) determines the number of samples required to characterize an occupational health exposure’s acceptability. A novel EAS (AFIT-EAS) was developed with the objective of maximizing the sensitivity for detecting unacceptable exposures, while minimizing the total number of samples needed. The purpose of this field evaluation was to use data from a comprehensive sampling campaign (SC) to compare the AFIT-EAS with two commonly used EASs: the Occupational Safety and Health Administration’s (OSHA-EAS) and the American Industrial Hygiene Association’s (AIHA-EAS). 10 randomly sampled replicates were selected from the SC. The number of samples selected per replicate was in …

Validation D’Une Méthode D’Analyse Exploratoire De La Population Mycologique Par Utilisation De Trappes À Spores, Geneviève Marchand, Yves Cloutier, Carole Pépin, Daniel Drolet

Rapports de recherche scientifique

No abstract provided.

Controlling Hazardous Noise And Dust Within The Industrial Workforce Using A Simple Barrier, Daniel D. Sweeney

Theses and Dissertations

The United States Air Force (USAF) has experienced a dramatic increase in hearing loss claims since 2001. Additionally, many operations within the USAF expose personnel to hazardous dust levels. Likewise, the US mining industry has difficulties controlling hazardous noise and dust exposures in underground mining. Specifically, studies have shown that coal mine longwall shearer operators are routinely exposed to noise levels at 151 percent of the allowable dose and approximately 20 percent exceed regulatory dust levels. An above ground full scale model of the underground shearing operation was developed to test the feasibility of mounting a permanent partial barrier on …

Fate Of Libby Amphibole Fibers When Burning Contaminated Firewood, Tony Ward, Julie Faroni Hart, Terry M. Spear, Brienne J. Meyer, James S. Webber

Public and Community Health Sciences Faculty Publications

In Libby, Montana, over 70 years of mining amphibole-contaminated vermiculite has led to amphibole contamination in areas surrounding the abandoned mine and in other areas throughout the town. In addition to contaminated soils, tree bark has also been found to be contaminated with amphibole fibers throughout the Libby area. As residential woodstoves are the main source of home heating in Libby, the purpose of this study was to determine if amphibole fibers become liberated into the ambient air when amphibole-contaminated firewood is combusted.

Amphibole-contaminated firewood was combusted in new, EPA-certified stoves during three trials. The results of these trials showed …

The Prevalence And Determinants Of Health Risk Behaviors Among High School Students In Mexico, Nellie León

Loma Linda University Electronic Theses, Dissertations & Projects

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention report that despite health promotion efforts, adolescents continue to engage in behaviors that put them at risk for morbidity and mortality. Alcohol consumption, illicit drug use, smoking, and risky sexual behaviors are among the behaviors that contribute to leading causes of morbidity and mortality in youth; these four behaviors were explored in this study. An observational cross-sectional design was utilized. The Youth Risk Behavior Survey from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention was utilized to assess the prevalence of the four risk behaviors among high school students in Jalisco, Mexico. Items constructed …

Argument Structure Effects In Action Verb Naming In Static And Dynamic Conditions, Dirk B. Den Ouden, Steve Fix, Todd B. Parrish, Cynthia K. Thompson

Faculty Publications

Argument structure, as in the participant roles entailed within the lexical representation of verbs, affects verb processing. Recent neuroimaging studies show that when verbs are heard or read, the posterior temporoparietal region shows increased activation for verbs with greater versus lesser argument structure complexity, usually bilaterally. In addition, patients with agrammatic aphasia show verb production deficits, graded based on argument structure complexity. In the present study, we used fMRI to examine the neural correlates of verb production in overt action naming conditions. In addition, we tested the differential effects of naming when verbs were presented dynamically in video segments versus …

Cross-System Profile Of Maine's Long Term Support System: A New View Of Maine's Long Term Services And Supports And The People Served, Eileen Griffin Jd, Julie T. Fralich Mba, Catherine Mcguire Bs, Louise Olsen, Stuart Bratesman Mpp, Kathy Bubar, Romaine Turyn

Disability & Aging

This document provides a new way of looking at Maine's long term services and supports, with an emphasis on developing a common approach for describing and analyzing long term services and supports across programs. A conscious effort was made to organize this profile around the populations served rather than the programs serving them. For that reason, the profile captures information on all of the services accessed by each population group, not only those services administered by a particular program. This broader view provides important information about the full range of service utilization for each population group.

Educating And Informing Patients Receiving Psychopharmacological Medications: Are Family Physicians In Pakistan Up To The Task?, Hammad Ashraf Ganatra, Hadi Bhurgri, Roomasa Channa, Fauzia Ahmad Bawany, Syed Nabeel Zafar, Rafia Ishfaq Chaudhry, Syeda Hina Batool, Abdul Basit, Mehmood Asghar, Sarah Saleem, Haider Naqvi

Community Health Sciences

Introduction: Studies have shown a high prevalence of psychiatric illnesses among Patients in primary health care settings. Family physicians have a fundamental role in managing psychiatric illness with psychopharmacological medications. Providing information about the disease, its management and the potential adverse effects of the medications is an important part of the management of mental illnesses. Our objective was to determine if Patients who were prescribed psychopharmacological drugs by family physicians at a community health center in Karachi, Pakistan were provided adequate education about their disease and its management.
Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted at the Community Health Centre (CHC), …

Caractérisation Des Bioaérosols Par Écologie Microbienne Moléculaire, Caroline Duchaine, Valérie Létourneau, Benjamin Nehmé, Anne Mériaux, Yan Gilbert, Marc Veillette

Rapports de recherche scientifique

La santé des travailleurs a été abondamment étudiée et il est connu que les travailleurs des porcheries plus particulièrement peuvent développer des inflammations chroniques des voies respiratoires suite à l’inhalation de contaminants organiques, de gaz comme l’ammoniac provenant du lisier (NH ₃) ou le gaz carbonique (CO ₂) produit par l’activité des porcs. Pour documenter les causes de ces problèmes et y remédier, de nombreuses études ont été effectuées. Malheureusement il a toujours été difficile de faire le lien entre les causes et les effets. En effet, par le passé, pour étudier la biodiversité dans l’environnement, …

Approche Terrain Pour Rejoindre Et Sensibiliser Les Jeunes Travailleurs À La Sst, Élise Ledoux, Jean Bernier, Chloé Thuilier, Marie Laberge, Sophie Paquin-Collins

Rapports de recherche scientifique

Depuis une vingtaine d’années, plusieurs études ont mis en évidence le fait que les jeunes de moins de 25 ans se blessent suffisamment fréquemment au travail pour que cette situation devienne une préoccupation de santé publique, tant au Canada, aux États-Unis qu’en Europe. La CSST constate chaque année un taux d’incidence de lésions professionnelles chez les jeunes de 15 à 24 ans supérieur à leurs pairs plus âgés. Pour s’attaquer à cette problématique, la CSST lançait en 2001 son Plan d’action Jeunesse. En 2004, l’IRSST emboîte le pas en lançant l’Opération JeuneSST visant la planification, l’organisation et la mise en …

Mutual Information For Testing Gene-Environment Interaction

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Despite current enthusiasm for investigation of gene-gene interactions and gene-environment interactions, the essential issue of how to define and detect gene-environment interactions remains unresolved. In this report, we define gene-environment interactions as a stochastic dependence in the context of the effects of the genetic and environmental risk factors on the cause of phenotypic variation among individuals. We use mutual information that is widely used in communication and complex system analysis to measure gene-environment interactions. We investigate how gene-environment interactions generate the large difference in the information measure of gene-environment interactions between the general population and a diseased population, which motives …

What Language Are You Speaking? Why Patient Communication Is A Patient Safety Issue

Population Health Matters (Formerly Health Policy Newsletter)

No abstract provided.

Chronic Illness Care Education: Reflections On A Longitudinal Interprofessional Mentorship Experience, Lauren Collins Md, Christine A. Arenson Md, Christine Jerback Md, Richard Dressel, Patrick Kane, Reena Antony Mph, Jillian Necky, Ayo Oduneye

Population Health Matters (Formerly Health Policy Newsletter)

No abstract provided.

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Population Health Matters (Formerly Health Policy Newsletter)

No abstract provided.