Digital Commons Network^™

Health Equity: Communicating Impaired Water Status, Emily Potter

Virginia Journal of Public Health

Introduction: Land use changes in the Rivanna River and James River Watersheds have increased the number of impaired recreational waters, and there is a disparity in the equitable communication of these impairments to different populations. Ineffective communication contributes to inequities in access to safe, accessible, and affordable water for vulnerable populations, placing public health at risk.

Methods: This study uses secondary data from the Environmental Protection Agency’s Watershed Index Online (WSIO) Indicator Data Tables, Virginia Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ), Rivanna River Association, and James River Association. Correlations, linear regression, and percent change were used to identify statistically significant trends …

Addressing Farm Safety: Farm Safety Dinner Theaters In The Shenandoah Valley, Tammy Kiser, Michelle Seekford, Jeremy Daubert

Virginia Journal of Public Health

Statistics demonstrate that farm safety and wellness issues affect all ages in the agricultural community. However, an increased proportion of youth and older farm workers comprise the highest rates of farm-related morbidity and mortality. Engaging farmers in increasing safe practices in the agricultural community is an important, ongoing challenge.

Methodology

Farm Safety Dinner Theaters, an initiative created through community-based participatory research (CBPR) at the University of Kentucky, provide a relaxed environment where farmers and their families can identify safety and wellness issues, watch as the actors process these issues, and enjoy a meal. Seeing the situations played out in theater …

Mentorship Matters: Promising Results From Vpha’S Pilot Mentorship Program, Ashley Tharpe, Stacey B. Plichta, Anna R. Robertson, Kim Baskette

Virginia Journal of Public Health

Purpose

The Virginia Public Health Association (VPHA) Pilot Mentorship Program seeks to support public health students, early career professionals, and career switchers throughout the Commonwealth of Virginia in their growth as public health professionals. The program provides opportunities for participants to gain job-seeking and professional communication skills through live webinars, to connect with each other through online networking events, to manage stress through wellness webinars, and to interact with experienced public health professionals.

Methods

VPHA formed a volunteer committee to develop and implement the program in Fall 2022. Initially, the program was envisioned as a traditional one-to-one mentoring program; however, …

Determinants Of Implementation For Group Medical Visits For Patients With Chronic Pain: A Systematic Review, Isabel Roth, Malik Tiedt, Carrie Brintz, Ariana Thompson-Lastad, Gayla Ferguson, Erum Agha, Jennifer Holcomb, Paula Gardiner, Jennifer Leeman

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

BACKGROUND: Despite the critical need for comprehensive and effective chronic pain care, delivery of such care remains challenging. Group medical visits (GMVs) offer an innovative and efficient model for providing comprehensive care for patients with chronic pain. The purpose of this systematic review was to identify barriers and facilitators (determinants) to implementing GMVs for adult patients with chronic pain.

METHODS: The review included peer-reviewed studies reporting findings on implementation of GMVs for chronic pain, inclusive of all study designs. Pubmed, EMBASE, Web of Science, and Cochrane Library were searched. Studies of individual appointments or group therapy were excluded. The Mixed …

Knowledge, Health Beliefs, And Attitudes Toward Dementia Risk Reduction Among Rural Older Adults: A Qualitative Study, Jayanti Ray

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Dementia, characterized by compromised memory, reasoning, and problem-solving, is one of the major health concerns for older adults in rural areas. Literature has indicated that there are gaps in knowledge about what older adults in rural communities know about dementia and its risk factors. The purpose of this qualitative study was to explore the knowledge, health beliefs, and attitudes toward dementia and its risk factors among older adults in rural areas. This study aimed to determine gaps in older adults’ knowledge of dementia and its risk factors and to identify their understanding of lifestyle factors and strategies that were likely …

Assessing Health Needs In A Dominican Republic Community During An Interprofessional Service-Learning Trip, Gabriela Andonie, Hanna Rotundo, Ashanti Jones, Logan Dugas, Shylon Francis

Journal of Interprofessional Practice and Collaboration

Purpose: International medical missions may increase access to medicines and care, but international teams must understand local needs to implement appropriate services. In 2023, a multidisciplinary team from our institution partnered with a nonprofit organization in the barrio of Cienfuegos, Dominican Republic with the goal of strengthening local health services. The primary objective of this study was to identify health-related needs in Cienfuegos from the perspective of community members and local health care workers.

Methods: A qualitative study was conducted as part of a service-learning initiative. After obtaining informed consent, the investigators conducted individual semi-structured interviews facilitated by multi-lingual interpreters. …

The Covid-19 Vaccine Challenge Innovation Sprint: The Utility Of Active Learning In Fostering Interdisciplinary Collaboration In The Hypothetical Development Of A Covid-19 Vaccination Campaign, Jennifer Shaffer Foster, Gabriel N. Attallah, Ritika Bhajiawala, Steven J. Gabriel, Ray Huang, Parveen Attai, Maisha Rahman, Maia Weiss, Sadia M. Rifah, Oluwademilade Daniel Aguda, Dean S. Seneca, Lina Mu

The SUNY Journal of the Scholarship of Engagement: JoSE

In this paper, we discuss the design, goals, and outcome of the COVID-19 Vaccine Challenge Innovation Sprint, which provided an extracurricular, active learning opportunity for undergraduate and graduate students in Fall 2020. The design of the competition drew elements from both innovation sprints, commonly employed in technology and entrepreneurship, and global health case competitions which are largely used in academic settings. Interdisciplinary, multi-level teams of students were tasked with advancing an equitable (and at the time, hypothetical) COVID-19 immunization program with the goal of reaching as many people as possible in the region surrounding the university. We provide student participants’ …

Occupational Fatality Surveillance Data: Communication Issues, Misunderstandings, And Misuses, Roger C. Jensen

Safety Health & Industrial Hygiene

Every occupational fatality is a tragedy for the person, family, fellow employees, and the employer. Efforts for preventing these deaths involve a multi-faceted approach, one of which is tracking the cases in order to increase understanding of the circumstances involved in the fatal incident. In the United States, the Bureau of Labor Statistics maintains an extensive collection of data on occupational fatalities and publishes the information in multi-page spreadsheets. When properly used, fatality data can be useful for setting research priorities and documenting the importance of particular fatality-related subject matter. For justifying research on prevention, the most useful data involves …

Urgent Care Program Influences On An Integrated Health Care System, Craig H. Carter

Dissertations and Theses

The Veterans Health Administration (VHA) is the most extensive integrated health care delivery system in the world with over 20,000 physicians, 1,600 facilities, and more than 400,000 employees, caring for nine million veterans. The health care provided covers traditional outpatient and hospital-based services such as primary care, surgery, critical care, mental health, orthopedics, pharmacy, radiology, and physical therapy. Most VHA facilities offer additional medical and surgical specialties such as audiology, speech pathology, dermatology, dental, geriatrics, urology, oncology, podiatry, prosthetics, and vision care. Some of the more extensive VHA facilities offer advanced health care services, such as organ transplants and plastic …

Mainehealth Cancer Care Network Ticket Intake Process, Lauren Couture, Brett Cropp, Gavin Carr, Ashok Kunche, Heather Boulier, Evelyn Taylor

Operations Transformation

The MaineHealth Cancer Care Network informatics team is manually submitting most reporting tickets for oncology customers. The current intake ticket process includes various communication channels to the business intelligence developers [BID] when a reporting need is identified resulting in workflow deficiencies and redundancies. As of FY23, MaineHealth has moved to a new ticket reporting system called ServiceHub which includes new customer self-service tools that have not yet been utilized.

Disasters And Impacts In Appalachian Kentucky: A Behavioral Health Analysis, Walter David Mathews Phd, Joseph M. Clark, Amy S. Potts

Journal of Appalachian Health

Introduction: Major disasters continue to occur in Appalachian Kentucky with devastating consequences. A major disaster, defined by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) as an event too large for a community to manage without outside help, involves emergency responders from the local, state, and federal disaster agencies, plus national volunteers.

Purpose: This paper reports on recent disasters in eight southeast Kentucky counties, the changing nature of these disasters, and the behavioral health impact on the people affected.

Methods: In this large-scale disaster survey in the Appalachian counties in Southeast Kentucky, over 3,500 people were asked about their recent disaster experiences …

A Microcosting Approach For Planning And Implementing Community-Based Mental Health Prevention Program: What Does It Cost?, Sharmily Roy, Henry Shelton Brown, Lisa Sanger Blinn, Sarah Carter Narendorf, Jane E Hamilton

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

BACKGROUND: Estimating program costs when planning community-based mental health programs can be burdensome. Our aim was to retrospectively document the cost for the first year of planning and implementing Healthy Minds Healthy Communities (HMHC), a mental health promotion and prevention multi-level intervention initiative. This Program is among the first to use the Community Initiated Care (CIC) model in the US and is aimed at building community resilience and the capacity for communities to provide mental health support, particularly among those disproportionately impacted by COVID-19. Our objective is to share our methods for costing a program targeting 10 zip codes that …

Lay Advisor Interventions For Hypertension Outcomes: A Systematic Review, Meta-Analysis And A Re-Aim Evaluation, Sonal J. Patil, Leila Bushweller, Eno-Obong Udoh, Irina Todorov, Robert Saper, Kurt C. Stange, Shari Bolen

Faculty Scholarship

Introduction: Lay advisor interventions improve hypertension outcomes; however, the added benefits and relevant factors for their widespread implementation into health systems are unknown. We performed a systematic review to: (1) summarize the benefits of adding lay advisors to interventions on hypertension outcomes, and (2) summarize factors associated with successful implementation in health systems using the Reach, Effectiveness, Adoption, Implementation, Maintenance (RE-AIM) framework. Methods: We systematically searched several databases, including Ovid MEDLINE, CINAHL, PsycINFO from January 1981 to May 2023. All study designs of interventions delivered solely by lay advisors for adults with hypertension were eligible. If both arms received the …

Supporting South Korea’S Aging Population: How Ai And Iot Acceptance Connects The Young And Old, Bobby Im

Master's Projects and Capstones

In 2024, South Korea surpassed every other nation by becoming the country with the lowest fertility rate (below 0.7%). Population decline will hinder future ability to care for their aging population and although the government and private corporations are investing millions of dollars on developing Artificial Intelligence-Internet of Things (AI-IoT) devices to support the aging, the acceptance levels and the amount of family support required is undervalued. By examining AI-IoT’s current use and role in South Korea’s public health system this paper shows how intergenerational support helps optimize existing procedures and equipment, increases the level of acceptance and use, and …

Lyme Disease In The Northeast: The Unintended Consequence Of Suburban Development, Hayden Neubert

Student Theses 2015-Present

This paper addresses the role of suburban development in the suburbs of the Northeastern United States in increasing human Lyme disease infection. Over the past 50 years, Lyme disease has become the most common vector-borne disease in the United States. In 2021, the two states with the most Lyme disease cases were New York and New Jersey, with a collective 6,524 cases, with Connecticut still representing 541 total cases. It is not a coincidence that case numbers are concentrated in suburban areas with high forest fragmentation. Chapter 1 of this essay analyzes how human land development disrupts bioregulatory ecosystem actors …

Artistic Expression Of Medical Experiences Of Mothers Of Color: Perspectives Using Art Therapy, Lauren Barrett

Expressive Therapies Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to qualitatively examine perspectives of mothers of color living in the US and their experiences in the healthcare system through art therapy. The study aimed to further identify personal narrative experiences of mothers of color navigating the healthcare system, promote individual voices, and acknowledge disparities impacting those within marginalized communities. The participants in this study included a total of eight identified mothers of color (non-White) living in the US. Participants took part in four weeks of consecutive art therapy sessions either in 60-minute group or individual virtual meetings. One art therapy directive was provided …

What Is The Effect Of Telehealth And The Internet Of Medical Things (Iomt) On Outcomes When Used In At-Risk Pregnancies: A Scoping Review Of The Components Of Remote Maternal Monitoring For Hypertensive Disorders That Can Successfully Be Done Via Digital Technology?, Leighton Pitter

MUSC Theses and Dissertations

IoMT (Internet of Medical Things) is an emerging technology that facilitates individualized remote e-health services to improve patient's quality of life and satisfaction while decreasing healthcare expenditures. The objective of this scoping review is to explore the usage of IoMT and remote patient monitoring (RPM) in at-risk pregnancies for hypertensive disorders to mitigate pregnancy-related complications. IoMT and other devices in an intelligent health system can meaningfully ameliorate maternal care management in the United States (U.S.). Wearables and nearables, subcategories of IoMT, can be utilized to facilitate patient-centered care and promote excellence in health maintenance/management through a holistic continuum of care …

Impact Of Temperature On Children’S Nutrition: A Comparative Study Of Three Ecological Regions Of Nepal, Prakriti Shakya

Master's Theses

Nutrition obtained during the growth period of childhood significantly influences long-term well-being and overall productivity, ultimately contributing to the economy of a society. However, weather shocks can wreak havoc by damaging crops, changing yields of important crops and disrupting market access, which directly impacts the food intake of both adults and children. When these adverse events occur during childhood, short term and long term inadequacy in nutrition as well as disease incidence can cause malnutrition leading to stunted growth and cognitive impairment that may persist into adulthood, affecting the labor market and increasing health expenditure. To address this issue, we …

Implementation Of Lymphedema Education Toolkit For Nurse Coordinators, Heather Gee

Master's Projects and Capstones

Problem: Lymphedema is a chronic condition that develops secondary to cancer treatments such as chemotherapy, radiation, and surgical removal of affected lymph nodes. This swelling in patient’s limbs can cause discomfort and limit mobility, however lymphedema is often not detected until later stages, delaying treatment and patient education.

Context: This quality improvement project was conducted at Hospital S Women’s Cancer Center, an outpatient center specializing in advanced treatments for breast and gynecological cancers. This center has a multidisciplinary team focusing on both the medical and surgical aspects of oncology treatment.

Interventions: An evidence-based lymphedema education toolkit was created for nurse …

Development Of An Endometriosis Toolkit To Support Clinicians In Providing Quality Care For Women, Rachel Hasbun

Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) Projects

Abstract

Background: Endometriosis is the abnormal growth of endometrium-like tissue outside the uterine cavity, affecting approximately 11% of women in the United States during their reproductive years. Diagnostic challenges stem from its varied clinical presentations, reliance on laparoscopy for definitive diagnosis, and limited awareness among practitioners and patients, potentially leading to diagnostic delays of up to 13 years.

Problem: The complexities of diagnosing endometriosis in primary care and specialty settings, combined with limited provider awareness and a lack of comprehensive resources, hinder timely and accurate identification. This leads to suboptimal treatment and care for women affected by the condition.

Methods: …

An Interpretive Phenomenological Analysis Exploring African American Women’S Perceptions Of Access To Healthcare In The Midwest, Ramona D. Benson

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The purpose of this interpretive phenomenological study was to explore access to healthcare through the lens and lived experiences of African American Women (AAW) in Midwestern towns throughout the United States. African American women and other people of low socio-economic backgrounds continue to live with poorer health outcomes than many of their counterparts African American Women experience barriers to healthcare from a unique perspective than their White counterparts. Although medical professionals endeavor to attain equal treatment among each of their patients, significant healthcare disparities are prevalent among AAW Commonly recognized ethnic stereotypes are not always intentionally supported, however, their mere …

Addressing Mental Health In Young Adults: A Modern Approach Compared To Previous Generations, Breeha A. Shah

DePaul Journal of Health Care Law

The escalating prevalence of mental health issues among today's young adults underscores the vital importance of addressing mental health in the pursuit of public health objectives. In response to this, The House Education and Labor Committee issued a report on the Mental Health Services for Students Act of 2020 (the Act), to amend the Public Health Service Act relating to school children. This revision seeks to bolster the support for students and young people by ensuring their access to comprehensive mental health programs within the school environment. The Act recognizes that safeguarding mental health is an immediate concern for public …

Let's Talk About Sex & Prep: District 2 Does!, Chrissa M. Shaffer

Georgia Public Health Association Annual Meeting & Conference

Defining what a PrEP Service Program entails and how it could benefit your district or county health center. Discussing methods that have been used to set up PrEP Services within a district – including training, resources, and promotion. Identifying the challenges and working through them. Reviewing the results of the PrEP Services over the past year, and the ongoing goals to encourage and increase our PrEP Services.

The Future Of Public Health: Developing The Workforce Through Public Health Americorps, Kristi James

Georgia Public Health Association Annual Meeting & Conference

The American Public Health Association (APHA) and its Alliance for Disease Prevention and Response worked closely with the Public Health AmeriCorps program (PHACP), CDC and AmeriCorps on a set of activities which strengthen workforce capacity. Within APHA and its Alliance for Disease Prevention and Response team, the assigned project consists of providing opportunities for Public Health AmeriCorps members and grantees to make new connections and increase engagement with those in the field. The overall goal of the project is to address the critical need for public health professionals by supporting the recruitment, training, and development of the next generation of …

Novel Tetrazolium-Based Colorimetric Assay For Helicase Nsp13 In Sars-Cov-2, Triet M. Pham, Morgan G. Howard, Shane M. Carey, Lindsey R. Baker, Edward L. D'Antonio

Natural Sciences Faculty Publications

Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) is a human pathogenic virus that encodes for a helicase (SC2Hel) that is essential for viral replication. SC2Hel has the ability to unravel dsRNA or dsDNA in an NTP-dependent manner from the 5′ to 3′ directionality. The standard helicase assay from studies involving SARS-CoV and SARS-CoV-2 have relied on the concept of fluorescence resonance energy transfer. Adding to the collection of helicase assays, herein, we have developed a novel tetrazolium-based colorimetric assay system for the detection of ADP that is produced via SC2Hel activity. This SC2Hel assay combines three enzyme-coupled steps involving the …

Casar Auc Community Only Lecture: Men, Women’S Body Autonomy & Gbv Crimes In Egypt, Us & Canada: Why Men Need To Step Up For The Education Of Women's Body Autonomy, The Prince Alwaleed Center For American Studies And Research Casar

Performances, Events, and Presentations

This was a hybrid CASAR AUC community only lecture titled: ‘Men, Women’s Body Autonomy & GBV crimes in Egypt, US & Canada’: Why men need to step up for the education of women’s body autonomy.

This lecture featured Tadwein from Egypt, Women’s Advocates from the US & London Abused Women's Counseling Center from Canada (via Zoom). This lecture was part of course AMST 1091 ‘Exploring Feminist Perspectives in Egypt & the US’ (core curriculum pathways two- American studies) taught by Yasmeen El-Ghazaly, CASAR Assistant to Director & Adjunct Faculty - Wednesday May 15th, 2024

The lecture pondered on the following …

When A Health Insurance Provider Says “No”: A Health Insurance Claim Navigation Tool, Dorothy Nuckols, Catherine Sorenson

Journal of Extension

The purpose of health insurance is to pay for preventative and nonpreventative health care. Unfortunately, claim denials are frequent and most people do not contested these denials. Consumers lack both knowledge and self-efficacy to challenge their health insurance decision. Conflict is stressful can occur when a health insurance claim is denied unexpectedly. Faced with uncertainty of health care cost coverage, consumers are more likely to delay or forgo healthcare and jeopardize their health. To address this challenge, increase awareness of claim appeal processes and to provide consumer guidance, [STATE] Extension developed a Health Insurance Claim Navigation Tool.

Knowledge And Attitude Of Lebanese Adults Towards Asthma In Beirut, Lebanon, Farah Hatem Haidar, Doaa Issa, Maha Aboul Ela, Karim Raafat

BAU Journal - Health and Wellbeing

Asthma, a serious global health problem, has been an area of interest due to its increasing prevalence, expanding treatment costs, and rising burden on patients and the community. Since asthma cannot be cured, clinical episodes can be prevented and controlled by adequate management and sufficient knowledge of the disease. Appropriate treatment may relieve asthma symptoms and improve quality of life. However, poor knowledge of asthma disease and medication use, misdiagnoses, misuse of inhalers and inadequate self-management of disease symptoms may have a greater impact on the disease process. Therefore, assessment of the population’s knowledge and attitude toward asthma is essential. …

Pour Une Diffusion Éthique Des Connaissances De La Médecine Traditionnelle: L’Intersection De La Culture Yoruba Et Des Besoins Médicaux, Isabel Sala

CISLA Senior Integrative Projects

No abstract provided.

Unrestricted Versus Regulated Open Data Governance: A Bibliometric Comparison Of Sars-Cov-2 Nucleotide Sequence Databases, Nathanael Sheehan, Federico Botta, Sabina Leonelli

Copyright, Fair Use, Scholarly Communication, etc.

Two distinct modes of data governance have emerged in accessing and reusing viral data pertaining to COVID-19: an unrestricted model, espoused by data repositories part of the International Nucleotide Sequence Database Collaboration and a regulated model promoted by the Global Initiative on Sharing All Influenza data. In this paper, we focus on publications mentioning either infrastructure in the period between January 2020 and January 2023, thus capturing a period of acute response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Through a variety of bibliometric and network science methods, we compare the extent to which either data infrastructure facilitated collaboration from different countries around …