Digital Commons Network^™

Cranial Deformation As The Cause Of Death For A Child From The Chillon River Valley, Peru, Shelia M.F. Medoncade Souza, Karl J. Reinhard, Andrea Lessa

Karl Reinhard Publications

Two small mummy bundles, found in a tomb at the Chillon River Valley, Lima Plains, Peru exist in the collections of the Museu Nacional, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. They were donated to the collections at the beginning of the 20th century. A multidisciplinary team is now curating and studying them. CT scans confirmed both skeletons were of individuals less than one year old at death. One of the bundles is intact and will be preserved and displayed. The other one was partly decomposed and the authors received permission to unwrap it to analyze the bones in details. Mites and pollen …

Effects Of Cold Weather On Mortality: Results From 15 European Cities Within The Phewe Project, Antonis Analitis, Klea Katsouyanni, Annibale Biggeri, Michela Baccini, Bertil Forsberg Bertil Forsberg, Luigi Bisanti, Ursula Kirchmayer, Ferran Ballester, Ennio Cadum, Patrick J. Goodman, Ana Hojs, J. Sunyer, Pekka Tiittanen, Paola Michelozzi

Articles

Weather-related health effects have attracted renewed interest because of the observed and predicted climate change. The authors studied the short-term effects of cold weather on mortality in 15 European cities. The effects of minimum apparent temperature on cause- and age-specific daily mortality were assessed for the cold season (October-March) by using data from 1990-2000. For city-specific analysis, the authors used Poisson regression and distributed lag models, controlling for potential confounders. Meta-regression models summarized the results and explored heterogeneity. A 1 degrees C decrease in temperature was associated with a 1.35% (95% confidence interval (CI): 1.16, 1.53) increase in the daily …

Periodontal Disease And Diabetes: Knowledge And Attitudes Assessment Project

Florida Public Health Review

There is a growing body of evidence showing that periodontal disease is more prevalent among diabetic patients than among non-diabetic patients. This same evidence also shows that the more poorly controlled the diabetes, the more severe the periodontal disease. However, it is unclear if the increased risk of periodontal disease is known by the diabetes community. Two hundred diabetic patients voluntarily participated in an intervention to increase the diabetic patient’s knowledge of and attitudes toward periodontal disease. The study was conducted at the University of Miami-Jackson Memorial Hospital’s Diabetes Research Institute (DRI) during the month of May 2005. The purpose …

Pregnancy Intentions And Happiness Among Pregnant Black Women At High Risk For Adverse Infant Health Outcomes, Susan M. Blake, Michele Kiely, Charlotte C. Gard, Ayman El-Mohandes, M. Nabil El-Khorazaty, Nih-Dc Initiative

Publications and Research

CONTEXT:Unintended pregnancy is associated with risk behaviors and increased morbidity or mortality for mothers and infants, but a woman's feelings about pregnancy may be more predictive of risk and health outcomes than her intentions.

METHODS: A sample of 1,044 black women who were at increased risk were enrolled at prenatal care clinics in the District of Columbia in 2001-2003. Bivariate and multivariate analyses assessed associations between pregnancy intentions or level of happiness about being pregnant and multiple psychosocial and behavioral risk factors, and identified correlates of happiness to be pregnant.

RESULTS: Pregnancy intentions and happiness were strongly associated, but …

Effect Of Endothelin 1 Genotype On Blood Pressure Is Dependent On Physical Activity Or Fitness Levels, Tuomo Rankinen, Timothy S. Church, Treva Rice, Nathan Markward, Arthur S. Leon, Dabeeru C. Rao, James S. Skinner, Steven N. Blair, Claude Bouchard

Faculty Publications

Contributions of the DNA sequence variation at the endothelin 1 locus to the risk of hypertension and to endurance training-induced changes in blood pressure were investigated in the Aerobics Center Longitudinal Study and the Health, Risk Factors, Exercise Training and Genetics Family Study cohorts. We identified 586 normotensive control subjects and 607 incident hypertensive case subjects from the Aerobics Center Longitudinal Study cohort (all whites) who were normotensive and healthy at their first clinical visit. The case subjects were diagnosed with hypertension during an average follow-up of 9.5 years, whereas the control subjects remained normotensive. The allele and genotype frequencies …

Ua12/2/1 College Heights Herald, Vol. 83, No. 19, Wku Student Affairs

WKU Administration Documents

WKU campus newspaper reporting campus, athletic and Bowling Green, Kentucky news

Loop Analysis Of Causal Feedback In Epidemiology: An Illustration Relating To Urban Neighborhoods And Resident Depressive Experiences, Alexis Dinno

Community Health Faculty Publications and Presentations

The causal feedback implied by urban neighborhood conditions that shape human health experiences, that in turn shape neighborhood conditions through a complex causal web, raises a challenge for traditional epidemiological causal analyses. This article introduces the loop analysis method, and builds off of a core loop model linking neighborhood property vacancy rate, resident depressive symptoms, rate of neighborhood death, and rate of neighborhood exit in a feedback network. I justify and apply loop analysis to the specific example of depressive symptoms and abandoned urban residential property to show how inquiries into the behavior of causal systems can answer different kinds …

Inference On Overlapping Coefficients In Two Exponential Populations, Mohammad F. Al-Saleh, Hani M. Samawi

Biostatistics: Faculty Publications

Three measures of overlap, namely Matusita’s measureρ , Morisita’s measure λ and Weitzman’s measure Δ are investigated in this article for two exponential populations with different means. It is well that the estimators of those measures of overlap are biased. The bias is of these estimators depends on the unknown overlap parameters. There are no closed-form, exact formulas, for those estimators variances or their exact sampling distributions. Monte Carlo evaluations are used to study the bias and precision of the proposed overlap measures. Bootstrap method and Taylor series approximation are used to construct confidence intervals for the overlap measures.

Field Assessment Of A Model Tuberculosis Outbreak Response Plan For Low-Incidence Areas, Laura Freimanis Hance, Karen R. Steingart, Christine G. Hahn, Lisa Pascopella, Charles M. Nolan

Public and Community Health Sciences Faculty Publications

Background: For a regional project in four low-incidence states, we designed a customizable tuberculosis outbreak response plan. Prior to dissemination of the plan, a tuberculosis outbreak occurred, presenting an opportunity to perform a field assessment of the plan. The purpose of the assessment was to ensure that the plan included essential elements to help public health professionals recognize and respond to outbreaks.

Methods: We designed a semi-structured questionnaire and interviewed all key stakeholders involved in the response. We used common themes to assess validity of and identify gaps in the plan. A subset of participants provided structured feedback on the …

Clinical Skills Day: Preparing Third Year Medical Students For The Rural Rotation, Gwen Wagstrom Halaas, Therese M. Zink, Kathleen D. Brooks, J. Miller

Family Medicine Faculty Publications

Introduction: In order to prepare third year medical students in the Rural Physician Associate Program for a nine-month community-based continuity care experience in rural Minnesota, USA, a clinical skills day that featured human patient simulators and standardized patients was developed. Patients presenting with common urgent and routine primary-care problems were developed and presented using the objective structured clinical examination for teaching. The goals of the day were to: (1) distinguish urgent from non-urgent clinical presentation; (2) use clinical guidelines for making decisions; (3) communicate effectively in stressful situations; and (4) uncover a significant clinical issue with a different presenting complaint. …

Air Toxics Under The Big Sky – A High School Science Teaching Tool, David Jones, Tony Ward, Diana Vanek, Nancy Marra, Curtis W. Noonan, Garon Smith, Earle Adams

Public and Community Health Sciences Faculty Publications

A project has been developed between Big Sky High School and The University of Montana (UM) which has brought together high school students and teachers, university scientists, and county environmental health officials in a multilayered research experience focusing on the collection and analysis of specific air toxics, and investigating their relationship to respiratory diseases. The Air Toxics Under the Big Sky project allows students to benefit from an independent experience linking science, research, and local environmental issues. We see this as a long term project which will be built upon and expanded by future students during each new school year …

Mrsa Prevention And Control In County Correctional Facilities In The Greater Dayton Area, Jeffrey Allen Webb

Master of Public Health Program Student Publications

Recently there has been an increasing number of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) cases in correctional facilities around the country, including the Greater Dayton area. Considering the potential health impact of MRSA on correctional facilities it is important that facilities have prevention and control protocols in place. This study summarizes the prevention and control preparedness activities of county correctional facilities in the Greater Dayton area. The positive response rates for the control measures were 88.4% for screening, 83.6% for treatment, 80.6% for personal hygiene, 95.4% for environmental control, 80.4% for education and 84.3% for standard precautions. The study also compared rural …

Local And National Health Advancement Using The Power Of Sport In South Africa, Lisa Zook

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

South Africa currently suffers greatly from disease and poverty. In particular, the country has a remarkably high prevalence of HIV/AIDS. This study looks at how the popularity of sport is being used to combat these social and health concerns. Many believe the power of sport is one means by which educational messages can be communicated to the public. Over a period of one month, three different sports related non-governmental organizations (NGOs) were examined. Two of the organizations, PeacePlayers International, which uses basketball to teach HIV/AIDS education and personal development, and loveLife Games, which uses sport to attract youth to their …

Health Literacy Levels Among Adult Support Group Members And The General Adult Public : A Focus Group Approach, Daniel R. Czech, June Alberto, A. Barry Joyner

Journal of the Georgia Public Health Association

Health literacy has been identified as lacking in 47% of Americans (The National Academies, 2004). While health literacy reports of studies conducted in the southern section of the United States are available (DeWalt et al., 2004; Kennen et al. 2005), this research team found limited research that provides health literacy levels of the southeast, rural Georgia population. The purpose of this exploratory study was to examine and compare health literacy of health-related support group members and non group members in southeast Georgia utilizing a focus group methodology developed by Kreuger (1994). After Institutional Review Board approval at a local university, …

Risk Factors For Hiv Transmission Among Hispanic Men Who Have Sex With Men In Atlanta, Valerie A. Hepburn, Denyse N. Nanan

Journal of the Georgia Public Health Association

This study assessed and compared demographic factors, psychosocial factors, health seeking behavior, and sexual practices of two convenience samples of Hispanic/Latino gay men and men who have sex with men (MSM) in the metropolitan Atlanta region. The aim was to obtain data on emerging HIV/AIDS patterns in this group. Bilingual surveys were conducted in 2000 and 2006 at local gay bars. Discrepancies observed between HIV/AIDS knowledge and sexual behaviors in 2000 were replicated in 2006. Contrary to expected improvements due to enhanced HIV/AIDS education and awareness, risk behavior for HIV/STDs increased significantly between 2000 and 2006. These findings should inform …

Children's Behavioral Health Services In Baltimore: Walking The Continuum, Jennifer Ryan

National Health Policy Forum

This site visit explored the range of behavioral health services available for children in the city of Baltimore and in the state more broadly. Like many states, the policy community in Maryland has been working hard to meet the challenges of providing an effective continuum of care in the context of complex financing incentives and an overburdened educational and public health care system. Several promising practices have emerged, including the Wraparound practice model that offers individualized, comprehensive services and natural supports to achieve a positive set of outcomes for the child and family. The wraparound model incorporates both traditional services …

Ua12/2/1 College Heights Herald, Vol. 83, No. 8, Wku Student Affairs

WKU Administration Documents

WKU campus newspaper reporting campus, athletic and Bowling Green, Kentucky news.

Patient Involvement In Patient Safety: What Factors Influence Patient Participation And Engagement?, Rachel Davis, Rosamond Jacklin, Nick Sevdalis, Charles A. Vincent

Faculty Publications

BACKGROUND: Patients can play an important role in improving patient safety by becoming actively involved in their health care. However, there is a paucity of empirical data on the extent to which patients take on such a role. In order to encourage patient participation in patient safety we first need to assess the full range of factors that may be implicated in such involvement. OBJECTIVE: To delineate factors that could affect the participation of the patient in quality and safety issues in their health care. METHOD: Literature review of patient involvement in health care, drawing from direct evidence (specifically from …

Classifying Foods In Contexts: How Adults Categorize Foods For Different Eating Settings, Christine E. Blake, Carole A. Bisogni, Jeffrey Sobal, Carol M. Devine, Margaret M. Jastran

Faculty Publications

This project examined adults' food cognitions by applying schema theory to explain how adults categorized foods for different contexts. Qualitative interviews and repeated card sort activities for different eating contexts were conducted to elicit as many food categories as possible form 42 US adults. Participants labeled card sort piles with their own words, providing 991 card sort labels. Qualitative analysis of the labels resulted in the emergence of 12 category types. Personal-experience-based types were specific to the individual (e.g., Preference). Context-based types were related to situational aspects of eating episodes (e.g., Location). Food-based types were related to intrinsic properties of …

The Influence Of Ambient Lighting Levels On Postural Sway In Healthy Children Ages 9 To 11, Yvette Blanchard, Rebecca Mcveigh, Megan Graham, Melissa Cadet, Kabulo Mwilambwe, Christi Scott

All PTHMS Faculty Publications

The purpose of this study was to determine whether postural sway in healthy children varied in different levels of ambient lighting. Twelve boys and 26 girls with a mean age of 118 months stood on a force platform under three conditions: eyes closed, eyes opened in regular light (200 lx) and eyes opened in dim light (3 lx). Analysis of variance and pairwise comparisons revealed significantly more postural sway with the eyes closed condition compared to the regular and dim light conditions but no differences between the regular and dim light conditions. While our results on postural sway during the …

Physical Activity And Public Health: Updated Recommendation For Adults From The American College Of Sports Medicine And The American Heart Association, William L. Haskell, I-Min Lee, Russell R. Pate, Kenneth E. Powell, Steven N. Blair, Barry A. Franklin, Caroline A. Macera, Gregory W. Heath, Paul D. Thompson, Adrian Bauman

Faculty Publications

Summary - In 1995 the American College of Sports Medicine and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention published national guidelines on Physical Activity and Public Health. The Committee on Exercise and Cardiac Rehabilitation of the American Heart Association endorsed and supported these recommendations. The purpose of the present report is to update and clarify the 1995 recommendations on the types and amounts of physical activity needed by healthy adults to improve and maintain health. Development of this document was by and expert panel of scientists, including physicians, epidemiologists, exercise scientists, and public health specialists. This panel reviewed advances in …

Correcting Instrumental Variables Estimators For Systematic Measurement Error, Stijn Vansteelandt, Manoochehr Babanezhad, Els Goetghebeur

Harvard University Biostatistics Working Paper Series

No abstract provided.

Medicare's Use Of Risk Adjustment, Gerald F. Kominski

National Health Policy Forum

Medicare accounts for expected differences in resource needs of patients or health plan enrollees by risk-adjusting the payments it makes to health care facilities, such as hospitals, skilled nursing facilities, and home health agencies, and the premiums it pays to health plans. Risk adjustment is intended to ensure that payments or premiums are adequate for patients or plan enrollees who require more resources than average in order to protect beneficiary access as well as the financial condition of the provider or plan. At the same time, risk adjustment lowers payments or premiums for beneficiaries who are expected to use fewer …

Medicaid And State Budgets: Clearing Storm, Foggy Forecast, Courtney Burke

National Health Policy Forum

This issue brief examines the recent history and trends in state budgets and considers how those trends have influenced the role of the Medicaid program. The paper offers several indicators for predicting the future of states’ fiscal standing, cautioning that, although the “stormy” period from 2001 to 2003 is over, states face many challenges in the near future. This issue brief also poses several questions regarding the appropriate roles of state and federal governments in administering the Medicaid program. These questions become particularly important as the population ages and states increasingly take the lead in developing solutions for covering the …

A Model For Preventing Anorexia In College Students, Laura Ann Negin

Loma Linda University Electronic Theses, Dissertations & Projects

The prevalence of anorexia nervosa in the general population is relatively low, but anorexia is at the forefront of health concerns because of its seriousness. Unhealthy weight loss has numerous physical, psychological, and social consequences. Most seriously, the mortality rate for people with eating disorders is the highest of all the major psychiatric disorders.

This dissertation presents a model for preventing anorexia nervosa in a population of college students that includes a comprehensive institutional approach, psychoeducational software, a high-risk population, a holistic approach that identifies an individual’s personal risk factors and protective factors, and individual therapy.

The model is built …

Predictors Of Emotional Reactions In Women Treated For Breast Cancer, Erin E. Ramirez

Loma Linda University Electronic Theses, Dissertations & Projects

Breast cancer can be a devastating disease that impacts a woman in all spheres of her life (Ingram, 1989). Previous studies have examined the impact of breast cancer on body satisfaction, as well as the impact on emotional well-being. Studies have also examined the role of the coping style that a woman engages in response to the diagnosis and treatment of breast cancer in the woman's psychological adjustment to the disease. However, to date, no research has introduced and tested a multifaceted model.

The purpose of this study was to develop a model predicting psychological maladjustment in women treated for …

Agreement Between Student-Reported And Proxy-Reported Physical Activity Questionnaires, Marsha Dowda, Russell R. Pate, James F. Sallis, Patty S. Freedson, Wendell C. Taylor, John R. Sirard, Stewart G. Trost

Faculty Publications

Parents and 531 students (46% males, 78% white) completed equivalent questionnaires. Agreement between student and parent responses to questions about hypothesized physical activity (PA) correlates was assessed. Relationships between hypothesized correlates and an objective measure of student's moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA) in a subset of 177 students were also investigated. Agreement between student and parent ranged from r=.34 to .64 for PA correlates. Spearman correlations between MVPA and PA correlates ranged from -.04 to .21 for student report and -.14 to .32 for parent report, and there were no statistical differences for 8 out of 9 correlations between parent …

Consider The Source : The Effects Of Adult Sources Of Human Immunodefciency [Sic] Virus And Sexually Transmitted Infection Prevention Information On Teen Risk Behaviors For Sexually Transmitted Infection, Janet E. Flores

Loma Linda University Electronic Theses, Dissertations & Projects

Sexually transmitted infections (STIs), including the Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV), are major health problems for adolescents, who represent over 26% of new cases of STIs diagnosed annually in the United States. Half of all HIV cases in people under age 25 result from sexual transmission during adolescence. Adolescent STI prevention is a national priority for the United States, and parents, schools, and medical providers, among others, are expected to have the greatest impact on adolescent STI risk reduction in teens.

This study used secondary Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance Survey (YRBS) data to explore the prevalence of high school students with …

Predictors Of Emotional Reactions In Women Treated For Breast Cancer, Erin E. Ramirez

Loma Linda University Electronic Theses, Dissertations & Projects

Breast cancer can be a devastating disease that impacts a woman in all spheres of her life (Ingram, 1989). Previous studies have examined the impact of breast cancer on body satisfaction, as well as the impact on emotional well-being. Studies have also examined the role of the coping style that a woman engages in response to the diagnosis and treatment of breast cancer in the woman's psychological adjustment to the disease. However, to date, no research has introduced and tested a multifaceted model.

The purpose of this study was to develop a model predicting psychological maladjustment in women treated for …

Empirical Efficiency Maximization, Daniel B. Rubin, Mark J. Van Der Laan

U.C. Berkeley Division of Biostatistics Working Paper Series

It has long been recognized that covariate adjustment can increase precision, even when it is not strictly necessary. The phenomenon is particularly emphasized in clinical trials, whether using continuous, categorical, or censored time-to-event outcomes. Adjustment is often straightforward when a discrete covariate partitions the sample into a handful of strata, but becomes more involved when modern studies collect copious amounts of baseline information on each subject.

The dilemma helped motivate locally efficient estimation for coarsened data structures, as surveyed in the books of van der Laan and Robins (2003) and Tsiatis (2006). Here one fits a relatively small working model …