Digital Commons Network^™

2021-01-01_Michiganoverview_Covidsymptoms, Michigan Department Of Health & Human Services

Michigan COVID-19 Syndromic Surveillance System Data

The Syndromic Surveillance System Data report was obtained from Michigan's COVID-19 dashboard, from under the link "​Coronavirus Symptoms": https://www.michigan.gov/coronavirus. Data was compiled by the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services (MDHHS). The information was updated daily.

Syndromic Surveillance System data is obtained from approximately 183 facilities participating in syndromic surveillance (132 Emergency Departments (ED), 51 Urgent Cares) across the State of Michigan. The reporting is based on individuals who present at EDs and may not be representative of the overall population. The coronavirus-like symptoms query searches visit free-text (chief complaint, triage notes, and clinical impression) for fever or …

Antibiotics And Antimicrobial Resistance In The Covid-19 Era: Perspective From Resource-Limited Settings, Mentor Ali Ber Lucien, Michael F. Canarie, Paul E. Kilgore, Gladzin Jean-Denis, Natael Fénélon, Manise Pierre, Mauricio Cerpa, Gerard A. Joseph, Gina Maki, Marcus J. Zervos, Patrick Dely, Jacques Boncy, Hatim Sati, Ana Del Rio, Pilar Ramon-Pardo

Department of Pharmacy Practice

The dissemination of COVID-19 around the globe has been followed by an increased consumption of antibiotics. This is related to the concern for bacterial superinfection in COVID-19 patients. The identification of bacterial pathogens is challenging in low and middle income countries (LMIC), as there are no readily-available and cost-effective clinical or biological markers that can effectively discriminate between bacterial and viral infections. Fortunately, faced with the threat of COVID-19 spread, there has been a growing awareness of the importance of antimicrobial stewardship programs, as well as infection prevention and control measures that could help reduce the microbial load and hence …

Disposable Lives: Covid-19, Vaccines, And The Uprising, Matiangai Sirleaf

Faculty Scholarship

Two French doctors appeared on television and publicly discussed potentially utilizing African subjects in experimental trials for a tuberculosis vaccine as an antidote to the novel coronavirus (COVID-19). Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, the Director-General of the World Health Organization (WHO), denounced these kinds of racist remarks as a “hangover from ‘colonial mentality’” and maintained that “Africa can’t and won’t be a testing ground for any vaccine.” The fallout on social media was similarly swift, with Samuel Eto’o, a Cameroonian football legend, referring to the doctors as “[d]es assasins” and several others questioning the motives behind testing a vaccine on the African …

Molecular Characterization Of Cryptosporidium Spp. From Humans In Ethiopia, Ambachew W. Hailu, Abraham Degarege, Haileeyesus Adamu, Damien Costa, Venceslas Villier, Abdelmounaim Mouhajir, Loic Favennec, Romy Razakandrainibe, Beyene Petros

Journal Articles: Epidemiology

Data on the distribution and genotype of Cryptosporidium species is limited in Ethiopia. This study examined the presence and genetic diversity of Cryptosporidium species circulating in Ethiopian human population. Stool samples collected from patients who visited rural (n = 94) and urban (n = 93) health centers in Wurgissa and Hawassa district, respectively, were examined for the presence of Cryptosporidium spp. using microscopy, nested PCR and real-time PCR. To detect infection with PCR, analysis of 18S ribosomal RNA was performed. Subtyping was performed by sequencing a fragment of GP60 gene. The overall prevalence of infection was 46% (n = 86) …

Post-Pandemic Privacy Law, Tiffany C. Li

Law Faculty Scholarship

COVD-19, the global pandemic that began in 2019, altered how we live our lives in just about every way imaginable. Some of those changes were obvious-for example, those who were fortunate enough to be able to work from home began working online-while other changes were more subtle. The latter category included unprecedented levels of data collection by governments and organizations purporting to collect information that would help stop the pandemic's spread. Given the deadly nature of COVID-19, few would question any public health efforts, no matter their impact on privacy. However, the lack of attention to privacy issues during the …

Voices From The Field: A Qualitative Study Of The Challenges And Promising Practices Of Rural Public Health In Addressing Hiv And Hepatitis C, Martha Elbaum Williamson Mpa, Karen B. Pearson Mlis, Ms, Amanda R. Burgess Mppm, Jennifer D. Lenardson Mhs, Erika C. Ziller Phd

Population Health

Rural areas of the United States may be vulnerable to an HIV or hepatitis C (HCV) outbreak among persons who inject drugs. Researchers at the University of Southern Maine’s Rural Health Research Center examined the capacity of rural public health systems to prepare for, identify, control, and respond to an HIV or HCV outbreak. Through semi-structured interviews with 36 state and local public health professionals from six rural states, we sought to understand the challenges related to HIV, HCV, and serving rural persons who inject drugs and to identify strategies to address those challenges. Challenges limiting the public health capacity …

Identifying Critical Psychological Characteristics Related To Successful Performance As A Contact Tracer: A Job Analysis, Dev Dalal, Jason G. Randall Phd, Gabrielle Danna, Joshua Ash

Understanding and eliminating minority health disparities in a 21st-century pandemic: A White Paper Collection

The COVID-19 pandemic highlighted the need for a massive workforce of contact tracers to help end the global pandemic. Rapidly accelerating the recruitment, selection, and training of contact tracers proved to be difficult due in part to the lack of a valid, structured, and systematic approach to hiring and training contact tracers. This demonstration presents the results of the first step in developing a systematic selection and training program: a worker-oriented job analysis of the contact tracer job. Using archival records and structured interviews with 15 subject matter experts, we identified 26 unique characteristics related to successful performance as a …

Identifying Nontraditional Epidemic Disease Risk Factors Associated With Major Health Events From World Health Organization And World Bank Open Data, Roberta Lugo-Robles, Eric C. Garges, Cara H. Olsen, David Brett-Major

Journal Articles: Epidemiology

Health events emerge from host, community, environment, and pathogen factors-forecasting epidemics is a complex task. We describe an exploratory analysis to identify economic risk factors that could aid epidemic risk assessment. A line list was constructed using the World Health Organization Disease Outbreaks News (2016-2018) and economic indicators from the World Bank. Poisson regression employing forward imputations was used to establish relationships with the frequency with which countries reported public health events. Economic indicators demonstrated strong performance appropriate for further assessment in surveillance programming. In our analysis, three economic indicators were significantly associated to event reporting: how much the country's …

2021-01-01_Michiganoverview_Covidtestingtimes, Michigan Department Of Health & Human Services

Michigan COVID-19 Testing Turnaround Data

The COVID Testing Turnaround Time page was obtained from Michigan's COVID-19 data page: https://www.michigan.gov/coronavirus/0,9753,7-406-98163_98173-545615--,00.html.

This report was created by the Michigan Department of Health & Human Services, providing data for the past 14 days on the average time it takes for a diagnostic COVID-19 laboratory test to be reported to the state health department. Testing turnaround time data will be updated weekly on Friday mornings.

MDHHS receives results from commercial labs, hospitals, and public health labs. However, public health laboratories perform limited diagnostic testing and disease surveillance for infectious diseases. Total turnaround time is calculated from the difference of …

Human Immunodeficiency Virus (Hiv) – An Analysis Of Trends In Hiv Diagnoses From 2008 – 2018, Ulysses G. Gardner

Scholarship in Medicine - All Papers

Objective: An estimated 1.1 million people are living with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) in the United States. Despite over two decades of research, a cure for HIV has not been approved and it remains a pandemic. This research study was conducted to determine the statistical significance in HIV incidence based on diagnoses in 2008 versus 2018; age groups 25-34 years old versus 55+ years old; Black versus Hispanic versus White; male versus female; and geographical location. Methods: This retrospective study was conducted using data from the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Atlas Plus data sets, a collection …

Phased Return Of Students To 77 Transitional Kindergarten-8th Grade Schools With Cohesive Mitigation Strategies Serving As Protective Factors Against The Increase Of Covid-19 Cases In Marin County: September 2020-January 2021, Shayne Q. Paff, Rochelle Ereman, Lisa Santora, Bethany Dominik, Alana Mcgrath, Jasmine Soriano, Charis Baz, Matthew Willis, Michaela George

Global Public Health | Faculty Scholarship

Background and objective

Earlier uncertain implications of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic on the pediatric population prompted the authorities to close schools worldwide under the premise that school settings would serve as drivers of an increase in the cases of COVID-19. Safe and equitable full-in-person school instruction is a critical factor in the continued educational gains of children and for their general well-being. The objective of this study was to report epidemiological trends related to the increasing percentage of students returning to in-person instruction, the suspected in-school transmission of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS‐CoV‐2), the virus that …

Covid-19 Related Physical And Mental Health Stressors In Families Using A Social Determinants Lens., Elizabeth Vasquez, Erin Bell, Melissa Tracy

Understanding and eliminating minority health disparities in a 21st-century pandemic: A White Paper Collection

Racial and ethnic minorities, those of lower socioeconomic status (SES), and older adults have experienced higher rates of infection, severity of illness, and mortality from COVID-19 than other groups. These populations are also disproportionately affected by financial and social disruptions caused by the pandemic, including job loss, reduction in community services, and disconnection from supportive networks critically important for the health and well-being of families. Further, these same populations often live in multi- generational households and rely on a family-dependent caregiver model. The aim of this project is to beta test an online questionnaire to identify individual and household risk …

An Emergent Legionnaires' Disease Syndemic: Water Supply Systems, Infrastructural Violence, And Afflicted Lives In The South Bronx, Ny, Eduardo Piqueiras

Wayne State University Dissertations

This dissertation examines how contemporary approaches to Legionnaires’ disease (LD) narrowly view it as a biomedical entity that obscures critical moral, temporal, and contextual dimensions creating gaps in how LD “cases” are defined and mitigated. Those who receive an LD diagnosis experience many unique challenges (e.g., personal, existential, community-based, and environmental) yet little is known about how this group of individuals experience recovery and attach meaning to their individual experiences. Using an anthropological lens of illness and recovery and a syndemics view of infrastructural violence this study examines those inadequately addressed multiple dimensions which limit our ability to confront the …

Current Standards Of Postgraduate Surgical Education And Training In Pakistan: Time To Bridge The Gaps In Lieu Of National Necessity, Sabah Uddin Saqib, Abdul Hakeem Memon, Omair Saleem, Amir Hafeez Shariff

Section of General Surgery

The provision of good-quality surgical care is a salient feature of every public health system. Pakistan is ranked among low and middle-income countries where the burden of surgical disease is rapidly increasing, but the capacity of the health system has not expanded at the same pace to cater current needs. One of the key components is the dearth of trained surgical specialists and lack of easy access to surgical care. College of Physicians and Surgeons, Pakistan is the main certifying institution for surgeons, while public and private teaching hospitals bear the burden of responsibility for surgical education and training. The …

Developing A New Analytical Model For Combatting Crises: A Comprehensive Review, Seth Spire

Research Awards

As the world emerges from the COVID-19 pandemic, it is critical to reflect on the lessons learned and prepare for potential future health crises. While data analytics and artificial intelligence (AI) played a pivotal role in managing the pandemic, there is much room for improvement and further use. This study examines the current state of data science tools employed during COVID-19, evaluating their advantages, limitations, and challenges in their broader implementation. We also review literature on future directions for AI in healthcare. Our findings highlight significant challenges, including difficulties in accessing usable data and common distrust of AI models for …

Parallel Systems Of Health Care: How Grassroots Organizations And Health Care Practitioners Perceive Farmworker Health, Andrea Ocasio Cruz

Honors Undergraduate Theses

Socioeconomic and citizenship barriers prevent farmworkers from accessing public health care; thus, grassroots organization members and health care practitioners collaborate to create community health clinics that provide care for farmworkers and low-wage immigrant workers. Such community clinics are known as parallel health care systems, yet the concept's existing literature lacks comprehensive studies on the parallel systems operating within farmworker communities. To fill this research gap, I conducted nine semi-structured interviews to collect the perceptions of key community stakeholders involved in providing accessible health and financial aid to farmworker communities in Florida. I analyzed the interviews through the qualitative grounded theory …

A Survey Of Primary Care Providers’ Strategies To Affect Influenza Vaccination Rates, Jennifer Moffett, Tracy Mitchell, Vera Simmons

MSN Research Projects

Influenza is a vaccine preventable disease that affects millions of Americans and causes thousands of deaths and billions in healthcare costs. Annual influenza vaccination is regarded by researchers and healthcare governing bodies as the most effective way to prevent contracting the flu. A large body of research exists supporting primary care providers as influential in regard to patients’ healthcare decision making. However, if strategies are consistently being implemented to affect influenza vaccination rates remains unclear. The purpose of this study was to identify strategies being implemented to affect influenza vaccination rates by asking two questions: 1. Do primary care providers …

Overview: Literature Review Of Linkage, Adherence, And Retention Interventions For Seropositive Children And Young People In Africa, Project Soar

HIV and AIDS

Various strategies have been implemented in countries around the world to reduce barriers to engagement in care and adherence to antiretroviral therapy among children and young people living with HIV. Despite these diverse programmatic strategies, a comprehensive understanding of what works best for children and adolescents in sub-Saharan Africa is lacking. To address this gap, Project SOAR conducted a systematic review of the peer-reviewed literature to: 1) document interventions that support engagement in care and ART adherence for infants, children, adolescents, and youth living with HIV in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA), including orphans and other vulnerable children; and 2) inform future …

Factors Influencing Hiv Care Outcomes Among Adolescents Living With Hiv In Rural South Africa, Lindsey M. Filiatreau, Audrey Pettifor, Jess Edwards, Nkosinathi Masilela, Rhian Twine, F. Xavier Gómez-Olivé, Nicole Haberland, Chodziwadziwa Whiteson Kabudula, Sheri A. Lippman, Kathleen Kahn

HIV and AIDS

In the Agincourt Health and Socio-Demographic Surveillance System (HDSS) site in rural Mpumalanga Province, South Africa the Project SOAR team hypothesized that HIV status disclosure, individuals’ prior healthcare seeking experiences, history of depression and overall emotional well-being, experiences with domestic and intimate partner violence, and substance use could contribute to poor levels of treatment adherence among adolescents living with HIV. The overall objective of this study was to better understand HIV care outcomes among HIV-positive adolescents in the Agincourt HDSS in the era of universal test and treat so we can better inform HIV care programs targeting this vulnerable population.

The Size And Culturability Of Patient-Generated Sars-Cov-2 Aerosol, Joshua L. Santarpia, Vicki L. Herrera, Danielle N. Rivera, Shanna Ratnesar-Shumate, St. Patrick Reid, Daniel N. Ackerman, Paul W. Denton, Jacob W. S. Martens, Ying Fang, Nicholas Conoan, Michael V. Callahan, James V. Lawler, David Brett-Major, John Lowe

Journal Articles: Epidemiology

BACKGROUND: Aerosol transmission of COVID-19 is the subject of ongoing policy debate. Characterizing aerosol produced by people with COVID-19 is critical to understanding the role of aerosols in transmission.

OBJECTIVE: We investigated the presence of virus in size-fractioned aerosols from six COVID-19 patients admitted into mixed acuity wards in April of 2020.

METHODS: Size-fractionated aerosol samples and aerosol size distributions were collected from COVID-19 positive patients. Aerosol samples were analyzed for viral RNA, positive samples were cultured in Vero E6 cells. Serial RT-PCR of cells indicated samples where viral replication was likely occurring. Viral presence was also investigated by western …

Mapping Heat Vulnerability Index Based On Different Urbanization Levels In Nebraska, Usa, Babak Jalalzadeh Fard, Rezaul Mahmood, Michael Hayes, Clinton Rowe, Azar M. Abadi, Martha Shulski, Sharon J. Medcalf, Rachel Lookadoo, Jesse E. Bell

Journal Articles: Epidemiology

Heatwaves cause excess mortality and physiological impacts on humans throughout the world, and climate change will intensify and increase the frequency of heat events. Many adaptation and mitigation studies use spatial distribution of highly vulnerable local populations to inform heat reduction and response plans. However, most available heat vulnerability studies focus on urban areas with high heat intensification by Urban Heat Islands (UHIs). Rural areas encompass different environmental and socioeconomic issues that require alternate analyses of vulnerability. We categorized Nebraska census tracts into four urbanization levels, then conducted factor analyses on each group and captured different patterns of socioeconomic vulnerabilities …

Viral Dynamics Of Acute Sars-Cov-2 Infection And Applications To Diagnostic And Public Health Strategies, Stephen M. Kissler, Joseph R. Fauver, Christina Mack, Scott W. Olesen, Caroline Tai, Kristin Y. Shiue, Chaney C. Kalinich, Sarah Jednak, Isabel M. Ott, Chantal B. F. Vogels, Jay Wohlgemuth, James Weisberger, John Difiori, Deverick J. Anderson, Jimmie Mancell, David D. Ho, Nathan D. Grubaugh, Yonatan H. Grad

Journal Articles: Epidemiology

SARS-CoV-2 infections are characterized by viral proliferation and clearance phases and can be followed by low-level persistent viral RNA shedding. The dynamics of viral RNA concentration, particularly in the early stages of infection, can inform clinical measures and interventions such as test-based screening. We used prospective longitudinal quantitative reverse transcription PCR testing to measure the viral RNA trajectories for 68 individuals during the resumption of the 2019-2020 National Basketball Association season. For 46 individuals with acute infections, we inferred the peak viral concentration and the duration of the viral proliferation and clearance phases. According to our mathematical model, we found …

Protecting Life And Lung: Protected Areas Affect Fine Particulate Matter And Respiratory Hospitalizations In The Brazilian Amazon Biome., Derek Michael Sheehan

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

I assessed the impacts of upwind protected area coverage on local respiratory health within the Brazilian Amazon. A hypothesized mechanism is the legal prohibition of human ignited fires within protected areas, reducing particulate matter pollution, impacting respiratory health downwind. The connection between fires and respiratory diseases in the Amazon is well established (Smith et al. 2014; Rangel and Vogl 2019; Rocha and Sant’anna 2020). What is not well understood is the potential that government policies aimed at preventing ecosystem loss may also promote health and wellbeing, combining the UN sustainable development goals 3 and 15. Protected areas currently dominate government …

Why Do You Wear A Mask? Children’S Conceptualizations Of Covid-19 And Contagion Avoidance Behaviors, Emily Hillman

Scripps Senior Theses

With the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, a need has emerged for psychological research on children’s understanding of infectious disease transmission. However, little existing research examines the link between children’s cognitive reasoning about illness and their subsequent behaviors regarding its transmissibility. This study will examine children’s conceptualizations of contagious illnesses such as COVID-19 and their subsequent contagion avoidance. A mixed methods approach will be used to establish the content of children’s conceptualizations of contagion and level of causal reasoning related to illness transmission. Dyads will be constructed comprising 4-12-year-old children and their parents. It is expected that parental contagion avoidance …

Covid-19 Vaccine Acceptance: We Need To Start Now, Krutika Kuppalli, David Brett-Major, Tara C. Smith

Journal Articles: Epidemiology

In this perspective, we discuss the importance of developing a vaccine to help curb transmission of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2. The question remains: Once a safe and effective vaccine is developed, will the public be willing to get it? We present information from one of the first tracking polls to assess public attitudes and perceptions toward a possible coronavirus disease 2019 vaccine that suggests public hesitancy over a potential vaccine, concern regarding accelerating clinical trials, and unease over the vaccine approval process. Public health experts, government officials, advocates, and others in the scientific community should respect the signals …

The Relationship Between Social Vulnerability And Covid-19 Incidence Among Louisiana Census Tracts, Erin N. Biggs, Patrick M. Maloney, Ariane L. Rung, Edward S. Peters, William T. Robinson

Journal Articles: Epidemiology

Objective: To examine the association between the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)'s Social Vulnerability Index (SVI) and COVID-19 incidence among Louisiana census tracts. Methods: An ecological study comparing the CDC SVI and census tract-level COVID-19 case counts was conducted. Choropleth maps were used to identify census tracts with high levels of both social vulnerability and COVID-19 incidence. Negative binomial regression with random intercepts was used to compare the relationship between overall CDC SVI percentile and its four sub-themes and COVID-19 incidence, adjusting for population density. Results: In a crude stratified analysis, all four CDC SVI sub-themes were significantly …

Characteristics Of Sars-Cov-2 Transmission Among Meat Processing Workers In Nebraska, Usa, And Effectiveness Of Risk Mitigation Measures, Jocelyn J. Herstein, Abraham Degarege, Derry Stover, Christopher Austin, Michelle M. Schwedhelm, James V. Lawler, John Lowe, Athena K. Ramos, Matthew Donahue

Journal Articles: Epidemiology

The coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic has severely impacted the meat processing industry in the United States. We sought to detail demographics and outcomes of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 infections among workers in Nebraska meat processing facilities and determine the effects of initiating universal mask policies and installing physical barriers at 13 meat processing facilities. During April 1-July 31, 2020, COVID-19 was diagnosed in 5,002 Nebraska meat processing workers (attack rate 19%). After initiating both universal masking and physical barrier interventions, 8/13 facilities showed a statistically significant reduction in COVID-19 incidence inspecifically, high attack rates among meat processing industry …

Reducing Objectification Could Tackle Stigma In The Covid-19 Pandemic: Evidence From China, Youli Chen, Jiahui Jin, Xiangyang Zhang, Qi Zhang, Weizhen Dong, Chun Chen

Community & Environmental Health Faculty Publications

Stigmatization associated with the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is expected to be a complex issue and to extend into the later phases of the pandemic, which impairs social cohesion and relevant individuals' well-being. Identifying contributing factors and learning their roles in the stigmatization process may help tackle the problem. This study quantitatively assessed the severity of stigmatization against three different groups of people: people from major COVID-19 outbreak sites, those who had been quarantined, and healthcare workers; explored the factors associated with stigmatization within the frameworks of self-categorization theory and core social motives; and proposed solutions to resolve stigma. The …

Use Of Lymesim 2.0 To Assess The Potential For Single And Integrated Management Methods To Control Blacklegged Ticks (Ixodes Scapularis; Acari: Ixodidae) And Transmission Of Lyme Disease Spirochetes, Shravani Chitineni, Elizabeth R. Gleim, Holly D. Gaff

Undergraduate Honors Theses

Annual Lyme disease cases continue to rise in the U.S. making it the most reported vector-borne illness in the country. The pathogen (Borrelia burgdorferi) and primary vector (Ixodes scapularis; blacklegged tick) dynamics of Lyme disease are complicated by the multitude of vertebrate hosts and varying environmental factors, making models an ideal tool for exploring disease dynamics in a time- and cost-effective way. In the current study, LYMESIM 2.0, a mechanistic model, was used to explore the effectiveness of three commonly used tick control methods: habitat-targeted acaricide (spraying), rodent-targeted acaricide (bait boxes), and white-tailed deer targeted acaricide (4-poster …

Collaboration Between Public Health And Marketing Experts As A Response To Covid-19, M. Courtney Hughes, Yihui Tang, Shupei Yuan

Faculty Articles, Papers, and Other Scholarship

Since the beginning of 2020, as the world’s population has dealt with COVID-19 and abrupt changes to the normal status quo, academic scholars are no exception, experiencing radical changes to their teaching modalities (remote versus in-person) and often major interruptions in their research. One month after the initial shift to working remotely in March, we obtained approval from Northern Illinois University’s Institutional Review Board to conduct a brief survey with recently published academic scholars in the fields of public health and marketing to understand their views of how this unprecedented time may affect their work. In examining patterns in the …