Digital Commons Network^™

Voices For Food: Methodologies For Implementing A Multi-State Community-Based Intervention In Rural, High Poverty Communities., Suzanne Stluka, Lindsay Moore, Heather A Eicher-Miller, Lisa Franzen-Castle, Becky Henne, Donna Mehrle, Daniel Remley, Lacey Mccormack

Health and Nutritional Sciences Faculty Publications

BACKGROUND: Rural communities experience unique barriers to food access when compared to urban areas and food security is a public health issue in rural, high poverty communities. A multi-leveled socio-ecological intervention to develop food policy councils (FPCs), and improve food security in rural communities was created. Methods to carry out such an intervention were developed and are described.
METHODS: A longitudinal, matched treatment and comparison study was conducted in 24 rural, high poverty counties in South Dakota, Indiana, Missouri, Michigan, Nebraska and Ohio. Counties were assigned to a treatment (n = 12) or comparison (n = 12) group. Intervention activities …

Examining The Relationships Between School Engagement, Physical Activity, And Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder In Children Using The Ecological Model, Minh Nguyen

Theses & Dissertations

Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is a neurodevelopmental disorder with onset usually occurring in childhood and adolescence. During these developmental stages, social interactions and external environments can have significant impact on children’s growth and development. Few studies previously used a theoretical model to examine the effects of social and external environments on ADHD. The goal of this dissertation is to apply an ecological perspective to examine the roles of school and community in the development of childhood ADHD through school engagement and physical activity. Three studies were implemented to carry out this goal. Study 1 examined the associations of neighborhood, school, and …

Determining The Adoption And Implementation Of Nutrition Policies At Food Pantries Across The United States, Meagan Helmick

Theses & Dissertations

Food insecurity occurs when there is a lack of access to enough food to live an active, healthy life. Current efforts to address food insecurity include developing and implementing policies, programs, and practices at the federal, state, and local levels. Specifically, local efforts target decreasing food insecurity through emergency food networks including food banks and food pantries. Over the last several years, many food banks and food pantries have worked to improve the nutritional quality of the foods they offer. However, food pantries are smaller and less formal organizations than food banks. Thus, they have limited resources to develop and …

Supermarket Retailers’ Perspectives On Healthy Food Retail Strategies: In-Depth Interviews, Olivia Martinez, Noemi Rodriguez, Allison Mercurio, Marie Bragg, Brian Elbel

Publications and Research

Background

Excess calorie consumption and poor diet are major contributors to the obesity epidemic. Food retailers, in particular at supermarkets, are key shapers of the food environment which influences consumers’ diets. This study seeks to understand the decision-making processes of supermarket retailers—including motivators for and barriers to promoting more healthy products—and to catalogue elements of the complex relationships between customers, suppliers, and, supermarket retailers.

Methods

We recruited 20 supermarket retailers from a convenience sample of full service supermarkets and national supermarket chain headquarters serving low- and high-income consumers in urban and non-urban areas of New York. Individuals responsible for making …

Self-Regulation Abilities Of Low-Income Mothers In Community Based, Expanded Food And Nutrition Education Program, Alyssa Abreu

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Diet is strongly associated with many risk factors for chronic disease. Educational programs such as the Expanded Food and Nutrition Education Program (EFNEP) are designed to improve dietary behaviors among low-income populations. Although EFNEP has seen improvements, they are not yet up to recommendations. Previous studies have been successful in eliciting behavior change when improving self-regulation in conjunction with dietary education. Thus, the purpose of this study was to examine self-regulation in EFNEP participants and its relationship to participants change in dietary behavior. All participants were currently enrolled in an EFNEP program and were asked to complete an additional self-regulation …

Study Protocol Of "Our Choice": A Randomized Controlled Trial Of The Integration Of Safer Conception Counseling To Transform Hiv Family Planning Services In Uganda., Kathy Goggin, Emily A. Hurley, Jolly Beyeza-Kashesya, Violet Gwokyalya, Sarah Finocchario-Kessler, Josephine Birungi, Deborah Mindry, Rhoda K Wanyenze, Glenn J Wagner

Manuscripts, Articles, Book Chapters and Other Papers

BACKGROUND: About 40% of HIV-positive women in sub-Saharan Africa become pregnant post-diagnosis. Despite about half of their pregnancies being planned, safer conception methods (SCM) are underutilized among serodiscordant couples, partially due to the fact that safer conception counseling (SCC) has not been integrated into routine HIV family planning (FP) services.

METHODS: Our Choice is a comprehensive FP intervention that promotes unbiased childbearing consultations to ensure clients receive SCC or contraception services to achieve their desired reproductive goals. The intervention is theoretically grounded and has demonstrated preliminarily feasibility and acceptance through pilot testing. This three-arm cluster randomized controlled trial compares two …

Pubh 6535: Theoretical Perspectives Of The Social & Behavioral Sciences In Public Health, Stacy W. Smallwood

College of Public Health: Faculty Syllabi (2014-2021)

This course is designed to familiarize students with the history and current applications of social and behavioral sciences as they are applied to public health practice and research. It explores social and behavioral science models, theories, and approaches that inform public health, and their philosophical roots. The course also examines social and behavioral determinants of health equity across the ecological spectrum. Emphasis is placed on critical thinking skills to help students synthesize and utilize information in research and practice. An important contribution of this course is the emphasis on recognizing the contributions of social and behavioral science research and practice …

Dietary Inflammatory Index And Biomarkers Of Lipoprotein Metabolism, Inflammation And Glucose Homeostasis In Adults, Catherine Phillips, Nitin Shivappa, James R. Hébert, Ivan Perry

Faculty Publications

Accumulating evidence identifies diet and inflammation as potential mechanisms contributing to cardiometabolic risk. However, inconsistent reports regarding dietary inflammatory potential, biomarkers of cardiometabolic health and metabolic syndrome (MetS) risk exist. Our objective was to examine the relationships between a food frequency questionnaire (FFQ)-derived dietary inflammatory index (DII®), biomarkers of lipoprotein metabolism, inflammation and glucose homeostasis and MetS risk in a cross-sectional sample of 1992 adults. Energy-adjusted DII (E-DII) scores derived from an FFQ were calculated. Lipoprotein particle size and subclass concentrations were measured using nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy. Serum acute-phase reactants, adipocytokines, pro-inflammatory cytokines and white blood cell (WBC) …

Determinants Of Successful Weight Loss In Low-Income African American Women: A Positive Deviance Analysis., Elaine Seaton Banerjee, Sharon J. Herring, Katelyn Hurley, Katherine Puskarz, Kyle Yebernetsky, Marianna Lanoue

College of Population Health Faculty Papers

OBJECTIVE: We set out to investigate the behaviors of low-income African American women who successfully lost weight.

METHODS: From an urban, academic, family medicine practice, we used a mixed methods positive deviance approach to evaluate 35 low-income African American women who were obese and lost at least 10% of their maximum weight, and maintained this loss for 6 months, comparing them with 36 demographically similar control participants who had not lost weight. Survey outcomes included demographics and behaviors that were hypothesized to be related to successful weight loss. Interviews focused on motivations, barriers, and what made weight loss successful. Survey …

Exploring H.Pylori Seropositivity As A Risk Factor For Type 2 Diabetes, Virginia Chaidez, Yumou Qiu

Journal of Health Disparities Research and Practice

Background: In the US, the percentage of adults with diagnosed diabetes are higher in members of racial and ethnic minority groups compared to non-Latino Whites. Understanding why such disparities exist has been less forthcoming.

Methods: Secondary data analysis was conducted using the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) 1999-2000 cross-sectional data.

Results: H.pylori seropositivity was highest in Mexican Americans (43.7%), lowest in non-Hispanic Whites (18.1%). Diabetes was highest in non-Hispanic Blacks (5.9%); lowest in non-Hispanic whites (4.3%). H.pylori seropositivity was associated with greater likelihood of having type 2 diabetes (1.927, 95% CI 1.142, 3.257) compared to H.pylori negative in …

Alternative Financial Services And Health Status In U.S. Metropolitan Statistical Areas, Courtney Hundley, Richard W. Wilson 8520196, John Chenault

Journal of Health Disparities Research and Practice

Abstract

Alternative financial services (AFS) such as, payday lenders, pawn brokers, tax refund loans, and check cashers are more prevalent in minority and lower income neighborhoods. These are neighborhoods also found to have disparities in health, compared to more affluent neighborhoods and communities. The focus of this paper is to determine if any relationship exists between use of AFS and health disparities.

Using data from a survey performed by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC), we compared four banking variables to several measures of health for 85 metropolitan statistical areas (MSA) across the nation. The four banking variables all related …

Human Papillomavirus Infections In The Southern And Other United States Regions, Dudith Pierre-Victor, Mary Jo Trepka, Dionne Stephens, Tan Li, Timothy Page, Purnima Madhivanan

Journal of Health Disparities Research and Practice

Human papillomavirus (HPV) infection is the most common sexually transmitted infection worldwide and has been linked to several cancers, including cervical cancer. In the United States, the Southern region has a disproportionate burden of cervical cancer, and research about the epidemiology of HPV in the region is scarce. This study estimates the prevalence and correlates of HPV infection among 14–59 year-old females.

Data from 4,250 females aged 14–59 years collected during the 2007–2010 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) were used. We estimated the prevalence of HPV infection for the South and the rest of the country. We performed …

Co-Use Of Tobacco And Marijuana During Pregnancy: Pathways To Externalizing Behavior Problems In Early Childhood., Stephanie A. Godleski, Shannon Shisler, Rina D. Eiden, Marilyn A. Huestis

Institute of Emerging Health Professions Faculty Papers

Use and co-use of tobacco and marijuana during pregnancy are associated with the development of social, cognitive, and behavioral problems for infants and children. However, less is known about the potential developmental impact of the use of tobacco and marijuana in tandem. The present study examined an etiological model for the development of externalizing behavior problems (EBP) in early childhood in a high risk sample (N = 247) of mother-infant dyads with prospective data from pregnancy to 36 months of child age. Co-use during pregnancy and continued maternal tobacco and marijuana use from infancy through early childhood were investigated. Although …

Pubh 4231- Health Aspects Of Aging, James Thomas

College of Public Health: Faculty Syllabi (2014-2021)

This course examines the aging process from a health education perspective. Students will become acquainted with the process of and problems associated with aging in order to effectively manage this important public health issue. Knowledge and understanding of biological, psychological, and sociological aspects of aging as related to health and wellness will also be addressed. (2018-2019, Georgia Southern University Undergraduate and Graduate Course Catalog) Access to course materials are available for up to one year after graduation.

Maternal Programming: Application Of A Developmental Psychopathology Perspective, Laura M. Glynn, Mariann A. Howland, Molly Fox

Psychology Faculty Articles and Research

The fetal phase of life has long been recognized as a sensitive period of development. Here we posit that pregnancy represents a simultaneous sensitive period for the adult female with broad and persisting consequences for her health and development, including risk for psychopathology. In this review, we examine the transition to motherhood through the lens of developmental psychopathology. Specifically, we summarize the typical and atypical changes in brain and behavior that characterize the perinatal period. We highlight how the exceptional neuroplasticity exhibited by women during this life phase may account for increased vulnerability for psychopathology. Further, we discuss several modes …

Equity Of Care Analysis At Chi Health Hospitals And Clinics In The Omaha Metro Area., Lindsey Cork

Capstone Experience: Master of Public Health

The goal of the project is to identify if health disparities exist between patient groups based on race, ethnicity, language, payer type, and location of residence who received healthcare services from CHI Health system in the Omaha Metro area during January 2017 – March 2018. The health outcomes of interest are HPV vaccination rates, diabetes control rates, breast cancer screening rates, colorectal cancer screening rates, and 30-day hospital readmissions. Patient data from six Omaha area clinics and five hospitals was analyze in this study.

Among the six CHI Health clinics in this study, Lakeside had the highest rates of A1c …

Toxic Effects Of Lead Disposal In Water: An Analysis Of Tri Facility Releases, Patrick Koval

Economics Department Working Papers

Using county-level TRI data from 2003 to 2016, I find evidence that lead emissions in water adversely affect birth weights within the emitting county, especially with respect to the percentage of births considered low birth weight within that county (less than 2,500 grams). I find that a one percent increase in lead emissions per square mile increases the proportion of low birth weights by 0.27 percentage points. For a county with an average number of births in a particular year, this one percent increase in lead per square mile translates to an additional $475,000 in hospitalization costs from complications with …

Determinants Of Hydration In Children: The Role Of Physical Activity And Parental Dietary Habits, Hyun-Gyu Suh

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

PURPOSE: The purpose of these studies was 1) to examine the factors that influence the water intake in children and 2) to identify the optimal time window to assess hydration status that would be equivalent to 24-hour urine sample in children. METHODS: Study 1: Data for 200 parents (age:3-13y, female:62%, BMI:28.4±7.0kg∙m-2) and 200 children (age:7.5±2.9y, female:44%, BMI:17.7±3.9kg∙m-2) were recruited. Subjects recorded their fluid and food consumption on the 2-day diary, and food data were analyzed by using the Nutrition Data System for Research (NDSR) program. Physical activity levels were assessed with the International Physical Activity Questionnaire (IPAQ). All urine samples …

Engagement Of Husbands In A Maternal Nutrition Program Substantially Contributed To Greater Intake Of Micronutrient Supplements And Dietary Diversity During Pregnancy: Results Of A Cluster-Randomized Program Evaluation In Bangladesh, Phuong Hong Nguyen, Edward A. Frongillo Jr., Tina Sanghvi, Gargi Wable, Zeba Mahmud, Lan Mai Tran, Bachera Aktar, Kaosar Afsana, Silvia Alayon, Marie T. Ruel, Purnima Menon

Faculty Publications

Background:

Although husbands may provide support during pregnancy, limited evidence exists on how to promote husbands' engagement and what impact it has. Alive & Thrive integrated nutrition-focused interventions, targeting both wives and husbands, through an existing Maternal, Neonatal, and Child Health (MNCH) platform in Bangladesh.

Objectives:

We evaluated 1) the impact of a nutrition-focused MNCH program, compared with the standard MNCH program, on husbands' behavioral determinants (i.e., awareness, knowledge, self-efficacy) and support to wives to adopt optimal nutrition practices and 2) how much of the previously documented impact on women's supplement intake and dietary diversity was explained by husbands' behavioral …

Culture, Food, And Racism: The Effects On African American Health, Kalah Elantra Vance

Honors Theses

Cultures can be influenced by a number of different factors, one of the most notable being food. Cultural food staples have often traveled from their country of origin of to be integrated into the cuisine of another. African slaves for example, used their knowledge of their West African heritage to forage soul food, a well know cuisine in the American South. The adaptations made to food practices during slavery decreased the nutritional value of the previously healthy West African dishes. After creating a relatively unhealthy food culture through slavery, African Americans continued to face persecution at the hands of the …

Assessment Of Malnutrition In Patients With Liver Cirrhosis Using Protein Calorie Malnutrition (Pcm) Score Verses Bio-Electrical Impedance Analysis (Bia), Om Parkash, Wasim Jafri, S. M. Munir, Romaina Iqbal

Section of Gastroenterology

Objective: Malnutrition is a common problem in patients with liver cirrhosis and tools for nutritional assessment are under debate. We conducted this study to assess prevalence of malnutrition in cirrhotic patients using PCM score and BIA. Additionally we compared BIA to PCM score for detecting malnutrition in this patient population.

Results: This was a cross sectional study conducted in two tertiary care hospitals of Karachi Pakistan on adults with liver cirrhosis. Malnutrition was assessed by PCM score using anthropometric measurements and biological specimens and (ii) Body cell mass was assessed using BIA. Malnutrition as estimated by the PCM score was …

Evaluating And Increasing Lead Poisoning Prevention Awareness In The Refugee Population Of Douglas County, Ne, Kara Albright

Capstone Experience: Master of Public Health

Background: Lead poisoning is a major public health concern. It accounted for twelve percent of the global burden for intellectual disabilities, and two and a half percent of the global burden for heart disease and stroke, as well as nearly 500,000 deaths in 2015 (World Health Organization, 2018). While everyone is at risk of lead exposure, refugee and immigrant children are at an increased risk because they have increased access and use of products from outside the United States that have been shown to contain lead (Moser, R., and Brownback, S., 2012; and New York State Department of Health, …

Chbe 9335 A – Global Health And Preparedness, Andrew Hansen

College of Public Health: Faculty Syllabi (2014-2021)

This course will focus on global public health and preparedness for domestic and global emergencies. Students will explore patterns of health and disease around the world, and compare them to public health issues in the United States. An ecological framework will be employed to illustrate the complex political, social, economic, and environmental determinants of global health inequity. Concepts from the social sciences, epidemiology, health systems, and policymaking will be incorporated. The course will emphasize issues related to humanitarian emergencies and natural disasters both globally and domestically, and the need to build public health infrastructure and preparedness to mitigate them.

Social Determinants Of Health And A Grounded Mixed-Methods Approach To Explain Declining Life Expectancy In Eastern Kentucky : 1980 – 2014., William Renda

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Trends in life expectancy for the United States from 1980-2014 suggest general improvement overall. However, eastern Kentucky stands out with a cluster of counties experiencing declining life expectancy. Given that life expectancy is an excepted indicator of overall population health, this anomaly in eastern Kentucky warrants investigation. This thesis uses a grounded mixed methods approach to explore this trend across the greater Appalachian region. Content and discourse analysis of interviews with public health and medical professionals in the study area revealed key themes perceived as being related to declining life expectancy, which informed variable selection for regression analysis. Regression models …

Generalized Spatiotemporal Modeling And Causal Inference For Assessing Treatment Effects For Multiple Groups For Ordinal Outcome., Soutik Ghosal

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation consists of three projects and can be categorized in two broad research areas: generalized spatiotemporal modeling and causal inference based on observational data. In the first project, I introduce a Bayesian hierarchical mixed effect hurdle model with a nested random effect structure to model the count for primary care providers and understand their spatial and temporal variation. This study further enables us to identify the health professional shortage areas and the possible impacting factors. In the second project, I have unified popular parametric and nonparametric propensity score-based methods to assess the treatment effect of multiple groups for ordinal …

Coal Ash Exposure And Behavioral Impairments Among Children In Louisville, Kentucky., Chisom Nmesoma Odoh

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Introduction: Coal ash, generated from the combustion of coal is principally made up of fly ash, which consists of small particles and metals that can affect the development of children. Coal ash is predominately stored in landfills and surface impoundments, of which many are in proximity to residential areas. According to the Environmental Protection Agency, 25% of residents in proximity to electric power plants are children. Few studies have reported a positive association between coal ash and its by-products and neurobehavioral disorders. The purpose of this study was to explore the relationship between coal ash and its components and …

Changing Neighborhoods And Residents’ Health Perceptions: The Heart Healthy Hoods Qualitative Study, Paloma Conde, Marta Gutiérrez, Maria Sandin, Julia Díez, Luisa N. Borrell, Jesús Rivera-Navarro, Manuel Franco

Publications and Research

Cities, and therefore neighborhoods, are under constant change. Neighborhood changes may affect residents’ health in multiple ways. The Heart Healthy Hoods (HHH) project studies the association between neighborhood and residents’ health. Focusing on a middle–low-socioeconomic neighborhood in Madrid (Spain), our aim was to describe qualitatively its residents’ perceptions on the urban changes and their impacts on health. We designed a qualitative study using 16 semi-structured interviews including adult residents and professionals living or working in the area. Firstly, we described the perceived main social and neighborhood changes. Secondly, we studied how these neighborhood changes connected to residents’ health perceptions. Perceived …

College Of Public Health News, Georgia Southern University

College of Public Health: News & Publications

• Georgia Southern reports on weight loss trends in overweight adolescents
• Georgia Southern Examines Health Departments' Activities to Address Health Disparities

An Evaluation On The Policies On Public Health Workers As Health Professionals, Muswandar Muswandar, Purnawan Junadi

Journal of Indonesian Health Policy and Administration

Law No. 36 of 2014 is a comprehensive law for health professionals. In that regulation, all health graduates that wish to practice their trade must have a letter of registration (STR). That policy also separated environmental health from public health. This was the reason why we decided to evaluate the policy that is related to public health professionals. This evaluation was a retrospective analysis that used in-depth interviews and literary research, respectively as primary and secondary data. From this research we discovered that public health graduates is has their own profession. And to obtain the right to practice their trade, …

Design, Development And Construct Validation Of The Children’S Dietary Inflammatory Index, Samira Khan, Micheal D. Wirth, Andrew Ortaglia, Christian R. Alvarado, Nitin Shivappa, Thomas Hurley, James R. Hébert

Faculty Publications

Objective: To design and validate a literature-derived, population-based Children’s Dietary Inflammatory Index (C-DII)TM. Design: The C-DII was developed based on a review of literature through 2010. Dietary data obtained from children in 16 different countries were used to create a reference database for computing C-DII scores based on consumption of macronutrients, vitamins, minerals, and whole foods. Construct validation was performed using quantile regression to assess the association between C-reactive protein (CRP) concentrations and C-DII scores. Data Sources: All data used for construct validation were obtained from children between six and 14 years of age (n = 3300) who participated in …