Digital Commons Network^™

How Do They Feel About It? Testing A New Mixed Methods Survey Tool To Assess Collective Emotional Status, Michael G. Schwab, Vasileios Margaritis

The Qualitative Report

Emotions are now widely accepted as important elements of qualitative research, in studies of individuals and communities. However, collective emotional status—what a community feels about a given situation or proposition—can be challenging to assess. In this study, we examined the validity and acceptability of a new mixed methods survey tool, primarily qualitative, to address this challenge—the Assessment of Collective Emotional Status (ACES). The tool begins with an adjustable set of questions about emotion, to draw respondents’ attention to their own feelings. These are followed by an emotional self-assessment, in which respondents select and prioritize five emotional responses to a standardized …

Health Impacts Of Global Climate Change With A Focus On Women’S Health, Mikhaila Samz

Theses and Graduate Projects

Background: Global climate change has been occurring at an unprecedented rate and is damaging to human health. With women having specific health care needs, this literature review examines the relationship between women’s health (including maternal health) and global climate change through subtopics including global temperature and heat waves, carbon dioxide emissions and air pollution, natural disasters and extreme weather events, malnutrition and food insecurity, water supply and resource scarcity, and changing infectious disease patterns.

Methods: A literature search was conducted across several online databases, predominantly PubMed, for articles related to global climate change and its role in women’s health. The …

Support Clubs For Children And Youth In Haiti Living With Hiv: A Case Study, Susan Settergren, Robert Philippe, Joanne St. Louis, Nathaniel Segaren, Sylvie Boisson, Tessa Lewis, Olbeg Désinor, Kesner François

HIV and AIDS

In Haiti, where an estimated 3,000 children and youth are receiving antiretroviral therapy (ART), Caris Foundation, with funding from the United States President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) through the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), provides hospital-linked psychosocial support groups, known as Kids Clubs, for young people ages nine and older. The clubs are intended to help ensure that HIV-positive children and adolescents stay in contact with health services, and serve as a conduit for delivery of other services, including health messages and health products. In 2019, Project SOAR conducted a study to describe the Kids Club …

Using Natural Language Processing And Sentiment Analysis To Augment Traditional User-Centered Design: Development And Usability Study, Curtis L. Petersen, Ryan Halter, David Kotz, Lorie Loeb, Summer B. Cook, Dawna M. Pidgeon, Brock Christensen, John A. Batsis

Dartmouth Scholarship

Background: Sarcopenia, defined as the age-associated loss of muscle mass and strength, can be effectively mitigated through resistance-based physical activity. With compliance at approximately 40% for home-based exercise prescriptions, implementing a remote sensing system would help patients and clinicians to better understand treatment progress and increase compliance. The inclusion of end users in the development of mobile apps for remote-sensing systems can ensure that they are both user friendly and facilitate compliance. With advancements in natural language processing (NLP), there is potential for these methods to be used with data collected through the user-centered design process.

Objective: This study aims …

Housing Stability And Diabetes Among People Living In New York City Public Housing, Sungwoo Lim, Sze Yan Liu, Melanie H. Jacobson, Eugenie Poirot, Aldo Crossa, Sean Locke, Jennifer Brite, Elizabeth Hamby, Zinzi Bailey, Stephanie Farquhar

Department of Public Health Scholarship and Creative Works

Public housing provides affordable housing and, potentially, housing stability for low-income families. Housing stability may be associated with lower incidence or prevalence and better management of a range of health conditions through many mechanisms. We aimed to test the hypotheses that public housing residency is associated with both housing stability and reduced risk of diabetes incidence, and the relationship between public housing and diabetes risk varies by levels of housing stability. Using 2004-16 World Trade Center Health Registry data, we compared outcomes (housing stability measured by sequence analysis of addresses, self-reported diabetes diagnoses) between 730 New York City public housing …

A Qualitative Inquiry Exploring Help-Seeking Behaviors And Resilience Strategies Women With Disabilities Utilize When Experiencing Gender-Based Violence In Rural Communities, Kimberly Ann Aguillard

Dissertations and Theses (Open Access)

Women with disabilities (WWD) are at pronounced risk of experiencing multiple forms of severe and prolonged violence, and they face barriers to accessing help. A multitude of factors associated with disability and rurality may compound the experience of violence, including geographic and social isolation, forcing WWD in rural settings to navigate extremely dangerous situations with limited avenues for accessing help and securing safety. This research explored how women with disabilities experiencing violence while living in rural communities navigate programs and policies, make decisions about seeking and securing help, and build resilience despite experiencing violence. The current study methodology empowers this …

Causal Analysis Theory And Application To Alzheimer’S Disease (Ad) And Heart Failure (Hf), Shudi Li

Dissertations and Theses (Open Access)

Alzheimer's disease (AD) and heart failure (HF) are two complex diseases that are caused by the combination of genetic and epigenetic, environmental and other lifestyle factors. Understanding the relationships between genetic and epigenetic variants and other factors of such complex diseases could assist researchers discover disease mechanisms and develop targeted therapies. Much of the research in genetics/epigenetics studies regarding AD and heart diseases have been focused on association analysis. Many researchers have identified genetic/epigenetics variants and phenotypes that are significantly associated with disease pathology. While most of these studies utilize association analysis as the analytical platform, the signals identified by …

Heat Stress Related Symptoms And Pulmonary Function In Oil Spill Response And Cleanup Workers Following The Deepwater Horizon Disaster, Yiyou Li

Dissertations and Theses (Open Access)

The objective of this study was to estimate the relationship between heat stress and pulmonary function among OSRC workers following the Deepwater Horizon (DWH) disaster. Methods: Pulmonary function test results were analyzed from a cohort of oil spill response and cleanup workers 1-3 years following the DWH disaster (N=5,131). Proxies for heat stress was employed by using information on heat stress-related symptoms as well as a questionnaire on stopping work due to heat reported during a structured telephone enrollment questionnaire. Associations between heat stress proxies and lung function were estimated using multivariable linear models and binomial logistic regression models while …

Heat Stress Related Symptoms And Pulmonary Function In Oil Spill Response And Cleanup Workers Following The Deepwater Horizon Disaster, Yiyao Li

Dissertations and Theses (Open Access)

Objective: The objective of this study was to estimate the relationship between heat stress and pulmonary function among OSRC workers following the Deepwater Horizon (DWH) disaster. Methods: Pulmonary function test results were analyzed from a cohort of oil spill response and cleanup workers 1-3 years following the DWH disaster (N=5,131). Proxies for heat stress was employed by using information on heat stress-related symptoms as well as a questionnaire on stopping work due to heat reported during a structured telephone enrollment questionnaire. Associations between heat stress proxies and lung function were estimated using multivariable linear models and binomial logistic regression models …

Area-Level Landfill Density And Asthma Prevalence In Urban Texas Areas, Jessica Meighan Herrin

Dissertations and Theses (Open Access)

Environmental exposures, especially air pollutants, pose a threat for an increase in asthma prevalence. In particular, hydrogen sulfide (H2S) gas can cause severe health effects closely resembling asthmatic symptoms. Ambient concentrations of H2S gas correlates with the amount of solid waste found in landfills. The potential for adverse health risks associated with H2S emitted from landfills is of concern for those populations living in close proximity to landfills. Asthma is one of the adverse health effects that can occur due to H2S exposure. However, there is a lack of detailed studies characterizing possible associations between the density of landfills and …

The Legacy Of Mining In Southwest Missouri: Past And Present Conditions Of The Tri-State Mining District, Anastasia M C Mcclanahan

Graduate Theses/Dissertations

The historic Tri-State Mining District (TSMD) of southwestern Missouri, southeastern Kansas, and northeastern Oklahoma has a history of lead and zinc mining that extended over a hundred years. During the district’s peak production period, the TSMD was one of the world’s largest producers of lead and zinc. The mining activities in the TSMD produced economic growth that supported the local communities and were essential to the victory of the Allied Forces during World War I and World War II. Beginning in the 1920s, the mining activities in the district slowly began to cease due to depletion of metal ores and …

Sexually Transmitted Infections And The 65 And Older Population: Knowledge And Perceived Risk, Alexus Miranda

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Sexually transmitted infections (STI) can impact all persons. Since 2000, the number of STIs has steadily increased among persons aged 50 years and older in the United States (Purpora, 2012). Persons over the age of 60 accounted for the biggest increase of in-office treatments of STIs between 2014 and 2017 (Howley, 2018). The purpose of this study was to use the Sexual Health Model to examine the relationship between various predictors and these persons’ perceived risk of STIs, their STI knowledge, and other barriers that impact the sexual health of persons 65 years of age and older. This study used …

The Determinants Of Physical Activity, Self-Monitoring Of Blood Glucose, And Poor Glycemic Control Among Individuals Diagnosed With Type 2 Diabetes In Saudi Arabia: A Cross-Sectional Study Based On The Saudi Health Interview Survey (Shis), Mohammed Abdulrahman S. Alsuliman

Health Services Research Dissertations

The prevalence of diabetes and poor glycemic control in Saudi Arabia has increased that contributed to the growing number of deaths in Saudi Arabia. It is known that type 2 diabetes (T2DM) can be prevented but there is a lack information about the magnitude of the of diabetes at national level as well as the risk factors for physical activity (PA), self-monitoring of blood glucose (SMBG), and poor glycemic. Thus, through utilizing Health promotion model (HPM), the aims are to examine the personal factors, cognitive-perceptual, and behavioral determinants of three outcomes; physical activity, SMBG, and poor glycemic control. A secondary …

Communication In Healthcare Settings: Access And Barriers To Care Experienced By Deaf Patients, Elizabeth Schniedewind

Boise State University Theses and Dissertations

Deaf persons who use American Sign Language (ASL) as their primary form of communication are members of a cultural and linguistic minority that experiences significant health disparities yet are not recognized as a health disparity population by the National Institutes of Health. Studies have reported ineffective communication in healthcare interactions and reduced access to care experienced by Deaf patients. Requests for sign language interpreters in healthcare encounters are frequently denied, despite federal mandates to provide effective communication. Comprised of three articles, this dissertation investigates the diminished access to communication in healthcare settings experienced by Deaf patients and qualitative research methods …

Evaluation Of The Humoral Immune Response As A Potential Indicator Of Disease Severity For Patients Hospitalized With Covid-19, Spencer Sterling

Capstone Experience: Master of Public Health

Members of the family Coronaviridae, including the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronaviruses (SARS-CoV-1 and SARS-CoV-2), Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV) and seasonal human coronaviruses (HCoV-HKU1and HCoV-OC43), are highly communicable respiratory viruses; SARS-CoV-1, SARS-CoV-2, and MERS can cause severe disease, while seasonal human coronaviruses present with mild to moderate illness. Coronavirus envelope spike (S) glycoproteins are involved in receptor binding and cell fusion, and are the primary target for a neutralizing humoral response. The S protein is comprised of the S₁ and S₂ subunits; the S₁ subunit contains the receptor-binding domain (RBD), while the S_{2 …}

The Long-Term Persistence And Tissue Tropism Of Brazilian Zika Virus In Monodelphis Domestica, Marisol Morales

Theses and Dissertations

Zika virus (ZIKV) rose as a major public health concern due to the congenital abnormalities of infants born to infected mothers during the 2015 Latin American outbreak. While animal models such as transgenic mice and nonhuman primates are used to study ZIKV pathogenesis, they display various limitations. Additionally, the persistence and tissue distribution of long-term ZIKV infection remains unknown. We describe the laboratory opossum, Monodelphis domestica, as a potential new model for ZIKV pathogenesis research to address these issues. We utilized immunohistochemistry, RT-PCR, and ELISA to show that: infant animals inoculated intracerebrally were susceptible to infection, ZIKV infection persisted …

Reproductive Health In The Philippines: Poverty, Religiosity, And Navigating Reproductive Choices, Allison Goncena

International Studies (MA) Theses

This dissertation centers the Philippines as a case study in which quantitative and qualitative data from empirical studies, science journal articles, social science texts, and interviews are cross-examined to ascertain two main areas of interest. The first incentive is to identify and analyze the Catholic Church’s resources in perpetuating moral male-dominant rhetoric that have delayed efforts supporting reproductive health intended to aid low-income women concerning their sexual and reproductive health. The second incentive is to detect how low-income women’s thoughts and behaviors in making reproductive decisions are resonant or not of the Church’s moral rectitude over SRH through their demonstrations …

Exploring The Relationships Between Mothers' Use Of Food To Soothe, Feeding Type And Mode, Maternal Feeding Style, Infant Behavior, And Infant Weight-Related Outcomes During Early Infancy, Megan K. Hupp

Master's Theses

Rapid infant weight gain (RWG) in the first six months postpartum is a strong predictor for obesity during childhood and adolescence. Although biological factors can influence infant weight gain trajectories, the modifiable factor of parent feeding practices can also have an influence. The use of food to soothe (FTS), or the act of feeding a child when he/she is upset for reasons other than hunger, has been associated with unhealthy eating behaviors and less-favorable weight outcomes in children and older infants. However, limited studies have explored the use of FTS during early infancy before the introduction of solids foods. The …

Family Planning And Afghan Refugee Women And Men Living In Melbourne, Australia: New Opportunities And Transcultural Tensions, Alana Russo, Belinda Lewis, Razia Ali, Atiq Abed, Grant Russel, Stanley Luchters

Population Health, East Africa

This research aimed to explore the family planning perspectives and experiences of Afghan women and men living in Melbourne. A total of 57 Afghan women and men participated in six focus groups and 20 semi-structured interviews. The majority of participants indicated a preference for two or three children and were open to using modern contraception. However, many women described experiencing negative side effects when using hormone-based contraception and expressed difficulty negotiating condom use with their husbands as an alternative. Some women described how these difficulties resulted in inconsistent contraceptive practices and, at times, unintended pregnancy. Participants recognised that health professionals …

The Assessment Of Co2 Exposures, Workload Demands, And Musculoskeletal Disorder Risk On Heart Rate For Select Craft Brewery Job Tasks, David L. Huizen

Dissertations

Americans have embraced craft beer, and the ensuing demand has resulted in an ever-increasing number of craft breweries opening over the past 20 years. Craft brewers are generally small employers and, as such, lack the resources necessary to address the safety and health of their employees adequately. Brewers face many safety and health hazards in their work environment. These hazards include exposures to carbon dioxide (CO₂), workload demand, and MSD risk. It is essential to evaluate these hazards in craft breweries as they handle carbon dioxide (CO₂) differently than large breweries by having the CO_{2 …}

Role Of Oxidative Stress And Altered Thyroid Hormones In Unexplained Infertility, Rehana Rehman, Hiba Ismail Rajpar, Mussarat Ashraf, Najeeha Talat Iqbal, Salima Lalani, Faiza Alam

Department of Biological & Biomedical Sciences

Objective: To explore the link between altered thyroid profile and oxidative stress marker in females with unexplained infertility.
Methods: The cross-sectional case-control study was carried out at the Islamabad Clinic Serving Infertile Couples, Islamabad, Pakistan, from June 2016 to August 2017, and comprised women aged 18-40 years regardless of ethnic background who were divided into two groups; those with unexplained infertility were the cases, while fertile women acted as the controls. Serum was analysed for triiodothyronine, thyroxine and thyroid stimulating hormone as well as for oxidative stress markers including manganese superoxide dismutase, glutathione reductase and adrenaline using enzymelinked immunosorbent assay. …

Evaluation Of Enrichment And Identification Media For Isolation Of Common Bovine Salmonella Serotypes, Katie Irene Swanson

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Salmonellosis is an important cause of diarrhea in humans and animals, which can lead to death in severe cases. Rapid and efficient detection of Salmonella spp. is essential to limit the spread of disease. Many enrichment procedures have been described for the isolation of Salmonella, and often include variations on Rappaport-Vassiliadis medium, which is recommended by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The current procedures vary in incubation temperature, incubation time, and type of media used for identification of Salmonella. This project compared four procedures for enrichment and identification of common bovine Salmonella serotypes. We determined the best …

The Relationship Between Physical Activity And Emotional Intelligence In Adolescents, Marie C. Gabour

Graduate Doctoral Dissertations

PURPOSE: We assessed the association of Physical Activity (PA) measures on overall Emotional Intelligence (EI) and domains of EI: Intrapersonal, Interpersonal, Adaptability, General Mood, and Stress Management in adolescents.

METHODS: Cross-sectional and two-year follow up analyses were conducted relating EI to PA measures using the National Longitudinal Survey of Children and Youth in adolescents between 10- 13 years. EI score was measured by using a validated the youth version of the Emotional Quotient Inventory; PA was self-reported. Regression analysis adjusted for age, gender, household annual income, and health status and was summarized using regression coefficients. A test of linear trend …

Examining Provider Perceptions And Roles Associated To Breastfeeding Support And Medical Management In Primary Care, Meghan Ganio Molinari

Graduate Theses

Background: Human milk is recommended as the exclusive source of nutrition for all infants in the first six months of life. Current rates of exclusive breastfeeding at six months are well below the public health recommendations (24.9% as of 2015). New mothers may experience many challenges which impact both breastfeeding initiation and duration rates in the postpartum period. Studies indicate that breastfeeding rates improve when women receive a combination of prenatal education coupled with postnatal support. Primary care practitioners in outpatient settings have a unique opportunity to provide lactation education, support, and medical management for their patients to improve …

Blood Pressure Awareness Among University Of Northern Iowa Students, Abigail Weekley, Theresa Spradling, Robert Good

Summer Undergraduate Research Program (SURP) Symposium

No abstract provided.

Pre-Testing Of The Who’S Educational Video: “How To Protect Yourself Against Covid-19”, Hilyatul Fadliyah, Manendra Muhtar, Munih Munih, Sylviasari Risgiantini, Weny Wulandary, Hadi Pratomo

Kesmas

The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, caused by the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) was declared a public health emergency in many countries, including Indonesia. The World Health Organization (WHO) released an educational video, entitled "How to Protect Yourself Against COVID-19", which explained how to prevent the spread of COVID-19. This study is a qualitative study that aims to pre-test this video, based on the Information, Education, Communication (IEC) theory, by analyzing teenagers’ perceptions of the video. The design used was a Rapid Assessment Procedure (RAP), and the data were collected by conducting in-depth interviews with participants, through …

Environmental Surveillance As A Tool For Identifying High-Risk Settings For Typhoid Transmission, Jason R. Andrews, Alexander T. Yu, Senjuti Saha, Jivan Shakya, Kristen Aiemjoy, Lily Horng, Farah Qamar, Denise Garret, Stephen Baker, Samir Saha, Stephen P. Luby

Department of Paediatrics and Child Health

Enteric fever remains a major cause of morbidity in developing countries with poor sanitation conditions that enable fecal contamination of water distribution systems. Historical evidence has shown that contamination of water systems used for household consumption or agriculture are key transmission routes for Salmonella Typhi and Salmonella Paratyphi A. The World Health Organization now recommends that typhoid conjugate vaccines (TCV) be used in settings with high typhoid incidence; consequently, governments face a challenge regarding how to prioritize typhoid against other emerging diseases. A key issue is the lack of typhoid burden data in many low- and middle-income countries where TCV …

Neuroinvasion, Neurotropic, And Neuroinflammatory Events Of Sars-Cov-2: Understanding The Neurological Manifestations In Covid-19 Patients, Yassine Yachou, Abdeslem El Idrissi, Vladimir Belapasov, Said Ait Benali

Publications and Research

Respiratory viruses are opportunistic pathogens that infect the upper respiratory tract in humans and cause severe illnesses, especially in vulnerable populations. Some viruses have neuroinvasive properties and activate the immune response in the brain.These immune events may be neuroprotective or they may cause long-term damage similar to what is seen in some neurodegenerative diseases. The new “Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2” (SARS-CoV-2) is one of the Respiratory viruses causing highly acute lethal pneumonia coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) with clinical similarities to those reported in “Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus” (SARS-CoV) and the “Middle East Respiratory SyndromeCoronavirus” (MERS-CoV) including neurological …

Is Sars-Cov-2 A Neurotropic Virus And A Potential Facilitator Of Cns Infection For Other Pathogens?, Jose Bordon

The University of Louisville Journal of Respiratory Infections

No abstract provided.

Cultivating Healthy Schools: The Feasibility Of An Outdoor Classroom In A Public Elementary School, Erin Largo-Wight, Caroline A. Guardino, Katrina W. Hall

Florida Public Health Review

Background: Nature contact and time outdoors is critical for healthy child development and well-being and a disconnect from nature may be problematic. Purpose: This study was designed to evaluate the feasibility of a nature contact intervention for children – an outdoor classroom - in a public school. Methods: Two kindergarten classes participated in this mixed-methods case study (N=2 teachers, n=36 children aged 5-6) and used an outdoor classroom every other day for language arts lesson over a six weeks observation period. The two teachers in this case study completed a survey that assessed perceived practicality and feasibility of using the …