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Navigating (M)Otherhood: Perception, Practice, & Policy Of Adolescent Pregnancy In The North Coast Of Perú, Mahir Rahman

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

“It’s a vicious circle”, the obstetricians of Huanchaco repeated time and time again after discussing a recently pregnant 13-year-old girl who had just moved to the North Coast of Perú. Adolescent pregnancy is an extremely stigmatized topic in global maternal and child health discourse. Pregnant adolescents are subject to educational policy, clinical protocol, and community practice. While global scholarship emphasizes adolescent pregnancy prevention, limited scholarship focuses on the conditions in which adolescent pregnancy is perceived, discussed, and managed. More importantly, these perspectives are even less documented amongst the North Coast of Perú.

This thesis serves as an ethnographic exploration of …

Temperature And Sex Ratios At Birth, Jasmin Abdel Ghany, Joshua Wilde, Anna Dimitrova, Ridhi Kashyap, Raya Muttarak

Publications, Reports and Presentations

Human sex ratios at birth (SRBs) shape population composition and are closely linked to maternal health and gender discrimination. In the context of environmental change, SRBs may theoretically be skewed by physiological or behavioral responses to exposure to extreme heat. However, evidence for this is limited. In this study, we estimate the effect of prenatal exposure to temperature on birth sex by linking survey data on 5 million live births in 33 sub-Saharan African countries and India with high-resolution temperature data. To distinguish between spontaneous and induced abortions, we exploit sociodemographic differentials, exposure timing, and regional differences in son preference. …

The Disproportionate Impact Of Hiv On Young Women In Durban: Exploring Gendered Vulnerabilities And Socioeconomic Barriers, Adrian A. Nolasco

Capstone Collection

South Africa has a high rate of HIV, with young women in Durban especially affected due to social, economic, and cultural challenges. This study looks at the experiences of young women living with HIV and the views of healthcare professionals caring for them in KwaZulu-Natal. Using a qualitative, phenomenological approach, semi-structured interviews were conducted with five women and three medical professionals to explore how HIV affects their lives, the challenges they face, and how they cope.

The findings show that both structural and personal barriers make it hard for young women to stick to treatment. Long waits at clinics, limited …

Ethical Decision-Making And Modification Of Service Delivery: Social Workers In Connecticut During Covid, Marie Elana Hollingsworth

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Social work professionals often experience demanding and intense situations while facing organizational restructuring during crisis situations. The purpose of this generic qualitative study was to explore the viewpoints of frontline social workers regarding their ethical decision-making processes in response to the mandatory modifications of the service delivery protocol during the COVID-19 pandemic. Enck’s biomedical and ethical decision-making framework grounded the study. Data were collected from semi-structured interviews with 10 frontline social workers in Connecticut who had been employed with a social service agency for at least 3 years, but no more than ten. Findings from coding and thematic analysis yielded …

Perceptions Of Former Inmates’ Mental Health And Substance Abuse Treatment Received During Incarceration, Garla Kathleen Snapp-Hart

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Access to effective behavioral treatment is critical for the imprisoned population and newly released individuals to reduce reentry into the penitentiary system. Social workers within correctional facilities can determine the need for treatment, how often treatment is required, what specific treatment is necessary, and what resources will be needed to provide those treatments. A qualitative exploratory design was used in this study. I explored the quality of behavioral health treatment provided to the incarcerated population. Systems theory was used as the theoretical framework this study. There were 17 participants in this study who had been incarcerated in a Kentucky prison …

Artemisinin Partial Resistance Mutations In Zanzibar And Tanzania Suggest Regional Spread And African Origins, 2023, Sean V. Connelly, Julia G. Muller, Mohamed Ali, Billy E. Ngasala, Wahida Hassan, Bakari Mohamed, Kyaw L. Thwai, Jacob M. Sadler, Jacob Marglous, Abebe A. Fola, Abdallah Zacharia, Shija J. Shija, Safia Mohammed, Dominick C. Msolo, Hamza Said, Editruda E. Peter, Melic Odas, Isaack J. Rutha, Mwanaidi Nwange, Karamoko Naire, Shazia Ruybal-Pesántez, Robert Verity, Rebecca Crudale, Varun Goel, Barbara B. Choloi, Anders Björkman, Jeffrey A. Bailey, Jessica T. Lin, Jonathan J. Juliano

Faculty Publications

Artemisinin partial resistance, driven by Plasmodium falciparum K13 mutations, threatens malaria control. Zanzibar is vulnerable to artemisinin partial resistance spread but lacks recent molecular surveillance. We sequenced samples in Zanzibar and mainland Tanzania collected from 2022 to 2024. K13 mutations were found in 2 of 1440 participants (P441L, A675V) in Zanzibar and 6 of 3762 (R561H, P441L) in mainland Tanzania. Based on whole genome sequencing data, K13 mutations appear to be of African origin with regional spread. Frequent parasite importation appears to maintain partner drug mutation frequencies similar to the mainland, where artemether-lumefantrine selects for mutations favoring artesunate-amodiaquine sensitivity. Ongoing …

Understanding The Epidemiology Of Malaria In Zanzibar Through Molecular And Serological Analysis Of Samples Collected During Reactive Case Detection, Vanrun Goel, Wahida Hassan, Caroline Murphy, Barbara B. Choloi, Mohamed Ali, Shija J. Shija, Jeffrey A. Bailey, Anders Björkman, Billey E. Ngasala, Eric Rogier, Jonathan J. Juliano, Jessica T. Lin

Faculty Publications

Background

The Zanzibar archipelago has been a pre-elimination region for malaria thanks to rigorous control interventions, but recent surges in malaria cases have been observed. The contribution of non-falciparum species to the current malaria situation is unknown.

Method

This study investigates the epidemiology of falciparum and non-falciparum malaria species in Zanzibar. Leveraging plasma extracted from dried blood spots (DBS) collected during reactive case detection (RCD) activities across Unguja island from May 2022 to January 2023, we measured immunoglobulin G (IgG) responses to Plasmodium MSP1-19kD antigens using a multiplex bead-based immunoassay. Additionally, active infections were detected using species-specific real-time PCR.

Results …

Good Mothers: Black Disabled Mothers & The Family Policing System, Siobhan Pokorney

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Good Mothers: Black Disabled Mothers & the Family Policing System is a qualitative study utilizing 16 in-depth individual interviews with mothers who broadly identified as Black, disabled mothers who had at least one interaction with the family policing system as adults in or around NYC. The study examines the work these mothers engage in to navigate their identities and strategically present themselves as good mothers while facing state surveillance and oppressive systems (specifically the family policing system) which automatically frame them as “unfit mothers.” It traces their experiences and the identity work that they engage in through the anticipatory trauma …

The Affective Economy Of Toxic Atmospheres: Sensory Governance, Ecological Intelligences And The Performative Politics Of Urban Mosquito Management, Orlando Woods, Creighton Connolly

Research Collection College of Integrative Studies

This paper considers how atmospheres can play a powerful role in troubling the management of nature in the multispecies city. It brings the cyclical nature of atmospheric effects, the affective values and il/logics that determine human responses to non-human threats, and the misguided and potentially deleterious health outcomes that ensue into one analytical frame. Drawing on the empirical case of urban mosquito management in Singapore, it considers how the creation of toxic atmospheres through fogging – blowing insecticides into the air in a bid to kill mosquitoes – is ineffective and sets in motion a cascading series of socio-environmental consequences. …

Private Sector Healthcare Investment In Indonesia: Leveraging Australia-Indonesia Partnerships For Health System Transformation, Susan Josephine Neuhaus

Journal of Indonesian Health Policy and Administration

Australia and Indonesia are strategic partners with expanding bilateral trade valued at AUD 26.7 billion (2022-23). Health care partnerships between the two countries offer significant opportunities for private sector engagement. Indonesia’s large population, rapidly growing middle class, and implementation of Universal Health Coverage (UHC) through the Jaminan Kesehatan Nasional (JKN) present partnership opportunities to strengthen health system capacity, address infrastructure gaps and workforce shortages, and contribute to shared economic and prosperity goals. This study explores how Australian private healthcare investment can complement government initiatives in supporting Indonesia’s UHC while advancing Australia’s regional engagement. A descriptive qualitative analysis was conducted using …

Analysis Of Coverage Of Tuberculosis Prevention Therapy (Tpt): Literature Review, Septia Rahmalina, Ede Surya Darmawan

Journal of Indonesian Health Policy and Administration

Tuberculosis Preventive Therapy (TPT) is a crucial intervention for tuberculosis (TB) control, particularly among high-risk groups such as household contacts of TB patients and people living with Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV). Despite being recommended by the World Health Organization (WHO), TPT implementation still faces challenges at the primary care level. This study employed the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) method to review 11 articles published between 2021 and 2025 that were relevant to TPT implementation in various high-TB burden countries, including Indonesia. The main barriers identified were input (logistics, training), process (tracing, education, monitoring), and output …

Prophylactic Antibiotic Analysis In Obs-Gyn, Orthopedics, Gastrointestinal Surgery At A South Tangerang Hospital, January-March 2024, Evelina Endang Nurjaman, Helen Andriani

Journal of Indonesian Health Policy and Administration

Inappropriate use of prophylactic antibiotics (PAs) remains a primary driver of antimicrobial resistance (AMR); however, global adherence to established prescribing guidelines remains suboptimal. This study aimed to analyze the compliance and rationality of PA prescription and to evaluate the underlying causes of physician non-adherence in obstetrics, orthopedic, and gastrointestinal surgeries at a hospital in South Tangerang City, Indonesia. Adopting a mixed-methods approach, this investigation combined a quantitative assessment of 208 surgical patient records (January–March 2024) with qualitative exploratory interviews conducted with three specialist peer group heads. This design allowed the triangulation of prescribing data with underlying clinical perspectives. PA rationality …

The Archaeology Of Alienation: Representation Of Death For The Mentally Illness In Lawang, Malang, Aninda Diandra Rahmadewi, Irmawati Marwoto Imj

International Review of Humanities Studies

Alienation as a novelty in archaeological research which in this study aims to explain how mentally illness patients are buried at Lawang Mental Hospital as an alienation and how the representation of the graves of patients with mentally illness. Alienation is a form of experience by individuals who are marginalized from society, one of which is people with mentally illness. Alienation in mentally illness does not only occur during their lifetime, but continues until they die. Lawang Mental Hospital, built in 1884, is the only mental hospital that has a special cemetery for mentally illness patients. The method used focuses …

High Prevalence Of Cerebrovascular Calcifications And Clinical Correlates In Indigenous Bolivian Forager‐Horticulturalists: A Population‐Based Observational Study, Giuseppe Barisano, Bavrina Bigjahan, Grant Schleifer, Maria Ashna, Wendy J. Mack, M. Linda Sutherland, James D. Sutherland, Helena C. Chui, Meng Law, Thomas J. Fischbach, Andrei Irimia, Nikhil N. Chaudhari, Daniel K. Cummings, Paul L. Hooper, Jacob E. Aronoff, Ellen E. Walters, Daniel Eid Rodriguez, Raul Quispe Gutierrez, Jesus Bani Cuata, Kenneth Buetow, Caleb E. Finch, Michael D. Gurven, Jonathan Stieglitz, Gregory S. Thomas, Randall C. Thompson, Benjamin Trumble, Hillard Kaplan, Margaret Gatz

ESI Publications

Background

Methods

The Cowl - V. 89 N. 12 - January 29, 2026

The Cowl

The Cowl - student newspaper of Providence College. Vol. 89 No. 12 - January 29, 2026. 16 pages.

Assessing Abuse And Neglect In U.S. Nursing Homes: A Comparative Analysis Across Pre-, During, And Post-Pandemic Periods, Katherine Gane

Theses and Dissertations

Nursing homes are among the most closely regulated providers in the U.S. healthcare system, with both federal and state agencies working together to monitor care and help protect residents. The COVID-19 pandemic, however, introduced unprecedented challenges for facilities and survey agencies alike, disrupting normal operations, limiting in-person visits, and temporarily shifting regulatory priorities. The purpose of this study was to examine how these pandemic-related disruptions were reflected in the severity and reporting patterns of substantiated abuse and neglect deficiencies in U.S. nursing homes. Using publicly available data from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), this study analyzed 39,607 …

Usage Statistics: Project Counter R5 Tr_J1 Report Fy2025 - Journal Requests (Controlled) By Title, Andrée Rathemacher

Technical Services Reports and Statistics

Project COUNTER R5 / 5.1 Report TR_J1 for the University of Rhode Island for the period from July 1, 2024 - June 30, 2025. The TR_J1 report is defined as "Journal Requests (Controlled)." This report presents an annual total only and only includes those platforms successfully configured for automated harvesting via SUSHI.

File for download is Excel spreadsheet generated by Alma Analytics.

Results:

Total Item Requests - 850,324

Unique Item Requests - 628,581

Black Educated Women's Experience With Relationship Formation After Intimate Partner Violence, Jeannette Aris Thompson-Beckford

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Black women experience intimate partner violence (IPV) at disproportionately high rates, yet most research has focused on those from lower socioeconomic backgrounds, overlooking how educated Black women navigate relationships after IPV. While extensive studies have examined the health consequences of IPV among Black women, less attention has been given to their experiences with intimacy, trust, and partner selection post-IPV. Additionally, existing research on relationship formation after IPV has largely centered on other racial groups, leaving the unique challenges faced by Black educated women underexplored. The purpose of this phenomenological study was to explore how Black, educated women describe their experiences …

Assessing The Effectiveness Of The One Paleopathology Workshop, Julianne R. Stamer, Mario Apata Mamani, Bernardo Arriaza, Robin Bendrey, Kelly Blevins, Tessa Campbell, Nicole Gottdenker, Rebecca Gowland, Haagen Klaus, Carina Marques

Anthropology Faculty Publications

Background and objectives: One Paleopathology is a novel concept in Paleopathology that extends the One Health paradigm into the past. A workshop at the University of Durham, UK, was held prior to the 2024 International Society for Evolution, Medicine, and Public Health (ISEMPH) meeting, firstly to define and expand the concept of One Paleopathology and secondly to generate transdisciplinary research and outreach under this framework. This article presents a logic model to evaluate how effectively the workshop met its goals.

Methodology: Two surveys were conducted, one immediately following the workshop and at the 1-year mark. These surveys assess the direct …

The Effects Of Nature Exposure On Workplace Engagement, Allison Emmons

Senior Honors Theses and Projects

The idea that nature is beneficial to humans is somewhat unclear in the field of psychology. Many studies have found that exposure to natural elements can improve human emotions and performance on cognitive tasks. However, there are inconsistencies in the literature regarding whether both outcomes can be enhanced at once. There is also limited research on how nature can impact attitudes about the environment and tasks at hand. This study seeks to examine whether or not incorporating natural elements into workplaces improves employee performance and engagement measures, such as decision-making quality, job satisfaction, job motivation, and current emotional state. This …

Information Technology Dashboard Design Research, James Myers

Dissertations and Theses

Dashboard displays in command center environments benefit from design guidelines informed by perceptual and cognitive research. This dissertation examines how spatial hierarchy and chartjunk affect knowledge retention from dashboard displays, using a mixed-methods approach that combines formative qualitative studies with controlled experiments. Three formative studies, an expert review, a heuristic analysis with three reviewers, and semi-structured interviews with IT professionals identified spatial hierarchy and chartjunk removal as the design guidelines most likely to affect dashboard comprehension. A subsequent co-creation study with IT professionals refined these findings and informed experimental stimulus development. Two experiments tested these guidelines using a dashboard knowledge …

Deterrence Without Peace: Nuclear Weapons And The Rising Threshold Of Warfare, Catie Clarke

CISLA Senior Integrative Projects

Nuclear weapons fundamentally changed the international political landscape, leading to the emergence of deterrence theory and the notion of the Long Peace. This paper challenges these claims, arguing that nuclear weapons facilitated a more violent and volatile international system rather than stability. Drawing on constructivist theory, this paper develops the Threshold of Violence framework – a normative model which asserts that nuclear weapons elevated the perceived upper limit of tolerable violence in international politics. This raised threshold generated three trends in the nuclear era: increased frequency of proxy wars, escalating levels of benefactor involvement, and greater severity of conflicts fought …

Aging On The Fringes: Understanding Inequities Among Older Adults Impacted By Poverty, Mental Health Challenges, And Drug Use, William O’Leary, David Howson-Jan, Marjorie Knight, Soo Chan Carusone

Lyle S. Hallman Social Work Faculty Publications

This report provides an overview of government reports and academic literature examining aging and its intersection with poverty, homelessness, drug use, and mental health challenges. It pairs national and Ontario trends with data from Waterloo Region to illustrate how aging on the fringes is unfolding locally.

Throughout the report, “Local Lens: Waterloo Region” callouts highlight key regional indicators and their implications for programs and policy. The purpose of this report is to support discussion and action to advance equity-informed research and advocacy for people aging on the fringes. It is written for community members, service providers, and organizations seeking to …

An Engine, Not A Vessel: Place, Politics, And Health In The United States, Philip B. Rocco

Political Science Faculty Research and Publications

Social scientists often treat places as containers for social and economic phenomena that shape health outcomes. Yet this analytic practice conceals more than it reveals. Local governments in the United States should be understood as engines of both health promotion and stratification. As the contributions to this symposium suggest, governments not only occupy a formal place in the U.S. public health system, their decisions on everything from housing to transportation infrastructure can also have profound impacts on health outcomes. Local political economies likewise renegotiate the parameters of acceptable health interventions, public understandings of health disparities, and the status of population …

Review Of Vampire Forensics: Uncovering The Origins Of An Enduring Legend, Elizabeth Brandt

Nebraska Anthropologist

Review of Vampire Forensics: Uncovering the Origins of an Enduring Legend (2010) by Mark Collins Jenkins.

The Art Of Crisis Leadership By Exemplary Naval Frontline Leaders, Broadus Brooks

Dissertations

Purpose: This qualitative, multiple-case study held significant importance because it aimed to identify and describe the strategies used by exemplary naval frontline leaders to lead in crisis, particularly during the COVID-19 pandemic. The study focused on the five critical tasks of strategic crisis leadership (sensemaking, decision making/coordination, meaning making, accounting, and learning), providing a unique insight into the experiences of these leaders during a crisis.Methodology: This qualitative, multiple-case study employed interviews to collect data from exemplary naval frontline leaders to identify and describe their leadership strategies during the unprecedented COVID-19 global health crisis.

Findings: Crisis leadership among U.S. naval frontline …

The Fatality Of Rights-Based Argumentation: Conservative Co-Optation, Liberal Fragmentation, And The Battle For The Narrative, Yesha Shah

University of the District of Columbia Law Review

Rights-based liberal argumentation has become increasingly vulnerable to conservative co-optation. Because rights language is often indeterminate and easily reinterpreted, conservatives can appropriate liberal rhetoric, recast it in service of contrary ends, and redirect attention away from substantive policy consequences. This Article examines that dynamic through case studies on abortion, criminal justice reform, and affirmative action, and argues that liberals should rely more heavily on cost-benefit analysis as a complementary framework for political messaging. More concrete and empirically grounded than abstract rights rhetoric, cost-benefit analysis may be less susceptible to rhetorical hijacking while still supporting progressive policy outcomes.

Exploring Biopsychosocial Influences On Hookup Culture And Disrupting Compulsory Behaviors In Emerging Adults: A Multidisciplinary Analysis Of A Contemporary Public Health Concern, Catherine Benjamin

Honors Theses and Capstones

Multidisciplinary analysis, including biology, psychology, and sociology, to better understand the compulsory Hookup Culture that exists as a contemporary public health concern among the age group defined as emerging adults. Sexually Transmitted Infections (STIs) diagnoses are steadily rising in the United States and disproportionately affecting college students. Early socialization and current educational resources that contribute to shame and stigma are discussed to explain how lifestyle and social conditions can act as risk factors for individual health outcomes.

The Open Secret: Drugs And Fishing In Georgia, Makala L. Collins

Honors College Theses

Substance use and overdose deaths have been disproportionally disrupting families and communities in rural America. Increasing rates of drug use in these areas can be traced to the outsourcing of blue-collar work to outside of the United States, which economically restructured these areas by decreasing the profitability of generational industries. This is the story playing out in Georgia’s commercial shrimping industry and the communities it used to support. This research uses qualitative data collected over the past ten years to understand the perceptions and impacts of drug use on Georgia’s shrimping community. Using a lens of critical medical anthropology, environmental …

Using Maximum Entropy (Maxent) Tool In Arcgis Pro For Species Distribution Modelling Of Pseudoscorpions In The Pacific Northwest, Elliot Toshihiro Cochran

Masters in GIS Practicum Reports

The use of Geographic Information Systems (GIS) to create Species Distribution Models (SDMs) is rising among many scientific disciplines. Many professionals who were not originally focused on GIS are increasingly becoming more invested in this technology. SDMs are widely used to estimate species’ potential geographic distributions and to evaluate the environmental factors that constrain their ranges. The presence-only maximum entropy (MaxEnt) algorithm implemented in the MaxEnt tool in ArcGIS Pro was used in this project to model habitat suitability for two species of pseudoscorpions, M. pacificus and an undescribed species, in Oregon and Washington. Presence points (of specimen sample locations) …