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A Portrait Of Latino Children: The Gap With Non-Latinos In Massachusetts, Phillip Granberry, Alejandro Alvarez, Vishakha Agarwal, Fabián Torres-Ardila, Gaston Institute, University Of Massachusetts Boston

Gastón Institute Publications

Latino children are one of Massachusetts' fastest-growing segments of the population. However, evidence suggests that the social and economic context in which Latino children live does not adequately support their development and overall wellbeing. Nearly a third of Latino children in the United States live in very low-opportunity neighborhoods as defined by a scale of educational, health, environmental, and socioeconomic outcomes. Compared to non-Latino children, Latinos are more likely to grow up in households below the federal poverty threshold and less likely to have a mother with at least a Bachelor's degree. The research included in this report aims to …

Accessing Healthcare In The Intermountain West During The Age Of Precarious Labor, Jordan Hammon

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

This research aims to improve our understanding about the association between precarious employment and healthcare access. Using the framework of neoliberalism and the history of welfare reform in the United States, this thesis investigates the relationship between precarious labor and two outcomes associated with health insurance access, namely Medicaid utilization, and being uninsured. I also examine one potential consequence of Medicaid utilization and lack of insurance, having a usual place of health care in the context of the Intermountain West region of the United States.

Using new survey data and quantitative methodologies, this research shows how economic changes, particularly related …

Alienation, Modernization, And Animal Welfare: Human-Animal Relationships At The Farm, State, And Country Levels, Michael D. Briscoe

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Our relationships with animals are important for us as humans, for the environment, and for the animals themselves. In this dissertation I look at the relationships between humans and animals at three scales: farm, U.S. state, and country. Specifically, I address how factors like economic growth, technological innovation, and globalization affect human relationships with animals. Understanding how these factors influence human-animal relationships is important for improving these relationships and deciding which directions will most contribute to sustainable outcomes. I address the social factors that influence human-animal relationships in three studies.

In the first study I surveyed and interviewed dairy farmers …

Food Insecurity And Older Adults: An Analysis Of Food Insecurity Among Elderly Households In The Us During The Covid-19 Pandemic, Stephanie Alexandra Morales

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Past research has shown that food insecurity rates among the elderly have significantly increased during the COVID-19 pandemic. Nonetheless, there are yet to be peer-reviewed articles that specifically address food insecurity among the elderly during the COVID-19 pandemic. This cross-sectional study utilized a nationally representative sample (50 states and the District of Columbia, n = 29,779) using data derived from the Household Pulse Survey (HPS). One generalized estimating equation (GEE) was estimated along with bivariate analyses. The GEE revealed that Hispanics, Asians, and those who identified as other race were significantly more likely to be food insecure in comparison to …

A Content Analysis Of Social Media Posts Among Recreational Cyclists: A Gender Perspective, Eunjung Kim, Kijung Choi, James Lappeman, Jari Salo

Research outputs 2014 to 2021

Recreational cyclists are pertinent but rarely studied leisure and tourism segment. Recreational cycling has traditionally been considered as a ‘masculine stereotyped’ sport. The purpose of the research is to better understand a gendered consumer view of recreational cycling and to possibly promote recreational cycling to women and men in countries like South Africa with keen interests of recreational cycling in the form of sport tourism. This research employs a content analysis of social media posts on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter as a research method. Specifically, the gendered nature of recreational cycling is focused upon. In total, 2,504 posts from 1,598 …

Physical Health As A Predictor Of Change In Self-Reported Presenting Problems In Couple Therapy, As Mediated By Emotional Regulation, Janette J. Driscoll

Theses and Dissertations

Recent literature in couple therapy has demonstrated the effects of physical health on some common presenting problems; however, few studies have considered progress as a construct on its own, irrespective of client-identified presenting problem. The current study used an Actor-Partner Interdependence Mediated Model to determine the connection between each partner's physical health and their own and their partner's self-reported progress in couple therapy, mediated by each partner's emotional regulation. Physical health was measured every four sessions using the Health-Related Quality of Life scale, and progress was measured by the Presenting Problem Progress Questionnaire given each time a couple attended therapy. …

Geospatial Analysis Of Rurality And Food Banks In Appalachian Ohio, Cooper T. Johnson, Rebecca Fischbein, Kristin Baughman

Journal of Appalachian Health

Introduction: Food insecurity is a problem for individuals across Ohio, including those living in Appalachia. Adequate access to resources that help combat food insecurity is important for these populations.

Purpose: To examine how rurality relates to food insecurity and need for food resources, as well as availability of those resources including food pantries and soup kitchens, in 15 northern Ohio Appalachian counties.

Methods: A cross-sectional study with a geographical analysis was conducted using data from the American Community Survey census data, County Health Rankings data, and regional foodbank websites.

Results: Rural counties had a higher ratio of potential clients per …

Addressing Diabetes Distress In Self-Management Programs: Results Of A Randomized Feasibility Study, Ranjita Misra, Samantha Shawley-Brzoska, Raihan Khan, Brenna O. Kirk, Sijin Wen, Usha Sambamoorthi

Journal of Appalachian Health

Background: West Virginia ranks 1st nationally in the prevalence of hypertension (HTN; 43.8%) and diabetes (16.2%). Patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) are distressed over physical and psychological burden of disease self-management.

Methods: This study investigated the effectiveness of an intervention to reduce diabetes distress and outcomes [glycemic control, blood pressure (BP)] among T2DM adults with comorbid HTN. Participants were randomized to a 12-week diabetes and hypertension self-management program versus a 3-month wait-listed control group. Trained health coaches and experts implemented the lifestyle program in a faith-based setting using an adapted evidence-based curriculum. Twenty adults with T2DM and HTN …

Subjective Cognitive Decline Higher Among Sexual And Gender Minorities In The United States, 2015–2018, Jason D. Flatt, Ethan C. Cicero, Nickolas H. Lambrou, Whitney Wharton, Joel G. Anderson, Erin D. Bouldin, Lisa C. Mcguire, Christopher A. Taylor

Social and Behavioral Health Faculty Research

Introduction: Subjective cognitive decline (SCD) represents self-reported problems with memory, a possible early sign of dementia. Little is known about SCD among sexual and gender minority (SGM) adults who identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual, and/or transgender or gender non-binary. Methods: Data were weighted to represent population estimates from 25 states’ 2015–2018 Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System to describe SCD in adults ≥ 45 years by SGM status. Logistic regression tested associations between demographic and health conditions. Results: SCD prevalence was higher in SGM (15.7%; 95% confidence interval [CI]:13.1–18.2) than in non-SGM adults (10.5%; 95% CI:10.1–10.9; P < .0001). SGM adults with SCD were also more likely to report functional limitations due to SCD than non-SGM adults with SCD, 60.8% versus 47.8%, P =.0048. Differences in SCD by SGM status were attenuated after accounting for depression. Discussion: Higher prevalence of SCD in SGM adults highlights the importance of ensuring inclusive screenings, interventions, care services, and resources for SGM adults.

Can Community Gardens With Workshops Increase Gardening Behavior? A Navajo Wellness Collaboration, Kevin A. Lombard Phd, India J. Ornelas Phd, Desiree Deschenie, Felix Nez, Sonia Bishop, Katie Osterbauer Ms, Eileen Rillamas-Sun Phd, Shirley A.A. Beresford Phd

Journal of Health Disparities Research and Practice

This paper seeks to evaluate the potential efficacy of a community gardening intervention on the Navajo Nation to increase gardening and healthy eating behaviors, which are potentially important in preventing obesity and related health conditions. Rates of obesity are high among American Indians, including those living on Navajo Nation land. Eating fresh fruits and vegetables is part of healthy eating. However, availability and access to fresh fruits and vegetables are severely limited on the Navajo Nation, due to distance and cost. One way to increase both availability and consumption of fresh fruits and vegetables is through community gardening, yet …

Navigating Services & Supports In South Central Oregon: Community Uplift Family Voice Journey Maps, Callie H. Lambarth, Kate Normand, Ron Joseph

Center for Improvement of Child and Family Services Publications

The Home Visiting Systems Coordination (HVSC) project aims to create coordinated home visiting systems that strengthen and benefit all home visiting models as part of regional birth-to-5 early childhood systems in southern Oregon and northern California.

The project’s long-term goal is to improve outcomes for families and expand each region’s capacity to serve more families through homebased early childhood supports.

Campus Mental Health Service Use Among Female Survivors Of Sexual Violence: An Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis, Hannah Coffman

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Description: Despite the increase in resources to address the alarming rates of collegiate sexual violence (SV), survivors consistently do not disclose or seek mental health treatment from campus supports (Halstead et al., 2017). The purpose of this study was to understand the lived experiences of women who survived SV during college.

Method: Seven women who experienced SV during college completed a series of two semi-structured interviews using a HIPAA-compliant, web-conferencing software (Seidman, 2013). The interviews were transcribed verbatim and analyzed using an interpretative phenomenological analysis (IPA) framework (IPA; Smith, 2004; Smith et al., 2009). A six-step data analysis procedure identified …

Consulting Place As Stakeholder: Accessing The Input Of Ecological Community, Hunter Adkisson

Landscape Architecture Undergraduate Honors Theses

This is a project about how landscape architects approach the landscape in their design process. Indigenous worldviews hold that the world is living and animate in its own right. When we consider stakeholder engagement in this light, the need arises to extend the definition of stakeholders to include the ecological communities of place – the flora, fauna, soils, and other non-human elements of place. To gather that input, I experimented with techniques to access a greater awareness of ecological community at two sites with different levels of urbanity and types of land management practices. This experimental approach was surprisingly successful …

Health And Ideations Of Married Female Adolescents, Breakthrough Research

Reproductive Health

This brief provides rigorous evidence-based insights to implementers and researchers of social and behavior change (SBC) programs that seek to improve knowledge, attitudes, norms, and behaviors of married female adolescents. The brief focuses on married adolescents’ uptake of services and health knowledge in Kebbi, Sokoto, and Zamfara states in northwestern Nigeria using a subset of data from a household survey of married women ages 15–49 years. It is one of a series of briefs that present findings from a Breakthrough RESEARCH study that uniquely captures data on a wide range of psychosocial drivers of behavioral outcomes in the areas of …

Assessing The Power Of Policy: Deconstructing Declines In Child Marriage Around The World, Zackery Butler

Theses and Dissertations

Drawing on research from the fields sociology and demography, this dissertation endeavors to deconstruct the declines in Child, Early and Forced Marriage (CEFM) around the world by assessing the power of international institutions to create and enforce global norms across a wide range of nation-states. I conducted three different studies on CEFM at different levels to better understand how international policy, the cultural composition of countries, macro level demographic trends, and the relationships between national leadership and international governance have effected changes over the last few decades beginning in 1980. I used comparative historical methods in conjunction with demographic techniques …

Vulnerability To And Protection Against Covid-19 Fear, Threat, And Worry, Marsha Kim Huh

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Drawing from a sample of 10,368 adults living in the U.S., the current study examines the role of social and psychological resources in lowering COVID-related fear, threat, and worry, controlling for a number of social vulnerabilities (e.g. gender, race/ethnicity, and presence of children). The impact of social location, particularly in regards to race, and how one accesses and/or utilizes social and psychological resources is also examined through disaggregated regression models. Results demonstrate that some social and psychological resources impact COVID-specific distress (fear/threat/worry), but depending on the resource, relationships vary in direction and significance. The strength of social ties and mastery …

Students With Orthopedic Impairments' Perspectives Toward Integrated Physical Education, Katherine E. Holland

Human Movement Studies & Special Education Theses & Dissertations

Students with disabilities are educated in general physical education classes with their same aged peers more now than ever before (Governmental Accountability Office [GAO], 2010), yet little is known about how those with orthopedic impairments experience these integrated classes. Additionally, while a plethora of strategies are described as promoting ‘inclusion’, very few ‘inclusive’ strategies have been problematized. This dissertation followed a two-study format. The first study explored the lived experiences of students with orthopedic impairments in integrated physical education classes, and the second study examined how students with orthopedic impairments experienced strategies identified in the literature to support ‘inclusion’. An …

Cognition In Context: Pathways And Compound Risk In A Sample Of Us Non-Hispanic Whites, Jennifer W. Robinette, Jason D. Boardman

Psychology Faculty Articles and Research

The population of individuals with cognitive impairment and dementia is growing rapidly, necessitating etiological investigation. It is clear that individual differences in cognition later in life have both genetic and multi-level environmental correlates. Despite significant recent progress in cellular and molecular research, the exact mechanisms linking genes, brains, and cognition remain elusive. In relation to cognition, it is unlikely that genetic and environmental risk factors function in a vacuum, but rather interact and cluster together. The purpose of the present study was to examine whether aspects of individual socioeconomic status (SES) explain the cognitive genotype-phenotype association, and whether neighborhood SES …

Consumption Behavior Of Algerians During The Period Of The Covid-19 Pandemic Crisis, Kamel Chikhi

Markets, Globalization & Development Review

This Dialogue contribution is a reflection on the impact of crises and in particular that of Covid-19 on the behavior of Algerian consumers: before, during and post-crisis. It is recognized that during crises, consumers adopt unusual and more rational behaviors: buy basic necessities; save more to deal with possible difficult situations; place more importance on nutrition, health, food quality characteristics, price, psychological and socio-demographic characteristics; have purchasing and consumption intentions based on their cultural background and prefer to adopt planned behaviors. Observed events during the Covid-19 pandemic allows us to illustrate the evolution of consumption behavior of Algerians and to …

Half Of New Hampshire Residents Buy Local Farm Food At Least A Few Times A Month, But Engagement Varies By County, Jess Carson, Analena Bruce, Isaac Leslie

Carsey Publications

Getting local farm food to customers in ways that make financial and logistical sense for both farmers and consumers has long challenged the growth of direct-to-consumer sales. And despite a surge of interest in local foods spurred by the pandemic, there have been few data sources available to farmers and local food advocates for measuring consumers’ contemporary engagement with local food systems and market types.

In this brief, Jess Carson, Analena Bruce, and Isaac Leslie describe data collected in the May 2021 Granite State Poll and find that while more than 80 percent of Granite Staters report buying local farm …

Sort And Sift, Think And Shift: Let The Data Be Your Guide An Applied Approach To Working With, Learning From, And Privileging Qualitative Data, Raymond Maietta, Paul Mihas, Kevin Swartout, Jeff Petruzzelli, Alison B. Hamilton

The Qualitative Report

The Sort and Sift, Think and Shift qualitative data analysis approach is an iterative process where analysts dive into data to understand its content, dimensions, and properties, and then step back to assess what they have learned and to determine next steps. Researchers move from establishing an understanding of what is in the data (“Diving In”) to exploring their relationship to the data (“Stepping Back”). This process of “Diving In” and “Stepping Back” is repeated throughout analysis. To conclude, researchers arrive at an evidence-based meeting point that is a hybrid story of data content and researcher knowledge. To illustrate core …

Plotting The Literature On Learning Outcomes And Academic Performance In Higher Education From 2001 To 2020: A Scientometric Analysis, Muhammad Shoaib, Nusrat Ali, Behzad Anwar, Bilal Shaukat

Library Philosophy and Practice (e-journal)

This paper aims to evaluate the teaching skills, learning skills, learning outcomes, and academic performance using scientometrics analysis from 2001 to 2020. The scientometrics method and a total of 7536 published documents were found. The results reveal that the topic of academic performance and article as a type of published document was highly used. The high majority of these published documents are published in the English language and gradually increased in the number of published documents in terms of the year. Further, the author Chamorro-Premuzic T is the top author with 1139 citations and Univ. Grandada at top of twenty …

Associations Between Community Built Environments With Early Care And Education Classroom Physical Activity Practices And Barriers, Bethany D. Williams, Susan B. Sisson, Dipti Dev, Bryce Lowery, Diane Horm, Janis Campbell, Denise Finneran, Jennifer Graef-Downard, Linda Whaley

Department of Child, Youth, and Family Studies: Faculty Publications

The influence of community-built environments on physical activity (PA) support in Early Childhood Education settings (ECEs) is unknown. The purpose of this cross-sectional study was to determine associations between community PA environments and ECE classroom PA practices. We included licensed Oklahoma ECE directors serving 3-to-5-year-old children. Parks and playground locations were exported from Google Earth. National Walkability Index was derived from 2010 US Census data. ArcMap 10.6 was used to geocode ECE locations, which were within an Activity Desert if no parks/playgrounds were located within a 1-mile radius or if Walkability Index was 10.5 or below. Classroom PA practices were …

A Feasibility Study Of A Group-Format, Ecologically Oriented Neurorehabilitation Of Memory (Eon-Mem) Program In Older Adults, Kayla Michelle Frodsham

Theses and Dissertations

Older adults often show declines in subjective and objective memory performance relative to younger adults. One potential path for helping older adults with memory may be compensatory memory training programs. Compensatory memory training programs teach strategies to manage memory impairment. Traditional compensatory memory training programs tend to be highly specific to a task and often do not generalize to other memory tasks. Ecologically Oriented Neurorehabilitation of Memory (EON-Mem) is a method for teaching memory strategies that may generalize for efficient use in everyday contexts. We performed a feasibility study to determine the value of pursuing a group-based version of EON-Mem …

Pregnant Women With Substance Use Disorders Deserve Plans Of Safe Care, Alexandra E. Punch, Monika Taylor

Population Health Research Brief Series

Substance use among women who are pregnant is a growing U.S public health issue. Approximately 340,000 infants are affected by prenatal exposure to illicit drugs annually, leading to an increase in Neonatal Abstinence Syndrome (NAS), and Child Protective Services involvement. This issue brief describes the current state of prenatal substance use and provides guidance on the use of federally mandated Plans of Safe Care to help mothers prepare for the arrival of their baby while navigating their substance use disorder.

Institutional Indifference: Physical And Mental Health Challenges Of Pregnant Inmates, Menolly A. Hollabaugh

Honors Projects

The unprecedented rise in the US incarceration rate is well-documented. However, research into the historic increase in the prison population largely focuses on male prisoners. The dramatic increase in the rate of incarcerated females is often overlooked. This omission is important because women face unique challenges while incarcerated. One of the gendered differences, which affects women, physically and mentally, is pregnancy. This paper examines the current data available on the prevalence of pregnancy amongst female inmates, and data gaps and limitations. Pregnancy is distinctively difficult for incarcerated women as they navigate the stressors of the prison environment while receiving minimal …

Mapping Inequalities In Exclusive Breastfeeding In Low- And Middle-Income Countries, 2000–2018, Natalia V. Bhattacharjee, Laauren E. Schaeffer, Simon I. Hay, Arianna Maever L. Amit, Veincent Christian F. Pepito, Local Burden Of Disease Exclusive Breastfeeding Collaborators, 477 Co-Authors

Ateneo School of Medicine and Public Health Publications

Exclusive breastfeeding (EBF)—giving infants only breast-milk for the first 6 months of life—is a component of optimal breastfeeding practices effective in preventing child morbidity and mortality. EBF practices are known to vary by population and comparable subnational estimates of prevalence and progress across low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) are required for planning policy and interventions. Here we present a geospatial analysis of EBF prevalence estimates from 2000 to 2018 across 94 LMICs mapped to policy-relevant administrative units (for example, districts), quantify subnational inequalities and their changes over time, and estimate probabilities of meeting the World Health Organization’s Global Nutrition Target …

Different Hollers, Different Outcomes: Differences In Health Outcomes Among Appalachian And Non-Appalachian Counties In Kentucky, Allexys Krasnopolsky, James N. Maples

Kentucky Journal of Undergraduate Scholarship

This study examines difference in health outcomes, health insurance, and doctor access between Kentucky’s Appalachian and non-Appalachian counties. Using 2018 data curated by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, this study analyzes differences in means in overall health outcomes, health insurance, and the number of primary care physicians at the county level for Appalachian and non-Appalachian counties in Kentucky .This study finds that persons living in Appalachian Kentucky counties have statistically-different and worse overall health outcomes, health insurance access, and physician access compared to those living in non-Appalachian Kentucky counties.

Children As Mischievous Spirits: Legitimizing Child Cruelty And Filicide In Contemporary Africa, Chima Agazue

Dignity: A Journal of Analysis of Exploitation and Violence

The belief that certain humans are spiritual entities and the belief that some people are spiritually possessed can be found across histories and cultures. While these individuals are not always viewed in the negative or treated inhumanely, cases abound whereby degrading and inhumane treatments are meted out to some of them. In the African continent, certain groups of people, particularly children are linked to certain mischievous spirits due to their unusual appearance, aberrant behavior, disability, chronic illness, psychopathology or exceptional ability. Some are also suspected and consequently mistreated due to events surrounding their birth. Such children are known by different …

Montana Voices Amplified: My Perspective: Old Tv Static: Finding ‘My Way’ Through Medical Trauma, Bee Croyle, University Of Montana Rural Institute

Independent Living and Community Participation

“The summer between my freshman and sophomore year of high school, I went to camp in Oregon. Halfway through my week there, my legs stopped working. It happened slowly at first, the feeling of old TV static climbing up my legs till I was in a wheelchair. Then came the pain.” This issue of Montana Voices Amplified shares the author’s tips on managing medical trauma.