Digital Commons Network^™

Palivizumab Dosing And Risk Of Rsv Infection In Premature Children, Michael J. Araas

Public Health Theses

We conducted a retrospective case-control study of children attending the Yale-New Haven Hospital Premature Infant Primary Care Clinic (YNHH-PIPCC). Subjects were prematurely born children under 24 months of age cared for at the YNHH-PIPCC between October 2000 and March 2011. They are eligible to receive monthly passive respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) immunization with palivizumab during the RSV season. All cases had laboratory-documented severe RSV disease necessitating hospital admission or outpatient visit. Controls did not have severe RSV disease during the same season as their matched case. Controls were matched to the cases by gestational age and month of birth. Risk …

Exhibiting Health: Museums As A Venue For Public Health Intervention, Jacqueline Katherine Bruleigh

Public Health Theses

Public health interventions are as broad as the field itself. Through this paper, I will highlight the missed opportunity that museums present as an intervention site for public health. I will then discuss the design, content, challenges, successes, and directions for growth of a specific exhibition (Big Food: Health, Culture, and the Evolution of Eating), as an example of successfully translating public health into the museum context, which could be used as a starting point for further interventions in this underutilized venue.

Blindness And Poverty: An Outreach-Based, Case-Control Study Assessing The Relationship Between Poverty And Visual Impairment From Cataract In Greater Accra, Central, Eastern, Western, Volta, And Ashanti Regions Of Ghana, Jonathan Legrand Curtis

Public Health Theses

Background

Blinding cataracts have been linked to poverty, and are the most common form of preventable blindness in the developing world. The WHO has identified cataract surgery as one of the top five potential public health interventions in developing countries; however, studies exploring the initial economic attributes before cataract surgery and subsequent outcomes following the sight-restorative surgery in the developing world have not been undertaken. This study assesses the baseline economic and sociodemographic attributes of a cohort of 267 cataract cases in rural villages throughout southern Ghana and compares them with 100 controls to test whether those with existing cataracts …

Epidemiology And Trends For Vibriosis In Connecticut, 1999-2010, Olivia Ellis

Public Health Theses

Background: Behavior and environment play a significant role in the acquisition of vibriosis. Vibrio data collected over the past twelve years suggests that incidence of vibriosis has increased in Connecticut. Vibriosis is a physician and laboratory reportable illness in Connecticut. Surveillance data was collected by Connecticut FoodNet and Connecticut Department of Public Health staff. These data were analyzed to evaluate the epidemiology and trends in incidence over time.

Methods: Incidence rates were stratified by demographic, geographic, bacteriologic and clinical groups and trends in the incidence and percentage of cases in these groups were analyzed over time. Because risk factors for …

Determinants Of Dengue Transmission During Epidemic And Inter-Epidemic Periods In Two Colombian Cities, Yao Fu

Public Health Theses

Dengue fever is an urban disease that has a complex epidemiology consisting of alternating periods of intense epidemics and persistence in endemic locations. No studies have compared the patterns of geographic variation and determinants of dengue transmission in neighborhoods during epidemic and non-epidemic periods. Colombia's individual-based epidemiological surveillance system provides a unique opportunity to study this topic. The goal of this study was to better understand dengue epidemiology in two of the highest dengue fever reporting Colombian cities that vary in climate, Armenia (elevation 1320-1580 m, 21-23 C) and Barranquilla (elevation 5-134m . 27-30 C). We used a novel ecological …

Occupational Exposures Of Healthcare Workers To Pertussis Within A Large Pediatric Care Network: A Retrospective Study, Danica Elizabeth Kuncio

Public Health Theses

Background

Infection control policies have a significant impact on the risk for disease transmission in healthcare settings, and adherence to guidelines dictates their effectiveness. Healthcare worker (HCW) exposure to communicable diseases can occur when guidelines have not been consistently implemented, placing the HCW at risk for infection with subsequent transmission to patients and co-workers. Respiratory pathogens are a common source of healthcare-associated infection, especially in pediatric settings and pertussis has emerged as a particularly important agent that is associated with an increasing number of both community and healthcare-associated outbreaks despite the availability of an effective vaccine. Adults, including HCWs, are …

The Health Status Of Prisoners At Three Rural Haitian Prisons, Katherine Grace Lamonaca

Public Health Theses

Background: Aside from documented high prevalence of infectious disease, little is known about the health status of prisoners in developing countries. In Haiti, prisons typically lack adequate food, clean water, and medical care. Some prisoners, however, may receive additional food from visitors during designated food delivery hours. This study sought to characterize the overall health status of Haitian prisoners as well as to begin to explore the impact of incarceration on health status. We hypothesized that prisoners who had more visitors and shorter lengths of detention would be more likely to have better overall health status, measured by having a …

A Dengue Antibody Prevalence Study In New Providence, Bahamas, Veronica Toppin

Public Health Theses

Approximately 275 persons currently residing in New Providence, and whose ages ranged from 1-60 years were chosen to participate in school and pre/post natal clinic surveys testing for dengue antibody. Two hundred nine persons responded favorably. Blood samples taken from these individuals were tested for dengue antibody utilizing the IgM (MAC) Capture ELISA, the IgG ELISA and/or the Hemagglutination inhibition (HI) test. Twelve percent of the population tested were < 5 years, and the majority of the participants (55%) were between the ages of 5 and 9 Years.

The results showed that 15.4 % of the females, and 5.1 % of the males tested positive for dengue antibody. Three percent of the persons who tested positive to dengue were …

A Descriptive Survey Of Health Maintenance Practices In A University Hospital Ambulatory Care Center, John Ginnetti Jr.

Public Health Theses

No abstract provided.