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Development And Validation Of A Spanish Nutrition Screening Tool For Hispanic American 3 To 5-Year-Olds, Denisse Arias Olivas

Theses and Dissertations

Latinos comprise 18.9% of the population in the United States and are the largest and fastest growing minority group. Obesity prevalence was 26.2% among Hispanic children compared to 16.6% among non-Hispanic White children. The obesity epidemic among Latino children has been growing rapidly over the past three decades. Multiple barriers, such as lack of culturally appropriate screening tools, language, and lack of access to nutritional assessment and expert consultation, prevents screening of Latino children and further nutritional guidance. For this reason, prevention efforts such as the use of nutritional screening tools is required for early intervention, more so with populations …

Evaluating Nutrition Knowledge In Parents And Its Relation To Childhood Obesity, Rachael Shangraw

Theses and Dissertations

This study aims to evaluate the relationship between parental nutrition knowledge and their child’s body mass index (BMI) to identify variables that are associated with increased obesity in American children. A cross-sectional study design was employed with a convenience sample of 464 parents of children between the ages of 2 and 12. Parents completed a GNKQ-R (General Nutrition Knowledge Questionnaire – Revised) survey to measure nutrition knowledge. Parents reported their child’s height and weight which was later calculated and categorized according to the Center for Disease Control’s BMI-for-age growth chart. The Kolmogorov-Smirnov Test for Normality was conducted to examine the …

Trends And Outcomes Of A School-Based Campaign To Reduce Sugar-Sweetened Beverage Consumption Among Racially And Ethnically Diverse Students In Middle School, Roya Amirniroumand

Theses and Dissertations

Reducing sugar-sweetened beverage (SSB) consumption has been identified as a chronic disease prevention strategy in children and adolescents (Muth et al., 2019; USDA & HSS, 2015) and promoting healthier alternative beverage options has become an important focus for public health policy and educational efforts. Community-driven school-based health initiatives targeting SSB consumption have shown promising outcomes however, few studies have explored these strategies for middle school students and less is known about the potential benefits of these efforts with racial/ethnic minority youth.

The present study examined whether racial/ethnic differences in SSB consumption existed in a sample of 419 students at one …

Perceptual Analysis Of Children's Adaptation To An Electropalatography Sensor, Kasey Marie Duffield

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study is to observe childrens adaptation to an electropalatographic (EPG) sensor. Sound recordings of six children between the ages of 7;0 and 9;11 sampled at 30-minute intervals over a two-hour period of wearing an EPG sensor were perceptually evaluated to quantify the children's adaptation over time. Twenty native speakers of American English evaluated the pronunciation of a series of words with embedded stops and fricatives produced with and without an EPG sensor in place. When collapsed over speaker and stimulus type, listener ratings decreased significantly after inserting the EPG sensor. Ratings then increased significantly after the …

Perceptual Analysis Of Children's Adaptation To An Electropalatography Sensor, Kasey Marie Duffield

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study is to observe childrens adaptation to an electropalatographic (EPG) sensor. Sound recordings of six children between the ages of 7;0 and 9;11 sampled at 30-minute intervals over a two-hour period of wearing an EPG sensor were perceptually evaluated to quantify the children's adaptation over time. Twenty native speakers of American English evaluated the pronunciation of a series of words with embedded stops and fricatives produced with and without an EPG sensor in place. When collapsed over speaker and stimulus type, listener ratings decreased significantly after inserting the EPG sensor. Ratings then increased significantly after the …

Longitudinal Study Of The Effectiveness Of The South Carolina Medicaid Policy For The Application Of Fluoride Varnish For Children Age Three And Under, Christine N. Veschusio

Theses and Dissertations

In South Carolina, the burden of dental decay disproportionately affects disadvantaged children enrolled in Medicaid (Dye et al., 2012; Martin et al., 2012; Ayers et al., 2013). To address this oral health disparity, South Carolina’s Medicaid Program initiated payment to physicians for the delivery of fluoride varnish (FV), an evidence-based preventive dental service at the well-child visit, to children up to thirty-six months of age. Fluoride varnish has been found to reduce dental decay by thirty-seven percent when applied two to four times a year (Weyant et al., 2013; Marinho et al., 2013).

Two retrospective cohort studies were undertaken to …

Speech Adaptation To Electropalatography In Children's Productions Of /S/ And /ʃ/, Marissa Celaya

Theses and Dissertations

Previous research has investigated adults' ability to adapt their speech when a electropalatographic (EPG) pseudopalate is placed in the oral cavity; however, less is known about how younger speakers who are continuing to develop their motor speech abilities might adapt their speech to the presence of the device. This study examined the effect of an EPG pseudopalate on elementary school-aged children's ability to produce the fricatives /s/ and /ƒ/. Audio recordings of six children were collected at eight time intervals including before placement of the pseudopalate, at 30-minute increments for two hours with the pseudopalate in place, immediately following removal …

The Impact Of Medicaid Reform On Dental Practice Setting, Barrett W. R. Peters

Theses and Dissertations

Purpose: To assess the impact of dental Medicaid reform in Virginia on dental practice settings (private practice, corporate practice and safety net clinics). Methods: This retrospective cohort study of 16.2 million dental claims is from the Virginia Department of Medical Assistance Services, which included claims for providers participating in Virginia’s Medicaid program during a 10-year period (2002-2012). The dividing date for the reform was July 1, 2005. The outcome measure was mean claims per participating provider. A Poisson regression model was used to predict the mean number of claims per provider with the following predictors: reform period, practice setting, provider …

Dental Plan Performance With Medicaid Reform In Virginia, James Reed

Theses and Dissertations

Purpose: To assess the effect of dental Medicaid reforms in the state of Virginia on dental plan performance. Methods: This project is a retrospective cohort study of 825,000 dental claims obtained from the Virginia Department of Medical Assistance Services. This cohort includes dental claims for children enrolled in Virginia’s Medicaid program from July 1, 2002 through June 30, 2008. The independent variable was enrollment pre or post policy reform with July 1, 2005 as the period dividing date. The dependent variable was dental benefit utilization measured as the average number of restorative, preventative, and total procedures. Statistical methods include Welch’s …

Evaluating Dental Surgery Post-Operative Pain In Children Following Treatment Under General Anesthesia, Malinda Husson

Theses and Dissertations

Purpose: The purpose of this pilot study was to determine if there is a difference in post-operative pain experience for children following dental restorations and/or extractions under general anesthesia (GA), with and without local anesthetic (LA). The alternative hypothesis is that children will experience less post-operative discomfort and soft tissue trauma when using intra-ligamental local anesthetic during the intra-operative time period. Methods: Patients were recruited for this single blind, randomized, prospective cohort study with the following inclusion criteria, children age 2-6 years requiring general anesthesia for dental treatment. Patients were randomized into categories of either receiving a standardized local anesthetic …

Parent Perceptions Of The Effectiveness Of Interventions For Sleep Problems In Children With Autism, Sarah Lynn Lemmons

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to learn what interventions have been effective in alleviating sleep problems among children with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) according to parent report. This study also investigated resources from which parents received information regarding possible interventions and to what degree these resources were helpful. The participants in this study were 48 parents and caregivers of children with ASD from both the United States and Canada. Background information was attained from participants regarding themselves and their child with ASD. Participants then answered likert-type and open-ended questions regarding their child's sleep problem(s) and the resources they have …

Development Of Psychometrically Equivalent Speech Audiometry Materials For Testing Children In Mongolian, Meghan Elizabeth Caldwell

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to develop, digitally record, evaluate, and equate Mongolian monosyllabic and bisyllabic child-appropriate words which can be used in the measurement of word recognition scores and speech-reception threshold (SRT) in children who are native speakers of Mongolian. Based on data collected from a survey of Mongolian child language professionals, a subset of child-appropriate materials was adapted from a set of materials developed for Mongolian adults. Two lists of 50 monosyllabic words and four half-lists of 25 words each were developed for testing the word recognition abilities of Mongolian children. The developed lists and half-lists were …

Effect Of Medicaid/Schip And Wic On Oral Health Of Low-Income Children, Dahlia Naqib

Theses and Dissertations

Oral caries is the most prevalent chronic disease among US children, and disproportionately impacts those of low socioeconomic status. Studies have shown that the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women Infants and Children (WIC) improves access to dental care among Medicaid children. This study investigated the impact of WIC, Medicaid, and the State Children's Health Insurance Program (SCHIP) on the prevalence of dental caries among low-income children. The 1999-2000 and 2001-2002 NHANES data were utilized for this analysis. Children 2-4 years old who participated in WIC, Medicaid, or SCHIP, or who were uninsured, and for whom both interview and complete …