Digital Commons Network^™

Chemical Explosion, Covid-19, And Environmental Justice: Insights From Low-Cost Air Quality Sensors, Guning Liu, Katie Moore, Wei-Chung Su, George L Delclos, David Gimeno Ruiz De Porras, Bing Yu, Hezhong Tian, Bin Luo, Shao Lin, Grace Tee Lewis, Elena Craft, Kai Zhang

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

OBJECTIVES: to examine the impact of the Intercontinental Terminals Company (ITC) fire and COVID-19 on airborne particulate matter (PM) concentrations and the PM disproportionally affecting communities in Houston using low-cost sensors.

METHODS: We compared measurements from a network of low-cost sensors with a separate network of monitors from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in the Houston metropolitan area from Mar 18, 2019, to Dec 31, 2020. Further, we examined the associations between neighborhood-level sociodemographic status and air pollution patterns by linking the low-cost sensor data to EPA environmental justice screening and mapping systems.

FINDINGS: We found increased PM levels during …

Framing Of Covid-19 In Newspapers: A Perspective From The Us-Mexico Border, Rifat Afrin, Ahasan Harun, Gayle Prybutok, Victor Prybutok

Information Systems Faculty Publications

The degree to which the media report a health emergency affects the seriousness with which the people respond to combat the health crisis. Engagement from local newspapers in the US has received scant scrutiny, even though there is a sizable body of scholarship on the analysis of COVID-19 news. We fill this void by focusing on the Rio Grande Valley area of the US-Mexico border. To understand the differences, we compared such local news coverage with the coverage of a national news outlet. After collecting the relevant news articles, we used sentiment analysis, rapid automatic keyword extraction (RAKE), and co-occurrence …

Oral Health Of Completely Edentulous Patients During The Covid-19 Pandemic And Its Impact On Their Nutritional Status: A Pilot Study, Hayat Jaber, Elissa Haddad, Carole Abi Ghosn Yared, Jihad Fakhouri, Nada El Osta

International Arab Journal of Dentistry

The COVID-19 pandemic, declared by the WHO on May 2020, has forced governments around the world to adapt several restrictive measures causing difficulties of access to oral healthcare. In Lebanon, a lack of data on these difficulties and their consequences for completely edentulous people prompted the realization of a pilot study evaluating the impact of this pandemic on access to oral healthcare and on the oral health status, oral health-related quality of life (OHRQoL), and nutritional status of these individuals. The study was conducted at the Removable Prosthodontics Department of the Faculty of Dentistry at Saint-Joseph University of Beirut through …

Association Between The Health Belief Model, Exercise, And Nutrition Behaviors During The Covid-19 Pandemic, Keagan Kiely, Bill Mase, Andrew R. Hansen, Jessica S. Schwind

Biostatistics, Epidemiology & Environmental Health Sciences: Faculty Publications

Introduction: The COVID-19 pandemic has affected our nation’s health further than the infection it causes. Physical activity levels and dietary intake have suffered while individuals grapple with the changes in behavior to reduce viral transmission. With unique nuances regarding the access to physical activity and nutrition during the pandemic, the constructs of Health Belief Model (HBM) may present themselves differently in nutrition and exercise behaviors compared to precautions implemented to reduce viral transmission studied in previous research. The purpose of this study was to investigate the extent of exercise and nutritional behavior change during the COVID-19 pandemic and explain the …

Likely Impact Of The Covid-19 Pandemic On Newborn Hearing Screening And Follow-Up Services In The United States In 2020, Kelly Dundon, Suhana Alam, Xidong Deng, Mia Morrison, Treeby Brown, Karl R. White, Linda Hazard, Macia Fort, Kirsten R. Coverstone, Craig Mason, Marcus Gaffney

Journal of Early Hearing Detection and Intervention

This perspective aims to highlight aspects of the Early Hearing Detection and Intervention (EHDI) newborn hearing screening and follow-up processes that were impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic and considers factors that likely impacted follow-up after newborn hearing screening among infants born in the United States during 2020. Efforts to minimize the potential impact of missed or delayed identification of hearing loss in infants and young children will also be discussed to help guide future program improvement activities.

Transition To Kindergarten: Parental Efficacy And Experiences During Covid-19, Samira Amirazizi, Emily Edelman, Matthew Quirk, Erin Dowdy

Perspectives on Early Childhood Psychology and Education

Previous research has highlighted the effectiveness of supporting parents in fostering children’s academic and/or social-emotional development in preparation for kindergarten. Considering the emergence of COVID-19 as a risk factor to which all children and parents have been exposed, it is essential to understand parental mental health as it relates to early childhood development. This study utilized mixed methods to examine the experiences and perspectives of parents (N = 82) whose children were transitioning into kindergarten during the fall of 2020 amidst the COVID-19 pandemic. Results indicate that parents’ knowledge/confidence in managing their child’s transition to kindergarten was inversely associated with …

Remote Learning For Students With A Disability: Game Changer Or Moment In Time? Literature Review, Marijne Medhurst, Maya Conway, Kathryn Richardson

School and system improvement

This literature review draws from Australian and international research into the impact of remote learning for students with disability, published between March 2020 and April 2022. The literature relates to pedagogical services provided by early childhood services and schools to support students with disability, rather than therapeutic services. The social implications for students are reviewed along with educational factors, and implications for inclusion and support by schools. Following an overview of the legal and policy frameworks supporting the education of students with disability, this review investigates benefits, challenges and opportunities for both remote learning and transition back to in-person educational …

Expanding The Focus Of Occupational Safety And Health: Lessons From A Series Of Linked Scientific Meetings, Paul A Schulte, George L Delclos, Sarah A Felknor, Jessica M K Streit, Michelle Mcdaniel, L Casey Chosewood, Lee S Newman, Faiyaz A Bhojani, Rene Pana-Cryan, Naomi G Swanson

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

There is widespread recognition that the world of work is changing, and agreement is growing that the occupational safety and health (OSH) field must change to contribute to the protection of workers now and in the future. Discourse on the evolution of OSH has been active for many decades, but formalized support of an expanded focus for OSH has greatly increased over the past 20 years. Development of approaches such as the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)'s total Worker Health

Linus Babcock, Oral History Interview, 2022, Cellach Allen

COVID-19 Oral Histories

In October and November of 2022, You Li's Journalism 313 students conducted oral history interviews with one another to document the student experience of the COVID-19 pandemic. In this interview, EMU undergraduate Linus Babcock describes the early days of COVID, the initial shutdown of the university and the experience of moving back home with family and siblings.

Linus Babcock, Oral History Interview, 2022, Cellach Allen

COVID-19 Oral Histories

In October and November of 2022, You Li's Journalism 313 students conducted oral history interviews with one another to document the student experience of the COVID-19 pandemic. In this interview, EMU undergraduate Linus Babcock describes the early days of COVID, the initial shutdown of the university and the experience of moving back home with family and siblings.

"Everything…Fell Apart Once Covid-19 Hit"-Leveraging The Covid-19 Response To Strengthen Public Health Activities Toward Ending The Hiv Epidemic: A Qualitative Study, Samantha A Devlin, Moctezuma Garcia, Kayo Fujimoto, Camden Hallmark, Marlene Mcneese, John Schneider, Moira C Mcnulty

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

COVID-19 caused widespread disruption of activities for Ending the HIV Epidemic (EHE). In this study we assessed public health perspectives on leveraging the COVID-19 response to advance the goals of EHE. We conducted a qualitative study with 33 public health partners in the Midwestern and Southern United States from October 2020 to February 2022. Participants were asked how the strategies developed for COVID-19 could be applied to the HIV epidemic. Interviews were recorded, transcribed, and examined using rapid qualitative analysis. Four themes emerged: (1) Rebuilding teams and adapting culture for success in EHE activities; (2) Recognizing and modernizing the role …

Anonymous, Oral History Interview, 2022, Julez Deshetler

COVID-19 Oral Histories

In October and November of 2022, You Li's Journalism 313 students conducted oral history interviews with one another to document the student experience of the COVID-19 pandemic. In this interview, an EMU undergraduate student talks about relationships during the early days of COVID, and life after restrictions were lifted.

Teacher Self-Efficacy, Job Satisfaction, And Burnout Amid The Covid-19 Pandemic, Jaimee Ann Hager

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

Teachers are consistently faced with adversity, which can affect their ability to feel efficacious in their position, causing them to experience a decrease in their job satisfaction and putting them at risk for burnout. Recently, teachers have experienced significant changes in education, as the COVID-19 pandemic has increased illnesses and forced necessary safety adaptions in the educational setting. This study is a quantitative research design. Participants included 40 elementary teachers from Isle of Wight County Schools in Virginia. Participants were provided a link or QR code to access the survey. This study used a Pearson Correlation to measure relationships between …

A Phenomenological Study Of Secondary Teachers’ Experiences With A Mandated Transition To And From Synchronous Online Instruction, Susan P. Lyman

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The purpose of this phenomenological study was to understand secondary teachers’ experiences with an unexpected transition between in-person teaching and virtual modalities for secondary educators in New York public schools. The theory that guided this study was Schlossberg’s transition theory which provided a lens through which to understand the shared experiences of making an unplanned transition from face-to-face teaching to online platforms. The study was qualitative and followed a phenomenological research design. The setting for this study was multiple public school districts in Nassau and Suffolk Counties on Long Island, New York. The sample was 10 secondary public school teachers …

Organizational Change In The Workplace During The Covid-19 Pandemic, Takeisha Shante Miles

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

Failed change initiatives continuously plagued organizations throughout time, mainly because of the complexities involving the response to change. Researchers studied to understand the cause and effect of failed change efforts. The type of change often notes as a precursor to the kind of response, while the resistance to change was a catalyst to the 70% rate of failed change initiatives (Burnes & Jackson, 2011; Maheshwari & Vohra, 2015). Organizational change initiatives become further complicated, involving a crisis. This qualitative multiple case study included the phenomenon of unsuccessful change proposals during a crisis, its implications on job satisfaction and employee resistance, …

Aaron Hughes, Oral History Interview, 2022, Sara Jurca

COVID-19 Oral Histories

In October and November of 2022, You Li's Journalism 313 students conducted oral history interviews with one another to document the student experience of the COVID-19 pandemic. In this interview, EMU undergraduate Aaron Hughes talks about switching careers in the pandemic.

Dominic Vigliotti, Oral History Interview, 2022, Victoria Smith

COVID-19 Oral Histories

In October and November of 2022, You Li's Journalism 313 students conducted oral history interviews with one another to document the student experience of the COVID-19 pandemic. In this interview, EMU undergraduate Dominic Vigliotti talks about unemployment during the pandemic.

Anonymous, Oral History Interview, 2022, Dominic Vigliotti

COVID-19 Oral Histories

In October and November of 2022, You Li's Journalism 313 students conducted oral history interviews with one another to document the student experience of the COVID-19 pandemic. In this interview, an EMU undergraduate student talks about the impact of the pandemic on their mental health.

Five Things You Should Know This Week, Georgia Southern University

A Few Things You Should Know This Week (2020-2023)

• Holiday Lighting Ceremonies are this Week
• This Week is Homeless Awareness Week
• Mental Health Trainings Available this Month
• Encourage your Armstrong Students to Answer the Armstrong Task Force Survey
• Health Services Offering COVID-19 Bivalent Boosters
• Georgia Southern SAAC to Host Food Drive Nov. 19

Simultaneous Onset Of Haematological Malignancy And Covid: An Epicovideha Survey, Chiara Cattaneo, Jon Salmanton-García, Francesco Marchesi, Shaimaa El-Ashwah, Federico Itri, Barbora Weinbergerová, Maria Gomes Da Silva, Michelina Dargenio, Julio Dávila-Valls, Natasha Ali

Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine

Background: The outcome of patients with simultaneous diagnosis of haematological malignancies (HM) and COVID-19 is unknown and there are no specific treatment guidelines.
Methods: We describe the clinical features and outcome of a cohort of 450 patients with simultaneous diagnosis of HM and COVID-19 registered in the EPICOVIDEHA registry between March 2020 to February 2022.
Results: Acute leukaemia and lymphoma were the most frequent HM (35.8% and 35.1%, respectively). Overall, 343 (76.2%) patients received treatment for HM, which was delayed for longer than one month since diagnosis in 57 (16.6%). An overall response rate was observed in 140 (40.8%) patients …

2022-11-09_Michiganoverview_Covidsymptoms, Michigan Department Of Health & Human Services

Michigan COVID-19 Syndromic Surveillance System Data

The Syndromic Surveillance System Data report was obtained from Michigan's COVID-19 dashboard, from under the link "​Coronavirus Symptoms": https://www.michigan.gov/coronavirus/stats/coronavirus-symptoms. Data was compiled by the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services (MDHHS). The information was updated twice a week on Mondays and Thursdays.

Syndromic Surveillance System data is obtained from approximately 216 facilities participating in syndromic surveillance (139 Emergency Departments (ED), 77 Urgent Cares) across the State of Michigan. The reporting is based on individuals who present at EDs and may not be representative of the overall population. The coronavirus-like symptoms query searches visit free-text (chief complaint, triage notes, …

Covid-19 Pandemic And Special Education Teacher Voices, Rama Cousik

The Qualitative Report

The pandemic caused by COVID-19 created havoc in schools across the world as it necessitated school closures and lockdowns, and/or a sudden switch to an online mode of learning. Although all children and teachers were adversely affected, children with disabilities faced additional problems. Special education teachers bore the burden of having to continue providing high quality special education in the face of these challenges. In this paper, I present findings from a survey of special education teachers through use of qualitative and arts-based research technics.

Overcoming Challenges In Conducting Mobillity Research During A Pandemic, Sheri Martin, Mathew Tritz, Sarah Glowinski, Mary Hook

Nursing

Background: Older adults are at risk for losing their ability to ambulate independently during hospitalization due to multiple barriers that limit walking. “MOVIN” (Mobilizing Older adult patients Via a systems-based INtervention), a mobility intervention, achieved promising pilot results and funded as a clinical trial at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Study Aim: To implement the multicomponent nurse-led MOVIN intervention and monitor for change in nursing unit behavior/culture and outcomes before, during and after a 14-week intervention period.

Methodology: A cluster randomized controlled trial design was used to test the impact of MOVIN by sequentially implementing the intervention on …

Nascar Model: Racing To Meet Labor Needs During Covid, Michelle Young, Katherine Leistico

Nursing

Background: Due to severe national staffing shortages, system and site labor pools were created to support hospital front-line staff during a critical time

Local Problem: Ancillary and clinical departments at the site had significant staffing challenges due to Covid-19 and increased turnover. System labor pool solicited corporate and non-corporate team members to volunteer for open shifts. Site labor pool leaders had independent oversight of labor pool operations

Method: The site sought to provide a comprehensive, supportive approach to engage team members. Based on site needs, two role types were created. Clinical roles supported inpatient departments and non-clinical roles focused on …

It’S Your Turn, Are You Ready To Get Vaccinated? Towards An Exploration Of Vaccine Hesitancy Using Sentiment Analysis Of Instagram Posts, Mohammed Talha Alam, Shahab Saquib Sohail, Syed Ubaid, Shakil, Zafar Ali, Mohammad Hijji, Abdul Khader Jilani Saudagar, Khan Muhammad

Computer Vision Faculty Publications

The deadly threat caused by the rapid spread of COVID-19 has been restricted by virtue of vaccines. However, there is misinformation regarding the certainty and positives outcome of getting vaccinated; hence, many people are reluctant to opt for it. Therefore, in this paper, we identified public sentiments and hesitancy toward the COVID-19 vaccines based on Instagram posts as part of intelligent surveillance. We first retrieved more than 10k publicly available comments and captions posted under different vaccine hashtags (namely, covaxin, covishield, and sputnik). Next, we translated the extracted comments into a common language (English), followed by the calculation of the …

Conducting A Supportive Oncology Clinical Trial During The Covid-19 Pandemic: Challenges And Strategies, Jie Deng, John N. Lukens, Joy C. Cohn, Erin Mcmenamin, Barbara Murphy, Bryan A. Spinelli, Niya Murphy, Alicia K. Steinmetz, Megan A. Landriau, Alexander Lin

Department of Physical Therapy Faculty Papers

The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic resulted in severe interruptions to clinical research worldwide. This global public health crisis required investigators and researchers to rapidly develop and implement new strategies and solutions to mitigate its negative impact on the progress of clinical trials. In this paper, we describe the challenges, strategies, and lessons learned regarding the continuation of a supportive oncology clinical trial during the pandemic. We hope to provide insight into the implementation of clinical trials during a public health emergency to be better prepared for future instances.

Trial registration: ClinicalTrials.gov, a service of the US National Institute of …

James Cason, Oral History Interview, 2022, Jaquan Brown

COVID-19 Oral Histories

In October and November of 2022, You Li's Journalism 313 students conducted oral history interviews with one another to document the student experience of the COVID-19 pandemic. In this interview, EMU undergraduate James Cason describes being a member of the Peace Corps during COVID, and his experiences travelling.

Jaquan Brown, Oral History Interview, 2022, James Cason

COVID-19 Oral Histories

In October and November of 2022, You Li's Journalism 313 students conducted oral history interviews with one another to document the student experience of the COVID-19 pandemic. In this interview, EMU undergraduate JaQuan Brown describes moving back in with his family, and job hunting during the early days of COVID.

Understanding The Mental Health Impact And Needs Of Public Healthcare Professionals During Covid-19 In Pakistan : A Qualitative Study, Waqas Hameed, Anam Shahil Feroz, Bilal Iqbal Avan, Bushra Khan, Zafar Fatmi, Noreen Afzal, Hussain Jafri, Mansoor Ali Wassan, Sameen Siddiqi

Community Health Sciences

Objectives: A dearth of qualitative studies constrains in-depth understanding of health service providers' perspectives and experiences regarding the impact of COVID-19 on their mental health. This study explored the mental health impact and needs of of public sector healthcare workers during COVID-19 who working in secondary-level and tertiary-level healthcare settings of Pakistan.
Design: An exploratory qualitative study.
Setting: Twenty-five secondary-level and eight tertiary-level public hospitals of Sindh and Punjab provinces of Pakistan.
Participants: In-depth interviews were conducted with 16 health service providers and 40 administrative personnel. Study data were analysed on NVivo V.11 using the conventional content analysis technique.
Results: …

Quarantined Across Borders: Theorizing Embodied Transnationalism, Precarious Citizenship, And Resilience For Collective Healing, Srividya Ramasubramanian, Aisha Durham, Joëlle M. Cruz

Media Studies - All Scholarship

Embodied transnationalism is characterized by intimate experiences of human-made political borders that define, limit, and restrict flows of the “Other.” In the Quarantined Across Borders collection, contributors from immigrant and diasporic backgrounds address the material and discursive differences in how they experience the pandemic in terms of a public health crisis and public policy response that intersects racialized gender, class, citizenship status, and profession.