Digital Commons Network^™

The Future Of Disability In Alaska Summit & Follow-Up Survey, University Of Center For Human Development

Reports

The Future of Disability in Alaska Summit was held in Anchorage in the summer of 2013, May 9-10. The purpose was to gather perspectives from a diverse group of stakeholders to inform a vision of the future for people with disabilities in Alaska in five broad topical areas: 1) Housing Arrangements, 2) Advocacy, 3) Relationships, 4) Economic Wellbeing, and 5) Health. About 76 stakeholders participated in the summit including people with disabilities, family members, advocates, service providers, policymakers, and others. A follow-up online survey was conducted to gather information from a broader range of stakeholders and to get a sense …

Real School Gardens Program: Learning Gardens And Teacher Training To Improve Student Engagement And Academic Performance In Low-Performing Elementary Schools, Jeanne Mccarty

Journal of Applied Research on Children: Informing Policy for Children at Risk

Children who grow up in poverty are less likely to graduate high school, enter college and find economic stability. REAL School Gardens believes the right educational opportunities – ones that engage and motive children to learn – can break this cycle. The REAL School Gardens Program builds learning gardens and offers teacher training to improve academic engagement and performance in low-income elementary schools. Since its launch, REAL School Gardens has partnered with 92 low-income schools, and preliminary findings show that 84% of students experiencing hands-on academic lessons in a REAL School Garden report high levels of engagement, specifically in math …

Results Of The 2013 Immunization Status Survey Of 24-Month-Old Children In Tennessee, Tennessee. Department Of Health.

Immunization Rates

No abstract provided.

Cancer In Tennessee 2006-2010, Tennessee. Department Of Health.

Cancer in Tennessee

No abstract provided.

Health Information And Social Security Entitlements, Perry Singleton

Center for Policy Research

This study examines whether new health information, obtained through medical screening, affects entitlements to Social Security benefits. Random assignment of information is derived from a unique feature of the Continuous National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey. To examine the effect of information on entitlements, the survey data are matched to administrative data from the Social Security Administration. The results suggest that new health information leads to delayed entitlements, particularly among workers near the early retirement age.

Health And Nutrition Education In Czech Republic (Poster), Jana Koptíková

The Nebraska Educator: A Student-Led Journal

ABSTRACT

The average one-year health expenditure per capita in the European member states has doubled in the last 15 years. Prevention is less expensive than treatment, and changes in diet and lifestyle remain the most effective way to reduce the financial health care costs. However, European health systems are primarily treatment systems, not preventive systems. Improper diet and lack of physical activity are the most critical factors contributing to the overweight and obesity pandemic. Along with heavy alcohol consumption and smoking, these four factors contribute the most to the development of chronic non-communicable diseases. These diseases kill more than 36 …

The Curriculum Of Health And Nutrition Education In Czech Republic (Article), Jana Koptíková

The Nebraska Educator: A Student-Led Journal

ABSTRACT

The average one-year health expenditure per capita in the European member states has doubled in the last 15 years. Prevention is less expensive than treatment, and changes in diet and lifestyle remain the most effective way to reduce the financial health care costs. However, European health systems are primarily treatment systems, not preventive systems. Improper diet and lack of physical activity are the most critical factors contributing to the overweight and obesity pandemic. Along with heavy alcohol consumption and smoking, these four factors contribute the most to the development of chronic non-communicable diseases. These diseases kill more than 36 …

The Dangerous Reality: Sexual Risk Taking Among College Women, Shannon Greybar Milliken

College of Education Theses and Dissertations

Research has shown a link between sexual risk taking among college women and a decrease in self-esteem. The primary purpose of this study is to explore the sexual risk-taking practices occurring within the academic achieving, more affluent, Caucasian and female college student population. The secondary purpose of this study is to explore what sexual risk-taking patterns exist within behavioral and sociocultural constructed variables and demographic information among college women. The variables examined are religion, self-esteem and reported depressive symptoms. Additional variables used during analysis are body weight and race and/or ethnicity of college women.

There are three primary research questions …

The Impact Of Extension Gardening Programs On Healthy Attitudes And Behaviors, Erica Odera, Alexa J. Lamm, Courtney Owens, Sandra Thompson, Lawrence Carter

Journal of Human Sciences and Extension

Gardening programs have been increasing in popularity since 1995 when California enacted legislation with the goal of putting a garden in every school. Research has shown positive benefits of gardening programs include increasing a child’s academic skills, environmental awareness, and social skills, but little is known about their impact on healthy attitudes and behaviors. Considering childhood obesity rates are rapidly increasing, understanding how educational programs, such as gardening, can impact health has become important. The purpose of this study was to assess the impact Extension gardening programs had on participants’ healthy attitudes and behaviors. Using a pretest/posttest research design with …

Intellectual Property And Public Health – A White Paper, Ryan G. Vacca, Jim Chen, Jay Dratler Jr., Tom Folsom, Timothy Hall, Yaniv Heled, Frank Pasquale, Elizabeth Reilly, Jeff Samuels, Kathy Strandburg, Kara Swanson, Andrew Torrance, Katharine Van Tassel

Akron Law Faculty Publications

On October 26, 2012, the University of Akron School of Law’s Center for Intellectual Property and Technology hosted its Sixth Annual IP Scholars Forum. In attendance were thirteen legal scholars with expertise and an interest in IP and public health who met to discuss problems and potential solutions at the intersection of these fields. This report summarizes this discussion by describing the problems raised, areas of agreement and disagreement between the participants, suggestions and solutions made by participants and the subsequent evaluations of these suggestions and solutions.

Led by the moderator, participants at the Forum focused generally on three broad …

Food Insecurity Among Children In Massachusetts, Stephanie Ettinger De Cuba, Deborah A. Frank, Maya Pilgrim, Maria Buitrago, Anna Voremberg, Harris Rollinger, Denise A. Hines

New England Journal of Public Policy

This article focuses on the prevalence among Massachusetts children and families of food insecurity, inadequate access to enough nutritious food for an active and healthy life. It summarizes research findings on the association of food insecurity with less optimal children’s health and development from the prenatal period through adolescence. Food insecurity also correlates with other material hardships, such as housing and energy insecurity. Data show families’ participation in public nutrition and other assistance program is associated with decreased prevalence of food insecurity and with mitigation of its impact on children’s health and well-being. The article concludes with recommendations for policy …

Predicting Regional Circumferences From Regional Body Composition Data, Toria Mcmullin, Dr. Robert T. Davidson

Journal of Undergraduate Research

Due to the current trend obesity rates and the increased public awareness of the connection between body composition and health, individuals are becoming more and more interested in assessing and changing their own body composition. The current methods used to assess body composition include the following: dual-energy x-ray absorptiometry (DEXA), computerized tomography (CT) scans, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), bioelectric impedance analysis (BIA), Near-Infrared Interactance (NIR), BodPod measurements, skinfold and circumference anthropometric measurements, and hydrodensitometry. Multicomponent models most accurately predict body composition. However, such models—including hydrodensitometry and DEXA—are either too difficult or too costly for practical, widespread consideration. Other methods are …

Coping With Pediatric Cancer: Conversational Methods Utilized By Parents And Children When Dealing With Pediatric Cancer, Chelsi Morgan Walls

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

This study analyzed how people perceived parents should communicate with their child regarding pediatric cancer treatments. When dealing with pediatric cancer, it is vital that parents and their child communicate about the illness in order to effectively cope with the cancer. Using Uncertainty Management Theory, appraisals, inferences, and illusions, are examined in this study to discover how much affect-management and buffering would be used to manage the illness. Under UMT, the coping mechanisms of affect-management (i.e., religious coping and behavioral disengagement), and buffering (avoidance and child distraction) depend upon how individuals appraise the uncertain situation (positive vs. negative), the inferences …

The Developmental Ramifications Of Vanuatu's Intellectual Property Commitments On Joining The World Trade Organization, Miranda Forsyth

Pacific Studies

After over a decade of protracted negotiations, Vanuatu joined the World Trade Organization (WTO) in 2012. Intellectual property provisions formed part of Vanuatu 's accession package, and included some Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property (TRIPs) Plus provisions. This paper will look at the potential effects that these new undertakings will have on two key areas of development, namely, health and education. It argues that the new intellectual property framework is likely to have detrimental effects on access to both medicines and other medical technology and also educational materials, which is at odds with the developmental aspirations of membership. …

Increasing The Healthiness Of Consumers Through Farmers Markets, Megan Parsons, Alfonso Morales

Journal of Extension

As health and wellness issues in the U.S. continue to rise, Extension workers are presented with an opportunity to use nontraditional methods to support public health. Farmers markets serve many goals, the most important of which revolves around individual and community health. They are among popular tools for supporting public health by making healthy food readily available, thus treating obesity and reinforcing the idea of good nutrition. The number of farmers markets in the U.S. continues to grow, and this steady increase demands that Extension, planning, and other policy professionals understand the various individual and public health goals they achieve.

Terminator Technology: Appraising Biotechnologists’ Claim To Feed The World, Jonathan Okeke Chimakonam Ph.D.

Journal of Health Ethics

This paper has shown that the feed the world argument as the main justification for the application of biotechnology/genetic engineering to the mainstream of agriculture has collapsed vis-à-vis the “terminator” or the “traitor” technology. Financial gain has also been established as the main motive for the promoters of this technology. In doing this, we have raised health and ethical concerns because it has been shown among others that applying GM on food crop production could have unforeseen health consequences. This we argued out-weighs financial benefits and called for caution and censorship in the application of biotechnology to food crop production.

The Political Determinants Of Health: The Impact Of Political Factors On Black-White Infant Mortality In The United States, Rongal D. Nikora

Political Science ETDs

Objective This exploratory research project considers the role that the political culture of individual U.S. states may play in determining variation in the countrys infant mortality rate. Specifically, do conventional and/or racialized measures of political culture help explain state-to-state variation, particularly in black infant mortality, as well as the longstanding mortality gap between infants born to black and white women? Conventional measures of political culture in this study include a state's past voting record in presidential elections, as well as how states are categorized under Elazar's (1966) typology of state civic culture (i.e., as moralistic, individualistic or traditionalistic). Racialized measures …

Indigenous Knowledge, Land, History, And Health: The Construction Of Diabetes On The White Mountain Apache Indian Reservation, Tennille Marley

Sociology ETDs

American Indians and Alaska Natives are at an increased risk of developing type 2 diabetes and are more likely than the general population to suffer from diabetes-related complications. This study attempts to clarify the relationships between indigenous knowledge, land, local history/historical trauma, and diabetes on the White Mountain Apache Indian Reservation, using place' as an anchoring concept. The concept of place is largely absent in sociological literature, and a growing number of researchers argue that place should be central to sociology. Further, many researchers argue that place and context matter for health and are necessary for a deeper understanding of …

How To Get Rid Of Thunder Thighs, Helena E. Yang

SURGE

I appreciate the insightful and important things your muffin top has to say to me, but my thunder thighs still think they’re fat.

I’m overweight (sometimes).

On a BMI scale, I fluctuate in and out of the dreaded “overweight” category. While I acknowledge that the BMI scale has its flaws, it was designed to be a quick approximation of weight to height; it is not designed to be a scientific test. Sometimes I tell myself I am super muscular and the scale doesn’t apply to me, but it’s actually not true. [excerpt]

The Social Transformation Of Health Inequities: Understanding The Discourse On Health Disparities In The United States, Sonia Bettez

Sociology ETDs

Discourse in the United States characterized health disparities' as the disproportionate burden of morbidity and mortality suffered by racial, ethnic and other disadvantaged populations. This dissertation contributes a theory of social construction that transformed health inequalities and inequities into 'health disparities,' a hegemonic (dominant) concept that prevented structural analysis of root causes and effective solutions. Consequently health disparities remain. My study focuses on the discourse during the latter part of President Clinton's administration (1999-2001), when eliminating 'health disparities' became a major objective. Anchored by hegemony and racial formation theories, and using critical discourse analysis as the principal research method, I …

Nutrient Intakes Of Healthy Adults On A Gluten-Free Diet, Julie Devlin

Master's Theses and Doctoral Dissertations

Gluten-free diets have gained popularity in recent years among healthy individuals. However, gluten-free foods are typically lower in essential nutrients. It was hypothesized that the average intakes of fiber and the selected B vitamins and minerals would be lower in the gluten-free group than in the regular diet group. Fifty-eight adults, aged 25-35, participated in the study. Participants completed a five-day food record and questionnaire. FoodWorks℗ʼ nutrient analysis software was used to evaluate intake of macronutrients and selected micronutrients. Gluten-free males consumed significantly lower amounts of carbohydrates, fiber, niacin, folate, and calcium but significantly higher amounts of fat and sodium …

Exploring Familial Themes In Malaysian Students’ Eating Behaviors, Car Mun Kok

Journal of Human Sciences and Extension

Food-related attitudes and habits are integral to overall well-being, especially among international college students who often practice poor eating habits and experience high levels of stress from factors like school and sociocultural adjustment. Utilizing in-depth interviews, this study explored how family experiences impact food-related habits, attitudes, and beliefs of Malaysian college students in the U.S. Findings indicate that early experiences with family substantially impact current habits that persist even after coming to the U.S. and that dietary choices and habits are heavily embedded in cultural background and family history. Family influenced current habits through multiple means, including modeling, direct teaching, …

To Bear Witness: A Journey Of Healing And Solidarity, Updated, Revised, And Expanded Edition, Kevin M. Cahill, M.D.

International Affairs

For more than fifty years, Dr. Cahill has been helping to heal the world, as a leading specialist in tropical medicine and as a driving force in humanitarian assistance and relief efforts around the globe. In this revised and expanded edition, he chronicles extraordinary achievements of compassion and commitment. Bringing together a rich selection of writings, he crafts a fascinating memoir of a life devoted to others. The book includes front-line reports from places under siege—Lebanon, Somalia, Sudan, Nicaragua, Gaza, and Ireland; there are also visionary essays from the origins of the AIDS epidemic and landmine crises, and no less …

The Effect Of Prenatal And Postnatal Care On Childhood Obesity, Michael M. O. Seipel, Kevin Shafer

Faculty Publications

Childhood obesity continues to be a major public health problem in the United States. If this problem is unresolved, some children will be at risk for disorders such as type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure, and cancer and will become a high economic and social burden for society. Using the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth, Child and Young Adult sample (N = 6,643), this study examined the relationship between the effect of pre- and postnatal characteristics and obesity. The findings of this study show that the probability of childhood obesity can be lessened if pregnant women do not smoke and …

Kids Count The State Of The Child In Tennessee 2012, Tennessee. Commission On Children & Youth.

The State of the Child in Tennessee

No abstract provided.

Influence Of Wine Health Benefit Knowledge And Prior Health Concerns On A Consumer's Willingness To Purchase Wine, Erica Llanos

Agribusiness

With the substantial increase in demand for wine, enhanced knowledge of consumers’ preferences for wine can help give wineries an opportunity to improve sales and bring in new marketing techniques. Over the past several years, the demand for functional food and beverages have increased, which is why promoting the beneficial aspects of red wine when consumed, can be a marketing tool that sets a winery apart from its competitors. This study used over 200 survey responses of individuals located throughout the U.S. in order to determine further information about wine health benefit knowledge in relation to the willingness of consumers …

Childhood Obesity And Overweight: Causes And Implications In Preschool Children, Melissa L. Sittner

Kinesiology and Public Health

The root causes of childhood obesity and overweight are currently hot topics of research. While many causes have been discovered, researchers are still weighing them against one another while taking the lifestyles of at-risk populations into account. Some of these causes include lack of physical activity, increase in screen time, and the implications of health disparities borne of a child’s socioeconomic status. These causes and more are reviewed further and applied to the population of interest: preschool aged children in the United States, and more specifically preschool aged children of San Luis Obispo County in California. The need for multi-level …

Move Montana: An Exercise Program For Children, Adolescents, And Their Families, Deanna Lynn Babb

Dissertations

Despite advances in medical science, the prevalence of obesity in the US has more than doubled in the last three decades, to over 72 million people (CDC, 2009). The purpose of this project was to pilot an exercise program that would increase physical activity in a group of adolescents and one of their parents or guardians. A convenient sample of 10 adults and eight adolescents returned surveys and exercised through the entire eight weeks (N = 18). Ten of the 18 participants (56%), six parents and four adolescents, reported increased frequency of exercise each week throughout the eight week period. …

Resources And Relationships: Food Insecurity And Social Capital Among Middle School Students, Don Edward Willis

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This study examines the relationship between food insecurity and Social capital among 5th-7th graders attending an intermediate school in Northwest Arkansas where nearly 70 percent of students participate in the free or reduced lunch program. The central research questions are: Does Social capital have a direct impact on children's food insecurity? And, does Social capital mediate the influence of negative circumstances on children's food insecurity? This study finds that Social capital does have a significant association with food insecurity, even when controlling for multiple demographic and circumstantial factors. However, there appears to be no mediation of circumstance by Social capital. …

The Effects Of Increased Dietary Fiber On School-Aged Children’S Quality Of Life, Katherine Reidenbach

College of Health and Human Sciences Honors Program Undergraduate Theses

No abstract provided.