Digital Commons Network^™

Epid 7133 - Epidemiologic Research Methods I, Isaac Chun-Hai Fung

College of Public Health: Faculty Syllabi (2014-2021)

This course will focus on epidemiologic methods - primarily methods used in observational studies, cohort studies, case-control studies and randomized controlled trials. With respect to cohort studies, topics covered include cohort identification, ascertainment of exposure status, follow-up of cohort members, measuring outcomes, sources of bias and interpretational issues. Case-control topics include issues around defining cases and controls, control of confounding, and sources of bias/systematic error. Topics around randomized trials include randomization procedures, defining and assembling treatment/intervention arms, selecting study subjects and approaches to data collection. Other topics covered in this course include surveillance and ecologic studies. Pros and cons of …

Pubh 8133 02p - Epidemiologic Methods, Kelly L. Sullivan

College of Public Health: Faculty Syllabi (2014-2021)

An advanced epidemiology course designed to reinforce epidemiological concepts, as well as build a foundation for epidemiologic research in public health practice. Specific course content includes observational and experimental epidemiologic research methods. Emphasis will also be placed on appropriate analytic techniques necessary for biostatistical inference.

Pubh 8133 01p - Epidemiologic Methods, Yelena N. Tarasenko

College of Public Health: Faculty Syllabi (2014-2021)

An advanced epidemiology course designed to reinforce epidemiological concepts, as well as build a foundation for epidemiologic research in public health practice. Specific course content includes observational and experimental epidemiologic research methods. Emphasis will also be placed on appropriate analytic techniques necessary for biostatistical inference

Suicide Prevention, Deborah M. Stone, Alex E. Crosby

United States Public Health Resources

Suicide is a public health problem affecting people across the lifespan. It is currently the 10th leading cause of death, with rates having remained relatively flat for the past century. This article summarizes the problem of suicide and suicidal behavior along with suicide prevention efforts in the United States. Part 1 provides an overview of the epidemiology of suicide, including groups most at risk of suicide and suicidal behavior. Part 2 provides a review of common risk factors, organized by developmental life stage. A brief discussion of the lesser well-researched area of protective factors follows. Part 3 provides an overview …

Graph Matching Based Decision Support Tools For Mitigating Spread Of Infectious Diseases Like H1n1, Jomon Aliyas Paul, Kedar Sambhoos

Faculty Articles

Diseases like H1N1 can be prevented from becoming a wide spread epidemic through timely detection and containment measures. Similarity of H1N1 symptoms to any common flu and its alarming rate of spread through animals and humans complicate the deployment of such strategies. We use dynamic implementation of graph matching methods to overcome these challenges. Specifically, we formulate a mixed integer programming model (MIP) that analyzes patient symptom data available at hospitals to generate patient graph match scores. Successful matches are then used to update counters that generate alerts to the Public Health Department when the counters surpass the threshold values. …

Firearms, Youth Homicide, And Public Health, Robert S. Levine, Irwin Goldzweig, Barbara Kilbourne, Paul Juarez

Sociology Faculty Research

Homicide is seven times as common among U.S. non-Hispanic Black as among non-Hispanic White youth ages 15 to 24 years. In 83% of these youth homicides, the murder weapon is a firearm. Yet, for more than a decade, the national public health position on youth violence has been largely silent about the role of firearms, and tools used by public health professionals to reduce harm from other potential hazards have been unusable where guns are concerned. This deprives already underserved populations from the full benefits public health agencies might be able to deliver. In part, political prohibitions against research about …

The Fecal Viral Flora Of Wild Rodents, Tung G. Phan, Beatrix Kapusinszky, Chunlin Wang, Robert K. Rose, Howard L. Lipton, Eric L. Delwart

Biological Sciences Faculty Publications

The frequent interactions of rodents with humans make them a common source of zoonotic infections. To obtain an initial unbiased measure of the viral diversity in the enteric tract of wild rodents we sequenced partially purified, randomly amplified viral RNA and DNA in the feces of 105 wild rodents (mouse, vole, and rat) collected in California and Virginia. We identified in decreasing frequency sequences related to the mammalian viruses families Circoviridae, Picobirnaviridae, Picornaviridae, Astroviridae, Parvoviridae, Papillomaviridae, Adenoviridae, and Coronaviridae. Seventeen small circular DNA genomes containing one or two replicase genes distantly related to the Circoviridae representing several potentially …

Socioeconomic And Environmental Causes For Respiratory Infection Death In Alaska Native Villages, Sarah Mcbeth

Master of Public Health Program Student Publications

Objectives. This ecological study evaluates the association between community characteristics and death rates from pneumonia/influenza, tuberculosis, and infectious diseases in 196 Alaska Native villages.

Methods. Ecological variables studied included percentage of Natives in the population, age distribution, latitude, average household size, socioeconomic status, percentage of homes with complete plumbing and/or kitchens, type of heating fuel used, community alcohol restrictions, level of healthcare access, and residence in specific regions of Alaska. These data come from the 2000 U.S. Census, the Alaska Alcohol Beverage Control Board, and the Alaska Native Tribal Health Consortium. A stepwise analysis of variance using the Proc GLM …

An Hsus Report: Human Health Implications Of Intensive Poultry Production And Avian Influenza, The Humane Society Of The United States

Impact of Animal Agriculture

The high stocking density, stress, unhygienic conditions, lack of sunlight, and breeding practices typical of industrial poultry and egg production systems may facilitate the emergence and spread of diseases, including highly pathogenic avian influenza viruses with public health implications such as H5N1.

Public Health And The Built Environment: Historical, Empirical, And Theoretical Foundations For An Expanded Role, Wendy Collins Perdue, Lawrence O. Gostin, Lesley A. Stone

Law Faculty Publications

In 2000, the Center for Disease Control and Prevention's National Center for Environmental Health issued a report that explored some of the ways in which "sprawl" impacts public health. The report has generated great interest, and state health officials are beginning to discuss the relationship between land use and public health. The CDC report has also produced a backlash. For example, the Southern California Building Industry Association labeled the report "a ludicrous sham" and argued that the CDC should stick to "fighting physical diseases, not defending political ones."

In this environment, it is understandable if the CDC looks to such …

Oral Rabies Vaccination: A National Perspective On Program Development And Implementation, Dennis Slate, Richard B. Chipman, Charles E. Rupprecht, Thomas J. Deliberto

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

Persistence of unique rabies virus variants in a diverse array of terrestrial carnivores and insectivorous bats makes rabies control in the US. a complex task The public health system in the U.S. is effective in keeping human deaths near zero each year in the face of enzootic wildlife rabies, but the annual cost of coexistence with the disease is high, exceeding $300 million. In addition, each year tens of thousands of people are impacted by anxiety, fear, and trauma associated with potential or actual rabies exposure to themselves and their domestic animals. Exclusion, proper storage and disposal of garbage, and …

An Examination Of The Effects Of The Mother's Education And Household Exposure To Disease On Childhood Diarrheal Morbidity In Sudan., Dawood Hussein Sultan

LSU Historical Dissertations and Theses

This dissertation examines the effect of increases in the mother's level of education on the likelihood of diarrheal morbidity among Sudanese children aged 6 to 23 months. Maximum likelihood logistic regression models are used in the analysis. The logit estimates obtained from these models revealed that children of mothers who are illiterate run on average more than 10 times the risk of diarrhea as that run by children to mothers with a senior secondary or higher education. Slight increases in the mother's education, as indicated by an incomplete primary school education, reduce the likelihood of diarrhea by more than 50%. …

Social And Environmental Factors In Lung Cancer Mortality In Post-War Poland, Halina Szejnwal Brown, Robert Goble, Henryk Kirschner

Sustainability and Social Justice

Poland and other Eastern European countries have undergone heavy industrial development with marked increases in air pollution and occupational exposure in the nearly 50 years since World War II. These countries have also experienced substantial increases in chronic disease mortality in the past three decades. While it is tempting to assume a direct association between these phenomena, more detailed analyses are called for. Poland offers a potentially rich opportunity for comparing geographical patterns of disease incidence and of industrial change. In this paper we 1) elucidate the prospects for attributing lung cancer mortality to industrial emissions in Poland, using an …