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Finger Lickin’ Good: An Analytical Investigation Into The Urban Diet, Jennifer T.R. Tomlinson

Master of Liberal Studies Theses

In this analysis, the origins, customs and implications of fast-food culture will be explored with important focus on the customs of fast-food urban eating. Research indicates that lower-income urban areas are more likely to consume fast-food. The high consumption of fast-food subsequently results in the development of social and economical implications, which include health implications, economic dilemmas, a disconnection between consumers and their consumption and issues of social classification. This analysis also explores the customs of fast-food culture of Pine Hills, Florida with added emphasis on Pine Hills’ cultural uniqueness.

The Role Of Planning Tools As Strategies For Combating Childhood Obesity, Jacquelyn Coats

All Theses

The failure of traditional health models to successfully combat childhood obesity is apparent when considering its sustained prevalence in the United States. Childhood obesity rates have tripled over the past three decades and health officials recognize the need for integrative strategies in order to reverse the trend (CDC, 2010). The historical roots of planning and public health offer a potential venue for collaborative strategies to address the macro level factors that affect community health. This thesis examines how planning tools have been adapted to incorporate health strategies, whether or not such methods are sustainable, and what relationships are essential for …

The Effects Of A Dental Team And An Oral Health Protocol On The Oral Health Of Residents Living In Long-Term Care Facilities, Stephanie F. Meredith

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

The oral health of residents living in long-term care facilities is poor. Dental teams and protocols need to be implemented for the facilities to help improve the oral health of the residents. The purpose of this study is to compare a long-term care facility that is implementing a dental team and protocol versus a facility that is not implementing a dental team and protocol. Oral examinations of 30 residents at each facility were conducted at baseline, one month and three month intervals. Data analyses were conducted using descriptive statistics and ANOVA 2x3 using SPSS software, to determine if any significant …

Is A Poor Quality Nutrition Environment A Contributor To Obesity Prevalence In School-Age-Children In West Virginia?, Anna M. Chetrick

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

In recent years there has been considerable interest in describing and explaining increases in the prevalence of overweight and obesity. The quality of the nutrition environment, including the availability and price of healthy foods options, has been suggested as a likely contributor. This project was developed to investigate the relationship between weight status and the nutrition environment in school children in two West Virginia counties. The Nutrition Environment Measures Survey (NEMS) was conducted in Monongalia and Marshall Counties, WV. From NEMS survey data nutrition environment quality scores were calculated for 79 retail food outlets, including grocery, convenience, general, and department …

The College Of Health & Human Services [Annual Report], Wku College Of Health & Human Services, Dr. John Bonaguro, Dean

College of Health & Human Services Publications

No abstract provided.

Dental Public Health! A Mistaken Identity, A. Singh, Bharathi Purohit

Academic Leadership: The Online Journal (2003-2012)

The dental public health field has been expanding in scope & complexity with more emphasis being placed on the total dental care delivery system and its impact on oral health status. A broadly accepted definition of “dental public health” has been given by Downer 1994: “The science and art of preventing oral disease, promoting oral health and improving quality of life through the organized efforts of society” (Downer et al,1994). A broader definition was made ten years later as follows: “The science and art of preventing oral disease, promoting oral health and improving quality of life through the organized efforts …

Prevalence Of Metabolic Abnormalities In Children With Varying Degrees Of Obesity, Leah Sabato

Master of Public Health Program Student Publications

As the prevalence of obesity among children has risen, metabolic syndrome, a cluster of abnormalities which includes obesity, altered glucose metabolism, hypertension, and dyslipidemia, has increasingly become recognized in the pediatric population. Metabolic syndrome has been studied extensively in adults, and there is increasing interest to understand the condition in adolescents; however, studies of metabolic syndrome in younger children are limited. The purpose of this study is to examine the prevalence of metabolic syndrome and its individual components among children aged 6-10 years. Demographic, anthropometric, and biochemical data were gathered retrospectively from the medical records of 222 obese children aged …

Colorectal Cancer In Montgomery County, Ohio: A Descriptive Analysis, Ursula Turner

Master of Public Health Program Student Publications

In the United States colorectal cancer (CRC) is one of the most common malignancies, and is the third leading cause of cancer deaths (Sharma & O’Keefe, 2007). Approximately 270,000 cases of colorectal cancer were diagnosed in 2008 with 81,900 cases resulting in death. There were 16,520 cases diagnosed in African Americans and 7,120 resulted in death or significant illness (American Cancer Society, 2008). Mortality as the result of CRC is greater among the African American population with 27% and 38% higher death rates for African American males and females when compared with Caucasian males and females (Agarwal, 2005). CRC is …

An Examination Of Ohio’S Physical Education Academic Content Standard 4, Benchmark A For Grades 9-12, Gabriel Jones

Master of Public Health Program Student Publications

Objective: The purpose of this study was to describe select physical education teachers’ perceptions of the effectiveness and accuracy of the assessments for Ohio's Physical Education Academic Content Standard 4 Benchmark A in determining the fitness and physical activity levels of high school students. A secondary purpose was to describe the fitness levels of high school physical education students, based on assessment data.

Methods: Participants were forty-one physical education teachers and ninety high school students from southwest Ohio. Data were collected from the teachers through an online questionnaire and from students with FITNESSGRAM testing. FITNESSGRAM data from one local school …

Assessment And Management Of Adult Obesity In A Primary Care Practice, Sherry M. Adkins

Master of Public Health Program Student Publications

Purpose: The purpose of this project was to describe primary care physician adherence to National Heart Lung and Blood Institute (NHLBI) Clinical Guidelines on the Identification, Evaluation, and Treatment of Overweight and Obesity in Adults (1998) and to explore patient characteristics associated with physician assessment and management behaviors. Patient characteristics included age, sex, race, BMI, associated disease risk, and Medicaid coverage.

Methods: A chart abstraction of 99 randomly selected adult patients with at least one visit to a particular primary care practice during a 12-month period was completed. Patients were not pregnant during the year of review, and had a …

The Influence Of School Eating Environment On Children's Eating Behaviors: An Examination Of The Snda-Iii, Sabrina M. Neeley

Master of Public Health Program Student Publications

The prevalence of childhood overweight and obesity in the United States has prompted researchers to examine the factors that contribute to children’s food choices and consumption. Schools provide ample opportunities to teach children healthy eating habits, as well as create eating environments that are conducive to healthy eating behaviors. The National School Lunch Program (NSLP) provides federally assisted meals to millions of children every day and the assessment of the NSLP provides an opportunity to examine the school-eating environment. Hierarchical and logistic modeling of the SNDA-III, the USDA assessment of the NSLP, was conducted to determine relationships between environmental factors …

Worksite Wellness: An Administrative Perspective, Neha Kumar

Master of Public Health Program Student Publications

Objective: To develop a better understanding of businesses’ goals and purpose for offering worksite wellness opportunities and the level of administrative support for worksite wellness programs.

Method: Human resource directors, benefit managers, or other administrators of 76 businesses that have contracted with Premier Community Health in the past 2 years were contacted by e-mail to complete a standardized online survey on SurveyMonkey®. The survey included questions about the businesses worksite wellness current programs and future interests. In addition, data on how often businesses have utilized each of the PCH worksite offerings over the past 2 years was collected from the …

Women, Vulnerability, And Humanitarian Emergencies, Fionnuala Ni Aolain

Michigan Journal of Gender & Law

The catastrophic dimensions of humanitarian emergencies are increasingly understood and more visible to states and international institutions. There is greater appreciation for the social, economic and political effects that follow in the short to long term from the devastating consequences of humanitarian emergencies. There is also recognition of the gendered dimensions of humanitarian emergencies in policy and institutional contexts. It is generally acknowledged that women are overrepresented in the refugee and internally displaced communities that typically result from many humanitarian crises. Women bear acute care responsibilities in most societies and also disproportionately bear familial and communal care responsibilities in communities …

The Effect Of Prenatal Care And Other Factors On Preterm Births In Montgomery County 2007-2009, Leslie A. Schmieder

Master of Public Health Program Student Publications

Introduction Preterm birth is defined as a baby who is born before 37 weeks of pregnancy. Problems with preterm birth include an increased risk for health complications throughout life as well as having significantly more medical expenses compared to a full term infant. Prenatal care has shown to decrease the risk for preterm birth nationally. The objective of this project was to analyze prenatal care and other risk and demographic factors to determine their association with preterm birth in Montgomery County.

Method Data used included the 2007-2009 Montgomery County Birth Certificate Data for mothers who had singleton births. The Kessner …

Ppaca And Public Health: Creating A Framework To Focus On Prevention And Wellness And Improve The Public's Health, Gwendolyn R. Majette

Law Faculty Articles and Essays

On March 23, 2010, President Obama signed the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA), a major piece of health care reform legislation.This comprehensive legislation includes provisions that focus on prevention, wellness, and public health. Some, including authors in this symposium, question whether Congress considered public health, prevention, and wellness issues as mere afterthoughts in the creation of PPACA. As this article amply demonstrates, they did not.This article documents the extent of congressional consideration on public health issues based on personal experience working on the framework for health care reform--specifically, my experience as a Fellow for a member of the …

Prevalence Of Obesity Among Head Start Preschoolers In Western Ohio, Angela Sims

Master of Public Health Program Student Publications

Objective: The intent of this study was to examine low income Head Start overweight and obese preschoolers, ages 3-5, in 8 western Ohio counties. Variables of interest included: obesity status, rural versus metropolitan location, home versus center-based Head Start, and access to physicians.

Methods: Data was collected retrospectively from the host Head Start site located in Piqua, Ohio. All Head Start enrolled preschoolers (N=1,181) ages 3 to 5 within the 8 western Ohio counties and 43 programs were studied. All children were considered of low income based on their acceptance into the Head Start program.

The data was retrieved from …

Gaps And Strengths In Us Policies On Infant And Young Child Feeding: An Analysis Based On The Global Strategy On Infant And Young Child Feeding, Linda J. Smith

Master of Public Health Program Student Publications

This research project reviews the evidence on the significance of infant and young child feeding to public health goals, analyzes US policy documents in relationship to the Global Strategy using the World Breastfeeding Trends Initiative (WBTi) to quantify the findings into a national score, and then summarizes the gaps and strengths in US policies and makes recommendations. Using the WBTi scoring system, strengths for the US exist in national policy, Baby-Friendly Hospital Initiative, monitoring and evaluation, and complementary feeding. Mother support and community outreach, information and support were moderate. Gaps exist in policies on infant feeding in emergencies and for …

Restoring Health To Health Reform: Integrating Medicine And Public Health To Advance The Population's Wellbeing, Lawrence O. Gostin, Peter D. Jacobson, Katherine L. Record, Lorian E. Hardcastle

Georgetown Law Faculty Publications and Other Works

The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act is a major achievement in improving access to health care services.  However, evidence indicates that the nation could achieve greater improvements in health outcomes, at a lower cost, by shifting its focus to public health.  By focusing nearly exclusively on health care, policy makers have chronically starved public health of adequate and stable funding and political support.  The lack of support for public health is exacerbated by the fact that health care and public health are generally conceptualized, organized, and funded as two separate systems.  In order to maximize gains in health status …

Disease, Medicine And Health, Diego Armus, A. López Denis

History Faculty Works

This article focuses on three overlapping trends in the historical study of human responses to illness, labeled as “new history of medicine, history of public health, and sociocultural history of disease.” The topics range from colonial epidemiology and pharmacopoeia to twentieth-century public health institutions and urban hygiene. But a consistent focus on the social, cultural, and symbolic components of diseases and cures unifies this historiography and distinguishes it from the narrower scope of the long-established field of the history of medicine.

Critical Hermeneutic Inquiry In Kagaa, Kenya : Refiguring Village Health Education Through Community Inquiry, Peninah N. Kaniu

Doctoral Dissertations

unavailable

Evaluating The Get Into Fitness Today (Gift) Program: Weight Loss And The Roles Of Education And Empowerment, Emily Koby Novicki

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This study investigated the effects of Get Into Fitness Today (GIFT), a health program for adults that promotes balanced nutrition, physical activity, and weight loss through weekly meetings that provide education and social support. In addition to investigating the effects of GIFT, this evaluation sought to better understand explanatory models used by participants and program staff, and the roles of education and empowerment in weight loss and health education. This mixed methods, case study evaluation consisted of quantitative analysis of existing program records for 664 participants, 40 hours of participant observation of class sessions with ten GIFT groups, and follow-up …

An Epidemiological Assessment Of Lung Function Decline As A Predictor Of Morbidity And Mortality, Penelope J. Baughman

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Excessive lung function decline is associated with increased risks of respiratory morbidity and mortality outcomes including chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). COPD is a disease afflicting approximately 80 million people worldwide and as of 2002, the fifth leading cause of death. COPD is an increasing problem, with substantial increases projected in COPD deaths if there is no reduction of the causal risk factors. By 2030, COPD is projected to be the third leading cause of death worldwide, an increase mainly due to extended life expectancies and that COPD deaths occur at older ages. COPD is also largely underdiagnosed, partially due …

Metabolic Syndrome And Its Associations With Psychological Distress And Subclinical Cardiovascular Disease Among Police Officers, Tara Autumn Hartley

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Police officers are a vital part of every community in the U.S. Officers are routinely exposed to numerous types of stressors, including traumatic events, shift work and organizational issues. The impact of this exposure can lead to chronic physical and psychological health problems. Police officers have been reported to have higher rates of cardiovascular disease (CVD). Previous studies have found associations between work stress and CVD, and this association may be mediated by the metabolic syndrome (MetSyn). MetSyn is a clustering of metabolic abnormalities, including abdominal obesity, hypertension, glucose intolerance and dyslipidemia, that has been associated with CVD and Type …

Childhood Obesity In Context: Examining The Role Of Ecological Factors Related To Childhood Obesity Among West Virginia's Youth, Stephanie S. Frost

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Nearly one third of youth in the United States are overweight or obese and rates are disproportionately higher among rural youth. These rates are cause for alarm given the many short- and long-term consequences of childhood obesity. A growing body of research has begun to explore how factors outside the individual might influence obesity and obesity-related behaviors. Guided by ecological frameworks, this research has demonstrated that factors such as the socioeconomic status of the community, access to physical activity opportunities, and quality of the community food environment may contribute to this epidemic. However, much of the research to date has …

Cheaters Shouldn't Prosper And Consumers Shouldn't Suffer: The Need For Government Enforcement Against Economic Adulteration Of 100% Pomegranate Juice And Other Imported Food Products, Michael T. Roberts

Journal of Food Law & Policy

In the modern global food system - marked by the trade flow of a variety of food products and ingredients from multiple locations in the world - economically motivated adulteration has emerged as a growing menace that threatens the health and wellbeing of consumers, the economic livelihoods of honest purveyors of food in the global marketplace, and the integrity and viability of national food regulatory systems. Economic adulteration is a form of cheating that includes the padding, diluting, and substituting of food product. Although this cheating is rooted in past food systems, the new paradigm for economic adulteration - a …

Reconsidering Federalism And The Farm: Toward Including Local, State And Regional Voices In America's Food System, Margaret Sova Mccabe

Journal of Food Law & Policy

Why is the relationship between our food system and federalism important to American law and health? It is important simply because federal law controls the American food system. This essay considers how federal law came to structure our food system, and suggests that though food is an essential part of our national economy, the dominating role of the federal government alienates citizens from their food system. It does so by characterizing food as a primarily economic issue, rather than one that has ethical, health, and cultural components. However, state and local governments have much to offer in terms of broadening …

Cardiovascular Risk Assessment - From Individual Risk Prediction To Estimation Of Global Risk And Change In Risk In The Population, John A. Batsis, Francisco Lopez-Jimenez

Dartmouth Scholarship

Cardiovascular disease is the most common cause of death and risk prediction formulae such as the Framingham Risk Score have been developed to easily identify patients at high risk that may require therapeutic interventions. Using cardiovascular risk formulae at a population level to estimate and compare average cardiovascular risk among groups has been recently proposed as a way to facilitate surveillance of net cardiovascular risk and target public health interventions. Risk prediction formulas may help to compare interventions that cause effects of different magnitudes and directions in several cardiovascular risk factors, because these formulas assess the net change in risk …

The Application Of The Vulnerable Populations Conceptual Framework To Determine Factors Predictive Of Overweight And Obesity In Appalachian Children And Adolescents, Melanie M. Whelan

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Statement of problem. Appalachian children and adolescents are considered a vulnerable population with a high prevalence of obesity. This study was the first study to apply a vulnerable populations conceptual framework to examine factors associated with overweight and obesity in Appalachian children and adolescents. The purpose of this study was to describe the extent to which resource availability (family income, insurance, family characteristics, parents' education, and transportation) and risk factors (utilization of health care/preventive care, family medical history, and participant medical history) impact overweight and obesity in a vulnerable population. The study also described the frequency of overweight and obesity …

Oral Cancer In Nevada: A Public Health Perspective, Karl Kingsley

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Cancer is the second leading cause of death in the United States, and oral cancer remains the eighth leading cause of cancer death among US males. Although previous epidemiologic studies have found that overall rates of cancer, including oral cancer, have declined in the US in recent decades – these declines are neither uniform nor consistent within this population. Anecdotal evidence has suggested that rates of oral cancer in Nevada are relatively high, although no evidence was available to support these assertions.

Oral Cancer Epidemiology: Based upon this information, a detailed and thorough epidemiologic examination of oral cancer rates in …

Latin America And The Caribbean: Assessment Of The Advances In Public Health For The Achievement Of The Millennium Development Goals, Amal K. Mitra, Gisela Rodriguez-Fernandez

Faculty Publications

To improve health and economy of the world population, the United Nations has set up eight international goals, known as Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), that 192 United Nations member states and at least 23 international organizations have agreed to achieve by the year 2015. The goals include: (1) eradicating extreme poverty and hunger; (2) achieving universal primary education; (3) promoting gender equality; (4) reducing child mortality; (5) improving maternal health; (6) combating HIV/AIDS, malaria and other diseases; (7) ensuring environmental sustainability; and (8) developing a global partnership for development. Having been in the midway from the 2015 deadline, the UN …