Digital Commons Network^™

An Hsus Report: Human Health Implications Of Non-Therapeutic Antibiotic Use In Animal Agriculture, The Humane Society Of The United States

Impact of Animal Agriculture

For decades, the U.S. meat industry has fed medically important antibiotics to chickens, pigs, and cattle to accelerate their weight gain and prevent disease in the stressful and unhygienic conditions that typify industrialized animal agriculture production facilities. A strong scientific consensus exists, asserting that this practice fosters antibiotic resistance in bacteria to the detriment of human health. In response to this public health threat, the European Union has banned the non-therapeutic feeding of a number of antibiotics of human importance to farm animals. Given these serious concerns as well as recent data that suggest an overall lack of financial benefit, …

An Hsus Report: Food Safety Concerns With The Slaughter Of Downed Cattle, The Humane Society Of The United States

Impact of Animal Agriculture

Nonambulatory cattle may be at higher risk of harboring foodborne pathogens such as E. coli O157:H7, Salmonella, and, very rarely, the infectious agent that causes bovine spongiform encephalopathy, colloquially known as “mad cow disease.” The exclusion of nonambulatory cattle from slaughter for human consumption may strengthen the safety of the food supply and is a prudent measure already in place throughout the European Union.

Impact Of A Physical Activity Intervention For Weight Loss: A Qualitative Analysis Of Participant Perceptions And Expectations, Jessica Anne Creasy

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

The purpose of this study was to investigate perceptions of self-esteem and body image and expectations for success among participants enrolled in a physical activity and nutritional intervention for weight loss. Qualitative research methods (individual interviews) were conducted to assess how participants felt about themselves, their bodies, and the intervention. In all, 10 participants were interviewed; five were in the initial week of the weight loss intervention (Phase I) and five had been enrolled in the intervention between 9--13 months (Phase II). Weight in pounds and body fat percentage were obtained for all participants at time of enrollment, and at …

Obesity, Poverty, And The Built Environment: Challenges And Opportunities, Wendy Collins Perdue

Law Faculty Publications

Obesity is linked to behaviors related to food consumption and physical activity. Although the factors affecting behaviors in these areas are complex, there is growing evidence that the physical characteristics of many of our communities, and particularly poorer communities, encourage obesity-generating behaviors including a sedentary lifestyle arid unhealthy eating habits. This paper explores the relationship between obesity causing behavior and the physical characteristics of communities and highlights some of the challenges and opportunities associated with changing those physical characteristics.

Evaluating The Healthy States Initiative Policy Forums, Jessica Harmon

MPA/MPP/MPFM Capstone Projects

Since 2005, The Council of State Governments (CSG) has participated in a cooperative agreement funded by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) called the Healthy States Initiative. The initiative promotes public health by providing information resources to state legislators through publications and public health forums. CSG is interested in information about the impact of the public health forums on state legislators. More specifically, they would like to know if the forums have encouraged the participants to produce public health legislation, to support funding for public health projects, and to work closely with colleagues and various groups to improve …

The Influence Of Veterinary Schools On The Veterinary Labor Market, Kyle Bosh

MPA/MPP/MPFM Capstone Projects

Problem Statement:

Does the presence of a veterinary school in a state influence the supply of veterinarians practicing in that state? Citizens and animals in states without a veterinary school are at a disadvantage if the presence of a veterinary school significantly improves public health and access to medical services in those states that have a veterinary school.

Research Strategy:

The unit of analysis in this study is 50 states and the District of Columbia. The study is designed as a cross-sectional analysis of 2006 pet, 2002 livestock, 2006 human, labor, and economic data. The study uses simultaneous equations to …

Development And Validation Of A Diabetes-Specific Health State Classification System And Valuation Function Based On The Multi-Attribute Theory, Murali Sundaram

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Preference-Based Measures of Health (PBMH) provide 'preference' or 'utility' weights that enable the calculation of quality-adjusted life years for the economic evaluations of interventions. The Diabetes Utility Index (DUI) was developed as a two-page, self-administered diabetes-specific PBMH that can replace expensive time-consuming interviews with patients to estimate their health state utilities. Inputs from theory, an existing diabetes-specific measure of quality of life, and statistical analyses were submitted to a clinical expert panel. After three rounds of pilot surveys (n1=52, n2=65, n3=111) at primary care clinics in Morgantown, WV, five attributes and severity categories for each attribute were finalized on the …

Land Use Law And Active Living: Opportunities For States To Assume A Leadership Role In Promoting And Incentivizing Local Options, Patricia E. Salkin, Amy Lavine

Scholarly Works

Obesity, asthma and nutrition are just three public health challenges facing children and adults that can be addressed through land use planning and zoning. States must take a leadership role in providing statutory authority and guidance for local governments to enact and implement laws and ordinances designed to promote active living. Land use policies, transportation policies, redevelopment policies and open space and recreation policies are key areas where reform is needed. This paper highlights existing examples from various states and offers lawmakers, policymakers and advocates options for reforming state laws to incentivize and influence local actions.

Lexical Conflation And Edible Iconicity: Two Sources Of Ambiguity In American Vernacular Health Terminology, Laurel Smith Stvan

Linguistics & TESOL Faculty Publications & Presentations - Archive

Examination of lexical items in naturally occurring vernacular prose shows patterns of ambiguities in how Americans discuss health issues. Samples from the Freiburg–Brown corpus of American English and varied registers of popular health writing found online reveal two principles of naming beliefs that crosscut the uses of many ambiguous terms: the semantic principle of ‘lexical conflation’ and the semiotic principle of ‘edible iconicity’. Both are shown to reflect sources of nutritional conceptualizations. Lexical conflation is illustrated by uses of fat, cholesterol, sugar, oil, and germ, with modifiers shown to help disambiguate terms. Edible iconicity, where meaning is attached to the …

The Battle Of The Bulge: Evaluating Law As A Weapon Against Obesity, Margaret Sova Mccabe

Journal of Food Law & Policy

"Silly rabbit, Trix are for kids." Since the 1970s, kids have gotten to know the silly rabbit created to promote sugary, fruit-flavored cereal in television ads. Today, "i'm lovin' it" is the McDonald's slogan, but to millions of children the more recognizable symbol is Ronald McDonald. Ronald McDonald is so recognizable that one study pegged recognition of Ronald among American children at 96% and another at 80% by children in nine other countries. Given the "obesity crisis," many question whether these ads should be permitted, with some questioning whether such products are even safe for children's consumption. The Trix Rabbit …

Pharmacy & Therapeutics Update: Drug Information For Health Care Professionals, Medical University Of South Carolina, Paul Bush, Kelli Garrison, Jason Cooper

Pharmacy & Therapeutics Update: Drug Information for Health Care Professionals

No abstract provided.

Pharmacy & Therapeutics Update: Drug Information For Health Care Professionals, August/September 2007, Medical University Of South Carolina, Paul Bush, Kelli Garrison, Jason Cooper

Pharmacy & Therapeutics Update: Drug Information for Health Care Professionals

No abstract provided.

Mobile Information Communication Technology For Crisis Management : Understanding User Behavior, Response And Training, Elizabeth Avery Gomez

Dissertations

SMS text-messaging is an interoperable communication vehicle known to be dependable for mass media alert notifications in crisis management. SMS text-messaging also offers potential as one viable two-way communication alternative for field responders in crisis response. Both continuously changing mobile information communication technologies and the importance of precise information exchange constitute a need for communication protocol training and practice. This study introduces a technology-mediated training technique based on speech act and communicative action theories. These theories are used to inform the design of a baseline measure for task performance improvement and to suggest a model to predict communication readiness. Because …

Relationship Between Food Insecurity And Overweight In Preschool-Aged Children In Rural West Virginia, Melissa Webber

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

The prevalence of overweight among adults and children continues to increase. The purpose of this study was to evaluate demographic factors that may be associated with an increase in a child's weight status. Subjects were children aged 2 to 6 years old in two southern West Virginia counties, McDowell and Mercer. Children were weighed and measured, and BMI was calculated. Parents or other caregivers were asked to complete a questionnaire regarding child's age, household food security, and parents' age, height and weight, education level, and hours worked per week.;A positive association between food insecurity and overweight among children was present …

Pharmacy & Therapeutics Update: Drug Information For Health Care Professionals, Medical University Of South Carolina, Paul W. Bush, Kelli L. Garrison, Jason Cooper

Pharmacy & Therapeutics Update: Drug Information for Health Care Professionals

No abstract provided.

Pharmacy & Therapeutics Update: Drug Information For Health Care Professionals, July 2007, Medical University Of South Carolina, Paul W. Bush, Kelli L. Garrison, Jason Cooper

Pharmacy & Therapeutics Update: Drug Information for Health Care Professionals

No abstract provided.

A New World Order For Addressing Patent Rights And Public Health, Cynthia M. Ho

Chicago-Kent Law Review

Can patent rights and public health coexist? This is a pressing global question in an era where the AIDS pandemic rages in countries that cannot afford to pay for the most effective—and patent-protected—AIDS treatment. Even in countries with higher levels of income, patent problems may nonetheless loom large in unanticipated situations that could turn deadly without access to patented drugs, such as the 2001 anthrax "crisis" or the potential avian flu epidemic. This article provides an important perspective on how international laws currently impact the intersection between patent rights and public health. This article begins with an explanation of patent …

Safe But Not Wholesome: The Troubling State Of Trans Fat Regulation, Ross Williams

Journal of Food Law & Policy

On March 7, 2007, the New York Times reported that Starbucks, the retail coffee chain which sells millions of baked goods every day from its over 8,700 U.S. stores, had asked its suppliers to eliminate all trans fats from their products by the end of the year. The big story for New York readers, though, was not that Starbucks was requiring the elimination of trans fats from its baked goods. In fact, New York City had just passed an ordinance strictly limiting the use of artificial trans fats, the type present in partially hydrogenated vegetable oil (PHVO), by virtually all …

Defying Nature: The Ethical Implications Of Genetically Modified Plants, Debra M. Strauss

Journal of Food Law & Policy

Genetic engineering is changing the semantics, the meaning of life itself. We're trying to usurp the plant's choice. To force alien words into the plant's poem, but we [have] a problem. We barely know the root language. Genetic grammar's a mystery.... We've learned a lot about the letters-maybe our ability to read and spell words now sits halfway between accident and design - but our syntax is still haphazard. Scrambled. It's a semiotic nightmare.

Investigation Of Safe-Level Testing For Beta-Lactam, Sulfonamide, And Tetracycline Residues In Commingled Bovine Milk, Richelle R. Goulette

Pell Scholars and Senior Theses

In the United States more than “a billion pounds of butter, 7 billion pounds of cheese, 1.5 billion pounds of yogurt, and one billion gallons of ice cream” (USDA, 2005) are produced annually. According to the USDA Food Pyramid, it is recommended that every person consume between two and three cups of milk products every day (USDA, 2005). With so much product being consumed by the greater public there is cause for concern on the quality of the product being ingested. The purpose of this research is to explore the quality of milk product, particularly safe-level residue testing for antibiotics …

Public Health In Dar Es Salaam, Emily Gerteis

Macalester Abroad: Research and Writing from Off-campus Study

No abstract provided.

The Human/Animal Interface: Emergence And Resurgence Of Zoonotic Infectious Diseases, Michael Greger

Transgenesis Collection

Emerging infectious diseases, most of which are considered zoonotic in origin, continue to exact a significant toll on society. The origins of major human infectious diseases are reviewed and the factors underlying disease emergence explored. Anthropogenic changes, largely in land use and agriculture, are implicated in the apparent increased frequency of emergence and reemergence of zoonoses in recent decades. Special emphasis is placed on the pathogen with likely the greatest zoonotic potential, influenzavirus A.

Privatization And The Human Right To Water: Challenges For The New Century, Melina Williams

Michigan Journal of International Law

This Note considers implications for the human fight to water in the context of the trend toward privatization of water supplies. Part II examines the legal bases of the right to water, and Part III discusses the potential obligations that arise from it. Part IV then looks at the interaction between the fight to water and arrangements to privatize water supplies. This Note posits that human rights law does not simply support or oppose privatization of water supplies and services. Rather, bringing a human rights perspective to the problem of providing water to the world's population both clarifies the minimum …

Predicting Physicians' Intention To Measure Body Mass Index And Assessing Their Identification And Evaluation Practices In Overweight Children And Adolescents, Rahul Khanna

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

One health challenge receiving a lot of attention today is childhood obesity. Numerous public and professional organizations recommend that physicians periodically measure BMI in children and adolescents. In addition, guidelines recommend medical evaluation of overweight children and adolescents. However, studies have shown an inconsistent use of body mass index (BMI). This study uses the Theory of Reasoned Action (TRA) and the Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB) to identify factors that explain physicians' intention to measure BMI in children and adolescents. Salient beliefs associated with intention were compared between intenders and nonintenders. The study also determines how physicians identify and evaluate …

Medicine And Public Health: Crossing Legal Boundaries, Wendy K. Mariner

Faculty Scholarship

In 2006, New York City began a mandatory reporting system for laboratories to submit blood sugar (A1c) test results (primarily for diabetes) to the city's Department of Health and Mental Hygiene without the patient's consent. This article examines whether this new program is an innovative way to improve New Yorkers' health, an invasion of medical privacy, or usurpation of the physician's role. The registry is an example of public health initiatives in chronic diseases, which challenge the limits of laws governing medicine care and public health programs by blurring the historical boundaries between them.

Law As A Tool To Facilitate Healthier Lifestyles And Prevent Obesity, Lawrence O. Gostin

Georgetown Law Faculty Publications and Other Works

Public health agencies face considerable challenges trying to prevent overweight and obesity in society, primarily because a person's own behavior is often the root cause of the disease. Individuals make personal choices about their diet, exercise, and lifestyle, so disease is often thought of as a matter of personal, not governmental, responsibility. This Commentary shows how law can be used as a tool to prevent overweight and obesity (see Table).

The tools discussed in this article include:

- Disclosure - e.g., labels and consumer information

- Tort liability - e.g., inadequate disclosure of risks, misleading advertisements, and targeting children

- …

Foodborne Infections And The Global Food Supply: Improving Health At Home And Abroad, Robert V. Tauxe

Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law

In recent years, fourteen percent of the U.S. food supply has been imported from other countries, including many fresh and perishable foods. Although most outbreaks of illness and individual cases are related to foods from the United States, large and unusual outbreaks have been traced to imported foods that were likely contaminated in the country of origin. Investigation of these outbreaks requires collaboration across several disciplines as well as across international borders. Successful investigation can not only control the original problem, but can also inform public authorities in both countries about the need for strategies to prevent similar outbreaks from …

Pharmacy & Therapeutics Update: Drug Information For Health Care Professionals, October/November 2006, Medical University Of South Carolina, Paul W. Bush, Kelli L. Garrison, Jason Cooper

Pharmacy & Therapeutics Update: Drug Information for Health Care Professionals

No abstract provided.

Pharmacy & Therapeutics Update: Drug Information For Health Care Professionals, August 2006, Medical University Of South Carolina, Paul W. Bush, Kelli L. Garrison, Holly M. Macfall

Pharmacy & Therapeutics Update: Drug Information for Health Care Professionals

No abstract provided.

Health In Cuba, Richard S. Cooper, Joan F. Kennelly, Pedro Orduñez-Garcia

Faculty Publications

The poorer countries of the world continue to struggle with an enormous health burden from diseases that we have long had the capacity to eliminate. Similarly, the health systems of some countries, rich and poor alike, are fragmented and inefficient, leaving many population groups underserved and often without health care access entirely. Cuba represents an important alternative example where modest infrastructure investments combined with a well-developed public health strategy have generated health status measures comparable with those of industrialized countries. Areas of success include control of infectious diseases, reduction in infant mortality, establishment of a research and biotechnology industry, and …