Digital Commons Network^™

The Impact Of Covid-19 On Opioid-Related Overdose Deaths In Texas, Karima Lalani, Christine Bakos-Block, Marylou Cardenas-Turanzas, Sarah Cohen, Bhanumathi Gopal, Tiffany Champagne-Langabeer

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, the United States was facing an epidemic of opioid overdose deaths, clouding accurate inferences about the impact of the pandemic at the population level. We sought to determine the existence of increases in the trends of opioid-related overdose (ORO) deaths in the Greater Houston metropolitan area from January 2015 through December 2021, and to describe the social vulnerability present in the geographic location of these deaths. We merged records from the county medical examiner's office with social vulnerability indexes (SVIs) for the region and present geospatial locations of the aggregated ORO deaths. Time series analyses …

Language Proficiency And Use Of Interpreters/Translators In Fieldwork: A Survey Of Us-Based Anthropologists And Sociologists, Katarzyna Sepielak, Dawid K. Wladyka, William Yaworsky

Sociology Faculty Publications

The proficiency in vernacular has long been a methodological ethos pervasive among field researchers and—despite new dynamics of fieldwork—still overshadows discussions related to collaboration with translators and interpreters, which are either marginalized or hidden within the category of a ‘research assistant’. The purpose of this study is to take a step beyond anecdotal evidence and explore trends in language proficiency and use of translation services among US based field researchers who had conducted international or domestic studies in an area where a language other than English was present. We conducted the largest-to-date survey on the subject and analyzed 913 responses …

Droughtscape, Fall 2022, National Drought Mitigation Center

DroughtScape: Quarterly Newsletter of the National Drought Mitigation Center (2007–2023)

DroughtScape, Fall 2022

Persistent Disparities In Colorectal Cancer Screening: A Tell-Tale Sign For Implementing New Guidelines In Younger Adults, Po-Hong Liu, Nina N Sanford, Peter S Liang, Amit G Singal, Caitlin C Murphy

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

BACKGROUND: In May 2021, the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force began recommending initiating colorectal cancer screening at age 45 (vs. 50) years.

METHODS: We estimated prevalence of colorectal cancer screening (by colonoscopy, sigmoidoscopy, CT colonography, or stool-based tests) in adults ages 50 to 75 years using data from the National Health Interview Survey in 2000, 2003, 2005, 2008, 2010, 2013, 2015, and 2018. For each survey year, we estimated prevalence by age, race/ethnicity, educational attainment, family income, and health insurance. We also compared increases in prevalence of screening from 2000 to 2018 in 5-year age groups (50-54, 55-59, 60-64, 65-69, …

Exit Rates Of Accountable Care Organizations That Serve High Proportions Of Beneficiaries Of Racial And Ethnic Minority Groups, Sunny C Lin, Karen E Joynt Maddox, Andrew M Ryan, Nicholas Moloci, Addison Shay, John Malcolm Hollingsworth

2020-Current year OA Pubs

Importance: The Medicare Shared Savings Program provides financial incentives for accountable care organizations (ACOs) to reduce costs of care. The structure of the shared savings program may not adequately adjust for challenges associated with caring for patients with high medical complexity and social needs, a population disproportionately made up of racial and ethnic minority groups. If so, ACOs serving racial and ethnic minority groups may be more likely to exit the program, raising concerns about the equitable distribution of potential benefits from health care delivery reform efforts.

Objective: To evaluate whether ACOs with a high proportion of beneficaries of racial …

Spatiotemporal Correlation Analysis Of Hydraulic Fracturing And Stroke In The United States, Chuanbo Hu, Bin Liu, Shuo Wang, Zhenduo Zhu, Amelia Adcock, James Simpkins, Xin Li

2020-Current year OA Pubs

Hydraulic fracturing or fracking has led to a rapid growth of oil and gas production in the United States, but the impact of fracking on public health is an important but underresearched topic. We designed a methodology to study spatiotemporal correlations between the risk of fracking and stroke mortality. An annualized loss expectancy (ALE) model is applied to quantify the risk of fracking. The geographically and temporally weighted regression (GTWR) model is used to analyze spatiotemporal correlations of stroke mortality, fracking ALE, and nine other socioeconomic- and health-related factors. The analysis shows that fracking ALE is moderately correlated with stroke …

Years Of Life Lost Associated With Covid-19 Deaths In The Usa During The First 2 Years Of The Pandemic, Troy Quast, Ross Andel, Sean Gregory, Eric A Storch

Center for Medical Ethics and Health Policy Staff Publications

Background: Prior estimates of the years of life lost (YLLs) in the USA associated with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) were 1.2 million through 11 July 2020 and 3.9 million through 31 January 2021 (which roughly coincides with the first full year of the pandemic). The aim of this study is to update YLL estimates through the first 2 years of the pandemic.

Methods: We employed data regarding COVID-19 deaths through 5 February 2022 by jurisdiction, gender and age group. We used actuarial life expectancy tables by gender and age to estimate YLLs.

Results: We estimated roughly 9.7 million YLLs due …

From The Headlines: A Textual Analysis Of Social Polarization And Discord In Times Of Pandemic Across A Century In The United States, Alexa Demarco

Undergraduate Honors Theses

Within the past century, three major pandemics have affected the United States – the Spanish Flu, AIDS, and COVID-19. Each of these pandemics has tested the capabilities of the public health sector and the social resilience of the population. Scientists have studied the viruses and implemented public health measures to limit viral transmission, but the social responses to these preventative measures proved to be difficult to predict and control. The dissonance and polarization between the public health initiatives and the response of the general public in the most recent pandemic was apparent. Was this a pattern in other pandemics? Was …

"Just Ice" For Bourbon: The Need For Gis In International Protection Of America's Beloved Spirit, Haley Scott

Indiana Journal of Global Legal Studies

The term "bourbon" has become increasingly popular in markets all over the globe. The popularity of the bourbon trend has been exploited for both labelling liquors and describing nonalcoholic products. Bourbon has several separate definitions, usually differing on the issue of the geographical scope of the spirit's production. The bourbon liquor industry has experienced periods of significant downturn followed by periods of explosive revival, motivated mainly by foreign interest, from countries such as Japan, in the product In the 1970s, Japanese interest in whisky and US bourbon facilitated a resurgence of the then-struggling US bourbon industry. In 2018, production of …

Medicaid Expansion: Changes In Individual Health Outcomes, Julie Norman

All Graduate Plan B and other Reports, Spring 1920 to Spring 2023

The Affordable Care Act is one of the biggest changes in the American healthcare system in the 21st century. One element of the ACA is medicaid expansion, which opened up federal funding for states to cover any individual earning below 138% of the federal poverty line. 21 states expanded medicaid in 2014 while 12 haven’t expanded. This paper utilizes the disparity for a natural experiment to determine the efficacy of the program. Outcome variables of interest include measurements of individual health, health access and utilization, and premature death rates. The results indicate positive, but small improvements due to the policy, …

Treating Active-Duty Military Members: Best Practices For Common Mental Health Diagnoses Across The Dod, Leah Lawson

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Due to varying service experiences, active-duty service members endure military related stressors in addition to everyday life stressors. As a result, their risk of mental illness onset increases. Considering that many of the stressors and events are unique to military personnel, it is important to identify best-practice interventions for working with this population opposed to employing civilian best practices. The purpose of this study was to determine what treatment interventions are best-practice when working with active-duty military members diagnosed with the three most common mental disorders (e.g., adjustment disorder, depressive disorders, anxiety disorders) across the Department of Defense (DoD). This …

National Food Security, Immigration Reform, And The Importance Of Worker Engagement In Agricultural Guestworker Debates, Laura-Anne Minkoff-Zern

Food Studies - All Scholarship

This article looks at the United States’ federal H-2A Temporary Agricultural Visa Program and reforms proposed by the Farm Workforce Modernization Act. In this policy analysis, we draw on media content analysis and qualitative interviews to compare the viewpoints of farmers, workers, grower and worker advocacy groups, intermediary agents, and politicians. We find that perspectives on the program are dependent upon actors’ level of direct interaction with workers. Moderate-sized farmers and regionally based worker advocacy groups tend to be the most concerned with day-to-day program operations and fair working conditions. In contrast, national-level advocacy groups, intermediary agents, and politicians are …

Estimated Size Of The Clinical Medical Imaging Physics Workforce In The United States, Sean D. Rose, David W. Jordan, Nicholas B. Bevins, Jaydev K. Dave, David E. Hintenlang, Brad K. Lofton, Pankaj Patel

Diagnostic Radiology Articles

There is no current authoritative accounting of the number of clinical imaging physicists practicing in the United States. Information about the workforce is needed to inform future efforts to secure training pathways and opportunities. In this study, the AAPM Diagnostic Demand and Supply Projection Working Group collected lists of medical physicists from several state registration and licensure programs and the Conference of Radiation Control Program Directors (CRCPD) registry. By cross-referencing individuals among these lists, we were able to estimate the current imaging physics workforce in the United States by extrapolating based on population. The imaging physics workforce in the United …

Estimated Size Of The Clinical Medical Imaging Physics Workforce In The United States, Sean D Rose, David W Jordan, Nicholas B Bevins, Jaydev K Dave, David E Hintenlang, Brad K Lofton, Pankaj Patel

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

There is no current authoritative accounting of the number of clinical imaging physicists practicing in the United States. Information about the workforce is needed to inform future efforts to secure training pathways and opportunities. In this study, the AAPM Diagnostic Demand and Supply Projection Working Group collected lists of medical physicists from several state registration and licensure programs and the Conference of Radiation Control Program Directors (CRCPD) registry. By cross-referencing individuals among these lists, we were able to estimate the current imaging physics workforce in the United States by extrapolating based on population. The imaging physics workforce in the United …

Making Meaning Of Covid-19: An Exploratory Analysis Of U.S. Adolescent Experiences Of The Pandemic, Gabriel M. Velez, Madeline Hahn, Brian Troyer

College of Education Faculty Research and Publications

The COVID-19 pandemic will mark the lives and trajectories of adolescents who lived through it. The pandemic upended social contexts, disrupted schools, and, for many, impacted the physical, financial, and psychosocial health of themselves, their families, and their communities. Contextual changes, however, are not solely deterministic of developmental outcomes. As Bronfenbrenner’s Ecological Systems Theory and Spencer’s Phenomenological Variant of the Ecological Systems Theory demonstrate, young people interpret, make meaning, and respond to socioecological contexts as part of their developmental processes. The current study explored meaning making qualitatively through how adolescents in the United States were experiencing COVID-19. Participants were asked …

New Appointment For Editor Of Dead Sea Scrolls Electronic Library

Insights: The Newsletter of the Neal A. Maxwell Institute for Religious Scholarship

Donald W. Parry, Brigham Young University pro­ fessor of Biblical Hebrew and longtime contribu­ tor to the work of the Maxwell Institute, has been appointed as an editor for a new edition of Biblia Hebraica, the standard critical edition of the Hebrew Bible (Old Testament). He is one of about two dozen well­established Hebrew scholars from the world­ wide community also serving as editors for this new edition, and one of three from the United States.

Latest Review Takes Up Church Media, Promised Land, Teen Religiosity, And More

Insights: The Newsletter of the Neal A. Maxwell Institute for Religious Scholarship

The latest issue of the FARMS Review (volume 22, number 2), which appeared at the end of 2010, features a transcript of last year’s Neal A. Maxwell Lecture given by Mark H. Willes, president and CEO of Deseret Management Corporation. Willes illustrates the kind of creative thinking required for the LDS Church’s media outlets to eventually reach hundreds of millions of people worldwide. For a full report of this lecture, see Insights 30/2 (2010).

Assessing The Coverage Of Us Cancer Center Primary Catchment Areas., Amy E Leader, Christopher Mcnair, Christina Yurick, Matthew Huesser, Elizabeth Schade, Emily E Stimmel, Caryn Lerman, Karen E Knudsen

Kimmel Cancer Center Faculty Papers

Background: Cancer centers are expected to engage communities and reduce the burden of cancer in their catchment areas. However, the extent to which cancer centers adequately reach the entire US population is unknown. Methods: We surveyed all members of the Association of American Cancer Institutes (N ¼ 102 cancer centers) to document and map each cancer center’s primary catchment area. Catchment area descriptions were aggregated to the county level. Catchment area coverage scores were calculated for each county and choropleths generated representing coverage across the US. Similar analyses were used to overlay US population density, cancer incidence, and cancer-related mortality …

Cultivating Agrobiodiversity In The U.S.: Barriers And Bridges At Multiple Scales, Kaitlyn A. Spangler

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The diversity of crops grown in the United States (U.S.) is declining, causing agricultural landscapes to become more and more simplified. This trend is concerning for the loss of important plant, insect, and animal species, as well as the pollution and degradation of our environment. Through three separate but related studies, this dissertation addresses the need to increase the diversity of these agricultural landscapes in the U.S., particularly through diversifying the type and number of crops grown. The first study uses multiple, openly accessible datasets related to agricultural land use and policies to document and visualize change over recent decades. …

No Happy Endings: Anna May Wong’S American Film Roles From 1931-1942, Kayla G. O'Leary

CSB and SJU Distinguished Thesis

In the 1930s and ‘40s, shifting relations with China, Japan, and the United States drastically impacted American public sentiment towards these Asian countries. US films produced during these decades starring Anna May Wong illuminate how harmful stereotypes about Chinese culture and people were portrayed on screen. I analyze five of Wong’s films from this period to examine how the gendered and racial stereotypes within them provide a cultural lens of changing US-Chinese relations. The stereotypical archetypes of her characters, which include the formidable Dragon Lady, helpless American citizen, and Chinese war hero, demonstrate how American perceptions of China and Chinese …

Need For Better And Broader Training In Cardio-Obstetrics: A National Survey Of Cardiologists, Cardiovascular Team Members, And Cardiology Fellows In Training, Natalie A Bello, Akanksha Agrawal, Melinda B Davis, Colleen M Harrington, Kathryn J Lindley, Margo B Minissian, Garima Sharma, Mary Norine Walsh, Ki Park

2020-Current year OA Pubs

Background Team-based models of cardio-obstetrics care have been developed to address the increasing rate of maternal mortality from cardiovascular diseases. Cardiovascular clinician and trainee knowledge and comfort with this topic, and the extent of implementation of an interdisciplinary approach to cardio-obstetrics, are unknown. Methods and Results We aimed to assess the current state of cardio-obstetrics knowledge, practices, and services provided by US cardiovascular clinicians and trainees. A survey developed in conjunction with the American College of Cardiology was circulated to a representative sample of cardiologists (N=311), cardiovascular team members (N=51), and fellows in training (N=139) from June 18, 2020, to …

Social Capital, Urbanization Level, And Covid-19 Vaccination Uptake In The United States: A National Level Analysis, Shan Qiao, Zhenlong Li, Jiajia Zhang, Xiaowen Sun, Camryn Garrett, Xiaoming Li

Faculty Publications

Vaccination remains the most promising mitigation strategy for the COVID-19 pandemic. However, existing literature shows significant disparities in vaccination uptake in the United States. Using publicly available national-level data, we aimed to explore if county-level social capital can further explain disparities in vaccination uptake rates when adjusting for demographic and social determinants of health (SDOH) variables, and if association between social capital and vaccination uptake may vary by urbanization level. Bivariate analyses and a hierarchical multivariable quasi-binomial regression analysis were conducted, where the regression analysis was stratified by urban–rural status. The current study suggests that social capital contributes significantly to …

The Fuel For Neo-Nazism, Brandon M. Rubsamen

Global Tides

This paper attempts to explain the cause of support for far-right extremism movements in Europe. It takes a comparative approach in explaining that support by first analyzing Germany and Luxembourg. In each country, politics, history, economics, and society are explored in order to elicit a root cause. Once that main factor is found, Norway and Greece are also analyzed to see if the hypothesis holds. Political stability is hypothesized to be the root cause in far-right support in Germany (and lack thereof in Luxembourg), and the examples of Norway and Greece support this hypothesis. By comparing and contrasting aspects of …

Upholding Human Rights In North Korea, Deborah Adeniji

Helm's School of Government Conference - 2021-2024

No abstract provided.

"A House Falleth": The Civil War Mixed Loyalties Of The Garland Family, Simeon Newton

Senior Honors Theses

The Civil War was a conflict that pitted father against son and brother against brother. Specifically, the family ties between James Longstreet and John Garland illustrate the complexities of the decision to fight for either side. The factors that motivated these men can give valuable insights into the reasons for the Civil War, and understanding these perspectives in a divided world can help Americans avoid a similar conflict today.

Maritime Moves: The American Response To The South China Sea Conflict, Joshua Jachlewski

Senior Honors Theses

China is quickly becoming a world power and will soon reach parity with the United States. China has gotten far more aggressive in its expansion, which extends to the islands within the South China Sea. China claims most of this based on the Nine-Dash Line, in violation of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea. As the current world superpower, the United States must respond to these claims given the geostrategic importance of the region. An analysis of the current Chinese and US positions, as well as those of the other littoral states with competing claims, allows …

Differences In Covid-19-Related Testing And Healthcare Utilization By Race And Ethnicity In The Veterans Health Administration, Javad Razjouyan, Drew A Helmer, Ang Li, Aanand D Naik, Christopher I Amos, Venkata Bandi, Amir Sharafkhaneh

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

IMPORTANCE: Recent reports indicate differences in COVID-19-related care and outcomes between Black and White Americans.

OBJECTIVE: We examine the COVID-19-related healthcare utilization and mortality by race and ethnicity of patients tested for SARS-CoV-2 in the Veterans Health Administration (VHA).

DESIGN: A retrospective cohort study.

SETTING: We used the VHA COVID-19 shared data resources between February 1 and June 30, 2020.

PARTICIPANTS: Veterans tested for SARS-CoV-2 virus by VHA.

EXPOSURE(S): Three racial-ethnicity groups of Black, Hispanic, and White (as reference) veterans.

MAIN OUTCOME(S) AND MEASURE(S): Main outcomes are testing rate, positivity rate, hospitalization rate, ICU admission rate, and in-hospital mortality. Controlling …

Dominicans In The United States: A Socioeconomic Profile 2022, Ramona Hernandez, Francisco L. Rivera-Batiz, Sidie S. Sisay

Publications and Research

This research report presents the first detailed study of the socioeconomic status of the Dominican population of the United States as we enter the second decade of the 2000s, including a discussion of the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Association Of State Social And Environmental Factors With Rates Of Self-Injury Mortality And Suicide In The United States, Ian R H Rockett, Haomiao Jia, Bina Ali, Aniruddha Banerjee, Hilary S. Connery, Kurt B. Nolte, Ted Miller, Franklin M M White, Bernard D. Digregorio, G Luke Larkin, Steven Stack, Kairi Kõlves, R Kathryn Mchugh, Vijay O. Lulla, Jeralynn Cossman, Diego De Leo, Brian Hendricks, Paul S. Nestadt, James H. Berry, Gail D'Onofrio, Eric D. Caine

Pathology Research and Scholarship

IMPORTANCE: Self-injury mortality (SIM) combines suicides and the preponderance of drug misuse-related overdose fatalities. Identifying social and environmental factors associated with SIM and suicide may inform etiologic understanding and intervention design.

OBJECTIVE: To identify factors associated with interstate SIM and suicide rate variation and to assess potential for differential suicide misclassification.

DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS: This cross-sectional study used a partial panel time series with underlying cause-of-death data from 50 US states and the District of Columbia for 1999-2000, 2007-2008, 2013-2014 and 2018-2019. Applying data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, SIM includes all suicides and the preponderance …

Unraveling The Geographies Of The U.S. Public Education System: An Analysis Of Scale, Segregation, And Hegemony, Olivia Ildefonso

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Other than one or two studies that focus on specific state-wide systems of public education, there has been no accounting for how the U.S. public education system came about in relation to space and scale. My dissertation research seeks to fill in this gap. Through focusing on the development of public education in the North and the South, I provide a foundation for understanding the grounded and contested processes of scale production that largely determined the U.S. public education system’s design and function.

In each of the seven chapters, I detail how fights over the structure and purpose of public …