Medicine and Health Sciences Commons^™

The Red Ribbon And The Black Cross: A Qualitative Study Of The Relationship Between Social Activism And Contemporary Black Church Responses To Hiv In Oakland, Ca, Justise Wattree

McNair Research Journal SJSU

The Black Church as a social institution has been a source of social activism during racial crises, but there is a lacking social activist response by Black churches to HIV’s disparate impact on Black communities. Previous research does not adequately explore the influence of community-based organizations on Black church responses to HIV in the context of social activism. This study examines the relationship between social activism and contemporary Black church responses to HIV in Oakland. It considers community-based organizations (CBOs) as potential drivers of social activism. Semi-structured interviews with Black church leaders in Oakland were conducted and content analyzed along …

An Analysis Of Kindergarten Childhood Disease Vaccination Rates And Practices In Bay Area Counties, Janice Zelaya

Master's Projects

Immunizations are the most effective method for preventing communicable diseases, especially among children. Ensuring that children are vaccinated is of the utmost importance but remains a challenge due to misinformation and the growing anti-vaccination movement. With a population of 39.5 million people as of 2020 (Census Bureau, n.d.), California is the most populous state in the United States. In 2020, the San Francisco Bay Area, which includes the counties of Alameda, Contra Costa, Marin, Napa, San Francisco, San Mateo, Santa Clara, Solano, and Sonoma, is home to 7.7 million of those people (Census Bureau, 2021). This research will explore how …

Hpv Knowledge, Attitudes, And Vaccination Among Hispanic/Latino College Students In The Usa, Itzel Corral Gonzalez, Wei-Chen Tung, Ho-Jui Tung, Wing Lam Tock

Faculty Publications

This study evaluated Human Papillomavirus-related knowledge and attitudes, vaccination practices, and explored associated factors among Hispanic/Latino college students in the United States of America. Using a self-administered survey, a descriptive, cross-sectional quantitative study was conducted in 2018 at colleges and universities in the United States of America. Our results indicate that Hispanic/Latino college students had a low level of HPV-related knowledge, a moderately positive attitude, and a moderate rate of HPV vaccination. Students who were in a health-related major, married/divorced, and had health insurance had greater knowledge and more positive attitudes towards HPV and its vaccines. This study is important …

The Modeling Assessment Of World Vision’S Water, Sanitation, And Hygiene Program In Southern Africa Countries, Malawi, Mozambique, And Zambia: Analyses Using Lives Saved Tool, Chulwoo Park, Armen Martirosyan, Seble Frehywot, Erin Jones, Ashley Labat, Yvonne Tam, Emmanuel Opong

Faculty Publications

Background: Since 2010, the humanitarian aid organization World Vision has implemented a community-based water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) program in 76 area development programs (ADPs) for a total target population of 2,831,535 in three Southern Africa countries: Malawi, Mozambique, and Zambia.

Methods: This study was conducted using the Lives Saved Tool (LiST) to analyze the isolated impact of World Vision WASH interventions on child morbidity and mortality during the four-year implementation period from 2010 to 2014. The combined effects of WASH interventions – improved water source, home water connection, improved sanitation, handwashing with soap, hygienic disposal of children’s stools – …

Metabolomic Profiles In Breast Cancer: A Pilot Case-Control Study In The Breast Cancer Family Registry, Marcelle Dougan, Yuqing Li, Lisa Chu, Robert Haile, Alice Whittemore, Summer Han, Steven Moore, Joshua Sampson, Irene Andrulis, Esther John, Ann Hsing

Faculty Publications

Background Metabolomics is emerging as an important tool for detecting differences between diseased and non-diseased individuals. However, prospective studies are limited. Methods We examined the detectability, reliability, and distribution of metabolites measured in pre-diagnostic plasma samples in a pilot study of women enrolled in the Northern California site of the Breast Cancer Family Registry. The study included 45 cases diagnosed with breast cancer at least one year after the blood draw, and 45 controls. Controls were matched on age (within 5 years), family status, BRCA status, and menopausal status. Duplicate samples were included for reliability assessment. We used a liquid …

Santa Clara County Senior Nutrition Program Evaluation Report, Tae Hwan Ihm

Master's Projects

Santa Clara County conducts a Senior Nutrition Program (SNP) in conjunction with the City of San Jose, the Outreach Paratransit Program and local community-based organizations (CBOs) like Sourcewise (Lam, 2015). These programs combined represent a significant investment of public funds, with more than 45% of the SNP program’s funding coming from the county General Fund (Lam, 2015). Such a large financial commitment needs to demonstrate some benefit to the participants, and some positive outcomes from the current program design. This study evaluated the SNP’s effectiveness in achieving its primary goals. Primary goals of the SNP are to promote senior citizens’ …

Pilot Test Results Of A Video-Based Hiv Intervention For Chinese College Students In The United States, Wei-Chen Tung, Minggen Lu, Rudolph Rull, Wei Yang

Faculty Publications

Background: No culturally relevant and appropriate HIV/sexually transmitted infection (STI) programs are available to Chinese college students in the United States. This study evaluated the effectiveness of a translated Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) intervention, Video Opportunities for Innovative Condom Education and Safer Sex (VOICES), to change condom use intention and self-efficacy, perceived benefits and barriers, and HIV/AIDS knowledge among Chinese students in a U.S. university. The VOICES program includes video viewing and a facilitated small-group discussion.

Methods: A quasi-experimental design with single-group pretest-posttest was conducted in Chinese. Chinese students (N=67) from a local university were recruited to …

Asthma-Related Hospitalization And Emergency Room Visits In Oakland, Alondra Varela

McNair Research Journal SJSU

The City of Oakland has seen diminished childhood asthma rates. During the last few years more children have been able to qualify for Medi-Cal and other health insurance plans under the Affordable Care Act (ACA). Local programs work together with Medi-Cal and ACA to reduce the number of symptoms related to asthma by making sure children from low-income communities have access to primary care, medicine, and treatment. Unfortunately, the asthma-related hospitalizations and emergency room visits among children have continued to increase. These rates are even higher in low-income communities located near highly trafficked areas. To investigate this phenomenon, this study …

Culturally Competent Health Education In African-Americans’ Faith-Based Communities For Better Health Outcomes: A Literature Review, Kougang Anne Mbe

McNair Research Journal SJSU

Obesity is a compelling health issue among African-Americans, who have the highest prevalence of excess weight among all ethnic and racial groups in the United States. This soaring obesity rate contributes to poor health outcomes and significantly inflates the risks for many chronic diseases, including cardiovascular diseases, diabetes, and certain forms of cancer. The literature provides evidence for the success of health programs aimed at promoting healthy behavior and lifestyles in African-American faith-based organizations, as the influential role of churches in African-American communities is well documented. However, few studies have investigated the criteria essential for improved efficiency of health interventions …

A Qualitative Examination About Providers’ Perceptions And Recommendations Regarding The Role Of Public Librarians In Addressing Communities’ Health Literacy., Van Ta Park, Lili Luo, Denise Rosidi

Faculty Publications

We assessed health care providers’ perspectives on libraries as a source of health information and elicited input on how to adequately prepare public librarians to provide health information services. Sample text-based reference transactions were shown to determine whether they think the health inquiries were adequately answered. Results showed that participants had favorable perspectives about public libraries, and thought that the public librarians’ role includes addressing the health literacy community needs. Participants provided recommendations for public librarians to improve health literacy. To enhance the ability of public librarians to meet the health literacy needs of their communities, diverse perspectives such as …

Strategies Employed By Inner-City Activists To Reduce Alcohol-Related Problems And Advance Social Justice, Laurie Drabble, Denise Herd

Faculty Publications

This study explored strategies employed by activists engaged in efforts to change policies and laws related to selling and promoting alcoholic beverages based on in-depth interviews with 184 social activists in seven U.S. major cities. Nine strategies aimed at improving local conditions and influencing policy were described by activists across regional contexts. Grassroots mobilization was central to all other strategies, which included the creation or enforcement of laws, meeting with elected officials, media advocacy, working with police/law enforcement, education and training, direct action, changing community norms, and negotiating with store owners.

Text 4 Health: Addressing Consumer Health Information Needs Via Text Reference Service, Van M. Ta Park

Faculty Publications

This study seeks to provide empirical evidence about how health-related questions are answered in text reference service in order to further the understanding of how to best use texting as a reference service venue to fulfill people’s health information needs. Two hundred health reference transactions from My Info Quest, the first nation-wide collaborative text reference service, were analyzed identify the types of questions, length of transactions, question-answering behavior, and information sources used in the transactions. Findings indicate that texting-based health reference transactions are usually brief, and cover a wide variety of topics. The most popular questions are those seeking general …

Eligibility, Recruitment, And Retention Of African Americans With Severe Mental Illness In Community Research, Michelle Hampton, Mary White, Linda Chafetz

Faculty Publications

Data that addresses severely mentally ill (SMI) African Americans (AAs) likelihood to participate in clinical research is limited. This study’s purpose was to determine if differences exist between races regarding eligibility, recruitment, and retention in a community-based clinical trial. The sample included 293 participants. Data sources included clinical records and interviews. Logistic regression was used for analysis. AAs were as likely to participate and to complete followup interviews as Whites. In contrast to studies about non-mentally ill AAs, AAs with SMI appeared to be as willing to consent to and to remain in clinical research studies as Whites.

All The News That’S Fat To Print: The American "Obesity Epidemic" And The Media, Natalie Boero

Faculty Publications, Sociology

Increasingly the term epidemic is being used to describe the current prevalence of fatness in the United States. Skyrocketing rates of obesity among all groups of Americans, particularly children, the poor, and minorities, have become a major public health concern. Indeed, it is difficult to open a newspaper or magazine without encountering a discussion of the expanding American waistline and the health problems associated therewith. In this paper I use 751 New York Times articles on obesity to examine the media construction of the obesity epidemic. I show that there is not one dominant discourse (i.e. medicine) constructing this epidemic, …