Medicine and Health Sciences Commons^™

The Mozambique Eyecare Programme – A Partnership Which Addresses Avoidable Blindness In Lusophone Africa, Aoife Phelan, James Loughman, Eva Doyle

Conference Papers

According to the WHO about 831 million people are visually impaired worldwide, 45 million of them are blind. Most people with visual impairment are older, and females are more at risk at every age, in every part of the world. Uncorrected Refractive Error accounts for over half of all visual impairment. About 87% of the worlds visually impaired live in developing countries. The Mozambique Eyecare Programme (MEP) is a cross institutional collaboration between governments, higher education institutions, non-governmental organisations and corporations. The aims of this Programme are to collaborate to provide a sustainable solution to the problem of avoidable blindness …

Self-Insurance And The Potential Effects Of Health Reform On The Small-Group Market, Kathryn Linehan

National Health Policy Forum

The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA) as amended by the Health Care Education Reconciliation Act of 2010 makes landmark changes to health insurance markets. Individual and small-group insurance plans and markets will see the biggest changes, but PPACA also affects large employer and self-insured plans by imposing rules for benefit design and health plan practices. Over half of workers—most often those in very large firms—are covered by self-insured health plans in which employers (or employee groups) bear all or some of the risk of providing insurance coverage to a defined population of workers and their dependents. As PPACA …

The Affordable Care Act, Medical Homes, And Childhood Asthma: A Key Opportunity For Progress, Meagan Lyon, Anne Rossier Markus, Sara J. Rosenbaum

Geiger Gibson/RCHN Community Health Foundation Research Collaborative

The medical homes provisions of the Affordable Care Act offer a major opportunity to advance high quality, cost-efficient health care for children with asthma. This policy brief examines evolving national medical homes policy in a childhood asthma context. Following a brief background that examines childhood asthma and explores the origins and evolution of medical homes policy (a concept developed with children in mind), the brief then describes how the Affordable Care Act can advance the implementation of medical homes policies to improve health outcomes for children with asthma.

Impact Of Stress Management On Learning In A Classroom Setting, Pankaj Mandale

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

Stress is an important feature of the lives of college students and can impact negatively on learning. The effectiveness of an in-class stress management intervention for improving course content retention was tested with a cross-over design in two introductory graduate biostatistics classes. Each class met one day per week for the duration of the semester, and was taught by the same instructor, following the same syllabus. A pretest duplicating items on the midterm and final exam was administered to all students at the first class meeting. Identical midterm and final exams were administered in both classes. During the first half …

The Elder Justice Act: Addressing Elder Abuse, Neglect, And Exploitation, Carol O'Shaughnessy

National Health Policy Forum

Elder abuse, neglect, and exploitation is a social problem that affects older people across all socioeconomic groups and care settings. Although national data on the full extent of the problem are elusive, one study found that 11 percent of older people living in community settings had experienced physical, emotional, or sexual abuse, or potential neglect during one year. Abuse and neglect of residents of nursing facilities and other institutions have been a continuing concern of policymakers and advocates for many years. The Elder Justice Act (EJA), enacted as part of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA) on March …

Aging And Disability Resource Centers (Adrcs): Federal And State Efforts To Guide Consumers Through The Long-Term Services And Supports Maze, Carol O'Shaughnessy

National Health Policy Forum

Since 2003, the U.S. Administration on Aging (AoA) and the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) have made a series of grants to states to develop Aging and Disability Resource Centers (ADRCs). The ADRC program’s purpose is to help people of all ages, disabilities, and income levels more easily access long-term services and supports through single points of entry, make more efficient use of care options, and maximize the services available. Almost $111 million in joint AoA-CMS funding has been devoted to the ADRC initiative since its inception in fiscal year 2003. As of October 2010, 325 ADRC sites …

Health Promotion Practice And The Road Ahead: Addressing Enduring Gaps And Encouraging Greater Practice-To-Research Translation, Amanda Birnbaum, Mark D. Rivera

Department of Public Health Scholarship and Creative Works

A decade ago, Lancaster and Roe described four critical gaps (i.e., communications, accessibility, credibility, and expectations) between research and practice in health education and health promotion that formed the framework for this department. Despite considerable attention and some progress, these gaps persist and are barriers to interaction and translation between health promotion and health education research and practice. Looking to the next several years as the new Associate Editors for this department, we renew the department’s commitment toward addressing these enduring gaps around which we frame new questions and invite continued dialogue.

Dynamics Of Hiv Risk Behavior In Hiv-Infected Injection Drug Users

CHIP Documents

Forty-six individuals with a history of injection drug use participated in a questionnaire and an interview study assessing their HIV risk behaviors, and their HIV risk and prevention information, motivation, and behavioral skills related to injection drug use and sexual behavior. High levels of past and current risky injection drug use and sexual behavior were reported. HIV risk reduction information was generally high, and many participants reported proprevention attitudes and supportive perceived norms toward HIV risk reduction behaviors. However, many did not intend to engage in these preventive behaviors, and some reported deficits in prevention behavioral skills. Interview data revealed …

Implications Of Lifecourse Epidemiology For Research On Determinants Of Adult Disease, Sze Yan Liu, Richard N. Jones, M. Maria Glamour

Department of Public Health Scholarship and Creative Works

Many diseases commonly associated with aging are now thought to have social and physiologic antecedents in early life. Understanding how the timing of exposure to early life risk factors influences later-life health may illuminate mechanisms driving adult health inequalities and identify possible points for effective interventions. Recognizing chronic diseases as developing across the life course also has implications for the conduct of research on adult risk factors for disease. We review alternative conceptual models that describe how the timing of risk factor exposure relates to the development of disease. We propose some expansions of lifecourse models to improve their relevance …

Optimising Maternal Sources Of Breastfeeding During The First Six Weeks Of Postpartum, Roslyn Tarrant, Katherine Younger, Margaret Sheridan-Pereira, John M. Kearney

Conference Papers

No abstract provided.

Premium Assistance: An Update, Cynthia Shirk

National Health Policy Forum

This background paper explores the use of premium assistance in publicly financed health insurance coverage programs. In Medicaid and the Children’s Health Insurance Program, premium assistance involves using federal and state funds to subsidize premiums for the purchase of private insurance coverage for eligible individuals. This paper reviews the statutory authority for premium assistance, including two new options made available under the Children’s Health Insurance Program Reauthorization Act of 2009. It examines the status of premium assistance programs in the states and offers some insights into how premium assistance programs may fare under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act.

You! Being Involved In Research: Mentoring Ideas To Implement., Linda G. Alley Phd, Rn

Department of Community Health and Health Studies

No abstract provided.

Data Basics For Research., Elizabeth Karoly Mba, Steve Milinchuk

Department of Community Health and Health Studies

No abstract provided.

Data Literacy 101., Sherrine Eid Mph

Department of Community Health and Health Studies

No abstract provided.

The Accuracy Of Referral For Portable Lipid Analyzers In An Old Order Mennonite Population, Maria E. Main, M. Susan Jones, Cathy H. Abell

Nursing Faculty Publications

The primary purposes of this study were to: 1) examine the accuracy for referral of two portable lipid analyzers (PLAs) in an old order Mennonite population through a comparison to a national standardized reference laboratory, 2) examine the relationship of total cholesterol values with other known cardiovascular risk factors, and 3) foster the continued participatory model of health care service in this community. The self-selected sample was composed of 42 adult members of an old order Mennonite community residing in south central Kentucky. A descriptive correlational design was used in this study. There were clinically relevant variations in the total …

Bridging The Gap: Identifying Social Factors That Affect The Knowledge Of Sexually Transmitted Infections And Use Of Prevention Methods In Young Women, Ariel Spigel

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

This study investigates the social factors that affect the transmission of sexually transmitted diseases (STIs) in young women, focusing on their knowledge of the subject and use of prevention methods in order to discover why STIs, though preventable, are still prevalent in the lives of young adults, and more often, young women. Sixty-one anonymous, closed questionnaires were distributed to female students of at least eighteen years at the Colegio Estadual Francisco da Conceição Menezes in Santo Antônio de Jesus, Bahia, Brazil, and six structured interviews were conducted with students from the same pool. Results showed varying levels of knowledge, educational …

Percepciones De Género En La Medicina Mapuche: Machi, Matriarca, Y Colonización, Krista Douglass

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Gender is a social ordering principle; a definition of masculinity and femininity according to an individual culture. While in Chile gender identity is often shaped by machismo, the Mapuche cosmovision is without gender disparities. Rather, relationships between men and women are governed by principles of equality and duality, just as the Mapuche deities balance both male and female energies. Women hold very important roles in the community as the leaders of the medical community. Although both men and women participate in various roles within this profession, machi, the spiritual healers, are mostly women. Males, or wentru machi, …

La Correlación Entre El Autoestima Y La Intención De Cambiar En Seis Ámbitos De La Vida De Un Fumador Adolescente., Aaron Picus

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Background: According to a study in 2008 by the National Agency for the Control of Narcotics, 26.1% of Chilean adolescents between the ages of 12-18 had used tobacco at least once during the month of the study and 13% used tobacco daily. Even though smoking has negative health effects, many adolescents in Chile still smoke. Since the 1970s, low self-esteem has been proposed as a risk factor for the development of poor health behaviors. Recent investigations have shown that, when measured in the social, school, family, self-body image, sports and physical activity, and global realms of the life of an …

Las Percepciones De La Salud Mental Y Su Evolución, Rebecca Gourevitch

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Background: Previous literature has identified a strong stigma against mental health patients in many parts of Latin America, which can serve as a deterrent to seeking help for mental health (Acuña 2005; López 2008; Vicente 2007). The resulting lack of attention to one’s mental health can not only exacerbate mental illnesses but also impede proper attention to one’s physical health (Prince 2007). Therefore, combating this stigma is an important step to improving the health of a population. Some of the most effective strategies for combating the stigma are education, social interaction, and integrating mental health services into primary care (López …

La Medicina Alternativa En Oaxaca: Su Coexistencia Con La Medicina Alópata, Katie Deeg

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

En este ensayo exploro la coexistencia entre la medicina alternativa y la alópata en Oaxaca y determino que, dada la relevancia cultural de la medicina alternativa y el estatus deficiente de la salud y servicios médicos en el estado, la promoción de la medicina alternativa es importante para ayudar a la gente a alcanzar la mejor calidad posible de salud. Primero presento una definición de la medicina alternativa dentro del contexto de Oaxaca y describo su presencia en Oaxaca. Considerando la naturaleza de la coexistencia entre la medicina alternativa y alópata, presento mis descubrimientos sobre la importancia de usar los …

More Than Just Biology: Creating An Informational Website For Teens On Sexuality And Lifelong Sexual Health, Sarah Cyr-Mutty

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

“More Than Just Biology – Creating an informational website for teens on sexuality and lifelong sexual health” is the product of four weeks’ research in Amsterdam, NL on sexuality education and the use of the Internet as an educational tool for youth. The research defied a “Dutch approach” to sexuality education and used it to create a website for American teenagers to get confidential and accurate information regarding their sexual lives and health. Information was gathered primarily through personal interviews, as well as a review of existing literature on the subject. Through this research, it was found that the Dutch …

El Papel De La Educación Y Las Ong’S En Mejorar El Acceso A Derechos Para Inmigrantes: El Caso De Los Derechos Sexuales Y Reproductivos = The Role Of Education And Ngo’S In Helping Immigrants Obtain Better Access To Their Rights: The Specific Case Of Sexual And Reproductive Rights, Amy Torres

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

In January of 2004, Argentina approved a new immigration law that guaranteed the protection of human rights for all immigrants in the country regardless of their legal status with the State. Among the rights explicitly guaranteed by this law were the right to migrate, the right to education and the right to health care. While this law represents a significant advance by the Argentine government in protecting the human rights of immigrants, oppressive mechanisms still remain in everyday practices that inhibit actual access to their rights.

Considering the changes in the law and the breach between the laws and everyday …

Chhs October Newsletter, College Of Health And Human Services, Vashon S. Wells, Editor

College of Health & Human Services Publications

No abstract provided.

Crouching Tiger Hidden Goiter Belt: A Critique Of Health Care And Universal Salt Iodization In The Tsum Valley, Julian Goetz, Vanessa Soetanto

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

The Tsum Valley, opened to visitors in 2008, has only recently begun the process of modernization. The health of the population is still not stable with regards to nutrition, and the health care system is still inadequate due to geographic conditions of remoteness and difficulty of access. The health condition is further exacerbated by political interactions affecting iodine consumption. This paper presents original information collected via interviewing processes throughout the valley and in Kathmandu over the course of a four-week period. The results include the inadequacy of health care facilities in treating endemic health issues and of the failure of …

The Primary Care Safety Net: Strained, Transitioning, Critical, Jessamyn Taylor

National Health Policy Forum

This background paper examines the primary care safety net. It describes key primary care safety net providers, including federally qualified health centers, free clinics, local health departments, and safety net hospital outpatient departments and clinics, among others. The paper also explores the changing role of the primary care safety net in a post–health reform marketplace.

High Hopes: Public Health Approaches To Reducing The Need For Health Care, Michele J. Orza

National Health Policy Forum

Driven in part by a desire to contain health care costs, policymakers are looking beyond medical care for opportunities to reduce the need for expensive services. This paper briefly reviews current public health concepts and strategies for improving health that emphasize nonmedical factors such as behavior, socioeconomic status, and environment. It also provides examples of how these concepts and strategies undergird many of the public health provisions of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, other legislation, and several programs and initiatives. These concepts include prevention, health in all policies, global health, the One Health Initiative, and climate change and …

The Health Of Latinos In Massachusetts: A Snapshot, Dharma Cortés, Rodolfo R. Vega

Gastón Institute Publications

People’s health outcomes are shaped in part by non-biological factors. Most immediately, limited access to health care services can have a deleterious impact on individuals’ health outcomes (Andrulis, 1998). In turn, access to healthcare services is influenced by socioeconomic factors such as whether a person has health insurance or the financial means to pay for their health care. Familiarity with the health care system is another important factor that may influence an individual’s access to healthcare services (Morgan et al., 2008). Language also plays an important role in health outcomes. For instance, individuals with limited English proficiency may find it …

Combined Impact Of Lifestyle-Related Factors On Total And Cause-Specific Mortality Among Chinese Women: Prospective Cohort Study, Sarah Nechuta, Xiao-Ou Shu, Hong-Lan Li, Gong Yang, Yong-Bing Xiang, Hui Cai, Wong-Ho Chow, Butian Ji, Xianglan Zhang, Wanqing Wen, Yu-Tang Gao, Wei Zhang

Peer Reviewed Articles

Background: Although cigarette smoking, excessive alcohol drinking, obesity, and several other well-studied unhealthy lifestyle-related factors each have been linked to the risk of multiple chronic diseases and premature death, little is known about the combined impact on mortality outcomes, in particular among Chinese and other non-Western populations. The objective of this study was to quantify the overall impact of lifestyle-related factors beyond that of active cigarette smoking and alcohol consumption on all-cause and cause-specific mortality in Chinese women.

Methods and Findings: We used data from the Shanghai Women’s Health Study, an ongoing population-based prospective cohort study in China. Participants included …

Particle Size On Respiratory Protection Provided By Two Types Of N95 Respirators On Agricultural Settings, Jacob Cho Kyungmin, M. Susan Jones, Gordon Jones, Roy Mckay, Sergey A. Grinshpun, Alok Swivedi, Rakesh Shukla, Umesh Singh, Tiina Reponen

Nursing Faculty Publications

The objective of this study was to compare size-selective workplace protection factors (WPFs) of an N95 elastomeric respirator (ER) and an N95 filtering facepiece respirator (FFR) in agricultural environments. Twenty-five healthy farm workers ranging in age from 20 to 30 years voluntarily participated in the study. Altogether eight farms were included representing three different types: two horse farms, three pig barns, and three grain handling sites. Subjects wore the ER and FFR while performing their daily activities, such as spreading hay, feeding livestock, and shoveling. Aerosol concentrations in an optical particle size range of 0.7–10 µm were determined simultaneously inside …

Community-Based Approaches To Reduce Toxins In Housing: Lessons Learned From Working With Diverse Communities, Erin Mcnally, Ian Blazina, Stephanie Farquhar

Community Health Faculty Publications and Presentations

This article will review lessons learned from a community-based participatory research project with Latino and Somali residents in Portland, Oregon. The aim of the Healthy Futures Collaborative (HFC) project was to reduce in-home environmental health hazards associated with childhood respiratory illness and asthma through a process that strengthened social support and civic engagement. Using a community-based approach, the HFC trained community residents as community scientists to ensure local leadership and participation. Results suggest an increase in Somali and Latino residents' knowledge of environmental stressors and changes in behavior that may improve indoor environmental quality. Especially when working with historically marginalized …