Medicine and Health Sciences Commons^™

Driving After Marijuana Use Among Us College Students During The Covid-19 Pandemic, Yuni Tang

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports

Introduction: Adolescents and college-aged adults account for a large proportion of the United States population and are susceptible to drugs, including marijuana. Since the late 1960s in the United States, numerous states have legalized marijuana for medical and recreational purposes. These recent policy changes may alter people’s attitudes and behaviors about marijuana use, particularly young adults. The expansion of state-level marijuana legalization may also increase accessibility in younger populations and increase reckless driving behavior associated with marijuana use, including driving after marijuana use. During the COVID-19 pandemic, adolescents and young adults experienced heightened stress and anxiety, which have significantly contributed …

Optimizing Sample Collection And Data Interpretation For Effective Wastewater-Based Epidemiology In Combined Sewer Systems, Christopher Allen Anderson

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports

COVID-19 has spurred growth in the science surrounding wastewater-based epidemiology (WBE) pertaining to the detection of severe acute respiratory virus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) in waste streams as an early warning signal for public health. However, the highly variable wastewater environment has made it difficult to standardize an approach for sampling and analysis, especially in locations using combined sewer infrastructure. This study addresses knowledge gaps of WBE via three specific aims: (1) to compare diurnal fluctuations of SARS-CoV-2 and the human fecal indicator, pepper mild mottle virus (PMMoV) in wastewater treatment plant (WWTP) influent samples collected during dry versus wet weather conditions; …

Exploring Prenatal Care In A Rural Appalachian State: A Project Watch Study Of Barriers And Facilitators In All Births From May 2018 To March 2022, Madelin Gardner

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports

Introduction: PNC is essential in protecting the health of birthing person and infant. Teenage and advanced maternal age (AMA) birthing persons are known risk factors for poor birth outcomes. However, less is known about whether these age groups are associated with inadequate PNC. Births to teenagers continue to be of concern in rural areas however, little is known about the association between inadequate PNC and poor infant outcomes in teenage populations. Previous studies have determined that greater risk of inadequate PNC has been linked to more rural areas compared to more urban areas. WV is the third most rural state …

The Application Of Time Series Analysis To Injury Epidemiology Data, Eric Wayne Lundstrom

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports

Introduction: Injury fatality rates in the United States (US) decreased throughout the majority of the 20th century, mostly due to declining rates of occupational and motor vehicle injuries. However, near the beginning of the 21st century, fatal injury rates in the US began to increase. This is principally due to the nation’s opioid epidemic, which has been characterized by different epidemic “waves”, each driven by overdoses associated with specific substances. Given the temporally dynamic nature of US injury trends, this study aimed to explore the application of time series analysis to injury data in the US. First, rates of non-fatal …

Clinical And Economic Burden Of Inflammatory Chronic Conditions Among Adults In The United States: Evidence From Three Nationally Representative Surveys, Mohammad Ikram

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports

A significant proportion of adults in the United States (US) suffer from various inflammatory chronic conditions (ICCs). They include a wide range of diseases such as diabetes, rheumatoid arthritis, asthma, and chronic obstructive pulmonary diseases. ICCs are not curable, and their management typically involves medications such as NSAIDs and corticosteroids. Recently, a whole health approach that places patients’ well-being at the center is increasingly being used for better management of ICCs. The whole health approach uses an integrated approach that includes multimodal management with complementary and alternative medicines (CAM) and prescription drugs. However, the use of CAM and prescription drugs …

Preconception Substance Use And Risk Of Unintended Pregnancy, Saima Shafique

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports

Background: In the United States, unintended pregnancy is a serious public health issue due to its persistent high prevalence. In the series of three studies, our first two investigations examined the risk and potential determinants of unintended pregnancy among substance and polysubstance using women of childbearing age. In the third study, we conducted a systematic review (SR) with meta-analysis (MA) to assess the association of illicit and recreational drugs to the risk of unintended pregnancy.

Methods: We performed a secondary data analysis on a subset of Pregnancy Risk Assessment Monitoring System (PRAMS) 2016-17 phase 8 data (n=75,543). The outcome variable …

Aerosol Sampling Strategy: Effect Of Particle Transfer To Sampler Covers And Estimation Of Conversion Factors Between The United States And German Methods For Quartz Sampling, Godwin Akpevwe Erekaife

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports

ABSTRACT

AEROSOL SAMPLING STRATEGY: Effect of Particle Transfer to Sampler Covers and Estimation of Conversion Factors between the United States and German Methods for Quartz sampling

GODWIN A. EREKAIFE

In many countries, communities of experts, including industrial hygienists, have developed unique sampling strategies to determine workers’ exposure to aerosolized particles (e.g., metals, wood dust etc.). However, using different sampling and analytical methods for the same chemical often results in different exposure levels for a similar exposure group (SEG). The exposure discrepancies among different countries that are caused by using different measurement strategies are not always systematically defined. Therefore, this study …

Injury-Related Infant Mortality In West Virginia, 2010-2014, Wilson A. Koech

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports

Background and objective

Infant mortality in United States is high relative to other more developed nations. Therefore, there is a need to curb this trend, especially in states with high infant mortality rates. Hence, this research investigated and examined characteristics associated with injury-related infant death in West Virginia. The objective of this retrospective study was to 1) investigate maternal and infant characteristics associated with injury-related infant deaths in West Virginia, 2) examine the relationship between unintentional-injury-related infant death and rurality in West Virginia, holding other variables in the model constant, and 3) compare differences in the unintentional-injury related infant mortality …

Hepatitis B In At-Risk Groups: Three Studies To Guide Education, Testing, And Vaccination Efforts In West Virginia, Stacy Tressler

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports

Background and Objectives: For over a decade, West Virginia’s (WV) rate of acute hepatitis B has been the highest in the United States (US). In 2017, WV’s rate was 11.7 per 100,000 population, almost 12 times higher than the national rate. The increase in acute hepatitis B cases is largely due to substance misuse, including injection drug use (IDU). Hepatitis B is a vaccine preventable disease yet many at-risk adults remain unvaccinated and susceptible to infection. The objectives of our studies are to 1) describe yearly changes in acute hepatitis B incidence in WV and assess county-level impact of the …

Changing Dynamics Of Opioid Overdoses In West Virginia And Impact Of Medication For Opioid Use Disorder And Recurrence Of Overdose On Reducing Mortality Among West Virginia Medicaid Beneficiaries, Zheng Dai

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports

Background

With increasing number of opioid overdoses in West Virginia (WV) in recent years and limited number of people receiving treatment, the dissertation study aims to better understand fatal overdose problems in WV and the impact of medication for opioid use disorder (MOUD) in preventing overdose deaths.

Method

WV drug-related deaths from 2005 to 2018 was used to describe the involvement of fentanyl and FAs. WV Medicaid claim data was analyzed to describe the recurrent opioid overdose and the changes in receipt of MOUD. Further, a Medicaid opioid overdose cohort was created to evaluate the effect of occurrence of recurrent …

Mental Health Service Use In The Kingdom Of Saudi Arabia, Abdulaziz S. Alangari

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports

Objectives: The goal of this project was to increase knowledge concerning the current prevalence, needs and barriers to mental health service use in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA). It’s purpose was to gather data that would help to inform future policy decisions aimed at optimizing the use and availability of these services in the KSA. There were three specific aims: 1) Examine the barriers to initiation and continuation of mental health treatment in people with a disorder diagnosed during the previous 12-months. 2) Explore the prevalence and predictors of mental health treatment dropout. 3) Examine the prevalence and patterns …

Association Of Common Chronic Pain Conditions To Incident Alzheimer’S Disease And Related Dementias In Two Cohorts Of Older Medicare Beneficiaries, Sumaira Khalid

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports

Objective: The purpose of this research was to study the collective and incremental association of common non-cancer chronic pain conditions (NCPC) to risk for Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias (ADRD); to explore the potential mediating influence of mood and sleep disorders; and to assess the potential synergistic effects of NCPC’s and multimorbidity on ADRD risk. This research also aimed to study the contribution of NCPC to ADRD risk in poor, rural, underserved United States populations who suffer a disproportionate burden of ADRD risk factors. To achieve these goals, this dissertation pursued three specific aims: 1) assess the association of …

Health Outcomes Associated With Gulf War Illness, Shannon K. Barth

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports

Background:

Nearlythirty years after the 1990-1991 Persian Gulf War a definitive case definition for Gulf War Illness (GWI) is lacking. The objective is to explore health outcomes associated with GWI using currently accepted classifications in order to better understand GWI by examining pre-war medical conditions as predictors of probable GWI, mortality outcomes of veterans with probable GWI, and female-specific medical conditions among women with probable GWI. Additionally, we utilize an alternative GWI case definition.

Methods:

Data come from theDepartment of Veterans Affairs (VA)1995-1997 National Health Survey of Persian Gulf War Era Veterans, a population-based survey of deployed …

Multimorbidity, Immune Checkpoint Inhibitor Use, And Healthcare Expenditures Among Older Patients With Late-Stage Melanoma, Pragya Rai

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports

With decades of unchanged cancer care with no added survival benefit, immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICI) changed the treatment landscape of late-stage melanoma in 2011. A key factor in determining the use of ICIs is the presence of pre-existing chronic conditions, which can influence the outcome. However, the prevalence of multimorbidity (defined as presence of two or more chronic conditions) among older patients with late-stage melanoma remains unknown. It also remains unknown if the presence of multimorbidity factors into the use of ICIs. Hospital-related factors associated with ICI use have been studied. Yet, patient-level factors, such as age, sex, marital status, …

Predictors And Health Outcomes Of Treatment-Resistant Depression Among Adults With Chronic Non-Cancer Pain Conditions And Major Depressive Disorder, Drishti Shah

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports

Understanding major depressive disorder (MDD) as a comorbidity in patients with chronic non-cancer pain conditions (CNPC) is of importance because of the high prevalence and well documented bi-directional relationship between MDD and pain. Furthermore, presence of CNPC among adults with MDD often reduces benefits of antidepressant therapy, thereby increasing the possibility of treatment resistance. Treatment-resistant depression (TRD) commonly defined as insufficient response to multiple antidepressant trials, often worsens depression and pain symptoms and can amplify the clinical and economic burden among adults with CNPC and MDD. Additionally, long-term opioid therapy (LTOT) may be prescribed at a higher rate to adults …

Characteristics And Patterns Of Opioid-Related Overdoses Among Veterans, Sara Catherine Warfield

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: The United States is in the midst of an opioid overdose crisis and is now considered a public health emergency. Given the alarming rise in opioid overdose deaths, there is an urgent need to understand the characteristics and risks associated with opioid overdoses. The objectives of this study were 1) to compare factors associated with different type of opioid overdose, 2) to determine the conditional probability of repeat overdose among veterans with a prior overdose event and corresponding probability of mortality for each overdose event and, 3) to identify cause-specific mortality rate of those who experienced a …