Medicine and Health Sciences Commons^™

Modeling Cumulative Risk During The Covid-19 Pandemic: Psychosocial And Socioeconomic Factors For Older Minority Adults, James F. Osborne Iv

LSU Master's Theses

Continued response to the sum consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic has disparately affected the physical and mental health of older minority adults in the United States. SARS-CoV-2 created an acute epidemiological crisis of public health coinciding with a chronic pandemic of accentuated psychosocial stress. Biological and socio-economic risk of morbidity and mortality follow a demographic gradient of subjectively constructed social status that disproportionally threatens older adults and minority racial/ethnic communities. Pathways to increased socio-economic and psychosocial vulnerability are multifactorial and complex. Factors of race, socio-economic status, gender, and age, each contribute to individualized profiles of vulnerability to risk exposure.

The …

Accessibility Of Hiv Testing In Baton Rouge Metropolitan Statistical Area, Alina Prigozhina

LSU Master's Theses

This study examines HIV testing accessibility in the Baton Rouge Metropolitan Statistical Area (BR MSA) using the two-step floating catchment area (2SFCA) method to calculate accessibility scores for free, low-cost and all other HIV testing facilities. The two goals of this research are to apply accessibility estimation methods to HIV testing facilities, and to examine the accessibility of HIV testing facilities in the BR MSA. To achieve these goals, this study uses several research methods. The data about HIV testing providers and their locations were collected through Internet searches. By means of a fieldwork, the data were checked, revealing that …

Identifying Key Factors Associated With High Risk Asthma Patients To Reduce The Cost Of Health Resources Utilization, Amani Ahmad

LSU Master's Theses

Asthma is associated with frequent use of primary health services and places a burden on the United States economy. Identifying key factors associated with increased cost of asthma is an essential step to improve practices of asthma management.

The aim of this study was to identify factors associated with over utilization of primary health services and increased cost via claims data and to explore the effectiveness of case management program in reducing overall asthma related cost.

Claims data analysis for Medicaid insured asthma patients in Louisiana was conducted. Asthma patients were identified using their ICD-9 and ICD-10 codes, forward variable …