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Full-Text Articles in Medicine and Health Sciences

The Impact Of Ehr Systems On Physician Productivity And Performance, Anantachai Panjamapirom Jan 2010

The Impact Of Ehr Systems On Physician Productivity And Performance, Anantachai Panjamapirom

All ETDs from UAB

This study examines the relationship between electronic health record (EHR) adoption and physicians' operational productivity and financial performance. The resource-based view of the firm (RBV) was utilized as a theoretical framework to develop and address four hypotheses. Specifically, the first two hypotheses address the impact of EHR adoption status (i.e., electronic- vs. paper-based medical records), and the other two hypotheses focus on the length of EHR adoption (i.e., years of EHR adoption). This cross- sectional study used secondary data from the 2008 physician compensation and production survey conducted by the Medical Group Management Association (MGMA). Multiple linear regression analysis was …


Maternal Gestational Glucose Concentration And Offspring Body Composition, Insulin Sensitivity, And Ss-Cell Function, Nikki C. Bush Jan 2010

Maternal Gestational Glucose Concentration And Offspring Body Composition, Insulin Sensitivity, And Ss-Cell Function, Nikki C. Bush

All ETDs from UAB

Background: Evidence suggests that intrauterine exposure to elevated glucose concentrations may be a mediating factor in prenatal programming of offspring disease risk. However, studies examining the effects of maternal glucose concentration on measures of body composition, insulin sensitivity, and ß-cell response in prepubertal children are limited. Therefore, the objective of this study was to determine the associations of maternal glucose concentration with children's fat mass, insulin sensitivity, and ß-cell response using robust and physiologic measures. Methods: Participants were 40 children aged 5-10 years. Children's insulin sensitivity index (SI) and measures of basal, static, dynamic, and total ß-cell response were determined …


Information Technology And Quality Of Care In Pediatric Hospitals, Gouri Gupte Jan 2010

Information Technology And Quality Of Care In Pediatric Hospitals, Gouri Gupte

All ETDs from UAB

The purpose of this dissertation is to examine the relationship between the adoption of information technology by pediatric hospitals and performance on several quality of care measures. This research is aimed at addressing a gap in literature by utilizing a relatively large sample size that examines health information technology adoption across institutions and utilizes validated quality indicators from Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality. The Donabedian evaluation model that encompasses "structure, process, and outcomes" provides the conceptual framework for the organization of this research, selection of variables, and analysis. Three secondary datasets were used, 2005 Information Technology Survey of the …


An Assessment Of The Factors That Affect The Self-Care Behaviors Of Diabetics, Gregory Ellis Jan 2010

An Assessment Of The Factors That Affect The Self-Care Behaviors Of Diabetics, Gregory Ellis

All ETDs from UAB

The International Diabetes Federation states that there are over 246 million people in the world who have diabetes. The occurrence of co-morbidities associated with diabetes can be significantly reduced with adherence to diabetes self-care behaviors. Self-care behaviors consist of a series of behaviors that encompass life-diet, exercise, self-blood glucose examinations, and self-foot examinations. This is the only national population -based study of diabetes self-care behaviors to comprehensively identify the influence of age, gender, income, and having a regular provider of care across a complete range of self-care behaviors. This is also the first analysis of its kind to examine how …


Characteristics Of Fundraising For Nonprofit Hospital Organizations, Cathleen Owens Erwin Jan 2010

Characteristics Of Fundraising For Nonprofit Hospital Organizations, Cathleen Owens Erwin

All ETDs from UAB

This study addresses a gap that has been noted in the charitable fundraising literature, which is a scarcity of theoretically-based studies of fundraising by nonprofit organizations and the need to study fundraising within sub-sectors of organizations rather than the full nonprofit sector. The study uses institutional theory and strategic management constructs to examine the characteristics of the fundraising operations of nonprofit organizations. A categorization scheme is created based on nonprofit organizational effectiveness and performance characteristics to analyze fundraising by nonprofit hospital organizations as an organizational field. The categorization scheme identifies distinct clusters of organizations that are then investigated to determine …


Age Bias In Physicians' Recommendation For Physical Activity, Adherence, And Health Related Quality Of Life Among Individuals With Arthritis, Shamly Austin Jan 2010

Age Bias In Physicians' Recommendation For Physical Activity, Adherence, And Health Related Quality Of Life Among Individuals With Arthritis, Shamly Austin

All ETDs from UAB

The association between individuals' ages, physicians' recommendations for physical activity, adherence, and health related quality of life among individuals with arthritis was examined using the 2007 Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System. The sample included 33,071 individuals with self-reported, physician-diagnosed arthritis who were 45 years or older. To answer the research questions, three sets of data were created: a whole sample (n=33,071), those 45-64 years old (n=17,607), and those 65 years or older (n=15,464). The conceptual framework for the study was based on the Behavioral Model of Health Services Utilization. The variables of interests were physicians' recommendations for physical activity, adherence …


The Effects Of Weight Reduction On Obesity-Related Cancer Biomarkers And In Vitro Cancer Cell Growth, Maria Azrad Jan 2010

The Effects Of Weight Reduction On Obesity-Related Cancer Biomarkers And In Vitro Cancer Cell Growth, Maria Azrad

All ETDs from UAB

Obesity increases the risk for breast and endometrial cancers while weight loss reduces the risk for these cancers. One aim of this dissertation was to determine the effects of weight loss from an overweight state [body mass index (BMI) 27-30] to a normal weight state on several obesity-related cancer biomarkers in African-American (AA) and European-American (EA) premenopausal women. We also sought to determine whether the method of weight loss, caloric restriction alone (CR) or combined with exercise resulted in similar changes in cancer biomarkers. The biomarkers of interest were urinary estrogen metabolites, and serum adiponectin, leptin, insulin-like growth factor (IGF)-1, …


Contributions Of The Atrial Natriuretic Peptide Gene System To The Relationship Between Pediatric Body Fat, Free Fatty Acids, And Blood Pressure, Amanda Willig Jan 2010

Contributions Of The Atrial Natriuretic Peptide Gene System To The Relationship Between Pediatric Body Fat, Free Fatty Acids, And Blood Pressure, Amanda Willig

All ETDs from UAB

Elevated blood pressure and nonesterified fatty acids (NEFA) in children can lead to increased chronic disease risk during adulthood. The atrial natriuretic peptide precursor A (NPPA) and natiuretic peptide receptor A (NPR1) genes encode for atrial natriuretic peptide (ANP) and its cell receptor, respectively, and may influence levels of blood pressure and NEFA. Additionally, it is unclear how body composition, physical activity, physical fitness, and racial genetic ancestry influence pediatric NEFA and blood pressure. In order to understand the associations among these factors, five investigations were performed. For experimental aim 1, the association between blood pressure and body composition measures …


Development And Validation Of A Palliative Care Needs Assessment Instrument-English/Arabic Versions (Pcna-Eav), For Use With Patients With Advanced Cancer, Susan Edith Volker Jan 2010

Development And Validation Of A Palliative Care Needs Assessment Instrument-English/Arabic Versions (Pcna-Eav), For Use With Patients With Advanced Cancer, Susan Edith Volker

All ETDs from UAB

The aim of this study was to develop and translate a psychometrically valid and reliable, population-based, needs assessment instrument, the PCNA-EAV, to measure the health care and support needs of patients with advanced cancer. The cross-sectional study design combined qualitative and quantitative methods, to test instrument reliability and validity, and to examine the association between sample characteristics and health care and support needs. The 116-item, PCNA-EAV, comprised 10 domains of need: physical/functional; social; psychological/emotional; information; communication; helpful resources; financial; religious/spiritual; priority of need; and preference for care The target population was all cancer patients in the department of oncology at …