Medicine and Health Sciences Commons^™

Utilizing A Community Resource For Diabetes Lifestyle Management, Max Breidenstein

Family Medicine Clerkship Student Projects

Grace Cottage Family Health & Hospital identified diabetes as a level one priority for community health improvement. VeggieVanGo is a program hosted at schools and hospitals hosted by the Vermont Foodbank which provides fresh produce to those in needs. Lifestyles modifications are essential for diabetes management including consuming fresh produce. This project sought to increase awareness of the role of diet in diabetes management for patients at Grace Cottage Hospital who may use the VeggieVanGo program.

A Healthier Diet For Weight Loss, Hannah White

Family Medicine Clerkship Student Projects

Many patients presenting to clinic have the goal of weight loss to improve their health as obesity has many comorbidities. Many patients have multiple health concerns like Diabetes Mellitus, Hypertension, Hyperlipidemia, PCOS, or joint pain. Part of the management of their conditions include weight loss, but many patients struggle, for years, to lose weight. A referral to the Metabolic Weight Loss clinic in Newtown, which will provide patients with nutritional information, evidence based diets, medications, exercises, and more, can take up to 1 year to get an appointment. The goal of this project is to provide information to patients in …

Improving The Assessment Of Patient Dietary Choices, Jiayi Luo

Family Medicine Clerkship Student Projects

Asking about a patient's diet has always been a critical part of primary care wellness visits, as well as in managing chronic medical problems like hypertension, obesity, and diabetes. However, patient responses when asked to recall their diet is time-consuming, subjective, and can even be uncomfortable. This project aims to create a qualitative and objective tool for patients to report back their dietary habits. This project will 1) create a short dietary questionnaire for patients in Newtown Primary care and 2) assess for patient receptiveness to sharing dietary habits through said questionnaire.

Culturally Sensitive Carbohydrate Sources For Nepalese With Diabetes Or Prediabetes, Rachel Bombardier

Family Medicine Clerkship Student Projects

Over 8,000 refugees have started new lives in Vermont since 1980. Many of these people utilize the Community Health Centers of Burlington, for some this may be their first time navigating America's healthcare system. This is a daunting task due to a multitude of barriers, including missing cultural competencies in various aspects of their care. This project focuses on dietary recommendations for Nepalese patients with prediabetes and type 2 diabetes, specifically carbohydrate sources based on fiber content. Type 2 diabetes is a very prevalent chronic disease that costs Vermont $520 million each year. Understanding healthy food options in a culturally …

Tackling Access To A Healthier Life, Edom Alemayehu Girma

Family Medicine Clerkship Student Projects

Obesity is a known risk factor for complications during childhood and later in adult life. While numerous factors play a role in the prevalence of obesity, this project focused on better intervention for obesity management in the family medicine clinic located in Plattsburgh, NY. Interviews and literature searches were conducted to determine possible strategies to better assist patients in attaining their sustainable weight loss goals and an overall healthier lifestyle.

Dashing Into A Healthier Life, Megan N. Eubank

Family Medicine Clerkship Student Projects

Almost half of all US adults have hypertension (high blood pressure), which is a major risk factor for heart disease and stroke. Hypertension can be controlled through a combination of diet, exercise, and medications. The DASH diet has been proven to lower blood pressure in as little as two weeks. I created a brochure and Epic SmartPhrase that explains and simplifies the DASH diet for patients.

Family Medicine Community Project, Daniel Castro

Family Medicine Clerkship Student Projects

The goal of this project is to improve diet and nutrition literacy in the community. Though Vermont ranks low in the US in terms of obesity, it is still estimated the 60% of Vermonters are either overweight or obese. This represents an area of need in terms of improving diet and nutrition education to combat obesity, the health issues it produces, and the subsequent strain on the medical system

Nutritional Habits: Encouraging Simplicity And Consistency, Alim Esemenli

Family Medicine Clerkship Student Projects

Nutrition plays a crucial role in development of diseases that are the leading causes of morbidity and mortality in the Unites States. However, due to reasons such as time limitations, lack of clear guidelines, and what seems like a sense of hopelessness felt by providers and patients alike upon lack of results, discussions around nutrition may lack in frequency, consistency, and/or adequacy of duration, Research shows that flexibility of mindset, as well as achievability and sustainability of nutritional goals, play a key role in achieving success in weight This project proposes a three-page document that can potentially help primary care …

Smoking Cessation Associated Weight Gain: The Role Of Diet And Exercise Counseling In Quitting Smoking, Benjamin D. Kagan

Family Medicine Clerkship Student Projects

Weight gain is a common unintended consequence of quitting smoking due to a combination of physiologic and behavioral factors. Counseling focused on diet and exercise reduces weight gain associated with smoking cessation. Reduction of weight gain related to smoking cessation maximizes the health benefit of quitting tobacco.

Challenges With Diet During The Covid Pandemic, Cinduja Nathan

Family Medicine Clerkship Student Projects

The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic has had a tremendous impact on many individual's lives and their families. It has caused many people to change their lifestyles and daily routines. This project focuses on how diet has changed during the COVID pandemic and explores the reasons for these diet changes. 23 patients from the Central Vermont Medical Center were given surveys and their responses were analyzed and recorded. Out of the 23 patients, 20 patients reported that they noticed a change in their diet as a result of COVID 19. Of the 20 patients who noticed a change in their diet, 5 …

Where Are You Hiding, Sugar? (Sugar Content Of Popular Drink And Snacks, With Suggestions For Healthier Alternatives), Ashta Narain

Family Medicine Clerkship Student Projects

Two flyers, with associated dotphrases, on the actual sugar content of popular drink and snack foods were created. Also provided is information about the long-term impact of sugar on our bodies over time from local dieticians, and healthier alternative food and drink choices with less sugar content.

Addressing Rational Barriers To Lifestyle And Behavioral Modification, Ahmed Eldakroury

Family Medicine Clerkship Student Projects

Rational barriers contribute to resistance towards initiating, restarting or maintaining lifestyle/behavioral modification. Such barriers include lack of confidence in the proposed intervention(s), exaggerated perspectives, unsubstantiated beliefs and feelings of futility/hopelessness in the setting of past failures or relapse. Lifestyle and behavioral modification are core elements of preventative health and mental health—identifying and addressing erroneous thought processes, perspectives or beliefs that contribute to hesitancy may empower patients to trust the process and put an honest effort towards making those changes. Thus, a motivational pamphlet was created for patients with the goal of addressing hesitancy/resistance towards initiating or maintaining lifestyle/behavioral modification. The …

Dietary Health Screening, Luke Hallgarth

Family Medicine Clerkship Student Projects

Dietary recall by patients is time consuming & inefficient. This project aims to develop a screening tool to accurately and efficiently track patient's diets over the course of multiple healthcare visits.

Promoting Weight-Loss Via Smartphone Health Applications (Myfitnesspal), Michael S. Barnum

Family Medicine Clerkship Student Projects

Obesity has become a public health crisis in the United States. 68% of men and 64% of women in the United States are considered overweight or obese. Obesity is being addressed through a variety of strategies, the use of mobile apps is a relatively new development that could prove useful in helping people to develop healthy dietary habits. Tracking the consumption of certain foods and drinks may potentially help individuals achieve an improved understanding of their dietary patterns. The goal of this project was to develop and provide educational materials on the use of MyFitnessPal to patients seeking dietary advice.

Effect Of Nutritional Intervention On Patients With Gastroparesis, Emily Rubin, Rd, Melissa Viscuso, Rd, Kamal Amer, Md, Joseph Yoo, Md, Anthony Dimarino, Md, Stephanie Moleski, Md

Division of Gastroenterology and Hepatology Posters

Study Aims

• Utilize the PAGI-SYM survey as an assessment tool in following clinical symptoms of patients with GP.
• Determine if a formal consultation with a Registered Dietitian (RD) provided benefit to patients documented gastroparesis.

Food Label Made Easy, Hanaa Shihadeh

Family Medicine Clerkship Student Projects

The use of food labels and adherence to dietary recommendations are important, especially for those with chronic diseases due to the well known relation between chronic disease and poor nutritional habits. Although food labeling has been introduced since 1994 with the aim of combating obesity and diet-related chronic disease in the USA, the rates of food label use among US adults have decreased over the past decade.

Oncolog, Volume 63, Number 05-06, May - June 2018, Joe Munch, Sunita Patterson, Bryan Tutt

OncoLog MD Anderson's Report to Physicians (All issues)

• Breast Cancer Treatment without Surgery: New approach may let certain breast cancer patients who respond to systemic therapy forgo surgery
• INBRIEF: Targeted Drug BLU-667 Shows Promise against Solid Tumors with RET Alterations
• Diet May Improve Gut Microbiome in Colorectal Cancer Survivors: Trial tests whether adding beans to diet affects markers of cancer risk, metabolic health
• TRK Inhibition Shows Activity in Solid Tumors: Early results of clinical trials for adult, pediatric patients with NTRK gene fusions show promise
• HOUSE CALL: Preparing for Natural Disasters-People with cancer or other chronic illnesses should take extra precautions

Diet Management For Adult Onset Diabetes Mellitus Type 2, Michael A. Persaud

Family Medicine Clerkship Student Projects

In Southbury, Connecticut, diabetic diet management is an issue that perturbs both primary care providers and their patients. This project seeks to ameliorate the lack of readily available resources for diabetic dietary considerations. A brochure was made including helpful dietary information for patients that are unable or unwilling to see a Certified Diabetic Educator. As the incidence of diabetes continues to rise, patient education will be a powerful tool to help patients manage their diabetic care.

Promoting Health Literacy About Added Sugars, With A Focus On Patients With Limited English Proficiency, Megan Kawasaki

Family Medicine Clerkship Student Projects

Excess consumption of added sugars has been linked to the development of obesity, diabetes, and cardiovascular disease. The sequelae of such health conditions accrue significant public health costs - both in terms of healthcare spending as well as associated co-morbidities and mortality. Chittenden County, Vermont is home to at least 6,300 new Americans, many of whom have limited English proficiency (LEP). Although office visits can provide crucial advice regarding proper nutrition, written resources available for LEP patients are lacking. This project aimed to meet that need through development of an infographic-rich handout that both promotes healthier grocery store choices and …

Tips For Successfully Managing Your Type 2 Diabetes, Allison Reeder

Family Medicine Clerkship Student Projects

Type 2 diabetes is a disease that is all too common in our country. There are a variety of lifestyle modifications that can have a positive impact on disease control, such as watching sugars and fats in the diet and getting consistent exercise to decrease weight. Patients should receive better education on how to control their disease without medications so that the cost of diabetes in the United States does not continue to rise.

Diabetic Eating At The Dollar Store, Lee Hiromoto

Family Medicine Clerkship Student Projects

Ideas on following a diabetic diet using ingredients from a dollar store.

Access To Diet And Exercise Resources, Andrea Blood

Family Medicine Clerkship Student Projects

In Vermont, about 22% of adults are obese, which has led to many medical co-morbidities and costs the state an estimate of $141 million annually. It is well known that diet and exercise can help tackle this problem yet the vast majority of obese adults do not meet CDC guidelines for physical activity level. This project aims to evaluate barriers and access to diet and exercise resources in a subset of obese patients in Waterbury, VT.

Advocating Powerhouse Fruits & Vegetables, Christine Tran

Family Medicine Clerkship Student Projects

Fruits and vegetables are great, but they are not all created equally. In 2014, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention published a study on which fruits and vegetables contain the most nutrients for preventing cancer, diabetes, and heart disease.

The top 41 have been named "Powerhouse Fruits and Vegetables."

Creating A Guide For Patient Self-Management Of Weight Loss (For Management Of Diabetes), Kelsey Preston

Family Medicine Clerkship Student Projects

In my first week working with Dr. Flynn, I saw more patients coming in with a diagnosis of diabetes than those without; this is likely untrue, but it certainly felt like that. I realized how big of an issue diabetes really is, and hoped to work on a project targeted towards diabetes. While I noticed medical and medicinal management of patients with diabetes was adequate, there was a large gap in patient self-management of their diabetes – they followed their prescriptions, but did not seem to have changed other aspects of their lives, most importantly, their diets.

Oncolog Volume 55, Number 01, January 2010, Bryan Tutt, Bita Esmaeli

OncoLog MD Anderson's Report to Physicians (All issues)

"

• Ocular Cancer: Tumors of the eye threaten sight and often indicate presence of extensive disease
• Eye Care for Cancer Patients
• Doctors Team Up to Battle Retinoblastoma
• Compass Winter 2010: Ductal Carcinoma In Situ: Choosing Treatment for a Common Group of Early, Confined Breast Cancers
• Toward Tomorrow
• House Call: Three Targets for New Year's Resolutions

"

Oncolog Volume 53, Number 06, June 2008, Karen Stuyck, Virginia M. Mohlere, David Stouter, David Jenkins

OncoLog MD Anderson's Report to Physicians (All issues)

• Psychotherapy Extends Cancer Care Beyond the Physical
• House Call: Understanding How Cancer Spreads
• DiaLog: Teaming Spiritual and Medical Care, by Rev. David Stouter, Chaplain, Department of Chaplaincy and Pastoral Education, and Rev. David Jenkins, Director, Department of Chaplaincy and Pastoral Education
• Radical Trachelectomy: A Fertility-Sparing Option for Invasive Cervical Cancer

Oncolog, Volume 44, Number 09, September 1999, Dawn Chalaire, Alison Rufffin, Vickie J. Williams, Aman Buzdar Md

OncoLog MD Anderson's Report to Physicians (All issues)

• Cautious Approach to Soft Tissue Sarcoma Yields More Favorable Outcomes
• What's to Eat? Encouraging children to eat well for a healthier future
• Orthopaedic Surgeons Save Limbs, Restore Function for Patients with Bone Tumors
• DiaLog: High-Dose Chemotherapy Deserves More Study, by Aman Buzdar, MD, Professor, Department of Breast Medical Oncology
• House Call: Breast Cancer: Understanding the Risks
• Protocols: Sarcoma/Osteosarcoma Clinical Trials