Medicine and Health Sciences Commons^™

Factors Associated With Covid-19 Vaccine Hesitancy In South Central Appalachia, Florence M. Weierbach, Rebecca Adkins Fletcher, Ingrid E. Luffman, Cynthia Meyer, Janet M. Keener, Manik Ahuja, Hadii M. Mamudu

Journal of Appalachian Health

Introduction: The newly emergent COVID-19 virus reached pandemic levels in March 2020. By the middle of August 2020, there were over 1 million deaths attributed to COVID-19 in the U.S., with those in rural areas outpacing urban counterparts. Prior to emergency approval of the Pfizer, Moderna and Johnson & Johnson vaccine formulations, mitigation efforts addressing individual behavior were challenging. However, even with the entrance of these three new vaccines, herd immunity was not achieved in rural areas, as vaccine uptake remained low there. Although there has since been an abundance of COVID-19-related research addressing health literacy, vaccine hesitancy and overall …

Review Of Storytelling In Queer Appalachia: Imagining The Unspeakable Other, Sandra L. Cotton Dnp, Rn, Anp-Bc, Fnap, Laurie A. Theeke Phd, James Messer

Journal of Appalachian Health

The Journal of Appalachian Health is committed to reviewing published media that relates to contemporary concepts affecting the health of residents of Appalachia. Improving the health in the region of Appalachia means knowing our people as they live and thrive in communities. The book reviewed here, Storytelling in Queer Appalachia: Imagining the Unspeakable Other (Edited by Glasby, Gradin, and Ryerson), is a must read for people who wish to gain insight on the real experience of being queer in Appalachia.

Exploration Of Vaccination Attitudes Among Parents And Caregivers In A Rural Appalachian Health Clinic, Radwa Omar, Karen Hande, Natasha Mcclure

Journal of Appalachian Health

At a rural Appalachian health clinic in Kentucky, 20% of patients under 18 years were not up to date with the CDC-recommended immunization schedule. Reasons parents or caregivers chose to delay or refuse their child’s immunizations were explored using the Caregiver Vaccination Attitude Scale. High levels of trust in the healthcare provider and self-reported vaccine knowledge highlight opportunities for rural healthcare providers to apply evidence-based communication strategies to address vaccine hesitancy and promote the safety and health of the entire community.

Seeking Care At Free Episodic Health Care Clinics In Appalachia, Malerie Lazar, Sandra Thomas, Lisa Davenport

Journal of Appalachian Health

Background: People who live in rural Appalachia experience a wide variety of problems when seeking access to health care. Health care disparities continue to be one of the most complex and prevalent problems, and many barriers exist for impoverished men and women such as a lack of education, complications with health insurance, and personal distrust of healthcare providers.

Purpose: A critical gap in the literature is the unheard voice of persons in rural underserved areas. The purpose of this study was to explore the perspectives of persons in rural Appalachia who seek healthcare services at free episodic health care clinics, …

Tuberculosis And Local Health Department Expenditures On Tuberculosis Services, Michelle P. Yip, Betty Bekemeier

Frontiers in Public Health Services and Systems Research

Background: Although tuberculosis (TB) morbidity and mortality have decreased in recent decades, challenges exist regarding disproportionate distributions of TB among specific populations and geographic areas. Inconsistent local health department (LHD) funding for TB programs poses difficulties for LHDs to sustain resources and personnel that predisposes communities to risks of future outbreaks of TB and drug-resistant TB diseases.

Purpose: This study examined relationships between annual TB incidence rates and LHD expenditures on TB-related services to elucidate potential impacts of TB incidence on LHD TB spending.

Methods: This dataset included county-level TB incidence data with comparable, annual (2000–2010) TB-related service expenditures for …

Promoting Children's Adherence To Asthma Self-Management, Demetrius Abshire

Kaleidoscope

Asthma is the most common chronic childhood condition, affecting about nine million children in the United States. Despite effective treatments available to children and their families, adherence to asthma self-management is low. This paper identifies barriers to asthma-self-management and discusses effective education and behavioral strategies to promote self-management in children with asthma. Implications specific to the profession of nursing are incorporated throughout the discussion. In addition to practical nursing interventions in clinic and hospital settings, areas of future nursing research are addressed.

Peak Flow Versus Symptom Monitoring To Manage Childhood Asthma, Ashleigh Ohlmann

Kaleidoscope

Asthma is the most prevalent chronic respiratory disease in children. If asthma is not well managed, it can result in significant morbidity and mortality. The purpose of this paper is to assess the effects of peak flow versus symptom monitoring on asthma health outcomes in children. A literature review was conducted for research articles related to peak flow and symptom monitoring as they relate to asthma outcomes in children. The MEDLINE, PubMed, and CINAHL databases were accessed. The search was narrowed to include articles from the years 2000-2006 using the search terms child, asthma, peak flow meter, and symptom monitoring. …

Domestic Violence In The Workplace, Amanda Fallin

Kaleidoscope

Intimate partner violence (IPV) is a pervasive problem that follows victims from the home into the workplace. Many women who experience violence in their homes are also harassed at work and are abused in the workplace. For the current study, thirty women who reported a history of workplace violence were recruited from a homeless women’s shelter. Of the participants, thirteen experienced domestic violence in the workplace, and this paper focuses on the results obtained from those thirteen respondents. This paper also discusses the link between poverty and homelessness, intimate partner violence, and workplace violence.

Social Disruption And Physical Limitation Related To Quality Of Life Of Adolescents With Asthma, Jennifer L. Baumgardner

Kaleidoscope

During adolescence, teenagers experience many physical, emotional, and social changes. Teenagers with chronic conditions, however, may face challenges in normal adolescent development because their illness can impact body image, independence, and peer socialization. Little is known about the effect of asthma on adolescent quality of life (QOL). In this paper, I review the existing literature on social disruption and physical limitations related to asthma and the subsequent impact on adolescent asthma QOL. In addition, adolescent issues leading to poor control of asthma symptoms and interventions to improve asthma QOL for adolescents are addressed.

Childhood Obesity: What Role Does Public Policy Play?, Shannon Turbeville

Kaleidoscope

The purpose of this review is to explore public policies that impact the health of American children and adolescents. The National School Lunch Program (NSLP) has a significant impact on school-age children’s nutritional intake. Foods provided by the NSLP have been analyzed for their nutritional content. Although these foods did not exceed the recommended total caloric intake, they were below other nutritional standards, and these shortcomings are primarily attributable to cultural preferences. Other important contributors to childhood obesity are unregulated school food items sold in vending machines. These items are becoming increasingly more prevalent in schools. Public policy is an …

Emergency Department Nurses' Knowledge Of Evidence-Based Ischemic Stroke Care, Laura Traynelis

Kaleidoscope

No abstract provided.

Adoption Of A Heart Healthy Diet In Rural Eastern Kentucky, Kevin Luley

Kaleidoscope

No abstract provided.

An Examination Of Maternal Stress, Inflammatory Markers, And Preterm Labor In Pregnant Women, Cecilia Boateng

Kaleidoscope

No abstract provided.