Medicine and Health Sciences Commons^™

The Social Value Of Zero Balancing, David Laden

Journal of Transformative Touch

Does Zero Balancing have a social value? Does it in some way contribute to the betterment of society? Does it really have the capacity to make the world a better place? These are questions I started asking myself years ago when I was going through a period of soul searching - investigating my own feelings of powerlessness - feelings of not doing enough in the larger sphere of “making the world a better place”.

Contraceptive Methods In The United States: The Question Of Abortive Mechanisms, Tara Ferenczy

Senior Honors Theses

This thesis reviews the many methods of contraception available in the United States. Although society’s understanding of women’s health has become a major topic, there is still a significant deficit of information regarding how the accessible methods affect women’s bodies, specifically reproductive tissue. The thesis analyzes numerous contraceptive options focusing specifically on the mechanisms of action to determine whether options have abortifacient properties so that readers may develop educated opinions regarding medical and ethical uses. Information involving strengths and limitations of each technique and the effects on both the female body and the reproductive material assist in understanding the process …

The International Journal Of Zero Balancing And Transformative Touch: A Welcome By Founder Dr. Fritz Smith, Fritz Smith

Journal of Transformative Touch

This journal holds the promise of allowing the benefits of transformative touch to be more widely shared by way of contributions from all of the touch modality communities that have so much to offer the world today.

A Lung Cancer Screening Personalized Decision-Aid Improves Knowledge And Reduces Decisional Conflict Among A Diverse Population Of Smokers At An Urban Academic Medical Center, Madeline Kaufman, Nilan Schnure, Andrea Nicholson, Frank Leone, Carmen Guerra

Journal of Health Disparities Research and Practice

Introduction: Few lung cancer screening decision aids have been tested in diverse populations. The study objective was to determine whether the online decision aid www.shouldiscreen.com impacts knowledge of and decisional conflict around lung cancer screening in a diverse population.

Methods: Eligible patients had significant smoking histories, were at increased risk for lung cancer (ages 45-80, >20 pack-years, smoking within last 15 years) and had no history of prior lung cancer or screening. Data was collected and analyzed in 2017.

Results: 40 patients were enrolled: 80% were female, 62.5% black, 33% white, and 48% had a high school …

Hiv Preexposure Prophylaxis And Treatment As Prevention — Beliefs And Access Barriers In Men Who Have Sex With Men (Msm) And Transgender Women: A Systematic Review, Joshua J. Matacotta, Francisco J. Rosales-Perez, Christian M. Carrillo

Journal of Patient-Centered Research and Reviews

Purpose: While the annual rate of new HIV infections and diagnoses has remained stable for most groups, troubling increases are seen in transgender women and racial/ethnic-minority men who have sex with men (MSM), groups that are disproportionately affected by HIV. The primary purpose of this systematic review is to examine factors that impact attitudes and beliefs about preexposure prophylaxis (PrEP) and treatment as prevention (TasP) and to explore barriers to PrEP uptake in MSM and transgender women.

Methods: Using MeSH terms and relevant keywords, we conducted a systematic review of studies published between 2010 and 2019. We searched 4 literature …

Do Adults Utilizing Intermittent Fasting Improve Lipids More Than Those Following A Restricted-Calorie Diet? A Clin-Iq, Mitchell A. Sanford, Tracy S. Sanford, K. F. Campbell, Dustin Davis, Tammy Tandberg, L. N. Eagle Road

Journal of Patient-Centered Research and Reviews

With approximately 95 million Americans diagnosed with high cholesterol, and many searching for a nonmedicinal treatment, intermittent fasting as a method to improve health has become increasingly popular in the lay public. We conducted a clinical inquiry to determine whether intermittent fasting is superior to a low-calorie diet in improving lipids, searching the Cochrane, EBSCOhost, Embase, MEDLINE, and Scopus databases using the terms intermittent fasting, lipids, and calorie-restricted diet. Studies that included surgical weight loss or medicine-assisted weight loss were excluded. We identified 6 published studies, 5 of which were randomized controlled trials. In reviewing the selected studies, …

Knowledge Of Breast Cancer And Screening Methods Among Rural Women In Southwest Nigeria, Rowland Edet, Oluwayimika Ekundina

Department of Sociology: Faculty Publications

The objective of this study was to assess the awareness of rural women on breast cancer and its screening methods in Southwest Nigeria. Descriptive cross-sectional survey design with the aid of a semi-structured questionnaire was used to generate data among 422 rural women in selected communities in Egbeda local government area of Ibadan. The qualitative data was generated through in-depth interviews among rural women and key informant interviews among health workers in the communities. The study revealed that only 63.7% were aware of breast cancer screening methods compared to 31.6% who were not aware. The commonly known screening method among …

The Promotion Of Physical Activity For The Prevention Of Alzheimer's Disease In Adults With Down Syndrome: Rationale And Design For A 12 Month Randomized Trial., Lauren T. Ptomey, Amanda N. Szabo-Reed, Laura E. Martin, Matthew S. Mayo, Richard A. Washburn, Anna M. Gorczyca, Rebecca J. Lepping, Phill Lee, Daniel Forsha, Joseph R. Sherman, Jessica C. Danon, Joseph E. Donnelly

Manuscripts, Articles, Book Chapters and Other Papers

Nearly all individuals with Down Syndrome (DS) display pathology associated with Alzheimer's disease (AD) beginning as early as age 30. Previous research in typically developed adults suggests that increased moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA) may improve cognitive function and protect against age-related structural and functional changes in the brain; however, the potential impact of increased MVPA on the development of AD in adults with DS has not been evaluated. Despite the potential positive impact of MVPA on cognition and AD risk, participation in MVPA among young adults with DS is low. The limited research evaluating strategies for increasing MVPA in adults …

A Case For Delirium Risk Prediction Models To Aid In Triaging Resources To Those Most At Risk An Integrative Literature Review, Tammy Perttula

Nursing Masters Papers

Abstract

Delirium is a complex syndrome resulting from compounding effects of acute illness, comorbidities, and the environment. It results in adverse outcomes: elevated mortality rates, length of stay, readmissions, institutionalization, long-term cognitive changes, and diminished quality of life. The rate of iatrogenic delirium is astounding, ranging from 10%-89%. There are no curative treatments; thus, primary prevention is the key. The purpose of this literature review is to identify and critique the research for the accuracy of risk stratification and feasibility in practice. Support for interventions that prevent delirium is mounting; however, interventions are resource-intensive and often not implemented. Researchers have …

10 Patient-Centered Questions For Clinical Encounters With Transgender Patients, Blossom Kim

Physician Assistant Studies | Student Articles

Transgender (TG) individuals face extensive barriers to care that result in detrimental health disparities and increased prevalence of certain medical conditions such as mood disorders, HIV, and substance abuse. Existing research details multiple approaches to aid healthcare providers in reducing these disparities, but they tend to either generalize the transgender community or provide a surplus of information that may potentially overwhelm healthcare providers. This best practices review aims to provide clinicians with an approach that includes 10 patient-centered questions in hopes of improving patient-clinician rapport and addressing the main disparities and health concerns a TG patient may have.

Fall Prevention Assessment In The Intermediate Care Patient Population, Dawn Rose

Doctor of Nursing Practice Final Manuscripts

Fall Prevention Assessment in the Intermediate Care Patient Population

Falls cause greater than 600,000 deaths per year and are the most common injury in people over 65 years of age. Fall prevention in the acute care setting has been identified as key goal in the most recent JCAHO review process. Falls on an intermediary care unit lead to an increased rate of morbidity, delayed discharge, and excess cost expenditure.

Even with appropriate evidence-based tools in place, Hospital A’s intermediate care unit, recorded an increased rate of falls; the highest rate in its health care system. An investigation identified factors contributing …

Correlations Of Calf Muscle Macrophage Content With Muscle Properties And Walking Performance In Peripheral Artery Disease, Kate Kosmac, Marta Gonzalez-Freire, Mary M. Mcdermott, Sarah H. White, R. Grace Walton, Robert L. Sufit, Lu Tian, Lingyu Li, Melina R. Kibbe, Michael H Criqui, Jack M. Guralnik, Tamar S. Polonsky, Christiaan Leeuwenburgh, Luigi Ferrucci, Charlotte A. Peterson

Physical Therapy Faculty Publications

Background

Peripheral artery disease (PAD) is a manifestation of atherosclerosis characterized by reduced blood flow to the lower extremities and mobility loss. Preliminary evidence suggests PAD damages skeletal muscle, resulting in muscle impairments that contribute to functional decline. We sought to determine whether PAD is associated with an altered macrophage profile in gastrocnemius muscles and whether muscle macrophage populations are associated with impaired muscle phenotype and walking performance in patients with PAD.

Methods and Results

Macrophages, satellite cells, and extracellular matrix in gastrocnemius muscles from 25 patients with PAD and 7 patients without PAD were quantified using immunohistochemistry. Among patients …

Exploring The Relationship Between Dietary Self-Monitoring With A Mobile App And Weight Change, Jason Payne

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Background: Approximately 70% of the adult population in the United States has overweight or obesity and increased risk for developing chronic diseases. Dietary self-monitoring adherence using a paper diary is associated with weight loss; however, few studies have examined this association with dietary self-monitoring apps. Objectives: 1) explore if an association exists between app-based dietary self-monitoring and weight change among adults with overweight or obesity and 2) explore the relationships between the frequency, consistency, and completeness of self-monitoring and weight change. Methods: Participants self-monitored dietary intake for 8 weeks using the app Calorie Counter by FatSecret. Participants were assigned …

Does Access To Telephone Counseling Improve Smoking Cessation In Disadvantaged Populations?, Karin Warden-Thomas

Evidence-Based Practice Project Reports

Tobacco usage leads to the development of a multitude of diseases. Years of research have shown that evidence-based interventions such as counseling and pharmacotherapy increase smoking quit rates. Studies have demonstrated that either proactive or reactive telephone counseling has been beneficial in providing long term smoking abstinence particularly in disadvantaged populations (Haas et al., 2015). The purpose of the project was to improve smoking cessation by facilitating access to telephone counseling using an electronic medical order. The Stevens Star Model of Knowledge Transformation (Stevens, 2004), was the framework employed to support the process for change. This evidenced-based project occurred at …

Provider-Led Intervention For Overweight Or Obese African American Women Ages 18-65 With A Bmi 25 Kg/ M₂, Tonya A. Harvey

Evidence-Based Practice Project Reports

Overweight and obese African American women tend to suffer most from the impacts of diseases, health disparities, disabilities, and decreased qualities of life (Sutton et al., 2016). Most weight loss programs are not culturally specific, despite the benefits of dietary changes and increased physical activity for all groups. The purpose of this EBP project was to implement a provider-led program including lifestyle, dietary, and activity components to decrease weight, BMI, waist circumference and blood pressure in African American women. The Iowa Model of Evidence-Based Practice to promote quality care was used to guide the EBP project, aimed to address obesity …

Novel Inference Methods For Generalized Linear Models Using Shrinkage Priors And Data Augmentation., Arinjita Bhattacharyya

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Generalized linear models have broad applications in biostatistics and sociology. In a regression setup, the main target is to find a relevant set of predictors out of a large collection of covariates. Sparsity is the assumption that only a few of these covariates in a regression setup have a meaningful correlation with an outcome variate of interest. Sparsity is incorporated by regularizing the irrelevant slopes towards zero without changing the relevant predictors and keeping the resulting inferences intact. Frequentist variable selection and sparsity are addressed by popular techniques like Lasso, Elastic Net. Bayesian penalized regression can tackle the curse of …

Effect Of Lifestyle Modifications On Blood Pressure And Bmi In Overweight Or Obese Adults With Primary Hypertension, Mariska Vandenbergh

Evidence-Based Practice Project Reports

Hypertension (HTN) and obesity contribute to poor cardiovascular outcomes which can be managed with diet and exercise lifestyle changes. In addition, self-awareness (SA) of eating patterns can be a useful tool to promote adherence to lifestyle changes. The purpose of this project was to determine the effect of lifestyle education, the DASH diet, and tools to increase SA for adult clinic patients who were overweight with hypertension. The REAP and PIH tools were utilized to increase patients’ SA of their diagnosis and current dietary habits. A literature search over five databases was conducted and analyzed thoroughly. National guidelines strongly recommend …

Hpv Vaccination Knowledge, Attitudes, And Uptake In College Nursing Students, Joanna Marie Plumb, Jeannie Giese, Martha Buckner, David Phillippi, Robin Cobb

DNP Scholarly Projects

Background: The human papillomavirus (HPV) is a preventable, sexually transmitted infection. The vaccines for HPV are safe and effective, but previous research demonstrated that nursing students have low knowledge levels and vaccine uptake. Low knowledge and attitude levels in nurses and nurse practitioners can influence parental and patient decision making for HPV vaccination. Purpose: The purpose of this scholarly project was to evaluate HPV knowledge and attitudes and their association with vaccination uptake in college nursing students. There is limited research in the United States on HPV knowledge, attitudes, and uptake of the vaccine among nursing students. Methods: This project …

Imatinib-Induced Interstitial Pneumonitis – A Literature Review And Case Report, Olga Hilda Orasan, Andreea Maria Stefan, Iulia Minciuna, Adela Sitar-Taut, George Ciulei, Simina Tarmure, Ioana Para, Flaviu Muresan, Ovidiu Fabian, Sorina Cezara Coste, Vasile Negrean, Angela Cozma, Laura Urian

Journal of Mind and Medical Sciences

Imatinib is generally well tolerated, with mild common side effects such as nausea and vomiting, diarrhea, muscle cramps, fatigue, skin rash and edema; however, pulmonary complications are uncommon. A 73-year-old woman undergoing one month treatment with Imatinib for chronic myeloid neoplasm associated with eosinophilia was admitted for sudden alteration of her performance status, dyspnea at rest and productive cough. On clinical examination, the patient was hypoxic (oxygen saturation on room air was 87%), and auscultation of her lungs revealed diffuse bilateral fine crackles. Computed tomography showed bilateral pulmonary interstitial syndrome. Imatinib was discontinued and the patient received systemic corticosteroid therapy …

Consciousness Level Determination Of Red Meat Consumption Of Pregnant Women, Giresun/Turkey Province, Duygu Balpetek Külcü, Özge Cağcağ Yolcu

Journal of Mind and Medical Sciences

In this study, meat consumption and the nutritional status of pregnant women living in Giresun province of Turkey were investigated. The study was carried out at Giresun University, the Maternity and Pediatrics Training and Research Hospital between February-March 2019. The study group consisted of 218 pregnant women aged 18 to 49 years, who benefited from polyclinic services and agreed to participate in the survey. A questionnaire consisting of 12 questions was used, and the findings were evaluated using SPSS to generate descriptive statistics and t-tests or ANOVAs. The majority of participants stated that red meat is beneficial during pregnancy (71.1%) …

Compassion And Suppression In Caregivers: Twin Masks Of Tragedy And Joy Of Caring, Emanuele Maria Merlo, Sean M. Mcnabney, Fabio Frisone, Federica Sicari, Mihai Paunica, Catalina Motofei, Salvatore Settineri

Journal of Mind and Medical Sciences

Background: Compassionate caregiving is a critical skill for workers among the helping professions, but the degree of empathy required by caregivers can place high demands on their mental and emotional resources. While many professionals employ successful coping strategies to mitigate these stressors, others experience compassion fatigue or burnout from emotional exhaustion. The objective of this research was to evaluate the relationships between caregivers’ demographic/career variables, compassion satisfaction, compassion fatigue, and psychodynamic defense mechanisms such as suppression, repressive function, regression in the service of the Ego, and rationalization. Methods: Participants were 250 caregivers with 178 (71,2%) women and 72 men (28,8%) …

The Role Of Biotransformation Processes In Mediating Interactions Between Psychotropic Drugs And Natural Products, Nicolae Bacinschi, Ina Pogonea, Lilia Podgurschi, Maria Mihalachi-Anghel, Emil Ștefănescu, Bogdan Socea, Marin Chianu

Journal of Mind and Medical Sciences

Many patients are not aware that natural products such as fruit juices or plant infusions can cause significant interactions with several drugs, some of which can be dangerous, especially when the medical treatment is for neurological or psychiatric disorders. Among the most predisposed for interacting with drugs are citric juices, particularly grapefruit and plant infusions, especially St John`s wort (Hypericum perforatum). Understanding the mechanism and the frequency of this type of interaction helps to avoid it. The goal of this research was to identify and summarize the most relevant reports on interactions between psychotropic drugs and natural beverages, in order …

Blood Cancers And Oral Health, Silvia Spivakovsky Dds, Gwen Nichols Md, Laura Romundstad Crnp, Msn, Elizabeth Kitlas Lmsw

The Journal of the Michigan Dental Association

Managing Blood Cancer Patients' Oral Complications: Preventive Strategies during and after Treatment

Blood cancers, encompassing leukemia, lymphoma, myeloma, myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS), and myeloproliferative neoplasms (MPN), bring complex challenges to patient management due to their impact on hematopoiesis, immunity, and overall health. This review focuses on equipping dental practitioners with essential insights into preventing and managing intricate oral manifestations during and after treatment. Patient care strategies are outlined for leukemia subtypes such as acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL), acute myeloid leukemia (AML), chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL), and chronic myeloid leukemia (CML), emphasizing the need for tailored dental approaches. In lymphomas encompassing Hodgkin …

Oral Complications In Cancer Patients: A Review Of Practical Interventions In The Dental Setting, Caroline Bissonnette Dds, Kristin Mcnamara Dds, John Kalmar Dmd, Phd

The Journal of the Michigan Dental Association

Cancer prevalence in the United States is significant, with an estimated 40% of the population experiencing this diagnosis at some point in their lives. In 2020 alone, 1,806,590 new cancer cases were projected, encompassing 53,260 cases involving oral and oropharyngeal malignancies. Amidst barriers like financial constraints and irregular dental visits (highlighted by a 2014 American Dental Association survey indicating that 32.3% of the general population avoids yearly dentist appointments), patients battling cancer often encounter not just routine dental needs, but the intricate challenges arising from their malignancy and treatments. Dental professionals, pivotal in orchestrating optimal treatment strategies for cancer patients, …

Evaluation Of The Impact Of Social Collaborations On Sexual And Reproductive Health Knowledge, Lucki Word, Jaila Campbell, Manar T. Edriss, Destiny Stroman, Jewel Evans, Melanie Hanna-Johnson, Md, Anil N. F. Aranha, Phd

Medical Student Research Symposium

Introduction: Developments in technology, such as the popularity of mobile devices and social media outlets, have enhanced the ability of individuals to communicate. Currently, search engines allow for easy exploration of information related to every topic of interest. Our study purpose was to evaluate the impact of technological and social collaborations on sexual and reproductive health knowledge (SRHK).

Methods: A 50-item survey instrument, integrating factors of sociodemographics, number/type of social collaborations, technological communication use, and SRHK, was developed to assess familiarity with sexual and reproductive health perceptions. The survey was provided to consenting patients in an ambulatory, primary care setting. …

The Effect Of Physician Held Stigmas And Bias On The Health Outcomes Of Patients With Obesity: A Review Of The Literature, Rachel Cohen, Catherine Jones

Journal of Health Disparities Research and Practice

Obesity is a growing epidemic that continues to garner attention throughout healthcare. The goal of this study was to review the literature on physician bias and stigmas surrounding obesity to assess the current state of research on connections between obesity-related stigma and the health outcomes and care of patients with obesity. A specific search string was used to obtain articles via PubMed and psychINFO, yielding 14 studies found that investigate these connections. The studies were categorized into three distinct pathways leading from physician stigma and biases to differing health outcomes of patients with obesity. These three pathways- perceptions, patient interaction, …