Medicine and Health Sciences Commons^™

Racial And Ethnic Disparities In Diabetes-Related Healthcare Service Use In The United States, 2016–2020, Gaole Song

CGU Theses & Dissertations

Diabetes is a serious public health issue in the United States. As one of the leading causes of death, the prevalence of diabetes has increased steadily and leads to an enormous medical and societal burden each year. Compared to non-Hispanic White adults, racial/ethnic minority adults have a higher risk to develop diabetes and its complications. Proper healthcare service use is important for reducing the prevalence of diabetes and the risk of complications. However, minority populations receive a lower quality healthcare service and have greater barriers to diabetes self-management. To get a better understanding of racial disparities in diabetes-related healthcare service …

The Impact Of Expanded Tele-Mental Health On Quality-Of-Care Indicators: A Three-Pronged Regression Analysis At Los Angeles County’S Department Of Mental Health, Ami Bhatt

CGU Theses & Dissertations

Background: The use of Tele-Mental Health (TMH) skyrocketed after the COVID-19 pandemic led to the announcement of a public health emergency in March 2020. This rise coincided with soaring rates of mental health issues and increasing demand for accessible and sustainable treatment, all while meeting physical distancing requirements. TMH use is theorized to improve timely access to care and provide opportunities to improve quality of care indicators in individuals and at the health systems level. Research Question: How has the widespread adoption of Tele-Mental Health changed quality of care (QoC) indicators among patients of LA County Department of Mental Health’s …

Emergency Department Use Among Probationers Enrolled In The Riverside University Health System, Whole-Person Care Pilot Program, Nirshila Chand

CGU Theses & Dissertations

Formerly incarcerated individuals suffer from poor health outcomes and often overuse emergency department (ED) services because of a lack of access to care and insurance coverage upon reentry to their community. The Riverside County Whole Person Care (WPC) pilot program implemented by Riverside University Health System (RUHS) was designed as a reentry program developed to address these challenges and ensure that releasees successfully transition back into the community. The primary aim of this project was to assess whether participating in the RUHS WPC program reduced emergency department (ED) use among recent releasees. This was a cross-sectional retrospective study of formerly …

Papanicolaou (Pap) Test And Human Papillomavirus (Hpv) Test Adherence: Sexual Violence Victims And Fear Of Retraumatization, Murielle Sighe Ngoumkam

CGU Theses & Dissertations

To include all vulnerable women population who faced barriers to participating in preventive cervical cancer screening, the public health community must better understand the factors that affect their decision for getting Pap and HPV tests. Public health must understand the sexual violence victims, a subgroup of women who faced the onset of trauma and explore their adherence to routine screening. This study investigated whether sexual women with a history of sexual violence (SV), likelihood to get screened for cervical cancer would be impacted given the fear of suffering from secondary trauma during conventional screening procedures. Methods: Knowledge of cervical screening …

The Cost-Effectiveness And Feminization Of The Human Papillomavirus Vaccine, Audrey Jammes

Scripps Senior Theses

Approved in 2006, the Human Papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine provided a medical breakthrough in combating cancer by inoculating first female and then male adolescents in 2010. In 2016, a new HPV vaccine was approved for all adolescents. However, it is the most expensive vaccine created in the United States and its female centered prescription led to debates regarding the vaccine’s necessity and risks. For the STS portion of this paper, analysis of the language in the vaccine’s prescriptions from 2006, 2010, and 2016 demonstrates two implicit assumptions regarding female health built into the vaccine’s rollout. Comparison of the two assumptions to …

Mapping The Milk: Integrating Donor Human Milk Into Infant Nutrition Systems, Delaney Hartmann

Scripps Senior Theses

A human milk diet is an important part of the health and survival of all infants. A human milk diet is especially crucial for the most vulnerable preterm infants as it promotes a healthy gut and protects from Necrotizing Enterocolitis (NEC). However, many preterm infants are unable to consume their mother’s own milk due to breastfeeding challenges resulting from early delivery. Therefore, nutritional supplementation is often necessary for preterm infants and donor human milk (DHM) is highly superior to baby formula. DHM in the United States is processed at the 29 not-for-profit Human Milk Banking Association of North America (HMBANA) …

Understanding The Environmental Implications Of The Microbiome Of Canals In Bangkok, Thailand, Emma Tao

Scripps Senior Theses

The canals of Bangkok, Thailand hold significant economic and social value, yet the increasing urbanization of the city has resulted in increased water pollution. Agricultural runoff and urban waste contribute to the degradation of the water quality, which has impaired its safe usage by the people of the city. This study focused on analyzing the microbiome of the water in the canals in correlation with the surrounding environment, both in and out of the water. Ten sites along the Bangkok canals were analyzed. DNA was isolated for the sequencing of the 16s rRNA gene to determine the microbial diversity of …

Queer Survival Amidst Hiv/Aids, Covid-19 And Homelessness, Julia Young

Pitzer Senior Theses

The treatment and survival of a society's marginalized peoples reveal the true impacts of a pandemic. An analysis of homeless queer youth during the HIV/AIDS and SARS-CoV-2 crises lays bare the systemic failure of the United States government to provide equitable healthcare.

I compare the HIV/AIDS and COVID-19 pandemics in queer homeless youth to demonstrate the dangers of disease moralization via a sociocultural analyses of disease stigma and responsibility politics. Utilizing syndemic theory I draw on the synergistic relationship between disease and illness to describe the unique challenges queer homeless youth face. A syndemic framework is applied to address common …

Physicians’ Perceptions Of The Utility Of Clinical Guidelines In The Management Of People With Type 2 Diabetes In Saudi Arabia, Abdulaziz Eskandarani

CGU Theses & Dissertations

Aim: The aim of this research was to assess physicians’ perception of the utility of clinical guidelines in the management of people with Type 2 diabetes in Saudi Arabia and how their perception is affected by different physicians’ characteristics and whether high perception would result in adherence to guidelines. Methods: This study employed a cross-sectional study design and used a self-administered online survey through Qualtrics software. The survey was distributed through the Saudi Society for Diabetes (SSD) whose membership includes more than five-thousand active physicians from all regions of Saudi Arabia. There were 493 respondents to the survey. Results: Around …

Examining Structural Racism As A Cause Of Health Inequities Among Pacific Island Peoples In The United States And Aotearoa New Zealand: An Exploratory Comparative Case Study, Jake Ryann Cambia Sumibcay

CGU Theses & Dissertations

Native Hawaiians and Pacific Islanders (NHPI) in the United States are known to experience profound and persistent disparities across most indicators of socioeconomic status and health when compared to the majority population. Similarly, the Indigenous Māori and Pacific peoples in Aotearoa New Zealand parallel the same experiences. Reducing disparities and improving health equity among racial/ethnic minority populations have been regarded as a national priority in both the United States and New Zealand. Improved population health data have provided insights into the social determinants of health (SDoH), which has unveiled multiple factors that contribute to health disparities, including income, education, residential …

Planning Patient Safety: Philosophical, Political, And Economic Changes Required For Preventable Death Abolition, Catherine Kiani

CMC Senior Theses

Preventable medical errors are an epidemic. Between 250,000 and 400,000 people die from preventable errors each year in the USA. This investigation questions mechanisms for quality care improvement to eliminate preventable fatalities. I evaluated current patient safety protocols, analyzed their shortcomings, and with additional research recommended actions for better results. Such actions to improve patient safety are explored from three different perspectives: philosophical, economical, and political aspects. In chapter one, improvements within hospitals are reviewed – namely cultural changes needed from both physicians and hospital leadership. Abolishing hierarchical systems which preclude healthy collaboration among medical teams, diverting focus to patient …

An Agent-Centered Approach To Covid-19 Vaccinations, Nila Venkat

CMC Senior Theses

The rise of COVID-19 has dramatically affected the global economy, healthcare systems, and individuals’ daily lives. One of the most controversial attempts to ameliorate the effects of the virus in the United States has been the distribution of COVID-19 vaccinations. In this thesis, I propose a novel agent-centered approach to motivating COVID-19 vaccinations. I begin by exploring the origins and evolution of the virus, along with the growing demographic of “vaccine-hesitant” Americans, to contextualize the debate surrounding vaccinations. I then propose two potential action-based response strategies for vaccine motivation: a vaccine mandate and nudges. Concerning a mandate response strategy, I …