Medicine and Health Sciences Commons^™

Nutrition Facts Label Use Among U.S. Adolescents, Jennifer Beth Mandelbaum

Theses and Dissertations

Despite the promise of Nutrition Facts label (NFL) use as a population-level intervention with broad reach, few studies have examined determinants of adolescents’ NFL use, and how this label use may be associated with nutrition behaviors. This study used data from the International Food Policy Study, an online cross-sectional survey of trends in dietary patterns and policy-relevant behaviors in the U.S. and five other countries. First, this study examined 1) whether NFL use was associated with healthy eating efforts and 2) whether there were sociodemographic differences in NFL use among U.S. adolescents. Results demonstrated that NFL use was positively associated …

Greenspace Across The United States: Exploring Equity And Associations With Physical Activity, Obesity, And Health-Related Quality Of Life, Ellen W. Stowe

Theses and Dissertations

Neighborhood greenspace is important for health and well-being but may not be equitably present in neighborhoods across the United States. Also, many adults are physically inactive, have obesity, and report poor health-related quality of life. Greenspace has been tied to these health conditions, but with mixed findings. The purpose of this study was to 1) use an environmental justice perspective to examine variations in 11 measures of greenspace by neighborhood race/ethnicity, income, and rurality in block groups across the contiguous United States and 2) examine 11 greenspace measures in connection to physical activity, obesity, and health-related quality of life in …

Beyond The Sentimental Cliche: How Local Communities Impact Residents And Shape Public Opinion, Kate Brunk

Theses and Dissertations

The Trump administration has recently established a rule that will prohibit abortion services providers from receiving Title X funds for the non-abortion family planning services they provide. Little public opinion research has focused on family planning and reproductive health topics outside of abortion. I find statistically significant experimental evidence that increasing perceptions of local need for a local reproductive health clinic caused subjects to be more supportive of federal reproductive health funding for local clinics. I did not find statistically significant correlational evidence that objective measures of poor reproductive health at the county level influence public opinion on federal reproductive …

Body Mass Index Trajectories And The Relationship Between Stressful Life Changes And Nutrition-Related Health Outcomes Among United States Army Soldiers, Julianna Marie Jayne

Theses and Dissertations

Body mass index (BMI) has risen among members of the military, though to a lesser degree than in civilian populations. BMI as an anthropometric tool has been essential for population surveillance and documenting the obesity epidemic and its health consequences. One use for BMI in population surveillance is to model the BMI trajectories of a population over time. Many studies are available on the BMI trajectories and determinants of BMI in civilians, but few studies of this nature in military populations exist. Establishing the shape and determinants of BMI trajectories among Soldiers is critical given the importance of weight management …

Spatial Analysis And Correlates Of Waterpipe Tobacco Smoking Among College Students In The United States, Frederick Richard Kates

Theses and Dissertations

Introduction: In the United States, young adults have the highest prevalence of waterpipe tobacco smoking (WTS) according to National Adult Tobacco Surveys (NATS) published by the Center for Disease Control (CDC). Experimentation of different tobacco products is highest among 18-24 year olds. Most recently, WTS has surged in popularity among this demographic group. The rapid diffusion of WTS among this population has been accelerated by marketing efforts on the Internet. There are misperceptions that WTS is less harmful than smoking cigarettes and there is a proliferation of WTS establishments due to tobacco retail exemptions. Presently, WTS establishments are almost completely …

Association Between Electronic Prescribing Among Ambulatory Care Providers And Adverse Drug Event Hospitalizations In Older Adults, Grishma Patel Bhavsar

Theses and Dissertations

Purpose.

This dissertation research sought to determine whether the proportion of physicians using electronic prescribing (e-prescribing) was associated with the hospitalization rate for adverse drug events (ADEs) among patients aged 65 and older in 2011. Additionally, we sought to determine whether increases in the proportion of e-prescribing physicians in a county were associated with decreases in the hospitalization rate for ADE among older adults.

Methods.

Two study designs were used, a cross-sectional study using 2011 data and a pre-post- study using 2008 and 2011 data. Data from the 2008 and 2011 State Inpatient Databases, the Office of the National …