Medicine and Health Sciences Commons^™

An Automated Treatment Planning Portfolio For Whole Breast Radiotherapy, Hana Baroudi, Leonard Che Fru, Deborah Schofield, Dominique L Roniger, Callistus Nguyen, Donald Hancock, Christine Chung, Beth M Beadle, Kent A Gifford, Tucker Netherton, Joshua S Niedzielski, Adam Melancon, Manickam Muruganandham, Meena Khan, Simona F Shaitelman, Sanjay Shete, Patricia Murina, Daniel Venencia, Sheeba Thengumpallil, Conny Vrieling, Joy Zhang, Melissa P Mitchell, Laurence E Court

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Background: Automation in radiotherapy presents a promising solution to the increasing cancer burden and workforce shortages. However, existing automated methods for breast radiotherapy lack a comprehensive, end-to-end solution that meets varying standards of care.

Purpose: This study aims to develop a complete portfolio of automated radiotherapy treatment planning for intact breasts, tailored to individual patient factors, clinical approaches, and available resources.

Methods: We developed five automated conventional treatment approaches and utilized an established RapidPlan model for volumetric arc therapy. These approaches include conventional tangents for whole breast treatment, two variants for supraclavicular nodes (SCLV) treatment with/without axillary nodes, and two …

American Association Of Physicists In Medicine (Aapm) Chapter Climate Check: Mixed Methods Analysis Of Survey Responses, Ashley J Cetnar, Ghada Aldosary, Meghan C Koo, Holly Lincoln, Angélica Pérez-Andújar, Surendra Prajapati, Samantha J Simiele, Kristi R G Hendrickson

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Introduction: The American Association of Physicists in Medicine (AAPM) recently shared results and recommendations from its first Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion (EDI) Climate Survey, which was designed to assess the climate at the workplace, the AAPM organization, and the AAPM regional chapter level. This work further explores the status of EDI at the regional chapter level.

Methods: AAPM's EDI Survey was distributed to 5500 members and had a response rate of 25%. In the survey, three open-ended comment boxes were provided for feedback, including one for regional AAPM members. Sixty-four percent of respondents indicated they were part of a regional …

The Importance Of Public Health In College Populations: Why Vaccines Are Important, Kashish Poore

Honors Program: Senior Projects (Public)

This paper examines the importance of vaccines in college populations, where high-density living environments create unique vulnerabilities to infectious disease outbreaks. Despite vaccine mandates at most institutions, research indicates that many college students possess incomplete understanding of vaccine mechanisms and importance. The paper addresses three interconnected aspects: the biological foundations of vaccine-induced immunity, the significance of vaccination in collegiate settings, and the current state of vaccine literacy among students. Historical outbreaks on campuses, including meningitis at Princeton and mumps across several institutions, highlight the consequences of undervaccination. Social media misinformation has contributed significantly to vaccine hesitancy, particularly since COVID-19. The …

Clinical Use Of Gafchromic Ebt4 Film For In Vivo Dosimetry For Total Body Irradiation, Emily Draeger, Fada Guan, Min-Young Lee, Dae Yup Han, William Donahue, Zhe Jay Chen

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Purpose: In vivo dosimetry is a common requirement to validate dose accuracy/uniformity in total body irradiation (TBI). Several detectors can be used for in vivo dosimetry, including thermoluminescent dosimeters (TLDs), diodes, ion chambers, optically stimulated luminescent dosimeters (OSLDs), and film. TLDs are well established for use in vivo but required expertise and clinical system availability may make them impractical for multifractionated TBI. OSLDs offer quick readout, but recalls have restricted their use. The purpose of this work was to validate the newly available Gafchromic EBT4 film for TBI in vivo dosimetry.

Methods: Film calibration curves were created under standard conditions …

Robust Automated Method Of Spatial Resolution Measurement In Radiotherapy Ct Simulation Images, Pavel Govyadinov, Rick R Layman, Tucker Netherton, Raymond Mumme, Aaron K Jones, Laurence E Court, Moiz Ahmad

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Background: Variation in imaging protocol, patient positioning, and the presence of artifacts can vary image quality in CT images used for radiotherapy planning. Automated methods for spatial resolution (SR) estimation exist but require further investigation and validation for wider adoption.

Purpose: To validated previously existing algorithm for SR estimation and introduce improvements that make it robust to patient positioning, CT protocol, site, and artifacts.

Method: A reference algorithm based on the previous gold standard was recreated and modified to improve robustness. The algorithms were tested on three different datasets: (1) a cylindrical ACR CT QC phantom scanned using a Siemens …

Automated Abdominal Aortic Calcification And Major Adverse Cardiovascular Events In People Undergoing Osteoporosis Screening: The Manitoba Bone Mineral Density Registry, Cassandra Smith, Marc Sim, Zaid Ilyas, Syed Zulqarnain Gilani, David Suter, Siobhan Reid, Barret A. Monchka, Mohammed Jafari Jozani, Gemma Figtree, John T. Schousboe, Joshua R. Lewis, William D. Leslie

Research outputs 2022 to 2026

Vertebral fracture assessment (VFA) images from bone density machines enable the automated machine learning assessment of abdominal aortic calcification (ML-AAC), a marker of cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk. The objective of this study was to describe the risk of a major adverse cardiovascular event (MACE, from linked health records) in patients attending routine bone mineral density (BMD) testing and meeting specific criteria based on age, BMD, height loss, or glucocorticoid use have a VFA in the Manitoba BMD Registry. The cohort included 10 250 individuals (mean age 75.5 yr, 94% women without CVD) with VFA (February 2010 to March 2017). ML-AAC24 …

Thorium Ore Dust Research Applicable To Mineral Sands Industry Workers, Gregory S. Hewson, M. I. Ralph, M. Cattani

Research outputs 2022 to 2026

Historically, radiation exposure to mineral sands workers arose primarily from intake of thorium associated with monazite dust generated in mineral separation plants. Research investigations in the 1990s provided greater insight into the characteristics of inhaled thorium ore dust and bioassay studies inferred that some workers had accumulated significant lung burdens of thorium. Recent changes to biokinetic models have increased the radiation dose assessed to arise from thorium intake, raising questions on the appropriateness of current assumptions used in exposure assessment and feasibility of further bioassay research. Past radiation research undertaken in the Western Australian mineral sands industry is summarised and …

"Our Vision Is That Black Mothers And Birthing People, Fathers, And Partners Are Safe, Honored, And Respected Throughout Pregnancy And Parenthood": Black Birth Workers' Agenda For Black Maternal Health In Oregon, Sarah Marguerite Applin

University Honors Theses

Black women and Birthing People (BWBP) face disproportionate rates of mortality within the United States healthcare system. BWBP are three times more likely to suffer a pregnancy-related death than White women. Therefore, addressing and consulting with BWBP about the birthing experience that BWBP sustains when they are bearing children is imperative. The inclusion and application of this key knowledge and understanding should be emphasized and at the root of further development toward reproductive justice. This participatory story was led by Dr. Roberta Hunte. Interviews and focus groups with Black birth workers, birthing people, and public health professionals were conducted in …

Antiseizure Medications And Their Differing Effects On Cardiovascular Risk, Aleena Abbasi, Bassil Abbasi, Scott Mintzer, Carla Lopinto-Khoury

Department of Neurology Faculty Papers

This review discusses the differing effects of enzyme-inducing and non-inducing antiseizure medications on cardiovascular risk and their implications for the management strategies of epilepsy patients. Traditional risk markers, including low density lipoprotein, high density lipoprotein and triglycerides, can be altered by both enzyme induction and inhibition. Other markers of vascular risk, including c-reactive protein, non-high-density lipoprotein and homocysteine, are affected by antiseizure medications, although adults and children may have different responses. The overall atherosclerotic risk picture is more complex due to indirect effects such as neuroendocrine function and the metabolic syndrome. Large scale data shows an evolving understanding of cardiovascular …

Representation And Outcomes Of Catheter Ablation For Treatment Of Atrial Fibrillation Among Patients With Obesity: A Systematic Review Of Randomized Control Trials, Danielle Dircks, Eh M. Khaing, James Aguto, Jmaylia Mimms, William Schleifer, Jason Payne, Arthur Easley, Faris Khan Md, John Windle, Shane Tsai, Daniel Anderson Md, Gleb Haynatzki, Niyada Naksuk

EMET Projects

Background: The prevalence and impact of obesity on outcomes of atrial fibrillation (AF) ablation randomized controlled trials (RCTs) have not been well studied.

Objective: To examine the proportion of participants with obesity enrolled in RCTs of AF ablation and outcomes of ablation when subgroup analysis of participants with obesity were available.

Methods: We systematically searched PubMed and EMBASE for AF ablation RCTs published between January 1, 2015 to May 31, 2022. When body mass index (BMI) data were available, normal distribution was assumed and a z score was used to estimate the proportion of obesity. Results categorized by BMI or …

Irisin-Mediated Muscle-Renal Crosstalk As A Protective Mechanism Against Contrast-Induced Acute Kidney Injury Via Cgas-Sting Signalling Inhibition, Long Peng, Suhua Li, Qiang Huang, Yuxiang Sun, Juan Sun, Ting Luo, Yanlin Wang, Zhaoyong Hu, Weiyan Lai, Hui Peng

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

Background: Contrast-induced acute kidney injury (CI-AKI) continues to pose a pressing clinical challenge during invasive cardiovascular procedures due to the limited availability of preventative strategies. We aimed to demonstrate that irisin, a myokine induced by exercise, protects against CI-AKI by inhibiting the cGAS-STING inflammatory pathway.

Methods and results: We explored the relationship between serum irisin levels and CI-AKI incidence in patients administered the contrast media iohexol. Notably, lower serum irisin levels were strongly associated with an increased incidence of CI-AKI following contrast media administration. To establish a causal link between serum irisin levels and CI-AKI, we utilised a mouse model …

Distinct Single-Cell Transcriptional Profile In Cd4+ T-Lymphocytes Among Obese Children With Asthma, Vickram Tejwani, Rulin Wang, Andres Villabona-Rueda, Karthik Suresh, Tianshi David Wu, Ian M Adcock, Nazanin Z Kermani, Joe Zein, Nadia N Hansel, Srinivasan Yegnasubramanian, Meredith C Mccormack, Franco R D'Alessio

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

Obesity is a risk factor for asthma morbidity, associated with less responsiveness to inhaled corticosteroids. CD4+ T cells are central to the immunology of asthma and may contribute to the unique obese asthma phenotype. We sought to characterize the single-cell CD4+ transcriptional profile differences in obese children with asthma compared with normal-weight children with asthma. Eight normal-weight and obese participants with asthma were clinically phenotyped and matched based on asthma control. Peripheral blood (PB) CD4+ T cells were sorted, and single-cell RNA sequencing was conducted. Cell clusters were identified by canonical gene expression and differential gene expression and reactome pathway …

Canonical And Non-Canonical Functions Of The Non-Coding Rna Component (Terc) Of Telomerase Complex, Chongwen Cao, Weiyi Gong, Yuanlong Shuai, Sara Rasouli, Qianyun Ge, Anam Khan, Aleksandra Dakic, Nagireddy Putluri, Gennady Shvets, Yun-Ling Zheng, Danyal Daneshdoust, Rani Mahyoob, Jenny Li, Xuefeng Liu

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

The telomerase complex consists of a protein component (TERT), which has reverse transcriptase activity, and an RNA component (TERC), which serves as a template for telomere synthesis. Evidence is rapidly accumulating regarding the non-canonical functions of these components in both normal or diseased cells. An oligonucleotide-based drug, the first telomerase inhibitor, secured FDA approval in June 2024. We recently summarized the non-canonical functions of TERT in viral infections and cancer. In this review, we expand on these non-canonical functions of TERC beyond telomere maintenance. Specifically, we explore TERC's roles in cellular aging and senescence, immune regulation, genetic diseases, human cancer, …

Multiscale 3d Spatial Analysis Of The Tumor Microenvironment Using Whole-Tissue Digital Histopathology, Daniel Shafiee Kermany, Ju Young Ahn, Matthew Vasquez, Weijie Zhang, Lin Wang, Kai Liu, Zhan Xu, Min Soon Cho, Wendolyn Carlos-Alcalde, Hani Lee, Raksha Raghunathan, Jianting Sheng, Xiaoxin Hao, Hong Zhao, Vahid Afshar-Kharghan, Xiang Hong-Fei Zhang, Stephen Tin Chi Wong

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

No abstract provided.

Self-Collection For Primary Hpv Testing: Acceptability In A Large Urban Emergency Department, Itunu O Sokale, Dick C Kuo, Claire M Hoppenot, Lorraine R Reitzel, Luis H Juarez, Katherine J Hernandez, Susan L Parker, Chris Amos, Maria Daheri, Kelly R Keene, Jane R Montealegre, Aaron P Thrift

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

Study objective: Overdue cervical cancer screening increases the risk of invasive cervical cancer. It is important to identify settings where self-collection for primary human papillomavirus (HPV) testing can be implemented to have high effect on cervical cancer screening among hard-to-reach women with overdue screening. Herein, we examined the acceptability of HPV self-collection, including completion rates, attitudes, and experiences among women seeking noncritical care at a high-volume urban safety-net hospital emergency department (ED) in Houston, Texas, United States.

Methods: In this single-arm intervention pilot study, we recruited women overdue for cervical cancer screening in the waiting areas of a safety-net hospital …

Phase 3 Validation Of Paam For Hepatocellular Carcinoma Risk Stratification In Cirrhosis, Naoto Fujiwara, Camden Lopez, Tracey L Marsh, Indu Raman, Cesia A Marquez, Subhojit Paul, Sumit K Mishra, Naoto Kubota, Courtney Katz, Hiroaki Kanzaki, Michael Gonzalez, Lisa Quirk, Sneha Deodhar, Pratibha Selvakumar, Prithvi Raj, Neehar D Parikh, Lewis R Roberts, Myron E Schwartz, Mindie H Nguyen, Alex S Befeler, Stephanie Page-Lester, Sudhir Srivastava, Ziding Feng, K Rajender Reddy, Saira Khaderi, Sumeet K Asrani, Fasiha Kanwal, Hashem B El-Serag, Jorge A Marrero, Amit G Singal, Yujin Hoshida

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

Background & aims: Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) risk stratification is an urgent unmet need for cost-effective HCC screening and early detection in patients with cirrhosis to improve poor HCC prognosis.

Methods: Molecular (prognostic liver secretome signature with α-fetoprotein) and clinical (aMAP [age, male sex, albumin-bilirubin, and platelets] score) variable-based scores were integrated into PAaM (prognostic liver secretome signature with α-fetoprotein plus age, male sex, albumin-bilirubin, and platelets), which was subsequently validated in 2 phase 3 biomarker validation studies: the statewide Texas HCC Consortium and nationwide HCC Early Detection Strategy prospective cohorts, following the prospective specimen collection, retrospective blinded evaluation design. The …

The Association Between Gulf War Illness And Suicidal Thoughts And Behaviors Among Gulf War Era Veterans, Rachele K Lipsky, Drew A Helmer, Jean C Beckham, Patrick S Calhoun, Mary Jo Pugh, Nathan A Kimbrel

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

The rate of death by suicide is elevated among Veterans of all eras. Chronic symptoms of pain, depression, and sleep disturbances are also common among Veterans, and these symptoms are associated with suicidal thoughts and behaviors. About 25% of the 697,000 Gulf War Era Veterans deployed to the Persian Gulf theater in 1990-1991 remain afflicted with chronic, unexplained symptoms known as Gulf War Illness (GWI). This study used data from a national sample of Gulf War Veterans (N = 1142) who completed a survey of demographic, military, and health information. Multivariable logistic regression models, controlling for confounding variables, tested for …

Advances In Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis Diagnosis And Treatment, Hongli Liu, Jiaxi Shen, Chao He

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

Significant advances have been made in diagnosing and treating idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) in the last decade. The incidence and prevalence of IPF are increasing, and morbidity and mortality remain high despite the two Food and Drug Administration (FDA)-approved medications, pirfenidone and nintedanib. Hence, there is an urgent need to develop new diagnostic tools and effective therapeutics to improve early, accurate diagnosis of IPF and halt or reverse the progression of fibrosis with a better safety profile. New diagnostic tools such as transbronchial cryobiopsy and genomic classifier require less tissue and generally have good safety profiles, and they have been …

Pregnancy In Women Receiving Maintenance Dialysis, Cristina Popa, Priyadarshini John, Prasoon Verma, Sehrish Ali, Silvi Shah

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

Women with kidney failure experience pathophysiological changes that frequently result in disruption of the hypothalamic-pituitary-ovarian axis. Because of these hormonal disturbances, women with kidney disease often experience oligomenorrhea, amenorrhea, sexual dysfunction, and infertility. Preconception counseling, partnered with the early identification and optimal management of risk factors, such as hypertension and discontinuation of teratogenic medications, should be pursued for females contemplating conception. Pregnancy in women receiving maintenance dialysis is associated with a high risk of adverse maternal and fetal outcomes and should be managed by a multidisciplinary team of providers. In this review article, we discuss pregnancy incidence, pregnancy outcomes, and …

Epidemiology Of Diagnostic Errors In Pediatric Emergency Departments Using Electronic Triggers, Prashant Mahajan, Emily White, Kathy Shaw, Sarah J Parker, James Chamberlain, Richard M Ruddy, Elizabeth R Alpern, Jacqueline Corboy, Andrew Krack, Brandon Ku, Daphne Morrison Ponce, Asha S Payne, Elizabeth Freiheit, Gregor Horvath, Giselle Kolenic, Michele Carney, Nicole Klekowski, Karen J O'Connell, Hardeep Singh

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

Objectives: We applied three electronic triggers to study frequency and contributory factors of missed opportunities for improving diagnosis (MOIDs) in pediatric emergency departments (EDs): return visits within 10 days resulting in admission (Trigger 1), care escalation within 24 h of ED presentation (Trigger 2), and death within 24 h of ED visit (Trigger 3).

Methods: We created an electronic query and reporting template for the triggers and applied them to electronic health record systems of five pediatric EDs for visits from 2019. Clinician reviewers manually screened identified charts and initially categorized them as "unlikely for MOIDs" or "unable to rule …

Long Covid Illness: Disparities In Understanding And Receipt Of Care In Emergency Department Populations, Robert M Rodriguez, Karen Reyes, Vijaya Arun Kumar, Brian Chinnock, Stephanie A Eucker, Kristin L Rising, Zubaid Rafique, Michael Gottlieb, Graham Nichol, Dana Morse, Melanie Molina, Mireya I Arreguin, Lindsey Shughart, Christopher Conn, Svea Eckstrand, Heba Mesbah, Lauren Chakraborty, Robert D Welch

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

Study objective: Most long coronavirus disease (long COVID) studies rely on traditional surveillance methods that miss underserved populations who use emergency departments (EDs) as their primary health care source. In medically underserved ED populations, we sought to determine (1) whether there are gaps in awareness and self-declared understanding about long COVID illness, and (2) the prevalence, impact on school/work attendance, and receipt of care for long COVID symptoms.

Methods: This study was a cross-sectional, convenience sample survey study of adult patients at 11 geographically representative US EDs from December 2022 to October 2023. Awareness and self-declared understanding about long COVID …

Altered Thermal Preference By Preoptic Estrogen Receptor Alpha Neurons In Postpartum Females, Nan Zhang, Meng Yu, Qianru Zhao, Bing Feng, Yue Deng, Jonathan C Bean, Qingzhuo Liu, Benjamin P Eappen, Yang He, Kristine M Conde, Hailan Liu, Yongjie Yang, Longlong Tu, Mengjie Wang, Yongxiang Li, Na Yin, Hesong Liu, Junying Han, Darah Ave Threat, Nathan Xu, Taylor Smiley, Pingwen Xu, Lulu Chen, Tianshu Zeng, Yanlin He, Chunmei Wang

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

OBJECTIVE: This study aims to investigate how reproductive experience (RE) alters thermal preference and thermoregulation in female mice, with a focus on estrogen receptor alpha (ERα)-expressing neurons in the preoptic area (POA).

METHODS: Thermal preference and body temperature were measured in female mice with and without RE, and virgin female mice with selective deletion of ERα from the POA (ERα

RESULTS: We showed that female mice prefer a cooler environment starting from late pregnancy and persisting long term postpartum. Female mice with RE (>4 weeks post-weaning) displayed lower body temperature and a lower thermal preferred temperature, and lost preference …

Ethical Considerations Of Percutaneous Endoscopic Gastrostomy Tube Placement In A Patient With Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease And Advanced Dementia, Toni Habib, Niamh Siobhán Mulrooney, Yisroel Grabie, Mohammad Maruf, Sophia Kasapira

HCA Healthcare Journal of Medicine

Background

Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (CJD) is a rapidly progressive neurodegenerative condition that is not easily diagnosed and has no curative treatments available, essentially requiring palliative measures, including tube feeding. Nonetheless, data shows that the endoscope used for percutaneous endoscopic gastrostomy (PEG) tube insertion can be a vector for CJD transmission.

Case Presentation

We discuss the case of an elderly patient diagnosed with CJD, requiring tube feeding. Multiple specialists were consulted, and they were unable to reach an agreement on the best approach. Eventually, the hospital ethics committee intervened, and the family agreed to comfort measures only. This case report sheds light …

A New Paradigm In Hospital Medicine: Evaluating The Effects Of Geographical Cohorting On Health Care Delivery, Vasu Gupta, Bhupinder Singh, Kanishk Aggarwal, Ayushi Garg, Rhea Kanwar, Fnu Anamika, Inder Preet Kaur, Rohit Jain

HCA Healthcare Journal of Medicine

Background

Geographical cohorting in hospital settings represents a significant shift from traditional patient rounding practices and aims to enhance the efficiency of health care delivery. This model assigns hospitalists to a particular inpatient unit, where most of their patients are located. While this model has several benefits, including streamlining health care procedures, optimizing resource allocation, and fostering better provider communication, its implementation is not without its challenges.

Methods

Our methodology for researching geographical cohorting involved a comprehensive literature review of peer-reviewed studies, surveys, and retrospective analyses. We utilized academic databases, such as PubMed, JSTOR, and Google Scholar, to identify relevant …

Thai Sugar-Sweetened Beverage Tax: Does It Really Help?, Sitaporn Suriya, Buraskorn Torut

Kesmas

A solution recommended by the World Health Organization to prevent and control noncommunicable diseases is the Sugar-Sweetened Beverage (SSB) tax. This study aimed to evaluate the Thai SSB tax efficiency affecting the change in post-tax individual-level consumption and find causal explanations for the people’s consumption behavior after the SSB tax was implemented. This study used a Productivity Model, and stratified random sampling was conducted by selecting 1,200 people. An in-depth interview was conducted to seek causal explanations for post-SSB tax consumption behavior with 15 key informants. The results revealed the SSB tax’s efficiency in terms of perception and understanding at …

Socio-Epidemiological Perspectives Of Sexual Trauma Experiences And Influential Factors On Sexual Orientation In Men Who Have Sex With Men, Rico Januar Sitorus, Misnaniarti Misnaniarti, Legiran Legiran, Rizma Adlia Syakurah, Diana Dewi Sartika, Asri Maharani, Retta Patresia

Kesmas

The complexity of sexuality and sexual trauma experiences, including harassment, unwanted touching, sexual urges, and forced sexual intercourse, should not be underestimated because of the tendency to initiate adverse psychosocial impacts. Sexual harassment can increase mental health risks, which may influence sexual orientation decisions. This quantitative study, using a cross-sectional design, aimed to determine a relationship between sexual trauma experiences and sexual orientation in men who have sex with men (MSM). This study population was MSM living in Palembang and Prabumulih City, with a sample size of 216 respondents. The proportion of respondents with homosexual orientation was 57.1%, and the …

How Jesus Christ Saves The Addict: A Phenomenological Study On The Perceptions Of A Christ-Centered Approach To Addiction Recovery, Olivia M. Matthews

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

Reaching epidemic proportions, drug and alcohol addiction is a prevalent problem within the United States that demands urgent attention. With numbers exceeding 20 million Americans struggling with a substance use disorder (SUD) and over 111,000 individuals falling victim to illicit drug overdose fatalities in 2022, the question of effectiveness in rehabilitation outlets for this subgroup is of critical concern (Lashley, 2018; CDC, 2024). The purpose of this study is to analyze the perceptions of Christ-centered initiatives in securing sobriety among addicted individuals and/or substance use offenders. This study utilized qualitative methods with a phenomenological and narrative design to explore Christ-centered …

Our Song: Virtual Group Songwriting With Medical Professionals, Seneca Block

Expressive Therapies Dissertations

This study investigated healthcare workers experiences in hospital provided virtual songwriting groups. Groups were led by a board-certified music therapist and prompted by one of three chosen themes from the hospital’s motto: to heal, to teach, to discover. Specifically, this work aimed to understand the role of songwriting as an arts-based intervention and its impact on aspects of workplace community with healthcare workers.

Post group interviews were conducted and analyzed, which resulted in the emergence of seven major themes including: Sense of Purpose, Point of Connection and Community, Positive Engagement and Collaboration, Enhancing Mood State and Evoking Emotions, Impact of …

Age-Based Variations In Frequent Emergency Department (Ed) Use Among Older Adults: An Analysis Using The New York University–Johns Hopkins University Emergency Department Algorithm (Nyu/Jhu-Eda), Uma Kelekar, Amel Ben Abdesslem, Debasree Das Gupta, Diep Tran, Jewel Shepherd, Sidney Carl Turner

Kinesiology and Health Science Faculty Publications

Population aging impacts the utilization of health services, especially in Emergency Departments (EDs). A rising share of older adults in the US report ED use, especially frequent ED use, defined as ≥ 4 visits annually. Prior works have examined frequent utilization of EDs among geriatric populations, but no study has focused on age-based trends or examined type of ED care sought by different age groups. Thus, using the 2017-2019 State Emergency Department Databases (SEDD), we examined how types of ED care influenced frequent ED utilization among geriatric patients in Maryland across the three age groups of youngest-old (65–74), middle-old (75–84), …

The Spread Of Tuberculosis Cases In The Highlands And Coastal Areas Of Padang, Rapitos Sidiq, Indang Dewata, Heldi Heldi, Nurhasan Syah, Linda Handayuni, Al Asyary

Kesmas

The current tuberculosis (TB) worldwide situation is very concerning in terms of the number of cases and the death toll, as well as the environmental factors that contribute to its transmission. This has driven policy decisions that aim to enhance contemporary TB control efforts. This study aimed to map the pattern of TB spread based on geographic location, particularly in the highland and coastal areas of Padang City, West Sumatra Province, Indonesia. This study employed a quantitative descriptive analysis using secondary data from 6 primary health care (PHC) from April 2022 to March 2023, comprising 896 cases. Data analysis was …