Medicine and Health Sciences Commons^™

Sample Size Calculation For Finding Unseen Species, Hongmei Zhang, Hal Stern

Faculty Publications

Estimation of the number of species extant in a geographic region has been discussed in the statistical literature for more than sixty years. The focus of this work is on the use of pilot data to design future studies in this context. A Dirichlet-multinomial probability model for species frequency data is used to obtain a posterior distribution on the number of species and to learn about the distribution of species frequencies. A geometric distribution is proposed as the prior distribution for the number of species. Simulations demonstrate that this prior distribution can handle a wide range of species frequency distributions …

Trends In Asthma Health Care Utilization At University Medical Center (Umc) Of Southern Nevada In Las Vegas, 2000-2007, Aishia Tennille Henderson

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Lifetime asthma prevalence is the physician diagnosis of asthma while current asthma prevalence is the existing asthma symptoms. In Nevada, the pediatric current and lifetime asthma prevalence rates were 7.1% and 11.8% in 2006. Similarly, the adult current and lifetime asthma prevalence rates were 6.9% and 13.4% in 2007.

Characterization studies examining trends of asthma health care utilization for children and adults are not well studied for Las Vegas, Nevada. This project determined if trends in asthma admissions at UMC hospital of Southern Nevada in Las Vegas have increased longitudinally across years and characterizes which demographic subgroups are disproportionately affected …

Temporal And Spatial Stability Of Anopheles Gambiae Larval Habitat Distribution In Western Kenya Highlands, Li Li, Ling Bian, Laith Yakob, Guofa Zhou, Guiyun Yan

Political Science & Geography Faculty Publications

Background: Localized mosquito larval habitat management and the use of larvicides have been proposed as important control tools in integrated malaria vector management programs. In order to optimize the utility of these tools, detailed knowledge of the spatial distribution patterns of mosquito larval habitats is crucial. However, the spatial and temporal changes of habitat distribution patterns under different climatic conditions are rarely quantified and their implications to larval control are unknown.

Results: Using larval habitat data collected in western Kenya highlands during both dry and rainy seasons of 2003-2005, this study analyzed the seasonal and inter-annual changes in the spatial …

Front Matter

Michigan Journal of Public Health

No abstract provided.

Editorial, Greg Cline

Michigan Journal of Public Health

No abstract provided.

Michigan’S Families Deserve Access To Timely, Affordable And The Most Up-To-Date Health Care, Fred Upton

Michigan Journal of Public Health

No abstract provided.

The Beginning Of Public Health In Michigan Michigan State Board Of Health Reports, 1873-1900, G. Elaine Beane, Robert E. Mosher

Michigan Journal of Public Health

No abstract provided.

Evidence-Based Nursing Practice In Local Public Health, Naomi E. Ervin, Sue Ellen Bell, Joan T. Bickes

Michigan Journal of Public Health

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to identify the extent to which public health nursing in Michigan local health departments (LHDs) has based services and programs on research and other evidence. Method: The study was conducted using a descriptive survey design. The sample was composed of the 45 chief administrators of public health nursing services in each of the 45 Michigan LHDs. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics. Narrative answers to open-ended items were examined to determine patterns. Findings: Thirty-six (80%) of the chief nursing administrators of the LHDs responded to the survey. Of these nursing administrators, 28 (77.8%) …

Table Of Contents

Michigan Journal of Public Health

No abstract provided.

Editorial, Greg Cline

Michigan Journal of Public Health

No abstract provided.

Keep Your Rear In The Clear: Colorectal Cancer Prevention Education Through Collaboration, Andrea Layman, Megan Holt, Julie Williams

Michigan Journal of Public Health

No abstract provided.

Using Card Matching Games To Reinforce Health Concepts At A Public Health Event, George W. Dombi

Michigan Journal of Public Health

Colorectal cancer is the second most common cancer for males and females combined, after lung cancer. A diet rich in fruits and vegetables may play a role in colorectal cancer prevention. During March 13-18, 2009, the Colorectal Cancer Awareness Network (CRAN) of Southeastern Michigan, in partnership with Get Your Guts in Gear presented CoCo the Colossal Colon®, a 40-foot long, human colon model at the Detroit Science Center. Healthyfood card matching games were played to reinforced the message of fruit and vegetable consumption for good colon health. The goal of this report is to show how to make and use …

An Effective Alcohol Prevention Program In Kent County, Michigan, Donald Tex Bryant

Michigan Journal of Public Health

Over a two year period the “Making Sobriety Attractive” program directed by Alert Labs has significantly decreased the use of alcohol and marijuana at a high school in Kent County, Michigan. The program uses an environmental approach by placing posters with messages that correct students’ misperceptions of alcohol and drug use at their school with the correct data about the actual use of these substances. The figures for the actual use are drawn from an annual survey of the students. As students begin to accept the messages about the actual use of illegal substances, their own use declines as they …

Public Health Perspectives On The 2009 Novel H1n1 Influenza Pandemic And Population Health, Julie Gleason-Comstock, Walter Davis, Melinda Dixon, Allen Heimann

Michigan Journal of Public Health

No abstract provided.

Oxidation Of Mercury During Selective Catalytic Reduction Of Nitric Oxide, Giang Tong

All ETDs from UAB

A promising method for mercury removal from the gaseous products of coal combustion is the catalytic oxidation of elemental mercury to water-soluble mercuric chloride during selective catalytic reduction of NOx by ammonia, followed by removal of the oxidized mercury during wet flue gas desulfurization. Measurements of the mercury species distribution and sulfate formation at the outlet of a 310 mm long square cell monolithic V2O5-WO3/TiO2 commercial SCR catalyst showed the following trends: (1) Mercury oxidation was highly sensitive to HCl at the low levels characteristic of Powder River Basin subbituminous coals (0-5 ppmv). (2) Mercury oxidation was inhibited by NH3, …

Theoretical Context Of A Common Reproductive Health Behavior: Vaginal Douching Among A National Sample Of Young Adult Women, Disa Cornish

All ETDs from UAB

Current research suggests that up to 75% of American women have engaged in vaginal douching during their lives. Prevalence of the behavior is disproportionately high among minority women (especially African American) and women of low SES. Two bodies of research present conflicting results regarding the benefits or risks to reproductive health that are posed by vaginal douching, although the majority of research on this topic suggests that douching is associated with negative health outcomes. Although studies have suggested prevalence rates, behavioral correlates, and biological associations of vaginal douching, very few studies have used behavioral theory when examining the practice. The …

Shunt Failure In Children With Hydrocephalus: Impact Of Sociodemographic Predictors On Time To Medical Evaluation For Shunt Failure And The Economic Burden Associated With Shunt Failure, Chevis Nacole Shannon

All ETDs from UAB

Ventriculo-peritoneal shunts continue to be the standard surgical procedure for treating children diagnosed with hydrocephalus, regardless of etiology. The failure of these shunts can cause acute medical problems for the child requiring immediate medical care. It is known that hydrocephalus directly impacts a child's health status, educational abilities, developmental opportunities and emotional well being. An important gap in the current literature is the examination in a homogenous patient population of the impact of sociodemographic factors on the management of shunt failure and the economic burden on the family. The objective of this dissertation research study was to better understand shunt …

Design Of The Predictive Power Method With Two Endpoints, Kiya R. Hamilton

All ETDs from UAB

Three reasons to review accumulating data in clinical trials include: ethical issues, financial concerns and administrative concerns. Interim analysis is a good way to monitor accumulating data in clinical trials. Interim analysis allows for the possibility that a study may be terminated early; that is, if the currently observed data convincingly favor the null or the alternative hypothesis then the study ends early. In addition, many clinical trials are conducted to compare a treatment group to a standard group on multiple endpoints. Combining interim analyses with multiple endpoints allows for more information to be provided from the trial than either …

Impact Of Health Care Coverage And Other Socio-Demographic Variables On The Follow-Up Of Cervical Cancer Screening Among Colombian Women, Isabel Cristina Garces-Palacio

All ETDs from UAB

In Colombia, cervical cancer is the most common cancer among women with incidence (36.4/100,000) and mortality rates (18/100,000) much higher than those of the U.S. (7.7 and 2.3 respectively). About 70% of the Colombian population has health care coverage (HCC) through the subsidized regime (SR) which serves the poorest persons and the contributory regime (CR) which serves the working population. Our goal was to determine the role that HCC plays in cervical cancer screening follow-up among Colombian women. A population-based cross-sectional study of 24,717 women between the ages of 18 and 49, using the 2005 Demographic and Health Survey was …

Reduced Neutrophil Count In People Of African Descent Is Due To A Regulatory Variant In The Duffy Antigen Receptor For Chemokines Gene, David Reich, Michael A. Nalls, W H Linda Kao, Ermeg L. Akylbekova, Arti Tandon, Nick Patterson, James Mullikin, Wen-Chi Hsueh, Ching-Yu Cheng, Josef Coresh, Eric Boerwinkle, Man Li, Alicja Waliszewska, Julie Neubauer, Rongling Li, Tennille S. Leak, Lynette Ekunwe, Joe C. Files, Cheryl L. Hardy, Joseph M. Zmuda, Herman A. Taylor, Elad Ziv, Tamara B. Harris, James G. Wilson

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Persistently low white blood cell count (WBC) and neutrophil count is a well-described phenomenon in persons of African ancestry, whose etiology remains unknown. We recently used admixture mapping to identify an approximately 1-megabase region on chromosome 1, where ancestry status (African or European) almost entirely accounted for the difference in WBC between African Americans and European Americans. to identify the specific genetic change responsible for this association, we analyzed genotype and phenotype data from 6,005 African Americans from the Jackson Heart Study (JHS), the Health, Aging and Body Composition (Health ABC) Study, and the Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities (ARIC) Study. …

Antibiotics, Herbs, And Magic: Health Practices In Contemporary St. Petersburg, Christine Shu

Honors Theses

In St. Petersburg, Russia, two seemingly conflicting health doctrines, western medicine and alternative medicine, play significant roles in residents' health culture. I define alternative medicine as all health practices that use such natural products as herbs, natural honey, water, seeds, berries, and even animal products, and as such unobtrusive body therapies as acupuncture, massage, yoga, or animal therapies. I define western medicine as all treatments that involve the manipulation of ingredients in a chemistry laboratory (such as antibiotics, antiviral drugs, antihistamines. or pain killers) and all body therapies intrusive to the body (such as operations). Through interviews with St. Petersburg …

Increasing Referrals For Services Through Collaboration With Community Agencies, Benjamin Mohr

All Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Other Capstone Projects

The purpose of the project is to investigate how a non-profit organization can collaborate better with other agencies to increase referrals for services. Research was conducted to determine the best avenue of increasing utilization of services in southeast Minnesota by strategic planning. A survey was conducted of 15 southeast Minnesota counties to conduct a SWOT analysis of 3 key services offered by Family Focus that are currently underutilized. Information was compiled in order to support a more comprehensive marketing plan to build relationships with county agencies and increase awareness and use of the services provided by the agency. Recommendations and …

Elevated Corticotropin-Releasing Hormone In Human Pregnancy Increases The Risk Of Postpartum Depressive Symptoms, Ilona S. Yim, Laura M. Glynn, Christine Dunkel Schetter, Calvin J. Hobel, Aleksandra Chicz-Demet, Curt A. Sandman

Psychology Faculty Articles and Research

Postpartum depression (PPD) is common and has serious implications for the mother and her newborn. A possible link between placental corticotropin-releasing hormone (pCRH) and PPD incidence has been discussed, but there is a lack of empirical evidence.

Maturation Of The Human Fetal Startle Response: Evidence For Sex-Specific Maturation Of The Human Fetus, Claudia Buss, Elyssia Poggi Davis, Quetzal A. Class, Matt Gierczak, Carol Pattillo, Laura M. Glynn, Curt A. Sandman

Psychology Faculty Articles and Research

Despite the evidence for early fetal experience exerting programming influences on later neurological development and health risk, very few prospective studies of human fetal behavior have been reported. In a prospective longitudinal study, fetal nervous system maturation was serially assessed by monitoring fetal heart rate (FHR) responses to vibroacoustic stimulation (VAS) in 191 maternal/fetal dyads. Responses were not detected at 26 weeks gestational age (GA). Sex-specific, age-characteristic changes in the FHR response to VAS were observed by 31 weeks' GA. Males showed larger responses and continued to exhibit maturational changes until 37 weeks'GA, females however, presented with a mature FHR …

The Lived Experience Of Hiv-Positive Tanzanian Orphans, Carol A. Parker

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The purpose of this investigation was to generate a context- specific model of the lived experience of HIV positive Tanzanian orphans. With the advent of anti-retroviral drugs, Sub-Saharan African populations with high burdens of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) face annually accumulating increases in the number of HIV positive children, and ultimately adults. Perinatally infected, these children often become orphans while still young. Extended interviews were performed with a purposive sample of 12 HIV infected orphaned children between 9 and 12 years of age. Half of the research participants lived in an orphanage and half were children living with guardians in …

Can International Law Secure Women’S Health? An Examination Of Cedaw And Its Optional Protocol, Dhrubajyoti Bhattacharya

Nursing and Health Professions Faculty Research and Publications

No abstract provided.

Substitute Costs: A Method For Determining Ecological Service Values In Stormwater Management, Steven B. Mckinney

All ETDs from UAB

Many alternatives exist for estimating the value of the natural environment. These approaches have been developed over the past 40 to 50 years and began principally because of increasing awareness that economic development had an associated cost in environmental degradation. Environmental economics provides some of the tools necessary to aid in balancing economic growth with the environmental impacts created by this growth and to do so through evaluating policy. Using environmental economics as a mechanism for policy assessment allows the evaluation of potential gains from specific courses of economic growth and of the trade-offs in environmental services that may be …

Comorbidity And Body Mass Index (Bmi) As Predictors Of Survival For African Americans And Caucasians Following Surgery For Adenocarcinoma Of The Colon, Robert B. Hines

All ETDs from UAB

There is a survival disparity between African Americans and Caucasians having colon cancer. Among the reasons given as possible causes for the increased risk of death in African Americans following a diagnosis of colon cancer are comorbidity and body habitus. The primary question this dissertation sought to answer was whether or not comorbidity and/or BMI could account for any of the increased risk of death seen in African Americans with colon cancer. However, before answering this question, the matter of which comorbidity index to use in assessing the comorbidity burden in this population of colon cancer patients had to be …

Parenting Practices And Desire For A Child Among Mothers Living With Hiv, Natalie De La Cruz

All ETDs from UAB

One-quarter of adults living with HIV/AIDS in the US are women, most of whom are facing decisions regarding their reproductive future. Despite clear challenges and complexities facing HIV-positive women, most research suggests that they maintain strong desires and intentions for motherhood. This research explores the correlates of desire for another child, with a specific emphasis on examining the relationship between current parenting experiences and future childbearing desires, among a predominantly black sample of HIV-positive women (n=96) participating in the Making Our Mothers Stronger (MOMS) Project. Predictors of contraceptive use and consistency between contraceptive practices and fertility desires are also explored …

Parental Attitudes Of Human Papillomavirus Vaccination Of Adolescent Girls In Alabama, Allison G. Litton

All ETDs from UAB

Human papillomavirus is the most common sexually transmitted infection in the United States. This study examined racial and socio-demographic differences between African Americans and non-Hispanic Whites in Alabama regarding HPV vaccine acceptability. This cross sectional study employed a statewide survey of Alabama parents using a random digit dial phone method conducted through the Survey Research Unit at UAB. Participants were female caregivers of adolescent girls between the ages of 10-14 years. The final sample size was 403. Analyses included descriptive statistics, cross tabulations and odds ratios to assess race/ethnicity and other subgroup differences and logistic regression of intention to vaccinate …