Medicine and Health Sciences Commons^™

Comparison Of Two Approaches To Structured Physical Activity Surveys Of Adolescents, Robert G. Mcmurray, Kimberly B. Ring, Margarita S. Treuth, Gregory J. Welk, Russell R. Pate, Kathryn H. Schmitz, Julie L. Pickrel, Vivian Gonzalez, Maria João C. A. Almeida, Deborah Rohm Young, James F. Sallis

Faculty Publications

Purpose - To compare the test-retest reliability, convergent validity, and overall feasibility/usability of activity-based (AB) and time-based (TB) approaches for obtaining self-reported moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA) from adolescents.

Methods - Adolescents (206 females and 114 males) completed two 3-d physical activity recalls using the AB and TB surveys, which contained identical lists of physical activities. The participants wore an MTI Actigraph^® accelerometer for the same period.

Results - The TB instrument took about 3 min longer to complete (P=0.022). Overall 2-d test-retest correlations for MVPA were similar for the two surveys (r=0.676 and 0.667), but the girls …

Perceptions And Practices Of Indiana School Superintendents In Response To The Problem Of Sick Building Syndrome, Janet Elaine Hiller

All-Inclusive List of Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to compare the perceptions and practices of Indiana public school superintendents who represent two groups, those who had experienced building exposure to mold and those who had not experienced building exposure to mold. Seventy-five Indiana public school superintendents responded to the opinionnaire with a return rate of 81.5%. Results indicate that: (1) Indiana public school superintendents who had not experienced building exposure to mold had higher mean values than those who had experienced building exposure to mold relative to closing only classrooms affected by mold and to relocating staff and students exposed to mold; …

Metal Fabrication Shop Owner Dies When Crushed By Falling Steel Plate, Kentucky Injury Prevention And Research Center

Fatality Case Reports--Other

On December 15, 2003, a metal fabrication shop owner died when a 4,000 pound steel base plate fell on him. While inside the shop building, the work crew of least three men, including the owner, fabricated a 10’x 20’ steel base plate to be used at a water treatment plant. The base plate was to house or serve as a bas anchor a large water pump. After welding connectors and channel iron beams to one side of the plate, the crew pushed the plate through a bay door with a forktruck to an outside area in back of the shop. …

Diagnosing Crohn's Disease: An Economic Analysis Comparing Wireless Capsule Endoscopy With Traditional Diagnostic Procedures, Neil I. Goldfarb, Laura T. Pizzi, Joseph P. Fuhr Jr., Christopher Salvador, Vanja Sikirica, Asher Kornbluth, Blair Lewis

College of Population Health Faculty Papers

The purpose of this study was to review economic considerations related to establishing a diagnosis of Crohn's disease, and to compare the costs of a diagnostic algorithm incorporating wireless capsule endoscopy (WCE) with the current algorithm for diagnosing Crohn's disease suspected in the small bowel. Published literature, clinical trial data on WCE in comparison to other diagnostic tools, and input from clinical experts were used as data sources for (1) identifying contributors to the costs of diagnosing Crohn's disease; (2) exploring where WCE should be placed within the diagnostic algorithm for Crohn's; and (3) constructing decision tree models with sensitivity …

Evaluation Of The Biological Sampling Kit (Biskit) For Large-Area Surface Sampling, Mark P. Buttner, Patrica Cruz, Linda Stetzenbach, Amy Klima-Comba

Environmental & Global Health Faculty Research

Current surface sampling methods for microbial contaminants are designed to sample small areas and utilize culture analysis. The total number of microbes recovered is low because a small area is sampled, making detection of a potential pathogen more difficult. Furthermore, sampling of small areas requires a greater number of samples to be collected, which delays the reporting of results, taxes laboratory resources and staffing, and increases analysis costs. A new biological surface sampling method, the Biological Sampling Kit (BiSKit), designed to sample large areas and to be compatible with testing with a variety of technologies, including PCR and immunoassay, was …

Live Smoke Free Or Die: The Battle For Smoke Free Restaurants In New Hampshire, Jody Hodgdon

The University of New Hampshire Law Review

[Excerpt] "The need for a strict statutory scheme prohibiting or effectively segregating tobacco smoke in restaurants and public buildings in New Hampshire is compelling. One evening, during the summer of 2003, I took my wife and daughter to a restaurant in New Hampshire for dinner. When the time came to be seated, the waiter asked if we preferred to be seated in the smoking or non-smoking section. At our request, he led us to the non- smoking section. Over the course of dinner, I considered the irony of why the restaurant even had a non-smoking section. Smoke was coming over …

Mainecare Behavioral Health Care Expenditures State Fiscal Years 1996 – 2002, Susan Payne Phd, Stuart Bratesman Mpp, David Lambert Phd

Disability & Aging

No abstract provided.

38 Year-Old Construction Laborer Dies When Trench Walls Collapse, Kentucky Injury Prevention And Research Center

Fatality Case Reports--Other

On November 3, 2003, a 38-year-old male construction laborer died when the unprotected 8-foot high walls of the trench he was working in collapsed. The decedent was working for a subcontractor who was contracted by a construction company to remove old gas, storm and sanitary sewer lines and install similar new lines. The old abandoned 6-inch diameter gas line was a high pressure, 300 – 320 psi gas line in 10-inch steel casing and was 600 feet long. There were five employees at the job site employed by the subcontractor; a foreman who was a certified competent person, a lab …

Laborer Dies When Caught In Arms Of A Skidsteer Loader, Kentucky Injury Prevention And Research Center

Fatality Case Reports--Other

On September 19, 2003, a 23-year-old male laborer (decedent) died when he became caught in the activated arms of a skidsteer loader. A work crew consisting of a contractor and 3 laborers had spent the day installing fence on a dairy farm. Earlier in the day, the contractor had borrowed a skidsteer from the farm owner. The work crew used the skidsteer to set fence posts in the ground. At the end of the work day (approximately 4:00 PM), the contractor instructed the decedent to return the skidsteer to the barn area. From the work site, the decedent drove the …

Promotion Of Jump Rope In An Elementary School

Florida Public Health Review

No abstract provided.

The Effects Of Copayments On The Use Of Medical Services And Prescription Drugs In Utah's Medicaid Program, Leighton Ku, Elaine Deschamps, Judi Hilman

Health Policy and Management Faculty Publications

In recent years, a number of states have increased cost-sharing for low-income Medicaid beneficiaries as one approach to Medicaid cost-containment. While copayments have been most commonly applied to prescription drugs, they also have been assessed for other services, such as physician visits, hospital admission, or outpatient clinic use.

Prior research has found that when low-income patients are required to pay more for health care services or for prescription drugs, they use fewer services or medications.[2] In some cases, their health could deteriorate, with the result that they may subsequently require more expensive emergency room or inpatient hospital care. While …

Prevention Conference Vii - Obesity, A Worldwide Epidemic Related To Heart Disease And Stroke: Executive Summary, Robert H. Eckel, David A. York, Stephan Rössner, Van Hubbard, Ian Caterson, Sachiko T. St. Jeor, Laura L. Hayman, Rebecca M. Mullis, Steven N. Blair

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Clinical Implications Of Obesity With Specific Focus On Cardiovascular Disease: A Statement For Professionals From The American Heart Association Council On Nutrition, Physical Activity, And Metabolism, Samuel Klein, Lora E. Burke, George A. Bray, Steven N. Blair, David B. Allison, Xavier Pi-Sunyer, Yuling Hong, Robert H. Eckel

Faculty Publications

Obesity adversely affects cardiac function, increases the risk factors for coronary heart disease, and is an independent risk factor for cardiovascular disease. The risk of developing coronary heart disease is directly related to the concomitant burden of obesity-related risk factors. Modest weight loss can improve diastolic function and affect the entire cluster of coronary heart disease risk factors simultaneously. This statement from the American Heart Association Council on Nutrition, Physical Activity, and Metabolism reviews the relationship between obesity and the cardiovascular system, evaluates the effect of weight loss on coronary heart disease risk factors and coronary heart disease, and provides …

Comparative Cost Analysis Of Crrt In Icu/Ccu Patients Undergoing Cardiovascular Surgery Vs. Other Procedures At A Texas Hospital, Tejaswi Belavadi, Alberto Coustasse, Douglas Mains, Antonio A. Rene

Management Faculty Research

The purpose of this study was to conduct a comparative analysis of hospital costs incurred by patients undergoing Cardiovascular Surgery (CVS) and patients undergoing other medical procedures who received Continuous Renal Replacement Therapy (CRRT) in a teaching hospital. A total of 117 patients were identified through review of medical charts for the period of January 1999 to August 2002. Twenty one percent of them were identified having CVS. Eighty-eight percent of the CVS patients admitted to the ICU for CRRT died compared to 67% for non-CVS patients (p=0.047). Average actual costs of hospitalization were $47,225 for CVS patients and $51,724 …

Ethics, Physician Incentives And Managed Care, Alberto Coustasse, Douglas Mains, Kristine Lykens

Management Faculty Research

The authors review the principle features of the managed care system in an effort to understand the ethical assumptions inherent in managed care. The interrelationships among physician incentives, responsibilities of patients and the physician-patient relationship are examined in light of the ethical concerns identified in the managed care system. The managed care system creates ethical tensions for those who influence the allocation of scare resources.

Managed care’s administrative controls have increasingly changed the doctor-patient relationship to the business person-consumer relationship. Managed care goals of quality and access demand that physicians be both patient advocate and organizational advocate, even though these …

Reexamining Mandatory Hiv Partner Notification In Florida

Florida Public Health Review

No abstract provided.

Aging In Place At Harbor Point: Outreach Follow-Up Of Older Adults Living In Independent Mixed-Income Apartments, Judith M. Conahan, Nina M. Silverstein, Kelly Fitzgerald

Gerontology Institute Publications

Most older people, despite functional impairments, plan to stay in their homes and/or communities as long as possible. According to an AARP survey, 82% of adults 65+ reported that they believe that they are “very likely” or “somewhat likely” to stay in their current homes or apartments for the rest of their lives. With increasing age, housing and community characteristics and services gain importance in meeting the challenges of “aging in place.” Staying in their homes maximizes elder’s independence, sustains their social connections, and reaffirms their identity and value.

A Study Of Pediatric Heart Transplant Patients In Relationship To Post Transplant Coronary Artery Disease, Mark Randall

Loma Linda University Electronic Theses, Dissertations & Projects

Post transplant coronary artery disease influences short and long-term survival of pediatric heart transplant recipients. Associated cardiovascular disease risk factors among non-heart transplant adult and pediatric heart populations for development of coronary artery disease have been documented. Little is known about these typical cardiovascular disease risk factors as well as other possible risk factors in the development of post transplant coronary artery disease. Objective: The purpose of this research was to examine children/adolescents (n=194), 5-18 years old, at least one-year post heart transplant. This study also investigated if there were physiological and psychological/behavioral differences between recipients with (n = 28) …

Bayesian Hierarchical Distributed Lag Models For Summer Ozone Exposure And Cardio-Respiratory Mortality, Yi Huang, Francesca Dominici, Michelle L. Bell

Johns Hopkins University, Dept. of Biostatistics Working Papers

In this paper, we develop Bayesian hierarchical distributed lag models for estimating associations between daily variations in summer ozone levels and daily variations in cardiovascular and respiratory (CVDRESP) mortality counts for 19 U.S. large cities included in the National Morbidity Mortality Air Pollution Study (NMMAPS) for the period 1987 - 1994.

At the first stage, we define a semi-parametric distributed lag Poisson regression model to estimate city-specific relative rates of CVDRESP associated with short-term exposure to summer ozone. At the second stage, we specify a class of distributions for the true city-specific relative rates to estimate an overall effect by …

Dynamical Epidemic Suppression Using Stochastic Prediction And Control, Ira Schwartz, Lora Billings, Erik Bollt

Department of Mathematics Faculty Scholarship and Creative Works

We consider the effects of noise on a model of epidemic outbreaks, where the outbreaks appear randomly. Using a constructive transition approach that predicts large outbreaks prior to their occurrence, we derive an adaptive control scheme that prevents large outbreaks from occurring. The theory is applicable to a wide range of stochastic processes with underlying deterministic structure.

The Provider System For Children's Mental Health: Workforce Capacity And Effective Treatment, Jane Koppelman

National Health Policy Forum

This issue brief examines two issues that are key to meeting children’s unmet needs for mental health care: ensuring that the provider supply is adequate and that the care delivered is effective. It describes the shortage of qualified providers to address children’s mental disorders, as well its possible causes; it describes how managed care, to a certain extent, drives practice patterns; and it discusses the gray areas in deciding which providers are most qualified to deliver what care. In addition, this paper introduces what is known about evidence-based care in children’s mental health, the extent to which it is being …

Licensed Electrician Dies When Electrocuted By 480volts, Kentucky Injury Prevention And Research Center

Fatality Case Reports--Other

On July 4, 2003, a 36-year-old male lead electrician died after being electrocuted with 480 volts of electricity. A crew of five licensed electricians were working at an automotive supply manufacturing facility running wires to connect service for two air conditioning units (3-phase; 480 volts; 30 amp and 35 amp) and service for a lighting panel (3-phase; 277/480 volts and 200 amps). The manufacturing facility had been shut down for the holiday, and besides a facilities office worker in the facilities main office, the five men were the only workers at the site and had complete control of the facility …

Data Adaptive Estimation Of The Treatment Specific Mean, Yue Wang, Oliver Bembom, Mark J. Van Der Laan

U.C. Berkeley Division of Biostatistics Working Paper Series

An important problem in epidemiology and medical research is the estimation of the causal effect of a treatment action at a single point in time on the mean of an outcome, possibly within strata of the target population defined by a subset of the baseline covariates. Current approaches to this problem are based on marginal structural models, i.e., parametric models for the marginal distribution of counterfactural outcomes as a function of treatment and effect modifiers. The various estimators developed in this context furthermore each depend on a high-dimensional nuisance parameter whose estimation currently also relies on parametric models. Since misspecification …

Semiparametric Methods For The Binormal Model With Multiple Biomarkers, Debashis Ghosh

The University of Michigan Department of Biostatistics Working Paper Series

Abstract: In diagnostic medicine, there is great interest in developing strategies for combining biomarkers in order to optimize classification accuracy. A popular model that has been used when one biomarker is available is the binormal model. Extension of the model to accommodate multiple biomarkers has not been considered in this literature. Here, we consider a multivariate binormal framework for combining biomarkers using copula functions that leads to a natural multivariate extension of the binormal model. Estimation in this model will be done using rank-based procedures. We also discuss adjustment for covariates in this class of models and provide a simple …

Mainecare Managed Care Performance Report 2003, Catherine Ormond, Stuart Bratesman

Disability & Aging

No abstract provided.

Evaluating Uranium Depth Versus Socio-Economic Statistics For Residential Radon Vulnerability In Warren County, Kentucky, Anthony Iovanna

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

Residences in Warren County, Kentucky, are characterized by high levels of residential radon, which is one of the radioactive daughter products of uranium. According to the United States Environmental Protection Agency (US EPA), radon exposure causes approximately 22,000 lung cancer deaths in the United States per year. The City of Bowling Green, in Warren County, is underlain by karst, an easily soluble limestone subsurface, which allows radon gas to travel easily through cracks and fissures. Carbonate rocks under Bowling Green are underlain by the Devonian Chattanooga Shale, a low-grade uranium ore and a potential source of radon gas. A digital …

Ua61/6 Newsletter Issue 4, Wku Institute For Rural Health Development & Research

WKU Administration Documents

Newsletter created by and about the Institute for Rural Health Development & Research. This issue contains:

• Simpson, Staci. Letter from the Director
• Institute for Rural Health Development & Research Impact Statement
• Mobile Health Unit Conference Attended
• WKU Mobile Health & Wellness Unit
• Kentucky State Fair Project
• Health House of Horrors
• Wilson, Richard. Faculty Presents at American Public Health Association Conference
• New Interdisciplinary Program: WellWorks
• Health Fair Event for Migrant Workers Held
• Local Interventions to Encourage the Enhancement of the Health of the Rural Elderly
• Jones, Susan. Predicting the Use of Personal Respiratory Protection Among Workers in Swine Confinement Buildings
• The …

Workers Crushed By Vehicles, Kentucky Injury Prevention And Research Center

Kentucky Haz Alerts--Motor Vehicle

To prevent motor vehicle repair injuries:

• Ensure that vehicles are positively restrained from moving with chocks.
• Do not place jack stands under potential moving vehicle parts.
• The space under a jack-suspended vehicle should not be entered unless suitable vehicle support stands are utilized.

Trabajadores Aplastados Por Vehículos, Kentucky Injury Prevention And Research Center

Kentucky Haz Alerts--Motor Vehicle

Para prevenir lesiones relacionadas con la reparación de automotores:

1. Asegúrese de que los vehículos estén firmemente inmovilizados con tacos.
2. No coloque los soportes bajo partes del vehículo que se puedan mover.
3. No se debe ocupar el espacio entre un vehículo suspendido con gato y el suelo a menos que se haga uso de bases de soporte adecuadas para el mismo.

Lisa Schechtman On Reproductive Health And Human Rights: Integrating Medicine, Ethics, And Law By Rebecca J. Cook, Bernard M. Dickens, And Mahmoud F. Fathalla. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2003. 554 Pp., Lisa Schechtman

Human Rights & Human Welfare

A review of:

Reproductive Health and Human Rights: Integrating Medicine, Ethics, and Law by Rebecca J. Cook, Bernard M. Dickens, and Mahmoud F. Fathalla. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2003. 554 pp.