Medicine and Health Sciences Commons^™

Evaluating Socially Determined Health In Rural Appalachia: Use Of The Social Quality Theory, Paula Masters

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

People living in rural America face unique social circumstances that can prevent them from reaching optimal health status. This fact holds especially true in the rural Appalachian region of the United States where income, education, living circumstances, and lack of resources create an environment that has some of the highest rates of morbidity and mortality in the country. While the rest of the country has seen improvement in many health behaviors and health outcomes, rural Appalachian communities remain unchanged and further behind other regions. In many cases, programming and policy have failed to create a culture of health in Appalachia. …

Hiv-Related Knowledge, Attitudes, And Behaviors In Two Low Resource Settings, Candice Lynn Collins

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Two Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) outbreaks occurred almost simultaneously in the United States (US) (2014-2015) and in Cambodia (2015). Information is lacking on HIV-related knowledge, stigmatizing attitudes, and high-risk behaviors (KAB) among the general population, which may affect the transmission of HIV and lead to outbreaks. The current study aimed to: 1) assess KAB among the general population in a high-risk county in the US, 2) analyze KAB among the general population of Cambodia, and 3) compare KAB across samples from a high-risk county in Northeast Tennessee and a province in Cambodia. Tennessee data were collected in 2017 and Cambodian …

Context, Delivery, And Providers’ Perspectives Of Family Life Education In Tn, Usa, Ruby Yadav

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

In 2015, TN had the 9^th highest teen birth rate in the United States. School-based sex education programs have shown promise in curbing teen pregnancy rates. In TN public schools, sex education could be taught by teachers of subjects like biology, health education, or invited guests from ministries, or national or local nonprofit agencies. The content, rigor, and approach of sex education taught by these diverse groups of providers remains unknown. This pilot study tested a survey questionnaire and methodology, while providing information on the providers’ sex education practices and perspectives.

We adapted validated measures from past sex education …

An Exploration Of Barriers To Health Care Access Among Uninsured Patients: Using The Moderating Effect Of Patients’ Enablement, Enedelia L. Jessup

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

ABSTRACT On March 23, 2010, Congress passed the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA) to increase value of care, improve clinical outcomes, decrease health care costs, and increase affordability in health care access. The purpose of the study attempts to examine the moderating effects of patient enablement impacting barriers, low socio economic status, and unmet basic needs, toward health care access in uninsured populations post ACA. Only certain aspects of patient enablement in self-management of an individual’s health care goals have been conducted with uninsured populations with barriers toward health care access. The research design was a quantitative, exploratory, …

Experimentally Investigating The Joint Effects Of Physical Activity And Sedentary Behavior On Depression: A Randomized Controlled Trial, Jeremiah Blough

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Objective: To experimentally examine whether increasing sedentary behavior, among a young adult active population, for one week is still associated with increased depression symptomology even when allowing for a moderate engagement in physical activity (PA). Methods: Participants were confirmed as active via self-report and accelerometry during baseline and randomly assigned to one of three experimental groups. The Sedentary Intervention Group (n=19) reduced steps to less than 5000/day and were not alloto exercise for one-week; the Reduced MVPA (moderate-to-vigorous PA) Group (n=18) reduced steps to less than 5000/day but exercised for 50% of their previously reported vigorous PA for one-week; and …

Perceptions Of Health Professionals In Ghana On The Role Of The Community In Chronic Disease Management, Jesuseme Omoruan

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The prevalence of chronic disease has been on the rise in various developing countries. This study is an exploratory investigation of the perceptions of health professionals in Kumasi, Ghana on the role of the community in chronic disease management. Using the Chronic Care Model as a framework, the objective of the study was to examine the extent of community-healthcare system in chronic disease management and to explore the barriers to and facilitators of community involvement in chronic disease management. By exploring the availability of community resources that positively contribute to the management of these patients, the study fills an existing …

Examining The Issue Of Compliance With Personal Protective Equipment Among Wastewater Workers Across The Southeast Region Of The United States, Tamara L. Wright

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Wastewater workers are exposed to different occupational hazards such as chemicals, gases, viruses, and bacteria. Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) is a significant factor that can reduce or increase the probability of an accident from hazardous exposures to chemicals and microbial contaminants. The purpose of this study was to identify wastewater worker’s beliefs and practices on wearing PPE and protections offered by PPE through the integration of the Health Belief Model (HBM). Participants were workers in the wastewater industry, which included wastewater operators, laboratory analysts, maintenance workers, wastewater collection workers, equipment operators, managers, and supervisors (n=272). The instrument was a self-administered …

Facilitators And Barriers To Implementing Farm To School Programs In Rural Georgia: Perspectives Of School Nutrition Directors, Linda Baffo

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Introduction: Childhood obesity is a growing public health problem. In the US, over 13.7 million children are obese. Specifically in Georgia, childhood obesity among children between ages 10 – 17 is the 8^th highest in the nation. Rural Georgia has disproportionately higher rates of overweight and obesity than urban areas of Georgia. Schools are an ideal venue through which to address childhood obesity because many US children consume up to half of their daily calories at school. The aim of this research was to determine the facilitators and barriers to implementing farm to school activities from the perspective of …