Medicine and Health Sciences Commons^™

The Slow Food Movement: A 'Big Tent' Ideology, Mark N. Wexler, Judy Oberlander, Arjun Shankar

Journal of Ideology

The Slow Food Movement (SFM) has been characterized as a reminder of the centrality of the kitchen in the “good old days”. It has also been referred to as a poor use of science posing as a rallying point for the beleaguered middle class trying to reclaim psychological territory lost to the fast-paced commercialization of what was once private or leisure time. This paper argues that both these criticisms contain more than a kernel of truth. However, each misses the mark when it comes to explaining the relative successes of SFM. In this paper, we explore SFM’s basic ideological premises. …

A Critical Discussion Of Patient Engagement In Research, Andrea Elaine Bombak, Heather M. Hanson

Journal of Patient-Centered Research and Reviews

Patients are increasingly expected to take a more involved role in research. Funding for some projects now requires incorporating patients’ viewpoints or involvement in research processes. While intended to achieve commendable goals, it is important to critically assess the means used to achieve these aims. Presently, there may be issues of valuing only certain epistemologies, failing to evaluate existing programs and their impacts, marginalizing less “engaged” patients, and promoting only tokenism. These are areas that require exploration and reflection before assuming that patient engagement approaches are sufficient or the only means of incorporating patient perspectives into research.

Establishing Sustainable Community Garden Interventions With Aid From Health Promotion Organizations, Rachel Joann Buenemann

Theses and Dissertations

Community garden interventions provide policy, system and environmental change at the community level to establish health behaviors, which act in contest to obesity risk factors. Limited research examines factors, which influence the sustainability of community garden interventions. Therefore, in this study, a sample of 10 Midwestern community gardens associated through funding from a health promotion organization in 2013, collected data through the interviewing and surveying of 10 garden administrators and surveying of 12 garden volunteers. The study identified garden benefits perceived by garden administrators and volunteers to include contributions to social justice, continued education, enhanced social cohesion, increased access to …

Hair Measurements Of Cortisol, Dhea, And Dhea To Cortisol Ratio As Biomarkers Of Chronic Stress Among People Living With Hiv In China: Known-Group Validation, Shan Qiao Ph.D., Xiaoming Li, Samuele Zilioli, Zheng Chen, Huihua Deng, Juxian Pan, Weigui Guo

Faculty Publications

Background

Existing literature suggests that endocrine measures, including the steroid hormones of cortisol and Dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA), as well as the DHEA to cortisol ratio in the human hair can be used as promising biomarkers of chronic stress among humans. However, data are limited regarding the validity of these measures as biomarkers of chronic stress among people living with HIV (PLWH), whose endocrine system or hypothalamic pituitary adrenal (HPA) axis may be affected by HIV infection and/or antiretroviral therapy (ART) medications.

Method

Using hair sample data and self-reported survey from 60 PLWH in China, we examined the validity of three endocrine …

Ethnicity, Stigma And Adherence To Antiretroviral Therapy (Art) Among People Living With Hiv/Aids In Guangxi, China, Yuchen Mao, Xiaoming Li Ph.D., Shan Qiao Ph.D., Yuejiao Zhou, Qun Zhao

Faculty Publications

This study examines the impact of ethnicity and multiple types of HIV-related stigma on adherence to antiretroviral therapy (ART) among 2,146 people living with HIV/AIDS (PLWHA) in Guangxi, China who had initiated ART. The results of multiple binary logistic regressions indicate that those who had experienced enacted stigma tended to report lower adherence, while better adherence was associated with older age, being women and having a job. Ethnicity had a moderator effect on the association between internalized stigma and adherence since better adherence was associated with lower internalized stigma among participants in ethnic minority groups other than Zhuang. Our findings …

Exploring Sexual And Behavioral Health Inequities Among College Students: A Need For Lgb-Specific Risk Reduction, Todd M. Sabato

Journal of Health Disparities Research and Practice

Many studies have examined differences in sexual behavior based upon self-identified sexual orientation, with results often indicating that those with same-sex partners engage in greater risk behaviors than those with opposite sex partners. However, few of those studies consisted of large, national sample studies. To address that gap, the present study examined the relationship between sexual orientation and both behavioral and sexual health outcomes in a national sample of U.S. college students. The Fall 2012 through Spring 2014 American College Health Association National College Health Assessment was used to examine behavioral and sexual health related responses from self-identified heterosexual, gay, …

Healthcare Reform In Latino Rhode Island: Perspectives Of Spanish Speakers And Insurance Navigators, Haiyan Ramírez Batlle, Roberta E. Goldman, Amed Logroño, Joseph A. Diaz

Journal of Health Disparities Research and Practice

Latinos have the highest uninsurance rates of any ethnic or racial group in the US despite recent health insurance expansion reform. In addition to immigration and language barriers, health literacy and attitudes may impact coverage disparities. Focus groups with Spanish-speaking community members and semi-structured interviews with health insurance navigators were conducted to explore knowledge, awareness, and attitudes towards healthcare reform among Latinos in Rhode Island. Sessions were audio recorded, transcribed, and analyzed employing standard qualitative methods. Thirty-two focus group participants and six navigators were enrolled in the study. Spanish-speaking participants demonstrated limited knowledge of the cost implications of the Medicaid …

Child-Mediated Health Communication: A Conceptual Framework For Increasing Stroke Literacy In Hard To Reach Populations, Olajide Williams, Ellyn Leighton-Herrmann, Mindy F. Hecht, Alexandra Desorbo, William Gerin, Monique Hedmann, Rachel Shelton, Benjamin Tolchin, James Noble

Journal of Health Disparities Research and Practice

Effectively engaging economically-disadvantaged ethnic minority communities for promoting health has proved to be challenging for a variety of reasons, including factors related to healthcare access, literacy, inadequate or ineffective cultural appropriateness of materials, and the relatively low priority for health due to competing demands related to economic hardship. We have developed a framework of Child-Mediated Health Communication (CMHC), which focuses on children as channels for carrying out health promotion interventions to parents and other caregivers. CMHC is an innovative, alternative strategy for engaging this underserved population, where traditional methods of health promotion have not been successful. We discuss the theoretical …

Identifying Outcomes And Gaps Impacting Tobacco Control And Prevention In African American Communities, Leah M. Ranney, Hannah M. Baker, Delmonte Jefferson, Adam O. Goldstein

Journal of Health Disparities Research and Practice

Great racial disparities exist in smoking and related health outcomes in the United States. African American (AA) smokers start smoking later and smoke less than white smokers but are less likely to quit. In 2008, the CDC’s Office on Smoking and Health funded the National African American Tobacco Prevention Network (NAATPN) to focus tobacco control leadership, expertise and promotion in the AA community. In 2012, NAATPN sought to determine significant outcomes of tobacco control efforts impacting Black and AA communities by conducting a qualitative document search and series of interviews with experts in the field. Thirteen identified outcomes were categorized …

Challenges To Estimating Vaccine Impact Using Hospitalization Data., Cynthia Schuck-Paim, Robert J Taylor, Lone Simonsen, Roger Lustig, Esra Kürüm, Christian A W Bruhn, Daniel M Weinberger

Global Health Faculty Publications

Because the real-world impact of new vaccines cannot be known before they are implemented in national programs, post-implementation studies at the population level are critical. Studies based on analysis of hospitalization rates of vaccine-preventable outcomes are typically used for this purpose. However, estimates of vaccine impact based on hospitalization data are particularly prone to confounding, as hospitalization rates are tightly linked to changes in the quality, access and use of the healthcare system, which often occur simultaneously with introduction of new vaccines. Here we illustrate how changes in healthcare delivery coincident with vaccine introduction can influence estimates of vaccine impact, …

A Call For Gender-Inclusive Global Health Strategies, Michael J. Rovito, Brandon Leonard, Ramon Llamas, James E. Leone, Walker Talton, Ana Fadich, Peter Baker

Movement Arts, Health Promotion and Leisure Studies Faculty Publications

The WHO's "Global Strategy for Women's, Children's, and Adolescents' Health 2016-2030" (GS-WCAH 2016-2030) is a comprehensive plan developed to improve the lives of women, children, and adolescents. Due to the success in the creation, ratification, and advocacy of the GS-WCAH 2016-2030, the clear health outcome disparities between males and females, and the general absence of male health from existing policies and sponsored programs, it is time now to develop a global strategy specifically drafted to improve the lives of men and boys. The following commentary provides three points for why a male-oriented program, like the GS-WCAH 2016-2030, should be created: …

Lead Poisoning In Scott County: Seeking Advice From Their “Sister City", Caitlin Slone, Palisha Ranjit, Elizabeth Farwell, Rachel Haecherl, Christine Golaszewski

2016-2017: Scott County, Iowa and the Scott County Health Department

No abstract provided.

Marshalltown - Marshall County, Iowa, Emily Anderson, Emma Nordmeyer, Kaitlyn Cline, Moira Dunn, Olivia Mayer, Teresa Ramont

2016-2017: Scott County, Iowa and the Scott County Health Department

No abstract provided.

Black Hawk County’S Approach To Lead Poisoning, Ashley Comeau, Taylor Campbell, Nathan Ambrose, Travis Pulse

2016-2017: Scott County, Iowa and the Scott County Health Department

Scott County, IA is facing a community lead poisoning problem, much like other counties in the state. One of these are Black Hawk County, northwest of Scott. Black Hawk County approached the lead poisoning problem by partnering with organizations including the University of Northern Iowa, the Iowa Poison Control Center, and a multitude of medical groups. Funding, procedures for action, and education were also factors in assessing the lead problem. Black Hawk County’s number of lead poisonings decreased after approaching the problem, while Scott County’s problem worsened. By using similar methods, we hope that Scott County's lead problem will also …

Lead Poisoning In Linn County & Cedar Rapids, Ia, Sydney Fedor, Lexys Magadan, Shannon Okland, Morghan Smith, Anna Willems

2016-2017: Scott County, Iowa and the Scott County Health Department

No abstract provided.

The Lead Poisoning Problem In Polk County And Des Moines, Ia, Ami Leichsenring, Naomi Castro, Vanessa Dominguez, Samantha G. De Forest-Davis, Keila Saucedo

2016-2017: Scott County, Iowa and the Scott County Health Department

No abstract provided.

Lead Poisoning: A Guide For Homeowners, Brenna Whisler, Tracy Ngo

2016-2017: Scott County, Iowa and the Scott County Health Department

No abstract provided.

How Do Communities Proactively Address Lead Remediation? : Community Case Studies From Iowa, Dr. Angie L. Carter, Emma Nordmeyer

2016-2017: Scott County, Iowa and the Scott County Health Department

In 2016, Scott County Health Department officials reached out to the Sustainable Working Landscapes Initiative (SWLI) program at Augustana College to begin a partnership addressing lead poisoning in our community. Teams of students in the Fall 2016 Contemporary Social Issues class conducted sociological case studies of communities in Iowa that are proactively addressing lead remediation through combinations of United States Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and private funding. Groups of students conducted case studies in Dubuque, Linn, Polk, Marshall, and Black Hawk counties in Iowa. Students researched the demographics of these areas as well as successes, lessons learned, …

Fighting Lead Poisoning With Food, Brenna Whisler, Tracy Ngo

2016-2017: Scott County, Iowa and the Scott County Health Department

No abstract provided.

Implementation Science To Accelerate Clean Cooking For Public Health., Joshua Rosenthal, Kalpana Balakrishnan, Nigel Bruce, David Chambers, Jay Graham, Darby Jack, Lydia Kline, Omar Masera, Sumi Mehta, Ilse Ruiz Mercado, Gila Neta, Subhrendu Pattanayak, Elisa Puzzolo, Helen Petach, Antonello Punturieri, Adolfo Rubinstein, Michael Sage, Rachel Sturke, Anita Shankar, Kenny Sherr, Kirk Smith, Gautam Yadama

Environmental and Occupational Health Faculty Publications

Clean cooking has emerged as a major concern for global health and development because of the enormous burden of disease caused by traditional cookstoves and fires. The World Health Organization has developed new indoor air quality guidelines that few homes will be able to achieve without replacing traditional methods with modern clean cooking technologies, including fuels and stoves. However, decades of experience with improved stove programs indicate that the challenge of modernizing cooking in impoverished communities includes a complex, multi-sectoral set of problems that require implementation research. The National Institutes of Health, in partnership with several government agencies and the …

Trinidad & Tobago : Hiv Epidemic, Madison Caldwell

Global Public Health

Trinidad and Tobago are twin islands located in the Caribbean off the coast of Venezuela. In the recent years since about 1990, citizens of this country have been greatly affected by the HIV epidemic. HIV stands for human immunodeficiency virus and is spread through infected seman, blood, or vaginal fluids usually through sexual intercourse. As this virus continues to progress in the body, it will eventually turn into AIDS, which stands for acquired immunodeficiency syndrome. Once HIV progresses to AIDS, the outcome is ultimately fatal, hence why there is a dire need to promote awareness and methods of intervention to …

Kuwait : Obesity, Sabrina Difiori

Global Public Health

The country of Kuwait is known for their extremely high prevalence of obesity. It is a major public health issue for people of both genders. For men, the prevalence for obesity is 36 percent and 48 percent for women. A type of intervention that is often used to fix this problem is stomach stapling: the process of making the stomach smaller to reduce the amount of food intake. If children can start becoming more educated about this issue early on in their lifetime, the prevalence of obesity might not be so high in years to come.

Turkey : Asthma, Nicole Adams

Global Public Health

In the Middle-Eastern country of Turkey, they have the public health issue of asthma which is directly related to the amount and type of air pollution. Asthma is a health condition that can be found all over the world and it can happen to anyone. Although it is not readily noticed, the number of cases of asthma change along with the amount of air pollution, specifically SO₂ and PM₁₀ levels. SO₂ is a gas that be toxic when abundant and it occurs when coal that has sulfur is burned. PM₁₀, or particulate matter, is the …

Spain : Childhood Obesity, Emily Haygood

Global Public Health

Throughout the world, obesity is increasing as a public health issue. Specifically, in Spain, which is on the rise for childhood obesity. It is reported that around 1/3 of children in Spain have an excess of weight. Part of this high rate of obesity can be attributed to the high income status. This exposes the population to activities and habits that may lead to poor lifestyle choices. For example, the access to television can decrease activity in children as well as access to fast food can allow for poor nutritional habits.

New Zealand : Mumps Outbreak, Kathryn Evans

Global Public Health

The purpose of this Health Brief is to discuss the outbreak of mumps in New Zealand during the summer of 2017. The year saw more cases than the past sixteen years combined. The reason that New Zealand, a high-income country that generally does not struggle with communicable diseases, may be experiencing this outbreak is low vaccination rates in the 1990’s. It appears that there was a decline in coverage for the MMR immunization at this time due to several factors. These include a transition in the timing of the second dose of MMR, a change from four years to eleven …

Peru : Zika Virus, Benjamin Martin

Global Public Health

This document covers zika virus as a public health issue in Peru. Peru is a coastal country in South America. It has a population of 31,777,000 and faces many problems in the years to come. Some of those problems are a largely informal economy, the melting of glaciers, and lots of the population are impoverish and under-educated. These challenges the country is facing makes zika virus more dangerous. Zika virus is a disease that is spreading across the world and is most dangerous to pregnant women because it can cause birth defects for the child, such as microcephaly. In this …

Afghanistan : Tuberculosis, Emily Fulk

Global Public Health

Afghanistan, a country in the Middle East, faces the epidemic of an infectious bacterial lung disease called Tuberculosis, or TB. Tuberculosis is fairly easy to spread, as the bacteria that causes it are spread from one person to another through tiny droplets released into the air via coughs and sneezes. Despite the widespread amounts of individuals affected with TB, it is known to be easily curable using a six month treatment. And so public health officials have implemented a program called DOTS, or Directly Observed Treatment Short Course in Kabul City to test the effectiveness of this treatment. The DOTS …

Puerto Rico : Zika Virus, Rachel Cybulski

Global Public Health

Puerto Rico has had an epidemic of Zika virus within the past few years. Considering the close distance to America, the U.S. has been up-to-date in stopping the spread of Zika from Puerto Rico to the states. In 2016 particularly, the United States declared Puerto Rico to be in a state of emergency due to the heavy presence of the virus. Although this specific outbreak has been terminated, the likelihood of another such occurrence is high, so it is important to learn about the effects of Zika and ways to prevent the spread. The major result of having the virus …

Guam : Mumps, Taylor Covert

Global Public Health

In the years of 2009-2010, Guam experienced an outbreak of mumps that was widespread throughout the country. Mumps is a disease in which the parotid gland located in the face and neck region swells and can cause inflammation in the brain. Though a majority of the citizens were vaccinated for MMR, there was still a problem throughout the nation. The vaccine is provided in a number of doses, three being the optimal amount. It was later revealed that citizens who were vaccinated only received two doses, not fully protecting them from the illness. 505 cases were reported overall for this …

Namibia : Hiv As A National Issue, Elisabeth Vlasak

Global Public Health

Namibia is located on the southwestern coast of Africa, bordering Angola, Botswana, Zambia, South Africa, and the Atlantic Ocean. Namibia has a population of 2,265,000, as of 2016. Namibia has many challenges, including food insecurity and malnutrition, access to health services, unequal distribution of wealth, but HIV/AIDS is one of the country’s leading challenges. It is estimated that the overall adult infection rate of HIV/AIDS is 15.4% and it is the leading cause of death in Namibia. Adults ages 18-24 are the most at-risk for the disease. Some of the major risk factors are declining condom use, misinformation, social stigma, …