Medicine and Health Sciences Commons^™

Disparities In The Pregnancy Experience: A Multi-Case Analysis, Tiffany C. Thomas, Lindsay Gietzen

Pacific Journal of Health

Racial disparities in maternal healthcare continue to be a significant issue, with Black women experiencing worse outcomes compared to White women. Despite improvements in healthcare, Black women are still 2.5 times more likely to die from pregnancy-related causes, and they face higher rates of preterm births, low birth weight, and insufficient prenatal care. This paper examines the experiences of three African American women from high socioeconomic backgrounds, focusing on where these negative experiences are most common throughout pregnancy, childbirth, and postnatal care. The study uses the Pregnancy and Maternity Care Patients' Experiences Questionnaire (PreMaPEQ) to explore different stages of care, …

Review Of The Diagnosis, Pathophysiology, And Treatment Of Naegleria Fowleri-Induced Primary Amoebic Meningoencephalitis, Terrance Zhang

MCB Articles

Naegleria fowleri is a thermophilic, ubiquitous, free-living amoeba, but is also known as the “brain-eating” amoeba. This is the etiological agent of a rare and fulminant waterborne disease known as Primary Amoebic Meningoencephalitis (PAM) that is acutely fatal in 90-99% of reported cases. Those who come into contact with infested waters are at risk of introducing the amoeba into their upper nasal canal, whence the trophozoite form is known to migrate along the olfactory nerve, through the cribriform plate, and enter the central nervous system. Although the exact pathogenesis of N. fowleri is not known, studies have demonstrated contact-dependent and …

Reflections From The Pandemic: Is Connectivism The Panacea For Clinicians?, Jennifer Benjamin, Tyson Pillow, Heather Macneill, Ken Masters, Anoop Agrawal, Neil Mehta

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

The COVID-19 pandemic and the recent increased interest in generative artificial intelligence (GenAI) highlight the need for interprofessional communities' collaboration to find solutions to complex problems. A personal narrative experience of one of the authors compels us to reflect on current approaches to learning and knowledge acquisition and use solutions to the challenges posed by GenAI through social learning contexts using connectivism. We recognize the need for constructivism and experiential learning for knowledge acquisition to establish foundational understanding. We explore how connectivist approaches can enhance traditional constructivist paradigms amid rapidly changing learning environments and online communities. Learning in connectivism includes …

Building Community Resilience Through Community Participatory Asset Mapping For Emergency Preparedness, Cassandra Y. Davila

2024 Fall Honors Capstone Projects - Archive

A community's capacity to prepare, manage, and recover from a disaster determines its level of resilience. The Federal Emergency Management Agency recommends engaging community members in resilience planning to ensure sustainable strategies are implemented. This project uses community-based asset mapping to identify how community participatory methods influence community resilience to combat emergency events. An asset map documents a community’s existing resources, highlighting its strengths. Focus group discussions in the urban area will be conducted to obtain feedback about existing assets and suggestions for additional resources to include. The expected result of this project is to build a comprehensive map of …

Personal Protective Equipment For Minoritized U.S. Agricultural Farmworkers: Community-Based Efforts During The Pandemic & Implications For Extension, Helen Trejo

Journal of Human Sciences and Extension

There are an estimated 2 million farmworkers who are essential to the food system in the United States; however, they are exposed to hazardous environmental conditions with limited access and/or use of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE). The primary purpose of this research is to evaluate community-based organizational efforts to provide farmworkers with apparel-textile basic needs, such as face masks. A primary goal is to address the research gap regarding common environmental factors that impact farmworkers, including pesticides and the pandemic, their use of available PPE, and community-based efforts to improve access to face masks as basic PPE. We consider the …

Protective And Risk Exposures Of Cancers Disproportionately Affecting Hispanics In A U.S. - Mexico Border Population: A Clinical Informatics Approach, Amir Hernandez

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

BACKGROUND: Cancer is the second leading cause of death in the U.S. with over 8 million new cases between 2016 and 2020. A variety of protective and risk exposures are associated with multiple cancers and disparities and inequalities exist in the health outcomes of minority populations. Hispanic populations in the U.S. and Texas have some of the highest rates of cancer incidence and mortality when compared to other populations. The use of Population and Public Health Informatics approaches to address these issues have shown promise when employed in healthcare institutions METHODS: A case-control study design examined associations between multiple cancers …

Integrated Child Nutrition, Parenting, And Health Intervention In Rural Liberia: A Mixed-Methods Feasibility Study, Sejla Isanovic, Musa Sanoe, Shelbie Wooten, Edward A. Frongillo Ph.D., Aisha K. Yousafzai, Christine E. Blake Ph.D., Rd, Mufaro Kanyangarara Ph.D., Melanie Swan, Nicole Rodger, Miriam Murray, Leila M. Larson Ph.D., Mph

Faculty Publications

In Liberia, children are exposed to multiple forms of adversity which can negatively impact their health and development. Research is needed to examine the feasibility and benefits of integrated interventions that can be incorporated into existing health delivery programs to simultaneously address low responsive stimulation, undernutrition, and infection. This study assessed the feasibility of an integrated intervention promoting psychosocial stimulation and improved child feeding by the provision of eggs and fish. The integrated intervention was incorporated into an existing government health program. Thirty female caregiver-child dyads were randomly selected from two rural communities in Liberia. Participants received fortnightly group parenting …

Cuisine As A Compass: Exploring The Therapeutic Benefits Of Community, Cooking, And More Within The Lgbtqia+ Population, Sera Shevchenko, Karen Park Otd, Otr/L, Bcp, Susan Macdermott Otd, Otr/L

Fall 2024 OTD Capstone Symposium

Background: The LGBTQIA+ population experiences unique barriers to occupation and well being. Anti-LGBTQ legislation encroaches on inclusive and affirming care affecting occupational access. Limited occupational participation and additional exhaustive adaptive strategies to engage in occupations safely have an emotional cost. This research study explores how food or mealtime occupations such as cooking, eating, and hosting can support LGBTQIA+ well-being. This research was made possible by LGBTQIA+ participants that are experts of their lived experience.

Methods: This mixed methods research used both qualitative and quantitative methods to gather data on the significance of food-based occupations, culture, mental health, and identity in …

Sex Education Program For Individuals With Disabilities, Kalynne Coates, Keisa Boykin

Fall 2024 OTD Capstone Symposium

The purpose of this project is to develop and implement a program to discuss the ADL of sex education with individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD).

An Innovative Community‐Led Education And Recruitment Program To Increase Clinical Research Participation Among Black Americans, Bahar Niknejad, Ethlyn Mcqueen Gibson, Travonia Brown-Hughes, Katie Mcdonough, Ebony Andrews, Deborah Hudson, Hamid Okhravi

Glennan Center for Geriatrics and Gerontology Faculty Publications

Background: Previous studies attest to a lack of awareness about Alzheimer’s Disease (AD) and limited participation of Black Americans in AD clinical trials. The AHEAD Study is a multicenter trial focused on preventing AD by evaluating the effectiveness and safety of Lecanemab in individuals with preclinical AD. The study aims to recruit at least 15% from underrepresented populations, including Black Americans. To achieve this goal, our study site utilizes a community-based participatory research (CBPR) approach and developed a Community Education and Recruitment Program (CERP) designed to increase the participation of Black individuals in the AHEAD Study.

Method: In a collaborative …

Understanding And Intervening In Children's Tick Risk Perceptions And Protective Behaviors: A Grounded Theory, Ariel Dawdy

Department of Entomology: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Children, ages 8 years and younger, are at a particularly high risk of contracting a tick-borne disease. This is partially due to the misconceptions spread about tick protective behavior and a poor understanding of how antibiotic treatment can help. Because most communities and families believe that tick control is the individual’s responsibility, looking at the interaction between ticks and human children is essential to understanding the individual’s motivations to protect themselves. To help alleviate the number of individuals contracting tick-borne diseases, misconceptions must be addressed, intervention programs implemented, and a behavioral change must occur. This study used a qualitative research …

Assessing Sedimentation Impact Through Dem, Point Cloud, And Discharge Analysis, Shandell Thomas

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

This study focused on five arroyos flowing into the Rio Grande, in the stretch between Caballo Dam and Las Cruces, New Mexico. Drone imagery was acquired from study areas in each arroyo. Photogrammetry was used to create high-resolution digital elevation models (DEMs), point clouds, drone imagery and potential discharges were acquired for each arroyo. Investigation of seven different methods resulted in the selection of the Terrain Ruggedness Map (TRM) as a predictor of surface roughness, along with high-resolution DEMâ??s to illustrate small and low-relief channel features. The five arroyos with varying sediment sizes and characteristics were studied to understand how …

Examining The Relationship Between Adverse Childhood Experiences, Coping Behaviors, And Metabolic Syndrome In Mexican-American Men, Paulina Torres

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Background: The prevalence of metabolic syndrome (MetS) has been increasing in the US over recent years. Individuals who have experienced adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) and developed maladaptive coping strategies are at increased risk of developing MetS. Hispanic men might have an increased risk of developing MetS due to higher exposure to ACEs and increased use of maladaptive coping strategies.Purpose: To examine the relationship between ACEs, coping, and MetS among Mexican-American men. Methods: A secondary analysis of cross-sectional study of 100 adult men from El Paso, Texas in 2018-19. ACEs were examined using the 10-item ACE questionnaire. Coping was assessed through …

Obesity: Influencing Behavioral Consumption Through Meal Kit Distribution, Alejandro Hernandez

Capstone Projects and Master's Theses

Founded in 2002, Everyone’s Harvest is a grassroots nonprofit dedicated to providing access to healthy, affordable fruits and vegetables through certified farmers markets and community food programs. Its key initiatives—Fresh Rx, Market Match, Edible Education and Farms Together —focus on alleviating nutrition insecurity and combating diet-related health conditions by providing vulnerable populations the resources to purchase, or receive, fresh produce and gain nutritional knowledge. This study explores a new intervention: the distribution of farmers' market meal kits as a complementary strategy to the current Edible Education program. These meal kits, which feature seasonally available produce and pre-measured ingredients, aim to …

Comprehensive Community Medicine, Alexander Walther

Capstone Projects and Master's Theses

Comprehensive Community Medicine (CCM) is a theoretical framework designed to address the complex needs of individuals with dual diagnoses of mental illness and substance use disorders (SUDs). Dual diagnosis is highly prevalent, particularly among populations experiencing homelessness, and is associated with poorer health outcomes and increased healthcare service utilization. Structural inequities, including a fractured healthcare system, exacerbate the challenges faced by this vulnerable group. Research indicates that effective care for dually diagnosed individuals requires a layered approach addressing clinical, systemic, legal, and housing barriers.

The development of CCM has been informed by interviews with local stakeholders, including County EMS board …

Parenting With Grace, Eva Nelson Cole

Capstone Projects and Master's Theses

Parents are often caught off guard by the upheaval of adding children to their lives. Feelings of guilt, shame, isolation, and depression can arise when parents are faced with the demands and stressors that come along with having children. Studies have shown that children who have distressed parents endure lasting negative outcomes that can extend into the primary school years (Mihelic et al., 2018). Educating parents and giving them some awareness about what to expect can make a real difference. To have these conversations, I created a two-part parenting workshop for new parents at Parents’ Place in Pacific Grove, CA. …

The Life And Discoveries Of Yellapragada Subbarow, Nikhil R, Varuni Pragya, Subramanian Ramaswamy, Shiva Prasad B N, Mahabaleshwar Mamadapur

Digital Journal of Clinical Medicine

Dr. Yellapragada Subbarow was a researcher, teacher, and a wizard of wonder drugs who constantly made efforts in the discoveries/ inventions such as vitamins, anti-vitamins, antibiotics, and many more by disentangling the mysteries of nature for the betterment of the people. He inspired the youngsters to take up the challenges and to stand up above mediocrity. The reward for his achievement was delayed. The article describes a true humanist's journey, discoveries, and his achievements that are largely unknown to date.

Understanding And Mitigating The Potential Effects Of Postpartum Depression On Fathers And Male Support Persons, Rachel Norton-Turk

Capstone Experience: Master of Public Health

Background. During the postpartum period, best practices dictate that medical professionals screen new mothers or birthing persons for anxiety and depression and direct them to the appropriate resources and services they may need. This qualitative study explored the steps being taken to identify depression and anxiety concerns in male support partners during the postpartum period and to understand what resources are being brought to their attention if depression and anxiety are identified. Methods. A convenience sample of male support persons participated in semi-structured, one-on-one interviews either in-person or over Zoom between September and October 2024. Interviews were recorded, transcribed, …

Exploring Drivers Of Women’S Well-Being In Hospitals: Mapping The Landscape, Mitra Faghihi, Aliasghar Farshad, Nasim Salehi, Dean Whitehead, Masoud Motalebi Ghayen, Bahar Izadi, Morteza Mansourian

Research outputs 2022 to 2026

Background and purpose: The workplace plays a key role in impacting the health and well-being of employees at various levels, including physical, psychological, and social aspects of health. This study aims to identify the drivers of a healthy environment that promotes the well-being of women employed in hospitals. Materials & methods: This qualitative study used purposive sampling to recruit a total of 48 working women across a diverse range of participants with different job categories and socio-demographic statuses. These include clinical health (e.g., nurse, head nurse, practical nurse, supervisor, physicians); allied health (e.g., diagnostic services); public health (e.g., health promotion …

Early Detection Of Risk Factor For Suicidal Ideation Among Senior High School Students In Jakarta: Updated Measurement, Nova R. Yusuf, Sabarinah Prasetyo, Byron J. Good

Kesmas

The key strategy to address suicide in adolescents is school-based suicidal prevention by adapting a screening instrument to the local culture and policymakers’ perception of suicide. This study aimed to develop an instrument for the early detection of risk for suicidal ideation and identify influential risk factors for suicidal ideation among high school students in Jakarta, Indonesia. This study was conducted in 2018 with a mixed-method design (quantitative and qualitative approaches). It was found that 5% of students had suicidal ideation in July–November 2018, and 13.8% had a high-risk factor for suicidal ideation. The instrument developed in this study consisted …

Household Food Expenditure Typology And Its Association With Child Stunting And Anemia In Indonesia, Ratu Ayu Dewi Sartika, Yusnita Yusnita, Winda M. Ningsih, Ririn Arminsih Wulandari, Siti A. Pujonarti, Fadila Wirawan

Kesmas

Stunting and anemia remain the coexisting nutritional problems among Indonesian children. However, evidence of household-level food expenditure and its association with child stunting and anemia is limited. This study aimed to observe the association between household food expenditure typology and child stunting and anemia in Indonesia. Data was obtained from the 2007 and 2014 Indonesia Family Life Survey (IFLS). The household food expenditure, child nutritional status, and anemia were observed in 2007 and 2014. Latent class analysis was taken to identify the food expenditure pattern. Binary logistic regression was applied to analyze the association between household food expenditure patterns and …

Telemedicine Adoption In Developing Economies: A Systematic Review On The Enablers And Barriers, Zaidbren Macabato, Lemuel Clark Velasco, Art Brian Escabarte, Mae-Lanie Ong Poblete, Armando Isla Jr., Rentor Cafino, Sarah Lizette Aquino-Cafino, Frevy Teofilo-Orencia

Kesmas

Telemedicine’s adoption has been effective in certain contexts despite being controversial in certain settings because of its tendency to cause misdiagnosis and concerns about data privacy. This study aimed to synthesize the research findings on the factors leading to the adoption of telemedicine among developing economies. The study utilized Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analysis methodology to analyze 27 related literature and the Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology to map out the factors considered enablers and barriers in adopting telemedicine. Results showed that performance expectancy, effort expectancy, social influence, and facilitating conditions were significant predictors. …

Context, Mechanisms And Community Engagement In Implementation Strategies: A Systematic Review Protocol Of Implementation Strategies Designed Using Implementation Mapping, Eunyoung Kang, Gill Ten Hoor, Derek W Craig, Serena Rodriguez, Jennifer Stockton, Maria E Fernandez

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

INTRODUCTION: Implementation Mapping (IM) has increasingly been used for the design and/or selection and tailoring implementation strategies to promote the effective translation of evidence-based interventions into practice. IM is a tool for guiding the systematic, iterative, step-by-step design process that helps guide the co-creation of theory-based, evidence-informed implementation strategies. This protocol aims to describe the methods of the planned systematic review that will (1) examine the overall landscape of IM in developing implementation strategies, (2) explore the mechanisms of implementation strategies developed using IM and (3) investigate the use of IM and community engagement in the development of implementation strategies. …

Strategies To Enhance Diagnostic Capabilities For The New Drug-Resistant Tuberculosis (Dr-Tb) Drugs, Antonia Morita Iswari Saktiawati, Anca Vasiliu, Francesca Saluzzo, Onno W Akkerman

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

The global burden of drug-resistant tuberculosis (DR-TB) continues to challenge healthcare systems worldwide. There is a critical need to tackle DR-TB by enhancing diagnostics and drug susceptibility testing (DST) capabilities, particularly for emerging DR-TB drugs. This endeavor is crucial to optimize the efficacy of new therapeutic regimens and prevent the resistance and overuse of these invaluable weapons. Despite this urgency, there remains a lack of comprehensive review of public health measures aimed at improving the diagnostics and DST capabilities. In this review, we outline strategies to enhance the capabilities, especially tailored to address the challenges posed by resistance to new …

Advance Care Planning In Rehabilitation: Training Nurses And Social Workers To Facilitate Discussions, Celeste Christiansen

Student Scholarly Projects

Practice Problem: Patients and healthcare workers fail to hold advance care planning (ACP) discussions. Social workers perceive a lack of time and feel unprepared to hold ACP conversations.

PICOT: The PICOT question that guided this project was: Do patients in acute inpatient rehabilitation (P) who receive education and resources about ACP from trained nurses and social workers (I) accept and participate in ACP (O) compared to prior standards of care (C) while on the rehabilitation unit (T)?

Evidence: The public and healthcare workers have limited knowledge of ACPs and their role in these discussions. People are more likely to hold …

Social Media As Health Educator: An Assessment Of The Understandability And Accuracy Of Tiktok Content About Contraception, Julianna Coleman, Maetal Haas-Kogan, Andrea Pelletier, Rachel Stoddard, Natasha Johnson, Julia Beatini, Nora Sun, Alex Keuroghlian, Deborah Bartz

Department of Family & Community Medicine Faculty Papers

BACKGROUND: Contraception knowledge and attitudes are largely formed from conversations within one's social network. More recently, this network has expanded to include social media. As the fastest growing social media platform, we aimed to assess popular contraception videos on TikTok for content understandability, actionability and accuracy.

METHODS: This is a secondary analysis of the most viewed, contraception-specific TikTok videos that were previously coded as containing educational messaging in a content-analysis study. We assessed videos for understandability (ability to explain a key message) and actionability (identify what they can do to act on that message) using the Patient Education Materials Assessment …

Utilization Of An Alternative Responder Model To Address Behavioral Health Care Related Calls To 911 In Louisville, Kentucky, Jacelyn Grimes, Paige Roberson, Mads Priddy, Brian Schaefer

The Cardinal Edge

In March 2022, Louisville Metro launched the Crisis Call Diversion Program (CCDP) which is redefining how the city responds to 911 behavioral health emergencies. The CCDP is an alternative responder model that works to deflect 911 calls from law enforcement and provide the individual in crisis with “someone to talk to,” “someone to respond,” and “a place to go.” The UofL School of Public Health and Information Sciences was contracted to evaluate the intervention and in this poster, we will describe how the CCDP works, the evaluation design, and outcomes in the first year of operations.

The Effect Of A Virtual Covid-19 Interprofessional Educational Module On Knowledge, Confidence, Attitude, And Practice Among Health And Allied Health Professions Students, Tsu-Yin Wu, Jenni L. Hoffman, Grigoris Argeros, Sarah Lally, Andrea Gossett Zakrajsek, Jillian Graves, Alice Jo Rainville, Olivia Ford, Angela Lukomski, Renuka Roche, John Sonnega, Joan E. Cowdery Phd

Journal of Interprofessional Practice and Collaboration

Purpose: The purpose of this research study was to examine the effect of an innovative, online COVID-19 interprofessional educational module among health and allied health professions students.

Methods: This study utilized a pre- and posttest design with quantitative and qualitative data collected winter 2023 and spring/summer 2023 semesters, and consisted of health and allied health professions students (N=143) from three Midwestern, urban, public universities. Participants completed a pretest, then an IPE module on COVID-19, and a posttest immediately after the educational intervention, and another (the same) posttest one month later. Quantitative and qualitative data were subject to statistical …

Navigating The Aftermath: Understanding Covid Impact & Addressing Health Disparities In The Post-Pandemic Recovery Symposium Executive Report, Ashlee Young, Zuri Dale

COVID Research

While the immediate crisis may have passed, the pandemic exposed significant vulnerabilities in public health systems. A comprehensive examination of the ongoing effects of the pandemic offering insights into the challenges and opportunities that lie ahead as we continue to recover and rebuild four years after the pandemic began is crucial. Our bold vision is to improve health and quality of life and further the science that transforms lives. This reflection is crucial to prepare for future pandemics or global health crises. The 2024 theme, Navigating the Aftermath: Understanding COVID Impact and Addressing Health Disparities in Post-Pandemic Recovery, was a …

Fact Sheet For Parents: What You Need To Know About Adderall, Aaron Hunt, Gabriela Murza, Alyssa Ferrin

All Current Publications

This fact sheet provides information about what Adderall is used for, how it can be misused, and what parents can do to talk to their kids about appropriate use.