Medicine and Health Sciences Commons^™

The Drug Overdose Epidemic Seen Through Different Lenses, Barbara Blake Gonzalez, Richard Cebula, James V. Koch

Economics Faculty Publications

The age-adjusted death rate from drug overdoses in the United States per 100,000 individuals rose from 6.8 in 2010 to 17.1 in 2018. The most common explanation offered is the deaths of despair hypothesis. We identify additional factors that have contributed to the rise in drug overdose deaths in cities and counties. Methods: We utilize a period fixed effects model with a multi-variate panel data set for 94 independent cities and counties in Virginia for the period 2008 through 2017. Results: The drug overdose mortality rate is: (a) an increasing function (prob.

Status And Factors Associated With Healthcare Choices Among Older Adults And Children In An Urbanized County: A Cross-Sectional Study In Kunshan, China, Yuxi Zhao, Linqi Mao, Jun Lu, Qi Zhang, Gang Chen, Mei Sun, Fengshui Chang, Xiaohong Li

Community & Environmental Health Faculty Publications

As important unit for regional health planning, urbanized counties are facing challenges because of internal migrants and aging. This study took urbanized counties in China as cases and two key populations as objects to understand different populations’ intentions of choosing corresponding health service resources and to provide support for resource allocation. A cross-sectional study was conducted in Kunshan, a highly urbanized county in China, in 2016, among older adults aged 60 or over and children aged 0–6. Multinomial logistics models were used to identify the factors associated with healthcare choices. In this study, we found that income, distance of the …

Covid-19 Evacuation And Sheltering Risk Perception Study, Joshua G. Behr, Rafael Diaz, Wie Yusuf, Bridget Giles, Kaleen Lawsure, George Mcleod

Presentations, Lectures, Posters, Reports

First two paragraphs from the Executive Overview:

This report, COVID-19 Evacuation and Sheltering Risk Perception Study, is one of several key science-based research efforts produced for the State reflecting the most current knowledge related to evacuation and sheltering behavior. The primary data source for this report are interviews with 2,200 households across ten localities in Hampton Roads, including the Eastern Shore. The findings – and recommendations – within this report are intended to inform and advance state and local evacuation and public shelter planning.

This report contains 31 specific recommendations (Action Items) that broadly advance coastal resilience and protect the …

First Science Pub Focuses On Hurricane Sheltering And Evacuating During The Pandemic, Dan Campbell

News Items

No abstract provided.

Drug-Overdose Death Rates: The Economic Misery Explanation And Its Alternatives, Barbara Blake Gonzalez, Richard Cebula, James V. Koch

Economics Faculty Publications

‘Deaths of despair’ is the most commonly cited explanation for the 151% increase in drug-overdose deaths that occurred in the USA between 2010 and 2018. We use panel data describing 84 Virginia cities and counties to assess the validity of the deaths of despair hypothesis and alternate explanations that focus on disability rates, travel time to work, urban vs. rural location, educational attainment, racial and ethnic characteristics, the influence of other health conditions such as obesity, and supply-side factors that include pill availability and pharmacy market shares. We find deaths of despair to be only a partial explanation for the …

Life In Hampton Roads Survey: Hurricanes And Covid-19, News @ Odu

News Items

No abstract provided.

Odu Professors Focus On Hurricane Planning During A Pandemic, Sherry Dibari

News Items

No abstract provided.

Workshop #6: Psychological Adjustment For The 2020 Hurricane Season During Covid-19 Pandemic: After-Action Report (Aar), Converge Nsf Working Group, Joshua G. Behr, Wie Yusuf, Jennifer Marshall, Elizabeth Dunn

Presentations, Lectures, Posters, Reports

Participants in the CONVERGE COVID-19 Working Group’s Workshop #6 on Psychological Adjustment breakout sessions discussed the critical threats to psychological health and well-being facing shelter staff, volunteers, and clients in the 2020 hurricane season.

It is widely recognized that people are approaching the 2020 hurricane season under unusual levels of stress. The COVID-19 pandemic has created chronic stressors that individuals are already managing in addition to addressing new acute fears like –will I get sick if I go to a shelter? These new and exacerbated stressors are a risk for higher levels of burnout, compassion fatigue, and ill-being. …

Workshop #5: Workforce: Evacuations, Shelter Staffing, Workforce Structure, Capacity, Ppe, And Telemedicine: After-Action Report (Aar), Converge Nsf Working Group, Joshua G. Behr, Wie Yusuf, Jennifer Marshall, Elizabeth Dunn

Presentations, Lectures, Posters, Reports

Participants in the breakout sessions for the CONVERGE COVID-19 Working Group’s Workshop 5 (Workforce) identified several issues, including unique staffing challenges for this compound event, needed training revisions to address shelter protocols specific to COVID-19, additional staffing needs based on the unusual use of congregate and non-congregate shelters to address COVID-19 risks, and the increased need for ancillary services for staff and volunteers during and after an event.

Ensuring shelter operations are maintained despite COVID-19 will require adequate staffing. Layoffs, furloughs and hiring freezes have affected base employee numbers, where many jurisdictions rely on county and city employees, along with …

Workshop #4: Public Messaging: Risk Communication For Disaster Preparedness, Evacuation, And Sheltering: After-Action Report (Aar), Converge Covid-19 Working Group, Joshua G. Behr, Wie Yusuf, Jennifer Marshall, Elizabeth Dunn

Presentations, Lectures, Posters, Reports

Participants in the breakout sessions for the CONVERGE COVID-19 Working Group’s Workshop 4 (Public Messaging) identified key issues that included the need to provide timely and effective communication to the public, increasing awareness around using shelters as a refuge of last resort, addressing the risks associated with COVID-19 exposure at shelters, and using various inclusive forms of public messaging to reach a wide audience.

Workshop participants emphasized the importance of timely and effective communications to support informed decision making. There is ongoing concern over balancing the need to communicate the risks of COVID-19 exposure as it relates to evacuation shelters …

Workshop #1: Vulnerable Populations & Planning Considerations For The 2020 Hurricane Season: After Action Report (Aar), Converge Nsf Working Group, Joshua G. Behr, Wie Yusuf, Jennifer Marshall, Elizabeth Dunn

Presentations, Lectures, Posters, Reports

This workshop shed light on the challenges and importance of adapting current hurricane season planning. Coexisting with COVID-19 will pose even more challenges for hurricane season responses. Suggested adaptations include identifying further shelter spaces to reduce the numbers of evacuees per building (for required social distancing), create isolation spaces to protect populations vulnerable to COVID-19, and quarantine those who are symptomatic. Some strategies being considered include modifying existing shelters (e.g. schools, by using classrooms) and using hotels, dormitories, and other large vacant spaces (e.g., stores and convention centers).

Along with identifying new shelter options comes modifying procedures for screening, triage, …

Workshop #2: Health And Infection Control Measures During The 2020 Hurricane Season: After-Action Report (Aar), Converge Nsf Working Group, Joshua G, Behr, Wie Yusuf, Jennifer Marshall, Elizabeth Dunn

Presentations, Lectures, Posters, Reports

Participants in the CONVERGE NSF Working Group Workshop 2 (Health) breakout sessions identified that along with populations traditionally considered vulnerable during hurricane season (e.g., special-needs evacuees and the elderly), there will be new vulnerable populations based on their heightened risks from exposure to COVID-19. There is also overlap between these groups of vulnerable evacuees, including individuals with physical, intellectual or developmental disabilities; those with immunodeficiency, chronic, acute, or infectious illnesses; pregnant women and infants; and immigrants, non-English speakers, and other socially vulnerable groups.

This indicates a potentially greater number of special-needs evacuees at shelters. Simultaneously, fear of contracting COVID-19, particularly …

Workshop #3: Transportation And Sheltering Logistics During The 2020 Hurricane Season: After-Action Report (Aar), Converge Nsf Working Group, Joshua G. Behr, Wie Yusuf, Jennifer Marshall, Elizabeth Dunn

Presentations, Lectures, Posters, Reports

Participants in the CONVERGE COVID-19 Working Group’s Workshop 3 on Logistics breakout sessions identified key issues that included population considerations, training needs, continuity of operations and resources still available, site planning (i.e., feeding, registration, shelter design, resources, family unity), facility requirements, and supplies needed during a hurricane evacuation.

Operational safety measures and population considerations were mentioned throughout the workshop. This included the need for identifying additional resources, facilities, and staffing to be able to ensure safety is a priority while accommodating social distancing recommendations and the needs of vulnerable populations and staff. Workshop participants emphasized the need to identify new …

Preferences In Information Processing, Marginalized Identity, And Non-Monogamy: Understanding Factors In Suicide-Related Behavior Among Members Of The Alternative Sexuality Community, Robert J. Cramer, Jennifer Langhinrichsen-Rohling, Andrea R. Kaniuka, Corrine N. Wilsey, Annelise Mennicke, Susan Wright, Erika Montanaro, Jessamyn Bowling, Kristin E. Heron

Psychology Faculty Publications

Suicide-related behavior (SRB) is a mental health disparity experienced by the alternative sexuality community. We assessed mental health, relationship orientation, marginalized identities (i.e., sexual orientation minority, gender minority, racial minority, ethnic minority, and lower education), and preferences in information processing (PIP) as factors differentiating lifetime SRB groups. An online cross-sectional survey study was conducted in 2018. Members of the National Coalition for Sexual Freedom (NCSF; n = 334) took part. Bivariate analyses identified the following SRB risk factors: female and transgender/gender non-binary identity, sexual orientation minority identity, lower education, suicide attempt/death exposure, Need for Affect (NFA) Avoidance, depression, and anxiety. …

A Call For Grounding Implicit Bias Training In Clinical And Translational Frameworks, Nao Hagiwara, Frederick W. Kron, Mark W. Scerbo, Ginger S. Watson

Psychology Faculty Publications

Since the publication of Unequal Treatment in 2003,¹ the number of studies investigating the implicit bias of health-care providers and its troubling consequences has increased exponentially. Bias can occur in all three psychological components: affects (ie, prejudice), cognition (ie, stereotypes), and behaviour (ie, discrimination). Implicit bias refers to prejudicial attitudes towards and stereotypical beliefs about a particular social group or members therein. These prejudicial attitudes and stereotypical beliefs are activated spontaneously and effortlessly, which often result in discriminatory behaviours.² This definition is consistent with how implicit bias is defined in psychology³ and in literature on health disparities. …

Occupational Stressors Among Firefighters: Application Of Multi-Criteria Decision Making (Mcdm)Techniques, Fazel Rajabi, Hossein Molaeifar, Mehdi Jahangiri, Shekofeh Taheri, Sean Banaee, Payam Farhadi

Community & Environmental Health Faculty Publications

Background: Firefighters are exposed to a wide range of occupational stressors due to the nature of their job. Multicriteria decision-making technique (MCDM) is a method for identifying, evaluating, and preventing occupational stressors among firefighters. The purpose of this study was to identify and prioritize the occupational stressors among firefighters using the fuzzy delphi method (FDM) and fuzzy analytical hierarchy process (FAHP).

Methods: This qualitative-descriptive study was carried out in two stages. First, the most important occupational stressors of firefighters were identified and screened using a systematic review of scientific references and expert opinions based on the FDM. Then, all of …

Life In Hampton Roads Survey Press Release #8: Health And Covid-19, Social Science Research Center, Old Dominion University

Life in Hampton Roads Survey Report

Life in Hampton Roads: COVID-19 and Health

The 2020 survey included several questions about health-related concerns and behaviors of residents during the COVID-19 pandemic. Responses provide insight into the experiences and concerns of Hampton Roads citizens around a variety of health-related topics.

Despite the COVID-19 pandemic, about three-quarters of Hampton Roads residents felt that their health in general was good (19.6%) or excellent (55.8%). Only 2.7% rated their health as poor while one in five rated their health as fair (20.8%).

Life In Hampton Roads Survey Press Release #2: Policy And Local Response Covid-19, Social Science Research Center, Old Dominion University

Life in Hampton Roads Survey Report

Life in Hampton Roads: Politics, Policy and COVID-19 Response

The survey included several questions that provide a window into the views of Hampton Roads citizens concerning policy choices and leadership during the COVID-19 pandemic response. Overall and on most issues the public was quite divided, with divisions often falling along party lines, but President Trump and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) seemed to elicit the strongest negative and positive responses, respectively. A substantial majority approved of Governor Northam’s timing on the initial stay-at-home order, and respondents leaned toward the view that additional restrictions on public activity should …

Contextualizing Performance Of Coordinated Care Network Of Veteran Services In Virginia, Marina Saitgalina, Donta Council

School of Public Service Faculty Publications

Coordinated care network is an approach to human service delivery that is recognized to improve client outcomes at a reduced cost. However, general mixed findings on the effectiveness of coordinated care networks warrant research contextualization. This article seeks to discover factors influencing the performance of a coordinated care network delivering social services to veterans and their families. The study provides a contextual analysis of a coordinated care network launched in 2016 in southeastern Virginia for two samples of 1,512 and 375 veterans and their families. Results of the regression analyses indicate that initial progress has been made both in efficiency …

Life In Hampton Roads Survey Press Release #3: Hurricanes And Covid-19, Social Science Research Center, Old Dominion University

Life in Hampton Roads Survey Report

Hurricane Evacuation & Sheltering During COVID-19

The 2020 Life in Hampton Roads (LIHR) survey includes several questions concerning how residents plan to prepare for and respond to hurricanes during the COVID19 pandemic.

Towards Making Videos Accessible For Low Vision Screen Magnifier Users, Ali Selman Aydin, Shirin Feiz, Vikas Ashok, Iv Ramakrishnan

Computer Science Faculty Publications

People with low vision who use screen magnifiers to interact with computing devices find it very challenging to interact with dynamically changing digital content such as videos, since they do not have the luxury of time to manually move, i.e., pan the magnifier lens to different regions of interest (ROIs) or zoom into these ROIs before the content changes across frames.

In this paper, we present SViM, a first of its kind screen-magnifier interface for such users that leverages advances in computer vision, particularly video saliency models, to identify salient ROIs in videos. SViM's interface allows users to zoom in/out …

Rotate-And-Press: A Non-Visual Alternative To Point-And-Click, Hae-Na Lee, Vikas Ashok, I. V. Ramakrishnan

Computer Science Faculty Publications

Most computer applications manifest visually rich and dense graphical user interfaces (GUIs) that are primarily tailored for an easy-and-efficient sighted interaction using a combination of two default input modalities, namely the keyboard and the mouse/touchpad. However, blind screen-reader users predominantly rely only on keyboard, and therefore struggle to interact with these applications, since it is both arduous and tedious to perform the visual 'point-and-click' tasks such as accessing the various application commands/features using just keyboard shortcuts supported by screen readers.

In this paper, we investigate the suitability of a 'rotate-and-press' input modality as an effective non-visual substitute for the visual …

Sail: Saliency-Driven Injection Of Aria Landmarks, Ali Selman Aydin, Shirin Feiz, Vikas Ashok, Iv Ramakrishnan

Computer Science Faculty Publications

Navigating webpages with screen readers is a challenge even with recent improvements in screen reader technologies and the increased adoption of web standards for accessibility, namely ARIA. ARIA landmarks, an important aspect of ARIA, lets screen reader users access different sections of the webpage quickly, by enabling them to skip over blocks of irrelevant or redundant content. However, these landmarks are sporadically and inconsistently used by web developers, and in many cases, even absent in numerous web pages. Therefore, we propose SaIL, a scalable approach that automatically detects the important sections of a web page, and then injects ARIA landmarks …

Innovative Framework For Academic And Public Health Departments' Partnership On Preparing Future Practitioners- Preliminary Data, Michele Kekeh, Muge Akpinar-Elci, Myngoc Nguyen, Nancy Welch

Community & Environmental Health Faculty Publications

This article presents a model to respond to current public health challenges and transform knowledge into preventive strategies. It also presents an innovative way for academic institutes and public health departments to focus on public health workforce development. Academic institutes partnership with public health departments have started fostering service-learning opportunities to engage students in public health with an emphasis on the specific public health outcomes. However, the benefit of service–learning projects on the health departments and the populations served is largely unknown. Recently, these service-learning opportunities are becoming less sustainable due to the inability of preceptors to provide the necessary …

Associations Between Sleep And In-Race Gastrointestinal Symptoms: An Observational Study Of Running And Triathlon Race Competitors, Patrick Benjamin Wilson

Human Movement Sciences & Special Education Faculty Publications

OBJECTIVE: It remains unstudied whether poor sleep is involved in the etiology of gastrointestinal (GI) problems in athletes.

METHODS: Eighty-seven running and triathlon/duathlon race (>60 minutes) participants completed questionnaires to quantify the Sleep Problems Index-(SPI)-I and sleep parameters from the night before races. For GI symptoms, participants reported the severity (0-10 scale) of four upper and three lower symptoms during races. Spearman's correlations examined whether sleep measures were associated with in-race GI symptoms. Partial correlations were calculated to control for age, resting GI symptoms, and anxiety.

RESULTS: SPI-I scores correlated with in-race upper GI symptoms (rho=0.26, p=0.013). Controlling for …

Cyberbullying, Digital Citizenship, And Youth With Autism: Lis Education As A Piece In The Puzzle, Abigail Phillips, Amelia Anderson

STEMPS Faculty Publications

Librarians are beginning to address the lack of services for youth with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) by providing flexible and tailored programming and services. One important need among youth with ASD is a better understanding of how to navigate the online environment safely and responsibly. Given different engagement styles with social interaction and communication, youth with ASD may be more susceptible to cyberbullying and misinterpretations during online communications than their peers. This study investigates whether librarians can (or should) play a role in digital citizenship education for youth with ASD and provides suggestions for LIS educators preparing future librarians on …

Somatic Symptoms And Binge Eating In Women's Daily Lives, Kelly A. Romano, Kristin E. Heron, Kathryn E. Smith, Ross D. Crosby, Scott G. Engel, Stephen A. Wonderlich, Raina D. Pang, Tyler B. Mason

Psychology Faculty Publications

Objective

The present study aimed to determine whether the momentary severity of women's somatic symptoms was concurrently and prospectively associated with their engagement in binge eating in naturalistic settings.

Method

Thirty women (M_age = 34.13, SD = 13.92) who had engaged in binge eating at least once over the month prior to study entry completed a 14-day ecological momentary assessment (EMA) protocol. During each of the 14 days, participants received five semi-random surveys via text message that assessed momentary somatic symptom severity (i.e., headaches, stomachaches/pain, chest/heart pain, faintness/dizziness, shortness of breath, fatigue) and disordered eating behaviors. Generalized estimating equations …

A Daily Diary Study Of Drinking And Nondrinking Days In Nonstudent Alcohol Users, Cathy Lau-Barraco, Ashley N. Linden-Carmichael

Psychology Faculty Publications

Background: Emerging adults with lower educational attainment are at higher long-term risk for problematic drinking and alcohol use disorders. Efforts to gain a more in-depth understanding of the drinking habits of nonstudent emerging adults are critical to reduce disparities and to shed light on targets of intervention for this vulnerable group.

Objectives: The current investigation aimed to: (1) provide a description of the daily drinking habits of nonstudent emerging adult drinkers using a 14-day diary method, and (2) examine nondrinking days by assessing their reasons for not drinking as well as strategies used to avoid drinking.

Methods: Participants were 27 …

Visual Estimates Of Blood Loss By Medical Laypeople: Effects Of Blood Loss Volume, Victim Gender, And Perspective, Rachel Phillips, Marc Friberg, Mattias Lantz Cronqvist, Carl-Oscar Jonson, Erik Prytz

Psychology Faculty Publications

A severe hemorrhage can result in death within minutes, before professional first responders have time to arrive. Thus, intervention by bystanders, who may lack medical training, may be necessary to save a victim's life in situations with bleeding injuries. Proper intervention requires that bystanders accurately assess the severity of the injury and respond appropriately. As many bystanders lack tools and training, they are limited in terms of the information they can use in their evaluative process. In hemorrhage situations, visible blood loss may serve as a dominant cue to action. Therefore, understanding how medically untrained bystanders (i.e., laypeople) perceive hemorrhage …