Medicine and Health Sciences Commons^™

Refining The Nutrition Environment Measures Survey (Nems) For Healthy Community Stores: Adaptations To Capture Alternative Food Retailers And Align With Dietary Guidelines, Alex B. Hill, Ravneet Kuar, Samantha M. Sundermeir, Christina Kasprzak, Megan Winkler, Sara John, Rachael D. Dombrowski, Bree Bode, Joel Gittelsohn

Urban Studies and Planning Faculty Research Publications

Inadequate consumption of healthy food is an ongoing public health issue in the United States. Food availability measures of supply versus consumption of healthy foods are disconnected in many studies. There is a need for an objective assessment of the food environment in order to assess how the food supply aligns with the Healthy Eating Index (HEI). Data were collected as part of the Healthy Community Stores Case Study Project, including a refined Nutrition Environment Measures Survey for Healthy Community Stores (NEMS-HCS) and an updated Healthy Food Availability Index that aligns with the Healthy Eating Index (HFAHEI). This paper will …

Support For Me: Substance Use Disorder Prevalence And Treatment Capacity Assessment, Rachel T. Gallo Mph, Katharine Knight Mph, Mary Lindsey Smith Phd

Substance Use Research & Evaluation

The aim of this report was to understand the sociodemographic and geographic distribution of substance use disorder (SUD) prevalence in Maine, through a claims-based analysis which assessed current statewide capacity to address SUD by examining current SUD treatment and recovery infrastructure, service utilization patterns, and geographic distribution of services and usage throughout the state to identify any gaps in treatment and recovery capacity.

The authors would like to note that this report was completed during the planning phase of the SUPPORT for ME project, which was funded by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) via the SUPPORT Act …

Working With Sexually Violent Persons: Grit, The Supervisory Working Alliance, And Burnout, Stalina Harris

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Clinicians who work with sexually violent persons (SVPs) are faced with various problems related to the nature of their job duties, job settings, and the specificity of the population they serve. Although researchers have investigated the phenomenon of burnout extensively over the last decade, research focusing on burnout among counselors who work with SVPs is insufficient. The purpose of this quantitative comparative survey study was to investigate differences in burnout among clinicians working with SVPs by examining their grit, the supervisory working alliance, and job settings. The Grit Short Scale (Grit-S), the Supervisory Working Alliance Inventory—Trainee version (SWAI-T), and the …

Feasibility And Validity Of Asking Patients To Define Individual Levels Of Meaningful Change On Patient-Reported Outcomes, Salene M.W. Jones, Yuxian Du, Ari Bell-Brown, Kaylin Bolt, Joseph M. Unger

Journal of Patient-Centered Research and Reviews

Purpose: Patient-reported outcomes (PROs) are frequently used in clinical care to monitor treatment response. However, most guidelines on PRO use treat all patients the same. This study tested the feasibility and validity of a method for determining individually meaningful change in PRO measures.

Methods: Participants (n = 398) completed 12 pain and distress questions to define individually meaningful change. This mixed-methods study used both quantitative and qualitative analyses, including descriptive statistics, inferential statistics, and content analysis.

Results: Two-thirds (67%) of the sample reported at least one medical condition, including depression and back pain. Most participants (70%–90%) were able to answer …

Evidence-Based Diagnosis Of Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Using Quantitative Electroencephalography, Roger Yoder

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Diagnosing post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is challenging and is currently, diagnosis through self-administered checklists. Because a diagnosis of PTSD can open up significant benefits to compensation, education, and medical care, people can tailor their responses to the checklist to help ensure a diagnosis of PTSD. The purpose of the study was to examine the utility of the quantitative electroencephalograph for diagnosing PTSD. Frequency and presence of biomarkers and alpha brain wave symmetry in the frontal and parietal lobes were examined. Research questions involved examining the presence of alpha wave imbalance across the frontal lobe and between the right and left …

Changing Weight Management Self-Efficacy Among Obese Puerto Rican Adults: A Quantitative Study Using A Health Coaching Intervention, Richard Valentin Ayala, Josh Bernstein

Internet Journal of Allied Health Sciences and Practice

Purpose: Obesity and associated healthcare-related issues continue to increase. The prevalence of obesity is on the rise, which has led many health professionals to find ways to improve health interventions. Health coaching can be a viable tool to reduce the obesity epidemic. The purpose of this quantitative study was to investigate the effects of an 8-weekhealth coaching intervention in obese individuals from Puerto Rico and to determine if self-esteem and body image influence weight managementself-efficacy. Method: A pretest-posttest design using a weight management self-efficacy scale helped the researcher evaluate the effectof the coaching sessions. In addition, body image …

Macc Curriculum And Cpa Exam Passage Rates: An Exploratory Study, Evan M. Shough, Beth Stetson, Aubree Walton, Kaimee Tankersley

Administrative Issues Journal

The growing popularity of Master of Accounting programs can be attributed to multiple factors, but the states’ adoption of the 150-credit hour educational prerequisite for Certified Public Accountant licensure was clearly influential in stimulating enrollment growth. Despite the growth and importance of Master of Accounting programs, comparative data of program prerequisites and curriculum is scarce. Equally limited are empirical analyses of the effects of graduate curriculum upon CPA Exam passage rates. To address the paucity of information, we examined the program prerequisites and curriculum of 283 Master of Accounting programs, all of which are based in the United States and …

Knitting As An Adjunctive Treatment For Substance Use Disorder: A Mixed Methods Multiple Case Study, Aubriana M. Teeley

Antioch University Dissertations & Theses

Substance abuse disorder is a characterized by the presence of cognitive, behavioral, and physiological symptoms from substance use with continued use despite these consequences. It has serious individual and societal implications, such as negative health effects, overdose, poor work and school performance, negative impacts on relationships, and even death. Economic effects include more frequent use of emergency and hospital services as compared to peers without substance use disorder. A variety of treatments for substance use are available, including inpatient and outpatient programs accompanied by behavioral interventions, individual or group psychotherapy, or 12-step programs. However, there is no one treatment that …

'Stand By Me' Designated Tobacco Areas On U.S. Military Installations, Robert Thomas Gobble

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

U.S. Air Force (USAF) active duty Airmenshowunusually high tobacco prevalence rates (TPR); i.e., smoke, smokeless, both(SSL-B), when compared to civilian publics in the United States. Tobacco control efforts have proven largely ineffective inlowering nicotine habits among Airmen, while outdoor designated tobacco areas (DTAs) sited near worksites and popular localeson USAF bases (USAFBs) likelyswayAirmen to continue riskynicotine habits. The aim of this inquiry was to assess whetherquantities of DTAs on USAFBs and U.S. airbases (USABs) with 4 mediator variables(quality of DTAs,sites of DTAs, execution of a tobacco cessation program, and types of tobacco cessation programs) wereassociated with TPR (SSL-B) among Airmen …

The Effects Of Gender And Perception Of Community Safety On Happiness, Jennifer K. Daffon

Antioch University Dissertations & Theses

Income-based indicators of happiness have been shown to be limited in their ability to predict happiness. Alternative measures of happiness have been gaining prominence in happiness research, and two predictors of happiness were investigated in the current study. The extent to which happiness (measured by affect, life satisfaction, and psychological well-being) could be predicted by gender and perception of community safety was investigated with 19,644 participant responses to The Happiness Alliance Survey. Multiple linear regression models indicated that gender and community safety are significant predictors of affect, life satisfaction, and psychological well-being. The effect of the predictor variables was similar …

Referral And Treatment Settings For Pregnant Women, Linda D. O'Daniel

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Drug and alcohol addiction in pregnant women is a significant public health issue. The purpose of this study was to assess drug and alcohol addiction in pregnant women and the setting in which they sought service or treatment to determine whether U.S. census regions and race data could predict the type of addiction service or treatment that pregnant addicts chose. The theories of self-efficacy, cognitive behavioral therapy, and rational emotive behavioral therapy were used as the theoretical framework for this study. The research questions were used to examine whether there was a relationship between the source of addiction treatment referral …

Emergency Room Utilization Of Participants With Mental Health Conditions Enrolled In Health Home Services, Amanda Duff

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Large numbers of individuals utilize the ER each year for mental health reasons. The health home agency in this study was designed under the Affordable Care Act with the intention of increasing patient self-management thus decreasing high-cost service utilization. The effectiveness of health homes in reducing mental health-related ER visits has remained unexplored. In this study, the relationship between participation in this program and ER utilization was examined, using the theoretical framework of the Health Belief Model. The sample of 128 health home participants with documented mental health conditions was selected using systematic random sampling. A one-way, repeated-measures t-test and …

Witnessing Parental Domestic Violence And Young Girls' Dating Relationships, Brinda Kay Mckinney

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Domestic violence afflicts people regardless of ethnicity, socio-economically status, age, or gender. Too often, girls enter and remain in abusive relationships, despite the trauma and risks of doing so. Using Roy's theory of adaptation, this study explored the effect of witnessing inter-parental violence on girls' experiences of physical violence or sexual abuse in their dating relationships. Original data collection occurred at a Midwestern U.S. university via e-mail using questions adapted from the CDC's Youth Risk Behavior Survey Surveillance System. The study used 526 responses from female participants who self-disclosed if they had or had not witnessed inter-parental violence for categorical …

Relationship Between Stress Burden And Perceived Support Among Elderly Male Spousal Caregivers, Stephanie Fitzsimmons Sexton

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

As older couples age, often one partner becomes more competent and able to care for the other, in which case they are able to remain in their homes. In one township in the northeastern United States, the caregiving role had a significant effect on the lives of elderly men who care for their wives. The purpose of this quantitative project study was to determine the relationship between perceived stress burden and perceived level of social support services and between perceived stress burden and use of support services by elderly male spousal caregivers residing in active adult communities. Watson's theory of …

Loneliness And Perceived Stigmatization Among Older Adults Enrolled In Opiate Substitution Treatment Programs And The Utilization Of Mental Health Services, Jennifer B. Armstrong

Antioch University Dissertations & Theses

Little research has examined the role that loneliness and perceived stigmatization play in the decision to seek mental health services among older adults enrolled in opiate substitution treatment. Researchers studying this at-risk population have called for more studies to examine services that can be implemented within current opiate substitution treatment settings. This study advances research in the field by utilizing standardized self-report measures to examine the relationship between loneliness, perceived stigmatization, and the impact of said variables on the utilization of available mental health services among older adults enrolled in opiate substitution treatment programs. Ninety-four 50-71-year-old adults from an opiate …

Stop Thumbing Around: A Quantitative Analysis Of The Structure And Architecture Of The Transverse And Oblique Heads Of The Adductor Pollicis Muscle, A Stamenkovic, B J. Munro, G E. Peoples

Alexander Stamenkovic

Abstract of paper that has been presented at 2012 Meeting of the Australian and New Zealand Association of Clinical Anatomists, University of New South Wales, Australia, 9-11 December, 2012.

An Examination Of Behavioral And Temporal Consistency Of Pre-Performance Routines In Ncaa Division I Basketball Free Throw Shooting – A Naturalist Observational Investigation, Jacob Blumberg

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Research has shown that pre-performance routines positively influence performance of closed and self-paced skills (Boutcher & Crews, 1987; Cohn, 1990; Otto et al., 2011). Boutcher and Crews (1987) suggested that pre-performance routines improve performance by helping reduce anxiety along with helping athletes’ retain mental sharpness and focus. Furthermore, several quantitative studies have examined the influence of both behavioral and temporal consistency of pre-performance routines on the success of a skill, yielding inconsistent results (Boutcher & Crews, 1987; Lobmeyer & Wasserman, 1986; Lonsdale & Tam, 2008; Jackson, 2003). However, research examining this phenomenon from a qualitative and naturalistic observational perspective is …

Stop Thumbing Around: A Quantitative Analysis Of The Structure And Architecture Of The Transverse And Oblique Heads Of The Adductor Pollicis Muscle, A Stamenkovic, B J. Munro, G E. Peoples

Faculty of Science, Medicine and Health - Papers: part A

Abstract of paper that has been presented at 2012 Meeting of the Australian and New Zealand Association of Clinical Anatomists, University of New South Wales, Australia, 9-11 December, 2012.

Developing 'Policy Stories' For State Health System Benchmarking: A Small-N Quali-Quantitative Study, Erica Bell, Bastian Seidel

Faculty of Science, Medicine and Health - Papers: part A

Background: The benchmarking literature has made important advances and offers many different population health indicators that can be used to compare state health systems. However, there is still a need for qualitative, complexity-oriented approaches that allow policy-makers to develop explanatory 'policy stories' from combining such indicators that are useful to policy solutions. Methods: A new qualitative method from the social sciences based on Boolean approaches, called Qualitative Comparative Analysis (QCA), was piloted in a 'real world' policy consultancy to combine Australian state-level indicators of community and health system inputs, interventions, and population health outcomes. Analyses were provided for state inputs …

An Innovative Osce Clinical Log Station: A Quantitative Study Of Its Influence On Log Use By Medical Students, Judith N. Hudson, Helen Rienits, Linda Corrin, Martin Olmos

Faculty of Science, Medicine and Health - Papers: part A

Background A Clinical Log was introduced as part of a medical student learning portfolio, aiming to develop a habit of critical reflection while learning was taking place, and provide feedback to students and the institution on learning progress. It was designed as a longitudinal self-directed structured record of student learning events, with reflection on these for personal and professional development, and actions planned or taken for learning. As incentive was needed to encourage student engagement, an innovative Clinical Log station was introduced in the OSCE, an assessment format with established acceptance at the School. This study questions: How does an …

University Technology Transfer Factors As Predictors Of Entrepreneurial Orientation, Dorothy M. Kirkman

Administrative Issues Journal

University technology transfer is a collaborative effort between academia and industry involving knowledge sharing and learning. Working closely with their university partners affords biotechnology firms the opportunity to successfully develop licensed inventions and gain access to novel scientific and technological discoveries. These factors may enhance a firm’s entrepreneurial orientation by supporting innovative, proactive, and risk-taking behaviors. This study investigates whether university technology transfer characteristics such as the transfer process, transfer modes (formal and informal), and transfer terms influence entrepreneurial orientation. Using survey data from biotechnology firms that develop human health therapies, the findings suggest that the transfer process and informal …

Quantitative Characterization Of Emissions From Biomass Burning Using Remote Sensing Measurements, Clare Paton-Walsh, Emma Young, David Griffith

Faculty of Science, Medicine and Health - Papers: part A

We present a new method for deriving total emissions estimates from large vegetation fires using satellite-based measurements of aerosol optical depth. This method is based upon simultaneous measurements of total column amounts of trace gases and aerosol optical depth of the atmosphere through smoke plumes from Australian fires. These measurements were derived from ground-based solar remote sensing spectrometers in the infrared and UV-visible spectral regions and also provide emission ratios that may be used in more conventional bottom-up estimates of total emissions. Measurements of emissions from Australian forest fires are relatively sparse given the significance of this source to the …

Work Interrupted: A Questionnaire Assessing The Relationship Between Work-Related Distress And Psychological Adjustment To Cancer, Betsy A. Bates Freed

Antioch University Dissertations & Theses

Cancer is an increasingly survivable disease that significantly impacts the ability of individuals to negotiate successfully the developmental task most distinctly affiliated with middle adulthood: creating meaning through achievement, creativity, and service. For many adults, these goals are accomplished through employment. When cancer intrudes, patients may be deprived of the ability to participate fully in the “generativity” that developmental psychologist Erik Erikson deemed essential to a healthy adulthood. In qualitative studies, patients’ narratives speak of many work-related losses — of routine, normality, economic stability, social connection, purpose, and identity. While psychosocial issues and quality of life are viewed with increasing …

The Influence Of Treatment Team Cohesion In The Success Of In-Home Mental Health Treatment For Children And Adolescents With Emotional And Behavioral Disorders, Jaimie C. Orndorff

Antioch University Dissertations & Theses

Background: The author pursued this area of interest due to having had a positive experience working as a therapist within a high cohesion treatment team in an in-home setting. This experience with a high cohesion team seemed to lead to more successful results than other teams that were deemed low cohesion, in the same format. This experience led to a general curiosity about why the team this author was on was more effective. Additional research allowed this author to determine the possible link between cohesion, success of treatment and reduced risk for burnout, defined as a response to chronic job …

Validity Of Carbohydrate, Glycaemic Index And Glycaemic Load Data Obtained Using A Semi-Quantitative Food-Frequency Questionnaire, Alan Winston Barclay, Victoria Mary Flood, Jennie Cecile Brand-Miller, Paul Mitchell

Faculty of Health and Behavioural Sciences - Papers (Archive)

Objective: To assess the ability of a food-frequency questionnaire (FFQ) to rank Australians according to their intake of total carbohydrate, sugar, starch, fibre, glycaemic index (GI) and glycaemic load (GL). Design: Cross-sectional sample from a population cohort. Setting: Two postcode areas west of Sydney, Australia. Subjects: From 1992 to 1994, a total of 2868 older Australians provided dietary data using a 145-item Willett-derived FFQ. A representative sub-sample of 78 subjects completed three 4-day weighed food records (WFRs). Pearson and Spearman correlations, Bland–Altman plots and weighted kappa values were calculated. Results: Compared with the WFR, the FFQ provided higher mean estimates …

Fish Recolonization In Temperate Australian Rockpools: A Quantitative Experimental Approach, Shane Griffiths, Ronald West, Andrew R. Davis, Ken Russell

Faculty of Science, Medicine and Health - Papers: part A

Understanding recolonization processes of intertidal fish assemblages is integral for predicting the consequences of significant natural or anthropogenic impacts on the intertidal zone. Recolonization of experimentally defaunated intertidal rockpools by fishes at Bass Point, New South Wales (NSW), Australia, was assessed quantitatively by using one long-term and two short-term studies. Rockpools of similar size and position at four sites within the intertidal zone were repeatedly defaunated of their fish fauna after one week, one month, and three months during two short-term studies in spring and autumn (5 months each), and every six months for the long-term study (12 months). Fish …

The Media, Risk Assessment And Numbers: They Don't Add Up, Sharon M. Friedman

RISK: Health, Safety & Environment (1990-2002)

Professor Friedman argues that, for risks to be reported accurately, journalism educators must help their students understand science, numbers and statistics.