Medicine and Health Sciences Commons^™

Evaluating The Association Between Depressive Symptoms And Glycemic Control Among Residents Of Rural Appalachia, Brittany L. Smalls, Adebola Adegboyega, Ellen Combs, Eli W. Travis, Felipe De La Barra, Lovoria B. Williams, Nancy Schoenberg

Journal of Appalachian Health

Introduction: Type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) is associated with a range of co-morbid physical and psychological conditions, including depression. Yet there is a dearth of evidence regarding the prevalence of depression among those in Appalachia living with T2DM; this gap persists despite the higher regional prevalence of T2DM and challenging social determinants of health.

Purpose: This study aimed to provide greater detail about the relationships between T2DM and depressive symptoms in adults living in Appalachia Kentucky.

Methods: The present study was a cross-sectional analysis of baseline data derived from an ongoing study of Appalachia Kentucky adults living with T2DM. Outcome …

Differences In Distress Between Rural And Non-Rural Appalachian Breast Cancer Patient / Caregiver Dyads During The First Year Of Treatment, Jordan Tasman, Callie D. Mcadams, Jillian Lloyd, Ashton J. Brooks, Patricia Nola Eugene Roberson

Journal of Appalachian Health

Introduction: Breast cancer patients and their caregivers living in rural Appalachia face substantial health disparities compared to their non-rural Appalachian counterparts. However, there is limited research on how these specific health disparities in rural Appalachian communities may impact patient psychological distress and caregiver strain during the first year of breast cancer treatment.

Purpose: The purpose of the current study was to assess differences in patient psychological distress (depression and anxiety) and caregiver strain between rural non-rural Appalachian breast-cancer-affected dyads (patients and their caregivers) during the first year of treatment.

Methods: A total of 48 Appalachian breast cancer patients (with a …

Promotion Of Early Recognition Of Depression To Improve Health Related Quality Of Life In Pediatric Oncology Patients, Jennifer Blankenship

DNP Projects

Background: Depression and anxiety are serious complications of cancer and deemed a challenging diagnosis due to the symptoms of depression mimicking common side effects of chemotherapy and radiation. Signs/symptoms frequently are underrecognized thus appropriate treatment is delayed, compromising the health-related quality of life (HRQOL) for pediatric oncology patients.

Purpose: Analyze existing physician and Advanced Practice Provider (APP) clinical practice regarding depression, via a pre- and post-survey and educational PowerPoint on the use of the Center for Epidemiological Studies Depression Scale for Children (CES-DC) to promote early recognition of depression.

Methods: A prospective, single-arm, study was completed in the Kentucky Children’s …

The Effect Of Travel Burden On Depression And Anxiety In African American Women Living With Systemic Lupus, Ashley A. White, Brittany L. Smalls, Aissatou Ba, Trevor D. Faith, Viswanathan Ramakrishnan, Hetlena Johnson, Jillian Rose, Clara L. Dismuke-Greer, Jim C. Oates, Leonard E. Egede, Edith M. Williams

Family and Community Medicine Faculty Publications

The United States has a deficit of rheumatology specialists. This leads to an increased burden in accessing care for patients requiring specialized care. Given that most rheumatologists are located in urban centers at large hospitals, many lupus patients must travel long distances for routine appointments. The present work aims to determine whether travel burden is associated with increased levels of depression and anxiety among these patients. Data for this study were collected from baseline visits of patients participating in a lupus study at MUSC. A travel/economic burden survey was assessed as well as the 8-item Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-8) and …

Socioemotional Selectivity And Psychological Health In Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis Patients And Caregivers: A Longitudinal, Dyadic Analysis, Suzanne C. Segerstrom, Edward J. Kasarskis, David W. Fardo, Philip M. Westgate

Psychology Faculty Publications

Objective: Socioemotional selectivity theory predicts that as the end of life approaches, goals and resources that provide immediate, hedonic reward become more important than those that provide delayed rewards. This study tested whether these goal domains differentially affected psychological health in the context of marital dyads in which one partner had been diagnosed with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), a life-limiting disease.

Design: ALS patients (N = 102) being treated in three multidisciplinary clinics and their spouses (N = 100) reported their loneliness, financial worry and psychological health every 3 months for up to 18 months.

Main …

Evaluating The Relationship Between Phq9 And Global Pain Scale (Gps) Scores In Opioid Dependent Adults: A Retrospective Correlational Study, Lori Nolan

DNP Projects

Background: Depression, chronic pain and opioid dependence are conditions commonly encountered in primary care settings. These comorbidities create treatment challenges while negatively influencing outcomes of care. The Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ9) and Global Pain Scale (GPS) are valid screening tools used to score depression and pain symptoms. The purpose of this study was to determine the relationship between the PHQ9 and Global Pain Scale (GPS) scores in opioid dependent adults with chronic pain to determine whether both tools are necessary.

Methods: This was a descriptive study using a retrospective correlational research design. Data was obtained from the electronic medical records …

Diabetes-Related Distress Screening: A Survey Of Primary Care Providers' Knowledge, Attitudes, And Practices In Treating Patients With Difficulty Meeting Glycemic Goals., Michele Patrice Paxton

DNP Projects

A patient with diabetes is two to three times more likely to be depressed than the general population. Furthermore, the combination of diabetes and depression is associated with increased morbidity and mortality. However, research has shown that treatment for depression does not correlate with lower HbA1c levels or a decrease in morbidity and mortality. Recently, a body of evidence has shown that increased HbA1c levels and depression are associated with the emotional burden of managing diabetes. The emotional burden is caused by the constant behavioral and mental demands of managing the disease and the worry and fear of the impending …

Latent Profile Analysis Of The Five Facet Mindfulness Questionnaire In A Sample With A History Of Recurrent Depression, Jenny Gu, Anke Karl, Ruth A. Baer, Clara Strauss, Thorsten Barnhofer, Catherine Crane

Psychology Faculty Publications

Background: Extending previous research, we applied latent profile analysis in a sample of adults with a history of recurrent depression to identify subgroups with distinct response profiles on the Five Facet Mindfulness Questionnaire and understand how these relate to psychological functioning. Method: The sample was randomly divided into two subsamples to first examine the optimal number of latent profiles (test sample; n = 343) and then validate the identified solution (validation sample; n = 340). Results: In both test and validation samples, a four-profile solution was revealed where two profiles mapped broadly onto those previously identified in nonclinical samples: “high …

The Impact Of A Civic Service Program On Biopsychosocial Outcomes Of Post 9/11 U.S. Military Veterans, Monica M. Matthieu, Karen A. Lawrence, Emma Robertson-Blackmore

Social Work Faculty Publications

Volunteering as a health promotion intervention, improves physical health, mental health, and social outcomes particularly in older adults, yet limited research exists for veterans. We conducted a preliminary study to explore whether volunteering impacts a variety of biopsychosocial outcomes, including symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and depression, among returning military veterans from Iraq and Afghanistan. A survey enrolling a prospective cohort of United States (U.S.) veterans who served in the military after 11 September 2001 and who participated in a national civic service program was conducted. A total of 346 veterans completed standardized health, mental health, and psychosocial self-report …

Trait Anxiety And Economic Risk Avoidance Are Not Necessarily Associated: Evidence From The Framing Effect, Ruolei Gu, Runguo Wu, Lucas S. Broster, Yang Jiang, Rui Xu, Qiwei Yang, Pengfei Xu, Yue-Jia Luo

Behavioral Science Faculty Publications

According to previous literature, trait anxiety is related to the tendency to choose safety options during risk decision-making, that is, risk avoidance. In our opinion, anxious people’s risk preference might actually reflect their hypersensitivity to emotional information. To examine this hypothesis, a decision-making task that could elicit the framing effect was employed. The framing effect indicates that risk preference could be modulated by emotional messages contained in the description (i.e., frame) of options. The behavioral results have showed the classic framing effect. In addition, individual level of trait anxiety was positively correlated with the framing effect size. However, trait anxiety …

Mental Health Treatment Seeking Patterns And Preferences Of Appalachian Women With Depression, Claire Snell-Rood, Emily Hauenstein, Carl G. Leukefeld, Frances Feltner, Amber Marcum, Nancy E. Schoenberg

Behavioral Science Faculty Publications

This qualitative study explored social-cultural factors that shape treatment seeking behaviors among depressed rural, low-income women in Appalachia—a region with high rates of depression and a shortage of mental health services. Recent research shows that increasingly rural women are receiving some form of treatment and identifying their symptoms as depression. Using purposive sampling, investigators recruited 28 depressed low-income women living in Appalachian Kentucky and conducted semistructured interviews on participants’ perceptions of depression and treatment seeking. Even in this sample of women with diverse treatment behaviors (half reported current treatment), participants expressed ambivalence about treatment and its potential to promote recovery. …

Intimate Partner Violence And Women's Cancer Quality Of Life, Ann L. Coker, Diane R. Follingstad, Lisandra S. Garcia, Heather M. Bush

CRVAW Faculty Journal Articles

Purpose

Because intimate partner violence (IPV) may disproportionately impact women’s quality of life (QOL) when undergoing cancer treatment, women experiencing IPV were hypothesized to have (a) more symptoms of depression or stress and (b) lower QOL as measured with the Functional Assessment of Cancer Therapy (FACT-B) and Functional Assessment of Chronic Illness Therapy—Spiritual Well-being (FACIT-SP) Scales relative to those never experiencing IPV.

Methods

Women, aged 18–79, who were included in one of two state cancer registries from 2009 to 2015 with a recent incident, primary, invasive biopsy-confirmed cancer diagnosis were recruited and asked to complete a phone interview, within 12 …

Reducing Depression Among Older Adults: Informal Helping Versus Volunteering, Salih Salihoglu

MPA/MPP/MPFM Capstone Projects

Volunteerism is an unpaid productive activity that is exercised within a formal organization to benefit others that are not part of family or friends (Musick & Wilson, 2008). Alternatively, individuals could engage in informal helping which would be an activity undertaken outside a formal, structured organization. This paper addresses whether informal helping is also effective in reducing depression for older adults alongside volunteering. I hypothesize that informal helping is effective in reducing depression only when exercised for short durations. On the other hand, I hypothesize that volunteerism is only effective when exercised for long periods of time. I try to …

Effectiveness Of Psychotherapy For Youth In Poverty: A Benchmarking Study Of A Public Behavioral Health Agency Using A Client Feedback System, Jonathan Kodet

Theses and Dissertations--Educational, School, and Counseling Psychology

Objective: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of a public behavioral health (PBH) agency that had implemented continuous outcome feedback as a quality improvement strategy.

Method: I investigated the pre-post treatment outcomes of 4,389 ethnically diverse youths (6 to 17 years old) at or under the poverty line participating in treatment (from January 2008 to March 2014) for a broad range of primary diagnoses including depression and anxiety disorders (23%); adjustment disorders (27%); Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (13%), various V-codes (18%); bipolar disorders (3%); and substance use disorders (2%). I also investigated the treatment outcomes …

Improving Depression Care For Older Home Health Patients, Sarah R. Schirmer

DNP Projects

Rates of depression in older home healthcare (HH) patients are highly prevalent. Although depression in this population is associated with increased rates of re-hospitalization, falls, and suicides, it is frequently under diagnosed and under treated. This Capstone Report examined this problem through three interrelated manuscripts. The first manuscript explored the problem through a review of the literature. This review determined that while there are many barriers to adequate depression care, programs that train clinicians to screen for depression and connect patients to depression care encourage adequate evaluation and treatment and can result in clinically significant changes in depression scores. This …

Depression, Sensation Seeking, And Maternal Smoking As Predictors Of Adolescent Cigarette Smoking, Judy Van De Venne, Kay Bradford, Catherine A. Martin, Megan Cox, Hatim A. Omar

Family Sciences Faculty Publications

The purpose of this study was to examine maternal and adolescent depression, maternal and teen sensation seeking, and maternal smoking, and their associations with adolescent smoking. Data were collected from a sample of 47 male and 66 female adolescents (ages 11-18 years) and their mothers from three different health clinics. The findings indicated that maternal sensation seeking was linked indirectly with adolescent smoking through teen sensation seeking, both of which were significantly associated with teen smoking (β = 0.29, p < 0.001 and β = 0.32, p < 0.001, respectively). Teen depression was associated positively with teen smoking (β = 0.24, p < 0.01) when controlling for sensation seeking behaviors. Maternal smoking was also directly linked to adolescent smoking (β = 0.20, p < 0.05). These findings underscore a potentially important role of sensation seeking in the origins of adolescent smoking, and clarify pathways of influence with regard to maternal attitudes and behaviors in subsequent teenage nicotine use.