Medicine and Health Sciences Commons^™

Estimating Global Injuries Morbidity And Mortality: Methods And Data Used In The Global Burden Of Disease 2017 Study, Spencer L. James, Veincent Christian F. Pepito, 536 Co-Authors

Ateneo School of Medicine and Public Health Publications

Background While there is a long history of measuring death and disability from injuries, modern research methods must account for the wide spectrum of disability that can occur in an injury, and must provide estimates with sufficient demographic, geographical and temporal detail to be useful for policy makers. The Global Burden of Disease (GBD) 2017 study used methods to provide highly detailed estimates of global injury burden that meet these criteria.

Methods In this study, we report and discuss the methods used in GBD 2017 for injury morbidity and mortality burden estimation. In summary, these methods included estimating cause-specific mortality …

“Elderly” Seniors Vs. “Youthful” Seniors: Attributions And Reshaping Of Aging Expectations, Johnny Julvesano Yao Jr.

The Qualitative Report

People’s expectations of aging are shaped by various sources and experiences. These aging expectations subsequently influence a person’s overall health and well-being. I intended to gain a deeper understanding of the various sources by which Filipino older adults attribute and reshape negative and positive expectations regarding aging. I used a multiple case study (Creswell, 2013) and enlisted eight participants who are 60 years old and older in a large metropolitan area in the Philippines and interviewed them regarding their aging expectations. I analyzed the data using cross-case analysis for comparison of commonalities and differences in the events, activities, and processes …

Awareness Of Dying And Conflict Resolution: Texas Asian Perspectives, Gloria Duke Phd, Rn, Charlotte Wool Phd, Rn, Lobsang Tenzing Rn, Bsn

The Qualitative Report

Individuals in the end-of-life (EOL) period may not be fully aware of their prognosis or know they are facing a terminal illness. As Asian beliefs and cultural tendencies intersect with Western values, health care practitioners may find their assumptions about disclosing an EOL prognosis differs from patients and their family members. Disagreements among family members regarding the disclosure of EOL to their terminally ill loved one can result in conflict—making difficult and sensitive times more burdensome. Little scientific evidence is known about first generation Asians who live in the United States (US) regarding their practices with disclosing EOL and how …

Remedying Healthcare Disparities Affecting The Black Community, Savonna Reed

San Marcos, Summer 2020

The purpose of this literature review is to determine how black communities are being impacted by racial/social determinants of cardiovascular health, and to investigate potential healthcare solutions to eliminate these disparities.

As physical therapists, we commonly treat patients following lumbar spinal fusion surgery. Post-op outcomes have been found to be impacted by racial disparities in decision making in whether care providers offer surgical care, differences in access to care due to socioeconomic barriers, and differences in attitudes towards surgical care among ethnic groups.

Review of current literature has revealed that more research should be done to establish ways of remedying …

Turning Everyday Activities Into Play: Building Relationships And Fostering Connections For Adopted And Foster Children, Marissa E. Siu, Becki Cohill, Susan Macdermott

Summer 2020 Virtual OTD Capstone Symposium

Turning Everyday Activities into Play is a program that was created for foster children, adopted children, and individuals who work with this population in the community. This program uses everyday activities to foster the connection between children and adults. The goal of this program is to use the power of play to support regulation and build stronger bonds and relationships by turning everyday activities into play.

Occupational Therapy's Role In Addressing Sex And Intimacy For Individuals With Progressive Neuromuscular Disorders, Lindsay N. Richards, Becki Cohill, Kathryn Ellis, Susan Macdermott

Summer 2020 Virtual OTD Capstone Symposium

Individuals with progressive neuromuscular disorders (PND); specifically, Parkinson’s disease (PD), Multiple Sclerosis (MS), Huntington’s Disease (HD), and Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS) often face physical, psychological, and social challenges related to sex and intimacy. Occupational therapy (OT) practitioners are experts in activity analysis and are equipped with unique knowledge of performance skills and client factors to address deficits in occupational performance. Though there is literature presenting the effects of PND on sexual occupations, a gap exists as it relates to qualitative data from the perspective of the individual and their partners.

A mixed-methods survey was conducted examining the lived experience of …

Understanding The Impact Of Social Distancing On Older Adults And Senior Organizations To Better Adapt Towards A New Normal, Salina Jivan, Christine Mary Childers, Susan Macdermott, Becki Cohill

Summer 2020 Virtual OTD Capstone Symposium

COVID-19 brought about social distancing mandates that posed as a new barrier to meaningful social participation in the community. The purpose of this project was to understand the impact of social distancing on older adults and senior organizations to better inform the role of OT in helping seniors adapt to towards a new normal within the community. A qualitative study and needs assessment were performed through phone interviews with seniors and organizations that support them from around the United States. Themes highlighted seniors desire for social contact and cautious return to the community once mandates are lifted. Both seniors and …

Examining The Intersection Of Environmental Justice, Chronic Disease, And Pandemics; How A Mobile Health App Could Improve Health Outcomes And Inform Policy, Jessica Snow

Master's Projects and Capstones

The purpose of this paper is to analyze the intersection of environmental justice, chronic disease and illness, and pandemics. The inequitable distribution of polluting factories, landfills, and hazardous waste sites have been a long-standing concern in the field of environmental justice. Local zoning codes and land use policies have been tools for segregating people and concentrating pollution in low-income communities and communities of color. Many studies have found that pollution varies among racial and minority groups, and the burden of pollution is not one that is evenly shared. Communities of color and low income communities are disproportionately affected by air …

Con Confianza: Using Community-Based Participatory Research Principles To Inform Community-Academic Partnership Practices And Build Trust In Hispanic Communities, Sharon Tafolla

Master's Projects and Capstones

Hispanic communities are at disproportionate risk for chronic diseases and researchers have cited the need for further community and culturally informed studies to improve research outcomes to either make treatments and interventions more generalizable or modify them to the needs of Hispanic communities. However, many of the same linguistic and cultural barriers to health care access and utilization also impact the ability for Hispanic groups to participate in research studies. Community Academic Partnerships (CAPs) are positioned to conduct culturally and linguistically competent research in Hispanic communities. For research in Hispanic communities to be effective, CAPs must prioritize practices that build …

Mechanisms Study: Using Game Theory To Assess The Effects Of Social Norms And Social Networks On Adolescent Smoking In Schools—Study Protocol, Ruth F. Hunter, Felipe Montes, Jennifer M. Murray, Sharon C. Sanchez-Franco, Shannon C. Montgomery, Joaquín Jaramillo, Christopher Tate, Rajnish Kumar, Laura Dunne, Abhijit Ramalingam, Erik O. Kimbrough, Erin Krupka, Huiyu Zhou, Laurence Moore, Linda Bauld, Blanca Llorente, Olga L. Sarmiento, Frank Kee

Economics Faculty Articles and Research

This proof of concept study harnesses novel transdisciplinary insights to contrast two school-based smoking prevention interventions among adolescents in the UK and Colombia. We compare schools in these locations because smoking rates and norms are different, in order to better understand social norms based mechanisms of action related to smoking. We aim to: (1) improve the measurement of social norms for smoking behaviors in adolescents and reveal how they spread in schools; (2) to better characterize the mechanisms of action of smoking prevention interventions in schools, learning lessons for future intervention research. The A Stop Smoking in Schools Trial (ASSIST) …

Are College Students’ Attitudes Related To Their Application Of Sanctions For Campus Sexual Assault Cases?, Jaspreet K. Chahal, Caihong R. Li, Diane R. Follingstad, Claire M. Renzetti

CRVAW Faculty Journal Articles

With growing attention to adjudication of campus sexual assault cases, more is known regarding students’ views of sexual assault, but little the literature focuses on how students perceive “justice” in terms of assigning sanctions or guilt/responsibility for such cases. The present study focused on understanding whether college students’ preformed attitudes and beliefs were associated with the severity of sanctions they applied across a range of sexual assault cases as well as their assignments of guilt and responsibility to the parties involved. To determine students’ attitudes and beliefs mediating effects on sanction choices, five scales (i.e., rape myth acceptance, downplaying the …

A Unique Type Of Loneliness: Infertility In Nineteenth-Century America, Abigail Butler

Theses and Dissertations from 2020

Many diaries and letters written by nineteenth-century Americans display the aching for parenthood and pain of loss due to miscarriage. Though some women felt joy or relief when they recognized they had miscarried or were not pregnant, infertility negatively affected the everyday lives of many men and women in the nineteenth century. Infertility not only disturbed their personal beliefs of family and their role in society, but could cause marital discord, feeling outcast from society, and could lead to other health problems. Women in slavery faced even more serious consequences that included being sold away from their family and/or receiving …

Clusters Of Individuals Experiences Form A Continuum Of Persistent Non-Symbolic Experiences In Adults, Jeffery A. Martin

CONSCIOUSNESS: Ideas and Research for the Twenty-First Century

Persistent forms of nondual awareness, enlightenment, mystical experience, and so forth (Persistent Non-Symbolic Experience) have been reported since antiquity. Though sporadic research has been performed on these experiences, the scientific literature has yet to report a large-scale cognitive psychology study of this population. Method: Assessment of the subjective experience of 319 adult participants reporting persistent non-symbolic experience was undertaken using 6-12 hour semi-structured interviews and evaluated using grounded theory and thematic analysis. Results: Five core, consistent categories of change were uncovered: sense-of-self, cognition, affect, perception, and memory. Participants’ reports formed phenomenological groups in which the types of change …

Application Of Self-Efficacy Training In Group Aural Rehabilitation: An Interprofessional Collaborative Model, Stephen D. Roberts, Nancy A. Delich

JADARA

Few studies have explored self-efficacy training with persons with hearing loss (PHLs), yet alone with their communication partners (CPs). The purpose of this mixed-method study was to examine the impact of self-efficacy training as a framework for an Interprofessional Psychosocial Group Aural Rehabilitation (IPGAR) workshop with PHLs and their CPs. Four PHLs and their four CPs consented to participate in the IPGAR workshop that employed interventions including short lectures, psychosocial exercises, communication strategies training, speech perception training, adaptive/stress reduction exercises, and group discussions relevant to mutually established shared goals for each couple. The participants reported improved communication abilities in the …

Support Clubs For Children And Youth In Haiti Living With Hiv: A Case Study, Susan Settergren, Robert Philippe, Joanne St. Louis, Nathaniel Segaren, Sylvie Boisson, Tessa Lewis, Olbeg Désinor, Kesner François

HIV and AIDS

In Haiti, where an estimated 3,000 children and youth are receiving antiretroviral therapy (ART), Caris Foundation, with funding from the United States President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) through the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), provides hospital-linked psychosocial support groups, known as Kids Clubs, for young people ages nine and older. The clubs are intended to help ensure that HIV-positive children and adolescents stay in contact with health services, and serve as a conduit for delivery of other services, including health messages and health products. In 2019, Project SOAR conducted a study to describe the Kids Club …

Responding To Covid-19: How Massachusetts Senior Centers Are Adapting, Ceara Somerville, Caitlin Coyle, Jan Mutchler

Center for Social and Demographic Research on Aging Publications

The COVID-19 pandemic has swept the United States with force and speed. Massachusetts is one of the hardest hit states in nation, with over 120,000 cases and over 8,500 deaths to date. Local governments across the Commonwealth have had to work quickly to meet the needs of their constituents in a constantly changing environment. With older adults being at high risk of contracting COVID-19, having more severe symptoms, and at higher risk of dying from the disease, special efforts are warranted to ensure that they are supported in their efforts to maintain physical distance while meeting needs for food and …

Life Expectancy And Active Life Expectancy By Marital Status Among Older U.S. Adults Results From The U.S. Medicare Health Outcome Survey (Hos), Haomiao Jia, Erica I. Lubetkin

Publications and Research

Background: Previous investigations of the relationship between marital status and life expectancy and healthy life expectancy rely on the assumption that participants will remain in a given marital status until death. This study estimated total life expectancy (TLE) and active life expectancy (ALE) for respondents by their baseline marital status using a large longitudinal sample of the U.S. community-dwelling elderly population.

Methods: Data were from the Medicare Health Outcomes Survey Cohort 15 (2012 baseline, 2014 follow-up). We included respondents aged ≥65 years (n = 164,597). Multi-state models estimated TLE and ALE by marital status to allow participants' marital status to …

Investigating A Multimodal Approach To Clinical Diagnosis Of Mild Cognitive Impairment And Alzheimer’S Disease, Sean M. Flannery

Psychology Theses & Dissertations

An estimated 5.8 million Americans suffer from dementia due to Alzheimer’s disease (AD), with that number projected to grow to 13.8 million by mid-century (Alzheimer’s Association, 2019). Mild cognitive impairment (MCI) describes the stage between normal cognitive decline that comes with aging and a dementia diagnosis (Peterson, 1999). Due to a lack of a cure or particularly effective treatment, a major goal of treatment is to focus on improving quality of life (Budson & Solomon, 2016). An early and accurate diagnosis can address this goal in a variety of ways. Despite the high prevalence and immense amount of research in …

Foster Positivity Amid Covid-19 Challenges, David Chan

Research Collection School of Social Sciences

Many behaviours have encouraged positivity during the pandemic. More can be done to create communities that nurture positive attitudes and experiences

Mexico: Covid-19 Knowledge, Attitudes And Practices, Population Council

Poverty, Gender, and Youth

This brief presents responses from the first round of data collection among adults, adolescents, and community leaders in indigenous municipalities of Chiapas and Yucatan, Mexico, June 1–30, 2020. In total, 295 people from 17 municipalities were surveyed in Yucatan, and 83 people from 15 municipalities were surveyed in Chiapas. Adults and adolescents in both states identified the groups most at risk of suffering complications. Food insecurity may be a consequence of the pandemic. Regarding livelihoods, 51% of women and 63% of men in Yucatan have lost their work and/or their primary source of income since the start of the pandemic, …

México: Conocimientos, Actitudes Y Prácticas Relacionadas Con Covid-19, Population Council

Poverty, Gender, and Youth

Este informe presenta las respuestas de la primera ronda de recolección de información con personas adultas, adolescentes y autoridades comunitarios en las comunidades indígenas de Chiapas y Yucatán, México, del 1 al 30 de junio de 2020. En total, 295 personas originarias de 17 municipios fueron encuestados en Yucatán, y se encuestó a 83 personas de 15 municipios de Chiapas. Los adultos y adolescentes de ambos estados identificaron a los grupos en mayor riesgo de sufrir complicaciones. La inseguridad alimentaria puede ser una consecuencia de la pandemia Covid-19. En cuanto a los medios de vida, el 51% de las mujeres …

Structurally Vulnerable Neighbourhood Environments And Racial/Ethnic Covid-19 Inequities, Rachel L. Berkowitz, Xing Gao, Eli K. Michaels, Mahasin S. Mujahid

Faculty Research, Scholarly, and Creative Activity

Preliminary evidence indicates that the experience of the novel coronavirus is not shared equally across geographic areas. Findings in the United States suggest that the burden of COVID-19 morbidity and mortality may be hardest felt in disadvantaged and racially segregated places. Deprived neighbourhoods are disproportionately populated by people of colour, the same populations that are becoming sicker and dying more often from COVID-19. This commentary examines how structurally vulnerable neighbourhoods contribute to racial/ethnic inequities in SARS-COV-2 exposure and COVID-19 morbidity and mortality and considers opportunities to intervene through place-based initiatives and the implementation of a Health in All Policies strategy.

Développer Le Contenu D'Un Outil D'Aide À L'Amélioration Des Compétences Interculturelles Des Intervenants De La Cnesst À Partir D'Une Démarche De Coconstruction, Daniel Côté, Jessica Dubé, Nicolas Bastien, Sylvie Gravel

Rapports de recherche scientifique

Selon les intervenants de la Commission des normes, de l'équité, de la santé et de la sécurité du travail (CNESST), presque 50 % des travailleurs touchés par une lésion professionnelle sur l’île de Montréal seraient issus de l’immigration (ou de groupes ethnoculturels) (CNESST, 2010). Il ne s’agit que d’une estimation, puisque les indicateurs ethnoculturels tels que le pays de naissance, la langue maternelle ou autres ne sont pas des données colligées par la CNESST. Dans le cadre du projet de l’IRSST intitulé Comprendre le processus de réadaptation et de retour au travail dans le contexte des relations interculturelles (Côté et …

The Public Health Crisis Of Law Enforcement’S Over-Use Of Force, Mary E. Helander, Austin Mcneill Brown

Population Health Research Brief Series

The overuse of police force has public health implications. The rates of injury and death sustained while in law enforcement custody should be collected as a part of the public health strategy to minimize the over-use of force.

Creatively Exploring Self: Applying Organic Inquiry, A Transpersonal And Intuitive Methodology, Larisa J. Bardsley Phd

The Qualitative Report

This article explores the merit of using Organic Inquiry, a qualitative research approach that is most effectively applied to areas of psychological and spiritual growth. Organic Inquiry is a research approach where the psyche of the researcher becomes the instrument of the research, working in partnership with the experiences of participants and guided by liminal and spiritual influences. Organic Inquiry is presented as a unique methodology that can incorporate other non-traditional research methods, including intuitive, autoethnographic and creative techniques. The validity and application of Organic Inquiry, as well as its strengths and limitations are discussed in the light of the …

Individual Differences In Infants' Temperament Affect Face Processing, Jennifer L. Rennels, Andrea J. Kayl, Kirsty M. Kulhanek

Psychology Faculty Research

Infants show an advantage in processing female and familiar race faces, but the effect sizes are often small, suggesting individual differences in their discrimination abilities. This research assessed whether differences in 6–10-month-olds’ temperament (surgency and orienting) predicted how they scanned individual faces varying in race and gender during familiarization and whether and how long it took them to locate the face during a visual search task. This study also examined whether infants viewing faces posing pleasant relative to neutral expressions would facilitate their discrimination of male and unfamiliar race faces. Results showed that infants’ surgency on its own or in …

The Health Wagon Partners With The Virginia Department Of Health To Provide Covid-19 Testing In Rural Southwest Virginia, Tauna Gulley, Teresa Tyson, Ethan Collins, Rachel Helton, Paula Hill-Collins, Nicole France, Sarah Hubbard

Journal of Appalachian Health

The Health Wagon has been providing care for the rural population of southwest Virginia for the past 40 years. The mission of the Health Wagon is to provide quality health care to the medically underserved people in the mountains of Appalachia. It has expanded to two stationary clinics, three mobile units, and a mobile dental unit, logging over 19,000 patients encounters in the past year.

Listening To Voices In Appalachia: Gathering Wisdom From The Field About Substance-Abuse Recovery Ecosystems, Bruce Behringer

Journal of Appalachian Health

New qualitative data collected through six regional community-based listening sessions and community meetings are presented that describe elements of the Appalachian Regional Commission’s Recovery Ecosystem Model. These data informed the Model, which was used in formulating the new ARC Recovery-to-Work initiative. Input was intentionally solicited from multiple sectors, including persons recovering from substance abuse disorder, treatment and recovery service providers, workforce development agencies, employers, and community advocacy groups.

Responding To Appalachian Voices: Steps In Developing Substance-Use Recovery Ecosystems, Bruce Behringer

Journal of Appalachian Health

A description is presented of the four-step process used by the Appalachian Regional Commission to develop a new Recovery to Work initiative. The Commission identified, defined, and described issues facing individuals who complete substance abuse disorder treatment and who seek reentry into the workforce. Key elements were identified for resources and supports to develop and maintain community-based substance abuse recovery ecosystems. The steps included conceptualization, data collection, analysis, and review to formulate recommendations for program and policy development. The full process of development was accomplished in twelve months.

Experiencing Cancer In Appalachian Kentucky, Melanie Mccomsey, David Ahern, Robin C. Vanderpool, Timothy W. Mullett, Ming-Yuan Chih, Meghan Johnson, Michele Ellison, Karen Onyeije, Bradford W. Hesse, Eliah Aronoff-Spencer

Journal of Appalachian Health

Nothing tells the story of people working together better than a community quilt. A diversity of talents, colors, and materials brought together through skill and shared purpose. Perhaps never before have we as Americans needed a stronger reminder that many hands make short work of big problems. The work presented here by the L.A.U.N.C.H. Collaborative offers a new framework for health care that could be compared to a digital quilt, powered by community-based participatory design, with lived expertise and the newest advances in broadband-enabled connected health solutions. This work demonstrates the value and need to engage local communities and what …