Medicine and Health Sciences Commons^™

Living With Uncertainty: The Impact On Breast Cancer Survivors And Their Intimate Partners, Kimberley Dockery

Department of Family Therapy Dissertations and Applied Clinical Projects

This study explored the lived experiences of breast cancer survivors and their intimate partners. The research was informed by a social constructionist framework and phenomenological method of inquiry. While the body of literature on the physical, psychological, and social health of breast cancer survivors is growing, only a few studies have focused solely on the lived experience of survivorship and the uncertainty of recurrence. This study sought to explore the construction of meaning in the couples' context and experiences of surviving breast cancer. The present study examined how breast cancer survivors make meaning of their survivorship in context of living …

Balika Fact Sheet: Highlight On Livelihoods, Population Council

Poverty, Gender, and Youth

There are few income-earning opportunities for adolescent girls in the Bangladeshi Association for Life Skills, Income, and Knowledge for Adolescents (BALIKA) study area, and livelihoods opportunities vary considerably by economic status and education. The ability to acquire livelihood-relevant skills, networks, and work experience during adolescence can be an important predictor of productive capacity later in life. However, across the study districts, the proportion of adolescent girls who are working is low. Most girls work as tutors or are engaged in the agricultural and poultry sector. Better-educated girls are more likely to be engaged in paid work. This BALIKA “Highlight on …

Adolescents In Rajasthan 2012: Changing Situation And Needs, Shireen J. Jejeebhoy, Rajib Acharya

Poverty, Gender, and Youth

Several national policies and programs formulated since 2000 have underscored India’s commitment to addressing the multiple needs of youth. The Rashtriya Kishor Swasthya Karyakram (RKSK) program launched in 2014 helped provide the framework for services for young people’s health in general, and their sexual and reproductive health, mental health, and prevention and care of noncommunicable diseases, in particular. The earlier Youth in India: Situation and Needs 2006–2007 study was the first-ever subnationally representative study conducted to identify key transitions experienced by married and unmarried youth in India. Data have now become available from a repeated survey conducted in 2012 in …

Hiv/Aids Vulnerabilities, Discrimination, And Service Accessibility Among Africa's Youth: Insights From A Multi-Country Study, Babatunde A.O. Ahonsi, Nahla G. Abdel-Tawab, Scott Geibel, Sam Kalibala, Jerry Okal, Babacar Mane, Nathi Sohaba, Julialynne Walker, Eric P. Green

HIV and AIDS

This report contains information from a study implemented between August 2011 and July 2012 that sought to provide a comprehensive, evidence-based picture of the HIV-related issues facing young people across Africa, and the prevailing legal, policy, and programmatic responses. The study was designed to establish a basis for a sharper focus on youth within the response to HIV on the continent. Researchers conducted country-specific analytical reviews of the relevant literature on factors associated with HIV risk-taking and health-seeking behaviors among young people aged 15–24 in six countries across Africa—Egypt, Kenya, Nigeria, Senegal, South Africa, and Uganda. In addition, qualitative and …

Formative Research To Develop An Intervention For Addressing Mental Health/Psychosocial Issues And Hiv Vulnerability Of Marginalized Adolescents In Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, Nrupa Jani, Katie D. Schenk

HIV and AIDS

Children and adolescents who migrate from rural regions to Addis Ababa, Ethiopia often flee their households to escape from abusive families, forced marriages, poverty, lack of economic opportunity and education, and other social problems. They are often met with equally harsh, if not worse, challenges when they arrive in Addis Ababa, including treacherous living situations, abusive working conditions with meager compensation, limited opportunities for education and socialization, and absence of family support. This study conducted a qualitative needs assessment to determine type and extent of mental health and psychological needs among adolescent migrants living in Addis Ababa in order to …

Pmtct Cascade Analysis In Côte D'Ivoire: Results From A National Representative Sample, Stephen S. Gloyd, Julia Robinson, Serge A. Dali, S. Adam Granato, Rebecca Bartlein, Seydou Kouyate, David Aka, Doroux A. Billy, Irma Ahoba, Ahoua Kone

HIV and AIDS

Without treatment, an HIV-positive pregnant woman has a 30–35 percent chance of transmitting the infection to her child. Early detection and appropriate treatment during pregnancy, childbirth, and breastfeeding can reduce those odds to less than 5 percent. Consequently, WHO and countries around the world have instituted prevention of mother-to-child transmission of HIV (PMTCT) programs, consisting of the “PMTCT cascade”: testing for HIV at the first antenatal visit; CD4 test of HIV-positive patients; antiretroviral (ARV) prophylaxis to mother throughout pregnancy and breastfeeding; ARV prophylaxis to child at delivery and throughout breastfeeding; HIV testing of child and initiation of antiretroviral therapy (ART) …

Provider Alerts And Reminders To Improve Tuberculosis Care Among People Living With Hiv In Kenya: Tb Tech Formative Report, Caricia Catalani, Eric P. Green, Lameck Diero, Jane Carter, Martin Were, Dennis Israelski, Adrian Gardner, Charity Ndwiga, Paul Biondich

HIV and AIDS

People living with HIV (PLHIV) have a 20-fold higher risk of dying from tuberculosis (TB) than the general population. Reducing TB morbidity and mortality among PLHIV requires identifying those with active TB and treating them, as well as preventing new TB infections among those not infected. WHO recommends screening all HIV-infected patients for symptoms of active TB infection, testing those who show symptoms, treating those with positive TB tests, and providing isoniazid preventive therapy (IPT) for those who are either asymptomatic or whose TB test results are negative. WHO classifies Kenya among the “high burden” countries for TB and notes …

Retention Of Adolescents Living With Hiv In Care, Treatment, And Support Programs In Uganda, Livingstone Ssali, Sam Kalibala, Josephine Birungi, Aggrey Egessa, Jonathan Wangisi, Joanne Lyavala Okullu, Celestin Bakanda, Stephen Okoboi, Francis Obare

HIV and AIDS

Understanding the extent to which adolescents aged 10–19 years who are living with HIV are retained in HIV care, treatment, and support is important for informing the design of effective services for this population to better meet their needs across three main areas of HIV and AIDS programming: treatment; care and support; and prevention. Retention in HIV programs is, in turn, important for positive clinical outcomes including viral suppression and survival. In 2013–2014, The AIDS Support Organization and the Population Council undertook a study to generate evidence on factors associated with retention of adolescents in HIV and AIDS programs in …

An Overview Of The Hiv Prevention Landscape In Zimbabwe: Implications For Tenofovir Gel, Population Council

HIV and AIDS

Zimbabwe has seen a tremendous shift in the HIV landscape in the last decade, particularly regarding prevalence. Yet many people, especially women, are still at high risk and efforts to identify and implement additional HIV-prevention options remain critical. Topical microbicides are a promising new technology that women can control or initiate, with a number of products tested in clinical trials over the past two decades. As research moves forward, decision-makers and other stakeholders need key background information to inform strategic decision-making regarding introduction of tenofovir gel and other new HIV-prevention products. The Population Council has designed a toolkit to assist …

Hiv/Aids Vulnerabilities, Discrimination, And Service Accessibility Among Nigeria's Youth, Population Council

HIV and AIDS

This report documents the findings of a study implemented between August 2011 and July 2012 that sought to provide a comprehensive, evidence-based picture of the HIV-related issues facing Nigerian youth and the prevailing legal, policy, and programmatic responses. The study was designed to establish a basis for a sharper focus on youth within the national response to HIV. Researchers conducted an analytical review of the relevant literature on factors associated with HIV risk-taking and health-seeking behaviors among young people aged 15–24 in Nigeria. In addition, qualitative and quantitative analyses enabled an evaluation of the factors associated with young people’s sexual …

Hiv/Aids Vulnerabilities, Discrimination, And Service Accessibility Of Nigeria's Youth: Summary Of Study Findings, Population Council

HIV and AIDS

Nigerian youth, especially females, are disproportionately affected by HIV yet remain a neglected subpopulation in the response to HIV. Current HIV-prevention interventions are often not youth-friendly in design and implementation. Youth, therefore, fail to access these services which further worsens their vulnerability to HIV/AIDS. This study, implemented between August 2011 and July 2012, sought to provide a comprehensive evidence-based picture of the HIV-related issues facing Nigerian youth and the prevailing legal, policy, and programmatic responses. Researchers conducted an analytical review of the relevant literature on factors associated with HIV risk-taking and health-seeking behaviors among young people aged 15–24 in Nigeria. …

Policy And Programme Considerations For Arv-Based Prevention For Women: Insights From Key Opinion Leaders In Zimbabwe About Tenofovir Gel, Samukeliso Dube, Barbara Friedland, Saiqa Mullick, Martha Brady, C. Elizabeth Mcgrory

HIV and AIDS

Zimbabwe has seen a tremendous shift in the HIV landscape in the last decade, particularly regarding prevalence. Yet many people, especially women, are still at high risk and efforts to identify and implement additional HIV-prevention options remain critical. After nearly 20 years of microbicides research, 1 percent tenofovir gel is the first vaginal microbicide to show promise. Since 2011, Zimbabwe has been scaling up use of tenofovir-based regimens as first-line therapy for adults infected with HIV. A randomized, placebo-controlled, double-blind trial demonstrated that women assigned to use 1 percent tenofovir gel had a 39 percent lower risk of HIV infection …

A Vision Of Capitalism, As It Was Meant To Be: A Social Purpose Business Plan For Foodshed Productions, August Miller

Capstone Collection

FoodShed Productions, a social enterprise is pursuing a mission: to raise the caring capacity of communities and resilience of our local environments through resident education in organic backyard farming. As a social enterprise, FoodShed Productions, a for-profit, earns its economic viability doing work more often associated with non-profits, measuring its worth by the social, environmental, and economic benefits of its operations. The communities in Boulder County, CO. are served by FoodShed Productions through a social process in which “We Build, We Coach, You Keep Growing,” toward the goal of self-reliance.

The topic of this CLC is a Social Purpose Business …

Factors That Influence Undergraduate Communication Sciences And Disorders Students’ Clinical Preferences, Amanda Fry

Honors Projects

The purpose of the current study was to explore factors that influence undergraduate students’ clinical preferences. Specifically, the study examined the factors that may relate to undergraduate communication sciences students’ knowledge of, and interest in working with older adults. Undergraduate students in communication sciences programs from across Ohio were recruited for participation for an online survey. Data from 152 undergraduate students’ from 7 universities and colleges in Ohio were evaluated using descriptive statistics and Pearson Correlation Coefficients. Results indicate that participants had knowledge of older adults and the adult lifespan, but did not feel prepared to demonstrate this knowledge in …

Verbal Violence At Workplace: A Reality From Pakistani Context., Laila Akber Cassum

School of Nursing & Midwifery

Work place violence is the most distressing subject globally, and has been a concern for many decades affecting home and work environment.This cancer has even invaded health care sector worldwide. Nursing professionals whether they are at hospital or at academics institutions are subjected to violence. Although, it has been a burning issue, among nursing health care workers it has often gone unchecked, and people tend to accept it as the part of the system.

In this paper I would be discussing and deliberating that work place violence particularly verbal abuse is a serious matter and it can have negative consequences …

Severe Depressive Symptoms Predict Individual And Partner Infertility-Related Distress At One-Year Follow-Up, Brennan Peterson, Camilla Sejbaek, Matthew Pirritano, Lone Schmidt

Marriage and Family Therapy Faculty Presentations

Poster presentation on whether severe depressive symptoms at baseline are a predictor of individual and partner infertility-related distress after one-year of unsuccessful fertility treatments.

Self-Efficacy, Self-Determination, And Self-Regulation: The Role Of The Fitness Professional In Social Change Agency, Joshua M. Garrin

Journal of Sustainable Social Impact

Current epidemiological data reported by governing health authorities reveal the biopsychosocial complexity of health maintenance in the 21st century. As statistics reflect the insidious, worldwide impact of chronic disease and psychosocial stress, the medical domain continues to endorse multidisciplinary approaches to support the myriad systems that underpin health and well-being. With their scope of practice continually expanding to accommodate such needs, fitness professionals (FPs) have become a mainstay on the front lines of health behavior management in recent years. Beyond their role in facilitating physical health gains, contemporary FPs undertake the challenge of instilling health self-efficacy beliefs, reinforcing autonomy and …

A Life Span Approach To The Relationship Between Cholesterol, Late Onset Alzheimer’S Disease, And Cognitive Functioning Among Older Adults, Brian Downer

Theses and Dissertations--Gerontology

There is evidence that cholesterol presents an important risk factor for Alzheimer’s disease (AD), but the direction of this relationship is modified by age. High cholesterol during midlife and low cholesterol during late life are both associated with an increased risk for AD. This dissertation research engaged a life span approach to study the relationship between cholesterol, AD and cognitive functioning among older adults. The purpose of this research was to determine if trajectories of cholesterol from midlife through late life differ according to AD status and if these trajectories are associated with cognitive functioning during old age.

This research …

African American Families' Expectations And Intentions For Mental Health Services, Cynthia J. Najdowski, Richard Thompson, Barbara L. Dancy, Tisha R. A. Wiley, Sylvia P. Perry, Jason Wallis, Yara Mekawi, Kathleen Knafl

Psychology Faculty Scholarship

A cross-sectional qualitative descriptive design was used to examine the links among expectations about, experiences with, and intentions toward mental health services. Individual face-to-face interviews were conducted with a purposive sample of 32 African American youth/mothers dyads. Content analysis revealed that positive expectations were linked to positive experiences and intentions, that negative expectations were not consistently linked to negative experiences or intentions, nor were ambivalent expectations linked to ambivalent experiences or intentions. Youth were concerned about privacy breeches and mothers about the harmfulness of psychotropic medication. Addressing these concerns may promote African Americans’ engagement in mental health services.

Program And Policy Considerations For Tenofovir Gel In India: An Overview, Population Council

HIV and AIDS

The 2011 National Sentinel Surveillance estimated that 1.9 million people in India aged 15 and older were living with HIV. An estimated 39 percent are women. Given the urgent need for HIV-prevention options for women, a number of efforts are underway to prepare for introduction of tenofovir gel should it be shown to be effective. One of these is a guide to assist policymakers and program managers in identifying the most strategic opportunities for introducing tenofovir gel. The guide includes three related components: a landscape analysis, a discussion guide for key opinion leader interviews, and a program planning tool. The …

Reduce Contraception Discontinuation In Bangladesh By Improving Counseling On Side Effects, Fauzia Akhter Huda, Sabiha Chowdhuri

Reproductive Health

High rates of contraceptive discontinuation and method failure could cause Bangladesh to lose the progress made in increasing contraceptive use over the past 20 years. This policy brief concludes that if women are adequately counseled and supported to sustain their use of more effective contraceptive methods, they will need less medical attention, have fewer unintended pregnancies, and reduce the workload for medical clinics. Furthermore, if providers are adequately trained and supported in counseling and managing side effects and in helping women to switch methods when they do have a problem, the Family Planning Clinical Contraception Services Delivery Program would meet …

Confronting Disrespect And Abuse During Childbirth In Kenya: The Heshima Project, Population Council

Reproductive Health

No woman should be hit, yelled at, or abused in any way during childbirth. However, laboring women in Kenya and elsewhere may experience inhumane treatment in hospitals and clinics. This abuse is a key yet overlooked reason why only four in ten pregnant women in Kenya deliver at health facilities. To increase the number of women delivering in health facilities and thereby reduce maternal deaths, governments, health systems, and practitioners need sound evidence documenting the disrespect and abuse that women experience. Through the Heshima Project, the Population Council is changing how health systems and women think about quality maternity care …

Assessment Of Sex Selection In Bangladesh, Md. Noorunnabi Talukder, Ubaidur Rob, Forhana Rahman Noor

Reproductive Health

According to UN estimates, the sex ratio at birth (SRB) has persisted at its natural level of 105 male per 100 female newborns for the past half century in Bangladesh. Generally, the SRB becomes skewed in a setting where fertility is declining or low and where son preference exists. Strong son preference compounded by the availability of measures to implement such preference can lead to increased SRB. For example, the increasing availability of prenatal diagnostic technologies, together with declining fertility desires and persistent son preference, has contributed to increased gender-biased sex selection in several Asian countries, including China and India. …

Same-Sex Couples' Lived Experiences Of The Repeal Of The Defense Of Marriage Act's (Doma) Section Three, Alicia Anne Bosley

Department of Family Therapy Dissertations and Applied Clinical Projects

Same-sex couples are affected by the social and political climates in which they live, as these create the difference between acceptance and legalization, and discrimination and prohibition, of their relationships. This contingence is made increasingly impactful by the privileges and protections afforded to married couples by the federal government; same-sex couples, along with other couples that choose not to, or cannot, marry, are excluded from these benefits. Following the June 26, 2013 ruling that Section Three of the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA), which defined marriage as between a man and a woman, was unconstitutional, same-sex couples were given access …

Setting The Stage For Arv-Based Prevention For Women: A Snapshot Of The Zimbabwean Context, Population Council

HIV and AIDS

Zimbabwe, with an estimated population of 12.7 million people, is among the countries in sub-Saharan Africa most affected by the HIV epidemic. Given the urgent need for HIV-prevention options for women, a number of projects are underway to prepare for introduction of tenofovir gel should it be shown to be effective. One of these is a toolkit developed by the Population Council to assist policymakers and program managers in identifying the most strategic opportunities for introducing tenofovir gel. The toolkit includes three related components: a landscape analysis, a discussion guide for key opinion leader interviews, and a program planning tool. …

Applying Well-Being Assessment For Service Design, Margeret A. Hall, Steven O. Kimbrough, Christof Weinhardt

Interdisciplinary Informatics Faculty Proceedings & Presentations

Service design is transformative when it has a measurable, even optimizing, positive affect on human well-being. Any prospect for such felicitous outcomes, however, requires accurate assessment or measurement of well-being in and for target populations. Such assessment raises two immediate issues: conceptualization (How should well-being be conceptually operationalized?) and measurement (Given an operationalization of well-being, how can it be measured?). We begin to explore and address both questions in this paper by reviewing existing conceptualizations of well-being and then by describing the relevance of well-being measurement (and it methodologies) which are presently available.

An Extended Conceptual Framework For Transformative Service Research, Margeret A. Hall, Christian Haas, Steven O. Kimbrough, Christof Weinhardt

Interdisciplinary Informatics Faculty Proceedings & Presentations

Transformative service research (TSR), a recently-envisioned branch of service science, is about understanding connections between service offerings and well-being. It has at the core of its conceptualization the goal of improving the well-being of individuals. A founding statement characterizes TSR as: “the integration of consumer and service research that centers on creating uplifting changes and improvements in the well-being of consumer entities: individuals (consumers and employees), communities and the ecosystem” (Anderson et al. 2013). It is also clear that service touches innumerable aspects of daily life. It is then natural that the field of service science explores mitigation of negative …

Adolescent Violence Prevention, Hatim A. Omar

Pediatrics Faculty Publications

Violence in adolescence has seen an increase since the 1990s with dramatic statistics on violent death and risk behaviors. School violence has been focused upon by a huge media coverage of especially violent cases that could have had some endemic consequences worldwide. We present a case of a 14 year old white male with change in school behavior, strategies for the case investigation, its results and long term prevention. Other research has shown that preventive measures during pregnancy, infancy and childhood can prevent adolescent and adult delinquency.

Prevention: Sexual Violence Against Adolescent And Young Adult Women, Kimberly K. Mcclanahan, Marlene B. Huff, Hatim A. Omar, Joav Merrick

Pediatrics Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Shots, Everybody? : British Anti-Smallpox Vaccination And The Development Of Multifaceted Anti-Vaccine Rhetoric On Internet Parenting Forums, Marta B. Bean

Scripps Senior Theses

Vaccination is an important public health measure that can help reduce disease at the population level. Substantial evidence exists that vaccines are safe and effective at reducing the incidence of diseases like pertussis, measles and cervical cancer. However, on Internet parenting forums, parents discuss whether or not vaccination is the right choice for their children. In this thesis, I highlight the historical context of the anti-vaccine movement in mid 19^th century to early 20^th century Victorian Britain in the era of compulsory smallpox vaccination. Vaccination in this time was a very different and more overtly dangerous process, and …