Medicine and Health Sciences Commons^™

Comparing Clinical Profiles In Alzheimer's Disease And Parkinson's Disease Dementia, Martin R. Farlow, Frederick A. Schmitt, Dag Aarsland, George T. Grossberg, Monique Somogyi, Xiangyi Meng

Sanders-Brown Center on Aging Faculty Publications

BACKGROUND: Greater understanding of differences in baseline impairment and disease progression in patients with Alzheimer's disease (AD) and Parkinson's disease dementia (PDD) may improve the interpretation of drug effects and the design of future studies.

METHODS: This was a retrospective analysis of three randomized, double-blind rivastigmine databases (one in PDD, two in AD). Impairment on the Alzheimer's Disease Assessment Scale-cognitive subscale (ADAS-cog), Alzheimer's Disease Cooperative Study-Activities of Daily Living (ADCS-ADL) scale, 10-item Neuropsychiatric Inventory (NPI-10) and the ADCS-Clinical Global Impression of Change (CGIC) was compared [standardized difference (Cohen's d), similar if <0.1].

RESULTS: Patients with AD or PDD had similar levels …

The Relationship Between Parental And Adolescent Religiosity Factors And Adolescent Sexual Risk-Taking Among Older Adolescents In The Anglophone/Latin Caribbean, Karen Christoffel Flowers

Dissertations

Problem: Sexually active youth across the Anglophone/Latin Caribbean have been identified as among the most-at-risk for HIV infection. Studies conducted in the United States have identified parental and religiosity factors associated with adolescent sexual risk-taking, but these relationships remain largely unexplored in the Caribbean region.

Method: This cross-sectional study, based on survey data generated by the Seventh-day Adventist Caribbean Youth Survey, investigated the relationship between parental and adolescent religiosity factors and sexual at-risk behaviors reported by adolescents ages 16-18 years attending Seventh-day Adventist Church-operated secondary schools across the region. Pearson correlations and multiple regression analyses were used to assess the …

Strategic Project/ Canteen Ireland, Yvonne Feehan

Students Learning with Communities

CanTeen Ireland is an organisation set up to support, empower and develop young people who have or have had cancer between the ages of 12 and 25. Set up in May 1990, the nationwide support group provides members with a place where they can simply be young people, away from the day to day pressures that come with living with cancer in the hospital or at home. Having no dedicated wards in Irish hospitals for teenagers with cancer, CanTeen is an important resource for the country and steps up where the HSE falls down. CanTeen does not rely on the …

Random Assignment Of Schools To Groups In The Drug Resistance Strategies Rural Project: Some New Methodological Twists, John W. Graham, Jonathan Pettigrew, Michelle Miller-Day, Janice L. Krieger, Jiangxiu Zhou, Michael L. Hecht

Communication Faculty Articles and Research

Random assignment to groups is the foundation for scientifically rigorous clinical trials. But assignment is challenging in group randomized trials when only a few units (schools) are assigned to each condition. In the DRSR project, we assigned 39 rural Pennsylvania and Ohio schools to three conditions (rural, classic, control). But even with 13 schools per condition, achieving pretest equivalence on important variables is not guaranteed. We collected data on six important school-level variables: rurality, number of grades in the school, enrollment per grade, percent white, percent receiving free/assisted lunch, and test scores. Key to our procedure was the inclusion of …

The Conceptualization And Communication Of Risk Among Rural Appalachian Adolescents, Jennifer J. Moreland, Janice L. Krieger, Michael L. Hecht, Michelle Miller-Day

Communication Faculty Articles and Research

This study employs a meta-theoretical perspective for examining risk perceptions and behavior in the rural, Appalachian cultural context, an area that remains largely unexplored. In-depth interviews were conducted with 113 rural adolescents to describe how youth conceptualize risk and how risk is communicated in the rural environment. Analyses revealed adolescents viewed behavior as risky when they had personal or vicarious experiences resulting in a loss of control or physical harm. Elements of the rural Appalachian culture including activities, familism, and community ties can both prevent and promote adolescent risk-taking in various forms. This study demonstrates the conceptualization of risk and …

The Impact Of The Internet On The Sexual Health Of Adolescents: A Brief Review, Julia Springate, Hatim A. Omar

Pediatrics Faculty Publications

The object of this review is to summarize the impact of the Internet on the sexual health of adolescents. This article examines the use of websites, blogs and chat rooms as sources for sexual health information for adolescents. The influence of Internet pornography on sexual behaviors and attitudes is addressed. The use of the Internet as a place to find sexual partners is also assessed. During a time of great physical, emotional and sexual change, the Internet is playing a huge role in the decisions adolescents are making, both positive and negative.

Status Report On The Sexual And Reproductive Health Of Adolescents Living In Urban Slums In Kenya, Donatien Beguy, Joyce Mumah, Salome Wawire, Kanyiva Muindi, Lindsey Gottschalk, Caroline W. Kabiru

Reproductive Health

This report highlights the sexual and reproductive health (SRH) challenges faced by adolescents living in slums in Nairobi, Kenya, as well as the perceptions and strategies that adolescents adopt to deal with each of these challenges. The results point to the fact that there is a range of experiences among adolescents with regard to knowledge, attitudes, and behaviors. Age, education, and marital status were often strongly associated with certain adolescent sexual and reproductive health experiences, highlighting the fact that targeted programs are needed to reach adolescents with SRH services at different stages of need. Consistent and persistent poverty reduction strategies …

Post-Abortion Care In Pakistan: A National Study, Zeba Sathar, Susheela Singh, Zakir Hussain Shah, Gul Rashida, Iram Kamran, Kanwal Eshai

Reproductive Health

The objectives of this Population Council study were twofold: first to collect information on prevailing practices of abortion and post‐abortion care in Pakistan and, second, to gauge changes in the magnitude and quality of abortion‐related complications and care during the last decade (since the 2002 national study of “Unwanted Pregnancy and Post‐abortion Complications in Pakistan”). The study found that the level of post‐abortion family planning (FP) counseling in both public and private health facilities offering PAC services was inadequate. There has been no improvement over the decade in the level of counseling reported, and, even more disappointingly, only half of …

Unmet Need And Unintended Pregnancy: The Bigger Picture, Ian Askew

Reproductive Health

No abstract provided.

Hivcore Operations Research Workshop Summary Report, Nrupa Jani

HIV and AIDS

Over the past decade, unprecedented progress has been made in the scale-up of HIV treatment, care, and support, yet substantial coverage gaps remain. Targeted operations research and program evaluation can play a significant role in ensuring efficient and effective service delivery, scaling up to reach more clients and on a broader geographical scope, enhancing quality of care, and improving the health status and health systems in developing country settings. With funding from USAID, the Population Council and partners are responding to these critical service delivery issues through HIVCore. HIVCore improves the efficiency, effectiveness, scale, and quality of HIV and AIDS …

Community-Based Disaster Coalitions Training: Participants' Manual, Center For Leadership In Public Health Practice

Community-Based Disaster Coalitions

This training will help program participants to develop the essential knowledge, skills, and abilities to organize a Community Disaster Preparedness Coalition or strengthen an existing Coalition that integrates public health, human services, and emergency management systems into their county's disaster preparedness, response, and recovery structure.

Leveraging Family Values To Decrease Unhealthy Alcohol Use In Aging Latino Day Laborers, Homero E. Del Pino, Carolyn Méndez-Luck, Georgiana Bostean, Karina Ramírez, Marlom Portillo, Alison A. Moore

Sociology Faculty Articles and Research

In one Los Angeles study, 20% of day laborers reported excessive drinking. Older adults are more sensitive to alcohol’s effects, yet heavy drinking persists among Latinos until they are in their 60s. No interventions to reduce heavy drinking exist for aging day laborers. We recruited 14 day laborers aged 50 and older in Los Angeles. We identified their unhealthy alcohol use behaviors and comorbidities and conducted semi-structured interviews to understand their perceptions of unhealthy alcohol use. We found social disadvantages and conditions exacerbated by alcohol use, like depression. Participants were concerned with dying and premature aging, and reported that family …

The Community Mobilization For Preventive Action (Compact) Project In Zambia: A Midline Evaluation, Waimar Tun, Chabu Kangale, Scott Geibel, Meredith Sheehy, Ray Handema, Mwaka Monze

HIV and AIDS

The Population Council and its partner, Project Concern International, implemented the Community Mobilization for Preventive Action (COMPACT) HIV-prevention program in Zambia. The program works with communities to develop “compacts” through a participatory, community-led process, and assists them in working toward reaching HIV-related “benchmarks,” intended to result in a reduction in HIV-related risk behaviors and harmful norms and ultimately contribute over time to the reduction of HIV incidence. This mid-term evaluation in four of six COMPACT communities indicates that COMPACT is improving some HIV-related behaviors and attitudes, particularly those related to gender norms, multiple sex partnerships, and alcohol abuse. The report …

Factors Related To Recidivism Among Mentally Disordered Offenders : Differential Impact Of Historical And Dynamic Clinical Indicators Across Risk Level, Lori J. Torgersen

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

Understanding the factors related to recidivism among mentally disordered offenders is important so that criminal justice and mental health systems can prioritize resources to intervene with those most likely to reoffend by targeting factors that are most likely to reduce risk. While there is a sound body of literature identifying the predictors of recidivism among non-disordered adult offenders, the same inquiry in the case of mentally disordered offenders has been more equivocal.

Safe And Smart Savings Products For Vulnerable Adolescent Girls In Kenya And Uganda: Evaluation Report, Karen Austrian, Eunice N. Muthengi

Poverty, Gender, and Youth

The decision to engage in the development of girl-friendly savings accounts was made as part of the Population Council’s work with adolescent girls in Kenya. In June 2008 the Council and MicroSave Consulting started the Safe and Smart Savings Products for Vulnerable Adolescent Girls. Based on the market research and prior experience with developing programs for adolescent girls, a product concept for a group-based savings account was developed, in which the group model was used to address the legal constraints of minors not being able to hold individual accounts. In Kenya and Uganda, two financial institutions were identified, and the …

Insights Into Unmet Need In Kenya, Kazuyo Machiyama, John C. Cleland

Reproductive Health

Results from this study demonstrate that most women having unmet need for family planning in Kenya were aware of the two main contraceptive methods and a supply source, but many of the poorest, least educated women and those living in North Eastern Province were disadvantaged in this regard. Targeted expansion of access/information is a priority to meet the need of the disadvantaged populations. Kenya has one of the longest records of successful family planning programs in Africa, but this report has revealed some major defects, in particular excess reliance on two hormonal methods. Major future progress may well depend on …

Breaking The Silence: Learning About Youth Sexual And Reproductive Health In Egypt, Nahla G. Abdel-Tawab, Sally Saher, Nora El Nawawi

Poverty, Gender, and Youth

This collection of research (supported by the Ford Foundation office in Cairo) documents the Population Council’s efforts to build the capacity of young Egyptian researchers to study youth sexual and reproductive health. Understanding the needs of young Egyptians, including their sexual and reproductive health needs, is crucial for developing policies and programs that can help bring about desired changes and improve their health and well-being. Young people must be given accurate information and access to services to protect their sexual and reproductive health and to prepare them for taking on family responsibilities as they get older. This report sets the …

The Contracting World Of Girls At Puberty: Violence And Gender-Divergent Access To The Public Sphere Among Adolescents In South Africa, Kelly Hallman, Nora Kenworthy, Judith A. Diers, Nick Swan, Bashi Devnarain

Poverty, Gender, and Youth

This Population Council working paper describes a participatory mapping project undertaken with single-sex groups of grade 5 and grade 8–9 children in urban and rural KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. At grade 5, female self-defined community areas were equal to or larger in size than those of males in both sites. However, wide gender divergence in access to the public sphere was found among grade 8–9 children. Although curtailed spatial access, especially in urban areas, is intended to protect post-pubescent girls, grade 8–9 girls reported most spaces in their small navigable areas unsafe. Reducing girls’ access to the public sphere does not …

The Ishraq Program For Out-Of-School Girls: From Pilot To Scale-Up [Arabic], Mona Selim, Nahla G. Abdel-Tawab, Khaled El Sayed, Asmaa Elbadawy, Heba El Kalaawy

Poverty, Gender, and Youth

In response to the needs of adolescent girls in Egypt for improved schooling, health, and livelihood prospects, Ishraq (sunrise)—a multidimensional program for 12–15-year-old out-of-school girls—was launched in 2001 by the Population Council in collaboration with CEDPA, Save the Children, Caritas, and local nongovernmental organizations. The program combined traditional tested program elements (literacy, life skills, nutrition) with more innovative ones (sports, financial education). It focused on building a multilayered platform to support and institutionalize the program by educating and mobilizing communities around issues of importance to adolescent girls; forging partnerships between international NGOs, government institutions, and local NGOs; and building capacities …

Capturing The Demographic Dividend In Pakistan, Zeba Sathar, Rabbi Royan, John Bongaarts

Poverty, Gender, and Youth

Pakistan’s demographic profile is changing: fertility is slowly decreasing, and people are living longer. If Pakistan succeeds in strengthening education and bringing the full panoply of reproductive rights and reproductive health services to women, it will have taken two important steps in transforming demographic change into poverty reduction and better lives for the great majority of Pakistanis. If it also takes other policy actions that can spur productive employment and investment, positive outcomes are all the more likely. This book brings together many ideas that have been discussed for some time in Pakistan and around the world, including extensive development …

Policy Brief: Adolescent Girls And Migration In The Developing World, Population Council

Poverty, Gender, and Youth

When a migrant girl is successful, she creates a ripple effect through generations: families and future children will be better off because of her ability to finish school, get a job, and stay healthy. Despite the positive potential of migration for adolescent girls, migrant girls are largely ignored in policy and programs designed to reach migrants and adolescents. Because of their age and gender, migrant girls are especially vulnerable to risks such as exploitative employment. If these girls arrive at their destination and settle in safely, their diligence can enable them to capitalize on new opportunities and become productive, contributing …

Designing, Implementing, And Evaluating A Targeted, Evidence-Based Intervention For A Vulnerable Subgroup Of Girls: A Case Study Of The Filles Éveillées ("Girls Awakened") Pilot Program For Migrant Adolescent Girls In Domestic Service In Urban Burkina Faso, Sarah Engebretsen

Poverty, Gender, and Youth

Investing in adolescent girls is crucial in the developing world where a large and growing proportion of the population is under the age of 24. Research has demonstrated that adolescent girls face serious challenges around the time of puberty including withdrawal from (and lack of safety in) public spaces, loss of peers, leaving school, pressure for marriage or liaisons as livelihood strategies, and internalization of harmful gender norms. Investments need to be made at critical moments in early adolescence. While policymakers and development professionals have acknowledged the need to make investments in the poorest girls in the poorest communities early …

Follow-Up Study Of Migrant Adolescent Girls In Domestic Service Who Participated In The First Cohort Of The Filles Éveillées ("Girls Awakened") Program, Sarah Engebretsen

Poverty, Gender, and Youth

Circular migration (from rural to urban areas and back) among adolescents is common throughout West Africa, with the principle motivation being the search for economic opportunities, including domestic work. The evidence base on adolescent migration and domestic work is fairly thin. Evidence on programmatic effectiveness generally ends at program completion and does not follow adolescents over time. The current study follows a subsample of migrant adolescent girls in domestic service in urban Burkina Faso who participated in the first cohort of the Filles Éveillées (Girls Awakened) pilot program. Filles Éveillées was designed to provide migrant girls in domestic service with …

The Adolescent Girls Empowerment Program: Lessons Learned From The Pilot Test Program, Karen Austrian, Natalie Jackson Hachonda, Paul C. Hewett

Poverty, Gender, and Youth

Adolescent girls in Zambia face a range of risks and vulnerabilities that compromise their healthy development into young women, and lack the social, health, and economic assets to mitigate these risks. The issues that girls are confronted with include high rates of gender-based violence, unsafe sex that puts them at risk for unwanted pregnancy and HIV infection, school dropout, lack of economic resources and income-generating options, and lack of agency and participation. The Adolescent Girls Empowerment Program (AGEP) has three major components: safe spaces groups in which girls meet once a week over the course of two years for training …

Comprendre La Vie Des Adolescentes Avant Et Après La Migration: Enquête Réalisée Sur Les Sites D'Origine Auprès D'Anciennes Filles Migrantes Employées Comme Aide-Ménagères, Gisele Kaboré

Poverty, Gender, and Youth

Le Population Council met en œuvre un projet en direction des adolescentes migrantes travaillant comme employées de maison dans les zones urbaines au Burkina Faso (Ouagadougou et Bobo-Dioulasso). Ce programme, dénommé «Filles Éveillées», a pour objectif d’élargir les réseaux sociaux des filles et de développer leurs compétences en capacités financières, en santé et hygiène, santé de la reproduction et en compétences de la vie courante. Il offre également aux bénéficiaires l’opportunité d’accéder à l’alphabétisation. Dans un effort d’améliorer ce programme en ville, il s’est avéré opportun de mieux comprendre les circonstances de la vie des adolescentes dans le village avant …

Évaluation De Filles Éveillées : Programme Pilote Pour Adolescentes Migrantes Employées De Maison, Sarah Engebretsen

Poverty, Gender, and Youth

Le programme «Filles Éveillées» a été conçu dans le but d’accroître les réseaux sociaux et de développer les compétences des adolescentes migrantes employées de maison au Burkina Faso urbain. Il a fait l’objet de deux cycles pilotes: en 2011-2012 à Bobo-Dioulasso, puis en 2012-2013 à Ouagadougou et Bobo-Dioulasso. Une évaluation de processus a été effectuée entre les deux cycles avant d’évaluer l’efficacité du programme et d’y proposer les améliorations de structure, mise en œuvre et contenu jugées utiles avant le lancement de la seconde cohorte. Cette évaluation a donné lieu aux changements suivants: simplification du contenu programmatique sur la santé …

“It Feels Like Home”: The Impacts Of Supportive Housing On Male Youth – Perspectives Of Youth And Service Providers At Five Beds To Home, Sarah Michelle Ogden

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

This study identifies the impacts of supportive housing on the lives of male youth. The researcher studied the Five Beds to Home (Five Beds) supportive housing facility for male youth, located in Cambridge, Ontario. The study focused on two areas: one, the current engagement of tenants and second, the long term impacts on past tenants. Impacts include areas such as progress on or achievement of goals/overcoming challenges, employment and education status, happiness and health, and housing stability. The general research questions were as follows: 1) What are the impacts of supportive housing on the lives of male youth?, 2) What …

Predictors Of Accessing Substance Abuse Services Among Individuals With Mental Disorders Released From Correctional Custody, Stephanie Hartwell, Xiaogang Deng, William Fisher, Julianne Siegfriedt, Kristen Roy-Bujnowski, Craig Johnson, Carl Fulwiler

Sociology Faculty Publication Series

Objective

In the context of an increasing correctional population and corresponding rates of mental illness and substance abuse among this population, this study focuses on describing the predictors of substance abuse service utilization for ex-inmates with dual disorders. Our aim is to assess the likelihood and characteristics of ex-inmates with mental disorders who access substance abuse treatment services within two years of correctional release.

Methods

Using merged administrative data on all ex-inmates with open mental health cases released from Massachusetts Department of Corrections and two County Houses of Corrections from 2007 to 2009 (N=2,280) and substance abuse treatment outcome data …

Arab Muslim Immigrant Women's Experiences Of Living In The United States: A Qualitative Descriptive Study, Maissa Khatib

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Background: Over three million Arab Muslims live in the United States, and more than half are women (Nasser-McMillan, 2003). Little is known about these women in the growing and diverse Arab American Muslim population, and there is limited information available regarding their experiences of living in the U.S. Their experiences influence multiple aspects of their lives, including functioning in mainstream culture, use of resources or agencies, and the decisions they make that shape their acculturation outcome.

Purpose: To describe the experiences of Arab Muslim immigrant women living in the U.S.

Methods: This qualitative study examined the shared experiences of immigrant …

Conception, Mise En Oeuvre Et Évaluation D'Une Intervention Factuelle Ciblée Au Profit D'Un Sous-Groupe De Filles Vulnérables : Étude De Cas Du Programme Pilote Filles Éveillées Pour Adolescentes Migrantes Employées De Maison Au Burkina Faso Urbain, Sarah Engebretsen

Poverty, Gender, and Youth

Il est crucial d’investir dans les adolescentes du monde en développement, où une proportion déjà importante et grandissante de la population tombe dans la catégorie des moins de 24 ans. La recherche a démontré que les défis posés aux filles sont particulièrement lourds aux alentours de la puberté, qu’il s’agisse de l’exclusion des espaces publics (et du manque de sécurité dans ceux accessibles), de la perte du réseau de pairs, de la déscolarisation, de la pression du mariage ou de liaisons comme stratégies de subsistance, ou encore de l’intériorisation de normes de genre préjudiciables. Les investissements consentis doivent l’être aux …