Medicine and Health Sciences Commons^™

“To Live In The Body Of A Survivor ”: Unique And Cumulative Disaster Exposure And Mental Health In A Sample Of Hurricane Katrina Survivors, Noelle Serino

Public Health Theses

Introduction: Fueled by the escalation of climate change, weather-related disasters are increasing in frequency and severity. Existing research has documented the extensive harm induced by such disasters, yet few studies have examined how individuals’ psychological well-being fares when exposed to multiple, diverse threats, including other weather-related and public health disasters (e.g., COVID-19). As such, the present study explores posttraumatic and psychological distress in the context of unique and cumulative disaster exposure.Methods: The data utilized for this study came from the Resilience in Survivors of Katrina (RISK) Project. The sample was comprised of 381 predominantly Non-Hispanic Black (84.5%) women who experienced …

Impact Of Covid-19 On Participants Of A Fruit And Vegetable Program, Christabelle Ong

Public Health Theses

Objective: To investigate the impact of COVID-19 on the participants of a multi-city fruit and vegetable incentive program.Design: A six-month cohort study was conducted. Pre-program and post-program data were collected using an online survey platform. Setting: Eight cities across the United States. Participants: A total of 822 individuals were recruited through local site partners to participate in a fruit and vegetable incentive program (n=822; 79.4% women, 20.6% men; median age: 57 years old). Intervention: Participants received $50 monthly fruit and vegetable vouchers, a sneaker gift card or gift basket, and access to a weight loss app. Main Outcome Measures: The …

Factors Associated With Early Childhood Development Outcomes For Children Of Adolescent And Young Adult Mothers In Brazil, Lily Benson Kofke

Public Health Theses

Objectives: A descriptive analysis to explore the risks for early childhood development (ECD) delays among children of adolescent and young adult mothers in Brazil. Methods: A secondary analysis of cross-sectional data of a representative sample of children under age 2 and their mothers from community health centers in Brasília, Brazil. The Denver Developmental Screening Test II was used to assess overall and domain-specific ECD (personal-social, fine motor, gross motor, and language). Mothers were subset into two groups based on age. Bivariate analyses and multivariable logistic regressions were used to examine the associations between maternal age and risk of ECD delay, …

Caesarean Delivery Among Women Of Color Is Associated With Risk Of Early Childhood Developmental Delays In Brazil, Haley Case

Public Health Theses

Background. Poverty, racism, and other sources of oppression threaten children’s nurturing environments and associated early childhood development (ECD). Women of Color and their children are disproportionately exposed to risk factors for poor ECD in Brazil. There is a growing body of evidence supporting the claim that unnecessary cesarean section (CS) is associated with poor maternal health outcomes and ECD delays. There is an existing gap in the literature on risk factors, including obstetric factors, of poor ECD among children of Women of Color in Brazil.

Objective. The objective of this thesis was to investigate factors, including obstetric characteristics of CS …

Older Adult Spouses’ Emotional Responses To Reminiscing About Their First Encounter: Associations With Mental Health, Marital Satisfaction, And Cardiovascular Reactivity, Hanzhen Lan

Public Health Theses

Objectives: While there has been growing interest in how close relationships affect older adults’ health, not much research has examined how emotional experiences in older married couples’ positive interactions relate to individual and relational well-being and physical health. The present study hypothesizes that positive emotional responses to older couples reminiscing about first encounter are associated with each spouse’s higher marital satisfaction, fewer depressive symptoms, and healthier cardiovascular reactivity (blood pressure and heart rate variability).

Method: One hundred and one couples completed a background questionnaire at home and then participated in a laboratory session in which they discussed how they first …

Differential Effects Of Medicaid Expansion On Racial/Ethnic Disparities In Primary Care Access, Janet Yim

Public Health Theses

By providing health insurance to low-income and disabled children and adults, the United States’ Medicaid program increases health care access and utilization by those with limited access to affordable private insurance. To increase coverage, the Affordable Care Act (ACA) helped fund state expansions of Medicaid’s eligibility criteria to include low-income adults with incomes up to 138% of the Federal Poverty level. This paper examines the differential effects of Medicaid expansion on racial/ethnic disparities in primary care access using a quasi-experimental differences-in-differences design. Regression analyses consider low income adults (defined as below 138% FPL) ages 19-64. When analyzing both short term …