Medicine and Health Sciences Commons^™

Virus Control Aboard A Commuter Bus, Hamid Rahai, Jeremy Bonifacio

Mineta Transportation Institute

A major health concern for public transit users is exposure to viruses from other passengers. This numerical study examines virus containment aboard a public bus with changes to the bus ventilation system. The virus was modeled as a 2.5 µm round solid particle released from the mouth of the infectious passenger at a rate of 21 particles per second at a mouth velocity of 0.278 m/sec. The air delivery to the cabin was two linear ceiling slots spanning the length of the bus delivering 59.38 m3/min (2,097 CFM) of air at a mean velocity of 1 m/sec. Two different axial …

Establishing A Benchmark For Opioid Consumption After Cesarean Birth, Laura Senn

Faculty Research, Scholarly, and Creative Activity

No abstract provided.

Incorporating Public Health Into Transportation Decision Making, Bruce Appleyard, Tim Garrett

Mineta Transportation Institute

Investments in transportation have the potential to significantly affect public health outcomes. Decisions to build highways, transit, or bikeways, for example, influence how residents and visitors move around a metropolitan area. Personal travel habits and proximity to transportation infrastructure play a role in how likely people are to be physically active or be exposed to dangerous traffic and toxic pollution. For this study, the research team reviewed the literature that links transportation infrastructure, the surrounding built environment context, and public health outcomes such as chronic heart and lung diseases, obesity, and death. The team then researched publicly available data that …

Comparing Substance Use Outcomes By Sexual Identity Among Women: Differences Using Propensity Score Methods, Katherine J. Karriker-Jaffe, Laurie Drabble, Libo Li, Cat Munroe, Amy A. Mericle, Karen F. Trocki, Tonda L. Hughes

Faculty Research, Scholarly, and Creative Activity

Background: Differences in alcohol, tobacco, and other drug (ATOD) use by sexual identity vary across samples of women recruited using different sampling methods. We used propensity score (PS) weighting methods to address two methodological questions: (1) Do disparities between sexual minority women (SMW) and heterosexual women persist when differences in risk and protective factors are similarly distributed between groups, and (2) Does accounting for SMW-specific resiliency factors impact differences between non-probability samples of SMW? Methods: Four samples included SMW from a longitudinal study with a nonprobability sample (n = 373), a national general population panel sample (n = 373), …

Assessing Public Health Benefits Of Replacing Freight Trucks With Cargo Cycles In Last Leg Delivery Trips In Urban Centers, Jennifer C. Hartle, Ossama (Sam) A. Elrahman, Cara Wang, Daniel A. Rodriguez, Yue Ding, Matt Mcgahan

Mineta Transportation Institute

Increased urbanization, population growth, and demand for time-sensitive deliveries means increased freight movement in cities, which contributes to emissions, noise, and safety concerns. One innovative mode gaining widespread attention for urban deliveries is cargo cycles—bicycles adapted for freight delivery. Despite the recognized potential and possible success of transporting at least 25% of freight via cycle, research remains limited. This research investigates the potential of cargo cycle delivery for last mile freight in Oakland, California, with a focus on the West Oakland neighborhood. The data collection included interviews, focus groups, vehicle field observation and counts, and traffic simulation modeling. The traffic …

Covid-19 Public Transportation Air Circulation And Virus Mitigation Study, Aly Tawfik, Deify Law, Juris Grasis, Joseph Oldham, Moe Salem

Mineta Transportation Institute

COVID-19 may have forever changed our world. Given the limited space and air circulation, potential infections on public transportation could be concerningly high. Accordingly, this study has two objectives: (1) to understand air circulation patterns inside the cabins of buses; and (2) to test the impact of different technologies in mitigating viruses from the air and on surfaces inside bus cabins. For the first objective, different devices, metrics and experiments (including colored smoke; videotaping; anemometers; pressure differentials; particle counts; and 3D numerical simulation models) were utilized and implemented to understand and quantify air circulation inside different buses, with different characteristics, …

Lessons Learned From The World Health Organization’S Late Initial Response To The 2014-2016 Ebola Outbreak In West Africa, Chulwoo Park

Faculty Research, Scholarly, and Creative Activity

The purpose of this article is to 1) examine the role of the World Health Organization (WHO) in controlling infectious disease outbreaks, 2) evaluate if the WHO’s initial response to the 2014-2016 Ebola crisis was appropriate, 3) evaluate current WHO’s efforts to prevent future disease outbreaks after the Ebola elimination, and 4) suggest how WHO should be further reformed to provide prompt and accurate guidance to multi-sectoral health stakeholders at local, national, regional and global level for effective surveillance preparedness and response. This is a non-systematic narrative literature review. The articles from PubMed, Scopus, Medline, books, WHO documents and websites, …

Impact Of The Policy Environment On Substance Use Among Sexual Minority Women, Laurie A. Drabble, Cat Munroe, Amy A. Mericle, Sarah Zollweg, Karen F. Trocki, Katherine J. Karriker-Jaffe

Faculty Research, Scholarly, and Creative Activity

Background: Sexual minority women (SMW) are at greater risk for heavy episodic drinking, frequent marijuana use, and tobacco use than heterosexual women. Because past research has suggested the political and social environment may influence disparities in substance use by sexual orientation, this study examined associations of the U.S. state-level policy environment on substance use by SMW.

Methods: A total of 732 SMW participants were recruited from two national online panels: a general population panel (n = 333) and a sexual minority-specific panel (n = 399). Past year substance use was defined by number of days of heavy episodic drinking (HED; …

Impact Of Mass Distribution Of Insecticide-Treated Nets In Mozambique, 2012 To 2025: Estimates Of Child Lives Saved Using The Lives Saved Tool, Erica Wetzler, Chulwoo Park, Jorge A. H. Arroz, Marta Chande, Figueiredo Mussambala, Baltazar Candrinho

Faculty Research, Scholarly, and Creative Activity

Malaria was the leading cause of post-neonatal deaths in Mozambique in 2017. The use of insecticide treated nets (ITNs) is recognized as one of the most effective ways to reduce malaria mortality in children. No previous analyses have estimated changes in mortality attributable to the scale-up of ITNs, accounting for provincial differences in mortality rates and coverage of health interventions. Based upon annual provincial ownership coverage of ITNs, the Lives Saved Tool (LiST), a multi-cause mathematical model, estimated under-5 lives saved attributable to increased household ITN coverage in 10 provinces of Mozambique between 2012 and 2018, and projected lives saved …

Unsupervised Machine Learning For Pattern Identification In Occupational Accidents, Fatemeh Davoudi Kakhki, Steven Freeman, Gretchen Mosher

Faculty Research, Scholarly, and Creative Activity

Creating safe work environment is significant in saving workers’ lives, improving corporates’ social responsibility and sustainable development. Pattern identification in occupational accidents is vital in elaborating efficient safety counter-measures aiming at improving prevention and mitigating outcomes of future incidents. The objective of this study is to identify patterns related to the occurrence of occupational accidents in non-farm agricultural work environments based on workers’ compensation claims data, using latent class clustering method as an un-supervised machine learning modeling approach. The result showed injury profiles and incident dynamics have low, average, and high levels of risks based on the main causes and …

Machine Learning To Predict Sports-Related Concussion Recovery Using Clinical Data, Yan Chu, Gregory Knell, Riley P. Brayton, Scott O. Burkhart, Xiaoqian Jiang, Shayan Shams

Faculty Research, Scholarly, and Creative Activity

Objectives
Sport-related concussions (SRCs) are a concern for high school athletes. Understanding factors contributing to SRC recovery time may improve clinical management. However, the complexity of the many clinical measures of concussion data precludes many traditional methods. This study aimed to answer the question, what is the utility of modeling clinical concussion data using machine-learning algorithms for predicting SRC recovery time and protracted recovery?
Methods
This was a retrospective case series of participants aged 8 to 18 years with a diagnosis of SRC. A 6-part measure was administered to assess pre-injury risk factors, initial injury severity, and post-concussion symptoms, including …

A Mediation Analysis Of The Role Of Girl Child Marriage In The Relationship Between Proximity To Conflict And Past-Year Intimate Partner Violence In Post-Conflict Sri Lanka, Ruvani W. Fonseka, Lotus Mcdougal, Anita Raj, Elizabeth Reed, Rebecka Lundgren, Lianne Urada, Jay G. Silverman

Faculty Research, Scholarly, and Creative Activity

Background
Studies from many contexts indicate that proximity to conflict is associated with increased likelihood of intimate partner violence (IPV), and girl child marriage is associated with both proximity to conflict and increased IPV. In this study, we consider whether girl child marriage acts as a mediator of the association between proximity to conflict and IPV in the context of Sri Lanka, which sustained long-term conflict until 2009.
Methods
We analyzed responses of currently partnered women between ages 18 and 49 in the 2016 Sri Lankan Demographic and Health Survey (N = 13,691). Using logistic regression analyses, we measured associations …

Does Proximity To Conflict Zones Moderate Associations Between Girl Child Marriage, Intimate Partner Violence, And Contraception In Postconflict Sri Lanka?, Ruvani W. Fonseka, Lotus Mcdougal, Anita Raj, Elizabeth Reed, Rebecka Lundgren, Lianne Urada, Jay G. Silverman

Faculty Research, Scholarly, and Creative Activity

Women’s primary contraceptive method type is impacted by the gender inequities of girl child marriage and intimate partner violence (IPV). Outside of South Asia, proximity to conflict zones has been found to impact contraceptive use, girl child marriage, and IPV, possibly moderating associations between these variables. We created multinomial regression models using the 2016 Demographic and Health Survey data from postconflict Sri Lanka to study associations between primary contraceptive method type (modern spacing methods, sterilization, and traditional methods compared to no method) and the gender inequities of girl child marriage and past year sexual, physical, and emotional IPV and to …

A Scoping Review Of Alcohol, Tobacco, And Other Drug Use Treatment Interventions For Sexual And Gender Minority Populations, Jeremy D. Kidd, Margaret M. Paschen-Wolff, Amy A. Mericle, Billy A. Caceres, Laurie A. Drabble, Tonda L. Hughes

Faculty Research, Scholarly, and Creative Activity

Background
Alcohol, tobacco, and other drug use are among the most prevalent and important health disparities affecting sexual and gender minority (SGM; e.g., lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender) populations. Although numerous government agencies and health experts have called for substance use intervention studies to address these disparities, such studies continue to be relatively rare.
Method
We conducted a scoping review of prevention and drug treatment intervention studies for alcohol, tobacco, and other drug use that were conducted with SGM adults. We searched three databases to identify pertinent English-language, peer-reviewed articles published between 1985 and 2019.
Results
Our search yielded 71 articles. …

An Automated Classifier For Child-Directed Speech From Lena Recordings, Janet Y. Bang, George Kachergis, Adriana Weisleder, Virginia A. Marchman

Faculty Research, Scholarly, and Creative Activity

No abstract provided.

Evaluation Of A Social Determinants Of Health Screening Questionnaire And Workflow Pilot Within An Adult Ambulatory Clinic, Rachel L. Berkowitz, Linh Bui, Zijun Shen, Alice Pressman, Maria Moreno, Stephanie Brown, Anne Nilon, Chris Miller-Rosales, Kristen M.J. Azar

Faculty Research, Scholarly, and Creative Activity

Background
There is increased recognition in clinical settings of the importance of documenting, understanding, and addressing patients’ social determinants of health (SDOH) to improve health and address health inequities. This study evaluated a pilot of a standardized SDOH screening questionnaire and workflow in an ambulatory clinic within a large integrated health network in Northern California.
Methods
The pilot screened for SDOH needs using an 11-question Epic-compatible paper questionnaire assessing eight SDOH and health behavior domains: financial resource, transportation, stress, depression, intimate partner violence, social connections, physical activity, and alcohol consumption. Eligible patients for the pilot receiving a Medicare wellness, adult …

Impact Of The Who Surgical Safety Checklist Relative To Its Design And Intended Use: A Systematic Review And Meta-Meta-Analysis, Kenji T. Sotto, Barbara K. Burian, Mary E. Brindle

Faculty Research, Scholarly, and Creative Activity

Background
The aim of this study was to identify what parts of the World Health Organization Surgical Safety Checklist (WHO SSC) are working, what can be done to make it more effective, and to determine if it achieved its intended effect relative to its design and intended use.
Study Design
We conducted a qualitative thematic analysis and meta-meta-analyses of findings in WHO SSC systematic reviews following Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analysis (PRISMA) guidelines.
Results
Twenty systematic reviews were included for qualitative thematic analysis. Narrative information was coded in 4 primary areas with a focus on impact of …

Vaccination Trends And Perceptions As Students Return To Campus Among San José State University Students, Fall 2021, Anji Buckner-Capone, Marcelle Dougan, Vasundhara Mehta, Khushboo Asija

Faculty Research, Scholarly, and Creative Activity

As repopulation of San Jose State University (SJSU) continues this fall, students expressed opinions and concerns about returning to campus in person. To better understand the nature of any concerns, a survey was conducted among California higher education students, with nearly 5,000 respondents. The survey was conducted between June 2021 and August 2021. This brief summarizes the findings from 1,760 self-identified SJSU students.

Public Protests And The Risk Of Novel Coronavirus Disease Hospitalizations: A County-Level Analysis From California, Linh N. Bui, Rachel L. Berkowitz, Wendy Jilek, Andrew J. Bordner, Kristen M. J. Azar, Alice Pressman, Robert J. Romanelli

Faculty Research, Scholarly, and Creative Activity

The objective of this study was to assess the relationship between public protests and county-level, novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) hospitalization rates across California. Publicly available data were included in the analysis from 55 of 58 California state counties (29 March–14 October 2020). Mixed-effects negative binomial regression models were used to examine the relationship between daily county-level COVID-19 hospitalizations and two main exposure variables: any vs. no protests and 1 or >1 protest vs. no protests on a given county-day. COVID-19 hospitalizations were used as a proxy for viral transmission since such rates are less sensitive to temporal changes in testing …

By Utilizing Technology Can Nursing Students Gain More Confidence And Decrease Anxiety When Communicating With Chronically Ill Patients About Their Sexual Relationship?, Sheri Rickman Patrick, Alice Butzlaff

Faculty Research, Scholarly, and Creative Activity

Introduction
Effective communication is an essential part of nursing care. Nurses need to effectively communicate with patients, families, providers and staff. The purpose of this study was to show how the use of technology (i.e., video conferencing on an electronic device) could assist nursing students to gain more confidence and reduce anxiety when discussing difficult topics such as sexual intimacy.
Methods
Pre-licensure nursing students were recruited to participate as part of regular class activities. A pre- and post-survey asking about their confidence and anxiety in communicating with patients was completed; then subjects were randomly placed into groups of 4 to …

Avoidant Restrictive Food Intake Disorder Prevalent Among Patients With Inflammatory Bowel Disease, Emily Yelencich, Emily Truong, Adrianne M. Widaman, Giselle Pignotti, Liu Yang, Yejoo Jeon, Andrew T. Weber, Rishabh Shah, Janelle Smith, Jenny S. Sauk, Berkeley N. Limketkai

Faculty Research, Scholarly, and Creative Activity

Background & Aims
Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) patients alter their dietary behaviors to reduce disease-related symptoms, avoid feared food triggers, and control inflammation. This study aimed to estimate the prevalence of avoidant/restrictive food intake disorder (ARFID), evaluate risk factors, and examine the association with risk of malnutrition in patients with IBD.
Methods
This cross-sectional study recruited adult patients with IBD from an ambulatory clinic. ARFID risk was measured using the Nine-Item ARFID Screen. Nutritional risk was measured with the Patient Generated-Subjective Global Assessment. Logistic regression models were used to evaluate the association between clinical characteristics and a positive ARFID risk …

Recruitment And Retention Of Minority High School Students To Increase Diversity In The Nursing Profession, Denise Dawkins

Faculty Research, Scholarly, and Creative Activity

No abstract provided.

Understanding Factors Relevant To Poor Sleep And Coping Methods In People With Schizophrenia, Yen-Ching Chang, Megan C. Chang, Yun-Jou Chang, Ming-De Chen

Faculty Research, Scholarly, and Creative Activity

Background

Sleep disruption is pervasive in people with schizophrenia, but few studies have explored their sleep experiences. This study aims to identify factors relevant to sleep problems and explore coping methods used by community-dwelling people with schizophrenia.

Methods

Eighteen participants with schizophrenia were recruited from three mental health centers in Taiwan. They completed a semi-structured interview and the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI) assessment. The Person-Environment-Occupation model offered a framework to assess factors related to sleep. Thematic analysis was used for the qualitative data analysis.

Results

Factors related to sleep were classified under person, environment, and occupation domains. The person …

Objective Physiological Measures Of Lingual And Jaw Function In Healthy Individuals And Individuals With Dysphagia Due To Neurodegenerative Diseases, Megan E. Cuellar, Elizabeth Oommen

Faculty Research, Scholarly, and Creative Activity

Swallowing is a neuromuscular process that involves a complex sequence of sensorimotor events, which are executed to efficiently and safely transport food and liquid from the mouth to the stomach. Safe oropharyngeal swallowing involves the activation, modulation, and coordination of oral, pharyngeal, laryngeal, and esophageal structures and musculature. Impaired or atypical patterns of swallowing are considered characteristic of a swallowing disorder, otherwise referred to as dysphagia, and affect the performance of all stages, i.e., oral preparatory, oral transit, pharyngeal, and esophageal. Lingual and jaw musculature play critical roles in mediating swallowing function, particularly during the oral preparatory and oral transit …

The Age Of Artificial Intelligence: Use Of Digital Technology In Clinical Nutrition, Berkeley K. Limketkai, Kasuen Mauldin, Natalie Manitius, Laleh Jalilian, Bradley R. Salonen

Faculty Research, Scholarly, and Creative Activity

Purpose of review

Computing advances over the decades have catalyzed the pervasive integration of digital technology in the medical industry, now followed by similar applications for clinical nutrition. This review discusses the implementation of such technologies for nutrition, ranging from the use of mobile apps and wearable technologies to the development of decision support tools for parenteral nutrition and use of telehealth for remote assessment of nutrition.

Recent findings

Mobile applications and wearable technologies have provided opportunities for real-time collection of granular nutrition-related data. Machine learning has allowed for more complex analyses of the increasing volume of data collected. The …

Future Directions Of Doctor Of Public Health Education In The United States: A Qualitative Study, Chulwoo Park, Gene Migliaccio, Mark Edberg, Seble Frehywot, Geralyn Johnson

Faculty Research, Scholarly, and Creative Activity

Background: The Doctor of Public Health (DrPH) degree is an advanced and terminal professional degree that prepares the future workforce to engage in public health research, teaching, practice, and leadership. The purpose of the present research was to discuss the desirable future direction and optimal education strategies for the DrPH degree in the United States.

Methods: A total of 28 Council on Education for Public Health (CEPH)-accredited DrPH programs in the United States was identified through the Association of Schools and Programs of Public Health (ASPPH) Academic Program Finder. Then, a qualitative analysis was conducted to obtain perspectives from …

Developmental Ethanol Exposure Causes Central Nervous System Dysfunction And May Slow The Aging Process In A Drosophila Model Of Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder, Khaoula Belhorma, Nahed Darwish, Elizabeth Benn-Hirsch, Annalisa Duenas, Hillary Gates, Navneet Sanghera, Jodie Wu, Rachael L. French

Faculty Research, Scholarly, and Creative Activity

Alcohol is a known teratogen, and developmental exposure to ethanol results in fetal alcohol spectrum disorder (FASD). Children born with FASD can exhibit a range of symptoms including low birth weight, microcephaly, and neurobehavioral problems. Treatment of patients with FASD is estimated to cost 4 billion dollars per year in the United States alone, and 2 million dollars per affected individual's lifetime. We have established Drosophila melanogaster as a model organism for the study of FASD. Here we report that mutations in Dementin (Dmtn), the Drosophila ortholog of the Alzheimer's disease-associated protein TMCC2, convey sensitivity to developmental ethanol exposure, …

Stress, Alcohol Use, And Punitive Parenting During The Covid-19 Pandemic, Jennifer Price Wolf, Bridget Freisthler, Caileigh Chadwick

Faculty Research, Scholarly, and Creative Activity

Background
Emerging research suggests that parents are experiencing heightened stress during the COVID-19 pandemic. Parental stress is a risk factor for harsh or punitive parenting, and this association may be exacerbated by the use of alcohol.
Objective
We examine whether parental stress is associated with use of punitive parenting, as well as whether this association is modified by drinking pattern.
Participants & setting
We used advertisements and word-of-mouth to recruit 342 parents living in Central Ohio during the initial stay-at-home order for COVID-19.
Methods
We used geographic ecological momentary assessment (gEMA) to measure parental stress and punitive parenting during three …

Parenting In Poor Health: Examining Associations Between Parental Health, Prescription Drug Use, And Child Maltreatment, Jennifer Price Wolf, Bridget Freisthler, Karla Shockley Mccarthy

Faculty Research, Scholarly, and Creative Activity

Rationale
Child maltreatment and problematic parenting are related to negative outcomes for children. Poor parental health could be a risk factor for problematic parenting through several mechanisms: 1) inadequate emotional regulation and coping; 2) impairment of parental capacity; and, 3) impairment of the parent-child relationship.
Objective
This study examines relationships between self-rated parental health, prescription drug use, and a broad array of negative parenting outcomes.
Methods
A sample of general population parents of children aged ten and younger was recruited from 30 mid-sized cities in California (n = 681). Weighted mixed-effects negative binomial and logistic regression models were used to …

Numerical Investigations Of Virus Transport Aboard A Commuter Bus, Hamid Rahai, Jeremy Bonifacio

Mineta Transportation Institute

The authors performed unsteady numerical simulations of virus/particle transport released from a hypothetical passenger aboard a commuter bus. The bus model was sized according to a typical city bus used to transport passengers within the city of Long Beach in California. The simulations were performed for the bus in transit and when the bus was at a bus stop opening the middle doors for 30 seconds for passenger boarding and drop off. The infected passenger was sitting in an aisle seat in the middle of the bus, releasing 1267 particles (viruses)/min. The bus ventilation system released air from two linear …