Medicine and Health Sciences Commons^™

Equivalency Testing For Two Formulations Of A Clinical Laboratory Control Material, Jessica M. Hart

Capstone Experience: Master of Public Health

Clinical laboratory control materials are an integral part of legally-mandated and highly regulated quality control protocols in all clinical laboratories. These controls ensure accurate performance of the laboratory testing and instrumentation used to produce medical test results for millions of patients. It is of clinical and public health interest to ensure the diagnostic test results which affect so many people are regulated by the most accurate and precise controls.

Formulation changes in control materials have the potential to impact laboratory quality control. In this study, data from two formulations of a hematology control were compared to assess equivalency of the …

An Assessment Of Occupational Heat Stress In A Central Utility Plant, Abdoulaye Abdoulaziz

Capstone Experience: Master of Public Health

Global climate change has been declared a threat to human health, which includes occupational safety issues. As temperatures continue to increase, heat stress and heat-related illness are occupational safety issues that need to be better understood. Assessments of workplace heat exposures are key to implement appropriate health and safety interventions. This study attempted to assess whether workers’ perception of work environment temperature in a Central Utility Plant was associated with heat-stress prevention behaviors. Therefore, we used a questionnaire to collect Central Utility Plant employees’ demographic characteristics, data regarding their perceived work environment temperatures, and their behaviors related to preventing heat-related …

Planning A Culturally And Linguistically Appropriate Obesity Intervention For Hispanic/Latino Children Living In Rural Nebraska, Ada V. Luna

Capstone Experience: Master of Public Health

Childhood obesity is a public health concern in the U.S; however, for the Hispanic/Latino community these concerns have grown to epic proportions. In Nebraska, the rate of childhood obesity is 25.1%; among Hispanic / Latinos students, the obesity rate is 30.9%. Unfortunately, specific Nebraska obesity rates by race and ethnicity are limited among rural communities, and programs that can effectively address this problem in the Hispanic / Latino community are limited or non-existent. Consequently, disparities between urban and rural communities exist. The purpose of this capstone project is to design a culturally and linguistically oriented intervention to address childhood obesity …

Prevalence Of Intimate Partner Violence Among The Maternal-Fetal Medicine Population, Sarah K. Larsen

Capstone Experience: Master of Public Health

Intimate partner violence (IPV) is increasingly understood as an important public health issue. It is well understood that intimate partner violence has many negative effects on its survivors ranging from physical to mental health conditions. The population of people who experience intimate partner violence and population of pregnant women are both vulnerable populations. Examining the two populations together demands a trauma-informed approach and an understanding of the intricacies of both pregnancy and intimate partner violence. While IPV has been studied among the pregnant population, intimate partner violence as it relates to the maternal fetal medicine (MFM) or high-risk pregnancy population …

Closing The Loop: Pilot Evaluation Of Referral Navigator At Oneworld Community Health Centers, Oliver Ramirez-Gutierrez

Capstone Experience: Master of Public Health

Background. Low-income persons are subject to barriers to accessing health care and the additional complexity of the referral process, specifically for those receiving assistance from indigent care programs, contributes to those barriers. The requirements for patients receiving social assistance from indigent care programs leads to increased waiting time to be seen by specialists and contributes to health disparities.

Aim. Through a partnership with OneWorld Community Health Centers this project seeks to understand the efficacy of the implementation of a “referral navigator” at OneWorld and make recommendations to enhance the process. The proposed navigator is aimed to decrease the waiting time …

Effect Of Cigarette Smoking On Cd4 Count And Viral Load Among Hiv Patients Attending Treatment At Nebraska Medicine, Chacha Josiah Mwita

Capstone Experience: Master of Public Health

Background

Smoking is known to have a negative impact on both morbidity and mortality in people living with HIV (PLHIV). However, there is inconsistent information about the role of smoking on markers of HIV disease progression (CD4 count and HIV viral load). This study examined the effects of cigarette smoking on markers of HIV disease progression among PLHIV at Nebraska Medicine.

Methods

A retrospective cohort study was conducted utilizing electronic health information of 604 PLHIV who attended treatment at Nebraska Medicine between 2012 and 2020. Multiple linear regression was used to model the effects of smoking on the mean change …

A Review Of The Characteristics Of Super-Utilizers And Evidence-Based Approaches To Reduce Healthcare Utilization, Suswara Mandala Rayabandla

Capstone Experience: Master of Public Health

A significant fraction of health care resources in the United States of America is utilized by a comparatively small number of people. An examination of the attributes and patterns and associated evidence-based interventions for such high-utilizing patients might aid clinicians to improve interventions to address the distinctive needs of these patients, decrease their risks for numerous hospitalizations, and contribute to reducing the costs. This study aims at exploring the existing literature on the characteristics of super-utilizers and interventions to reduce avoidable use of health care among this population. The method used for this research is a comprehensive literature review. Search …

Program Evaluation: Wellness For Life, Patricia Wagner

Capstone Experience: Master of Public Health

Specific Aim: The specific aim of this program evaluation is to assess the effectiveness of the employee wellness program (Wellness for Life program) at Community Hospital (CH) in McCook, Nebraska through the analysis of biometric data, personal health assessment results, and survey results.

Significance: The evaluation of this program is important to ensure CH is aiding their employees so they might lead healthy lives at a time when the health of our country is incredibly poor.

Background: CH is a small critical access hospital that employs 323 people in McCook, Nebraska. In 2013 CH decided to offer a formal employee …

Characteristics Of Tobacco Retailers And Proximity To Schools In A Midwest City, Sierra N. Garth

Capstone Experience: Master of Public Health

This descriptive epidemiology project provides an overview of the number, characteristics, and proximity of retailers that sell tobacco and vaping products to middle and high schools. ArcGIS was used to map the proximity of these retailers to public and private middle and high schools in Lincoln, Nebraska. Mapping the retailers and schools allowed us to explore the potential exposures to these products teens experience on a daily basis.

The Wellbeing Partners’ Use Of The School Health Index To Identify Needs In Omaha Public Schools: A Process Evaluation, Sophia A. Quintero

Capstone Experience: Master of Public Health

The School Health Index tool from the Center for Disease Control and Prevention has been a useful tool to identify needs and areas of improvement for schools. This tool is most effective when used in collaboration with school staff and assistance from an outside facilitator. The purpose of this evaluation was to determine the administration efficiency of the School Health Index in select schools throughout the Omaha Public School (OPS) district by The Wellbeing Partners. A process evaluation was conducted to: 1) assess the relationship between the schools’ wellness champions at five Omaha Public School (OPS) elementary schools and The …

The Effect Of Childhood Farm Exposure On Adult Respiratory Symptoms And Proinflammatory Cytokine Responsiveness In Agricultural Workers, Jacob C. Grothe

Capstone Experience: Master of Public Health

Introduction: Studies have shown that the farm exposes workers and family members to countless microorganisms such as, gram-negative bacteria that possess endotoxins, which have been demonstrated to contribute to lung disease, such as asthma, in exposed workers. Results of studies of children show conflicting results regarding the development of asthma or asthma-like symptoms in response to farm exposures. European children show a “protective effect” against atopy and asthma during adolescence, while North American children show a higher prevalence of asthma or asthma-like symptoms. Also, whether this protective effect carries into adulthood is unclear. Some studies show a low prevalence of …

The Association Of Demographic And Clinical Characteristics And Self-Reported Sleep Duration Among Patients With Prediabetes, Priyanka Chaudhary

Capstone Experience: Master of Public Health

Background: Sleep has been recognized as a critical component of healthy development and overall health. However, sleep duration has emerged as an important lifestyle factor that influences endocrine function and glucose metabolism. There remains a dearth of research to assess sleep duration among patients with prediabetes.

Objective: To evaluate the association between socio-demographic and clinical characteristics and self-reported sleep duration among patients with prediabetes.

Methods: Baseline data (n=599) was used from a diabetes prevention trial. A chi-square test was used to assess the differences between the groups of sleep duration for the categorical, whereas the t-test was used for the …

Self-Management Interventions For Urinary Incontinence In Women: An Integrative Review, Abbey Klein, Elizabeth Mollard, Meryl Alappattu, Christine Eisenhauer

Posters and Presentations: College of Nursing

No abstract provided.

Using A Critical Safety Behavior Scoring Tool For N95 Respirator Use To Evaluate Training Interventions, Elizabeth L. Beam, Kevin A. Kupzyk, Jocelyn J. Herstein, Shawn Gibbs

Posters and Presentations: College of Nursing

Background: Hospitals struggle nationally to educate healthcare workers on the safe use of N95 respirators as part of their respiratory protection programs. Practical and effective interventions are needed to improve this clinical behavior which is critical to healthcare worker safety in airborne precautions, hazardous drug administration, and pandemic response. This analysis specifically investigated two just-in-time training interventions that would be practical to implement in a hospital setting. Method: A simulation approach was used to evaluate two interventions for N95 respirator use at a Midwestern Academy Hospital system (n=62, 32 control, 30 treatment). Healthcare workers were asked to don and doff …

Rural Definition Consistency Among U.S. Veteran Studies: A Rapid Review Of The Literature, Jed Hansen, Abbey Klein, Christine Eisenhauer, Marcia Shade

Posters and Presentations: College of Nursing

No abstract provided.

Barriers And Promoters Of Retention Of Direct Care Workers In Community Mental Health Agencies, Shinobu Watanabe-Galloway, Brent Khan, Mogens (Bill) Baerentzen, Zaeema Naveed

Reports and White Papers: Behavioral Health Education Center of Nebraska

Demand for behavioral health direct-care providers is increasing due to shortage of licensed behavioral health providers. However, high turnover has been reported among them with limited exploratory research. The present study aimed to identify a wide variety of barriers and promoters of retention and strategies to retain direct care workers. An online, self-administered survey designed to measure demographics, job satisfaction, perceived importance of various job aspects, intention to leave, perceived stress and sources of stress was administered among 179 direct care workers from four agencies. Multiple logistic regression exhibited higher odds of intending to leave for those who had higher …

The Use Of Immersive 360 Videos To Induce Different Strategies Of Postural Control, Chenfan Gui, Jung Hung Chien, Ka-Chun Siu

Posters and Presentations: Physical Therapy

Purpose/Hypothesis: Visual perception is a decision-making process of the central nervous system based on recognitions of relative distances and velocities between objects. With the input from visual perception, an appropriate postural control is applied to maintain balance. Previous studies on how visual perception affects the postural control were only in one direction. Therefore, this study used immersive 360° videos to identify how visual perception affects the postural control in multiple directions. We hypothesized that video with more turns could induce more ML body sway, and video with higher elevation could induce more AP body sway. Number of Subjects: Nineteen healthy …

The Effect Of Inclination On Lower Extremity Inter-Joint Coordination During Treadmill Walking, Jiani Lu, Jung Hung Chien, Ka-Chun Siu

Posters and Presentations: Physical Therapy

Purpose/Hypothesis: Inclined walking is a challenging daily task in comparison with level walking. It requires specific control from central nervous system and exhibits increases in muscle activities and alternations of joint kinematics in lower extremities. However, the knowledge of the inclination effect on the inter-joint coordination is limited. Previous studies have shown the benefits of investigating the inter-joint coordination in patients with Parkinson’s disease, low back pain and hemiplegic gait. This study aimed to evaluate such coordination in healthy young adults during inclined walking.

Number of Subjects: 19 healthy young adults (13 females, 6 males; aged 22 – 29 yrs) …

Declined Treadmill Walking Eliminates Asymmetric Walking Pattern In Healthy Young Adults, Yuhang Zhang, Ka-Chun Siu, Jung Hung Chien

Posters and Presentations: Physical Therapy

Background: Human locomotion is flexible in any environment, and this fact has been proven when walking on different speeds in each leg on the split-belt treadmill. However, during the split-belt walking, participant’s locomotor behaviors are passively adopted by a motor-driven treadmill. Therefore, how humans actively adjust the flexibility of locomotion is still limited by using the split-belt treadmill. Our current study investigated the flexibility of locomotion by using ankle weight on the dominant leg to induce asymmetric walking pattern when walking on a regular treadmill. We hypothesized that the level of active control would increase to adapt the asymmetric walking …

Reaching The Summit: From Exposure To Immersion In Quality Improvement In Physical Therapy Education, Tami Struessel, Nicole M. Sleddens, Katherine J. Jones

Posters and Presentations: Physical Therapy

Following the release of its 2001 report, Crossing the Quality Chasm: A New Health System for the 21st Century, the Institute of Medicine (IOM) convened a summit of 150 interprofessional healthcare educators to reform health professions education. As a result, in 2002, the IOM established an overarching vision to achieve care that is safe, effective, patient-centered, timely efficient, and equitable: “All health professionals should be educated to deliver patient-centered care as members of an interdisciplinary team, emphasizing evidence-based practice, quality improvement approaches, and informatics.” Physical Therapy educators have expanded curricula to teach three of these five competencies. We routinely …

Designing A Course To Acculturate Professional Behaviors Of International Students In Physical Therapy Education, Nicole M. Sleddens, Kathleen G. Volkman, Betsy J. Becker, Ka-Chun Siu, Michael Smith, Joseph F. Norman

Posters and Presentations: Physical Therapy

The University of Nebraska Medical Center DPT program has a Global Health Opportunity track in which international students work on a master’s degree and complete a DPT. The current students are from China and meet all requirements of the DPT and graduate admissions, including a high proficiency in English (e.g. TOEFL ³ 90). All students have undergraduate degrees in medicine, rehabilitation therapy or medical sciences from universities in China. While these students have performed well in the didactic DPT curriculum, we noted a trend in professional interactions and communication which interfered with clinical performance and required remediation. To proactively circumvent …

Sé Un Héroe Tú También, Samantha S. Rohe, Sophie Cemaj

Books: Pediatrics

This children's book explains COVID-19 and how to decrease the incidence of transmissions.

Hepatitis B Seroprevalence In The U.S. Military And Its Impact On Potential Screening Strategies, Paul T. Scott, Robert L. Cohen, David Brett-Major, Shilpa Hakre, Jennifer A. Malia, Jason F. Okulicz, Charmagne G. Beckett, Jason M. Blaylock, Michael A. Forgione, Stephen A. Harrison, Clinton K. Murray, Francisco J. Rentas, Roland L. Fahie, Adam W. Armstrong, Aatif M. Hayat, Laura A. Pacha, Peter Dawson, Beth Blackwell, Angelia A. Eick-Cost, Hala H. Maktabi, Nelson L. Michael, Linda L. Jagodzinski, Steven B. Cersovsky, Sheila A. Peel

Journal Articles: Epidemiology

INTRODUCTION: Knowledge of the contemporary epidemiology of hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection among military personnel can inform potential Department of Defense (DoD) screening policy and infection and disease control strategies.

MATERIALS AND METHODS: HBV infection status at accession and following deployment was determined by evaluating reposed serum from 10,000 service members recently deployed to combat operations in Iraq and Afghanistan in the period from 2007 to 2010. A cost model was developed from the perspective of the Department of Defense for a program to integrate HBV infection screening of applicants for military service into the existing screening program of screening …

Evaluation Of The Therapeutic Efficacy Of Praziquantel Against Schistosomes In Seven Countries With Ongoing Large-Scale Deworming Programs, B. Levecke, J. Vlaminck, L. Andriamaro, S. Ame, V. Belizario, Abraham Degarege, D. Engels, B. Erko, A. D. Garba, G. M. Kaatano, Z. Mekonnen, A. Montresor, P. Olliaro, O. S. Pieri, M. Sacko, S. O. Sam-Wobo, L. A. Tchuem Tchuenté, J. P. Webster, J. Vercruysse

Journal Articles: Epidemiology

The World Health Organization (WHO) recommends periodic assessment of the therapeutic efficacy of praziquantel (PZQ) to detect reduced efficacy that may arise from drug resistance in schistosomes. In this multi-country study (2014), we assessed the therapeutic efficacy of a single oral dose of PZQ (40 mg/kg) against Schistosoma mansoni (Brazil, Cameroon, Ethiopia, Mali, Madagascar and Tanzania), S. haematobium (Cameroon, Ethiopia, Mali, Tanzania and Zanzibar) and S. japonicum (the Philippines) infections in school-aged children, across a total of 12 different trials. Each trial was performed according to the standardized methodology for evaluating PZQ efficacy as described by the WHO. Overall, therapeutic …

Nanoformulation Of The Superoxide Dismutase Mimic, Mntnbuoe-2-Pyp5+, Prevents Its Acute Hypotensive Response, Sarah L. Schlichte, Svetlana Romanova, Kenichi Katsurada, Elizabeth A. Kosmacek, Tatiana K. Bronich, Kaushik K. Patel, Rebecca E. Oberley-Deegan, Matthew C. Zimmerman

Journal Articles: Cellular & Integrative Physiology

Scavenging superoxide (O₂^•-) via overexpression of superoxide dismutase (SOD) or administration of SOD mimics improves outcomes in multiple experimental models of human disease including cardiovascular disease, neurodegeneration, and cancer. While few SOD mimics have transitioned to clinical trials, MnTnBuOE-2-PyP⁵⁺ (BuOE), a manganese porphyrin SOD mimic, is currently in clinical trials as a radioprotector for cancer patients; thus, providing hope for the use of SOD mimics in the clinical setting. However, BuOE transiently alters cardiovascular function including a significant and precipitous decrease in blood pressure. To limit BuOE's acute hypotensive action, we developed a mesoporous silica nanoparticle …

Mobile Technology Intervention For Weight Loss In Rural Men: Protocol For A Pilot Pragmatic Randomised Controlled Trial, Christine M. Eisenhauer, Fabiana Almeida Brito, Aaron M. Yoder, Kevin A. Kupzyk, Carol H. Pullen, Katherine E. Salinas, Jessica Miller, Patricia A. Hageman

Journal Articles: Physical Therapy

INTRODUCTION: Men who are overweight or obese in the rural Midwestern USA are an unrepresented, at-risk group exhibiting rising rates of cardiovascular disease, poor access to preventive care and poor lifestyle behaviours that contribute to sedentary lifestyle and unhealthy diet. Self-monitoring of eating and activity has demonstrated efficacy for weight loss. Use of mobile technologies for self-monitoring eating and activity may address rural men's access disparities to preventive health resources and support weight loss. Our pilot trial will assess the feasibility and acceptability of two mobile applications for weight loss in rural men to inform a future, full-scale trial.

METHODS …

Nanoscale Interaction Of Recg With Mobile Fork Dna, Zhiqiang Sun, Yaqing Wang, Piero R. Bianco, Yuri L. Lyubchenko

Journal Articles: Pharmaceutical Sciences

RecG DNA helicase is a guardian of the bacterial genome where it dominates stalled DNA replication fork rescue. The single-stranded DNA binding protein (SSB) is involved in this process and promotes the binding of RecG to stalled replication forks. Atomic force microscopy (AFM) was used to investigate the interaction of RecG and SSB on a mobile fork substrate capable of being regressed. In the absence of proteins, the fork undergoes spontaneous dynamics between two states, defined by the length of the DNA complementarity at the fork. The binding of SSB does not affect these dynamics as it binds to single-stranded …

Neuronal-Derived Extracellular Vesicles Are Enriched In The Brain And Serum Of Hiv-1 Transgenic Rats, Raghubendra S. Dagur, Ke Liao, Susmita Sil, Fang Niu, Zhiqiang Sun, Yuri L. Lyubchenko, Eric S. Peebles, Guoku Hu, Shilpa Buch

Journal Articles: Pharmaceutical Sciences

Despite the efficacy of combination antiretroviral therapy (ART) in controlling human immunodeficiency virus (HIV-1) replication, cytotoxic viral proteins such as HIV-1 transactivator of transcription (Tat) persist in tissues such as the brain. Although HIV-1 does not infect neuronal cells, it is susceptible to viral Tat protein-mediated toxicity, leading to neuroinflammation that underlies HIV-associated neurocognitive disorders (HAND). Given the role of extracellular vesicles (EVs) in both cellular homoeostasis and under pathological conditions, we sought to investigate the alterations in the quantity of neuronal-derived EVs in the brain–as defined by the presence of cell adhesion molecule L1 (L1CAM) and to evaluate the …

The Current State Of Drug Repurposing And Rare Diseases: An Interview With Paul Trippier, Paul C. Trippier

Journal Articles: Pharmaceutical Sciences

Paul Tripper is an Associate Professor of Medicinal Chemistry at the University of Nebraska Medical Center (UNMC, NE, USA) and an Editorial Board member of Future Drug Discovery. Here, he speaks to Managing Editor Francesca Lake about drug repurposing, focusing on the key challenges, its application to rare diseases and what we can look forward to in the future.

Dual Substance Use Of Electronic Cigarettes And Alcohol, Tanner J. Wetzel, Todd A. Wyatt

Journal Articles: Environmental, Agricultural & Occupational Health

Electronic cigarettes (ECs) are a modern nicotine delivery system that rapidly grew in widespread use, particularly in younger populations. Given the long history of the comorbidity of alcohol and nicotine use, the rising prevalence of ECs raises the question as to their role in the consumption of alcohol. Of the numerous models of ECs available, JUUL is the most popular. This narrative review aims to determine current trends in literature regarding the relationship between EC and alcohol dual use, as well as hypothesize potential pathogenic tissue damage and summarize areas for future study, including second-hand vapor exposure and calling for …