Medicine and Health Sciences Commons^™

An Opportunity To Partner With Community Organizations To Collect Data On Asian Americans, Victoria Wang, Karen Kim

Journal of Health Disparities Research and Practice

Background: There is a shortage of health data for Asian American (AA) populations. This shortfall may be improved through the involvement of AA-serving community-based organizations (CBOs).

Objectives: This study assesses the feasibility of and interest among CBOs in creating a AA community-based data registry.

Methods: Leaders of CBOs were interviewed to assess their current data collection framework and their attitudes towards a shared data registry.

Results: Qualitative analysis shows CBOs are active in data collection, find data to be instrumental to their mission, and are interested in contributing to a broader data registry.

Discussion: The inclusion …

Personal Internalization Of A Confederate Monument Removal Event Associated With Increased Depression, Anxiety, And Stress Among University Students, Erika M. Redding, Yucheng Hou, Riley E. Mulhern

Journal of Health Disparities Research and Practice

This study sought to determine the association between racialized events relating to the removal of a Confederate monument and mental health outcomes among students at a Southern state-university in the United States. After the removal of a Confederate monument located on the university’s campus, racialized protests and violent clashes with police forces ensued. To assess the impact of these events on student mental health outcomes, a cross-sectional survey was disseminated to 10,000 current students. Student mental health was measured using the 21-item Depression, Anxiety, and Stress Scale (DASS). The key exposure, personal internalization of the event, was measured using the …

Osteopathia Striata With Cranial Sclerosis: Genetic Diagnosis In A Rural Setting, Jithil L. Tharayil B.S., Joseph J. Thomas B.S., Sally S. Leong B.S., Megan L. Mosca B.S., Jose Cucalon Calderon M.D.

Journal of Health Disparities Research and Practice

Osteopathia striata with cranial sclerosis (OSCS) is a rare skeletal dysplasia inherited in an X-linked dominant pattern. Patients present with a wide variety of congenital anomalies such as craniofacial, cardiac, musculoskeletal, intestinal, and genitourinary abnormalities, and developmental delay. The genetic mutation causes increased ossification of bones which can compress cranial nerves and subsequently lead to acquired hearing loss, facial paralysis, and other neurologic defects. OSCS has also been associated with epileptic seizures, pyloric stenosis, hypothyroidism, and increased bone fragility. Due to the nonspecific presentation of conditions like OSCS and the serious complications it predisposes patients to, it is important that …

Us Immigrants’ Experiences With The Covid-19 Pandemic- Findings From Online Focus Groups, Awele Maduka-Ezeh, Ikwesilotuto T. Ezeh, Benjamin E. Bagozzi, Jennifer A. Horney, Somawina Nwegbu, Joseph E. Trainor

Journal of Health Disparities Research and Practice

Objective:

Immigrants in the United States (US) are disproportionately affected by disasters. Yet the effects of one type of disaster—pandemics—have been underexplored in this regard. The purpose of this study was to better understand these effects, with specific attention to the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on US immigrants and their social networks.

Design:

Forty-five US immigrants (aged 18 and above) participated across eight online focus groups during spring 2020. Using “criterion of inclusion” sampling, participants were recruited via gatekeeper and snowball sampling methods. Anonymity was maintained throughout all online focus group sessions. Discussions were transcribed and then categorized into …

Racial And Ethnic Disparities In Illinois Lung Cancer Incidence, Mortality Stage At Diagnosis, Surgical Treatment, And Screening, Ritika Golechha, Mickyas Hezekiel Eskender, David D. Odell, Joe Feinglass

Journal of Health Disparities Research and Practice

This study analyzes the extent of racial and ethnic disparities in lung cancer in Illinois as compared to national trends. Cancer registry data were used to compare lung cancer incidence, mortality and stage at diagnosis rates for non-Hispanic (NH) white, NH Black and Hispanic Illinois residents. Hospital discharge data were used to compare medical and surgical admission and screening rates. Smoking across race and ethnic groups was compared using data from the Illinois Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System to determine the extent to which disparities might be related to smoking prevalence. Rate ratios for NH Black and Hispanics compared to …

Disparities In Access To After-Hours Care In The U.S.: A National Study, Kavita Mosalpuria, Fernando A. Wilson, Mohammad Siahpush

Journal of Health Disparities Research and Practice

After-hours care provides timely access to continuity of care for chronic illnesses and episodic care for acute illness. Lack of timely access to primary care services is one of the main drivers of emergency department overuse. Our aim was to examine disparities in access to after-hours care based on race, income, geographic location, type of insurance, and health care setting. We used data from the 2010 Health Tracking Household Survey. Multivariable logistic regression was used to assess disparities in access to after-hours care. We found disparities by type of insurance, geographic location, and type of health care setting. People with …

Impact Of Covid-19 On Healthcare Labor Market In The United States: Lower Paid Workers Experienced Higher Vulnerability And Slower Recovery, Neeraj Bhandari, Kavita Batra, Soumya Upadhyay, Christopher Cochran

Healthcare Administration and Policy Faculty Research

The resilience of the healthcare industry, often considered recession-proof, is being tested by the COVID-19 induced reductions in physical mobility and restrictions on elective and non-emergent medical procedures. We assess early COVID-19 effects on the dynamics of decline and recovery in healthcare labor markets in the United States. Descriptive analyses with monthly cross-sectional data on unemployment rates, employment, labor market entry/exit, and weekly work hours among healthcare workers in each healthcare industry and occupation, using the Current Population Survey from July 2019−2020 were performed. We found that unemployment rates increased dramatically for all healthcare industries, with the strongest early impacts …

Lovingkindness Meditation Alters Sense Of Self In Non-Meditators, John Watt

Undergraduate Research Symposium Podium Presentations

The COVID-19 pandemic and civil unrest have increased individuals’ stress, anxiety, and social isolation. In response, a resounding call has gone out for more resources to buffer the effects of this psychological burden. One free and accessible resource is meditation; lovingkindness meditation is particularly beneficial and increases positive emotionality, psychological well-being, prosocial behavior, and social connectedness. Meditation is theorized to confer these benefits through fostering an allocentric spatial frame of reference. An allocentric spatial frame of reference is a view of the self that extends beyond the boundary of the body and is accompanied by a heightened sense of connection …

Hook3 Mutations And Their Contributions To Different Types Of Cancers, Brittny Mikhaiel, Van Vo Ph.D.

Undergraduate Research Symposium Posters

Hook3 (Hook Microtubule Tethering Protein 3) is a gene that encodes a protein that is localized in the Golgi complex and is linked to cellular trafficking of cargos and the binding of microtubules to organelles. Although there is some literature discussing the known functions of the gene, the phenotypes in mice or humans have not been thoroughly researched and literature on these phenotypes is limited. The literature that is available suggests Hook3 is implicated in diverse phenotypes ranging from bone development to neural development in mice. Since Hook3 is associated with prostate cancer, it is likely that it is involved …

Modeling Covid-19 Infection Rates Using Sir And Arima Models, Janelle Domantay, Ilya Pivavaruk, Victor Taksheyev

Undergraduate Research Symposium Posters

With the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, it has become of increasing interest to both monitor and predict the growth of its infection rates. In order to analyze the accuracy of epidemiological prediction, we consider two different models for prediction, the Susceptible Infected and Removed (SIR), and Autoregressive Integrated Moving Average (ARIMA) models. Using a dataset of Clark County COVID-19 infections, we create various ARIMA and SIR models that attempt to predict the progression of COVID-19 infections whilst comparing these predictions to the dataset. We observed that the ARIMA model performed more accurately overall, having a much lower Root Mean …

Huntington's Disease: A Timeline, Brian Kerlin, Brandon Polimeni, Michaelangelo Ortega

Undergraduate Research Symposium Posters

The purpose of this investigation is to examine the discovery, treatment, social impact, and current research for Huntington’s disease (HD) to provide a foundation to analyze future research towards a cure. Huntington’s disease was first comprehensively described in 1872 by George Huntington. HD is an autosomal-dominant, neurodegenerative disorder that affects approximately 2.7 per 100,000. Individuals with HD present with involuntary muscle movement, cognitive decline, and personality alterations arising at a mean age of 35 years. Symptoms are subtle at first, but as the disease progresses over 15-20 years, the individual’s ability to talk diminishes and their mental abilities decline into …

The Aftermath Of Sexual Assault: Creating The “Am More Than My Experience” Workbook, Isabella Chung

Undergraduate Research Symposium Podium Presentations

The following thesis includes a literature review of the immediate and long-term effects of sexual assault on victims in regard to their physical, mental, and emotional health and romantic relationships, followed by a proposed workbook for sexual assault victims/survivors. Being that typical responses immediately after an assault are fear, disbelief, and activation of the sympathetic nervous system, it is to no surprise that long term issues of depression, anxiety, and Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) often arise as well. Thus, a workbook was created with the intention of educating readers about sexual assault and helping victims/survivors to heal from the trauma …

Apolipoprotein E And Development Of Alzheimer’S Disease In Hispanic Populations: A Scoping Review, Amy Nguyen, Stacey Moeller

Undergraduate Research Symposium Posters

Alzheimer’s disease (AD) disproportionately affects Hispanic individuals, who face about 1.5- fold more risk for AD than non-Hispanic whites (NHW). Few studies examine AD biomarkers by ethnoracial group, even for the well-established susceptibility locus of apolipoprotein E (APOE). This study reviews current literature on the association between APOE and incidence of AD in Hispanic populations. A scoping review was conducted to identify publications with Hispanic study samples that examined prevalence of APOE’s three alleles (e2, e3, e4) and the risk of disease conferred by each. Two researchers combined search results from PubMed, Scopus, and APA PsycInfo databases, deleted duplicates, and …

Pedsafe Court Class Interactive Dashboard, Merika Charupoom, Emily Carter, Erin Breen

Undergraduate Research Symposium Podium Presentations

Pedestrian and pedal-cyclist fatalities continue to be a concern in Clark County. Road users who are cited for pedestrian violations are given opportunity to an educational resource by attending a 3-hour pedestrian safety class to void their violation points and fines. An interactive dashboard was created to display class participant demographics, analyses of pre-/post-tests, and geospatial mapping of citation locations. Researchers collected participant data from September 2017 to March 2019 (N=1,321) and used Microsoft Excel to create this visualization tool. The components of the dashboard include basic demographics and an analysis of change in pedestrian behavior knowledge using paired t-tests …

Lava Is All You Need: R Package Reduces Bias For Correlations Among Censored Variable, Monica Cordova-Medina, Lashawn Tith, Fitsum A. Ayele

Undergraduate Research Symposium Podium Presentations

Data censoring occurs when researchers have only partial information about the value of a variable. For example, one study investigated depression among participants taking psilocybin (magic mushrooms). If participants took extra psilocybin outside of the study context, then the dosage is known to be at least as much as a certain value, but it might have been higher. Left censoring occurs when the left-hand side of a distribution is obscured by censoring; right censoring when the right-hand side is obscured. The R package lava can estimate the correlation that would have been obtained between the uncensored variables when provided with …

Qualitative Analysis Of Different Educational Physical Activity Interventions And Policies For Older Asian Americans In The United States, Raisa Kabir, Manoj Sharma, Sayeda Tazim Zaidi

Undergraduate Research Symposium Podium Presentations

Physical activity (PA) provides numerous positive health benefits and minimizes chronic diseases and mental health issues, especially in older adults. The national survey data indicated that only 27.3% to 44.3% of older adults meet the recommended physical activity guidelines of 150 minutes/ week. There are limited data on PA behavior among older AA adults as very few to no local/national surveys are targeted for older AA and their marginalized subgroups. This qualitative analysis aimed to understand and review the effectiveness of physical activity interventions targeted for and done among older Asian American adults. The study included a comprehensive review based …

Police Shootings In The Mountain West, 2015 - 2021, Elia Del Carmen Solano-Patricio

Undergraduate Research Symposium Podium Presentations

The Washington Post publishes and regularly updates a dataset regarding the use of deadly force by police since 2015. This study extracts data for five Mountain West states (Arizona, Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico, and Utah), and presents a regional perspective on the total number of individuals shot and killed by police, including demographic variables such as race, gender, and age. Two additional variables are included in this examination: the presence or absence of mental illness in the decedent, and the presence or absence of a body-worn camera in incidents of deadly police force. Collected from January 1, 2015, to March …

Retinoblastoma: Past, Present, And Future, Izabela Daneva, Crysty-Ann Olaco, Albert Tran

Undergraduate Research Symposium Posters

The purpose of this research timeline is to synthesize the natural history of retinoblastoma to understand its societal effects and develop a public health message to raise awareness of the disease. We used literature-based research in order to gain an understanding about the discovery of this disease and investigate its most current state of knowledge. Retinoblastoma is an intraocular cancer that manifests early in childhood. It is typically linked to a somatic or germline insertion, deletion, or single-base substitution mutation on both alleles of RB1, a tumor-suppressor gene. Retinoblastoma was first identified in 1809 by James Wardrop, and since then, …

Cultural Identity Predicts Resilience In Maltreated Youth, Jordan Donohue, Janelle Salcedo, James Webster, Kinsey Ellis

Undergraduate Research Symposium Posters

Literature suggests that a stronger sense of cultural identity predicts higher levels of resilience following a traumatic event. However, there are limited studies that examine this relationship in children. The present research analyzes the relationship between cultural identity and resilience in a sample of maltreated youth. Participants included youth (n=65) aged 11-17 years in Department of Family Services (DFS) custody following removal from their home after substantiated child maltreatment. Cultural identity and resilience were both assessed by the Nevada Child and Adolescent Needs and Strengths (NV- CANS). A linear regression indicated a significant predictive relationship between cultural identity and resilience, …

A Mediation Analysis Of Racial Microaggressions, Poor Coping Mechanisms And Mental Health, Janelle Ferraris, Andrea Galdamez, Aldo Barrita, Kristin Vierra

Undergraduate Research Symposium Posters

Microaggressions are daily slights and denigrations perpetrated towards marginalized individuals. These invalidations are perceived as significant stressors for marginalized people. The bulk of research on microaggressions indicates that these everyday slights can have a negative impact on mental health. The current study examines the relationship between microaggressions, detachment internalized racism, and negative mental health symptoms of depression, anxiety and depression. Specifically, regression analysis was used to investigate the hypothesis that both internalization and detachment mediate the effect of microaggressions on poor mental health symptoms for PoC. Results indicated that for PoC, microaggressions was a significant predictor of symptoms of both …

The Determinants Of Physical Activity And Sedentary Behavior In The Asian Americans, Raisa Kabir, Sayeda Tazim Zaidi, Chia-Liang Dai

Undergraduate Research Symposium Posters

Physical activity (PA) is crucial to a positive healthy lifestyle which helps prevent and minimize various chronic diseases and mental health illnesses. Although the Asian American (AA) community is one of the fastest-growing marginalized minority groups in the United States, there is little research on PA behavior within the community. This study aimed to investigate correlates and determinants of PA behavior among the Asian American population to bring about policy changes, design educational programs, and promote research on PA promotion among the AA community. Studies were identified from searches located in databases such as MEDLINE, CINAHL, PubMed Central, and EBSCO …

A Timeline Of Down Syndrome, Christian Guese, Kristina Mcinnes, Kimberly Miranda

Undergraduate Research Symposium Posters

The purpose of this research timeline is to synthesize the natural history of Down Syndrome (DS) to discover absence of knowledge, discuss the bioethics in prenatal screening and develop a public health message. Our method of research was literature-based. DS is one of the most common aneuploidy disorders in the United States. There are three genetic variations of DS, Trisomy 21, a third copy of chromosome 21, accounts for 95% of cases. DS causes intellectual disability, developmental delays, facial dysmorphia, and low muscle tone. DS also leads to an increased risk for congenital heart defects and Alzheimer’s disease later in …

Discovering Rett Syndrome (Rts) And Understanding Its Enigmatic Development, Fiorella Ramirez-Guasp, Chanel Chan, Sukyeong Kim

Undergraduate Research Symposium Posters

The purpose of this research project is to compose a comprehensive timeline on the rare disease Rett Syndrome (RTS) in order to better understand its enigmatic development as well as furthering the public’s understanding on this degenerative disease. RTS is a panethnic progressive neurodevelopmental disorder that occurs nearly exclusively in girls. This syndrome is characterized by normal prenatal and neonatal development, followed by an onset of neurological symptoms with a mental stagnation anywhere around 6-18 months of age that involves a rapid loss in speech and acquired motor skills. There is limited knowledge about the molecular cause of Rett Syndrome, …

Identifying Determinants Of Breast Cancer Screening Through Mammography Among Asian American Women, Sayeda Tazim Zaidi, Raisa Kabir, Chia-Liang Dai

Undergraduate Research Symposium Posters

Breast cancer is the most common malignancy affecting women around the world. In the US, approximately 1 in 8 women will develop breast cancer over the course of their lifetime. There is a growing incidence of breast cancer among Asian American (AA) women. Breast cancer screening by mammography is the most effective early detection method to reduce mortality but AA women have the lowest utilization rates. This study aims to identify the determinants affecting mammography among AA women. A literature search in PubMed Central, MEDLINE, and CINAHL was undertaken to include all peer-reviewed studies published within the past 20 years …

The Effects Of Warfarin And Direct Oral Anticoagulants On Systemic Vascular Calcification: A Review, Kalaimani Elango, Awad Javaid, Banveet K. Khetarpal, Sathishkumar Ramalingam, Krishna Prasad Kolandaivel, Kulothungan Gunasekaran, Chowdhury Ahsan

School of Medicine Faculty Research

Warfarin has been utilized for decades as an effective anticoagulant in patients with a history of strong risk factors for venous thromboembolism (VTE). Established adverse effects include bleeding, skin necrosis, teratogenicity during pregnancy, cholesterol embolization, and nephropathy. One of the lesser-known long-term side effects of warfarin is an increase in systemic arterial calcification. This is significant due to the association between vascular calcification and cardiovascular morbidity and mortality. Direct oral anticoagulants (DOACs) have gained prominence in recent years, as they require less frequent monitoring and have a superior side effect profile to warfarin, specifically in relation to major bleeding. The …

Development And Validation Of A Measure Of Birth-Related Ptsd For Fathers And Birth Partners: The City Birth Trauma Scale (Partner Version), Rebecca Webb, Ann M. Smith, Susan Ayers, Daniel B. Wright, Alexandra Thornton

Educational Psychology, Leadership, and Higher Education Faculty Research

Research suggests that some fathers and birth partners can experience post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) after witnessing a traumatic birth. Birth-related PTSD may impact on many aspects of fathers’ and birth partners’ life, including relationship breakdown, self-blame and reducing plans for future children. Despite the potential impact on birth partners’ lives there is currently no measure of birth-related PTSD validated for use with birth partners. The current study therefore adapted the City Birth Trauma Scale for use with birth partners. The City Birth Trauma Scale (Partner version) is a 29-item questionnaire developed to measure birth-related PTSD according to DSM-5 criteria: stressor …

Intepirdine As Adjunctive Therapy To Donepezil For Mild-To-Moderate Alzheimer’S Disease: A Randomized, Placebo-Controlled, Phase 3 Clinical Trial (Mindset), Frederick M. Lang, Yi Mo, Marwan Sabbagh, Paul Solomon, Merce Boada, Roy W. Jones, Giovanni B. Frisoni, Timo Grimmer, Bruno Dubois, Mark Harnett, Sarah R. Friedhoff, Shari Coslett, Jeffrey L. Cummings

Brain Health Faculty Research

Introduction: A previous phase 2b study supported the use of the 5-HT6 receptor antagonist intepirdine as adjunctive therapy to donepezil for Alzheimer's disease (AD) dementia. A phase 3 study, MINDSET, was performed to test this hypothesis. Methods: MINDSET was a global, double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled trial in 1315 mild-to-moderate AD dementia patients on stable donepezil. Patients received 35 mg/day intepirdine or placebo for 24 weeks. The co-primary endpoints were change from baseline to week 24 on the Alzheimer's Disease Assessment Scale-Cognitive Subscale (ADAS-Cog) and Alzheimer's Disease Cooperative Study-Activities of Daily Living (ADCS-ADL). Results: There were no statistically significant differences between intepirdine …

A Covid-19 Risk Score Combining Chest Ct Radiomics And Clinical Characteristics To Differentiate Covid-19 Pneumonia From Other Viral Pneumonias, Zuhua Chen, Xiadong Li, Jiawei Li, Shirong Zhang, Pengfei Zhou, Xin Yu, Yao Ren, Jiahao Wang, Lidan Zhang, Yunjiang Li, Baoliang Wu, Yanchun Hou, Ke Zhang, Rongjun Tang, Yongguang Liu, Zhongxian Ding, Bin Yang, Qinghua Deng, Qin Lin, Ke Nie, Zhaobin Cai, Shenglin Ma, Yu Kuang

Health Physics and Diagnostic Sciences Faculty Research

With the continued transmission of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) throughout the world, identification of highly suspected COVID-19 patients remains an urgent priority. In this study, we developed and validated COVID-19 risk scores to identify patients with COVID-19. In this study, for patient-wise analysis, three signatures, including the risk score using radiomic features only, the risk score using clinical factors only, and the risk score combining radiomic features and clinical variables, show an excellent performance in differentiating COVID-19 from other viral-induced pneumonias in the validation set. For lesion-wise analysis, the risk score using three radiomic features only also …

Slow Walking In Individuals With Chronic Post-Stroke Hemiparesis: Speed Mediated Effects Of Gait Kinetics And Ankle Kinematics, Jing Nong Liang, Kai-Yu Ho, Yun-Ju Lee, Corey Ackley, Kiley Aki, Joshua Arias, Jassie Trinh

Physical Therapy Faculty Research

Post-stroke rehabilitation often aims to increase walking speeds, as faster walking is associated with improved functional status and quality of life. However, for successful community ambulation, ability to modulate (increase and decrease) walking speeds is more important than walking continuously at constant speeds. Increasing paretic propulsive forces to increase walking speed has been extensively examined; however, little is known about the mechanics of slow walking post-stroke. The primary purpose of this study was to identify the effects of increased and decreased walking speeds on post-stroke kinetics and ankle kinematics. Fifteen individuals with chronic post-stroke hemiparesis and 15 non-neurologically impaired controls …

The Effect Of An Acute Bout Of Foam Rolling On Running Economy, Lauren M. Biscardi, Brian D. Wright, Debra A. Stroiney

Topics in Exercise Science and Kinesiology

Topics in Exercise Science and Kinesiology Volume 2: Issue 1, Article 4, 2021. This study examined the impact of pre-exercise foam rolling on running economy at 5 km race pace. Sixteen trained distance runners (31.5±12.2 yr; V̇O_2max 53.6±11.0) volunteered for the study. Participants completed two treadmill runs at self-selected 5 km race pace; one session with the use of pre-exercise foam rolling and the other with a controlled rest period prior to the run. Running economy was improved during the session with pre-exercise foam rolling applied (t(15)=2.48, p=.026, d=.62). These findings provide evidence for the …