Medicine and Health Sciences Commons^™

Medical Illustration As A Tool For Health Literacy, Courtney Anne Wombles

EURēCA: Exhibition of Undergraduate Research and Creative Achievement

Health literacy is most commonly described as the ability of an individual to obtain, comprehend, and utilize information related to their health. Including the ability to read, write, speak, and display numeracy in medical situations, rates of health literacy impact the ability of an individual to navigate the healthcare system and make informed decisions. As reported by the National Assessment of Adult Literacy, only 12% of individuals have the proficiency to understand and manage their health. This research identifies problems existing in health literacy and doctor-patient communication, with an emphasis on consumer health information. It explores resources used for science …

Embodying Healing And Joy Through Relationships And Sexual Wellness, Bilqis Amatus-Salaam

Black Issues Conference

With the ways in which Black bodies are policed and carry racial trauma, experiencing joy in a Black body is an act of resistance and liberation. This session will guide attendees in exploring ways to cultivate positive and affirming relationships with oneself and others to experience healing and joy. Foundational information about healthy relationships and healthy sexually will be shared to provide a framework for discussing barriers to experiencing joy and how to navigate these in a way that aligns with an individual’s values. All identities are welcome.

One Spark Can Light A Fire: How To Become A Mental Health Advocate, Marquinta Harvey, Shannon Jackson

Black Issues Conference

One Spark Can Light a Fire: How to Become a Mental Health Advocate

There is increasing awareness surrounding mental health and conversations are beginning to make their way to the forefront of issues that demand significant attention. However, the path from awareness to advocacy remains poorly understood. Mental Illness is an important issue that affects 1 in 4 individuals and unlike most chronic illnesses the onset occurs early in the life spectrum, usually in adolescence and young adulthood.

The issue of mental health is not limited to individual genetic predisposition and/or behaviors but involves many layers related to individual, family-related, …

Communication Strategies In Direct-To-Consumer Prescription Drug Advertisements, Ilwoo Ju

Annual Research Symposium of the College of Communication and Information

Little research has incorporated a theoretical framework for the analysis of message and creative strategies used in DTCA to date. The purpose of the current study is to extend the previous literature by providing a more complete list of DTCA message and/or creativity strategies based on Taylor’s message strategy wheel. The results show that DTCA has been used to promote drugs for such life-threatening conditions as asthma, acid reflux, Alzheimer’s disease, depression, and arthritis. The most common inducement was the offer of consumer support information. In general, magazine DTC ads from 2006 to 2010 were likely to take both informational …

Park Usage In Relationship To Available Features And Amenities In A Large Urban Park, Hannah Bradford Clauss

EURēCA: Exhibition of Undergraduate Research and Creative Achievement

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between park features and park use in a large urban park. At 45.33 acres, West Hills Park has amenities such as athletic courts and fields, picnic areas, and a 1.9-mile paved trail. Methods: Park usage was assessed using the System for Observing Play and Recreation in Communities tool that measures use by gender, age, ethnicity, and moderate to vigorous physical activity (MVPA). Data was collected in 18 zones over four days with three observations per day (morning, midday, and evening). Park features, amenities, and condition, were assessed using the …

Too Busy To Exercise: Examining Pregnant Women’S Exercise Preferences, Maggie R. Pepper, Kathleen Brown, Samantha F. Ehrlich, Cristina Barroso, Jill Maples

EURēCA: Exhibition of Undergraduate Research and Creative Achievement

Background: Gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) is diagnosed between 24 and 28 weeks of pregnancy and can usually be managed by healthy diet and exercise. There is currently a lack of clinical consensus regarding exercise prescription for GDM management. The current study aimed to elicit thoughts and feelings about exercise in women with GDM to inform the development of behavioral exercise intervention.

Methods: The research team conducted 20-minute semi-structured interviews with 15 participants. Interview questions were on the description of a typical day, opportunities to engage in exercise, challenges to exercising during pregnancy, exercise preferences during pregnancy, and thoughts about the …

Natural Dog Training Provides New Ways To Understand And Manage Stresses Of Canine Assistance Work, Jean Marie Thompson, Kevin Behan

International Veterinary Social Work Summit

Limiting dis-stress experienced by assisted therapy, crisis response, and combat comfort dogs is a concern of handlers, organizations, and researchers. Dogs communicate feelings via body language especially muzzle expressions and physical behaviors that people and other animals recognize. Projection of dis-stress by dogs negatively impacts therapeutic interactions, distracting and detracting from beneficial flow of feelings. Dog welfare is risked. Behan's Natural Dog Training ("NDT") presents an alternative paradigm for understanding dog dis-stress. NDT is an energy flow model that is different from but compatible with positive reinforcement techniques and attuned to Adrian Bejan's constructal law of nature, a physics principle. …

The Link, One Health, And Social Capital: A New Strategy For Empathy Education And Social Work, Phil Arkow

International Veterinary Social Work Summit

For 150 years, animal welfare and veterinary advocates have promoted a doctrine that animal welfare will be enhanced by teaching children kindness to animals and responsible animal husbandry practices. However, these efforts have been stymied by societal and professional perceptions that “animal” causes are less worthy than “human” services. Ten significant challenges have made it difficult, if not impossible, to gain access to educators’ curricula and social work training. In a society that continues to place humans’ interests above animals’, it is time to try a new approach that focuses on the human benefits of animal welfare. In particular, a …

Cruelty Intervention Advocacy, A New Approach To Animal Hoarding Interventions, Allison Cardona

International Veterinary Social Work Summit

Animal hoarding affects thousands of animals and people across the United States. Conservative estimates place the number of new cases at two to three thousand per year, though no centralized database exists, so the full scope of the problem is unknown. Unlike intentional, single acts of cruelty, animal hoarding impacts a large number of animals over a prolonged period of time. Any type of animal can be hoarded, though the majority of hoarding situations involve cats and dogs, with numbers ranging from a few dozen to several hundred and even thousands of animals living in a single location. Accumulation of …

Canines And Childhood Cancer: The Effects Of Animal-Assisted Therapy For Patients, Families And Therapy Dogs, Molly Jenkins Msw, Amy Mccullough Ma, Ashleigh Ruehrdanz Ba, Kevin Morris Ph.D.

International Veterinary Social Work Summit

PLEASE USE THE PDF (available from the "download" link) TO FOLLOW ALONG WITH THE VIDEO

For many people, animals take center stage in their daily lives, offering companionship, comfort, joy and for some, even kinship. Increasingly, greater attention has been given to the roles that animals can play in supporting the health and emotional well-being of people in need, specifically through the use of animal-assisted therapy (AAT). However, while the field of human-animal interaction (HAI) research has expanded enormously in recent years, it is still unclear whether the incorporation of animals into clinical settings is effective from a scientific standpoint. …

#Trending Now: Why Black Folk Need To Be In Psychotherapy, Samantha Lynn Gray

Black Issues Conference

Despite evidence that mental health problems (ranging from very mild to severe) affect all people, the rates of minorities engaged in personal psychotherapy have remained low throughout the past few decades. Historically, minorities have tended to devalue the importance of mental health, and stigmatize therapeutic interventions. This session will focus on why we need to shed the stigma surrounding mental health issues, and detail where we’ve been, where we are, and where we need to head in term of opening ourselves to self-exploration within the realm of psychotherapy. Also learn about how our physical health is intertwined with our mental …