Medicine and Health Sciences Commons^™

Daviess County Hazardous Materials Commodity Flow Study, Dr. Vijay Golla, Dr. Ritchie Taylor, Jacob Eagleson, Ethan Givan, Richard Payne

Public Health Faculty Publications

This report presents the results of a Hazardous Materials Commodity Flow Study for Daviess County, KY. Study components were conducted by Western Kentucky University in partnership with Daviess County Emergency Management Agency. The study area was focused in Daviess County and included a railway-monitoring site near Henderson, KY. A map of the Daviess County is shown in Figure 1.1. As part of this study, hazardous materials (hazmats) transported through the study area were monitored via placard surveys at the following sites: U.S. Highway 60 (Hwy 60), east and westbound lanes at East Fourth Street & the Hwy 60 Bypass (U.S. …

Henderson County Hazardous Materials Commodity Flow Study, Dr. Ritchie D. Taylor, Dr. Vijay Golla, Jacob Eagleson, Ethan Givan, Larry Koerber

Public Health Faculty Publications

This report presents the results of a Hazardous Materials (Hazmat) commodity flow study for Henderson County, Kentucky. Study components were conducted by Western Kentucky University in partnership with Henderson County Emergency Management (HCEM) and Henderson County Local Planning Committee (LEPC). Location of Henderson County and the City of Henderson in Kentucky are shown in Figure 1.1. In addition, data from an Audubon Parkway placard survey, conducted in July of 2013 for Daviess County, were used in the analysis for this report. Hazardous materials transported through Henderson County were monitored at the following sites during the study period: U.S. Highway 41 …

Smoking Experimentation Among Elementary School Students In China: Influences From Peers, Families, And The School Environment, Cheng Huang, Jeffrey Koplan, Shaohua Yu, Changwei Li, Chaoran Guo, Jing Liu, Hui Li, Michelle C. Kegler, Pamela Redmon, Michael Eriksen

Public Health Faculty Publications

The aim of this study was to investigate experimentation with smoking among primary school students in China. Data were acquired from a recent survey of 4,073 students in grades 4 to 6 (ages 9–12) in 11 primary schools of Ningbo City. The questions were adapted from the Global Youth Tobacco Survey (GYTS). Results suggest that although the Chinese Ministry of Education (MOE) encourages smoke-free schools, experimentation with cigarettes remains a serious problem among primary school students in China. Peers, family members, and the school environment play important roles in influencing smoking experimentation among students. Having a friend who smoked, seeing …

Nutrition And Physical Activity In Child Care Centers: The Impact Of A Wellness Policy Initiative On Environment And Policy Assessment And Observation Outcomes, 2011, Rodney S. Lyn, Joyce Maalouf, Sarah Evers, Justin Davis, Monica Griffin

Public Health Faculty Publications

Introduction The child care environment has emerged as an ideal setting in which to implement policies that promote healthy body weight of children. The purpose of this study was to assess the effect of a wellness policy and training program on the physical activity and nutrition environment in 24 child care centers in Georgia.

Methods We used the Environment and Policy Assessment and Observation instrument to identify changes to foods served, staff behaviors, and physical activity opportunities. Observations were performed over 1 day, beginning with breakfast and concluding when the program ended for the day. Observations were conducted from February …

Alcohol Exposures, Alcohol Marketing, And Their Associations With Problem Drinking And Drunkenness Among Youth Living In The Slums Of Kampala, Uganda, Monica H. Swahn, Jane B. Palmier, Rogers Kasirye

Public Health Faculty Publications

This study determined the associations between alcohol use exposures, marketing, education, and problem drinking and drunkenness among youth living in the slums of Kampala. This cross-sectional study of youth was conducted in 2011 to quantify and describe high-risk behavior and exposures in a convenience sample (N=457) of urban youth living in the slums, 14–24 years of age, who were participating in a drop-in center for disadvantaged street youth. Logistic regression analyses were computed to determine associations between alcohol use exposures, marketing exposures, alcohol education, and problem drinking and drunkenness while controlling for possible confounders. Among participants, 30.2% reported problem drinking …

Bacterial Contamination On Household Toys And Association With Water, Sanitation And Hygiene Conditions In Honduras, Christine E. Stauber, Adam Walters, Anna M. Fabiszewski De Aceituno, Mark D. Sobsey

Public Health Faculty Publications

There is growing evidence that household water treatment interventions improve microbiological water quality and reduce diarrheal disease risk. Few studies have examined, however, the impact of water treatment interventions on household-level hygiene and sanitation. This study examined the association of four water and sanitation conditions (access to latrines, improved sanitation, improved water and the plastic biosand filter) on the levels of total coliforms and E. coli on existing and introduced toys during an on-going randomized controlled trial of the plastic biosand filter (plastic BSF). The following conditions were associated with decreased bacterial contamination on children’s toys: access to a latrine, …

The Added Value Of Water, Sanitation, And Hygiene Interventions To Mass Drug Administration For Reducing The Prevalence Of Trachoma: A Systematic Review Examining, Anyess R. Travers, Sheryl M. Strasser, Stephanie L. Palmer, Christine E. Stauber

Public Health Faculty Publications

Trachoma is the leading cause of infectious blindness worldwide. The SAFE strategy, the World Health Organization-recommended method to eliminate blinding trachoma, combines developments in water, sanitation, surgery, and antibiotic treatment. Current literature does not focus on the comprehensive effect these components have on one another. The present systematic review analyzes the added benefit of water, sanitation, and hygiene education interventions to preventive mass drug administration of azithromycin for trachoma. Trials were identified from the PubMed database using a series of search terms. Three studies met the complete criteria for inclusion. Though all studies found a significant change in reduction of …

Exposure To Celebrity- Endorsed Small Cigar Promotions And Susceptibility To Use Among Young Adult Cigarette Smokers, Kymberle L. Sterling, Roland S. Moore, Nicole Pitts, Melissa T. Duong, Kentya H. Ford, Michael Eriksen

Public Health Faculty Publications

Small cigar smoking among young adult cigarette smokers may be attributed to their exposure to its advertisements and promotions. We examined the association between exposure to a celebrity music artist’s endorsement of a specific brand of small cigars and young adult cigarette smokers’ susceptibility to smoking that brand. Venue-based sampling procedures were used to select and survey a random sample of 121 young adult cigarette smokers, aged 18–35. Fourteen percent reported exposure to the artist’s endorsement of the small cigar and 45.4% reported an intention to smoke the product in the future. The odds of small cigar smoking susceptibility increased …

The Basic Reproduction Number ℛ0 And Effectiveness Of Reactive Interventions During Dengue Epidemics: The 2002 Dengue Outbreak In Easter Island, Chile, Gerardo Chowell, Rodrigo Fuentes, A Olea, X. Aguilera, Hans Nesse, J. M. Hyman

Public Health Faculty Publications

We use a stochastic simulation model to explore the effect of reactive intervention strategies during the 2002 dengue outbreak in the small population of Easter Island, Chile. We quantified the effect of interventions on the transmission dynamics and epidemic size as a function of the simulated control intensity levels and the timing of initiation of control interventions. Because no dengue outbreaks had been reported prior to 2002 in Easter Island, the 2002 epidemic provided a unique opportunity to estimate the basic reproduction number ℛ0 during the initial epidemic phase, prior to the start of control interventions. We estimated ℛ0 at …

A Data-Driven Mathematical Model Of Ca-Mrsa Transmission Among Age Groups: Evaluating The Effect Of Control Interventions, Gerardo Chowell, Xiaoxia Wang, Sarada Panchanathan

Public Health Faculty Publications

Community associated methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (CA-MRSA) has become a major cause of skin and soft tissue infections (SSTIs) in the US. We developed an age-structured compartmental model to study the spread of CA-MRSA at the population level and assess the effect of control intervention strategies. We used Monte-Carlo Markov Chain (MCMC) techniques to parameterize our model using monthly time series data on SSTIs incidence in children (#19 years) during January 2004 -December 2006 in Maricopa County, Arizona. Our model-based forecast for the period January 2007– December 2008 also provided a good fit to data. We also carried out an uncertainty …

Climate Change And Influenza: The Likelihood Of Early And Severe Influenza Seasons Following Warmer Than Average Winters., Gerardo Chowell, Sherry Towers, Rasheed Hameed, Mathew Jastrebski, Maryam Khan, Jonathan Meeks, George Harris

Public Health Faculty Publications

The 2012-13 influenza season had an unusually early and severe start in the US, succeeding the record mild 2011-12 influenza season, which occurred during the fourth warmest winter on record. Our analysis of climate and past US influenza epidemic seasons between 1997-98 to present indicates that warm winters tend to be followed by severe epidemics with early onset, and that these patterns are seen for both influenza A and B. We posit that fewer people are infected with influenza during warm winters, thereby leaving an unnaturally large fraction of susceptible individuals in the population going into the next season, which …

Global Mortality Estimates For The 2009 Influenza Pandemic From The Glamor Project: A Modeling Study, Lone Simonsen, Peter Spreeuwenberg, Roger Lustig, Robert J. Taylor, Douglas M. Fleming, Madelon Kroneman, Maria D. Van Kerkhove, Anthony W. Mounts, W. John Paget, Gerardo Chowell

Public Health Faculty Publications

Background: Assessing the mortality impact of the 2009 influenza A H1N1 virus (H1N1pdm09) is essential for optimizing public health responses to future pandemics. The World Health Organization reported 18,631 laboratory-confirmed pandemic deaths, but the total pandemic mortality burden was substantially higher. We estimated the 2009 pandemic mortality burden through statistical modeling of mortality data from multiple countries.

Methods and Findings: We obtained weekly virology and underlying cause-of-death mortality time series for 2005–2009 for 20 countries covering ,35% of the world population. We applied a multivariate linear regression model to estimate pandemic respiratory mortality in each collaborating country. We then used …

Occupation And Environmental Heat-Associated Deaths In Maricopa County, Arizona: A Case-Control Study, Diana B. Petitti, Sharon L. Harlan, Gerardo Chowell, Darren M. Ruddell

Public Health Faculty Publications

Background: Prior research shows that work in agriculture and construction/extraction occupations increases the risk of environmental heat-associated death.

Purpose: To assess the risk of environmental heat-associated death by occupation.

Methods: This was a case-control study. Cases were heat-caused and heat-related deaths occurring from May-October during the period 2002–2009 in Maricopa County, Arizona. Controls were selected at random from non-heat-associated deaths during the same period in Maricopa County. Information on occupation, age, sex, and race-ethnicity was obtained from death certificates. Logistic regression analysis was used to estimate odds ratios for heat-associated death. Results: There were 444 cases of heat-associated deaths in …

A Population Based Study Of Seasonality Of Skin And Soft Tissue Infections: Implications For The Spread Of Ca-Mrsa, Xiaoxia Wang, Sherry Towers, Sarada Panchanathan, Gerardo Chowell

Public Health Faculty Publications

Methicillin resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) is currently a major cause of skin and soft tissue infections (SSTI) in the United States. Seasonal variation of MRSA infections in hospital settings has been widely observed. However, systematic time-series analysis of incidence data is desirable to understand the seasonality of community acquired (CA)-MRSA infections at the population level. In this paper, using data on monthly SSTI incidence in children aged 0–19 years and enrolled in Medicaid in Maricopa County, Arizona, from January 2005 to December 2008, we carried out time-series and nonlinear regression analysis to determine the periodicity, trend, and peak timing in …

Skip The Trip: Air Travelers’ Behavioral Responses To Pandemic Influenza, Eli P. Fenichel, Nicolai V. Kuminoff, Gerardo Chowell

Public Health Faculty Publications

Theory suggests that human behavior has implications for disease spread. We examine the hypothesis that individuals engage in voluntary defensive behavior during an epidemic. We estimate the number of passengers missing previously purchased flights as a function of concern for swine flu or A/H1N1 influenza using 1.7 million detailed flight records, Google Trends, and the World Health Organization’s FluNet data. We estimate that concern over ‘‘swine flu,’’ as measured by Google Trends, accounted for 0.34% of missed flights during the epidemic. The Google Trends data correlates strongly with media attention, but poorly (at times negatively) with reported cases in FluNet. …

From The Guest Editors: Special Issue Dedicated To Carlos Castillo-Chavez On His 60th Birthday, Gerardo Chowell, Zhilan Feng, Baojun Song

Public Health Faculty Publications

Carlos Castilo-Chavez is a Regents Professor, a Joaquin Bustoz Jr. Professor of Mathematical Biology, and a Distinguished Sustainability Scientist at Arizona State University. His research program is at the interface of the mathematical and natural and social sciences with emphasis on (i) the role of dynamic social landscapes on disease dispersal; (ii) the role of environmental and social structures on the dynamics of addiction and disease evolution, and (iii) Dynamics of complex systems at the interphase of ecology, epidemiology and the social sciences. Castillo-Chavez has co-authored over two hundred publications (see goggle scholar citations) that include journal articles and edited …

The Prevalence Of Very Frequent Physical Fighting Among Boys And Girls In 27 Countries And Cities: Regional And Gender Differences, Monica H. Swahn, Lindsay Gressard, Jane B. Palmier, Huang Yao, Melissa Haberlen

Public Health Faculty Publications

Objective. Using nationally representative data, this study examined the prevalence of very frequent physical fighting (≥12 times per year) among youth in 27 countries and cities. Frequent physical fighting has rarely been reported in the previous literature despite the implications for research and practice. Methods. Analyses were based on theGlobal School-based StudentHealth Survey (2003–2008) and the 2009 US Youth Risk Behavior Survey. Multinomial regression analyses were conducted to determine gender differences in frequent fighting. Countrieswere categorized into five regions (Sub-Saharan Africa, Central and South America,Asia, Eastern Mediterranean, and the United States), and one-way ANOVA tests were used to determine regional …

Screening For Elder Mistreatment Among Older Adults Seeking Legal Assistance Services, Sheryl M. Strasser, Megan Smith, Scott Weaver, Shimin Zheng, Yan Cao

Public Health Faculty Publications

Introduction: The aging population is a rapidly growing demographic in the United States. Isolation, limited autonomy, and declining physical and mental health render many older adults vulnerable to elder mistreatment (EM). The purpose of this study was to assess the prevalence and correlates of EM among a sample of older adults using legal assistance services in Atlanta, Georgia. Methods: Researchers administered surveys to consenting older adults (aged 60þ) in 5 metro Atlanta community centers that hosted legal assistance information sessions as part of the Elderly Legal Assistance Program. The surveys screened for risk factors and prevalence of EM risk using …

Child Maltreatment And Disaster Prevention: Qualitative Study Of Community Agency Perspectives, Shannon Self-Brown, Page L. Anderson, Shannan M. Edwards, Tia M. Mcgill

Public Health Faculty Publications

Introduction: Child maltreatment (CM) is a significant public health problem that increases following natural disasters. Ecological approaches have been used to study these complex phenomena, and the current research fits within this perspective by conducting qualitative interviews with disaster response and family-serving community agencies. The purpose of the study was to identify whether or not community agencies identified CM as an issue that is relevant for disaster planning and response and their perspectives on risk and protective factors for CM risk following disaster. Methods: Agencies (n=16) from 2 geographical areas participated - one that recently experienced a natural disaster (Louisiana …

Co-Occurring Physical Fighting And Suicide Attempts Among U.S. High School Students: Examining Patterns Of Early Alcohol Use Initiation And Current Binge Drinking, Monica H. Swahn, Robert Bossarte, Jane B. Palmier, Huang Yao

Public Health Faculty Publications

Introduction: A growing body of empirical research documents a significant co-occurrence of suicide attempts and interpersonal violence among youth. However, the potential role of early alcohol use initiation and current heavy alcohol use as correlates of this comorbidity has not been examined in a nationally representative sample of high school students. Methods: We based our analyses on cross-sectional data from the 2009 Youth Risk Behavior Survey, which includes a nationally representative sample (n=16,410) of high school students in grades 9 through 12 in the United States. Multinomial logistic regression analyses were conducted to test the associations between measures of alcohol …

An Examination Of Bullying In Georgia Schools: Demographic And School Climate Factors Associated With Willingness To Intervene In Bullying Situations, Lori Goldammer, Monica H. Swahn, Sheryl M. Strasser, Jeff Ashby, Joel Meyers

Public Health Faculty Publications

Introduction: Research dedicated to identification of precursors to cases of aggravated bullying in schools has led to enhanced knowledge of risk factors for both victimization and perpetration. However, characteristics among those who are more likely to intervene in such situations are less understood. The purpose of this study is to examine the associations between demographic characteristics, school climate and psychosocial factors, and willingness to intervene in a bullying situation among middle and high school students in Georgia. Methods: We computed analyses using cross-sectional data from the Georgia Student Health Survey II (GSHS 2006) administered to public school students in grades …

Exposure To Celebrity-Endorsed Small Cigar Promotions And Susceptibility To Use Among Young Adult Cigarette Smokers, Kymberle L. Sterling, Roland S. Moore, Nicole Pitts, Melissa T. Duong, Kentya H. Ford, Michael Eriksen

Public Health Faculty Publications

Small cigar smoking among young adult cigarette smokers may be attributed to their exposure to its advertisements and promotions. We examined the association between exposure to a celebritymusic artist’s endorsement of a specific brand of small cigars and young adult cigarette smokers’ susceptibility to smoking that brand. Venue-based sampling procedures were used to select and survey a randomsample of 121 young adult cigarette smokers, aged 18–35. Fourteen percent reported exposure to the artist’s endorsement of the small cigar and 45.4% reported an intention to smoke the product in the future. The odds of small cigar smoking susceptibility increased threefold for …

Household Catastrophic Medical Expenses In Eastern China: Determinants And Policy Implications, Xiaohong Li, Jay J. Shen, Jun Lu, Mei Sun, Chengyue Li, Fengshui Chang, Mo Hao

Public Health Faculty Publications

Background: Much of research on household catastrophic medical expenses in China has focused on less developed areas and little is known about this problem in more developed areas. This study aimed to analyse the incidence and determinants of catastrophic medical expenses in eastern China.

Methods: Data were obtained from a health care utilization and expense survey of 11,577 households conducted in eastern China in 2008. The incidence of household catastrophic medical expenses was calculated using the method introduced by the World Health Organization. A multi-level logistic regression model was used to identify the determinants.

Results: The incidence of household catastrophic …