Medicine and Health Sciences Commons^™

The Risk Factors Associated With Personal Protective Equipment Usage Rates In The Central States By Generalized Multilevel Models, Carter E. Vogel

Capstone Experience

Background: Agriculture producers in the United States face some of the highest rates of fatal and non-fatal injuries among all occupations. This includes a high risk of respiratory damage when working in dusty environments, chemical and health hazards when working with pesticides or other dangerous chemicals, and hearing damage when working in noisy environments. These risks can be reduced using personal protective equipment (PPE). While some workplaces are required by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) to provide necessary PPE and monitoring according to the risks of a job, many small farms are not required by OSHA to provide …

Urban/Rural Disparities Of Thyroid Cancer Using The Integrated Cancer Repository For Cancer Research (Icare2), Sunita Regmi

Capstone Experience

Abstract:

Background and objective: Multiple studies have shown that the place of residence and the distance to travel from one's residence to nearby health care providers impact cancer diagnosis and treatment. The stage of cancer at the time of diagnosis is paramount for cancer treatment and affects survival. Disparities in cancer treatment exist which affect the outcome disproportionately to certain segments of the population. To date, much of the focus has been on the racial and socioeconomic disparities in the management of thyroid cancer. The effect of geography and location (urban-rural status) on thyroid cancer stage diagnosis has …

Clinical Consequences And Determinants Of False Positive Blood Cultures In Adult Hospitalized Patients, Sidra Liaquat

Theses & Dissertations

Blood cultures are the gold standard for detecting blood stream infections. However, in the US, 0.6-6% of all blood cultures get contaminated leading to adverse clinical outcomes such as unnecessarily prolonged hospital stay and antibiotic therapy. Using electronic medical records, we explored the clinical outcomes and patient-specific risk factors of contaminated blood cultures in an era where rapid blood culture testing was being utilized to provide blood culture results within hours. Rapid blood culture test results can help clinicians in early and more effective management of patients with contaminated blood cultures, thus improving clinical outcomes. We also studied the impact …

Factors Affecting The Mortality Rate Of Older Patients With Covid-19 In Nebraska: A Retrospective Cohort Study, Erin Johnson

Capstone Experience

The pandemic spread of COVID-19 is a continued global health emergency. The objectives of this paper were to examine Factors affecting the mortality rate of older patients with COVID-19 in Nebraska. A longitudinal analysis of data gathered from the Nebraska Electronic Disease Surveillance System (NEDSS) was performed. Included were 322 individuals who tested positive for COVID-19 in the month of October 2020. The Kaplan-Meier method was used to estimate the time to death of individuals over the age of 65 after a positive COVID-19 diagnosis and the probability of survival to any given time point. The effect of multiple risk …

Reducing Adverse Outcomes In Hepatocellular Carcinoma Patients Undergoing Hepatectomies, Yongyue Qi

Theses & Dissertations

The incidence and mortality of liver cancers are increasing in the United States. In addition to the classic risk factors of hepatic viral infection and high alcohol consumption, non-alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease (NAFLD), has emerged as a risk factor for hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). The most effective curative treatment for HCC is liver resection (hepatectomy), however, hepatectomy is a major operation with potential risks of mortality, hospital readmission and other adverse outcomes such as postoperative complications and longer hospital stay. The reported 90-day mortality and 30-day readmission rates following a hepatectomy vary widely across studies, most of which have limitations due …

Association Between Socioeconomic Status And Bmi Among People With Schizophrenia And Bipolar Disorder, Nicholas Guenzel

Theses & Dissertations

Background: Many health disparities among individuals with schizophrenia and bipolar disorder are due to obesity-associated diseases. Several causes of obesity have been discovered, but few risk factors are known. In the general public, low socioeconomic status (SES) is associated with obesity.

Objective: Examine the relationship between SES and body mass index (BMI) among people with schizophrenia and bipolar disorder.

Design: A secondary analysis of the Collaborative Psychiatric Epidemiology Surveys dataset. The psychiatric group (N=480) included individuals with symptoms of schizophrenia or bipolar disorder. Those reporting no symptoms were controls (N=5,161). Childhood SES variables included mother and father education and profession, …

Psychiatric Comorbidities And Bmi: An Exploratory Analysis, Nicholas Guenzel

Theses & Dissertations

Background: Individuals with most forms of mental illness have higher rates of obesity than members of the general public putting them at an increased risk for many physical health problems that reduce both quality of life and life expectancy. The presence of multiple comorbid psychiatric disorders has been associated with poorer clinical outcomes in other mental health measures such as disability and sobriety and is proposed as a risk factor for elevated BMI (body mass index) in this study.

Objective: Determine if multiple psychiatric comorbidities are associated with elevated BMI and, if so, which combinations are linked with the greatest …

Association Between Adverse Events In Childhood And Bmi Among People With Schizophrenia And Bipolar Disorder, Nicholas Guenzel

Theses & Dissertations

Background: People with schizophrenia and bipolar disorder die significantly earlier than members of the general public (16-18 years and 12-13 years, respectively). Diseases associated with obesity such as diabetes, heart disease, and stroke account for much of this discrepancy. People with mental illness often have difficulty losing weight despite intensive interventions. As a result, nurses caring for patients with mental illness need to monitor their weight diligently and implement individualized interventions to promote achieving or maintaining a healthy weight. Because intensive interventions come with some risk and expense, programs must target individuals with the most potential to develop obesity. In …

Risk Factors For Agricultural Injury: An Evaluation Using Systematic Review And Injury Surveillance, Rohan Mahadeo Jadhav

Theses & Dissertations

Purpose- Agriculture is the most hazardous industry in the United States. The effectiveness of intervention programs for injury prevention can be improved by acquiring knowledge of risk factors for occupational injury in agricultural operators. The landscape of agriculture is changing in the U.S. Agricultural populations, environments and risk factors are changing as well with the changes in the structure of farms and ranches. The objective of this study was to identify significant risk factors for agricultural injury based on the literature and three years of injury surveillance data covering seven U.S. states. Methods- We conducted a systematic review of reported …