Medicine and Health Sciences Commons^™

Xylazine In The Drug Supply: Emerging Threat In Connecticut And Lessons Learned From Philadelphia, Thomas A.G. Quijano

Public Health Theses

Background: Xylazine, a sedative analgesic drug approved as an animal tranquilizer but not for human use, has become an adulterant in the supply of heroin/fentanyl.(Greene & Thurmon, 1988) Between 2019 and 2020, prevalence of xylazine in overdose death reports increased by 44.8% nationally.(Friedman et al., 2021) The three jurisdictions in 2020 with the highest prevalence of xylazine were Philadelphia (25.8%), Maryland (19.3%), and Connecticut (10.2%).(Friedman et al., 2021) Not much is known about how xylazine’s impacts on service provider’s practices and the people they serve.

Objectives: Use a multiple methods approach to understand xylazine’s presence and impact in Connecticut, and …

The Risk Factors For Hiv In African American Transgender Women In Connecticut, Oliver Kunda

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

AbstractThe human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) incidence rate is 70 times higher for African American transgender women than in the general population. Despite decades of outreach and intervention effort to reduce HIV incidence in the transgender community by the lesbian, gay, bi-sexual, transexual, queer, plus (LGBTQ+) community and public health organizations, the HIV prevalence rate for transgender women remains high at 38%. The purpose of this qualitative exploratory case study was to gain insights into how attitude, subjective social norms, and perceived behavioral control influence HIV risk behaviors of African American transgender women in Connecticut. Ajzen’s theory of planned behavior provided …

The Killingly Mascot Case Study, Jordan Lumpkins

School of Professional Studies

In the summer of 2019, in Killingly, Connecticut the local Board of Education voted to retire the "Redmen" mascot name it had used for nearly a century. This legislation was widely opposed and received extensive media coverage. Within a few months, the town experienced a massive political referendum where several local Board of Education members and Councilmen were replaced by single issue politicians promising to reinstate the "Redmen" name. Now holding a majority on the Board of Education, these Board members made Killingly the first school in U.S. history to reinstate a mascot after being deemed "derogatory."

It is the …

Analysis Of Entomological Surveillance Data To Predict West Nile Virus Cases In Connecticut, Lena Marie Tayo

Public Health Theses

INTRODUCTION: Since 1999, West Nile Virus (WNV) has been identified in a wide variety of mosquito species. Seasonal epidemics occur in the summer in all regions of the United States, with varying degrees of intensity and spread. In Connecticut, the state mosquito surveillance system for WNV has been conducted since 2000, collecting entomological and site data, and acting as an early warning system for potential human disease risk.

AIMS: Re-analysis of the epidemiology of WNV in Connecticut after years of established endemicity will be conducted using recent mosquito surveillance and human case data. A predictive model will also be developed …

Infant Mortality And Maternal Health In Hartford, Ct, Chelsea Armistead

Senior Theses and Projects

Infant mortality is the death of an infant within the first year of life. These deaths are measured annually as a rate per every 1,000 live births and is a key indicator about maternal and infant health in a society (CDC, 2018). The United States infant mortality rate is very high when compared to other equally wealthy nations. Black infants die at a much higher rate than other racial groups, including in Connecticut. The city of Hartford's Department of Health and Human Services has plans to reduce infant mortality by providing quality prenatal and postpartum care programs and services. In …

Pediatric Consultations To Child Protective Services: The Role Of Expert Opinions, Lindsay Kellogg Mcguire

Yale Medicine Thesis Digital Library

The purpose of this study was to provide a description of the types of child abuse consultations done by experts at Yale-New Haven Children's Hospital (YNHCH) to Child Protective Services (CPS) in Connecticut, and compare the opinions of the likelihood of child maltreatment of the initial treating physician, CPS, and the child abuse expert. Eligible cases were referred by CPS for expert child abuse consultations at YNHCH between March, 1998 and June, 2005. Abstracted information included demographics, information about the type of injury, and the assessments of the case by the initial treating physician, CPS, and the child abuse expert. …

Clinical And Radiographic Assessment Of Lumbar Spine Total Disc Replacement In Athletes With Two Year Follow Up, Mark H. Mcrae

Yale Medicine Thesis Digital Library

The purpose of the study was to evaluate the consequences of athletic activity on the clinical and radiographic outcomes of lumbar spine total disc replacement (TDR) patients. The data for this study is drawn secondarily from a prospective randomized study evaluating the Prodisc prosthesis at Yale New Haven Hospital. Athletic activities prior to the onset of spinal injury, after the onset of spinal injury, and post lumbar spine total disc replacement (TDR) surgery were assessed. Athletic activity was classified into three groups. These were contact/vigorous, moderate, and light, based on effect on the involved spinal segments. Outcomes were assessed both …

Psychosocial Functioning In Childhood Cancer Survivors, Measured By Parent, Teacher And Child Surveys, Tamara Porter Miller

Yale Medicine Thesis Digital Library

The purpose of the current study is to understand emotional and neurocognitive functioning in childhood cancer survivors. In this single-evaluation cross sectional study, 41 childhood cancer survivors (53.2% of those eligible) in the Health Education Research Outcomes in Survivors (HEROS) Clinic at Yale-New Haven Hospital between the ages of six and eighteen and their parents and teachers completed the Behavior Assessment System for Children, Second Edition (BASC-II), Behavior Rating Inventory of Executive Functioning (BRIEF) and Pediatric Quality of Life Inventory (PedsQL). Patients, parents and teachers scores were compared to those of normative populations for emotional, neurocognitive and quality of life …

Older Adults' Understanding Of Cardiovascular Risk And Preventive Medication Benefit, Elizabeth R. Wahl

Yale Medicine Thesis Digital Library

Medication decision making in older adults with multiple chronic conditions is complicated; communication between patients and physicians to establish concordant treatment goals can enhance this process. While patients' ability to make informed decisions about treatment priorities depends on their ability to understand the risks and benefits of medications and the likelihood of disease outcomes, patients' knowledge of medication-related benefits is unexplored. We examined older adults' estimation of their 10-year risk of myocardial infarction (MI) and stroke, and the degree to which they thought common medications were able to prevent these outcomes. 150 male veterans age 65 or older and taking …

Serum S-100b As A Potential Biomarker For Meningitis In Febrile Infants: An Interim Analysis, Kelvin C. Lau

Yale Medicine Thesis Digital Library

The purpose of this study is to identify the utility of serum S-100B levels as a marker for meningitis in febrile infants younger than 3 months of age. All infants younger than 3 months of age who presented to the Pediatric Emergency Department (PED) of Yale-New Haven Children's Hospital and required both a lumbar puncture and venipuncture due to either a confirmed rectal temperature ≥38.0°C or an overall presentation that concerned the responsible physician for possible meningitis and required a lumbar puncture as part of their PED evaluation, were prospectively enrolled. A total of 111 patients participated after a 1.5-year …

African-Americans At The Yale University School Of Medicine:1810-1960, Daryl Keith Daniels

Yale Medicine Thesis Digital Library

African Americans have had a long and interesting history at the Yale School of Medicine. Through extensive researching of primary and secondary sources this history is documented for the first time. The first African-American known to have graduated from the School was Dr. Courtlandt Van Rensselaer Creed. Because of strong abolitionist sentiment at Yale and in New Haven during the 1850s and his familys prominence in New Haven, Dr. Creed was able to matriculate into the School of Medicine in 1854. He graduated in 1857 and practiced in New Haven. He also served as a surgeon in the Civil War. …