Medicine and Health Sciences Commons^™

Prevalence Of Dental Caries In Mexican-American Children And Adolescents Attending Rawlings Pediatric Dental Clinic In El Paso, Texas, Andrea Aguila

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Abstract

Background and significance: Dental caries is the most common infectious disease in childhood, causing negative long and short term effects in a child’s life. Children living in poverty are twice as likely to be affected by dental caries compared to those living above the poverty level. Of this poverty group, Mexican-American children are the most affected. In the US-Mexico border communities 83% of the population is Hispanic with the majority of them being of Mexican descent, and 30% of those live in poverty. The United States Mexico border is also characterized by a rapid population growth, high unemployment rates, …

Gender Differences In Initiation Into Methamphetamine Use In A Mexico-U.S. Border City, Amir Gerardo Hernandez

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

BACKGROUND & SIGNIFICANCE: The literature indicates that there are gender differences in drug use patterns but there is minimal information available on initiation into methamphetamine (meth) use by gender, especially on the border region. Along the U.S.-Mexico border, Cd. Juarez and Tijuana have been described as being in a potential state of a meth outbreak due to drug trafficking, substance abuse, migration, violence, and poverty. AIMS & OBJECTIVES: The aims of this study are to describe current methamphetamine users in Cd. Juarez and their drug using behaviors and identify gender differences in their socio-demographic characteristics, initiation into meth use, recent …

Identification Of Leishmania Spp. And Trypanosoma Cruzi In Sylvatic Animals In El Paso County, Texas, Mariel Christina Matamoros

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Background Leishmaniasis and Chagas's Disease are two of the seventeen diseases considered as Neglected Tropical Diseases (NTF) by the CDC. Ten million people worldwide are at risk of being infected by Leishmaniasis and Chagas' disease affects six million people in the world; however, these are mostly cases in Latin America. The vector for Chagas' disease, triatomine, has been identified near El Paso, Texas region to be positive for Trypanosoma cruzi. Recent studies have also shown positive results for Chagas' disease and Leishmaniasis in sylvatic animals in El Paso.

Objective To determine the prevalence of Trypanosoma cruzi and/or Leishmania spp. infection …

A Comparison Of The 2013 Aha/Acc/Tos Guideline For The Management Of Overweight And Obesity In Adults To Clinical Outcomes Of A Plmm Intervention Among Hispanics, Silvia Salinas-Lopez

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Obesity is a serious and costly condition, causing a higher prevalence of chronic diseases and having an average medical cost of $1,430 higher than non-overweight patients (Finkelstein, Trogdon, Cohen, & Dietz, 2009). With more than two thirds of U.S. adults suffering from overweight or obesity, health organizations have recognized the disease as a threat to the well-being of the nation. In 2013, the American Health Association (AHA) and the American College of Cardiology (ACC) among other stakeholders developed a set of guidelines and recommendations for primary health providers in order to reduce overweight, obesity and concomitant conditions (Jensen et al., …

Gender Differences In Risk Behaviors And Health Outcomes Due To Methamphetamine Use In A Mexico-U.S. Border City, Priscilla Guevara

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

BACKGROUND: Methamphetamine (meth) is a stimulant known to affect the central nervous system (CNS). When individuals are under the influence of meth, their judgment is impaired which can lead them to make irrational decisions and engage in high-risk behaviors, such as having unprotected sex and needle sharing. Thus the behaviors of meth users can place them at high risk of contracting infectious diseases such as human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and other sexually transmitted diseases (STDs). Few studies highlight gender differences in meth use, fewer studies address high-risk behaviors and health outcomes attributed to meth use by gender. El Paso, TX …

Prevalence Of Risk Factors For Metabolic Syndrome In Uninsured Hispanic Adults From Low Income Communities In El Paso, Texas, Juan Antonio Aguilera

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Metabolic syndrome (MetS) consists of a group of associated risk factors for cardiovascular disease and other related chronic diseases. In the U.S. it is estimated that nearly 35% of the adult population have metabolic syndrome. According to National Institutes of Health (NIH) guidelines risk factors for developing MetS include large waistline, high blood pressure, high triglyceride level, low high density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol level, and elevated fasting blood glucose level. The goal of this study was to investigate the prevalence of risk factors for MetS among uninsured, low socioeconomic status adult Hispanics in El Paso, Texas. The study population resided …

Attitudes And Barriers To Intimate Partner Violence Screening And Follow-Up During Prenatal Care As Reported By Survivors In The El Paso, Texas Region, Luz Maria Luna

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

About 37.1% of Hispanic women in the United States have experienced intimate partner violence (IPV) (Breiding, 2014). In Texas, family violence cases among women comprised 73% of the total complaints (Texas Department of Public Safety 2012), and fatalities of women by an intimate partner totaled 102 women in 2011 (Office of Court Administration, 2013). In El Paso, Texas, the Center Against Sexual and Family Violence (CASFV) received 823 people in its emergency shelter from 2012 to 2013 and 70% of those residents were women (Center Against Family Violence, 2015). The Healthy People 2020 has assigned developmental objective IVP-39, under the …