Medicine and Health Sciences Commons^™

The Effect Of Age On Neurological Inflammation To Acute Sleep Fragmentation In Mice, Molly Taylor

Mahurin Honors College Capstone Experience/Thesis Projects

Obstructive sleep apnea is identified by recurring events of airway collapse during sleep, intermittent hypoxia, and perturbations in sleep continuity, known as sleep fragmentation. There is evidence to suggest that elderly patients are more at risk of developing obstructive sleep apnea. The purpose of this study was to assess whether age affects neurological inflammatory responses to acute sleep fragmentation. This assessment was made by subjecting young (4-5 months old) and old (10-11 months old) male C57BL/6j mice to automated sleep fragmentation, as well as having mice in both age categories as a control with no sleep fragmentation, for twenty-four hours. …

Parents' Attitudes As Mediators Between Knowledge And Behaviours In Unintentional Injuries At Home Of Children Aged 0-3 In Shanghai, Eastern China: A Cross-Sectional Study, Xueqi Ma, Qi Zhang, Ruo Jiang, Jun Lu, Huiping Wang, Qinghua Xia, Jicui Zheng, Wei Deng, Fengshui Chang, Xiaohong Li

Community & Environmental Health Faculty Publications

Objective: Parental behaviours are important in preventing unintentional injury at home among young children. Previous research showed an inconsistent relationship between knowledge and behaviours, indicating that the mechanisms may vary for different behaviours. This study aimed to examine the mediating roles of different attitudes in the mechanism of knowledge acting on different behaviours.

Design: Cross-sectional study.

Setting: Eastern China

Participants: Participants were recruited using stratified community-based sampling. A total of 488 parents of children aged 0–3 years participated in the study and 476 (97.5%) valid questionnaires were recovered.

Primary outcome measures: Parents’ knowledge, attitudes (including injury attribution, preventability and responsibility) …

Socioeconomic Status And Psychosocial Resources Mediate Racial/Ethnic Differences In Psychological Health Among Gay And Bisexual Men: A Longitudinal Analysis Using Structural Equation Modeling, Rainier Masa, Sylvia Shangani, Don Operario

Community & Environmental Health Faculty Publications

A large body of research demonstrates disparities in psychological health attributed to sexual minority identity, racial/ethnic minority identity, and socioeconomic status (SES). Fewer studies have explicated the role of these multiple attributes on psychological health and explored the role of SES and psychosocial resources in determining outcomes. We analyzed data from Project STRIDE, a longitudinal survey involving a diverse sample of gay and bisexual adult men (n = 198). Using structural equation modeling, we tested hypothesized direct and indirect effects of race/ethnicity, SES, and three psychosocial mediational variables (collective self-efficacy, everyday discrimination, internalized homophobia) on two outcome variables-psychological and social …

Antimicrobial Use In Positive Respiratory Viral Panel: Impact Of Procalcitonin Use And Antimicrobial Stewardship, David Beleny

Scholarship in Medicine - All Papers

increasing antibiotic resistant microbes.¹ Blood and sputum cultures are the gold standard for bacterial identification, but they are difficult to obtain and take days to receive back from the lab. Physicians commonly treat patients empirically with antibiotics because there is an increased risk of 30-day mortality in patients with bacterial community-acquired pneumonia (CAP).² Overuse of antibiotics is commonplace in hospitalized patients which is detrimental as it contributes to antibiotic resistance, costs money, wastes resources, and puts patients at risk for unnecessary adverse effects of the medications.³ It was found that 75% of patients presenting with a respiratory …

Human Immunodeficiency Virus (Hiv) – An Analysis Of Trends In Hiv Diagnoses From 2008 – 2018, Ulysses G. Gardner

Scholarship in Medicine - All Papers

Objective: An estimated 1.1 million people are living with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) in the United States. Despite over two decades of research, a cure for HIV has not been approved and it remains a pandemic. This research study was conducted to determine the statistical significance in HIV incidence based on diagnoses in 2008 versus 2018; age groups 25-34 years old versus 55+ years old; Black versus Hispanic versus White; male versus female; and geographical location. Methods: This retrospective study was conducted using data from the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Atlas Plus data sets, a collection …

Chlamydia In Ohio 2019, Jennifer Schmitz

Scholarship in Medicine - All Papers

Objective: Chlamydia Trachomatis is becoming an increasingly large national problem with severe consequences on the medical health care system. Methods: With data collected from County Health Ranking, with research that has been conducted at governmental and nongovernmental levels throughout the community, state and national level. Increases in rates of chlamydia can be linked to an increased number of testing or increased accuracy of testing while decreased numbers of incidence can be due to low reporting from that county. Conducting correlation and comparison may reveal additional links to the rising rates of Chlamydia. Results: We found a positive correlation between rate …

Family Structure And Pediatric Outcomes In Ohio, Andrew J. Berman

Scholarship in Medicine - All Papers

Objective: The number of single-parent households has been trending upwards since the early 1900s. Studies in the past have evaluated the effects single-parent households have on pediatric outcomes nationwide. This study attempts to build upon these past studies by analyzing whether these findings remain when looked at the State level, for Ohio 2020, as well as see if the percent of children in single-parent households can predict child mortality.

Methods: Data was collected from publicly available data sets through County Health Rankings. This study utilizes SPSS for data analysis. ANOVA with post-hoc was performed to compare children in single-parent household …

The Mmc Biobank Is A Resource That Supports Biomedical Research, Anne C. Breggia, Sue Lapierre, Christopher Keister, Dawn Charnetzky, Hannah Brown, Joseph Nano, Sydney Robinson, Howard Feller, Susan Nester, Elizabeth Hamir, Heidi Ingersoll, Anthony Sellner, Trevor Jorgensen, Mike Jones

Costas T. Lambrew Research Retreat 2021

Mission: To provide normal and diseased annotated human biospecimens to the research community that supports discoveries leading to improved patient therapies and advances in personalized medicine.

Mainehealth As A Partner In The National Covid Cohort Collaborative (N3c), Susan Santangelo, Ivette Emery, Kim Murray, John Dipalazzo, David Denton, Cliff Rosen

Costas T. Lambrew Research Retreat 2021

No abstract provided.

Latent Traits Of Lung Tissue Patterns In Former Smokers Derived By Dual Channel Deep Learning In Computed Tomography Images, Frank Li, Jiwoong Choi, Chunrui Zou, John D. Newell, Alejandro P. Comellas, Chang Hyun Lee, Hongseok Ko, R. Graham Barr, Eugene R. Bleecker, Christopher B. Cooper, Fereidoun Abtin, Igor Barjaktarevic, David Couper, Meilan Han, Nadia N. Hansel, Richard E. Kanner, Robert Paine, Ella A. Kazerooni, Fernando J. Martinez, Wanda O'Neal, Stephen I. Rennard, Benjamin M. Smith, Prescott G. Woodruff, Eric A. Hoffman, Ching-Long Lin

Journal Articles: Pulmonary & Critical Care Med

Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is a heterogeneous disease and the traditional variables extracted from computed tomography (CT) images may not be sufficient to describe all the topological features of lung tissues in COPD patients. We employed an unsupervised three-dimensional (3D) convolutional autoencoder (CAE)-feature constructor (FC) deep learning network to learn from CT data and derive tissue pattern-clusters jointly. We then applied exploratory factor analysis (EFA) to discover the unobserved latent traits (factors) among pattern-clusters. CT images at total lung capacity (TLC) and residual volume (RV) of 541 former smokers and 59 healthy non-smokers from the cohort of the SubPopulations …

Small Airway Determinants Of Airflow Limitation In Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease, Vasiliy V. Polosukhin, Sergey S. Gutor, Rui-Hong Du, Bradley W. Richmond, Pierre P. Massion, Pingsheng Wu, Justin M. Cates, Kim L. Sandler, Stephen I. Rennard, Timothy S. Blackwell

Journal Articles: Pulmonary & Critical Care Med

BACKGROUND: Although a variety of pathological changes have been described in small airways of patients with COPD, the critical anatomic features determining airflow limitation remain incompletely characterised.

METHODS: We examined lung tissue specimens from 18 non-smokers without chronic lung disease and 55 former smokers with COPD for pathological features of small airways that could contribute to airflow limitation. Morphometric evaluation was performed for epithelial and subepithelial tissue thickness, collagen and elastin content, luminal mucus and radial alveolar attachments. Immune/inflammatory cells were enumerated in airway walls. Quantitative emphysema scoring was performed on chest CT scans.

RESULTS: Small airways from patients with …

Guide To The Ann O. Coakley Collection, Bulk 1951-2015, Orson Kingsley

Archives & Special Collections Finding Aids

Ann Oldham Coakley was born in Norwood, MA in 1926. She graduated from Norwood High School in 1944, Boston University’s Sargent College in 1948, and the University of North Carolina, Greensboro in 1955. While a student at Sargent College, Coakley played lacrosse, tennis, field hockey, and softball. In 1951 she was named to the United States lacrosse touring team and spent 10 weeks traveling through Great Britain and Ireland while playing other national and regional teams.

In 1959 Coakley took a position at Bridgewater State teaching physical education. She began the woman’s lacrosse program at Bridgewater in 1960, serving as …

Understanding Challenges To Well-Being Among Latina Farmworkers In Rural Idaho Using In An Interdisciplinary, Mixed-Methods Approach, Cynthia L. Curl, Lisa Meierotto, Rebecca L. Som Castellano

Public and Population Health Faculty Publications and Presentations

The aim of this study was to identify social, cultural and workplace-related risk factors affecting well-being among Latina farmworkers in rural Idaho. We recruited 70 Latina farmworkers from southwestern Idaho in 2019. We employed an inter-disciplinary, mixed-methods approach—including surveys, focus groups, interviews, and pesticide biomonitoring—to characterize multiple domains that influence well-being, including food security and access, housing conditions, social supports, access to medical care, and workplace safety. Six major themes emerged as primary challenges to Latina farmworkers’ well-being. In the public sphere, study participants identified these challenges as long working hours, concerns regarding pesticide exposure, and lack of enforcement of …

Assessment Of Electrostatic Potential Resulting From Friction Between Fabric Samples Made Of Natural And Synthetic Fibers, Uwe Reischl, Budimir Mijovic

Public and Population Health Faculty Publications and Presentations

Synthetic fibers are known to be a major source of electrostatic potential occurring on clothing. The electrical properties of fibers are determined by their chemical composition and polymer structure. Environmental factors such as humidity, temperature, and friction intensity can influence these properties. Due to the insulative characteristics of most fabrics, fibers are able to keep their charge for relatively long periods. This can result in clothing to cling to each other, attract dust, and create discharge shocks. To reduce these issues, suggestions have been proposed to mix garment layers made of natural fibers with garment layers made of synthetic fibers. …

Occupational Balance Among Parents Of Typically Developing Children And Parents Of Children With Disabilities Living In Qatar, Brightlin Nithis Dhas

Occupational Therapy Program Student Theses, Dissertations and Capstones

Parents of children with disabilities are often not the focus of intervention in occupational therapy practice although they are known to spend more time meeting the needs of their children and report poor occupational balance. The aim of the dissertation study was to compare the occupational balance among parents of children with disabilities and parents of typically developing children and to find, if any, significant predictors of occupational balance. The secondary objective was to investigate if there was any association between occupational balance and family quality of life. To fully understand the multiple perspectives of occupational balance and the factors …

Association Between Physical Activity And Stress In A National Cohort Of Undergraduate Students From The Spring 2019 National College Health Assessment Ii, Melissa Lee

Health Sciences Program Student Theses, Dissertations and Capstones

A national cohort of undergraduate college students who participated in the spring 2019 National College Health Assessment II (NCHA) reported stress as their number one academic impediment. While stressis a complex phenomenon, there is evidence that describes physical activity as a small but significant predictor of stress levels. The dissertation was a correlational study of retrospective, de-identified, secondary data from a national cohort of 43,756 undergraduate students, aged 18-24 who participated in the spring 2019 NCHA. The purpose of the study was to explore the relationship between physical activity, including aerobic and strength, and self-reported stress within the cohort. Chi-square …

Consent For Emergency Treatment: Demographic Variables And Relationship To Patient Comprehension, Ashwatha Thenappan

Scholarship in Medicine - All Papers

Objective: One of the most important pillars of patient autonomy is informed consent for medical treatment. This study was undertaken to measure patient recall and understanding of consent for treatment among ED patients. Methods: This prospective survey study was conducted at Miami Valley Hospital, an Urban Level 1 Trauma Center. Trained research assistants obtained verbal consent in private patient treatment rooms. Data were collected from the electronic medical record and from a survey questionnaire. Results: A total of 293 patients consented to participate (95% participation rate). The majority of participants stated that they had signed a consent document (N …

Outcomes In Children And Adolescents Undergoing Cholecystectomies With A High Ejection Fraction, Salony Dighamber, Karen Herzing, Arturo Aranda, Jeffrey C. Pence, Sean Barnett

Scholarship in Medicine - All Papers

Background

Cholecystectomy is commonly performed electively for symptomatic cholelithiasis and biliary hypokinesia with an ejection fraction (EF) less than 35%. Recent literature has shown that cholecystectomy in adults for biliary hyperkinesia (EF>65%) can provide resolution of symptoms (primarily pain) for the majority of patients. We seek to determine whether cholecystectomy is efficacious in the treatment of symptomatic biliary hyperkinesia in the pediatric population.

Method

The charts of over 100 patients aged 7 to 21 in the last 10 years (2008 to 2018) who had cholecystectomies were reviewed to determine ejection fraction, BMI, race, pain with CCK-HIDA, complications, and resolution …

Improving The Care Of Patients With Cirrhosis At Mmc, Lesley B. Gordon, Elizabeth Herrle, Matt Buttarazzi, Monica Thim, Jenna S. Ptaschinski, Victoria Molina, Natalie Channell

Costas T. Lambrew Research Retreat 2021

Purpose: Improve the rate and timeliness of paracenteses for patients with decompensated cirrhosis.

A Recognition/Appreciation Intervention To Decrease Stress And Burnout In Nursing Faculty, Jennifer Anderson

Regis University Student Publications (comprehensive collection)

Nursing faculty are at risk of stress and burnout that could lead to negative personal and system-level repercussions. A recognition and appreciation program was implemented at one public, four-year university to determine if it would decrease stress and burnout experienced by nursing faculty. The program utilized no- and low- cost strategies, including virtual events and sharing of faculty activities and achievements. Stress and burnout were measured before and after implementation of the program using the Perceived Stress Scale-10 (PSS-10) and the Maslach Burnout Inventory-Educator Survey (MBI), respectively. Improvements in mean scores on 31 of 36 measures of stress and burnout …

Teamstepps In A Pediatric Operating Room, Lisa Kerrick

Regis University Student Publications (comprehensive collection)

Despite numerous patient safety and quality programs available and in use in the healthcare environment, adverse events in operating rooms continue to occur. The operating room is a complex and chaotic environment where teamwork is necessary for safe patient care. Team training is a strategy that improves teamwork. TeamSTEPPS is an evidence-based team training program designed to integrate teamwork into clinical practice. This project aims to determine if TeamSTEPPS communication tools and strategies improve the perception of teamwork and efficiency in a pediatric operating room. The outcome objectives for this project are to increase the perception of teamwork and improve …

Implementation Of A Pregnancy Intention Screening Question At A Federally Qualified Health Center, Diana Gue

Regis University Student Publications (comprehensive collection)

Objective: Process improvement project idea was examined due to the need to fulfill a requirement within a grant. One measure needed for the grant was a pregnancy intention screening question (PISQ) asked of women during their visits. There currently was no formal PISQ. The primary outcomes for this project are to measure effects of the addition of a PISQ on the provision of contraceptive counseling and/or contraceptive methods. Methods: The staff and providers were provided education of the workflow and documentation of the PISQ and the diagnosis codes for contraception counseling and methods. Data was collected three months prior to …

Np’S Perception Of Preparedness And Self-Efficacy Between Novice Nps That Participated In A Post Graduate Training Program And Those That Did Not, Tasha Bruner-Hill

Regis University Student Publications (comprehensive collection)

The role transition from a registered nurse (RN) to a nurse practitioner (NP) can be challenging and stressful as the RN moves from often expert status back to novice status as an NP. The purpose of this qualitative, descriptive study was to explore if role transition was easier for novice NPs that participated in a post-graduate training program, then for those that did not. Following IRB approval for the study, a self-report tool consisting of 18 questions was emailed to a national sample of NPs who graduated 2014-2020 and practiced at least one year but not more than five years …

Uniting The Front: A Qualitative Exploration Of The Community Health Worker Covid-19 Pandemic Response In Connecticut, Serena Ly

Public Health Theses

Background: Community health workers (CHWs) are becoming increasingly recognized for their contributions to community health. As the COVID-19 pandemic continues to devastate poor and underserved communities, leveraging CHWs’ experiences with vulnerable community members is key to developing an equity-centered pandemic response. This qualitative research study aimed to explore how CHWs have addressed emerging community needs and whether health and emergency management systems have fully integrated CHWs in the COVID-19 pandemic response. This study further aimed to assess, through CHWs perceptions, how well health systems have safeguarded CHWs’ health and wellbeing as they support impacted communities.

Methods: CHWs and their managers …

A Case Study Of Children's Programming In Transitional Housing, Crystal L. Coffman

Occupational Therapy Doctorate Capstone Projects

Background: Female-headed households with children makeup nearly 30% of the homeless population, and are challenged to become self-sufficient while embodying multiple roles with inadequate supports (Bassuk, 2010; Crncec, 2008; Fisher, 2000; Schultz-Krohn & Tyminski, 2018). While there is growing literature to support the social-cultural and occupational needs of adults in this population, few programs and research efforts have explored the life skill and developmental needs of children (Fleary et al., 2019).

Purpose: The purpose and objectives of this capstone project were to examine the planning, execution, follow-up, and contextual adaptation of the programs provided to children and youth at a …

Downeast Maine Mat Expansion Project: Year 3 Final Data Summary, Mary Lindsey Smith Phd, Evelyn Ali Bs, Katharine Knight Mph, Tyler Egeland Ba

Substance Use Research & Evaluation

This report summarizes the collaborative effort of Healthy Acadia, its providers, the Downeast Substance Treatment Network, and Downeast Substance Use Response Coalition, to combat opioid use disorder (OUD) in Downeast Maine through multiple evidence-based strategies.

Project goals included the reduction of barriers to accessing medication-assisted treatment (MAT) and the enhancement of MAT services by improving provider capacity through training and implementation of best practice treatment.

For more information, please contact M. Lindsey Smith, PhD, [email protected]

Staff Perceptions Of The Health Call Center Workplace Environment, Eric Lee Escobedo-Wu

Regis University Student Publications (comprehensive collection)

The complexities of the Health Call Center (HCC) amidst of a pandemic has caused an uptick in nurses and staff experiencing physical, emotional, and mental fatigue. An increase in sick calls during peak call days and times, breakroom discussion related to workload and competing patient and clinical priorities, and the consistent need to care for patients and caregivers, while maintaining familial and fiscal responsibilities and priorities contribute to the exhaustion of the nurses. The purpose of this Quality Improvement (QI) project was to use a structured survey tool and open-ended questions to identify HCC nurses’ perceptions of stressors and burnout …

Increasing Minority Representation In The Healthcare Field Through A Girl’S Summer Camp, Anna Christiansen, Dzifa Agbossey-Dimado, Adejoke Ayoola

Summer Research

• Despite increasing diversity among the United States’ population, the healthcare workforce, particularly in highly skilled roles, has failed to keep pace. The underrepresentation of minority groups within healthcare professions comes at the expense of quality and access to care, patient satisfaction, acceptability, general experience, and health outcomes.
• One promising approach to addressing this health inequity is increasing the diversity of the healthcare workforce across all skill-level roles so that it is representative of the population which it serves. Research suggests that exposing underrepresented groups to healthcare professions as a possible career path during formative career planning years (early middle school), …

Ua19/16/2 Softball Press Releases, Wku Athletic Media Relations

WKU Administration Documents

Press releases, photos and game statistics for WKU softball team in 2021.

Ua19/16/2 Volleyball Press Releases, Wku Athletic Media Relations

WKU Administration Documents

Press releases, photos and game statistics for WKU volleyball team in 2021.