Medical Humanities Commons^™

Navigating Culture: An Exploration Of Domestic Violence And Abuse Resource Provision To The Harrisonburg Iraqi Refugee Community, Kaitlin Michelle Holland

Senior Honors Projects, 2010-2019

There are currently 22.5 million refugees worldwide who have been displaced from their home countries due to war, conflict, or persecution. Of this total, only 1% are recommended for resettlement each year. In recent years, many of these resettled refugees have come from Iraq, fleeing conflict stemming from the Iraq war and ISIS. Upon resettlement, refugees face significant acculturation difficulties that can negatively affect mental health. Additionally, experiencing domestic violence and abuse (DVA) can also negatively affect physical and mental health. I researched how the refugee migration experience and domestic violence and abuse affect mental health as well as what …

Contributors To Wisconsin’S Persistent Black-White Gap In Life Expectancy, Max T. Roberts

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

For decades, blacks have faced shorter life expectancy than their white counterparts. This persistent disparity has led to a gap in life expectancy between the two groups. Nationally, this gap has decreased over the last 40 years. However, this is not the case at the state-level as some states have experienced little or no improvement in the life expectancy gap. Such is the case in Wisconsin, where the life expectancy gap is the largest in the nation for males, and the gap actually has grown for females over the last two decades. This study seeks to examine this persistent gap …

I’M Going To Tell You A Little About Myself: Illness Centrality, Self-Image And Identity In Cystic Fibrosis, Susan Horky Lcsw, Laura Sherman Licsw, Julie K. Polvinen Ba, Medhavi Saxena Md, Michael Rich Md

Patient Experience Journal

This study assessed the illness centrality of adolescents with CF and the specific ways that CF may affect adolescents’ identities, through the qualitative analysis of video narratives. Adolescents with CF were loaned video cameras and asked to “show us your life outside the hospital” and to “teach your healthcare team about your CF.” Four major themes were identified related to illness centrality: CF is Central, CF is Compartmentalized, CF is Integrated into Self Image, CF is Denied. Integration and compartmentalization often co-existed. Four themes emerged related to the role of CF in self-image and identity: (1) Valence (positive or negative); …

Las Condiciones De Vida De Los Usuarios Adultos Mayores Del Hospital Makewe / The Living Conditions Of Elderly Users Of Makewe Hospital, Taylor Selembo

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Life conditions are a fundamental aspect of the health of senior citizens, as these are the factors that determine their quality of life and capacity to satisfy their needs. Life conditions are dependent on the particular social, political, economic, and geographic context of the region. This study intends to answer the following question: How are the life conditions of senior citizens belonging to Hospital Makewe, located in the IX region of Chile? This quali-quantitative study utilized observation, surveys (n = 40) and interviews (n = 15) in order to accomplish the main objective. The main objective was to describe senior …

Web Resources For Physician Wellness, Elizabeth C. Lawrence

Office of Physician and Student Wellness (OPSW)

A current listing of websites, TED talks, and podcasts related to physician wellness and resiliency.

Onset Of Multiple Chronic Conditions And Depressive Symptoms: A Life Events Perspective., Maureen Wilson-Genderson, Allison R Heid, Rachel Pruchno

Rowan-Virtua School of Osteopathic Medicine Faculty Scholarship

Background: While the association between depressive symptoms and chronic illness has been the subject of many studies, little is known about whether depressive symptoms differ as a function of the illnesses people have as they transition to living with multiple chronic conditions.

Methods: Self-reports of five diagnosed chronic conditions (arthritis, diabetes, heart disease, hypertension, and pulmonary disease) and depressive symptoms were provided by 3,396 people participating in three waves of the ORANJ BOWL

Results: Between 2006 and 2014, controlling for age, gender, income, race, and a lifetime diagnosis of depression, people who transitioned to having a diagnosis of multiple chronic …

The Public Health Harms Of Pornography: The Brain, Erectile Dysfunction, And Sexual Violence, John D. Foubert

Dignity: A Journal of Analysis of Exploitation and Violence

No abstract provided.

Fine Particles In Homes Of Predominantly Low-Income Families With Children And Smokers: Key Physical And Behavioral Determinants To Inform Indoor-Air-Quality Interventions, Neil E. Klepeis, John Belletierre, Suzanne C. Hughes, Benjamin Nguyen, Vincent Berardi, Sandy Liles, Saori Obayashi, C. Richard Hofstetter, Elaine Blumberg, Melbourne F. Hovell

Psychology Faculty Articles and Research

Children are at risk for adverse health outcomes from occupant-controllable indoor airborne contaminants in their homes. Data are needed to design residential interventions for reducing low-income children's pollutant exposure. Using customized air quality monitors, we continuously measured fine particle counts (0.5 to 2.5 microns) over a week in living areas of predominantly low-income households in San Diego, California, with at least one child (under age 14) and at least one cigarette smoker. We performed retrospective interviews on home characteristics, and particle source and ventilation activities occurring during the week of monitoring. We explored the relationship between weekly mean particle counts …

New Outpatient Experience Survey Design: A Quality Improvement Case Study, Nathan Paluso

Muskie School Capstones and Dissertations

The purpose of this capstone project is to evaluate the implementation process for a new survey methodology introduced by Maine Medical Partners (MMP), by following the Plan-Do-Study-Act (PDSA) quality improvement cycle framework. This new survey has been implemented to collect data on patients’ experiences in the MMP outpatient facilities, and is offered to the patients via iPad at check-out after their appointment. Through observation at MMP practices and MMP staff interviews, strengths and weaknesses of the implementation process have been identified. Evidence-based solutions pertaining to the identified weaknesses have been selected through a literature review and are incorporated in recommendations …

Humor In Medicine: A Literature Review Of Humor’S Potential Therapeutic Value In Health Care, Weston Michael Grant

Psychological Science Undergraduate Honors Theses

Using humor and laughter within the health care field has the potential to be relevant to patients during treatment, to the patient-caregiver relationship, to the subjective well-being of health care providers, and to the environments’ (e.g., work settings) impact on group relationships (e.g., colleagues). A review of the literature examines how the psychological and physiological effects of laughter and humor within the human body impact health and well-being, how humor and laughter improve the patient-practitioner relationship, and if humor and laughter can potentially impact physician burnout. Several possible implications for these findings are discussed, such as professional medical comedians, improvements …

Schizophrenia And Its Effects On An American Family: A Call To Action For The 21st Century, Cynthia Newton Captain

Senior Theses

Our country’s healthcare system is at a moral crossroads. The way we treat those whom we call “the homeless” is deplorable. The majority of the homeless are mentally ill and need treatment. Our country needs to treat those with the severe brain diseases of schizophrenia, schizo-affective disorder, and bi-polar disorder just as we would Alzheimer’s disease and Parkinson’s disease. Those with severe mental illness, who have no insight into their illness, should not be allowed to dictate their own treatment. If a homeless person is brought to San Francisco General Hospital and is found to be a schizophrenic in psychiatric …

Empathy, Casey Golomski

Anthropology

A short poem about suicidal ideation and alcoholism in the United States.

The Effects Of Patient Characteristics On Clinician’S Adherence To Preventive Practice Guidelines, Deshana A. Collett Ph.D,Pa-C, Kenneth M. Tyler Ph.D.

Journal of Health Disparities Research and Practice

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND: The existence of health disparities confirms that not all patients, regardless of differences in patient demographics, are provided quality healthcare (Agency of Health Care Research and Quality, 2003). Moreover, research suggests that health disparities may be present due to the inadequate delivery of medical services (S. Haist, J. Wilson, M. Lineberry, & C. Griffith, 2007; Van Ryn, Burgess, Malat, & Griffin, 2006). The differences in the delivery of care and services to ethnic minorities and those of low socioeconomic status warrant examining the role healthcare providers play in the causation of these health disparities (Smedley, Stith, & Nelson, …

In Bod We Trust, Elliot Montgomery Sklar

be Still

This paper discusses body image and social norms, media and implications on health for men as for women. The important issue of body image is rarely addressed toward men's health and wellness while it is widely recognized for women.