Medical Humanities Commons^™

Reporting Risk, Producing Prejudice How News Reporting On Obesity Shapes Attitudes About Health Risk, Policy, And Prejudice, Abigail C. Saguy, David Frederick, Kjerstin Gruys

Psychology Faculty Articles and Research

News reporting on research studies may influence attitudes about health risk, support for public health policies, or attitudes towards people labeled as unhealthy or at risk for disease. Across five experiments (N = 2123) we examined how different news framings of obesity research influence these attitudes. We exposed participants to either a control condition, a news report on a study portraying obesity as a public health crisis, a news report on a study suggesting that obesity may not be as much of a problem as previously thought, or an article discussing weight-based discrimination. Compared to controls, exposure to the public …

Mainecare Stage A Health Homes Year 1 Report: Implementation Findings And Baseline Analysis, Kimberley S. Fox Mpa, Carolyn E. Gray Mph, Katherine Rosingana, Deborah A. Thayer Mba

Population Health & Health Policy

In January 2013, Maine established Health Homes under federal authority pursuant to Section 2703 of the Affordable Care Act to improve care coordination for MaineCare members with chronic conditions. Stage A of the Health Homes initiative focuses on members with complex medical chronic conditions. Stage B, planned for early 2014, will focus on persons with severe and persistent mental health conditions and children with serious emotional disturbances. The Stage A demonstration builds off the State’s existing Maine multi-payer Patient Centered Medical Home (PCMH) Pilot project and Maine’s Medicare Advanced Primary Care Practice (MAPCP) Demonstration by providing add-on payments to primary …

Review Of Manon Parry, Broadcasting Birth Control: Mass Media And Family Planning, Rose Holz

Women's and Gender Studies Program: Faculty Publications

As Manon Parry explains in her interesting new book, ‘Many of the women who wrote [to the Birth Control Review] noted that they had read about [Margaret] Sanger’s work in the press, confirming the important role of the mass media in publicizing and building support for the movement’ (p. 13). Therein lies the crux of Parry’s project: the use of publicity was central to the family planning movement and a sustained analysis of its use over time is long overdue. To that end, she challenges several long-standing historiographic assumptions and unearths more than a few fascinating stories. For example, …

Cultural Factors Associated With Utilization Of Antenatal Care Services In Rural India, Anjali Om

UROP Posters

Despite vast economic growth in developing countries in the past few years, infant mortality continues to plague underdeveloped regions, particularly rural regions of India. Many of these deaths are caused by a lack of education and motivation in regard to utilization of antenatal and neonatal care services to prevent and treat consequences of unhygienic umbilical cord care.

For years, high incidences of neonatal tetanus have plagued rural areas of India as a result of cultural practices that encourage topical applications of cow dung to cut umbilical stumps either directly or by using ghee heated with cow dung to warm umbilical …

Interprofessional Roles Shoulder Dystocia: Maximizing Safety In Community Hospitals, Elizabeth Yznaga

Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) Projects

Prompted by evidence that clinical simulations improve patient safety, team simulations are emerging in hospital settings. Accrediting organizations such as the U.S. Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations and the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (Joint Commission, 2004, American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, 2002) have recommend simulation of obstetrical emergencies, including shoulder dystocia for hospital teams. National patient safety mandates for simulation training of critical events have not been available to small, rural hospitals because of lack of talent and equipment, creating a gap in resources. Other than demonstrations by manikin companies, this author has currently been …

Information Sources In Relation To Information Quality, Information-Seeking, And Uncertainty In The Context Of Healthcare Reform, Jennifer L. Bevan

Communication Faculty Books and Book Chapters

This exploratory study examines information-seeking about the 2010 Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (i.e. healthcare reform) in relation to the potential barriers of uncertainty,uncertainty discrepancy, and low health self-efficacy. Adult United States participants completed an anonymous online survey about their perceptions and understanding of healthcare reform. Results confirmed recent literature, suggesting a complex relationship between information-seeking and uncertainty. Specifically, for this sample, significant positive relationships were observed between information-seeking about healthcare reform and uncertainty, uncertainty discrepancy, health self-efficacy. Further, uncertainty discrepancy was the potential barrier that accounted for the most variance in predicting information-seeking.Implications of these findings for improving …

Hiv/Aids In The Muslim-Majority Countries: Formula For Low Prevalence, Kaoru Yamaguchi

Political Science Theses and Capstones

The Muslim-majority countries long had been considered to be free of HIV/AIDS epidemic because of their strict religious and moral codes. However, the HIV prevalence rates are increasing in some Islamic states, and even more or so rapidly in a several cases that it is no longer valid to assume the Islamic religion protects its followers from the risks of contracting HIV. Contrary to the popular belief concerning the prevention of the HIV/AIDs epidemic, data collected from well-recognized international organizations such as the WHO and Freedom House indicate that democratization, strong government leadership, and wider and equal human rights for …

The Egg, Sperm, And Beyond: Gendered Assumptions In Gynecology Textbooks, Andrea Bertotti, Regina Rust

Sociology & Criminology Faculty Research

No abstract provided.

Traveling Exhibit: The Lives They Left Behind: Suitcases From A State Hospital Attic, Laura J. Hall

Posters and Presentations

The Lives They Left Behind: Suitcases from a State Hospital Attic was a traveling exhibit that explored the stories of patients from the Willard Psychiatric Center in New York, whose personal belongings were discovered after the institution closed in 1995. The exhibit highlighted the intersection of mental health, poverty, and systemic failures in care. Through a series of public events including panel discussions on homelessness, health equity, and mental health policy, the exhibit aimed to raise awareness and promote dialogue on mental health issues. Curated locally by Laura J. Hall and funded by the New Mexico Humanities Council, it was …

Los Caminos Del Enfermo En Una Comunidad K’Iche’ De Guatemala: Una Contribución Del Análisis De Redes Al Estudio De Los Comportamientos De Búsqueda De Atención En Salud, Alejandro Cerón

Anthropology: Faculty Scholarship

Introducción: El objetivo de este estudio fue ampliar la comprensión sobre los comportamientos de búsqueda de atención a través del análisis de las transiciones que las personas hacen entre distintas alternativas terapéuticas. Metodología: Una encuesta de prevalencia de enfermedad en 229 unidades domésticas de la comunidad, detectó 92 personas con algún padecimiento agudo, a quienes se entrevistó para establecer las acciones que tomaron respecto a la enfermedad. Las acciones correspondieron a una de las siguientes categorías: esperar, remedios caseros, compra de medicinas, o uso de profesionales (tradicionales, biomedicina o sanación divina). Estas categorías terapéuticas se tabularon en una matriz idéntica …

Effects Of Caregiver Burden And Satisfaction On Affect Of Older End-Stage Renal Disease Patients And Their Spouses, Maureen Wilson-Genderson, Rachel A Pruchno, Francine P Cartwright

Rowan-Virtua School of Osteopathic Medicine Departmental Research

We examined the extent to which a 2-factor model of affect explains how the burdens and satisfactions experienced by caregivers influence their own well-being and that of the spouses for whom they provide care. Using data from 315 older patients with end-stage renal disease and their spouses, we extended tests of Lawton et al.'s (1991) 2-factor model both longitudinally and dyadically. Multilevel modeling analyses partially support the 2-factor model. Consistent with the model, mean caregiver burden has a stronger effect on both caregiver and patient negative affect than does mean caregiver satisfaction. Contrary to the model, mean caregiver satisfaction has …

Intellectual Property And Access To Medicines: An Analysis Of Legislation In Central America, Alejandro Cerón, Angelina Snodgrass Godoy

Anthropology: Faculty Scholarship

Globalization of intellectual property (IP) protection for medicines has been advancing during the past decade. Countries are obliged to adapt their legislation as a requirement of their membership to the World Trade Organization or as a condition of being part of international trade agreements. There is a growing recognition that, in low-income countries, stronger IP protection is a barrier to access to medicines. At the same time, the number of low-income countries writing national legislation to protect IP for pharmaceutical products is growing worldwide, but little research has been done on the ways in which this process is happening at …

Depressive Symptoms And Marital Satisfaction In The Context Of Chronic Disease: A Longitudinal Dyadic Analysis, Rachel Pruchno, Maureen Wilson-Genderson, Francine P Cartwright

Rowan-Virtua School of Osteopathic Medicine Departmental Research

These analyses examined the longitudinal relationships between depressive symptoms and marital satisfaction over a 2-year period as experienced by 315 patients with end-stage renal disease and their spouses. Using multilevel modeling, the authors examined both individual and cross-partner effects of depressive symptoms and marital satisfaction on patients and spouses, testing bidirectional causality. Results indicate that mean and time-varying depressive symptoms of both patients and spouses were associated with their own marital satisfaction. Although mean marital satisfaction was associated with own depressive symptoms for both patients and spouses, time-varying marital satisfaction did not affect depressive symptoms for either patients or spouses. …

Cross-System Profile Of Maine's Long Term Support System: A New View Of Maine's Long Term Services And Supports And The People Served, Eileen Griffin Jd, Julie T. Fralich Mba, Catherine Mcguire Bs, Louise Olsen, Stuart Bratesman Mpp, Kathy Bubar, Romaine Turyn

Disability & Aging

This document provides a new way of looking at Maine's long term services and supports, with an emphasis on developing a common approach for describing and analyzing long term services and supports across programs. A conscious effort was made to organize this profile around the populations served rather than the programs serving them. For that reason, the profile captures information on all of the services accessed by each population group, not only those services administered by a particular program. This broader view provides important information about the full range of service utilization for each population group.

The Role Of Information And Communication Technologies In Managing Transition And Sustaining Women's Health During Their Midlife Years, Julie Dare

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

This research has been motivated primarily by a desire to extend and enrich existing research on women’s uses of information and communication technologies (ICTs) to manage relationships, and access and construct social support during their transitional midlife years. In doing so, this research addresses a gap in the literature on women’s consumption of such technologies. Since the late 1980s, when several landmark studies investigated women’s use of the telephone, there has been little systematic evaluation of the degree to which newer communication technologies have become integrated into women’s communication practices.

Another key feature of this research is an examination of …

Research On Faith And Health: New Appoaches To Old Questions, Thomas G. Plante, Allen C. Sherman

Psychology

Does religious faith influence health? Are religious practices associated with altered risks for morbidity or mortality? Do religious or spiritual individuals tend to enjoy better well-being or mental health across the lifespan? Does spiritual or religious involvement change the way individuals adapt to the demands of chronic illness? This volume brings together some of the leading investigators who have explored these intriguing questions. Though research is in its early phases, the chapters that follow review some of what we have learned and begin to trace the outlines of the many mysteries that remain.

Religious Faith And Mental Health Outcomes, Thomas G. Plante, Naveen K. Sharma

Psychology

In this chapter we review recent research regarding the relationship between religious faith/spirituality and mental health outcomes, as well as provide directions for future research and discussion. The specific aspects of mental health and illness that we focus on include well-being, depression, anxiety, substance abuse, and schizophrenia. We also briefly discuss research pertaining to religious faith and personality disorders, eating disorders, somatoform disorders, and bipolar disorder.

"Famous Persons" In Medline: Examination Of A Medical Subject Heading, Brenda R. Pfannenstiel Mals, Ma, Ahip

Manuscripts, Articles, Book Chapters and Other Papers

The "famous persons" Medical Subject Heading (MeSH) provides a unique perspective on the medical literature indexed in the Medline database. 3,745 Medline citations indexed with the term "famous persons" from 1966 through 1994 were examined. Discussions of possible diagnoses of creative artists, royalty, political leaders, and even fictional characters were a frequent preoccupation, as were assassinations. Publication dates of articles concerning a particular famous person are often clustered around an anniversary of the person's birth or death. A few famous persons account for a disproportionate number of citations.

Many Voices: Medical Anthropologists Explore The Meaning Of Health, Illness, And Cure, Michael Hass

Education Faculty Articles and Research

Lindenbaum, Shirley and Margaret Lock, eds. Knowledge, Power and Practice: The Anthropology of Medicine in Everyday Life. Berkeley: University of California Press, 1993. xvii + 242 pp. including notes, references, and indices. $50.00 cloth, $15.00 paper.

Etkin, Nina L. and Michael L. Tan, eds. Medicines: Meanings and Contexts. Quezon city, Philippines and Amsterdam: Health Action Information Network and the University of Amsterdam, 1994. v + 305 pp. $15.00 paper.

Good, Byron J. Medicine, Rationality, and Experience: an Anthropological Perspective. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1994. $54.95 Cloth, $17.95 paper.

Learning How To Heal: An Analysis Of The History, Policy, And Framework Of Indian Health Care, Betty Pfefferbaum, Rennard J. Strickland, Everett R. Rhoades, Rose L. Pfefferbaum

American Indian Law Review

No abstract provided.

Paul Alan Cox's Review Of Janice Reid's Sorcerers And Healing Spirits: Continuity And Change In An Aboriginal Healing System, Paul Alan Cox

Pacific Studies

No abstract provided.

Attitudes Toward Non-Scientific Medicine In Southern Appalachia, John Dec

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

This thesis will focus on what Mechanic terms "cultural and social aspects of medical care"; more specifically, it is the layman's evaluation of medical practitioners and practices. Medical practices are defined as the behavior directed toward maintenance or improvement of health while medical orientation designates the cognitive and affective attitudes toward health care.

Barriers To Attainment Of Health Care In West Central Maine : A Critique By The Poor, Health Facilities Planning Council

Maine Collection

Barriers to Attainment of Health Care in West Central Maine : A Critique by the Poor

"Conducted by the Health Facilities Planning Council, 11 Parkwood Drive, Augusta, Maine under contract to Maine Department of Health and Welfare, June, 1969."

Contents: Foreword / Table of Contents / Introduction / Map / Franklin County / Housing / Dental Rot / Franklin County Memorial Hospital / Family Planning / RN's / State Public Health Nurses / Unmet Health Needs / The Last Outpost / Home Visit in Farmington Falls / Home Visit in Industry / Home Visit in Rangeley Area / Conversations on …