Medical Humanities Commons^™

Patients Are Our Teachers, Robert E. Becker, Mary V. Seeman

Journal of Patient-Centered Research and Reviews

In the patient-physician encounter, physicians hone their skills while alleviating the patient’s suffering. Both benefit. Leaning on the work of Hippocrates, Darwin, and William Osler, the authors sketch out the case for honoring patients as indispensable teachers of the art and science of medicine. They argue that this tradition of Hippocratic medicine both anticipates modern precision medicine and reawakens a focus on public health medicine, each a benefit to the patients and communities served by physicians. A community that compromises the learning relationship of physician to patient and population undermines quality of care.

Allopathic Medicine’S Influence On Indigenous Peoples In The Kumaon Region Of India, Eliana M. Blum

Butler Journal of Undergraduate Research

This paper focuses on the use of western medicine in the Kumaon region of Uttarakhand, India. The goal of this research is to understand which healing practices are preferable in rural villages. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 53 participants, including two spiritual healers, two doctors, and one pharmacist. Results indicate that allopathic medicine, otherwise known as modern medicine or western medicine, has become the go-to remedy for even the most remote people in India. Nearly all participants use allopathic medicine, but less than half of the participants experiment with other forms of healing, such as Ayurveda, homeopathy, meditation, and yoga. …

The Predictors Of Juvenile Recidivism: Testimonies Of Adult Students 18 Years And Older Exiting From Alternative Education, La Toshia Palmer

Dissertations

Purpose: The purpose of this descriptive, qualitative study was to identify and describe the importance of the predictors of juvenile recidivism and the effectiveness of efforts to prevent/avoid juvenile recidivism as perceived by previously detained, arrested, convicted, and/or incarcerated adult students 18 years of age and older exiting from alternative education in Northern California. A second purpose was to explore the types of support provided by alternative schools and the perceived importance of the support to avoid recidivism according to adult students 18 years of age and older exiting from alternative education.

Methodology: This qualitative, descriptive research design identified …

The Validity Of Online Patient Ratings Of Physicians, Jennifer L. Priestley, Yiyun Zhou, Robert Mcgrath

Faculty Articles

Background: Information from ratings sites are increasingly informing patient decisions related to health care and the selection of physicians.

Objective: The current study sought to determine the validity of online patient ratings of physicians through comparison with physician peer review.

Methods: We extracted 223,715 reviews of 41,104 physicians from 10 of the largest cities in the United States, including 1142 physicians listed as “America’s Top Doctors” through physician peer review. Differences in mean online patient ratings were tested for physicians who were listed and those who were not.

Results: Overall, no differences were found between the online patient ratings based …

The Effectiveness Of Needle Exchange Programs In The United States And West Virginia, Margie J. Phillips, Alberto Coustasse, Sara Johnson, Briana Washington

Management Faculty Research

Needle Exchange Programs (NEPs) have been controversial aspects of public health care due to conflicting beliefs and opinions for public policies. NEPs have allowed Injection Drug Users the ability to exchange their used equipment for clean, unused supplies. Research into the effectiveness of needle exchange programs and the impact it has had on the reduction of HIV and viral hepatitis infections in people who inject drugs. Injection Drug Users have accounted for 10% of HIV transmission cases in West Virginia, and this state has been ranked as the highest in the whole United States for incidents of Hepatitis C. NEPs …

The Right Question For Medical Professionals, Linh Nguyen

Writing Across the Curriculum

In the book The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down, Lia suffers from continuously escalating and worsening medical conditions surrounding her epilepsy. Throughout the story, blame seemingly kept shifting between the cold and rigid doctors and the non-compliant parents of Lia. However, the real conflict that influenced Lia’s fate was the inability for two different cultures to come to an understanding and collaboration. This conflict is common in almost every health care setting in the world, even in present day. Cultural differences, however, can be overcome with the up-taking of an outlook that focuses on accepting the other …

Addressing Hydrocephaly In Viet Nam: A Plausible Prevention And Intervention Medical Support Program Proposal, Chelle Mcintyre-Brewer

UNO Student Research and Creative Activity Fair

Families affected by hydrocephalus in Viet Nam have few options for sustainable treatment for a myriad of reasons, primarily centering on barriers to care prevalent to minority, underserved, and economically disadvantaged populations. High morbidity and abandonment rates often result from these circumstances. An interdisciplinary examination of the factors contributing to causal concerns reveals unique cultural considerations, language and literacy barriers, ethnic and geographic differences, as well as economic and governmental issues greatly impacting patient outcome for this condition. The author contends that a program that addresses sociological concerns, along with the medical treatment of the patient, proffers the opportunity for …

Factors Associated With End-Of-Life Planning In Huntington Disease., Nancy R Downing, Siera Goodnight, Sena Chae, Joel S Perlmutter, Michael Mccormack, Elizabeth Hahn, Stacey K Barton, Noelle Carlozzi

Rowan-Virtua School of Osteopathic Medicine Departmental Research

OBJECTIVE: Knowledge of one's gene status for adult onset conditions provides opportunity to make advance end-of-life (EOL) plans. The purposes of these analyses were to (1) determine the prevalence of EOL plans, including advance directives (ADs) among persons across 3 stages of Huntington disease (HD) and (2) examine factors associated with having ADs in this sample.

METHODS: Data are from 503 participants in the HD Quality of Life study. Participants completed an online health-related quality-of-life survey that included questions regarding EOL planning and self-reported HD symptoms. Frequencies were calculated for EOL planning by the HD stage. Bivariate analysis and logistic …

Surgeon Volume, David L. Howard, Andrea Mcglynn, Joy A. Greer

Research Briefs

No abstract provided.

Putting The Patient Back In Patient Care: Health Decision-Making From The Patient’S Perspective, Bill R. Garris, Amy J. Weber

The Qualitative Report

This research explored health decision-making processes among people recently diagnosed with type 2 diabetes. Our analysis suggested that diagnosis with type 2 was followed by a period of intense emotional and cognitive disequilibrium. Subsequently, the informants were observed to proceed to health decision-making which was affected by three separate and interrelated factors: knowledge, self-efficacy, and purpose. Knowledge included cognitive or factual components and emotional elements. Knowledge influenced the degree of upset or disequilibrium the patient experienced, and affected a second category, agency: the informants’ confidence in their ability to enact lifestyle changes. The third factor, purpose, summarized the personal and …

Challenges Of Refugee Health Care: Perspectives Of Medical Interpreters, Case Managers, And Pharmacists, Fabiana Kotovicz, Anne Getzin, Thy Vo

Journal of Patient-Centered Research and Reviews

Purpose: Our objective was to identify perceived challenges in the provision of health care for refugees from the perspective of medical interpreters, case managers, and pharmacists working with refugee patients in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

Methods: Two 60-minute focus groups were performed exploring challenges in refugee health care using a literature-based semi-structured protocol. Focus groups were transcribed and de-identified prior to independent analysis by two of the investigators. Using a memoing-process qualitative approach, major concepts, cross-cutting themes, and subthemes were established and ultimately developed a narrative. The project protocol was approved as not human subject research by the local institutional review board. …

Needs Assessment For Creating A Patient-Centered, Community-Engaged Health Program For Homeless Pregnant Women, Tegan Ake, Sabina Diehr, Leslie Ruffalo, Emily Farias, Ashton Fitzgerald, Samuel D. Good, Lindsay B. Howard, Stefan P. Kostelyna, Linda N. Meurer

Journal of Patient-Centered Research and Reviews

Purpose: Women who experience homelessness during pregnancy have poorer birth outcomes than the general population. This exploratory research describes the needs assessment of homeless women currently living at a shelter in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, to identify unmet needs related to maternal and infant perinatal health as the first step in designing a mutually beneficial patient-centered service-learning program for medical students to address these needs.

Methods: Two 1-hour focus groups were held at a shelter for women who are homeless and/or victims of domestic violence. A total of 13 women participated in each session; four medical students and a physician served as …

Community Health, Advocacy, And Managing Populations (Champ) Longitudinal Residency Education And Evaluation, Kjersti E. Knox, Will Lehmann, Joseph Vogelgesang, Deborah Simpson

Journal of Patient-Centered Research and Reviews

Purpose: Longitudinal education initiatives designed to prepare residents to address health disparities and social determinants of health (SDH) are needed. This report addresses this gap by describing a family medicine residency’s Community Health, Advocacy, and Managing Populations (CHAMP) curriculum and its evaluation by learners, faculty, and community partners. The CHAMP longitudinal curriculum is explicitly designed to prepare residents to address health disparities and SDH. We report early outcomes, including community partner feedback, of this innovative curriculum.

Methods: Data were obtained through standardized rotation evaluations, thematic analysis of structured group and individual interviews, and aggregated competency milestone data. Kirkpatrick’s four-level model …

Effect Of A Brief Patient Communication Teaching On Both Attendee And Non-Attendee Family Medicine Residents., Dilip Nair, Adrienne Mays, Mohit Harsh

Marshall Journal of Medicine

Physician-patient communication skills are important for physicians to acquire. Teaching skills is thought to require attendance by learners but this is difficult in graduate medical education settings. We asked if an educational intervention on physician-patient communication was associated with a "spill-over" effect to non-attendees in the same family medicine residency program.

We surveyed residents regarding communicating instructions to patients before the intervention and one month later, regardless of their attendance. Residents’ assessment of their patients’ understanding increased significantly post-intervention only if non-attendees were included.

This pilot study suggests a beneficial “spill-over” effect to non-attendee residents that warrants further study.

Mirror, William Ciurylo

Akesis

No abstract provided.

Drowning & Undrowning, Jenna Wozer

Akesis

No abstract provided.

Crazy Carry Cash Only, Breanna M. Glynn

Akesis

Taken in the Back Bay of Boston on a sunny early spring morning. I wanted to remember the moment that this photo was taken. I remember I was so sick of winter (as I usually am), and it was a gorgeous sunny morning. I can still feel the sun on my back, making me almost (almost) warm enough to want to take off my fuzzy coat. The sun was shining on my partner and me as we walked hand and hand down the street. We stopped by an antique shop, as my partner is apt to do, and we happened …

Mistakes, Kristina Carlson

Akesis

And I see myself reflected in all my mistakes.

Untitled, Laura Morin

Akesis

No abstract provided.

Examine Yourself 5, Jordan Morrison-Nozik

Akesis

Reflection on the self, the career decision, the education process, and the appearance that comes with becoming a physician

Examine Yourself 4, Jordan Morrison-Nozik

Akesis

No abstract provided.

Examine Yourself 3, Jordan Morrison-Nozik

Akesis

No abstract provided.

Examine Yourself 2, Jordan Morrison-Nozik

Akesis

No abstract provided.

Examine Yourself 1, Jordan Morrison-Nozik

Akesis

No abstract provided.

Data Saturation: The Mysterious Step In Grounded Theory Method, Khaldoun M. Aldiabat, Carole-Lynne Le Navenec

The Qualitative Report

The aim of this paper is to provide a discussion that is broad in both depth and breadth, about the concept of data saturation in Grounded Theory. It is expected that this knowledge will provide a helpful resource for (a) the novice researcher using a Grounded Theory approach, or for (b) graduate students currently enrolled in a qualitative research course, and for (c) instructors who teach or supervise qualitative research projects. The following topics are discussed in this paper: (1) definition of data saturation in Grounded Theory (GT); (2) factors pertaining to data saturation; (3) factors that hinder data saturation; …

Implementation Of A Low-Cost Unna Boot Alternative As Adjunctive Treatment For Kaposi Sarcoma, Alexander Robert Mills, Edith Tonui, Sonak Pastakia, Rakhi Karwa, Phelix Were

Engagement & Service-Learning Summit

There are 6 million people living with HIV; 70% reside in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). Furthermore, 1.1 million deaths occur due to opportunistic infections (OIs) that can be minimized with antiretroviral therapy. In Kenya, Kaposi Sarcoma (KS) is an especially debilitating OI that presents with dermatologic lesions; magnifying the stigma that patients with HIV face physically and psychosocially. Dermatology research is underway to determine the effectiveness of an unna boot (medicated, layered compression dressing) to speed the healing of these lesions with anecdotal success. Commercially available unna boot products are too expensive and not readily available in SSA. Clinicians from Purdue …

The 4th International Conference Of The International Association For Music And Medicine (Iamm), Amy Clements-Cortés

Music Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Book Review: Surrogacy: A Human Rights Violation By Renate Klein, Kate Rose

Dignity: A Journal of Analysis of Exploitation and Violence

No abstract provided.

Edward Jenner’S 1798 Report Of Challenge Experiments Demonstrating The Protective Effects Of Cowpox Against Smallpox, Alfredo Morabia

Publications and Research

No abstract provided.

“When One Shingle Sends Up Smoke”: The Summit Beacon Advises Akron About The Epidemic Cholera, 1849, Elizabeth Hall

Nineteenth-Century Ohio Literature

Elizabeth Hall explains the American cholera epidemic of 1849, with special attention to how cholera afflicted Akron, a booming canal town in Northeast Ohio. The article presents the full text of 1849 Akron newspaper articles on cholera and explains how their mix of good and bad information was published right before scientific breakthroughs in cholera research.