Mental and Social Health Commons^™

Subsidized Housing, Public Housing, And Adolescent Violence And Substance Use, Tamara Leech

Department of Public Health Scholarship and Creative Works

This study examines the separate relationships of public housing residents and subsidized housing residence to adolescent health risk behavior. Data included 2,530 adolescents aged 14 to 19 who were children of the National the Longitudinal Study of Youth. The author uses stratified propensity methods to compare the behaviors of each group—subsidized housing residents and public housing residents—to a matched control group of teens receiving no housing assistance. The results reveal no significant relationship between public housing residence and violence, heavy alcohol/marijuana use, or other drug use. However, subsidized housing residents have significantly lower rates of violence and hard drug use, …

Lessons From The Trenches: Meeting Evaluation Challenges In School Health Education, Michael Young, George Denny, Joseph Donnelly

Department of Public Health Scholarship and Creative Works

BACKGROUND: Those involved in school health education programs generally believe that health education programs can play an important role in helping young people make positive health decisions. Thus, it is to document the effects of such programs through rigorous evaluations published in peer‐reviewed journals.

METHODS: This paper helps the reader understand the context of school health program evaluation, examines several problems and challenges, shows how problems can often be fixed, or prevented, and demonstrates ways in which challenges can be met. A number of topics are addressed, including distinguishing between curricula evaluation and evaluation of outcomes, types of evaluation, identifying …

The 2002 Bali Bomb: Models Of Sustainable Philanthropy, Lauren Livingston

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Within the first few weeks in Bedulu, I read an ISP written in 1990 concerning mental health facilities in Bali. It was by far one of the most engaging and provocative ISPs I was introduced to; however, giving today’s security precautions and my lack of background in psychology, I easily dismissed it as a possible project. Yet, as ISP time lurched closer, I still had not found an idea that equally excited me. I talked with Bu Ari, and she encouraged me to talk to Ibu Luh Ketut Suryani, the leading psychologist in Indonesia and founder of the Suryani Institute …

Living With Autism In Vietnam, Libie Motchan

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

This paper examines the many implications of living with Autism in Vietnam on both affected children and their families. The lack of information, statistics and awareness of autism in Vietnam is reflected in the limited treatment resources available. This study calls attention upon what problems parents are most affected by what they feel needs to change. It also looks at the current sentiment and understanding of autism and its perceived causes. The results of this paper come from background research, observation at clinics and special education facilities, interviews with professionals in the fields of psychology and education, interviews with parents …

Using Photovoice In Pete Programs To Initiate Positive Change, Gavin T. Colquitt, Jody Langdon, Tony A. Pritchard, Starla Mccollum

Community Health Faculty Presentations

The purpose of this presentation will be to provide teacher educators with an overview of the Photovoice methodology and its potential utility in curricular change. The National Association for Sport and Physical Education’s ([NASPE], 2008) PETE standards state educators should allow diversity to drive instructional related decision-making. Photovoice, a participatory action research methodology, is a tool teacher educators can use to be responsive to the continuously changing contexts of public schools.

Social Support As A Determinant Of Health Related Quality Of Life In Breast Cancer Survivors In California, Faiza Rab

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Objective:

To evaluate the relationship between perceived social support and HRQOL (physical and emotional) in low SES breast cancer survivors.

Methods:

A cross-sectional study design was used to measure perceived social support at 18 months and HRQOL at 3 years after breast cancer diagnosis using MOS SS and MOS SF-36, respectively. Multiple regression analyses were used to evaluate the relationship.

Results:

Menopause at the time of diagnosis, adjunct chemotherapy, adjunct radiation therapy, co-morbidities, treatment side effects and depression were negatively associated with PCS scores (p < 0.01). Treatment side effects, anxiety and depression were negatively associated with MCS scores (p < 0.01).

Conclusions:

Perceived social support was not associated with HRQOL in low SES breast cancer survivors …

Help-Negation For Suicidal Thoughts In Sub-Clinical Samples Of Young People, Coralie Joy Wilson

Coralie J Wilson

Across the popular and academic literature, it is widely recognised that young people with persistent suicidal thoughts are at high risk for suicide completion. It is also accepted that seeking and receiving appropriate help offers protection against the development of acute forms of suicidality, along with suicide completion. Yet, as promising as appropriate help-seeking appears for suicide prevention, a growing number of studies suggest that suicidal ideation itself may impede the help-seeking process. There is evidence that acutely suicidal samples will negate or avoid available help, and there are indications that the help-negation process may occur in samples before levels …

Multiple Peer Group Self-Identification And Adolescent Tobacco Use, C. Anderson Johnson, Juliana L. Fuqua, Peggy E. Gallaher, Jennifer B. Unger, Dennis R. Trinidad, Steve Sussman, Enrique Ortega

CGU Faculty Publications and Research

Associations between peer group self-identification and smoking were examined among 2,698 ethnically diverse middle school students in Los Angeles who self-identified with groups such as Rockers, Skaters, and Gamers. The sample was 47.1% male, 54.7% Latino, 25.4% Asian, 10.8% White, 9.1% Other ethnicity, and 59.3% children of immigrant parents. Multiple group self identification was common: 84% identified with two or more groups and 65% identified with three or more groups. Logistic regression analyses indicated that as students endorsed more high risk groups, the greater their risk of tobacco use. A classification tree analysis identified risk groups based on interactions among …

Motivating Men Who Have Sex With Men To Get Tested For Hiv, Magaly M. Blas, Luis A. Menacho, Isaac E. Alva, E. Roberto Orellana

School of Social Work Faculty Publications and Presentations

Although men who have sex with men (MSM) have the highest HIV prevalence in Peru, they are underserved by traditional preventive programs. Interestingly, in Peru the Internet and cell-phones have emerged as a convenient tool to reach this population.

Physical Activity Among Latino Children In London, Ontario: An Assessment Of Physical Activity Levels, Sedentary Behaviours, And Physical Activity-Related Barriers And Facilitators, Gillian E. Mandich

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

The purpose of the study was to assess the physical activity (PA) levels, sedentary behaviours, and PA-related barriers and facilitators of a sample of Latino children in London, Canada. Forty boys and 34 girls (mean age = 11.4 years) completed questionnaires related to PA levels, sedentary behaviours, and PA-related barriers and facilitators, and 64 of these children wore an accelerometer for 4 consecutive days. Children spent an average of 53 minutes per day in moderate-to-vigorous PA. The average daily sedentary time for participants was 8.6 hours, and subjective measures revealed that participants spent 3.8 hours per day in front of …

Increasing Physical Activity In Inner City Youth Using Novel Interactive Gaming, Sd De Ferranti, Sk Steltz, Scott Crouter, A Kim, Sk Osganian, Jessica Whiteley, H Feldman, Laura L. Hayman, Gokids Boston, University Of Massachusetts Boston

Office of Community Partnerships Posters

The aim of this project was to assess the feasibility of participation in an afterschool physical activity program incorporating novel exercise technologies on changing physical activity level and physical fitness, compared to a nutrition education intervention alone. A second objective was to assess whether this type of intervention could modify cardiovascular risk factors and anthropometrics.

“The Invisible Disability:” Perceptions And Potential Of Children With Autism In Kisumu, Kenya, Talia Cohen

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Awareness and prevalence of autism around the world is on the rise; however, much remains unknown about this developmental disability. This study is a survey of perceptions of individuals with autism in Kisumu and the services available to facilitate their development. Two areas of interest arose during this study. First, many children do not receive intervention services until a very late age, seriously hindering the success of the intervention. Many special schools do not accept children until they are well into vital stages of development, and the Educational Assessment and Resource Center (EARC) lacks the personal and funding to provide …

Integrating Viral Hepatitis Screening And Prevention Services Into An Urban Chemical Dependency Treatment Facility For American Indians And Alaska Natives, Shelly Huffman, Rachel Brucker, John T. Redd, Maile Taualii, Cecile M. Town, Mei L. Castor, Crystal C. Tetrick, Ralph Forquera, Joanna Buffington

Journal of Health Disparities Research and Practice

American Indian/Alaska Natives (AI/AN) patients at an urban residential chemical dependency treatment center participated in a viral hepatitis prevention project. Project activities integrated into patients’ treatment programs included viral hepatitis and human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) risk factor screening, education and counseling, laboratory testing, and hepatitis A and B vaccination. Of 928 AI/AN admissions, 585 (63%) completed risk factor screening assessment. Of these, 436 (75%) received at least one vaccination, viral hepatitis testing, or both. Of 322 patients tested, 91 (28%) were hepatitis C virus (HCV) antibody positive. Lack of pre-existing immunity to vaccine-preventable viral hepatitis infection was common: 132 (45%) …

Bungy Jump Into The Unknown - Women Escaping Domestic Violence, Megan Levy

Megan Levy

What happens to those women coming out of a women’s refuge? Can they live away from Domestic Violence? Do they have parenting skills? To answer these questions a case study methodology combined with theories from Humanistic, Social and Community Psychology was implemented to analyse the contents of the meetings held by the refuge’s Self-Help Group,. This group consisted of 11 women, ages 29 to 48 yo: Five of them still in domestic violence; and the rest escaping DV: two, in the refuge, and four who had left 12 to 36 months ago. The first finding: When a woman is still …

Blunting The Legacy Of Alcohol Abuse In Western Australia, Tony Kirby

Aboriginal Policy Research Consortium International (APRCi)

No abstract provided.

Formative Research On Hpv Vaccine Acceptability With Latina Farmworkers, John S. Luque, Heide Castañeda, Dinorah Martinez Tyson, Natalia Vargas, Meade

Community Health Faculty Publications

The purpose of this study was to identify the barriers and benefits to human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccination in a low-income, Latina farmworker population in central Florida. This study reports on formative qualitative research conducted on perceptions of benefits, barriers, costs, place, and promotion related to the HPV vaccine from surveys and interviews with a sample of 46 low-income, Latina farm workers and 19 health care workers serving this population. It was found that Latina farmworkers hold many misperceptions about the HPV vaccine and the potential links between HPV infection and cervical cancer. In addition, it was observed that HPV vaccination …

How And When Health-Care Practitioners In Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Services Deliver Alcohol Screening And Brief Intervention, And Why They Don’T: A Qualitative Study, Anton Clifford, Anthony Shakeshaft, Catherine Deans

Aboriginal Policy Research Consortium International (APRCi)

Introduction. Indigenous Australians experience a disproportionately high burden of alcohol-related harm.Alcohol screening and brief intervention (SBI) offers the potential to reduce this harm if barriers to its delivery in Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Services (ACCHSs) can be optimally targeted. Aims. Examine health-care practitioners’ perceptions of, and practices in, alcohol SBI in ACCHSs. Methods. Semi-structured group interviews with 37 purposively selected health staff across five ACCHSs. Results. Alcohol screening independent of standard health assessments was generally selective.The provision of brief intervention was dependent upon factors related to the patient. Four key factors underlying health-care practitioners’ perceptions of alcohol SBI were prominent: …

The Clinical Gaze In The Practice Of Migrant Health: Indigenous Mexican Migrants In The United States, Seth M. Holmes Phd, Md

Seth M. Holmes PhD, MD

This paper utilizes eighteen months of ethnographic and interview research undertaken in 2003 and 2004 as well as follow-up fieldwork from 2005 to 2007 to explore the sociocultural factors affecting the interactions and barriers between U.S. biomedical professionals and their unauthorized Mexican migrant patients. The participants include unauthorized indigenous Triqui migrants along a transnational circuit from the mountains of Oaxaca, Mexico, to central California, to northwest Washington State and the physicians and nurses staffing the clinics serving Triqui people in these locations. The data show that social and economic structures in health care and subtle cultural factors in biomedicine keep …

Explaining And Improving Breast Cancer Information Acquisition Among African-American Women In The Deep South, Charkarra Anderson-Lewis, Levi Ross, Jarrett Johnson, Janice Hastrup, Lee Green, Connie L. Kohler

Levi Ross

Objectives: A major challenge facing contemporary cancer educators is how to optimize the dissemination of breast cancer prevention and control information to African American women in the Deep South who are believed to be cancer free. The purpose of this research was to provide insight into the breast cancer information-acquisition experiences of African American women in Alabama and Mississippi and to make recommendations on ways to better reach members of this high-risk, underserved population.

Methods: Focus group methodology was used in a repeated, cross-sectional research design with 64 African American women, 35 years old or older who lived …

Replication Of The Community Mobilization For Postabortion Care (Commpac) Model In Naivasha District, Rift Valley Province, Kenya: An Evaluation Report, Chi-Chi Undie, Francis Obare, Saumya Ramarao

Reproductive Health

The Population Council’s RESPOND project worked with districts and communities in Kenya to: strengthen service delivery points to provide postabortion care (PAC) services; conduct community mobilization to improve involvement in and knowledge of the prevention and treatment of postabortion complications; build community capacity to address needs related to PAC; and encourage involvement in community action of those most marginalized and most affected by postabortion complications. The program succeeded at increasing knowledge of critical danger signs; enabling providers to effectively offer PAC services; and raising awareness of PAC, among other goals. The intervention was less successful in increasing FP knowledge, current …

Culture Ontogeny: Lifespan Development Of Religion And The Ethics Of Spiritual Counselling, Glen Milstein, Amy Manierre

Publications and Research

The counsellor has an ethical obligation to treat the whole person. Humans are cultural beings and the foundation of most cultures is religion. Religion and culture are received from our early relation~ ships and modified through later relationships across the lifespan. The paper introduces the term "culture ontogeny" to emphasize that this is a biological process wherein abstract ideas of culture and religion become material in the developing neurophysiology of each brain. A framework and methods are offered to examine the changing roles of religion in clients' emotional self~ structure, inclusive of those who describe themselves as spiritual, not religious. …

Coping As A Mediator Between Proximity To Violence In Juarez, And Ptsd Symptoms Among College Students Attending A University On The Texas - Mexico Border, Francis Javier Reyes

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

The present study directly examined whether proximity to ongoing violence might lead to symptoms of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) in a sample of students attending a border university less than a mile from the US Mexico border. Exposure to violence is a common cause of PTSD symptomology. Prior research in the region suggests that ongoing traumatic stress due to the violence in Juarez is associated with increased PTSD symptomology. Because coping skills are thought to protect individuals from PTSD the Transactional Model of Stress and Coping (Lazarus & Folkman, 1984) guided the study. The purpose of this study was to …

Introduction Of Emergency Contraceptive Pills (Ecps) Through Lady Health Workers (Lhws) Program In Pakistan: Findings Of An Evaluation Study, Arshad Mahmood, Yasir Bin Nisar

Reproductive Health

This report documents the findings from a five-day study tour of Pakistani officials to Bangladesh, organized by the Population Council, to afford an opportunity for representatives of both the Ministry of Health and Population Welfare to learn from the experience of Bangladesh in introducing emergency contraceptive pills (ECPs) through their National Public Health System. One of the recommendations was to enhance the availability of emergency contraception in Pakistan by making it available through outlets of the health system, especially through the network of the community-based Lady Health Workers (LHWs). There is a high unmet need for ECP in LHW areas, …

Critical Issues For Integrating Srh And Hiv/Aids Services To Provide Dual Protection Against Unintended Pregnancy And Hiv/Sti Acquisition, Population Council

Reproductive Health

This document reports on a one-day symposium that was held by the STEP UP (Strengthening Evidence for Programming on Unintended Pregnancy) Research Program Consortium, coordinated by the Population Council. STEP UP generates policy-relevant research to promote an evidence-based approach for improving access to family planning and safe abortion in Bangladesh, Ghana, India, Kenya, and Senegal. The symposium’s objectives were to review and discuss critical and emerging issues around integrating SRH and HIV and AIDS services to enable dual protection, including new directions in dual protection technology and behaviour change interventions. The meeting also provided an opportunity to discuss the programmatic …

Formative Research On Perceptions Of Biobanking: What Community Members Think, John S. Luque, Gwendolyn P. Quinn, Francisco A. Montel-Ishino, Mariana Arevalo, Shalanda A. Bynum, Shalewa Noel-Thomas, Kristen J. Wells, Clement K. Gwede, Cathy D. Meade, Tampa Bay Community Cancer Network Partners

Community Health Faculty Publications

Preparing healthy community members with timely communications prior to engaging them in a request to donate biospecimens promises to improve the experience of biobanking participation. To this end, a qualitative study was conducted to assess community member knowledge, attitudes, beliefs, and informational needs about cancer-related biospecimen collection in a large metropolitan area in southwest Florida. The study utilized purposive sampling techniques to recruit a total of 95 participants to participate in 12 focus groups, segmented by race/ethnicity and language preference (mixed race, African American only, and Spanish speaking) and age (18–29, 30–54, and 55 and older). Focus group interviews were …

Creating A Patient Navigation Model To Address Cervical Cancer Disparities In A Rural Hispanic Farmworker Community, Kristen Wells, Maria Rivera, Sara Proctor, Gloria Arroyo, Shalanda A. Bynum, Gwendolyn Quinn, John S. Luque, Marlene Rivera, Dinorah Martinez-Tyson, Cathy Meade

Community Health Faculty Publications

This report describes the implementation of a pilot patient navigation (PN) program created to address cervical cancer disparities in a predominantly Hispanic agricultural community. Since November 2009, a patient navigator has provided services to patients of Catholic Mobile Medical Services (CMMS). The PN program has resulted in the need for additional clinic sessions to accommodate the demand for preventive care at CMMS.

Refinement Of An Educational Toolkit To Promote Cervical Cancer Screening Among Hispanic Farmworker Women In Southeast Georgia, Lisa C. Watson-Johnson, Jigar Bhagatwala, Claudia Reyes-Garcia, Andrea Hinojosa, Mondi Mason, Cathy Meade, John S. Luque

Community Health Faculty Publications

Cervical cancer incidence and mortality continue to affect Hispanic women in the U.S. disproportionately. Our project sought to refine a cervical cancer intervention designed for use by community health workers, or promotoras, in rural southern Georgia. We collaborated with Hispanicpromotoras to refine a Spanish language educational flipchart featuring cervical cancer topic areas for use in screening promotion.

Ethics Of Clear Health Communication: Applying The Clean Look Approach To Communicate Biobanking Information For Cancer Research, Alexis Koskan, Mariana Arevalo, Gwen Quinn, Shalwea Noel-Thomas, John S. Luque, Kristen Wells, Cathy Meade, Clement K. Gwede

Community Health Faculty Publications

Cancer innovations, such as biobanking technologies, are continuously evolving to improve our understanding and knowledge about cancer prevention and treatment modalities. However, the public receives little communication about biobanking and is often unaware about this innovation until asked to donate biospecimens. It is the researchers’ ethical duty to provide clear communications about biobanking and biospecimen research. Such information allows the public to understand biobanking processes and facilitates informed decision making about biospecimen donation. The aims of this paper are 1) to examine the importance of clear communication as an ethical imperative when conveying information about cancer innovations and 2) to …

Brief Report: Need For Autonomy And Other Perceived Barriers Relating To Adolescents’ Intentions To Seek Professional Mental Health Care., Coralie J. Wilson, Frank P. Deane

Coralie J Wilson

The current study examined the relationship between belief-based barriers to seeking professional mental health care and help-seeking intentions in a sample of 1037 adolescents. From early adolescence to adulthood, for males and females, the need for autonomy was a strong barrier to seeking professional mental health care. Help-seeking fears were weaker in the older age groups. Having lower perceived need for autonomy and believing that prior mental health care was helpful was significantly associated with higher intentions to seek future professional mental health care. Implications for prevention and overcoming barriers to seeking mental health care are suggested.

Are Podcasts Effective At Educating African American Men About Diabetes, Jarrett Johnson, Levi Ross, Walter Iwanenko, Judith Schiffert, Arup Sen

Levi Ross

Education is a critical component of the National Blueprint to eliminate racial disparities in diabetes. Research indicates that traditional methods of diabetes education has had limited effectiveness with minority populations and suggests that different educational approaches be explored. The purpose of the research was to explore the effectiveness of an emergent technology (podcast) for use in educating inner-city, African American men about diabetes prevention. Thirty African American men participated in self-administered, pretest-posttest surveys in August 2009. Surveys collected information on demographic characteristics, perceptions of diabetes, and diabetes knowledge. Paired samples t test was computed to evaluate pretest-posttest changes in overall …