Mental and Social Health Commons^™

Awareness & Prevention Of Health Hazards For Americans Embarking In Space Tourism, Krzysztof Zembrzuski

Rowan-Virtua Research Day

Since the beginning of spaceflight, keeping humans healthy has been a serious concern. Prior to 2021, astronauts had to undergo an elite selection process to embark in space travel. Now that commercial spaceflight is a reality, the criteria to experience space has been significantly loosened, raising health concerns to a larger and unhealthier pool of travelers. Most commercial spaceflight clients are anticipated to be middle-aged adults, which implies many will suffer from high blood pressure and heart disease, both of which are frequent ailments in this age group. Because of the massive compression the body undergoes during takeoff and return, …

Case Report And Review: Promethazine ("Purple Drank") Abuse, Riya Tandra, James Espinosa, Alan Lucerna

Rowan-Virtua Research Day

A 23 year old female was brought to the Emergency Department by EMS for confusion and aggressive behavior. The friends told EMS that the patient had been ingesting "purple drank" and that she had told her friends that she made the concoction with promethazine and opiate cough syrup with some vodka added. She mixed it in a carbonated soda. “Purple Drank” or “Lean” is a combination of codeine promethazine hydrochloride and soda or alcohol that has frequently been misused since the 1990s. This paper aims to highlight the recent resurgence of promethazine abuse occurring in the United States as well …

Caretaker Burnout In Nj In Response To The Covid-19 Pandemic: A Study Focusing On Quality Of Life, Challenges And Coping Strategies., Abdullah Junayed, Joanna Petrides

Rowan-Virtua Research Day

There is a scarcity of literature regarding caretaker burnout in response to Covid-19, however one cross section survey study in Italy explored the perceived burden of caretakers of patients with Alzheimer’s disease during the pandemic.1 Maria G. Maggio et al showed that an increase in caregiver burden allowed for a deterioration in personal health conditions causing an increase in perceived stress levels. 1 Along with impaired management of stress and low quality of life, many caretakers were found to utilize avoidance strategies.1 However, the authors pointed out that the dysfunctional coping strategies did not affect stress levels and this study …

The Correlation Between Traumatic Brain Injury And Incarceration Among Adult Males In The United States, Shadi Shams

Rowan-Virtua Research Day

The United States has one of the largest growing prison populations in the world. A large amount of social and economic resources go towards the cost and maintenance of correctional facilities each year. Additionally, the current correctional programs are insufficient in assisting inmates with getting back to society; especially those with traumatic brain injury (TBI) who often remain undiagnosed and are usually treated unfairly in the prison system instead of receiving the appropriate help. Prior scholarly work has shown that patients in the post-TBI stage are more likely to enter the judicial system. In the recent population-based cohort study, the …

Exploring Risk Factors For Major Depressive Disorder For Female Patients Aged 18 Or Older Living In Ocean County, New Jersey, James Mack

Rowan-Virtua Research Day

Background: The incidence and prevalence of major depressive disorder has been increasing worldwide, in the United States of America, and on a local level. The population of Ocean County, New Jersey, a predominantly Caucasian, female, middle-aged population, may be at increased risk of developing major depressive disorder.

Purpose: To explore the social determinants of health and risk factors for major depressive disorder for female patients aged 18 or older living in Ocean County, New Jersey.

Methods: This literature review mainly used PubMed and Scopus for journal articles and utilized governmental databases for additional population data.

Results: Analyses conducted on social …

Case Report: Abrupt Psychosis Or Nmda Receptor Encephalitis?, Alexis Dunn, Neelesh Parikh, James Espinosa, Alan Lucerna

Rowan-Virtua Research Day

We report a case of a 46-year-old female who was initially committed to a psychiatric facility for new onset schizophrenia symptoms. She later had an extensive workup in the hospital due to leukocytosis and was believed to have NMDA Receptor Encephalitis as the cause for her new behavioral symptoms. This case report aims to educate EM (emergency medicine) physicians to keep a broad differential diagnosis on patients who present with new onset, unprovoked psychosis later in life.

Case Series: Continued Remission Of Ptsd Symptoms After Discontinuation Of Prazosin, Christie Richardson, Jonathan Yuh, Jing Su, Martin Forsberg

Rowan-Virtua School of Osteopathic Medicine Departmental Research

Post-traumatic stress disorder is a debilitating chronic illness that affects 6 out of 100 adults after a severe trauma. The alpha-adrenergic antagonist prazosin, which is prescribed off-label for flashbacks and nightmares due to trauma, is often continued indefinitely due to reports of symptoms returning upon discontinuation. There is no standard guidance for a trial of discontinuation of prazosin due to intolerance or side effects. In this case series, three patients are started on prazosin leading to remission of trauma-related symptoms, and symptoms continue to remit after treatment for an average of about 2 years followed by discontinuation of the medication. …

Physician Stress In The Era Of Covid-19 Vaccine Disparity: A Multi-Institutional Survey, Sarah Zahl, Debasis Mondal, David Tolentino, Jennifer A Fischer, Sherry Jimenez

Rowan-Virtua School of Osteopathic Medicine Departmental Research

CONTEXT: Healthcare workers are at a high risk of infection during infectious disease outbreaks, such as the COVID-19 pandemic. Despite the availability of several vaccines against COVID-19, the absence of vaccination in patients and colleagues remains a continuous source of stress in healthcare workers. We conducted a survey of physician preceptors, both MDs and DOs, to explore the impact of differences in the patients' and colleagues' vaccination status on their well-being, stress, and burnout.

OBJECTIVES: The objective of this study is to determine whether exposure to unvaccinated patients and/or colleagues increases stress and burnout in physician preceptors by utilizing a …

The Mindful Athlete Program, Joanne Bullard, Sojung Kim

Rita & Larry Salva School of Nursing and Health Professions Departmental Research

According to the spring 2020 NCAA Well-Being Study, collegiate student-athletes reported experiencing mental health concerns due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. The data indicated that student-athletes were experiencing mental health concerns 150%-250% higher than historically reported (NCAA, 2020). These concerns were prevalent among all divisions. For Division III student-athletes, mental health concerns experienced during the COVID-19 pandemic included “feeling overwhelmed by all they had to do, sleep difficulties, feeling mentally exhausted, feeling very lonely, feeling a sense of loss, and feeling very lonely and sad” (NCAA, 2020). This study indicated desired resources of Division III student-athletes included elements …

Mglu5 Inhibition In The Basolateral Amygdala Prevents Estrous Cycle-Dependent Changes In Cue-Induced Cocaine Seeking, Claire M. Corbett, Emily N. D. Miller, Jessica A. Loweth

Rowan-Virtua School of Osteopathic Medicine Departmental Research

Drug associated cues are a common relapse trigger for individuals recovering from cocaine use disorder. Sex and ovarian hormones influence patterns of cocaine use and relapse vulnerability, with studies indicating that females show increased cue-induced craving and relapse vulnerability compared to males. In a rodent model of cocaine craving and relapse vulnerability, cue-induced cocaine seeking behavior following weeks of withdrawal from extended-access cocaine self-administration is higher in females in the estrus stage of the reproductive (estrous) cycle (Estrus Females) compared to both Males and females in all other stages (Non-Estrus Females). However, the neuronal substrates and cellular mechanisms underlying these …

Estimating Dementia Risk In An African American Population Using The Dctclock, Marissa Ciesla, Jeff Pobst, Joyce Gomes-Osman, Melissa Lamar, Lisa L Barnes, Russell Banks, Ali Jannati, David Libon, Rodney Swenson, Sean Tobyne, David Bates, John Showalter, Alvaro Pascual-Leone

Rowan-Virtua School of Osteopathic Medicine Departmental Research

The prevalence of Alzheimer's disease (AD) and related dementias (ADRD) is increasing. African Americans are twice as likely to develop dementia than other ethnic populations. Traditional cognitive screening solutions lack the sensitivity to independently identify individuals at risk for cognitive decline. The DCTclock is a 3-min AI-enabled adaptation of the well-established clock drawing test. The DCTclock can estimate dementia risk for both general cognitive impairment and the presence of AD pathology. Here we performed a retrospective analysis to assess the performance of the DCTclock to estimate future conversion to ADRD in African American participants from the Rush Alzheimer's Disease Research …

Successful Buprenorphine Transition While Overlapping With A Full Opioid Agonist To Treat Chronic Pain: A Case Report, Kishan V. Patel, Sidharth Sahni, Lanvin F. Taylor

Rowan-Virtua School of Osteopathic Medicine Departmental Research

Buprenorphine is a partial mu opioid agonist that has been increasingly utilized to treat patients with chronic pain and opioid use disorder (OUD). The drug has proven to provide significant chronic pain relief at low doses ranging from 75 to 1800 mcg. The conventional buprenorphine transitional process delays its introduction until patients begin withdrawal. However, this process can pose a barrier to both patients and providers due to some patients' inability to tolerate traditional prerequisite withdrawal. To our knowledge, this is a rare reported case to describe a transitional process utilizing buccal buprenorphine in which a patient with chronic pain …

A Qualitative Exploration Of Social Support In Males And Females Experiencing Issues With Infertility., Maya Pinzon, Shawna Rotoli

Rowan-Virtua School of Osteopathic Medicine Departmental Research

INTRODUCTION: The purpose of this study was to qualitatively investigate and compare male and female experiences of infertility in the context of social support.

METHODS: A Qualtrics survey (Qualtrics, Provo, Utah, United States) was posted to online fertility support groups and the responses were thematically analyzed. Only participants that completed the qualitative component of the survey were included in the study. Responses were subsequently thematically analyzed.

RESULTS: A sample of 110 participants (13 males and 97 females) were included in the present study. Thematic analyses revealed that isolation and loneliness, stigma, sentiments of misunderstanding, insensitive reactions, and others' unhelpful attempts …

Possible Gender Differences In The Level Of Perceived Social Support In Couples Who Are Experiencing Issues With Infertility., Maya Pinzon, Shawna Rotoli

Rowan-Virtua School of Osteopathic Medicine Departmental Research

Objective The purpose of this study is to examine whether there are gender differences in the level of perceived social support in couples experiencing issues with fertility. Methods A total of 938 participants aged 18-47 years, with self-reported issues of infertility, were evaluated using the Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support (MSPSS) which comprises three subscales which correspond with distinct sources of social support: significant other (SO), family, and friends. Differences between sexes for total score and for all subscale scores were subsequently analyzed using SPSS Statistics (IBM Corp, Armonk, USA). Results Mean total scores and scores on all subscales …

Prazosin Dosed 3 Times A Day To Treat Flashbacks Related To Ptsd: A Case Report, Christie Richardson, Alexander Swartz, Martin Forsberg

Rowan-Virtua School of Osteopathic Medicine Departmental Research

Prazosin is an alpha-1 adrenergic receptor antagonist widely known by mental health providers for its off-label use for nightmares in patients with PTSD. Prazosin is lipophilic and crosses the blood-brain barrier to antagonize alpha-1 receptors in the central nervous system, potentially reducing autonomic arousal caused by PTSD. There have been numerous case reports describing the reduction of nightmares and daytime flashbacks due to PTSD with prazosin dosed at night and during the day, respectively. This case report illustrates the resolution of flashbacks related to chronic PTSD with prazosin dosed 3 times a day. As the half-life of prazosin is only …

Phq-2 Scores In Broward County’S Homeless: Prevalence, Barriers, And Proposed Solutions To Mental Health Disparities, Jeena A. Kar, Reeja Raj, Ariba Hashmi, Tahia Hossain, Joshua Berko, Joseph S. Degaetano, Patrick Hardigan

Cooper Rowan Medical Journal

Introduction: Florida ranks 9th in states with highest prevalence of mental illness among homeless individuals. The state also ranks 43rd of 52 states in providing adequate access for mental health concerns in homeless individuals. This study surveyed people experiencing homelessness in Broward County to investigate utilization of healthcare and mental health resources and accessibility of the target population to adequate care.. Aims included a collection of demographics concerning homelessness such as age and gender, prevalence of mental illness, history of substance use and emergency department, and then correlating these with scores from a standardized depression rating scale (PHQ-2). Methods: The …

Investigation Of Emergency Department Visits And Hospitalization Rates Of Child Physical Abuse At Cooper University Hospital Prior To And During The Covid-19 Pandemic, Afeerah Ahmad, Rachel Silliman Cohen, Laura Brennan

Rowan-Virtua Research Day

The COVID-19 pandemic has been detrimental for children. Many families have experienced stressors, including unemployment, financial hardship, and familial illness. These factors all pose increased risk for child physical abuse. Limitations in child welfare services affected investigations and provision of services to high-risk families. The extent to which the rates of physical abuse in NJ have been affected is unknown. We sought to answer the question of whether the COVID-19 pandemic affected the severity of physical abuse and the incidence of physical abuse presenting to Cooper University Hospital.

We hypothesized that there would be a higher proportion of severe child …

Lead Poisoning, Education, And Advocacy For Prevention (L.E.A.P.) Study, Stephen Acheampong, Britney Aderinto, Zander Turcich, Ali Harb

Rowan-Virtua Research Day

Lead poisoning has been regarded as a major threat due to its irreversible and harmful effects. This includes severe cognitive and developmental impairments, especially in children.

Over the years, the CDC has reduced the benchmark for acceptable blood lead levels (BLL) from 10 μg/ml to 3.5 μg/ml to allow for earlier intervention and prevention.

Despite increased awareness and government programs that lead to a decline in mean blood levels across the country, testing for elevated BLLs, especially in low-income households, continues to be disproportionately lower.

Neuronal Activity Within The Ventral Tegmental Area Is Correlated With Cocaine-Seeking Behavior In Male, But Not Female, Rats, Colton D. Spencer, Nicole M. Hinds, Ireneusz D. Wojtas, Desta M. Pulley, Daniel Manvich

Rowan-Virtua Research Day

The objective of this study was to begin to determine the neurobiological underpinnings of psychosocial stress-induced cocaine seeking. Social defeat stress, achieved using the well-established resident-intruder procedure, is an ecologically-valid psychosocial stressor in rodents that may more closely recapitulate those psychosocial experiences that elicit cocaine craving and relapse in human cocaine users. Our laboratory has developed a model of psychosocial stress-induced relapse in rats in which extinguished cocaine seeking is reinstated by re-exposure to a discrete cue that signals impending social defeat stress. We previously reported that an individual rat’s predilection towards the display of active coping behaviors during prior …

Family-Centered Training And Therapy As Substance Abuse Intervention In Adolescents, Ryan St. John, Cam'ron Klotz, Muskaan Bibi, Archana Salek

Rowan-Virtua Research Day

We hypothesized that providing mental health resources for adolescents and educating their parents and families would decrease the prevalence of substance abuse in the Camden, NJ community given that overdose death had risen 138% from 2014-2018. Educating parents and families on the importance of adolescents dealing with mental disorders may help evaluate the mental stability of their child and prevent them from turning to illicit substance to cope. Increasing the communication and the availability of resources for adolescents to turn to before resorting to illicit substances can have beneficial effects.

Telemedicine And Adhd Management In Pediatric Patients In Southern New Jersey: A Retrospective Chart Review, Ami S. Patel, Alison Mancuso

Rowan-Virtua Research Day

Objectives:

• Investigate whether there is a relationship between use of telemedicine and improvement of symptoms of pediatric patients with ADHD
• To see if further study can be done on the use of telemedicine in treating pediatric ADHD patients

The Effect Of Covid-19 On Postpartum Depression Rates In Nj, Kyra Herman

Rowan-Virtua Research Day

• Postpartum Depression (PPD) is defined as depressive symptoms that last >2 weeks after delivery and that interfere with activities of daily living
• Pre-Covid: 13% of women nationwide experienced postpartum depressive symptoms with an estimated 50% of these women not being treated
• Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS) is the standard survey administered in postpartum period.
• Retrospective chart review of 186 patients
• The pre-Covid timeframe was defined as July 2019 to January 2020 and the intra-Covid timeframe was defined as July 2020 to January 2021.
• While it was hypothesized that the Covid-19 pandemic would cause the risk of PPD to increase, as …

Understanding The State Of Lgbtqia+ Healthcare And Support In Camden County, Sayan Basu, Sana Farhat, Cindy Capps, Ali Harb

Rowan-Virtua Research Day

4.5% of American adults identify as lesbian, gay, or bisexual and about 1.4 million adults identify as transgender.

This demographic is impacted by many social determinants of health and health disparities, particularly for transgender patients.

33% of LGBTQIA+ patients ranging from a pool of 28,000 surveyed patients have had a negative experience with their health providers, and 8% of them had to educate their physicians about their needs due to physicians’ lack of knowledge about this demographic.

Research suggests that there is a reluctance to access mental health services in the LGBTQIA+ community due to homophobia,, difficulties disclosing sexual and …

Treating Trichotillomania With Olanzapine, Christopher Lee

Rowan-Virtua Research Day

Trichotillomania (TTM) is characterized by repetitive pulling of one’s hair leading to hair loss and problems in social, occupational, or other important areas of functioning. Often individuals with TTM try to decrease or stop hair pulling, however are often unsuccessful without treatment. Community prevalence studies suggest that TTM is a common disorder with point prevalence estimate of 0.5% to 2.0% and with significant psychological comorbidity. Of note, people with TTM are often embarrassed about their condition, so epidemiology data may be underestimated compared to the true prevalence of this condition. The female to male ratio for this condition is 4:1. …

An Interesting Case Of Factitious Disorder Superimposed On Self: Factitious Disorder Vs Somatic Symptom Disorder, Michaela Margolis, Logan Noone, Jessica Baaklini

Rowan-Virtua Research Day

Factitious disorder superimposed on self (FDIS) was first described in 1951by Richard Asher, who associated the disorder with Baron Munchhausen, who narrated unrealistic and exaggerated stories about his life.

Suspicion for FDIS should be raised when patients with atypical presentations of medical disorders seek excessive use of healthcare services despite ongoing lack of clinical evidence. Patients with FDIS often demand hospitalization for their symptoms, leading to unnecessary tests and treatments. These patients show signs of pathological lying, deceitfulness, are obstinate with medical staff, and display erratic behavior. When medical investigation does not support their symptoms, patients often develop new “symptoms” …

The Need For Depression And Anxiety Screenings At A Student-Run Clinic, Shayna Peterzell, Sahil Parikh, Alicia Podwojniak, Vibha Chauhan, Riya Tandra, Emily Forester, Saumil Parikh, Jessica-Sophie Horoschak, Patrick Pearce, Roma Padalkar, Sobiah Khan, Tara Pellegrino

Rowan-Virtua Research Day

General anxiety and major depressive disorder are common and treatable mental health disorders. The US Preventive Services Task Force provides strong evidence that early screening helps identify depression in primary care settings, promotes intervention and facilitates treatment. Many medical offices use validated screening tools, GAD-7 and PHQ-9, to measure symptom severities and further help guide treatment modalities for patients with anxiety and depression, respectively. The Rowan Community Health Clinic (RCHC) in Lindenwold, NJ is a student-run free clinic that serves patients regardless of patient gender, race, income, or insurance status. This study aims to determine if there is a need …

Preferences For Support Resources Among Loved Ones Of Adults Prescribed Opioid Medications, Mansi Patel, Desta M. Pulley, Daniel Manvich

Rowan-Virtua Research Day

The opioid epidemic continues to be a leading cause of overdose and related deaths in America. While most interventions are focused on the individuals with opioid and substance use disorder (OUD/SUD); the impact caregivers and family can have on the treatment of patients with OUD is non-existent. The purpose of this study is to collect pilot data on peers, friends, and family members of patients with SUD/OUD to understand the barriers in psychosocial support and maintaining treatment retention; barriers to accessing medication assisted therapy (MAT) and naloxone; and caregiver fatigue and barriers for caregivers. The collected data will be used …

Seizure To Drug Induced Schizophrenia: A Rare Case Of Keppra-Induced Psychosis, Shadi Shams, Riddhima Issar, Nardin El-Shammaa, Munaza Khan

Rowan-Virtua Research Day

Levetiracetam is a broad-spectrum antiseizure medication and is approved as adjunctive therapy to treat focal-onset seizures in children and adults with epilepsy. Levetiracetam has a wide margin of safety and patient-friendly pharmacokinetics that distinguish it from other currently available antiepileptic drugs.

Most common side effects are fatigue, somnolence, dizziness, and upper respiratory infection. Neuropsychiatric symptoms are reported. Psychotic symptoms, paranoid ideation, hallucinations, and behavioral problems may occur in adult and pediatric patients. Among all adverse effects, the rate of psychosis is very low and ranges from less than 1% to 1.4%. A retrospective study showed that this rate is higher …

A Systematic Review Of The Barriers Of Opioid Addiction Treatment For Young Adult Males (Ages 18-26) Living In Low Income Areas In The United States Of America, Atish Gandhi, Asim Shafique, Jillian Baker

Rowan-Virtua Research Day

NOTE: This is a broad literature review, not a systematic review.

This systematic review aims to analyze the reasons behind reduced access to opioid addiction treatment for individuals of low socioeconomic standing. Understanding these barriers may allow communities to build a more comprehensive plan to lower addiction rates. In addition, this review will be examining further developments of theopioid crisis due to the recent COVID-19 pandemic. The literature search used publications from the following databases: PubMed, Google Scholar, and NCBI. The keywords searched were “opioid addiction”, “substance abuse”, “low-income area”, “barriers to treatment”, “young male addiction”, “opioid treatment”, “Narcan”. There …

Effect Of Covid On Postpartum Depression (Ppd), Reshma Thomas, Karen Krieg, Joanna Petrides

Rowan-Virtua Research Day

Purpose:

1. To determine if the rates of postpartum depression have changed during COVID
2. To identify differences in characteristics of women with postpartum depression during COVID