Community Health Commons^™

An Appraisal Of Experiences Of Climate Change And Adaptive Response To Heat Stress By Farmers In Rural Ghana, Kwasi Frimpong

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

With the increase in average global temperatures, heat-related illnesses and deaths have unfolded as occupational and health issues. Periods of high to extreme temperatures are becoming more common and are a leading cause of weather-related deaths in many countries. In agricultural settings of African countries, heat stress is a major concern as many smallholder farmers work outdoors with limited access to cooling systems even in their resting and living environments. This study, conducted in the Bawku East part of Northern-East Ghana in 2013, examines, in the context of climate change, the trends and impacts of heat stress on smallholder farmers, …

Ancillary Challenges Within The Health System: Exploring Connections Between Low-Income Populations In Missoula, Montana And Khayelitsha, South Africa, Rachael Schmoker

Undergraduate Theses, Professional Papers, and Capstone Artifacts

Abstract

Schmoker, Rachael, BS, May 2015 Community Health

Ancillary Challenges Within The Health System

Faculty Mentor: Peter Koehn, Political Science.

This paper outlines the research conducted and the project implementation for the Davidson Honors College Senior Thesis in a joint project with the Global Leadership Initiative Senior Capstone. This project describes the ancillary challenges of healthcare in Missoula, Montana and Khayelitsha, South Africa. Under the Montana branch of this project it is called the UM Volunteers for Global Health Access (UMVGHA). Within Missoula we are associated with Partnership Health Center; a health clinic that caters to the low-income population of …

Inequalities And Approximations Of Weighted Distributions By Lindley Reliability Measures, And The Lindley-Cox Model With Applications, Broderick O. Oluyede, Macaulay Okwuokenye, Karl E. Peace

Biostatistics: Faculty Publications

In this note, stochastic comparisons and results for weighted and Lindley models are presented. Approximation of weighted distributions via Lindley distribution in the class of increasing failure rate (IFR) and decreasing failure rate (DFR) weighted distributions with monotone weight functions are obtained including approximations via the length-biased Lindley distribution. Some useful bounds and moment-type inequality for weighted life distributions and applications are presented. Incorporation of covariates into Lindley model is considered and an application to illustrate the usefulness and applicability of the proposed Lindley-Cox model is given.

How Long Does That 10-Year Smoke Alarm Really Last? A Survival Analysis Of Smoke Alarms Installed Through The Saife Program In Rural Georgia, Haresh Rochani, Valamar Malika Reagon, Steve Davidson

Biostatistics: Faculty Publications

Background: When functioning properly, a smoke alarm alerts individuals in the residence that smoke is near the alarm. Smoke alarms serve as a primary prevention mechanism to abate morbidity and mortality related to residential fires.

Methods: Using survival analysis, we examined the length of operability of 10-year lithium battery powered smoke alarms installed through the Georgia Public Health/CDC SAIFE program in Moultrie, Georgia. Attempts were made to reach all homes in the city limits. The premise of the study is that geographic clusters (in the case of Moultrie city quadrants) are associated with decreases in the length of time that …

Improving Depression Care For Older Home Health Patients, Sarah R. Schirmer

DNP Projects

Rates of depression in older home healthcare (HH) patients are highly prevalent. Although depression in this population is associated with increased rates of re-hospitalization, falls, and suicides, it is frequently under diagnosed and under treated. This Capstone Report examined this problem through three interrelated manuscripts. The first manuscript explored the problem through a review of the literature. This review determined that while there are many barriers to adequate depression care, programs that train clinicians to screen for depression and connect patients to depression care encourage adequate evaluation and treatment and can result in clinically significant changes in depression scores. This …

Hiv Infrastructure Study Jackson, Mississippi, Susan S. Reif, Elena Wilson, Carolyn Mcallaster, Miriam Berger

Faculty Scholarship

No abstract provided.

From Paper To Practice: Implementation Of Best Practices And Partnerships In Community-Based Settings, Lorraine Francisco, Melva Thompson-Robinson

McNair Poster Presentations

The purpose of this study is to examine the results of using recommended best practices and collaborative partnerships when working with communities as an outsider. The researcher worked at the University of Michigan Health System (UMHS) – Program for Multicultural Health for 8 weeks to design, develop, and implement health and leadership education programs. The researcher worked with four community partners in Southeast Michigan.

Let’S Talk About It: Caregivers’ Perspective On Communication About Sexuality With Foster Youth, Imani A. Gayden, Ramona W. Denby-Brinson

McNair Poster Presentations

Foster youth are particularly at risk for pregnancy and are 2.5 times more likely to become pregnant by age 19 than their peers that are not in the child welfare system (Comlossy, 2013).

Researchers have gathered that parents and children are commonly apprehensive when it comes to discussing sexual health and reproduction. Limited research has been conducted regarding the roles of caregivers as advocates for youth and caregivers’ perceptions of how to carry out this role as an educator.

This study aims to further investigate caregivers’ beliefs of their self-efficacy levels in assisting youth with their sexual health and reproduction.

An Exploration Of Factors Influencing Attrition From A Pediatric Weight Management Intervention, Melissa Ann Kwitowski

Theses and Dissertations

Childhood obesity is a serious health problem in the United States. Numerous weight management programs attempt to address this issue. However, attrition poses significant treatment efficacy challenges. Understanding attendance and attrition from childhood obesity programs is crucial for effective and appropriate resource utilization. NOURISH+ is a community-based treatment program for parents of overweight and obese children (age 5–11 years, BMI ≥ 85th percentile). The current study investigated attrition from NOURISH+ to enhance understanding of pediatric obesity treatment retention factors. NOURISH+ participants (n=70) completed a questionnaire assessing barriers to adherence and general program feedback. Data were analyzed using frequencies, …

Building On Social Capital To Improve Health: The Interactional Approach To Community Development, Matthew Charles Tomlin Mr

Student Research – Stevenson Center

Since political scientist, Robert Putnam, (1995) brought the concept of social capital into popular discourse, there has been a surge in debate over its definition, causes, and consequences in a range of social science disciplines. While social capital has been found to support self-rated overall health at the state level (Kawachi et al, 1999), there is still a dearth of data and research on localities in different regions of the country. This study analyzes survey data collected in the United Way of McLean County’s 2014 Community Assessment to better understand the dynamic between social capital and health in one Central …

Hiv Infrastructure Study Birmingham, Alabama, Susan S. Reif, Kristen Sullivan, Carolyn Mcallaster, Miriam Berger

Faculty Scholarship

No abstract provided.

One Size Does Not Fit All: What Does High Impact Prevention Funding Mean For Community-Based Organizations In The Deep South?, Carolyn Mcallaster, Jerry Fang

Faculty Scholarship

No abstract provided.