Population Health Commons^™

Evaluating A Bilingual, Community-Based Skin Cancer Education Program In An Underserved Hispanic Population: An Item Response Theory Analysis, Smaran Marupudi, Natasha Quailes, Jared Hensley, Juan Lopez-Alvarenga, Maria Villegas

School of Medicine Publications

Background: Skin cancer prevention is often underemphasized in medically underserved regions such as the Rio Grande Valley (RGV), where residents, predominantly Hispanic and lower-income individuals, face limited access to dermatologic care and may be unaware of their risk for skin cancer.

Methods: The intervention included a bilingual educational session with a board-certified dermatologist and a seven-item knowledge survey administered before and immediately after the session, adapted from a previously validated instrument. A convenience sample of 73 participants completed both surveys. The instrument, adapted for this population, was evaluated using a two-parameter Item Response Theory (IRT) model to estimate participants’ underlying …

Implementing A Research Best Practices Training For Community Health Workers And Promotoras At Multiple Sites: A Mixed Methods Evaluation, Alexandra E. Harper, Analay Perez, Gretchen Piatt, Gina M. Jay, Jasmine J. Opusunju, Lakeisha M. Batts, Giselle M. Garza, Tania Terezon, Candace Robledo, Loren Clark

School of Medicine Publications

Introduction: We previously developed and tested a peer-led research best practices training for community health workers and promotoras (CHW/Ps) to enhance the capacity of a workforce that is increasingly important for community-engaged research. This paper explores results of training implementation at 4 additional sites – 3 academic institutions and 1 community-based organization.

Methods: Forty-two CHW/Ps were trained over 6 trainings and 10 site staff participated. We used a mixed methods design consisting of surveys and interviews to assess site staff’s perceptions of the training and its implementation. Survey data were examined using basic statistics and thematic content analysis. Two coders …

Associations Between Father–Mother Food Parenting Practices And Children’S Dietary Intake, Brian K. Lo, Natalie Grafft, Mariane Helen De Oliveira, Sebastien Haneuse, In Young Park, Alejandra Cantu-Aldana, Katherine W. Bauer, Rebekah Levine Coley, Jorge E. Chavarro, Kirsten K. Davison, Jess Haines

Human Genetics Publications

Objective: To examine whether the number of parents using high levels of structure or coercive control food parenting practices is associated with children’s dietary intake.

Design: Cross-sectional analysis of father–mother dyads from the Fathers & Families cohort study. Fathers and mothers independently reported their food parenting practices and child’s dietary intake. Multivariate logistic regression models estimated associations between the number of parents (0, 1 or 2) using high structure or coercive control practices and children’s intake of fruit, vegetables, fast food and sugar-sweetened beverages (SSB), adjusting for demographics and recruitment site.

Setting: United States

Participants: 474 father–mother dyads with a …

Una Nueva Herramienta Para Estimar El Volumen Muscular Independientemente De La Edad, El Sexo Y El Nivel De Actividad Física, José J. Rivera-Sánchez, Laura P. Burgos-Morelos, Daniel Castillo-Castillo, Gerardo Méndez-Suárez, Juan C. Lopez-Alvarenga, Damián Carrillo-Ruíz

School of Medicine Publications

Antecedentes: Actualmente, la evaluación del volumen muscular requiere técnicas invasivas o de imagen, lo que aumenta los costos y retrasa la evaluación, y las mediciones antropométricas con frecuencia son inexactas.

Objetivo: Desarrollar una fórmula matemática para estimar el volumen del cuádriceps.

Material y métodos: Se evaluaron 127 sujetos: 40 adultos sedentarios de 20 a 35 años, 47 atletas adultos de 20 a 45 años y 40 adultos sedentarios de 70 a 94 años. Se dividieron en grupos de desarrollo y de validación. Se realizaron mediciones de variables antropométricas y fuerza de agarre, y se desarrolló la fórmula de predicción del …

Relationship Between Cognitive Performance, Physical Activity, And Socio-Demographic/Individual Characteristics Among Aging Americans, Imtiaz Masfique Dowllah, Juan Carlos Lopez-Alvarenga, Gladys Maestre, Ulku S. Karabulut, Michael Lehker, Murat Karabulut

School of Medicine Publications

Background: Physical activity (PA) has emerged as a promising approach to delay Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias, but the optimal intensity of PA to improve cognitive health remains unknown.

Objective: To evaluate the association between duration and intensity of PA and cognitive domains (executive function, processing speed, and memory) in aging Americans.

Methods: Linear regressions in hierarchical blocks for variable adjustment and the size of effect (η2) were analyzed by using the data of 2,377 adults (age = 69.3±6.7 years) from the NHANES 2011–2014.

Results: Participants with 3–6 h/week of vigorous- and > 1 h/week of moderate-intensity PA scored significantly higher …