Public Health Commons^™

Harmonies Of Healing: A Secondary Data Analysis On Music Engagement And Quality Of Life In Older Adults, Theophilus Eben Nartey

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The purpose of this quantitative, cross-sectional secondary data analysis was to examine the relationship between music engagement and self-reported quality of life among adults aged 60 years and older, using data from the Health and Retirement Study (HRS). Guided by the Biopsychosocial-Spiritual (BPSS) framework, the study explored whether music engagement significantly predicted perceived well-being in later adulthood while accounting for chronic health conditions. Secondary data from the HRS public-use dataset were analyzed using IBM SPSS Statistics Version 29. The final analytical sample consisted of 1,582 adults aged 60 years or older with complete data on all variables included in the …

Progress, Poetry, And Peace: Romantic Ideals And The Present Day, Kristen Dawn Morgan Hess

Masters Theses

In the busy, technologized, and mechanized life that most people live today, it can be difficult to find true rest, comfort, and peace because the very technology and machinery that is marketed as providing these 21st-century amenities often fall short in their delivery. Taking a look backward at the Romantic era ideals presented in the poetry of William Wordsworth can offer people today the chance to gradually improve their mental, physical, and emotional health by slowing down, minimalizing, and moderating their lifestyles. This thesis talks about the historical background of three of Wordsworth’s poems— “Lines Written in Early Spring,” “The …

Medical Tourism Patient Guidance: A Content Analysis Of Risk Reduction Guidelines Available To Global Health Seekers., Alicia Mason, Angela Ashmore

Faculty Submissions

This study examines medical tourism (MT) patient guidance messages intended to reduce procedural risks—those directly related to biomedical treatments—and process risks, which involve logistical, administrative, and interpersonal challenges of seeking healthcare abroad. The analysis focuses on print and digital publications authored by individuals independent of the MT industry, including policy researchers, travel health experts, lifestyle reporters, and consumer-focused medical travel writers. Using a two-phase digital and database search strategy, 27 publications from 2009 to 2024 were identified and analyzed using exploratory content analysis methods. Findings reveal important differences in the scope and depth of guidance aimed at reducing risks for …

Oral History With John Barry, Dan Royles

History Faculty Scholarship

Oral history interview with John Barry, who has served as Executive Director of the Southern Tier AIDS Program (STAP) since 2008. He was born in Endicott, New York in 1966, grew up in Vestal, and attended high school at Seton Catholic Central in Binghamton before serving in Germany with the United States Army during the early 1980s. When he returned to Broome County in 1987, some of his friends had been affected by HIV/AIDS and, while earning a degree at SUNY Binghamton, Barry became involved in mutual aid efforts to help people affected by the disease. He went to work …

Healthcare Access And The Persistent Racial Disparities In Low Birth Weight, Zaheda A. Hussain, Yadanar Moe

DePaul Discoveries

Low birth weight (LBW), defined as less than 2,500 grams, is an influential factor contributing to infant mortality in the United States, with significant racial disparities between Black and White mothers. This study analyzed data from 3,054 Black and White mothers collected from the 2018 National Health Interview Survey to explore the association between access to medical care and LBW within different racial groups. The prevalence of LBW was 8.0%. Overall, mothers without a usual place of medical care had, on average, an 18% higher risk of LBW than those with a usual place (OR = 1.18, 95% CI: 0.80–1.74). …

Lgbtq+: What Utahns Need To Know, Susan R. Madsen, Deborah Lin

Marketing and Strategy Faculty Publications

LGBTQ+ Utahns who identify as girls and women thrive when they are valued and accepted for who they are. Creating environments where they feel safe, welcomed, and empowered to participate fully strengthens their health, wellbeing, and sense of belonging. Communities also benefit when LGBTQ+ women and girls are encouraged to share their perspectives, talents, and leadership. When diverse voices are welcomed into dialogue and collaborative decision-making, organizations and communities are better equipped to serve everyone. By fostering belonging, representation, and meaningful participation, Utah can create communities where every person has the opportunity to thrive.

Online Rights Defense Among Chinese Americans Against Racial Aggression In The U.S. During The Covid-19, Fangzhu Lu, Wenshan Jia

Communication Faculty Articles and Research

Purpose

This study investigates how Chinese American communities responded to heightened racial discrimination during the COVID-19 pandemic by utilizing social media platforms to safeguard their civil rights, articulate collective concerns, and mobilize resistance against racial aggression.

Methodology

Through qualitative case study analysis, the research examines the social media activities of six advocacy organizations, including three X accounts (WashTheHate, Chinese for Affirmative Action, Asian Americans Advancing Justice) and three Instagram accounts (Stop AAPI Hate, Stop Asian Hate, Advancing Justice: AAJC). The analysis focuses on the content strategies and communication mechanisms employed to counteract racial hostility.

Findings

The selected organizations used social …

(Re)Claiming Homeplace: Dance As Embodied Resistance & Healing For Health & Spatial Justice, Preeya G. Kannan

University Honors Theses

This thesis argues that dance functions as both an upstream public health intervention and a form of radical spatial resistance; creating healing, agency, and belonging among historically marginalized communities. Drawing on bell hooks' concept of homeplace, Jasbir Puar's assemblage theory, Nancy Krieger's eco-social theory, and Katherine McKittrick's Black geographies, I position the body as both an ecological and political landscape shaped by histories of colonialism, racial capitalism, displacement, and resilience.

Through this community-based participatory research study, Homeplace, I explore dance as a form of social prescription that centers liberation rather than pathology. Movement is often reduced in public health discourse …

Somatic Prosthetics For Planetary Resonance, Disha Dharesh Kumar R

Masters Theses

This thesis investigates how industrial design can transcend extractive technological paradigms in favor of relational interfaces that foster planetary attunement. Framing the climate crisis as a 'crisis of imagination', the research challenges the Western bifurcation of nature and culture by drawing on Indic cosmologies- which recognize stones, plants, and ecosystems as conscious at different levels and participants in a shared cosmic field. By synthesizing research in Biosemiotics, Quantum Information Pansycishm, and Neuroscience, the project redefines intelligence as a distributed, more-than-human phenomenon.

The research materializes as a speculative design artifact: a device that functions as a somatic prosthetic for planetary resonance. …

Beyond The Ban: Chhaupadi Abolition And The Governance Of Menstrual Autonomy In Western Nepal, Nikita Paudel

Master in Public Policy Theses

This thesis examines how two decades of efforts to abolish chhaupadi have shaped the everyday conditions under which women and girls experience menstruation in western Nepal. Chhaupadi, commonly understood as menstrual seclusion, has been addressed through Supreme Court directives, national policy, criminal law, municipal implementation instruments, hut demolition campaigns, public health programming, and rights-based advocacy. Yet the practice has persisted, adapted, and in some cases moved into less visible spaces. Rather than treating this as a simple gap between law and practice, this thesis asks how abolition efforts themselves have become part of the regulatory regime through which menstruation is …

Unknowing Sacrifices: Public Health And Radiation Illness In New Mexico And Nevada, 1940s-1960s, Beatriz Avila-Marquez

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

The detonation of the first atomic bomb in the early morning of July 16, 1945, in New Mexico welcomed the atomic age that forever changed the world. After that day, thousands of lives were lost due to nuclear weapons, and hundreds of thousands more continued to suffer from the effects of atomic testing. The Atomic Energy Commission, fueled by the arms race of the Cold War, chose Nevada to continue the United States’ nuclear weapons testing. Knowledge of the dangers of radiation exposure, the effects of radiation, and techniques to prevent exposure are now available in part due to the …

Confederate Women In The Field Of Nursing And Their Impact On Southern Women’S Roles In Society, Laura Leigh L. Prater

Theses

During the Civil War, Confederate women had the opportunity to go to work as nurses. The majority of these women had never been allowed to take on roles beyond the domestic sphere in antebellum society.  Despite most of these women having limited medical training, they developed an expertise in nursing, extraordinary organization skills and gained respect for their achievements.  Their achievements proved that women were able to do far more than many in the South believed prior to the war.  This paper will show how the demands of war opened doors of greater opportunity for women in the South for …

Care, Control, And The Racial Regulation Of Black Women’S Reproduction In American Medicine, Rheya K. Wilk

Honors Thesis

Black women in the United States continue to experience disproportionately high rates of maternal mortality, negative reproductive healthcare experiences, and documented disparities in medical treatment. From slavery through the twenty-first century, American medicine has repeatedly positioned Black women’s reproduction as a site of regulation, rather than care, making medical mistrust among Black women a rational response to a long history of institutional conflict embedded in American medicine. Drawing on medical history and bioethical analysis, this thesis traces reproductive abuse across distinct, yet connected, eras. Beginning with antebellum gynecological experimentation on enslaved women, it demonstrates how racialized assumptions about pain and …

Invisible Shipwrecks And Neurological Endangerment: The Trade-Off In Seeking Asylum - Reframing The Neurobiological Cost Of Forced Migration, Eisha Giran

CISLA Senior Integrative Projects

Forced migration along the Spain–Morocco route represents one of the most visible humanitarian crises of the twenty-first century, yet its neurological dimensions remain insufficiently examined. This paper investigates how prolonged displacement and trauma reshape neural systems involved in stress regulation, memory, and emotional processing. It introduces the concept of neurological endangerment, defined as a condition of prolonged and inescapable threat exposure during forced migration in which stress-response systems remain chronically activated, opportunities for recovery are structurally constrained, and cumulative neurobiological risk persists beyond the period of immediate danger.

To address the gap between biological measurement and lived experience, this paper …

Predator Or Prey: The Analysis Of Gender And Race On The Perception Of Black Men As Sexual Assault Victims, Jordyn Livingston, Dr. Florencia Cornet

Caravel Undergraduate Research Journal

Men sexual assault victims have gained more attention in recent years. Despite the growing sociological literature on violence against men, previous research provides little acknowledgment of Black men sexual assault victims. In this manuscript, I analyze emerging literature in the socio-medical sciences to explore how gender and race affects the perceptions of Black men as sexual assault victims. Specifically, I utilize intersectionality as a theoretical framework to synthesize literature on blackness and masculinity in sexual assault victims to conclude that there is an intersectional point that disadvantages Black males, portraying them as sexual predators. In so doing, I provide research …

Intimate Partner Violence In The Queer Community, Kathleen A. Oslé

Capstone Projects and Master's Theses

Queer college students face unique barriers to receiving intimate partner violence (IPV) prevention services, of note the instability of emerging adult life. At question is whether or not targeted intervention services appropriately serve the queer community in this regard. A new digital media landscape for the romantic world creates potentially harmful life goals by glorifying unhealthy behaviors and ostracizing survivors, all for the sake of money. Previous research shows that early intervention and education provides a preventative factor in IPV. Data from an in-person intervention workshop is used to determine the feasibility of targeted intervention services, and provides means-tested results. …

Navigating The Nicu Without Words: A Case Study Of A Spanish-Speaking Mother’S Healthcare Experience, Emma Norris

Honors Theses

Background: Few studies examine language barriers in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU). Miscommunication and lack of understanding between the healthcare team and a NICU infant’s parents may easily occur when the relationship is inhibited by a language barrier. Previous studies show that a lack of parent-provider communication creates additional anxiety for parents. The purpose of this study is to explore and describe the experiences and barriers in communication between an English-speaking nurse, an English-Spanish bilingual nurse, and a Spanish-speaking mother of a NICU infant.

Methods: This project was a case study using an exploratory mixed methods qualitative design. Qualitative …

Beyond The Cycle: How Menstruation Influences Gender Identity And Well-Being In Binary And Non-Binary Adults, Rin Nguyen

College of Education and Human Sciences: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Approximately 1.8 billion people worldwide menstruate, including transgender and gender-diverse (TGD) people, yet their experiences remain underrepresented in research. Given that menstruation can affect gender alignment and psychological well-being, understanding its impact on TGD people is critical. Gender congruence, or alignment between one’s gender identity and expression, is a key factor influencing well-being, with research linking it to reduced depression and anxiety. Furthermore, emerging research on gender euphoria, the joy experienced when gender congruence is experienced, suggests it may serve as a protective factor for mental health and well-being. Gender euphoria has been associated with reduced psychological distress and increased …

Community-Based Program To Support The Occupational Needs Of Middle Eastern Refugee Women Transitioning Into Western Society, Zuha A. Mohammad, Cassandra Nelson

Spring 2026 OTD Capstone Symposium

Middle Eastern refugee women resettling in Western societies often experience barriers that disrupt participation in meaningful occupations, including language barriers, unfamiliar systems, financial challenges, and social isolation. These challenges can limit independence and community participation during the resettlement process. Occupational therapy is well-positioned to address these barriers through culturally responsive, occupation-based interventions.

This capstone project developed and implemented a community-based program designed to support Middle Eastern refugee women during early resettlement. The program focused on key areas including system navigation, financial literacy, home safety, stress management, self-advocacy, and community engagement. Educational sessions and practical activities were used to promote skill …

Evaluating The Feasibility And Preliminary Effectiveness Of A Tailored Diabetes Education Program For Rural Residents, Brittany L. Smalls, Oluwatosin Leshi, Suraksha Khanal, Grejika E. Abram-Erby

Journal of Appalachian Health

Introduction: Diabetes is a top ten Rural Healthy People 2030 priority for health improvement among rural Americans. Socioeconomic, environmental, geographic and political barriers contribute to the type 2 diabetes (T2D) prevalence and its disparate impact in rural communities. However, promoting proper self-care behaviors via self-management education can help people with diabetes better manage their condition.

Purpose: To account for the social environmental factors that affect rural residents, a tailored diabetes education program was developed, and the program’s effectiveness in improving diabetes knowledge and T2D-related health outcomes was assessed.

Methods: Using data collected from Appalachian Kentucky residents enrolled in a six-week, …

Digital Touchpoints: Investigating Contact Page Accessibility And Visual Authenticity Within Medical Tourism Health Websites, Alicia Mason, Elizabeth Spencer, Kristen Livingston, Treyton Meyers, Sakshi Bhati, Himika Akram

Faculty Submissions

This study examines two critical digital touchpoints on medical tourism provider (MTP) websites: (1) the accessibility of contact pages which often function as entry points for inquiries, scheduling, and pre-travel coordination, and (2) the authenticity of visual imagery used to shape expectations about care environments, personnel, and technological capacity. A sample of 105 MTPs across all six World Health Organization regions were analyzed using quantitative web accessibility testing and qualitative visual analysis. Results indicate pervasive accessibility errors on contact-page touchpoints and extensive reliance on inauthentic imagery to depict patients, providers, and medical technologies. Together, these practices may distort user expectations …

“Recollecting The Told Story”: Storytelling, Activism, And The Black Maternal Health Emergency, Lamaya C. Williams

English Theses & Dissertations

Storytelling is a foundational component of Black knowledge creation and transmission. This dissertation centers Black women’s stories of birth and mothering—drawing on both primary source birth stories and fictional narratives—to examine the United States’ Black Maternal Health Emergency (BMHE). The BMHE is a complex and urgent issue wherein structural racism, medical bias, and intersecting social determinants disproportionately endanger the health of Black mothers. As such, Black mothers in the United States are three times more likely to die from a pregnancy-related condition compared to their white counterparts.

This study examines the birth stories of women who survived the BMHE and …

Justice, Autonomy, Beneficence, And Non-Maleficence: The Global Failure To Heed Ethical Mandates In Birth Spaces, Julia Dees

Richard T. Schellhase Essay Prize in Ethics

Respectful and safe care in all birthing spaces has long been an ideal that global communities fail to meet. Birthing people are disrespected, physically or emotionally harmed, or left to completely fend for themselves during a period of extreme emotional and medical vulnerability. Historically, autonomy especially has been ignored in birthing spaces with medical trends like the twilight sleep, where women were drugged into a state of unconsciousness during birth (Taylor, 2023), demonstrating the desire of western medicine, in particular, to reduce birthing people to bystanders in their own birth. While birth trends and medical treatments have changed throughout time, …

Brain Candy: Wayne State University School Of Medicine Journal Of Arts And Culture, 13th Edition, Wayne State University School Of Medicine Gold Humanism Honor Society

Gold Humanism Honor Society

Brain Candy incorporates paintings, written pieces, and poetry from all the medical classes at Wayne State University School of Medicine to shed light on the creative process in medicine, the city of Detroit, and the experiences of health care providers. This year, the journal is organized into four sections, each of which denotes a particular time period within medical school. The first edition of Brain Candy was published online and in print in 2009, produced by a generous grant by the Gold Humanism Honor Society (GHHS). The edition featured poetry, nonfiction, short fiction, and different types of artwork. With generous …

Forward Momentum

DePaul Magazine

Mission: Forward, the most ambitious philanthropic campaign in DePaul’s history, is fueling purpose-driven education to solve society’s biggest challenges. Learn and watch videos about DePaul programs and initiatives that exemplify the campaign through academic innovation, interdisciplinary collaboration, service-oriented community partnership and activist scholarship.

J Am Coll Dent 2026 92 2a

Journal of the American College of Dentists

This special issue of the Journal of the American College of Dentists responds to a growing but long-underrecognized demand for humanities and ethics in dental education, practice, and scholarship. It emerges from the work of the National Collaborative on Humanities and Ethics in Dentistry (NCHED), a multi-institutional partnership formed in 2023 to address the persistent exclusion of dentistry from broader health humanities conversations. Through national webinars and scholarly collaboration, NCHED has demonstrated substantial interest in ethical reflection, historical analysis, narrative inquiry, and the arts as essential to understanding oral health and dental care. The unexpectedly strong response to the call …

Humanity Is Evolving Its Consciousness: The Role Of Archetypal Energies As Guides During An Unfolding Weeding Out And Alignment Process, Carroy U. Ferguson

Psychology Faculty Publication Series

Humanity is evolving its consciousness at individual and collective levels.  Given these seemingly tumultuous times, as of this writing (January 2026), to make such a statement may sound like a strange thing to say.  However, I suggest that if you are alive today and if you are reading these words, these are the very times for which you were born—to assist Humanity as it evolves its consciousness with your unique gifts, whatever they may be.  That is, this period of our individual and collective human being-ness may be characterized as an unfolding period of weeding out and alignment with the …

Peace Innovation And Healing: A Design Justice Framework To Support Change Processes, Strengthen Relationships, Foster Trust, And Build Community, Michelle Helman

Peace and Conflict Studies Journal Conference

Many organizations aiming to achieve peace and health equity outcomes often focus their design processes and innovation efforts externally without addressing how their organizational culture can unintentionally reproduce the very harms they are trying to address. The purpose of this qualitative design research study is to explore the role of a design justice framework in piloting a Peace Innovation Project aimed at facilitating an organizational culture change process. Specifically, the study focuses on better understanding how integrating a design justice approach could support research collaborators to center equity and justice as core components in building a culture of peace and …

Embodying Design Justice: A Peace Education Framework To Strengthen Relationships, Foster Trust And Build Community, Michelle Helman

Peace and Conflict Studies Journal Conference

BACKGROUND

Groups working toward creating peace and equity often focus on external innovation without addressing internal culture shifts necessary to navigate change and achieve their goals. Michelle’s doctoral research and practice address this challenge through a design research study and peace innovation project focused on organizational culture transformation through a design justice framework. Findings suggest that interweaving the framework with storytelling, arts, and embodiment practices are key to support people in navigating change processes to strengthen relationships, foster trust, and build community.

ABOUT

The workshop offers an applied learning experience for participants to explore the concepts of design and innovation …

Caught In The Midwife’S Hands: A Black Feminist Exploration Of Reproductive Health And Justice In Massachusetts, Nina Bakum

Gender, Sexuality, and Intersectionality Studies Honors Papers

No abstract provided.