Public Health Commons^™

Evaluating Parents Sociodemographic Factors And Childhood Vaccine Decisions, Mehret Girmay

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Vaccination is considered one of the most successful public health achievements of the 20th century. However, with increasing vaccine skepticism emerging over the past decades, there is a threat to the ongoing sustainment of vaccine coverage within all US communities. This study evaluated and compared parents’ sociodemographic factors associated with childhood vaccine decisions. This study is a secondary analysis of 893 parents/guardians, age 18-55 years with child(ren) < 7 years living in the U.S.

Predictive analysis was conducted using multinomial logistic regression modeling was used to examine vaccine decisions (accept, hesitant, and refuse) in relation to parents’ sociodemographic factors. Overall, (66.6%) of parents accepted recommended vaccines, while …

An Evaluation Of Factors Associated With The Perceptions Of Diabetes In A Filipino American Sample Residing In Clark County, Nevada, Lawrence Nartatez Sagadraca

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

This study assessed beliefs about the contribution of the Filipino diet and genetics to diabetes burden and its ability to control it without medical interventions. The data from a need’s assessment survey of 200 Filipino Americans residing in Clark County, Nevada, were analyzed by using the logistic regression model. A significant proportion of the participants believed that diabetes is a problem in the Filipino community (79%) and is related to the Filipino diet (75%) and genetics (69.0%), and that it can be controlled without medical intervention (52.4%). In univariate analyses, age (Odds ratio [OR]: 1.03, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.01 …

Identifiying High Risk Areas Of Zika Virus Infection By Meteorological Factors In Columbia, Lung-Chang Chien, Francisco Sy, Adriana Perez

Environmental & Occupational Health Faculty Publications

Background Several Zika virus (ZIKV) outbreaks have occurred since October 2015. Because there is no effective treatment for ZIKV infection, developing an effective surveillance and warning system is currently a high priority to prevent ZIKV infection. Despite Aedes mosquitos having been known to spread ZIKV, the calculation approach is diverse, and only applied to local areas. This study used meteorological measurements to monitor ZIKV infection due to the high correlation between climate change and Aedes mosquitos and the convenience to obtain meteorological data from weather monitoring stations. Methods This study applied the Bayesian structured additive regression modeling approach to include …

Factors Associated With Eosinophilic Esophagitis In Nevada, Julia Lorraine Anderson

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Eosinophilic esophagitis (EoE) is a rare immune-mediated illness with symptoms that range from difficulty swallowing to food impaction of the esophagus. Most published studies have been documented among patients residing in cool regions with significant annual rainfall. No published studies to our knowledge have been performed examining the healthcare utilization trends of EoE in Nevada. Utilizing two unique databases, the factors associated with EoE healthcare utilization patterns in Nevada were examined. All analyses were performed in R version 3.5.1. This study included a demographic and regional analysis identifying risk factors associated with having an EoE healthcare visit in Nevada. Several …

"Courage 2 Test": An Evaluation Of A Social Media Marketing Campaign To Increase Hiv Testing Among Young Black Men, Jamal T. Jones, Laura F. Salazar, Richard A. Crosby

Journal of Health Disparities Research and Practice

The purpose of this study was to evaluate a social media marketing (SMM) campaign designed to increase HIV testing among young Black men attending a public university in Atlanta, GA. “Courage 2 Test” was a three-month SMM campaign (launched from February 2017 to April 2017) that included targeted Facebook and Instagram advertisements to encourage HIV testing. Students completed an online survey via two cross-sectional samples (n=106 at baseline and n=98 post campaign). Campaign evaluation involved assessing the effects of campaign exposure and the pre/post-grouping variable on ever testing for HIV and testing for HIV in the previous six months via …

An Analysis Of Postmastectomy Breast Reconstruction Due To Breast Cancer In Nevada And The United States From 2008-2013, Jenna Webb

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Background: In the United States, female breast cancer was the leading cause of new cancer cases from 2011-2015. Since the Women’s Health and Cancer Act of 1998 (WHCRA), the federal government mandates employee and private health insurance providers to cover breast reconstruction if they cover mastectomies. Postmastectomy breast reconstruction (PBR) rates increased after the WHCRA, but these rates have remained relatively low throughout recent years. Objective: The objective of this study was to determine factors associated with women having PBR due to breast cancer in Nevada and the United States from 2008 to 2013. Methods: Using two HCUP database, NIS …

Telomeres, Nutrition And Mortality: Risk Factors For The Rate Of Telomere Length Decline And The Associations Between Telomere Length, Nutrition And Mortality, Saruna Ghimire

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Introduction: Telomeres are nucleoprotein structures located at the ends of eukaryotic chromosomes, thought to protect the DNA from damage. As a person experiences stressors, harmful exposures, and other diseases throughout their life, telomeres are thought to become damaged and their length shortened, decreasing their ability to protect the DNA. Nutrition is an important aspect of healthy aging. Preservation of telomere length (TL) is thought to be one of the mechanisms by which good nutrition can delay or prevent the development of chronic disease and death. Recent evidence of preservation of TL with good nutrition is promising. Thus, the aim of …

Determinants Of Disparities In The Colorectal Cancer Burden, Karen Elizabeth Callahan

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Colorectal cancer (CRC) is the third leading cause of cancer incidence and mortality in the United States, with an estimated 140,000 new cases and 51,000 deaths expected in 2018. Like most cancers, the burden of CRC is unequally distributed among population groups. The current dissertation included two studies filling gaps in knowledge about CRC disparities. Study 1 characterized the relationship between educational attainment and CRC mortality by race/ethnicity. Six years of CRC mortality data (2012-2017) from the diverse state of California, with 30,180 deaths were analyzed. Sex-specific mortality rate ratios (MRR) stratified by race/ethnicity as well as by educational level …

Health Disparities Among Sexual And Gender Minorities, Jennifer Keeley

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Decades of research has shown that sexual and gender minorities (SGMs) experience adverse health and mental health outcomes to a greater extent than their heterosexual peers. The need to better understand and eliminate health disparities in the SGM population was recognized by the National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities (NIMHD) at NIH. The Secretary of Health at the Department of Health and Human Services approved the designation of the SGM population as a health disparities population in 2016 and called for SGM studies to examine the health needs of the SGM population across SGM subgroups via large representative …

Social Vs. Practical Problems In Attaining A Colonoscopy: Different Patient Profiles?, Barbara A. Curbow, Evelyn C. King-Marshall, Nora Mueller, Travis Hyams, Shahnaz Sultan, Thomas J. George Jr

Journal of Health Disparities Research and Practice

Background: Colonoscopy is an effective procedure for identifying precancerous polyps and cancerous lesions, but it is unlike other cancer screening tools in that it requires sedation and thus assistance from at least one other individual. The intent of this paper was to identify logistical problems in completing the colonoscopy and to examine their relationships with sociodemographic characteristics.

Methods: All eligible patients (n = 2500) from two academic-affiliated colonoscopy centers (one free standing, one hospital-based) were invited to participate in an onsite, pre-colonoscopy survey; patients agreeing to participate (n = 1841, RR = 73.6%) received a $5.00 gift card. Multiple correspondence …

Comparison Of Compliance With Cervical Cancer Screening Among Women Aged 18 And Above In Arkansas And The United States, Sarah N. O'Connor, Jun Tao, L. Joseph Su

Journal of Health Disparities Research and Practice

Introduction: Cervical cancer preys on women without access to preventative screening. Any woman who has developed an invasive case of cervical cancer should be regarded as a failure of screening. Disparities in access to screening, triage, and treatment fuel an uneven distribution in the burden of cervical cancer within the United States; weighing unusually heavy on the Southern States like Arkansas. The purpose of this study was to evaluate demographic and behavioral risk factors for cervical cancer and identify potential barriers which may influence the likelihood of complying with current Pap test recommendations on a state level, in Arkansas, and …

Prehypertensive Risk Among African-American Undergraduates: Do The Extra Pounds Really Matter?, Cecile N. Yancu, Amber Debono, Anna K. Lee, Correll Mcrae, Daphne Witherspoon

Journal of Health Disparities Research and Practice

The objective of this study is to examine prehypertension among young African American adults and evaluate the predictive value of easily obtained standard measures of adiposity. Data for this study of 155 primarily African-American undergraduates was collected between April 2010-11. Participants provided family health history and anthropometric measures, including body weight, body mass index (BMI), and waist to hip (WHR) ratio. Percentages were calculated for demographics. The average systolic blood pressure measured over two time periods within a single semester generated prehypertension rates. Univariate and multivariate logistic regression examined the impact of BMI, WHR, weight, and family medical history on …