Public Health Commons^™

Adults Using Long Term Services And Supports: Population And Service Use Trends In Maine, Sfy 2016, Kimberly I. Snow Mhsa, Ba, Frances Jimenez Ba, Tina Gressani, Louise Olsen

Disability & Aging

All of us have likely either used, will use, or know someone who uses long term services and support (LTSS). They enable us to live with dignity and as much independence as possible and offer us the opportunity to remain involved and productive in our communities. The need for LTSS can arise suddenly after injury or illness or a life-long condition. But how ever the need arises, the impact is the same—services such as personal care, work support, home health care, and residential care provide not just for individual health and comfort, but also for interaction, inclusion, and engagement with …

Periodic Atlas Of The Metroscape: The Geography Of Health, Joshua Ollinger, Ashley Donald, Randy Morris

Metroscape

Our ability to lead a fulfilling life and pursue our goals is largely shaped by our health. Although we experience these conditions such as illness and disabilities at a very personal level, factors outside of our control are often what determines our health. Known as the Social Determinants of Health, where we are born, work, live, and spend our lives is considered equally if not more important to our health status than medical care and personal health behaviors. As a result, certain communities and populations disproportionately experience burdens. Identifying and increasing awareness of health disparities is an essential step toward …

Rural Health Clinic Participation In The Merit-Based Incentive System And Other Quality Reporting Initiatives: Challenges And Opportunities, John A. Gale Ms, Zachariah T. Croll Mph, Andrew F. Coburn Phd

Rural Health Clinics

Rural Health Clinics (RHCs) are an important source of primary care in underserved rural communities with more than 4,200 RHCs providing primary care services to rural Medicare and Medicaid beneficiaries in 44 states. In light of the growing emphasis on quality reporting, it is important to understand factors influencing RHC readiness to participate in quality reporting including the Merit-Based Incentive Payment System (MIPS), Medicaid, and commercial payer quality reporting programs. The exclusion of RHCs from CMS’s quality reporting programs and value-based initiatives may potentially create a perception among consumers and policymakers that RHCs are unable to meet the requirements of …

Healthcare Utilization & Health Behaviors Among Older Adults: The Role Of Insurance, Jennifer Rose Geiger

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

As the population of older adults in the U.S. continues its exponential growth, so too will the need for high-quality health and preventive services. Despite the widely acknowledged need for proactive solutions to the coming public health challenges for this rapidly expanding age cohort, healthcare providers and social work practitioners continue to lack the proper education training to serve the needs of older adults. Furthermore, these allied health professionals also frequently engage in ageist behaviors across care settings that also often employ institutionally ageist policies and procedures. As a result, older adults may be particularly at risk of negative health …

Adapting Medical Guidelines To Be Patient-Centered Using A Patient-Driven Process For Individuals With Sickle Cell Disease And Their Caregivers, Robert M. Cronin, Tilicia Mayo-Gamble, Sarah-Jo Stimpson, Sherif M. Badawy, Lori E. Crosby, Jeannie Byrd, Emmanuel J. Volanakis, Adetola A. Kassim, Jean L. Raphael, Velma Mcbride Murry, Michael Debaun

Health Policy & Community Health: Faculty Publications

Background: Evidence-based guidelines for sickle cell disease (SCD) health maintenance and management have been developed for primary health care providers, but not for individuals with SCD. To improve the quality of care delivered to individuals with SCD and their caregivers, the main purposes of this study were to: (1) understand the desire for patient-centered guidelines among the SCD community; and (2) adapt guideline material to be patient-centered using community-engagement strategies involving health care providers, community -based organizations, and individuals with the disease.

Methods: From May–December 2016, a volunteer sample of 107 individuals with SCD and their caregivers gave …

Rates Of Developmental And Behavioral Screening Of Young Children: Implications For Health Care Policy And Practice, Shirley Berger

Dissertations and Theses

Background: The skills and capacities developed during early childhood are the foundation for a child’s future academic functioning, economic productivity, and lifelong health and mental health. When young children have developmental delays or disabilities, early identification and intervention lead to better outcomes; however, only a minority are identified before school entry. Primary care is an important setting for identification of developmental and behavioral conditions as most young children attend well-child visits regularly and parents expect developmental guidance from pediatricians. Two key pediatric preventive services are recommended: developmental monitoring/surveillance at every well-child visit and developmental screening at 9 months, 18 months, …

Determinants Of Tourism And Hiv/Aids Incidence In West Java, Cecep Heriana, Rossi Suparman, Sohel Rana, Dera Sukmanawati

Kesmas

Indonesia defined as tourist destination where the international and domestic tourists enjoy the tourist attractions. Prostitution existing in tourism place may increase the prevalence of HIV/AIDS. The incidence and spread of AIDS in many areas in West Java is a problem for tourism industry. These issues become acute in locations where sexual attraction is used as a determinant of tourist portability. The aim of this study was to determine relation between tourism and the incidence of HIV/AIDS in West Java. Non-reactive research design was used to collect secondary data from the Central Bureau of Statistics in 2016 from 26 districts/cities …

Effect Of Personal Protective Equipment During Pesticide Application To Neurological Symptoms In Farmers In Purworejo District, Indonesia, Fajaria Nurcandra, Renti Mahkota, Siddharudha Shivalli

Kesmas

Agriculture is one of major sectors of Indonesia economic source with the high volume of pesticide used. Unfortunately, adverse health effect of neurotoxic pesticide has never been reported in Indonesia. This study aimed to determine effectiveness of personal protective equipment (PPE) during applied pesticides to neurological symptoms in farmers. This study was cross-sectionally conducted from April to May 2016 in Purworejo District. About 125 farmers were selected using purposive sampling, and restriction was applied in male farmers due to the high proportion of male sprayer. Data was collected by observation and interview. Logistic regression showed protective result of PPE used …

Food Hygiene And Sanitation In Six Food Providers At University X, South Sumatra, Yul Isnadi, Tan Malaka, Hatta Dahlan, Novrikasari Novrikasari

Kesmas

Food provider at university is one of places that needs to implement standards of food hygiene and sanitation (FHS). This study aimed to evaluate and analyze practices of FHS based on Regulation of Health Minister No. 1098 of 2003 and best practices in six food providers at University X. This study used mixed method evaluation with sequential explanatory design through two stages. Stage I was in forms of assessment on six food providers, food handlers and laboratory examination on food and beverage samples as well as on eating utensils. Stage II was in form of focus group discussion (FGD) to …

Factors Causing Contraceptive Acceptors Drop Out, Mufdlilah Mufdlilah, Kanthi Aryekti

Kesmas

Family planning program has a very strategic, comprehensive and fundamental meaning in creating a healthy and prosperous Indonesian human being. However, recently the incidence of drop out is quite high for several reasons. This study was conducted to determine the influential factors that cause acceptors to drop out. It is descriptive research. The populations in the study were contraceptive acceptors who dropped out for 3 consecutive months, and not being pregnant. The numbers of sample were 100 people. The data collection employed closed and open questionnaires; data presented in descriptive form. Influential factors of drop out contraceptive acceptors due to …

Implementation Of Prevention Of Mother To Child Transmission Of Hiv Program In South Jakarta, Fase Badriah, Minsarnawati Tahangnacca, Raihana Alkaff, Takeru Abe, Laily Hanifah

Kesmas

Even though Prevention of Mother to Child Transmission (PMTCT) program has been running in Indonesia since 2006, the proportion of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-infected pregnant women remains high in some districts in Indonesia. The PMTCT program aims to reduce transmission of HIV from mother to child. Thus it requires an examination of the PMTCT program implementation. The study was a qualitative study on PMTCT program implementation in South Jakarta, Indonesia, whereas the proportion of children with HIV positive in the area was quite high. The analysis used domain analysis by looking the implementation of PMTCT as a system consisting of …

The Influence Of Exclusive Breastfeeding To Emotional Development Of Children Aged 48-60 Months, Yuni Kusmiyati, Sumarah Sumarah, Nurul Dwiawati, Hesty Widyasih, Yani Widyastuti, Khadizah Haji Abdul Mumin

Kesmas

Impaired emotional development is a problem faced by children and this can negatively impact on function, development and readiness of their school. Exclusive breastfeeding is able to meet brain development needs that affect child development. This study aimed to determine correlation between exclusive breastfeeding and emotional development of children aged 48-60 months. This study used historical cohort.The subjects of this study were 7-12-month old infants living in area of Borobudur Primary Health Care Primary Health Care, Central Java Province, Indonesia in 2011-2012. Independent variable of exclusive breastfeeding was when infants received only breast milk without any supplementary food or drink …

Larvicidal Effect Of Mixture Of Beauveria Bassiana Crude Metabolite And Chitinase Enzyme Against Aedes Aegypti Larvae, Dyah Widiastuti, Bina Ikawati, Upik Kesumawati Hadi

Kesmas

Aedes aegypti is a major vector of dengue, a deadly disease causing deaths of millions of people in developing countries, both in urban and rural populations. Aedes aegypti control with chemical insecticide is widely used, and affects on a widespread insecticide resistance. Mosquito biological control was needed to replace the use of chemical insecticide. This study aimed to evaluate larvicidal effect of mixture of Beauveria bassiana crude metabolite and chitinase enzyme against Aedes aegypti larvae. An experimental study using completely Randomized Design was conducted in March-April 2016 at Banjarnegara Research and Development Unit for Zoonosis Control. Biolarvacide formula was made …

Perceived Stigma In People Affected By Leprosy In Leprosy Village Of Sinatala, Tangerang District, Banten Province, Indonesia, Erni Astutik, Dwi Gayatri

Kesmas

Leprosy is a disease of neglected tropical diseases (NTDs) which becomes a global problem and causes the perceived stigma in people affected by leprosy. This study aimed to determine most dominant factors affecting perceived stigma in people affected by leprosy in leprosy village of Sitanala, Tangerang District, Banten Province, Indonesia. The data used was secondary data taken from cross-sectional survey of a thesis which determined factors related to perceived stigma of leprosy in leprosy village of Sitanala, Tangerang, Indonesia. Samples were selected by purposive sampling. The results of the study showed that factors related to perceived stigma were level of …

Resolving The Water Pollution Crisis In The Philippines: The Implications Of Water Pollution On Public Health And The Economy, Gabriella Andrews

Pepperdine Policy Review

Imagine being told that the water in all your faucets, the water you drink and use to bathe, contains toxins such as mercury and feces. Now imagine that your local government knew about these dangers but actively refused to share them until most of the people you knew and loved had fallen ill.

This hypothetical scenario is the current reality in the Philippines. An eighth of the country’s rivers are considered too toxic for human and animal ingestion or contact and are unable to support most forms of life. Moreover, fewer than half of the total number of rivers in …

2491: Parental Concerns About Child Participation In S Reflect A Need To Move Beyond Traditional Notions Of Trust And Race, Jennifer Cunningham-Erves, Tilicia Mayo-Gamble, Consuelo H. Wilkins

Health Policy & Community Health: Faculty Publications

OBJECTIVES/SPECIFIC AIMS: The objective of this study was to identify factors influencing parental willingness of adolescent participation in clinical trials. METHODS/STUDY POPULATION: We applied community engaged research principles to conduct a theory-based, cross-sectional study of parental willingness. Parents (N=307) were given a survey from November 2014 to April 2015. Factors influencing parental willingness were identified using binary logistic regression. SPSS version 22.0 was used to perform analyses, and p

Healthcare Utilization For Behavioral Health Disorders: Policy Implications On Nationwide Readmissions, And Outcomes In The States Of Nebraska And New York, Rajvi J. Wani

Theses & Dissertations

The main goal of this dissertation was to estimate national-level inpatient readmissions and state-level hospital-based emergency department (ED) visits with behavioral health (BH) conditions in the states of Nebraska and New York. The dissertation aims to assess the impact of the policy mandates under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act on these state and national estimates. The Nationwide Readmissions Database and the State Emergency Department databases maintained by the Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project were used for this dissertation. US Adult population with high-risk of readmissions in the inpatient departments for alcohol-related disorders (ARD) and of visiting ED for …

Epoca House: The Implementation Strategy, Courtney Thomas, Yaffa Fain, Shuxiao Teng, Mingjun Xie

School of Professional Studies

This capstone report provides a written strategic implementation plan for EPOCA House. EPOCA, Ex-Prisoners and Prisoners Organizing for Community Advancement, is a non-profit dedicated to creating better resources and opportunities for prisoners and ex-prisoners in Worcester. The organization’s most recent initiative, EPOCA House, is a transitional facility that will provide reentry services and temporary housing to ex-offenders in and around the Worcester area. Recently, Massachusetts passed a comprehensive criminal justice reform bill that will dramatically reduce the number of people being incarcerated; however, little attention is focused on what will happen to individuals after they leave prison. At the same …

A Guide For Hiring Mature Employees At Ascentria, Binghe Change, Calleigh Leach, Elsie Lu, Hongquiang You, Mengge Wang, Nina Mariotti

School of Professional Studies

This paper will explore existing literature on aspects of an intergenerational workplace in a nonprofit organization and provide recommendations for recruiting and retaining older employees for a human service organization, Ascentria Care Alliance, in Worcester, MA. The paper will review research on trends in the nonprofit industry, a comprehensive breakdown of generational workplace values, reasons people are returning to work and effective marketing strategies that appeal to older generations. Marketing strategies specifically will explore best practices for website design, social media usage, and job descriptions. Additionally, this paper will research case studies of nonprofits with successful intergenerational workforce initiatives, as …

Clear The Air: Moving Towards A More Supportive, Welcoming, Tobacco-Free Clark University, Edward Aroko, Simon Elliot, Jackson Espe, Donovan Smith, Michael Spanos

School of Professional Studies

The deleterious health effects of the consumption of tobacco products, especially for youth, have been documented thoroughly and are nearly universally recognized. Numerous federal, state, and local regulations, coupled with health education and tobacco cessation initiatives have been launched to address these effects. Although these pushes have done much to reduce the rates of preventable health conditions and death due to the usage of tobacco, there remains much work to be done at the local level to discourage and disrupt patterns of substance use and abuse. The mission of Clark Clear the Air is to propose various and creative ways …

Inbound Marketing, Hasini Assiriyage, Isabelle Zoeckler, Emmanuel Aghado, Kefu Bu, Xiouyu Jiang, Rajesh Kamble, Yan Wang

School of Professional Studies

This study looks into inbound marketing practice through the process of secondary research. This insight on best practices and market examples have been employed in order to identify the benefits of Inbound Marketing for the School of Professional Studies at Clark University. Through the research, this team has consolidated a number of recommendations for the SPS marketing strategies moving forward. A focus has been placed on identifying solutions, which were effective and financially feasible. The primary solutions are internally sourced; with a future long term recommendation of seeking advice from a third party firm to automate the process.

Adult Learners: A Targeted Marketing Approach, Sarah Baldelli, Camilo Botero, Camille Ferreol, Caleb Horton, Xinyue Ma, Stefan Sprinkmoller

School of Professional Studies

The development of the Adult Learner Capstone Project started with a focus and need to learn more about affinity groups in the Worcester area in order to reach the potential adult learner demographic. Although some partnerships already existed, the Director of Marketing and Communications for Graduate Admissions, Tara Probeck, yearned to explore the potential partnerships and alternative uses of professional organizations to market to the current working professionals. From this idea, our capstone project was introduced in hopes of establishing a comprehensive and exhaustive list of potential organizational partnerships, specific for the School of Professional Studies.

My Choice Greens, Alina Zulfikarova, Amelia Mohr, Hesi Zhang, Ruiqi Huang, Sean Tatar, Yuhao Zhou, Zijun Zhou

School of Professional Studies

My Choice Programs for Independent Living is a nonprofit in Worcester, Massachusetts that helps individuals with special needs. In 2016, My Choice Programs added a branch to their organization called My Choice Greens. My Choice Greens is committed to growing fresh produce in their hydroponic farm. The profit generated from selling their vegetables is put back into direct programming for My Choice Programs. My Choice Greens is the first hydroponic farm in Worcester, but unfortunately not many people are aware of their program. Also, since they are a small nonprofit, they do not have sufficient funding or resources to market …

Optical Heritage Museum: An Interactive Touch, Connor Guerin, Ankur Halwai, Jinzhao Liu, Qi Liu, Yangjing Wang, Yashaswini Bharti

School of Professional Studies

Optical Heritage Museum (OHM) was established in 1983 with the aim to preserve, promote and display historical artifacts of the optics industry and educate all of its vital role optics has played in societal development. Over the years, the museum has grown in its physical space along with exhibit development to engage audiences in innovative, effective methods. Clark University’s School of Professional Studies department and curator of Optical Heritage Museum, Mr. Whitney’s Whitney, have establish a collaboration that has spanned over two semesters with the goal to support and aid in improving OHM. Our capstone group was assigned the task …

Leicester Research A Study In Effective Technology In Education, Jimeshkumar Chauhan, Anna Lakomy, Li Liu, Christina Mccarthy, Scott Mccarthy, Roman Pena, Emilie Smiley

School of Professional Studies

The LPS Research Team has been tasked with researching and recommending a technology plan for a new school that Leicester Public Schools is planning to build. In this paper, we present an overview of the our goals and our client’s goals, an introduction to industry trends, and discuss our findings based on research conducted via interviews with schools that have undergone similar projects. We also outline the conclusions drawn from this research and our analysis of the data we uncovered, and make specific recommendations for technology to be utilized in Leicester’s new school. Finally, we present a 3-part framework that …

Leicester Public Schools Information And Data Portal: Research And Recommendations, Yue Cen, Natalie Bonetti, Rashida Buchanan, Sathark Jain, Yuwei Wong

School of Professional Studies

The purpose of this project is to develop a strategy for the creation of a multifaceted portal to help with the organization and dissemination of information about the Leicester public school district. The functionality of this portal is to provide comparative financial, demographic, and academic data to other relative school districts in the area, both for the parents’ and for the city’s reference. It will be an examination into the best practices for creating a portal, both technological and aesthetic recommendations, as well as research into the value the publication of this data would provide for the parents of current …

Water In Worcester A Campaign For Public Fluoridation, Ryan Early, Xiao Gu, Yajing Huang, Lauren Meininger, Emma Phillips, Yao Su

School of Professional Studies

Water in Worcester: A Campaign for Public Fluoridation arose as a project from our sponsors, Chris Philbin, Vice President of Government Relations at UMass Memorial Health Care, and Joe O’Brien, former Worcester Mayor, Executive Director of the Environmental League of Massachusetts, and Clark University Adjunct Professor. Our goal has been to produce resources that will support the fight for fluoridation in the City of Worcester. Fluoridation has failed to pass in Worcester on four separate occasions, but Mr. Philbin and Mr. O’Brien believe that the time has come to try again.

In order to fluoridate Worcester’s water supply, the municipal …

Canine For Disabled Kids Awareness Campaign Research And Implementation Plan, Jiamin Gu, Kendall Harcourt, Chang Liu, Kiamu Liu, Jemmie Tejada

School of Professional Studies

According to the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) service animals are: “dogs that are individually trained to do work or perform tasks for people with disabilities” ( ADA, 2015). On the other hand, emotional support animals are: “dogs that provide comfort and support in forms of affection and companionship for an individual suffering from various mental and emotional conditions.” In addition, an emotional support animal is not required to perform any specific tasks for a disability like service dogs are (Ibid).

The ADA limits the number of questions that can be asked to protect the privacy of utilizers. In fact, …

Life Can Change In The Blink Of An Eye Capstone, Christopher Rutigliano, Jillian Elalaoui, Kristin Humphrey, Phillip Gates, Mohamed Ndjikam, Highness Meena, Adam Menard, Spencer Pickney

School of Professional Studies

Texting and driving is one of the most widespread and uncontrollable of epidemics that have arose to prominence in the 21st century. Texting and driving is now a global issue, that has left nations across the road scrambling to implement new laws and preventative measures to stunt the increasing rates of accidents and fatalities caused by texting and driving. The severity of the issue has lead to a multitude of different entities ranging from domestic and foreign governments, cell phone and car manufacturers, cell phone carriers, and insurance agencies to seek new methods to prevent texting and driving. Determining the …

A Social Media Plan For The Changemakers’ Playground, Meng Cong, Ciara Kilian, Xinling Wang, Sumanth Wilson, Chenyu Yan

School of Professional Studies

The purpose of this project was to create a social media plan for the Changemakers’ Playground campaign. The Changemakers’ Playground is a website thought up by our client, Sarah Lange, whereby ordinary individuals doing extraordinary things in their community can be celebrated for the work they are doing. Each person featured on the website, also known as a Changemaker, was interviewed by Sarah and that interview was split into three videos to be posted on the Changemakers’ Playground website throughout the week they are being featured. In short, our task was to create the Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram content to …