Public Health Commons^™

Increasing Access To Doulas In Oregon: A Delphi Study, Courtney Elizabeth Crane

Dissertations and Theses

Doulas are trained, nonmedical support professionals that provide continuous emotional, informational, physical, and practical support before, during, and after childbirth. Doula care has been shown to reduce the cost of birth-related healthcare, reduce adverse birth outcomes, and increase patient satisfaction and positive birth experience. In 2011 Oregon became the first state to authorize payment expenditures of doula care through Medicaid as a strategy to reduce birth-related health disparities and increase culturally and linguistically appropriate healthcare delivery. The intention of the set of policies and administrative rules was to mandate access to doulas and other types of Traditional Health Workers (THWs) …

Maternal Socioeconomic Status And Infant Low Birth Weight: Interactions Across Generations, Kira M. Anderson

University Honors Theses

This article examines the interplay between low birth weight (LBW) and socioeconomic status (SES) across generations. Transgenerational research of LBW and SES is limited and poses certain challenges and nuances. A literature review was conducted which gathered studies that analyze both LBW and SES for two or more generations. Results of these studies are mixed, but the body of research is suggestive of patterns in which LBW and low SES may mutually exacerbate each other across generations. Furthermore, the research suggests that these patterns may be more severe among Black women. This paper calls into question the consequences that these …

The Impact Of Maternal Nutrition On The Development And Severity Of Generalized Anxiety Disorders In Rodent And Non-Human Primate Studies, Esmeralda H. Cardoso

University Honors Theses

Generalized anxiety has become more prevalent among children and adolescents in the United States which impacts their health and livelihood. Maternal nutrition during pregnancy is purported to play a role in cognitive development and mental health during childhood, adolescence, and into adulthood. The Developmental Origins of Health and Disease theory suggests maternal nutrition before and during pregnancy influences transgenerational susceptibility, onset, and severity of disease through epigenetic mechanisms that then impact the child’s overall health, including cognitive development and mental health later in life. A literature review of rodents and non-human primate studies was conducted to explore the association between …

The Relationship Between Regulation And Care Access In The Doula Industry, Charissa Billings

University Honors Theses

Birth doulas are unregulated service providers in the United States, who provide informational, emotional, and physical support before, during, and after birth. Currently, the United States has the highest maternal mortality rate amongst the most developed nations, as well as a serious racial gap, with Black women being twice as likely to die due to pregnancy-related complications when compared to White women. Birth doulas can help close the gaps with trained support and advocacy. Since over 40% of the births in the US are covered by Medicaid, providing birth doula services to Medicaid recipients could result in improved birth outcomes. …

A Hidden Crisis During Covid-19: How Have Intimate Partner Violence Screening Guidelines For Pregnant Patients Changed Since The Start Of The Global Covid-19 Pandemic?, Zayba Afshar

University Honors Theses

Introduction: Due to the risks of pregnancy outcomes in relation to IPV and the increased rates of IPV as a result of COVID-19 precautions, health care screening for IPV in the prenatal process is even more imperative for preventing negative healthcare outcomes for both the pregnant patient and children.

Background: Intimate partner violence (IPV) is a significant public health issue that puts both baby and pregnant patients at risk for severe negative healthcare outcomes. Healthcare screening is a tool to find a condition or to learn more about a patient before symptoms become severe.

Methods: Screening for …

Iron-Deficiency Anaemia (Ida): Socio-Cultural Misconceptions Intersect The Health Of Vulnerable Populations In Developing Countries, Samantha G. Alarcon Basurto

University Honors Theses

Iron is a mineral that the human body uses to make hemoglobin, a protein that red blood cells need to carry oxygen from the lungs to all parts of the body. The lack of adequate iron in the blood is known as iron deficiency, which if experienced in greater proportions, can lead to anaemia. Iron-deficiency anaemia is generally understood as a nutritional deficiency that can be treated by diets of food rich in iron content or the ingestion of iron supplements; yet lack of information, restricted access to bioavailable iron-rich foods, minimal awareness of anaemia’s detrimental effects on children’s cognitive …

Pregnancy Outcomes: A Study Testing A Model For Predicting Health Outcomes In Pregnancy, Tamera Ann Hart-Johnson

Dissertations and Theses

There is a persistent relationship between socioeconomic status and physical health outcomes found in the literature; however the variables mediating this relationship are many, and ways that they interact with each other are complex. The goal of understanding this relationship is to decrease the disparity in health by socioeconomic status.

This study tested a biopsychosocial model proposed by David Williams (1990) to explain the relationship between socioeconomic status and physical health outcomes. The model included the following latent factors: demographics, socioeconomic status, biomedical risk, medical care, psychosocial variables, and health outcomes. The model was tested through a secondary data analysis. …

An Exploratory Study Of Children’S Mental Health Needs In The Pact Target Area Of Southeast Portland, Richard L. Bossardt, Clifford G. Larsen

Dissertations and Theses

The original, and still primary, purpose of this study was to provide a statistical data base for a grant proposal to fund a children's mental health service agency in the PACT target area of Southeast Portland. Since the conception, the plan has been subsumed under the planning auspices of a group whose aim is to work toward expanding and consolidating mental health services in all dimensions for the Southeast Portland area. The geographical focus of this study is on that section of Southeast Portland which has been designated by the Office of Economic Opportunity as a poverty pocket because of …