Public Health Commons^™

Structural Magnetic Resonance Imaging As A Diagnostic Biomarker Of Hiv-Associated Neurocognitive Disorders (Hand), Mikki Schantell

Capstone Experience

Objective: The goal of this study was to do an exploratory analysis to determine if gray matter brain volumes and cortical thickness measures obtained from structural magnetic resonance imaging (sMRI) can discriminate people with HIV-associated neurocognitive disorders (HAND), neurocognitively unimpaired people with HIV (NU PWH), and HIV-negative controls (HIV- controls) using linear discriminant analyses.

Methods: A total of 231 participants, including 110 PWH and 121 HIV- controls, completed a neuropsychological (NP) battery and an sMRI protocol. The bilateral gray matter volumes and cortical thickness brain regions were analyzed using 18 linear discriminant models to assess the discriminability of gray matter …

The Evolving Management Of Aortic Valve Disease: Trends In The Utilization And Cost Of Savr, Tavr, And Medical Therapy, Andrew Goldsweig

Theses & Dissertations

Aortic stenosis (AS) and regurgitation (AR) may be treated with surgical aortic valve replacement (SAVR), transcatheter AVR (TAVR), or medical therapy (MT). Data are lacking regarding usage and cost of SAVR, TAVR, and MT for patients hospitalized with aortic valve disease. From the Nationwide Readmissions Database, we determined utilization and cost trends for SAVR, TAVR, and MT in patients with aortic valve disease admitted 2012-2016 for valve replacement, heart failure, unstable angina, non-ST-elevation myocardial infarction, or syncope. From 2012 through 2016, there was a 48.1% increase in the number of patients hospitalized for aortic valve disease annually. Overall, 19.9%, 6.7%, …

Planning And Facilitating The Training Of Emergency Medical Services On The Safe Transport Of Patients With Highly Infectious Diseases, Mohammed Alhallaf

Theses & Dissertations

Emergency Medical Services (EMS) personnel are the first line of treatment and are the first exposed health care workers to infectious diseases (IDs). Consequently, the EMS setting is a relatively vulnerable environment for disease transmission and cross-contamination. Also, serious and emerging IDs, such as highly pathogenic viral hemorrhagic fevers and novel Coronaviruses, in a time of increased globalization, require comprehensive EMS training and preparedness. This project had the objective of identifying best practices for the EMS transport of patients with IDs. The methods for this project were done in two phases. In the first stage, we …

Surgical Care Perspectives: Exploring Barriers And Facilitators To Surgery In Rural Nebraska, Sarah Stanislav

Capstone Experience

Background: Minimally invasive surgery (MIS) is associated with less pain, faster recovery, and lower complication rates. Despite being the standard of care, it remains underutilized in rural Nebraska. Surgeon shortages and limited studies describing patient and provider factors influencing treatment gaps contribute to unnecessary complications and healthcare expenditure. Our study aimed to understand rural surgical care barriers and facilitators encountered by patients, providers, and stakeholders in Nebraska. Methods: This exploratory mixed methods study involved 17 semi-structured interviews using a snowball sampling of eligible participants affiliated with an MIS Advisory Committee. Two coders analyzed data using NVivo12. A follow-up review of …

Prevalence Of Intimate Partner Violence Among The Maternal-Fetal Medicine Population, Sarah K. Larsen

Capstone Experience

Intimate partner violence (IPV) is increasingly understood as an important public health issue. It is well understood that intimate partner violence has many negative effects on its survivors ranging from physical to mental health conditions. The population of people who experience intimate partner violence and population of pregnant women are both vulnerable populations. Examining the two populations together demands a trauma-informed approach and an understanding of the intricacies of both pregnancy and intimate partner violence. While IPV has been studied among the pregnant population, intimate partner violence as it relates to the maternal fetal medicine (MFM) or high-risk pregnancy population …

Equivalency Testing For Two Formulations Of A Clinical Laboratory Control Material, Jessica M. Hart

Capstone Experience

Clinical laboratory control materials are an integral part of legally-mandated and highly regulated quality control protocols in all clinical laboratories. These controls ensure accurate performance of the laboratory testing and instrumentation used to produce medical test results for millions of patients. It is of clinical and public health interest to ensure the diagnostic test results which affect so many people are regulated by the most accurate and precise controls.

Formulation changes in control materials have the potential to impact laboratory quality control. In this study, data from two formulations of a hematology control were compared to assess equivalency of the …

Be A Hero Too, Samantha S. Rohe, Sophie Cemaj

Books: Pediatrics

This children's book explains COVID-19 and how to decrease the incidence of transmissions.

Sé Un Héroe Tú También, Samantha S. Rohe, Sophie Cemaj

Books: Pediatrics

This children's book explains COVID-19 and how to decrease the incidence of transmissions.