Public Health Commons^™

Implementation Of The Texas Community-Engaged Statewide Consortium For The Prevention Of Covid-19, Erika L Thompson, Bettina M Beech, Robert L Ferrer, Lorna H Mcneil, Jasmine J Opusunju, Rebecca A Seguin-Fowler, Emily E Spence, Luis Torres-Hostos, Christopher I Amos, Palak Desai, Jamboor K Vishwanatha

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

The Community Engagement Alliance (CEAL) Against COVID-19 Disparities aims to conduct community-engaged research and outreach. This paper describes the Texas CEAL Consortium's activities in the first year and evaluates progress. The Texas CEAL Consortium comprised seven projects. To evaluate the Texas CEAL Consortium's progress, we used components of the RE-AIM Framework. Evaluation included estimating the number of people reached for data collection and education activities (reach), individual project goals and progress (effectiveness), partnerships established and partner engagement (adoption), and outreach and education activities (implementation). During the one-year period, focus groups were conducted with 172 people and surveys with 2107 people …

The Impact Of Covid-19 On Opioid-Related Overdose Deaths In Texas, Karima Lalani, Christine Bakos-Block, Marylou Cardenas-Turanzas, Sarah Cohen, Bhanumathi Gopal, Tiffany Champagne-Langabeer

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, the United States was facing an epidemic of opioid overdose deaths, clouding accurate inferences about the impact of the pandemic at the population level. We sought to determine the existence of increases in the trends of opioid-related overdose (ORO) deaths in the Greater Houston metropolitan area from January 2015 through December 2021, and to describe the social vulnerability present in the geographic location of these deaths. We merged records from the county medical examiner's office with social vulnerability indexes (SVIs) for the region and present geospatial locations of the aggregated ORO deaths. Time series analyses …

Parent And Child Anxiety Evaluated During An Early Period Of The Covid-19 Pandemic: A Mixed-Methods Study, Karla M. Abela, Darlene Acorda, Stanley Cron, Geri Lobiondo-Wood

Journal of Patient-Centered Research and Reviews

Purpose: The objective of this study was to explore parent and child anxiety during the pandemic. Unlike previous pandemics, measures implemented to prevent the transmission of the SARS-CoV-2 virus have been much more limiting.

Methods: An explanatory convergent mixed-methods design was used to describe anxiety of children 9–17 years of age and their parents during August–October 2020. Adult and child versions of State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI) were used to examine levels as measured on STAI’s state-anxiety subscale. Web-based interviews with a subset of patients were conducted qualitatively to analyze anxiety-related themes.

Results: A total of 188 parents …

Conference Proceedings: Select Abstracts Presented At Advocate Aurora Scientific Day 2022

Journal of Patient-Centered Research and Reviews

The abstracts published in this supplement were presented at the 48th annual Advocate Aurora Scientific Day on May 25, 2022. This scholarly symposium provides a closed forum for sharing preliminary results from research studies conducted by faculty physicians and nurses, fellows, residents, scientists, and other health professionals associated with U.S. Midwest-based health system Advocate Aurora Health, publisher of the Journal of Patient-Centered Research and Reviews.

Patient Perspectives On Opioid Risk Discussions In Primary Care, Stephanie A. Hooker, Inih J. Essien, Caitlin M. Borgert-Spaniol, Rebecca C. Rossom, Anthony W. Olson, Katrina M. Romagnoli, Leif I. Solberg

Journal of Patient-Centered Research and Reviews

Purpose: Both patients and clinicians have described discussions of potential opioid risks as challenging. This study’s goal was to understand patient perspectives on discussing opioid risks with primary care clinicians (PCCs).

Methods: Patients identified to be at elevated risk for problems with opioids (ie, opioid use disorder [OUD] diagnosis, taking a medication for OUD, or having ≥ 3 opioid prescriptions in the last year) were recruited from an integrated, Upper Midwest health system to participate in semi-structured qualitative interviews. Interview questions aimed to better understand patient views on conversations about opioid risks with PCCs and perceptions of OUD screening and …

Demographic And Socioeconomic Factors Predict Maternal Postpartum Rehospitalization: A Retrospective Numom2b Dataset Study, Colin Wakefield

Tower Health Research Day

No abstract provided.

Wellness Review 2022, Part 1, Martin Huecker, Brian A. Ferguson, Jacob Shreffler

Journal of Wellness

Introduction: This article represents the first of a two-part assessment of 2022 literature addressing wellness in healthcare professionals published from January 1, 2022 to June 30, 2022.

Methods: Three editors conducted a similar keyword search in Pubmed, also adding manually curated articles. Focusing chiefly on clinical trials and other prospective research, we settled on a final 25 significant papers focusing on wellness in medical professionals to include in this review.

Literature Review: Recent literature into HCW wellness continues to describe burnout factors and COVID-19 impact, but includes more resilience-targeting interventions and systematic reviews of trials seeking bolstering of well-being. Subsections …

Description Des Stratégies Favorisant L'Adoption De Comportements Préventifs Chez Les Travailleurs Ayant Subi Une Lésion Professionnelle : Une Revue Critique De La Littérature, Alexandra Lecours, Marie-France Coutu, Marie-José Durand

Rapports de recherche scientifique

Contexte et objectif de la recherche

Certains travailleurs ayant subi une lésion professionnelle présentent des difficultés à se maintenir au travail à long terme au retour d’une période d’absence, et ce, même après avoir reçu des services de réadaptation. Les professionnels de la réadaptation ont un rôle à jouer pour favoriser ce maintien sain et durable au travail, notamment par le soutien au développement des comportements préventifs chez les travailleurs. En effet, de récentes études ont permis de développer le Modèle des comportements préventifs au travail (MCPT) qui décrit six comportements que les travailleurs peuvent adopter en interaction avec leur …

Does Covid-19 Infection Increase Blood Pressure?, Kevin Heffernan, Andrew Heckel

Population Health Research Brief Series

In 2020, hypertension (high blood pressure) was responsible for over 670,000 deaths in the U.S. Combined with changes in lifestyle and mental health during the COVID-19 pandemic, diagnoses of high blood pressure and new cases of hypertension increased, regardless of whether an individual had COVID-19. This research brief examines changes in blood pressure among U.S. adults in Fall 2020 and Spring 2021 and finds that poor sleep quality and poor mental health were associated with less desirable blood pressure patterns. The results indicate a need for healthcare providers to consider sleep quality and mental health when assessing patients for cardiovascular …

Socioeconomic Status And Other Factors Associated With Hiv Status Among Ovc In Democratic Republic Of Congo (Drc), Gulzar H. Shah, Gina D. Etheredge, Lievain Maluantesa, Kristie Cason Waterfield, Osaremhen Ikhile, Elodie Engetele, Astrid Mulenga, Alice Tabala, Bernard Bossiky

Health Policy & Community Health: Faculty Publications

Background: Orphans and vulnerable children (OVC) are a high-risk group for HIV infection, particularly in Sub-Saharan Africa.

Purpose: This study aims to portray the socioeconomic profile of OVC and examine the association of household and parent/guardian characteristics with the HIV status of OVC.

Methods: For this quantitative retrospective study, we obtained data from ICAP/DRC for a total of 1,624 OVC from households enrolled for social, financial, and clinical services between January 2017 and April 2020 in two provinces of the Democratic Republic of Congo, Haut-Katanga and Kinshasa. We computed descriptive statistics for OVC and their parents' or guardians' characteristics. We …

The Clusters Of Health-Risk Behaviours And Mental Wellbeing And Their Sociodemographic Correlates: A Study Of 15,366 Asean University Students, Apichai Wattanapisit, Hanif Abdul Raman, Josip Car, Khadizah H. Abdul-Mumin, Ma. Henrietta Teresa O. De La Cruz, Michael Chia, Michael Rosenberg, Moon-Ho Ringo Ho, Surasak Chaiyasong, Trias Mahmudiono

Ateneo School of Medicine and Public Health Publications

Background

This study investigated, through cluster analysis, the associations between behavioural characteristics, mental wellbeing, demographic characteristics, and health among university students in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) University Network – Health Promotion Network (AUN-HPN) member universities.

Methods

Data were retrieved from a cross-sectional self-administered online survey among undergraduate students in seven ASEAN countries. A two-step cluster analysis was employed, with cluster labels based on the predominant characteristics identified within the clusters. The ‘healthy’ cluster was assigned as the reference group for comparisons using multinomial logistic regression analysis.

Results

The analytic sample size comprised 15,366 university students. Five clusters …

Health-Related Quality Of Life And Mental Well-Being During The Covid-19 Pandemic In Five Countries: A One-Year Longitudinal Study, Di Long, Gouke J. Bonsel, Erica I. Lubetkin, John N. Yfantopoulos, Mathieu F. Janssen, Juanita A. Haagsma

Publications and Research

This study aimed to investigate socioeconomic and health-related determinants and recent life events and their relation to changes in health-related quality of life (HRQoL) and mental well-being during the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic. A web-based survey was administered repeatedly to participants from Greece, Italy, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, and the United States. Primary outcome measures were HRQoL (measured by EQ-5D-5L) and mental well-being (measured by WHO-5). Linear regression analyses were performed to estimate the impact of determinants on HRQoL and well-being. In total, 6765 respondents completed the questionnaire at T1 (April–May 2020) and T2 (May–June 2021). Regarding …

How To Survive College As An Acoa: The Effectiveness Of University Resources On Helping Acoas Socially And Psychologically Succeed During Their Academic Career, Kelly Buchan

Senior Theses

In 2019, 14.5 million people ages 12 and older had Alcohol Use Disorder (AUD), but only 10% received treatment (National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism [NIAAA], 2022). Parental drinking problems can directly affect children, or “Adult Children of Alcoholics.” Of the few studies targeting ACoAs, results show that ACoAs not only have higher risks of mental illness, but they also have lower GPAs and social health (Schroeder & Kelley, 2008). Thus, this study assessed the extent to which perceptions of the college drinking environment are related to higher depression rates in ACoAs, certain drinking motivations, and reluctance to use …

Longitudinal Change In Blood Dna Epigenetic Signature After Smoking Cessation, Amena Keshawarz, Roby Joehanes, Weihua Guan, Tianxiao Huan, Dawn L Demeo, Megan L Grove, Myriam Fornage, Daniel Levy, George O'Connor

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Cigarette smoking is associated with epigenetic changes that may be reversible following smoking cessation. Whole blood DNA methylation was evaluated in Framingham Heart Study Offspring (n = 169) and Third Generation (n = 30) cohort participants at two study visits 6 years apart and in Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities (ARIC) study (n = 222) participants at two study visits 20 years apart. Changes in DNA methylation (delta β values) at 483,565 cytosine-phosphate-guanine (CpG) sites and differentially methylated regions (DMRs) were compared between participants who were current, former, or never smokers at both visits (current-current, former-former, never-never, respectively), versus those who …

Covid-19 And The College Student Experience, Benjamin Cochran

Senior Theses

In March of 2020, COVID-19 consumed the globe, affecting individuals’ physical and mental health. Physical health disparities among states of different political affiliations became clearer as the pandemic continued unrelentingly, but mental health disparities were not. This thesis attempted to note any mental health disparities among college students in states of both political affiliations across the country through an online survey. The 23-question survey was completed by 97 undergraduates at six universities - three in liberal states and three in conservative states. Respondents at universities in the liberal states rated their university and the state in which it is located …

The Impact Of Intraoperative Glucagon On The Diagnostic Accuracy Of Intraoperative Cholangiogram For The Diagnosis Of Choledocholithiasis: Experience From A Large Tertiary Care Center, Artem Boyev, Srinivas Sanjeevi, Martha M Estrada, Tien C Ko, Curtis J Wray

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

INTRODUCTION: In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, hospitals reported decreased admissions for acute surgical diagnoses, but scant data was available to quantify the decrease and its consequences. The objective of this study was to examine the incidence of acute care surgery encounters before and during the COVID-19 pandemic.

MATERIALS AND METHODS: A retrospective cohort study was performed at a single, urban, United States safety-net hospital. Emergency room encounters, admissions, non-elective surgical procedures, patient acuity, and surgical complications were compared before and after the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. The primary outcome of the study was the incidence rate (IR) and …

Factors Associated With Depression, Anxiety, And Stress Symptoms Among Men In A Rural Area In Vietnam During Covid-19, Van T H Hoang, Ha T H Nguyen

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

BACKGROUND: The COVID-19 pandemic has affected health and well-being worldwide, and its psychological effects are receiving substantial attention in the scientific literature. Research to date shows that the pandemic has increased prevalences of depression, anxiety, and stress. This study aimed to estimate the prevalence of mental health symptoms and identify the associated factors among men in a rural area of Vietnam during the COVID-19 pandemic.

METHODS AND FINDINGS: During July 15-31, 2020, we conducted a cross-sectional survey of 1,085 men from 18 years old in 11 rural districts in Thanh Hoa province, Vietnam, and assessed their mental health using the …

Assessment And Diagnostic Practices Relating To Autism Spectrum Disorder In The United States And Mexico, Maria Valdez, Jessica R. Stewart, Wan-Lin Chang, Ruth Crutchfield, Ralph Carlson

Internet Journal of Allied Health Sciences and Practice

Purpose: The present study examined and compared professional assessment and diagnostic practices relating to autism spectrum disorder (ASD) in Mexico and the United States (U.S.). This information is of great importance because there is an extremely limited amount of information pertaining the assessment and diagnostic practices for ASD in Mexico and little is known about how these practices compare to those in the U.S. Methods: Archival data from a survey investigating ASD in the U.S. and Mexico was used for this study. Participants included 29 professionals from the U.S. and 7 professionals from Mexico. Professionals were from a variety of …

Correlates Of Caffeinated Energy Drinks, Substance Use, And Behavior Among Adolescents, Lauren N. Maziarz, Lauren A. Dial, Bradley Fevrier, William Ivoska

Internet Journal of Allied Health Sciences and Practice

Background: Caffeinated energy drinks (CCEDs) are frequently consumed by adolescents aged 10-19, yet the effects of consumption on adolescent behavior are not well understood. Previous research has identified positive associations between CCED use and other substances such as alcohol and marijuana but studies among adolescents are lacking. Methods: We conducted a secondary analysis using data collected from the 2019 Alcohol, Drug Addition, and Mental Health Services (ADAMHS) Board/Wood County Educational Service Center’s youth survey. Ten public schools in Wood County, Ohio participated (n=6,152). Results: CCED use was common among our sample (43.4% overall). Reported consumption increased with age and was …

Invasive Group A Streptococcal Penicillin Binding Protein 2× Variants Associated With Reduced Susceptibility To Β-Lactam Antibiotics In The United States, 2015-2021, Sopio Chochua, Benjamin Metcalf, Zhongya Li, Saundra Mathis, Theresa Tran, Joy Rivers, Katherine E Fleming-Dutra, Yuan Li, Lesley Mcgee, Bernard Beall

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

All known group A streptococci [GAS] are susceptible to β-lactam antibiotics. We recently identified an invasive GAS (iGAS) variant (emm43.4/PBP2x-T553K) with unusually high minimum inhibitory concentrations (MICs) for ampicillin and amoxicillin, although clinically susceptible to β-lactams. We aimed to quantitate PBP2x variants, small changes in β-lactam MICs, and lineages within contemporary population-based iGAS. PBP2x substitutions were comprehensively identified among 13,727 iGAS recovered during 2015-2021, in the USA. Isolates were subjected to antimicrobial susceptibility testing employing low range agar diffusion and PBP2x variants were subjected to phylogenetic analyses. Fifty-five variants were defined based upon substitutions within an assigned PBP2x …

A Review Of The Effectiveness, Feasibility, And Acceptability Of Art Therapy For Children And Adolescents During The Covid-19 Pandemic, Minh Ngoc Le Vu, Anh Linh Do, Laurent Boyer, Quy Chi Tran, Stefan Kohler, Syed Ishtiaque Ahmed, Andreea Molnar, Tung Son Vu, Nhan Trong Huynh Vo, Linh Mai Vu Nguyen, Linh Gia Vu, Vu Anh Trong Dam, Thomy Duong, Dan Linh Nguyen Do, Ngoc Minh Do, Roger S Mclntyre, Carl Latkin, Roger Chun Man Ho, Cyrus Su Hui Ho

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Art therapy has been widely offered to reduce symptoms of psychological disturbance. Pooled evidence about its effectiveness in epidemic contexts, particularly during the COVID-19 pandemic, has not been yet established. This study reviewed the effectiveness, feasibility, and acceptability of art therapy on children and adolescents during the COVID-19 pandemic and past epidemics. We searched PubMed/Medline, PsycINFO, CENTRAL (Cochrane Library), and CINAHL for articles on art therapy during COVID-19. Included studies reported improvements in measures of mental health, sleep quality, and psychological well-being in children with or without disabilities in the epidemic context. Results also showed that art therapy was highly …

First-Stage Development Of The Pitjantjatjara Translation Of The World Health Organization’S Alcohol, Smoking And Substance Involvement Screening Test (Assist), Matthew Wr Stevens, Dom Barry, Sue Bertossa, Mark Thompson, Robert Ali

Journal of the Australian Indigenous HealthInfoNet

Substance use is a leading contributor to global disease, illness and death. Compared with non-Indigenous Australians, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australians are at an increased risk of substance-related harms due to the experience of additional social, cultural, and economic factors. While preventive approaches, including screening and early interventions are promising, currently there are limited options available to healthcare workers that are culturally appropriate for use in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander populations. Therefore, the aim of this research was to translate and culturally adapt the World Health Organization endorsed, Alcohol, Smoking and Substance Involvement Screening Test (ASSIST) into Pitjantjatjara. …

Pre Covid-19 Pandemic Use Of Telemedicine For Adherence Promotion In Patients With Psychotic Disorders: A Literature Review, Alyssa M. Edwards, Jordan C. Petitt, Sanjana Kumar, Jennifer B. Levin, Martha Sajatovic

Faculty Scholarship

Introduction: Given the increasing use of telepsychiatry and to serve as a reference point informing future research, our team evaluated the literature on the use of telepsychiatry for medication adherence promotion prior to the COVID-19 pandemic among patients with psychotic disorders. Methods: A search of PubMed, Cochrane, Web of Science, CINAHL, and PsycINFO was conducted using PRISMA guidelines to identify telepsychiatry interventions to enhance medication adherence in patients with primary psychotic disorders. Both quantitative and qualitative data were extracted from the identified articles including study characteristics, interventions, and outcomes. Results: In total, 230 articles were obtained through electronic literature search, …

Air Quality And Cancer Prevalence Trends Across The Sub-Saharan African Regions During 2005–2020, Omolola Okunromade, Jingjing Yin, Clara Ray, Atin Adhikari

Health Policy & Community Health: Faculty Publications

Poor air quality and environmental pollution remain some of the main etiological factors leading to cancers and cancer-related deaths worldwide. As a result of human activities, deleterious airborne chemicals can be dispersed not only in the environment but also released in occupational environments and industrial areas. Air pollutants and cancer links are now established through various oxidative stress-related mechanisms and related DNA damages. Generally, ambient and indoor air pollutants have been understudied in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) compared to other regions in the world. Our study not only highlights the deleterious effects of air pollutants in these developing countries, but it …

Post Covid-19 Cognitive Impairment In A Patient With Bipolar Disorder, Nilanjana Dutta, Raghav Gupta, Dr. M Kishor Mbbs, Md

Digital Journal of Clinical Medicine

COVID-19 has caused widespread health conditions, psychological and social distress among people and there is evidence that shows profound neuropsychiatric complications during acute and post-recovery phases of the infection. Cognitive impairment occurring after COVID-19 infection can be explained by various mechanisms, including persistent systemic inflammation, direct viral invasion, alteration in the blood-brain barrier, and cerebrovascular endothelial injury.There are few studies that have explored the impact of COVID-19 on pre-existing psychiatric conditions. This case report highlights the temporal association of cognitive impairment with COVID-19 and the need for cognitive assessment and management in post-COVID-19 patients with pre-existing psychiatric conditions.

Obsessive Compulsive Disorder With Porn Addiction During The Covid-19 Pandemic, Varuni Pragya, M Kishor Dr.

Digital Journal of Clinical Medicine

BACKGROUND:

COVID-19 Pandemic is an unprecedented humanitarian crisis that has affected the mental health of individuals immensely. OCD was among the mental health conditions that emerged with the new norm that is associated with repeated hand wash, social distancing and testing to confirm COVID-19. Nissen et al. (2020) found that there was a significant positive correlation between total OCD severity scores and the occurrence of OCD aggressive and sexual symptoms. [6] The COVID-19 lockdown translated into physical isolation, driving individuals to waste time online with no definite purpose, spending longer, abnormal durations of time online when bored, leading to increased …

Inspire Yourself: Volunteer!, Judith Sullivan

Journal of Transformative Touch

Doing volunteer short Zero Balancing sessions once a month for 13 years for staff, volunteers and sometimes "guests" at The Haven, a a multi-resource day shelter in downtown Charlottesville, Virginia supports the community in many ways.

Alcohol And Cannabis Co-Use And Longitudinal Gray Matter Volumetric Changes In Early And Late Adolescence, Xi Luo, James J Yang, Anne Buu, Elisa M Trucco, Chiang-Shan R Li

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Background: Previous studies have characterized the impact of substance use on cerebral structure and function in adolescents. Yet, the great majority of prior studies employed a small sample, presented cross-sectional findings, and omitted potential sex differences.

Methods: Using data based on 724 adolescents (370 females) curated from the NCANDA study, we investigated how gray matter volumes (GMVs) decline longitudinally as a result of alcohol and cannabis use. The impacts of alcohol and cannabis co-use and how these vary across assigned sex at birth and age were examined. Brain imaging data comprised the GMVs of 34 regions of interest and the …

Behavioural Support And Nicotine Replacement Therapy For Smokeless Tobacco Cessation: Protocol For A Pilot Randomised-Controlled Multi-Country Trial, Faraz Siddiqui, Linda Bauld, Ray Croucher, Cath Jackson, Ian Kellar, Mona Kanaan, Subhash Pokhrel, Rumana Huque, Romaina Iqbal, Javaid Ahmed Khan

Community Health Sciences

Background: Smokeless tobacco (ST) is consumed globally by more than 350 million people, with approximately 85% of all users based in South and Southeast Asia. In this region, ST products are cheap and easily accessible. Evidence-based interventions to people quit ST use are lacking. This study aims to test the feasibility of conducting a future definitive trial of ST cessation, using a culturally adapted behavioural intervention, and/or nicotine replacement therapy (NRT) in three South Asian countries.
Methods: We will conduct a factorial design, randomised-controlled pilot trial in Bangladesh, India and Pakistan. Daily ST users will be recruited from primary health …

Nutritional Cooking Program With Girls Inc., Taunton, Ma, Chantel Almanzar

Honors Program Theses and Projects

As a member of the Institutional Review Board-approved research team comprised of Dr. Maura Rosenthal, Dr. Angela Bailey, and Christina Elderbee, I led a six-week community-based health program that included cooking lessons for girls aged 10 to 13. I taught girls how to prepare healthful foods that they may cook with their family and friends at home. The larger project, Building Equity Through Collaboration with Girl's Inc., aims to study the outcomes of girls’ participation in after school and summer camp programs in 2021 and 2022. One part of this research, which intends to learn more about girls' current and …