Public Health Commons^™

Addressing The Public Health Concern Of Maternal Mortality In Houston, Texas, Lucy Couture

Dissertations and Theses (Open Access)

Maternal mortality remains a pressing public health concern in the United States, with disproportionate consequences for marginalized communities. Despite being a developed nation, the U.S. reports one of the highest maternal mortality rates among its peers, with approximately 80% of maternal deaths deemed preventable. Texas reflects this national crisis, particularly affecting Black women, whose maternal mortality rate is significantly higher than that of other racial and ethnic groups. This thesis explores maternal mortality trends in Houston, Texas, analyzing the roles of systemic inequities, social determinants of health, and disparities in access to quality care. Drawing on data from the Texas …

Opioid Knowledge And Experiences In Nebraska College Students, Natalie Holding

Theses/Capstones/Creative Projects

This study investigated opioid-related knowledge and experiences among 83 Nebraska college students, with an emphasis on awareness, perceived risks, and educational needs regarding opioids and the overdose-reversing drug, naloxone. For participants who have used opioids outside of a doctor’s orders, questions were asked regarding motivations, comorbidities, coping mechanisms, and treatment experiences. Data were collected via an anonymous survey featuring closed- and open-ended questions. Results showed that 41% of participants reported feeling moderately knowledgeable about opioid risks, while 34% felt only slightly knowledgeable. Although 80.7% of participants were aware of naloxone, most were uncertain either about (22.9%) or did not know …

Volunteering For Medically Underserved Children: Clinic With A Heart–Back-To-School Clinics, Isabella Marie Kerby Kessinger

Honors Program: Senior Projects (Public)

Medically underserved children, often from low-income families or areas with limited healthcare resources, face significant barriers in accessing essential medical services and represent a fundamental challenge to equity and social justice. School physicals and back-to-school clinics play a crucial role in addressing these healthcare needs, serving as a gateway to educational and extracurricular opportunities.

Clinic With a Heart (CWH), a non-profit medical and dental clinic in Lincoln, Nebraska, serves as a model for addressing healthcare disparities. In 2023, CWH provided 3,109 visits to 1,846 unique patients, with 83% lacking health insurance and 63% having household incomes below $16,000 annually. The …

Understanding And Intervening In Children's Tick Risk Perceptions And Protective Behaviors: A Grounded Theory, Ariel Dawdy

Department of Entomology: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Children, ages 8 years and younger, are at a particularly high risk of contracting a tick-borne disease. This is partially due to the misconceptions spread about tick protective behavior and a poor understanding of how antibiotic treatment can help. Because most communities and families believe that tick control is the individual’s responsibility, looking at the interaction between ticks and human children is essential to understanding the individual’s motivations to protect themselves. To help alleviate the number of individuals contracting tick-borne diseases, misconceptions must be addressed, intervention programs implemented, and a behavioral change must occur. This study used a qualitative research …

Obesity: Influencing Behavioral Consumption Through Meal Kit Distribution, Alejandro Hernandez

Capstone Projects and Master's Theses

Founded in 2002, Everyone’s Harvest is a grassroots nonprofit dedicated to providing access to healthy, affordable fruits and vegetables through certified farmers markets and community food programs. Its key initiatives—Fresh Rx, Market Match, Edible Education and Farms Together —focus on alleviating nutrition insecurity and combating diet-related health conditions by providing vulnerable populations the resources to purchase, or receive, fresh produce and gain nutritional knowledge. This study explores a new intervention: the distribution of farmers' market meal kits as a complementary strategy to the current Edible Education program. These meal kits, which feature seasonally available produce and pre-measured ingredients, aim to …

Bridging The Gap: Fostering Open Dialogue On Resource Access And Service Needs, Cameron Castillo

Capstone Projects and Master's Theses

This project investigates whether there are additional resources desired by clients or are needed to better support said clients in their recovery at the Interim, Inc. organization. This agency is a nonprofit organization whose sole purpose is to build community connections through providing services to individuals facing mental health and substance use challenges. While there is a wide range of programs available, there may still be clients with unmet needs. The purpose of this project was to identify any service gaps by conducting separate surveys of clients and staff members. Through the use of open-ended questions, the expectation of receiving …

Comprehensive Community Medicine, Alexander Walther

Capstone Projects and Master's Theses

Comprehensive Community Medicine (CCM) is a theoretical framework designed to address the complex needs of individuals with dual diagnoses of mental illness and substance use disorders (SUDs). Dual diagnosis is highly prevalent, particularly among populations experiencing homelessness, and is associated with poorer health outcomes and increased healthcare service utilization. Structural inequities, including a fractured healthcare system, exacerbate the challenges faced by this vulnerable group. Research indicates that effective care for dually diagnosed individuals requires a layered approach addressing clinical, systemic, legal, and housing barriers.

The development of CCM has been informed by interviews with local stakeholders, including County EMS board …

Biological Validation Of Peak-Width Of Skeletonized Mean Diffusivity As A Vcid Biomarker: The Markvcid Consortium, Alison M Luckey, Saptaparni Ghosh, Chen-Pin Wang, Alexa Beiser, Rebecca Bernal, Zhiguang Li, Djass Mbangdadji, Elyas Fadaee, Haykel Snoussi, Angel Gabriel Velarde Dediós, Hector A Trevino, Monica Goss, Laura J Hillmer, Christopher E Bauer, Adam M Staffaroni, Lara Stables, Marilyn Albert, Jayandra J Himali, Thomas H Mosley, Lars Forsberg, Vilmundur Guðnason, Baljeet Singh, Herpreet Singh, Kristin Schwab, Joel H Kramer, Gary A Rosenberg, Karl G Helmer, Steven M Greenberg, Mohamad Habes, Danny J J Wang, Brian T Gold, Hanzhang Lu, Arvind Caprihan, Myriam Fornage, Lenore J Launer, Konstantinos Arfanakis, Sudha Seshadri, Charles Decarli, Pauline Maillard, Claudia L Satizabal

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

BACKGROUND: Peak-width of skeletonized mean diffusivity (PSMD), a neuroimaging marker of cerebral small vessel disease (SVD), has shown excellent instrumental properties. Here, we extend our work to perform a biological validation of PSMD.

METHODS: We included 396 participants from the Biomarkers for Vascular Contributions to Cognitive Impairment and Dementia (MarkVCID-1) Consortium and three replication samples (Cohorts for Heart and Aging Research in Genomic Epidemiology = 6172, Rush University Medical Center = 287, University of California Davis Alzheimer's Disease Research Center = 567). PSMD was derived from diffusion tensor imaging using an automated algorithm. We related PSMD to a composite measure …

Discrimination, Sexual Orientation, And Alcohol Amongst Latine, Brian Juarez

Electronic Theses, Projects, and Dissertations

Existing research acknowledges the influence of discrimination on alcohol use, this study emphasizes the equally significant role of sexual orientation on alcohol use. Associations between these factors and alcohol consumption demonstrate the necessity for ongoing research to analyze their intricate relationships and subsequent health outcomes. This study highlights the crucial need for an in-depth exploration of discrimination as well as marginalized identities as contributing factors in alcohol consumption.

Using a quantitative approach to assess secondary data gathered from the National Alcohol Surveys (NAS), this paper underscores the importance of a comprehensive and timely approach to research the multifaceted impact of …

Global And Risk-Group Stratified Well-Being And Mental Health During The Covid-19 Pandemic In Adults: Results From The International Coh-Fit Study, Marco Solmi, Trevor Thompson, Andrés Estradé, Agorastos Agorastos, Joaquim Radua, Samuele Cortese, Elena Dragioti, Davy Vancampfort, Lau Caspar Thygesen, Harald Aschauer, Monika Schlögelhofer, Elena Aschauer, Andres Schneeberger, Christian G Huber, Gregor Hasler, Philippe Conus, Kim Q Do Cuénod, Roland Von Känel, Gonzalo Arrondo, Paolo Fusar-Poli, Philip Gorwood, Pierre-Michel Llorca, Marie-Odile Krebs, Elisabetta Scanferla, Taishiro Kishimoto, Golam Rabbani, Karolina Skonieczna-Żydecka, Paolo Brambilla, Angela Favaro, Akihiro Takamiya, Leonardo Zoccante, Marco Colizzi, Julie Bourgin, Karol Kamiński, Maryam Moghadasin, Soraya Seedat, Evan Matthews, John Wells, Emilia Vassilopoulou, Ary Gadelha, Kuan-Pin Su, Jun Soo Kwon, Minah Kim, Tae Young Lee, Oleg Papsuev, Denisa Manková, Andrea Boscutti, Cristiano Gerunda, Diego Saccon, Elena Righi, Francesco Monaco, Giovanni Croatto, Guido Cereda, Jacopo Demurtas, Natascia Brondino, Nicola Veronese, Paolo Enrico, Pierluigi Politi, Valentina Ciappolino, Andrea Pfennig, Andreas Bechdolf, Andreas Meyer-Lindenberg, Kai G Kahl, Katharina Domschke, Michael Bauer, Nikolaos Koutsouleris, Sibylle Winter, Stefan Borgwardt, Istvan Bitter, Judit Balazs, Pál Czobor, Zsolt Unoka, Dimitris Mavridis, Konstantinos Tsamakis, Vasilios P Bozikas, Chavit Tunvirachaisakul, Michael Maes, Teerayuth Rungnirundorn, Thitiporn Supasitthumrong, Ariful Haque, Andre R Brunoni, Carlos Gustavo Costardi, Felipe Barreto Schuch, Guilherme Polanczyk, Jhoanne Merlyn Luiz, Lais Fonseca, Luana V Aparicio, Samira S Valvassori, Merete Nordentoft, Per Vendsborg, Sofie Have Hoffmann, Jihed Sehli, Norman Sartorius, Sabina Heuss, Daniel Guinart, Jane Hamilton, John Kane, Jose Rubio, Michael Sand, Ai Koyanagi, Aleix Solanes, Alvaro Andreu-Bernabeu, Antonia San José Cáceres, Celso Arango, Covadonga M Díaz-Caneja, Diego Hidalgo-Mazzei, Eduard Vieta, Javier Gonzalez-Peñas, Lydia Fortea, Mara Parellada, Miquel A Fullana, Norma Verdolini, Eva Andrlíková, Karolina Janků, Mark J Millan, Mihaela Honciuc, Anna Moniuszko-Malinowska, Igor Łoniewski, Jerzy Samochowiec, Łukasz Kiszkiel, Maria Marlicz, Paweł Sowa, Wojciech Marlicz, Georgina Spies, Brendon Stubbs, Joseph Firth, Sarah Sullivan, Asli Enez Darcin, Hatice Aksu, Nesrin Dilbaz, Onur Noyan, Momoko Kitazawa, Shunya Kurokawa, Yuki Tazawa, Alejandro Anselmi, Cecilia Cracco, Ana Inés Machado, Natalia Estrade, Diego De Leo, Jackie Curtis, Michael Berk, Andre F Carvalho, Philip Ward, Scott Teasdale, Simon Rosenbaum, Wolfgang Marx, Adrian Vasile Horodnic, Liviu Oprea, Ovidiu Alexinschi, Petru Ifteni, Serban Turliuc, Tudor Ciuhodaru, Alexandra Bolos, Valentin Matei, Dorien H Nieman, Iris Sommer, Jim Van Os, Therese Van Amelsvoort, Ching-Fang Sun, Ta-Wei Guu, Can Jiao, Jieting Zhang, Jialin Fan, Liye Zou, Xin Yu, Xinli Chi, Philippe De Timary, Ruud Van Winkel, Bernardo Ng, Edilberto Peña De León, Ramon Arellano, Raquel Roman, Thelma Sanchez, Larisa Movina, Pedro Morgado, Sofia Brissos, Oleg Aizberg, Anna Mosina, Damir Krinitski, James Mugisha, Dena Sadeghi-Bahmani, Farshad Sheybani, Masoud Sadeghi, Samira Hadi, Serge Brand, Antonia Errazuriz, Nicolas Crossley, Dragana Ignjatovic Ristic, Carlos López-Jaramillo, Dimitris Efthymiou, Praveenlal Kuttichira, Roy Abraham Kallivayalil, Afzal Javed, Muhammad Iqbal Afridi, Bawo James, Omonefe Joy Seb-Akahomen, Jess Fiedorowicz, Jeff Daskalakis, Lakshmi N Yatham, Lin Yang, Tarek Okasha, Aïcha Dahdouh, Jari Tiihonen, Jae Il Shin, Jinhee Lee, Ahmed Mhalla, Lotfi Gaha, Takoua Brahim, Kuanysh Altynbekov, Nikolay Negay, Saltanat Nurmagambetova, Yasser Abu Jamei, Mark Weiser, Christoph U Correll

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

International studies measuring wellbeing/multidimensional mental health before/ during the COVID-19 pandemic, including representative samples for >2 years, identifying risk groups and coping strategies are lacking. COH-FIT is an online, international, anonymous survey measuring changes in well-being (WHO-5) and a composite psychopathology P-score, and their associations with COVID-19 deaths/restrictions, 12 a-priori defined risk individual/cumulative factors, and coping strategies during COVID-19 pandemic (26/04/2020-26/06/2022) in 30 languages (representative, weighted non-representative, adults). T-test, χ2, penalized cubic splines, linear regression, correlation analyses were conducted. Analyzing 121,066/142,364 initiated surveys, WHO-5/P-score worsened intra-pandemic by 11.1±21.1/13.2±17.9 points (effect size d=0.50/0.60) (comparable results in representative/weighted non-probability samples). Persons with …

Understanding The Association Between Neighborhoods And Adolescent Sleep: Evidence From Add Health, Sam J Neally, Breanna J P Rogers, Yangyang Deng, Mohammad Moniruzzaman, Qian Xiao, Kosuke Tamura

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

INTRODUCTION: Research suggests that perceived neighborhood social environments (PNSE) may contribute to gender and race/ethnicity-based sleep disparities. Our study aimed to examine associations between PNSE factors and adolescents' sleep patterns. As a secondary aim, we examined how gender and race/ethnic groups might moderate these associations.

METHOD: Data came from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent to Adult Health (n=5158; mean age=15.34 years). Four self-reported sleep outcomes were created: 1) sleep duration (hours/night), 2) short sleep (≥8 hours [reference] vs <8 >hours), 3) parental set bedtime (10:00 PM/earlier [reference] among girls vs by 11:00PM vs by/after 12:00AM), and 4) sleep satisfaction (enough …

The Life And Discoveries Of Yellapragada Subbarow, Nikhil R, Varuni Pragya, Subramanian Ramaswamy, Shiva Prasad B N, Mahabaleshwar Mamadapur

Digital Journal of Clinical Medicine

Dr. Yellapragada Subbarow was a researcher, teacher, and a wizard of wonder drugs who constantly made efforts in the discoveries/ inventions such as vitamins, anti-vitamins, antibiotics, and many more by disentangling the mysteries of nature for the betterment of the people. He inspired the youngsters to take up the challenges and to stand up above mediocrity. The reward for his achievement was delayed. The article describes a true humanist's journey, discoveries, and his achievements that are largely unknown to date.

The Relationship Between Gender And Experienes Of Weight Stigma From Healthcare Providers, Isabella J. Aceituno, Shannon Sagert

Undergraduate Research Symposium Posters

Healthcare providers are a common source of weight stigma, which is associated with lower physician trust, poorer patient outcomes, and the avoidance of healthcare services. Currently, there is a lack of consensus in research on whether women and men are equally likely to experience weight stigma from healthcare providers. The present study examined whether gender differences exist in weight stigma received from healthcare providers in childhood or adulthood, comfort seeking medical care, and healthcare avoidance. Adult participants (N = 196) reported the frequency at which they experienced stigmatizing experiences in healthcare environments in the past 12 months and during childhood …

Fact Sheet For Parents: What You Need To Know About Adderall, Aaron Hunt, Gabriela Murza, Alyssa Ferrin

All Current Publications

This fact sheet provides information about what Adderall is used for, how it can be misused, and what parents can do to talk to their kids about appropriate use.

Nature Healing Mental Stress: What U.S. Healthcare Can Learn From Other Nations, Shannon Frank-Richter, Lindsay Gietzen

Pacific Journal of Health

The United States healthcare system lags many developed nations in healthcare access and practices, especially surrounding ecotherapy [1]. Ecotherapy is the practice of mindfulness in tandem with intentional immersion among natural spaces or with natural elements. Research from Asia, Europe and Canada indicate immense benefits from ecotherapy, or mindful nature immersion, as an effective treatment for burnout and stress. By adopting regular nature engagement, the U.S. could significantly improve mental health and reduce occupational stress. This literature review examines how nature immersion, especially with mindfulness, positively affects the brain and nervous system. Key components in nature are identified, such as …

Impacting Community Well-Being Through Effective Engagement Using The Seed Method, Carlin Rafie, Emily B. Zimmerman, Angelina Hargrove, Theodora Biney Amissah, Samantha Lee

Journal of Extension

Cooperative Extension can make a significant impact on health in the United States through effective community engagement that focuses on the complex socio-ecological factors that impact health. The Stakeholder Engagement in Question Development Method (SEED Method) employs community based participatory research principles to engage communities in research, problem-solving, and action planning. Projects employing the SEED Method engage community members from diverse backgrounds, create community capacity, result in tangible outcomes, and foment inter-organizational trust and networking. A SEED Toolkit is available on the Extension Foundation Campus site and provides implementation instructions, tools and timelines, and potential applications within Extension.

Who Cares For The Caregiver? Exploring Extension’S Role In Informal Caregiving Support, Mckenzie R. Tuttle, Erin L. Martinez, Aimee Fox

Journal of Extension

Family caregivers provide invaluable service by taking on the responsibility of caring for older adults in the United States. With a growing aging population, the need for family caregivers and demands on their time and resources will continue to increase. Although a variety of caregiving resources and support services exist, family caregivers often lack the awareness, time, transportation, or financial resources to connect to services. There is a critical need to address the barriers that prevent caregivers from accessing services. In this commentary, we highlight barriers and make recommendations for improving conversations, research, and practice to meet this growing problem.

Post-Pandemic Needs Of Unpaid Family And Friend Caregivers To Effectively Continue Caregiving Duties In One Northern Ontario Health Authority, Jodi Webber, Erin Mulroney, Mark Tatasciore, Brianna Smith, Patti-Jo Duggan, Louis Ferron, Hannah Albani, Bianca Feitelberg, Laura Tenhagen, Sophia Myles

Patient Experience Journal

The Covid-19 pandemic had a significant impact on the support networks for older adults and caregivers as health and social care systems were forced to dramatically change the ways patients and clients interacted with providers, services, and programs. In Northern Ontario, caregivers are older, caring in more intense situations, more likely to be caring for multiple care recipients simultaneously and less likely to be in contact with health professionals. This research sought to explore the post-pandemic needs of caregivers in a Northern Ontario health catchment to better understand the needed supports. Using a collaborative and co-design approach with caregiver advisors …

Effects Of Sex And Estrous Cycle On Extended-Access Oxycodone Self-Administration And Cue-Induced Drug Seeking Behavior, Bhumiben P Patel, Jessica A Loweth

Rowan-Virtua School of Osteopathic Medicine Departmental Research

INTRODUCTION: Increasing evidence indicates that sex is a factor that impacts the abuse liability and relapse vulnerability of prescription opioids like oxycodone. However, while women are more likely than men to be prescribed and to use these drugs, the impact of sex and ovarian hormones on prescription opioid use and relapse vulnerability remains unclear. Accurately assessing these measures is complicated by the fact that chronic opioid exposure can lower ovarian hormone levels and cause cycle irregularities.

METHODS: Adult male and female Sprague-Dawley rats self-administered oxycodone (0.1 mg/kg/infusion) under extended-access conditions (6 h/day, 10 days) followed by forced abstinence. Separate groups …

Preferences For Starting Daily, On-Demand, And Long-Acting Injectable Hiv Preexposure Prophylaxis Among Men Who Have Sex With Men In The United States (2021-2022): Nationwide Online Cross-Sectional Study, Duygu Islek, Travis Sanchez, Jennifer L. Glick, Jeb Jones, Keith Rawlings, Supriya Sarkar, Patrick S. Sullivan, Vani Vannappagari

School of Public Health Faculty Publications

BACKGROUND: Long-acting (LA) injectable preexposure prophylaxis (PrEP) and on-demand PrEP may improve overall PrEP uptake among men who have sex with men (MSM), but little is understood about the PrEP option preferences of MSM in practical scenarios where they may choose between various PrEP options. OBJECTIVE: This study aims to examine the preferences for starting various PrEP options among a US nationwide online convenience sample of MSM from September 2021 to February 2022. METHODS: Participants reporting no prior HIV diagnosis were provided brief descriptions of each PrEP option and were asked, "If [PrEP option] were available from your local doctor …

To Reduce Mental Illness Stigma Among Emergency Medical Service Clinicians, Agencies Must Value Workers’ Psychological Safety And Health, Bryce Hruska, Maria L. Pacella La-Barbara, Marley S. Barduhn

Population Health Research Brief Series

Despite the mental health burdens on emergency medical service (EMS) personnel, most workers do not seek help due to stigma. Psychosocial safety climate (PSC) refers to how much an organization creates an environment that values, supports, and protects workers’ psychological safety and health. This data slice uses data collected in 2023 from EMS workers employed in the Northeastern U.S. Census Region to examine the association between EMS agencies’ PSC levels and mental illness stigma among EMS personnel. The results show that EMS personnel at agencies with high-risk PSC levels report 38% more mental illness stigma in the workplace compared to …

Examining Ptsd Prevalence Among Underserved Populations In The Integrated Community Mental Health Setting 2019 To 2022, Siran Koroukian, Stephen Zyzanski, Kurt C. Stange

Faculty Scholarship

Background: The prevalence of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) has been rising since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, and affects females, sexual and gender minorities, and individuals with social risks at higher rates. Objective: This study examines if the prevalence of PTSD increased from 2019 to 2022 among patients who received care in a national network of safety-net, community-based health centers with integrated behavioral health programs that serve patients at high risk for PTSD. Methods: We analyzed electronic health record data from patients with 1 or more behavioral health visits during 2019 to 2022 using repeated cross-sectional data to …

A Pilot Randomized Clinical Trial Of A Smartphone-Based Application To Support At-Home Psa Screening And Culturally Tailored Prostate Cancer Education For African American Men: A Study Protocol, Jordan Neil, Bingjing Mao, Ruosi Shao, E. Ogunsanya Motolani, Summer Frank-Pearce, Michael Businelle, Michael Cookson, Kelly Stratton, Mark Doescher, Stephanie Pharr, Valerie Moise, Brianna Fleshman, Jack Fronheiser, Kimberly Estrada, Iván Flores, David Bradley, Ashley Kendrick, Adam C. Alexander

School of Public Health Faculty Publications

Background: Prostate cancer is the most diagnosed cancer in Black/African American men (AA) and the second‑leading cause of cancer-related deaths. A prostate-specific antigen (PSA) blood test is an early detection screening tool for prostate cancer, but uptake of PSA screening remains low among AA men. Greater PSA screening rates among AA men, coupled with earlier treatment, may reduce disparities in prostate cancer outcomes, including mortality. The current pilot study will test the first-of-its-kind mobile health (mHealth) app to improve prostate cancer knowledge and increase PSA screening uptake among AA men using home-based screening methods. Methods: AA men aged 55 to …

Health Outcomes Reported By Healthcare Providers And Clients Of A Community-Based Medically Tailored Meal Program, Jessica M Sautter, Jule Anne Henstenburg, Adrian Glass Crafford, Ian Rowe-Nicholls, Victor S Diaz, Kaitlyn Ann Bartholomew, Julia S Evans, Maria R Johnson, Jeffrey Zhou, Deeksha Ajeya

Rowan-Virtua School of Osteopathic Medicine Departmental Research

BACKGROUND: Medically tailored meal (MTM) programs provide home-delivered meals to people living with serious illness and poor nutritional status. Client outcome studies have found evidence of decreased healthcare utilization and cost savings associated with MTM program participation, and inconclusive evidence of change in health measures. The purpose of this study was to use a novel observational framework to describe the client profile and change in health outcomes using routinely collected health and program data from a community-based MTM program at MANNA (Philadelphia, PA).

METHODS: Clients reported their self-rated health and experiences of food insecurity and malnutrition. Healthcare providers reported clients' …

Expansion And Evaluation Of Level Ii And Iii Recovery Residences For People Taking Medications For An Opioid Use Disorder: Project Homes (Housing For Mar Expanded Services) Study Protocol, J M Wilkerson, Kathryn R Gallardo, Serena Rodriguez, Henry Shelton Brown, Cecilia M Ganduglia Cazaban, James J Yang, Estevan R Herrera, Isaiah Niles Zoschke, Hannah L N Stewart, Sheryl A Mccurdy

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Introduction: As the US continues to battle the opioid epidemic, recovery residences remain valuable services for people in recovery. While there is a growing body of literature describing positive outcomes experienced by people who live in recovery residences, little is known about the experience of people who live in these residences while taking medications for an opioid use disorder (MOUD) as part of their recovery. Thus, this study has three aims: (1) expand the availability of recovery residences that meet the National Alliance for Recovery Residences standards in Texas and serve individuals taking medications for an opioid use disorder as …

Burnout And Employee Satisfaction Of Mental Health Clinicians In Corrections, Jeremy C. Capuyon, Lindsay Gietzen

Pacific Journal of Health

Approximately 1.9 million individuals are currently incarcerated within the United States. Rehabilitation and preparation for parole back into the community is common goal amongst correctional facilities. Mental health clinicians (social workers and psychologists) within the correctional facilities are providers who assist in the rehabilitation of inmates. Unfortunately, mental health clinicians in correctional facilities experience high rates of burnout and low levels of job satisfaction, resulting in an increase in turnover rates. This research project looks to investigate the impact burnout and employee satisfaction has on mental health clinicians who work in correctional settings. Furthermore, this research project compares burnout and …

Successful Application Of Craniosacral Therapy In A Case Of Colic In An 8-Week-Old Baby, Caro O’Neill, Angie Butterfield

Journal of Transformative Touch

This case study reports on the effectiveness of CranioSacral Therapy (CST) for an eight-week-old baby boy experiencing colic. A CST pediatric protocol was utilized during two sessions, a week apart, in May 2023. An improvement in symptoms was recorded after the first treatment. After the second treatment the baby was no longer presenting with symptoms related to infant colic. This case suggests that CST can be an effective support for babies experiencing infant colic.

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Demographic Characteristics, Perinatal Smoking Patterns, And Risk For Neonatal Health Complications Among Pregnant Smokers In The United States Who Begin Using Electronic Cigarettes During Pregnancy: A Descriptive Study Using Population-Based Surveillance Data., Hui Nian, Rachel Odland, Samantha Mindlin, Lin Ammar, Hilary Tindle, Angela M Miller, Kelli K Ryckman, Ethan Xie, Tina V Hartert, Brittney M Snyder, Steven M Brunwasser, Pingsheng Wu

Rowan-Virtua School of Osteopathic Medicine Departmental Research

INTRODUCTION: Health agencies have called for research evaluating e-cigarette (EC) use in supporting prenatal smoking cessation. This study aimed to describe (1) the characteristics of smokers who begin using electronic cigarettes (ECs) during pregnancy, (2) how frequently smokers reduce or eliminate pre- and post-natal combustible cigarette (CC) use, and (3) the risk for neonatal health complications among smokers who initiate ECs during pregnancy.

AIMS AND METHODS: Pregnant women using CCs exclusively during prepregnancy, who participated in a U.S. surveillance study, were classified by their reported late-pregnancy smoking behavior as CC-exclusive users, EC initiators, or quitters. EC initiators were further subclassified …

Health Risks Associated With Adopting New-Generation Disposable Products Among Young Adults Who Use E-Cigarettes, Shuyao Ran, James J Yang, Megan E Piper, Hsien-Chang Lin, Anne Buu

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

New-generation disposable e-cigarettes have become increasingly popular among young adults in the USA since the FDA's partial flavor ban. This study aims to examine longitudinal changes in health risks among young adults who adopted these novel products, as well as the health effects of device types beyond the effects of other important e-cigarette characteristics. This study recruited e-cigarette users via voluntary response sampling from three college campuses in the USA to respond to four-wave online surveys conducted in four consecutive semesters. Among the participants who adopted disposables during the study, their health risks (dependence symptoms, respiratory symptoms, combustible tobacco use) …

Barriers To Help-Seeking Behavior For Maternal Mental Health Disorders: Application Of The Health Belief Model, Tobi F. Oloyede, Joanne Chopak-Foss

Journal of the Georgia Public Health Association

Perinatal mood and anxiety disorders (PMADs) have become a leading cause of maternal mortality due to suicide among women in the first year following pregnancy. Although the profile for new mothers who die by suicide is predominantly white, disparities exist between Black and White women in their seeking help for perinatal and/or post-natal mood disorders. For Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC), there are differences in the perceptions of the benefits of seeking help for PMADs. The COVID-19 pandemic exacerbated maternal mental health disorders in the United States particularly for women who live in communities with limited access to …