Public Health Commons^™

Dietary Inflammatory Index And Biomarkers Of Lipoprotein Metabolism, Inflammation And Glucose Homeostasis In Adults, Catherine Phillips, Nitin Shivappa, James R. Hébert, Ivan Perry

Faculty Publications

Accumulating evidence identifies diet and inflammation as potential mechanisms contributing to cardiometabolic risk. However, inconsistent reports regarding dietary inflammatory potential, biomarkers of cardiometabolic health and metabolic syndrome (MetS) risk exist. Our objective was to examine the relationships between a food frequency questionnaire (FFQ)-derived dietary inflammatory index (DII®), biomarkers of lipoprotein metabolism, inflammation and glucose homeostasis and MetS risk in a cross-sectional sample of 1992 adults. Energy-adjusted DII (E-DII) scores derived from an FFQ were calculated. Lipoprotein particle size and subclass concentrations were measured using nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy. Serum acute-phase reactants, adipocytokines, pro-inflammatory cytokines and white blood cell (WBC) …

Toxic Effects Of Lead Disposal In Water: An Analysis Of Tri Facility Releases, Patrick Koval

Economics Department Working Papers

Using county-level TRI data from 2003 to 2016, I find evidence that lead emissions in water adversely affect birth weights within the emitting county, especially with respect to the percentage of births considered low birth weight within that county (less than 2,500 grams). I find that a one percent increase in lead emissions per square mile increases the proportion of low birth weights by 0.27 percentage points. For a county with an average number of births in a particular year, this one percent increase in lead per square mile translates to an additional $475,000 in hospitalization costs from complications with …

Generalized Spatiotemporal Modeling And Causal Inference For Assessing Treatment Effects For Multiple Groups For Ordinal Outcome., Soutik Ghosal

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation consists of three projects and can be categorized in two broad research areas: generalized spatiotemporal modeling and causal inference based on observational data. In the first project, I introduce a Bayesian hierarchical mixed effect hurdle model with a nested random effect structure to model the count for primary care providers and understand their spatial and temporal variation. This study further enables us to identify the health professional shortage areas and the possible impacting factors. In the second project, I have unified popular parametric and nonparametric propensity score-based methods to assess the treatment effect of multiple groups for ordinal …

A Characterization Of The Medical-Legal Partnership (Mlp) Of Nebraska Medicine, Jordan Pieper

Capstone Experience: Master of Public Health

This research study was completed at Legal Aid of Nebraska’s Health, Education, and Law Project through the partnership it has formed working with Nebraska Medicine and Iowa Legal Aid. Traditionally, health and disease have always been viewed exclusively as "healthcare" issues. But with healthcare consistently growing towards holistic approaches to help patients, we now know there are deeper, structural conditions of society that can act as strong driving forces of a person's poor daily living conditions that can negatively impact health. The importance of a Medical-Legal Partnership is that it considers a patient's social determinants of health (SDHs). The goal …

Design, Development And Construct Validation Of The Children’S Dietary Inflammatory Index, Samira Khan, Micheal D. Wirth, Andrew Ortaglia, Christian R. Alvarado, Nitin Shivappa, Thomas Hurley, James R. Hébert

Faculty Publications

Objective: To design and validate a literature-derived, population-based Children’s Dietary Inflammatory Index (C-DII)TM. Design: The C-DII was developed based on a review of literature through 2010. Dietary data obtained from children in 16 different countries were used to create a reference database for computing C-DII scores based on consumption of macronutrients, vitamins, minerals, and whole foods. Construct validation was performed using quantile regression to assess the association between C-reactive protein (CRP) concentrations and C-DII scores. Data Sources: All data used for construct validation were obtained from children between six and 14 years of age (n = 3300) who participated in …

Particles In Welding Fumes, Rebecca T. Williams

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to investigate whether or not differing base metals and filler wires used during welding processes contributed to differing amounts of ultrafine particles (UFP) and nanoparticles being emitted during the welding procedure. The study was also conducted to determine UFP and nanoparticle exposure in the breathing zones of the welders as well as the breathing zones of pipefitters and fire watchers, who commonly sit 6ft behind the welding arc. In order to determine if UFP and NP exposures differed with base metal and filler wire, all welding processes utilized the same welding machine for metal …

A Case Study Of The Ethanol Cleancook Stove Intervention And Potential Scale-Up In Ethiopia, Megan L. Benka-Coker, Wubshet Tadele, Alex Milano, Desalegn Getaneh, Harry Stokes

Health Sciences Faculty Publications

Background

Approximately 80% of Ethiopia's energy consumption is dominated by woody biomass fuel use, resulting in 91.2 million tons of firewood and 4.2 million tons of charcoal consumed annually. Ethiopia's dependency on non-sustainable energy, especially for cooking, has been a major concern for the nation for the past 30 years, contributing to deforestation, climate change, and adverse human health impacts.

Objectives

Our objective was to document the work of Gaia Association and the implementation of the ethanol CleanCook stove in the refugee camp and urban settings of Ethiopia. We then assessed the potential for the scale-up of ethanol as a …

Ripple Effects Of The Belo Monte Dam: A Syndemic Approach To Addressing Health Impacts For The Downstream Community Of Gurupá, Cynthia A. Pace

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation examines the public health impacts of a large dam project on a downstream community using the framework of Syndemic Theory. The particular focus is the Belo Monte Dam, located in the Brazilian Amazon, and its impact on the community of Gurupá, Pará. At the present time the Belo Monte Dam, which is nearing completion, stands out in scale as being the world’s third largest dam complex. Gurupá is a community well known (and well-studied) in the social science literature as Amazon Town. The aims of this study are to assess the pre-existing public health of Gurupá, as well …

Presence Of Antibiotic-Resistant Escherichia Coli In Wastewater Treatment Plant Effluents Utilized As Water Reuse For Irrigation, Asli Aslan, Zach A. Coles, Anunay Bhattacharya, Oghenekpaobor Oyibo

Biostatistics, Epidemiology & Environmental Health Sciences: Faculty Publications

Providing safe water through water reuse is becoming a global necessity. One concern with water reuse is the introduction of unregulated contaminants to the environment that cannot be easily removed by conventional wastewater treatment plants (WWTP). The occurrence of ampicillin, sulfamethoxazole, ciprofloxacin, and tetracycline-resistant Escherichia coli through the treatment stages of a WWTP (raw sewage, post-secondary, post-UV and post-chlorination) was investigated from January to May 2016. The highest concentrations of antibiotic resistant E. coli in the effluent were detected in April after rainfall. Ampicillin-resistant E. coli was the most common at the post UV and chlorination stages comprising 63% of …

A Mapping Review Of Randomized Controlled Trials In The Spinal Cord Injury Research Literature, Amanda Mcintyre, Brooke Benton, Shannon Janzen, Jerome Iruthayarajah, Joshua Weiner, Janice J. Eng, Robert Teasell, Spinal Cord Injury Research Evidence Team

Epidemiology and Biostatistics Publications

Study design

Mapping Review.

Objective

The objective of this study was to map out and characterize the quantity and quality of all published spinal cord injury (SCI) randomized controlled trials (RCTs) with respect to number, sample size, and methodological quality between January 1970 and December 2016.

Setting

Not applicable.

Methods

A literature search of multiple research databases was conducted. Studies adhering to the following criteria were included: the research design was an RCT; written in English; participants were >18 years; and the sample was >50% SCI. Data were extracted pertaining to author(s), year of publication, country of origin, initial and …

A Qualitative Study Examining The Benefits And Challenges Of Incorporating Patient-Reported Outcome Substance Use And Mental Health Questionnaires Into Clinical Practice To Improve Outcomes On The Hiv Care Continuum., Anne K Monroe, Sarah M Jabour, Sebastian Peña, Jeanne C Keruly, Richard D Moore, Geetanjali Chander, Kristin A Riekert

Epidemiology Faculty Publications

BACKGROUND: Inadequate identification and treatment of substance use (SU) and mental health (MH) disorders hinders retention in HIV care. The objective of this study was to elicit stakeholder input on integration of SU/MH screening using computer-assisted patient-reported outcomes (PROs) into clinical practice.

METHODS: We conducted semi-structured interviews with HIV-positive patients who self-reported SU/MH symptoms on a computer-assisted PROs (n = 19) and HIV primary care providers (n = 11) recruited from an urban academic HIV clinic. Interviews were audio-recorded and transcribed. We iteratively developed codes and organized key themes using editing style analysis.

RESULTS: Two themes emerged: (1) Honest Disclosure: …

Prevention Paradox: Medical Students Are Less Inclined To Prescribe Hiv Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis For Patients In Highest Need., Sarah K Calabrese, Valerie A Earnshaw, Kristen Underhill, Douglas S Krakower, Manya Magnus, Nathan B Hansen, Kenneth H Mayer, Joseph R Betancourt, Trace S Kershaw, John F Dovidio

Epidemiology Faculty Publications

INTRODUCTION: Despite healthcare providers' growing awareness of pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP), prescription rates remain low. PrEP is an efficacious HIV prevention strategy recommended for use with condoms but still protective in their absence. Concern about the impact of PrEP on condom use and other risk behaviour is, nonetheless, among the barriers to prescription commonly reported. To understand the implications of this concern for PrEP access, we examined how medical students' willingness to prescribe PrEP varied by patients' condom use and partnering practices. We also assessed the perceived acceptability of various reasons for condom discontinuation with PrEP.

METHODS: An online survey was …

Source-Specific Pollution Exposure And Associations With Pulmonary Response In The Atlanta Commuters Exposure Studies, Jenna R. Krall, Chandresh N. Ladva, Armistead G. Russell, Rachel Golan, Xing Peng, Guoliang Shi, Roby Greenwald, Amit U. Raysoni, Lance A. Waller, Jeremy A. Sarnat

School of Earth, Environmental, & Marine Sciences Faculty Publications

Concentrations of traffic-related air pollutants are frequently higher within commuting vehicles than in ambient air. Pollutants found within vehicles may include those generated by tailpipe exhaust, brake wear, and road dust sources, as well as pollutants from in-cabin sources. Sourcespecific pollution, compared to total pollution, may represent regulation targets that can better protect human health. We estimated source-specific pollution exposures and corresponding pulmonary response in a panel study of commuters. We used constrained positive matrix factorization to estimate source-specific pollution factors and, subsequently, mixed effects models to estimate associations between source-specific pollution and pulmonary response. We identified four pollution factors …

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 …

Variations In Institutional Review Board Processes And Consent Requirements For Trauma Research: An East Multicenter Survey, Jeffry Nahmias, Areg Grigorian, Scott Brakenridge, Randeep S. Jawa, Daniel N. Holena, John Varujan Agapian, Brandon Bruns, Paul J. Chestovich, Bruce Chung, Jonathan Nguyen, Carl I. Schulman, Kristan Staudenmayer, Rachel Dixon, Jason W. Smith, Andrew C. Bernard, Jose L. Pascual

School of Medicine Faculty Research

Oversight of human subject research has evolved considerably since its inception. However, previous studies identified a lack of consistency of institutional review board (IRB) determination for the type of review required and whether informed consent is necessary, especially for prospective observational studies, which pose minimal risk of harm. We hypothesized that there is significant inter-institution variation in IRB requirements for the type of review and necessity of informed consent, especially for prospective observational trials without blood/tissue utilization. We also sought to describe investigators’ and IRB members’ attitudes toward the type of review and need for consent. Eastern Association for the …

Radical Social Ecology As Deep Pragmatism: A Call To The Abolition Of Systemic Dissonance And The Minimization Of Entropic Chaos, Arielle Brender

Student Theses 2015-Present

This paper aims to shed light on the dissonance caused by the superimposition of Dominant Human Systems on Natural Systems. I highlight the synthetic nature of Dominant Human Systems as egoic and linguistic phenomenon manufactured by a mere portion of the human population, which renders them inherently oppressive unto peoples and landscapes whose wisdom were barred from the design process. In pursuing a radical pragmatic approach to mending the simultaneous oppression and destruction of the human being and the earth, I highlight the necessity of minimizing entropic chaos caused by excess energy expenditure, an essential feature of systems that aim …

Prostate Cancer Survival Among Hispanics: A Surveillance, Epidemiology, And End Results (Seer) Population-Based Cohort Study, David Rivas

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Hispanics are now the youngest, largest, and fastest growing minority group in the U.S. Prostate cancer (PC) is the most commonly diagnosed cancer in men and is the second-leading cause of cancer deaths among Hispanics. For the first time, we examined PC-specific survival among distinct Hispanic groups that include Mexicans, Cubans, Dominicans, Puerto Ricans, as well as Central and South Americans. We compared these groups to the main reference population in the U.S., non-Hispanic Whites (NHW), after adjustment for prognostic factor risk categories (prostate-specific antigen (PSA) level, Gleason score, and tumor stage), as well as sociodemographic covariates (e.g., health insurance, …

An Examination Of The Community And Environmental Impact Of A Las Vegas Convention Food Rescue Program, Samantha H. To

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Food insecurity affects millions of Americans each year, inflicting negative consequences on the physical and mental health outcomes at all ages. Concurrently, millions of tons of leftover edible foods are sent to landfill each year. Not only does this pose a question of ethics, but increasingly harms the environment by misusing resources and increasing the release of

greenhouse gases.

Food rescue advisory meetings highlighted the need for more focused research to be conducted that assessed the impacts of donating rescued convention food on local environmental and community health. A mixed-method approach was used to detail the food rescue process between …

Endorectal Digital Prostate Tomosynthesis, Joseph Robert Steiner

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Several areas of prostate cancer (PCa) management, such as imaging permanent brachytherapy implants or small, aggressive lesions, benefit from high image resolution. Current PCa imaging methods can have inadequate resolution for imaging these areas. Endorectal digital prostate tomosynthesis (endoDPT), an imaging method that combines an external x-ray source and an endorectal x-ray sensor, can produce three-dimensional images of the prostate region that have high image resolution compared to typical methods. This high resolution may improve PCa management and increase positive outcomes in affected men.

This dissertation presents the initial development of endoDPT, including system design, image quality assessment, and examples …

Data On The Risk Perceptions Of Beach Water Safety In Coastal Georgia, Jeffery A. Jones, Asli Aslan, Rakhi Trivedi, Maria I. Olivas, Mikayla Hoffmann

Biostatistics, Epidemiology & Environmental Health Sciences: Faculty Publications

These data reflect the perceptions of beach water quality drawn from a convenience sample of 238 visitors to Georgia (USA) beaches collected in June–July 2017 and are related to the research article entitled “Water quality and the perception of risk: a study of Georgia, USA, beachgoers” (Jones et al., 2018) [1]. Data were collected both via an online survey distributed through Facebook and through in-person questionnaires collected directly on the beaches.

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 …