Public Health Commons^™

Neuroscience-Based Harm Reduction Education For College Students In Portland, Or, Catriona Swallow

University Honors Theses

Harm reduction (HR) is a movement focused on reducing the harms of the opioid overdose crisis through education, advocacy, and community engagement. A key component of HR is naloxone, a medication which reverses opioid overdoses when administered. Due to increased fentanyl contamination, opioid overdose deaths have been on the rise among adolescents in the U.S and HR practices are crucially important at this point in time. In recent years, alternative curricula of HR education have included a neuroscience-based approach to the topic of substance use. While both traditional and alternative programs have had success increasing substance use literacy among adolescents, …

The Health Risks Of Deportation: Impacts Of Family Separation On Relationships And Wellbeing In Latinx Communities, Shantay Rhea Rocha

University Honors Theses

Anti-immigration policy and deportation practices create multifaceted implications for Latinx communities in the United States. A comprehensive literature review drawing from public health and immigration studies was used to examine the direct and indirect implications of separation of families due to deportation. This thesis synthesizes existing research to illuminate the health threats pertaining to Latinx wellbeing in the context of being undocumented and fearing being separated from their family. Addressing the dimensions of deportation-related health risks, policy makers, health care professionals, and community organizations can work towards promoting Latinx health and well-being in the U.S. to mitigate the health consequences …

Biofeedback Gaming For Substance Use Disorder, Rebecca L. Chevrel

University Honors Theses

Substance Use Disorder (SUD) and stress are often predictive of one another, bidirectionally causal, and mutually intensifying. This thesis describes the bi-directional connection between physiological stress-modulating systems and Substance Use Disorder, and explores some emerging biofeedback stress-reduction gaming technology as a potential adjunct to recovery treatments. Improving autonomic balance, often described by Heart Rate Variability, has been shown to be beneficial for physical and psychological recovery, as well as improving self-control. For this reason, regular biofeedback for stress relief could be helpful in augmenting SUD treatment and preventing relapse. This exploration found that presenting it through a gaming lens may …

Cognitive And Economic Development, John Luke Gallup

OHSU-PSU School of Public Health Annual Conference

A burgeoning literature finds that early childhood risk factors have large causal effects on individuals' cognitive development, education and earnings, but has not assessed the impact on the economy as a whole.

Cognitive ability is the foundation of human capital and the capacity to learn. The risk factors for poor cognitive development are very high in many countries. Each risk factor also causes child mortality, making child survival a viable proxy for good cognitive development conditions. The cognitive development of current workers happened decades earlier when they were children, providing a predetermined correlate. Controlling for country characteristics, income levels and …

Exploring Decolonial And Indigenous Mental Health Framework And Practice To Address Complex Trauma Among Palestinian Youth Living Under Violence Of Settler-Colonialism, Vivian L. Duong, Corrin Murphy

OHSU-PSU School of Public Health Annual Conference

The growing settler colonial project of Israel forced indigenous Palestinians to flee from their homeland to further the Zionist movement of establishing a Jewish-majority state. The forced dispossession and displacement of Palestinians at this time was referred to as the Nakba, or catastrophe (Masalha, 2002). From 1947 and 1949, approximately 750,000 Palestinians from a population of 1.9 million were made refugees (Al Jazeera, 2017). Also referred to as the ethnic cleansing of Palestine, Zionists forcibly took over 78 percent of Palestine, destroyed about 530 villages and cities, and killed around 15,000 Palestinians including more than 70 massacres (Al Jazeera, 2017). …

Inequities In Chronic Stress Exposure At The Intersection Of Race, Gender, And Sexual Identity In A Nationally Representative Sample Of U.S. Adults, Jordan M. Lancaster, Efrain H. Chavez Martinez

OHSU-PSU School of Public Health Annual Conference

Background

Social inequity rooted in systemic oppression is robustly associated with mental and physical health; chronic stress is highlighted as a key mechanism. Limited research examining the association between sexual identity alone and C-reactive protein (CRP) – an upstream biological marker of chronic stress exposure – has yielded mixed results.

Purpose

To examine whether race/ethnicity, gender, and sexual identity interact to produce unequal levels of CRP.

Methods

Using cross-sectional data from the 2003-2010 waves of the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, we examined intersectional (self-reported race*gender*sexual identity) patterns in log-transformed CRP levels using a multivariable linear model among 10,885 …

Supporting Self-Managed Abortion Care In “Practice Not Premise”: Provider Perspectives, Roles, And Referral Pathways In India, Laura E. Jacobson Mph, Caila Brander, P. Balasubramanian, Sruthi Chandrasekaran, Blair Darney, Julia Goodman, Ruvani Jayaweera, Caitlin Gerdts

OHSU-PSU School of Public Health Annual Conference

Objective: Describe provider perspectives and roles in self-managed abortion (SMA) in India and identify referral pathways to facility- and self-managed abortion care.

Methods: We conducted a qualitative study of 33 semi-structured interviews with a range of providers (medical, community health, and pharmacy) in India. We conducted a thematic analysis and identified referral pathways including the type of provider, the abortion care modality (in-facility or SMA), and the reason.

Results: Referrals to facility-managed abortion care were common. Providers' perception of SMA safety coupled with­ liability concerns resulted in discouraging clients from seeking SMA. Nonetheless, participants acknowledged three areas where providers played …

Self-Reported Follow-Up Care Needs Can Be Met In Both Facility And Self-Managed Abortion: Evidence From Low- And Middle-Income Countries, Laura E. Jacobson Mph

OHSU-PSU School of Public Health Annual Conference

Objective: To understand in-facility follow-up care-seeking behavior among both people who self-managed medication abortions (SMA) and those who obtained facility-managed care in six countries and to explore factors that contribute to meeting individual’s self-reported care needs that are core to person-centered care.

Study Design: We conducted a qualitative thematic analysis of 67 in-depth interviews conducted with facility or SMA seekers. We first classified individuals as having their care needs met or not, and whether they sought follow-up care. We then identified predisposing, enabling, or need factors that contributed to having care needs met or not.

Results: A total of n=67 …

Trauma Informed Approaches To Researcher-Participant Relationships: Examples From A Housing And Health Study, Cristina Flores, Jade Garza, Judith R. Solomon, Marisa Westbrook

OHSU-PSU School of Public Health Annual Conference

In qualitative research, the aim of researcher-participant relationships is to allow for vulnerability and authenticity while maintaining professional boundaries. Trauma-informed care (TIC) in mental health services and social work considers the impact of violence and victimization in the lives of clients, while emphasizing trauma as causation (SAMHSA, 2014; Butler, 2011). Applying a trauma-informed approach to qualitative research processes may assist in building rapport with research participants, minimizing re-traumatization, appropriately interpreting results, and uncovering cultural significance. Research suggests that trauma-informed approaches avoid excluding underrepresented voices and allows researchers to engage through a social justice and health equity lens (Roche, 2020). For …