Public Health Commons^™

The Long-Term Health And Developmental Impacts Of Children Born At Low Birth Weight, Kathryn Grace Kelly

Honors Theses

The state of Mississippi currently has the highest incidence of low birth weight (LBW) births in the United States. LBW is a negative birth outcome which can lead to suboptimal pediatric health and development. The primary goals of this thesis are to identify the long-term outcomes associated with LBW and to present potential interventions to address LBW. A combination of literature review and quantitative data analysis were used to inform the objective of this thesis. A variety of physical health, behavioral health, and other long-term issues were found associated with LBW. The consequences of LBW place LBW children at a …

The Racial Divide: A Follow Up Study On Racial Disparity Amongst Covid-19 Survivors In An Urban Community, Christopher Millet, Emily Racoosin, Spandana Narvaneni, George Horani, Sherif Roman, Alisa Farokhian, Arslan Chaudhry, Sohail Chaudhry, Yezin Shamoon, Humberto Jimenez, Patrick Michael, Jin Suh

Journal of Community Hospital Internal Medicine Perspectives

Background Studies have shown that COVID-19 has had a disproportionate effect on minority groups in both the clinical and social settings in America. We conducted a follow up study on patients previously diagnosed with COVID-19 one year ago in an urban community in New Jersey. The purpose of the study was to evaluate the socioeconomic impact of COVID-19 as well as assess for receptiveness towards COVID-19 vaccination amongst various ethnic groups.

Methods This was a prospective cohort study consisting of patients who had recovered from COVID-19 one year prior. The patients included in the study had a confirmed COVID-19 diagnosis …

Is Health Literacy A Defined Risk Factor? A Literature Review Of Health Literacy As It Relates To Immigrant Populations In The U.S., Kelly Zdanuczyk

Sustainability and Social Justice

Throughout its lifespan the definition of health literacy in the United States has been ambiguous and disagreeable. This discrepancy has created disparity among health outcomes for vulnerable populations who are classified with lower degrees of health literacy and thus have a harder time interacting with the healthcare system. This paper will review published peer-reviewed literature on the topic of health literacy as it relates to immigrant populations in the United States and explore the ways in which low health literacy results in negative health outcomes. The literature review finds the discrepancies among health literacy, as it pertains to immigrant communities …

A Pandemic Of Greed And A Disease Of Poverty In Edgar Allan Poe's "The Masque Of The Red Death", Benjamin Herrick

Master's Theses

The breakers tripped. Again. The breakers, a mandatory halt to trading on the floor of the stock exchange in response to the S&P falling more than 7% from the previous close. This was instituted after the Crash of 1987 to calm the markets before trading is allowed to resume. They are supposed to mitigate a drastic crash. They have only ever triggered once before, in 1997. Not for the tech bubble. Not even in the crash of 2008. All trading stops for fifteen minutes when the Level One breaker trips. If it drops further in the same day, the Level …

F. Scott Fitzgerald’S Homme Épuisé: Usurping The “Madwoman” In Tender Is The Night (1934) [2022], Emma Hill

Master's Theses

Nineteenth-century women writers commonly use themes of entrapment and madness in what are now classified as gothic novels. In texts such as Jane Eyre, Frankenstein, and The Yellow Wallpaper, confinement and madness are synchronous in developing the figure of “the madwoman.” These texts were written during a time when it was uncommon for female writers to seek publication, and many used pseudonyms to get their works published or to be taken seriously by critics. The “madwoman” emerged as a powerful trope to articulate what writing under a patriarchal system feels like. That is to say, confinement scenarios resulting from female …

Evaluating The Effectiveness Of Restorative Justice Rehabilitative Services Available In Northeast Tennessee For Mothers Diagnosed With Substance Use Disorder, Claire Roberson

Undergraduate Honors Theses

Substance Use Disorder (SUD) has plagued families of rural Appalachia for many years, perpetuating involvement in the criminal justice system as well as generational trauma for people diagnosed with SUD and their children. This points to the necessity of a trauma-informed, restorative-justice based framework for rehabilitative services to most effectively heal families, address trauma, and re-integrate people diagnosed with SUD into society. A restorative justice-based program would provide health care services for addiction and any comorbid mental health disorders as well as teach parents how to properly provide for themselves and their families, manage finances, obtain employment, and further education. …

The Effects Of Water With Anti-Inflammatory Capabilities (Wac) On Circulating Inflammatory Biomarkers At Rest And Following Resistance Exercise, Brittany Martin

Health, Human Performance and Recreation Undergraduate Honors Theses

Purpose: To determine the effects of waters with anti-inflammatory capabilities (WAC) influence circulating inflammatory biomarkers at rest and following resistance exercise. Methods: Participants completed a heavy lifting protocol and drank water with anti-inflammatory capabilities for a total of six weeks. Blood samples were taken at different at 9 different time intervals to assess concentrations of anti-inflammatory markers and to quantify inflammatory biomarkers. Those time intervals included pre-AHREP 1 and post-AHREP 1, 24-hr post-AHREP 1, 48-hr post-AHREP 1, 3-week check-up, pre-AHREP 2, post-AHREP 2, 24-hr post-AHREP 2, and 48-hr post-AHREP 2. Background: The biomarkers that were focused on were: IL-6 …

Transmission Risk Of Malaria Via Gas Flares In Africa, Elle Blake

Health, Human Performance and Recreation Undergraduate Honors Theses

Gas flaring occurs at oil drilling sites around the world. It is a method to get rid of the extra gas, as well as to release pressure in emergency situations. The pollutants that are contributed to the air through routine gas flaring can be extremely harmful. Chemicals such as sulfur dioxide and methane are burned into the air we breathe (Baker Hughes, 2019). Not only does this have a direct impact on our health, but also on greenhouse gas emissions. The effects on greenhouse gas emissions impact diseases such as Malaria by increasing the temperature of our planet. The purpose …

Perceived Covid-19 Threat Across The Intersections Of Age, Race/Ethnicity, And Gender, Christina Varghese

Sociology and Criminology Undergraduate Honors Theses

Studying how perceived threat of the novel coronavirus 2019 (COVID-19) differs across intersections of age and race/ethnicity as well as age and gender will create a basis for identifying subgroups at greater risk of negative mental health outcomes. I analyzed nationally representative survey data collected in February 2021 from the Pew Research Center’s American Trends Panel (N=9,069). To measure perceived threat, the respondents were asked whether COVID-19 is considered 0) no threat, minor threat, or 1) major threat for personal and population health. Race/ethnicity, gender, and age categories are used as independent variables. Results from logistic regression models indicate that …

Addressing Maternal Health Disparities With Hospital Library Services: Information-Seeking Behavior Of Maternal Health Care Providers In Resolving Clinical Questions Related To Diverse Populations, Seema Bhakta

Articles, Abstracts, and Reports

No abstract provided.

Health Disparities In Adults With Developmental And Intellectual Disabilities, Tulsi Patel

Nursing | Senior Theses

This paper reviews literature pertaining to the treatment of people with developmental disabilities. It will emphasize the inadequacies of health care in this population. The literature that will be discussed focuses on disparities in care via proxy, sociodemographic and clinical factors associated with disparities, assessing the needs of this population, the prevalence of disabilities in rural and urban settings, and the comparison of health disparities between adults with and without developmental disabilities.

For the purpose of this paper, a few terms will be defined. Developmental disabilities (DD) will be defined as “a group of conditions due to an impairment in …

Covid-19 And Digital Health Literacy In University Students / Narrative Competence And Cognitive Mapping As A Culturally Sustaining Pedagogy In The Education Of Emergent Bilinguals, Molly Kathleen Hadley

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

Early in 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic became a global public health concern. College students became dependent on the online environment for learning, but also for receiving COVID-19 information. Understanding digital health literacy (DHL) in this unique population and subsequent prevention behaviors in a digitally connected population during a public health crisis is crucial to prepare for future pandemics. This study explored DHL in college students, their main sources of pandemic information and other information seeking behaviors, adherence to public health guidelines, and intentions to receive a COVID-19 vaccine. During the summer of 2020, 245 New York state college students completed …

Missed Opportunities In Social Media To Reduce Maternal Health Disparities For Black Women, Nerissa George

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

Pregnancy-related maternal morbidity and mortality disproportionately affect Black women more than their White counterparts. Black pregnant women are more likely to omit or engage in prenatal care late than White women. Social media is an essential source of pregnancy-related information and shows it effectively improves pregnancy knowledge. Greater than 80% of Black women own a mobile device, and some data demonstrate that Black women use social media for pregnancy-related information. However, little is known about social media use during pregnancy for this population. Several gaps exist about what maternal health content is available on social media, how Black women use …

Taking A User-Centered Design Approach To Develop A Data Dashboard For New York State Department Of Health And Implications For Improving The Usability Of Public Data Dashboards / Narrative Competence And Cognitive Mapping As A Culturally Sustaining Pedagogy In The Education Of Emergent Bilinguals, Bahareh Ansari

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

In recent years, the increased availability of public data dashboards provided opportunities to democratize data access by summarizing large amounts of data into accessible snapshots to facilitate educational efforts and encourage evidence-based decision-making. However, many current practices have not reached their full potential because the dashboard design has not accounted for users’ needs and preferences. This dissertation employed the user-centered design framework with three studies. Study 1 investigated the usability problems of existing public health data dashboards through an expert review of existing dashboards on government websites. Study 2 established the requirements of a usable design for public health data …

The Communicative Capacities Of The Medical Discourse In Authoritarian Societies : The Case Of Aids In Iran, Elham Pourtaher

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

This study explores the role of medical discourse in the Iranian formal public sphere. It examines how an epidemiological wave of HIV/AIDS—known as "the third wave"—highlighted nontraditional sexual behaviors in public and enabled a shift in policy and discourse by the Islamic Republic State. Through analyzing published content on HIV/AIDS from five major Iranian newspapers between 2009 and 2013, this study identified four competing narratives of the third wave which coexist and have a dynamic relationship with one another. First, the medical narrative warns of an unfolding public health crisis and provides a technical perspective to make sense of the …

Practicing Trauma-Informed Care In Nursing For A Better Outcome In Hospitalized Adolescents With Adverse Childhood Experiences And Trauma, Allysa Mia Fabricante

Nursing | Senior Theses

As nurses we want to give our patients the best care. That is why trauma-informed care (TIC) is important to include into nursing practice. TIC is a fairly new idea that addresses a patient's whole past and present life. Incorporating it into nursing practice can benefit patients who have adverse childhood experiences and trauma. Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) are traumatic events that occur to a person starting from birth to 17 years old. In a hospital setting an adolescent patient can be triggered if ACEs and trauma is not properly addressed. The long-term effects of ACEs can affect adolescents into …

Body Appreciation, Gender, Motivation, And Competitive Success In Competition Climbing, Marissa Frost

All Theses

The focus of this study was to examine the relation between the constructs of body appreciation, gender, motivation, and competitive success in competition climbers. To gather data for this study, a Qualtrics survey was created and distributed amongst the competition climbing community through USA Climbing’s Facebook page and member email list. Data was then collected from competition climbers between the ages of thirteen and sixty over 45 days in the winter of 2017. A total of 236 competition climbers participated in the survey and 202 of those responses were used in this study. Body appreciation in this study was analyzed …

An Evaluation Of Covid-19 Vaccination Rates Of The Patients At The Kentucky Racing Health Services Center., Aditya Mehta

College of Arts & Sciences Senior Theses

COVID-19 vaccines have been widely available to the U.S. public since early 2021. However, vaccination rates still vary considerably across geographical areas and different populations. The objective of this study was to research overall vaccination rates against COVID-19 for Latinx patients at the Kentucky Racing Health Services Center (KRHSC). Vaccination and booster data was collected from June to December 2021 for all unique patients visiting the center. It was initially hypothesized that these rates of vaccination and booster doses for the KRHSC patients would be lower than the data reported by Kentucky and Jefferson County. After a retrospective review, the …

Twitter Posts, Gist, And The Perceived Harmfulness Of The Human Papillomavirus Vaccine, Candice Fawn Coffman

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Individuals frequently encounter two types of information when evaluating the risk of a vaccination: statistical evidence describing the frequency of positive and negative outcomes, and anecdotal evidence describing positive and negative personal experiences. The present study evaluated the relative importance of both types of evidence when considered simultaneously. We predicted that the presentation of even one negative anecdote would have an effect on the key risk information (the â??gistâ??) that subjects extracted from the statistical and anecdotal data. Self-generated twitter posts (tweets) and standard measures of perceived risk were used to test the latter prediction. The current findings partially supported …

Community Characteristics And Financial And Operational Performance Of Rural Health Clinics In The United States: A Chartbook, John Gale Ms, Zachariah Croll Mph, Jamar Croom Ms, Louisa Munk Mph, Yvonne Jonk Phd

Rural Health Clinics

This chartbook provides an overview of Rural Health Clinic (RHC) characteristics and issues using data from CMS’s Provider of Services file, Medicare Cost Reports, and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation’s’ County Health Ranking and will be useful to policymakers and others interested in the performance of RHCs nationally. It can also be useful to RHC administrators to benchmark staffing patterns, productivity, and efficiency. Finally, it provides a discussion of the challenges related to collection and reporting of RHC quality data.

For more information, please contact John Gale, [email protected]

The Effects Of Hormonal Contraceptive Use On Perceptions Of Social Stress In Women, Ashton Jones

Biological Sciences Undergraduate Honors Theses

Hormonal contraceptives are widely used due to their efficiency in preventing pregnancy. Although women are often informed of the physical effects of hormonal contraceptives, there is little emphasis on mental effects, such as increased rates of depression and changes in social perception. The current study examined perceptions of social stress among women before beginning hormonal contraceptives, and two months after using hormonal contraceptives. I hypothesized that women would experience increased social stress after beginning hormonal contraceptives, compared to a control group of women who were also assessed twice. Results did not support this hypothesis; there was no difference in interpersonal …

Quality Of Care: A Business Case For Us Hospitals, Iwimbong Kum Ghabowen

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act present some threats and opportunities to many hospitals across the USA. Under the Value-Based Purchasing Program, acute care hospitals' rewards are tied to incentive payments for the quality of care provided in the inpatient hospital. In the last 20 years, growing research has examined the effects of the quality of care on the financial performance of hospitals. There is a gap in the literature, particularly exploring the relationship between quality and hospital financial performance using national samples. This dissertation investigates the association between patients' experience of care, 30-day readmission rates, and case-mix-index (CMI) …

The Association Between Neighborhood Social Media Use And Social Cohesion, Sense Of Community And Perceived Safety Among Adults In Clark County, Nevada, Emily Strickler

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Place-based health is a concept that suggests where you live has an effect on your health outcomes. Social health factors such as social cohesion, sense of community, and perceived safety are all influenced by the neighborhood environment, and positively associated with health outcomes such as self-reported minutes of physical activity and symptoms of depression. With the increasing popularity of social media sites used specifically for neighborhood purposes, more neighbors are connecting than ever before. The purpose of this study was to determine if use of neighborhood social media sites was associated with the social health factors of social cohesion, sense …

Six Feet Apart: Relational Turbulence Theory And Coping With Covid-19 Within Long-Distance Relationships, Mia Waymack

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Among research that currently exists, no studies thus far combine elements of COVID-19, long-distance relationships, and Relational Turbulence Theory to explain how each of these elements impacts the others, if at all. Previous research does exist on each of these elements individually, although research regarding the long-term effects of COVID-19 on relationships is minimal considering the pandemic is ongoing. Long-distance relationships have been studied using Relational Turbulence Theory in previous studies within military relationships but have not been studied in connection with either COVID-19 or among college students. This study was conducted by way of qualitative, one-on-one interviews to determine …

Public Health Contagion Of White Supremacy: Examining The Pipeline Of Attitudes About Racism And Racial History Education Among High School Students., Trinidad Jackson

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

We are living in compounded states of upheaval. Violence and exemption from it across socioecological levels have shaped how humans survive, thrive, and die. While different violence typologies exist, the U.S., prioritizes interpersonal violence as its primary target of intervention, often through structural means that foster and reinforce interpersonal violence. The omission of structural and cultural agents and outcomes of violence allows perpetrators to infiltrate and reproduce savage, dehumanizing ideologies in perpetuity. Instead of sustaining societal pillars that oppress and destroy, we must fertilize public health research, practice, and sociopolitical activism with pillars that both inform and activate liberatory consciousness …

If A Tree Falls In The Forest: Presidential Press Conferences And Early Media Narratives About The Covid-19 Crisis, Masha Krupenkin, Kai Zhu, Dylan Walker, David Rothschild

Business Faculty Articles and Research

Throughout the COVID-19 crisis, as we confronted questions about social distancing, masking wearing, and vaccines, public safety experts warned that the consequences of a misinformed population would be particularly dire due to the serious nature of the threat and necessity of severe collective action to keep the population safe. Thus, the media and the political elites (e.g., President of the United States) who possess the power to set the information agenda around COVID-19 bear a huge responsibility for the general welfare. Through automated text analysis of complete transcripts of national cable, network, and local news, we explore their narratives surrounding …

Eat Well, Be Well: Basic Needs Initiative's Online Hub For Nutrition Education, Misha Moseley

Capstone Projects and Master's Theses

Basic Needs Initiative at California State University, Monterey Bay is a department that provides students with food, housing, and wellness resources. Over half of the university's students experience food insecurity, and over 85% use non-academic resources to learn about nutrition. This project adds a dietary health section to the department’s website to increase students’ access to nutrition education. It addresses the micro-level agency problem that too few students eat a healthy, balanced diet. Unhealthy eating is a risk factor for food insecurity, so the project indirectly addresses the macro-level health problem that too many college students in California experience food …

Household Composition And Sugar-Sweetened Beverage Intake And Purchases Among Low Wage Workers, Salma Gudaf

Honors Scholar Theses

Sugar-sweetened beverages (SSBs) are linked to preventable chronic health conditions that low-income individuals are susceptible to. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reports that American adults consume 145 daily calories from SSBs even though the American Heart Association (AHA) recommends 100-150 total calories of added sugar per day. The present study investigated SSB intake and purchases from a cohort of low-wage workers (N = 434) in different household (HH) types. HH composition was designated as “Households with children,” and “Households without children,” based on self-report. SSB consumption was measured on a 3-item Food Frequency Questionnaire (FFQ), summed, and …

The Importance Of Health Anxiety And Emotional Reasoning To Understand Vaccine Hesitancy And Safety Behaviors: Implications For Public Health Campaigns In A Covid_19 Era, Samantha Ballas, Kimberli Treadwell

Honors Scholar Theses

This study examined the impact of health anxiety and emotional reasoning on COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy and preventative behaviors, hypothesizing that high anxiety and emotional reasoning would predict lower vaccine hesitancy and higher COVID-19 preventative health behavior after controlling for demographic variables. A large international non-probability convenience sample of 532 individuals consented to an online survey in a cross-sectional period from March through August 2021 (one month following availability of vaccinations in the USA). Participants completed questionnaires online. Health anxiety and general anxiety were significantly correlated with COVID-19 preventative behaviors, including mask wearing and social distancing, and emotional reasoning. General anxiety …

Barriers To The Use Of Palliative And Hospice Care Among The Latino Population, Diana Ramirez

Electronic Theses, Projects, and Dissertations

Patients suffering from irreversible and terminal illnesses may benefit from the services provided by Palliative and Hospice Care to control any symptom burden and assist in navigating complex medical decisions. Many patients may express hesitation in accepting and enrolling to this service due to misconceptions. Language barriers may add an additional layer of complexity. This study explored the challenges Palliative Care providers encounter when introducing concept of hospice to Spanish-speaking patients their families for the first time. This study implemented qualitative research methods by using semi-structured one-on-one interviews. Ten members of an In-patient Palliative Care Team at a University Hospital …