Public Health Commons^™

Community-Based Participatory Research: An Ethical And Practical Model For Academic Public Health And Clinical Research, Cynthia R. Hall

Florida Public Health Review

Community-based participatory research (CBPR) is a strategy for performing health-related research in vulnerable communities that have been exploited by traditional research in the past. CBPR focuses on mutual collaboration between the community and the researchers involved. This form of research is ethically compelled to instill transparency and trust into the research enterprise. CBPR envisions the involvement of the community in all aspects of the research: design, implementation and dissemination of research results. This collaborative process necessitates an analysis of ethical considerations because it implies additional moral principles beyond the traditional ethics enunciated in the Belmont Report, the foundational guideline for …

Epidemiology And Ideology: Why Health Equity Is Problematic In The United States, Cynthia R. Hall

Florida Public Health Review

Health and healthcare are central elements to the achievement of social justice. Braveman and Gruskin are proponents of health equity as a means to realize social justice. They define health equity as the “absence of systemic barriers to health” that are derived from the unequal power, influence, and capital of marginalized groups within societies (2003, p. 254). John Rawls and Norman Daniels have theorized that social justice requires a fair distribution of goods in a society and that good health is of moral importance to this effort, respectively. Thus, having fair access to a healthy life is a crucial element …

Mental Health Disparities For Latino Immigrants & Its Impact On Psychological Well-Being, Ana Do Rosario Sousa

Counseling Psychology | Master's Theses

In the present study, the researcher sought to examine the factors associated with Latino immigrants and the barriers/challenges that are faced in mental health. The main question that the researcher focuses on in the present study is: What are some of the mental health challenges for Latino immigrants & how do these disparities further impact psychological well-being? Furthermore, the research focuses on highlighting the variables that are increasingly damaging to the minority population of Latinos in the United States. These variables include lack of health insurance, stigma, acculturation issues, legal issues, and biopsychosocial factors, such as socioeconomic class. In multiple …

Public Opinion Report Of Nutrition Education And Nutrition-Related Behaviors, Kristen Hicks-Roof, Robert J. Zeglin, Daniel Manson, Corinne A. Labyak

Florida Public Health Review

Objectives: Sources of obtaining credible evidence-based nutrition knowledge appears to be more and more limited as nutrition information becomes widespread. The purpose of this study was to determine sources of nutrition information and corresponding nutrition-related behaviors among Florida residents. Study Design: A cross-sectional study.

Methods: A telephone survey was conducted using probability sampling with residents of Florida in October 2017.Results: A total of 611 respondents completed the survey from 45 different counties across Florida. A significant relationship was established between age and primary source of obtaining nutrition information. Young, middle age and elderly adults preferred media, registered dietitians and physicians/nurses …

Promoting Resilience In Economically Disadvantaged Adolescents Through School-Based Expressive Arts Groups, Bailey Knox

Expressive Therapies Capstone Theses

Since 2013, the majority of students served by the public school system in the United States have been considered “low-income” by the federal government. The stressors associated with low socioeconomic status significantly increase risk for social, emotional and behavioral challenges at all age levels, but can be particularly damaging to adolescents coping with heightened stress levels related to the intense multi-dimensional changes that define this developmental period. As the correlation between economic disadvantage and negative socio-emotional and academic outcomes is increasingly evidenced, schools have begun to recognize their responsibility for providing preventative mental health care to high-risk students. Over the …

A Literature Review Of Nature-Based Expressive Arts Therapy For Bereaved Children, Wendy Dalton

Expressive Therapies Capstone Theses

There is a need for increased visibility of child bereavement to expand research in and accessibility of developmentally appropriate supports, which views the child holistically and within their biopsychosocial context. Worden’s (1996) formative work with child bereavement resulting in the "tasks" of child bereavement was the first and most recent study of its scale and kind. This marked an affirming of grief as normative response to death and occurring throughout the developmental lifespan. This work also highlights the need for additional inquiry to expand and deepen understanding of child bereavement. A growing body of research suggests that ecotherapy and expressive …

“Do I Need Exercise?” A Qualitative Study On Factors Affecting Leisure-Time Physical Activity In India, Shalini Garg, V Raman Kutty

The Qualitative Report

Physical activity can reduce the risk of premature mortality from various chronic diseases. Previous research in Kerala, India indicates several barriers which can impact physical activity levels. Perceptions about the importance of health-promoting physical activity were examined among adults in Kerala and various facilitators, motivators and barriers to physical activity were identified using focus group discussions and interviews with key informants. At present, the attitude of people and health professionals is that physical activity has to be taken up when diagnosed with a disease (obesity, diabetes) and advised by a health professional. Men were more likely to start exercising after …

Orthorexia Nervosa Among Collegiate Female Student-Athletes, Maryse Bard-Martel

Graduate Theses/Dissertations

Orthorexia nervosa (ON) is a specific style of disordered eating defined as an unhealthy obsession with eating healthy food, or going to extremes in the pursuit of a diet that is supposed to be good for you. The purpose of this study was to explore the prevalence of orthorexia nervosa tendencies in college female soccer players in the NCAA Division 1. Purposive sampling was used, and participants were current student-athletes from the Missouri State women’s soccer team (n=18). Survey research was utilized to assess athletes’ attitudes and behaviors related to various aspects of diet and training, and the control it …

Impacts Of Contraception On Women’S Decision-Making Agency In Indonesia, Michaela J. Fogarty

Undergraduate Economic Review

Increasing access to contraception has the potential to empower women and improve the economic standing of families across the globe. Many researchers have explored the impacts of contraception on families and the determinants of women’s level of empowerment, but little scholarship exists on their direct relationship. This paper explores the impacts of contraceptive use on women’s empowerment, measured by a sum of women’s household decision-making agency. Panel data from three rounds of the Indonesian Family Life Survey is used to run multiple regressions with household fixed effects. Results suggest that women who use contraception have input on two additional types …

The Effect Of The Implementation Of A Quarterly Triad Tool In The Pain Clinic Setting On The Assessment And Mitigation Of Risks In Patients On Chronic Opioid Therapy, Caroline Asava

Evidence-Based Practice Project Reports

The concurrent use of opioids and benzodiazepines (BZDs poses a formidable challenge for clinicians who manage chronic pain. While the escalating use of opioid analgesics for the treatment of chronic pain and the concomitant rise in opioid-related abuse and misuse are widely recognized trends, the contribution of combination use of BZDs, alcohol, and/or other sedative agents to opioid-related morbidity and mortality is underappreciated, even when these agents are used appropriately. Patients with chronic pain who use opioid analgesics along with BZDs have a defined increase in rates of adverse events, overdose, and death, warranting close monitoring. To improve patient outcomes, …

The Stories Behind The Struggle: A Closer Look At First Experiences With Opioid Misuse, Khary Rigg, Shannon M. Monnat, Kate Mclean, Ashton Verdery, Glenn Sterner

Population Health Research Brief Series

Opioid use disorders and overdoses from prescription opioids, heroin, and fentanyl have become a national public health crisis. Improving our knowledge about how people first come to misuse opioids can help to inform prevention and treatment interventions. This research brief dives into the stories behind opioid use initiation and provides intervention strategies.

A Cross-Sectional Questionnaire-Based Descriptive Study Exploring The Presence Of Behavioral Risk Factors For Infection With Zika Virus Among Students And Employees At An Institution Of Higher Education In South Florida., Dorothy Contiguglia-Akcan, Shasank Chennupati, Sebastian Cuitiva, Christian-Immanuel Oliveros, Carol Marie Fraley, Tiffany Race, Daniel Garrido

Florida Public Health Review

In 2016 and 2017, South Florida was involved in an outbreak of locally-transmitted Zika virus. This questionnaire- based descriptive pilot study demonstrated the presence of behaviors that may be associated with increased risk of Zika transmission in a sample of respondents selected from an institution of higher education in the region. The majority of the 101 respondents living in Miami-Dade County reported inconsistent or no use of mosquito bite prevention methods, over one third (38.6%) traveled to local areas of active transmission, and almost two thirds (64.7%) of those reporting that their sexual partners traveled to local zones of viral …

Sociodemographic Correlates Of Bariatric Surgery By Procedure Type Among A Statewide Ethnically Diverse Patient Population, Alisha Monnette, Tulay Koru-Sengul, Nadia L. Fleurantin, Sarah E. Messiah, Wayway M. Hlaing

Florida Public Health Review

Florida Agency for Health Care Administration (AHCA) 2013 inpatient data was used to conduct a retrospective review using International Classification of Diseases 9th edition (ICD-9) procedure codes to examine the sociodemographic correlates of three bariatric procedures [Laparoscopic Roux-en-Y Gastric Bypass (RYGB), Laparoscopic Adjustable Gastric Banding (LAGB), and Sleeve Gastrectomy (SG)]. Race-ethnic groups included non-Hispanic white (NHW), non- Hispanic black (NHB), Hispanic, and other. The sample (n=6,424, mean age 46 years) was predominantly NHW (57.4%), female (74.9%), commercial-insurance carriers (51.2%), and severely obese (98.8%). SG was the most common procedure (57.9%) followed by RYGB (39.3%), and LAGB (2.8%). Regardless of bariatric …

Use Of Smartphone Application To Facilitate Weight Loss And Promote Accountability In Obese And Overweight Patients, Angela M. Turner

Evidence-Based Practice Project Reports

In 2015, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services published a National Health and Nutrition Survey (NHANES) on obesity from 2011 through 2014. From the survey, it was determined that the prevalence of obesity in the U.S. was 36% in adults and 17% in young adults/children (Ogden et al., 2015). Lifestyle modifications including moderation of caloric intake and increased exercise have been shown to be effective for both prevention and treatment of obesity. The purpose of this evidence-based practice (EBP) project involved the design, administration, and evaluation of a technology-assisted weight loss intervention to address the health problem of …

Precision Medicine And It's Ethical And Social Implications: Public Health And Gobal Persepctives, Evangel Sarwar

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Ever since President Obama's launch of the Precision Medicine Initiative (PMI) in 2015, precision medicine (PM) has been anticipated as the new paradigm for healthcare with the capacity to “empower patients, researchers, and providers to work together toward the development of individualized care,” through research, technologies, and policies (President Obama, 2015). Precision Medicine (PM), in the form of genomics, offers unprecedented promise of providing new tools for improving health and reducing the burden of diseases, not just for the U.S. - but also globally. According to World Health Organization, genomics research and precision medicine will play a major part in …

Rising Rural Body-Mass Index Is The Main Driver Of The Global Obesity Epidemic In Adults, Honor Bixby, James Bentham, Bin Zhou, Mariachiara Di Cesare, Christopher J. Paciorek, James E. Bennett, Cristina Taddei, Gretchen A. Stevens, Andrea Rodriguez-Martinez, Rodrigo M. Carrillo-Larco, Young Ho Khang, Maroje Sorić, Edward W. Gregg, J. Jaime Miranda, Zulfiqar A. Bhutta

Journal Articles

Body-mass index (BMI) has increased steadily in most countries in parallel with a rise in the proportion of the population who live in cities1,2. This has led to a widely reported view that urbanization is one of the most important drivers of the global rise in obesity3–6. Here we use 2,009 population-based studies, with measurements of height and weight in more than 112 million adults, to report national, regional and global trends in mean BMI segregated by place of residence (a rural or urban area) from 1985 to 2017. We show that, contrary to the dominant paradigm, more than 55% …

Rising Rural Body-Mass Index Is The Main Driver Of The Global Obesity Epidemic In Adults, Con Burns, Tara Coppinger, Janette Walton, Et Al

Publications

Body-mass index (BMI) has increased steadily in most countries in parallel with a rise in the proportion of the population who live in cities1,2. This has led to a widely reported view that urbanization is one of the most important drivers of the global rise in obesity3,4,5,6. Here we use 2,009 population-based studies, with measurements of height and weight in more than 112 million adults, to report national, regional and global trends in mean BMI segregated by place of residence (a rural or urban area) from 1985 to …

An Exploration Of Factors Of Lgbt Cultural Competency Among Prospective Healthcare Professionals, Heather Isbell

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Literature suggests there is a relationship between cultural competency and health outcomes as well as a perceived fear of discrimination LGBT individuals face when attempting to receive healthcare services. The aim of this study is to assess the level of LGBT CC (cultural competency) among prospective professionals who are expected to provide health care services and to explore factors that affect those attributes. Multiple linear regressions were conducted to test the effect of the following factors of LGBT CC: postsecondary experience, relations with LGBT individuals, and religion using a sample of 57 different healthcare students in a faith-based university during …

Health Literacy Challenges And Opportunities: Bringing Children’S Mercy And Kansas City Together, Jennifer A. Lyon, Angie Knackstedt, Barbra Rudder, Mamta Reddy Md, Courtney R. Butler

Posters

BACKGROUND: A multidisciplinary group at Children's Mercy Kansas City applied for and received the NNLM MCR's Immersive Workshop Grant in December, 2017, and used the funding to organize and host a two-day immersive, interprofessional workshop in April, 2018, that 1) brought together health literacy-invested groups and individuals within the Kansas City community to learn about health literacy including cultural, language, numeracy and digital inclusion factors; and 2) provided specialized training to targeted CM participants to improve the provision of bedside health information to patients and caregivers. Objectives included: increasing community-wide collaboration, sharing resources, encouraging participants to become change agents, and …

God, I Hope This Part Of My Life Is Over: A Focused Ethnography Of A Correctional Youth Facility’S Therapeutic Climate, Eric Meyer

Theses & Dissertations

Although all prisons have the same goal of isolating offenders from society, the precise strategies used vary from one jurisdiction to the next. Some prisons use means of punishment to gain inmate compliance. Other prisons concentrate their limited resources on rehabilitation. Contained within the following pages are details of a focused ethnography that was completed in a state correctional youth facility that housed males between the ages of 15 and 21 years, all of whom were convicted of violent crimes. This study had the objective of exploring the climate of therapy in this correctional youth facility where rehabilitative programs were …

Common Areas For Improvement From After Action Reports (Aars) Generated After Exercises Or Actual Disasters, As Reported By A National Sample Of U.S. Hospitals, Abdoulaye Abdoulaziz

Theses & Dissertations

Many hospitals conduct exercises every year, and they conclude the process with an After-Action Report and Improvement Plan. Therefore, there are thousands of AAR/IP’s across the country with limited opportunity to compare them or to learn from them collectively. Our project has gathered Improvement Plans (IP’s) and conducted a qualitative analysis which determined whether the “lessons learned” can be categorized into common themes.

Differences In Current Hookah And Cigarette Smoking Status Attitudes And Beliefs At A Florida University: A Discriminant Analysis, Gail Castañeda, Tracey E. Barnett, Sergio Romero, Mi Jung Lee, Jann Macinnes

Florida Public Health Review

Rising college hookah use, in the absence of cigarettes, suggests attitudinal differences among both forms of tobacco consumption. This study examines which smoking attitudes/beliefs are most distinguishing across current non-smokers, cigarette smokers, hookah smokers, and dual (cigarette and hookah-only) smokers at a Florida university. Self- administered questionnaire data from 373 university students were categorized into four groups based on self-reported 30-day smoking status. Discriminant analysis was used to examine maximal differences between groups across perceived peer acceptability of cigarette smoking, peer acceptability of hookah smoking, hookah smoking harmfulness, and attitude toward peer hookah smoking. Descriptive analyses indicated an overall awareness …

Changes In Hiv Related Risk Behaviors: A Comparative Analysis Of Florida’S 2013 And 2016 Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System Survey., Daniel Diyaolu

Florida Public Health Review

Background: Identifying changes in HIV related risk factors is essential to reducing HIV rates in Florida. This study examines if changes occurred in HIV risk factors between 2013 and 2016. Methods: The study utilized secondary data from the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System from 2013 and 2016. A logistic regression analysis was conducted to examine the changes between the years regarding health care coverage and routine HIV testing. Additionally, a separate analysis was performed for the 2016 dataset analyzing if HIV risk behaviors varied by gender, race, age, insurance coverage and HIV testing.

Results: The findings of this study suggest …

Impact Of The Affordable Care Act On The Cooper Women’S Care Center, Amanda Malik, Natali Franzblau

Cooper Rowan Medical Journal

Background: The Affordable Care Act (ACA) increased access to women’s health care by expanding Medicaid eligibility and requiring that insurance plans cover many gynecologic preventive services at no cost to patients. Before implementation of the ACA, pregnant women with low incomes qualified for Medicaid but childless adults of the same income did not, and though prenatal obstetrical visits were covered by plans at no or low cost to patients, most gynecologic services required out of pocket payments.

Objective: This study aimed to identify changes in the types of visits (gynecologic or obstetric) and patient demographics (including age, race, …

An Evaluation Of The Impact Of Leading Pedestrian Interval Signals In Nyc, Jeremy J. Sze

Theses and Dissertations

I evaluated the impact of the phased introduction of Leading Pedestrian Interval Signals (LPIs) on collision and injury outcomes at 12,987 signalized traffic intersections in New York City over the course of 25 quarters from 2012 to 2018. An intersection is treated when a LPIs is installed to give pedestrians lead time to cross the street before vehicles are allowed to move. Outcomes from NYPD’s Motor Vehicle Collisions data were matched to signalized intersections. I hypothesize that LPIs would reduce collisions and reduce injuries for pedestrians at intersections. A difference in difference fixed effects panel regression was used to identify …

The Interface Between Invasive Species And The Increased Incidence Of Tick-Borne Diseases, And The Implications For Federal Land Managers, Ed Clark, Janis Mcfarland, Blaine Parker, Slade Franklin

National Invasive Species Council

Includes information on the dynamics of tick-borne disease, factors affecting the occurrence and density of ticks, matrices of ties between habitat, human activities, invasive plants, and ticks, federal resources and programs related to ticks and vector-borne disease in the United States, with references and an annotated bibliography of literature on ticks, vector-borne diseases, and invasive species.

The Modifiability Of Risk Factors Associated With Adolescent Suicide And Its Preventions, Nastaeen Tajin

Honors College Theses

Adolescent suicide has been of major concern in the past few decades, with the rates steadily increasing every year. Suicide can be defined as the act of intentionally taking one’s life. Adolescent refers to children between the age of 13 and 19, although the term will be used interchangeably with ‘teen’ throughout this paper. The purpose of this study had been to identify the risk factors of suicide associated with children of this age range, and propose preventative measures based on the modifiability of these risk factors. In order to achieve this, the two search catalogs utilized were the Wayne …

Effects Of Social Media On Patient Perceptions And Compliance, Annmarie Butare, Adarsh Gupta

Rowan-Virtua Research Day

It is the physician’s responsibility to ensure that their patients are collecting credible and accurate information. Considering the significant proportion of patients using social media to assist with medical decision making, physicians should incorporate this into their patient education in order to ensure patient understanding of the information gathered both outside and inside the medical office, thereby improving compliance and outcomes.

The goals of this study were to examine the influence of social media on patient perceptions of healthcare and use this infomration to improve physician understanding of patient health information-seeking behaviors to improve patient compliance. The three-part survey included …

Analyzing Trends And Patterns In Adverse Birth Outcomes In Massachusetts From 2000-2014, Madeleine Haynes

Sustainability and Social Justice

This study explores spatio-temporal trends and patterns in adverse birth outcomes (ABO) in the state of Massachusetts from 2000-2014. ABO include low birth weight (< 2500 g) and preterm deliveries (gestational age < 37 weeks). This research evaluates if there are areas in Massachusetts that have experienced statistically significant increases or decreases in ABO throughout the study period. Birth data was obtained from the Massachusetts Department of Public Health and only singleton, live births were included for the analysis. The data were aggregated to census tracts, and the total number of births and the number of ABOs were calculated for each census tract for each year. In total, 1478 census tracts were included in this analysis. Births to non-Hispanic black mothers and births to non-Hispanic white mothers were separated to evaluate if trends in ABO are similar regardless of race as previous literature has identified a much higher rate of ABO in births to non-Hispanic black women. Trends and patterns of ABO were evaluated using the Space Time Cube and the Mann-Kendall statistic and a multivariate regression was conducted to identify potential correlations between socioeconomic factors and prevalence of ABO. Results of this study can be used to identify areas that are experiencing an increase in ABO to potentially allow for more effective, targeted intervention methods.

“Flowing Along The Wall”: Anarcha-Feminist Bioethics And Resistance In Octavia E. Butler’S Dawn 2019., Theresa Mendez

Master's Theses

Science fiction (sf) texts conversant with the temporal play between past, present, and future push readers to imagine the extremes of human and environmental existence, interaction, and potential. Simultaneously, despite the sf genre’s tendency to traffic in extremes, these texts provoke readers to consider the ways in which these imagined worlds are grounded in history as well as in the contemporary social moment. As Donna Haraway has argued, “the boundary between science fiction and social reality is an optical illusion” (306). This illusory boundary must continue to be traversed in order to consider how sf literatures, particularly those which imagine …