Public Health Commons^™

An Integrated Strategy For Strengthening Worcester's Regional Food System: Key Roles For Education And Information, Joel Simonson

Sustainability and Social Justice

Food security and access to healthy food are public health issues that continue to persist in the United States and are ones that are strongly influenced by social and environmental factors. In Worcester, Massachusetts there are many organizations that contribute to alleviating the resulting effects, but do not always have the capacity to reach full potential and expand upon current initiatives. Students can provide existing human resources and knowledge that would benefit all parties. This would allow for organizational capacity development, ultimately impacting local residents, and for students to gain deeper connections to the greater Worcester community while learning vital …

Childhood Trauma, A Cycle Of Violence: Worcester, Ma, Samantha Arsenault

Sustainability and Social Justice

This research examines the relationship between childhood trauma, indicated by early police contact, and the probability of later negative life experiences, including involvement in and perpetration of violence, criminal activity and gang involvement for men age 0-27 in Worcester, MA. This research was conducted using probit and tobit regression analysis using the Worcester Police Dataset. This study shows a positive and highly statistically significant correlation between childhood trauma and gang involvement as well as involvement in violence, perpetration of violence, and the number of incidents of violence. This suggests that a crisis intervention for childhood trauma, including witness-based childhood trauma, …

The Effects Of Whole Body High-Intensity Interval Training On Collegiate Female Soccer Players 2016, Whitney Frary

Master's Theses

Soccer is considered a high intensity sport that requires a high level of both aerobic and anaerobic fitness. A whole body high-intensity interval training adaptation has been shown to benefit both of these systems over a short period of time. The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of a five week whole-body high intensity interval training program on female collegiate soccer players performance in speed, acceleration, agility, vertical jump, aerobic capacity, physical self perception, and physical enjoyment. Participants were from the SUNY Cortland women’s soccer team who participated in a five- week training protocol three days a …

Charlton Fire Department Resident Expectations: Survey And Analysis, Natalie Omary, Jingxin Wen, Junchen Chen, Denis Kornev

School of Professional Studies

The Town of Charlton is located in the heart of the Massachusetts with a resident population of just under 14,000 people. The Charlton Fire Department serves the town for needs related to fire fighting, fire prevention, burning permits and inspection services along with emergency medical services. The Department has requested the assistance of the Clark University COPACE Capstone students in creating and conducting survey in order to get a sense of what the resident of the town know about the fire department and to better gauge their expectations about what the department can provide for them. The survey was formulated …

Information Technology Proposal For The Town Of Spencer, Vijay Basava, Corey Kenyon, Mahdi Soltani

School of Professional Studies

The Town of Spencer came to us looking for a plan to build and maintain their own personal fiber network for connection between departments and to improve data security for important information. After assessing the existing landscape and determining the various paths forward, we created network diagrams and plans for the movement forward of this project.

After assessing a variety of plans, we found that a full single-mode fiber network would be the best system for the implementation in Spencer. While it was the highest cost, it also scored the highest in our assessment.

Healthcare Facility Location: A Breast Cancer Alliance Case Study, Alexandra Knopf

Sustainability and Social Justice

Community health is impacted by the location of a health advocacy agency. This commissioned report for the Breast Cancer Alliance of Greenwich, CT, consists of a location analysis to review potential cities in which they might locate expansion efforts. Such cities include Boston, MA, Chicago, IL, Greenwich, CT, Los Angeles, CA, San Francisco, CA, and Washington, D.C. This report will look at five ways (4 mathematical and one spatial) of conducting a location analysis that require specialized knowledge for interpretation. For this study, a Spatial Geographic Information System methodology is preferred because of the visualization component, which can ensure that …

Developing An Online Database Of Experts For The Worcester Regional Chamber Of Commerce, Zikan Chen, Douglas Grey, Pranjal Shah

School of Professional Studies

The Worcester Regional Chamber of Commerce as part of their mission to attract business to the Worcester area, want to create an online searchable database of industry experts made up of faculty members of the Colleges and Universities in the Worcester area. This online database will be placed on the Worcester Regional Chamber of Commerce Higher Education – Business Partnership page on their website. The limitations placed on this request are that the Regional Chamber as of this moment have no monetary or Information Technologies resources to provide for the realization of this request.

The proliferation of as A Service …

Cybersecurity Awareness Shrewsbury Public Schools, Brittany Crompton, David Thompson, Manuel Reyes, Xueyan Zhao, Xueke Zou

School of Professional Studies

In the 21st Century, technology reaches every aspect of our lives. As “digital citizens” we must be aware of the dangers both to our technological equipment and our personal information stored, transmitted, and processed on this equipment. The Cybersecurity Awareness curriculum developed for the Shrewsbury Public School district is designed to meet this need, as well as foster an interest in technology and ethical computer use.

Analysis Of The Point Of Sales System At Tower Hill Botanical Garden And Suggested Courses Of Action, Brian Dunn, Keerthi Bandi, Chantal Kopwa Epse Kassa, F.N.U Shelly

School of Professional Studies

As Tower Hill Botanic Garden continues to improve on its operations and enhance the experience of its visitors and members, they are on a quest for a new Point-Of-Sale (POS) system that not only works with its existing hardware and interface with Raiser’s Edge, a smartcloud fundraising and relationship management software central to the garden’s operations but also, have a restaurant module and the capability of operating both in a wireless and hard-wired environment.

Health Information Exchange: A Strategy For Improving Access For Rural Veterans In The Maine Flex Rural Veterans Health Access, Karen B. Pearson Mlis, Ma, Amanda Burgess Mppm, John A. Gale Ms, Andrew F. Coburn Phd, Anush Yousefian Hansen Ms, Ma

Access / Insurance

This paper reports on the design and implementation of a first-in-the nation project to expand rural veterans’ access to healthcare by establishing a bi-directional connection between Maine’s statewide health information exchange (HIE) and Veterans Administration facilities and centers. The paper reviews key factors that have contributed to implementation challenges and successes and lessons relevant to efforts to create interoperable health IT systems across multiple, complex organizational settings.

Facilitating Effective Communication Between First Responders And Older Adults During Fall Incidents: An Educational Intervention, Krystin M. Beeman, Erica L. Berger, Isabel A. Cabezas, Nicole M. Mathews

Dissertations, Masters Theses, Capstones, and Culminating Projects

PURPOSE. The purpose of this project was to provide first responders with communication strategies for older adults that may help when responding to fall- related calls. General information was also provided to First Responders on working with older adults with a focus on the aging process, fall risk factors, and communications strategies.

METHODS. A series of educational sessions to first responders at a local fire district were developed and presented by occupational therapy students. Materials were developed by presenters from evidence-based resources and tailored to the target population. Each presentation focused on statistics about older adults, the aging process, fall …

Enhancing Access To Alcohol Use Disorder Pharmacotherapy And Treatment In Primary Care Settings: Adapt-Pc, Hildi J. Hagedorn, Randall Brown, Michael Dawes, Eric Diepernick, Donald Myrick, Elizabeth M. Oliva, Todd H. Wagner, Jennifer P. Wisdom, Alex Harris

Health Policy and Management Faculty Publications

Background: Only 7.8% of individuals meeting diagnostic criteria for alcohol use disorder (AUD) receive treatment in a given year. Most individuals with AUDs are identified in primary care (PC) settings and referred to substance use disorders (SUD) clinics; however, only a minority of those referred attend treatment services. Safe and effective pharmacological treatments for AUD exist, but they are rarely prescribed by PC providers. The objective of this study is to refine, implement, and evaluate an intervention to integrate pharmacological AUD treatment options into PC settings. This paper provides a detailed description of the intervention design and the evaluation components. …

The Effect Of The Expanded Food And Nutrition Education Program On Participants’ Diet Quality: Does Supermarket Access Matter?, Rachel Ann Spencer

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This project assesses the effectiveness of the Expanded Food and Nutrition Education Program (EFNEP) within the context of supermarket access. EFNEP is a national community nutrition education program that strives to give participants the tools to live healthier lives. Analysis was performed on participants from 16 Arkansas counties that completed EFNEP during 2013 or 2014. The program outcome is measured in terms of the change in Healthy Eating Index (HEI) as calculated from 24-hour diet recalls at program entry and exit. Supermarket locations were obtained from the USDA Food Nutrition Service’s SNAP Retail Locator and represent the food environment near …

Implementing A Good Catch Program In Nursing Homes, Leigh Raposo

Muskie School Capstones and Dissertations

Rationale and processes for reporting near misses and evidence-based tools were collected by a literature search, seminal works by Sidney Dekker and James Reason, and websites for the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ), the Institute for Healthcare Improvement (IHI), and the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS). Tools, information, and strategies found in this research were evaluated for implementation in Maine nursing homes. The tools provide a communication vehicle for nursing home staff to safely report to management near misses, or mistakes that do not harm residents. To emphasize a positive approach, the project replaces the term …

Factors Associated With African American Women’S Sexual Health And Risk Behavior: A Mixed Methods Study, Melody N. Waller

Theses and Dissertations (ETD)

Introduction: When looking at the health status of our nation, an examination of sexual and reproductive health reveals that there are multiple conditions related to sexual behavior posing a burden on the health of African American women (AAW). Disproportionate rates of sexually transmitted infections, unintended/teen pregnancy, and sexual violence in this group reveal the need to integrate a broader construct to address the multiple factors known to contribute to disparities in sexual and reproductive health affecting AAW. Current health promotion efforts including the encouragement of abstinence and condom use fail to address the multiple components involved in sexual health and/or …

Women And Healthcare In Appalachia: Impeding Circumstance And The Role Of Technology, Ashley Cano

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

For decades, healthcare access and quality in central and southern Appalachia have trailed the rest of the country. Entrenched poverty and low educational attainment compound healthcare problems. This study examines the healthcare obstacles women encounter in southern and central Appalachia and analyzes how technology use, such as Internet searching and social media affect women’s healthcare decisions. Data were analyzed from four focus groups conducted with women from the region. Results indicate that seeing a physician or not did not influence women’s propensity to search the Internet for health-related information or to seek support through social media sites. Additionally, women reported …

Doulas Could Improve Foreign-Born Women’S Perinatal And Postpartum Satisfaction And Increase Health Providers’ Cultural Competency In A Multicultural Urban Area Of The United States., Crystal Kazik

Sustainability and Social Justice

Doulas act as a cultural bridge between clients and providers through the support, advocacy, and education they provide. Unfortunately, migrant women may be at a disadvantage for accessing and benefiting from their services due to a variety of socioeconomic and cultural factors including predisposed ideas of care and structure based on experiences in native countries, language barriers, lower health literacy, and a lack of awareness and understanding from hospital/clinic staff.

A strategic multifaceted approach utilizing doulas, such as Boston Medical Center’s collaborative and culturally competent model, may greatly improve foreign-born women’s experience and satisfaction with healthcare when pregnant and giving …

Alternatives Unlimited Inc. Property Service Application, Jalpa Dave, Pennie Nataliya, Neelakshi Bali

School of Professional Studies

The purpose of this project is to propose Property service application to be enforced for documenting and managing the work orders raised throughout the residencies. The company is looking into an application that would facilitate to track and monitor the maintenance request received in a systematic order and ensuring priority work request is resolved within the set time frame. The project is to enhance the property service's work more efficiently as this will provide a high level of charge for the occupants by providing quicker response to their requests. The Objectives set to achieve for this project are realistic and …

A One Health Message About Bats Increases Intentions To Follow Public Health Guidance On Bat Rabies, Hang Lu, Katherine A. Mccomas, Danielle E. Buttke, Sungjong Roh, Margaret A. Wild

Research Collection Lee Kong Chian School Of Business

Since 1960, bat rabies variants have become the greatest source of human rabies deaths in the United States. Improving rabies awareness and preventing human exposure to rabid bats remains a national public health priority today. Concurrently, conservation of bats and the ecosystem benefits they provide is of increasing importance due to declining populations of many bat species. This study used a visitor-intercept experiment (N = 521) in two U.S. national parks where human and bat interactions occur on an occasional basis to examine the relative persuasiveness of four messages differing in the provision of benefit and uncertainty information on intentions …

The Story Of Emily, Lori L. Jennings Ms, Barb O'Neil, Kim Bossy, Denise Dodman, Jill Campbell

Patient Experience Journal

This case study describes Bluewater Health’s quest to weave the philosophy and practice of patient and family-centered care from the boardroom to the bedside by introducing Emily. Emily’s image is a composite of photographs of staff, physicians, volunteers, patients and families exemplifying that each has a role in Emily’s care. Emily represents every patient and family of the past, present, and future. Emily’s journey started with the launch of Bluewater Health‘s 2013-2015 strategic plan and moved throughout the organization as patient councils were established and the organization embedded three foundational patient and family-centered RNAO Best Practice Guidelines into daily practice …

Applying Experience-Based Co-Design With Vulnerable Populations: Lessons From A Systematic Review Of Methods To Involve Patients, Families And Service Providers In Child And Youth Mental Health Service Improvement, Alison Mulvale, Ashleigh Miatello, Christina Hackett, Gillian Mulvale

Patient Experience Journal

The objective was to identify methods used to involve patients, family and service providers in child and youth mental health service improvement research. We analyzed the alignment of methods used with Experience-Based Co-Design (EBCD) methodology, and how power imbalances among participants were addressed. A systematic review of the English-language peer review literature since 2004 was carried out. The EMBASE, Scholar’s Portal, PubMed, Web of Science databases and the Ontario College of Art and Design University libraries were searched electronically for variations of ‘child’, ‘mental health’, ‘experience-based co-design’, ‘participatory research’ and ‘health care services’. Textual data was systematically extracted and analyzed. …

Impact Of Logo Wear On Provider Perception Of Patient, Bill R. Gombeski Jr

Patient Experience Journal

Patient’s appearance affects provider perception of patients and subsequent provider behavior. Based on anecdotal information, it was hypothesized that wearing a health organization’s brand would result in a more positive perception of a patient by providers and subsequently a better patient experience. A study of 121 individuals with patient contact was conducted. Using photos of patients with and without a health care brand on their shirts, study subjects rated the attractiveness and willingness to engage with photos of patients. Patients with a Mayo brand and UK HealthCare brand showed some significant positive attractiveness over the same patient without the brand. …

Patient Evaluations Of The Interpersonal Care Experience (Ice) In U.S. Hospitals: A Factor Analysis Of The Hcahps Survey, Geoffrey A. Silvera, Jonathan R. Clark

Patient Experience Journal

The Hospital Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems survey (HCAHPS) is widely used to evaluate patients’ perceptions of their inpatient healthcare experiences. The HCAHPS is organized into 10 measures: six composite measures, two individual measures, and two global measures.¹ In prior research on the link between patients’ care experiences and hospital’s quality and cost outcomes, scholars have grouped these measures in a variety of ways. The evident lack of consistency in these groupings along with the persistent lack of empirical justification for these groupings suggests a need to empirically examine the relational structure of HCAHPS measures. …

Developing Approaches To The Collection And Use Of Evidence Of Patient Experience Below The Level Of National Surveys, Elizabeth J. Gibbons, Chris Graham, Jenny King, Kelsey Flott, Crispin Jenkinson Professor, Raymond Fitzpatrick Professor

Patient Experience Journal

National approaches to collecting patient feedback provide trust level information which although can provide a benchmark for trusts often doesn’t provide information about specific services or patients experiences of pathways of care. This more granular level of data could be more informative for local service development and improvement. This research explored the feasibility and usefulness of such approaches. A conceptual model and standard questionnaire of patient experience was developed that might work across a range of services and pathways of care. Seven trusts were recruited as collaborating sites in which the model and survey instrument was tested. These were from …

Impact Of Hospital Diagnosis-Specific Quality Measures On Patients’ Experience Of Hospital Care: Evidence From 14 States, 2009-2011, Emily M. Johnston, Kenton J. Johnston, Jaeyong Bae, Jason M. Hockenberry, Arnold Milstein, Edmund Becker

Patient Experience Journal

In order to assess consistency across quality measures for Untied States hospitals, this paper uses patient responses to the Hospital Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems (HCAHPS) survey for three years (2009-2011) from 1,333 acute-care hospitals in fourteen states to analyze patterns in hospital-reported patient experience-of-care scores by diagnosis-specific process and outcome measures for acute myocardial infarction, heart failure, and pneumonia. We also evaluate how scores have changed over the three-year period. We find significant differences in patient experience-of-care scores for 195 out of 230 relationships between HCAHPS patient experience-of-care scores and 23 diagnosis-specific process and outcomes measures. We …

Please Tick The Appropriate Box: Perspectives On Patient Reported Experience, Mette Sandager, Morten Freil, Janne Lehmann Knudsen

Patient Experience Journal

Patient experience surveys are increasingly used as a method for evaluating important aspects of quality of care and the results are used politically to support general decision-making. However, there have been limited attempts to summarize the newest and most essential knowledge on how to measure and interpret patient experience data. This paper aims to summarize knowledge on the association between delivered care and patient reported experience and the factors influencing this association, and to outline a conceptual model illustrating the association. The method employed is integrative literature review. Quantitative and qualitative studies as well as theoretical and discussion papers that …

Patient Perceptions Of An Aidet And Hourly Rounding Program In A Community Hospital: Results Of A Qualitative Study, Tosha Allen, Tyne Rieck, Stacie Salsbury

Patient Experience Journal

Quantitative evidence links patient satisfaction scores to the use of communication strategies such as AIDET (Acknowledge, Introduce, Duration, Explanation, and Thank you) and Hourly Rounding. However, little is known about patient perceptions of these tools in regards to their hospital experience. Qualitative interviews were conducted with a convenience sample of 14 adult medical/surgical inpatients in one mid-sized, community hospital, following hospital discharge. The interview data was transcribed and opened coded, utilizing constant comparison to identify common themes. Themes emerged in four topical areas: (a) patient experience of hospitalization, (b) AIDET, (c) Hourly Rounding, and (d) unexpected findings. Patients placed significant …

Does She Think She’S Supported? Maternal Perceptions Of Their Experiences In The Neonatal Intensive Care Unit, Emily A. Lilo, Richard J. Shaw, Julia Corcoran, Amy Storfer-Isser, Sarah M. Horwitz

Patient Experience Journal

Parents’ involvement in the care of their infants in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) is critically important, leading many NICUs to implement policies and practices of family-centered care (FCC). Analyzing narrative interviews, we examined whether mothers of premature infants who participated in an intervention to help reduce anxiety, stress, and depression felt that their NICU experience reflected four key nursing behaviors previously identified as being necessary to achieving FCC. Fifty-six narratives derived from semi-structured interviews with the mothers were analyzed qualitatively and quantitatively to examine whether the women experienced emotional support, parent empowerment, welcoming environment, and parent education, as …

A Call To Excellence In Patient Experience, Geoffrey A. Silvera

Patient Experience Journal

In this address, the incoming associate editor describes his early experience with the Patient Experience Journal (PXJ) and issues a call to action to the PXJ community. In the call to action, the PXJ community is asked to build upon our collective history of scholastic and practical excellence. The combination of practical relevance and methodological rigor in our contributions will help to ensure a future in which patient experience is paramount in health service delivery conversations. In addition, gaps in the patient experience literature and emergent opportunities for theoretical and practical contributions are recommended.

Patient Experience: Driving Outcomes At The Heart Of Healthcare, Jason A. Wolf Phd

Patient Experience Journal

There is no longer a question that patient experience matters in healthcare today. It matters for those that are cared for and served and matters to all those working each and every day to provide the best in care at all touch points across the healthcare continuum. With this recognition, there too needs to be a change in mindset about patient experience itself. When addressing the topic of patient experience, the conversation is about something much broader than the “experience of care”, as identified in the triple aim. The idea of experience reflects our biggest opportunity in healthcare, where experience …