Public Health Commons^™

The Impact Of Population, Health, And Environment Projects: A Synthesis Of Evidence, Rachel Winnik Yavinsky, Carolyn Lamere, Kristen P. Patterson, Jason Bremner

Reproductive Health

This working paper synthesizes the existing research and results from projects that integrate family planning with environment, livelihoods, natural-resource management, and other non-health development sectors. The report synthesizes the published and gray literature on current and past integrated projects and the experiences of implementers to generate a summary of the state of knowledge on integrated family planning and environment projects. Specifically, this synthesis documents what is being measured by integrated projects, the proven benefits of integration, and gaps in the evidence base. Based on this analysis, the synthesis highlights and discusses successes and challenges for documenting the impact of integrating …

Low Use And High Discontinuation Of Modern Contraceptives In Pakistan: Reasons And Policy Recommendations, Population Council

Reproductive Health

According to the latest Pakistan Demographic and Health Survey, 20 percent of married women of reproductive age have unmet need for contraception. Moreover, the country’s contraceptive prevalence rate (CPR), for modern and traditional methods combined, is only 35 percent—one of the lowest CPRs in the region. In addition to the problem of nonuse, the country is finding it difficult to keep current contraceptive users onboard: compared to other developing countries, Pakistan has the highest rate of discontinuation of contraceptive use. Thus, while there has been an overall increase in the use of contraceptives—modern and traditional—there is a large difference between …

The Effect Of Integrating Hiv Services On Quality Of Postnatal Care, Integra Initiative

Reproductive Health

Addressing the postnatal needs of new mothers is a neglected area of care throughout sub-Saharan Africa. Unintended pregnancies during the first 12 months following delivery, and vertical transmission of HIV during labor and delivery, are some of the challenges faced by women during the extended postpartum period. Many women want to delay or avoid another pregnancy, but are not using a modern contraceptive method. Few developing countries ensure that mothers and newborns are assessed early and monitored during the initial six-week period as recommended by WHO, which contributes to discontinuity of services received during pregnancy and delivery and limits linkages …

Expanding Young People's Access To Integrated Services In Malawi, Integra Initiative

Reproductive Health

In sub-Saharan Africa, uptake of sexual and reproductive health (SRH) services among young people remains low, placing millions of young people at risk of poor reproductive health outcomes and sexually transmitted infections, including HIV. The “Steps to Integration” series provides a guide on how to integrate HIV and SRH services based on findings from the Integra Initiative, managed by the International Planned Parenthood Federation in partnership with the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine and the Population Council. Issue 7 of the series focuses on expanding young people’s access to integrated services in Malawi. Conclusions include: improving the quality …

Reducing Maternal And Child Mortality In Punjab: The Untapped Potential Of Family Planning, Zeba Sathar, Maqsood Sadiq, Seemin Ashfaq

Reproductive Health

Family planning (FP) is recognized as a necessary tool for faster fertility decline leading to accelerated economic development. However, its unique and potent role in preserving mother and child health is less well understood. This Population Council/Evidence Project policy brief explains why FP must be prioritized in Punjab’s health strategy as a key intervention for reducing maternal, infant, and under-five mortality in the province. By fulfilling the existing unmet need for birth spacing and limiting, it is possible to prevent 45 percent of maternal deaths, 26 percent of infant deaths, and 76 percent of young child deaths. FP’s wider health …

Speaking Their Language: Integrating Social Media Into Childbirth Education Practice, Deborah Weatherspoon, Christopher Weatherspoon, C. Ristau

Walden Faculty and Staff Publications

With the advancement of modern technology, the internet has become a standard platform for many forms of communication and education. The majority of pregnant females fall into the cohort known as Millenials and have experienced technology since early in life. Millenials consider technology as part of their everyday life and use it for personal interaction or a source of information. The established comfort with the use of technology combined with busy lifestyles, multiple commitments, transportation costs or logistics, childcare, or a desire for privacy, support the use of perinatal online learning. This article examines options that childbirth educators may consider …

The Relationship Between Sexual Functioning And Sleep Quality In A Female Undergraduate Student Sample, Alexander Kuka

All Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Other Capstone Projects

A relative lack of literature exists regarding the relationship between sexual functioning and sleep quality in women. The current study assessed these constructs in a sample of 260 undergraduate female students via online administration of relevant measures for sleep quality, sexual functioning, stress, and medical conditions and prescription medications. The relationship between sleep quality and sexual functioning was positive but not significant, even when controlling for relevant variables such as stress. As such, future research might seek to clarify this relationship and to identify variables that mediate or moderate this relationship.

Diagnosing An International Health Crisis: A Structural Exploration Of Ebola 2014, Maddison Zayn Jansen

Honors Program Theses

The Ebola crisis of 2014, though concentrated most heavily in three small countries in western Africa, awoke the international community to its lack of effective health crisis infrastructure. As the disease rocked the globe, multinational groups scrambled to help those directly affected and protect the overwhelming majority of people not directly affected. Most preventative measures failed, and pre-existing initiatives to stem the flow of the disease only served to open the floodgates more. After careful examination of the literature surrounding medical, cultural, financial, national, and global circumstances enabling Ebola to flourish, as well as applying individual analysis and examination, it …

Motivational Interviewing For Parent-Child Health Interventions: A Systematic Review And Meta-Analysis, Belinda Borrelli, Erin M. Tooley

Arts & Sciences Faculty Publications

Purpose: Motivational interviewing (MI) is a patient-centered approach focusing on building intrinsic motivation for change. This paper presents a meta-analysis of parent-involved MI to improve pediatric health behavior and health outcomes.

Methods: Study inclusion criteria: (1) examined modifiable pediatric health behaviors (< 18 years old); (2) used MI or motivational enhancement; (3) conducted a randomized controlled trial with a comparison group (non-MI control or active treatment group); (4) conducted the intervention with only a parent or both a parent and child; and (5) were written in English. Twenty-five studies (with 5,130 participants) were included and independently rated. Weighted mean effect sizes, using random-effects assumptions, were calculated.

Results: Relative to comparison groups, MI was associated with significant improvements in health behaviors (e.g., oral health, diet, physical activity, reduced screen time, smoking cessation, reduced second hand smoke) and reduction in body mass index. Results suggest that MI may also outperform comparison groups in terms of dental caries, but more studies are needed. MI interventions were more …

Skin Cancer Prevention Behaviors Among Northeast Florida College Students, Julie W. Merten

Florida Public Health Review

Skin cancer is the most common cancer in the United States with over three million people diagnosed annually. Melanoma rates in the past 40 years have increased 800% in women and 400% in men under the age of 39. Ultraviolet radiation is directly linked with the development of skin cancer; moreover, young adults are the most active age group engaging in risky UV exposure. This study seeks to extend scientific understanding of skin cancer prevention behaviors among college students. A convenience sample of 747 college students were surveyed at a midsized Northeast Florida university using the National Cancer Institute core …

College Students’ Use Of Social Media To Communicate About Alcohol And Drinking Behaviors, Jenna E. Reno

Theses and Dissertations--Communication

Social networking sites (SNSs) are an increasingly popular channel for communication among college students. Often students disclose more freely via social networking sites than they would in other situations. These disclosures commonly include information about engaging in risky health behaviors (e.g., binge drinking). Study 1 examined students’ impression management goals and self-presentation tactics specifically related to self-disclosures of drinking behavior on SNSs. Findings suggest that students use differing self-presentation tactics across various SNSs in order to achieve their impression management goals and to avoid consequences associated with disclosing about risky health behaviors to certain audiences. Study 2 sought to develop …

Learning From Women About Hiv Risk, Hiv Testing Behaviors, And Prevention Practices In Mpumalanga, South Africa: A Descriptive Study To Inform Microbicides Introduction, Martha Brady, Saiqa Mullick, Barbara Friedland, Marlena Gehret Plagianos, Linda Du Plessis, Thabiso Mango

HIV and AIDS

The provision of any new prevention product in clinical trial settings is often vastly different from implementation in “real life” public sector settings. In addition, use of antiretrovirals (ARV), such as tenofovir gel, for pre-exposure prophylaxis requires regular HIV testing to ensure users are uninfected before initiating and continuing product use. Therefore, before any ARV-based prevention product can be introduced to women, information is needed on HIV testing practices, how best to integrate products into existing primary health care systems, and women’s risk perception and health-seeking behaviors. The Population Council, in partnership with Solutions IPPT, conducted a study to learn …

The Sweet Taste Of Health: A Positive Deviance Inquiry Into Communicative Acts That Lead To Effective Management Of Diabetes Among Hispanics, Claudia Martinez Boyd

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

ABSTRACT

Diabetes is among the fastest growing diseases in the world. In the U.S., Hispanics are the third most affected population. Nonetheless, there are Hispanics diagnosed with diabetes who have, against all odds, found solutions to manage their disease. This study focused on the intrapersonal and interpersonal acts and behaviors of "positive deviant" Hispanics living on the U.S. - Mexico border that effectively managed their diabetes. They are referred to as "positive deviants" because they accrue "positive" outcomes and "deviants" because they are not the norm.

A PD inquiry was conducted and twelve PD respondents between the ages of 20 …

Law’S Power To Safeguard Global Health: A Lancet–O’Neill Institute, Georgetown University Commission On Global Health And The Law, Lawrence O. Gostin, John T. Monahan, Mary C. Debartolo, Richard Horton

Georgetown Law Faculty Publications and Other Works

The law-–global, national, and subnational–-plays a vital, yet often underappreciated, role in safeguarding and promoting the public’s health. In this article, we launch the Lancet-O’Neill Institute, Georgetown University Commission on Global Health and the Law. Commissioners from around the world will explore the critical opportunities and challenges of using law as a tool, while evaluating the evidence base for legal interventions. The Commission aims to define and systematically describe the current landscape of law that affects global health and safety.

Commissioners were chosen from disciplines that range from health, policy, and law to economics and governance. The Commission aims …

The Predictors Of Physician-Patient Discussions Of Sexual Health With Older Adults, Dana Marie Werner

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The number of adults aged 65 years and over has been rising quickly, as has the rate of new onset sexually transmitted diseases within this population. Discussions of sexual health between physicians and older adults are currently lacking in frequency and effectiveness. Using the foundation of stereotype embodiment theory, the purpose of this study was to identify the factors that predict frequency of discussing sexual health with older adult patients. A comparative sample of geriatric physicians and family practitioners completed 2 researcher-developed questions and the Sexual Health Care Scale-Attitude tool that assessed their stereotype beliefs toward discussing sexual health with …

Essays On Income Inequality, Minority Health And Healthcare Spending, Rui Cheng

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

This set of essays addresses issues related to income inequality, public healthcare supply and population health. Income inequality has been found to affect health in a number of studies. Using data from Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS), a telephone survey of adults in the United States, the first chapter of my dissertation studies the effect of state level and county level income inequality on health status and the pathway via public health spending. By using multiple imputation method applied to BRFSS income data, it derives synthetic Gini coefficient at state level and county level for each year from 2000 …

Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program And Home Food Availability : The Role Of Depression And Household Characteristics, Marta D. Hernandez

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

Although about 47 million low-income people participated in the Supplemental Nutritional Assistance Program (SNAP) program at the end of 2012, the effect of SNAP participation on some nutrition related outcomes is controversial or unknown. Particularly, the effect of SNAP on food availability at-home has not been examined despite its association with food consumption. In addition, little is known about individual and social factors influencing this relationship. This study examined the effects of the interaction between SNAP participation and depression and the effects of the interaction between SNAP participation and the presence of children under 17 years of age on food …

Burnout-Depression Overlap: A Review, Renzo Bianchi, Irvin Sam Schonfeld, Eric Laurent

Publications and Research

Whether burnout is a form of depression or a distinct phenomenon is an object of controversy. The aim of the present article was to provide an up-to-date review of the literature dedicated to the question of burnout–depression overlap. A systematic literature search was carried out in PubMed, PsycINFO, and IngentaConnect. A total of 92 studies were identified as informing the issue of burnout–depression overlap. The current state of the art suggests that the distinction between burnout and depression is conceptually fragile. It is notably unclear how the state of burnout (i.e., the end stage …

Predicting Antidepressant Treatment Without Controlling For Depression Is Ill-Advised, Renzo Bianchi, Irvin Sam Schonfeld, Eric Laurent

Publications and Research

All in all, the link observed by Madsen et al. (2015) between burnout and antidepressant intake may well conceal an expected relationship between depression and antidepressant intake. The impossibility of ruling out this reasonable alternative hypothesis renders the study inconclusive. We recommend that future research on (psychotherapeutic or pharmacologic) treatments for burnout incorporate measures of depression in order to facilitate research advance on burnout's characterization and burnout-depression overlap.

Evidence Of Son Preference And Resulting Demographic And Health Outcomes In Pakistan, Zeba Sathar, Gul Rashida, Sabahat Hussain, Anushe Hassan

Poverty, Gender, and Youth

Pakistan has a highly patriarchal society. Consequently, the desire for sons is a dominant and widely prevalent cultural value that is reinforced by feudal kinship systems that permeate many parts of the country. While reliance on sons is stronger in rural areas because of agricultural work and the tying of land ownership with male inheritance, even in other areas boys are seen to be important in carrying on the family name and taking care of parents in old age. On the other hand, daughters are seen as an expense and an economic burden in both rural and urban areas. A …

Delivering Contraceptive Vaginal Rings—Task Sharing In The Delivery Of Family Planning Programs: Experiences From Senegal, Babacar Mane, Nafissatou Diop, Saumya Ramarao

Reproductive Health

The Population Council is conducting activities to facilitate the introduction of vaginal rings in sub-Saharan Africa. This report notes that the first ring to be introduced will be the Council’s Progesterone Contraceptive Vaginal Ring (PCVR), which is relevant in contexts where women practice prolonged lactation. The PCVR will also address the high unmet need for family planning (FP), especially for postpartum women. The Council aims to expand the availability and affordability of vaginal rings in Kenya, Nigeria, and Senegal. One of the challenges is the lack of skilled providers. To design plans for involving mid- and lower-level health workers in …

Health Facility Guidelines And Management Benchmarks: Improving Workplace Health Services And Health Management In Factories, Farms And Other Workplaces In Low- And Middle-Income Countries, David Wofford, Marat Yu, Lauren Shields, Maria Pontes

Reproductive Health

This document contains a set of voluntary health and management guidelines for corporations and their supply chains to promote continual improvement and application of good practices, better access to men’s and women’s health services, and more effective use of health resources at workplaces in the developing world. It is focused on both quality of health services provided at the workplace and adequacy of company policies and management systems to ensure that workers have access to health services. The main goals of the guidelines are to: 1) help enterprises—multinational companies and their supplier or subsidiary companies in developing countries—improve the management …

Family Planning Vouchers To Improve Delivery And Uptake Of Contraception In Low And Middle Income Countries: A Systematic Review, Benjamin Bellows, Ashish Bajracharya, Carol Bulaya, Sophie Inambwae

Reproductive Health

Family planning vouchers have provided accessible and quality reproductive health services to the poor and have been critical to countries in making progress in achieving Millennium Development Goal 5. Increased utilization of contraception allows for birth spacing, decreases unintended pregnancy, and results in healthier mothers and families. Strategies to improve utilization through targeted subsidies in low- and middle income countries (LMICs) have not been fully documented in a systematic review of the literature. This study report summarizes the effect of voucher systems for contraceptive services on socioeconomic and demographic indicators in LMICs. A systematic review of unpublished reports and published …

Progesterone Vaginal Ring: Results Of A Three-Country Acceptability Study, Saumya Ramarao, Heather Clark, Deepa Rajamani, Salisu Mohammed Ishaku, Babacar Mane, Francis Obare, Harriet Birungi, Nafissatou Diop, Wilson Liambila, Fatou Mbow, Chi-Chi Undie, Godwin Unumeri, John Townsend

Reproductive Health

Global and national policies have refocused attention on postpartum family planning as an important component of ensuring healthy outcomes for women and babies. The progesterone vaginal ring (PVR) is used to extend the contraceptive effectiveness of lactational amenorrhea among breastfeeding women. Clinical trials have proven the PVR to be safe and effective; it is currently registered in eight Latin American countries. There is a need to assess acceptability prior to introduction into country programs, and the Population Council conducted PVR acceptability studies in Kenya, Nigeria, and Senegal. This report represents the results from a pooled analysis of data from the …

Kenya Adolescent Sexual And Reproductive Health Policy, Ministry Of Health Kenya

Reproductive Health

This document is a review and revision of the National Adolescent Sexual and Reproductive Health Policy of Kenya, which involved in-depth consultations with a wide range of stakeholders through literature review, interviews, consultative meetings, and reviews of the various drafts. Many changes took place at the national and international levels that needed to be taken into account as the policy was reviewed, including the Constitution of Kenya (2010) with its attendant devolved governance structure as well as demographics, and social, economic, and technological environment. The government has made concerted efforts as part of Vision 2030 to respond to adolescents and …

Expanding Access To Education For Teenage Mothers In Homa Bay County: What ‘Might’ Work, Chi-Chi Undie

Reproductive Health

No abstract provided.

Managing The Challenging Dual Role Of Being A Population Health Doctoral Student And Having A Life Outside Of School – A Commentary, Amber Canto

Florida Public Health Review

Being a successful doctoral student is challenged by life forces such as job, family, and balancing other life commitments. In this paper I comment on these challenges and offer some thoughts on finding a balance that works for me. Keys to meeting this challenge include learning to say "no," finding time for important things, establishing new expectations, acknowledging new and multiple roles establishing boundaries, and utilizing support networks that are available.

The Simultaneous, Incompatible Life Of A Doctoral Student, Amitha Domalpally

Florida Public Health Review

Being a successful doctoral student is challenged by life forces such as job, family, and balancing other life commitments. In this paper I comment on these challenges and offer some thoughts on finding a balance that works for me. Keys to meeting this challenge include categorizing the "chaos," avoiding role contagion, and utilizing the support of a partner to help balance out the stress of school.

The Challenging Dual Role Of Being A Dvm/Public Health Student And Having A Life – A Commentary, Nailah S. Smith

Florida Public Health Review

Being a successful graduate student is challenged by life forces such as job, family, and balancing other life commitments. In this paper I comment on these challenges and offer some thoughts on finding a balance that works for me. Keys to meeting this challenge include committing to certain values, defining the essentials in life, and recognizing personal boundaries.

Life, Career, And Graduate School – Challenge And Opportunity For Students, Robert J. Mcdermott

Florida Public Health Review

Since 2007 I have had the opportunity to teach Writing for Scholarly Publication as part of the Population Health Summer Institute at the University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Medicine and Public Health. In a course so brief (five three-hour meetings over a period of 10 days), finding topics through which students can develop their writing talent and complete a publishable paper is an arduous task. Two years ago, students prepared commentaries about why they were (or were not) worried about their future as public health professionals, and four of these short essays were published in the Florida Public Health Review, …