Public Health Commons^™

Messer, Braden - Covid-19 Journal, Braden Messer

Personal Journals

EIU student Braden Messer recounts the transition from Spring Break to online classes. He talks of quarantine life at home, and his stepmother's role as an attorney working with forced quarantine orders.

Zamora, Celeste - Covid-19 Journal, Celeste Zamora

Personal Journals

EIU student Celeste Zamora recounts life while quarantining in Charleston, IL while maintaining her studies and also working at a local hotel. She details Covid policies as they develop, including hotel practices such as the constant wearing of gloves, putting in place a new glass window, and no admittance of out of state people.

Osborne, Ethan - Covid-19 Journal, Ethan Osborne

Personal Journals

EIU student Ethan Osborne recounts in detail the experience and frustration of living at home and working on his family farm in the early months of the pandemic, March-May 2020. He also details his observations of and feelings about the news coverage of the pandemic as well as the disregard (particularly by young people) for shelter in place mandates.

Klepzig, Logan - Covid-19 Journal, Logan Klepzig

Personal Journals

EIU student Logan Klepzig documents travel from Charleston, IL to Mohomet, IL (approximately 1 hour) to deliver groceries to, and visit his grandparents. He also describes the difficulty of not being able to celebrate birthdays, and see family. His journal also includes a number of links to regional and national news stories from the months of March and April of 2020, as well as images documenting pandemic restrictions around the EIU campus.

Mchale, Marguerite - Covid-19 Journal, Marguerite Mchale

Personal Journals

Marguerite McHale, and EIU student in Professor Mark Dries' HIS 1595 class maintains an upbeat journal documenting the challenges of the pandemic. Of particular note, she describes the growing divide between those supportive of the social distancing and masking initiatives, as well as the impact on high school students who she maintains friendships with as one who graduated a year early from high school. She includes a number of pieces of high school student commentary as well as memes related to the pandemic, and links to news stories. She also describes her home life, and finding ways to keep busy …

Drake, Benjamin - Covid-19 Journal, Benjamin Drake

Personal Journals

EIU student Benjamin Drake (freshman at the time of his journal writing in Spring, 2020), and History of Illinois (HIS 3810) student, reflects on the early months of the pandemic. He discusses the frustrations of the disruption of social life, not being on campus with friends, and also experiences with activities like playing virtual Dungeons and Dragons.

Spencer, Julia - Covid-19 Journal, Julia Spencer

Personal Journals

EIU student Julia Spencer describes the challenges adjusting to the new normal of the pandemic as it sets in. In particular she writes about struggles staying motivated to keep up with her studies, and the oddity of having classes on zoom. Her experience is compounded by health scares involving her mother and a friend.

Crisis Communication And Executive Leadership: Ethical Shortcomings In Government, Daniel Davidoff

School of Professional Studies

This research thesis project is an analysis of how and why governments fail in their attempts at crisis communication. The hypotheses tested are: there exists a negative correlation between unethical leadership and successful crisis communication practices. And governments are more likely to experience these failures due to ethical disconnects in modern politics. Research includes a review of relevant academic literature regarding crisis communication theory, as well as the ethical framework that can be applied to that theory. Cases considered are Hurricane Katrina, the choking death of Eric Garner, and the COVID-19 global pandemic. The research project concludes with a recommendation …

Becoming A Trauma Informed Care Organization, Katie Robery

School of Professional Studies

The Brockton Area Mutli Services Inc or BAMSI is a private, non-profit human services organization providing services to adults and children with developmental disabilities, mental illness, behavioral health, and public health needs. Founded in 1975, BAMSI is in the business of “bringing people and services together.” BAMSI transforms lives by building the capacity of individuals, families, organizations, and communities to learn, thrive, and achieve their goals. BAMSI services promote the recovery, resiliency, and self-determination of the people we serve. As a human services leader, we strive to be the provider of choice. (Duffy, 2019) With an emphasis on respect and …

Diversity And Inclusion In The Workplace; Benefits, Challenges And Strategies For Success, Margaret Leone

School of Professional Studies

In this case study I have explored the topic of diversity and inclusion in the workplace and learned how it can transform a business. When D&I is a serious business strategy supported by senior management it can help recruit and retain top talent, increase profits, and unleash creativity among other benefits. It is important to have leadership that is inclusive so they can set the tone for their staff

This case study evaluates the D&I culture at The Children’s Study Home (CHS) and explores best practices for improvement. CHS is a non-profit human service agency in Western MA, that’s mission …

Young People, Social Media, And Impacts On Well-Being, Andreana Nop

School of Professional Studies

Millennials and Generation Z were born into an age where social media and digital technology have been integrated in nearly all aspects of their lives. While social media has proven to be a valuable communication tool in connecting with each other and sharing information, the long-term psychosocial effects are beginning to become more apparent as social media matures. This study analyzes what these effects are and how communication is impacted for these young people. It questions how young people can leverage social media and decrease harm. The study will be conducted through a literature review and analysis. Its goal is …

Managing Burnout And Secondary Traumatic Stress In Human Service Organizations, Naomi Ingram

School of Professional Studies

This Case Study explores how burnout and secondary traumatic stress impact staffing, service delivery, and organizational effectiveness in a human service agency. The Case Study is focused around Ascentria Care Alliance’s Children & Family Services in Massachusetts, which encompasses three foster care programs: the Unaccompanied Refugee Minor (URM), Division of Children’s Services (DCS), and Intensive Foster Care (IFC) programs. Both individual and organizational approaches are needed to most effectively address burnout and secondary traumatic stress. Individual workers need to build resilience factors such as self-compassion and mindfulness, set appropriate boundaries with clients, engage in ongoing training, support, consultation, and supervision, …

Rest Homes: Their Value On Massachusetts Healthcare Continuum, Ronald Pawelski

School of Professional Studies

In Massachusetts, rest homes provide cost effective care for elderly residents in a community setting. Rest homes, however, are not well-understood and the rest home industry itself suffers greatly, not only from a lack of understanding of the services they provide, but also from the strain on their financial resources due to both competition from other healthcare options and insufficient reimbursement rates for residents’ care.

The paper explores the financial challenges facing the industry and outlines the data that speaks to the value of the rest home care option for both the residents themselves and Massachusetts state healthcare budget. It …

A Case Study On The Best Practices Of The Facilitating Organization For Peer Recovery Support Services In The State Of New Hampshire, Maggie Ringey

School of Professional Studies

In working with the Facilitating Organization for Peer Recovery Support Services through Harbor Homes, I have found that the Recovery Community Organizations that receive support through the FO provide valuable services that help individuals that struggle with substance use disorder achieve and maintain long term sobriety and recovery. The RCOs throughout New Hampshire bridge gaps in services and treatments that are left untouched by traditional clinical methods and through regular check ins, participants at the RCOs have reported that the services provided resulted in positive outcomes in their lives. Throughout the course of this research, I found that the RCOs …

Elder Isolation In Immigrant Communities, Jessica Da Silva

School of Professional Studies

This paper examined loneliness, as a measurement of perceived social isolation, in older immigrant adults. Previous research shows that older adults are more likely to experience social isolation and loneliness. Both of which have a direct correlation with their overall health (Wilson & Molton, 2010, Cacioppo et al., 2002) and mortality rates (Holt-Lunstad et al, 2015). Another international study found that immigrants in particular are at a higher risk for experiencing loneliness (Government of Canada, 2018). In this study, 35 immigrants and non-immigrants participants answered a survey which included 20 questions from the UCLA Loneliness Scale Version 3 (Russel, 1996). …

Dallas, Tx: The Staggering Wealth Gap, Macy Golman

School of Professional Studies

In the summer of 2019, I had the privilege of serving as an AmeriCorps member with an organization called Equal Heart. One of Equal Heart’s main initiatives was to provide meals to children in underserved populations, to make sure that without school in session, these children would still be receiving food. Unfortunately, in many instances, without these meals, many of the children we served would likely not know when they would be eating their next fulfilling meal. There were certain pockets of Dallas that we would travel to everyday, places that were fifteen minutes maximum from my house, but places …

Intimate Partner Violence Against Women In Pakistan: A Review Of Qualitative Research, Tazeen S. Ali, Rida Farhan, Michelle Ayub

Community Health Sciences

Objective: To consolidate research data and provide an insight into areas that need further research regarding intimate partner violence.
Methods: The review targeted qualitative research-based studies done in the English language and conducted in Pakistan from 2008 to 2018 regarding intimate partner violence against women. A thorough search of Google Scholar and PubMed databases was done. Data from each selected article was extracted using a data-extraction template.
Results: Of the 2,479 results, 21(0.8%) articles were selected along with 4(0.16%) texts from grey literature. An in-depth analysis led to six broad categories: experiences/perspectives of married women facing intimate partner violence; perspectives …

The Impact Of Location On Healthcare Access For Individuals With Disabilities, Addison Kimber

Honors Scholar Theses

This paper analyzes healthcare access for individuals with disabilities living in rural areas. In current political discussion, we typically think of insurance coverage as the metric to analyze healthcare access. However, as demonstrated by studies of healthcare in the United Kingdom, people with disabilities continue to face barriers to health care even with universal healthcare systems. In particular, individuals in rural areas have less healthcare access than urban residents. This is due to factors including socioeconomic status, insurance coverage, access to competent care, and transportation. This study aims to understand if disability status exacerbates the issue of access in rural …

The Role Of Culture In Engaging The Senior Population In Omaha, Ne, Jamie Bish

Theses/Capstones/Creative Projects

In recent years, the senior care industry has become the focus of many public health initiatives as we have come to better understand the significance of our aging population (Olivari et al., 2020). Between the years 2010 and 2050, the population of the United States over 65 years is expected to more than double, from 40.5 to 89 million (Dall et al., 2013). While this data provides a national outlook, further research is needed to determine local impacts. This project centers on developing a better understanding of the demographics of seniors in the Omaha-Council Bluffs Metropolitan Statistical Area and how …

“Disbelieving Black Women To Death”; The “Double Jeopardy”: Racism And Sexism Affects Black Women’S Access To And Quality Of Care During Pregnancy, Birth, And Postpartum, Madeline St. Clair

Theses/Capstones/Creative Projects

This paper explores possible reasons why Black women in the United States experience a higher maternal mortality rate than their white counterparts. Using books, articles, journals, documentaries, personal experiences and stories of Black women and mothers, I argue that barriers from the societal to the individual level create health and medical disparities for Black mothers in pregnancy, during delivery, and the postpartum period. The paper concludes with a multifaceted solution and call to action.

The Effectiveness Of Implementing A Collaborative Mental Health Approach On Quality Of Life For Individuals Of Low Socioeconomic Status, Tyler Z. Tooley

Graduate Theses/Dissertations

The ultimate purpose of this study is to provide insight and education to mental health clinicians, politicians and the general public of the numerous effects poverty has on mental health, in addition to the most beneficial ways to combat those insidious effects. The specific barriers met by individuals of low socioeconomic status severely affect psychological and physical health, as well as social and environmental relationships, which therefore diminish overall quality of life. The aim of this study is to examine the effectiveness of implementing a collaborative mental health approach for low income individuals on length of engagement in services and …

Landscapes Of Danger: A Geospatial Analysis Of Perceived And Realistic Risk In Bryce Canyon National Park, Tia Francis

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The quantification of risk has inspired a wide breath of literature from the physical sciences, social sciences, and interdisciplinary disciplines like geography. Many attempts to estimate risk via natural hazards either focus on quantifying realistic risk or perceived risk of lay persons, with very little overlap between these paradigms. Due to this, a considerable knowledge gap exists within perceived risk and natural hazards research. This study aims to provide a comprehensive, risk estimation and assessment strategy through a multi-hazard risk assessment of Bryce Canyon National Park (BRCA). This case study analyzed knowledge of risk among visitors with perception surveys and …

For Cosmopolitan, Public, And Reflexive Sociology, Hiro Saito

Research Collection School of Social Sciences

Is sociological theory up to the challenge of understanding and explaining the phenomenon? I think that the kind of sociological theory capable of meeting this challenge has to be cosmopolitan, public, and reflexive. To understand the social and political impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, we need to embrace what Ulrich Bech called "methodological cosmopolitan" to investigate a multitude of networks, mechanisms, and processes through which the pandemic reverberates across national borders. At the same time, this cosmopolitan sociology has to be publicly oriented, addressing head-on the urgent matters of concern among citizens, rather than driven by discipline-specific debates that are …

An Interdisciplinary Study To Understand Treatment Seeking Behavior Among Female Survivors Of Anorexia Nervosa, Meaghan Victoria Tipton

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This study was done to examine what psychosocial factors influence treatment seeking behavior among female survivors of eating disorders. This study uses a mixed methods survey consisting of open-ended item questions regarding treatment experience and social environment, and close-ended items to measure constructs from the Health Belief Model. Fourteen participants were recruited for this study to retrospectively detail their experiences of treatment during their eating disorder. All fourteen participants identified as Caucasian, thirteen identified as female, one identified with other gender, each with a history of medically diagnosed anorexia nervosa. The mean of age of current participants was 29.46, and …

Stress And Coping In Food-Insecure African Americans In Clark County, Nevada, Johanna Andrews

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

African Americans have the highest rates of food insecurity than any other racial/ethnic group in the nation as a result of poverty, low household income, unemployment, food injustice, food mirages, and racial segregation. This consistent uncertainty in food access demonstrably results in poor mental health outcomes for food-insecure African Americans. Thus, the Transactional Model of Stress and Coping provides a theoretical framework to investigate how African Americans cope with food insecurity. The purpose of this study was to evaluate processes of coping with food insecurity and determine their impact on emotional well-being for African Americans in Clark County, Nevada. A …

Adapting The Asset Exercise For Humanitarian Contexts, Women's Refugee Commission, Population Council

Poverty, Gender, and Youth

As a guiding program theory, asset-building centers on the idea that skills, knowledge, relationships, and concrete resources can all constitute assets, or “stores of value,” that girls can, in turn, mobilize to make healthy choices, seek support, navigate institutions, and access entitlements. This approach is inherently multisectoral, rooted in a commitment to prioritize understanding of and respond to the diversity of girls’ needs, capacities, and experiences. The Asset Exercise operationalizes the concept of “asset-building” into concrete terms. The exercise consists of a deck of 100 “asset cards,” and eight “age cards.” Asset cards reflect both intrinsic qualities, concrete knowledge, and …

Policy Brief: Fertility Preferences And Behaviors Among Younger Cohorts In Egypt: Recent Trends, Correlates, And Prospects For Change [Arabic], Nahla G. Abdel-Tawab, Shadia Attia, Nourhan Bader, Rania Roushdy, Shatha El-Nakib, Doaa Oraby

Reproductive Health

After years of steady decline, Egypt experienced an increase in the total fertility rate (TFR) from 3.0 births per woman in 2008 to 3.5 in 2014, which was coupled with an increase in desired family size among young people. To better understand this increase in fertility as well as prospects for change, the Evidence Project/Population Council conducted secondary analyses of quantitative data from the Egypt Demographic and Health Survey (EDHS) and the Survey of Young People in Egypt (SYPE) and collected qualitative data from young people and key informants. This brief examines the changes in fertility preferences and behaviors among …

Fertility Preferences And Behaviors Among Younger Cohorts In Egypt: Recent Trends, Correlates, And Prospects For Change, Nahla G. Abdel-Tawab, Shadia Attia, Nourhan Bader, Rania Roushdy, Shatha El-Nakib, Doaa Oraby

Reproductive Health

After years of steady decline, Egypt experienced an increase in the total fertility rate (TFR) from 3.0 births per woman in 2008 to 3.5 in 2014, which was coupled with an increase in desired family size among young people. To better understand this increase in fertility as well as prospects for change, the Evidence Project/Population Council conducted secondary analyses of quantitative data from the Egypt Demographic and Health Survey (EDHS) and the Survey of Young People in Egypt (SYPE) and collected qualitative data from young people and key informants. This report examines the changes in fertility preferences and behaviors among …

Birth Across Borders: Migueleña Maternal Experience In Palm Beach County, Florida, Inbal Mazar

Maya America: Journal of Essays, Commentary, and Analysis

Dangers for pregnant Maya women in San Miguel Acatán, a highland hamlet in Huehuetenango, Guatemala are exceptionally high. Those who migrate to Palm Beach County, Florida also face significant risks during pregnancy. However, conceptualizing migrants as vulnerable and non-agentive dismisses the opportunity to explore other dimensions of migrant women experiences. Interviews with Migueleña mothers and midwives and health professionals and advocates in both regions revealed resilience strategies Migueleña migrants create and employ as they navigate linguistically and culturally foreign medical systems. The support they provide each other results in more positive maternal experiences under arduous circumstances. Over time, Migueleñas are …

La Multiplication Des Services De Livraison À Vélo Et Les Problèmes De Santé Et De Sécurité Des Cyclistes Commerciaux : Élaboration De Bonnes Pratiques, Ugo Lachapelle, David Carpentier Laberge, Marie-Soleil Cloutier

Rapports de recherche scientifique

Les emplois nécessitant l’usage d’un vélo se sont diversifiés au-delà de la simple messagerie de plis et colis pour devenir de plus en plus nombreux. Parmi ces types d’emploi, celui qui a connu le plus grand essor à Montréal, comme ailleurs, est la livraison par vélo de repas à domicile. D’autres services mobiles, les déménagements, la vente ambulante et les entreprises de logistique du dernier kilomètre utilisent également de plus en plus souvent le vélo comme moyen de transport. Pourtant, les risques encourus par les cyclistes commerciaux sont peu connus.

Les objectifs du projet étaient d’étudier la croissance de la …