Public Health Commons^™

Estimating Covid-19 Survival Rate And Inferring Case Severity With Respect To Milwaukee County Policy Change Using Logistic Regression, Geoff M. Chappelle

Theses and Dissertations

Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a global issue, and it is affecting 170 countries in very different ways. In the United States, a lot of efforts have been made nationally and by individual states to curb the spread and severity of COVID-19. Policy changes and recommendations have been met with variable success across the country. There is a wealth of information on where COVID-19 infection and death are prevalent, and there are several articles discussing disparities in those outcomes among different populations. However, those findings are not necessarily tied to a policy change or, in the weeks that follow a …

Parent-Child Sexual Communication And Sexual Risk: A Meta-Analytic Review, Brittnie Star Peck

Theses and Dissertations

This meta-analysis examines the effect of parent-child sexual communication (PCSC) on sexual risk behaviors and outcomes during adolescence. Results confirm that PCSC increases risk prevention strategies and reduces sexually risky behaviors with corresponding reductions in unplanned pregnancy and sexually transmitted infections (STI). Moderating variables include extent of communication, the content of PCSC interactions, operationalization of risk, timing of the interaction, biological sex of the adolescent, the dyadic composition of the parent-child interaction (e.g., mother-daughter, father-son), and the racial or ethnic makeup of the sample. The frequency, depth, and breadth of PCSC interactions, and inclusion of descriptive/instructional and contraception/risk information are …

Machine-Learning-Based Prediction Of Sepsis Events From Vertical Clinical Trial Data: A Naïve Approach, Tyler Michael Gaddis

Theses and Dissertations

Sepsis is a potentially life-threatening condition characterized by a dysregulated, disproportionate immune response to infection by which the afflicted body attacks its own tissues, sometimes to the point of organ failure, and in the worst cases, death. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Sepsis is reported to kill upwards of 270,000 Americans annually, though this figure may be greater given certain ambiguities in the current accepted diagnostic framework of the disease.

This study attempted to first establish an understanding of past definitions of sepsis, and to then recommend use of machine learning as integral in an …

A Mixed Methods Evaluation Of An Intersectional Bystander Program Against Sexual Violence Using The Integrated Model Of Behavioral Prediction Within A Cluster Randomized Control Trial, Rose Hennessy

Theses and Dissertations

Background: Sexual violence is a critical public health problem that is particularly salient on college campuses. Bystander intervention is a prevention approach that teaches students who are not directly affected by a situation to take action to help others. Research is needed to understand the relationship between bystander training and changes in behavior to intervene against sexual violence, racism, and unhealthy alcohol outcomes.

Methods: A cluster randomized waitlist control trial was used to evaluate the bystander program Our School TAKES ACTION. Upper-level undergraduate students were randomized by housing floor from buildings of a private, midwestern university. Data was collected in …

Communicating About Routine Childhood Vaccines: Meta-Analysis Of Parental Attitudes, Behaviors, & Vaccine Hesitancy, Angela Victor

Theses and Dissertations

As scientific and medical communities research the next generation of vaccines, medical providers and parents observe the current routine vaccination schedules published for children today. And despite the fact protection is available from a number of preventable diseases through the use of safe, reliable, and accessible vaccines, Vaccine Hesitancy VH (delaying or refusing vaccination for reasons other than accessibility) is a growing issue. Using meta-analysis to examine existing research on communication about routine childhood vaccines, the study explores parental attitudes, behaviors, and demographics using the Protection Motivation Theory PMT. The study explores categories influencing VH such as: alternative medicine, safety, …

Contribution Of Individual, Community, And Health System Factors To Health Outcomes In Inner-City African Americans With Type 2 Diabetes, Jennifer Annette Campbell

Theses and Dissertations

Diabetes is a complex disease that represents a major public health challenge due to its high prevalence, its association with increased morbidity, and early mortality. Inner-city African Americans with diabetes suffer a disproportionate burden of disease due to both economic and social disadvantage that reaches across individual, community, and health system levels of influence. Central to the principles of Public Health is the “pursuit of health equity for the elimination of health disparities, specifically in accordance to the empowerment of disenfranchised community members, aiming to ensure that the basic resources and conditions necessary for health are accessible to all”. To …

Life Course Health Effects Of Early Life Trauma, Jennifer Mei Ping Woo

Theses and Dissertations

The experience of trauma and psychosocial stress over the life course can have lasting impacts on health. Childhood and adolescence may serve as a particularly sensitive period during which trauma may become biologically embedded and affect adult health. Evaluating the pathways through which early life trauma can affect biological mechanisms of disease development provides insight into the early origins and etiology of adverse health outcomes in adulthood and provides potential targets to help mitigate their effects.

Using data from the Sister Study, a large prospective cohort study of women residing in the U.S. or Puerto Rico aged 35 to 74 …

Infant Mortality In The United States: Socioeconomic Factors Predicting Infant Survival In Late Neo-Natal And Post Neo-Natal Infants From Birth Certificate Data, Mark Brunk-Grady

Theses and Dissertations

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the infant mortality rate in the United States in 2018 was 5.6 deaths per 1000 live births. Infant mortality is defined as a child being born alive but dying before their first birthday. This study aimed to determine if adding socioeconomic factors to traditional predictive survival models improved the predictive power in terms of survival for late and post neonatal infants. Secondly, this study looked to develop a risk score to and predict which mothers would be classified as “High” or “Low” risk for infant death.

Data were analyzed from a …

Practical Problems And Moral Discourses: An Ethnography Of Breastfeeding, Tara Ann Gallagher

Theses and Dissertations

Universal and bioactive, breastfeeding is a burgeoning biocultural topic because it incorporates biological and social determinants of human behavior. The topic has amassed media attention framed as part of a bigger imagining of motherhood as an idealized state directed at the female body’s performance. This paper questions media and public policy’s role in the dissemination of culture and the symbolic value of breastmilk. This study examines breastfeeding discourses through the lens of an American, mostly white, Midwestern middle-class social structure. Using participant observation data of two postpartum support groups and semi-structured interviews with six primiparous mothers, my data suggests that …

Toxicological Effects Of Antimicrobials (Triclosan And Triclocarban) And Cyanopeptides (Anabaenopeptins And Cyanopeptolins) In The Nematode C. Elegans, Kade A. Lenz

Theses and Dissertations

Environmental contaminants are increasingly detected in surface water, soil, and sediment. There is a concern that environmental contaminants, such as cyanpeptides and antimicrobials pose potential harm to environmental and public health. It is important that scientists evaluate the potential impacts that cyanopeptides and antimicrobials may have on the environment and public health in order to guide stakeholders in determining appropriate policies and regulations. Here we investigated the toxicological effects of two types of commonly detected environmental contaminants, antimicrobials (triclosan and triclocarban) and cyanopeptides (anabaenopeptins and cyanopeptolins), using the model organism Caenorhabditis elegans (C. elegans). Chapter 1 introduces the model organism …