Public Health Commons^™

An Interprofessional Public Library-Academic Partnership For Community Outreach On Women's Health, Lyndonna Marrast, Eun Ji Kim, Danielle Ezzo, Joseph Conigliaro

Urban Library Journal

This article describes a collaboration between a branch of the Queens Public Library in NY and an academic medical center that delivered a women’s health educational program with an interprofessional team of faculty, trainees, and students. The team delivered interactive 1-hour long monthly sessions in a Question and Answer format guided by a Powerpoint presentation. The overall goal was to deliver health education workshops on common medical conditions (i.e. diabetes, heart disease) and concerns of interest to women across the lifespan (i.e. infertility, dementia) to improve the health literacy of local community members. We outlined the steps in establishing this …

Lessons From Health, Health Care, And Health Disparities Among Latinx Populations Scientific Panel, In New York City-2021, Andres Valcarcel, Maria-Isabel Roldos, Judith Aponte

Publications and Research

On September 28, 2021 the City University of New York- CUNY’s Institute for Health Equity (CIHE) hosted the online panel: Health, Health Care, and Health Disparities Among Latinx Population as part of a Speaker Series for Hispanic Heritage Month. CIHE is a CUNY-wide institute that coordinates research, teaching, service, and community collaboration to eliminate health inequalities and promote health. The purpose of this perspective is to summarize the key salient discussion points presented by four panelists with expertise in Hispanic and Latinx health of those residing in urban settings; and lessons learned from the Speaker Series.

Anxiety, Depression, And Social Connectedness Among The General Population Of Eight Countries During The Covid-19 Pandemic, Di Long, Gouke J. Bonsel, Erica I. Lubetkin, Mathieu F. Janssen, Juanita A. Haagsma

Publications and Research

Background

The COVID-19 pandemic affected the mental health of the general population through multiple pathways. The aim of this study was to examine anxiety, depression, self-confidence, and social connectedness among the general population of eight countries during the COVID-19 pandemic, their underlying factors, and vulnerable groups.

Methods

A web-based survey was administered to persons from the general population of China, Greece, Italy, Netherlands, Russia, Sweden, the United Kingdom, and the United States. The survey included the Generalized Anxiety Disorder-7 (GAD-7), Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9) and items on self-confidence, social connectedness, and socio-demographics. Data were analyzed with descriptive statistics, exploratory factor …

Use Of A Microsimulation Method For Assessing Dynamics Of Smoking Status And Gains In Life Expectancy After Quitting In A Longitudinal Cohort Of Us Older Adults, Haomiao Jia, Erica I. Lubetkin

Publications and Research

Objectives: Previous studies were unable to estimate the dynamics of smoking status in the US elderly general population, and no study has assessed the benefit of quitting in terms of resultant gains in life expectancy. We proposed a novel method to estimate the per cent of quitting in remaining lifetime, successful quitting and relapse, as well as life expectancy by participants' baseline smoking status.

Design: Longitudinal cohort.

Setting: US community-dwelling population.

Participants: Respondents from the Medicare Health Outcome Survey Cohort 15 (baseline 2012, follow-up 2014). We included respondents who were aged ≥65 years and alive at the baseline and participated …

Incidence And Factors Related To Nonmotorized Scooter Injuries In New York State And New York City, 2005–2020, Peter Tuckel

Publications and Research

Background: This study provides an analysis of contemporary trends and demographics of patients treated for injuries from nonmotorized scooters in emergency departments in New York state excluding New York City (NYS) and New York City (NYC).

Methods: The study tracks the incidence of nonmotorized scooter injuries in NYS and NYC from 2005 to 2020 and furnishes a detailed profile of the injured patients using patient-level records from the Statewide Planning and Research Cooperative System (SPARCS). A negative binomial regression analysis is performed on the SPARCS data to measure the simultaneous effects of demographic variables on scooter injuries for NYS and …

Lgbtq+ And Dental Education: Analyzing The Present And Recommendations For The Future, Colin M. Haley, Diana V. Macri, Herminio L. Perez, Scott B. Schwartz

Publications and Research

LGBTQ+ populations constitute increasing proportions of children, adolescents, and adults in the United States. Compared to their heterosexual counterparts, this group suffers from health inequities, including oral health. The report “Oral Health: Advances and Challenges” identified the LGBTQ+ community as an underserved population which faces significant barriers in accessing oral health care. Coverage of LGBTQ+ topics in formal education settings in both dental schools and dental hygiene programs is scarce, which contributes to inequities within this group. Increasing curriculum content related to LGBTQ+ populations is of utmost importance to promote optimal patient-provider interactions while improving oral health outcomes. Ensuring equity …

Health-Related Quality Of Life And Mental Well-Being During The Covid-19 Pandemic In Five Countries: A One-Year Longitudinal Study, Di Long, Gouke J. Bonsel, Erica I. Lubetkin, John N. Yfantopoulos, Mathieu F. Janssen, Juanita A. Haagsma

Publications and Research

This study aimed to investigate socioeconomic and health-related determinants and recent life events and their relation to changes in health-related quality of life (HRQoL) and mental well-being during the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic. A web-based survey was administered repeatedly to participants from Greece, Italy, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, and the United States. Primary outcome measures were HRQoL (measured by EQ-5D-5L) and mental well-being (measured by WHO-5). Linear regression analyses were performed to estimate the impact of determinants on HRQoL and well-being. In total, 6765 respondents completed the questionnaire at T1 (April–May 2020) and T2 (May–June 2021). Regarding …

Update On Monkeypox, Audra E. Haynes, Susan H. Davide, Anty Lam

Publications and Research

Monkeypox a viral transmissible disease caused by the monkeypox virus, a disease commonly found in Central and Western Africa, has caused a recent outbreak of monkeypox in the United States. Highlighting the importance of dental healthcare professionals to become knowledgeable about the transmission of the disease, and how to better protect themselves and the public from further spread, as well as educating patients about the disease.

This review examines the etiology of monkeypox, transmission, signs and symptoms, and preventive measures to reduce occurrence of the disease with an emphasis on who has largely been affected by the disease and the …

Evaluating Indoor Air Phthalates And Volatile Organic Compounds In Nail Salons In The Greater New York City Area: A Pilot Study, Inkyu Han, Jin Young Seo, Dana Boyd Barr, Parinya Panuwet, Volha Yakimavets, Priya Esilda D'Souza, Heyreoun An-Han, Masoud Afshar, Ying-Yu Chao

Publications and Research

The Greater New York City area ranks highest in the United States in the number of nail salon technicians, primarily Asian immigrant women. Nail salon technicians are exposed to toxic phthalates and volatile organic compounds daily in nail salons. The purpose of this pilot study was to measure a mixture of phthalates and volatile organic compounds in nail salons in the Greater New York City area, and to characterize work-related determinants of indoor air quality in these nail salons. Working with four Asian nail salon organizations in the Greater New York City area, we measured indoor air phthalates and volatile …

Antidepressant Effect Of Ketamine On Inflammation-Mediated Cytokine Dysregulation In Adults With Treatment-Resistant Depression: Rapid Systematic Review, Shiryn D. Sukhram, Grozdena Yilmaz, Jianying Gu

Publications and Research

Background. Major depressive disorder (MDD) and treatment-resistant depression (TRD) represent a global source of societal and health burden. To advise proper management of inflammation-related depression among TRD patients, it is important to identify therapeutic clinical treatments. A key factor is related to proinflammatory cytokines such as interleukin- (IL-) 1β, IL-6, and tumor necrosis factor- (TNF-) α which have been implicated in the pathogenesis of depressive symptoms in MDD patients. Ketamine may provide an anti-inflammatory therapeutic strategy by targeting proinflammatory pathways associated with depressive disorders, which may be exacerbated in the ageing population with TRD.

Objective. Despite a burgeoning body of …

Effect Of Body Mass Index, Testosterone, And Insulin On Breast Cancer: A Mendelian Randomization Study And Investigation Of Selection Bias, Kezhen Fei

Dissertations and Theses

BACKGROUND: Female breast cancer is the most studied cancer, and the second leading cause of cancer death in women, whose aetiology is still not completely clear. The parallel increase of incident obesity and breast cancer in women worldwide raises the question of the role of adiposity, measured by body mass index (BMI), and of major anabolic hormones, such as insulin and testosterone, on breast cancer. Observational studies are open to confounding making it difficult to clearly demonstrate causal effects. Several mendelian randomization (MR) studies have shown inverse association of BMI with breast cancer. To assess selection bias in MR …

Phylogenetic Diversity Of Animal Oral And Gastrointestinal Viromes Useful In Surveillance Of Zoonoses, Anthony Michael Esposito, Michelle Marie Esposito, Albert Ptashnik

Publications and Research

Great emphasis has been placed on bacterial microbiomes in human and animal systems. In recent years, advances in metagenomics have allowed for the detection and characterization of more and more native viral particles also residing in these organisms. The digestive tracts of animals and humans—from the oral cavity, to the gut, to fecal excretions—have become one such area of interest. Next-generation sequencing and bioinformatic analyses have uncovered vast phylogenetic virome diversity in companion animals, such as dogs and cats, as well as farm animals and wildlife such as bats. Zoonotic and arthropod-borne illnesses remain major causes of worldwide outbreaks, as …

Burned-Out With Burnout? Insights From Historical Analysis, Renzo Bianchi, Katarzyna Wac, James Francis Sowden, Irvin Sam Schonfeld

Publications and Research

Fierce debates surround the conceptualization and measurement of job-related distress in occupational health science. The use of burnout as an index of job-related distress, though commonplace, has increasingly been called into question. In this paper, we first highlight foundational problems that undermine the burnout construct and its legacy measure, the Maslach Burnout Inventory (MBI). Next, we report on advances in research on job-related distress that depart from the use of the burnout construct. Tracing the genesis of the burnout construct, we observe that (a) burnout’s definition was preestablished rather than derived from a rigorous research process and (b) the MBI …

Understanding Distruptive Change In Health Care: Perspectives From The Front Lines Of Covid, Wendy Vaughon

Dissertations and Theses

COVID-19 dramatically stressed an already overburdened healthcare system. Physicians, susceptible to burnout, bore the brunt of this threat as frontline providers. Limited data are available describing how the pandemic may have affected physician perceptions and beliefs, including experiences of burnout and plans to exit the field. Reddit, a social media website, allows physicians the ability to interact with their peers pseudonymously on a purpose-driven, publicly viewable subreddit (r/medicine). By providing a space for “physicians and other medical professionals” to interact, it is possible to observe unfiltered discourse.

This dissertation explores physician-peer discourse on Reddit prior to and during the COVID-19 …

Workforce Diversity And Health Equity: The Role Of Schools Of Public Health, Adashima Oyo

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

The goal to eliminate health disparities and achieve health equity has remained a consistent public health and social welfare challenge for the United States. Schools of public health, despite being disproportionately White, are charged with the important task of training a diverse workforce of master and doctoral-level public health students to protect and promote the overall health of the nation with research, policy, and practice. Experiences and practices related to the recruitment, admission, enrollment, and graduation of students of color, specifically Blacks and Latinx, warrant further research. Positive deviance theory, critical race theory, and organizational culture theory informed this research. …

Effects Of Telesimulation On The Health Literacy Knowledge, Confidence And Application Of Nursing Students, Susan Patton

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Background: Assessing and addressing health literacy (HL) in patients is an essential role of the nurse and a critical component of nursing student education. Yet, large gaps exist within nursing school curricula with regard to the development of HL knowledge and skills, and the confidence to implement practices that target HL. Furthermore, effective training modalities that examine the transformation of nursing students’ knowledge into practice through the development of confidence during experiential learning have not been well explored.

Purpose: Evaluate the effectiveness of a HL information and a HL telesimulation intervention on the HL Knowledge, Application and Confidence of first-semester …

Oxytocin, A Lover And A Fighter: Maternal Trauma Exposure And Mother-Child Coregulation, Patricia M. Pehme

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

The placenta is responsible for regulating the fetal growth and environment in preparation for the anticipated external life. To succeed, it continuously adapts and weaves in a variety of neuroendocrine signals from the maternal organism. If a mother was exposed to trauma and her physiology sustained a change in the functioning of the immune, autonomic and/or endocrine systems, the placenta may anticipate different external environments for her children as compared to children of mothers without trauma exposure. This dissertation examined possible underlying mechanisms of psychosocial trauma transmission from one generation to the next via the placental oxytocinergic pathway. Encompassing three …

Development And Modification Of A Culturally Tailored Education Program To Prevent Breast Cancer In Korean Immigrant Women In New York City, Jin Young Seo, So-Hyun Park, Sung-Eun Choi, Minkyung Lee, Shiela M. Strauss

Publications and Research

Breast cancer (BC) is the most common cancer in Korean American (KA) women. In view of its high prevalence in these women, their low screening rates, and the cultural influence of BC risk factors in their lifestyles, we developed a community-based culturally tailored BC prevention program, the Korean Breast Cancer Risk Reduction Program (KBCRRP). Guided by the PRECEDE-PROCEDE and health belief models, the KBCRRP was developed to achieve four goals: (1) healthy weight, (2) physically active lifestyle, (3) healthy diet, and (4) BC screening and adherence. KBCRRP combines effective multicomponent strategies for BC screening and a group-based lifestyle intervention incorporating …

Recognizing And Disrupting Stigma In Implementation Of Hiv Prevention And Care: A Call To Research And Action, Sarit A. Golub, Rachel A. Fikslin

Publications and Research

Introduction: There is robust evidence that stigma negatively impacts both people living with HIV and those who might benefit from HIV prevention interventions. Within healthcare settings, research on HIV stigma has focused on intra-personal processes (i.e. knowledge or internalization of community-level stigma that might limit clients’ engagement in care) or inter-personal processes (i.e. stigmatized interactions with service providers). Intersectional approaches to stigma call us to examine the ways that intersecting systems of power and oppression produce stigma not only at the individual and interpersonal levels, but also within healthcare service delivery systems. This commentary argues for the importance of analysing …

Community Engagement Education In Academic Health Centers, Colleges, And Universities, Chyke A. Doubeni, David Nelson, Elizabeth Gross Cohn, Electra Paskett, Seleshi Ayalew Asfaw, Mehek Sumar, Syed M. Ahmed, Rhonda Mcclinton-Brown, Mark L. Wieland, Anita Kinney, Sergio Aguilar-Gaxiola, Lisa G. Rosas, Cecilia M. Patino

Publications and Research

Community engagement (CE) is critical for advancing health equity and a key approach for promoting inclusive clinical and translational science. However, it requires a workforce trained to effectively design, implement, and evaluate health promotion and improvement strategies through meaningful collaboration with community members. This paper presents an approach for designing CE curricula for research, education, clinical care, and public health learners. A general pedagogical framework is presented to support curriculum development with the inclusion of community members as facilitators or faculty. The overall goal of the curriculum is envisioned as enabling learners to effectively demonstrate the principles of CE in …

Developing Standards For Cultural Competency Training For Health Care Providers To Care For Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer, Intersex, And Asexual Persons: Consensus Recommendations From A National Panel, Mandi L. Pratt-Chapman, Kristen Eckstrand, Amorie Robinson, Lauren B. Beach, Charles Kamen, Alex S. Keuroghlian, Scott Cook, Asa Radix, Markus P. Bidell, Daniel Bruner, Liz Margolies

Publications and Research

Purpose: Lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, intersex, and/or asexual and other sexual and gender diverse persons (LGBTQIA + or SGD persons) experience barriers to equitable health care. The purpose of this article is to describe a collaborative process that resulted in core cultural competency recommendations addressing training for those who provide health care and/or social services to LGBTQIA + patients.

Methods: In 2018 and 2019, Whitman-Walker Health, a Federally Qualified Community Health Center in Washing- ton, DC, and the National LGBT Cancer Network purposively selected leaders of community clinics and community-based organizations, cultural competency trainers, and clinicians and researchers with …

Precision Dentistry In Practice, Diana V. Macri

Publications and Research

A paradigm shift is necessary to improve healthcare delivery and outcomes. Precision medicine and precision dentistry may be able to shift the burden of disease and improve the nation’s oral and overall health.

Health Inequities As Measured By The Eq-5d-5l During Covid-19: Results From New York In Healthy And Diseased Persons, Erica I. Lubetkin, Di Long, Juanita A. Haagsma, Mathieu F. Janssen, Gouke J. Bonsel

Publications and Research

Introduction: The effects of the COVID-19 pandemic caused considerable psychological and physical effects in healthy and diseased New Yorkers aside from the effects in those who were infected. We investigated the relationship between known risk-enhancing and health-promoting factors (social and medical), comorbidity indicators, and, as the primary outcome, health-related quality of life (HRQoL).

Methods: Between April 22 and May 5, 2020, a market research agency (Dynata) administered a digital survey including the EQ-5D-5L and items related to individual characteristics, social position, occupational and insurance status, living situation, exposures (smoking and COVID-19), detailed chronic conditions, and experienced access to care to …

Impact Of The Covid-19 Pandemic On The Care Continuum Of Youth Living With Hiv: Qualitative Study Of The Scale It Up Program Clinical Sites, Tyra Dark, Sitaji Gurung, Mary Dooley, Kit N. Simpson, Seyram A. Butame, Sylvie Naar

Publications and Research

The study objective was to explore the impact of COVID-19 pandemic restrictions on the clinics’ ability to provide continuous healthcare services to youth (15–24 years) living with HIV (YLWH). One focused semi-structured interview was conducted with each HIV clinic site—resulting in ten interviews. Data were analyzed using thematic analysis techniques assisted by NVIVO coding software and themes indicating barriers and facilitators to providing uninterrupted healthcare were elicited. Six themes were identified that affected the care continuum of YLWH: Timeframe of clinic preparation to address COVID-19 restrictions; impact on treatment cascade monitoring data; impact on patient care; impact on staff and …

Investigating The Covid-19 Pandemic In Your Community, Tanzina Ahmed

Open Educational Resources

In this writing assignment, students will conduct research on statistics about COVID-19 in New York City and their embedded communities using free online databases from the New York City Department of Health (NYC DOH). For questions 1, 2, 3, and 4, students will conduct research on COVID-19 statistics within NYC and their specific neighborhood/community in New York City. In questions 5 and 6, students will analyze the data you have gathered while using your own knowledge of your community. A full set of instructions for accessing NYC DOH databases and a complete rubric for grading the assignment is included.

Radiation Isolation And The Impact Of Care: Nursing Knowledge And Perception Of Radiation Risks, Bae P. Chu

Dissertations and Theses

Background: The safety challenges encountered when employing ionizing radiation to treat patients and manage radiation exposure and contamination have been well established in previous research. However, little is known about nurses’ understanding of the risks associated with ionizing radiation and how they respond to their own perceptions of risk. Although a wealth of literature shows an association between radiation treatment and negative patient experiences, there remains a lack of understanding of the basis of these perceptions among nurses. Increased ionizing radiation diagnoses and treatment means that nurses are at a higher risk of radiation exposure today than thirty years ago. …

Assessment Of Spatial And Temporal Trends Of Exposure To Ambient Fine Particulate Matter And Ozone In New York/New Jersey Metropolitan Area, Subraham Singh

Dissertations and Theses

Background. Exposures to fine particulate matter (PM_2.5; particles with diameter less than 2.5 μm) and ozone (O₃) affect premature respiratory and cardiovascular mortality, morbidity and contribute to the development and progression of sub-clinical and clinical disease. Climate change affects air quality directly by modifying the thermodynamic properties of formation mechanisms and transport patterns, and indirectly, through increased emissions of PM_2.5 and O₃ precursors. The resultant changes in air quality influence human health outcomes through mechanisms of varying scale, timing, and complexity. PM_2.5 and O₃ levels have been declining due to the implementation …

Neighborhood Predictors Of E-Cigarette Retailer Density In New York City, Laena Orkin-Prol

Dissertations and Theses

Background: The rampant expansion of the e-cigarette market over the last decade in the U.S. is a threat to the health of the public—due to the e-cigarette’s appeal to young people, addictiveness, and harms of consumption. It is vital to study the distribution of e-cigarette retailers of different types in major urban centers, such as New York City (NYC), to identify if certain neighborhoods are overburdened with retailers and if intervention is required. The current research on the e-cigarette retailer environment is limited in its scope and methods used.

Objective: To investigate neighborhood attributes associated with e-cigarette retailer density in …

Factors Related To Contraceptive Use And Family Planning Decision-Making In The South Asian Community Residing In New York City, Nandini Shroff

Dissertations and Theses

Introduction: Currently, there are approximately 5.4 million South Asians residing in the United States (U.S.). The limited literature illustrates that contraceptive use is underutilized among Asians and Asian sub-groups, including South Asian Americans, compared to other racial and ethnic groups. Using Los Angeles County Health survey data, one study found that 22% of Asian Americans reported always using condom in the past 12 months compared to 37% of African Americans, 27% of Whites, and 27% of Hispanics. A study among New Jersey women revealed that compared to non-South Asian women, South Asians (SAs) were less likely to have used ever …

Investigation Of The Association Of Exposures To Fire-Related Hazards With Pulmonary Function Of Firefighters, David G. Goldfarb

Dissertations and Theses

Background. Firefighters are habitually exposed to hazardous toxicants which place them at an elevated risk for numerous adverse health outcomes. An example of this is the associations observed in other works between inhalation of combustion byproducts from urban structural fires and both acute and chronic pulmonary dysfunction. To-date, the characterization of firefighters’ exposures to dangerous chemicals in smoke from non-wildfire incidents, both directly through personal monitoring and indirectly from work-related records is scarce. Prior works investigating the association between routine firefighting and pulmonary function have relied on crude metrics such as years of service and numbers of responses to …