Public Health Commons^™

Care Quality For Adult Medicaid Beneficiaries With Type 2 Diabetes Varies By Primary Care Provider Subspecialty, Robert M. Mayberry, Rita Finley, Ernest Alema-Mensah, Trobiand A. Davis

Journal of the Georgia Public Health Association

The Georgia Medicaid primary care case management (PCCM) program, phased in over the 1994-1997 period, has now given way to a capitated managed care model of regional care management organizations (CMOs). Using Georgia Medicaid eligibility and provider claim data for 1996-1998, this study investigated diabetes care quality and whether it varied by primary care provider subspecialty in a longitudinal follow-up of newly diagnosed adults with type 2 diabetes during the early phase of the PCCM program. Results indicated that the quality of diabetes care was suboptimal and varied significantly by PCP subspecialty, with patients seen by generalists least likely to …

Pregnancy And Delivery Costs In Georgia Medicaid: Pccm Versus Fee-For-Service Enrollees, Chery Raskind-Hood, Kathleen E. Adams, Ernest Alema-Mensah, Robert M. Mayberry

Journal of the Georgia Public Health Association

This study examines the enrollment, resource utilization, and prenatal care cost patterns among pregnant black and white women in Georgia’s PCCM program, Georgia Better Health Care (GBHC), compared with those acquiring pregnancy and delivery services through Georgia’s Fee for Service (FFS) sector. Birth certificate data from 1998 were linked with Medicaid enrollment and claims data from 1997 and 1998 to construct a retrospective pregnancy history for each Medicaid woman giving birth in Georgia hospitals in 1998. Total payments for pregnancy and delivery services and on the total number of prenatal care visits were derived for each woman in the sample. …

A Worldwide Crisis: Inappropriate Antibiotic Use And Resistant Bacterial Infections, P. Anna Vickery, James Wilde

Journal of the Georgia Public Health Association

A Worldwide Crisis: Inappropriate Antibiotic Use and Resistant Bacterial Infections

Knowledge And Attitudes Of Restaurant Operators Concerning The Requirements Of The Georgia Smoke-Free Air Act, Jeffrey B. Fountain

Journal of the Georgia Public Health Association

The State of Georgia enacted the Georgia Smoke-Free Air Act (GSAA) in 2005 to limit smoking in public places including restaurants. The purpose of this study was to determine if a correlation exists between restaurant operators’ attitude toward smoking regulation and prevention and their knowledge of requirements of the GSAA. Participants from Atkinson, Bacon, and Jeff Davis counties, three of the smaller populated rural counties of the Southeast Health District, completed questionnaires for this study (n = 41). The correlation was weak and not determined to be statistically significant (r = -.251) but did indicate restaurant operators agree they have …

An Examination Of Adolescents’ Knowledge And Attitudes Related To Heart Disease, Nutrition, Physical Activity, And Media Influences And The Adoption Of A Healthy Lifestyle, Melissa Schenkman, Randolph Martin, Susan Butler

Journal of the Georgia Public Health Association

The present pilot study aimed to determine the attitudes, beliefs, behaviors, and degree of knowledge among adolescents related to healthy eating, exercise, heart disease, the influence of television, and possible factors in modifying their attitudes toward adopting a healthy lifestyle. Juniors and seniors from two private high schools (N=62) in metro Atlanta were surveyed. The study was based on the Social Cognitive Theory and the Health Belief Model. The research questions examined the impact of nutrition and heart disease knowledge on physical activity behavior, and the impact of television media exposure on eating habits. A 36-question cross-sectional survey compiled from …

Sexually Transmitted Infections: Perceived Knowledge Versus Actual Knowledge, Heather Ferguson, Richard Topolski, Marc Miller

Journal of the Georgia Public Health Association

Sexually transmitted infections (STIs) continue to be a serious problem, with potentially severe consequences. Past research has found that people may not seek out treatment for STIs because they do not know what symptoms to look for (Greenberg et al., 2002). The present study investigated many aspects of STI knowledge, including perceived knowledge and actually knowledge. Moreover, this study added a novel and applied aspect to the assessment of STI knowledge: visual knowledge. Overall, participants performed poorly on the actual STI knowledge, however, those who rated their knowledge as high performed significantly better than those who rated their knowledge as …

Meeting Public Health Challenges, Mckinley Thomas

Journal of the Georgia Public Health Association

Meeting Public Health Challenges

Effectiveness Of Education On Diabetes Control, Irene Nganga

College of Graduate Studies: Theses & Dissertations (1964–2006)

The purpose of this study was to examine the effect of a diabetes education intervention strategy on the clinical and biochemical status of patients in the Diabetes Complications Prevention Study (DCPS) at Candler County Hospital in Metter, Georgia. The participants in this study were all active members in the DCPS program. This intervention group was paired to control group members of a similar age and race. A sample size of 18 participants and an equal number of controls was chosen for this evaluative study. The sampling method utilized for participants in the study was non-probability quota sampling. Medical records were …

The Prevalence Of Disordered Eating Behaviors Among Sorority Versus Non-Sorority Women, Angela Lynn Guzman

College of Graduate Studies: Theses & Dissertations (1964–2006)

Eating disorders among college women is a serious psychological problem. Disordered eating behaviors were examined and diagnosed at a mid-sized university in southeast Georgia. The target group of this study was university sororities. The purpose of this study was to examine sorority versus nonsorority women to determine if there was a higher prevalence for those involved in sororities to develop disordered eating behaviors.

Surveys were distributed to both sorority and non-sorority women to determine the prevalence of disordered eating behaviors among each group. A quantitative, quasi-experimental design was used in conjunction with the Eating Attitudes Test (Gamer & Garfmkle, 1979). …

The Implementation Of A Needleless Iv System And Its Impact In Needlestick Injuries, Renée Gadilhe Childers

College of Graduate Studies: Theses & Dissertations (1964–2006)

No abstract provided.

Do People Who Have Participated In A Work Hardening Program Perceive Benefits From Group Psychological Counseling In Controlling Or Decreasing Chronic Low Back Or Neck Pain?, Antonio Cofer

College of Graduate Studies: Theses & Dissertations (1964–2006)

No abstract provided.

The Effect Of Dosage Regimen On Medication Compliance, Ernest William Keich

College of Graduate Studies: Theses & Dissertations (1964–2006)

According to recent data, between 25% and 50% of patients are noncompliant in their therapy regimen in some manner. The fourth report of the Joint National Committee on the Detection, Evaluation, and Treatment of High Blood Pressure (Neal, 1989) states that noncompliance is the major problem in hypertension control.

It was hypothesized there would be a difference in the compliance of hypertensive patients whose medication regimen consisted of single daily dosing as opposed to those patients whose regimen consisted of two or more times a day dosing.

Potential subjects for the study were hypertensive patients selected from a rural, southeastern …

Dental Patients' Knowledge, Beliefs, And Perceptions About Dentistry And Aids, Sara S. Plaspohl

College of Graduate Studies: Theses & Dissertations (1964–2006)

The majority of Americans view AIDS as the most important health problem faced today. Despite efforts to educate the public, the literature suggests that misperceptions exist concerning HIV transmission. The documented case of a Florida dentist who transmitted the HIV virus to five dental patients focused the public's attention on its perceived vulnerability to contracting HIV during a dental visit. The purpose' of this descriptive study was to identify the dental patient's perceived risk of acquiring the AIDS virus during a dental visit and to then determine whether the perceived risk was related to the patient's level of oral hygiene. …