Public Health Commons^™

Considering The Historical And Systemic Context, To What Extent Are Cuban Women’S Healthcare And Reproductive Rights Affected By The Privacy And Social Influence Of Cuba Today?, Autumn Cowell

Student Research Symposium

This paper will examine how historical and systemic values continue to frame social influences thus impacting Cuban women’s healthcare and reproductive rights. If the impact of history and systems still affects social influences then Women’s Healthcare and Reproductive Rights may be compromised. This investigation will highlight the potential benefits and risks of historical and systemic values that have affected challenges or changes within Cuban culture. And how these social influences are found within the areas of prevention, intervention, and treatment. This paper hopes to outline how the Cuban government and society are sustaining the protection of Cuban women’s access to …

Understanding Variation In Provider Referral Rates To Early Intervention For Children With Developmental Delays, Gabriella Tangkilisan, Zoe Kilmer, Michelle Owens, Benjamin Sanders, Katharine Zuckerman

OHSU-PSU School of Public Health Annual Conference

Background:

Early detection and treatment of developmental disabilities (DD), including Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), improves language, IQ, and adaptive outcomes. Guidelines recommend immediate referral to Early Intervention (public developmental therapy services) upon positive ASD/DD screening in infant/toddler well child checks. However, children screening positive for ASD/DD are not always referred for Early Intervention services. This project aimed to understand why pediatricians do and do not refer children with positive DD/ASD screens to early intervention.

Methods:

We conducted qualitative interviews with pediatricians who participated in a randomized trial investigating family navigation for children with autism risk. We determined pediatrician referral rates …

Impact Of Two Shift Schedules On Post-Shift Blood Pressure In Firefighters, Ayeisha H. Haswarey

OHSU-PSU School of Public Health Annual Conference

Background: Firefighters have an increased risk of cardiometabolic disease compared to the general population. Blunted blood pressure (BP) dipping during nocturnal sleep is associated with increased cardiometabolic disease morbidity/mortality. Shift work can alter diurnal BP oscillation, but the extent of alteration by different schedules remains debated. No study to date has examined firefighting shift schedules, necessitating a longitudinal evaluation to begin to understand their implications for cardiometabolic health. Thus, this preliminary analysis compares how two common schedules (24/48 hours on/off vs. 1/3/2/3 days on/off) impact post-shift BP and dipping in 20 firefighters.

Methods: 20 participants (10% female; 25-54 years of …

Transgender And Non-Binary Health In Oregon Under A Single-Payer Health System, Amy (Mick) L. Mcveety (They/She)

OHSU-PSU School of Public Health Annual Conference

As the state with the highest percentage of population who identifies as LGBTQ+, Oregon has a duty to provide adequate health protections and services to its transgender and nonbinary (TGNB) residents, particularly given the disparities TGNB individuals face in housing, employment, education, and health. Following recommendations from the Oregon Joint Task Force on Universal Health Care, Oregon should implement a single-payer health care system, with particular attention to:

1. Protecting patient privacy in EHR and other systems, particularly for youth TGNB patients;
2. Expanding the covered gender-affirming services and removing barriers such as cost-sharing and prior authorization, and;
3. Recruiting TGNB providers and …

Gender Affirming Surgery And Pain In Adolescents: Teen And Parent Experiences, Corrin Murphy, Eleanor Battison, University Of Rhode Island, Anna Wilson Phd

OHSU-PSU School of Public Health Annual Conference

Background: Adolescents seeking gender affirming medical care face unique biopsychosocial challenges, including experiences of discrimination and stigma. Transgender and gender diverse (TGD) adolescents often undergo gender affirming surgery (GAS). While there is an increase in GAS for TGD adolescents in the U.S., little is known about the pain experiences in the post-surgical period among these youth. There have been no studies to our knowledge that examine the psychological functioning of parents and their ability to handle their child's distress, which may be affected by their child's post-GAS pain experiences. Parental responses to their children’s pain and distress may, in turn, …

Exploring Decolonial And Indigenous Mental Health Framework And Practice To Address Complex Trauma Among Palestinian Youth Living Under Violence Of Settler-Colonialism, Vivian L. Duong, Corrin Murphy

OHSU-PSU School of Public Health Annual Conference

The growing settler colonial project of Israel forced indigenous Palestinians to flee from their homeland to further the Zionist movement of establishing a Jewish-majority state. The forced dispossession and displacement of Palestinians at this time was referred to as the Nakba, or catastrophe (Masalha, 2002). From 1947 and 1949, approximately 750,000 Palestinians from a population of 1.9 million were made refugees (Al Jazeera, 2017). Also referred to as the ethnic cleansing of Palestine, Zionists forcibly took over 78 percent of Palestine, destroyed about 530 villages and cities, and killed around 15,000 Palestinians including more than 70 massacres (Al Jazeera, 2017). …

Gut Feelings: A Literature Review On The Gut-Brain Axis And Its Potential Influence On Mood, Grace Johnson

University Honors Theses

In recent decades, research on the gut-brain axis has evolved due to an increasing interest in the connection between gut health and mental health. The gut-brain axis presents a new frontier of health for both medical professionals and psychologists as there is expanding evidence illustrating the comorbidity of gut disorders and mood disorders. Due to the complex nature of studying the gut-brain axis and the myriad of influences on mood disorders such as depression, research has yet to find significant results definitively tying the two together. Nonetheless, the current body of literature on the topic provides a promising outlook on …

What Adolescents Say In Text Messages To Motivate Peer Networks To Access Health Care And Sexually Transmitted Infection Testing: Qualitative Thematic Analysis, Marguerita Lightfoot, Chadwick Campbell, Allysha C. Maragh-Bass, Joi Jackson-Morgan, Kelly Taylor

OHSU-PSU School of Public Health Faculty Publications and Presentations

Background:While rates of HIV and sexually transmitted infections (STIs) are extremely high among adolescents and young adults in the United States, rates of HIV and STI testing remain low. Given the ubiquity of mobile phones and the saliency of peers for youths, text messaging strategies may successfully promote HIV or STI testing among youths.

Objective:This study aimed to understand the types of messages youths believe were motivating and persuasive when asked to text friends to encourage them to seek HIV or STI testing services at a neighborhood clinic.

Methods:We implemented an adolescent peer-based text messaging intervention to encourage clinic attendance …

Centering Communities Of Color In The Modernization Of A Public Health Survey System: Lessons From Oregon, Daniel F. López-Cevallos, Kusuma Madamala, Mira Mohsini, Andres Lopez, Roberta Hunte, Ryan Petteway, Tim Holbert

School of Social Work Faculty Publications and Presentations

Context: Public health survey systems are tools for informing public health programming and policy at the national, state, and local levels. Among the challenges states face with these kinds of surveys include concerns about the representativeness of communities of color and lack of community engagement in survey design, analysis, and interpretation of results or dissemination, which raises questions about their integrity and relevance.

Approach: Using a data equity framework (rooted in antiracism and intersectionality), the purpose of this project was to describe a formative participatory assessment approach to address challenges in Oregon Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS) and Student …

The Impact Of Sars-Cov-2 On The Consolidated Meatpacking System In The United States, Judith R. Solomon

Anthós

The Sars-Cov-2 virus has had a particularly intense impact on the meatpacking industry in the United States. In this paper I provide a brief introduction to the social, economic, and political realities that lead to mass deaths of meatpacking workers from COVID, and the impact of a consolidated meatpacking system on disease mitigation. These workers are considered expendable due to a lack of power.

The Association Of Patient-Provider Language Concordance With Healthcare Comprehension Among Latino/As In Oregon, Grace Parra

University Honors Theses

Background: The purpose of this study is to describe the need and preferences among Mexican-origin Latinos in Oregon for language-concordant healthcare providers. We hypothesize that the presence of a language concordant provider is associated with greater health care comprehension.

Methods: This is a cross sectional study in collaboration with the General Consulate of Mexico. We developed a 20-item survey that includes questions about socio-demographics, a validated language-based acculturation scale, and questions regarding language concordant care experience and preferences used in previous studies. We are recruiting at the Mexican Consulate 500 Latino/as ages 18 or older who had a healthcare visit …

The Impact Of Period Poverty On Low-Income Adolescents In The United States, Makayla Olson

University Honors Theses

Period poverty is an issue that impacts menstruators globally. This creates a significant health disparity for menstruators, including difficulties accessing menstrual products, inadequate menstrual and puberty health education, and shame and stigma that come from societal misunderstandings and misinformation regarding menstruation. This paper examines the effects of period poverty on low-income adolescents in the United States. It looks at the current literature that addresses how the financial and accessibility barriers that cause period poverty, as well as how these causes impact school-aged menstruators. It aims to address the role that schools play in creating safe environments for menstruators, including staff …

Let Kids Sleep: The Role Of Interdisciplinary Neuroscience Outreach In Stimulating Brains And Developing Research-Informed Approaches To Community Concerns, Marc Chenard

University Honors Theses

Northwest Noggin (NW Noggin), an all-volunteer neuroscience education outreach non-profit, serves its community by bringing students, artists, scientists and other participants together for artistic collaboration and learning. The outreach takes place in K-12 schools and other institutions (such as museums, coffee shops and correctional facilities) all over the Pacific Northwest. Neuroscience education outreach generates discourse surrounding community concerns through illuminating the brain-centric qualities of issues and by drawing on neuroscience research to create solutions. The neuroscience research-informed perspectives on these concerns stimulate awareness, create momentum towards evidence-based reform, and can result in policy interventions. This thesis details how NW Noggin …

Final (Year 2) Report To Oha On Sogi Demographic Standards For Minors, Martin Arrigotti, Nell Carpenter, Kieran Chase, Alysia Cox, Itai Jeffries, Alexis Dinno

OHSU-PSU School of Public Health Faculty Publications and Presentations

Executive Summary

The report synthesizes thoughtful recommendations of the authors to the Oregon Health Authority (OHA) about routine data collection of SOGI† (sex, sexual orientation, and gender) demographic data in minors for clinical and reporting purposes. We see five primary motivations to routinely collect SOGI data, including to:

1. create an inclusive practice in order to welcome and make space for people from historically excluded genders, sexes, and sexual orientations,
2. promote health equity between minority and majority SOGI identities,
3. direct group-specific services towards those who need them,
4. represent the actual diversity of Oregon, and its communities, and
5. shift normative expectations about …

Paperwork, Paradox, And Prn: Psychotropic Medication Deficiencies In Assisted Living, Sarah Dys, Paula Carder

Institute on Aging Publications

Individual state approaches to assisted living/residential care (AL/RC) licensing and oversight in the United States result in different practice standards and requirements, including psychotropic medication use. We examined 170 psychotropic medication deficiency citations issued to 152 Oregon AL/RC settings from 2015 to 2019. Applied thematic analysis resulted in the following themes: (1) documentation issues are primarily responsible for noncompliance, (2) unclear parameters place direct care workers in a role paradox, and (3) there is a persistent disconnect about when to seek qualified expertise before requesting psychotropic medications. AL/RC-specific mechanisms for medication prescription and administration are necessary to improve the structure …

The Influence Of Microorganisms On Human Health, Tiffany Bui

University Honors Theses

The purpose of this thesis is to explore the interplay between the environment, lifestyle, and composition of human microbiomes across different communities, with a specific focus on immune and digestive health. This literature review investigates three distinct types of communities: isolated/traditional, transitional, and urban/industrialized communities, each characterized by unique environments, societal structures, and interactions. These factors contribute to the distinct microbial populations and compositions within each community. It is impossible to avoid contact with microorganisms as they are present in every aspect of our lives, from the air we breathe, the water we drink, the soil we walk on, the …

International Comparison Of Literature On Home Health: Taiwan And The United States, Jaden Gloden

University Honors Theses

Taiwan is one of the world's fastest-aging societies and in 1994 implemented its universal National Health Insurance program which would later include a comprehensive long-term care system. The United States is also an aging society and a growing number of Americans are in need of long-term care services that the government has yet to provide or finance. Aging in place, the desire of older adults to stay in their homes as they age has consistently remained popular among Americans 50+ resulting in the popularity of home-based medical care. Taiwan society also values aging in place and an emphasis on Confucian …

Sex Education In American Public Schools: Policy And Outcomes, Alexandra Mattingly

University Honors Theses

Sexual Education in American public schools is the subject of a long-standing debate between educators, parents, and policy makers. From the beginning of public schooling in the United States, the role that public schools ought to serve in educating students about sexual health has been unclear. This remains a topic of debate despite the fact that since the 1980s studies have shown consistently that comprehensive sexual education unequivocally leads to lower rates of pregnancy and sexually transmitted infection spread among students. Comprehensive sexual education is sexual education that includes information on safer sexual activity practices as well as information about …

"I'M Clean And Sober, But Not Necessarily Free": Perceptions Of Buprenorphine Among Patients In Long-Term Treatment, Jessica J. Wyse, Travis I. Lovejoy, Adam J. Gordon, Katherine Mackey, Anders Herreid-O'Neill, Benjamin J. Morasco

OHSU-PSU School of Public Health Faculty Publications and Presentations

Patients receiving buprenorphine for the treatment of opioid use disorder (OUD) experience a roughly 50% reduction in mortality risk relative to those not receiving medication. Longer periods of treatment are also associated with improved clinical outcomes. Despite this, patients often express desires to discontinue treatment and some view taper as treatment success. Little is known about the beliefs and medication perspectives of patients engaged in long-term buprenorphine treatment that may underlie motivations to discontinue.

Beyond The Bmi: Expanding Quantitative Methods To Study Health For All Bodies, Kieran Chase, Daniel Oron

OHSU-PSU School of Public Health Annual Conference

The public health field is beginning to reckon with its role in perpetuating and reinforcing systemic anti-fatness. Emerging evidence for the devastating health impacts of stigma call into question decades of research and policy that labels the size of people’s bodies as diseased. However, even as we acknowledge the harmful effects of stigma, the field is materially and institutionally invested in a health paradigm that centers weight loss and size-related proxies for health, such as the BMI. Public health scholars interested in questions related to nutrition, chronic disease, and exercise must begin to expand their research focus to imagine non-stigmatizing …

Serotonin And Migraine, Sophia A. Kogan

OHSU-PSU School of Public Health Annual Conference

Migraine, experienced by more than 1 billion people, is the second leading cause of disability worldwide. It is a physiologically complex disorder with nervous, vascular, and inflammatory components, and is associated with genetic factors and environmental influences. Migraine triggers are poorly understood, and sufferers have little control in preventing migraines from occurring. The aim of this review is to bridge the physiological migraine processes with lifestyle behaviors that can be modified by individuals, focusing on serotonin.

Migraines can be initiated when an external event triggers the release of vasodilators such as calcitonin gene-related peptide (CGRP), leading to cranial vasodilation, headache, …

(Un)Weighted Assumptions: Anti-Fatness & Health, Kieran Chase, Nell Carpenter, Madysen Schreiber

OHSU-PSU School of Public Health Annual Conference

This lecture/discussion session aims to expand and add nuance to public health students’, professors’, and practitioners’ understanding of the interplay between body size and health. We will begin by naming and challenging common assumptions about the relationship between bodyweight and health outcomes. We will then argue for the consideration of weight-related stigma as a Fundamental Cause of Disease as defined by Phelan and Link, and for institutionally embedded anti-fat bias at the policy level (e.g., insurance policy, medical equipment) as a cause of population health inequity as defined in Whitehead’s Health Equity Framework. We offer these frameworks in contrast to, …

Does Sph Curricula Promote ‘Health Equity’, Reproduce Injustice, Or Both?, Jesse Yarnold

OHSU-PSU School of Public Health Annual Conference

Does SPH Curricula Promote ‘Health Equity’, Reproduce Injustice, or both?

The social justice movements of recent years (preceded by [generations of] insurmountable suffering) have facilitated a collective recognition of the systemic effects of racism and epistemic violence. Despite the ambitious and well-intentioned vision of “health equity” as defined by epidemiologic scholarship - progress is slow and injustices prevail.

Students, scholars, and researchers of ‘Public Health’ are uniquely positioned to imagine and create innovative ways of understanding and addressing the harmful inequities and injustices perpetuated by white settler colonialism. I argue that Academic institutions delivering Public Health education are uniquely positioned …

Determinants Of Modern Contraceptive Use Among Young Women In Ghana: A Mixed-Methods Study Design, Adjoa N. Manu

OHSU-PSU School of Public Health Annual Conference

Background: Only 20% of sexually active women aged 15-24 in Ghana used contraception during their last sexual intercourse. Young women are highly exposed to the risks associated with having unprotected sexual intercourse, such as unintended pregnancy and sexually transmitted infections.

Objective: To use an explanatory sequential mixed-methods design to examine the determinants of modern contraceptive use among young women in Ghana using population-based data and identify the types of contraceptive methods the population know and use.

QUAN Design: Analysis of the 2017 Ghana Maternal Health Survey data, a nationally representative cross-sectional survey.

QUAN Findings: The male …

Investing In Family Planning, Education, And Empowering Of Women And Girls To Mitigate The Impact Of Climate Change: An Exemplary Case Of Rwanda., Adjoa N. Manu

OHSU-PSU School of Public Health Annual Conference

Countries where population growth is high are often highly impacted by the climate crisis despite not being a significant contributor to historical greenhouse gas emissions. This has created a global inequality in that countries with poorly developed infrastructure are 15 times more likely to have deaths due to climate related disasters such as floods, droughts, and storms compared to wealthy countries that can better protect against similar events. While the climate crisis impacts everyone, women and girls are at a higher risk because of their unique health needs and roles in the community. The effects of climate change can be …

The Prevalence Of Osteoporosis And Low Femoral Neck Bone Density Among Never-Smoking U.S. Adults With Exposure To Secondhand Smoke: A Cross-Sectional Study Using The National Health And Nutrition Examination Survey (Nhanes), Felicia Zhou, Mikaela Haglund

OHSU-PSU School of Public Health Annual Conference

Objective

Epidemiologic studies have observed an association between exposure to secondhand smoke (SHS) and low bone mineral density (BMD) among current and past smokers. However, there is a knowledge gap in elucidating this association among never-smoking adults. The objective of this study is to examine the association between SHS exposure, measured by serum cotinine levels, and BMD for never-smoking U.S. adults.

Methods

This cross-sectional analysis included 3,224 never-smoking U.S. adults aged 50 years and older from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey cycles 2007-2008, 2009-2010, and 2013-2014. Serum cotinine, a biomarker for tobacco exposure, was the exposure variable while …

Map The System: Presence And Impact Of Ppcps In Water, Emma Vandermeulen, Ruby Mitchell

OHSU-PSU School of Public Health Annual Conference

In a changing climate, there is growing emphasis on protecting our water sources and developing systems for conserving and reusing water. While many contaminants of concern are monitored and addressed by water treatment systems, pharmaceuticals and personal care products (PPCPs) are generally not accounted for. PPCPs in water systems have been an increasing concern as detection of these products has increased over the last few decades. Studies have been exploring the impact of antibiotics, antidepressants, contraceptives, and other anthropogenic products on our water system and how these substances interact with local ecosystems. Our main research questions are to understand what …

Impact Of Industrial Disasters On The Mental Health Of Vietnamese Americans On The Gulf Coast, Vivian L. Duong

OHSU-PSU School of Public Health Annual Conference

An explosion on the Deepwater Horizon oil rig caused 200 million gallons of crude oil to spill on the Gulf Coast over a five-month span. About 16,000 miles of coastline, ecosystem and marine life along Alabama, Florida, Louisiana, Mississippi, and Texas were contaminated. This disaster and the recovery process caused social, financial, and ecological shocks, resulting in adverse psychosocial and physical health outcomes, health disparities, and socioeconomic inequality. Among the oil spill's most affected and vulnerable populations are the Vietnamese American communities that settled on the Gulf Coast after the end of the Vietnam War in 1975. The plight of …

Qualitative Evaluation Of Medical Student Perceptions Of Chronic Disease, Mallory A. Decampos-Stairiker, Viviane Cahen, Sarah Dzubay, Saffron Evergreen, Rachel Shore

OHSU-PSU School of Public Health Annual Conference

Background:
Chronic disease is becoming increasingly common around the world. Students in different US medical training programs are exposed to varying amounts of chronic disease education and are taught unique ways of approaching chronic disease management. The purpose of this study is to investigate allopathic and naturopathic medical students’ attitudes, understandings, and perceptions of chronic diseases and their management.

Methods:
This study was conducted as a class project for UNI 504: Qualitative Methods for Health Professionals. We conducted virtual interviews during February 2023 with five allopathic and five naturopathic medical students from around the United States. Demographic information on …

History Of Hypertension And Urinary Incontinence Among Adults Aged 40 And Older: A Cross-Sectional Study From The National Health And Nutrition Examination Survey, Puthyda Keath, Karla Cordova Nicolas

OHSU-PSU School of Public Health Annual Conference

Introduction: Urinary incontinence (UI) impacts over 200 million individuals world-wide, though little is known about the causes of this condition. The aim of this cross-sectional study was to examine prevalence of UI and the association between a history of hypertension and UI in older adults. A secondary aim was to determine if sex modified the association between history of hypertension and UI.

Methods: This study utilized data from the U.S. National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) 2011-2016 cycles. We included 9,717 U.S adults (≥40 years) with complete information on history of hypertension, UI and other independent variables. Participants with …