Public Health Commons^™

Feasibility Of A Virtual Group Nutrition Intervention For Adolescents With Autism Spectrum Disorder, Acadia W. Buro

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Background: Youth with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) have an increased likelihood of being overweight or developing obesity. As children and adolescents with ASD exhibit problematic eating behaviors and may consume more energy-dense foods and fewer fruits and vegetables than typically developing youth, nutrition represents a modifiable obesity risk factor for adolescents with ASD, yet there is a lack of interventions to improve healthy eating and reduce the risk of obesity in this population.

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to examine the feasibility, acceptability, and preliminary efficacy of a virtual implementation of BALANCE (Bringing Adolescent Learners with Autism Nutrition …

Healthcare Costs Of Injured Youth: The Need For Prevention, Policy, And Proper Triage, Jessica Lynn Ryan

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Objective

The goal of this dissertation was to identify evidence regarding potential means to reduce healthcare spending on youth injury while protecting and promoting the health of our youth. The first analysis estimated and analyzed both the financial costs and time lost from sports injuries among inpatient and ED youth patients to aid in identifying key populations, raising awareness to policy makers, and emphasizing the need of prevention programs for sports injury. The second analysis analyzed the effect of volume and trauma center (TC) ownership type on trauma alert response charges, which are billed to injured patients for a trauma …

Smoking Among Youth Living With Hiv: The Intersection Of Behavioral Health And Chronic Disease, Todd Wells

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Smoking amongst youth living with HIV (YLWH) has major public health implications. When combined with the complications associated with smoking such as chronic obstructive pulmonary disorder (COPD) or heart disease, the impact of a HIV positive diagnosis increases morbidity exponentially (Nahvi & Cooperman, 2009). The purpose of this study was two-fold, to investigate the perceptions of smoking amongst YLWH aged 18-25 who received care at the CMS Clinic located at the University of South Florida and to determine factors related to cessation. A study design utilizing two components, a systematic literature review and primary qualitative data was used in this …

The Role Of Connectedness And Religious Factors On Bullying Participation Among Preadolescents In Puerto Rico, Melissa C. Mercado-Crespo

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Relationships or connections with caring pro-social others (e.g., parents, teachers, school, friends, neighborhood, religion) serve as pro-resilience assets that may enhance children's abilities to cope with bullying. The purpose of this research study was to explore the roles of connectedness and religiosity as potential factors that could enhance resiliency against bullying among preadolescents in Puerto Rico (PR). This doctoral dissertation also addressed several gaps in the children's bullying, resilience and religiosity research literature.

A sample of 426 community-based afterschool program preadolescents (ages 10-12 years old) participated in this exploratory, cross-sectional study, by completing a quantitative questionnaire in paper and pencil …