Public Health Commons^™

The Role Of Ambient Air Pollution In The Occurrence Of Emphysema, Shiva Metghalchi

Loma Linda University Electronic Theses, Dissertations & Projects

Emphysema is the most common cause of death from respiratory disease in the United States. Emphysema is most common among people aged 50 and older. Those with a genetic predisposition to emphysema may experience the onset as early as their thirties or forties. Men are more likely than women to develop emphysema, but female cases are increasing as the number of female smokers rises.

In the past few years, etiological and pathogenic research has been carried out in an attempt to determine the reason for an increase in deaths and other health problems associated with air pollution, and there have …

Effects Of Acculturation On Hiv/Aids Sexual Risk Behaviors Among Asian And Pacific Islander (Api) Women, Margaret Cabotage Salud

Loma Linda University Electronic Theses, Dissertations & Projects

Background. In the US women are the fastest growing group for sexually transmitted infections (STIs), including HIV and AIDS. In addition, the estimated AIDS cases among female adults and adolescents, aged 13-19, increased from 7% in 1985 to approximately 26% in 2002. Most infections occur by heterosexual transmission with 53% occurring through contact with a high-risk sexual partner. While overall HIV/AIDS rates in the Asian Pacific Islander (API) community remain low, they are rising and HIV testing rates, one of the major prevention strategies for HIV, are lower than that of other populations. Furthermore, very little is known about APIs …

The Parents' Role In Childhood Obesity, Heather M. Wintrup

Psychology and Child Development

This paper is an examination of the current childhood obesity crisis in the U.S. and how this epidemic is related to psychological issues. Specifically, the role of parental forces on children’s health attitudes and habits is addressed. The following chapters will define and explain the current situation of childhood obesity, investigate the role parents have in contributing to their children’s weight development, and cover methods of intervention for families dealing with this serious health issue.

Impact Of Information Sources On The Knowledge Of Adolescents About Hepatitis B, Ali Minhal Thaver, Ameera Kamal

Section of Internal Medicine

OBJECTIVE: To assess the impact of various sources of information on school going adolescents (belonging to higher social strata between ages 14-19 years) regarding Hepatitis B; its various types, importance, symptoms and cures.METHODS: A self-administered survey was conducted among the secondary school students (9-12 grades) of a private school for this purpose.RESULTS: A total of 160 students were approached from which 158 (98%) agreed to take part in the survey. Overall 98% students claimed to know something about Hepatitis B. But only 52% of all had comprehensive and correct knowledge about symptoms, causes and measures for prevention of Hepatitis B. …

Concurrent Sexual And Substance-Use Risk Behaviours Among Female Sex Workers In Kenya's Coast Province: Findings From A Behavioural Monitoring Survey, Simon Pierre Tegang, S. Abdallah, G. Emukule, Stanley Luchters, Nzioka Kingola, M. Barasa, Stephen Mucheke, P. Mwarogo

Population Health, East Africa

While many studies confirm the association between HIV, alcohol and injecting drug use by female sex workers (FSWs), little is known about their use of marijuana, khat and other substances and the association of these substances with HIV, risky sexual behaviour, and sexual violence. To better understand this association, data were analysed from a cross-sectional, behavioural survey of 297 FSWs in Mombasa, a well-known tourist destination and the second largest port in Africa and capital city of the Coast Province in Kenya. Among the FSWs, lifetime use of different substances was reported by 91% for alcohol, 71% for khat, 34% …

Physical Activity: The Future Of Learning?, Michael W. Beets, Amanda E. Paluch, Edward C. Archer, Steven N. Blair

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

The Determinants Of Colorectal Cancer Survival Disparities In Nevada, Lucas N. Wassira

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Different population groups across Nevada and throughout the United States suffer disproportionately from colorectal cancer and its after-effects. Overcoming cancer health disparities is important for lessening the burden of cancer. There has been an overall decline in the incidence of and mortality from colorectal cancer (CRC). This is likely due, in part, to the increasing use of screening procedures such as Fecal Occult Blood Test (FOBT) and/or endoscopy, which can reduce the risk of CRC mortality by fifty percent. Nevertheless, screening procedures are routinely used by only fifty percent of Americans aged fifty years and older. Despite overall mortality decreasing …

Vertical Transmission Of West Nile Virus In Culex Spp. Mosquitoes Of Clark County, Nevada, Vivek K. Raman

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

West Nile Virus (WNV) is an RNA arbovirus that cycles between mosquitoes and birds, but also infects and causes disease in humans, horses and other vertebrate species. Although most infections are asymptomatic, WNV has emerged as the most common cause of epidemic meningoencephalitis in North America and the leading cause of arboviral encephalitis in the United States.

Mosquitoes of the genus Culex are the most active vectors of WNV in North America. Approximately 85% of human WNV infections in the United States occur in late summer with a peak number of cases in August and September. Vertical transmission is defined …

Effects Of Environmental Prompts On Stair Usage, Lori Andersen

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

The objective of this study was to evaluate whether environmental prompts placed in two-story buildings on a university campus would increase stair usage. Three buildings were used. One served as a control, while the other two received an intervention. Participants of three buildings were observed taking the stairs and elevator for seven weeks. Baseline data was collected; signs were introduced, and then removed during this time period. Approximately 2700 observations were collected. Environmental prompts did not appear to increase stair usage. There were significant differences in the amount of stair users between buildings. The stair usage rates of this particular …

Drinking Water Fact Sheet: Nitrate, Nancy Mesner, Barbara Daniels

All Current Publications

This fact sheet provides information about nitrates, including sections about what nitrates are, where they come from, health concerns from exposure, drinking water standard for nitrates, how to know if there is nitrate in a water supply, and what can be done to reduce nitrate in drinking water.

Drinking Water Fact Sheet: Arsenic, Nancy Mesner, Barbara Daniels

All Current Publications

This fact sheet provides information about arsenic in drinking water. It includes sections about what arsenic is, where it comes from, health concerns from exposure, drinking water standards, how to know if there is arsenic in a water supply and how to reduce arsenic in drinking water.

Drinking Water Fact Sheet: Coliform Bacteria, Nancy Mesner, Barbara Daniels

All Current Publications

This fact sheet provides information about coliform bacteria. Including sections about what coliform bacteria is, how it enters drinking water, health concerns from exposure, drinking water standards, and how to treat drinking water that contains coliforms.

Parental Attitudes And Perceptions Related To Their Children's Physical Activity And Eating Patterns, Megan Leatham Dubois

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Children's physical inactivity and poor eating patterns have received a great deal of attention in our country and worldwide. Studies have been conducted to identify determinates related to children's physical activity and eating patterns and to identify strategies for promoting positive behaviors. Parental support is a well-accepted determinate of children's physical activity and eating patterns. However, little qualitative research has been done to determine parental attitudes and perceptions related to this critical role.

First, the study sought to gain a greater understanding of parental perspectives on their children's physical activity and eating patterns. Second, the study examined parental attitudes and …

Drinking Water Fact Sheet: Lead, Nancy Mesner, Barbara Daniels

All Current Publications

This fact sheet provides information about lead in water. It includes sections about what lead is, where it comes from, health concerns from lead exposure, drinking water standards for lead, how to know if it is in a water supply, what can be done to reduce lead in drinking water.

Drinking Water Fact Sheet: Drinking Water Treatment Systems, Nancy Mesner, Barbara Daniels

All Current Publications

This fact sheet provides information about drinking water treatment systems. This fact sheet discusses different types of water treatment systems available to homeowners. It includes a table with water contaminants or problems, possible causes of the problem, and solutions.

The Elder Justice Act: Addressing Elder Abuse, Neglect, And Exploitation, Carol O'Shaughnessy

National Health Policy Forum

Elder abuse, neglect, and exploitation is a social problem that affects older people across all socioeconomic groups and care settings. Although national data on the full extent of the problem are elusive, one study found that 11 percent of older people living in community settings had experienced physical, emotional, or sexual abuse, or potential neglect during one year. Abuse and neglect of residents of nursing facilities and other institutions have been a continuing concern of policymakers and advocates for many years. The Elder Justice Act (EJA), enacted as part of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA) on March …

Exploring Relationships Between Racism, Housing And Child Illness In Remote Indigenous Communities, Naomi Priest, Yin Paradies, Matthew Stevens, Ross Bailie

Aboriginal Policy Research Consortium International (APRCi)

Background Although racism is increasingly acknowledged as a determinant of health, few studies have examined the relationship between racism, housing and child health outcomes. Methods Cross-sectional data from the Housing Improvement and Child Health study collected in ten remote indigenous communities in the Northern Territory, Australia were analysed using hierarchical logistic regression. Carer and householder self-reported racism was measured using a single item and child illness was measured using a carer report of common childhood illnesses. A range of confounders, moderators and mediators were considered, including socio-demographic and household composition, psychosocial measures for carers and householders, community environment, and health-related …

Reducing Disparities By Improving Access To And Use Of Preventive Care, Arlesia Brock Mathis

Florida Public Health Review

Substantial disparities continue to exist in access to health care and in the quality of care received. This study was designed to examine the factors that influence access to and use of preventive care. This study uses logistic and multiple regression analyses to examine influenza vaccination and physician visits. This study includes unique factors such as risky health behavior and general health condition in addition to socio-demographic factors and health insurance. Individuals who do not smoke are 59% more likely to have had a flu shot than those who do. Of those having insurance of any type, individuals with private …

Racial, Ethnic, And Socioeconomic Disparities In Exposure To Fast Food In Hillsborough County, Florida, Dana Oppenheim Stein, Jayajit Chakraborty

Florida Public Health Review

Recent studies have linked the alarming obesity epidemic in the U.S. to the growth of the fast-food restaurant industry, which offers convenient service alongside inexpensive and high-calorie food. As the number of fast-food outlets increases, research demonstrates that their geographic location plays a significant role in creating obesogenic environments, potentially exposing socially disadvantaged groups to unhealthy nutrition choices provided by these outlets. Whereas previous studies have examined the distribution of positive health amenities such as supermarkets and health-food stores, there is a growing need to evaluate the socio-demographic characteristics of neighborhoods that contain negative health entities such as fast-food outlets. …

Minimum Description Length And Empirical Bayes Methods Of Identifying Snps Associated With Disease, Ye Yang, David R. Bickel

COBRA Preprint Series

The goal of determining which of hundreds of thousands of SNPs are associated with disease poses one of the most challenging multiple testing problems. Using the empirical Bayes approach, the local false discovery rate (LFDR) estimated using popular semiparametric models has enjoyed success in simultaneous inference. However, the estimated LFDR can be biased because the semiparametric approach tends to overestimate the proportion of the non-associated single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs). One of the negative consequences is that, like conventional p-values, such LFDR estimates cannot quantify the amount of information in the data that favors the null hypothesis of no disease-association.

We …

Diabetes And Co-Morbid Depression Among Racially Diverse, Low-Income Adults, Chandra Y. Osborn, Kushal A. Patel, Jianguo Liu, Hollister W. Trott, Maciej S. Buchowski, Margaret K. Hargreaves, William J. Blot, Sarah S. Cohen, David G. Schlundt

Public Health, Health Administration, and Health Sciences Faculty Research

Background

Research suggests individuals with diabetes are twice as likely as those without diabetes to be clinically depressed. Still unknown is the relationship between diabetes and depression in socioeconomically disadvantaged populations. Purpose

We examined the relationship between diabetes and depressive symptoms in a large, racially diverse, low-income cohort in the southeastern USA. Methods

A total of 69,068 adults were recruited from community health centers in 12 southeastern states. A fully adjusted polytomous logistic regression model tested the relationship between demographics, lifestyle behaviors, antidepressant use, body mass index, diabetes diagnosis, diabetes duration, diabetes medication compliance, and depressive symptoms using the Centers …

Aging And Disability Resource Centers (Adrcs): Federal And State Efforts To Guide Consumers Through The Long-Term Services And Supports Maze, Carol O'Shaughnessy

National Health Policy Forum

Since 2003, the U.S. Administration on Aging (AoA) and the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) have made a series of grants to states to develop Aging and Disability Resource Centers (ADRCs). The ADRC program’s purpose is to help people of all ages, disabilities, and income levels more easily access long-term services and supports through single points of entry, make more efficient use of care options, and maximize the services available. Almost $111 million in joint AoA-CMS funding has been devoted to the ADRC initiative since its inception in fiscal year 2003. As of October 2010, 325 ADRC sites …

Exposition Au Béryllium Des Travailleurs De La Transformation D'Aluminium Et Du Magnésium : Évaluation Des Paramètres De Surveillance Environnementale, Chantal Dion, Stéphanie Viau, André Dufresne, Yves Cloutier, Guy Perrault

Rapports de recherche scientifique

En 1999, on a constaté un nombre important de réclamations pour des maladies professionnelles reliées à l’exposition au béryllium (Be). Le réseau de la santé mène depuis des interventions dans des établissements de secteurs d’activités ciblés afin de mieux caractériser cette exposition dans ces milieux et d’estimer le nombre de travailleurs potentiellement à risque. C’est dans ce contexte que les auteurs ont exploré la possibilité de suggérer un paramètre de l’exposition au Be, mieux relié à la sensibilisation à ce métal que la mesure présentement utilisée. Les opérations dans les secteurs prioritaires devraient permettre d’y cerner les niveaux d’exposition, de …

Cancer Incidence And Mortality In Indigenous Australians In Queensland, 1997–2006, Suzanne P. Moore, Peter K. O'Rourke, Kylie-Ann Mallitt, Gail Garvey, Adèle C. Green, Michael D. Coory, Patricia C. Valery

Aboriginal Policy Research Consortium International (APRCi)

Objective: To examine cancer incidence and mortality in Indigenous Queenslanders. Design, setting and patients: Assessment of indirectly standardised incidence and mortality ratios for Indigenous Australians in Queensland diagnosed with cancer from 1997 to 2006, compared with the total Queensland population. Main outcome measures: Standardised incidence and mortality ratios. Results: Compared with the total Queensland population, Indigenous Queenslanders had a lower overall incidence of cancer (standardised incidence ratio, 0.79; 95% CI, 0.75–0.82), but a higher incidence of some of the more fatal cancer types. Overall cancer mortality was higher (standardised mortality ratio, 1.36; 95% CI, 1.28–1.45) and similar to rates for …

La Prévention Des Intoxications Dans Les Silos À Fourrage, Ali Bahloul, Brigitte Roberge, Nicole Goyer, Mauricio Chavez, Marcelo Reggio

Rapports de recherche scientifique

Le fourrage conservé dans des silos à tour conventionnels subit une fermentation. Or, ce processus génère des gaz toxiques à des concentrations susceptibles de causer des intoxications graves, pouvant entraîner la mort. En raison de l’insuffisance d’oxygène et de la présence de ces gaz, il est difficile de déterminer le moment où l’atmosphère interne est salubre. La ventilation demeurant le meilleur moyen d'assurer la salubrité de ces espaces clos, les auteurs ont documenté la période critique de la fermentation du fourrage et de la production de gaz toxiques dans une situation spécifique. Ils ont ensuite formulé des recommandations sur la …

Community-Based Intervention Packages For Reducing Maternal And Neonatal Morbidity And Mortality And Improving Neonatal Outcomes, Zohra S. Lassi, Batool A. Haider, Zulfiqar Ahmed Bhutta

Woman and Child Health

Background: While maternal, infant and under-five child mortality rates in developing countries have declined significantly in the past two to three decades, newborn mortality rates have reduced much more slowly. While it is recognised that almost half of the newborn deaths can be prevented by scaling up evidence-based available interventions such as tetanus toxoid immunisation to mothers, clean and skilled care at delivery, newborn resuscitation, exclusive breastfeeding, clean umbilical cord care, management of infections in newborns, many require facility based and outreach services. It has also been stated that a significant proportion of these mortalities and morbidities could also be …

Inactivation Of Ascaris Suum By Ammonia In Feces Simulating The Physical-Chemical Parameters Of The Solar Toilet Under Laboratory Conditions, Ligia Maria Cruz Espinoza

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Access to sustainable sanitation systems is a determining factor in human health and economic development. However, more than a third of the world’s population lives without access to improved sanitation facilities. To meet the sanitation United Nations Millennium Development target, "halve, by 2015, the proportion of people without sustainable access to safe drinking water and basic sanitation", a wide range of non conventional sanitation technologies have been implemented in developing countries, including waterless systems. These systems function by diverting urine away from feces and collecting, storing, and dehydrating the fecal material in watertight dehydration vaults. From a public …

Agenda: 2010 World Energy Justice Conference: Emerging Solutions For The Energy Poor: Technological, Entrepreneurial And Institutional Challenges, University Of Colorado Boulder. Center For Energy & Environmental Security, Colorado Journal Of International Environmental Law And Policy

2010 World Energy Justice Conference (November 5)

This conference is a sequel to the 2009 World Energy Justice Conference (WEJC 2009) which began examining ways of mainstreaming safe, clean, and efficient energy for the world's Energy Poor (EP). The EP number two and a half billion people living on less than $1-2 a day who have no access to modern energy services. WEJC 2010 more fully develops these themes. WEJC 2010 will explore how the next round of global warming meetings in Cancun could design new flexibility mechanisms that give credits, for example, for the reduction of black carbon by the adoption of cookstoves, and embrace small …

The Handling Of Missing Data In Molecular Epidemiologic Studies, Manisha Desai, Jessica Kubo, Denise Esserman, Mary Beth Terry

COBRA Preprint Series

Background: Molecular epidemiologic studies face a missing data problem as biospecimen data are often collected on only a proportion of subjects eligible for study.

Methods: We investigated all molecular epidemiologic studies published in CEBP in 2009 to characterize the prevalence of missing data and to elucidate how the issue was addressed. We considered multiple imputation (MI), a missing data technique that is readily available and easy to implement, as a possible solution.

Results: While the majority of studies had missing data, only 16% compared subjects with and without missing data. Furthermore, 95% of the studies with missing data performed a …

The Use Of Multiple Imputation In Molecular Epidemiologic Studies Assessing Interaction Effects, Manisha Desai, Denise Esserman, Marilie Gammon, Mary Beth Terry

COBRA Preprint Series

Background: In molecular epidemiologic studies biospecimen data are collected on only a proportion of subjects eligible for study. This leads to a missing data problem. Missing data methods, however, are not typically incorporated into analyses. Instead, complete-case (CC) analyses are performed, which result in biased and inefficient estimates.

Methods: Through simulations, we characterized the bias that results from CC methods when interaction effects are estimated, as this is a major aim of many molecular epidemiologic studies. We also investigated whether standard multiple imputation (MI) could improve estimation over CC methods when the data are not missing at random (NMAR) and …