Public Health Commons^™

Kannaday: Healthcare Industry Needs To Drive Changes, Kim Hill

News and Events (Discontinued Series)

No abstract provided.

Pre- And Post-Interrvention Perceptions Of Illness, Health, And The Home Environment Among Nevada Healthy Homes Participants, Michelle Ching, Shawn Gerstenberger

Interdisciplinary Research Scholarship Day

The Nevada Healthy Homes Partnership (NVHHP) is a collaborative program between the University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV), Southern Nevada Health District (SNHD), Rebuilding Together (RBT), HELP of Southern Nevada, and other public/private housing authorities and health agencies in Southern Nevada.

A Single Long-Term Acute Care Hospital Experience With A Pressure Ulcer Prevention Program, Daniel Young, Cathy Borris-Hale

Interdisciplinary Research Scholarship Day

This study describes the experience of a single, long-term care acute hospital (LTAC) with the Medline Pressure Ulcer Prevention Program (mPUPP)

• The growing light being shed on pressure ulcer (PrU) costs for the people that get them and the health care systems that treat them, has challenged care facilities to look for programs to reduce nosocomial PrU
• Each PrU can cost between $700 and $135,000 in medical care related expenses and litigation
• Recent evidence suggests that successful PrU prevention programs have common characteristics

Evaluation Of The Childhood Blood Lead Screening Component Of The Southern Nevada Childhood Lead Poisoning Prevention Program, Melissa Breunig, Shawn Gerstenberger

Interdisciplinary Research Scholarship Day

The objective of this paper is to highlight the progress of the lead poisoning prevention program in Southern Nevada. Specifically, we present blood lead screening results for Clark County, Nevada from 2006 through 2011, and review the progress towards recommendations made by Rothweiler et al. for Nevada in 2007.7

Levels Of Adoption Of Electronic Health Records And Patient Safety: Effectiveness And Efficiency, Scott Neishi, Yili Gan, Christopher R. Cochran, Jay J. Shen

Interdisciplinary Research Scholarship Day

• Patient safety, including hospital acquired infections has become one of the major concerns in healthcare delivery in recent years
• Electronic health records are becoming an integral aspect of the health care delivery
• Health policies have been looking to improve quality / patient safety and efficiency of healthcare through the adoption of electronic health record (EHR) systems
• Can EHR adoption improve patient safety?
• Can EHR adoption reduce cost?
• H1: Patients treated at hospitals with a higher level of EHR adoption are less likely to incur poorer patient safety indicators
• H2: Patients treated at hospitals with a higher level of EHR adoption …

Male Circumcision Significantly Reduces Prevalence And Load Of Genital Anaerobic Bacteria, Cindy M. Liu, Bruce A. Hungate, Aaron A.R. Tobian, David Serwadda, Jacques Ravel, Richard Lester, Godfrey Kigozi, Maliha Aziz, Ronald M. Galiwango, Fred Nalugoda, Tania L. Contente-Cuomo, Maria J. Wawer, Paul Keim, Ronald H. Gray, Lance B. Price

Environmental and Occupational Health Faculty Publications

Male circumcision reduces female-to-male HIV transmission. Hypothesized mechanisms for this protective effect include decreased HIV target cell recruitment and activation due to changes in the penis microbiome. We compared the coronal sulcus microbiota of men from a group of uncircumcised controls (n= 77) and from a circumcised intervention group (n = 79) at enrollment and year 1 follow-up in a randomized circumcision trial in Rakai, Uganda. We characterized microbiota using16S rRNA gene-based quantitative PCR (qPCR) and pyrosequencing, log response ratio (LRR), Bayesian classification, nonmetric multidimensional scaling (nMDS), and permutational multivariate analysis of variance (PerMANOVA). At baseline, men …

Pilot Study Of Cyp2b6 Genetic Variation To Explore The Contribution Of Nitrosamine Activation To Lung Carcinogenesis, Catherine Wassenaar, Qiong Dong, Christopher Amos, Margaret Spitz, Rachel F. Tyndale

Dartmouth Scholarship

We explored the contribution of nitrosamine metabolism to lung cancer in a pilot investigation of genetic variation in CYP2B6, a high-affinity enzymatic activator of tobacco-specific nitrosamines with a negligible role in nicotine metabolism. Previously we found that variation in CYP2A6 and CHRNA5-CHRNA3-CHRNB4 combined to increase lung cancer risk in a case-control study in European American ever-smokers (n = 860). However, these genes are involved in the pharmacology of both nicotine, through which they alter smoking behaviours, and carcinogenic nitrosamines. Herein, we separated participants by CYP2B6 genotype into a high- vs. low-risk group (*1/*1 + *1/*6 vs. *6/*6). Odds ratios estimated …

Development Of A Case-Mix Funding System For Adults With Combined Vision And Hearing Loss, Dawn M. Guthrie, Jeff Poss

Kinesiology and Physical Education Faculty Publications

Background: Adults with vision and hearing loss, or dual sensory loss (DSL), present with a wide range of needs and abilities. This creates many challenges when attempting to set the most appropriate and equitable funding levels. Case-mix (CM) funding models represent one method for understanding client characteristics that correlate with resource intensity.

Methods: A CM model was developed based on a derivation sample (n = 182) and tested with a replication sample (n = 135) of adults aged 18+ with known DSL who were living in the community. All items within the CM model came from a standardized, …

A Study Of Coverage Optimized Planning Incorporating Models Of Geometric Uncertainties For Prostate Cancer, Huijun Xu

Theses and Dissertations

A fundamental challenge in the treatment planning process of multi-fractional external-beam radiation therapy (EBRT) is the tradeoff between tumor control and normal tissue sparing in the presence of geometric uncertainties (GUs). To accommodate GUs, the conventional way is to use an empirical planning treatment volume (PTV) margin on the treatment target. However, it is difficult to determine a near-optimal PTV margin to ensure specified target coverage with as much normal tissue protection as achievable. Coverage optimized planning (COP) avoids this problem by optimizing dose in possible virtual treatment courses with GU models directly incorporated. A near-optimal dosimetric margin generated by …

Sweetened Drink And Snacking Cues In Adolescents. A Study Using Ecological Momentary Assessment, Jerry L. Grenard, Alan W. Stacy, Saul Shiffman, Amanda N. Baraldi, David P. Mackinnon, Ginger Lockhart, Yasemin Kisbu-Sakarya, Sarah Boyle Abd, Yuliyana Beleva Abd, Carol Koprowski, Susan L. Ames, Kim D. Reynolds

CGU Faculty Publications and Research

The objective of this study was to identify physical, social, and intrapersonal cues that were associated with the consumption of sweetened beverages and sweet and salty snacks among adolescents from lower SES neighborhoods. Students were recruited from high schools with a minimum level of 25% free or reduced cost lunches. Using ecological momentary assessment, participants (N=158) were trained to answer brief questionnaires on handheld PDA devices: (a) each time they ate or drank, (b) when prompted randomly, and (c) once each evening. Data were collected over 7days for each participant. Participants reported their location (e.g., school grounds, home), mood, social …

Gokids Boston Youth Fitness, Training, And Research Center, Gokids Boston, University Of Massachusetts Boston

Office of Community Partnerships Posters

GoKids Boston embodies innovation and leadership in youth health through life-changing programs, groundbreaking research, exceptional training opportunities, and dedication to the community with a focus on eliminating health disparities.

Clarifying And Expanding Concepts Of Cross-Jurisdictional Sharing: Early Lessons Learned From Conducting Qi With Georgia’S Health Districts, William C. Livingood, Nandi A. Marshall, Angela Peden, Ketty Gonzales, Gulzar H. Shah, Dayna S. Alexander, Alesha Wright, Russell B. Toal, Lynn S. Woodhouse, Deanna Keene

Health Policy & Management: Faculty Presentations (2008-2022)

Research Objective: Assess the legal and organization cultural foundations for Cross-Jurisdictional Sharing (CJS) in support of local public health accreditation and QI in Georgia.

Data Sets and Sources: Archival data (primarily state statutes), secondary data from previous qualitative comparative research on Deep South public health organization, secondary data from previous surveys, and oral interviews and written communication.

Study Design: Primarily Qualitative design combining ethnographic and participatory research methods.

Analysis: Qualitative Content analysis based on predetermined and emergent themes.

Principal Findings: Georgia’s Health Districts have emerged as major CJS entities that support delivery of essential services and local public health (LPH) …

Predictors Of Evidence-Based Decision Making And Population Health Practice In Lhds, Kay Lovelace, Robert Aronson, Kelly Rulison, Gulzar H. Shah, Mark Smith

Health Policy & Management: Faculty Presentations (2008-2022)

Research Objective: To identify the frequency with which LHDs carry out Evidence-Based Decision Making (EBDM) and population health strategies in LHDs and state-, LHD-, and community-levels predictors of LHDs' use of these strategies.

Data Sets and Sources: Harmonized PHSSR dataset consisting of 2010 NACCHO Profile of Local Health Departments Survey, Module 2 respondents, 2010 ASTHO Profile of State Health Departments, US Census data, and Area Resource File data.

Study Design: The study used multivariate analysis to identify predictors of EBDM and population health. We identified items in the 2010 NACCHO Profile Survey representing EBDM and population health strategies and …

There Is No “I” In Team: Players, Leaders, And Team Performance In Public Health Emergency Response, William Riley, Paige Anderson Bowen, Micky Scullard, Cheryl Petersen-Kroeber, Gulzar H. Shah

Health Policy & Management: Faculty Presentations (2008-2022)

Research Objective: Research objectives are to: 1) assess effect of controller-led in situ simulation on emergency response capacity of state health department; 2) study effects of training on team function, dynamics, and communications among staff responsible for emergency operations at state health department; and 3) train public health teams for high reliability.

Data Sets and Sources: Thirty trials (one-hour functional exercises) conducted in the state department operations center over a 16-month period (May 2010 to September 2011). Data gathered using in situ simulation methodology (recording, live viewing, playback analysis). Behavioral markers data collected using event set observational tool …

Community Built Environment And Multilevel Social Determinants Of Obesity: Evidence From China Health And Nutrition Survey, Libin Zhang, Tim F. Liao, Laura L. Hayman

Office of Community Partnerships Posters

The prevalence of overweight and obesity is highest in wealthy countries like the United States, but is rapidly increasing in less developed countries. From 1992 to 2002, China had an increase from 14.6% to 21.8% in overweight and obesity. Social determinants of obesity in developing countries remain poorly understood. Further, these associations may vary by community built environment (BE) of developing countries.

Awareness, Treatment And Control Of Hypertension In Kenya, Jacob Kariuki, Eileen M. Stuart-Shor, Samuel Kimani, James Muchira, Jessica Demita, Heather Milton, Mercy Kamau, Vincent Mutuma, Darren Golden, Peris Kariuki

Office of Community Partnerships Posters

The emerging epidemic of hypertension (HTN) in sub-Saharan Africa is predicted to worsen. Uncontrolled HTN is associated with CVD, high morbidity and premature mortality; hence early detection, treatment and control of HTN is critical to reduction of the associated sequelae. The study was guided by the Social Ecological Model and principles of Community Based Participatory Research.

Mirebalais, Haiti Planning Initiative, Jack Wiggin, Urban Harbors Institute, University Of Massachusetts Boston

Office of Community Partnerships Posters

The Mirebalais Planning Initiative (MPI), a joint project of the Urban Harbors Institute at UMass Boston, Boston University, and the University of the West Indies, is funded by the W.K. Kellogg Foundation. The initiative is a community-based participatory planning process designed to expand community leadership and decision-making capacity among community members in Mirebalais, Haiti.

Leadership Education In Neurodevelopmental Disabilities (Lend) - Partnership With Community-Based Organizations (Cbos), Institute For Community Inclusion, University Of Massachusetts Boston

Office of Community Partnerships Posters

Interdisciplinary Leadership Education in Neurodevelopmental Disabilities (LEND), a Maternal and Child Bureau (MCHB)-funded program providing long-term, graduate level training to health professionals and family members.

The Gastón Institute’S Partnership With The Puerto Rican Cultural Center In Springfield, Ma, Gaston Institute, University Of Massachusetts Boston

Office of Community Partnerships Posters

No abstract provided.

Cruza: The Alliance For Latino Health Through Faith And Action, A Umass Boston - Dana-Farber/Harvard Cancer Center Partnership For Community-Based Research, Gaston Institute, University Of Massachusetts Boston, Dana-Farber/Harvard Cancer Center

Office of Community Partnerships Posters

CRUZA is a community-based participatory research partnership aimed at shifting the focus from intervention delivery on an individual level to a focus on enhancing the capacity of community organizations. CRUZA intends to activate collective resources to translate scientific evidence into strategies that increase cancer screening among Latinos in Massachusetts.

Global Risk Assessment Of Cardiovascular Disease In Resource Constrained Settings, Jacob Kariuki, Eileen M. Stuart-Shor, Libin Zhang, Annya Volkova, Jaime Halliday, Shannon Sayer, Jessica Demita, Darren Golden, James Muchira, Samuel Kimani, Faith Maina

Office of Community Partnerships Posters

Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is an emerging problem in Sub-Saharan Africa. Many current guidelines recommend using global risk assessment (GRA) to quantify the risk for developing CVD and to guide treatment and policy. Most GRA tools require lipid measures which are not readily available in resource-constrained settings. Of the 3 most published non-laboratory based tools: Gaziano and Framingham substitute BMI for cholesterol; WHO does not include BMI or cholesterol.

Lift Up Your Voice! Health Care Advocacy Training Program: Empowering Older Adults, Nina M. Silverstein, Alison Gottlieb, Kelli Barton, Gerontology Institute, University Of Massachusetts Boston

Office of Community Partnerships Posters

Lift Up Your Voice! (LUYV) is a health care advocacy training program developed by Community Catalyst and funded through Atlantic Philanthropies. LUYV directly engages older adults with chronic disease in state-based Campaign for Better Care initiatives to achieve changes in the health care delivery system.

College Of Public Health News, Georgia Southern University

College of Public Health: News & Publications

• Vered Kater to speak at JPHCOPH

Using Expert Panels To Elicit Potential Indicators And Predictors Of Ebph In Local Health Departments, Robert Aronson, Kay Lovelace, Mark Smith, Gulzar H. Shah

Health Policy & Management: Faculty Presentations (2008-2022)

Research Objective: To identify appropriate indicators of local health department (LHD) use of EBPH strategies and factors that influence their use.

Data Sets and Sources: Transcripts of interviews with 12 members of an expert panel representing researchers and practitioners working in PHSSR and Evidence-Based Public Health.

Study Design: Participants responded to a series of questions regarding: their definition of EBPH; ways to identify and assess the use of EBPH strategies; and perceived barriers/enablers to the use of these strategies at the state and local levels.

Analysis: Content analysis performed using QSR NVivo V. 9. Data matrices …

Explaining Political Activeness And Attitudes Toward Unionization Among Nurses In The United States., Crystal L. Lesmeister

Political Science Theses and Capstones

There is no question; nurses play a key role in healthcare. Nurses provide direct care, coordinate health promotion activities, educate, and provide support and advocacy to patients. Today, there are over two million registered nurses in the United States. My research aims to determine the variables that influence some nurses to be more politically active and more engaged in unionization than their counterparts. I analyze The National Sample Survey of Registered Nurses 2004 looking at a variety of potential explanations for union participation. Findings show a strong regional variation in the percentage of unionization, however, some of the conventional explanations …

Community Research Advisory Board Incorporated: Where The Community And Researchers Meet, Horizon Center, University Of Massachusetts Boston

Office of Community Partnerships Posters

CRAB is an incorporated Community Research Advisory Board that serves as a bridge to connect Roxbury residents and other inner Boston neighborhoods to research institutions in a mutually beneficial effort. These efforts increase knowledge and promote understanding about how community-based participatory research (CBPR) can help eliminate disparities in health and health care, thereby improving the health and well-being of people of color. CBPR is a collaborative approach to research, in which the research topic is a priority identified by the community. All partners and stakeholders contribute unique strengths and knowledge, and are involved equitably throughout the process.

Mobilizing Undergraduates To Address The Social Determinants Of Health In The Community: Year 1 Of Health Leads At Umass Boston, Luciano Ramos, Sherrod Williams, Adrienne Wald, Mark Marino

Office of Community Partnerships Posters

Health Leads, a national non-profit organization, currently operates in six cities. Following successful partnerships with Harvard University and Boston University, Health Leads Boston initiated a partnership with UMass Boston in the Fall of 2012 to mobilize undergraduate students in addressing the social determinants of health for patients at Codman Square Health Center (CSHC). 16 undergraduates at UMass Boston were selected into the Health Leads program at CSHC, joining 17 students from Harvard and 4 students from BU. In 6 months, Health Leads at CSHC served 337 families, with students reporting positive experiences. Further expansion of Health Leads at UMB is …

Local Health Departments’ Plan To Seek Voluntary National Accreditation And Its Association With Phab Accreditation Prerequisites, Gulzar H. Shah, Kate Beatty, Carolyn Leep

Health Policy & Management: Faculty Presentations (2008-2022)

Research Objective: To examine the nature of relationship between LHDs’ intentions to seek Public Health Accreditation Board (PHAB) accreditation in the future and having completed within five years the three PHAB pre-requisites: community health assessment (CHA), community health improvement plan (CHIP), and the agency-wide strategic plan.

Data Sets And Sources: We used data from the NACCHO’s 2010 National Profile of Local Health Departments (2010 Profile Study) survey, administered to 2,656 LHDs, with a module sent to a nationally representative stratified random sample of 625 LHDs which contained questions on LHDs’ plans to seek voluntary national accreditation (the dependent …

Advocacy For Pneumonia Prevention In Korea: A Multi-Dimensional Program Organised Around World Pneumonia Day, Soon A. Kim, Paul E. Kilgore

Department of Pharmacy Practice

There are limited examples of population-based approaches that engage a broad range of stakeholders for prevention of pneumonia. In 2010, a multi-dimensional public-private partnership was established around World Pneumonia Day (WPD) in Seoul, Korea and included the following components: a) formation of an expert advisory group, b) creation of educational materials tailored for lay persons, c) creation of a dedicated WPD internet website in the local language, d) organisation of a WPD venue in central Seoul, e) creation of video and social networking messages for wide distribution, and f) engagement of parents, health-care professionals, public health agencies and policymakers. This …

Counterclaim? Not A Real Fix To Prevent Patient Use Code Abuse, Ge Lei J.D.

North Carolina Central University Science & Intellectual Property Law Review

No abstract provided.