Public Health Commons^™

The Population Genetic Structure Of Biomphalaria Choanomphala In Lake Victoria, East Africa: Implications For Schistosomiasis Transmission, Claire J. Standley, Sara L. Goodacre, Christopher M. Wade, J. Russell Stothard

Health Policy and Management Faculty Publications

Background

The freshwater snail Biomphalaria acts as the intermediate host of Schistosoma mansoni, a globally important human parasite. Understanding the population structure of intermediate host species can elucidate transmission dynamics and assist in developing appropriate control methods.

Methods

We examined levels of population genetic structure and diversity in 29 populations of Biomphalaria choanomphala collected around the shoreline of Lake Victoria in Uganda, Kenya and Tanzania, where S. mansoni is hyper-endemic. Molecular markers were utilized to estimate the degree to which snail populations are genetically differentiated from one another.

Results

High levels of snail genetic diversity were found coupled with …

Geographic Variation In The Delivery Of High-Value Public Health Services: Exploring Causes & Consequences, Glen P. Mays

Health Management and Policy Presentations

OBJECTIVES: A growing body of evidence indicates that the delivery of public health activities varies widely across states and communities, creating missed opportunities for prevention as well as inequities in health protection. Measures of quality in public health are needed to guide public health improvement initiatives and to support research on the comparative effectiveness of alternative public health strategies. The Multi-network Practices and Outcomes Variation Examination Study (MPROVE), uses the infrastructure of six Public Health Practice-Based Research Networks (PBRNs) across the U.S. to develop and validate a “starter set” of measures and to analyze geographic variation delivery across diverse public …

Cost Estimates Of Foundational Public Health Services: Results From Piloting An Expert Consensus Methodology, C. B. Mamaril, Glen P. Mays

Health Management and Policy Presentations

We review preliminary estimates from pilot testing a cost estimation methodology developed to identify the resources required to implement a set of Foundational Public Health Services as recommended by the Institute of Medicine and defined by the Public Health Leadership Forum.

Parents' And Children's Emotions Spanning The Hiv Disclosure Process In Kenya, Grace Gachanja, Gary J. Burkholder Jr, Aimee Ferraro

Walden Faculty and Staff Publications

2014 APHA Annual Conference Tuesday, November 18, 2014 New Orleans, LA

HIV disclosure from parent to child is challenging. While disclosure is expected to be emotion for parents and children, the total disclosure experience has not been described. The purpose of this study was to understand the lived experiences of HIV - positive parents and their children in Kenya during the disclosure process.

Medicaid Expansions & Public Health Spending: Cross-Subsidies, Complementarities, And Crowd-Out, Glen P. Mays

Health Management and Policy Presentations

In this paper we estimate the causal impact of state Medicaid enrollment expansions and expenditures on state and local resources allocated to other public health programs and services. Using a quasi-experimental design with instrumental variables estimation, we find evidence that increased Medicaid spending leads to reduced governmental spending on other public health services, consistent with a crowd-out effect. Over 10 years, such crowd-out has the potential to diminish the health status improvements generated through health insurance coverage expansions.

Aca Implementation In Kentucky: Experiences Of An Expansion State, Glen P. Mays

Health Management and Policy Presentations

Kentucky's implementation of the Affordable Care Act has included early successes with insurance coverage expansion through Medicaid and a state-operated health insurance exchange. Signals of improvements in health care accessibility and delivery of preventive services are evident in the first year after coverage expansions. Challenges associated with political opposition, delivery system transformation, and public health financing remain on the state's policy agenda.

Filling In The Blanks On Reducing Tobacco Product Addictiveness In The Fctc Partial Guidelines For Articles 9 & 10, Eric N. Lindblom

Georgetown Law Faculty Publications and Other Works

The existing Partial Guidelines for Implementation of Articles 9 & 10 of the WHO Framework Convention for Tobacco Control includes a strategy for regulating tobacco products to reduce their attractiveness, but does not yet provide any guidance for reducing either the toxicity or the addictiveness of tobacco products. Section 1.2.1.2, “Addictiveness (dependence liability),” states only that: “This section has been left blank intentionally to indicate that guidance will be proposed at a later stage.” A related footnote says that the blanks will be filled “as new country experience, and scientific, medical and other evidence become available. . . [and] will …

Cost Estimates Of Foundational Public Health Services: Results From Piloting The Expert Consensus Methodology In Kentucky, C. B. Mamaril, Glen P. Mays

Health Management and Policy Presentations

We developed a methodology for estimating the resources required to deliver a set of foundational public health capabilities as recommended in the 2012 Institute of Medicine report on public health financing. The capabilities are based on IOM recommendations and defined by a national expert panel convened as part of the Public Health Leadership Forum. This paper presents preliminary estimates from a pilot test of the cost estimation methodology in Kentucky, and outlines plans for the national estimation strategy.

Generation And Characterization Of Nanoaerosols Using A Portable Scanning Mobility Particle Sizer And Electron Microscopy, Adam J. Marty

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this research is to demonstrate the ability to generate and characterize a nanometer sized aerosol using solutions, suspensions, and a bulk nanopowder, and to research the viability of using an acoustic dry aerosol generator/elutriator (ADAGE) to aerosolize a bulk nanopowder into a nanometer sized aerosol. The research compares the results from a portable scanning mobility particle sizer (SMPS) to the more traditional method of counting and sizing particles on a filter sample using scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Sodium chloride aerosol was used for the comparisons. The sputter coating thickness, a conductive coating necessary for SEM, was measured …

Examination Of Possible Protective Effect Of Rhesus D Positive Blood Factor On Toxoplasma-Related Depressive Symptoms In Pregnancy, Lisa Lynn Parnell

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Toxoplasma gondii infects approximately one third of the population worldwide. There is strong evidence that a relationship between T. gondii titer and depressive symptoms exists. There is also evidence suggesting a protective effect of RhD positive blood factor on toxoplasma-induced behavioral and personality changes. This protective effect may influence the relationship between T. gondii and prenatal depressive symptoms. The purpose of this secondary data analysis was to examine the possible protective effect of RhD positive blood factor on prenatal depressive symptoms in 56 pregnant women with T. gondii infection. The cross-sectional design was utilized to answer the question “Does positive …

Awareness, Trial, And Use Of Electronic Cigarettes Among 10 Countries: Findings From The Itc Project, Shannon Gravely, Geoffrey T. Fong, K. Michael Cummings, Mi Yan, Anne C. K. Quah, Ron Borland, Hua-Hie Yong, Sara C. Hitchman, Ann Mcneill, David Hammond, James F. Thrasher, Marc C. Willemsen, Hong Gwan Seo, Yuan Jiang, Tania Cavalcante, Cristina Perez, Maizurah Omar, Karin Hummel

Faculty Publications

Background: In recent years, electronic cigarettes (e-cigarettes) have generated considerable interest and debate on the implications for tobacco control and public health. Although the rapid growth of e-cigarettes is global, at present, little is known about awareness and use. This paper presents self-reported awareness, trial and current use of e-cigarettes in 10 countries surveyed between 2009 and 2013; for six of these countries, we present the first data on e-cigarettes from probability samples of adult smokers. Methods: A cross-sectional analysis of probability samples of adult (≥ 18 years) current and former smokers participating in the International Tobacco Control (ITC) surveys …

Optimizing Public Health Systems For Population Health Improvement: Institutions, Economics, And Metrics, Glen P. Mays

Health Management and Policy Presentations

This lecture reviews the evidence concerning the institutional and economic characteristics of public health delivery systems and their impact on population health. Emerging findings from these studies suggest promising pathways for transforming the U.S. public health system in ways that strengthen its effectiveness, efficiency and equity in producing health. .

The Future Of Population-Based Reimbursement, David Chin, Md, Mba

College of Population Health Forum

David C. Chin, MD, MBA is a Distinguished Scholar at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, where he focuses on novel industry/academic research partnerships and preparing health systems and academic medical centers for success under accountable care.

Dr. Chin will describe the Maryland-All payer system as a model of innovative population-based reimbursement. He will discuss early adaptive strategies, including ways in which health care systems will need to change. Dr. Chin will also provide a comparison of the new incentives in the model vs. fee-for-service.

Prior to joining Hopkins Dr. Chin has …

College Of Public Health News, Georgia Southern University

College of Public Health: News & Publications

• Associations of State Legal Mandates
• Funding for Health Informatics to Promote Improved Coordination of Care
• Lessons to Transform Healthcare Performance

Statistical Analysis And Modeling Of Pm2.5 Speciation Metals And Their Mixtures, Boubakari Ibrahimou

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Exposure to fine particulate matter (PM_2.5) in the ambient air is associated with various health effects. There is increasing evidence which implicates the central role played by specific chemical components such as heavy metals of PM_2.5. Given the fact that humans are exposed to complex mixtures of environmental pollutants such as PM_2.5, research efforts are intensifying to study the mixtures composition and the emission sources of ambient PM, and the exposure-related health effects. Factor analysis as well source apportionment models are statistical tools potentially useful for characterizing mixtures in PM_2.5. However, classic …

Health Policy & Management News, Georgia Southern University

Health Policy & Community Health: News & Publications (2011-2018)

• Funding for Health Informatics to Promote Improved Coordination of Care
• Associations of State Legal Mandates
• Lessons to Transform Healthcare Performance

Home And Workplace Built Environment Supports For Physical Activity, Deepti Adlakha, J. Aaron Hipp, Christine M. Marx, Yang Lin, Rachel Tabak, Elizabeth A. Dodson, Ross C. Brownson

Brown School Faculty Publications

Background: Physical inactivity has been associated with obesity and related chronic diseases. Understanding built environment (BE) influences on specific domains of physical activity (PA) around homes and workplaces is important for public health efforts and interventions to increase population PA. Purpose: To examine the association of home and workplace BE features with PA occurring across specific life domains (work, leisure, and travel). Methods: Between 2012 and 2013, telephone interviews were conducted with participants in four Missouri metropolitan areas. Questions included sociodemographic characteristics, home and workplace supports for PA, and dietary behaviors. Data analysis was conducted in 2013; logistic regression was …

Social Determinants And The Classification Of Disease: Descriptive Epidemiology Of Selected Socially Mediated Disease Constellations, Robert S. Levine, Barbara A. Kilbourne, George S. Rust, Michael A. Langston, Baqar A. Husaini, Lisaann S. Gittner, Maureen Sanderson, Charles H. Hennekens

Sociology Faculty Research

Background

Most major diseases have important social determinants. In this context, classification of disease based on etiologic or anatomic criteria may be neither mutually exclusive nor optimal.

Methods and Findings

Risk Factors For Recurrent Major Depressive Disorder In A Nationally Representative Sample, Graig Charles Defeo

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The public use version of the National Comorbidity Survey - Replication (NCS-R) dataset was used (N = 995) to investigate risk factors for recurrent major depressive disorder (MDD) that are evident before recovery from the first major depressive episode (MDE) by comparing persons diagnosed with MDD who experienced a single MDE to persons with recurrent MDD.

Multiple logistic regression analyses assessed the independent risk of recurrent MDD for each of the following risk factors: an early age of onset (old), absence of a life stress trigger, chronic first episode, childhood parental loss, parental maltreatment, parental depression, comorbid anxiety disorder, and …

Frontiers In Phssr Is On The Move, F. Douglas Scutchfield

Frontiers in Public Health Services and Systems Research

Recently, Dr. Jenine Harris and her colleagues examined the use of journals by state chronic disease prevention staff to stay up-to-date on public health evidence. We, at Frontiers in PHSSR, are pleased to be included among the journals listed in the survey. Online open-access journals are shifting the paradigm of scientific publication, allowing free and rapid exchange of information. Another illustration of Frontier’s increasing utility is a forthcoming issue of the American Journal of Public Health (AJPH). We are pleased that AJPH has agreed to publish selected abstracts from Frontiers in PHSSR in their regular issue with links to …

Assessing Technologies For Information-Seeking On Prostate Cancer Screening By Low-Income Men, Susan W. Mcroy, Emily M. Cramer, Hayeon Song

Journal of Patient-Centered Research and Reviews

Purpose: This paper presents a multipart investigation of the benefits and challenges in deploying automated question-answering as an alternative to web-based searching to provide information about prostate cancer screening for low-income men age 40 years and older.

Methods: The study comprised: 1) a survey assessing current use of the Internet, mobile phones and texting; 2) a controlled observational study of both web-based searching and automated question-answering for information about prostate cancer; and 3) a formative field study in which subjects interacted with a health department nurse using text messages.

Results: Survey results suggest the target population has greater access to, …

Erratum (For “In Adult Smokers Unwilling Or Unable To Quit, Does Changing From Tobacco Cigarettes To Electronic Cigarettes Decrease The Incidence Of Negative Health Effects Associated With Smoking Tobacco? A Clin-Iq”)

Journal of Patient-Centered Research and Reviews

In Volume 1, Issue 2, the article “In Adult Smokers Unwilling or Unable to Quit, Does Changing From Tobacco Cigarettes to Electronic Cigarettes Decrease the Incidence of Negative Health Effects Associated With Smoking Tobacco? A Clin-IQ” (J Patient-Centered Res Rev. 2014;1:99-101) mistakenly reported the delivery agent in e-cigarettes as diethylene glycol instead of propylene glycol. Propylene glycol is a relatively benign substance commonly used in concert smoke machines. Diethylene glycol, a highly toxic substance, was reportedly found in only one e-cigarette cartridge studied in the literature, which may have been due to use of a nonpharmaceutical grade propylene …

Discordant Documentation Of Obesity Body Mass Index And Obesity Diagnosis In Electronic Medical Records, Jennifer T. Fink, George L. Morris Iii, Maharaj Singh, David A. Nelson, Renee E. Walker, Ron A. Cisler

Journal of Patient-Centered Research and Reviews

Purpose: This study examined concordance between presence of obesity body mass index (BMI), defined as BMI ≥ 30, in the patient’s electronic medical record (EMR) and a documented diagnosis of obesity.

Methods: We conducted a retrospective review of the EMR in a large health care system for a 1-year period (2012). A total of 397,313 patients met the study criteria of having at least one physician visit, being at least 18 years of age, and not being pregnant. Of those, 158,327 (40%) had a recorded BMI ≥ 30. We examined the EMR of these obese patients to determine whether a …

Penetration Through The Staple Punctures On Five N95 Respirator Models, Daniel E. Medina

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Certain N95 FFR models that staple the head straps directly onto filtering material are commercially available. This method of assembly can tear or reduce fiber density in the immediate area surrounding the staple punctures. Five N95 FFR models were evaluated to determine if staple punctures on the filter medium reduce the protection offered by the respirators.

Total penetrations were measured with the staple punctures intact and when stretching the head straps a distance equivalent to a 95% male head circumference. Filter penetration were measured by sealing the staple punctures. Aerosols of 200, 500, and 1000 nm were used to challenge …

Local Health Department Collaborative Capacity To Improve Population Health, Hector P. Rodriguez, Jeffrey Mac Mccullough, Charleen Hsuan

Frontiers in Public Health Services and Systems Research

Local health departments (LHDs) can more effectively develop and strengthen community health partnerships when leaders focus on building partnership collaborative capacity (PCC), including a multisector infrastructure for population health improvement. Using the 2008 National Association of County and City Health Officials (NACCHO) Profile survey, we constructed an overall measure of LHD PCC comprised of the five dimensions: outcomes-based advocacy, vision-focus balance, systems orientation, infrastructure development, and community linkages. We conducted a series of regression analyses to examine the extent to which LHD characteristics and contextual factors were related to PCC. The most developed PCC dimension was vision-focus balance, while infrastructure …

Policymakers Identify Priorities For Phssr, Katherine Froeb Papa

Frontiers in Public Health Services and Systems Research

A major goal for the health services research community is to provide evidence policymakers can use to improve the public’s health. However, it can be difficult to know what evidence policymakers want and how they decide what research to fund.

In order to understand where policymakers turn for evidence and how they make funding decisions amid fiscal and political constraints, AcademyHealth conducted a 3-part Fireside Chat series in the spring of 2014. This editorial summarizes the evidence gaps identified, and provides strategies for communicating with decision makers.

Editorial Comment: Understanding Cost Variation In Std Service Delivery As State And Federal Agencies Reduce Funding, Michael A. Preston, William W. Greenfield, Sharla A. Smith

Frontiers in Public Health Services and Systems Research

As health reform gains momentum, many changes have been seen in the way health services are delivered and financed. In an attempt to address the uncertainties and understand the costs of delivering STD prevention services, the authors examined the cost of STDs in a highly centralized public health agency system (PHAS). This commentary covers several implications that arise from this study.

Understanding Cost Variations In Std Service Delivery As State And Federal Agencies Reduce Funding, William C. Livingood, Lori Bilello, Bonita Sorensen

Frontiers in Public Health Services and Systems Research

Sexually transmitted diseases (STD) continue to be a major health problem in the U.S. Despite the persistence of STDs and the critical role of the public health sector in controlling these diseases, STD services continue to be reduced. A linear regression was performed using county demographic and cost variables. Many of these variables in county public health agencies and the populations they serve were not significantly correlated with cost of service. However, the availability of local tax funding for county health departments (CHDs), which varies extensively across counties within the state, is statistically linked to higher STD expenditure per case. …

Rationale, Design, And Method Of The Diabetes & Women’S Health Study – A Study Of Long-Term Health Implications Of Glucose Intolerance In Pregnancy And Their Determinants, Cuilin Zhang, Frank B. Hu, Sjurdur F. Olsen, Allan Vaag, Robert Gore-Langton, Jorge E. Chavarro, Wei Bao, Edwina Yeung, Katherine Bowers, Louise Groth Grunnet, Seth Sherman, Michele Kiely, Marin Strøm, Susanne Hansen, Aiyi Liu, James Mills, Ruzong Fan

Publications and Research

Women who develop gestational diabetes mellitus or impaired glucose tolerance during pregnancy are at substantially increased risk for type 2 diabetes and comorbidities after pregnancy. Little is known about the role of genetic factors and their interactions with environmental factors in determining the transition from gestational diabetes mellitus to overt type 2 diabetes mellitus. These critical data gaps served as the impetus for this Diabetes & Women’s Health study with the overall goal of investigating genetic factors and their interactions with risk factors amenable to clinical or public health interventions in relation to the transition of gestational diabetes mellitus to …

Chhs November 2014 E-Newsletter, Dr. John Bonaguro, Dean, Vashon S. Wells, Editor, Wku College Of Health & Human Services

College of Health & Human Services Publications

No abstract provided.