Public Health Commons^™

Refining Best Practices For The Diagnosis Of Autism: A Comparison Between Individual Healthcare Practitioner Diagnosis And Transdisciplinary Assessment., Jessica Rae Stewart, Debra C. Vigil, Erika Ryst, Wei Yang

Nevada Journal of Public Health

The purpose of this study is to compare the diagnostic decision-making of individual healthcare practitioners against that of a transdisciplinary team. Despite national recognition of transdisciplinary assessment as the gold standard diagnostic approach, autism is most frequently diagnosed by individuals working independently in a variety of disciplines. The current study examined how closely these individual practitioners make diagnoses matching that of a transdisciplinary team. Twenty professionals from five different disciplines viewed videotape clips of fifteen children previously assessed by a transdisciplinary team. Results confirmed that individual healthcare practitioners matched the transdisciplinary team diagnosis on average only 65.6% of the time. …

Analysis Of The Morbidity And Mortality Of Severe Influenza Infection In Clark County, Nevada For The 2010-2011 Influenza Season, Kindra St. Jacques, Patricia Cruz, Brian Labus

Nevada Journal of Public Health

Throughout the duration of any influenza season, influenza strains have the ability to evolve through mutation causing alterations in virulence. These changes may result in severe illness or death among susceptible populations; therefore, it is important to closely monitor influenza-associated hospitalizations and deaths. The University of Nevada, Las Vegas in collaboration with the Southern Nevada Health District analyzed data from the hospitalized influenza morbidity and mortality surveillance project for Clark County for the 2010-2011 influenza season. Among the study population (N= 158): the influenza strain type was found to be significantly associated with deaths (n= 25), vaccination status was not …

Environmental Correlates Of Physical Activity Among African-American Adults, Tim Bungum, Jennifer Pharr, Paulo S. Pinheiro, Maria Azzarelli

Nevada Journal of Public Health

The purpose of this cross-sectional study was to identify perceived environmental correlates of meeting physical activity guidelines among African-American adults living in Southern Nevada. Trained interviewers phoned potential participants who lived in the 12 zip codes of Clark County, Nevada with the highest proportions of African-American residents. Respondents (n=237) answered 52 health-related and demographic questions. Slightly less than 50% of participants met physical activity guidelines. A factor analysis procedure produced two environmental variables, neighborhood safety and environmental supports for physical activity. Age, gender and educational attainment (p<.05) predicted the meeting of those guidelines (R2=.214), while neighborhood support for physical activity, neighborhood safety, and BMI failed to do so. This finding suggests that environmental factors are not strong predictors of physical activity among African- American adults, although environmental supports for physical activity approached significance. Future studies should consider assessing additional aspects of the built environment as an influence on physical activity.

Public Health Services & Systems Research: Taking The Pulse Of The Field, Glen P. Mays

Health Management and Policy Presentations

New research is continuing to reveal pathways for improving health and reducing health disparities at reasonable costs through multi-sector public health strategies.

Understanding Hiv Care Delays In The Us South And The Role Of The Social-Level In Hiv Care Engagement/Retention: A Qualitative Study, Courtenay Sprague, Sara E. Simon

Center for Peace, Democracy and Development Publications

Introduction: In a significant geographical shift in the distribution of HIV infection, the US South - comprising 17 states - now has the greatest number of adults and adolescents with HIV (PLHIV) in the nation. More than 60% of PLHIV are not in HIV care in Alabama and Mississippi, contrasted with a national figure of 25%. Poorer HIV outcomes raise concerns about HIV-related inequities for southern PLHIV, which warrant further study. This qualitative study sought to understand experiences of low-income PLHIV on the AIDS Drug Assistance Program in engagement and retention in continuous HIV care in two sites in Alabama. …

College Of Public Health News, Georgia Southern University

College of Public Health: News & Publications

• New Associate Dean

Lhds Increase Their Use Of Ebdm Practices From 2010 To 2013, Kay A. Lovelace, Gulzar H. Shah, Carolyn J. Leep, Robert Aronson

Health Policy & Community Health: Faculty Presentations (1993-2023)

Background: An evidence-based approach is needed to effectively address the gap between population health goals in the United States and current morbidity and mortality rates. Recently, the authors developed an index to allow researchers to assess the frequency of evidence-based decision making (EBDM) practice in LHDs. The first descriptive analysis was conducted with data from the NACCHO 2010 Profile Study of Local Health Departments (LHDs). The current research was designed to assess changes in the percentage of LHDs using EBDM practices from 2010 to 2013.

Research Objective: To identify changes in the frequency with which LHDs carried out EBDM practices …

The Public Health Pbrn Program: A Status Update, Glen P. Mays

Health Management and Policy Presentations

As of 2014 the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation's Public Health Practice-Based Research Networks Program has engaged more than 1600 U.S. public health agencies in research production and application, generating more than 60 ongoing and completed empirical studies, 70 peer-reviewed publications, and 200 presentations and professional and scientific meetings.

Developing Service Delivery Measures For Studies Of Practice Variation: The Mprove Study, Glen P. Mays

Health Management and Policy Presentations

The Multi-Network Practice and Outcome Variation (MPROVE) Study supports investigations of the causes and consequences of variation in public health service delivery through collecting a standardized set of delivery measures across more than 300 local practice settings in 6 states. The measures characterize volume, intensity, quality, efficiency, and equity of service delivery in three core domains of chronic disease prevention, communicable disease control, and environmental health protection.

Creating Learning Systems: Lessons From Public Health Practice-Based Research Networks, Glen P. Mays

Health Management and Policy Presentations

Practice-based research networks (PBRNs) provide powerful mechanisms for implementing research studies that evaluate the health and economic effects of delivery system innovations. This presentation reviews strategies, emerging findings, and lessons learned from PBRNs and related studies conducted in U.S. public health settings. We give special focus to studies that examine multi-organizational and cross-sectoral strategies for population health improvement.

Changes In Sleep Time And Sleep Quality Across The Ovulatory Cycle As A Function Of Fertility And Partner Attractiveness, Brooke N. Jenkins, Elizabeth G. Pillsworth, Aaron T. Goetz

Psychology Faculty Articles and Research

Research suggests that near ovulation women tend to consume fewer calories and engage in more physical activity; they are judged to be more attractive, express greater preferences for masculine and symmetrical men, and experience increases in sexual desire for men other than their primary partners. Some of these cycle phase shifts are moderated by partner attractiveness and interpreted as strategic responses to women’s current reproductive context. The present study investigated changes in sleep across the ovulatory cycle, based on the hypothesis that changes in sleep may reflect ancestral strategic shifts of time and energy toward reproductive activities. Participants completed a …

Paternal Support For Breastfeeding: A Mixed Methods Study To Identify Positive And Negative Forms Of Paternal Social Support For Breastfeeding As Perceived By First-Time Parent Couples, Amy Lester

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends that babies be exclusively breastfed for the first six months of life, and continue to breastfeed throughout the first year of life and as long after as is mutually desired. Recent survey data suggests that initiation rates of breastfeeding are high; according to the CDC, 75.0 percent of children in the U.S. have been breastfed. Although initiation rates of breastfeeding are high, breastfeeding duration rates consistent are much lower; 33.0 percent of infants were exclusively breastfed at three months, and only 13.3 percent of infants were exclusively breastfed at six months. Additionally, only 22.4 …

Spatiotemporal Distribution Of Genus Culex (Diptera: Culicidae) In Usf Ecopreserve, Hillsborough County, Florida, Emily Schwartz

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Within the state of Florida, there are three arboviruses of public health importance that can cause neuroinvasive disease in humans: West Nile Virus, Saint Louis Encephalitis Virus, and Eastern Equine Encephalitis Virus. Mosquitoes (Diptera: Culicidae) within the genus Culex are known and suspected vectors of these diseases. The vectors of these diseases can be present in urban wetland habitats that allow for exposure to residential communities. Vector ecology must be investigated in order to understand the dynamics of disease transmission. In Hillsborough County, Florida the spatial and temporal distribution of these vectors are not well established. An ecological study was …

The Effect Of Early Head Start On Child Welfare System Involvement: A First Look At Longitudinal Child Maltreatment Outcomes, Beth L. Green, Catherine Ayoub, Jessica Dym Bartlett, Adam Von Ende, Carrie Jeanne Furrer, Rachel Chazen-Cohen, Claire Vallotton, Joanne Klevens

Center for Improvement of Child and Family Services Publications

The high societal and personal costs of child maltreatment make identification of effective early prevention programs a high research priority. Early Head Start (EHS), a dual generational program serving low-income families with children prenatally through age three years, is one of the largest federally funded programs for infants and toddlers in the United States. A national randomized trial found EHS to be effective in improving parent and child outcomes, but its effectiveness in reducing child maltreatment was not assessed. The current study used administrative data from state child welfare agencies to examine the impact of EHS on documented abuse and …

Les Facteurs Influençant Le Retour Au Travail Après Une Dépression : Le Point De Vue Et Le Rôle Des Acteurs Syndicaux, Marc Corbière, Louise St-Arnaud, Marie-José Durand, Marie-France Coutu, Tania Lecomte, Alessia Negrini, Marianne Renard

Rapports de recherche scientifique

En 2005, l’Organisation mondiale de la Santé (OMS) stipulait que dans moins d’une décennie, la dépression constituerait une des premières causes d’incapacité avec les maladies cardiovasculaires (World Health Organization, 2005). En effet, on constate une augmentation des prestations d’invalidité attribuables aux troubles mentaux, notamment la dépression. Celles-ci sont à l’origine de plus de 40% de toutes les réclamations d’assurance-salaire (MSSS, 2005). Le retour au travail des employés qui ont dû s’absenter en raison d’une dépression est parfois complexe car il implique plusieurs acteurs. À notre connaissance, peu d’études se sont intéressées au point de vue des acteurs syndicaux quant aux …

Assessing The Impact Of Family Status, Family Cohesion, And Acculturation On Youth Violence Among Immigrant Latinos, Susan Lin, Sean D. Cleary, Mark Edberg

GW Research Days 2014

Background/Objectives: Latino youth violence is an emerging public health concern. The objective is to assess the impact of family status, family cohesion, and acculturation on youth violence among Latino immigrants in Langley Park, MD compared with a control community in Culmore, VA.

Methods: Constructs were generated from survey questions to represent family support and cohesion, acculturation, and youth violence. Bivariate and multivariate regression analyses were modeled to evaluate the relationships between family support and cohesion, acculturation, and violence, after adjusting for confounders.

Results: After controlling for covariates, family support consistently reduced victimization (PE = ‐0.02, SE = 0.01, t = …

Instructional Posters And Prevention Education: Do They Really Work?, William D. Mcquilken Ba, Deanna Shisslak, Judith M. Schultz Ba, Cstr

Department of Surgery

No abstract provided.

Skin Cancer Prevention Coverage In Popular Us Women’S Health And Fitness Magazines: An Analysis Of Advertisements And Articles, Corey Hannah Basch, Danna Ethan, Grace Clarke Hillyer, Alyssa Berdnik

Publications and Research

The desire to be tan is a phenomenon that public health researchers have investigated, as exposure to UV radiation increases the chances of developing skin cancer. Media messages in women’s magazines have been shown to contribute to this problem. Much less is known about the prevalence of skin cancer prevention messages in these magazines. This study's aim was to identify the number and type of articles and advertised products devoted to skin health (sun protection and skin cancer prevention in particular) within five popular U.S. greater than women’s health and fitness magazines. We analyzed articles and advertisements over seven months …

Implementing A Community-Based Intervention For African American Mothers And Daughters, Teri Aronowitz, Nandini Sengupta

Office of Community Partnerships Posters

Adolescents represent one of the fastest growing risk groups for HIV. Inner-city, minority youth are at highest risk because of concentration of HIV in inner-city areas, higher rates of STDs, and early sexual initiation. Mothers are the primary sex educator of daughters, and girls state their relationship with their mother was an important influence on their delaying sexual activity. With 70% of adolescent HIV seroconversions occurring among African American (AA) females, studies are urgently needed to enhance mother-daughter sexual communication. The purpose of this poster is to offer insights on the logistics of carrying out a manualized program.

Breakthrough Series Collaborative To Support Trauma-Informed Practice In Early Care & Education, Anne Douglass

Office of Community Partnerships Posters

This study investigated the use of a Breakthrough Series Collaborative (BSC) to promote the adoption of trauma-informed practices in urban early care & education (ECE) programs. Through this BSC, ECE programs implement new practices to promote safe, stable, and nurturing relationships and prevent trauma exposure; protect children exposed to trauma, help children heal, and support family protective factors that help children thrive.

Two Community Collaborations With Sexual Minority Women’S Ngos In Shanghai & Hong Kong, Connie Chan, Hsin-Ching Wu

Office of Community Partnerships Posters

Based on research with sexual minority communities in the United States, Connie Chan, professor of public policy and public affairs, conducted comparative research with community groups in Hong Kong and Shanghai, China. She provided capacity building training and resources directly to the organization which provides outreach and service to sexual minority women and girls in Shanghai, China. Professor Chan also supported Queer Sisters – an NGO that provides advocacy and community outreach to sexual minority girls and women in Hong Kong – by co-creating a needs assessment survey and helping them to interview their membership in Hong Kong.

Connie Chan …

International Epidemics: Interdisciplinary Thinking And Global Citizenship, Rajini Srikanth, Louise Penner

Office of Community Partnerships Posters

The Honors College aims to serve as a crucible for curricular innovation by enriching and deepening classroom study with on-the-ground learning. The symposium is a year-long course, with the winter session field trip giving students a two-week immersion in the details of HIV/AIDS health care delivery in one province of South Africa. Upon return, students volunteer at health centers or nonprofits exploring related topics, while continuing to study the complexity of South Africa’s history and its attitudes and approaches toward HIV/AIDS at the medical, cultural, economic, and social levels.

Community Engagement And Research Section, Umass Center For Clinical And Translational Science, University Of Massachusetts Center For Clinical And Translational Science

Office of Community Partnerships Posters

The UMCCTS Community Engagement and Research Section works to improve health in Massachusetts by fostering community engaged research among UMass researchers and community partners. We do this through conferences, pilot funding opportunities, webinars, training, consultation, linking researchers with community partners, and an email discussion group (listserv).

Electronic Health Record Documentation: Is It An Accurate Indicator Of Quality Of Care For Mechanically Ventilated Patients?, Joetta Powell

Applied Research Projects

Background: Ventilator associated pneumonia is one of the leading hospital acquired infections associated with increased mortality and lengths of stay in mechanically ventilated patients.

Hypothesis: It is hypothesized that the introduction of chlorhexidine gluconate will show reduction in the incidences of ventilator associated pneumonia and a greater reduction with tooth brushing vs oral swabbing. It is also hypothesized that the electronic health record will provide more evidence of quality of care than an external EHR sources.

Methods: The non-randomized, non-sampled population included 98 patient records that met the inclusion criteria. The external tool, Automated Vent Bundle tool provided information as …

Tobacco Treatment For Individuals With Substance Abuse And Psychiatric Disorders, Chizimuzo T.C. Okoli

Nursing Presentations

Overview of this presentation:

• Discuss smoking among persons with substance use and mental illness
• Present smoking cessation outcomes from an evidence-based program for persons with substance use disorders and mental Illness
• Conclusion with current and future Projects

The Association Between Influenza Treatment And Hospitalization-Associated Outcomes Among Korean Children With Laboratory-Confirmed Influenza, Jacqueline K. Lim, Tae Hee Kim, Paul E. Kilgore, Allison E. Aiello, Byung Min Choi, Kwang Chul Lee, Kee Hwan Yoo, Young-Hwan Song, Yun-Kyung Kim

Department of Pharmacy Practice

There are limited data evaluating the relationship between influenza treatment and hospitalization duration. Our purpose assessed the association between different treatments and hospital stay among Korean pediatric influenza patients. Total 770 children ≤ 15 yr-of-age hospitalized with community-acquired laboratory-confirmed influenza at three large urban tertiary care hospitals were identified through a retrospective medical chart review. Demographic, clinical, and cost data were extracted and a multivariable linear regression model was used to assess the associations between influenza treatment types and hospital stay. Overall, there were 81% of the patients hospitalized with laboratory-confirmed influenza who received antibiotic monotherapy whereas only 4% of …

2009 H1n1 And Seasonal Influenza Immunization Among Pregnant Women: A Comparison Of Different Sources Of Immunization Information, Bonny Specker, Betty Wey, Jill Fuller, Marie-Noel Sandoval, Maureen Durkin, Nancy Dole, Emmanuel B. Walter

Ethel Austin Martin Program Publications

Validity of prenatal immunization data from different sources has not been assessed. We evaluated prenatal 2009 H1N1 and seasonal influenza (FLU) data obtained from state immunization information systems (IIS), medical record abstraction (MRA), and participant recall using medical care logs (NCS-MCL). 2009 H1N1 and FLU data were obtained from IIS and MRA for 325 pregnant women participating in the National Children's Study at three locations (SD/MN, NC, WI). Women recalled immunizations at first pregnancy visit and at 16-17 and 36 weeks' gestation (NCS-MCL). The proportion of women with vaccine information obtainable from each data source was determined, and proportions immunized …

Venue-Based Recruitment Of Women At Elevated Risk For Hiv: An Hiv Prevention Trials Network Study, Danielle F. Haley, Carol E. Golin, Wafaa M. El-Sadr, James P. Hughes, Jing Wang, Irene Kuo, +13 Additional Authors

Epidemiology Faculty Publications

Background: The challenge of identifying and recruiting U.S. women at elevated risk for HIV acquisition impedes prevention studies and services. HIV Prevention Trials Network (HPTN) 064 was a U.S. multisite, longitudinal cohort study designed to estimate HIV incidence among women living in communities with prevalent HIV and poverty. Venue-based sampling (VBS) methodologies and participant and venue characteristics are described.

Methods: Eligible women were recruited from 10 U.S. communities with prevalent HIV and poverty using VBS. Participant eligibility criteria included age 18–44 years, residing in a designated census tract/zip code, and self-report of at least one high-risk personal and/or male sexual …

Trends In Youth Marijuana Use: Comparison Of Maine And National Data, Macklin Gaynor

Thinking Matters Symposium Archive

• The implications of recent medical marijuana laws and their impact on youth are poorly understood. • New research has shown teen perceptions of marijuana’s harmfulness are at their lowest levels in 20 years. • It is unclear if these shifting perceptions will result in increased usage.

Obesity Rates In Maine Exceed New England's Obesity Rate: A Look At Possible Contributing Factors, Susan Walker

Thinking Matters Symposium Archive

The purpose of this study was to explore adult obesity data to: Compare Maine’s rates with other New England states and explore differences in Maine counties by looking at known risk factors.