Public Health Commons^™

Exposure To Large-Scale Social And Behavior Change Communication Interventions Is Associated With Improvements In Infant And Young Child Feeding Practices In Ethiopia, Sunny S. Kim, Rahul Rawat, Edina M. Mwangi, Roman Tesfaye, Yewelsew Abebe, Jean Baker, Edward A. Frongillo Jr., Marie T. Ruel, Purnima Menon

Faculty Publications

Optimal breastfeeding (BF) practices in Ethiopia are far below the government’s targets, and complementary feeding practices are poor. The Alive & Thrive initiative aimed to improve infant and young child feeding (IYCF) practices through large-scale implementation of social and behavior change communication interventions in four regions of Ethiopia. The study assessed the effects of the interventions on IYCF practices and anthropometry over time in two regions–Southern Nations, Nationalities and Peoples Region and Tigray. A pre- and post-intervention adequacy evaluation design was used; repeated cross-sectional surveys of households with children aged 0–23.9 mo (n = 1481 and n = 1494) and …

College Of Public Health News, Georgia Southern University

College of Public Health: News & Publications

• Georgia Southern Partnered on a Study to Examine Challenges and Innovations in Surveying the governmental public health workforce
• Georgia Southern Partners to Examine E-Waste Management in the United States
• Georgia Southern Collaborates with UNCG to examine strategies of an LHD to Build and use information systems
• Georgia Southern Partners to examine a multiagency approach to reducing west Nile Virus
• Georgia Southern Examines control of the public health IT Physical Infrastructure

Health Policy & Management News, Georgia Southern University

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

• Georgia Southern Collaborates with UNCG to Examine Strategies of an LHD to Build and Use Information Systems
• Georgia Southern Partners to Examine E-Waste Management in the United States
• Georgia Southern Partnered on a Study to Examine Challenges and Innovations in Surveying the Governmental Public Health Workforce
• Georgia Southern Examines Control of the Public Health IT Physical Infrastructure

Comparing Machine Learning And Logistic Regression Methods For Predicting Hypertension Using A Combination Of Gene Expression And Next-Generation Sequencing Data, Elizabeth Held, Joshua Cape, Nathan L. Tintle

Faculty Work Comprehensive List

Machine learning methods continue to show promise in the analysis of data from genetic association studies because of the high number of variables relative to the number of observations. However, few best practices exist for the application of these methods. We extend a recently proposed supervised machine learning approach for predicting disease risk by genotypes to be able to incorporate gene expression data and rare variants. We then apply 2 different versions of the approach (radial and linear support vector machines) to simulated data from Genetic Analysis Workshop 19 and compare performance to logistic regression. Method performance was not radically …

Access To Health Care Services For Adults In Maine [Report], Erika C. Ziller Phd

Access / Insurance

On October 17, 2016, the Maine Health Access Foundation (MeHAF) released a new research brief developed with the University of Southern Maine that found significant inequality in the ability of people in Maine to access quality health care. The authors, Barbara Leonard from MeHAF and Erika Ziller from the USM Muskie School, found that income, age and education are all closely associated with Maine people’s ability to receive appropriate and timely health care. Specifically, they found that among Maine adults 18 and older, those with family incomes less than $25,000 a year, young adults, racial and ethnic minorities, and people …

Mathematical Modeling Of Vaccine Noncompliance, Jordan A. Bauer

Annual Symposium on Biomathematics and Ecology Education and Research

No abstract provided.

Influence Of Awareness That Results From Direct Experience On The Spread Of Epidemics, Ying Xin

Annual Symposium on Biomathematics and Ecology Education and Research

No abstract provided.

Implementation Of Universal Hplc Analysis For Counterfeit Medication: A Partnership Of Purdue University And The Kilimanjaro School Of Pharmacy, Jordyn Mccord, Michael Mavity, David Wintczak

Purdue Journal of Service-Learning and International Engagement

Jordyn McCord and Michael Mavity are 2016 graduates of both biological engineering and pharmaceutical sciences. David Wintczak is a third-year pharmacy doctoral candidate. Here, in their second article published in PJSL, they describe a weeklong study abroad course at the Kilimanjaro School of Pharmacy in Tanzania, designed to engage students in the implementation of methods for detecting counterfeit medications.

Connecting Volunteerism To A Career: My Journey With The American Cancer Society And Pharmacy, Christine Kane

Purdue Journal of Service-Learning and International Engagement

Christine Kane is a 2016 graduate from the Purdue College of Pharmacy. In this article, she describes how two passions, the profession of pharmacy and volunteerism with the American Cancer Society, became intertwined to change the course of her career. She implores fellow students to never underestimate the impact an extracurricular activity can have on the rest of your life.

Travailleurs Avec Déchirure De La Coiffe Des Rotateurs Et Asymptomatiques : Corrélation Entre Des Paramètres Morphoanthropométriques Et D’Imagerie Diagnostique Et La Fonction De L’Épaule, Nicola Hagemeister, Neila Mezghani, Patrice Tétreault, Skalli Wafa, Nathalie Bureau

Rapports de recherche scientifique

Les problèmes chroniques de douleur et de perte de fonction de l’épaule touchent jusqu’à 20 % des adultes. Au Québec, l’Institut de recherche Robert-Sauvé en santé et en sécurité du travail (IRSST) rapporte que les troubles musculosquelettiques constituent près de 37 % des lésions professionnelles indemnisées par la CSST et génèrent plus de 40 % des coûts d’indemnisation. Des données internes de l’IRSST montrent que pour la période 2005-2007, les coûts totaux générés annuellement par les lésions aux épaules acceptées par la CSST atteignaient 393 204 738$ (Lebau et coll., 2014). Les syndromes de rupture de la coiffe …

Validation Du Questionnaire Obstacles Au Retour Au Travail Et Sentiment D’Efficacité Pour Les Surmonter (Orteses) Auprès De Travailleurs Avec Un Trouble Mental Courant Ou Un Trouble Musculosquelettique, Marc Corbière, Alessia Negrini, Marie-José Durand, Louise St-Arnaud, Catherine Briand, Jean-Baptiste Fassier, Patrick Loisel, Jean-Philippe Lachance

Rapports de recherche scientifique

Les absences prolongées du travail, et particulièrement celles liées aux troubles mentaux courants (TMC) et aux troubles musculosquelettiques (TMS), engendrent des coûts économiques et humains considérables. Devant cet enjeu, il apparaît nécessaire de mieux comprendre les facteurs qui nuisent au retour au travail (RAT) de ces deux populations. Selon la littérature, il est bien établi que le RAT est le résultat d’une interaction complexe entre l’individu et les acteurs provenant de divers systèmes tels que le milieu de travail, le système de santé et celui de l’indemnisation. Mis à part quelques particularités ou caractéristiques …

Aneuploidy: A Common And Early Evidence-Based Biomarker For Carcinogens And Reproductive Toxicants., Daniele Mandrioli, Fiorella Belpoggi, Ellen K Silbergeld, Melissa J. Perry

Environmental and Occupational Health Faculty Publications

Aneuploidy, defined as structural and numerical aberrations of chromosomes, continues to draw attention as an informative effect biomarker for carcinogens and male reproductive toxicants. It has been well documented that aneuploidy is a hallmark of cancer. Aneuploidies in oocytes and spermatozoa contribute to infertility, pregnancy loss and a number of congenital abnormalities, and sperm aneuploidy is associated with testicular cancer. It is striking that several carcinogens induce aneuploidy in somatic cells, and also adversely affect the chromosome compliment of germ cells. In this paper we review 1) the contributions of aneuploidy to cancer, infertility, and developmental abnormalities; 2) techniques for …

Robins-I: A Tool For Assessing Risk Of Bias In Non-Randomised Studies Of Interventions, Jonathan A.C. Sterne, Miguel A. Hernán, Barnaby C. Reeves, Jelena Savovic, Nancy D. Berkman, Meera Viswanathan, David Henry, Douglas G. Altman, Mohammed T. Ansari, Isabelle Boutron, James R. Carpenter, An-Wen Chen, Rachel Churchill, Jonathan J. Deeks, Asbjørn Hróbjartsson, Jamie Kirkham, Peter Jüni, Yoon K. Loke, Theresa D. Pigott, Craig R. Ramsay, Deborah Regidor, Hannah R. Rothstein, Lakhbir Sandhu, Pasqualina L. Santaguida, Holger J. Schünemann, Beverly Shea, Ian Shrier, Peter Tugwell, Lucy Turner, Jeffrey C. Valentine, Hugh Waddington, Elizabeth Waters, George A. Wells, Penny F. Whiting, Julian Pt Higgins

Publications and Research

Non-randomized studies of the effects of interventions are critical to many areas of healthcare evaluation, but their results may be biased. It is therefore important to understand and appraise their strengths and weaknesses. We developed ROBINS-I (“Risk Of Bias In Non-randomized Studies - of Interventions”), a new tool for evaluating risk of bias in estimates of the comparative effectiveness (harm or benefit) of interventions from studies that did not use randomization to allocate units (individuals or clusters of individuals) to comparison groups. The tool will be particularly useful to those undertaking systematic reviews that include non-randomized studies.

Community Health Centers And Medicaid Payment Reform: Emerging Lessons From Medicaid Expansion States, Peter Shin, Jessica Sharac, Zoe Barber, Sara J. Rosenbaum

Geiger Gibson/RCHN Community Health Foundation Research Collaborative

Community health centers represent a major source of primary health care for the nation’s Medicaid beneficiaries. Because the Federally Qualified Health Center (FQHC) payment system is encounter-based, health centers and Medicaid agencies in ACA expansion states are actively pursuing payment reforms that will enable health centers to adopt strategies that can more effectively respond to the considerable and complex health and social needs of people served by health centers, and more efficiently address the surging volume of patient care. In five expansion states whose alternative payment experiments are underway, health centers and Medicaid agencies are testing payment alternatives, such as …

Civic Engagement Among Orphans And Non-Orphans In Five Low- And Middle-Income Countries, Christine L. Gray, Brian W. Pence, Lynne C. Messer, Jan Ostermann, Rachel A. Whetten, Nathan M. Thielman, Karen O’Donnell, Kathryn Whetten

Faculty Publications

Background: Communities and nations seeking to foster social responsibility in their youth are interested in understanding factors that predict and promote youth involvement in public activities. Orphans and separated children (OSC) are a vulnerable population whose numbers are increasing, particularly in resource-poor settings. Understanding whether and how OSC are engaged in civic activities is important for community and world leaders who need to provide care for OSC and ensure their involvement in sustainable development.

Methods: The Positive Outcomes for Orphans study (POFO) is a multi-country, longitudinal cohort study of OSC randomly sampled from institution-based care and from family-based care, and …

Développement Préliminaire D’Une Règle De Prédiction Clinique Pour Dépister Les Patients Ayant Une Lombalgie Non Aiguë Répondant Favorablement À Un Programme D’Exercice De Stabilisation Lombaire, Christian Larivière, Marie-France Coutu, Sharon M. Henry, Richard Preuss, Dany Gagnon, Jean-Pierre Dumas, Michael J. L. Sullivan

Rapports de recherche scientifique

Les exercices physiques permettent de réduire la douleur et les incapacités chez les gens souffrant d’une lombalgie non aiguë (> 3-4 semaines), mais ces effets sont relativement limités. Pour rehausser l’efficacité de ce type d’intervention, nous devons déterminer pour quels patients chaque modalité d’exercice est la plus efficace (arrimage patient/intervention) et pour quelles raisons (mécanismes sous-jacents). Dans la présente recherche, nous nous intéressons aux exercices de stabilisation lombaire, une modalité active d’exercice gagnant en crédibilité et en popularité. Trois objectifs spécifiques ont été poursuivis : (1) initier le développement de règles de prédiction clinique (RPC) de succès et d’échec …

Mesure De L’Efficacité Des Gants De Protection Contre Les Nanoparticules Dans Des Conditions Simulant Leur Utilisation En Milieu De Travail, Ludwig Vinches, Mohamed Zemzem, Stéphane Hallé, Caroline Peyrot, Kevin J. Wilkinson, Nathalie Tufenkji

Rapports de recherche scientifique

L’emploi croissant des nanoparticules manufacturées dans l’industrie et les laboratoires conduit inévitablement à une augmentation de l’exposition des travailleurs aux nanomatériaux. Si en laboratoire les nanoparticules sont manipulées principalement dans des espaces confinés, il en est tout autrement dans les secteurs industriels de fabrication, de transformation et de manutention de ces produits. Dans ces circonstances, la stratégie de maîtrise des risques passe par le port d’équipements de protection adaptés. Bien que de nombreuses études aient été réalisées sur les équipements de protection respiratoire (masques jetables et intégraux), encore trop peu sont menées sur la …

Reproduction D'Environnements Sonores Industriels En Vue D’Applications Aux Études D’Audibilité Des Alarmes Et Autres Signaux : Preuve De Concept, Alain Berry, Philippe-Aubert Gauthier, Hugues Nélisse, Franck Sgard

Rapports de recherche scientifique

Les milieux industriels bruyants nuisent à l’audibilité des alarmes et avertisseurs sonores et compromettent donc la sécurité des travailleurs en présence de machineries en mouvement ou dangereuses.

Pourtant, dans plusieurs cas d’accident, les véhicules impliqués disposaient d'alarmes sonores de recul. On constate généralement que l’efficacité des alarmes sonores dépend de l’environnement sonore et qu’elles sont loin d’être infaillibles. La cause exacte est difficile à déterminer puisque la perception et la localisation sonores dans un environnement sonore complexe sont des phénomènes encore en grande partie mal connus et relativement peu étudiés. Même si des études de perception et de …

Testing Modeling Assumptions In The West Africa Ebola Outbreak, Matthew C. Ingram, Keith Burghardt, Christopher Verzijl, Junming Huang, Binyang Song, Marie-Pierre Hasne

Political Science Faculty Scholarship

The Ebola virus in West Africa has infected almost 30,000 and killed over 11,000 people. Recent models of Ebola Virus Disease (EVD) have often made assumptions about how the disease spreads, such as uniform transmissibility and homogeneous mixing within a population. In this paper, we test whether these assumptions are necessarily correct, and offer simple solutions that may improve disease model accuracy. First, we use data and models of West African migration to show that EVD does not homogeneously mix, but spreads in a predictable manner. Next, we estimate the initial growth rate of EVD within country administrative divisions and …

Global, Regional, And National Life Expectancy, All-Cause Mortality, And Cause-Specific Mortality For 249 Causes Of Death, 1980-2015: A Systematic Analysis For The Global Burden Of Disease Study 2015, H Wang, M Naghavi, M Coggeshall, L Dandona, D Dicker, Sahil Khera, M Tavakkoli, Gbd 2015 Mortality And Causes Of Death Collaborators

NYMC Faculty Publications

Background Improving survival and extending the longevity of life for all populations requires timely, robust evidence on local mortality levels and trends. The Global Burden of Disease 2015 Study (GBD 2015) provides a comprehensive assessment of all-cause and cause-specific mortality for 249 causes in 195 countries and territories from 1980 to 2015. These results informed an in-depth investigation of observed and expected mortality patterns based on sociodemographic measures. Methods We estimated all-cause mortality by age, sex, geography, and year using an improved analytical approach originally developed for GBD 2013 and GBD 2010. Improvements included refinements to the estimation of child …

Global, Regional, And National Incidence, Prevalence, And Years Lived With Disability For 310 Diseases And Injuries, 1990-2015: A Systematic Analysis For The Global Burden Of Disease Study 2015, T Vos, C Allen, M Arora, R Barber, Z Bhutta, A Brown, A Carter, D Casey, Sahil Khera, M Tavakkoli, Gbd 2015 Disease And Injury Incidence And Prevalence Collaborators

NYMC Faculty Publications

Background Non-fatal outcomes of disease and injury increasingly detract from the ability of the world's population to live in full health, a trend largely attributable to an epidemiological transition in many countries from causes affecting children, to non-communicable diseases (NCDs) more common in adults. For the Global Burden of Diseases, Injuries, and Risk Factors Study 2015 (GBD 2015), we estimated the incidence, prevalence, and years lived with disability for diseases and injuries at the global, regional, and national scale over the period of 1990 to 2015. Methods We estimated incidence and prevalence by age, sex, cause, year, and geography with …

Assessing Feasibility And Readiness To Address Obesity Through Policy In American Indian Reservations, Valarie Blue Bird Jernigan, Gail Boe, Carolyn Noonan, Leslie Carroll, Dedra Buchwald

Journal of Health Disparities Research and Practice

The Institute of Medicine and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) have identified policy and environmental strategies as critical to the prevention and control of obesity. However such strategies are rare in American Indian communities despite significant obesity-related disparities. Tribal policymaking processes differ by tribal nation and are often poorly understood by researchers and public health practitioners, hindering the dissemination, implementation, and successful scale-up of evidence-base obesity strategies in tribal communities. To address these gaps in knowledge we surveyed 138 diverse stakeholders in two American Indian reservations to assess the feasibility of and readiness to implement CDC-recommended obesity policy …

An Examination Of Cultural Competence Training In Us Medical Education Guided By The Tool For Assessing Cultural Competence Training, Valarie Blue Bird Jernigan

Journal of Health Disparities Research and Practice

In the United States, medical students must demonstrate a standard level of “cultural competence,” upon graduation. Cultural competence is most often defined as a set of congruent behaviors, attitudes, and policies that come together in systems, organizations, and among professionals to enable effective work in cross-cultural situations. The Association of American Medical Colleges developed the Tool for Assessing Cultural Competence Training (TACCT) to assist schools in developing and evaluating cultural competence curricula to meet these requirements. This review uses the TACCT as a guideline to describe and assess pedagogical approaches to cultural competence training in US medical education and identify …

Women’S Experiences With Prenatal Care: A Mixed-Methods Study Exploring The Influence Of The Social Determinants Of Health, Karen A. D'Angelo, Janelle K. Bryan, Brenda Kurz

Journal of Health Disparities Research and Practice

Background & Purpose: Racial and ethnic disparities pervade birth outcomes in the United States and the state of Connecticut. While Connecticut’s infant mortality rate is less than the national average, rates for the state’s Black/African American and Hispanic/Latino communities exceed it. This study explored how prenatal care in Connecticut may be enhanced to address these disparities.

Methods: In spring 2013, seven focus groups and two semi-structured interviews were conducted (n=47). Participants also self-administered brief surveys. Recruited by local service providers, participants were 18 or older, pregnant and/or in the first year post-partum at the time. Most self-identified as …

Recruiting And Retaining Individuals With Serious Mental Illness And Diabetes In Clinical Research: Lessons Learned From A Randomized, Controlled Trial., Stephanie W. Kanuch M.Ed., Kristin A. Cassidy Ma, Neal Dawson Md, Melanie Athey Ms, Edna Fuentes-Casiano Mssw, Martha Sajatovic Md

Journal of Health Disparities Research and Practice

Abstract: Recruitment and retention of individuals with serious mental illness (SMI) and comorbid diabetes mellitus (DM) in research studies can be challenging with major impediments being difficulties reaching participants via telephone contact, logistic difficulties due to lack of transportation, ongoing psychiatric symptoms, and significant medical complications. Research staff directly involved in recruitment and retention processes of this study reviewed their experiences. The largest barriers at the macro, mediator, and micro levels identified in this study were inclement weather, transportation difficulties, and intermittent and inaccessible telephone contact. Barrier work-around practices included using the health system’s EHR to obtain current phone numbers, …

Reducing Disparities By Way Of A Cancer Disparities Research Training Program, Lee S. Caplan, Tabia H. Akintobi, Tandeca K. Gordon, Tiffany Zellner, Selina A. Smith, Daniel S. Blumenthal

Journal of Health Disparities Research and Practice

Background: For minority populations, there is a continuing disparity in the burden of death and illness from cancer. Research to address this disparity should be conducted by investigators who can best understand and address the needs of culturally diverse communities. However, minorities are under-represented in health-related research. The goal of this project was to develop and evaluate an approach to motivating and preparing master’s degree students for careers dedicated to cancer disparities research.

Method: A Cancer Disparities Research Training Program (CDRTP) was initiated in 2010. The program consists of coursework, practicum experiences, and research opportunities. Assessment of the curriculum is …

Acceptability And Feasibility Of Web-Based Diabetes Instruction For Latinos With Limited Education And Computer Experience, Sharon A. Fitzgerald, Victor E. Martinez-Zavala, Kenia Yazmin Reyna Blanco, A Paula Cupertino, Mugur V. Geana, Edward F. Ellerbeck

Journal of Health Disparities Research and Practice

Introduction: The internet offers an important avenue for developing diabetes self-management skills, but many Latinos have limited experience with computer-based instruction.

Objective: To evaluate the feasibility and acceptability of delivering a web-based diabetes education program in a computer classroom for Spanish-speaking Latinos.

Methods: Spanish-speaking Latinos (n=26) attended two classroom sessions to learn computer skills while navigating a web-based diabetes education platform. Diabetes knowledge was assessed before and after the intervention; structured interviews were completed to assess program acceptability.

Results: Half of participants (50%) had not previously used a computer. Post-intervention, diabetes knowledge improved significantly (p=.001). The majority of participants (86%) …

Building Community-Campus Partnerships To Prevent Infant Mortality: Lessons Learned From Building Capacity In Four Us Cities, Renata Schiavo, Isabel Estrada-Portales, Elena Hoeppner, Denisse Ormaza, Radhika Ramesh

Journal of Health Disparities Research and Practice

Infant mortality rate (IMR) is an important indicator of progress toward health equity and socio-economic development. Despite progress, the US is ranked 45th among 192 countries in IMR, with non-Hispanic black IMR 2.2 times that of non-Hispanic white rates, and higher than average IMR in Native American populations. The Preconception Peer Educators (PPE) program of the U.S. DHHS Office of Minority Health Resource Center (OMHRC) aims to raise awareness about IMR disparities in African Americans, and to promote preconception health behaviors among women of childbearing age and sexually active men. Building upon this program, this report focuses on lessons learned …

Depression Symptoms , Acculturation, Needing Care, And Receiving Care: A Study Of Adolescents Living In California, Shahrzad Bazargan-Hejazi, Mohsen Bazargan, Magda Shaheen, Senait Teklehaimnot, Alireza Ahmadi, Joan Cooper, Stacey Teruya

Journal of Health Disparities Research and Practice

Background: The objectives of this study are 1) to depict the prevalence of moderate depressive symptoms (MDS) in adolescents living in California, 2) to examine the role of acculturation in reported MDS, and 3) to identify any relationship between acculturation, “needing emotional help,” and “receiving psychological or emotional counseling,” as reported by adolescents with MDS. Methods: We analyzed data from a cross-sectional population-based telephone survey for adolescents who completed the California Health Interview Survey (CHIS) in 2007, 2009, and 2011-2012. The primary predictor variable was level of acculturation. Outcome variables were 1) the presence of MDS, 2) whether participants needed …

Healthcare Providers’ Perceptions Of Socioeconomically Disadvantaged Patients With Chronic Pain: A Qualitative Investigation, Nicole A. Hollingshead, Marianne S. Matthias, Matthew Bair, Adam T. Hirsh

Journal of Health Disparities Research and Practice

Socioeconomically disadvantaged individuals are at-risk for chronic pain and disparate care. In this qualitative study, we explored providers’ experiences with socioeconomically disadvantaged patients, with a particular focus on providers’: (1) perceptions of socioeconomically disadvantaged patients’ barriers to pain care, (2) attitudes towards this patient population, and (3) chronic pain decisions for these patients. Individual interviews were conducted with twenty-four healthcare providers. Providers discussed several patient-level access barriers, such as not having health insurance, financial constraints, and scheduling difficulties. Providers believed socioeconomically disadvantaged patients were at-risk to misuse prescription opioids and were less comfortable prescribing opioids to these patients. This investigation …