Public Health Commons^™

Creating Integrated Strategies For Increasing Access To Healthy Affordable Food In Urban Communities: A Case Study Of Intersecting Food Initiatives, Michele Silver, Afia Bediako, Tracey Capers, Aysu Kirac, Nicholas Freudenberg

Publications and Research

In New York and other cities, substantial evidence documents that community food environments interact with inequitable allocation of power, wealth and services to shape the distribution of diet-related diseases and food insecurity. This case study shows how one Central Brooklyn community organization, Bedford Stuyvesant Restoration Corporation, has launched multiple coordinated food initiatives in order to reduce the burden of food-related health problems and boost community development. The report used standard case study methods to document the implementation of the New York City Food and Fitness Partnership in Central Brooklyn. The case study shows how two distinct strands of activities, a …

Component Analysis Of The Readiness For Interprofessional Learning Scale (Ripls) In A Graduate And Professional Educational Context, W. D. Rich, D. R. Tillman, M. L. Adams

Public Health

No abstract provided.

Knowledge Level And Perceptions Of Pharmacists And Prescribers Regarding Boxed Warnings, M. Adams, V. Clinard, W. D. Rich

Public Health

No abstract provided.

Component Analysis Of The Readiness For Interprofessional Learning Scale (Ripls) In A Graduate And Professional Educational Context, W. Rich, D. R. Tillman, M. Adams

Public Health

No abstract provided.

Obstacles To Preventing Obesity In Children Aged 2 To 5 Years: Latino Mothers’ And Fathers’ Experiences And Perceptions Of Their Urban Environments, Carlos Penilla, Jeanne M. Tschann, Emma V. Sanchez-Vaznaugh, Elena Flores, Emily J. Ozer

School of Education Faculty Research

Background

The prevalence of obesity among Latino children is alarmingly high, when compared to non-Latino White children. Low-income Latino parents living in urban areas, even if they are well-educated, face obstacles that shape familial health behaviors. This study used qualitative methods to explore parents’ experiences in providing meals and opportunities to play to their children aged 2 to 5 years. In contrast to most prior studies, this study examined perceptions of familial behaviors among both mothers and fathers.

Methods

An ecological framework for exploring the associations of parental feeding behaviors and children’s weight informed this study. An interview guide was …

Lead Poisoning In Scott County: Seeking Advice From Their “Sister City", Caitlin Slone, Palisha Ranjit, Elizabeth Farwell, Rachel Haecherl, Christine Golaszewski

2016-2017: Scott County, Iowa and the Scott County Health Department

No abstract provided.

Marshalltown - Marshall County, Iowa, Emily Anderson, Emma Nordmeyer, Kaitlyn Cline, Moira Dunn, Olivia Mayer, Teresa Ramont

2016-2017: Scott County, Iowa and the Scott County Health Department

No abstract provided.

Reassessing Visual Assessment Techniques In Lead Project For Scott County, Hannah Lindaman

2016-2017: Scott County, Iowa and the Scott County Health Department

The Upper Mississippi Center has been working closely with Scott County Health Department on a two-year project addressing the stunningly high rates of lead poisoning in parts of Scott County, Iowa. This formal report correlates visual characteristics with the risk-category of lead poisoning in specific parcels in Scott County. Data was collected from the pilot survey in the winter of 2016 and used to run tests using SPSS to find relationships between the visual characteristics that were assessed and the risk-category of the parcel. This report aims to address the fact that the standard for residential visual assessment has a …

Black Hawk County’S Approach To Lead Poisoning, Ashley Comeau, Taylor Campbell, Nathan Ambrose, Travis Pulse

2016-2017: Scott County, Iowa and the Scott County Health Department

Scott County, IA is facing a community lead poisoning problem, much like other counties in the state. One of these are Black Hawk County, northwest of Scott. Black Hawk County approached the lead poisoning problem by partnering with organizations including the University of Northern Iowa, the Iowa Poison Control Center, and a multitude of medical groups. Funding, procedures for action, and education were also factors in assessing the lead problem. Black Hawk County’s number of lead poisonings decreased after approaching the problem, while Scott County’s problem worsened. By using similar methods, we hope that Scott County's lead problem will also …

Lead Poisoning In Linn County & Cedar Rapids, Ia, Sydney Fedor, Lexys Magadan, Shannon Okland, Morghan Smith, Anna Willems

2016-2017: Scott County, Iowa and the Scott County Health Department

No abstract provided.

Exploring Alternative Funding Methods For The Lead Remediation Program In Scott County, Iowa, Brittany A. Poynor, Layne Porembski, Arielle Bloemer, Brandon Schattner, Sarah Hanson

2016-2017: Scott County, Iowa and the Scott County Health Department

For this project, five students worked to put together five alternative funding solutions for the Scott County Health Department's lead remediation program. With limited government grants available, the health department is now considering local funding in order to address the issue of lead poisoning in Davenport, Iowa. These reports, along with other SWLI research, provide valuable information and are the foundation of the up-and-coming remediation program for the county.

The Lead Poisoning Problem In Polk County And Des Moines, Ia, Ami Leichsenring, Naomi Castro, Vanessa Dominguez, Samantha G. De Forest-Davis, Keila Saucedo

2016-2017: Scott County, Iowa and the Scott County Health Department

No abstract provided.

Lead Poisoning: A Guide For Homeowners, Brenna Whisler, Tracy Ngo

2016-2017: Scott County, Iowa and the Scott County Health Department

No abstract provided.

How Do Communities Proactively Address Lead Remediation? : Community Case Studies From Iowa, Dr. Angie L. Carter, Emma Nordmeyer

2016-2017: Scott County, Iowa and the Scott County Health Department

In 2016, Scott County Health Department officials reached out to the Sustainable Working Landscapes Initiative (SWLI) program at Augustana College to begin a partnership addressing lead poisoning in our community. Teams of students in the Fall 2016 Contemporary Social Issues class conducted sociological case studies of communities in Iowa that are proactively addressing lead remediation through combinations of United States Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and private funding. Groups of students conducted case studies in Dubuque, Linn, Polk, Marshall, and Black Hawk counties in Iowa. Students researched the demographics of these areas as well as successes, lessons learned, …

Exploring Alternative Funding Methods For The Lead Remediation Program In Scott County, Iowa, Dr. John Delaney, Brittany A. Poynor

2016-2017: Scott County, Iowa and the Scott County Health Department

Lead poisoning is an environmental as well as social problem. Areas with more older housing and higher rates of poverty are also the areas with the most lead poisoned children. Though the United States banned the use of lead paint in in 1978 and lead poisoning is preventable, lead poisoning remains a public health problem. Homes built before 1978 may pose risk of lead paint exposure, but of special concern to Scott County are the number of homes built before 1950.

Scott County, Iowa is home to some of the oldest housing units in the U.S. Iowa ranks fifth among …

Fighting Lead Poisoning With Food, Brenna Whisler, Tracy Ngo

2016-2017: Scott County, Iowa and the Scott County Health Department

No abstract provided.

Implementation Science To Accelerate Clean Cooking For Public Health., Joshua Rosenthal, Kalpana Balakrishnan, Nigel Bruce, David Chambers, Jay Graham, Darby Jack, Lydia Kline, Omar Masera, Sumi Mehta, Ilse Ruiz Mercado, Gila Neta, Subhrendu Pattanayak, Elisa Puzzolo, Helen Petach, Antonello Punturieri, Adolfo Rubinstein, Michael Sage, Rachel Sturke, Anita Shankar, Kenny Sherr, Kirk Smith, Gautam Yadama

Environmental and Occupational Health Faculty Publications

Clean cooking has emerged as a major concern for global health and development because of the enormous burden of disease caused by traditional cookstoves and fires. The World Health Organization has developed new indoor air quality guidelines that few homes will be able to achieve without replacing traditional methods with modern clean cooking technologies, including fuels and stoves. However, decades of experience with improved stove programs indicate that the challenge of modernizing cooking in impoverished communities includes a complex, multi-sectoral set of problems that require implementation research. The National Institutes of Health, in partnership with several government agencies and the …

Monthly Food Insecurity Assessment In Rural Mkushi District, Zambia: A Longitudinal Analysis, Muzi Na, Bess Caswell, Sameera A Talegawkar, Amanda C Palmer

Global Health Faculty Publications

Background

Perception-based scales are widely used for household food insecurity (HFI) assessment but were only recently added in national surveys. The frequency of assessments needed to characterize dynamics in HFI over time is largely unknown. The study aims to examine longitudinal changes in monthly reported HFI at both population- and household-level.

Methods

A total of 157 households in rural Mkushi District whose children were enrolled in the non-intervened arm of an efficacy trial of biofortified maize were included in the analysis. HFI was assessed by a validated 8-item perception-based Likert scale on a monthly basis from October 2012 to March …

Febrile Rhinovirus Illness During Pregnancy Is Associated With Low Birth Weight In Nepal., Erin K Philpott, Janet A Englund, Joanne Katz, James Tielsch, Subarna Khatry, Stephen C Leclerq, Laxman Shrestha, Jane Kuypers, Amalia S Magaret, Mark C Steinhoff, Helen Y Chu

Global Health Faculty Publications

BACKGROUND: Adverse birth outcomes, including low birth weight (LBW), defined as <2500 >grams, small-for-gestational-age (SGA), and prematurity, contribute to 60%-80% of infant mortality worldwide and may be related to infections during pregnancy. The aim of this study was to assess whether febrile human rhinovirus (HRV) illness is associated with adverse birth outcomes.

METHODS: Active household-based weekly surveillance was performed for respiratory illness episodes in pregnant women as part of a community-based, prospective, randomized trial of maternal influenza immunization in rural Nepal. Rhinovirus (HRV) febrile illness episodes were defined as fever plus cough, sore throat, runny nose, and/or myalgia with HRV detected …

State-Level Immunization Information Systems: Potential For Childhood Immunization Data Linkages., Jill E. Fuller, Emmanuel B. Walter Jr., Nancy Dole, Richard O'Hara, Amy H. Herring, Maureen S. Durkin, Bonny Specker, Betty Wey

Ethel Austin Martin Program Publications

Objectives Sources of immunization data include state registries or immunization information systems (IIS), medical records, and surveys. Little is known about the quality of these data sources or the feasibility of using IIS data for research. We assessed the feasibility of collecting immunization information for a national children's health study by accessing existing IIS data and comparing the completeness of these data against medical record abstractions (MRA) and parent report. Staff time needed to obtain IIS and MRA data was assessed. Methods We administered a questionnaire to state-level IIS representatives to ascertain availability and completeness of their data for research …

Gender Differences In Hiv Care Among Criminal Justice-Involved Persons: Baseline Data From The Care+ Corrections Study., Curt Beckwith, Breana Uhrig Castonguay, Claudia Trezza, Lauri Bazerman, Rudy Patrick, Alice Cates, Halli Olsen, Ann Kurth, Tao Liu, James Peterson, Irene Kuo

Epidemiology Faculty Publications

BACKGROUND: HIV-infected individuals recently released from incarceration have suboptimal linkage and engagement in community HIV care. We conducted a study to evaluate an information and communication technology intervention to increase linkage to community care among HIV-infected persons recently involved in the criminal justice (CJ) system. Baseline characteristics including risk behaviors and HIV care indicators are reported and stratified by gender.

METHODS: We recruited HIV-infected individuals in the District of Columbia jail and persons with a recent history of incarceration through community and street outreach. Participants completed a baseline computer-assisted personal interview regarding HIV care and antiretroviral treatment (ART) adherence, substance …

Health Reform Repeal Could Cause 3 Million People To Lose Jobs And Trigger Broad Economic Disruption, Leighton Ku, Erika Steinmetz, Erin Brantley, Brian K. Bruen

Geiger Gibson/RCHN Community Health Foundation Research Collaborative

Issue: The incoming Trump administration and Republicans in Congress are seeking to repeal the Affordable Care Act (ACA), likely beginning with the law’s insurance premium tax credits and expansion of Medicaid eligibility. Research shows that the loss of these two provisions would lead to a doubling of the number of uninsured, higher uncompensated care costs for providers, and higher taxes for low-income Americans.

Goal: To determine the state-by-state effect of repeal on employment and economic activity.

Methods: A multistate economic forecasting model (PI+ from Regional Economic Models, Inc.) was used to quantify for each state the effects of the federal …

Community Health Centers: Recent Growth And The Role Of The Aca, Sara Rosenbaum, Julia Paradise, Anne Rossier Markus, Jessica Sharac, Chi Tran, David Reynolds, Peter Shin

Geiger Gibson/RCHN Community Health Foundation Research Collaborative

Community health centers are the nation’s largest source of comprehensive primary care for medically underserved communities and populations. Under the Affordable Care Act (ACA), increased patient revenues due to the expansion of Medicaid and private health insurance, along with substantially increased direct federal investment in the program, have led to growth in the number of health centers and their capacity to provide services. This brief draws on 2015 federal data on health centers and our 2016 Survey of Health Centers’ Experiences and Activities under the Affordable Care Act to provide a snapshot of health centers and their patients, analyze recent …

Use Of National Standards To Monitor Hiv Care And Treatment In A High Prevalence City-Washington, Dc., Amanda D Castel, Arpi Terzian, Rachel Hart, Nabil Rayeed, Mariah M Kalmin, Heather Young, Alan E Greenberg

Epidemiology Faculty Publications

We sought to benchmark the quality of HIV care being received by persons living with HIV in care in Washington, DC and identify individual-level and structural-level differences. Data from the DC Cohort, an observational HIV cohort of persons receiving outpatient care in DC, were used to estimate the Institute of Medicine (IOM) and Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) quality of care measures. Differences in care by demographics and clinic type were assessed using χ2 tests and multivariable regression models. Among 8,047 participants, by HHS standards, 69% of participants were retained in care (RIC), 95% were prescribed antiretroviral therapy …

Fusion, 2017, George Washington University, William H. Beaumont Medical Research Honor Society

Fusion

No abstract provided.

Influence Of Pharmaceutical Marketing On Medicare Prescriptions In The District Of Columbia., Susan F Wood, Joanna Podrasky, Meghan A Mcmonagle, Janani Raveendran, Tyler Bysshe, Alycia Hogenmiller, Adriane Fugh-Berman

Health Policy and Management Faculty Publications

Importance

Gifts from pharmaceutical companies are believed to influence prescribing behavior, but few studies have addressed the association between industry gifts to physicians and drug costs, prescription volume, or preference for generic drugs. Even less research addresses the effect of gifts on the prescribing behavior of nurse practitioners (NPs), physician assistants (PAs), and podiatrists.

Objective

To analyze the association between gifts provided by pharmaceutical companies to individual prescribers in Washington DC and the number of prescriptions, cost of prescriptions, and proportion of branded prescriptions for each prescriber.

Design

Gifts data from the District of Columbia’s (DC) AccessRx program and the …

Multimorbidity: Constellations Of Conditions Across Subgroups Of Midlife And Older Individuals, And Related Medicare Expenditures, Siran Koroukian, Nicholas Schiltz, David Warner, Jiayang Sun, Kurt Strange, Charles Given, Avi Dor

Health Policy and Management Faculty Publications

Introduction:

The Department of Health and Human Services’ 2010 Strategic Framework on Multiple Chronic Conditions called for the identification of common constellations of conditions in older adults.

Objectives:

To analyze patterns of conditions constituting multimorbidity (CCMM) and expenditures in a US representative sample of midlife and older adults (50–64 and ≥65 years of age, respectively).

Design:

A cross-sectional study of the 2010 Health and Retirement Study (HRS; n=17,912). The following measures were used: (1) count and combinations of CCMM, including (i) chronic conditions (hypertension, arthritis, heart disease, lung disease, stroke, diabetes, cancer, and psychiatric conditions), (ii) functional limitations (upper …

Trinidad & Tobago : Hiv Epidemic, Madison Caldwell

Global Public Health

Trinidad and Tobago are twin islands located in the Caribbean off the coast of Venezuela. In the recent years since about 1990, citizens of this country have been greatly affected by the HIV epidemic. HIV stands for human immunodeficiency virus and is spread through infected seman, blood, or vaginal fluids usually through sexual intercourse. As this virus continues to progress in the body, it will eventually turn into AIDS, which stands for acquired immunodeficiency syndrome. Once HIV progresses to AIDS, the outcome is ultimately fatal, hence why there is a dire need to promote awareness and methods of intervention to …

Kuwait : Obesity, Sabrina Difiori

Global Public Health

The country of Kuwait is known for their extremely high prevalence of obesity. It is a major public health issue for people of both genders. For men, the prevalence for obesity is 36 percent and 48 percent for women. A type of intervention that is often used to fix this problem is stomach stapling: the process of making the stomach smaller to reduce the amount of food intake. If children can start becoming more educated about this issue early on in their lifetime, the prevalence of obesity might not be so high in years to come.

Malta : Natural Freshwater Resources, Lisamarie Pereira

Global Public Health

The aim of this paper is to discuss Malta’s struggle with limited natural freshwater resources. Malta currently uses aquifers to obtain natural freshwater. For over a decade, aquifers have been under pressure from over-abstraction. Due to this issue, Malta has not been able to obtain enough natural freshwater for agriculture and basic living. The biggest risk due to over-abstraction is retrieving a smaller volume of freshwater. In Malta’s attempted interventions, the biggest issue is the Maltese government’s misconceptions. The Maltese government believes the country has unlimited natural freshwater resources. Due to this misconception, nothing is being done to actively fix …