Public Health Commons^™

Hour-Level Resolution On Consumption Pattern Of Substance Abuse, Jarrett Mauk, Rhiannon Huffines, Brittney Nelson, Tara Croft, Bikram Subedi

Scholars Week

Conventional survey-based approaches of determining the consumption statistics of drugs in communities are suffered from non-response biases, and typically underestimate the actual consumption. Time and cost-intensive conventional approaches, therefore, can’t be utilized to determine high-resolution temporal variability in drug consumption. In this study, the temporal trend of consumption of 10 illicit and 26 prescribed neuropsychiatric drugs was determined at hour-level resolution utilizing wastewater-based epidemiology. The hourly composite raw wastewater (every 10 minutes) samples were collected for three consecutive days in a typical week (total of 72 samples), analyzed for target drug residues using UPLC-MS/MS, and back-calculated the consumption rate of …

Assessment Of Trends In Population-Based Health Indicators In The Great Plain States, Jessica Pahwa, Shinobu Watanabe-Galloway

Posters and Presentations: College of Public Health

Purpose/Objective: The objective of this study is to analyze the geographic trends and to highlight the importance of social and geographic based health disparities using population health indicators and Health determinants among the great plains states (Nebraska, North Dakota and South Dakota).

Methods/efforts: Online databases (CDC, BRFSS, America’s Health Rankings, SAMHSA, County health rankings etc) were accessed to collect data population-based data for the great plains states. The incident rates of 10 health indicators and health determinants were chosen and studied. After tabulating the data in excel, the analysis was made through plotting graphs in SAS. Line graphs depicting the …

A Retrospective Study Of The Opioid Epidemic And Fentanyl Related Overdose Fatality Cases In A Florida West Coast Medical Examiner District Population, Anne Terese Powell

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Opioids are scheduled by the propensity for misuse and abuse with a high rate of dependency and risk of fatal overdose. Opioids can be divided into different classes, including, natural, synthetic, and semi-synthetic. Opiates are naturally occurring and come directly from the opium poppy plant; whereas the semi synthetics opioids are chemical modifications of the poppy plant. Synthetic opioids attach to the opioid receptor but contain no part of the poppy plant. The increased variety and frequency in opioid prescriptions contributed to an opioid epidemic in the United States which is still on going.

According to the CDC, the opioid …

Dohad And The Latina Paradox, Chelsea Peterson, Kellie Pertl, Lulu Gonzalez, Molly Sax

OHSU-PSU School of Public Health Annual Conference

The Latina Paradox is the observation that Latina mothers in the United States have better than expected birth outcomes despite lower socioeconomic status and higher prevalence of risk factors. The Latina Paradox is particularly prominent among women born in Mexico that immigrate to the U.S. prior to having children. Mexican-born women who give birth in the U. S. experience fewer incidences of low birth weight than White women born in the U. S. Various factors are responsible for the Latina Paradox, including social and cultural support in maternity, traditional diet, and immigration of healthier than average women to the U.S. …

Quantifying The Invisible: A Literature Review And History Of Research On The Health Effects Of Wildfire Smoke, Lily A. Cook Ma

OHSU-PSU School of Public Health Annual Conference

The objective of this scoping review is to provide an overview of issues affecting the results of studies on the health effects of non-occupational wildfire exposure. Although it is well established that wildfire smoke is harmful to people with chronic respiratory conditions, research on other health impacts have often found inconsistent results or small effect sizes. These results are often misinterpreted to mean that wildfire smoke has a negligible effect on non-respiratory outcomes such as cardiovascular health or mortality. However, what these results actually reflect is the complexity of determining public exposure to wildfire smoke, as well as variations in …

A Data Collection Program For Reducing Ipv In Lgbtq+ Communities, Alexandra Michel, Nicholas Cheke, Lourdes Gonzalez, Rachel Greim

OHSU-PSU School of Public Health Annual Conference

Sexual and gender minority populations are not currently being accurately tracked or counted in most domestic violence (DV) and intimate partner violence (IPV) surveillance programs in Oregon. However, research indicates that LGBTQ+ populations experience IPV at rates comparable or even higher than heterosexual populations. Additionally, distrust of law enforcement and services designed around heterosexual experiences of IPV further reduce the ability of LGBTQ+ populations, particularly transgender women, to access IPV services. We propose that through the use of a PRECEED-PROCEED model, a program could be developed to more accurately collect sexual orientation and gender identity data by IPV service providers …

Take Control: A Proposed Mental Health Treatment Program To Be Implemented In Youth Correctional Facilities Around Oregon Based On The Evidence-Based Target Program, Zoey S. Rochefort

OHSU-PSU School of Public Health Annual Conference

70% of youth in state and local juvenile justice systems exhibit symptoms of one or more mental health disorders and are not receiving adequate treatment. Currently, in Oregon, there is no mental health-screening requirement for youth admitted into detention centers or correctional facilities. Though this doesn’t mean kids never get diagnosed, it does mean there is a large delay in time before treatment begins where they could be receiving care. The Take Control program is working to mitigate wasted time and improve mental health treatment for youth inmates through a seven-step treatment program that provides youth with steps and strategies …

Validity Of An Atopic Dermatitis Outcome Measure For Real-World Clinical Practice, Christina Topham, Dylan Haynes, Molly Brazil, Eric Simpson

OHSU-PSU School of Public Health Annual Conference

Introduction: Atopic dermatitis (AD) is the most common chronic inflammatory skin disease in the United States. AD is associated with reduced quality of life and substantial financial costs, making it burdensome at an individual and population level. Disease severity outcome measures are validated tools to assess severity and therapeutic response. Recent consensus statements have identified gold-standard outcome measures for AD in clinical trials, but further work is needed evaluating outcome measures feasible for clinical practice.

Objective: To investigate the validity and feasibility of the product of investigator global assessment and body surface area (IGA x BSA) as an outcome measure …

Study Of Physical Literacy And Physical Fitness In School Children, Natalie T. Pexton

OHSU-PSU School of Public Health Annual Conference

Background: Currently there is no standard physical education (P.E.) assessment for tracking students’ progress across the state. As a result, there is little data on the physical literacy and physical fitness of school children which are essential to lifelong physical activity.

Physical Literacy is the confidence, knowledge, and ability to execute fundamental movement skills like hopping, throwing, and kicking.

Cardiorespiratory fitness is a measure of the stamina and capacity to perform aerobic exercise.

Objective: To test the “PlayFun” physical literacy and “Pacer” cardiorespiratory fitness tests with Portland Public School students.

Methods:

Setting: Two Portland Public School district elementary …

Preventing Infectious Hematopoietic Necrosis In Salmonid Fish Along The Columbia River Basin, Whitney L. Wright

OHSU-PSU School of Public Health Annual Conference

Infectious hematopoietic necrosis virus (IHNV) is a member of the Rhabdoviridae family and causes infectious hematopoietic necrosis (IHN) disease in many salmonid species during the juvenile or “fry” stage of life. IHNV is endemic to Western North America and occurs in the Columbia River Basin, where Steelhead and Chinook salmon are the most abundant IHNV-vulnerable species. IHNV can cause an epidemic in wild or farmed stocks, killing 90-95 percent of the fish it infects. Transmission is currently understood to occur by direct exposure through the gills, and the virus is shed typically from asymptomatic or clinically ill carrier adults at …

Impact Of Medicaid Coverage Expansion Under The Affordable Care Act On Mammography And Pap Tests Utilization Among Low-Income Women, Abeer G. Alharbi, M. Mahmud Khan, Ronnie Horner, Heather M. Brandt, Cole Garrett Chapman

Faculty Publications

Introduction The Affordable Care Act (ACA) expanded the coverage of Medicaid to include entire population with income below 138% of federal poverty line. It remains unclear whether this policy change has improved access to and utilization of health care, particularly use of mammography and Pap tests among poor women.

Methods We used a difference-in-difference (DID) design to estimate the impact of Medicaid expansion on mammography and Pap tests utilization among low-income women. Expansion states are the treatment group and non-expansion states are the control group. The years 2012–13 are the pre-expansion period and 2015–16 are the post-expansion period for the …

Impact Of Removing Cost Sharing Under The Affordable Care Act (Aca) On Mammography And Pap Test Use, Abeer Alharbi, M. Mahmud Khan, Ronnie Horner, Heather M. Brandt, Cole Garrett Chapman

Faculty Publications

Background The Affordable Care Act (ACA) required private insurers and Medicare to cover recommended preventive services without any cost sharing to improve utilization of these services. This study is an attempt to identify the impact of removing cost sharing on mammography and pap test utilization rates.

Methods Counterfactual analysis was used to predict what would have been the screening rates in post-ACA if ACA was not there. This was done by estimating a model that examines determinants of dependent variable for the pre-ACA year (pre-ACA year is 2009). The estimated model was then used to predict the dependent variable for …

Two-Stage Optimal Designs With Survival Endpoint When The Follow-Up Time Is Restricted, Guogen Shan, Hua Zhang

School of Public Health Faculty Research

Background: Survival endpoint is frequently used in early phase clinical trials as the primary endpoint to assess the activity of a new treatment. Existing two-stage optimal designs with survival endpoint either over estimate the sample size or compute power outside the alternative hypothesis space. Methods: We propose a new single-arm two-stage optimal design with survival endpoint by using the one-sample log rank test based on exact variance estimates. This proposed design with survival endpoint is analogous to Simon’s two-stage design with binary endpoint, having restricted follow-up. Results: We compare the proposed design with the existing two-stage designs, including the two-stage …

Creating Oral Health Awareness: Happy Teeth Make Healthy Teeth, Roseanna M. Torres, Dirien Santos, Tatyana Aksaeva, Hanna Jo, Nastassia Liaushun, Anty Lam

Publications and Research

No abstract provided.

Evaluation Of A Tennessee Statewide Initiative To Reduce Early Elective Deliveries Using Quasi-Experimental Methods, Michael P. Thompson, Ilana Graetz, Caitlin N. Mckillop, Peter H. Grubb, Teresa M. Waters

Health Management and Policy Faculty Publications

Background: Concerted quality improvement (QI) efforts have been taken to discourage the practice of early elective deliveries (EEDs), but few studies have robustly examined the impact of directed QI interventions in reducing EED practices. Using quasi-experimental methods, we sought to evaluate the impact of a statewide QI intervention to reduce the practice of EEDs.

Methods: Retrospective cohort study of vital records data (2007 to 2013) for all singleton births occurring ≥36 weeks in 66 Tennessee hospitals grouped into three QI cohorts. We used interrupted-time series to estimate the effect of the QI intervention on the likelihood of an EED birth …

An Apple A Day Keeps Diabetes At Bay: Incentivizing Participation In Diabetes Self-Management Education With Fruit & Vegetable Vouchers, Angie Mejia, Mary Katherine A. Schutt, Shannon M. Monnat

Population Health Research Brief Series

Diabetes is an urgent public health problem in the U.S., with 30.3 million people currently diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes. This research brief describes the results of a 12-month, diabetes self-management education and fruit and vegetable purchase assistance intervention designed to improve diabetes self-management knowledge and health outcomes among adults diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes. Findings suggest that small incentives for fruit and vegetable purchases are associated with higher educational program attendance, increased fruit and vegetable consumption, and decreased weight and blood sugar among low-income adults with Type 2 diabetes.

Effects Of Medications With Anticholinergic Properties And Opioids On Cognitive Function And Neural Volumetric Changes In Elderly Australians, Malinee Neelamegam

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Introduction: Multiple comorbidities are common among older adults. Pharmaceutical interventions are the most common form of medical management of the multiple health conditions that the older adult population faces. Almost 90% of adults aged 65 years and above take at least one prescription medication. Polypharmacy (5 medication or more) occurs with 50% of the older adult population. Most medications used to treat common ailments affecting the geriatric population have anticholinergic properties. These medications are known to cause a range of side effects from peripheral effects to central nervous system effects. These adverse effects are of particular concern in the older …

Induction Of Lipid Bodies In Leishmania Infantum-Infected C57bl/6 Macrophages Of Male Versus Female Origin, Victor A. Soupene, Ryan D. Lockard, Mary E. Wilson, Nilda E. Rodriguez

Research in the Capitol

Worldwide, 12 million people are infected with Leishmania spp. parasites. Leishmania are transmitted by the bite of sand flies. The parasite is internalized by immune cells where they develop, reproduce, and spread to new immune cells causing disease. Epidemiological studies have shown that males are more likely to develop disease. We recently demonstrated that Leishmania infantum survive better in immune cells of male origin than in cells derived from females. We also showed that L. infantum infection is characterized by fat accumulation. Additional experiments have shown that infected immune cells from males accumulate more fat than cells from females. We …

Measuring Emotional Response To A Planting Activity For Staff At An Urban Office Setting: A Pilot Study, Amy E. Wagenfeld, Sandra Schefkind, Nancy Hock

The Open Journal of Occupational Therapy

Background: Interaction with occupation-centered activities, such as gardening, is associated with improved mental health. With limited evidence supporting the effects of short-term nature-based interventions on employees’ emotional states, the purpose of this research was to understand the impact of a one-time, short-term nature-based intervention on the emotional state of employees at an urban office building.

Method: This pretest/posttest design study used a visual analogue emoticon assessment tool, the Interaction with Nature scale, to measure differences in the participants’ emotional states before and after participating in a planting activity. Twenty-two participants engaged in the study. Each participant potted a …

The Effects Of Stress Mindset Interventions On University Students' Health And Functioning, Abigail Fate

Undergraduate Honors Papers

In modern society, the overwhelming cultural narrative proclaims that stress is detrimental to health and should be limited and avoided at all costs. However, recent research has demonstrated that it is one’s stress mindset, rather than their stress level, that determines the psychological and physiological outcomes. Mindsets are lenses that simplify and order the world, and have been proven to influence daily behavioral and physiological responses to create cascading effects. Recent research has demonstrated that one’s mindset about stress is the demining factor in health, performance, and productivity in response to stressful conditions, and that these mindsets can be manipulated …

The Hiv Epidemic In Dominican Republic: Local Issues With A Global Effect, Brianna Sutherland

Honors Projects in Science and Technology

The island of Hispaniola, consisting of the vastly different nations of Haiti and Dominican Republic, creates an interesting dichotomy to study, especially because they rank amongst the top fifty highest seroprevalence rates for human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) globally. To date, little has been done to analyze the contributing factors that lead to the observed high rates of HIV in the population because most literature has focused on Sub-Saharan Africa. Therefore, the goal of this project was to review literature and global data in order to explore the unique factors contributing to the HIV epidemic in the Dominican Republic. Key communities …

Law & Health Care Newsletter, Spring 2019

Law & Health Care Newsletter

No abstract provided.

Activating Nursing To Address Unmet Needs In The 21st Century, Patricia Pittman

Health Policy and Management Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Interrupted Progress: Water And Sanitation In Haiti, Emily Bauer

Thinking Matters Symposium Archive

Haiti has faced damaging environmental and social impacts, which have interrupted progress towards clean drinking water and adequate sanitation facilities for its over 10 million people. Natural disasters, disease outbreak, political corruption and economic instability have contributed to poor health and social outcomes for the small, island nation. This study used the most recent data from the World Health Organization and United Nations Children’s Fund Joint Monitoring Programme (WHO/UNICEF JMP) to assess national trends in water source and sanitation facility improvements from 1990-2015. WHO/UNICEF JMP defines water improvements as piped or non-piped protected water, and sanitation improvements as networked, flushed …

What Gun Safety And Access Policies Did Participants Think Would Be Effective In Preventing Accidental Gun Deaths?, Bridget O’Keefe, Stephen White

Thinking Matters Symposium Archive

Firearm-related incidents are often highly publicized tragedies that fuel unproductive political debates on gun policies at the local, state, and national levels. Current best practices in safe gun storage suggest that caregivers can protect their children from injury or death from an accidental gun discharge by keeping guns unloaded, locked up, and stored separately from their ammunition (Crifasi, Doucette, McGinty, Webster, & Barry, 2018). Child access prevention mechanisms including trigger locks, lock boxes, gun safes, and safe storage legislation are encouraged by the American Academy of Pediatrics (Dowd & Sege, 2012). This study gathers quantitative responses from 1,021 participants using …

Expanding International Health Curriculum For The Internal Medicine Residency At Mmc, Brian King, Hassan Mahmoud, Anthony Pastore

Thinking Matters Symposium Archive

While internal medicine residents at Maine Medical Center provide care for many refugees and immigrants, there is not a formal international health curriculum to equip residents to care for this vulnerable population. Since 2002, 3,793 refugees have arrived in Maine for resettlement. Our aim was to survey residents about their interest in added international health instruction and design an educational curriculum for these physicians.

Opioid Use Treatment Via Telemedicine: Treatment Options For Rural Maine, Benjamin Knapp

Thinking Matters Symposium Archive

The ongoing opioid crisis has overwhelmed the traditional opioid use disorder (OUD) treatment resources across America. The treatment resources in rural communities have been especially hard hit as geographic and financial barriers limit service capacity. Telemedicine, or medicine delivered via remote means, has been proposed as a potential solution to the lack of conventional opioid treatment resources in rural Maine. Current legalities in the US prohibit telemedicine being used to prescribe opioid agonist drugs, and insurance reimbursement for telemedicine remains a major barrier. This qualitative content analysis looks at the existing research on telemedicine's treatment efficacy for use with OUD …

Child Poverty, Physical & Mental Health In Maine, Katelyn Malloy

Thinking Matters Symposium Archive

Children who live below the national poverty line account for nearly one fifth of Maine’s overall population. Child poverty is a determinant of health that can lead to negative health outcomes that affect childhood development, educational achievement, as well as physical and mental health. The purpose of this study was to identify five Maine counties with the highest rates of child poverty according to the national average. Comparison of poverty rates between counties were analyzed along with two leading health indicators – mental and physical distress. This study used 2016 county-level childhood poverty estimates, assessed by the American Community Survey …

The Use Of Turn Assistance Features On Hospital Beds For Prevention Of Caregiver Injury, Trenton Tucker, Barbara Mcclaskey

Posters

In the world of nursing, caregiver injury is still a major problem. It has been reported that 44% of healthcare workers have lower back musculoskeletal pain. The purpose of this study was to examine ways to decrease injury to care providers. The methodology was a literature review focusing on turn assist technology. Education alone cannot always prevent a musculoskeletal injury, and thus the use of turn assistance features on beds is implemented. These turning functions have shown great success in helping prevent caregiver muscle strain, and in helping decrease caregiver injury. As general technology has increased, so has medical technology …

Lending A Hand: Healthcare Cost And Treatment Impact Of Peer Recovery Services, A Review Of The Literature, Nicholas J. Bush

Senior Honors Projects

Background: In the United States, the need for mental health and substance misuse treatment has been on the rise leading to an increase in healthcare costs and a reduction in barriers to care. Recently, there has been a growing interest in implementing peer support services (PSS) to increase access to care, improve treatment outcomes, and reduce healthcare related costs, such as emergency room visits, psychiatric hospitalization, and crisis stabilization.

Aims: This Honors project reports on a systematic review of the literature on treatment outcomes associated with PSS in mental health and/or substance misuse populations. It reviews the evidence that PSS …