Public Health Commons^™

Exploring Female University Students’ Views Of Campus Engagement In Chaarg, Lia Giffels

Williams Honors College, Honors Research Projects

There are positive benefits to group exercise, such as motivation and improved performance. However, strength training poses a gender disparity, with less participation among females. Changing Health, Attitudes, + Actions to Recreate Girls (CHAARG) is a student organization to empower females to reach health goals by participating in a comprehensive fitness program. Purpose: This investigation explores female college students’ views of their experience in CHAARG. Understanding how to engage more women in strength training and healthy lifestyles may fuel increased adherence rates. Methods: Q methodology will be used to investigate the viewpoints of female students’ members in a large Midwest …

Home Health Care Resource Binder: A User-Friendly Guide For Crossroads Hospice And Palliative Care, Deanna Eder

Williams Honors College, Honors Research Projects

Patients and families searching for home health care need accurate information regarding the community resources available to them to promote aging in place and to maintain their quality of life. In connection to the social workers at Crossroads Hospice and Palliative Care, the researcher identified a need for a centralized source of up-to-date information regarding local home health care agencies due to the current resource deficit. Social workers and other health care professionals are expected to benefit from a concise list of resources readily available to provide their patients and families with adequate support to make informed decisions about a …

The Relationship Between Intensity Of Fitness Tracker Usage And Motivation, Rachel Cannata, Abigail C. Daugherty, Madison O. Dirocco, Julianne Green, Pial Dasgupta

Williams Honors College, Honors Research Projects

Many college students engage in unhealthy behaviors which may contribute to diseases. Additionally, some students may lack motivation to rectify these behaviors to improve their long-term health. This study assessed the relationship between intensity of fitness tracker usage and motivation among health professions students at a large, public Midwestern university. This non-experimental, correlational study used convenience sampling and a theoretical framework based on Bandura’s Social Cognitive Theory. Online recruitment announcements were emailed and included links to the consent form and survey. Motivation was measured with Deci and Ryan’s modified self-determination tool. Intensity of tracker usage was measured using a scale …

Nasa Dugo (‘It’S In The Blood’): Lay Conceptions Of Hypertension In The Philippines, Gideon Lasco, Jhaki Mendoza, Alicia Renedo, Maureen L. Seguin, Benjamin Palafox, Lia M. Palileo-Villanueva, Arianna Maever L. Amit, Antonio L. Dans, Dina Balabanova, Martin Mckee

Development Studies Faculty Publications

Introduction: Understanding explanatory models is important for hypertension, a leading risk factor for cardiovascular disease and stroke. This article aims to determine what adult patients with hypertension in the Philippines attribute their condition to, how these views might be explained and what the implications are for hypertension management. Methods: This is a qualitative study drawing on 71 semistructured interviews (40 initial and 31 follow-up) and four focus group discussions with patients diagnosed with hypertension. The setting was urban and rural low-income communities in the Philippines. Results: Four prominent perceived causes were identified—genetics, heat, stress and diet—for what patients refer to …

The Chemical Lives Of Young Filipinos, Gideon Lasco

Development Studies Faculty Publications

Many young Filipinos are using a wide array of ‘chemicals’ that structure, and are structured by, their everyday lives. These chemicals - cosmetics, supplements, narcotics, beverages - range from local to foreign, cheap to expensive, licit to illicit; orally ingested to topically applied, and are used for different reasons in a variety of contexts. This chapter analyzes and seeks to make sense of the use of chemicals by young Filipinos.

Developing Implementation Research Capacity: Longitudinal Evaluation Of The King’S College London Implementation Science Masterclass, 2014-2019, Rachel Davis, Brian Mittman, Madelene Boyton, Aoife Keohane, Lucy Goulding, Jane Sandall, Graham Thornicroft, Nick Sevdalis

Faculty Publications

Background: Despite an increasing number of training opportunities in implementation science becoming available, the demand for training amongst researchers and practitioners is unmet. To address this training shortfall, we developed the King's College London 'Implementation Science Masterclass' (ISM), an innovative 2-day programme (and currently the largest of its kind in Europe), developed and delivered by an international faculty of implementation experts. Methods: This paper describes the ISM and provides delegates' quantitative and qualitative evaluations (gathered through a survey at the end of the ISM) and faculty reflections over the period it has been running (2014-2019). Results: Across the 6-year evaluation, …

Does Smoke-Free Legislation Work For Teens Too? A Logistic Regression Analysis Of Smoking Prevalence And Gender Among 16 Years Old In Ireland, Using The 1995-2015 Espad School Surveys, Shasha Li, Sheila Keogan, Luke Clancy

Articles

Objectives: To assess the role of tobacco control legislation (TCL) in youth smoking in Ireland. To examine the effects of smoke-free legislation in youth. To consider whether TCL contributed to the gender equalisation in prevalence in 16 years old seen between 2003 and 2015.

Accounting For The Uncertainty Due To Chemicals Below The Detection Limit In Mixture Analysis, Paul M. Hargarten

Theses and Dissertations

Humans are exposed to multiple chemicals every day. Epidemiological studies have shown that chemical mixtures are associated with cancers, allergies, neurodevelopmental disorders, and other adverse health effects. To assess these associations, investigators are increasingly using chemical mixture approaches like weighted quantile sum (WQS) regression. In these studies, the research objectives are to determine whether a mixture of correlated chemicals is associated with an adverse health outcome and to identify the important chemicals. However, as experimental equipment measures each exposure to a chemical-specific detection limit, the exposures are unknown between zero and the detection limit. Indeed, the number of exposures below …

Reducing Disparities In Smoking For Adults With Mental Illness: Are U.S. Tobacco Prevention Policies Effective?, L. Morgan Snell

Theses and Dissertations

One in five people in the U.S. are estimated to experience “any mental illness” (AMI); however this group represents an estimated 40% of the annual, adult cigarette consumption in the U.S. Tobacco prevention policies have been successful at reducing smoking prevalence among the U.S. population as a whole, however it is unclear whether these efforts have had significant impact on tobacco use rates among individuals with AMI. The three papers that comprise this project combined longitudinal, nationally-representative data and online behavioral experiments from U.S. adults to compare demand for cigarettes among adult smokers with and without AMI. Taken together, our …

Use, Adoption, And Effectiveness Of Tippy-Tap Handwashing Station In Promoting Hand Hygiene Practices In Resource-Limited Settings: A Systematic Review, Balwani C. Mbakaya, Fatch W. Kalembo, Maggie Zgambo

Research outputs 2014 to 2021

Background:

Tippy-taps are locally made devices for washing hands with running water. They are simple and low-cost, enabling technology that provides adequate water sources, handwashing stations and motivation for people to prioritise handwashing. This systematic review aimed to establish the use, benefits, adoption and effectiveness of enabling technology; tippy-tap handwashing station, in resource-limited settings.

Methods:

We systematically searched for articles in the PubMed, EMBASE, PsycINFO, AMED, CINAHL, DOAJ and Google Scholar databases guided by the acceptable best practice developed by the PROSPERO and COCHRANE for systematic search and selection of articles. Search terms such as tippy-taps, enabling technology, hand-washing station, …

Empowering Women Through Physical Education And Sports In Moldova, Aprille Hibbard

Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports

Girls and women face obstacles when it comes to empowerment, whether it be cultural, socioeconomic, political or religious. As a Peace Corps Volunteer in Moldova, I tried to help the girls and women in my community overcome some of these obstacles by promoting female participation in physical education and sports. Primary obstacles were the poor insulation and heating in the gymnasium, which prevented girls and women from participating in sports and physical education from October-April. Working with a Let Girls Learn (LGL) grant allowed us to repair the condition of the gymnasium, add additional sports teams and clubs to the …

The Allied Health Work Readiness Study: Identifying Personal Characteristics Signalling Work Readiness In Allied Health Students, Maxine O'Brien, Kelli Troy, Jayne Kirkpatrick

Internet Journal of Allied Health Sciences and Practice

Purpose: Clinical placements associated with university degrees for the allied health professions aim to support the preparation of students for post graduate employment through the practical application of theoretical constructs. However, employers recognise that a range of generic skills and attributes outside of technical and academic achievement impact of work readiness. Allied health clinical educators within Darling Downs Health (DDH) sought to identify these generic characteristics, and their relative importance, with a view to further supporting the work readiness of students completing placements in the district. Method: The study utilised the knowledge and experience of allied health clinical educators, experienced …

Changing Weight Management Self-Efficacy Among Obese Puerto Rican Adults: A Quantitative Study Using A Health Coaching Intervention, Richard Valentin Ayala, Josh Bernstein

Internet Journal of Allied Health Sciences and Practice

Purpose: Obesity and associated healthcare-related issues continue to increase. The prevalence of obesity is on the rise, which has led many health professionals to find ways to improve health interventions. Health coaching can be a viable tool to reduce the obesity epidemic. The purpose of this quantitative study was to investigate the effects of an 8-weekhealth coaching intervention in obese individuals from Puerto Rico and to determine if self-esteem and body image influence weight managementself-efficacy. Method: A pretest-posttest design using a weight management self-efficacy scale helped the researcher evaluate the effectof the coaching sessions. In addition, body image …

The Prevalence Of Secondary School Sport Safety Policies Within State Athletic Associations And Legislation, Samantha E. Scarneo, William M. Adams, Susan W. Yeargin, Madeline A. Konz, James E. Potter, Douglas J. Casa

Internet Journal of Allied Health Sciences and Practice

Purpose: The location of secondary school health and safety policies impacts how they are implemented by the sports medicine team and stakeholders. Yet, a comprehensive list of each state’s policy locations has not been established. The purpose of this study was to describe where secondary school health and safety policies were located at the state level within the United States. Method: Emergency related health and safety policies were designated as either being located in the state high school athletics association (SHSAA), state legislation (LEGIS), or in both SHSAA and LEGIS (BOTH). Designation was determined by two researchers who independently …

Comments On The Preliminary Framework For Equitable Allocation Of Covid-19 Vaccine, Ana Santos Rutschman, Julia Barnes-Weise, Robert Gatter, Timothy L. Wiemken

All Faculty Scholarship

On September 1, 2020 the National Academies released a draft framework for Equitable Allocation of a COVID-19 Vaccine. In this response, we analyze the proposed framework and highlight several areas.

Among the proposed changes, we highlight the need for the following interventions. The final framework for distribution of COVID-19 vaccines should give a higher priority to populations made most vulnerable by the social determinants of health. It should incorporate more geography-based approaches in at least some of the four proposed phases of vaccine distribution. It should address the possibility of a vaccine being made available through an emergency use authorization …

Digital Technologies As Antecedents To Process Integration And Dynamic Capabilities In Healthcare: An Empirical Investigation, Tulika Chakravorty, Karunakar Jha, Sunil Barthwal, Samyadip Chakraborty

Journal of International Technology and Information Management

Healthcare has been in focus over the past decade due to its criticality and continuous revolution. In this digital era, with the advent of various technologies, healthcare is undergoing a massive transformation. This study attempts to analyze the impacts of three major digital technologies which are being adopted in the healthcare sector which are electronic medical records (EMR), enterprise resource planning (ERP) and internet-of-things (IoT) enabled medical wearables in the hospital context. Focusing towards analyzing the impact of these technologies towards process-integration and further towards dynamic capabilities like quality, agility and responsiveness; the study framework is well-grounded by two theoretical-underpinnings …

Urban Food Sovereignty: Urgent Need For Agroecology And Systems Thinking In A Post-Covid-19 Future, Ali Loker, Charles A. Francis

Department of Agronomy and Horticulture: Faculty Publications

The current COVID-19 pandemic has brought attention to challenges associated with our dominant industrial food system in the U.S. The general public now has more appreciation for farm workers and meatpacking employees, as well as those in grocery stores and in food transportation who are suddenly recognized as essential frontline workers. It apparently takes a crisis for us to focus clearly on the fragility of this system and the lives of people on whom we depend. In this commentary we discuss the definition of food sovereignty, how it manifests in urban areas, and how the COVID-19 pandemic can trigger viable …

A Case Of Intertrochanteric Fracture, Sahil Munjal

Digital Journal of Clinical Medicine

No abstract provided.

Coproid Predicts The Source Of Coprolites And Paleofeces Using Microbiome Composition And Host Dna Content, Maxime Borry, Bryan Cordova, Angela Perri, Marsha Wibowo, Tanvi Prasad Honap, Jada Ko, Kate Britton, Linus Girdland-Flink, Robert C. Power, Ingelise Stuijts, Domingo C. Salazar-García, Courtney Hofman, Richard Hagan, Thérèse Samdapawindé Kagoné, Nicolas Meda, Helene Carabin, David Jacobson, Karl Reinhard, Cecil Lewis, Aleksandar Kostic, Choongwon Jeong, Alexander Herbig, Alexander Hübner, Christina Warinner

Karl Reinhard Publications

Shotgun metagenomics applied to archaeological feces (paleofeces) can bring new insights into the composition and functions of human and animal gut microbiota from the past. However, paleofeces often undergo physical distortions in archaeological sediments, making their source species difficult to identify on the basis of fecal morphology or microscopic features alone. Here we present a reproducible and scalable pipeline using both host and microbial DNA to infer the host source of fecal material. We apply this pipeline to newly sequenced archaeological specimens and show that we are able to distinguish morphologically similar human and canine paleofeces, as well as non-fecal …

Diet Analysis Reveals Pre-Historic Meals Among The Loma San Gabriel At La Cueva De Los Muertos Chiquitos, Rio Zape, Mexico (600–800 Ce), Elisa Pucu, Julia Russ, Karl Reinhard

Karl Reinhard Publications

Coprolites have been a source of study for archeologists due to several reasons: they not only provide information on the life and nutritional habits of ancient individuals but also on their health. In this paper, we processed 10 coprolites collected at La Cueva de Los Muertos Chiquitos (600–800 CE), Rio Zape, Mexico, with acetolysis solution for pollen analysis. The number of pollen grains/gram of each coprolite sample was quantified along with the macroscopic remains of these samples. The main food item ingested by the population was maize, followed by Agave. Squash blossoms were also part of their food source …

Pinworm Research In The Southwest Usa: Five Decades Of Methodological And Theoretical Development And The Epidemiological Approach, Morgana Camacho, Karl Reinhard

Karl Reinhard Publications

Pinworms infected Ancestral Pueblo populations since early periods of occupation on the Colorado Plateau. The high prevalence of pinworm found in these populations was correlated with the habitation style developments through time. However, in previous studies, Turkey Pen Cave, an early occupation site, and Salmon Ruins, a late occupation site, exhibited prevalences that were anomalously low, suggesting that these sites were outliers. Alternatively, it is possible that the previous quantification method was not successful in detecting the real prevalence and eggs per gram, which led to inexact interpretations. The aims of this study were to verify if previous pinworm prevalences …

Patients' Understanding Of Diabetes Self-Management Education And Support In A Private Primary Care Clinic In Kuala Lumpur: A Qualitative Study, Thanapalan Tharini

Student Works (2020-2029)

Patients with diabetes mellitus should be actively self-managing their disease, since this can aid in producing better glycaemic control. Thus healthcare professionals managing diabetes patients, irrespective of whether they are in the public or private setting, need to focus on educating patients in order to empower them to carry out self-management practices. Little evidence is available to determine whether patients, especially those managed in private primary care clinics, are able to understand the education provided to them on diabetes self-management. This study aimed to explore patients’ comprehension of content and perception regarding delivery and quality of diabetes self-management education at …

Effectiveness Of Reminders Via Messaging Apps In Improving Clinic Attendance And Medication Compliance Among Patients With Depression, Pei Teeng Low

Student Works (2020-2029)

Background: Non-attendance at clinic appointments and medication non-compliance are both common issues within psychiatric settings, with forgetting being specified as one the most common reasons. This phenomenon may be worse for patients who are suffering from depression. Thus, the use of regular reminders in some format for such patients could be potentially very beneficial. With cognizance of the exponential growth of smartphone usage and social media awareness during the past decade, a messaging apps maybe a potentially efficient and cost-effective method of sending such reminders in a healthcare setting. Objective: To determine the potential effectiveness of sending reminders via messaging …

Development Of A Protection Motivation Theory Based Questionnaire For Measuring Parental Digital Security Practice In Malaysia, Ismail Muhd Zulfadli Hafiz

Student Works (2020-2029)

Knowledge on parental digital security, which is the parental practice of maintaining the safety of their children online, is crucial to produce good digital citizens. Protection motivation theory (PMT) is a useful theoretical model for explaining protective behaviour and understanding this practice. Many studies and tools for exploring protective behaviour have been produced based on PMT, but there is no assessment tool available for assessing parents’ digital security practice in the Malaysian context. Thus, the development of an assessment tool that reflects Malaysian parents’ digital security practice based on established frameworks such as the PMT is essential. Therefore, this study …

Association Of Chronic Pain With Physical Function And Mortality Among Older Adults In Rural Malaysia, Yee Mang Chan

Student Works (2020-2029)

Older adults are postulated to double in 2017 and 2050 worldwide, including Malaysia. Various challenges are related to ageing population, including poor physical functioning and increase number of chronic diseases. Chronic pain is often associated with chronic disease. Chronic pain affects almost one third of the world’s adult population and higher prevalence reported among older adults. Evidence suggests that chronic pain has undesirable consequences on physical, mental health and premature mortality. In low�and middle-income countries, there are limited studies examining the consequences of chronic pain on physical function and premature mortality. The aim of this study is therefore to determine …

Knowledge, Attitude And Practice Towards Tuberculosis And The Effectiveness Of A Tuberculosis Education Program Among Nurses Employed In Tuberculosis Centers In Libya, Elbahloul Muftah Abdusalam

Student Works (2020-2029)

Nurses make up by far the largest group of healthcare workers in any part of the world, playing an important role in the direct management of tuberculosis (TB) patients and facing a high risk of infection. Therefore, this study was conducted to explore the knowledge, attitude, and practice towards TB among professional nurses in Libya and the impact of an educational intervention on their knowledge, attitude and practice. A cross-sectional design using self-administered validated questionnaire was conducted to explore the nurses’ KAP towards TB. A total of 384 nurses in tuberculosis centres in Libya participated in the study. TB education …

A Case Of Alcohol Induced Psychotic Disorder With Depression Presenting During Covid19 Lockdown, Dr. Sopan T, Dr Kishor M

Digital Journal of Clinical Medicine

No abstract provided.

A Case Of Spina Bifida Occulta With Tethered Cord Syndrome, Dr. Shivangi G, Dr. M.D. Ravi

Digital Journal of Clinical Medicine

No abstract provided.

A Case Of Squamous Cell Carcinoma, Dr. Pranav Prabhu, Dr. Gurgi Mukthinath

Digital Journal of Clinical Medicine

No abstract provided.

Young-Onset Hypertension In Malaysia: A Mixed-Methods Study, Yi Yi Khoo

Student Works (2020-2029)

The continuous cumulative presence of raised blood pressure (BP) when young is a strong predictor of future cardiovascular risk. This study, which was conducted between June 2018 and December 2019, aimed to elucidate the epidemiology of young-onset hypertension (YOH) in Malaysia during the period 2006–2015, and to explore the underlying experiences and perspectives of young adults living with hypertension. Phase I involved a systematic review to identify variables for the secondary data analysis. In Phase II, data on respondents aged 18–39 diagnosed with YOH according to the 7th Joint National Committee Report (United States) were extracted from three National Health …