Epidemiology Of Sars-Cov-2 Breakthrough Infections In Kentucky March 1st 2021 - December 31st, 2022, Harrison Hynes

Theses and Dissertations--Public Health (M.P.H. & Dr.P.H.)

Objective: Provide epidemiologic overview of SARS-CoV-2 breakthrough infections in Kentucky considering both demographic and geographic variables.

Background: We believe descriptive information of breakthrough cases for a defined population will provide public health practitioners with useful information relating to SARS-CoV-2 infection control and vaccination efforts.

Methods: We obtained SARS-CoV-2 case data from the Kentucky Department for Public Health COVID-19 case repository, which mirrors National Electronic Disease Surveillance System (NEDSS) data. The study sample used for analysis comprised 147,000 individuals who tested positive for SARS-CoV-2 in Kentucky between the dates of March 1^st, 2021 and December 31^st, 2022. …

Disaster Relief And Humanitarian Logistics: Three Essays, Peter H. Imbriale

2023

The increased frequency and impact of natural disasters and other humanitarian crises—including events such as the COVID-19 pandemic—makes studying disaster relief and recovery particularly important. One relevant area of research in this space is humanitarian logistics. This dissertation provides insights into disaster relief logistics by exploring the government’s role in humanitarian logistics, examining the government’s efforts to address COVID-19 medical supply chain challenges, and determining how to lessen the impact of supply chain bottlenecks from unwanted post-disaster donations. Chapter one (sole-authored) is a literature review of the role of governments in humanitarian logistics. Although governments are vital stakeholders in nearly …

Covidanno, Covid-19 Annotation In Human, Yuzhou Feng, Mengyuan Yang, Zhiwei Fan, Weiling Zhao, Pora Kim, Xiaobo Zhou

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), the etiologic agent of coronavirus disease 19 (COVID-19), has caused a global health crisis. Despite ongoing efforts to treat patients, there is no universal prevention or cure available. One of the feasible approaches will be identifying the key genes from SARS-CoV-2-infected cells. SARS-CoV-2-infected in vitro model, allows easy control of the experimental conditions, obtaining reproducible results, and monitoring of infection progression. Currently, accumulating RNA-seq data from SARS-CoV-2 in vitro models urgently needs systematic translation and interpretation. To fill this gap, we built COVIDanno, COVID-19 annotation in humans, available at http://biomedbdc.wchscu.cn/COVIDanno/. The aim …

Does The Cdc Covid-19 Exposure Assessment Criteria For Healthcare Personnel Work In A Healthcare Setting In Pakistan?, Imran Hassan, Unab Khan, Shehreen Ali, Asif Hakim, Asad Ali

Department of Family Medicine

Objective: To evaluate the real-world performance of the CDC's "Interim US guidance for risk assessment and work restriction for healthcare personnel with exposure to COVID-19" at a private healthcare system in Pakistan.
Study design: Retrospective observational study.
Place and duration of study: The Aga khan University Hospital, Karachi, and its associated healthcare facilities in all four provinces of Pakistan, from February to September 2020.
Methodology: Healthcare personnel (HCPs) assessed and tested for exposures to COVID-19 were included in the study. An exposure category was assigned to each HCP presenting with exposure to COVID-19 based on the CDC criteria. Percentage positivity …

Nasal Host Response-Based Screening For Undiagnosed Respiratory Viruses: A Pathogen Surveillance And Detection Study, Nagarjuna R. Cheemarla, Amelia Hanron, Joseph R. Fauver, Jason Bishai, Timothy A. Watkins, Anderson F. Brito, Dejian Zhao, Tara Alpert, Chantal B. F. Vogels, Albert I. Ko, Wade L. Schulz, Marie L. Landry, Nathan D. Grubaugh, David Van Dijk, Ellen F. Foxman

Journal Articles: Epidemiology

BACKGROUND: Symptomatic patients who test negative for common viruses are an important possible source of unrecognised or emerging pathogens, but metagenomic sequencing of all samples is inefficient because of the low likelihood of finding a pathogen in any given sample. We aimed to determine whether nasopharyngeal CXCL10 screening could be used as a strategy to enrich for samples containing undiagnosed viruses.

METHODS: In this pathogen surveillance and detection study, we measured CXCL10 concentrations from nasopharyngeal swabs from patients in the Yale New Haven health-care system, which had been tested at the Yale New Haven Hospital Clinical Virology Laboratory (New Haven, …

Impact Of The Washington State Covid-19 Lockdown On 5-10-Year-Ol School-Aged Children Residing In Kitties County, Peyton Rondeau

All Master's Theses

Background: The Washington State COVID-19 lockdown and subsequent school closures brought increased dependency on parents to provide nutritious meals and opportunities for physical activity for their children.

Purpose: The aim of this study was to describe the impacts of the Washington State COVID-19 lockdown on the dietary, physical activity, and screen time habits of children ages 5-10-years-old residing in Kittitas County.

Methods: A researcher-developed Qualtrics survey was created and validated via the Index of Item Objective Congruence. The survey was administered to parents via Facebook, using local Kittitas County Facebook groups.

Results: Most parents identified that the Washington lockdown negatively …

Inequitable By Design: The Patent Culture, Law, And Politics Behind Covid-19 Vaccine Global Access, Ximena Benavides

University of Michigan Journal of Law Reform

COVID-19 vaccine access has been highly inequitable worldwide, with coverage depending largely on a country’s wealth. By the end of 2021, 64.1% of people living in high-income countries had received at least one dose of the vaccine, compared to only 5.4% of those in low-income countries. Similarly, only high- and upper-middle-income countries had received the most effective vaccines.

The uneven distribution of these lifesaving vaccines is made complex due to the convergence of several factors, but it suggests that the extraordinary expanding and ossifying market and political power of a few vaccine manufacturers founded on intellectual property and complementary policies …

Consensus On Potential Changes In Public Health Leadership Competencies As A Result Of The Covid-19 Pandemic Among Washington State Local Health Jurisdictions, Haley M. Schimmel

All Master's Theses

Effective leadership practices among the public health field are critical in the process of influencing positive health outcomes across populations. While many competencies or skill sets that are needed of leaders to promote ideal public health functions have been identified and discussed in previous literature, there has become an arising need for evaluation of potential changes due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

To do this, the Delphi research method was utilized through the implementation of a four-round questionnaire process to gain consensus among participating leaders in ten different Washington State Local Health Jurisdictions. The two main research questions of this study …

Conspiracy Theories Are Not Religions: Scrutinizing Religious Exemptions To The Covid-19 Vaccine, Shirley B. Luk

University of San Francisco Law Review

No abstract provided.

California Constitutional Law: The Emergency Police Power, Daniel H. Bromberg

University of San Francisco Law Review

No abstract provided.

A Pandemic Of Division: Finding Justice At Work In Challenging Times, Catherine L. Fisk

University of San Francisco Law Review

No abstract provided.

Changes In Severity Of Diabetes At Diagnosis Following The Onset Of The Sars-Cov-2 Pandemic, Annelise King

Theses and Dissertations--Public Health (M.P.H. & Dr.P.H.)

During the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic it was seen that diabetes was a risk factor for severe COVID-19. The objective of this study is to assess the severity of diabetes at diagnosis during the COVID-19 pandemic compared to pre-pandemic to see how the pandemic and SARS-CoV-2 infection impacted the severity of diabetes. This study used University of Kentucky electronic health records of 13,794 patients who developed diabetes. The majority of patients were female, white non-Hispanic, 65+, and living in an urban area. There were differences seen between the COVID-19 positive and negative cohorts in the DKA and HbA₁c variables, with …

Covid-19 Vaccine Acceptance, Hesitancy, And Refusal Among Educators In Spring Of 2021, Jenifer O'Brien

Theses and Dissertations--Public Health (M.P.H. & Dr.P.H.)

The COVID-19 pandemic provided unprecedented vaccine development and deployment. Educators were among the first non-healthcare occupations to become eligible for the vaccine, and were an early predictor of vaccine hesitancy especially among educated females. By the spring of 2021, 87% of teachers had received at least one dose of the COVID-19 vaccine. Among those who expressed hesitancy, no defining demographic factors were found. Those who expressed hesitancy commonly cited a rushed vaccine development process and fear of long term side effects as reasons against vaccination.

Lessons Learned From Interdisciplinary Efforts To Combat Covid-19 Misinformation: Development Of Agile Integrative Methods From Behavioral Science, Data Science, And Implementation Science, Sahiti Myneni, Paula Cuccaro, Sarah Montgomery, Vivek Pakanati, Jinni Tang, Tavleen Singh, Olivia Dominguez, Trevor Cohen, Belinda Reininger, Lara S Savas, Maria E Fernandez

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

BACKGROUND: Despite increasing awareness about and advances in addressing social media misinformation, the free flow of false COVID-19 information has continued, affecting individuals' preventive behaviors, including masking, testing, and vaccine uptake.

OBJECTIVE: In this paper, we describe our multidisciplinary efforts with a specific focus on methods to (1) gather community needs, (2) develop interventions, and (3) conduct large-scale agile and rapid community assessments to examine and combat COVID-19 misinformation.

METHODS: We used the Intervention Mapping framework to perform community needs assessment and develop theory-informed interventions. To supplement these rapid and responsive efforts through large-scale online social listening, we developed a …

Poisson Regression Model With Application To Wastewater Surveillance Under A Threshold Linear Mixed Model For Covid-19 Sensitivity Rates, Norou Diawara, Hueiwang Anna Jeng, Kyle Curtis, Raul Gonzalez, Nancy Welch, Cynthia Jackson, Rekha Singh, David Jurgens, Sasanka Adikari, Omotomilola Jegede

Mathematics & Statistics Faculty Publications

A Threshold Linear Mixed Model (TLMM) has been developed to identify specific thresholds based on wastewater SARS-CoV-2 viral concentrations, which reflect COVID-19 cases. The thresholds can guide decisions regarding public health responses and prevention measures. To assess the practical application of TLMM, a simple simulation was conducted using a sample size of 100 and 500 replications. The simulation allowed for comparing parameter estimators by assessing bias and standard deviation and the root of the mean square error. The model and estimation procedures were applied to reported wastewater and clinic data to test its application for real-world scenarios. Our results demonstrated …

Evaluation Of Wic Online Ordering During The Covid-19 Pandemic: Evidence From An Oklahoma Grocery Store Chain, Qi Zhang, Junzhou Zhang, Kayoung Park, Chuanyi Tang

Community & Environmental Health Faculty Publications

The COVID-19 pandemic is worsening the disparities in food access in the United States. As consumers have been increasingly using grocery online ordering services to limit their exposure to the COVID-19 virus, participants of federal nutrition assistance programs lack the online benefit redemption option. With the support of the US Department of Agriculture (USDA), retailers are pilot-testing online food benefit ordering in the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC). By combining the Oklahoma WIC administrative data, the online ordering data from a grocery store chain in Oklahoma, and the COVID-19 data in Oklahoma, this study examines …

Workplace Aggression Against Healthcare Workers In A Spanish Healthcare Institution Between 2019 And 2021: The Impact Of The Covid-19 Pandemic, Aitor Díaz, Mireia Utzet, Joan Mirabent, Pilar Diaz, Jose Maria Ramada, Consol Serra, Fernando G Benavides

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

OBJECTIVES: Describe the incidence of first aggressions among healthcare workers (HCWs) before and during the COVID-19 pandemic in a Spanish healthcare institution, according to workers' socio-occupational characteristics and analyze the impact of the pandemic on it.

METHODS: A cohort involving HCWs who worked in the institution for at least 1 week each year from 1 January 2019 to 31 December 2021. Adjusted relative risks (aRR) were estimated using generalized estimating equations and negative binomial models to calculate the differences in WPA between the different time periods. All analyses were stratified by gender.

RESULTS: Among women, the incidence was 6.8% (6.0; …

Plasma Enzymatic Activity, Proteomics And Peptidomics In Covid-19-Induced Sepsis: A Novel Approach For The Analysis Of Hemostasis, Fernando Dos Santos, Joyce B Li, Nathalia Juocys, Rafi Mazor, Laura Beretta, Nicole G Coufal, Michael T Y Lam, Mazen F Odish, Maria Claudia Irigoyen, Anthony J O'Donoghue, Federico Aletti, Erik B Kistler

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Introduction: Infection by SARS-CoV-2 and subsequent COVID-19 can cause viral sepsis. We investigated plasma protease activity patterns in COVID-19-induced sepsis with bacterial superinfection, as well as plasma proteomics and peptidomics in order to assess the possible implications of enhanced proteolysis on major protein systems (e.g., coagulation). Methods: Patients (=4) admitted to the intensive care units (ICUs) at the University of California, San Diego (UCSD) Medical Center with confirmed positive test for COVID-19 by real-time reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) were enrolled in a study approved by the UCSD Institutional Review Board (IRB# 190699, Protocol #20-0006). Informed consent was obtained …

Trem-1, Trem-2 And Their Association With Disease Severity In Patients With Covid-19, Ruyue Fan, Zuowang Cheng, Zhisheng Huang, Ying Yang, Na Sun, Bin Hu, Peibin Hou, Bo Liu, Chuanjun Huang, Shuai Liu

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

BACKGROUND: Delayed diagnosis and inadequate treatment caused by limited biomarkers are associated with the outcomes of COVID-19 patients. It is necessary to identify other promising biomarkers and candidate targets for defining dysregulated inflammatory states.

METHODS: The triggering receptors expressed on myeloid cell (TREM)-1 and TREM-2 expression from hospitalized COVID-19 patients were characterized using ELISA and flow cytometry, respectively. Their correlation with disease severity and contrast with the main clinical indicators were evaluated.

RESULTS: Increased expression of soluble TREM-1 and TREM-2 in the plasma of COVID-19 patients was found compared to the control group. Moreover, membrane-bound TREM-1 and TREM-2 expression was …

Physical Activity And Exercise With Blood Flow Restriction As Medicine During The Covid-19 Pandemic And Beyond, Isaac J. Wedig

Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports

During the COVID-19 pandemic, physical activity levels have decreased and sitting time has increased. This is a major concern as physical inactivity increases the risk for severe COVID-19 outcomes. Evidence also indicates that COVID-19 survivors can experience reduced physical function (i.e., ability to complete daily living activities) long after acute illness. Currently, there are no evidence-based guidelines for recovering physical function following COVID-19 infection. Exercise with blood flow restriction (BFR) presents a promising rehabilitation strategy as the benefits of traditional exercise can be achieved using lower intensities. However, several barriers such as cost, access to equipment, and lack of standardized …

Long-Term Psychological Adaptation Of U.S. Human Resource Personnel In Response To The Covid-19 Pandemic, Samantha Ann Denson

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Previous research indicated that the COVID-19 pandemic negatively impacted employee psychological outcomes in various workforce sectors. Although research showed that U.S. human resource (HR) employees experienced unique occupational challenges during the pandemic, the literature did not explore pandemic-related psychological outcomes in this population. This quantitative survey-based study included a purposive sample of 294 U.S. HR professionals to explore the pandemic’s impact on their psychological well-being. The transactional model of stress and coping served as the theoretical framework to understand the independent effects of appraisal, meaning-based coping, and coping efforts on psychological well-being. A mediation analysis was used to understand the …

Occupational Stress In Long Term Care In Georgia And Virginia During The Covid-19 Pandemic, Lacountess Renee Hooks

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Nursing staff working in long-term care settings experience high levels of occupational stress related to many factors that can lead to poor outcomes for the nursing staff and the residents. In 2020, the World Health Organization declared severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), also known as COVID-19, a pandemic which over the course of 3 years, has added an additional source of work-related stress for long-term care nursing staff. This quantitative cross-sectional study was guided by the job demand-control-support model to explore perceived stress and nursing stress among nursing staff working in the long-term care setting in Georgia and …

Age, Race/Hispanic Origin, And Covid-19 Mortality Among Sickle Cell Disease Patients In The United States, Joe Lamont Ndula

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The COVID-19 pandemic remains a global health challenge, with 6.7 million deaths worldwide as of January 2023. It has illuminated the health iniquities in underserved communities and populations like those with sickle cell disease (SCD). Researchers have associated the COVID-19 outcome among SCD patients in other regions of the globe. The purpose of this retrospective cross-sectional observational study was to investigate the relationship between age, race/Hispanic origin, and COVID-19 mortality among persons with SCD in the United States from January 2020 to March 2021. The Krieger ecosocial theory of disease distribution framed the study. Data were drawn from an existing …

Residential Segregation And County-Level Covid-19 Booster Coverage In The Deep South: Surveillance Report And Ecological Study, Chengbo Zeng, Jiajia Zhang Ph.D., Zhenlong Li, Xiaowen Sun, Huan Ning, Xueying Yang, Sharon Weissman, Bankole Olatosi Ph.D., Xiaoming Li Ph.D.

Faculty Publications

Background: COVID-19 had a greater impact in the Deep South compared with other regions in the United States. While vaccination remains a top priority for all eligible individuals, data regarding the progress of booster coverage in the Deep South and how the coverage varies by county and age are sparse. Despite existing evidence of racial and ethnic disparities in COVID-19 vaccinations at the individual level, there is an urgent need for evidence at the population level. Such information could highlight vulnerable communities and guide future health care policy-making and resource allocation.

Objective: We aimed to evaluate county-level COVID-19 booster coverage …

A Rapid, Low-Cost, And Highly Sensitive Sars-Cov-2 Diagnostic Based On Whole-Genome Sequencing, Per A Adastra, Neva C Durand, Namita Mitra, Saul Godinez Pulido, Ragini Mahajan, Alyssa Blackburn, Zane L Colaric, Joshua W M Theisen, David Weisz, Olga Dudchenko, Andreas Gnirke, Suhas S P Rao, Parwinder Kaur, Erez Lieberman Aiden, Aviva Presser Aiden

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

Early detection of SARS-CoV-2 infection is key to managing the current global pandemic, as evidence shows the virus is most contagious on or before symptom onset. Here, we introduce a low-cost, high-throughput method for diagnosing and studying SARS-CoV-2 infection. Dubbed Pathogen-Oriented Low-Cost Assembly & Re-Sequencing (POLAR), this method amplifies the entirety of the SARS-CoV-2 genome. This contrasts with typical RT-PCR-based diagnostic tests, which amplify only a few loci. To achieve this goal, we combine a SARS-CoV-2 enrichment method developed by the ARTIC Network (https://artic.network/) with short-read DNA sequencing and de novo genome assembly. Using this method, we can reliably ( …

Impact Of The Covid Pandemic On Mental Health And Training Opportunities Of Public Health Residents From 4 European Countries: A Cross-Sectional Study, Giovanna Failla, Marta Caminiti, José Chen-Xu, Giuseppina Lo Moro, Nausicaa Berselli, Madalena Cabral Ferreira, Filipa Malcata, David Peyre-Costa, Roberto Croci, Giorgia Soldà, Angelo Capodici, Caterina Morcavallo, Francesco Traglia, Fabrizio Cedrone, Ilaria Storti, Alfonso Alonso Jaquete, Martina Antinozzi, Anca Vasiliu

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

OBJECTIVES: There is little evidence on the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on Public Health Residents' (PHR) mental health (MH). This study aims at assessing prevalence and risk factors for depression, anxiety and stress in European PHR during the COVID-19 pandemic.

METHODS: Between March and April 2021, an online survey was administered to PHR from France, Italy, Portugal and Spain. The survey assessed COVID-19 related changes in working conditions, training opportunities and evaluated MH outcomes using the Depression Anxiety Stress Scales-21. Multivariable logistic regressions were applied to identify risk factors.

RESULTS: Among the 443 respondents, many showed symptoms of depression …

Pediatric Otolaryngology Trends In Patient Care Volume During Covid-19: A Survey Study, William R Pellegrini, Anna H Messner, Jessica R Levi

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

PURPOSE: To assess changes in outpatient clinic, inpatient consult, and operative volumes among pediatric otolaryngologists in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

MATERIALS AND METHODS: An online questionnaire was distributed to 535 active members of the American Society of Pediatric Otolaryngology from April 21, 2020, to May 4, 2020. The questionnaire assessed operative and clinical volumes during a two-week period between April 6, 2020, to April 20, 2020, while restrictions on elective surgery were in place, as compared to an average two-week period before the start of the COVID-19 pandemic.

RESULTS: Both outpatient clinic and inpatient consult visit volume decreased significantly …

Coping During The Covid-19 Pandemic Among Young Adults Experiencing Homelessness And Unstable Housing: A Qualitative Study, Karen Divalerio Gibbs, Jennifer Torres Jones, Whitney Lamark, Sarah Abdulmooti, Lauren Bretz, Kelly D Kearney, Sarah Carter Narendorf, Diane M Santa Maria

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

BACKGROUND: Young adults experiencing homelessness (YAEH) experience more stressors compared to housed peers, yet little is known about the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on these youth. The purpose of this qualitative study was to explore how YAEH perceived the pandemic's impact on their well-being and coping.

METHODS: YAEH were recruited from those participating in an HIV prevention study. Semi-structured interviews were conducted and analysis was guided by Lazarus and Folkman's transactional theory of stress and coping.

RESULTS: Four major themes were identified from interviews with 40 youth: (1) ongoing harms, (2) COVID-19 as a stressor, (3) mental health impacts, …

Distinct Temporal Trajectories And Risk Factors For Post-Acute Sequelae Of Sars-Cov-2 Infection, Chen Chen, Sairam Parthasarathy, Jacqueline M Leung, Michelle J Wu, Katherine A Drake, Vanessa K Ridaura, Howard C Zisser, William A Conrad, Victor F Tapson, James N Moy, Christopher R Defilippi, Ivan O Rosas, Bellur S Prabhakar, Mujeeb Basit, Mirella Salvatore, Jerry A Krishnan, Charles C Kim

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

BACKGROUND: The understanding of Post-acute sequelae of SARS-CoV-2 infection (PASC) can be improved by longitudinal assessment of symptoms encompassing the acute illness period. To gain insight into the various disease trajectories of PASC, we assessed symptom evolution and clinical factors associated with the development of PASC over 3 months, starting with the acute illness period.

METHODS: We conducted a prospective cohort study to identify parameters associated with PASC. We performed cluster and case control analyses of clinical data, including symptomatology collected over 3 months following infection.

RESULTS: We identified three phenotypic clusters associated with PASC that could be characterized as …

“To Live In The Body Of A Survivor ”: Unique And Cumulative Disaster Exposure And Mental Health In A Sample Of Hurricane Katrina Survivors, Noelle Serino

Public Health Theses

Introduction: Fueled by the escalation of climate change, weather-related disasters are increasing in frequency and severity. Existing research has documented the extensive harm induced by such disasters, yet few studies have examined how individuals’ psychological well-being fares when exposed to multiple, diverse threats, including other weather-related and public health disasters (e.g., COVID-19). As such, the present study explores posttraumatic and psychological distress in the context of unique and cumulative disaster exposure.Methods: The data utilized for this study came from the Resilience in Survivors of Katrina (RISK) Project. The sample was comprised of 381 predominantly Non-Hispanic Black (84.5%) women who experienced …