Health Behavior And Outlooks In An Altered Microbial Diversity: Changes In Parental Attitudes On ‘Building Immunity’ Throughout The Covid-19 Pandemic, Jennifer Vidal

Pitzer Senior Theses

The Covid-19 Pandemic in a short amount of time put into action disease control measures. Current literature has sought to address the long-term effects of sanitization efforts and social isolation on the diversity of the microbiome and the future of infectious diseases. Microbes – microorganisms such as bacteria, protozoa, algae, fungi, and viruses – inhabit the natural environment and human microbiome with our immune system, playing an essential role in immune regulation. The interplay between humans and microbes forms early immune development that has impacted parents’ attitudes toward microbes shown through their participation in Covid-19 preventative health practices. Using the …

Relationship Between Patient Race And Provider Communication, Kristin M. Marino

Honors Undergraduate Theses

Health disparities by race in the United States have been persistent over decades and one possible reason for that could be that physicians are communicating differently with different races. The purpose of this study was to systematically review literature regarding the relationship of patient race/ethnicity with physician-patient communication. The overall project of which this is a part is a mixed methods review, but my part of the study involved only studies using observational data such as audio and video recordings of physician-patient encounters. This study investigated research that compares physician communication with patients across a wide range of ethnic groups, …

Using Wastewater-Based Epidemiology To Study Chlamydia Occurrence On A College Campus, Jessie E. Chin Quee

Honors Undergraduate Theses

Chlamydia is a sexually transmitted disease caused by Chlamydia trachomatis, commonly affecting sexually active college-aged adults. Presently, opportunistic testing, self-testing, and information campaigns are methods to screen vulnerable populations and raise awareness about chlamydia. Chlamydia remains underdiagnosed and undertested due to a lack of participation by individuals who may have been exposed to it. Wastewater-based epidemiology is a rising biomonitoring tool that detects the presence of disease- and drug-specific biomarkers in a community's wastewater. In this study, wastewater-based epidemiology was used to detect the presence of C. trachomatis on the University of Central Florida campus. Wastewater samples were collected …

Short-Term Exposure To Wildfire Smoke Pm2.5 And Symptoms Of Anxiety And Depression Among U.S. Veterans: A Cross-Sectional Study, Emily Goddard

Public Health Theses

Exposure to environmental pollutants can have serious consequences for mental health and well-being, leading to widespread societal impacts. With climate change leading to more frequent and severe wildfires, it is increasingly important to understand the impacts of fine particulate matter (PM2.5) from wildfire smoke, a harmful air pollutant that has been shown to impact cognitive health. Burgeoning research has focused on the impact of ambient PM2.5 on mental and neurological health, but little has focused specifically on wildfire smoke PM2.5. This study aimed to examine the relationship between short-term (prior two-week average) and long-term (average during past wildfire season, May-October) …

Pandemic-Related Posttraumatic Psychological Growth In U.S. Military Veterans: A 3-Year, Nationally Representative, Longitudinal Study, Hun Kang

Public Health Theses

Little is known about the positive psychological changes or posttraumatic growth (PTG) in response to the pandemic as the COVID-19 vaccines has become widely available. This longitudinal study aimed to characterize changes in the prevalence of pandemic-related PTG, and to identify and quantify the relative importance of PTG correlates pre-pandemic, 1- year peri-pandemic, and 2-years post-pandemic onset. A total of 2,441 U.S. military veterans completed Wave 3 assessment of the National Health and Resilience in Veterans Study. In the full sample, a significant decrease from peri-pandemic to 2-years post-pandemic onset was observed in overall pandemic-related PTG and four domains of …

Barriers And Care-Seeking Behavior Towards Breast And Cervical Cancer Screening Among Migrant Women In Casablanca, Morocco, Ala Mansour

Public Health Theses

Introduction: Over the past few decades, Morocco – a transit country for entry into Europe – has gradually evolved as a place of resettlement for migrants of sub-Saharan and West African origins. To combat inequities in healthcare utilization, the Moroccan government introduced a series of reforms designed to promote breast and cervical cancer screening and regularization of migrants. To date, few studies have explored the extent to which migrant residents in the country uptake these services or their awareness of cancer signs, symptoms, and risk factors relative to their native counterparts. The purpose of this study is to therefore delineate …

Exploring The Impact Of Psychedelic Art And Its Implication In The Field Of Medicine And Health: A Pilot Trial, Mary L. Peng

Public Health Theses

Objectives: Psychedelic art is a form of art that emerged in the 1960s during the psychedelic era, which was then characterized by visuals induced by psychedelic drugs, such as LSD, mescaline, and psilocybin. The art form now is known for its bright colors, distorted forms, and intricate patterns, often inspired by the visual experiences people have while under the influence of psychedelic drugs, the creation of which does not necessarily involve any ingestion of psychedelic drugs. This study examines how the viewing of digitally rendered psychedelic art (experimental group) affects people’s emotional, mental, and physical states in comparison to imagery …

“I Was Reaching Out For Help And They Did Not Help Me”: Mental Healthcare In The Carceral State, Anna Grace Preston

Public Health Theses

Background: Despite the limitations the carceral environment may impose on mental wellness, mental healthcare is increasingly becoming a carceral endeavor. Over the course of the last several decades, prisons and jails have become the de facto mental healthcare provider for thousands of incarcerated individuals. Furthermore, practices like mandated mental healthcare for supervised individuals further broaden the population experiencing mental healthcare within the criminal legal system at large. This study examines the perspectives of nine individuals who experienced mental healthcare within the carceral state, whether in prison or on parole or probation, with a special focus on how attributes of the …

Neurodivergent Transgender And Gender Diverse Youth And Young Adults’ Experiences Of Dual Minority Status In Healthcare Settings In Connecticut, Mac Reutter

Public Health Theses

Introduction The co-occurrence of gender diversity and neurodiversity has received increased attention in recent years. Clinical statistics suggest that transgender and gender diverse (TGD) individuals are more likely to be diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder than their cisgender counterparts, and that transgender and gender diverse neurodivergent (TGD-ND) individuals, particularly autistic individuals or those with ADHD, are at elevated risk of poor mental health outcomes compared to their neurotypical or cisgender counterparts. Thus, the TGD-ND population is both a notable proportion of the TGD population and a contingent of the population facing significant health disparities. A minority stress model is useful …

Qualitative Analysis Of Anti-Abortion Discourse Used In Arguments For A 6-Week Abortion Ban In South Carolina, Victoria C. Lambert, Emily E. Hackworth, Deborah Lynn Billings Phd

Publications

Background: On June 24, 2022, The U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, leaving abortion legislation entirely up to states. However, anti-abortion activists and legislators have organized for decades to prevent abortion access through restrictive state-level legislation. In 2019, South Carolina legislators proposed a bill criminalizing abortion after 6 weeks gestation, before most people know they are pregnant. The current study examines the anti-abortion rhetoric used in legislative hearings for this extreme abortion restriction in South Carolina. By examining the arguments used by anti-abortion proponents, we aim to expose their misalignment with public opinion on abortion and demonstrate that their …

The Strong Black Woman Schema: A Proactive Approach To Conceptualizing And Providing Mental Health Treatment For Black Women Who Identify With The Strong Black Woman Schema, Kendra Mulder

DSW Capstone Projects

The Strong Black Woman Schema is the ideology that Black women should display mental and physical strength, stoicism, and nurturer traits. While Black women who identify with this schema typically associate this term with a positive identity, there are adverse outcomes that stem from this identification. Black women who identify with the Strong Black Woman schema experience higher rates of depression, anxiety, and psychological distress. No treatment modality has been determined to treat Black women who identify with the Strong Black Woman Schema. This capstone presentation will present a systematic literature review that discusses how the Strong Black Woman Schema …

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. …

Saint Louis, Missouri Maternal Mortality Prevention Program: Rose Program, Abbi Peck

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

In the United States, maternal mortality has become a growing public health concern after recent studies revealed significant disparities in maternal health outcomes when compared to other high-income countries (The Commonwealth Fund, 2020). The World Health Organization (WHO) defines maternal mortality as the death of a pregnant woman or the death of a woman within 42 days of delivery, miscarriage, termination, or ectopic pregnancy (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2022a). From 2017-2019, the maternal mortality in Saint Louis, Missouri, the state’s largest and most populated metropolitan area, was determined to be 36.4 maternal deaths per 100,000 live births. This …

Physical Inactivity And Single-Female Caregivers, Johanna Hoch, Rachel Hogg-Graham Dr., John Lyons Dr., Maureen Jones Dr.

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

Physical activity is vital for human health. However, many adults in the United States and beyond do not reach the pre-determined recommended levels of activity needed for health benefits. Single-female caregivers present a unique and vulnerable population that is often more inactive than their partnered peers or single-male caregivers. The primary purpose of this cross-sectional investigation was to identify the prevalence of physical inactivity in single-family, female-led households and determine differences in personal factors and social determinants of health between single-female caregivers who indicated they were physically active compared to single-female caregivers who indicated they were not physically active. A …

Implementation Of A School-Based Adolescent Pregnancy Prevention Program In Harlan County, Kentucky, Jaycea Frederick

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

Kentucky has the 6^th highest rate of adolescent pregnancy in the United States and Harlan County ranks among the highest rates in the state. Adolescent pregnancy is a public health problem and costs taxpayers in the United States around $9.4 billion each year. Overall, there have been declines in adolescent pregnancy but the national average soars above those in other Western industrialized nations such as the United Kingdom. Implementing a comprehensive sexual health education program in a public school setting is an efficient strategy to reach numerous adolescents and influence sexual health knowledge and help to delay the initiation …

An Association Of The Transgenerational Implications Of Redlining And Obesity On Pediatric Type Ii Diabetes, Carlin Dexter Nelson

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

s the prevalence and incidence of childhood obesity has increased, so has the number of cases of pediatric Type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM). Although made unconstitutional in 1968, the transgenerational implications of redlining can be observed in disinvestments resulting in neighborhood detraction. Utilizing the 2019–2020 National Children’s Health Survey, the purpose of the study was to evaluate the relationship between obesity, T2DM, and neighborhood detraction elements as well as assessed indicators of T2DM in non-institutionalized children 6 through17 years of age (N = 34,725). The social determinants of health perspective served as the conceptual framework for the study. Results indicated …

Neighborhood Factors, Cardiovascular Illness, Mental Health, And Aging In The United States, Brenda Billings

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The inability to age in place among people 65 years old and older is a public health problem in the United States. However, it is unknown what neighborhood factors (i.e., trust, safety, shared values) impact the communities that are struggling to support individuals looking to stay in their homes as they age. The purpose of this quantitative correlational study was to examine the relationship between neighborhood factors (i.e., trust, safety, and shared values), cardiovascular illness (i.e., heart attack and stroke), mental health (i.e., depression), and aging in place, controlling for sex, age, marital status, educational level, employment status, and race. …

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 …

A Refreshing Change: Safeguarding Mothers And Children From Pfas Exposure, Emmanuela Nwaonumah, Alisha Riggins, Emmanuel Azu, Oluwatoyin Ayo-Farai, Joanne Chopak-Foss, Logan Cowan, Atin Adhikari

Eagles Talking About the Public’s Health

No abstract provided.

The Role Of Parental Military Status And Educational Attainment On Mental Health Service Usage Among Children And Adolescents, Cierra Jones Williams

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

A lack of mental health services for children and adolescents has been linked to significant health problems in adulthood. Researchers have investigated factors that influence usage of mental health services among children and adolescence, but significant gaps persist regarding use of mental health service among military-connected youth. This quantitative study was conducted to examine if parental military status and parental education affected the usage of mental health services among children and adolescents ages 3–17 in the United States. Multivariable logistic regression was used to analyze secondary data from the combined 2019–2020 National Survey of Children’s Health. After adjusting for income, …

Relationship Between Homelessness, Substance Use, Employment, Living On A Reservation And Tuberculosis Among Northern Plains Native Americans, Darla Mccloskey

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Native Americans in the Northern Plains have a long history of tuberculosis (TB) infections. There is limited research on the causes of latent TB infections (LTBI) and TB in this population. The purpose of this quantitative study was to assess the relationship between latent TB and factors of homelessness, substance use, employment, living on a reservation, and active or latent TB among this population using the eco-social theory as the theoretical framework. Data from 146 TB cases of Native Americans living in the Northern Plains and diagnosed with TB from 1999 to 2019 were analyzed using chi-square tests that showed …

African American Baby Boomers’ Lived Experiences In Skilled Nursing Facilities For Post-Acute Care Admissions, Dr. Charles A. Fraiser

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

AbstractPrevious studies have examined the quality of elderly healthcare offered in skilled nursing facilities (SNFs) among older adults, in general, but the studies have not emphasized ex-periences unique to African America baby boomers and the factors they consider when making SNF-related decisions for post-acute care. The purpose of the study was to exam-ine the lived experiences of African American baby boomers who are currently in or have been treated in SNFs for post-acute care to learn about their decisions to select an SNF. Andersen’s behavioral model of health services served as the conceptual framework. A descriptive phenomenological qualitative design was …

Nutrient Pollution And Chlorophyll-A As A Precursor To Harmful Algal Blooms And Cyanotoxins In Rehabilitated Machado Lake, California, Michael E. Shiang

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Algal blooms result in the formation of cyanotoxic conditions in a freshwater lake causing severe detrimental impacts to community and public health. Nitrogen, phosphorous, and ammonia stimulate the growth of phytoplankton biomass and algae, as measured by chlorophyll. This retrospective quantitative research study, grounded in the socioecological model, examined the relationship between nutrient pollutants and chlorophyll-a (Chl-a) that forecast harmful algal blooms, a precursor to cyanotoxins. A former impaired lake, Machado Lake in California, provided an ideal setting to assess relationships among nutrient indicators and Chl-a post-lake rehabilitation. Correlation and multiple regression analyses were performed to determine if a relationship …

Association Between Antidepressant Adherence And Major Depressive Disorder Complications, Philip Lisinge

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Despite evidence that antidepressants are more effective at treating major depressive disorder (MDD) symptoms, there is growing evidence that MDD management is still hampered by nonadherence to antidepressant treatment regimens. Researchers have suggested that MDD, if untreated, might lead to MDD-related complications, but other researchers have argued that adherence to antidepressants can lead to these same MDD-related complications. This quantitative cross-sectional study used primary data collected from 298 volunteers to examine the association between MDD-related complications and antidepressant adherence to clarify these diverging opinions. The study’s objective was to provide evidence to accept or reject the premise that antidepressant adherence …

A Quantitative Study On Molecular Cluster Detection In Virally Suppressed Communities, Mariska Belinda Osborne-Wells

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Viral suppression within human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) care and treatment planning is the gold standard of care for most providers when engaging with their patients. In many settings, the patient has received a positive lab that is indicative of HIV antibodies being detected; this in turn means they need additional medical attention to manage the infection. Upon receiving linkage to care services and attending an initial appointment, an initial genetic sequence is usually completed to assess the patient’s strain of HIV and how antiretroviral medications may antagonize or complement the HIV strain. It is possible that access, bias, and colorism …

Food Environment As A Moderator In The Relationship Between Ultra-Processed Food Intake And Mortality In The United States, Brandon Jerod Grandy

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

According to recent studies, the consumption of ultra-processed food is a major issue that leads to fatal outcomes within the United States, which is relevant because this type of food has become more accessible over the years. Using data from the National Health And Nutrition Examination Survey III (NHANES III), previous researchers found that frequent consumption of ultra-processed foods was associated with greater chances of all-cause mortality in U.S. adults, but little research has focused on factors that can impact ultra-processed food consumption, such as food environment. The purpose of this quantitative longitudinal study was to examine the effect of …

Traditional Healing And Biomedicine Use In Urban American Indians Living With Diabetes, Elin Elise Kambuga

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The purpose of this interpretative qualitative study was to describe influences that affect the use of traditional healing and biomedical health services for type 2 diabetes to help health educators develop more culturally competent diabetes education programs for urban American Indian/Alaska Native (AI/AN) communities in the United States. The theoretical framework used for this study was the social ecological model (SEM). Using the SEM, the research questions were crafted to explore experiences of participants connected to personal, interpersonal, community, institutional, policy, and educational factors that influenced the use of traditional healing and biomedical health services. Urban AI/AN adults living in …

The Association Between Working Habits And Hypertension Among First Generation African Immigrants, Olalekan Kilo

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Even though hypertension affects people of all races, it is more prevalent among African Americans. However, recent research has revealed that the prevalence of hypertension is progressively increasing across Africa. African immigrants in the United States are the least-studied immigrant group prone to health inequalities when compared to their African American counterparts. To help bridge this gap, a secondary data analysis of a cross-sectional study was conducted to investigate the association between working habits (hours worked, diet at work), length of stay in the United States, and hypertension rates for first-generation African immigrants residing in the United States. The study …

Striving For Appropriate Antibiotic Use: A Biomarker Initiative, And Outcomes Associated With Azithromycin Exposure, Amanda Gusovsky

Theses and Dissertations--Pharmacy

The introduction of antibiotics into clinical practice is considered the greatest medical breakthrough of the 20^thcentury. However, the use of antibiotics can contribute to the development of resistance. In the United States (U.S.), approximately 2.8 million people are infected with antibiotic-resistant bacteria each year, and more than 35,000 people die as a result. Moreover, some antibiotics are known to cause cardiac side effects including QT prolongation, hypotension, and ventricular arrythmias. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) defines appropriate antibiotic use as the effort to use “the right antibiotic, at the right dose, for the right …

Genetic And Pharmacogenetics Associations Of Cancer Disparities In Appalachia, Nan Lin

Theses and Dissertations--Pharmacy

Individuals residing in Appalachian regions have significant health disparities, including higher cancer incidence and mortality rates. Previous studies have addressed the impact of socioeconomic status and environmental risk factors on Appalachia cancer disparities, while few studies have evaluated genetic risk factors.

Germline whole exome sequencing samples from 7,078 individuals with cancer (759 Appalachians) were evaluated. Demographics and relatedness were assessed using KING. Ethnicity was verified by principal component analysis using TRACE, which included 6,034 individuals (85%) of European genetic ancestry. After QC filtering, 5,980 individuals were analyzed. To assess the overall predisposition of hereditary disease, gene level frequency of likely …