Public Health Commons^™

Understanding Changes In Mortality With Implementation Of Safe Injection Sites, Shubh Bhambri

Rowan-Virtua Research Day

The purpose of this study is to analyze mortality due to overdose in areas that have implemented supervised injection sites and understand what factors these facilities affect that can lead to a change in outcomes.

Trends In Pediatric Obesity Of School-Aged Children During The Covid-19 Pandemic, Maryanna Schweininger, Amaani Faizal, Suzanna Hosein

Rowan-Virtua Research Day

Since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, children have been more sedentary due to nationwide school closures resulting in classes being held virtually. Due to restrictions, children could no longer participate in physical education classes and after school activities at the same frequency. The pandemic also placed a disproportionate burden on low-income families thus, potentially amplifying food insecurity. The aim of this study was to identify the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on childhood obesity.

Too Much Of A Good Thing: Case Of Fluoride Toxicity, Swet Patel, John Polunin, James Espinosa, Alan Lucerna, Trent Malcolm

Rowan-Virtua Research Day

Overall, the beneficial role of fluoride for the maintenance of proper dental hygiene has been known for many decades which has been corroborated by a plethora of research. Media and culture have further highlighted how using fluoride supplementation can help with dental cavities. It is clear that just as there are benefits to fluoride usage, there also risks. Further awareness needs to be made that showcases the downfalls of excess fluoride use. Labels need to be placed on fluoride products that emphasizes the dosing. It is imperative that people are educated on the toxicity of fluoride as too much of …

The Effects Of Wearing A Mask On An Exercise Regimen, Ryan Gericke, Adarsh Gupta

Rowan-Virtua Research Day

Implementation of masks has impacted everyone worldwide

Properly wearing a mask requires covering both mouth and nose, putting a barrier between air and lungs

Exercise relies on cardiopulmonary function, so this barrier could potentially exacerbate the already altered physiology due to exercise alone

It is predicted that the addition of a mask will have negative implications on physiology

If there is evidence that people do not work out as effectively while wearing a mask, it would be important to find other ways to keep people physically active

Income And Its Effects On Health Literacy: A Study Between A Student-Run Free Clinic And A Family Medicine Office, Shayna Peterzell, Sahil Parikh, Thomas Ruta, Rabiye Ayaz, Srujan Dadi, Emily Forester, Olivia Choi, Rachel Fletcher-Slater, Melodi Harfouche, John Cruz, Roma Padalkar, Sobiah Khan, Rebecca Moore

Rowan-Virtua Research Day

More than 1/3 of people nationwide (80+ million) have limited health literacy, which contributes to poor health outcomes and lifestyle choices. Health literacy is defined as the understanding and application of words, numbers & documents (i.e., medication labels, medical forms). The Rowan Community Health Center (RCHC), located in Lindenwold NJ, is a student-run clinic that wanted to assess the health literacy of our patients in order to further provide better care. RCHC provides cost-free primary care services regardless of income, insurance, or legal status. To assess health literacy, RCHC used the New Vital Signs (NVS) literacy assessment tool to investigate …

Foci Of Idc In Phyllodes Tumors: Should We Be Worried?: A Systematic Review Of The Literature, Kathryn Eckert, Victoria Tiedemann, Linda Szczurek

Rowan-Virtua Research Day

Phyllodes tumors are rare, fast growing fibroepithelial tumors of the breast that account for less than 1% of all breast tumors globally. They were first characterized by Johannes Muller in 1838 and most often present in the 5th decade of life. Phyllodes tumors are histologically composed of a stromal component and an epithelial component. The stromal component has a widely accepted malignant potential in up to 30% of cases. Grading of the stromal malignant potential of phyllodes tumors has been defined by the World Health Organization (WHO) as benign, borderline, or malignant based on the presence and degree of stromal …

The Role Of Physiologic Vision Deficits In Elderly Self Dispensing Medication Errors, Harrison Patrizio

Rowan-Virtua Research Day

Elderly populations are more prone to self-dispensing medication errors. Although some of these errors can be attributed to a patient’s disease, many errors are preventable with behavioral modification. As we age, the lens of the eye becomes yellow. This tints all light that passes through it causing deficits in color distinguishability.(Andreasen, 1980) Additionally, the lens of the eye hardens over time. This results in presbyopia, an inability to focus close objects.(Wolffsohn, 2018) These changes can cause elderly patients to misread labels or dispensed incorrect medication due to color shade similarities.(Cardarelli, 2011) Although these visual changes are well documented, current research …

Analyzing The Effects Of The Covid-19 Pandemic On Mood Disorders In Patients, Alexa Golub, Joanna Petrides, Meagan Vermeulen

Rowan-Virtua Research Day

The COVID-19 pandemic brought about restrictions on social interactions, altered work settings/job losses, decreased access to groceries and essentials, and more

With strict prevention measures and isolating quarantine experiences, it was anticipated that the lockdown would have psychological effects

Some contributing psychological stressors included duration of quarantine, fear of infection, boredom, lack of supplies, inadequate information, and finances

This study aimed to quantify and evaluate any change in mood disorder diagnoses since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic

Assessing The Impact Of The Covid-19 Pandemic On Adolescent Mental Health, Vanessa Pizutelli, Yanil Morales, Christina Copeland, Archana Salek

Rowan-Virtua Research Day

Adolescence is a crucial period in which adverse childhood experiences, social relationships, and habits can influence mental wellbeing. According to the CDC, the onset of mental illness is 14.5 years old, which is why it is imperative that individuals with mental health conditions receive early intervention. Since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic, research has shown a dramatic decline in adolescent mental health. Specifically in New Jersey, it has been reported that individuals ages 18-23 have the highest levels of stress and depressive symptoms since the start of the pandemic. In light of these findings, it is vital that more …

Assessing The Effectiveness Of Phone Call Proactive Naloxone Co-Prescribing Enrollment, Tyler Klecha, David Aloisio, Eshani Choksi, Manasa Gowda, Christina Kanagawa, Charles M. Defendorf

Rowan-Virtua Research Day

Opioid use is increasing at never-before-seen rates. As a result, it is imperative that medical facilities educate and provide resources for those who may be at risk of an opioid overdose. With our study, we aimed to see the demographics of our population here at Rowan Medicine and identify associations of those participating in our naloxone co-prescription program. Majority of enrollees in our program were aged 50 or older and identified as Caucasian. A large proportion also reported being unable to work. Given this information, improvements in our naloxone coprescription program may include spreading more awareness of the benefits of …

Case Report: Unintentional Edible Thc Ingestion (Gummi Worms) In A Child, James Espinosa, Kelly Hamilton, Alan Lucerna, David Ho, Henry Schuitema

Rowan-Virtua Research Day

We report the case of a 4 year male who presented to the ED with what his mother described as unusual fatigue and sleepiness. The mother related that family and friends had some to her house for a holiday gathering and that one of the guests had an accessible and open handbag that contained gummi worm THC. The guest observed the child eating the gummi worms and immediately notified the patient’s mother. Poison control was contacted. The child was observed for 6 hours and left the ED in good condition without any specific treatment needed. Awareness of the potential of …

Literature Review: Incidentalomas In Emergency Medicine - How Often Are They Reported And Are Patients Informed?, Mohammad Rattu, James Espinosa, Alan Lucerna, James Lee

Rowan-Virtua Research Day

The purpose of this proposed study is to look at the rate of incidental findings on CT scan in a community hospital setting, as well as to look at the rate of documentation of communication of the findings to the patient and referral for follow-up to primary care or to a specialty follow-up.

Literature Review: Palliative Care In The Emergency Department, Alice Chang, James Espinosa, Alan Lucerna, Neelesh Parikh

Rowan-Virtua Research Day

With current medical advances, our patient population continues to age. This poses new challenges for healthcare practitioners to provide for elderly patients with complex and multifactorial medical needs. Particularly, this is a growing challenge in the emergency department (ED), where patients often present towards the last months of their lives. A study conducted by UCSF indicates 75% of patients in their last 6 month of life visited the ED. 56% to 99% of older adults do not have advance directives available at ED presentation. Therefore, ED visits towards the end of life is an opportune teaching moment for physicians to …

Covid-19, Vaccination, And Heart Transplantation, Forest W. Arnold

The University of Louisville Journal of Respiratory Infections

No abstract provided.

Dietary Score Associations With Markers Of Chronic Low-Grade Inflammation: A Cross-Sectional Comparative Analysis Of A Middle- To Older-Aged Population, Seán R. Miller, Pilar Navarro, Janas M. Harrington, Nitin Shivappa Mbbs, Mph, Ph.D., James Hébert Scd, Ivan J. Perry, Catherine M. Phillips

Faculty Publications

Purpose

To assess relationships between the Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension (DASH), Mediterranean Diet (MD), Dietary Inflammatory Index (DII^®) and Energy-adjusted DII (E-DII™) scores and pro-inflammatory cytokines, adipocytokines, acute-phase response proteins, coagulation factors and white blood cells.

Methods

This was a cross-sectional study of 1862 men and women aged 46–73 years, randomly selected from a large primary care centre in Ireland. DASH, MD, DII and E-DII scores were derived from validated food frequency questionnaires. Correlation and multivariate-adjusted linear regression analyses with correction for multiple testing were performed to examine dietary score relationships with biomarker concentrations.

Results

In fully …

Polygenic Transcriptome Risk Scores For Copd And Lung Function Improve Cross-Ethnic Portability Of Prediction In The Nhlbi Topmed Program, Xiaowei Hu, Dandi Qiao, Wonji Kim, Matthew Moll, Pallavi P Balte, Leslie A Lange, Traci M Bartz, Rajesh Kumar, Xingnan Li, Bing Yu, Brian E Cade, Cecelia A Laurie, Tamar Sofer, Ingo Ruczinski, Deborah A Nickerson, Donna M Muzny, Ginger A Metcalf, Harshavardhan Doddapaneni, Stacy Gabriel, Namrata Gupta, Shannon Dugan-Perez, L Adrienne Cupples, Laura R Loehr, Deepti Jain, Jerome I Rotter, James G Wilson, Bruce M Psaty, Myriam Fornage, Alanna C Morrison, Ramachandran S Vasan, George Washko, Stephen S Rich, George T O'Connor, Eugene Bleecker, Robert C Kaplan, Ravi Kalhan, Susan Redline, Sina A Gharib, Deborah Meyers, Victor Ortega, Josée Dupuis, Stephanie J London, Tuuli Lappalainen, Elizabeth C Oelsner, Edwin K Silverman, R Graham Barr, Timothy A Thornton, Heather E Wheeler, Topmed Lung Working Group, Michael H Cho, Hae Kyung Im, Ani Manichaikul

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

While polygenic risk scores (PRSs) enable early identification of genetic risk for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), predictive performance is limited when the discovery and target populations are not well matched. Hypothesizing that the biological mechanisms of disease are shared across ancestry groups, we introduce a PrediXcan-derived polygenic transcriptome risk score (PTRS) to improve cross-ethnic portability of risk prediction. We constructed the PTRS using summary statistics from application of PrediXcan on large-scale GWASs of lung function (forced expiratory volume in 1 s [FEV1] and its ratio to forced vital capacity [FEV1/FVC]) in the UK Biobank. We examined prediction performance and …

Sources Of Patient Information For Type 2 Diabetes Self-Care In Northern Mississippi, Minh-Sang La

Honors Theses

Given the prevalence of Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus in the United States and the continuous rise of cases, especially within Mississippi, there is an increasing need to identify if, and how, patients with Type 2 Diabetes receive information about self-care. While there is data available on the topic of where patients receive their information and the influence it has on their health in other countries of the world, the research on the source of Type 2 Diabetes education in the United States is scarce. Therefore, this study aims to bridge the gap of understanding where patients with Type 2 Diabetes …

Firsthand Experience In A Community Pharmacy Through The Lens Of A Pharmacy Technician, Khamariah Patrice Yelder-Anderson

Honors Theses

In the first chapter, I discussed three of the major issues in a community pharmacy which are rude customers, phones, and shorter hours. Technicians have to deal with very opinionated customers who can come off as insolent. The phones are a popular mode of communication for both the patients and physicians but that doesn’t account for the added demands it places on pharmacy workers. Lastly, the pharmacy has experienced later openings with earlier closings that have left filled queues and unhappy customers. The next chapter, interpersonal dynamic, takes a deeper look into how various roles of the pharmacy engage with …

Covid-19 Vaccine Mandate, Mikhail Kun, Tatiana Ryzhakova

Publications and Research

The COVID-19 pandemic has wreaked havoc on the planet and killed millions of people. Health care workers and radiology technicians who come into direct contact with COVID-19 patients have indeed been the most affected by the virus. Since the pandemic began, the COVID-19 cases among health care workers have surged and quadrupled. COVID-19 vaccine mandate is the need of the time. Mandates have a history and are in effect for other diseases such as smallpox, measles, or mumps. But since the vaccines have come out for COVID-19, there is a public impetus to condemn these vaccines, based on the false …

Stirring Up The Soil: Best Practices To Mitigate Lead Exposure In Contaminated Soils Within Omaha, Nebraska, Mckenzie Blaine

Celebrating Scholarship and Creativity Day (2018-)

Cities across the nation in the United States experience problems associated with lead contamination in their urban soils due to industrial pollution. In many instances, the emission of lead particles occurred – unregulated – for several decades. Though there are federal cleanup efforts to help minimize the negative impacts of lead contamination for the public in the United States, the efforts are designated for specified criteria and thus do not reach all areas which need to be remediated. In order to perform proper lead abatement practices, local organizations must take initiative on projects which meet the needs and demands of …

Editorial: The Interplay Between Social Determinants Of Health And Cancer Related Health Disparities, Tung-Sung Tseng, Chien Ching Li, Alicia K. Matthews

School of Public Health Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

A Geographically Targeted Approach For A Preceptor Tax Incentive Using Primary Care Health Professional Shortage Areas (Hpsas), Julia Mattingly, Sarah Belcher, Samuel C. Kessler

Commonwealth Policy Papers

Years before the COVID-19 pandemic brought on a health care shortage in Kentucky, its rural areas were already struggling to obtain and attract primary care medical practitioners. Even though the number of medical school graduates in the U.S. has steadily increased throughout the years, there is a general disinterest in rural or small-town practice, and legislators throughout the country have pondered ways to address this issue plaguing communities. Versions of Preceptor Tax Incentive legislation in Kentucky have been proposed in the General Assembly to address care shortages in the state, however, all have been unsuccessful at truly targeting rural areas …

Initiating Coordination Of Care For Children In State Custody Or Shelter Care, Angela Doswell

Research Days

Problem Statement/Question: Children in the foster care system experience barriers to continuity of care, both in the primary and subspecialty outpatient settings.

Background/Project Intent (Aim Statement): To decrease average percentage of scheduled but missed specialty appointments whose initial referrals were placed in the Foundations Foster Care Clinic (FCC) from 40% to 20% over a 10- month period from March-December 2020.

Methods (include PDSA cycles): Referrals to specialty clinics were placed during an initial or follow-up visit in the Foundations Foster Care Clinic (FCC). One PDSA cycle was performed and involved notification of the patient’s case worker when a referral was …

2022-05-04 Michiganoverview_Covidbedppe, Michigan Department Of Health & Human Services

Michigan COVID-19 Hospital Data

Contains the tables Statewide Hospital Capacity Report for COVID-19, COVID-19 Metrics, Statewide Hospital Available PPE Tracking for COVID-19, as well as the tables PPE Days On Hand and Patient Census.

2022-05-04_Michiganoverview_Covidvaccinestats, Michigan Department Of Health & Human Services

Michigan COVID-19 Vaccine Data

The COVID Vaccine Dashboard page was obtained from Michigan's main COVID-19 page: https://www.michigan.gov/coronavirus/resources/covid-19-vaccine/covid-19-dashboard.

First-dose tracker above is for entire Michigan Population. Coverage maps below are for age 5+.

Previously reported numbers of administered vaccine doses may change as new data are received. A possible lag in reporting vaccine doses will result in increases in numbers previously reported.

This report is created by the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services Division of Immunization from data reported to the Michigan Care Improvement Registry (MCIR).

The dashboard contained the tabs Primary Series Doses Administered, Primary Series Doses by Vaccine, …

2022-05-04_Michiganoverview_Covidcounts, Michigan Department Of Health & Human Services

Michigan COVID-19 Confirmed Cases by Date of Onset Data

Data was downloaded as an Excel spreadsheet which appeared in the Public Use Datasets section under the Cumulative Data link of Michigan's Coronavirus webpage, under the url https://www.michigan.gov/coronavirus/stats.

Cases are aggregated by the date of onset of COVID-19 symptoms, if known, otherwise by laboratory specimen date if known, otherwise by case referral date. Deaths are aggregated by the date of death if known, otherwise by the last date of a change to the case status.

2022-05-04_Michiganoverview_Covidstats, Michigan Department Of Health & Human Services

Cumulative Michigan COVID-19 Data

The COVID Overview page was obtained from Michigan's main COVID-19 page: https://www.michigan.gov/coronavirus/stats.

The State of Michigan is working around the clock to test and treat COVID-19 patients. Below is the most recent data healthcare experts across the state have compiled. COVID case and testing data will be posted once a week on Wednesdays.

This report is provisional and subject to change. City of Detroit and Wayne County are reported separately. MDHHS began tracking probable cases April 5, 2020. FCI indicates federal correctional institute. MDOC indicates Michigan Department of Corrections. Diagnostic tests, including nucleic acid amplification/real-time polymerase chain reaction (NAAT/RT-PCR) …

2022-05-04_Michigandaily_Covidmap, Michigan Department Of Health & Human Services

Daily Michigan COVID-19 Update

The "WHERE WE STAND WITH COVID-19" map was obtained from Michigan's main COVID-19 page: https://www.michigan.gov/coronavirus. Data was compiled by the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services (MDHHS). The information was updated once a week on Wednesdays.

The State of Michigan is working around the clock to test and treat COVID-19 patients. Below is the most recent data healthcare experts across the state have compiled.

The image contained a map, indicating total cases by county provided by the CDC. It also contains a second map of Michigan COVID-19 Community Levels by County, not captured in this screenshot. The figure …

Blue Zones: Unlocking Key Themes In The Centenarian's Life, Grace Beer, Grace O. Beer

Honors College Theses

Longevity has been sought after in certain areas of the world, and there are specific regions where this has been achieved. There is an American average life expectancy of 72 years old, but individuals in “Blue Zones” here in America and other areas of the world are expected to and have proven to live well beyond 100. The areas of Okinawa, Sardinia, Nicoya, Ikaria, and Loma Linda are classified as Blue Zones, and there could be more of an understanding of how these people live the way they do to have such healthy physical outcomes. To deeply understand the strategy …

Contributions Community Health Centers In The Delta Have Made During The Pandemic And Their Future, Ajah Tiyanna Singleton

Honors Theses

Community health centers that are located in the Mississippi Delta serve as critical points of contact for residents pertaining to medical care. The framework for the services provided locally, and nationally, originate from the now Delta Health Center in Mound Bayou, MS. The care that providers within these institutions have transformed over the course of the pandemic, and the aid rendered to patients have enabled residents to maintain their current level of health. Analyzing the various services provided during this time will allow for stakeholders to determine the next steps for these institutions as the imminent transition into a COVID-19 …