Public Health Commons^™

Healthcare Transformation In Saudi Arabia: An Overview Since The Launch Of Vision 2030, Ahmed Ali Alasiri, Viqaruddin Mohammed

University Administration Publications

Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030 has taken a centre stage in the development of its healthcare sector through privatization adopting Public Private Partnerships (PPPs). The objective of this study is to provide an overview of healthcare transformation in Saudi Arabia since the launch of the ambitious Vision 2030, identifying issues those need to be addressed and steps taken towards provision of health systems transformation. Literature review was based on extensive review of published and unpublished articles, where different search engines and databases searched using the key words: ‘Saudi Healthcare’, ‘Healthcare transformation’, ‘Saudi vision: 2030’, ‘Public-Private Partnerships’ and ‘Privatization’, in addition to …

Papanicolaou (Pap) Test And Human Papillomavirus (Hpv) Test Adherence: Sexual Violence Victims And Fear Of Retraumatization, Murielle Sighe Ngoumkam

CGU Theses & Dissertations

To include all vulnerable women population who faced barriers to participating in preventive cervical cancer screening, the public health community must better understand the factors that affect their decision for getting Pap and HPV tests. Public health must understand the sexual violence victims, a subgroup of women who faced the onset of trauma and explore their adherence to routine screening. This study investigated whether sexual women with a history of sexual violence (SV), likelihood to get screened for cervical cancer would be impacted given the fear of suffering from secondary trauma during conventional screening procedures. Methods: Knowledge of cervical screening …

Racial And Ethnic Disparities In Diabetes-Related Healthcare Service Use In The United States, 2016–2020, Gaole Song

CGU Theses & Dissertations

Diabetes is a serious public health issue in the United States. As one of the leading causes of death, the prevalence of diabetes has increased steadily and leads to an enormous medical and societal burden each year. Compared to non-Hispanic White adults, racial/ethnic minority adults have a higher risk to develop diabetes and its complications. Proper healthcare service use is important for reducing the prevalence of diabetes and the risk of complications. However, minority populations receive a lower quality healthcare service and have greater barriers to diabetes self-management. To get a better understanding of racial disparities in diabetes-related healthcare service …

Effectiveness Of Responsible Beverage Service Policies In Reducing Drunk-Driving In Maryland, Rhoda Makinde

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

In the State of Maryland and across the United States, driving under the influence (DUI) has led to a massive loss of lives and disability cases. Hence, responsible beverage service (RBS) policies and programs have been developed to prevent and control DUI incidence. This study sought to identify the effectiveness of these policies in addressing the DUI-related fatalities and injuries among young adults (18–30 years old) in the State of Maryland. Using program theory to evaluate the effectiveness of RBS policies and programs in reducing DUI, this qualitative research sampled bar patrons, club patrons, and alcohol servers/service staff in Baltimore. …

Accessibility To Vaping Products, Vaping, And Use Of Cigarettes Among Adolescents, Sherri Adeosun

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

There has been a continuous increase in the use of e-cigarettes among adolescents. The growth threatens to nullify the years of successfully reducing cigarette smoking among this age demographic. Additionally, the increase has been a concern for public healthcare workers due to the limited research on the effects of long-term use of e-cigarettes on adolescents. I investigated the possible side effects of exposure to e-cigarette advertisements and the use of e-cigarettes. Additionally, the study reviewed the relationship between the age e-cigarette use was initiated and the subsequent use of cigarettes. The conceptual framework was based on the multi-theory model and …

The Online Ordering Behaviors Among Participants In The Oklahoma Women, Infants, And Children Program: A Cross-Sectional Analysis, Qi Zhang, Kayoung Park, Junzhou Zhang, Chuanyi Tang

Community & Environmental Health Faculty Publications

The Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) is a nutrition assistance program in the United States (U.S.). Participants in the program redeem their prescribed food benefits in WIC-authorized grocery stores. Online ordering is an innovative method being pilot-tested in some stores to facilitate WIC participants' food benefit redemption, which has become especially important in the COVID-19 pandemic. The present research aimed to examine the online ordering (OO) behaviors among 726 WIC households who adopted WIC OO in a grocery chain, XYZ (anonymous) store, in Oklahoma (OK). These households represented approximately 5% of WIC households who redeemed …

Macro-Level Factors Impacting Colorectal Cancer Screening Behavior Among Church-Going Chinese Immigrants In The U.S.: A Convergent Mixed-Method Study, Xian Cao

Electronic Theses and Dissertations, 2020-2023

Chinese immigrants (CIs) had low colorectal cancer (CRC) screening rates. Macro-level health determinants may affect CIs' CRC screening; however, this is not well established. Thus, this research looked at the macro-level social factors of CRC screening among CIs. The POET theoretical framework guided this study, which includes four components: population (P), organization (O), environment (E), and technology (T). A convergent mixed method was used to investigate whether sociodemographic, acculturation, religious social capital, and mobile media-based cancer information seeking may predict CIs' endoscopic screening, and how these variables impact it. A validated survey and an interview covering the same factors were …

Essential Factors For A Healthy Microbiome: A Scoping Review, Patricia Grace-Farfaglia, Heather Frazier, Maura D. Iversen

Health Science Faculty Publications

Recent discoveries of the purpose and potential of microbial interactions with humans have broad implications for our understanding of metabolism, immunity, the host–microbe genetic interactions. Bioavailability and bioaccessibility of phytonutrients in foods not only enrich microbial diversity in the lower human gastrointestinal tract (GIT) but also direct the functioning of the metagenome of the microbiota. Thus, healthy choices must include foods that contain nutrients that satisfy both the needs of humans and their microbes. Physical activity interventions at a moderate level of intensity have shown positive effects on metabolism and the microbiome, while intense training (>70% VO₂max) …

Cannabis Use Rates And Modes Of Use In Kentucky, Gunnar Kennedy

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

ABSTRACT:

Background and Objectives:

The purpose of this study was to assess cannabis use rates and modes among people who use cannabis (PWUC) in the state of Kentucky in relation to socioeconomic, demographic, and geographic factors. Furthermore, this study compared Kentucky’s rates of use to other states and built a multivariable regression model to identify characteristics of individuals who use cannabis in Kentucky.

Methods:

For this cross-sectional descriptive analysis, we used 2020 data from the Kentucky Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS). We tabulated weighted responses to questions asking about frequency of cannabis use over the past 30 days, primary …

A Scoping Review Comparing Sustainable Diet Indices, Natalie Henning

Public Health Theses

Interest in environmentally sustainable diets (i.e., diets beneficial for both human and planetary health) has increased as the role of food systems in climate change and population health has become better understood. Sustainable diet indices have been proposed as a holistic approach to assessing diets around the world with regards to human and planetary outcomes. The aim of this scoping review was to summarize and compare sustainable diet indices and their applicability to various populations.A literature search of three databases (Scopus, PubMed, and the Climate Change and Human Health Literature Search Portal) was conducted to identify articles that developed, validated, …

Melissa: Monitoring The Environment With Living Investigatory Sentinel Species Apis Mellifera, Brady Rowe

Public Health Theses

Without the ability to meaningfully detect an environmental contaminant, public health efforts can get behind the curve, and people suffer for it. Industrial polluters are the major source of environmental contamination. Despite regulation, industrial compliance efforts are often limited by the difficulty of getting samples to analyze due to cost and logistical challenges. The current method requires a compliance officer to gather a sample or rely on self-reported measures from the potential polluters. This process can be remarkably costly both in capital and human labor. These issues can be remedied by relying on the domesticated honeybee to gather the “samples.” …

The Joint Effects Of Pre-Pregnancy Bmi, Race/Ethnicity On Infants’ Birth Weights, Mei Wang

Public Health Theses

AbstractObjective: We characterized the joint impacts of maternal race/ethnicity and pre-pregnancy BMI on adverse birth weight outcomes including low birth weight (LBW), and macrosomia. Methods: Retrospective cohort study of linked birth data for the years 2016-2020. Maternal race/ethnicity and maternal BMI were the key exposures; we analyzed their joint impact on outcomes using Poisson regression models. Results: When using race-specific reference groups, the difference in risk between NHB and NHW decreased as pre-pregnancy BMI increased and additionally, the difference in risk of macrosomia between the two groups increased with increasing BMI. NHB women generally had higher risk of low birth …

Factors Associated With Unsafe Children's Stool Disposal: An Analysis From 2015-2016 Myanmar Demographic And Health Survey, Naw Lah Say Wah

Chulalongkorn University Theses and Dissertations (Chula ETD)

Introduction: Safe sanitation is essential for preventing the transmission of diarrhoeal diseases and other infections. Sanitation projects and programs targeted at household sanitation have paid little focus to the disposal of children's stools. Due to the common misconception of children’s stool as less infectious, parents improperly manage children's stools for disposal. Unsafe disposal of children's stools has become an unhindered part of public health problems primarily in low and middle-income countries. Objective: To identify the association between children's stool disposal methods and factors associated with unsafe children’s stool disposal methods in Myanmar Method: This study is the cross-sectional secondary data …

Perceptions Of Contraceptive Practice Among Arab American Victims Of Intimate Partner Violence, Linda Humaidan-Zayed

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

There has been limited research on Arab Americans as they are an unidentified minority population. The specific research problem addressed through this study is that there is little research pertaining to the role of intimate partner violence (IPV) in poor contraceptive practice among Arab Americans, contributing to the larger problem of unwanted pregnancies, reproductive coercion, and other aspects of reproductive health. The problem with a high prevalence rate of IPV among Arab American women is that they are more susceptible to becoming pregnant and not accessing the reproductive health services that they may need. Thus, the purpose of this qualitative …

Covid-19 Vaccine Policies, & Vaccine Hesitancy: Improving Vaccine Uptake Together With One Respectful Voice, Emmanuela Nwaonumah, Emilee Larson, Danielle Soler Lopes, Bettye Apenteng

Eagles Talking About the Public’s Health

No abstract provided.

Influence Of Cyberbullying On Suicidal Behaviors, David Dellerman

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Secondary data was used to examine the prevalence of suicidal behaviors and the association between cyberbullying by high school-aged students (Grades 9–12) both heterosexual and sexual minority youth (SMY) and suicidal behaviors experienced by high school-aged students (Grades 9–12) in the United States using data from the 2017 CDC’s Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance System (YRBSS). The YRBSS used in this research was the newest and most comprehensive data. The YRBSS is a national school-based survey, that is used to monitor health-related behaviors including violence, sexual behaviors (heterosexual and SMY students), intentional and unintentional injuries that contribute to suicide behaviors. Results …

Prediabetes, Implementation Of Ada Practice Guidelines And Provider Perspective, Kimberlee May Manguiat-Lang

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

AbstractPrediabetes occurs before the development of diabetes in some people. Practitioners who educate people about prediabetes are not consistently using the latest evidence-based practice guidelines. The purpose of this mixed-method study was to fill a gap in the literature by providing evidence of the provider practices, attitudes and barriers when implementing American Diabetes Association (ADA) practice guidelines for the prediabetic patient. The Theory of Planned Behavior applies to evidence-based practice and the implementation of evidence-based practice guidelines. Research questions for this study focused on determining rate of compliance with ADA clinical practice guidelines from health care professionals to include providers …

Addressing Ascertainment Bias In The Study Of Cardiovascular Disease Burden In Opioid Use Disorders - Application Of Natural Language Processing Of Electronic Health Records, Jade Huang Singleton

Theses and Dissertations--Epidemiology and Biostatistics

In the United States, the prevalence of long-term exposure to opioid drugs, for both medically and nonmedically indicated purposes, has increased considerably since the mid-1990’s. Concerns have emerged about the potential health effects of opioid use. There is also growing interest in other possible connections with opioid use including cardiovascular disease. Electronic health records (EHR) contain information about patient care in the form of structured codes and unstructured notes. Natural language processing (NLP) provides a tool for processing unstructured textual data in EHR clinical notes and extracts useful information for research with structured formats. The purpose of this dissertation was …

Opioid Use Disorder Treatment With Buprenorphine: Analysis Of Treatment Utilization And Associated Outcomes In Kentucky, Feitong Lei

Theses and Dissertations--Epidemiology and Biostatistics

Opioid use disorder (OUD) is chronic opioid use that results in clinically significant suffering, impairment, or even death. The opioid epidemic in the United States has become a public health and economic crisis, affecting patients' well-being and the nation's overall health and welfare. Eastern Kentucky was among the first regions affected by the opioid crisis, and Kentucky has historically ranked among the top five states for age-adjusted drug overdose mortality rate.

There are three medications (buprenorphine, methadone, naltrexone) approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to treat OUD. As a partial opioid agonist, buprenorphine is a safe medication for …

Investigating The Uncertainties In Ct Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer Radiomics, Gary Ge

Theses and Dissertations--Radiation Medicine

Radiomics is a technique that extracts quantitative features, termed radiomic features, from medical images using data-characterization algorithms. These radiomic features can be used to identify tissue characteristics and radiologic phenotyping that are not observable by clinicians in a non-invasive, low-cost manner, potentially generating image biomarkers for clinical decision. To date, there are still many uncertainties involved in radiomics which limit its clinical implementation. Herein, we propose to explore the impact of each component in the radiomics pipeline on predicting clinical outcomes. In Chapter II, we conduct a thorough review of CT lung cancer radiomics studies to examine the typical feature …

Qualitative Comparison Of The United States And United Kingdom Healthcare Systems, Rachel Cazzaniga

Graduate Theses/Dissertations

The United States and United Kingdom healthcare systems vary based on their public access, financial dependence, health outcomes, gross domestic product, and much more. The systems have continued to grow with different focuses of importance in the quality of care that is being distributed to their populations. The U.K. universal healthcare system represents their value of accessibility and affordability, while the U.S. privatized system(s) represents their value of economic growth. The study provided a qualitative analysis of the systems' differences by integrating real world experiences and perceptions of the systems from individuals that have encountered and interacted as a patient …

Endocrine Disruptors: Challenges And Future Directions In Epidemiologic Research, V. Ho, L. Pelland-St-Pierre, S. Gravel, M. F. Bouchard, M.-A. Verner, F. Labrèche

Études primaires

Public concern about the impact of endocrine disrupting chemicals (EDCs) on both humans and the environment is growing steadily. Epidemiologic research provides key information towards our understanding of the relationship between environmental exposures like EDCs and human health outcomes. Intended for researchers in disciplines complementary to epidemiology, this paper highlights the importance and challenges of epidemiologic research in order to present the key elements pertaining to the design and interpretation of an epidemiologic study on EDCs.

The conduct of observational studies on EDCs derives from a thoughtful research question, which will help determine the subsequent methodological choices surrounding the careful …

An Attempt To Bring Modern Workplace Realities To The Social Security Disability Adjudication System, Robert E. Rains

Dickinson Law Review (2017-Present)

No abstract provided.

Should Self-Breast Awareness Be Part Of Self-Care?, Omolola Okunromade, Yelena Tarasenko

Eagles Talking About the Public’s Health

No abstract provided.

Substance Use & Mental Health: Challenges And Way Forward Amidst Covid-19 Pandemic, Aishat Adewoye, Jennifer E. Akpo

Eagles Talking About the Public’s Health

No abstract provided.

Expanding Implementation Of Cultural Competence In Health Communication To Reduce Stigma, Alexandria Alford, Joanne Chopak-Foss, Katie M. Mercer

Eagles Talking About the Public’s Health

No abstract provided.

The Promise Of The No Surprise Act In Advancing Health Equity, Xavier John, Naa-Amy Wayne, Bettye Apenteng

Eagles Talking About the Public’s Health

No abstract provided.

An Ecological Study Of Glyphosate Use And Non-Hodgkin’S Lymphoma, Dexter Corlett, Steven R. Browning

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

Glyphosate is currently the most widely used herbicide in the world. Initially thought to be non-carcinogenic in humans, in 2015 glyphosate was classified as a “probable carcinogen” by the International Agency for Research on Cancer due to several small epidemiological studies indicating a link between the pesticide and hematologic cancers, especially non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma (NHL). The current work is an ecological study using counties in Kentucky, Arkansas, and Iowa to compare glyphosate usage to NHL incidence using a multivariate Poisson regression. We found no significant correlation between glyphosate use and NHL incidence, though caution should be taken to draw significance from …

Utilizing A Video-Based Intervention To Improve Medicine Adherence And Retention Of Hiv Care In A Hiv Clinic., Robert Currie

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

Memphis, Tennessee has higher rates of black men who have sex with men living with human immunodeficiency (BMSMLWH) compared to state and national levels. ART has been shown to be effective in keeping people living with HIV virally suppressed and unable to transmit HIV through sex. However, BMSMLWH are disproportionately affected by HIV than other races in Memphis, Tennesee. The proposed program relies on evidence-based data that demonstrates the effectiveness of video-based intervention in improving medication adherence and HIV retention of care. Taking Care of Me is a video-based intervention that promotes HIV treatment initiation, ART adherence, and retention in …

Addressing Barriers To Colorectal Cancer Screening In A Federally Qualified Health Center: A Quality Improvement Project, Tania Centra

DNP Scholarly Projects

Abstract

Background: Colorectal cancer (CRC) is a leading cause of death from cancer in the United States, despite the availability of several high-quality screening options. Multiple barriers to CRC screening have been identified, including cost (non-insured), younger age, racial or ethnic minority, recent immigration to the U.S. (non-English speaking), fear or distrust of the healthcare system and rural residence. Addressing health equity within underserved populations requires improved access to CRC screenings per evidence-based guidelines.

Local Problem: The mean CRC screening rate for the designated Federally Qualified Health Center (FQHC) was 33.7% for the 5 months preceding this quality improvement (QI) …