Public Health Commons^™

Identifying Nontraditional Epidemic Disease Risk Factors Associated With Major Health Events From World Health Organization And World Bank Open Data, Roberta Lugo-Robles, Eric C. Garges, Cara H. Olsen, David Brett-Major

Journal Articles: Epidemiology

Health events emerge from host, community, environment, and pathogen factors-forecasting epidemics is a complex task. We describe an exploratory analysis to identify economic risk factors that could aid epidemic risk assessment. A line list was constructed using the World Health Organization Disease Outbreaks News (2016-2018) and economic indicators from the World Bank. Poisson regression employing forward imputations was used to establish relationships with the frequency with which countries reported public health events. Economic indicators demonstrated strong performance appropriate for further assessment in surveillance programming. In our analysis, three economic indicators were significantly associated to event reporting: how much the country's …

Impact Of Heavy Metals In Ambient Air In Insulin Resistance Of Shipyard Welders In Northern Taiwan, Ting-Yao Su, Hueiwang Anna Jeng, Yuan-Ting Hsu, Ching-Huang Lai, Chih-Hong Pan

Community & Environmental Health Faculty Publications

Exposure to metals poses potential health risks, including insulin resistance (IR), to those exposed to them in excess. Limited studies have examined such risks in occupational workers, including welders, and these have yielded inconsistent results. Thus, we examined the associations between exposure to welding metals and IR in welders. We recruited 78 welders and 75 administrative staff from a shipyard located in northern Taiwan. Personal exposure to heavy metals, including chromium (Cr), manganese (Mn), iron (Fe), nickel (Ni), copper (Cu), zinc (Zn), and cadmium (Cd), was monitored through particulate matter with an aerodynamic diameter of less than 2.5 μm (PM …

Boot Camp Translation: Community Engaged Research Process Evaluation, Emma Daybranch, Kerri Barton, Brendan Schauffler, Lisbeth Wierda, Neil Korsen

Costas T. Lambrew Research Retreat 2021

The BCT process was first developed by the High Plains Research Network and its Community Advisory Council in rural Colorado. Between 2004 and 2015 the BCT process was used 31 times across the U.S. on a broad range of topics.

Ua19/16/2 Tennis Press Releases, Wku Athletic Media Relations

WKU Administration Documents

Press releases, photos and game statistics for WKU tennis team in 2021.

Nursing: Global Impact Increases Healthcare Effectiveness, Madison Slacktish

Student Research Poster Presentations 2021

The discipline of nursing has a major impact on the world globally. Research has found when nurses collaborate across boarders, then patient outcomes tend to increase. Disease does not stop because there is a boarder from one country to the next. Therefore, worldly collaboration has positive influences on how nurse's practice and ways to change protocols to increase better patient outcomes.

2021-01-01_Michiganoverview_Covidtestingtimes, Michigan Department Of Health & Human Services

Michigan COVID-19 Testing Turnaround Data

The COVID Testing Turnaround Time page was obtained from Michigan's COVID-19 data page: https://www.michigan.gov/coronavirus/0,9753,7-406-98163_98173-545615--,00.html.

This report was created by the Michigan Department of Health & Human Services, providing data for the past 14 days on the average time it takes for a diagnostic COVID-19 laboratory test to be reported to the state health department. Testing turnaround time data will be updated weekly on Friday mornings.

MDHHS receives results from commercial labs, hospitals, and public health labs. However, public health laboratories perform limited diagnostic testing and disease surveillance for infectious diseases. Total turnaround time is calculated from the difference of …

Values And Other Decisional Factors Regarding Treatment Of Hypercalcaemia Of Malignancy: A Systematic Review Protocol, Aya Bassatne, Maya Rahme, Thomas Piggott, Hassan Murad, Layal Hneiny, Ghada El-Hajj Fuleihan

Faculty Publications

Introduction Hypercalcaemia of malignancy (HCM) is the second most common cause of hypercalcaemia and is associated with significant morbidity and mortality. Several treatment options are available including pharmacological therapy with bisphosphonates, denosumab, glucocorticoids and calcimimetics, as well as conventional therapy with hydration and possibly calcitonin. While guidelines have previously considered treatment effects, no guideline has yet considered a range of contextual factors impacting recommendations for the management. The aim of this study was to summarise the available evidence on important decisional factors for the development of guidelines for the treatment of HCM. These include patient’s values and preferences, cost, acceptability, …

Ua19/16/2 Golf Press Releases, Wku Athletic Media Relations

WKU Administration Documents

Press releases, photos and game statistics for WKU golf teams in 2021.

Ua19/16/2 Athletic Media Relations Press Releases, Wku Athletic Media Relations

WKU Administration Documents

General WKU athletic press releases for 2021.

Ua19/16/2 Football Press Releases, Wku Athletic Media Relations

WKU Administration Documents

Press releases, photos and statistics for WKU football team for 2021.

Ua19/16/2 Baseball Press Releases, Wku Athletic Media Relations

WKU Administration Documents

Press releases, photos and game statistics for WKU baseball team in 2021.

Hiv Testing And Treatment Among Adults Working In The Fishing Sector, Agricultural Estates, And As Market Vendors In Rural Southern Malawi, Project Soar

HIV and AIDS

This brief focuses on the findings from Project SOAR’s monitoring of the One Community (One-C) project in areas where it is operating in Malawi. The brief describes the characteristics of male and female adults working in the fishing sector, in agricultural estates, and as market vendors. It also describes the prevalence of HIV testing and treatment among these populations and explores whether participation in One-C activities is associated with higher uptake of HIV services.

Relationship Between Treatment Comorbidities And Viral Suppression Of Hiv Infections In Johannesburg, Nwogo Ekeji, Nwogo Immaculata Ekeji

Walden Faculty and Staff Publications

HIV has globally infected 37.9 million people, of which 23.3 million (62%) are on antiretroviral treatment (ART). In South Africa, low rate of viral suppression among people living with HIV (PLWHIV) is a major health problem that has continued to fuel HIV persistence. A cross-sectional quantitative research design was used to investigate the relationship between treatment of comorbidities and viral suppression among HIV-infected adults aged 18 – 49 who were diabetic, had cancer, or tuberculosis (TB) in Johannesburg. The HIV care continuum formed the framework for this research. A secondary dataset from the national level survey 2017 was used for …

Corruption: An Impediment To Delivering Pathology And Laboratory Services In Resource-Limited Settings, Emily H. Glynn Md, Timothy Amukele, Taryn Vian

Nursing and Health Professions Faculty Research and Publications

OBJECTIVES

Corruption is a widely acknowledged problem in the health sector of low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). Yet, little is known about the types of corruption that affect the delivery of pathology and laboratory medicine (PALM) services. This review is a first step at examine PALM corruption risks.

METHODS

We performed a critical review of medical literature focused on health sector corruption in LMICs. To provide context, we categorized cases of lab-related fraud and abuse in the U.S.

RESULTS

Forms of corruption in LMICs that may impact the provision of PALM services include informal payments, absenteeism, theft and diversion, kickbacks, …

A Systematic Review Of Approaches Used For Reproductive Health Interventions, Hanvit Park, Emma Hilbelink, Adejoke Ayoola

Summer Research

During 2011 in the United States, 48% of all pregnancies were unintended.1 This may be attributed to a lack of knowledge of women’sreproductive anatomy and bodily changes, and contraception. To promote women's reproductive health, it is essential for women to be educated about their reproductive system, associated bodily changes, risk of conception and contraceptive use.

Association Between Serum Vitamin D And Bone Mineral Density In Us Population, Hamza M. Sultan

Master of Public Health Program Student Publications

Osteoporosis is a condition where the bones become weak that affects 12.6% of the United States (US) population over 50 years of age. Vitamin D helps to improve bone health as it functions in helping reabsorb calcium from the intestines. Several studies have been conducted on the effects of vitamin D on Bone Mineral Density (BMD), where it has shown that insufficient vitamin D is associated with a reduction in BMD. The purpose is to determine the relationship between serum vitamin D and BMD of the femoral neck in the US population in National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) …

Multiplex Social Factors Affecting Hiv Prevalence In Colorado, Jesse Cannella

Scholarship in Medicine - All Papers

Objective: The objective of this paper was to investigate and analyze the relationships between the prevalence of HIV and geographic location, high-risk behaviors, and education status in Colorado in 2020. Methods: The author of this paper conducted Spearmen correlations on HIV prevalence with rural status, rates of flu vaccinations, and drug overdose deaths, as well as performed stepwise linear regressions on the variance of HIV prevalence accounted for by rates of teen births, sexually transmitted infections, high school graduation, and college education status. Results: Incidence of other STIS and teen births (F2,42 = 7.69, p = .001), as well as …

Ua94/6/1 Covid-19: The New Plague, Kaylene Bliss

Student/Alumni Personal Papers

COVID-19 personal narrative written by student Kaylene Bliss for History 241 class.

Improving Diabetic Retinopathy Screening Rate In A Rural Primary Care Setting Using Point Of Care Ai Technology, Shane Kirkegaard

Costas T. Lambrew Research Retreat 2021

Point of Care AI Technology Poised to Improve Diabetic Retinopathy Screening Rate in Rural Primary Care Setting

Parents' Attitudes As Mediators Between Knowledge And Behaviours In Unintentional Injuries At Home Of Children Aged 0-3 In Shanghai, Eastern China: A Cross-Sectional Study, Xueqi Ma, Qi Zhang, Ruo Jiang, Jun Lu, Huiping Wang, Qinghua Xia, Jicui Zheng, Wei Deng, Fengshui Chang, Xiaohong Li

Community & Environmental Health Faculty Publications

Objective: Parental behaviours are important in preventing unintentional injury at home among young children. Previous research showed an inconsistent relationship between knowledge and behaviours, indicating that the mechanisms may vary for different behaviours. This study aimed to examine the mediating roles of different attitudes in the mechanism of knowledge acting on different behaviours.

Design: Cross-sectional study.

Setting: Eastern China

Participants: Participants were recruited using stratified community-based sampling. A total of 488 parents of children aged 0–3 years participated in the study and 476 (97.5%) valid questionnaires were recovered.

Primary outcome measures: Parents’ knowledge, attitudes (including injury attribution, preventability and responsibility) …

Socioeconomic Status And Psychosocial Resources Mediate Racial/Ethnic Differences In Psychological Health Among Gay And Bisexual Men: A Longitudinal Analysis Using Structural Equation Modeling, Rainier Masa, Sylvia Shangani, Don Operario

Community & Environmental Health Faculty Publications

A large body of research demonstrates disparities in psychological health attributed to sexual minority identity, racial/ethnic minority identity, and socioeconomic status (SES). Fewer studies have explicated the role of these multiple attributes on psychological health and explored the role of SES and psychosocial resources in determining outcomes. We analyzed data from Project STRIDE, a longitudinal survey involving a diverse sample of gay and bisexual adult men (n = 198). Using structural equation modeling, we tested hypothesized direct and indirect effects of race/ethnicity, SES, and three psychosocial mediational variables (collective self-efficacy, everyday discrimination, internalized homophobia) on two outcome variables-psychological and social …

Human Immunodeficiency Virus (Hiv) – An Analysis Of Trends In Hiv Diagnoses From 2008 – 2018, Ulysses G. Gardner

Scholarship in Medicine - All Papers

Objective: An estimated 1.1 million people are living with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) in the United States. Despite over two decades of research, a cure for HIV has not been approved and it remains a pandemic. This research study was conducted to determine the statistical significance in HIV incidence based on diagnoses in 2008 versus 2018; age groups 25-34 years old versus 55+ years old; Black versus Hispanic versus White; male versus female; and geographical location. Methods: This retrospective study was conducted using data from the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Atlas Plus data sets, a collection …

Chlamydia In Ohio 2019, Jennifer Schmitz

Scholarship in Medicine - All Papers

Objective: Chlamydia Trachomatis is becoming an increasingly large national problem with severe consequences on the medical health care system. Methods: With data collected from County Health Ranking, with research that has been conducted at governmental and nongovernmental levels throughout the community, state and national level. Increases in rates of chlamydia can be linked to an increased number of testing or increased accuracy of testing while decreased numbers of incidence can be due to low reporting from that county. Conducting correlation and comparison may reveal additional links to the rising rates of Chlamydia. Results: We found a positive correlation between rate …

Family Structure And Pediatric Outcomes In Ohio, Andrew J. Berman

Scholarship in Medicine - All Papers

Objective: The number of single-parent households has been trending upwards since the early 1900s. Studies in the past have evaluated the effects single-parent households have on pediatric outcomes nationwide. This study attempts to build upon these past studies by analyzing whether these findings remain when looked at the State level, for Ohio 2020, as well as see if the percent of children in single-parent households can predict child mortality.

Methods: Data was collected from publicly available data sets through County Health Rankings. This study utilizes SPSS for data analysis. ANOVA with post-hoc was performed to compare children in single-parent household …

Mainehealth As A Partner In The National Covid Cohort Collaborative (N3c), Susan Santangelo, Ivette Emery, Kim Murray, John Dipalazzo, David Denton, Cliff Rosen

Costas T. Lambrew Research Retreat 2021

No abstract provided.

Understanding Challenges To Well-Being Among Latina Farmworkers In Rural Idaho Using In An Interdisciplinary, Mixed-Methods Approach, Cynthia L. Curl, Lisa Meierotto, Rebecca L. Som Castellano

Public and Population Health Faculty Publications and Presentations

The aim of this study was to identify social, cultural and workplace-related risk factors affecting well-being among Latina farmworkers in rural Idaho. We recruited 70 Latina farmworkers from southwestern Idaho in 2019. We employed an inter-disciplinary, mixed-methods approach—including surveys, focus groups, interviews, and pesticide biomonitoring—to characterize multiple domains that influence well-being, including food security and access, housing conditions, social supports, access to medical care, and workplace safety. Six major themes emerged as primary challenges to Latina farmworkers’ well-being. In the public sphere, study participants identified these challenges as long working hours, concerns regarding pesticide exposure, and lack of enforcement of …

Assessment Of Electrostatic Potential Resulting From Friction Between Fabric Samples Made Of Natural And Synthetic Fibers, Uwe Reischl, Budimir Mijovic

Public and Population Health Faculty Publications and Presentations

Synthetic fibers are known to be a major source of electrostatic potential occurring on clothing. The electrical properties of fibers are determined by their chemical composition and polymer structure. Environmental factors such as humidity, temperature, and friction intensity can influence these properties. Due to the insulative characteristics of most fabrics, fibers are able to keep their charge for relatively long periods. This can result in clothing to cling to each other, attract dust, and create discharge shocks. To reduce these issues, suggestions have been proposed to mix garment layers made of natural fibers with garment layers made of synthetic fibers. …

Uniting The Front: A Qualitative Exploration Of The Community Health Worker Covid-19 Pandemic Response In Connecticut, Serena Ly

Public Health Theses

Background: Community health workers (CHWs) are becoming increasingly recognized for their contributions to community health. As the COVID-19 pandemic continues to devastate poor and underserved communities, leveraging CHWs’ experiences with vulnerable community members is key to developing an equity-centered pandemic response. This qualitative research study aimed to explore how CHWs have addressed emerging community needs and whether health and emergency management systems have fully integrated CHWs in the COVID-19 pandemic response. This study further aimed to assess, through CHWs perceptions, how well health systems have safeguarded CHWs’ health and wellbeing as they support impacted communities.

Methods: CHWs and their managers …

Increasing Minority Representation In The Healthcare Field Through A Girl’S Summer Camp, Anna Christiansen, Dzifa Agbossey-Dimado, Adejoke Ayoola

Summer Research

• Despite increasing diversity among the United States’ population, the healthcare workforce, particularly in highly skilled roles, has failed to keep pace. The underrepresentation of minority groups within healthcare professions comes at the expense of quality and access to care, patient satisfaction, acceptability, general experience, and health outcomes.
• One promising approach to addressing this health inequity is increasing the diversity of the healthcare workforce across all skill-level roles so that it is representative of the population which it serves. Research suggests that exposing underrepresented groups to healthcare professions as a possible career path during formative career planning years (early middle school), …

Ua19/16/2 Softball Press Releases, Wku Athletic Media Relations

WKU Administration Documents

Press releases, photos and game statistics for WKU softball team in 2021.