Public Health Commons^™

A Case Of P2l2 With Scar Endometriosis With Previous Two Lscs, Dr. Punitha Nagaraj, Dr. Poornima M

Digital Journal of Clinical Medicine

No abstract provided.

A Case Of Atypical Presentation Of Radial Nerve Injury, Nikita Tripathi, Dr Adarsh Thammaiah

Digital Journal of Clinical Medicine

No abstract provided.

Urti Associated With Reuse Of Mask During Covid 19, Nikita Nallathambi, Dr. Rakesh Bs

Digital Journal of Clinical Medicine

No abstract provided.

A Case Of Ovarian Torsion, Dr.Durkha Devi K P, Dr.Poornima M

Digital Journal of Clinical Medicine

No abstract provided.

Modeling Substance Use And Mental Disorder Comorbidity Using Latent Variable And Network Approaches, Courtney T. Blondino

Theses and Dissertations

Introduction. Substance use disorder (SUD) is a common condition that affects millions of Americans. Addressing SUD has been complicated by comorbid mental disorders and co-occurring substance use. Consequently, detailing and addressing SUD and comorbid SUD represent an important goal to improve the health of Americans.

Objective. The research goal of this dissertation was to characterize the comorbidity between substance use, including tobacco use, and mental disorder symptoms measured as negative affect and externalizing symptoms in a population-based sample using latent variable and network approaches.

Methods. Waves 1 – 3 from the Population Assessment of Tobacco and Health Study were used. …

Application Of Data And Geospatial Analysis In Energy And Health Systems, Ali Faghani

Graduate Research Theses & Dissertations

Having sustainable energy and health systems are the main factors in the vision plan of every country. Both of these systems are correlated with a variety of frameworks, including social, physical, technological, political, and economic factors. Therefore, different types of analytics methods can be implemented to develop the required assessments for those who make plans since understanding the effect of such factors individually, also their interactions, and the overall effect is crucial. With this regard, applications of data analysis and geospatial techniques in both energy, and health systems have recently gained attention. The proposed research here deployed advanced data analytics …

Search Strategy For "Prevalence Of Adverse Childhood Experiences (Ace) Among Children And Adolescents In The U.S.: A Scoping Review", Kiara Lyons, Melissa Tibbits 5999447, Jennifer Hill, Kendra Schmid, Shinobu Watanabe-Galloway

Search Strategies: College of Public Health

No abstract provided.

Identifying Sleep-Related Factors Associated With Cognitive Function In A Hispanics/Latinos Cohort: A Dual Random Forest Approach, Li Xiaojin, Cui Licong, Wang Fei, Paul E Schulz, Guo-Qiang Zhang

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Disordered sleep is associated with poor cognitive function and cognitive decline. However, little is known regarding the association of sleep-related factors with cognitive function in underrepresented cohorts such as the Hispanic/Latino population. Leveraging the National Sleep Research Resource, one of the most comprehensive collections of sleep studies, we identified a Hispanic/Latino cohort of 1,031 lower cognitive function cases and 2,062 normal controls. We developed a novel dual random forest (DRF) approach to discriminate cases against controls for estimating the potential impact of sleep-related variables related to the decline of cognitive function. Several important sleep-related factors were identified which may be …

The Primary Care Provider’S Role In Screening And Intervening In The Human Trafficking Of Adolescents: A Systematic Literature Review, Brittany Schmid

All Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Other Capstone Projects

Human trafficking (HT) is a growing concern within the United States (U.S.) and internationally. With the alarming number of HT victims presenting for medical care, primary care providers (PCPs) are in a unique and privileged position to encounter HT victims within the healthcare system. Adolescents, in particular, are vulnerable to HT because of minimal life experiences, inadequate social support, and limited coping mechanisms (Ertl et al., 2020). Failure to recognize and intervene in cases involving HT victims who are minors is detrimental to the individual’s health, wellbeing, and safety. With the assistance of education and training, community resources, guideline adoption, …

Factors Influencing Contraception Use In Sexual Minority Women: A Systematic Literature Review, Grace M. Hudson

All Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Other Capstone Projects

Contrary to widespread beliefs that lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, plus (LGBTQ+) women do not need contraceptive care, sexual minority women (SMW) engage in vaginal-penile sexual contact which puts them at risk for unintended pregnancy. SMW assigned female gender at birth are at higher risk for less reliable and consistent contraceptive use and thus unintended pregnancy (Everett et al., 2017). This leads to the question of factors which cause SMW to be less engaged in contraceptive services. Through synthesis of studies addressing SMW and contraceptives, four themes developed: attitudes towards contraception, obstacles to care, knowledge gaps, and ways to improve …

Choosing Between Medical Surveillance And Preventive Surgical Interventions Among Asymptomatic Brca Positive Women, Hillary Zupan

All Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Other Capstone Projects

Women with a known BRCA 1 or BRCA 2 genetic mutation are at an increased risk for the development of cancer, most commonly breast and uterine types. Risk reduction strategies to manage cancer risk include increased medical surveillance and various preventive surgeries. This is a deeply personal decision and one that is influenced by a variety of factors. The aim of this literature review is to identify the key factors impacting the decision-making process of a woman with a BRCA mutation and how a woman ultimately decides between the cancer risk management strategies. Six electronic databases were used to obtain …

Perceived Barriers And Facilitators To Cervical Cancer Screening In Asian American Women, Bouathong Thepsombath

All Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Other Capstone Projects

The purpose of this systematic review is to explore barriers and facilitators of cervical cancer screening in Asian-American women. Articles selected for review were found using a database search method using select predetermined key terms. The clinical question this review sought to answer is: In Asian-American women (21-65 years of age), how does perception of cervical cancer screening impact screening compliance? Nine articles addressing the topic of interest were included in the review. Emerging themes related to answering the question under study included the health literacy of Asian-American women, modesty, acculturation, income comfortability, and self-efficacy. This review found information that …

Understanding The Implications Of Hpv Infection: Does Parental Education Impact Hpv Vaccination Completion Rates?, Heather A. Pederson

All Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Other Capstone Projects

Up to 80% of United States (U.S.) citizens will contract the human papillomavirus (HPV) at some point in their lives. HPV has the ability to cause multiple types of cancer, including cervical, vulvar, vaginal, penile, anal, and oropharyngeal. The most recent HPV vaccine is effective against nine strains of the virus, which account for most cases of cancer and genital warts caused by HPV. Parents are a key component in reaching Healthy People 2030’s goal to have 80% of all adolescents in the U.S. completely vaccinated against HPV. Objective: The purpose of this systematic review was to determine if …

The Impact Of Social Media On Teenage Females Self-Esteem, Amanda C. Perkovich

All Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Other Capstone Projects

Social media has become the way we connect with the world. Social networking sites, including Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, Twitter and TikTok, allow users to share intimate details of their lives, upload photographs, initiate and maintain relationships, plan social gatherings, observe the lives of others and express beliefs, values and emotions. In the last ten years, numerous articles have focused on the relationship between social media use and mental health however, very few studies have concentrated on self-esteem, especially in teenage females. The purpose of this literature review is to explore the associations between increased social media activity (greater than 2 …

The Impact Of The Th17:Treg Axis On The Iga-Biome Across The Glycemic Spectrum, Heather T Essigmann, Kristi L Hoffman, Joseph F Petrosino, Goo Jun, David Aguilar, Craig L Hanis, Herbert L Dupont, Eric L Brown

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Secretory IgA (SIgA) is released into mucosal surfaces where its function extends beyond that of host defense to include the shaping of resident microbial communities by mediating exclusion/inclusion of respective microbes and regulating bacterial gene expression. In this capacity, SIgA acts as the fulcrum on which host immunity and the health of the microbiota are balanced. We recently completed an analysis of the gut and salivary IgA-Biomes (16S rDNA sequencing of SIgA-coated/uncoated bacteria) in Mexican-American adults that identified IgA-Biome differences across the glycemic spectrum. As Th17:Treg ratio imbalances are associated with gut microbiome dysbiosis and chronic inflammatory conditions such as …

N95 Respirator Reuse, Decontamination Methods, And Microbial Burden: A Randomized Controlled Trial, Zi Yang Jiang, Zhen Huang, Isaac Schmale, Eric L Brown, Michael C Lorenz, Scott J Patlovich, Karan Goswami, Hannah B Wilson, Jumah Ahmad, Ronda Alexander, William Bryan, Luke Burke, Martin J Citardi, Jose Elias, Tang Ho, Jack Jacob, Garren Low, Pedro Miramón, Aniruddha U Patki, William C Yao, Amber U Luong

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

PURPOSE: to evaluate the effectiveness and ease of N95 respirator decontamination methods in a clinic setting and to identify the extent of microbial colonization on respirators associated with reuse.

METHODS: In a prospective fashion, N95 respirators (n = 15) were randomized to a decontamination process (time, dry heat, or ultraviolet C light [UVC]) in outpatient clinics. Each respirator was re-used up to 5 separate clinic sessions. Swabs on each respirator for SARS-CoV-2, bacteria, and fungi were obtained before clinic, after clinic and post-treatment. Mask integrity was checked after each treatment (n = 68). Statistical analyses were performed to determine factors …

The Association Between Short-Term Emotion Dynamics And Cigarette Dependence: A Comprehensive Examination Of Dynamic Measures, Anne Buu, Zhanrui Cai, Runze Li, Su-Wei Wong, Hsien-Chang Lin, Wei-Chung Su, Douglas E Jorenby, Megan E Piper

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

BACKGROUND: The association between short-term emotion dynamics and long-term psychopathology has been well established in the psychology literature. Yet, dynamic measures for inertia and instability of negative and positive affect have not been studied in terms of their association with cigarette dependence. This study builds an important bridge between the psychology and substance use literatures by introducing these novel measures and conducting a comprehensive examination of such association with intervention implications.

METHODS: This study conducted secondary analysis on the data from a community sample of 136 dual users (e-cigarette + cigarette) and 101 exclusive smokers who completed both the two-week …

Addressing The Needs Of African American Grandparents: An Intersectionality Perspective, Dorothy Smith-Ruiz, Kendra Jason

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

This study seeks to demonstrate the intersecting structural and compounding challenges African American custodial grandparents experience collectively, rather than as separate non-competing factors, which has been modeled in prior studies. Using a mixed-method research design, the study explored the challenges faced by African American and white custodial grandparents. These challenges included difficulties attaining different types of support, respite care, and programs for teens and special needs grandchildren. Results showed that caregiving challenges among African Americans were more pervasive than their White counterparts. These findings have significant implications for the development of intervention programs for custodial African American grandmothers and their …

Exploring The Hazards Of Scaling Up Clinical Data Analyses: A Drug Side Effect Discovery Case Report, Franck Diaz-Garelli, Todd R Johnson, Mohammad H Rahbar, Elmer V Bernstam

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

We assessed the scalability of pharmacological signal detection use case from a single-site CDW to a large aggregated clinical data warehouse (single-site database with 754,214 distinct patient IDs vs. multisite database with 49.8M). We aimed to explore whether a larger clinical dataset would provide clearer signals for secondary analyses such as detecting the known relationship between prednisone and weight. We found significant weight gain rate using the single-site data but not from using aggregated data (0.0104 kg/day, p

Determining Risk Factors That Affect Progression In Patients With Nonproliferative Diabetic Retinopathy, Dalbert J Chen, Jacky C Kuo, Alex J Wright, Alice Z Chuang, Wenyaw Chan, Robert M Feldman, Eric L Crowell

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

PURPOSE: to determine risk factors that affect nonproliferative diabetic retinopathy (NPDR) progression and establish a predictive model to estimate the probability of and time to progression in NPDR.

RESULTS: Two hundred thirty patients were included. Initially, 65 eyes (28.3%) had no retinopathy; 73 (31.7%) mild NPDR; 60 (26.1%) moderate NPDR; and 32 (13.9%) severe NPDR. Patients were followed for a mean of 5.8 years (±2.0 years; range 2.1-9.4 years). 164 (71.3%) eyes progressed during the follow-up. Time-independent risk factors affecting progression rate were age (hazard ratio (HR) = 0.99,

CONCLUSION: HbA1c level is a significant modifiable risk factor in controlling …

Utilization Of Target Lesion Heterogeneity For Treatment Efficacy Assessment In Late Stage Lung Cancer, Dung-Tsa Chen, Wenyaw Chan, Zachary J Thompson, Ram Thapa, Amer A Beg, Andreas N Saltos, Alberto A Chiappori, Jhanelle E Gray, Eric B Haura, Trevor A Rose, Ben Creelan

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

RATIONALE: Recent studies have discovered several unique tumor response subgroups outside of response classification by Response Evaluation Criteria for Solid Tumors (RECIST), such as mixed response and oligometastasis. These subtypes have a distinctive property, lesion heterogeneity defined as diversity of tumor growth profiles in RECIST target lesions. Furthermore, many cancer clinical trials have been activated to evaluate various treatment options for heterogeneity-related subgroups (e.g., 29 trials so far listed in clinicaltrials.gov for cancer patients with oligometastasis). Some of the trials have shown survival benefit by tailored treatment strategies. This evidence presents the unmet need to incorporate lesion heterogeneity to improve …

Structural Racism And Immigrant Health: Exploring The Association Between Wage Theft, Mental Health, And Injury Among Latino Day Laborers, Maria Eugenia Fernández-Esquer, Lynn N Ibekwe, Rosalia Guerrero-Luera, Yesmel A King, Casey P Durand, John S Atkinson

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

BACKGROUND: Although wage theft has been discussed primarily as a labor and human rights issue, it can be conceptualized as an issue of structural racism with important consequences for immigrant health.

OBJECTIVES: The objectives of this study were to: 1) identify sociodemographic, employment, and stress-related characteristics that increase Latino day laborers' odds of experiencing wage theft; 2) assess the association between wage theft and serious work-related injury; 3) assess the association between wage theft and three indicators of mental health-depression, social isolation, and alcohol use-as a function of wage theft; and 4) assess serious work-related injury as a function of …

Applying Machine Learning Approaches To Suicide Prediction Using Healthcare Data: Overview And Future Directions, Edwin D Boudreaux, Elke Rundensteiner, Feifan Liu, Bo Wang, Celine Larkin, Emmanuel Agu, Samiran Ghosh, Joshua Semeter, Gregory Simon, Rachel E Davis-Martin

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Objective: Early identification of individuals who are at risk for suicide is crucial in supporting suicide prevention. Machine learning is emerging as a promising approach to support this objective. Machine learning is broadly defined as a set of mathematical models and computational algorithms designed to automatically learn complex patterns between predictors and outcomes from example data, without being explicitly programmed to do so. The model's performance continuously improves over time by learning from newly available data.

Method: This concept paper explores how machine learning approaches applied to healthcare data obtained from electronic health records, including billing and claims data, can …

Nurse Perspectives Of Trauma-Informed Care, Lee Ann Blazejewski

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

There is growing interest in trauma-informed nursing methods to better respond to the needs of patients with histories of adverse childhood experiences and other traumatic events. Recent advances in the understanding of how trauma can negatively affect long-term health outcomes have fostered a shift towards trauma-informed care as a method to decrease patient retraumatization in nursing practice. With the implementation of trauma-informed care in many areas of healthcare and public health, several challenges have been exposed. The purpose of this study was to examine nurses’ lived experience of implementing trauma-informed care into nursing practice for the care of patients with …

The Effect Of Race, Provider-Location Type, And Region On Adolescent Hpv Vaccination, Erica Sade Hunter

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Studies have been conducted on various factors and their effect on human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccination uptake amongst adolescents. However, these studies typically point to communication factors and provider recommendations as having a significant effect on HPV vaccination uptake, ultimately leading to the need for more information on other factors that may increase HPV vaccination amongst adolescents. The purpose of this quantitative cross-sectional study was to determine if race, provider-location type, and region of the United States have a statistically significant effect on HPV uptake amongst adolescents. The 2018 National Immunization Survey (NIS) was used, and 34,980 participants were included in …

Role And Responsibilities Of Supervisors In The Sustainable Return To Work Of Workers Following A Work-Related Musculoskeletal Disorder, Iuliana Nastasia, Marie-France Coutu, Romain Rives, Jessica Dubé, Sarah Gaspard, Audrey Quilicot

Études primaires

Purpose Supervisors play an important role during the return to work (RTW) of injured workers. Yet little research has been done on the actions associated with this role or the contexts in which they are taken. The purpose of this study was to develop courses of action to promote supervisors’ involvement in the process aimed at achieving sustainable RTW for workers following a work-related musculoskeletal disorder (MSD), and to verify their pertinence, feasibility, and applicability in practice. Methods A two-phase qualitative method was used. (1) Secondary content analysis of 46 interviews of 14 workers post-MSD and 32 other actors in …

Statistical Methods For Evaluating Confounding In Nutritional Epidemiology: Examining The Association Of Dietary Measures And Incident Type 2 Diabetes, Stephanie E. Tison

All ETDs from UAB

Nutrition is a key factor in the development of noncommunicable diseases (NCDs) such as cardiovascular disease, diabetes, obesity, and cancer, which are continuing to increase globally. Research on dietary patterns is crucial for informing what aspects of diet are most critical for preventing and possibly reversing chronic disease. Dietary patterns focus on the types of food that are consumed which reflects the complexity and cultural aspects of diet rather than focusing on a single food or nutrient. Observational cohort studies are able to observe typical dietary intake and thus better reflect the real association between diet and chronic disease. In …

Risk Of Coronary Heart Disease In Blood Of Marrow Transplant Survivors, Radhika Gangaraju

All ETDs from UAB

Background: Blood or marrow transplant (BMT) recipients are vulnerable to accelerated atherosclerosis due to prior exposure to chemotherapy and radiation, and consequent long-term cardiovascular morbidity, such as coronary heart disease (CHD). A comprehensive evaluation of the risk of late-occurring CHD in adult BMT survivors and the associated risk factors has not been performed. Patients and Methods: Using the Blood or Marrow Transplant Survivor Study (BMTSS), we analyzed the incidence and risk factors for CHD in patients who underwent BMT between 1974 and 2014, and survived ≥2 years. The risk of CHD was examined in BMT survivors as compared to 1,131 …

An Analysis Of Preterm Birth Related To Sars-Cov-2 Infection By Race, Madeleine B. Mcgwin

All ETDs from UAB

Research investigating the association between pregnant women with COVID-19 infection and adverse birth outcomes, including preterm birth, having been contradicting. Individual differences between study populations, e.g., racial composition, may explain some of these inconsistencies. The aim of the present study is to determine if the association between SARS-CoV-2 infection and pre-term birth varies according to race. A cross-sectional study was conducted using data from the Vizient Clinical Data Base/Research Manager (CDB/RM). The study participants were women who gave birth in one of the Vizient facilities between March 2020 and January 2021. A positive COVID-19 test status was the primary exposure …

Statistical Methodology For Mendelian Randomiztion Analysis, Phillip Hunter Allman

All ETDs from UAB

Instrumental variable (IV) methods are causal analysis techniques used on observational data to address confounding, provided that certain assumptions are met. In the usual observational setting, some exposure of interest �� is associated with some outcome of interest ��, but confounders �� could distort the measure of the association between �� and ��. A valid IV is a proxy of sorts for �� which behaves in a very specific way, in that the IV operates analogously to the treatment group assignment seen in randomized trials. Finding a valid IV is no trivial task, but if one exists and we identify …