Public Health Commons^™

An Ethnographic Investigation Of The Relevance Of Shop Floor Culture To Effective Safety Communication In An Australian Minerals Refinery, David R. Leith

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

Many organisations which aim to achieve excellent workplace safety choose 'culture change' as the means to achieve this. They make use of employee communication media to help re-form the values, beliefs, norms and behaviours which are generally thought to comprise culture. However, culture is a complex and profound phenomenon. Successful communication between two culturally separate groups requires each to achieve an understanding of the other, no less so in workplaces than in societies composed of different cultures.Yet even employers who believe in communicating fully with their workforces find it difficult to convey viewpoints other than their own. Their communication tends …

In Pursuit Of Best Practice : Benchmarking Tools And Processes For The Management Of Hazardous Substances In The Workplace, Barry Chesson

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

Many organisations now strive to achieve excellence in various aspects of occupational health and safety. Benchmarking of the techniques and approaches of other organisations is becoming a popular way of bridging gaps and seeking to achieve high levels of performance. There exist many sources of guidance in the form of external and internal standards, regulations, codes of practice, publications by professional institutions and similar. However, there are clear shortfalls in terms of tools and processes needed to identify areas of opportunity and to overcome barriers to the efficient transfer of ideas and techniques from one enterprise to another. This is …

The Role Of Meat, Poultry, And Fish Consumption In The Occurrence Of Rheumatoid And Other Forms Of Arthritis, Asnake Hailu

Loma Linda University Electronic Theses, Dissertations & Projects

Rheumatoid arthritis and other forms of arthritis or rheumatism are now the leading cause of disability in the United States. The etiology and pathogenesis are less understood and available treatment options are not always satisfactory. This dissertation measures the prevalence and cumulative incidence of rheumatoid arthritis and other forms of arthritis or rheumatism, and examines any associations with current and lifetime consumption of meat, poultry, and fish (meat) using the Adventist Health Study and the Adventist Mortality Study databases. From these databases, it was possible to reconstruct a prospective cohort, obtain self-reported information on demographic characteristics, arthritis, rheumatoid arthritis, other …

Evaluation Of Rink Link Alpha One – Center For Independent Living, Josephine M. Laplante

Disability & Aging

No abstract provided.

Évaluation Des Indices De Contrainte Thermique En Mines Profondes, Pierre C. Dessureault, Mathieu Doucet

Rapports de recherche scientifique

L’Association Minière du Québec a logé une demande à l’effet d’utiliser le Air Cooling Power (ACP) comme indice de contrainte thermique dans les mines souterraines. Cet indice est en fait une adaptation de l’approche analytique basée sur le calcul du bilan thermique entre l’homme et son environnement. L’objectif premier de cette étude est de déterminer si cette approche rationnelle est au moins équivalente ou encore plus appropriée aux conditions de travail en mine profonde que l’application de l’indice WBGT. Elle doit aussi vérifier que le niveau d’astreinte thermique des travailleurs soit en deçà des limites généralement acceptées sous l’un ou …

Quantification De La Variabilité Biologique À L'Aide De La Modélisation : Élaboration D'Un Guide De Stratégie Pour La Surveillance Biologique De L'Exposition, Ginette Truchon, Robert Tardif, Pierre-Olivier Droz, Ginette Charest-Tardif, Guillaume Pierrehumbert, Daniel Drolet

Rapports de recherche scientifique

Certaines caractéristiques liées à l’individu, aux contaminants, à la tâche ou au milieu de travail peuvent engendrer des variations importantes dans les niveaux biologiques retrouvés chez un individu pour un indicateur donné. La présente étude vise à documenter ces facteurs de modification par le biais d’une revue de la littérature scientifique (approche qualitative) et de procéder à des études de modélisation afin de quantifier l’impact exercé par certains facteurs sur la valeur des indicateurs biologiques d’exposition documentés dans le Guide de surveillance biologique – Prélèvement et interprétation des résultats de l’IRSST.

Le facteur le plus important pour les solvants organiques …

Healthcare Trends And Attitudes Of Migratory Winter Visitors In The Rio Grande Valley, Caprica Ann Neal

Theses and Dissertations - UTB/UTPA

This original research explores the general trends and attitudes of migratory winter visitors to the Rio Grande Valley regarding the local healthcare environment/options, general health status, and attitudes toward alternative medicine. The sample consisted of 115 winter visitors to the Valley, and exploratory data was gathered through a self-administered questionnaire. The average respondent was female, over 70 years old, had a high school level education, and reported earning a minimum average of $20,000/year for the past five years. Most respondents had Medicare coverage; over half had private insurance coverage. Commonly reported health conditions were visual problems, joint/bone problems, and high …

Cancer Mortality Among American Indians And Alaska Natives: Regional Differences, 1994-1998, D.K. Espey, R.E. Paisano, N. Cobb

Native Health Database Full Text

This monograph delineates cancer mortality rates among American Indians and Alaska Native within the different regions served by the Indian Health Service (IHS). The table and charts depict broader geographic regions than in previous IHS cancer mortality monographs. The estimated IHS service population for each region and the cancer mortality rates from 1994 to 1998 are presented. Comparisons are made to the general U.S. population for the same time period. The intention of this publication is to provide detailed information about thew impact of cancer among Native American peoples, with a focus on the regional variability of cancer incidence for …

Final Report On Evaluation Of Indian Health Service Funded Community Alcohol Service Programs., Indian Health Service

Native Health Database Full Text

The IHS Strategic Plan is the product of a diverse workgroup with expertise in various facets of healthcare from clinical care to facilities construction. The IHS Strategic plan entails four goals: Build Healthy Communities, Achieve Parity in Access by 2010, Provide Compassionate Quality Health Care, and Embrace Innovation. Each of these goals are outlined alongside their respective strategies for accomplishment.

Development Of Dose Coefficients For Radionuclides Produced In Spallation Targets, Phillip W. Patton, Mark Rudin

Transmutation Sciences Physics (TRP)

Dose coefficients permit simple determination of radiation dose associated with various exposure scenarios, and ultimately permit radiation safety personnel to assess the health risks to workers in a nuclear facility. Specifically, radiation safety personnel use dose coefficients to determine the radiation dose incurred to a tissue or organ system from a given exposure. These parameters are often expressed in terms of Annual Limits on Intake (ALIs) and Derived Air Concentrations (DACs).

Results from this study will be used to produce ALIs and DACs for these rare radionuclides created by spallation target systems that are not included in Federal Guidance Report …

Development Of Dose Coefficients For Radionulides Produced In Spallation Neutron Sources: Annual Report, Phillip W. Patton, Mark Rudin

Transmutation Sciences Physics (TRP)

The University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV) Transmutation Research Program has been tasked to support U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) efforts to assess the health risks associated with the operation of each of their accelerator-driven nuclear facilities for both NEPA and PSAR development. Quantifying the radiological risks to workers will have to be addressed during the design and siting of each of these facilities. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Federal Guidance Report No. 11 “Limiting Values of Intake and Air Concentration and Dose Conversion Factors for Inhalation, Submersion, and Ingestion”, developed two derived guides, Annual Limit on Intake (ALI) and …

Cancer In Louisiana: 1995-1999, Volume 16, Louisiana Tumor Registry, Catherine N. Correa, Xiao-Cheng Wu, Patricia A. Andrews, Mei-Chin Hsieh, Vivien W. Chen

Policy & Position Papers

Mission:

To collect and report complete, high-quality, and timely population-based cancer data in Louisiana to support cancer research, control, and prevention.

Vision:

To reduce suffering and death from cancer using information collected by the Louisiana Tumor Registry.

History:

Cancer registration in Louisiana began in 1947 at the Charity Hospital Tumor Registry in New Orleans. In 1974, as part of its Surveillance, Epidemiology and End Results (SEER) Program, the National Cancer Institute provided funds for a population-based cancer incidence and survival registry covering Jefferson, Orleans, and St. Bernard parishes. Five years later, the Louisiana Tumor Registry (LTR) was transferred to the …

Family Connectedness And Sexual Risk-Taking Among Urban Youth Attending Alternative High Schools, Christine M Markham, Susan R Tortolero, S Liliana Escobar-Chaves, Guy S Parcel, Ronald Harrist, Robert C Addy

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

CONTEXT: Youth in alternative high schools engage in risky sexual behavior at higher rates than do their peers in regular schools, placing themselves at an increased risk of sexually transmitted disease and unintended pregnancy. Family connectedness is associated with reduced adolescent sexual risk-taking, although this association has not been tested among alternative school youth.

METHODS: A sample of 976 urban, predominantly minority alternative high school students in Houston, Texas, were surveyed in 2000-2002. Survey data were analyzed using logistic regression to determine whether family connectedness is related to sexual risk-taking.

RESULTS: Overall, 68% of students reported ever having had sex. …

The Politics Of Public Health: A Response To Epstein, Lawrence O. Gostin, Maxwell Gregg Bloche

Georgetown Law Faculty Publications and Other Works

Conservatives are taking aim at the field of public health, targeting its efforts to understand and control environmental and social causes of disease. Richard Epstein and others contend that these efforts in fact undermine people’s health and well-being by eroding people’s incentives to create economic value. Public health, they argue, should stick to its traditional task—the struggle against infectious diseases. Because markets are not up to the task of controlling the transmission of infectious disease, Epstein says, coercive government action is required. But market incentives, not state action, he asserts, represent our best hope for controlling the chronic illnesses that …

Characteristics And Follow-Up Of Adult Female Victims Of Recent Sexual Assault, Anita Boykins

Theses and Dissertations (ETD)

No abstract provided.

Is It 'Too Bloody Late'? : Older People's Attitudes To Physical Activity And To The Recommendations In The National Physical Activity Guidelines, Joan Jackson

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

Participation in physical activity confers many health benefits by reducing the risk factor for a number of lifestyle related diseases such as diabetes, colon cancer, and heart disease. Other benefits include improved mental and physical well-being. For older people the benefits are even more important; engagement in physical activity extends to such health benefits as reduction in the risk of falls and related potential injuries. However the most significant benefit to older people is that physical activity enables older people to live independently for longer and with a greater sense of well-being. This study explores, through qualitative research, older people's …

Public Health And National Security In The Global Age: Infectious Diseases, Bioterrorism, And Realpolitik, David P. Fidler

Articles by Maurer Faculty

No abstract provided.

Effectiveness Of Education On Diabetes Control, Irene Nganga

College of Graduate Studies: Theses & Dissertations (1964–2006)

The purpose of this study was to examine the effect of a diabetes education intervention strategy on the clinical and biochemical status of patients in the Diabetes Complications Prevention Study (DCPS) at Candler County Hospital in Metter, Georgia. The participants in this study were all active members in the DCPS program. This intervention group was paired to control group members of a similar age and race. A sample size of 18 participants and an equal number of controls was chosen for this evaluative study. The sampling method utilized for participants in the study was non-probability quota sampling. Medical records were …

The Prevalence Of Disordered Eating Behaviors Among Sorority Versus Non-Sorority Women, Angela Lynn Guzman

College of Graduate Studies: Theses & Dissertations (1964–2006)

Eating disorders among college women is a serious psychological problem. Disordered eating behaviors were examined and diagnosed at a mid-sized university in southeast Georgia. The target group of this study was university sororities. The purpose of this study was to examine sorority versus nonsorority women to determine if there was a higher prevalence for those involved in sororities to develop disordered eating behaviors.

Surveys were distributed to both sorority and non-sorority women to determine the prevalence of disordered eating behaviors among each group. A quantitative, quasi-experimental design was used in conjunction with the Eating Attitudes Test (Gamer & Garfmkle, 1979). …

Migrant Worker Dies In Tractor Rollover, Kentucky Injury Prevention And Research Center

Fatality Case Reports--Tractors/Logging

On September 13, 2002, a 26 year-old male Hispanic migrant worker (decedent) died when the tractor he was driving on a country roadway overturned. The decedent had experience driving the tractor in a field, but did not have experience driving it on a public roadway. On the afternoon of the incident, the decedent drove the tractor, pulling a wagonload of tobacco, from the farm where it had been harvested to the tobacco barn one mile away. The road was hilly and had a sharp curve to the right at the bottom of the hill. As the decedent drove the tractor …

The Effectiveness Of Heart Failure Disease Management: Initial Findings From A Comprehensive Program, Janice L. Clarke, David B. Nash

College of Population Health Faculty Papers

A prevalent, chronic condition among members of the mushrooming elderly population in the United States, heart failure (HF) is a logical focus for population-based disease management. Evidence supporting the premise that multidisciplinary interventions can significantly improve clinical outcomes while decreasing the cost of medical care for people with HF is steadily mounting. A growing number of controlled and observational studies focus on the effects of HF disease management on re-admission rates, length of stay, and improvement in appropriate diagnostic testing and prescribing. This paper describes a large-scale, comprehensive HF program and reports on clinical quality, utilization, and financial outcomes observed …

Factors Assoctated With Technology Adoption In Clinical Practice, Jennifer C. Salib

All-Inclusive List of Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The primary focus of the current study was the investigation of technology use and related attitudes toward technology by psychologists in clinical practice. In addition, this study served as the initial step in a larger effort to develop a database, the Independent Practice Network (IP-Net), which will allow for on-going investigation of patterns and trends in independent practice. This study employed a survey method in which participants chose to respond either via the Internet or by mail. A random sample of 2,000 psychologists who are members of Division 42 (Psychologists in Independent Practice) of the American Psychological Association were invited …

Urinary Excretion Of Dithiocarbamates And Selfreported Cruciferous Vegetable Intake: Application Of The ‘Method Of Triads’ To A Foodspecific Biomarker, Jay H. Fowke, James R. Hébert, Jed W. Fahey

Faculty Publications

Objective: Greater intake of Cruciferous vegetables (e.g. broccoli) may prevent cancer at several sites. Urinary excretion of isothiocyanate conjugates (dithiocarbamates, DTC) provides a specific biomarker of Cruciferous vegetable consumption suitable for epidemiological investigations. However, no gold-standard referent is available for evaluating urinary DTC levels as an estimator of Cruciferous vegetable consumption. We compared urinary DTC levels to intake as measured by two selfreported dietary assessment techniques. Design: Cruciferous vegetable consumption was measured before and after a behavioural dietary intervention using multiple 24-hour recalls (24HR), a foodcounting questionnaire (VFQ) and urinary DTC excretion levels. Analysis included a structural equation approach (Method …

Predicting High Utilization Of Emergency Department Services Among Patients With A Diagnosis Of Psychosis In A Medicaid Managed Care Organization, Tammy K. Girts, Albert G. Crawford, Neil I. Goldfarb, Mark Bachleda, Amy Grogg

College of Population Health Faculty Papers

Studies have demonstrated increased utilization of medical services for patients with behavioral health diagnoses. Medicaid managed care organizations (MMCOs) that operate under behavioral health carve-outs face the challenge of effectively targeting disease management initiatives in the absence of information on behavioral diagnoses. This study sought to develop a predictive model of emergency department (ED) utilization for patients where a diagnosis of psychosis could be identified from a claim associated with a medical service provider visit. A retrospective cohort analysis was performed using medical and pharmacy claims from an MMCO in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, to identify patients known to have a diagnosis …

Analysis Of Longitudinal Marginal Structural Models , Jennifer F. Bryan, Zhuo Yu, Mark J. Van Der Laan

U.C. Berkeley Division of Biostatistics Working Paper Series

In this article we construct and study estimators of the causal effect of a time-dependent treatment on survival in longitudinal studies. We employ a particular marginal structural model (MSM), and follow a general methodology for constructing estimating functions in censored data models. The inverse probability of treatment weighted (IPTW) estimator is used as an initial estimator and the corresponding treatment-orthogonalized, one-step estimator is consistent and asymptotically linear when the treatment mechanism is consistently estimated. We extend these methods to handle informative censoring. A simulation study demonstrates that the the treatment-orthogonalized, one-step estimator is superior to the IPTW estimator in terms …

Depression: A Decade Of Progress, More To Do, Veronica V. Goff

National Health Policy Forum

This issue brief discusses the most recent findings on depression prevalence and cost; examines trends in outpatient treatment, including the dramatic growth in antidepressant use; discusses efforts to improve treatment in primary care; and explores possible public policy avenues for improving treatment access and quality.

Ua3/9/5 Special Announcement - Kelly Autism Project, Wku President's Office

WKU Administration Documents

Speech delivered by WKU president Gary Ransdell announcing the beginning of the Kelly Autism Project at Western Kentucky University.

The Medicare And Medicaid Intersection: Caring For Arizona's Seniors, Nora Super, Lisa Sprague, Judith D. Moore

National Health Policy Forum

This site visit to Phoenix examined the interplay between Medicare and Medicaid and how payment streams and regulatory requirements affect the delivery of health and long-term care services. The visit explored trends related to Medicare+Choice plan participation, physician acceptance of Medicare patients, and care management for individuals with chronic illnesses, such as Alzheimer’s disease. It also considered Arizona’s capitated Medicaid long-term care program, which recently implemented competitive bidding among plans in Maricopa County.

Prescription Drugs In Nursing Homes: Managing Costs And Quality In A Complex Environment, Dan Mendelson, Rajeev Ramchand, Richard Abramson, Anne Tumlinson

National Health Policy Forum

This issue brief provides a description of prescription drug use in nursing homes and a summary of policy issues in this area. It first profiles the nursing home pharmaceutical market, outlining the major trends in demographics and drug utilization, the supply chain by which drugs go from manufacturers to pharmacies to nursing home residents, and the alternative arrangements by which prescription drugs in nursing homes are financed. The paper then provides a synopsis of current policy issues, focusing in turn on cost containment and quality improvement initiatives.

U.S. Childhood Vaccine Availability: Legal, Regulatory, And Economic Complexities, Robin J. Strongin

National Health Policy Forum

Despite the vital role they play in public health, childhood vaccines travel a complicated road from laboratory to provider and patient. From the fall of 2000 until well into 2002, a combination of factors, including market dynamics, legal challenges, and regulatory hurdles, led to a shortage of some childhood vaccines. This paper examines each of these factors, focusing on the important roles of both the public and the private sectors.