International Public Health Commons^™

The Impact Of Age, Health, And Education On Public Attitudes Towards Covid-19 Vaccines In Ireland, Kate Buckley, Aisling Burke, Chloe Holland, Clodagh O'Flynn

International Undergraduate Journal of Health Sciences

Abstract:

Introduction: Studies have revealed that age, health status and 3^rd level education influence public attitudes towards the COVID-19 vaccination during the pandemic. The aim of this study was to investigate the factors that influence the public’s attitudes towards the COVID-19 vaccine two years post-pandemic.

Methods: Ethical approval was obtained for the study. A total of 241 participants who provided informed consent were surveyed anonymously using closed-ended, open-ended and Likert Scale questions. Associations between specific demographics and vaccination attitudes were established using SPSS software.

Results: A higher percentage of 25–34-year-olds and 35–44-year-olds regretted receiving COVID-19 vaccines (46.6% and 37.5% …

Full Issue: The International Undergraduate Journal Of Health Sciences, Volume 6, Issue 1, July 2026

International Undergraduate Journal of Health Sciences

Full Issue: The International Undergraduate Journal of Health Sciences, Volume 6, Issue 1, July 2026.

Epstein–Barr Virus Common And Rare Complications In Iraq: Review Paper, Ameer Mohammed Kadhim, M. Jafar Zainaldeen, Zainab Haider Abdulmajeed

Maaen Journal for Medical Sciences

Background: Epstein–Barr Virus (EBV) is a highly ubiquitous herpesvirus found globally, it is associated to both a wide range of condition including common, pervasive infections and severe, rare diseases. In Iraq, despite a significant increased incident of chronic illnesses and viral- related malignancies, the local overview of EBV-associated complications remains fragmented. Aim: This review synthesizes the current available Iraqi literature to delineate the dual nature of EBV’s impact, distinguishing between common epidemiological manifestations and its role in severe clinical complications in local cohorts. Key Findings: high seroprevalence (~80%) of EBV in healthy Iraqi population, with noteworthy association observed in autoimmune …

Expert Recommendations To Strengthen Chikungunya Outbreak Surveillance And Reporting For Traveler Health Protection, Daniel C. Payne, Karoun H. Bagamian, Jeffery Goad, Nathan D. Grubaugh, Michael A. Johansson, Moritz U. G. Kraemer, Eyal Leshem, Francesca F. Norman, Alfonso J. Rodríguez-Morales, Henrik Salje, Stephen Thomas, Scott C. Weaver, Lindsey A. Laytner, Rebecca Sturgis, Suzanne K. Scheele, Davidson H. Hamer

Pharmacy Faculty Articles and Research

Chikungunya, a debilitating mosquito-borne disease caused by chikungunya virus, has surged dramatically in the past two decades. Chikungunya outbreaks can intensify rapidly, with infections posing a significant endemic health burden in tropical/subtropical areas and for travelers. Health professionals require timely and accurate outbreak information to adequately protect travelers and assess chikungunya risk. However, detection is often insufficient in the areas most susceptible to outbreaks, leading to diagnostic and reporting delays. Consequently, travelers are often unaware of increased chikungunya infection risk at their destination. We assessed chikungunya surveillance and reporting resources, and we developed expert recommendations for traveler health protection. Because …

Global Health Financing Of Diagonal Interventions: Building Resilient And Sustainable Health Systems In Sub-Saharan Africa, Lucy Kim

Master in Public Policy Theses

Background: Global health financing has historically prioritized disease-specific “vertical” programs over broader “horizontal” strengthening of general health systems. Vertical programs in HIV have led to unprecedented reductions in mortality worldwide, but HIV remains a significant public health threat in sub-Saharan Africa, where vertical strategies have long been criticized for creating fragmented health systems. In response, global health strategies have shifted towards combining vertical investments with broader horizontal activities, commonly referred to as “diagonal” programming. While evidence suggests that diagonal programming has the potential to create more resilient and sustainable health systems, evaluating its value for money is challenging due to …

Comparison Of Ecg Features, Cardiac Biomarkers, And Clinical Outcomes In Three Waves Of Hospitalized Covid-19 Pneumonia Patients With Cardiovascular Events, Yuchen Han, Jahnavi Sunkara, Tshura S Ali, Harideep Samanapally, Vidyulata Salunkhe, Fnu Deepti, Emma C. Huang, Justin J. Huang, Maiying Kong, Jiapeng Huang

The University of Louisville Journal of Respiratory Infections

Background

Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2) is a rapidly evolving virus that can severely impact the cardiovascular system. With new variants, it is important to characterize wave-specific (defined by dominant circulating variants) clinical changes.

Methods

A multi-center retrospective cohort study of patients hospitalized with SARS-CoV-2 community acquired pneumonia at eight adult acute-care hospitals in the city of Louisville, KY was conducted. Patients hospitalized with Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) community acquired pneumonia who experienced a cardiovascular event between March 2020 and July 2022 were included in this analysis. Variant assignment was based on temporal prevalence rather than genomic confirmation, and …

Prevalence Of Dengue Infection In Bangladesh: A Systematic Review And Meta-Analysis, Md. Estiar Rahman, Abdullah Al-Taiar, May Salama, Michele A. Kekeh, Ahmed N. Albatineh

Epidemiology, Biostatistics, & Environmental Health Faculty Publications

Objective: 

To estimate the pooled prevalence of dengue infection in Bangladesh.

Methods:

Literature search was conducted across PubMed, Web of Science, and Hinari between December 2024 and April 2025, supplemented by references searching. The Joanna Briggs Institute checklist was used for evaluating study quality. A random effects meta-analysis of proportion, including subgroup analyses, was performed with R software (version 4.5.1).

Results:

Out of 2 087 records, 28 studies were included. The pooled prevalence of confirmed dengue infection among clinically suspected patients was 49.3% (95% Cl 36.1-62.6), with a significant high heterogeneity (I²=99.2%, τ²=1.81, P< 0.001). Stratified analysis showed a pooled prevalence of 47.9% (95% Cl 34.0-62.2, I2=99.1%, …

Increasing Pediatric Hpv Vaccination Rates, Brooke A. Nicholas

Dissertations

Increasing Pediatric HPV Vaccination Rates

Abstract

Problem: The human papillomavirus (HPV) is a sexually transmitted infection that affects more than 80% of the population within the United States (Eisenhauer et al., 2020). HPV can develop into cervical, anogenital, and oropharyngeal cancers (Eisenhauer et al., 2020). About 4,000 individuals die from cervical cancer alone each year (O’Leary, 2022). The HPV vaccine, though recommended by the ACIP and AAP, is below national vaccination rates in comparison to other vaccines (O’Leary, 2022).

Methods: This quality improvement project is a non-randomized controlled trial that observed HPV vaccine dose completion rates for patients aged 9-14 …

A Retrospective Study Of Pulmonary Function Tests In Bronchiectasis: An Infectious Disease Of The Respiratory System, Vinod Mutkule, Mahesh Shinde, Vidya Bapmare, Sangramsingh Dixit, Atharva Sharma, Kshitij Sarwey, Yogeshwari Patil, Sanket Jethlia, Aayushi Dwivedi, Disha Pardeshi, Anmol Rai, Kunal Shah, Vidhi Kalwar

The University of Louisville Journal of Respiratory Infections

Introduction: Bronchiectasis, currently being recognized worldwide, is an abnormal dilatation of the bronchi and bronchioles brought on by recurrent cycles of inflammation and airway infection. Impaired pulmonary function has a predictive significance in bronchiectasis. When treating patients with suspected or confirmed respiratory diseases, pulmonary function tests (PFT) are useful examinations. Very few studies have been done on PFTs in bronchiectasis. The main aim of this study is to study PFTs in bronchiectasis.

Method: This is a retrospective observational study done on 50 patients over two years at the tertiary care center. The previous records of patients were collected from the …

Advancing Pandemic Response: Integrated Strategies For Testing, Prediction, And Bias Mitigation, Tianshu Gu

Theses and Dissertations (ETD)

The COVID-19 pandemic, along with prior outbreaks such as SARS and Ebola, has revealed critical gaps in global pandemic preparedness, emphasizing the need for integrated approaches to infectious disease management. This dissertation addresses three key areas of pandemic response: developing scalable screening strategies, constructing reliable predictive models, and mitigating demographic biases in artificial intelligence (AI) models used for healthcare decision-making.

The first study introduces a global screening strategy designed to optimize resource use and increase testing capacity, particularly in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) where resources are limited. This study leverages pooled testing methods, where multiple samples are combined into …

Characteristics And Outcomes Of Adults Hospitalized With Respiratory Syncytial Virus, Brian S. Shaw, Cara Slaton, Ian P. Murphy, Michael Mcalister, Daniel Egan, Kwabena Ayesu

The University of Louisville Journal of Respiratory Infections

Background: Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) is a negative sense single-stranded RNA virus (ssRNA) that primarily causes respiratory infections in both children and older adults. We examined clinical characteristics and outcomes of hospitalized adult patients who tested positive for RSV.

Methods: This was a multicenter, retrospective, descriptive study that examined adult patients admitted with a positive RSV test over two years across eight hospitals in Orlando, Florida.

Results: A total of 120 patients were included, of which 88 (73%) were 60 years old and older. Overall, patients with RSV infection were caucasian (62%) with a median age of 70 years and …

Improving Knowledge And Confidence Of Family Nurse Practitioners In Offering The Hpv Vaccine, Leni Terano Fisher

Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) Scholarly Projects - Archive

Abstract

Introduction

Despite the recommendations of the United States Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices, HPV immunization lags behind other routine vaccines by up to 31%. Although there are many reasons for the low vaccine rate, provider hesitancy and lack of confidence significantly contribute to suboptimal HPV vaccine uptake.

Objectives

This project aimed to utilize evidence-driven interventions to increase family nurse practitioners' (FNPs) knowledge and confidence in offering the HPV vaccine.

Methods

Participants were given pre- and post-questionnaire surveys. The Wilcoxon Rank Test was used to compare, quantify, and measure the results of the eight-week data collection.

Results

The subjects were …

Analysis Of Public Opinion Polls About Covid-19 Vaccines: Theoretical And Policy Implications For Vaccine Communication And Campaigns To Address Vaccine Hesitancy, Muhammad Ittefaq, Hong Tien Vu, Ali Zain, Tayyeb Ramazan, Gary L. Kreps

School of Communication Studies - Faculty Scholarship

This study analyzed 1432 questions asked in 19 surveys (N = 43,014) on COVID-19 vaccines between January 2020 and August 2022 using dimensions including (1) information sources about COVID-19 vaccine, (2) information about the access, effectiveness, and side effects of COVID-19 vaccine, (3) COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy (i.e. false perception, skepticism, and vaccine refusal), (4) motivations to get the COVID-19 vaccine (i.e. to perform routine activities, convenience, incentives, influences, and travel requirement), (5) false perceptions caused vaccine refusal, and (6) intentions to get vaccinated. Our results show that vaccine refusal was rampant throughout the pandemic and mostly attributed to the …

What Is The Efficacy Of The Newly Developed Hpv Vaccine, Cecolin, In Providing Protection Against Hpv-Induced Cervical Cancers In Females Aged 9-14 Years Old, Yolanda Williams

Rowan-Virtua Research Day

In low to middle income countries, there's a rise in invasive cervical squamous cell carcinoma. Affordability emerges as a crucial factor influencing this trend. This research is based on the development of a new HPV vaccine made in China called Ceolin priced at $47 and its efficacy to be incorporated into the WHO vaccination program. A peer review was conducted based on an ongoing randomized phase 3 clinical trial of a 2 dose regimen bivalent Cecolin vaccine (types 16,18) . The study includes 1025 females aged 9-14 years old split amongst 5 groups. The control group received Gardasil at the …

A Comparative Analysis Of Hiv/Aids In France And The United States: Historical Context And Preventative Actions, Rebecca A. Liebsack

Honors Program: Senior Projects (Public)

The HIV/AIDS pandemic is the result of transmission of a zoonotic disease known as simian immunodeficiency virus. The pandemic has had profound social and economic consequences and continues to be present today. France and the United States’ response to the discovery of HIV will be compared and the impact that HIV/AIDS had on their countries and future responses. They had rather similar responses, however, the United States had a slower initial response compared to France. Both had similar takeaways such as aiming at improving prevention and utilizing tactics developed during the start of the pandemic like frequent testing and vaccines.

How Individuals’ Opinions Influence Society’S Resistance To Epidemics: An Agent-Based Model Approach, Geonsik Yu, Michael J. Garee, Mario Ventresca, Yuehwern Yih

Faculty Publications

Background: Protecting public health from infectious diseases often relies on the cooperation of citizens, especially when self-care interventions are the only viable tools for disease mitigation. Accordingly, social aspects related to public opinion have been studied in the context of the recent COVID-19 pandemic. However, a comprehensive understanding of the effects of opinion-related factors on disease spread still requires further exploration. Methods: We propose an agent-based simulation framework incorporating opinion dynamics within an epidemic model based on the assumption that mass media channels play a leading role in opinion dynamics. The model simulates how opinions about preventive interventions change over …

Neurotropic Manifestations As A Potential Risk Factor For Schizophrenia Following In Utero Exposure To Sars-Cov-2, Mir Ali R Talpur, Omar H. Elsayed, Rif S. El-Mallakh

The University of Louisville Journal of Respiratory Infections

Background: COVID-19 infection is associated with neurologic and psychiatric morbidity that suggests a direct effect of the virus or secondary effect of an inflammatory process. These neuropsychiatric consequences may increase the likelihood of schizophrenia in the offspring of women who become infected with COVID-19 during their pregnancy.

Methods: We performed a directed narrative review of the literature focusing on the proposed pathophysiological processes that lead to schizophrenia and known pathological consequences of COVID-19 infection.

Results: Schizophrenia in adult offspring has been associated with maternal infections during pregnancy by a wide range of respiratory and neurotropic pathogens. Spikes in the incidence …

On The Respiratory Syncytial Virus Vaccine, Forest W. Arnold

The University of Louisville Journal of Respiratory Infections

No abstract provided.

The Impact Of The Covid-19 Pandemic On Respiratory Syncytial Virus, Amrit Kahlon, Ravina Ramnani, Kartik Rajpal, Yusra Irshad, Sudeep Chapagain, Arushee Bhatnagar, Steven B Lippmann

The University of Louisville Journal of Respiratory Infections

No abstract provided.

Identification Of Molecular Markers Associated With Copd In Non-Smokers And Smokers: A Bioinformatics Analysis, Agede O. Ayodele, Isa M. Wasagu, Ademola E. Fawibe, Alakija K. Salami

The University of Louisville Journal of Respiratory Infections

Background

Even though the proportional burden of COPD among never-smokers is significant in both developing and developed nations, accounting for around 30% of all COPD in the community, there is little awareness of the prevalence of COPD in this population. Understanding the molecular processes that underlie COPD in nonsmokers is essential.

Methods

Dataset (GSE146560) was acquired from the Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO). The limma and clusterProfiler software tools were used to identify differentially expressed genes (DEGs) and conduct a functional enrichment analysis respectively.

Results

In all, 10,583 DEGs were found, of which 1,065 were up-regulated and 9,518 were down-regulated. The …

Performance Of A Sars-Cov-2 Rt-Pcr Assay With Non-Traditional Specimen Types, Subathra Marimuthu, Holly Aliesky, Heather Ness, Daniya Sheikh, Sathya Rashmit, Dawn Balcom, Leslie A. Wolf

The University of Louisville Journal of Respiratory Infections

During the first two years of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, nasopharyngeal (NP) specimens were the gold standard for clinical diagnostic testing. As information about the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) causing the pandemic continued to be shared, it was clear that the virus could be detected in other specimen types during an active infection. The University of Louisville Infectious Diseases Laboratory accepted non-traditional specimen types, most without a paired, positive NP result, for research purposes only to support local epidemiology efforts. A real-time reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) assay originally validated for NP specimens was used …

What? Now A Respiratory Syncytial Virus Epidemic, Aya Allam, Steven B Lippmann

The University of Louisville Journal of Respiratory Infections

No abstract provided.

The Impact Covid-19 On The Healthcare Industry’S Systems And Policies: A Case Study, Jameyshia Franklin

West Chester University Doctoral Projects

People worldwide experienced some impacts from the 2019 Coronavirus at various degree. The healthcare industry worldwide was significantly affected by the high volume of patients being infected with the Coronavirus. The COVID-19 virus brought on several challenges for the healthcare industry and the federal government in the United States. Hospitals operated under severe circumstances to treat sick COVID-19 patients and keep their employees safe from contracting the disease. Government mandated social distancing, mask wearing, and cancelation and closing of services to assist with stopping the spread of the virus. This study aimed to identify how the pandemic affected the healthcare …

What? Is Epstein–Barr Virus Infection Linked To Multiple Sclerosis?, Asha Mahajan, Steven B Lippmann

The University of Louisville Journal of Respiratory Infections

No abstract provided.

Do You Know The Pathophysiology Of Cytokine Storm During Covid-19?, Shameera Shaik Masthan, Deekshitha Turaka, Ahmed Abdelhaleem, Mounica Vorla, Steven B. Lippmann

The University of Louisville Journal of Respiratory Infections

No abstract provided.

What About Anosmia From Covid-19 ?, Sharanya S E Santhi, Sara Elnour, Steven B Lippmann

The University of Louisville Journal of Respiratory Infections

No abstract provided.

Treating Cytokine Storm In Patients With Covid-19, Ahmed Abdelhaleem, Deekshitha Turaka, Shameera Shaik Masthan, Steven B Lippmann

The University of Louisville Journal of Respiratory Infections

No abstract provided.

Covid-19 Case Complicated With Organizing Pneumonia And Pneumothorax: Correspondence, Hammad A. Bhatti, Minh Q. Ho

The University of Louisville Journal of Respiratory Infections

No abstract provided.

How Environmental Change Will Impact Mosquito-Borne Diseases, Arsal Khan

Master's Projects and Capstones

Mosquitos, the most lethal species throughout human history, are the most prevalent source of vector-borne diseases and therefore a major global health burden. Mosquito-borne disease incidence is expected to shift with environmental change. These changes can be predicted using species distribution models. With the wide variety of methods used for models, consensus for improving accuracy and comparability is needed. A comparative analysis of three recent modeling approaches revealed that integrating modeling techniques compensates for trade-offs associated with a singular approach. An area that represents a critical gap in our ability to predict mosquito behavior in response to changing climate factors, …

National Early Warning Score (News) For Covid-19 Infected Patients: A Clinical Guidance Tool, Robert Villegas

Doctor of Nursing Practice Final Manuscripts

Background: Coronavirus 2019 (COVID-19) presents with variable clinical manifestations from asymptomatic to life-threatening organ dysfunction. The National Early Warning Score, also known as NEWS, was initially developed to detect adult inpatient deterioration using existing physiological data and adverse clinical outcomes from 35,585 medical admissions. The NEWS guideline consists of six parameters: respiratory rate, pulse, oxygen saturation, temperature, systolic blood pressure, and level of consciousness.

Purpose: This project implemented NEWS guidelines to identify patients at high risk for deterioration with COVID-19.

Evidence-Based Interventions: The project included retrospective-prospective chart reviews for 100 patients diagnosed with COVID-19 from October 2020 to December 2020. …