Other Public Health Commons^™

Latitudinal Variations In Seasonal Activity Of Influenza And Respiratory Syncytial Virus (Rsv): A Global Comparative Review, Kimberly Bloom-Feshbach, Wladimir J. Alonso, Vivek Charu, James Tamerius, Lone Simonsen, Mark A. Miller, Cecile Viboud

Global Health Faculty Publications

Background

There is limited information on influenza and respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) seasonal patterns in tropical areas, although there is renewed interest in understanding the seasonal drivers of respiratory viruses.

Methods

We review geographic variations in seasonality of laboratory-confirmed influenza and RSV epidemics in 137 global locations based on literature review and electronic sources. We assessed peak timing and epidemic duration and explored their association with geography and study settings. We fitted time series model to weekly national data available from the WHO influenza surveillance system (FluNet) to further characterize seasonal parameters.

Results

Influenza and RSV activity consistently peaked during …

Narcotics In Rheumatology, Mahsa Tehrani, Mathia Aguiar, James D. Katz

Global Health Faculty Publications

Patients with rheumatic conditions often suffer from related chronic pain. When first-line traditional medications such as acetaminophen and anti-inflammatory medications do not suffice, then other options are needed. The traditional medications may ultimately not provide sufficient pain relief, or alternatively, they can pose as a contraindication due to underlying hypertension, renal, and/or hepatic disease. Therefore, narcotics are an alluring alternative, which if used in a multidisciplinary and systematic approach to the patient, can prove to be quite beneficial in the lives of these patients.

Smoking Experimentation Among Elementary School Students In China: Influences From Peers, Families, And The School Environment, Cheng Huang, Jeffrey Koplan, Shaohua Yu, Changwei Li, Chaoran Guo, Jing Liu, Hui Li, Michelle Kegler, Pam Redmon, Michael Eriksen

Global Health Faculty Publications

The aim of this study was to investigate experimentation with smoking among primary school students in China. Data were acquired from a recent survey of 4,073 students in grades 4 to 6 (ages 9–12) in 11 primary schools of Ningbo City. The questions were adapted from the Global Youth Tobacco Survey (GYTS). Results suggest that although the Chinese Ministry of Education (MOE) encourages smoke-free schools, experimentation with cigarettes remains a serious problem among primary school students in China. Peers, family members, and the school environment play important roles in influencing smoking experimentation among students. Having a friend who smoked, seeing …

Getting To The Other Side: An Exploration Of The Head And Neck Cancer Treatment Experience, Heather M. Wallace

Theses and Dissertations--Gerontology

Diagnosis of head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) presents a multifarious problem. Late stage diagnosis, uncertainty regarding appropriate clinical treatment, as well as the high potential for disfigurement and functional loss resulting in diminished quality of life, contributes to anxiety, stress, fear, and uncertainty throughout the cancer treatment experience. This qualitative study sought to explore the cancer treatment experience of adults with newly diagnosed HNSCC, including laryngeal, esophageal, and oral cancers. Study participants were recruited from the University of Kentucky Ear Nose and Throat Clinic in Lexington KY. Participants agreed to be interviewed after receipt of their cancer diagnosis …

Multistate Markov Chains And Their Application To The Biologically Resilient Adults In Neurological Studies Cohort, Erin L. Abner

Theses and Dissertations--Epidemiology and Biostatistics

Dementia is increasingly recognized as a major and growing threat to public health worldwide, and there is a critical need for prevention and treatment strategies. However, it is necessary that appropriate methodologies are used in the identification of risk factors. The purpose of this dissertation research was to develop further the body of literature featuring Markov chains as an analytic tool for data derived from longitudinal studies of aging and dementia.

Data drawn from 649 participants in the University of Kentucky’s Alzheimer’s Disease Center’s (UK ADC) Biologically Resilient Adults in Neurological Studies (BRAiNS) cohort, which was established in 1989 and …

Paleoparasitology: The Origin Of Human Parasites; Paleoparasitologia: A Origem Dos Parasitas Humanos, Adauto Araújo, Karl Reinhard, Luis Fernando Ferreira, Elisa Pucu, Pedro Paulo Chieffi

Karl Reinhard Publications

Parasitism is composed by three subsystems: the parasite, the host, and the environment. There are no organisms that cannot be parasitized. The relationship between a parasite and its host species most of the time do not result in damage or disease to the host. However, in a parasitic disease the presence of a given parasite is always necessary, at least in a given moment of the infection. Some parasite species that infect humans were inherited from pre-hominids, and were shared with other phylogenetically close host species, but other parasite species were acquired from the environment as humans evolved. Human migration …

An Innovative Approach To Action Research In Family Violence Prevention, Linnaya M. Graf, Nancy K. Rea, William M. Barkley

Journal of Sustainable Social Impact

Violence prevention remains a priority in the current public health agenda because of continuing high rates and debilitating effects of violence that exist across the globe (U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Administration on Children, Youth and Families [USDHHS-ACF], 2009; World Health Organization [WHO], 2013). This article presents the use of an innovative qualitative study developed from community action research methods in the area of family violence. By applying the combined framework of force field analysis (Lewin, 1958) and the public health model (Centers for Disease Control, 2002; Knox & Aspy, 2011), the current study identified factors that positively …