Public Health Education and Promotion Commons^™

Health Literacy And Health Decision Making Attitudes In People With Human Immunodeficiency Virus, Christine Miranda

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Health literacy has been recognized as a vital issue in the self-care management of persons living with HIV/AIDS (PLWHA). The purpose of this study was to determine the impact of functional, communicative, and critical health literacy dimensions on positive and negative attitudes toward health decision making. The transtheoretical model of health behavior change (TTM) provided the theoretical framework to explain this association. A culturally-adapted survey was used in this cross-sectional study to measure health literacy dimensions, positive and negatives attitudes toward health decision making, and other factors in 100 Puerto Ricans living with HIV/AIDS. Demographic factors and clinical and immunological …

Promotion Of The Hospital's Patient Portal, Courtnie Jones Burrell

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services wanted to ensure that electronic health records were used in a meaningful manner to improve coordination and quality of patient care. In 2011, the federal government began offering monetary incentives to help healthcare facilities and providers adopt technology that supported patient access and increased their ability to manage their own health. The hospital where this project took place encouraged patients’ involvement in their health by providing a patient portal, yet the public has underutilized it. The purpose of this project was to develop an evidence-based strategy for future implementation at the hospital that …

The Effects Of Financial Literacy On Patient Engagement, Melanie Meyer

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Health care reform has caused consumers to learn more about what it means to have health insurance and its costs. Patient engagement, a critical component of health care reform, reflects provider and consumer attention to shared decision making between patient and physician. The problem addressed in this study is that although researchers have studied patient engagement, there has been insufficient exploration of the relationship between financial literacy and patient engagement, which could negatively impact health outcomes not only for patients or consumers but for society as a whole. The purpose of this quantitative research was to determine if a relationship …

African American Eighth Grade Students' Attitudes Toward Hiv/Aids In The District Of Columbia, Enock Kolawole Adewuyi

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The group most affected by HIV/AIDS, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), is African Americans. The purpose of this study was to explore the knowledge of HIV/AIDS held by African American children as a first step towards developing prevention strategies for these youths. In order to bridge the knowledge-behavior gap, this study sought to investigate the attitude towards HIV/AIDS of African American 8th grade students. The study involved secondary data from the 2012 District of Columbia (DC) Middle School Youth Risk Behavior Survey, obtained from the District of Columbia Office of Superintendent of Education (OSSE). Guided …

Barriers To Receiving The Influenza Vaccine In Adults 65 Years And Older, Melissa Madalone

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Vaccination is regarded by many as the most effective means of reducing influenza infection and disease; however, many people in the United States are hospitalized from flu-related illness each year. Adults 65 years and older account for more than half of these hospitalizations and almost all flu-related deaths. This project aimed to identify barriers to receiving the influenza vaccine among the adult population (> 65 years of age) in a community setting. The goal was to develop a teaching tool that would assist practitioners towards improving influenza vaccination rates among this population. The Health Belief Model was the theoretical framework …

Technology As A Health Intervention And The Self-Efficacy Of Men, Karen Denise Maxwell

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Mortality rates in the United States are higher for men than they are for women as a result of chronic diseases such as heart disease, cancer, and diabetes. Despite these disproportionate rates, few health interventions are targeted to men, and limited knowledge exists regarding the specific components needed to design technology health tools to appeal to men. The purpose of this quantitative study was to examine the relationship between the use of technology health tools and the role of self-efficacy in men and the influence on participation in healthy lifestyle behaviors. A quasi-experimental design was used to analyze data collected …

H.E.A.P.S. In Advances Towards A Healthier Samoa The Health Education And Promotions Section’S Role In Combating Non-Communicable Diseases, Kara Le

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

With an increase in the number of health issues within Samoa, specifically in relation to non-communicable diseases (NCDs), it is important to examine the efforts being made by government health officials to improve Samoa’s overall health status. This study explores the role of the Health Education and Promotion Section (H.E.A.P.S.) of the Ministry of Health in establishing and promoting healthier standards within the Samoan community. The current efforts of H.E.A.P.S. in combating NCDs through recently introduced projects and programs were explored in-depth. Further analysis of the design and effectiveness of these programs in changing the unhealthy habits of Samoan people …

Cancer Survivorship Care: An Emphasis On Rehabilitation Needs In Maine, Miranda Carlson, Nicole Christine, Charles Dowd, Cassandra Dawley, Irina Fedulow, Lisa Gerhardt, Erin Pike, Kaitlin Powers, Angela Serrani

Disease Prevention and Health Promotion Papers

The first section of this report addresses the evidence of causation concerning impairments developed as a result of a cancer diagnosis and cancer treatment. The second section investigates the evidence regarding rehabilitation and physical activity as an effective intervention in the prevention and treatment of impairments from cancer diagnosis and cancer treatment. The third section discusses the underlying behavioral change theory for incorporation of our Cancer Survivorship Rehabilitation Algorithm (Appendix 1), which details our proposed use of rehabilitation and wellness services in the continuum of cancer care and includes an outline for a survivorship care plan. This section also discusses …

Surgeon Practices And Attitudes Toward The Control Of Surgical-Site Infections In Jordan, Sara Ali Mater

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

The purpose of this study was to determine the attitudes and practices of Jordanian surgeons on the control of surgical-site infections, evaluated by the Center of Disease Control’s guidelines toward the prevention of surgical-site infections, in addition to gaining respondents opinions on infection control in Jordan. This study was conducted through the distribution of 75 questionnaires given to surgeons at five hospitals in Jordan. Additional insight on SSI infection control was gained through interviews with two cardiac surgeons and three infection control directors. The results of the survey were compared with the Center for Disease Control’s guide to surgical-site infection …

Assessing Health Conditions And Medication Use Among The Homeless Community In Long Beach, California, Mok Thoong Chong, Jason Yamaki, Megan Harwood, Richard D'Assalenaux, Ettie Rosenberg, Okezie Aruoma, Anupam Bishayee

Pharmacy Faculty Articles and Research

Objective: Persons experiencing homelessness are a vulnerable population and are at increased risk for morbidity and all-cause mortality compared to the general population. This study sought to evaluate medication use, regular physician visits, and identify health conditions among the homeless population of Long Beach, California.

Methods: Two "brown bag" medication review events were held at homeless shelters in the Long Beach area. Demographic information, medication use, and comorbid disease states were obtained through surveys.

Findings: Three-fourths of the cohort (95 participants) consisted of males, and the average age of participants was 48 years. Psychiatric disorders and cardiovascular disease were the …

Public Transportation: Perceptions Of Filth Contributing To Poor Health, Dashka Bernard

Annual Undergraduate Conference on Health and Society

Public transportation vehicles such as trains or buses have a reputation as unsanitary. Many riders of public transit are concerned with the health risks they are facing in regards to contagion. Perceptions of cleanliness derive from public health historically, with class, morality, and good health tied together in the American public’s attitudes. Certainly, infectious disease and sanitation are directly correlated in many instances, such as in the highly overcrowded and dirty cities in the early twentieth-century United States. Those living in filthy conditions (particularly, lower class individuals) were not only prone to becoming ill, but also considered to be immoral …

Politics Of Health: The 2013 Integration Policy’S Effect On Immigrant Access To Care, Amy Chang

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

In September of 2013, King Mohammed VI announced a regularization campaign, implementing a new policy of integration with respect to undocumented immigrants in the country. Deviating from former official discourse, the new measure allowed in principle for—among provision of residence cards and lifted criminalization of undocumented immigrants—greater immigrant access to healthcare services. The purpose of the following research was to assess whether the effects of this new provision are being positively felt on the ground in ensuring inclusivity of health services.Individual interviews on personal experiences with the Moroccan healthcare system were held with members of various immigrant sub-populations: refugees, asylum …

2014 Massachusetts Family Impact Seminar: A Lot On Our Plate; Chronic Health Threats In Massachusetts, Ira S. Ockene M.D., Christina D. Economos Ph.D, Barbara Goldoftas Ph.D, Denise A. Hines Ph.D., Caitlin Alcorn, Jacqueline A. Daigneault, Jordan R. Daley, Maura A. Flanagan, Carsten-Hendrik Rasche, Heather Rios, Julia Tran, Liam Kelly Fleming

Mosakowski Institute for Public Enterprise

A Lot on Our Plate: Chronic Health Threats in Massachusetts is the fifth Massachusetts Family Impact Seminar, and is designed to emphasize a family perspective in policymaking on issues related to childhood obesity, cardiovascular disease, and type 2 diabetes. In general, Family Impact Seminars analyze the consequences an issue, policy, or program may have for families.

In The Pink Of Health, Singapore Management University

Perspectives@SMU

SingHealth works to attract and retain doctors in Singapore’s public health sector.

Examining Universal Primary Healthcare Through Community-Based Initiatives, Donald E. Warden

Oglethorpe Journal of Undergraduate Research

This paper examines enacting community-based primary healthcare programs and initiatives. It looks at the weaknesses of past attempts, the successes of current attempts, and gives insight into ways everyday citizens can change the way the world does healthcare. There are social, economic, and political barriers as to why these programs are not enacted. Since 1978, Member states of the United Nations strive towards healthcare for all. The original 1978 Declaration of Alma-Ata sets the bar at achieving this goal by the year 2000. Now in the 21^st century, the world still battles inadequate healthcare. Nations continue to strive towards …

Health As A Human Right: An Analysis Of Healthcare Delivery To Bidonvilles, Juliana Saracino

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Morocco is often characterized by its diverse geographical elements such as deserts, waterfalls, mountains, and beachfronts, but an element that Morocco may not be as proud of yet can be found throughout the country is the bidonville. These small communities that tend to compose sub-sections of major cities host an astonishing number of the urban poor who are forced to live in compromised health and social stigma. Through an investigation of the bidonville dwellers’ experiences with the heath care services, this paper attempts to assess the relationship between the Moroccan healthcare system and the marginalized people it endeavors to, but …

An Ethical Analysis Of Incentives As “Nudges” Toward Better Health Outcomes: A Case Study Of Seva Mandir’S Immunization Program In Rural Udaipur, Julika Kaplan

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Seva Mandir, a non-governmental organization working on tribal development issues in the Udaipur District of India, offers pregnant women and mothers one kilogram of lentils for every visit they make to the organization’s monthly immunization camps. This study assesses whether it is ethical to use incentive-based systems, as opposed to empowerment through health education, to “nudge” the rural poor in Udaipur toward immunization. The information presented in this study is based on twenty-nine interviews with pregnant women and mothers of children less than two years old conducted during six field visits to Seva Mandir’s immunization camps. Through data obtained from …

Evidence-Based Decision Making To Improve Public Health Practice, Ross C. Brownson, Jonathan E. Fielding, Christopher M. Maylahn

Frontiers in Public Health Services and Systems Research

Despite the many accomplishments of public health, greater attention on evidence-based approaches is warranted. This article reviews the concepts of evidence-based public health (EBPH), on which formal discourse originated about 15 years ago. Key components of EBPH include: making decisions based on the best available scientific evidence, using data and information systems systematically, applying program planning frameworks, engaging the community in decision making, conducting sound evaluation, and disseminating what is learned. Core competencies for EBPH are emerging, including not only technical skills but also attention to administrative practices in public health agencies. To better bridge evidence and practice, the concepts …

Hospital Tax-Exempt Policy: A Comparison Of Schedule H And State Community Benefit Reporting Systems, Sara Rosenbaum, Maureen Byrnes, Amber M. Rieke

Frontiers in Public Health Services and Systems Research

The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA) revises federal tax exemption standards for nonprofit hospitals by clarifying and augmenting their community benefit obligations. The ACA amendments followed the 2009 launch of Schedule H – the form on which hospital community benefit, financial, and institutional activities are reported and which must be appended to each facility’s annual Form 990 nonprofit institution information return. Schedule H effectively creates a nationwide, standardized, facility-specific, transparent, and fully publicly accessible reporting system covering the nation’s more than 2,900 nonprofit hospitals. Schedule H delineates financial assistance and bad debt, and requires identification of community health …

El Dengue En Puerto López La Incidencia Y El Nivel De Conocimiento De La Gente Sobre Las Enfermedades Transmitidas Por Los Mosquitos, Mckenzie Momany

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

This study took place in Puerto López, Manabí, Ecuador and focuses primarily on the level of knowledge the townspeople have about dengue and how it is transmitted. It also looks at the incidence of dengue in the town and across neighborhoods. In order to carry out this study, I spent a month living in the coastal town of Puerto López and interviewed 50 townspeople – 10 in each of the five neighborhoods of Jonas Gonzalez, Miraflores, Luís Gencón, San Alejo, and the central neighborhood. Interviewees were questioned about their past history of dengue, as well as their knowledge of the …

Do No Harm: Perceptions Of Short-Term Health Camps In Nepal, Dena Seabrook

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Short-term health camps are a growing form of delivering health care services to needy populations. Often these camps, usually lasting around 2 weeks, are led by I/NGOs in developing nations like Nepal and are staffed with volunteers from the Global North. These camps are largely ungoverned, and there are no evaluative techniques in place to monitor the effectiveness of the work done, raising concerns about the unintended consequences of short-term health camps camps. Nepal is particularly vulnerable to this issue because of the vast number of I/NGOs currently operating within its boundaries.

This research sought to expand the conversation surrounding …

Understanding Social Marketing In A Not-For-Profit Ngo Setting: An Internship With Pace In Eastern Uganda, Veronica L. Tuerffs

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

The organization PACE (Programme for Accessible health, Communication and Education) focuses on generating a positive health impact throughout Uganda by the means of social marketing and other proven, evidence based techniques. An internship with the organization took place over the course of six weeks and was conducted under the A2L (Access to Life) program which is located in four of the country’s eastern districts. The focus of the health and sales communication internship was the implementation of PACE’s marketing scheme on their life-saving products and how the products and organization are perceived.

Any of the information gathered during this time …

The Influence Of Community Support Services In Reducing Potentially Preventable Readmissions, Camille Rose Bash

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Recently, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) ranked all hospitals based on Medicare readmission rates for heart attacks, heart failure, and pneumonia. CMS offered subsidies to hospitals ranked in the 4th quartile to develop community support services to reduce the problem of potentially preventable readmissions (PPRs). CMS cited 4 of the 5 hospitals in Prince George's County in the 4th quartile. The purpose of this quantitative research study was to investigate the relationship between community support services and the reduction of PPRs in Prince George's County. The Evans and Stoddart field model of health and well-being guided this …

A Case Study Of Primary Healthcare Services In Isu, Nigeria, Raymond Ogu. Chimezie

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Access to primary medical care and prevention services in Nigeria is limited, especially in rural areas, despite national and international efforts to improve health service delivery. Using a conceptual framework developed by Penchansky and Thomas, this case study explored the perceptions of community residents and healthcare providers regarding residents' access to primary healthcare services in the rural area of Isu. Using a community-based research approach, semistructured interviews and focus groups were conducted with 27 participants, including government healthcare administrators, nurses and midwives, traditional healers, and residents. Data were analyzed using Colaizzi's 7-step method for qualitative data analysis. Key findings included …

Physician Decision Criteria Regarding Omega-3 Dietary Supplements, Warren P. Lesser

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

American Heart Association officials and other expert cardiologists recommend omega-3 (n-3) dietary supplementation for the secondary prevention of cardiovascular disease, a prevalent health problem in the United States. Physicians' lack of understanding of possible n-3 preventive health benefits results in underprescribing n-3 dietary supplements and lower n-3 dietary supplement product sales. N-3 dietary supplement marketers do not understand physician n-3 prescribing decision criteria enough to optimize high-impact communication to physicians to increase n-3 dietary supplement product use. The purpose of this phenomenological research study was to improve n-3 marketers' understanding of how physicians reach decisions to prescribe or recommend products …

Learning Style Needs And Effectiveness Of Adult Health Literacy Education, Leah A. Grebner

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Low health literacy impacts an individual's ability to comprehend communication from healthcare providers, reduces access to healthcare, and contributes to increased mortality. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the impact of learning style on adult health literacy education. The health belief model, protection motivation theory, the transtheoretical model, and social cognitive theory were used to analyze the data in this study, and to further develop effective health literacy education. The research questions addressed the effectiveness of educational intervention adjusted to their appropriate learning style in comparison to a standardized health literacy intervention and potential difference, according to type …

An Examination Of Awareness Of Over-The-Counter Nonsteroidal Anti-Inflammatory Drugs And Adverse Events, Michelle Popa

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The elderly population is among the fastest growing populations in the United States. Finding and consuming medications safely and effectively are challenging endeavors for this population. Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) are a widely consumed class of medications among the elderly population, with 70% of individuals consuming over-the-counter (OTC) NSAIDs once a week and 34% using them daily. The purpose of this quantitative study was to determine whether (a) patients are aware of the risks associated with the consumption of NSAIDs, and (b) there are differences in awareness based upon specific demographic characteristics and levels of patient-physician communication. The health belief …

Experiences Of Older African American Women With Breast Cancer Screening And Abnormal Mammogram Results, Marshalee George

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Even with access to well-known breast cancer treatment centers, older African American women continue to have higher breast cancer mortality compared to their European American counterparts. Researchers have theorized relationships among diagnostic delay, socioeconomic status (SES) factors, beliefs, culture, and breast cancer mortality in African American women ages 40 to 64, but these same relationships among African American women ages 65 to 80 have not been investigated. The purpose of this qualitative study was to describe older African American women's experiences with abnormal mammograms. The quality-caring model and critical race theory were used through narration to show the association of …

Care Coordination, Family-Centered Care And Functional Ability In Children With Special Health Care Needs In The United States, Madeline Marti-Morales

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Children with special health care needs (CSHCN) generally have physical, mental, or emotional conditions that require a broader range and greater quantity of health and related services compared to typical children. Care coordination (CC) and family-centered care (FCC) are necessary in the quality of health care for CSHCN. A gap exists in the literature regarding the impact of CC and FCC on children's functional ability (FA). Previous researchers have focused on met and unmet health care needs, but not on health outcomes or functionality. The purpose of this study was to determine if there was an association between CC, FCC, …

Chhs November E-Newsletter, Wku College Of Health & Human Services, Vashon S. Wells, Editor

College of Health & Human Services Publications

No abstract provided.