Public Health Education and Promotion Commons^™

Factors Relating To Hpv Behaviors Of Female College Students, Nicole Rachael Peritore

Theses and Dissertations--Kinesiology and Health Promotion

This study examined the knowledge, sources of information, reasons for and against Gardasil® uptake, and possible relationships between unhealthy behaviors and vaccination for undergraduate college females at a public university. Utilizing an online survey, 2400 random students were emailed as well as recruited through online classes. The final sample size was 516 females. The study determined how many participants had been vaccinated and their rationale for or against vaccination. The majority of study participants were knowledgeable about HPV and Gardasil®. The primary sources of information about HPV and Gardasil® were doctors and television; however parents and friends were also common …

Energy Drink Consumption (With And Without Alcohol) And Its Relationship To Risky Behavior, Risk Awareness, And Behavioral Intention In College Students, Julia K. Buchanan

Theses and Dissertations--Kinesiology and Health Promotion

The purpose of this study was to assess the relationships between energy drink consumption (with and without alcohol) and other risky behaviors; students’ overall awareness level of the risks for consuming energy drinks; and overall behavioral intention to consume energy drinks among college students at the University of Kentucky. A total of 277 students enrolled during the Spring 2012 semester responded to the online survey, 46.5% (n=129) of which were considered energy drink users. Students classified as energy drink users participated in other risky behaviors more often than non-users (p=0.001). In addition, energy drink users exhibited a higher …

Relationships Of Access And Affordability To Household Food Security Status Among Rural, Low Income Caregivers, Jodi Elaine Marani

Theses and Dissertations--Kinesiology and Health Promotion

Household food security status in rural areas is a significant issue facing caregivers as positive health outcomes depend on appropriate access to healthy foods necessary to lead an active life. Access and affordability of healthy foods are two mediating factors of household food security that may be improved to ultimately increase rates of food security and overall health status among rural, low income populations.

The purpose of the study was to examine the factors of access and affordability of nutritionally adequate food sources in one rural community in relation to food security status through the perspective of its caregivers. In …

Physical Activity, Sleep Patterns, And Health Outcomes In University Law Enforcement Officers, Nicole C. Koebke

Theses and Dissertations--Kinesiology and Health Promotion

Research indicates that law enforcement officers (LEOs) have a higher prevalence of developing coronary artery disease (CAD) compared to the general population. Sleep deprivation and physical inactivity have been found to be related to many risk factors for CAD. This cross-sectional study examined the health status and the relationship between sleep and physical activity outcomes versus CAD risk factors among 27 University LEOs. The subjects’ health behaviors, and CAD and metabolic syndrome risk factors were described using basic statistics. Accelerometer derived sleep and physical activity outcomes were correlated to measures of health to identify potential relationships. 33% of LEOs were …

The Impact Of Maternal Smoking In Kentucky And Effect Of The Giving Infants And Families Tobacco-Free Starts Pilot Project On Smoking Cessation And Birth Outcomes, Joyce Madeline Robl

Theses and Dissertations--Kinesiology and Health Promotion

Smoking during pregnancy remains a significant public health issue despite knowledge about the adverse maternal and fetal health effects. This research had six purposes: identifying effective smoking cessation strategies for low income pregnant women; identifying characteristics of Kentucky women who smoke during pregnancy; estimating the role of smoking on birth outcomes in Kentucky; exploring the impact of tobacco reduction on birth outcomes; identifying the characteristics of women participating in the Giving Infants and Families Tobacco-free Starts (GIFTS) pilot program; and evaluating the impact of GIFTS on smoking status and birth outcomes.

Seven randomized controlled trials targeting low income women with …

Two Tree Trimmers Die When Struck By Errant Semi Tractor-Trailer, Kentucky Injury Prevention And Research Center

Fatality Case Reports--Motor Vehicle

One spring morning in 2010, three male tree trimmers set up a work site in a highway intersection at the base of a mountain. As one tree trimmer removed equipment from the truck, two other tree trimmers, 21- and 32-years old, posted signage in the intersection. The two tree trimmers were located on the shoulder of the highway. A semi tractor-trailer was driving down the mountain toward the intersection, when its brakes failed. To avoid hitting vehicles in front of the semi, the driver steered to the left, crossed the intersection, striking both tree trimmers with the semi tractor-trailer. Both …

Workers Die From Heat Stroke, Kentucky Injury Prevention And Research Center

Kentucky Haz Alerts--Other

To prevent heatstroke, employers should:

• Train supervisors and employees to recognize symptoms of heat stroke
• Give frequent breaks and provide drinking water
• Adjust work hours to accommodate work conditions such as high heat index and/or high humidity
• Monitor workers who are at risk of heat stroke

Employees should:

• Report unusual behavior
• Know how to treat co-workers for heat stroke
• Monitor your physical condition and that of your coworkers

Workers Killed After Being Electrocuted, Kentucky Injury Prevention And Research Center

Kentucky Haz Alerts--Other

To prevent electrocutions, employers should:

• Provide non-conductive ladders
• Conduct a jobsite survey to identify potential hazards
• Provide electricity awareness training
• Provide onsite automated external defibrillators (AEDs)

• Use non-conductive ladders
• De-energize lines before beginning work
• Make sure all equipment is properly grounded
• Know how to use automated external defibrillators (AEDs)

Workers Killed During Tree Trimming/Removal, Kentucky Injury Prevention And Research Center

Kentucky Haz Alerts--Other

To prevent tree trimming and removal fatalities, workers should:

• Perform a hazard assessment of the work area before starting work
• Appropriate personal equipment should be worn at all times while trimming or removing trees
• Determine the tree’s felling direction. Address forward lean, back lean, and/or side lean issues
• All trees and limbs should be inspected for structural weakness before work commences
• Have an escape route planned

Semi Truck Driver Falls Asleep While Driving, Crashes And Dies, Kentucky Injury Prevention And Research Center

Fatality Case Reports--Motor Vehicle

A 56 year-old male long-haul semi-truck driver fell asleep while driving. It was approximately 4:15 AM and the driver was hauling a load of canned tomatoes. He was approximately 225 miles away from his destination driving in the right hand lane, on a four lane interstate traveling south, when he fell asleep. Upon falling asleep, the unit travelled to the right, across the rumble strip and the emergency lane, behind a guardrail, down an embankment and crashed into a grove of trees. A man driving a car behind the semi truck saw dust rise from the crash, stopped, called emergency …

Semi Drivers Killed After Vehicle Rollovers, Kentucky Injury Prevention And Research Center

Kentucky Haz Alerts--Motor Vehicle

To prevent semi truck rollovers, employers should:

• Implement and enforce a seat belt safety program
• Establish and strengthen a company policy to reduce fatigue on the job

Employees should:

• Always wear a seat belt while in the vehicle
• Use correct lights during a fog
• Use proper precautions to reduce sloshing
• Reduce inadequate evasive actions

Land Surveyor Struck And Killed By Passenger Vehicle, Kentucky Injury Prevention And Research Center

Fatality Case Reports--Motor Vehicle

One late fall day in 2009, at approximately 3:30 PM, two land surveyors had completed surveying tasks for the day and were walking north, on opposites sides of a two-lane rural state highway. They were returning surveying equipment to the company truck. Surveyor 1, company owner, was walking with traffic on the east side of the road, in the grass, a few feet to the right of the pavement. Surveyor 2 was walking on the edge of the pavement on the west side of the road. Both men were on the road on the blind side of a hill and …

Municipal Solid Waste Collector Dies After Falling From Solid Waste Vehicle Hopper Area, Kentucky Injury Prevention And Research Center

Fatality Case Reports--Motor Vehicle

On a spring day in 2010, a 41 year-old male, solid waste collector, was riding in the hopper area of a solid waste truck when he fell out and struck his head on the pavement. He was riding in the hopper area because the step he usually rode, located at the rear driver side, was broken. Another worker rode the rear step on the passenger side of the vehicle, and a third worker, the driver, drove. After approaching a stop, the driver looked into the rearview mirror and saw the decedent on the pavement. The driver stopped the truck, and …

Factors Associated With Tobacco Use Among Rural And Urban Pregnant Women, Whitney Jeanne Katirai

University of Kentucky Doctoral Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to investigate the influences of smoking on rural and urban pregnant women. More specifically, the variables of the knowledge of health effects, health provider recommendations, subscores from the Health Belief Model (HBM), and social support were explored in relation to the smoking behavior of pregnant women. A secondary purpose was to investigate the accuracy of self-reported smoking during pregnancy using biochemical validation. Pregnant women (N=71) completed an anonymous questionnaire, designed by the researcher, to identify variables that predicted smoking for urban and rural women. Participants also gave a saliva sample for cotinine testing.

Approximately …

Service Technician Working Alone Dies After Being Assaulted, Kentucky Injury Prevention And Research Center

Fatality Case Reports--Other

One late fall evening in 2009, a 53 year-old male technician was working alone at a repair shop. At approximately 9:45 PM, the technician returned to the shop with his dinner from a nearby fast-food establishment. He spread his dinner on the work bench and began eating when apparently he was attacked from behind. His attacker used a knife and cut the technician’s carotid artery and jugular vein on the left side of his neck. The attacker fled, and the technician used a cell phone to call 911, emergency medical services (EMS). When EMS arrived, they found the technician dead …

Foreign-Born Semi Driver Dies After Driving Over Embankment, Kentucky Injury Prevention And Research Center

Fatality Case Reports--Motor Vehicle

One summer morning in 2009, at approximately 11:30 AM, a 41 year-old male, long-haul, semi tractor-trailer driver drove off an interstate highway, over a guardrail, and continued into a wooded ravine. His trailer was empty and he was travelling to pick up a load of retail goods. The trailer disengaged from the tractor, the fuel tanks ruptured, the tractor overturned and caught fire. As the tractor overturned, the driver was ejected. A passing motorist called emergency medical (EMS) services; EMS arrived and found the driver dead at the scene.

To prevent future occurrences of similar incidents, the following recommendations have …

Workers Killed While Collecting Solid Waste, Kentucky Injury Prevention And Research Center

Kentucky Haz Alerts--Motor Vehicle

To prevent solid waste collection injuries:

• An applicable worker safety program should be established
• Before the solid waste truck is moved, visible hand signal communication between the driver and tipper should be established
• A standard operating procedure (SOP) should be established for stacking dumpsters as a result of a job hazard analysis
• A drug testing program should be incorporated in a worker safety program
• Pre-trip and post-trip vehicle inspections should be performed
• An ANSI ISEA 107-1999 safety vest should be worn at all times when on duty
• Do not ride on the steps if the truck is going faster than …

Semi Team Driver Dies After Being Ejected From Sleeper Berth, Kentucky Injury Prevention And Research Center

Fatality Case Reports--Motor Vehicle

In the fall of 2009, a husband-wife semi driver team traveled south on a four-lane interstate. They were driving a semi-tractor trailer loaded with air freight. It was nighttime; the husband was driving, and the wife was in the sleeper berth. There was an unoccupied car parked on the right shoulder. The husband crossed the fog line on the right, sideswiped the car, traveled through a guardrail, and down an embankment toward a road below the interstate. During the trajectory of the semi-tractor trailer, the unit jackknifed; the trailer detached from the semi then struck the semi, and both the …

Workers Killed While Working With Forklifts, Kentucky Injury Prevention And Research Center

Kentucky Haz Alerts--Other

To prevent forklift injuries:

• Do not operate a forklift without being certified and trained.
• Forklift operators should wear their safety belts.
• Do not jump from an overturning forklift. Keep your body inside the forklift frame. Ride it out and lean in the opposite direction of the overturn.
• Do not place yourself between two forklifts.
• Do not handle loads that are heavier than the load capacity of the forklift.
• Make sure that the travel path of the forklift is clear from the floor to the height of the load being moved.
• Do not step on elevated loads.
• It is a violation …

Residential Tree Trimmers Killed While Working, Kentucky Injury Prevention And Research Center

Kentucky Haz Alerts--Falls

To prevent tree trimmer injuries:

• Tree trimming or cutting should not be performed without appropriate safety training.
• Appropriate personal protective equipment should be worn at all times while removing trees.
• All trees and limbs should be inspected for structural weakness before work commences.
• Safe work procedures should be used for climbing, felling, topping, and pruning trees.
• A jobsite hazard assessment should be performed to identify hazards so that hazards can be controlled for.

Arborist Dies After Fall From Tree, Kentucky Injury Prevention And Research Center

Fatality Case Reports--Falls

A 30-year old arborist was hired by a private resident to remove trees from a yard. At approximately 5:00 PM, the arborist, along with a ground person, arrived at the residence. The arborist donned climbing spurs, and a tree climbing saddle then spoke briefly with the homeowner. With the climbing line and spurs, the arborist climbed the first tree. After trimming limbs from the tree trunk, the arborist began cutting the tree trunk one section at a time. There was a power line near the trees. The arborist was working at the fork of the tree and had cut a …

Team Semi Driver Dies After Rig Is Struck By Impaired Driver, Kentucky Injury Prevention And Research Center

Fatality Case Reports--Motor Vehicle

During the early hours one fall morning, a husband and wife driving team were traveling west on a divided interstate highway. A concrete barrier separated the four east bound lanes from the four west bound lanes. The wife was driving while the husband was asleep in the sleeper berth. Driving conditions were dark and the pavement dry. They were traveling in the second lane from the median and there was a passenger car to the right of the semi in the third lane from the median traveling next to the front wheel well and bumper. The passenger car driver veered …

Health Promotion And Health Education: Nursing Students’ Perspectives, Kathleen Ann Halcomb

University of Kentucky Doctoral Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to determine student nurses’ perceptions of (1) the role of the nurse in health promotion, and (2) how the concept of health promotion is presented in nursing curricula. Research questions for this study included the following: 1) Can nursing students explain the difference between health education and health promotion? 2) What have nursing students been exposed to within their curriculum regarding health promotion? 3) What health promoting behaviors are nursing faculty role modeling as perceived by nursing students? 4) What is the role of the nurse in implementing health promotion as perceived by nursing …

Immigrant Granite Installer Killed After Falling With Homemade Construction Box, Kentucky Injury Prevention And Research Center

Fatality Case Reports--Falls

On a summer day in 2009, a 50-year-old granite installer and his two sons were working alone at a construction site when the granite installer fell out of a second story window and was killed. The three granite installers worked for a subcontractor hired to install granite vanity tops and sinks in a newly constructed hotel. Work had commenced at 7:00 AM that morning. They were installing the second set of ten vanities for the day. All ten vanities, with back and side splash pieces, had been loaded onto a homemade three-sided construction box and lifted via a forklift to …

Truck Drivers Killed After Exiting Semi Tractors And Being Struck By Other Semi Tractors In Distribution Center, Kentucky Injury Prevention And Research Center

Kentucky Haz Alerts--Motor Vehicle

To prevent truck driver injuries while traversing distribution facilities:

• Drivers of yard tractors should ensure that a clear path is visible before moving the vehicle. Truck drivers should not approach such vehicles on foot until acknowledgment of contact has been made between both drivers.
• Do not enter behind the trailer until other vehicle drivers behind have come to a complete stop and parked the vehicle.
• Always wear reflective vests while traversing a distribution facility.
• Employers should develop and implement a comprehensive safety plan that addresses truck driver pedestrian traffic in freight distribution facilities.
• All air lines and electrical connections should …

Workers Killed While Working With Granite, Kentucky Injury Prevention And Research Center

Kentucky Haz Alerts--Falls

To prevent injuries while working with granite:

• A job hazard analysis should be conducted each day before work commences.
• Employees should be trained in proper material handling procedures that include handling and transport of granite slabs.
• Use slab carts or slab racks to transport granite slabs and use tie-downs to secure the granite slabs to the forklift.
• Work should only be performed when the general contractor has a competent person on the job site.

Workers Killed While Working With Granite, Kentucky Injury Prevention And Research Center

Kentucky Haz Alerts--Other

To prevent injuries while working with granite:

• A job hazard analysis should be conducted each day before work commences.
• Employees should be trained in proper material handling procedures that include handling and transport of granite slabs.
• Use slab carts or slab racks to transport granite slabs and use tie-downs to secure the granite slabs to the forklift.
• Work should only be performed when the general contractor has a competent person on the job site.

Workers Electrocuted While Working In Elevated Buckets, Kentucky Injury Prevention And Research Center

Kentucky Haz Alerts--Motor Vehicle

To prevent worker electrocutions while working near over-head power lines:

• Employers should implement and enforce a formal written electrical safety training program that includes work around overhead lines.
• An observer should be designated by the employer to perform an electrical hazard
• evaluation prior to commencing new work activities.
• A hazard assessment of the job site and route of travel, including aerial and ground hazards and obstacles, within the job site should be performed by a competent person before work commences.

Solid Waste Driver Dies After Single Vehicle Rollover, Kentucky Injury Prevention And Research Center

Fatality Case Reports--Motor Vehicle

On the morning of a fall day in 2008, a 59 year-old male solid waste worker (Driver 1) entered the cab of a company solid waste truck parked in his driveway and drove to a restaurant a few miles away. After leaving the restaurant, the driver was observed weaving by another solid waste driver (Driver 2) at least two times in the northbound lane of a two-lane state highway. After he had driven 1.8 miles in a little over 2 minutes away from the restaurant, the driver entered a right-hand curve in the highway. While in the curve, the driver …

Driver Of A Semi-Tractor Pulling Twin Trailers Fatally Injured In Single Vehicle Crash, Kentucky Injury Prevention And Research Center

Fatality Case Reports--Motor Vehicle

In the spring of 2008, a 40-year-old tractor-trailer driver died after his vehicle left the interstate highway, crashed, and was engulfed in flames. The tractor drifted over the fog line and rumble strip onto the right shoulder, began to skid and left the highway. The tractor slid through the grass beside the roadway, struck a concrete culvert, sideswiped a small tree and then hit a large tree head-on. The tractor and trailers then skidded back down the embankment toward the highway where the entire unit came to rest. The tractor and lead trailer overturned onto the driver’s side. The second …