Translational Medical Research Commons^™

Sex And Gender Differences In Arthritis Health Information, Tania Al-Jilawi

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Arthritis is a common disorder that may result in pain and inflammation, making it challenging to move or continue being active. Arthritis comes in a variety of forms. The two studies of this thesis aimed to identify the influence of intersectionality, especially sex and gender, in arthritis. The first study, a structured review, evaluated the inclusion of sex/gender and intersectional identities in patient resources of three arthritis societies: the Canadian Arthritis Society, the American Arthritis Foundation, and the National Rheumatoid Arthritis Society. The appraisal tool, the Sex/Gender and Intersectional Considerations in Patient/Consumer Health Information Appraisal Tool was used to evaluate …

The Symbiome Project: An Exploratory Investigation Of The Biological, Psychological, And Social Mechanisms That Contribute To The Transition From Acute To Chronic Musculoskeletal Pain, Joshua Y. Lee

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

This dissertation presents the initial findings of the SYMBIOME project; which attempts to combine the objective and subjective aspects of musculoskeletal pain to develop a prognostic clinical phenotype. Chapter 2 presents a moderator analysis of functional outcomes (pain interference and pain severity). Psychosocial moderators can affect the relationship between biomarkers and pain. For pain severity, TNF-α, TGF-β1, and CRP were moderated by employment status, pre-existing psychopathology, and sex. For pain interference, IL-1β, cortisol, TGF-β1, CRP, and IL-6 were moderated by pre-existing pain, peri-traumatic fear, region of injury, and peri-traumatic stress. Chapter 3 presents a latent growth curve analysis in determining …

The Development And Evaluation Of Resources To Improve The Quality Of Care For Patients With Knee Osteoarthritis, Laura K. Churchill

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Purpose: The non-operative management of patients with knee osteoarthritis (OA) is often considered suboptimal. Sub-optimal management includes inadequate use of non-surgical treatments, misuse of diagnostic imaging, and non-operative referrals to surgeons in consideration of total knee replacement (TKR). These inefficiencies result from an interplay of factors involving primary care physicians, patients, and the systems in which they function. The overall purpose of this thesis is to develop a means to optimize the management of patients with knee OA, and the timing and quality of referrals to TKR.

Methods: This thesis includes three studies. In study 1, we identified and cross-validated …

How Do Parents Use Health Information With The Aid Of A Knowledge Broker When Living With And Caring For Their Young Children With Cerebral Palsy?, Stephanie E. Lagosky

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

This research aims to understand how parents use health information (such as those developed from the Move & PLAY study) with the aid of a knowledge broker when living with and caring for young children with cerebral palsy. This research was conducted under a qualitative case study methodology and used questionnaires and in-depth interviews to collect data. Findings include the complexity of both parental use of health information and the desire to use a knowledge broker. A provisional model has been created to help describe information use of parents with young children with cerebral palsy. This provisional model is an …