Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

The Qingdao Twin Registry: A Focus On Chronic Disease Research, C. Anderson Johnson, Zengchang Pang, Feng Ning, Jennifer B. Unger, Shaojie Wang, Qian Guo, Weihua Cao, Liming Lee

CGU Faculty Publications and Research

With the changing patterns of morbidity and mortality in China, noncommunicable chronic diseases have become the major threats to the health of the Chinese population. The causes of chronic diseases include genetic factors and behavioral risk factors such as the use of tobacco, alcohol, and other drugs, unhealthy dietary behaviors, and lack of physical activity. Twin studies offer a unique opportunity to disentangle the genetic and environmental risk and protective factors for chronic disease. The Qingdao Twin Registry (QTR) was initiated in 1998 as part of the National Chinese Twin Registry. Over 11,000 pairs of twins and multiples of all …

Preface To The Psychiatric Clinics Of North American, 2006, Karl Doghramji

Department of Psychiatry and Human Behavior Faculty Papers

Introducton to the special issue on the sleep-psychiatry interface.

Normal Sleep And Circadian Rhythms: Neurobiologic Mechanisms Underlying Sleep And Wakefulness, Dimitri Markov, Marina Goldman

Department of Psychiatry and Human Behavior Faculty Papers

Sleep is a vital, highly organized process regulated by complex systems of neuronal networks and neurotransmitters. Sleep plays an important role in the regulation of central nervous system and body physiologic functions. Sleep architecture changes with age and is easily susceptible to external and internal disruption. Reduction or disruption of sleep can affect numerous functions varying from thermoregulation to learning and memory during the waking state.

Uma Doença Esquecida: A Falta De Conhecimento Da Hanseníase No Brasi, Anders Gustafson

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Hansen’s Disease is one of the world’s most misunderstood and stigmatized illnesses. Its patients are often discriminated against, and marginalized from society. This study examines what role a fault in information regarding technical knowledge plays in perpetuating this prejudice. Data is based on interviews collected from patients, family members, and persons from the most affluent sections of society, all from the city of Ilhéus, Bahia, Brazil. In addition, medical professionals provide their input. This information is referenced against sociological theory and historical precedence, to examine the role society and government have played in formulating the situation today. The study concludes …

Dai Medicine: Preservation Of And Changes In Ancient Healing Practices, Geoffroy Fauchet

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

This independent study project discusses the general concept and theories of Dai medicine and focuses on the conservation of and transformation that both, the traditional and modern Dai medical system have undergone over time.

Demographic Change And Response: Social Context And The Practice Of Birth Control In Six Countries, Sangeeta Parashar, Harriet B. Presser, Megan L. Klein Hattori, Sara Raley, Zhihong Sa

Department of Sociology Faculty Scholarship and Creative Works

This paper expands on Kingsley Davis’s demographic thesis of change and re- sponse. Specifically, we consider the social context that accounts for the primacy of particular birth control methods that bring about fertility change during specific time periods. We examine the relevance of state policy (including national family planning programs), the international population establishment, the medical profession, organized religion, and women’s groups using case studies from Japan, Russia, Puerto Rico, China, India, and Cameroon. Some of these countries are undergoing the second demographic transition, others the first. Despite variations in context, heavy reliance on sterilization and/or abortion as a means …

Parenting, Home Environment, And Child Obesity: A Survey Of Parents And Children Attending A Pediatric Clinic., Amit Ravindra Bodhani

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Data were collected from 60 parents of children 5-11 years of age to describe the parental and family factors and explore the associations of these factors with children's Body Mass Index (BMI) percentiles. Mother's made up 81.7% of the sample. Whites/Caucasians comprised 88.3% of the sample. Males comprised 51.6% of the child participants while females comprised 48.3%. Among the child participants, 38.3% had BMI equal to or greater than the 95th percentile, and 6.7% had BMI 85th to less than 95th percentile. Concerns about child weight (r_s = 0.582), pressure to eat (r_s = -0.433), and monitoring (r …

Voluntary And Involuntary Nursing Home Staff Turnover, Christopher Donoghue, Nicholas G. Castle

Department of Sociology Faculty Scholarship and Creative Works

The goal of this study was to identify nursing home characteristics that have differential associations to voluntary and involuntary turnover among formal caregivers (i.e., registered nurses, licensed practical nurses, and nurse aides). Primary data from 354 facilities from four states were merged with data from the 2004 Online Survey, Certification and Recording system. Multinomial logistic regression analyses were conducted to determine whether organizational characteristics were related to a greater probability of high or low levels of voluntary and involuntary turnover among formal caregivers. The analysis revealed that a higher ratio of nurses to beds, a smaller number of quality-of-care deficiencies, …

Assessment Of Pneumonia In Older Adults: Effect Of Functional Status, Lona Mody, Rongjun Sun, Suzanne F. Bradley

Sociology & Criminology Faculty Publications

OBJECTIVES:

Evaluate the effect of preadmission functional status on severity of pneumonia, length of hospital stay (LOS), and all-cause 30-day and 1-year mortality of adults aged 60 and older and to understand the effect of pneumonia on short-term functional impairment.

DESIGN:

Prospective cohort study.

SETTING:

University hospital.

PARTICIPANTS:

One hundred twelve patients with radiograph-proven pneumonia (mean age 74.6) were enrolled.

MEASUREMENTS:

Functional status and comorbidities were assessed using the Functional Autonomy Measurement System (SMAF) and Charlson Comorbidity Index. Clinical information was used to calculate the Pneumonia Prognostic Index (PPI).

RESULTS:

Eighty-four (75%) patients were functionally independent (FI) before admission, …

Substance Abuse In Rural And Small Town America, Karen T. Van Gundy

The Carsey School of Public Policy at the Scholars' Repository

Alcohol abuse exceeds illicit drug abuse in rural America and is a serious problem among rural youth, as highlighted here. The report also confirms that the abuse of stimulants, including methamphetamine, is high among certain rural populations, particularly among the rural unemployed.

Report On Selected Indicators By Gender, N.A.

Aboriginal Policy Research Consortium International (APRCi)

No abstract provided.

Physician Communication Behaviors That Elicit Patient Trust., Linda E. Bambino

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The general relationship between the physician and the patient is one where communication is used to establish and maintain what will likely become a long-term partnership. Health communication research indicates that physicians who have apt communication skills in the patient-physician relationship develop a platform of trust behaviors. The physician communication behaviors perceived to elicit trust reported by patients are; comfort/caring, agency, competence, compassion and honesty. The objective of the research project was to assess patient perceptions of previously determined physician communication behaviors that predict patient trust through individual surveys (N=162) between foreign-born international medical graduates and American-born non-IMG resident physicians. …

A Perceptual Study Of The Impact Of Athletic Programs In Selected Community Colleges In The State Of Tennessee., Lee Martin Cigliano

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of the study was to examine the economic, institutional, and human impact of athletic programs at community colleges in the Tennessee Board of Regents community college system to determine how the athletic programs affects the benefits, or lack of benefits, for students, the institutions, and the communities.

Sixteen participants were interviewed: two presidents, two athletic directors, four coaches, and eight student-athletes. The student-athletes represented four different sports and came from a variety of educational backgrounds and academic standing. The primary benefits perceived for the institutions and the student-athletes were the impact on missions, enrollment, educational and athletic opportunities, …

Negotiating Change: An Analysis Of The Origins Of Ghana's National Health Insurance Act, Jennifer L. Singleton

Sociology Honors Projects

Given the neo-liberal ideologies of the majority party and global trends toward market-based approaches to social services, the passage of Ghana’s National Health Insurance Scheme, which provides coverage for all, seems anomalous. To answer the questions raised by this legislation, I analyze evidence from the government and consulting agencies. I find that a shift in international focus to allow social service reform combined with domestic electoral political influences. The scheme’s foundation of district mutual health organizations evolved from a USAID-funded consulting agency’s work, and may additionally reflect creative borrowing from the United States’ failed healthcare reforms of 1993.

Development Of An Instrument To Identify The Virtues Of Expert Nursing Practice: ‘Byrd’S Nurses Ethical Sensitivity Test’ (Byrd’S Nest), Lisa Marie Byrd

Dissertations

The purpose of this research was to develop and analyze the psychometric properties of Byrd’s Nurse’s Ethical Sensitivity Test (Byrd’s NEST). An instrument to evaluate nurses’ ethical sensitivity in practice by examining choices of action in ethical dilemmas based on nursing virtues: compassion, fidelity to trust, moral courage, justice, self-confidence, resilience, practical reasoning, and integrity (Benner, Tanner, & Chelsa, 1996; Volbrecht, 2002). Benner’s theory of skill acquisition-novice to expert was the theoretical framework for this research which surveyed for correlations between a nurse’s ethical sensitivity and educational level, years of experience, certification, and work setting. Until now, there have been …

Infectious Behaviour: Imputing Subjectivity To Hiv Transmission, Barry D. Adam

Sociology, Anthropology, and Criminology Publications

This paper examines the sometimes implicit models of human behaviour circulating in science, government, and media that assign agency to HIV transmission, and contrasts these institutional ideas with the narratives of people at risk as they go about their everyday lives. Three kinds of risk talk, arising from interviews, show the limitations and paradoxes of leading constructions of the subjectivity of HIV transmission. The first shows a lack of fit, when the social conditions and presumptions that hold up the leading discourses are missing, and so choices and actions correspondingly follow alternative logics. The second type concerns “semiotic snares” that …

Maine State Government's Worksite Wellness Program, William C. Mcpeck

William C. McPeck

This is an unpublished report I wrote for Maine Governor John Baldacci to share with the National Governor's Association. The report reflects the history and current initiatives of Maine State Government's employee wellness program.

Indigenous Suicide In New Zealand, Annette L. Beautrais, David M. Fergusson

Aboriginal Policy Research Consortium International (APRCi)

This article describes patterns of suicide and attempted suicide among the indigenous (Ma ̄ori) population of New Zealand using official data from the New Zealand Health Information Service (NZHIS). The majority of Ma ̄ori suicides (75%) occurr in young people aged <35 years. Rates of suicide are higher among Ma ̄ori males and females aged <25 than in their non-Ma ̄ori peers. Rates of hospitalization for attempted suicides are higher amongst Ma ̄ori males aged 15–24, compared to non-Ma ̄ori. In contrast, suicide is virtually unknown amongst older Ma ̄ori (60 years). This article reviews explanations for the observed rates of suicide in Ma ̄ori, and examines approaches to effective intervention to reduce rates of suicide in young Ma ̄ori.

Indigenous Healing Practices Among Rural Elderly African Americans, Debra A. Harley

Aboriginal Policy Research Consortium International (APRCi)

Elderly African Americans residing in rural areas have practiced and continue to practice indige- nous healing practices for various reasons. In addition to the belief in the value of such practices, many of these individuals practice indigenous healing because it is cost effective. In this article information is presented on the history of research on indigenous healing practices, theories and models of indigenous healing in the United States, cultural influence, and views of health care providers regarding such practices. This article concludes with a discussion of the relevance of indigenous healing practices across disciplines and approaches, and recommendations of using …

Suicide In Siberian Aboriginal Groups, David Lester

Aboriginal Policy Research Consortium International (APRCi)

A search of historical documents about suicide in Siberian tribes in the 18th and 19th centuries indicated that they had very high suicide rates. It would be of great interest to explore suicidal behavior in these tribes today.

Cómo Identificar Y Satisfacer La Necesidad De Servicios Adicionales: Manual Para Gerentes, Ricardo Vernon, James R. Foreit, Emma Ottolenghi

Reproductive Health

Este manual está diseñado para ayudar a los encargados de tomar decisiones, los administradores, los supervisores y los proveedores de programas a introducir la detección sistemática en sus servicios de salud. La detección sistemática puede mejorar la salud de la mujer al abordar múltiples necesidades no satisfechas de servicios de salud reproductiva y otros. Este manual proporciona: actividades necesarias para implementar una detección sistemática; cómo seleccionar las instalaciones, los servicios que se examinarán y quién lo hará; desarrollo, adaptación y pruebas preliminares de listas de verificación de detección sistemática; asesoramiento para capacitar a los evaluadores/proveedores y supervisores; y un esquema …

Safe Motherhood Applied Research And Training (Smart) Report 2: The Interventions, Abdul Wajid, Zakir Hussain Shah, Ashfa Hashmi, Zeba Tasneem, Lubna Shireen

Reproductive Health

The Safe Motherhood Applied Research and Training (SMART) project, an operations research project designed to develop and test interventions to reduce maternal, perinatal, and neonatal mortality and morbidity in predominantly rural districts of Pakistan, was a three-year project (2003 to 2006) funded by the European Union. The study area was in the district of Dera Ghazi Khan; the control area was in the district of Layyah. The project focused on three areas to accomplish its goals: empowering women to seek appropriate and timely general, maternal, and newborn care; supporting methods that encourage men to play a positive and active role …

Make Better Use Of Provider Time In Public Health Clinics, Barbara Janowitz

Reproductive Health

Funding for reproductive health services is stagnant or declining globally, yet population projections, particularly in Africa, indicate that demand for services will increase in the near term. Between 2002 and 2025, for example, the population of women of childbearing age (15–49) is expected to increase by 2 percent annually in sub-Saharan Africa. With this growth will come increased demand for contraception, and other reproductive health services such as antenatal care, safe birthing services, and postpartum care for mothers and children. Concern about increasing demand for services has led program managers to examine the productivity and costs of existing programs. While …

Safe Motherhood Applied Research And Training (Smart) Report 1: Project Overview, Gul Rashida, Peter C. Miller

Reproductive Health

Maternal mortality in Pakistan is believed to be quite high, at about 350–500 maternal deaths per 100,000 live births. Reducing maternal mortality is one of the major objectives of the Government of Pakistan. Interventions required to address maternal mortality include safe motherhood, which means a woman’s ability to have a safe and healthy pregnancy and delivery. The Safe Motherhood Applied Research and Training (SMART) project was an operations research project designed to develop and test interventions to reduce maternal and neonatal mortality in a predominantly rural district of Pakistan. The vast majority of maternal deaths are attributed to delays in …

Hydroxyurea And Sickle Cell Anemia: Effect On Quality Of Life, Samir K. Ballas, Franca B. Barton, Myron A. Waclawiw, Paul Swerdlow, James R. Eckman, Charles H. Pegelow, Mabel Koshy, Bruce A. Barton, Duane R. Bonds

Wayne State University Associated BioMed Central Scholarship

Abstract

Background

The Multicenter Study of Hydroxyurea (HU) in Sickle Cell Anemia (MSH) previously showed that daily oral HU reduces painful sickle cell (SS) crises by 50% in patients with moderate to severe disease. The morbidity associated with this disease is known to have serious negative impact on the overall quality of life(QOL) of affected individuals.

Methods

The data in this report were collected from the 299 patients enrolled in the MSH. Health quality of llife (HQOL) measures were assessed in the MSH as a secondary endpoint to determine if the clinical benefit of HU could translate into a measurable …

Mental Health Care In Rural Communities: The Once And Future Role Of Primary Care., David Lambert

David Lambert

The provision of mental healthcare in rural communities has been a vexing challenge for clinicians and patients for many years. There is a chronic shortage of specialty mental health providers, particularly psychiatrists and sychologists, which has shifted much of the burden of care to primary care. Primary care clinicians have historically lacked the training and time within their busy practices to feel comfortable providing mental healthcare, particularly since the shortage of specialty mental health clinicians deprives them of consultation and referral sources.

Exploring Demographic, Structural, And Behavioral Overlap Among Homicide Offenders And Victims, Lisa M. Broidy, Jerry K. Daday, Cameron S. Crandall, David P. Sklar, Peter F. Jost

Sociology Faculty Publications

Criminologists tend to focus their attention on the dynamics of offending, paying limited theoretical and empirical attention to the well-established relation between offending and victimization. However, a number of criminological theories predict similarities in the correlates and etiology of victimization and offending, suggesting substantial overlap across offender and victim populations. Empirical research confirms this overlap across offender and victim populations, at least among those involved in nonlethal incidents. This research explores whether similarities between offender and victim populations extends to homicide, using criminal justice, health care, and U.S. Census data linked to homicide offenders and victims in Bernalillo County, New …

Building Capacity To Utilize Operations Research: Strategies And Lessons Learned, James R. Foreit

Reproductive Health

The effectiveness of development assistance depends on good decision-making. Many donors and international health agencies such as USAID, DFID, and WHO are placing more emphasis on the utilization of research results for policy and program development. Yet, while there is a long tradition of training researchers to produce research, there are few lessons on how to teach managers to request and use research results for making program decisions. Addressing this gap has been a major strategy of the Population Council’s Frontiers in Reproductive Health Program (FRONTIERS). Since its inception in 1998, FRONTIERS has complemented its support for operations research (OR) …

The Social Health Of Nevada, Kenny C. Guinn

Social Health of Nevada Reports

As governor, I want to commend you as you work together to improve the social health of Nevada. As a private citizen, I welcome and encourage your efforts to better educate Nevadans about improving our quality of life. And as a former corporation executive, I would offer this simple advice: If you are going to make any significant inroads, you must be able to not only bring the public sector to the table, you must also get buy-in from the private sector as well.

Suicide Trends And Prevention In Nevada, Matt Wray

Social Health of Nevada Reports

Suicide has been around for as long as human society and it continues to challenge our collective wisdom. Consider this data provided by the National Institute of Medicine:

• Each year about one million people commit suicide worldwide.
• Every year some 30,000 Americans end their lives by suicide, and approximately 650,000 people receive emergency treatment after attempting suicide.
• Every 41 seconds someone in the U.S. attempts suicide; every 16.7 minutes, someone completes suicide; and every day over 85 people die by suicide.
• Suicide is the eighth leading cause of death in the U.S. and the third leading cause of death among …