Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

A Qualitative Study Of The Experiences Of Obesity, Body Image, And Mental Health Of British-Born Afro-Caribbean Male Students At A West Yorkshire University In England, Johnson Mbabazi, Dorothy Irene Nalweyiso, Fiona Macgregor, Jeff Breckon, Edward Kunonga, Barry Tolchard, Rosemary Dawson, Jennifer Teke, Josette Bettany Saltikov, George William Kagugube, Lawrence Achilles Nnyanzi

International Journal of Physical Activity and Health

Obesity, body image, and depression are all biopsychosocial phenomena that are frequently misunderstood across cultures. Body dissatisfaction is a psychological aspect of obesity that has been associated with disordered eating, low self-esteem, and depression. Nevertheless, body image dissatisfaction may affect non-obese individuals too. Those with a positive body image are more likely to participate in physical activity than those with a negative body image. Individuals who are satisfied with their body image are more likely to possess high self-esteem, confidence, and healthy eating habits. Obesity prevention among the black population is increasingly important. This study sought to examine the perceptions …

Mind The Gap! Advancing Data Equity To Improve Population Health Equity For People With Disabilities, Michelle Fong

Poster Presentations

The Center for Community Inclusion and Disability Studies (CCIDS), Maine’s University Center for Excellence in Developmental Disability (UCEDD), carries out a variety of education and research activities designed to improve the social and health equity of people with disabilities (PWD). CCIDS sought to examine the health equity of Maine’s population with intellectual and neurodevelopmental disabilities (IDD/NDD) regarding Covid-19. However, we encountered a data gap. Therefore, we examined the drivers of data gaps for people with disabilities to make recommendations for improving their health equity by ensuring their representation in public health data, the evidence base for policymaking.

The Psychology Of Science Denialism And Lessons For Public Health Authorities, Brenna Moreno, Molly J. Walker Wilson

All Faculty Scholarship

As it wreaked tragedy on the world, the outbreak of COVID-19 helped expose a pandemic of a different kind, one steeped in distrust and contrarianism. This movement, termed science denialism, has been lurking and undermining public health efforts for decades. Specifically, it is “the employment of rhetorical arguments to give the appearance of legitimate debate where there is none, an approach that has the ultimate goal of rejecting a proposition on which a scientific consensus exists.” Unlike skepticism, which is “doubt as to the truth of something” and works to progress both science and society, denialism is characterized by individuals’ …

Wastewater-Informed Public Health Intervention Playbook

Sustain Magazine

As the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic quickly spread from country to country and continent to continent in 2020, governments and scientists needed a way to track COVID-19 through populations in order to position public health interventions in the most impactful locations. Having a decision-based risk framework may help to guide policy creation that could minimize or prevent possible outbreaks and surges of infection within communities. The University of Louisville in partnership with Louisville’s Department of Public Health and Wellness tested this strategy in 2021 and 2022. This Wastewater-Informed Public Health Intervention Playbook describes the decisions and actions of that academic and public …

Aeromonas Phage Research And The Public Health Impact Of Antibiotics In Aquaculture Workers, Madelyn Merchant

Honors Projects

One of the most common fish diseases in aquaculture is Aeromonas infection. The most common way to treat this infection is through antibiotics. The bacteria in the fish can become antibiotic-resistant and perpetuate the disease. The diseases in fish create a huge financial loss and the industry loses $6 billion per year due to diseases in fish. An alternative to antibiotics is bacteriophage which causes less environmental degradation and is better for human gut flora. In aquaculture there have been examples of aquaculture workers becoming sick from the water in aquaculture ponds as well as from people eating the fish. …

Rethinking Public Health Risk Mitigation Strategies: Recognizing The Biosocial Nature Of Covid-19, Grace Savard

CSB/SJU Distinguished Thesis

The SARS-CoV-2 virus has rippled throughout every aspect of society and influenced how we live, breathe, and interact with one another. The purpose of this thesis is to explore the interdisciplinary biosocial impacts of the SARS-CoV-2 virus and the resulting disease, COVID-19. In order to understand the complexities of caregiving during COVID-19, we conducted 75 semi-structured interviews with 55 healthcare providers across 18 states over a span of two years. This research assesses how COVID-19 risk mitigation strategies were designed with the primary intention to stop the spread of the virus rather than account for the longer-term social and biological …

Zoonotic Pathogens From Illegally Traded Wildlife Justify Adopting The One Health Perspective In Disease Response, Marianne Allison G. Lee, Vinyl Joseph S. Valeza, Jonathan Patrick H. Yan, Ronald Allan L. Cruz

Biology Faculty Publications

Recent studies have described a direct relationship between the illegal wildlife trade (IWT) and the prevalence of zoonotic pathogens in human populations. In the Philippines, the Philippine Integrated Disease Surveillance and Response (PIDSR) framework outlines the monitoring, response, and management of disease outbreaks, but needs to be updated in the wake of zoonoses from IWT. Here, we identified zoonotic pathogens that may be introduced to human populations through the IWT, pinpointed potential outbreak hotspots, and provided recommendations on how to improve the Philippines’ public health response while considering One Health. Using seizure data from the Biodiversity Management Bureau (DENR-BMB) covering …

Using 4-H Animal Science Programming To Improve One Health, Lacie Ashby, April Barczewski, Ashley Travis, Chris Anderson, Sheryl Bennett

Journal of Human Sciences and Extension

Zoonoses, or diseases that can be transferred between humans and animals, such as variant swine influenza, avian influenza A viruses, and coronaviruses, comprise a large percentage of all newly identified and existing infectious diseases (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2017). As a result, there is an ever-growing need for a One Health approach towards preventing and controlling zoonotic diseases. To better manage these public health risks at the human-animal-environment interface, Maryland 4-H and Maryland Department of Health initiated a statewide, multi-agency collaborative partnership. Through steps taken to collectively develop and implement long-term strategies to prevent future variant influenza outbreaks …

Perspectives On Covid, Glenn Bass

Helm's School of Government Conference - American Revival: Citizenship & Virtue

The purpose of this paper is to delve further into the topic of Culture & Crisis: Reconciling Constitutionalism & Federalism in a Time of Crisis through Liberty University’s Helms School of Government & Journal of Statesmanship & Public Policy. The United States of America is currently under siege by the COVID-19 virus. This virus has steadily killed hundreds of individuals and consequently nearly shutdown the American socio-economic system. Through a constitutional government and federal principles, the executive functions have been able to address this time of crisis. However, there are different views referencing exactly how to address the needs of …

Evaluating Insurance Approval Rates Of Exome Sequencing And Its Effect On Minority Patients' Access To Genetic Care, Katlyn Frane

Dissertations & Theses (Open Access)

Exome sequencing (ES) is often a standard step in the genetic testing process for patients with rare or complex disease. Despite clinical implementation of ES, insurance companies (payers) continue to deny this test. We investigated if the payer barrier is influenced by payer type, and if other demographic or clinical information correlated to ES approval and obtainment. To do this, a retrospective chart and clinical database review was completed on patients seen at a tertiary care center and community-based clinic. Patient demographics, clinical indications, and testing recommendations and outcomes were used to assess ES approval and obtainment. We found that …

Applying Social Science To Bring Resident Stakeholders Into Pollution Governance: A Rural Environmental Justice Public Health Case Study, Sherrie M. Steiner, Jordan M. Marshall, Atefeh Mohammadpour, Aaron W. Thompson

Department of Horticulture & Landscape Architecture Faculty Publications

The purpose of this engaged public sociology study was to use social science to bring resident stakeholders into the process of governing pollution production in a rural community. The community has cancer clusters. Residents have concerns about direct exposure to pollution production in their neighborhood by a steel recycling plant that has been cited numerous times for environmental violations. The facility has been under voluntary remediation since 2009, but neighborhood residents were marginalized from the governance process. This case study details how social science was used to bring neighborhood residents’ concerns about direct exposure to toxic air pollution into remediation …

Kids Don’T Float…And Their Parents Don’T Either: Using A Family-Centered Approach In Alaska’S Kids Don’T Float Program, Michelle E. E. Bauer, Audrey R. Giles, Justina Marianayagam, Kelli M. Toth

International Journal of Aquatic Research and Education

The goal of this experiential report is to outline the adoption of a family-centered Kids Don’t Float approach. We conducted a critical synthesis of information to reflect the expansion of the Kids Don’t Float program into a more family-centered approach. The critical synthesis provided insights into why we should adopt this approach, how it was implemented, and how it influenced drowning incidents compared to the previously used child-centered approach. The adoption of a family-centered approach may contribute to reducing drowning incidents by targeting parents, providing safety information to families, and promoting parental modelling of life jackets. Program evaluators and water …

Evaluation Of The Impact Of Social Collaborations On Sexual And Reproductive Health Knowledge, Lucki Word, Jaila Campbell, Manar T. Edriss, Destiny Stroman, Jewel Evans, Melanie Hanna-Johnson, Md, Anil N. F. Aranha, Phd

Medical Student Research Symposium

Introduction: Developments in technology, such as the popularity of mobile devices and social media outlets, have enhanced the ability of individuals to communicate. Currently, search engines allow for easy exploration of information related to every topic of interest. Our study purpose was to evaluate the impact of technological and social collaborations on sexual and reproductive health knowledge (SRHK).

Methods: A 50-item survey instrument, integrating factors of sociodemographics, number/type of social collaborations, technological communication use, and SRHK, was developed to assess familiarity with sexual and reproductive health perceptions. The survey was provided to consenting patients in an ambulatory, primary care setting. …

There Must Be Something In The Water: Understanding Pfas Contamination Of Groundwater As A National Security Issue, Kylie N. Ford

Student Theses 2015-Present

This report addresses the widespread pollution of domestic groundwater resources with Perfluoroalkyl and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances (PFAS) caused by firefighting activities performed at military installations across the United States. Two former military bases in Southeastern Pennsylvania are used as a single case study: the Naval Air Development Center (NADC) in Warminster and the Naval Air Station Joint Reserve Base (NASJRB) in Horsham. Chapter 1 gives a history of domestic military bases from the perspective of the infrastructure buildup and downsizing that occurred over the 20th Century, along with the environmental degradation revealed during brownfield redevelopment. The chapter then gives specifics about …

Kentucky's Environmental Future, Fall/Winter 2004, Issue 9

Sustain Magazine

No abstract provided.

9th Annual Postdoctoral Science Symposium, University Of Texas Md Anderson Cancer Center Postdoctoral Association

Annual Postdoctoral Science Symposium Abstracts

The mission of the Annual Postdoctoral Science Symposium (APSS) is to provide a platform for talented postdoctoral fellows throughout the Texas Medical Center to present their work to a wider audience. The MD Anderson Postdoctoral Association convened its inaugural Annual Postdoctoral Science Symposium (APSS) on August 4, 2011.

The APSS provides a professional venue for postdoctoral scientists to develop, clarify, and refine their research as a result of formal reviews and critiques of faculty and other postdoctoral scientists. Additionally, attendees discuss current research on a broad range of subjects while promoting academic interactions and enrichment and developing new collaborations.

A Moral Panic Over Cats, William S. Lynn, Francisco J. Santiago-Ávila, Joann Lindenmayer, John Hadidian, Arian D. Wallach, Barbara J. King

John Hadidian, PhD

Some conservationists believe that free-ranging cats pose an enormous risk to biodiversity and public health and therefore should be eliminated from the landscape by any means necessary. They further claim that those who question the science or ethics behind their arguments are science deniers (merchants of doubt) seeking to mislead the public. As much as we share a commitment to conservation of biodiversity and wild nature, we believe these ideas are wrong and fuel an unwarranted moral panic over cats. Those who question the ecological or epidemiological status of cats are not science deniers, and it is a false analogy …

A Moral Panic Over Cats, William S. Lynn, Francisco J. Santiago-Ávila, Joann Lindenmayer, John Hadidian, Arian D. Wallach, Barbara J. King

William S. Lynn, PhD

Some conservationists believe that free-ranging cats pose an enormous risk to biodiversity and public health and therefore should be eliminated from the landscape by any means necessary. They further claim that those who question the science or ethics behind their arguments are science deniers (merchants of doubt) seeking to mislead the public. As much as we share a commitment to conservation of biodiversity and wild nature, we believe these ideas are wrong and fuel an unwarranted moral panic over cats. Those who question the ecological or epidemiological status of cats are not science deniers, and it is a false analogy …

A Moral Panic Over Cats, William S. Lynn, Francisco J. Santiago-Ávila, Joann Lindenmayer, John Hadidian, Arian D. Wallach, Barbara J. King

Stray and Feral Animal Populations Collection

Some conservationists believe that free-ranging cats pose an enormous risk to biodiversity and public health and therefore should be eliminated from the landscape by any means necessary. They further claim that those who question the science or ethics behind their arguments are science deniers (merchants of doubt) seeking to mislead the public. As much as we share a commitment to conservation of biodiversity and wild nature, we believe these ideas are wrong and fuel an unwarranted moral panic over cats. Those who question the ecological or epidemiological status of cats are not science deniers, and it is a false analogy …

Regulatory Disclosure Policies And Potential Induced Changes In Behavior: An Outcome Evaluation Of Santa Clara County’S Enhanced Food Safety Program Elements, Christian Cruz

Master's Projects

Despite countless advances in food microbiology and public health regulations, foodborne illness continues to be a major strain on public health outcomes and a costly economic burden. In the United States, many agencies are responsible for ensuring the quality of food, both domestically produced and imported. States and localities are delegated the responsibility of identifying and ensuring sound practices in the latter stages of the food production process, namely the retail distribution of food products to consumers.

Regulatory policies across the nation have only recently incorporated the evidenced-based principles of hazard risk management (Law, 2003). Still, food-related acute gastrointestinal illnesses …

Risk Factors For Boating Incidents In Inuvik, Northwest Territories, Canada, Catherine Tr Glass, Audrey R. Giles

International Journal of Aquatic Research and Education

Injury prevention programs that focus on boating and water safety in the Northwest Territories (NWT) have existed for decades; however, rates of boating incidents are much higher in the NWT than southern Canada. To better understand this health disparity, we engaged in community-based participatory research informed by postcolonial feminist theory to examine Aboriginal men’s understandings of the risk factors that contribute to boating incidents in Inuvik, NWT. Participants identified four main risk factors for boating incidents in Inuvik: 1) Gender, 2) age, 3) place, and 4) lack of boating safety education. As a result of these findings and the ways …

Associations Between Income, Acculturation, Country Of Origin, And Type Ii Diabetes Among African Immigrants To Ontario, Canada, Girma Aman Goshe

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Diabetes has become a longstanding public health challenge around the world. Over the last 3 decades, the number of people with Type II diabetes (T2DM) has grown to an epidemic level in Canada. Prior research indicated African immigrants residing in Ontario, Canada experienced a 2-4 times higher prevalence of T2DM than Canadian-born individuals. The social determinants of health theoretical framework guided this study assessing the relationship of the risk factors with T2DM. A quantitative, cross-sectional design was employed using the 2007-2014 Canadian Community Health Survey data. The random sample included 1,526 African immigrants residing in Ontario, Canada. Descriptive, bivariate, and …

Micronutrient Availability In Alternative Foods During Agricultural Catastrophes, David Denkenberger, Joshua M. Pearce

Civil and Architectural Engineering Faculty Research

Several catastrophes could block the sun, including asteroid/comet impact, super volcanic eruption, and nuclear war with the burning of cities (nuclear winter). Previous work has analyzed alternate food supplies (e.g., mushrooms growing on dead trees, bacteria growing on natural gas). This was shown to be technically capable of feeding everyone with macronutrients (protein, carbohydrates, and lipids) and minerals, although economics and politics remain uncertain. The present work analyzes vitamin availability in such alternative food scenarios. The vitamin content of various alternate foods is compared to the US recommended daily allowance (RDA) as well as the average requirement defined by the …

Do All “Good Mothers” Breastfeed? How African American Mothers’ Values And Experiences Of Early Motherhood Influence Their Infant Feeding Choices, Airia S. Papadopoulos

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The food an infant is fed can reflect many things: a source of nutrition, the social and cultural circumstances into which an infant is born, or even a family’s beliefs about the body and breast milk as a source of nutrition. Exclusive breastfeeding, currently the gold standard for infant feeding in the United States (US), is often identified as an expectation in discourses on being a “good mother.” African American mothers in particular are the least likely group in the US to breastfeed in any capacity and many efforts are underway to increase the breastfeeding rates of this population.

This …

Science, Advocacy, Policy, Planning: Tools For Advancing Transportation Equity, Garrett S. Mcallister

Graduate Student Portfolios, Professional Papers, and Capstone Projects

The theme of this portfolio is how different tools and approaches can be used for advancing transportation equity. Broadly defined, transportation equity is about fairness in transportation. There are a number of ways this fairness can be assessed. The most common way to assess transportation equity is by looking at the fairness of outcomes, distributed geographically, socially, or even by mode of transportation. Equity can also be defined by the fairness of processes. The first half of the portfolio illustrates some of the problems with the current transportation system and how it is unhealthy (Piece 1) and unjust (Piece 2). …

How Useful Is Gsv As An Environmental Observation Tool? An Analysis Of The Evidence So Far., Katherine Nesse, Leah Airt

SPU Works

Researchers in many disciplines have turned to Google Street View to replace pedestrian- or carbased in-person observation of streetscapes. It is most prevalent within the research literature on the relationship between neighborhood environments and public health but has been used as diverse as disaster recovery, ecology and wildlife habitat, and urban design. Evaluations of the tool have found that the results of GSV-based observation are similar to the results from in-person observation although the similarity depends on the type of characteristic being observed. Larger, permanent and discrete features showed more consistency between the two methods and smaller, transient and judgmental …

Exponential Growth, Animal Welfare, Environmental And Food Safety Impact: The Case Of China’S Livestock Production, Peter J. Li

Peter J. Li, PhD

Developmental states are criticized for rapid “industrialization without enlightenment.” In the last 30 years, China’s breathtaking growth has been achieved at a high environmental and food safety cost. This article, utilizing a recent survey of China’s livestock industry, illustrates the initiating role of China’s developmental state in the exponential expansion of the country’s livestock production. The enthusiastic response of the livestock industry to the many state policy incentives has made China the world’s biggest animal farming nation. Shortage of meat and dairy supply is history. Yet, the Chinese government is facing new challenges of no less a threat to political …

Noncompliance With Public Health Service (Phs) Policy On Humane Care And Use Of Laboratory Animals: An Exploratory Analysis, Leah M. Gomez, Kathleen Conlee, Martin Stephens

Martin Stephens, PhD

The National Institutes of Health (NIH) is a major biomedical research-funding body in the United States. Approximately 40% of NIH-funded research involves experimentation on nonhuman animals (Monastersky, 2008). Institutions that conduct animal research with NIH funds must adhere to the Public Health Service (PHS) care and use standards of the Office of Laboratory Animal Welfare (OLAW, 2002a). Institutions deviating significantly from the PHS’s animal care and use standards must report these incidents to the NIH’s OLAW. This study is an exploratory analysis of all the significant deviations reported by animal-research facilities to OLAW during a 3-month period. The study identifies …

Social And Scientific Implications Of Genetic Testing In The Digital Age, Yaruska A. Ordinola

Senior Honors Projects

From Mendel’s law of inheritance in the 19th century through Watson and Crick’s revolutionary observations of the double helix in the 20th century, genetics has been a fascinating and continuing topic of discussion in the field of science (Collins & McKusick, 2001). Major studies like the Human Genome Project (HGP), initiated in 1990 and completed in 2003, provided a starting point from which scientists could more thoroughly investigate the human condition on a genetic level. Arising from this study, personal genomics is considered a blooming field in genetics- in which rapidly developing technological advances are able to provide easier and …

The Emerging Zika Pandemic: Enhancing Preparedness, Lawrence O. Gostin, Daniel Lucey

Georgetown Law Faculty Publications and Other Works

The Zika virus (ZIKV), a flavivirus related to yellow fever, dengue, West Nile, and Japanese encephalitis, originated in the Zika forest in Uganda and was discovered in a rhesus monkey in 1947. The disease now has “explosive” pandemic potential, with outbreaks in Africa, Southeast Asia, the Pacific Islands, and the Americas. Since Brazil reported Zika virus in May 2015, infections have occurred in at least 20 countries in the Americas. Puerto Rico reported the first locally transmitted infection in December 2015, but Zika is likely to spread to the United States. The Aedes species mosquito (an aggressive daytime biter) that …