Medicine and Health Commons^™

Testing Pathways Linking Exposure To Community Violence And Sexual Behaviors Among African American Youth, Dexter R. Voisin

Faculty Scholarship

Exposure to community violence and HIV sexual risks are two major public health concerns among youth. This study tests various pathways linking exposure to community violence and sexual behaviors among African American adolescents. Using a sample of 563 (61 % females) African American youth attending high school we examined whether problematic psychological symptoms, low school engagement, and/or negative perceptions of peer norms about safer sex functioned as pathways linking exposure to community violence and sexual behaviors. Major findings indicated that, for boys, the relationship between exposure to community violence and sexual début and sexual risk behaviors were linked by aggression. …

Exploring The Effects Of Multi-Level Protective And Risk Factors On Child And Parenting Outcomes In Families Participating In Healthy Start/Healthy Families Oregon (Hs/Hfo), Peggy Nygren

Dissertations and Theses

While many studies focus on the links between multiple risk factors and negative outcomes such as child maltreatment, less is known about the influence of protective factors in the face of risks. The theoretical base of this study was a social ecological model of interactive influences including individual parent, family, and neighborhood level factors to predict outcomes. Protective Factor Index (PFI) and Risk Factor Index (RFI) predictors were developed to explore potential multi-level protective factor buffering effects on key child development and parenting outcomes. Participants were first time mothers enrolled in a randomized controlled study of the Healthy Start/ Healthy …

Reimagining My Body, Center For Public Service

SURGE

I stood there, shoulders slouched, elbows locked, hands glued to the side of the toilet. My body convulsing, I told myself, “this is the last time, just one more time and you’ll get back on track tomorrow.” It wasn’t the last time. I had been forcing myself to purge for months at this point, and each time I hated myself for it.

It was something I couldn’t control. It wasn’t out of a need for attention as so commonly thought, but a pure need to be the unreachable level of thin that I thought would make me beautiful. I was …

Structure Matters: Examining Illness Behavior Using Parsons's Sick Role, Angela D. Byrd

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

Although Talcott Parsons’s sick role theory, as described in 1951 in The Social System, has been severely criticized for its inapplicability to chronic illnesses, a portion of the theory is still a relevant and necessary factor in terms of understanding and treating chronic illness today. Using data from the 2012 National Health Interview Survey, this study looks at the individual effects of sex, age, race, cohabitation, education and region of residence on the likelihood of chronically ill patients considering themselves limited in their amount or kind of work as an indicator of sick role adaptation. Results show statistically significant relationships …

Labeling Research Deviant: A Comparative Analysis Of Federal Ad Hoc Commissions On Human Subject Research, Brian W. Rossana

Masters Theses

A review of the literature suggests there is still reason for concern due to the nature of deviant research in the past and the continued existence of ambiguous guidelines in particular organizational contexts. Federal ad hoc commissions have been a prominent environment where the absorption of the social reaction to deviant events and discussions regarding bioethics has transpired. The goal then was to ask what conditions of commissions lead to the presence of a research deviant? A convenience sample of nine U.S. federal ad hoc commissions was performed utilizing a method known as crisp-set Qualitative Comparative Analysis (csQCA). The results …

Post-Exercise And Post-Recovery Blood Lactate In Peripheral Arterial Disease, Rebecca Kate Roderick

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to observe how the presence of peripheral arterial disease affects the level of post-exercise blood lactate and post-recovery blood lactate during and following the six-minute walk test (6MWT). The 6MWT was administered to 49 participants (33 classified as Non-PAD and 16 classified as PAD) over the age of 50 with no uncontrolled cardiovascular or metabolic diseases or a cardiovascular event in the previous 6 months. Results demonstrated that no significant statistical difference exists between the presence of PAD and resting blood lactate (F = 0.86, p = .36), post-exercise blood lactate (F= 0.48, p …

The Influence Of Incomer Status: The Role Of Rural Background, Knowledge Of Mental Health Services, Stigma, And Cultural Beliefs On Help-Seeking Attitudes, Sarah E. Herzberg

College of Education and Human Sciences: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

The purpose of this study was to explore the impact of incomer status, rural background, knowledge and familiarity with mental health services, rural cultural beliefs about mental health and perceived stigma on help-seeking attitudes in a rural Southwest Iowa area. Participants were 106 rural residents over the age of 18 recruited from a rural health clinic. A multiple regression analysis was performed resulting in rural cultural beliefs about mental health being the only statistically significant predictor of help-seeking in the model. Individuals who indicated identifying with rural cultural beliefs were less likely to report positive help-seeking attitudes. Implications of the …

Mental Health Among Northern New Hampshire Young Adults: Depression And Substance Problems Higher Than Nationwide, Karen T. Van Gundy

Carsey Publications

This brief uses data on depressive and substance abuse symptoms from two surveys administered in 2011—the Coös Youth Study and the National Survey on Drug Use and Health—to compare mental health patterns among young adults in Coös County, New Hampshire, to patterns among rural young adults nationwide. The analyses focus on 214 Coös young adults and 1,477 young adult respondents, ages 18 to 21, who were living in non-metropolitan areas in 2011 and who provided usable data on depressive and substance abuse symptoms. Author Karen Van Gundy reports that Coös County young adults are more likely than rural young adults …

Snap Use Increased Slightly In 2012, Jess Carson

Carsey Publications

This brief uses data from the American Community Survey to examine rates of Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) receipt in 2012, track changes since the onset of the recession, and monitor receipt by region and place type. It also explores changes in SNAP receipt among households that may be at particular risk for food insecurity and considers rates among some less traditionally at-risk populations, exploring changes in their rates of receipt over time.

Author Jessica Carson writes that reports of SNAP receipt in 2012 increased among populations at particular risk for food insecurity, including households with children, seniors, the poor, …

Determinants Of Active Ageing In Zambia, Christopher C. Mapoma, Andrew Banda

Zambia Social Science Journal

This article investigated determinants of active ageing proposed by the WHO 2002 Active Ageing Framework using data from a developing country -­‐ Zambia. Up to date, there is little or no evidence of studies conducted to answer whether or not determinants proposed by the Active Ageing Framework of 2002 apply to developing countries like Zambia. This article set out to (1) explore which of the determinants of active ageing apply to Africa and Zambia in particular and (2) the influence of HIV/AIDS on active ageing in general. A non-­‐experimental cross-­‐sectional research design was used to collect data for this article. …

Prenatal Development: Annotated Bibliography, Victoria J. Molfese, Amanda Prokasky, Kathleen Moritz Rudasill, Ibrahim H. Acar, Xiaoqing Tu, Kate Sirota, Brian Keiser

Department of Child, Youth, and Family Studies: Faculty Publications

For decades, researchers have investigated how events in the prenatal period impact women and their infants. These studies, particularly by researchers in the medical, neuroscience, and behavioral science fields, led to discoveries of important information regarding the prenatal events that were strongly associated with mortality (or death) and morbidity (or incidences of injury, pathology and abnormalities/anomalies, and neurobehavioral sequelae) in the neonatal and infancy periods. Among the many common findings from early research studies, two are particularly noteworthy. First, maternal and fetal risk conditions arising in the prenatal period do not do so in isolation. Sameroff and Chandler characterized this …

The Role Of Culture In Making Psychiatric Diagnosis: Hwabyung (火病) And Neurasthenia (神經衰弱), Jonghyun Lee

2013 New England Association for Asian Studies Conference

The Role of Culture in Making Psychiatric Diagnosis: Hwabyung (火病) and Neurasthenia (神經衰弱)

My paper looks at two psychiatric illnesses and discusses their social and cultural dimensions. The two illnesses to be compared are the Korean affliction called hwabyung, and the once-popular Western malady labeled neurasthenia, a common ailment in 19th century America.

Neurasthenia was defined as “a disorder characterized by feelings of fatigue and lassitude,” which is caused by the nervous system. That definition could fit most people at some time or another. Hwabyung, on the other hand, means “fire illness.” Koreans believe that chronic distress can …

Gender Disparities In Access To Hiv Testing And Antiretroviral Treatment Services, Wyatt Lombard Smith

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Throughout a six-week practicum period at TASO Mulago in Kampala, Uganda and St. Francis Naggalama Hospital in Naggalama, Uganda, the researcher aimed to find methods to increase male engagement in all facets of comprehensive HIV/AIDS care. Women and children generally receive most global attention on the issue of HIV/AIDS in Uganda but men are beginning to demand more attention. Antiretroviral treatment has been critical in allowing countless people to live functionally with HIV but many research projects have hypothesized that delayed access to HIV/AIDS treatment and prevention methods has resulted in men exhibiting higher mortality rates upon initiation of this …

The Association Between Insurance Status And Cervical Cancer Screening In Community Health Centers: Exploring The Potential Of Electronic Health Records For Population-Level Surveillance, 2008-2010, Stuart Cowburn, Matthew J. Carlson, Jodi A. Lapidus, Jennifer E. Devoe

Sociology Faculty Publications and Presentations

Introduction: Cervical cancer incidence and mortality rates in the United States have decreased 67% over the past 3 decades, a reduction mainly attributed to widespread use of the Papanicolaou (Pap) test for cervical cancer screening. In the general population, receipt of cervical cancer screening is positively associated with having health insurance. Less is known about the role insurance plays among women seeking care in community health centers, where screening services are available regardless of insurance status. The objective of our study was to assess the association between cervical cancer screening and insurance status in Oregon and California community health centers …

Brief Research Report: Sociodemographic Factors Associated With Hiv Status Among African American Women In Washington, Dc, Dexter R. Voisin

Faculty Scholarship

Introduction: African American women living in Washington, DC have one of the highest Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) incidence rates in the US. However, this population has been understudied, especially as it relates to factors associated with HIV status. Methods: This cross-sectional study examined sociodemographic factors that were associated with having a negative or positive HIV status among a sample of 115 African American women between the ages of 24 and 44 years. We assessed such factors as age, education, sexual orientation, household income, sources of income, number of children, length of residency tenure in Washington, DC, and level of HIV-prevention …

Project Ngage: Network Supported Hiv Care Engagement For Younger Black Men Who Have Sex With Men And Transgender Persons, Dexter R. Voisin

Faculty Scholarship

Background: Young Black men who have sex with men and transgender persons (YBMSMT) aged 13-29 carry the nation's highest burden of new HIV infections. Studies indicate that YBMSMT have poor retention in care, which is associated with reduced medication adherence and increased virologic failure. Objective: Project nGage is a randomized controlled (RCT) trial evaluating the feasibility and preliminary efficacy of a brief, dyadic intervention designed to promote adherence to HIV primary care in safety-net clinics. Network visualization is used to identify and engage a support confidant (SC) from participants' social networks. A social work interventionist then meets with the SC …

Out Of The Night, Riley Gryc

SURGE

I did not graduate.

After four years of college, waiting for the day I could shake President Riggs’ hand, receive my diploma, and depart our campus with pride and honor, that day never came. One of the hardest things I’ve ever had to do was watch from the back row of the audience as everyone I had attended school with for the last four years, my classmates, my friends, all received their diplomas and moved on without me. The stares from teachers I knew, the surprised looks from underclassmen, the careful tact with which everyone avoided the subject of not …

Floating Hope, Singapore Management University

Perspectives@SMU

It was 1994 when aristocrat Runa Khan and her soon-to-be husband Yves Marre sailed a decommissioned oil barge from the waters off France to her home country of Bangladesh. They had intended to propose to charitable organisations of a revolutionary plan they had: to turn the shipping vessel into a mobile medical station.

The ship would bring medical help to the unreachable islands, or chars, that make up much of Bangladesh. It was a brilliant plan, and would have solved the problem of reaching isolated char communities, most of whom had been neglected by the government and NGOs (non-governmental …

Three Essays On Social Health Insurance In Developing Countries: The Case Study Of Ghana, Stephen Ofori Abrokwah

Dissertations

More than 2 billion people live in developing countries with health systems constrained by inequitable access and inadequate funding. The World Health Organization estimates that more than 150 million of these people suffer financial breakdown every year having to make unexpected out-of-pocket expenditures for emergency care.

To improve health and reduce the financial burden on households, a number of developing countries, including Ghana, Colombia, and Peru, have recently introduced social health insurance programs which are heavily subsidized. The dissertation is a collection of three essays looking at how individual health care choices changed as a result of the availability of …

Associations Among Indicators Of Depression In Medicaid-Eligible Community-Dwelling Older Adults, Elizabeth A. Byma, Charles W. Given, Barbara A. Given

University Faculty Publications and Creative Works

Purpose: The purpose of this research was to examine associations among 2 separate Minimum Data Set-Home Care (MDS-HC) depression measures (the Depression Rating Scale [DRS] and medical diagnosis of depression) with billed antidepressant medications in Medicaid paid claim files. Design and Methods: The sample for this cross-sectional research included 3,041 Medicaid-eligible older adult participants in a Home and Community Based Waiver Program and used data from the MDS-HC, Version 1 and Medicaid Paid Claim Files. Sensitivity and specificity analyses, receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis, and t tests were utilized. Results: DRS scoring indicated that 15.4% of participants had behaviors …

The Problem With Adhd: Researchers' Constructions And Parents' Accounts, Bora Pajo, David Cohen Dr.

All Faculty and Staff Scholarship

An enduring controversy over the nature of ADHD complicates parents’ decisions regarding children likely to be diagnosed with the condition. Using a fallibilist perspective, this review examines how researchers construe ADHD and acknowledge the controversy. From a systematic literature search of empirical reports using parents of ADHD-diagnosed children as primary informants, 36 reports published between 1996 and 2008 (corresponding to 30 studies) were selected. Data on the studies’ characteristics and methodologies, definitions of ADHD, and extent of the acknowledgment of the ADHD controversy were extracted, as were data on a wide range of parental concerns and experiences. Researchers in 27 …

Health Disparities As We Age: A Life Course Comparison Of Canadian Early Boomers With Pre-Boomers, Susan Mcdaniel, Amber Gazso, Hugh Mccague, Ryan Barnhart

Population Change and Lifecourse Strategic Knowledge Cluster Discussion Paper Series/ Un Réseau stratégique de connaissances Changements de population et parcours de vie Document de travail

Despite a large and growing research literature documenting health disparities by socio-economic status (SES) and income inequalities, research on how these relationships play out moving from mid to later life is meager. Even less is known about how the early Baby Boom cohort compares with the Pre-Boomer cohort as they age in a period of accelerating inequalities, where the wealthy are becoming wealthier and the incomes of those in the middle and at the bottom are stagnating. In this paper, we follow individuals in two cohorts, those born 1947-1951 and those born 1932-36 over the period covering eight cycles of …

Factors Influencing Access To Healthcare Services, Melissa Delia

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Following several political upheavals, the country of Madagascar has become one of the poorest countries in the world. This level of poverty affects many aspects of life, especially access to healthcare services. The availability of both allopathic and traditional healthcare to the impoverished citizens of Madagascar was examined through discussions, interviews, and journal articles. It was found that although both the allopathic and traditional medicinal systems do not charge their patients for general consultations and care, there is a high cost for pharmaceutical medications in the allopathic system. These medications are sometimes too expensive for many Malagasy patients to afford. …

Preventative Care And Culture, Anna Wagman

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

This paper explores the intersection between culture and health. The similarities and differences between methods for preventative medicine employed by traditional and allopathic systems are discussed. These ostensibly disparate systems, in reality, display many parallels in regards to their delivery. The effects of industrial progress, and therefore cultural change, on the health of the inhabitants of rapidly urbanizing African cities are examined. Historical information from studies of Great Britain, the first area to undergo a full industrial revolution is also drawn on. These analyses essentially predict the societal issues that come with urbanization, such as the amalgamation of preexisting pollutants …

A Preliminary Study Of Perception And Coping Mechanism Of Breast Cancer Patients In An Iranian City, Ali A. Moqaddas, Fatemeh Adjdari, Akbar Aghajanian

Sociology Department Faculty Working Papers

The life expectancy of women in Iran has increased in the last quarter of the 20th century. On the other hand obesity has increased during the first decade of the 21th century for both adult males and females but particularly for females. These trends are contemporary with a growing incidence of breast cancer among women in urban areas. Casual observation has shown that organized and systematic coping support and mechanism for women with breast cancer disease has expanded much less than the treatment technology, leaving surviving women in ambiguity and fear of unknown. The analysis of qualitative data from a …

Cardiovascular Health: Associations With Race-Ethnicity, Nativity, And Education In A Diverse, Population-Based Sample Of Californians, Georgiana Bostean, Christian K. Roberts, Catherine M. Crespi, Michael Prelip, Anne Peters, Thomas R. Belin, William J. Mccarthy

Sociology Faculty Articles and Research

Purpose—This study examined how race-ethnicity, nativity, and education interact to influence disparities in cardiovascular (CV) health, a new concept defined by the American Heart Association (AHA). We assessed whether race-ethnicity and nativity disparities in CV health vary by education, and whether the foreign-born differ in CV health from their US-born race-ethnic counterparts with comparable education.

Methods—We used data from the 2009 California Health Interview Survey to determine the prevalence of optimal CV health metrics (based on selected AHA guidelines) among adults ages 25 and over (n = 42,014). We examined the interaction between education and ethnicity-nativity, comparing predicted …

Bullying Among School-Aged Children, Alfreada Brown-Kelly

Sociology & Criminal Justice Theses & Dissertations

This thesis investigates the relationship between gender, race and strains. Using data collected from the 2005-2006 Health Behavior in School-Aged Children, the study examined children's outlooks and experiences relating to an extensive range of health related activities and lifestyles. Specifically, this study examined the ways in which males and females bully and if black students bully more than white students. Furthermore, the study examined race and gender differences in bullying, and the impact of strains on these relationships. It was found that both race and gender are significant predictors of bullying when controlling for measures of strains and other demographic …

I'M A Patient, Not A Problem: An Exploration Into The Roles Assigned In The Doctor-Patient Relationship, Monica C. Stewart

Honors Theses and Capstones

No abstract provided.

The Effect Of Prenatal And Postnatal Care On Childhood Obesity, Michael M. O. Seipel, Kevin Shafer

Faculty Publications

Childhood obesity continues to be a major public health problem in the United States. If this problem is unresolved, some children will be at risk for disorders such as type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure, and cancer and will become a high economic and social burden for society. Using the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth, Child and Young Adult sample (N = 6,643), this study examined the relationship between the effect of pre- and postnatal characteristics and obesity. The findings of this study show that the probability of childhood obesity can be lessened if pregnant women do not smoke and …

A Longitudinal Examination Of Risk And Protective Factors Associated With Drug Use And Unsafe Sex Among Young African American Females, Dexter R. Voisin

Faculty Scholarship

This study prospectively examined associations among multiple theoretically informed risk (e.g., depression, sexual sensation seeking, and risky peers norms) and protective factors (e.g., social support, STI knowledge, and refusal to have sex self efficacy) on unsafe sex among 715 African American adolescent females aged 15-21 who participated in an STI/HIV prevention intervention. Generalized estimating equation models were used to assess associations between baseline characteristics and sexual risk over a 12-month follow-up period. Overall risk in this population was high: at baseline, nearly a third of women reported sex under the influence of alcohol or substances; ≥ 2 partners for vaginal …