Medical Humanities Commons^™

Effect Of Routine Third Trimester Ultrasounds On Maternal Mental Health In Low-Risk Population In Utah, Claire Z. Zai, Priyanka R. Purohit, Emily M. Snyder, Bryson M. Mcadams, Daniela A. Betancourt-Martinez, Donna O. Van Beuge, Maria N. Easler, Makayla A. Muzinic, Carlos E. Angulo

Annual Research Symposium

Purpose: One in five pregnant women in the United States experience a maternal mental health condition. Within Utah from 2018-2022, during pregnancy, 22.7% of women experienced depression and 31.6% experienced anxiety, and 15.1% experienced postpartum depression. These data represent a prevalence higher than the national average. Third trimester ultrasound (TTUS) is not a standard of care performed in the United States currently. Previous TTUS research has mainly focused on the financial burden and birth outcomes rather than maternal mental health. Literature on first trimester ultrasound has demonstrated a notable impact on maternal mental health, but these outcomes within the third …

Anesthesia And Pain Management In Conflict-Affected Regions: Addressing Global Health Barriers To Access And Quality Of Care​, Naeel Uddin, Sierra Brown, Maria Easler, Ayanda Mkhize, Marwa Hamdam, Chandu Goli, Lauren Draper

Annual Research Symposium

This poster examines how to deliver safe, effective anesthesia and pain control in areas with limited resources and ongoing security threats. Focusing on portable technology, ketamine-based protocols, and telemedicine, we highlight ethical considerations, training needs, and global collaborations. Our findings outline a pathway to reduce suffering and improve surgical outcomes in vulnerable populations by addressing challenges unique to conflict settings.

Wellness Literature Review - 2024, Bidhu Sharma, Martin Huecker, Brian A. Ferguson

Journal of Wellness

Introduction: The Journal of Wellness has moved to a single calendar year editorial review of wellness literature. This annual review includes studies published in 2024.

Methods: Authors conducted a PubMed and Google Scholar keyword search, narrowing results to interventional studies / clinical trials in humans.

Literature in Review: We conducted a thematic review of a selection of relevant papers from the literature search. COVID-19 crisis has exacerbated the rate of burnout and impacted well-being of healthcare providers. Need for intervention in this area has arisen significantly since the pandemic. Post pandemic, working conditions have been normalized to some extent, however, …

Establishing A Student-Run Mobile Clinic In Appalachian Kentucky: A Community-Based Pilot Program To Address Health Inequities, Bradley A. Firchow, John C. Cornelius

Journal of Appalachian Health

The establishment of a student-run mobile clinic in Morehead, Kentucky, led by students from the University of Kentucky College of Medicine’s (UKCOM) Rural Physician Leadership Program (RPLP), aims to address health inequities in rural Appalachian communities. This pilot program is designed to serve vulnerable populations, including the unhoused, by delivering free, accessible healthcare services directly to underserved populations. This program serves as a model for expanding access to healthcare in rural regions while promoting a collaborative, community-based approach to addressing social determinants of health.

Rural Reflections Of Appalachia: A Qualitative Study Of Health Professional Students’ Experiences From A Rural Immersion Experience In West Virginia, Treah Haggerty Md Ms, Jessica Stidham Ma, Stephan Brooks Mph, Abigail Cowher Ba, Sandra Pope Msw, Patricia Dekeseredy Mscn Rn, Cara L. Sedney Md,Ma

Journal of Appalachian Health

Introduction: Conventional academic rotations lack in-depth exposure to rural community members, systems, and resources surrounding specific rural-focused health issues.

Purpose: This study aims to explore health professional students’ experiences within a community-based multidisciplinary rural immersion through their personal reflections.

Methods: Written reflective entries were extracted from the online classroom system from 2019–2021. Data analysis was guided by thematic analysis. An iterative process of qualitatively coding the interviews was conducted. Themes were reviewed and agreed upon by consensus and assessed for validity by two senior researchers.

Results: Sixty-two reflective essays were included from 11 unique professional programs. Resulting themes included (1) …

Life After, John C. Lyden

Journal of Religion & Film

This is a film review of Life After (2025), directed by Reid Davenport.

Unholy, William L. Blizek, Monica Blizek

Journal of Religion & Film

This is a review of the short film, Unholy (2025), directed by Daisy Friedman.

Medical Muse, Unm Health Sciences Center

Medical Muse

A literary journal devoted to the inquiries, experiences, and meditations of the University of New Mexico Health Sciences Center community.

This edition has wonderful contributions that underline why this journal exists. The idea of writing about our challenges, life experiences, and our missions in medicine create teaching and healing for the reader and the writer. I direct the reader to the essays entitled “3 Women” and “Pronouncement” as both pieces underline what the UNM Medical Muse is all about. Writing about one’s experiences as in “3 Women” as well as the lovely “how to” description of cultural competence in “Pronouncement” …

El Uso De Las Prácticas Curativas No Occidentales En Lugar De Y Dentro De La Cultura Biomédica, Lynda Gulledge

World Languages and Cultures Senior Capstones

This paper explores the difficulties that the Hispanic community faces when accessing healthcare in the United States, which emphasizes the use of biomedical culture. Topics such as cultural and linguistic barriers, past and present healthcare policies, and the use of non-Western medical practices are examined. Furthermore, this paper explores the history and use of curanderismo as an accessible and culturally appropriate form of healthcare. Lastly, the integration and acknowledgement of curanderismo in biomedical culture is explored and encouraged in order to create a more holistic healthcare experience for the Hispanic community.

An Accident On Mount Washington: Now I Understand What It's Like To Have Panic Attacks, Chuck Radis

Faculty Publications

This is the story of how Dr. Radis developed PTSD after a mountaineering accident and how it affected him in his personal life and as a physician as he continued to practice and see patients.

All About Euthanasia, Bhavna Bangalore

STEM for Success Showcase

The infographic details the practice of euthanasia. It explains euthanasia's history, legality, and process. The infographic also mentions way to support terminally ill patients that choose to undergo the procedure.

Acute Hepatitis B Infection In A Patient With Confirmed Immunity On Long-Acting Cabotegravir/Rilpivirine, William K B Boateng, Neil Carlin, Etan Spira, Maria E Szabela, Kosisochukwu J Ezeh

Faculty and Staff Publications

Long-acting injectable formulation of cabotegravir/rilpivirine (CAB/RPV) is a promising novel maintenance therapy for HIV infection. However, coinfection with active hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection is a contraindication to initiating this therapy. Despite guidelines, patients with HBV immunity can still contract acute HBV infection. We report a case of a 30-year-old man with HIV who transitioned from antiretroviral therapy to CAB/RPV and had confirmed HBV immunity. The patient, though asymptomatic, showed significantly elevated liver function tests (LFTs) before his monthly CAB/RPV injection. He was hospitalized and diagnosed with acute HBV infection. His LFTs improved, and he was taken off CAB/RPV and …

“Nothing Is Going To Replace An In-Person Visit”: Canadian Long-Term Care Providers’ And Recipients’ Perspectives On When Telehealth For Physician Visits Is Not Appropriate, Tyler R Cole, Valorie A Crooks, Janice Sorensen, Sherin Jamal, Akber Mithani, Lillian Hung, Jeremy Snyder, Catherine Youngren

Faculty and Staff Publications

Background: Within long-term care (LTC) homes, telehealth use has been found to reduce unnecessary emergency department transfers, support the care needs of rural and underserved communities, and supplement in-person physician care. Despite these benefits, it is not well understood when telehealth is not an appropriate medium for providing physician care to residents with complex health needs. This knowledge gap must be addressed given the recent rise in telehealth use in LTC homes in many health systems following the COVID-19 pandemic, when virtual care use increased in many health care sectors to limit travel and in-person exposure risks, that is expected …

Whether To Offer Interventions At The End Of Life: What Physicians Consider And How Clinical Ethicists Can Help, Joelle Robertson-Preidler, Mikaela Kim, Sophia Fantus, Janet Malek

Faculty and Staff Publications

Background: Advances in life-prolonging technologies increasingly create dilemmas for physicians who must decide whether to offer various interventions to patients nearing the end of life. Clinical ethicists are often consulted to support physicians in making these complex decisions and can do so most effectively if they understand physicians' reasons for making recommendations in this context.

Methods: Semi-structured interviews were conducted with surgeons, nephrologists, intensivists, emergency physicians, and oncologists regarding the considerations they have used to make decisions about offering interventions for patients nearing the end of life. Interview transcripts were thematically analyzed.

Results: We identified six types of considerations physicians …

A Randomized Controlled Trial Of A Compassion-Centered Spiritual Health Intervention To Improve Hospital Inpatient Outcomes, Jennifer S Mascaro, Patricia K Palmer, Marcia J Ash, Marianne P Florian, Deanna M Kaplan, Roman Palitsky, Steven P Cole, Maureen Shelton, Charles L Raison, George H Grant

Faculty and Staff Publications

Background: Inpatient medical settings lack evidence-based spiritually integrated interventions to address patient care needs within a pluralistic religious landscape. To address this gap, CCSH™ (Compassion-Centered Spiritual Health) was developed to leverage the skillsets of healthcare chaplains to improve patient outcomes through spiritual consultation. Here, we report the results of a randomized, wait-list controlled, pre-registered (NCT03529812) study that evaluated the impact of CCSH on patient-reported depression and explored putative mediators of CCSH's effects.

Method: Chaplain residents were randomized to be trained in CCSH as part of their clinical pastoral education (CPE) residency in the fall (n = 8) or …

Resilience And Reality: Exploring The Lived Experiences Of People Living With Hiv In Texas During The Covid-19 Pandemic – A Qualitative Study., Ahmed F. Alanazi

Social Work Dissertations - Archive

This study investigated the lived experiences of individuals living with HIV (PLWH) in the Dallas-Fort Worth (DFW) area of Texas during the COVID-19 pandemic, using an Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (IPA) framework. The research examined the intersection of health, social dynamics, and psychological resilience among PLWH, who faced compounded vulnerabilities due to systemic inequities and the dual public health crises of HIV and COVID-19. Through semi-structured interviews with ten participants from diverse backgrounds, the study captured the profound impacts of disrupted healthcare systems, heightened stigma, and social isolation on this marginalized population. The findings reveal that the pandemic exacerbated existing inequities …

“Globes" Module (Guiding Learners Towards One Health, Biodiversity, And Environmental Stewardship): Catalyzing Synergies To Advance Leadership And Scholarly Engagement With One Health In Under Graduate Medical Education, Krishna Mohan Surapaneni

Health Professions Education

Background: The concept of One Health addresses the interconnected health of humans, animals, and the environment, offering a critical framework for tackling complex health challenges. However, gaps in the integration of One Health principles into medical education limit the ability of future healthcare providers to operationalize this knowledge in practice. The "GLOBES" module (Guiding Learners towards One health, Biodiversity, and Environmental Stewardship) was designed to bridge these gaps, aligning with Sustainable Development Goals (SDG 3, 13, 14, 15) to promote holistic and interdisciplinary healthcare education. Methods: The "GLOBES" module was developed with 22 competencies across ten categories, incorporating case-based learning, …

Exploring Lgbtq+ Competency In Healthcare, Jordan Whiteman

Honors College Theses

Marginalized groups such as the LGBTQ+ community are known to face healthcare disparities that negatively affect their process of navigating healthcare systems. This project explores the perceived lack of representation and understanding of the LGBTQ+ community within healthcare settings, exposing the deficits in knowledge for unique challenges and inequalities these patients may face. By viewing the literature, a myriad of complications faced by LGBTQ+ people in clinical settings can be identified. They possess a generalized feeling of mistrust towards the healthcare system. Healthcare staff overall describe low confidence with caring for this demographic. Heteronormativity’s presence in the field of healthcare …

Perceived Obligations Of Older Partners In Living-Apart-Together Relationships, Allison M. Martin, Timothy S. Killian

Discovery, The Student Journal of Dale Bumpers College of Agricultural, Food and Life Sciences

Older and middle-aged adults are increasingly in Living-Apart-Together (LAT) relationships characterized by committed romantic relationships without marriage and cohabitation. Because of assumptions that older adults will receive family caregiving as they grow older and need caregiving, it is not clear how people are likely to perceive obligations to provide caregiving assistance. As adults move into old age and incidence rates of Alzheimer’s Disease or Related Dementia (ADRD) increase, questions about the availability of family members to provide needed assistance are complicated by LAT relationships. The purpose of this study was to examine perceived obligations to provide assistance to older adults …

The Ethical Imperative Of Leadership In Dentistry, Mike Graham, Toni M. Roucka Rn, Dds, Ma, Facd

Journal of the American College of Dentists

Leadership is one of the four pillars of the American College of Dentists, taking its place alongside excellence, ethics, and professionalism. Leadership in dentistry carries an inherent ethical responsibility to uphold the trust and well-being of those who depend on us—our patients, our teams, and the community. When leaders in our field exercise their influence, they wield significant power over patient outcomes, industry standards, and public health policy. With this influence comes an imperative to act ethically, to ensure that decisions are guided by a commitment to care, integrity, and the best interests of those we serve. At the heart …