Community Health and Preventive Medicine Commons^™

The Assessment Of Emergency Preparedness Among University Students, Arliah Cox

All Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Other Capstone Projects

University students have been an understudied population when it comes to the topic of emergency/ disaster preparedness. While there have been a few studies carried out to examine students’ perceptions of preparedness, the level of preparedness must be determined to be able to close the gap when it comes to barriers preventing them from being prepared. One hundred and eighty-seven undergraduate participants at a Midwestern university completed both online and in-person surveys in March 2022. The survey included questions regarding emergency/ disaster preparedness, perception of being prepared, and barriers which can prevent preparedness. Results showed that a lack of time …

Covid-19 Vaccine Brand Hesitancy And Other Challenges To Vaccination In The Philippines, Arianna Maever L. Amit, Veincent Christian F. Pepito, Lourdes S. Tanchanco, Manuel Dayrit

Ateneo School of Medicine and Public Health Publications

Effective and safe COVID-19 vaccines have been developed at a rapid and unprecedented pace to control the spread of the virus, and prevent hospitalisations and deaths. However, COVID-19 vaccine uptake is challenged by vaccine hesitancy and anti-vaccination sentiments, a global shortage of vaccine supply, and inequitable vaccine distribution especially among low- and middle-income countries including the Philippines. In this paper, we explored vaccination narratives and challenges experienced and observed by Filipinos during the early vaccination period. We interviewed 35 individuals from a subsample of 1,599 survey respondents 18 years and older in the Philippines. The interviews were conducted in Filipino, …

Trends In Stunting, Underweight And Overweight Among Children Aged < 5 Years In Kuwait: Findings From Kuwait Nutritional Surveillance System (2007-2019), Nawal Alqaoud, Abdullah Al-Taiar

Community & Environmental Health Faculty Publications

Background: There is a paucity of data on the secular trends of stunting and overweight among children aged < 5 years in oil-rich countries in the Middle East.

Aims: To examine the secular trends of stunting, underweight and overweight in children aged < 5 years in Kuwait between 2007 and 2019.

Methods: We used large individual data records (n=48 108) from the Kuwait Nutritional Surveillance System (KNSS) to calculate height/length-for-age z score (HAZ), weight-for-age z score and body mass index (BMI)-for-age z score using World Health Organization growth references. Stunting and underweight were defined as less than -2 standard deviation (SD) and overweight (including obesity) as ≥ 2 SD. Trends of stunting, underweight and overweight were …

Parental Status As A Modifying Factor In Covid-19 Vaccination Status: A Mixed Methods Approach, Mackenzie Carter

All Master's Theses

Introduction: Vaccines are the best protection against COVID-19 and have been proven to be safe and effective. Parental efforts to protect their children by complying with or refusing pediatric vaccinations have previously been studied. However, the author found little research on how parental status affects the vaccination decisions for the parents. Using an explanatory sequential mixed-methods approach and the Health Belief Model, this study examines how parental status influences parental COVID-19 vaccination status. Methods: A local health department conducted a quantitative survey on COVID-19 vaccination attitudes and beliefs from September to October 2021. The COVID-19 vaccination status of parents of …

Queer Survival Amidst Hiv/Aids, Covid-19 And Homelessness, Julia Young

Pitzer Senior Theses

The treatment and survival of a society's marginalized peoples reveal the true impacts of a pandemic. An analysis of homeless queer youth during the HIV/AIDS and SARS-CoV-2 crises lays bare the systemic failure of the United States government to provide equitable healthcare.

I compare the HIV/AIDS and COVID-19 pandemics in queer homeless youth to demonstrate the dangers of disease moralization via a sociocultural analyses of disease stigma and responsibility politics. Utilizing syndemic theory I draw on the synergistic relationship between disease and illness to describe the unique challenges queer homeless youth face. A syndemic framework is applied to address common …

Stress Coping Responses Of Undergraduate University Students Prior To & Since The Onset Of The Covid-19 Pandemic, Kaylee Diefenderfer

All Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Other Capstone Projects

The stress coping mechanisms used by undergraduate university students affects their psychological well-being, stress level, and mental health outcomes. Increasing students’ use of positive coping mechanisms may increase academic outcomes, and overall health and well-being. This study evaluated the stress coping mechanisms used by undergraduate university students prior to and since the COVID-19 pandemic began. The Brief COPE inventory was used to measure stress coping responses. The results of this research indicated a significant change in 9 out of the 14 main coping mechanisms used by undergraduate university students prior to since the pandemic began. The top two stress coping …

Implementation Of Physical Activity In Kentucky Public Schools: From Theory To Policy, Nancy Kearns

Theses and Dissertations--Rehabilitation Sciences

Physical activity in schools improves academic performance and fitness measures in children. However, state policy supporting implementation of physical activity remains poor. Identifying specific barriers to implementing physical activity minutes in Kentucky public schools is pivotal in preserving the cognitive and physical health of our children. This is of particular interest as physical activity minutes remain low despite the positive effects of exercise on cognition. The purpose of this dissertation is to provide policymakers and school administrators a method of identifying current policies, attitudes and infrastructure that inhibit the implementation of physical activity minutes in public schools. Thus, the findings, …

Addressing Barriers To Colorectal Cancer Screening In A Federally Qualified Health Center: A Quality Improvement Project, Tania Centra

DNP Scholarly Projects

Abstract

Background: Colorectal cancer (CRC) is a leading cause of death from cancer in the United States, despite the availability of several high-quality screening options. Multiple barriers to CRC screening have been identified, including cost (non-insured), younger age, racial or ethnic minority, recent immigration to the U.S. (non-English speaking), fear or distrust of the healthcare system and rural residence. Addressing health equity within underserved populations requires improved access to CRC screenings per evidence-based guidelines.

Local Problem: The mean CRC screening rate for the designated Federally Qualified Health Center (FQHC) was 33.7% for the 5 months preceding this quality improvement (QI) …

An Analysis Of Georgia Mothers Who Gave Birth In 2015 And 2016 Without Receiving Prenatal Care, Joncel Stephens, Shanta R. Dube, Merrilee Gober

Journal of the Georgia Public Health Association

Background: The present study characterizes the population of women residing in the state of Georgia who did not receive prenatal care before giving birth to a live infant. The association between mother’s place of residence (rural/non-rural) and preterm delivery was also examined.

Methods: This study examined data obtained from the Georgia Department of Public Health which includes data for 7,062 mothers who did not receive prenatal care before giving birth to a live infant in Georgia in the years 2015 and 2016. Data on the resulting births was also studied. Descriptive analyses of the following variables were used …

Perception Of Health Care Access In Rural Georgia: Findings From A Community Health Needs Assessment Survey, Elisa M. Childs, Tiffany R. Washington

Journal of the Georgia Public Health Association

Background: Limited access to health care services has been cited as a barrier to care for individuals who live in rural areas, contributing to significant health disparities in this population. While perception of services has been cited as a determinant of utilization of health services, it is unknown how perception of services influences health care access in rural areas. The paucity of studies specific to areas in the United States that are medically underserved, necessitated this study and its quantification of the issues that are relevant to individuals living in rural Georgia.

Methods: This study examined the perception of health …

Who's Included? A Systematic Review Of Socio-Demographics And Participant Recruitment Within The Investigation Of Periodontal Disease And Its Treatment Effect On Hemoglobin A1c, Jaclyn L. Johnson

All Master's Theses

Diabetes mellitus and periodontal disease are major global public health concerns. Within the United States (U.S.) over 34 million adults have diagnosed diabetes (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention [CDC], 2020a), and 64 million U.S. adults have periodontitis (American Academy of Periodontology [AAP], 2021a). Research has shown that persons with diabetes have a coinfection with periodontal disease at a rate between 2.6 and 2.9 times higher than persons without diabetes (Wang et al., 2014). Diabetes and periodontal disease collectively and disproportionately affect persons of low socioeconomic status (SES), age, and particular racial/ethnic identities (AAP, n.d.b; CDC, 2021; Connolly et al., …

Pain That Only She Must Bear: On The Invisibility Of Women In Judicial Abortion Rhetoric, Francesca Laguardia

Department of Justice Studies Faculty Scholarship and Creative Works

The graphic and bodily facts of a legal question of rights are relevant to the courts, particularly in questions that directly implicate physical bodies and pain, such as right to die cases, or what level of search may be allowable and when. However, in the case of abortion, or more specifically the bodily ramifications of pregnancy and childbirth, this detail is conspicuously absent. This article, relying on a content analysis of over 220 legal opinions on abortion rights, documents this absence of rhetoric. Particularly in the context of other discussions of pain and physical health risks in these very same …

Time For Tobacco-Free Generations In The Western Pacific?, Gianna Gayle H. Amul, Suan Ee Ong, Azrul Mohd Khalib, Joanne Su-Yin Yoong

Ateneo School of Government Publications

No abstract provided.

What Should Ethical And Strategic Employers Do About Covid-19 Vaccines?, Dale B. Thompson, Susan A. Suspina, Katherina G. Pattit, Dawn R. Swink

University of San Francisco Law Review

No abstract provided.

Identifying Factors Associated With Syringe Reuse Among People Who Inject Drugs (Pwid) In Appalachia Kentucky, Grayson Keith Fuller

Theses and Dissertations--Public Health (M.P.H. & Dr.P.H.)

Aim: Syringe reuse contributes to the spread of infectious diseases. The purpose of this study is to identify factors associated with syringe reuse among people who inject drugs (PWID) in Kentucky.

Methods: PWID (n=238) completed interviewer-administered questionnaires to collect data on syringe reuse and demographic, behavioral, and clinical characteristics. Negative log binomial regression was used to model the associations.

Results: On average, people reused each syringe 9.3 times (median: 3; IQR: 2-10, range 1-95). Syringe reuse was higher among men [aOR=1.386; 95% CI: 1.041-1.845] and those who injected methamphetamine [aOR=2.122; 95% CI: 1.445-3.116]. Reuse was also higher among those who …

The Online Ordering Behaviors Among Participants In The Oklahoma Women, Infants, And Children Program: A Cross-Sectional Analysis, Qi Zhang, Kayoung Park, Junzhou Zhang, Chuanyi Tang

Community & Environmental Health Faculty Publications

The Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) is a nutrition assistance program in the United States (U.S.). Participants in the program redeem their prescribed food benefits in WIC-authorized grocery stores. Online ordering is an innovative method being pilot-tested in some stores to facilitate WIC participants' food benefit redemption, which has become especially important in the COVID-19 pandemic. The present research aimed to examine the online ordering (OO) behaviors among 726 WIC households who adopted WIC OO in a grocery chain, XYZ (anonymous) store, in Oklahoma (OK). These households represented approximately 5% of WIC households who redeemed …

Vaccine Hesitancy Among Healthcare Workers In The Covid-19 Era, Gabriella Checchi

Capstone Showcase

Vaccination against harmful, deadly pathogens have been an essential tool in the scientific world and have shaped our community as we know it today. They have allowed us to live in a society where members of the community are protected from certain severe disease and can help to decrease the death toll of these diseases. Vaccines have allowed us to eradicate smallpox, a disease that ravaged the world and killed over 300 million people. They have been a one of the most useful advances in medical science so far. And yet today, as SARS-CoV-2 continues to spread rampantly throughout the …

The Program To Reduce Implicit Bias In Carroll Hospital Center Using The Implicit Association Test, Katherine E. Traynor

Capstone Showcase

Natural brain processes make all individuals susceptible to unconscious bias; however, stressful, fearful, or anger-evoking situations as well as the negative influence of media and social surroundings increase the risk of holding obstructive bias, and there is a greater risk of being negatively impacted by this phenomenon when belonging to a minority population (Rose & Flores, 2020). As a result, high rates of infant mortality (10.2 deaths per 1,000 live births for the Non-Hispanic Black population compared to 4.1 in the White population) and cardiovascular related diseases (190.0 cases per 1,000 in the Non-Hispanic Black population compared to 161.3 in …

Beyond The Covid-19 Pandemic: The Importance Of Social Determinants Of Health In Educating Healthcare Leaders, Tashuna Albritton, Miguel Muñoz-Laboy, Umadevi Yokeeswaran, Marlene Camacho-Rivera

Publications and Research

As scholars of color and educators in the health professions, we are compelled to advocate for the inclusion of the study of health disparities and social determinants of health (SDOH) throughout higher education to understand, analyze, and effectively respond to healthcare access disparities, including COVID-19 disparities, in Black and Latinx communities across the United States. In addition to our identities and lived experiences, healthcare access disparities and their root causes are woven throughout the courses that we teach in the departments of social medicine, social work, and social and behavioral sciences.

An Analysis Of Kindergarten Childhood Disease Vaccination Rates And Practices In Bay Area Counties, Janice Zelaya

Master's Projects

Immunizations are the most effective method for preventing communicable diseases, especially among children. Ensuring that children are vaccinated is of the utmost importance but remains a challenge due to misinformation and the growing anti-vaccination movement. With a population of 39.5 million people as of 2020 (Census Bureau, n.d.), California is the most populous state in the United States. In 2020, the San Francisco Bay Area, which includes the counties of Alameda, Contra Costa, Marin, Napa, San Francisco, San Mateo, Santa Clara, Solano, and Sonoma, is home to 7.7 million of those people (Census Bureau, 2021). This research will explore how …