Community Health and Preventive Medicine Commons^™

Community Health News, Georgia Southern University

Health Policy & Community Health: News & Publications (2011-2018)

• Georgia Southern Examines Black Mobility on Tybee Island
• Georgia Southern Identifies Factors for Sickle Cell Carrier Screening Among African Americans

Exploring Direct And Indirect Effects Of English Proficiency On Access, Utilization, And Health Status Among Californian Adults With Limited English Proficiency (Lep), Renee E. Pierre-Louis

Seton Hall University Dissertations and Theses (ETDs)

Background and Study Purpose: Findings from previous studies suggest that, in a health care delivery context, individuals with limited English proficiency (LEP) are adversely impacted by lack of patient-provider language concordance. Yet, the concept of LEP has been mostly studied in the context of cultural competence and language has been generally considered a demographic or cultural characteristic. There is a growing body of research concerning LEP and health status; however, it is limited. This study sought to evaluate the effects of LEP on access, utilization, and self-rated health status (SRHS) among LEP respondents to a large health interview survey …

Community Health News, Georgia Southern University

Health Policy & Community Health: News & Publications (2011-2018)

• JPHCOPH Students Present at The Eagle Showcase: Excellence in Service-Learning

Hiv Mortality Difference Between Black And White Women, Carlos O. Nesbeth, Rajiv Kandala, Syed Najeeb, Ruksana Nazneen, Banglore Murthy

Journal of Health Disparities Research and Practice

OBJECTIVE

In the United States, human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) continues to be among the top 10 leading causes of mortality for black women between the ages of 20 and 54¹, but does not rank among the top 10 leading causes of death for white women amongst all age groups^². This study describes the HIV mortality difference between black and white women and formulate hypotheses that may reduce or eliminate disparities.

METHODS

Information was accessed through public data, the US Census, and the US Compressed Mortality File.

RESULTS

In these descriptive data from 1987 through 2015, including reliable HIV …

Asian Americans’ Cancer Information Seeking, Fatalistic Belief, And Perceived Risk: Current Status And Relationships With Cancer Prevention And Detection Behaviors, Jungmi Jun, Xiaoli Nan

Journal of Health Disparities Research and Practice

This study pursues four research goals: (1) to examine Asian Americans and Asian ethnic groups’ (i.e., Chinese, Filipinos, Japanese, Koreans, Vietnamese) information seeking, fatalistic belief, and perceived risk of cancer, in comparison to non-Hispanic Whites; (2) to identify characteristics of Asian Americans who seek cancer information, hold fatalistic cancer belief, and perceive cancer risk; (3) to assess cancer prevention and detection behavior gaps between Asian Americans and Whites, and (4) to explore whether such gaps can be explained by cancer information seeking, fatalistic belief, and perceived risk. Data from 2011-2014 Health Information National Trends Surveys (HINTS) were analyzed. Asian Americans …

Graduating Into Lower Risk: Chlamydia And Trichomonas Prevalance Among Community College Students And Graduates, Janet E. Rosenbaum

Journal of Health Disparities Research and Practice

Background: Community colleges enable youth from economically disadvantaged and minority populations to access college and may enable social mobility including improved health outcomes. However, educational health disparities studies rarely assess the health outcomes for community college graduates.

Methods: Chlamydia and trichomonas prevalence were assessed with nucleic acid based tests in a nationally representative sample of 6233 high school graduates (ages 18–25) from five educational levels: young adults without post-secondary credentials who were not enrolled in college, community college students, 4-year college students, associate’s degree, and bachelor’s degree. To reduce confounding between educational attainment and STI status, we used full matching …

Nativity Differences In Stress Among Asian And Pacific Islander American Women, Brittany N. Morey, Gilbert C. Gee, Salma Shariff-Marco, Gem M. Le, Alison J. Canchola, Juan Yang, Laura Allen, Sandra Lee, Roxanna Bautista, Trish Quema La Chica, Winston Tseng, Pancho Chang, Scarlett Lin Gomez

Journal of Health Disparities Research and Practice

According to the Stress Process Theory, people who are marginalized in society encounter more stress than those in more advantaged positions. Immigrants are one such marginalized group in the United States (US) who may experience greater psychological stress than their US-born counterparts due to (1) severing of social ties; (2) social disadvantage and marginalization; and (3) adaptation to a new environment. This study examines the disparity in stress by nativity, and how social factors contribute to this disparity for Asian and Pacific Islander (API) women. Data come from the Asian Community Health Initiative, which included a sample of 291 foreign-born …

Psychological Well-Being And Restorative Biological Processes: Hdl-C In Older English Adults, Jackie Soo, Laura D. Kubzansky, Ying Chen, Emily S. Zevon, Julia K. Boehm

Psychology Faculty Articles and Research

Rationale

Psychological well-being is associated with better cardiovascular health, but the underlying mechanisms are unclear.

Objective

This study investigates one possible mechanism by examining psychological well-being's prospective association with lipid levels, focusing on high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C).

Methods

Participants were 4757 healthy men and women ages ≥50 from the English Longitudinal Study of Ageing with clinical data from three times, three to five years apart. Psychological well-being was assessed at baseline using the Control, Autonomy, Satisfaction, and Pleasure scale; HDL-C, triglycerides, and total cholesterol were assayed from blood samples. Descriptive statistics and linear mixed models were used to examine associations …

2491: Parental Concerns About Child Participation In S Reflect A Need To Move Beyond Traditional Notions Of Trust And Race, Jennifer Cunningham-Erves, Tilicia Mayo-Gamble, Consuelo H. Wilkins

Health Policy & Community Health: Faculty Publications

OBJECTIVES/SPECIFIC AIMS: The objective of this study was to identify factors influencing parental willingness of adolescent participation in clinical trials. METHODS/STUDY POPULATION: We applied community engaged research principles to conduct a theory-based, cross-sectional study of parental willingness. Parents (N=307) were given a survey from November 2014 to April 2015. Factors influencing parental willingness were identified using binary logistic regression. SPSS version 22.0 was used to perform analyses, and p

Factors Associated With Immunization Opinion Leadership Among Men Who Have Sex With Men In Los Angeles, California, Ian W. Holloway, Robert Bednarczyk, Vincent L. Fenimore, Cameron Goldbeck, Elizabeth Wu, Rebecca Himmelstein, Diane Tan, Laura Randall, Chelsea S. Lutz, Paula M. Frew

Environmental & Global Health Faculty Research

We sought to identify the characteristics of men who have sex with men (MSM) who are opinion leaders on immunization issues and to identify potential opportunities to leverage their influence for vaccine promotion within MSM communities. Using venue-based sampling, we recruited and enrolled MSM living in Los Angeles (N = 520) from December 2016 to February 2017 and evaluated characteristic differences in sociodemographic characteristics, health behaviors, and technology use among those classified as opinion leaders versus those who were not. We also asked respondents about their past receipt of meningococcal serogroups A, C, W, and Y (MenACWY) and meningococcal B …

Barriers To Pregnancy Spacing In Women Living With Hiv: A Series Of Informational Interviews, Rachel K. Scott, Piyapa Praditpan, Patricia Tanjutco, Elizabeth Laidlaw, Regina Zopf, Manon M. Schladen

The Qualitative Report

For reproductive-age women living with HIV, birth spacing allows for optimization of maternal health and viral suppression to prevent mother-to-child transmission of HIV. We conducted semi-structured informational interviews to explore use of contraception for birth spacing. Interviews were transcribed and analyzed. Audio files were reviewed to capture non-explicit data. We interviewed 18 multiparous HIV positive women. All described experiences with at least one contraceptive method. Six themes emerged: Burden of contraception, Failure of birth control, Impact of youth and lack of life experience, Community beliefs about birth control, Lack of partner cooperation, and Altruism. Women viewed birth spacing favorably. Young …

Development Of A Survey To Examine The Association Between Relationship Status And Human Papillomavirus Vaccination Behavior, Ansley Waters

Senior Honors Projects, 2010-2019

Literature: HPV is the most prevalent STI in the United States. Although a vaccine to prevent HPV infection exists, only 49.5% of females were up-to-date on the recommended vaccination HPV vaccination series in 2016. Though recommended for younger individuals, there is a catch-up period for females ages 18-26, which shows consistent under-participation. One potential risk factor for non-vaccination may be relationship status. Unlike other sexual health issues where monogamous, long-term relationships serve as a protective factor, such relationships may negatively impact HPV infection risk perception. Building from previous qualitative research, this study examined the quantitative association between relationship status and …

Evolution Of Bordetella Pertussis Genome May Play A Role In The Increased Rate Of Whooping Cough Cases In The United States, Kevin Loftus

Senior Honors Projects, 2010-2019

Bordetella pertussis is the bacterium responsible for pertussis, a disease commonly referred to as whooping cough. Recently, pertussis has made a resurgence in the U.S. despite high-vaccination coverage. Possible causes of the increased number of pertussis cases include genetic evolution of B. pertussis, increased awareness of the disease, better laboratory diagnostics, and the switch from a whole-cellular (wP) vaccine to an acellular vaccine (aP) in the 1990s. Fortunately, just as B. pertussis is evolving, so is the arsenal of technologies used to understand and combat this pathogenic bacterium. Whole genome sequencing is one technology that helps researchers better understand …

Health Care Priorities In Developing Countries: A Systematic Review, Heather Mckay

Senior Honors Projects, 2010-2019

Countries around the globe are struggling to find an affordable health care system. Developing countries have it particularly challenging with a lack of health care professionals and funding to spend on health care. This systematic review analyzes five developing countries’ (China, Dominican Republic, Ghana, Peru and Turkey) health care systems to find what is working well and what needs improvement. The main findings that these countries could adopt are requiring medical student graduates to do their residency in rural areas, giving more power of health care to local governments rather than the federal government, making insurance companies non-profit, and providing …

Wearable Fitness Tracking Improves Self-Efficacy For Exercise, Adam Sturts, Adarsh Gupta

Rowan-Virtua Research Day

The present study was designed to determine the impact of wearable fitness tracking technology use on physical activity and self-efficacy for exercise among wearable fitness device users. This was a cross sectional study. A single questionnaire was administered to participants, providing patient data pertaining to wearable fitness tracking device use, exercise habits and intrinsic self-efficacy for exercise. Wearable fitness tracking device users were found to have higher levels of self-efficacy for exercise than non-users across all participating ages, genders and ethnicities. In addition, wearable fitness device users reported increased engagement in physical activity with the concomitant use of their devices. …

The Unity Project: Camden Community Health Center Building Authentic & Impactful Relationships Through The Ask-First Model, Christian Diliberto, Ruchi Shah, Patrick J. Tempera

Rowan-Virtua Research Day

Last spring, the Camden Community Health Center (CCHC) launched the Unity Project, an initiative aimed at fostering relationships with various Camden, New Jersey organizations to not only educate community members about our services, but also to collaborate with them on improving Camden’s health. Although the CCHC has been in Camden for over 15 years, local organizations were unaware of our existence. There was also a similar disconnect among these organizations themselves. The goal of the Unity Project is to work towards affecting long-term change by forming authentic and impactful relationships with organizations that are already doing meaningful work.

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Does Courtesy Bias Affect How Clients Report On Objective And Subjective Measures Of Family Planning Service Quality? A Comparison Between Facility- And Home-Based Interviews, Waqas Hameed, Muhammad Ishaque, Xaher Gul, Junaid-Ur-Rehman Siddiqui, Sharmeen Hussain, Wajahat Hussain, Aftab Ahmed, Asma Balal

Community Health Sciences

Purpose: Despite a general understanding that exit interviews being conducted at service providers' facilities may influence clients' responses favorably to health professionals, there is very little evidence available that demonstrates the extent to which this problem exists. This study aimed at assessing and comparing clients' perceptions of the quality of family planning services and their satisfaction levels between facility- and home-based interviews.
Methods: A cross-sectional survey was conducted among clients receiving family planning services across three service delivery channels - nongovernmental organization (NGO) clinics, social franchise (SF) centers, and outreach camps. The survey took place from December 2015 to January …

Baby's Best Start: Wic's Role In The Alleviation Of Childhood Obesity, Ashton Hutcheson

Public Health: Student Scholarship & Creative Works

In the past 50 years, obesity prevalence has risen to epidemic-like levels in the United States with an average of 25% of American children being classified as overweight or obese. Prevalence of obesity is significantly increased in socioeconomically disadvantaged income categories. This paper aims to discuss public health preventions/interventions that address childhood obesity such WIC, a supplemental nutrition program for women, infants, and children. It additionally aims to provide broad obesity-related research and begin to suggest preliminary answers to the question of why obesity is so prevalent as well as a brief overview of current treatment options for obesity-related diseases …

Using An Implementation Research Framework To Identify Potential Facilitators And Barriers Of An Intervention To Increase Hpv Vaccine Uptake, Rebecca Selove, Maya Foster, Raquel Mack, Maureen Sanderson, Pamela C. Hull

Center for Prevention Research Publications

Background:

Although the incidence of cervical cancer has been decreasing in the United States over the last decade, Hispanic and African American women have substantially higher rates than Caucasian women. The human papillomavirus (HPV) is a necessary, although insufficient, cause of cervical cancer. In the United States in 2013, only 37.6% of girls 13 to 17 years of age received the recommended 3 doses of a vaccine that is almost 100% efficacious for preventing infection with viruses that are responsible for 70% of cervical cancers. Implementation research has been underutilized in interventions for increasing vaccine uptake. The Consolidated Framework for …

The Denison Pequotsepos Nature Center Giving Garden At Coogan Farm: A Practitioner Report On Community Gardens For Health And Regional Food Security, Emma Sutphen

Sustainability and Social Justice

The Denison Pequotsepos Nature Center (DPNC) is a community organization that, through its various programming, works to perpetuate a vision of humans as part and parcel of the world. In 2013, when the Nature Center acquired the Coogan Farm property, the organization built a community garden called the Giving Garden to serve surrounding communities, expanding services to the foodservice sector educational programming around sustainable agriculture. DPNC’s partnership with the Robert G. Youngs Family Foundation, United Way of Southeastern Connecticut, and Gemma E. Moran mobile food pantry, forged in 2014, has allowed the garden to minimize area food insecurity through its …