Epidemiology Commons^™

The Risk Of New-Onset Epilepsy And Refractory Epilepsy In Older Adult Stroke Survivors, Jorge G. Burneo, Tresah C. Antaya, Britney N. Allen, Andrea Belisle, Salimah Z. Shariff, Gustavo Saposnik

Neuroepidemiology Research Unit Project Summaries

Research Summary: Key Findings

• Stroke is a common cause of epilepsy in older adults, but little is known about stroke-related epilepsy or its outcomes in this population.
• 1.1% of older adult stroke survivors developed epilepsy in this study, of whom 12.9% developed refractory epilepsy, indicating that this population is particularly responsive to treatment.
• Over 85% of deaths in this population are not due to stroke or epilepsy.

Prevalence Of Alcohol Use: A National Survey Of Deaf Adults In The United States, Poorna Kushalnagar, Traciann Hoglind, Abbi N. Simons, Debra Guthmann

JADARA

Objective: Alcohol is one of the most commonly used substances in the United States. Alcohol consumption has been linked to several sociodemographic and social characteristics in the general population. Research is needed to understand the prevalence of and characteristics related to alcohol use in Deaf adults. Our study purpose was to determine nation-wide prevalence of alcohol use and investigate characteristics related to alcohol consumption in Deaf adults in the United States.

Methods: Secondary data were drawn from the Health Information National Trends in American Sign Language (HINTS-ASL). Self-reported data from 1272 Deaf adults (56% female) were used to …

Interventions To Increase Completion Of Hepatitis B Vaccination In People Who Inject Drugs: A Systematic Review And Meta-Analysis, Stacy Tressler, Ruchi Bhandari

Faculty & Staff Scholarship

Abstract

Increases in opioid misuse and injection drug use have resulted in a rise in acute cases of hepatitis B. We conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized studies to determine the effect (pooled odds ratio) of interventions to increase hepatitis B vaccination completion in people who inject drugs (PWID). Odds ratios from the included studies were combined to create a pooled odds ratio (OR) using the Inverse Heterogeneity Model. Eleven studies met the eligibility criterion of having a randomized intervention to increase hepatitis B virus vaccination completion among PWID. The odds of vaccine completion in the intervention group …

Use Of Complementary And Alternative Medicine Among People With Cardiovascular Diseases In Southeast Georgia, Chimuanya Okoli, Stacy Carswell, Sewuese Akuse, Kelly L. Sullivan

Biostatistics, Epidemiology & Environmental Health Sciences: Faculty Publications

Background: Heart disease is a leading cause of death in the United States. Proper treatment of patients with cardiovascular disease is essential and can be challenged by non-disclosed use of complementary or alternative treatments. The objective of this study was to assess which demographics were associated with complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) use and if education affects the use of CAM.

Methods: A cross-sectional survey was conducted among a stratified random sample of residents of Southeastern Georgia. Sampling was stratified by urban/rural residence in order to reach sufficient rural residents. Participants that indicated they had been diagnosed with hypertension or …

Quasi-Likelihood Ratio Tests For Homoscedasticity Of Variance In Linear Regression, Lili Yu, Varadan Sevilimedu, Robert Vogel, Hani Samawi

Biostatistics, Epidemiology & Environmental Health Sciences: Faculty Publications

Two quasi-likelihood ratio tests are proposed for the homoscedasticity assumption in the linear regression models. They require few assumptions than the existing tests. The properties of the tests are investigated through simulation studies. An example is provided to illustrate the usefulness of the new proposed tests.

Next-Generation Sequencing Of Hiv-1 Single Genome Amplicons, Gustavo H. Kijak, Eric Sanders-Buell, Phuc Pham, Elizabeth A. Harbolick, Celina Oropeza, Anne Marie O'Sullivan, Meera Bose, Charmagne G. Beckett, Mark Milazzo, Merlin L. Robb, Sheila A. Peel, Paul T. Scott, Nelson L. Michael, Adam W. Armstrong, Jerome H. Kim, David Brett-Major, Sodsai Tovanabutra

Journal Articles: Epidemiology

The analysis of HIV-1 sequences has helped understand the viral molecular epidemiology, monitor the development of antiretroviral drug resistance, and design candidate vaccines. The introduction of single genome amplification (SGA) has been a major advancement in the field, allowing for the characterization of multiple sequences per patient while preserving linkage among polymorphisms in the same viral genome copy. Sequencing of SGA amplicons is performed by capillary Sanger sequencing, which presents low throughput, requires a high amount of template, and is highly sensitive to template/primer mismatching. In order to meet the increasing demand for HIV-1 SGA amplicon sequencing, we have developed …

Using "Outbreak Science" To Strengthen The Use Of Models During Epidemics., Caitlin Rivers, Jean-Paul Chretien, Steven Riley, Julie A. Pavlin, Alexandra Woodward, David Brett-Major, Irina Maljkovic Berry, Lindsay Morton, Richard G. Jarman, Matthew Biggerstaff, Michael A. Johansson, Nicholas G. Reich, Diane Meyer, Michael R. Snyder, Simon Pollett

Journal Articles: Epidemiology

Infectious disease modeling has played a prominent role in recent outbreaks, yet integrating these analyses into public health decision-making has been challenging. We recommend establishing ‘outbreak science’ as an inter-disciplinary field to improve applied epidemic modeling.

New Filovirus Disease Classification And Nomenclature, Jens H. Kuhn, Takuya Adachi, Neill K.J. Adhikari, Jose R. Arribas, Ibrahima Elhadj Bah, Daniel G. Bausch, Nahid Bhadelia, Matthias Borchert, Arne Broch Brantsæter, David Brett-Major, Timothy H. Burgess, Daniel S. Chertow, Christopher G. Chute, Theodore J. Cieslak, Robert Colebunders, Ian Crozier, Richard T. Davey, Hilde De Clerck, Rafael Delgado, Laura Evans, Mosoka Fallah, William A. Fischer, Tom E. Fletcher, Robert A. Fowler, Thomas Grünewald, Andy Hall, Angela L. Hewlett, Andy I.M. Hoepelman, Catherine F. Houlihan, Giuseppe Ippolito, Shevin T. Jacob, Michael Jacobs, Robert Jakob, Frederique A. Jacquerioz, Laurent Kaiser, Andre C. Kalil, Rashidatu F. Kamara, Jimmy Kapetshi, Hans-Dieter Klenk, Gary Kobinger, Mark G. Kortepeter, Colleen S. Kraft, Thomas Kratz, Henry S. Kyobe Bosa, Marta Lado, François Lamontagne, H. Cliff Lane, Leslie Lobel, Julius Lutwama, G. Marshall Lyon, Moses B.F. Massaquoi, Thomas A. Massaquoi, Aneesh K. Mehta, Vital Mondonge Makuma, Srinivas Murthy, Tonny Seikikongo Musoke, Jean-Jacques Muyembe-Tamfum, Phiona Nakyeyune, Carolina Nanclares, Miriam Nanyunja, Justus Nsio-Mbeta, Tim O'Dempsey, Janusz T. Pawęska, Clarence J. Peters, Peter Piot, Christophe Rapp, Bertrand Renaud, Bruce Ribner, Pardis C. Sabeti, John S. Schieffelin, Werner Slenczka, Moses J. Soka, Armand Sprecher, James Strong, Robert Swanepoel, Timothy M. Uyeki, Michel Van Herp, Pauline Vetter, David A. Wohl, Timo Wolf, Anja Wolz, Alie H. Wurie, Zabulon Yoti

Journal Articles: Epidemiology

The recent large outbreak of Ebola virus disease (EVD) in Western Africa resulted in greatly increased accumulation of human genotypic, phenotypic and clinical data, and improved our understanding of the spectrum of clinical manifestations. As a result, the WHO disease classification of EVD underwent major revision.

De Novo Assembly Of The Brugia Malayi Genome Using Long Reads From A Single Minion Flowcell, Joseph R. Fauver, John Martin, Gary J. Weil, Makedonka Mitreva, Peter U. Fischer

Journal Articles: Epidemiology

Filarial nematode infections cause a substantial global disease burden. Genomic studies of filarial worms can improve our understanding of their biology and epidemiology. However, genomic information from field isolates is limited and available reference genomes are often discontinuous. Single molecule sequencing technologies can reduce the cost of genome sequencing and long reads produced from these devices can improve the contiguity and completeness of genome assemblies. In addition, these new technologies can make generation and analysis of large numbers of field isolates feasible. In this study, we assessed the performance of the Oxford Nanopore Technologies MinION for sequencing and assembling the …

Fraud Detection Protocol For Web-Based Research Among Men Who Have Sex With Men: Development And Descriptive Evaluation, April M. Ballard, Trey Cardwell, April M. Young

Epidemiology and Environmental Health Faculty Publications

Background: Internet is becoming an increasingly common tool for survey research, particularly among “hidden” or vulnerable populations, such as men who have sex with men (MSM). Web-based research has many advantages for participants and researchers, but fraud can present a significant threat to data integrity.

Objective: The purpose of this analysis was to evaluate fraud detection strategies in a Web-based survey of young MSM and describe new protocols to improve fraud detection in Web-based survey research.

Methods: This study involved a cross-sectional Web-based survey that examined individual- and network-level risk factors for HIV transmission and substance use among young MSM …

Individual- And County-Level Determinants Of High Breast Cancer Incidence Rates, Mario Schootman, Kendra Ratnapradipa, Travis Loux, Allese Mcvay, L. Joseph Su, Erik Nelson, Susan Kadlubar

Journal Articles: Epidemiology

Background: Age-adjusted breast cancer rates vary across and within states. However, most statistical models inherently identify either individual- or area-level determinants to explain geographic disparities in breast cancer rates and ignore the effects of the other level of determinants. We present a micro-macro modelling approach that incorporates both levels of determinants to better explain this variability and to discover opportunities to reduce breast cancer rates.

Methods: Individual-level data about breast cancer risk factors from eligible Arkansas Rural Community Health (ARCH) study participants (n=13,554) was supplemented with publicly available county-level data using a novel micro-macro statistical approach. This model uses individual-level …

Improving Behavioral Health Workforce Supply And Needs Estimates Using Active Surveillance Data, Shinobu Watanabe-Galloway, Li-Wu Chen, Kate Trout, David Palm, Marlene Deras, Zaeema Naveed

Journal Articles: Epidemiology

INTRODUCTION: Previous studies show that supply of behavioral health professionals in rural areas is inadequate to meet the need. Measuring shortage using licensure data on psychiatrists is a common approach. Although inexpensive, the licensure data have many limitations. An alternative is to implement an active surveillance system, which uses licensure data in addition to active data collection to obtain timely and detailed information.

METHODS: Nebraska Health Professions Tracking Service (HPTS) data were used to examine differences in workforce supply estimates between the passive (licensure data only) and active (HPTS data) surveillance systems. The impact of these differences on the designation …

Effects Of Maternal Obesity On Preterm Birth And Birthweight, La Tosha Headley

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Obesity is one of the major risk factors for neonate low birthweight among reproductive women. The purpose of this quantitative study was to examine the association between 3 categories of obese status (moderate, severe, and very severe) and low neonate birthweight and preterm birth among women ages 18 to 39 years at all socioeconomic levels. Secondary data were obtained from 141,859 women ages 18-39 years living in the United States who had participated in the 2012-2015 Pregnancy Risk Assessment Monitoring System. Social-ecological theory was used to guide the study, and binary logistic regression was used for the analyses adjusting for …

A Conflictive Triuvirate Consruct Of Epidemiologic Systems Failure, Ngozi Lois Ulinwa

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Epidemiologic systems failure (ESF) is a major hurdle in minimizing the spread of infectious diseases during outbreaks. The reasons for ESF include the technical limitation of personnel handling epidemic crises, strictly defined health policies that limit the actions of epidemiologists, and personal perspective's reservations towards the intentions of health agencies. The purpose of this triumvirate mixed-methods case study was to examine factors of infectious disease control mechanisms useful for determining ESF. Three juxtaposed pre-emptive factors (technical [T], organizational [O], and personal [P] perspectives were used to determine how the multiple perspectives inquiring systems and fuzzy logic revealed factors causing ESF …

Health Awareness On High Blood Pressure, High Cholesterol, And Risk For Cardiovascular Disease, Innocent Bibi

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is responsible for 25% of the annual deaths in the United States and represents a major public health burden, as patients often require screening and lifestyle changes related to multiple risk factors such as high blood pressure and high cholesterol. The purpose of this quantitative correlational study was to determine if there was a statistically significant association between high blood pressure and high cholesterol awareness (prevention and management) and cardiovascular health outcomes (angina pectoris, coronary heart disease, and heart attack). The theoretical framework that guided this study was the health belief model. Data from adults over the …

Factors That Influence The Prevalence Of Type 2 Diabetes Among Aboriginals In Canada, Olayinka Awoyemi

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The focus of this study was on potential social determinants of health factors that influence the prevalence of type 2 diabetes in the general population of Canada, with emphasis on the disproportion in rates of the disease between Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal populations of Canada. This study also examined the risk factors that are peculiar to the general, Aboriginal, and non-Aboriginal population of Canada. A total number of 101,080 individuals who were 18 years and above provided data for this study. The data and information obtained from these participants were used to answer the major research questions regarding if there was …

Analysis Of Control Measures Used During Cholera Outbreaks Among Internally Displaced Persons, Nicole Devine Carneal-Frazer

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Cholera remains a major public health problem affecting high-risk populations such as camps of internally displaced persons. During a cholera outbreak, it is essential to reduce transmission and minimize new infections. The Miasma theory, host-agent-environment model and Ecosocial theory were utilized for this study. This study was a retrospective comparison to determine whether historical cholera control measures are effective during current cholera outbreaks within camps of internally displaced persons. A quantitative approach ascertained changes in incidence and mortality rates following implementation of primary and/or secondary control measures. Cholera outbreaks were identified from the World Health Organization's (WHO) Disease Outbreak News …

Impact Of Social Influence On Willingness To Participate In Clinical Trials Among African Americans, Chika Okere

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Global rate of participation in clinical trials is especially low among African Americans in the United States due to social factors identified by research, which adversely impact this group's willingness to participate in clinical trials. The purpose of this cross-sectional quantitative study was to evaluate the role of social influence in the decision-making patterns of African Americans as it relates to clinical trial participation. The theory of planned behavior was used as the theoretical framework to understand an individual's interaction with social factors and how it affects their willingness to participate in clinical trials. The participants in the study were …

Living Arrangements, Referral Source And Young Adult Admissions To Drug Treatment, Daniel Samaila

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Abuse of painkiller drugs and non-medical use of drugs among young adults continues to be a public health crisis in the United States. Living arrangements and source of treatment referral were considered as the social context that could contribute to increased admissions to treatment for drug abuse. The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between, independent living arrangement, the principal source of referral, and abuse of opioid, heroin, and cocaine. Steered by the conceptual framework of the biopsychosocial model, this study used the data from the 2015 Treatment Episode Data Set: Admissions managed by the Substance Abuse …

The Influence Of Food Choices, Eating Habits, And Body Image Of African American Mothers On Childhood Obesity, Debrua Perniece Coleman

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The food decisions, dietary patterns, physical activity, and weight-related convictions of African American mothers are affected by their self-perceptions and views of body weight. The gap in the literature regarding the impact of these perceptions on children's food choices, eating habits, and body image is significant. Using the health belief model as the theoretical foundation and a cross-sectional survey as the research design, this study assessed the potential relationship between mothers' and children's eating habits and whether mothers' perceptions of their children's body image were reliable indicators of childhood obesity. Eighty-six mothers provided demographic information and completed the Child Feeding …