Public Health Education and Promotion Commons^™

Healthy Motivations For Moms-To-Be (Healthy Mom2b) Study: A Mobile Health Intervention Targeting Gestational Weight Gain Among U.S. Women, Alicia Anne Dahl

Theses and Dissertations

INTRODUCTION: Almost one-half of all pregnant women in the U.S. exceed the Institute of Medicine’s (IOM) gestational weight gain (GWG) guidelines. Healthy GWG is critical for reducing adverse health outcomes associated with excessive GWG for the mother and infant. Electronic health (e-health) interventions delivered through mobile apps and websites hold potential as readily available resources for targeting health behaviors and monitoring GWG during pregnancy. The development of the Healthy Motivations for Moms-To-Be (HM2B) intervention was informed by health behavior theories, a systematic review of existing in-person and technology mediated interventions (Aim 1 of this dissertation), and results of an online …

Investigating Drug-Related Violence In Indian Country: The Lumbee Tribe Of North Carolina, Asa Alena Revels

Theses and Dissertations

Drug-related violence (DRV) impacts the over-all wellbeing of communities, with disparate health outcomes observable in many poor, minority communities. The purpose of this study was to better understand the multi-level social and environmental factors influencing elevated rates and prevention of DRV within the Lumbee, a southeastern American Indian Tribe. This was accomplished via in-depth, one-on-one interviews with 37 Lumbee Tribal Members and Key Leaders. The findings align with existing research, revealing the influence of such factors as poor socioeconomic conditions, coping strategies, broken family structures, and the influence of federal policy. Of interest was the substantial influence of the local …

The Impact Of False Positive Mammography Results On Breast Cancer Screening Intention Among Black Women, Deeonna E. Farr

Theses and Dissertations

Extensive research indicates that false-positive mammograms (FPM) have been associated with negative psychosocial and cancer-related beliefs, but only a handful of studies examine Black women’s reactions to this experience. Additionally, these studies do not investigate how organizational and provider-level factors in concert with individual patient characteristics shape Black women’s experiences and reactions to FPM results. The purpose of this study was to determine the impact of organizational, provider, and individual-level factors on the processes and outcomes associated with FPM results in Black women. This study had two specific aims:

1) To describe, using a mixed methods approach, the organizational and …

Predictors Of Medical Students’ Attitudes Towards Abortion And Their Changes Overtime, Rebecca Elizabeth Morales

Sociology & Criminal Justice Theses & Dissertations

As new legislation is regularly being introduced to minimize Roe v. Wade’s protection of women’s right to choose in a medical setting, it is imperative to study what predictors may have an impact on abortion attitudes within the demographic of medical students, as well as how these predictors impact one’s willingness to provide the service in the future. The current study then, uses data collected in 2000 and 2015 from a medical school located in Virginia, and in collaboration with a research university in the state to examine what factors are associated with a willingness to provide an abortion, as …

The Hold Me Tight Program For Couples Becoming Parents: A Mixed Methods Study, Debbie Wang

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

ABSTRACT

Attachment theory has made substantial contributions to the understanding of close relationships. The purpose of this study was to inquire whether an attachment-informed psychoeducational program is a feasible and effective intervention for couples expecting their first child. The overarching question was: Is an attachment-informed relationship enhancement program, such as Hold Me Tight^® (HMT), helpful to couples in strengthening their relationship and increasing their confidence in becoming first-time parents? The research question was addressed using a mixed-methods approach.

In the first phase, the Hold Me Tight^® program developed by Dr. Sue Johnson was modified for use with couples …

Strategies To Address The Complex Challenge Of Improving Regional And Remote Children’S Fruit And Vegetable Consumption, Stephanie L. Godrich, Christina R. Davies, Jill Darby, Amanda Devine

Research outputs 2014 to 2021

Fruit and vegetables (F&V) are imperative for good health, yet less than one per cent of Australian children consume these food groups in sufficient quantities. As guided by Social Cognitive Theory (SCT), this paper aimed to: (i) understand key informant perspectives of the amount, types and quality of F&V consumed by rural and remote Western Australian (WA) children; and, (ii) determine strategies that could increase F&V consumption among rural and remote WA children. This qualitative study included 20 semi-structured interviews with health, school/youth and food supply workers, focusing on topics including: quantity and type of F&V consumed and strategies to …

Blood Pressure Self-Monitoring In Pregnancy: Examining Feasibility In A Prospective Cohort Study, Katherine L. Tucker, Kathryn S. Taylor, Carole Crawford, James A. Hodgkinson, Clare Bankhead, Tricia Carver, Elizabeth Ewers, Margaret Glogowska, Sheila M. Greenfield, Lucy Annang Ingram Phd, Lisa Hinton, Khalid S. Khan, Louise Locock, Lucy Mackillop, Christine Mccourt, Alexander M. Pirie, Richard Stevens, Richard J. Mcmanus

Faculty Publications

BACKGROUND: Raised blood pressure (BP) affects approximately 10% of pregnancies worldwide, and a high proportion of affected women develop pre-eclampsia. This study aimed to evaluate the feasibility of self-monitoring of BP in pregnancy in women at higher risk of pre-eclampsia. METHODS: This prospective cohort study of self-monitoring BP in pregnancy was carried out in two hospital trusts in Birmingham and Oxford and thirteen primary care practices in Oxfordshire. Eligible women were those defined by the UK National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) guidelines as at higher risk of pre-eclampsia. A total of 201 participants were recruited between 12 …

The Gift That Keeps One Living, Scott R. Axelrod

Capstones

This long-form narrative feature article reports on the shortage of living kidney donors and those in desperate need of kidney transplants. It features interviews with doctors, transplant coordinators, patients, living kidney donors, and kidney recipients. The story culminates with my own personal experience as a kidney donor to my late dad over a decade ago. The presentation includes an extensive photo component capturing characters and elements from the story through a series of detailed portraits, photo essays, and infographics.

https://saxelrod718.wixsite.com/livingkidneydonors

Acquisition Of Aquatic Motor Skills Through Children’S Motor Stories, Juan Antonio Moreno Murcia, Elisa Huescar Hernandez, Jose Antonio Richart Parra

International Journal of Aquatic Research and Education

An increasing interest in the renewal of traditional recreational content and the use of the aquatic environments as educational resources is supported by very few empirical, evidence-based studies that link the two. This quasi-experimental study analyzed the role of stories in influencing perceived motor competence and real motor skills in seventy-eight children ages between 4 and 5 years through the administration of two questionnaires on aquatic motor ability and aquatic motor competence. Differences were found in aquatic motor competence (p < .01) and aquatic motor ability (p < .05) for the experimental group, where higher means values were obtained after the intervention. We present this methodological proposal as a useful educational tool for early childhood stimulation with achievements that go beyond motor progress itself.

The Evaluation Of The Effectiveness Of Community-Based Mobile Meal Programs For Low-Income Families, Nicholas Vesom

Master's Projects and Capstones

Food disparity is a continuously prevalent issue in the United States despite the presence of programs, such as the Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) program and the National School Lunch Program (NSLP), to fill gaps in reaching those who are financially inhibited and do not have a sustainable source of nutritionally balanced food. A primary part of the issue that arises is that these types of programs have restrictions on age or only operate during the school year. To assess this issue, the Mountain View Whisman School District (MVWSD), in conjunction with the Stanford University Pediatrics Advocacy Program (SUPAP), initiated …

Mental Hell, Jesenia De Moya, Hanaa' Tameez, Maritza Villela

Capstones

Mental Hell explores how difficult it is for low-income Latinos in New York City to access mental health care. Through explanations from experts and the personal stories of three Latinas New Yorkers who have gone through the process of trying to get the care they need, the story guides the reader through the many roadblocks this demographic encounters specifically under the insurance of Medicaid.

This is an extremely important topic that affects many New Yorkers, and we believe something needs to be done to make this type of healthcare more accessible for Latinos. New York City has a very high …

A Roadmap For The Journey Home - A Supplemental Tool Guiding Patients From Hospital To Home, Michelle Basco

Master's Projects and Capstones

Centers for Medicare and Medicaid (CMS) have recognized readmission rates as a public health problem. CMS incentivizes hospitals to reduce readmission rates and reduce payments for hospitals with high readmission rates (Berry et al., 2013). Patient education and discharge planning are associated with decreased readmission rates. I gained fieldwork experience at Children’s Health System of Texas in Dallas. Children’s Health, a pediatric non-profit, is the 8th largest pediatric health care provider in the U.S. Prior to discharge patient education occurs on topics related to their diagnosis, plus patients are provided discharge instructions including their diagnosis, medications, and simple instructions for …

Public Health Perspectives On Sexual Health And Family Planning, Molly Mccarthy

Theses & Dissertations

Large bodies of evidence document the importance of sexual and reproductive health (SRH) in the lives of individuals and among populations. Of particular interest are sexually transmitted diseases (STDs), due to their potential for long-term health consequences, and unintended pregnancy because of its association with social and economic outcomes for women and families.

This dissertation addressed three distinct but related areas of reproductive health and family planning: counseling for condom use following an STD test, counseling for contraception following a pregnancy test in a clinical setting, and the effect of abortion on having and achieving long-term plans. These topics are …

Community Development Projects In Moldova, Berkend Pura

Capstone Collection

This Independent Practitioner Inquiry Capstone (IPIC) aims to provide relevant information, from a Peace Corps (PC) Volunteer (PCV) standpoint, on a renovation project that was implemented in the village of Vorniceni, Republic of Moldova. At its core, this was a community development project that involved the active participation of the community of Vorniceni, providing local resources and knowledge towards the goal of building a healthier sanitation facility on the second floor of the local kindergarten.

The results of this effort indicate that the involvement of the client (people) is crucial to sucess in implementing projects, and it also shows that …

Introduction Of Iodised Salt Benefits Infants’ Mental Development In A Community-Based Cluster-Randomised Effectiveness Trial In Ethiopia, Karim Bougma, Frances E. Aboud, Tizita M. Lemma, Edward A. Frongillo Jr., Grace S. Marquis

Faculty Publications

The effectiveness of salt iodisation in improving the mental development of young children has not been assessed. We implemented a community-based cluster-randomised effectiveness trial in sixty randomly selected districts in the Amhara region of Ethiopia. We randomly allocated each district to treatment and randomly selected one of its villages. In parallel to national salt iodisation efforts, iodised salt was brought early into the markets of the thirty intervention villages before it became widely available in the thirty control villages 4–6 months later. The primary outcome was children’s mental development scores on the Bayley Scales. This was an intention-to-treat analysis using …

Journal Conversations: Building The Research Self-Efficacy Of An Aboriginal Early Career Academic, Michelle L. Dickson

The Qualitative Report

This paper shows how I used my research journal mainly as a reflective tool throughout the process of applying for and completing a PhD. Embarking on a PhD can be daunting for anyone and I was challenged by my lack of academic self-efficacy. In the absence of a formal academic mentor my research journal became my confidante, a tool that helped me make progress at times when barriers to research seemed insurmountable. It helped me decrease the cognitive dissonance I was experiencing about issues of subjectivity/objectivity and the positioning of my self in the research. This paper shares research journal …

Evaluating Work Place Wellness In Greater Louisville's Technology Organizations : A Case Study., Andrew L. Mccart

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Employers in the Southern Indiana and Greater Louisville region are looking for strategies to help them become a healthier workplace. Many employers see the expense of paying for an unhealthy workforce and they are looking to limit these expenses. The purpose of the study is to determine the state of workplace wellness activities in organizations in Southern Indiana and Greater Louisville. Due to the poor health statuses of Indiana and Kentucky, 39th and 45th, respectively, this study is significant for a number of stakeholders in our area. The purpose of this case study was to understand the state of health …

Healthy Teeth: Building Dental Health Awareness Among Head Start Parents, Marisol Cruz

Capstone Projects and Master's Theses

In the U.S and state of California, tooth decay is the most common chronic disease and concerning health issue among children. The Head Start program in Monterey County serves about 1, 245 children annually from birth to five years of age. One requirement is that children obtain dental health checkups every six months, and receive dental treatment, if needed, as part of adhering to California's dental periodicity schedule. Over the past years, an increase of failed dental health assessments was observed among many children enrolled in the program. Obtaining and following through with treatment was an obstacle. The purpose of …

Healthy Lifestyle At Headstart In Monterey County, Leticia Manriquez

Capstone Projects and Master's Theses

In Monterey County, the rate of childhood obesity is too high among the Latino/Hispanic community. The Head Start program in Monterey County serves more than 1,245 children each year with the majority of them being Latino/Hispanic. The causes of childhood obesity are a lack of physical activities, cultural beliefs, and financial issues among families. It leads to serious health problems that impact children academically and psychologically. This capstone project is to increase knowledge and awareness on how to live a Healthy Lifestyle among Head Start parents so that they can apply that to their lives and their children. The project …

The Effects Of A Supermarket Tour On Improvement Of Nutrition Knowledge And Eating Behavior, Elizabeth Hall

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to determine if participation in a supermarket tour improves nutrition knowledge and eating behavior in adult participants. Participants were recruited in communities surrounding Food City stores, a local supermarket. Prior to completing a standardized tour, participants completed a survey to assess nutrition knowledge and eating behavior. This survey was given to participants again three months later. A program evaluation was given one time at the end of the tour. Data analysis revealed no significant findings, other than the behavior-based question: “How many meals or snacks on most days included vegetables”. Vegetable consumption appeared to …