Determining The Racial And Ethnic Differences In Neonatal Intensive Care Unit Admission Rates,
2020
UTHealth School of Public Health
Determining The Racial And Ethnic Differences In Neonatal Intensive Care Unit Admission Rates, Youngran Kim
Dissertations and Theses (Open Access)
Background: Recent trends show that the utilization of neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) has extended beyond severely ill infants and increased substantially across all birth weights. However, little is known about what drives the growth of NICU admission rates and whether these trends differ by race/ethnicity. Methods: The study used 2008-2018 Natality Files with restricted use of state and county-level information. Crude and risk-adjusted NICU admission rates, overall and stratified by birth weight group, were compared between black and white infants and between Hispanic and white infants. Kitagawa decomposition and Oaxaca-Blinder decomposition analyses were conducted for the temporal increase in …
Causal Analysis Theory And Application To Alzheimer’S Disease (Ad) And Heart Failure (Hf),
2020
UTHealth School of Public Health
Causal Analysis Theory And Application To Alzheimer’S Disease (Ad) And Heart Failure (Hf), Shudi Li
Dissertations and Theses (Open Access)
Alzheimer's disease (AD) and heart failure (HF) are two complex diseases that are caused by the combination of genetic and epigenetic, environmental and other lifestyle factors. Understanding the relationships between genetic and epigenetic variants and other factors of such complex diseases could assist researchers discover disease mechanisms and develop targeted therapies. Much of the research in genetics/epigenetics studies regarding AD and heart diseases have been focused on association analysis. Many researchers have identified genetic/epigenetics variants and phenotypes that are significantly associated with disease pathology. While most of these studies utilize association analysis as the analytical platform, the signals identified by …
Heat Stress Related Symptoms And Pulmonary Function In Oil Spill Response And Cleanup Workers Following The Deepwater Horizon Disaster,
2020
UTHealth School of Public Health
Heat Stress Related Symptoms And Pulmonary Function In Oil Spill Response And Cleanup Workers Following The Deepwater Horizon Disaster, Yiyou Li
Dissertations and Theses (Open Access)
The objective of this study was to estimate the relationship between heat stress and pulmonary function among OSRC workers following the Deepwater Horizon (DWH) disaster. Methods: Pulmonary function test results were analyzed from a cohort of oil spill response and cleanup workers 1-3 years following the DWH disaster (N=5,131). Proxies for heat stress was employed by using information on heat stress-related symptoms as well as a questionnaire on stopping work due to heat reported during a structured telephone enrollment questionnaire. Associations between heat stress proxies and lung function were estimated using multivariable linear models and binomial logistic regression models while …
Heat Stress Related Symptoms And Pulmonary Function In Oil Spill Response And Cleanup Workers Following The Deepwater Horizon Disaster,
2020
UTHealth School of Public Health
Heat Stress Related Symptoms And Pulmonary Function In Oil Spill Response And Cleanup Workers Following The Deepwater Horizon Disaster, Yiyao Li
Dissertations and Theses (Open Access)
Objective: The objective of this study was to estimate the relationship between heat stress and pulmonary function among OSRC workers following the Deepwater Horizon (DWH) disaster. Methods: Pulmonary function test results were analyzed from a cohort of oil spill response and cleanup workers 1-3 years following the DWH disaster (N=5,131). Proxies for heat stress was employed by using information on heat stress-related symptoms as well as a questionnaire on stopping work due to heat reported during a structured telephone enrollment questionnaire. Associations between heat stress proxies and lung function were estimated using multivariable linear models and binomial logistic regression models …
Area-Level Landfill Density And Asthma Prevalence In Urban Texas Areas,
2020
UTHealth School of Public Health
Area-Level Landfill Density And Asthma Prevalence In Urban Texas Areas, Jessica Meighan Herrin
Dissertations and Theses (Open Access)
Environmental exposures, especially air pollutants, pose a threat for an increase in asthma prevalence. In particular, hydrogen sulfide (H2S) gas can cause severe health effects closely resembling asthmatic symptoms. Ambient concentrations of H2S gas correlates with the amount of solid waste found in landfills. The potential for adverse health risks associated with H2S emitted from landfills is of concern for those populations living in close proximity to landfills. Asthma is one of the adverse health effects that can occur due to H2S exposure. However, there is a lack of detailed studies characterizing possible associations between the density of landfills and …
Impact Of Substance Use In Social Networks On Antiretroviral Therapy Adherence For Hiv-Positive Younger Men Who Have Sex With Men,
2020
UTHealth School of Public Health
Impact Of Substance Use In Social Networks On Antiretroviral Therapy Adherence For Hiv-Positive Younger Men Who Have Sex With Men, Natascha Del Vecchio
Dissertations and Theses (Open Access)
The community of young men who have sex with men (YMSM) has higher rates of substance use than the general population and the use of alcohol, cannabis, and illicit drugs has been shown to have a negative impact on the HIV care continuum. Our first aim was to understand the prevalence of substance use in the community through the use of self-reported, RDS-II, and RDS-SS estimates. We used multivariable logistic and negative binomial GEE with QIC selection to determine the factors important to having a prescription and staying adherent, respectively. Selected variables were included with a subset of substance use …
Effect Of The Expanded Prospective Payment System On Dialysis Initiation, The Usage Of Erythropoiesis-Stimulating Agents, And Medicare Expenditures,
2020
UTHealth School of Public Health
Effect Of The Expanded Prospective Payment System On Dialysis Initiation, The Usage Of Erythropoiesis-Stimulating Agents, And Medicare Expenditures, Lu Zhang
Dissertations and Theses (Open Access)
In January 2011, the U.S. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) implemented the expanded prospective payment system (PPS) for financing the management of end-stage renal disease (ESRD). Expanded PPS may not only change healthcare providers’ decisions about patient care by removing the financial incentives associated with the previous composite rate payment methodology, but also change the Medicare expenditures associated with various treatment patterns by using a constant base rate for all dialysis modalities. This study aimed to examine the effect of the expanded PPS on providers’ decisions on timing of dialysis initiation and ESA utilizations in ESRD patients as …
Hospital Market Analysis Using A Cohort Of Privately Insured Patients With Total Hip And Knee Replacement Procedures,
2020
UTHealth School of Public Health
Hospital Market Analysis Using A Cohort Of Privately Insured Patients With Total Hip And Knee Replacement Procedures, Elifnur Yay Donderici
Dissertations and Theses (Open Access)
Background: Several recent studies have analyzed the contribution of hospital inpatient prices and utilization to variation in medical spending. However, it is still unknown how the drivers of spending for specific procedures differ within privately insured patients. Next, the market concentration of hospitals has been a matter of concern for several decades. However, researchers usually calculate Herfindahl-Hirschman index (HHI) as a measure of market concentration or power, but there is a drawback of using this measure. Hospitals sell differentiated products, and the HHI measure does not take this differentiation into account in its formulation (Gaynor and Town, 2011). Objective: First …
The Multilevel Factors Facilitating Or Impeding Healthcare Access Among Refugees Residing In Bexar County Texas,
2020
UTHealth School of Public Health
The Multilevel Factors Facilitating Or Impeding Healthcare Access Among Refugees Residing In Bexar County Texas, Howaida Werfelli
Dissertations and Theses (Open Access)
The goal of this study was to increase understanding of healthcare access among refugees by investigating the multilevel factors that facilitate or impede healthcare access among refugees who have resettled in Bexar County, Texas. The multilevel factors facilitating or impeding access to healthcare for refugees resettled in Bexar County were identified as follows: health literacy, level of educational attainment, proficiency (reading, writing and, speaking) in English, proficiency (reading, writing and speaking) in native language, translation services, public transportation, income level, a shortage of healthcare providers, navigation of the healthcare system, the fragmentation of the healthcare system, insurance status, staff shortages …
Health Disparities Across Funcitonal Disability Groups,
2020
UTHealth School of Public Health
Health Disparities Across Funcitonal Disability Groups, Katherine Sanches
Dissertations and Theses (Open Access)
Background: People with disabilities experience higher rates of chronic disease and poor health status compared to those without disability. People with disabilities do not participate in community health programs to the same degree as those without disability due to social, programmatic, and environmental barriers. The Community Health Inclusion Index (CHII) is a community health assessment tool which evaluates the degree to which community-level health promoting opportunities to promote nutrition and physical activity are inclusive and accessible to people with disabilities. The CHII assess barriers to inclusion across five domains: build environment, equipment, program/services, staff, and policies. Objective: The purpose of …
Protecting Healthcare Workers From Violence,
2020
Abilene Christian University
Protecting Healthcare Workers From Violence, Terry L. Taylor
Electronic Theses and Dissertations
Growing violence in the community increases the risks of injuries to healthcare workers. This project assessed the levels of emotional exhaustion, depersonalization, and acknowledgment of professional accomplishments in healthcare workers in the community who were responsible for the care of confused and combative clients. The community healthcare workers were assessed using the Maslach Burnout Inventory-Human Services Survey-Medical Personnel. An intervention was then presented, which focused on self-awareness, including mood assessments, soothing rhythmic breathing, compassionate focused imagery, and the creation of a safe place to process criticism compassionately. The participants were resurveyed after 30 days by repeating the Maslach Burnout Inventory-Human …
Atitiudes Tow Ards Computer Games For Learning And Pl.A Yer Archetypes: An Exploration Of Measures On Preintervention Player Characteristics For Serious Game-Based Interventions,
2020
UTHealth School of Public Health
Atitiudes Tow Ards Computer Games For Learning And Pl.A Yer Archetypes: An Exploration Of Measures On Preintervention Player Characteristics For Serious Game-Based Interventions, Benjamin Lee
Dissertations and Theses (Open Access)
Serious game-based interventions offer promising health outcome results with the aid of pre-intervention player tailoring and the development of measurements that evaluate pre-intervention player characteristics and subgroups. Video gaming measures can potentially provide helpful tailoring information that discerns individual video gaming preferences which could influence their overall user experience. It is critical that measures that target adolescent video gaming be psychometrically validated. There is a gap in the literature with psychometrically validated measures evaluating adolescent attitudes towards computer games for learning and gaming archetypes. Therefore the aims of this dissertation were to 1) evaluate the psychometric properties (i.e., reliability and …
Epidemiology Of No -Syndromic, Orofacial Clefts In A RegistryBased, Birth-Cohort In Texas: Differences By Cleft Type And Presence Of Additional Defects,
2020
UTHealth School of Public Health
Epidemiology Of No -Syndromic, Orofacial Clefts In A RegistryBased, Birth-Cohort In Texas: Differences By Cleft Type And Presence Of Additional Defects, Maria Luisa Navarro Sanchez
Dissertations and Theses (Open Access)
Although orofacial clefts, which include cleft palate alone (CP) and cleft lip with or without cleft palate (CL±P), are among the most common birth defects, their etiology is complex and is generally not well understood. While some clefts are caused by rare syndromes, the majority occur in the absence of a syndrome, either in association with co-occurring defects or as isolated defects. Among these non-syndromic cases, epidemiologic studies have identified demographic variables that are associated with CP and/or CL±P, such as geographic location and infant sex, as well as several maternal characteristics, though some of these associations have been weak …
You Are Resilient: Trauma-Informed, Strengths-Based Treatment For Low-Ses, Urban Youth,
2020
National Louis University
You Are Resilient: Trauma-Informed, Strengths-Based Treatment For Low-Ses, Urban Youth, Courtney Molina
Dissertations
The focus in this review was to explore the benefits and optimal use of trauma-informed, strengths-based care for the therapeutic treatment of low-socioeconomic status (SES), urban youth. Specific focus was given to evidence-based research on the treatment of emotional and behavioral dysregulation among low-SES, urban youth. The review was guided by the following research questions: How can emotional and behavioral dysregulation be symptoms of trauma among low-SES, urban youth; What makes trauma-informed and strengths-based care optimal for the treatment of low-SES, urban youth with dysregulation; and What are clear guidelines for providing trauma-informed, strengths-based care to low-SES, urban youth with …
Migrant Dreams, Egyptian Workers In The Gulf States,
2020
The British University in Egypt (BUE)
Migrant Dreams, Egyptian Workers In The Gulf States, Rania M Rafik Khalil
English Language and Literature
Migrant Dreams is about the hopes and aspirations on which migrant workers thrive to achieve their goals. The first version of this book was published in 2017 in Arabic with the title Hatta yantahi al-naft (Until the End of Oil). Based on over a decade of fieldwork, observations and conversations, Samuli Schielke gives a detailed overview of the life of low-income Egyptian migrant laborers who relocated to the Arab Gulf States on temporary contracts, returned, then migrated again. The book focuses mostly on the story of Tawfik, an intelligent Egyptian young man from rural backgrounds who is compelled to achieve …
Teaching (And Learning) In The Time Of Coronavirus,
2020
Suffolk University
Teaching (And Learning) In The Time Of Coronavirus, Kathryn Kozak
Pedagogy and the Human Sciences
This paper includes reflection and suggestions for practice related to the hasty shift to virtual instruction prompted by the CoViD19 outbreak in the United States. The author uses their positioning as developmental psychology graduate student and lecturer to explore current challenges for students and educators. Suggestions include reflecting on one's own philosophy of pedagogy, and rooting educational practices in a commitment to humanity and justice.
Exclusionary Beliefs, Multicultural Ideology, Empathy, And Perceived Threat: A Comprehensive Model Of Anti-Immigrant Prejudice,
2020
University of Missouri-St. Louis
Exclusionary Beliefs, Multicultural Ideology, Empathy, And Perceived Threat: A Comprehensive Model Of Anti-Immigrant Prejudice, Reigna El-Yashruti
Dissertations
Despite the increased movement of people across national borders, anti-immigrant sentiment continues to pose challenges to immigrant mental health and disrupt intergroup relations. In the USA, where over 14% of the population is comprised of foreign-born individuals, immigrants continue to face prejudice from both the public and political administration. Intergroup Threat Theory (ITT) explains this prejudice as stemming from the perception that the out-group poses a threat to the cultural purity, economic stability, or physical safety of the in-group. Traits that promote group exclusion, such as perceived group superiority (i.e. Right-Wing Authoritarianism; RWA, Social Dominance Orientation; SDO, cultural dominance; CD) …
A Logistic Regression Analysis Of Life Satisfaction Amongst African Immigrants In Hamilton, Canada,
2020
University of Ghana
A Logistic Regression Analysis Of Life Satisfaction Amongst African Immigrants In Hamilton, Canada, Boadi Agyekum
Societies Without Borders
Many minority immigrants currently face severe human rights violation through discrimination and racism, influencing how they rate their life satisfaction in their host destinations. This paper examines the factors that affect African immigrants’ life satisfaction in a mid-sized Canadian city. Using a combination of descriptive and multivariate methods applied on a sample survey (n=236) conducted in Hamilton, Ontario, this article investigates socio-demographic and health-related factors that predict life satisfaction amongst African immigrants, specifically, Ghanaians and Somalis. Findings suggest that Ghanaian immigrants reported greater life satisfaction than their Somali counterparts. People with residency in Canada over 10 years are more likely …
Using Spatial Methods To Better Understand Food Insecurity And Snap Under-Participation In Texas,
2020
UTHealth School of Public Health
Using Spatial Methods To Better Understand Food Insecurity And Snap Under-Participation In Texas, Ryan Ramphul
Dissertations and Theses (Open Access)
The overall objective of this research is to use spatial methods to better understand food insecurity and SNAP under-participation in Texas. Paper 1 assesses whether a sample of community dwelling Medicare and Medicaid beneficiaries, who screen positive for food insecurity at healthcare locations in Harris County, exhibit a spatial pattern in terms of where they live. In other words, it tests whether or not there are statistically significant neighborhood hot spots or cold spots of food insecurity against a null hypothesis of complete spatial randomness. This approach is novel because it uses address-level data on patients who report being food …
Physician Burnout: Slowing The Burn Through Positive Deviance Strategies,
2020
UTHealth School of Public Health
Physician Burnout: Slowing The Burn Through Positive Deviance Strategies, Swapna Reddy
Dissertations and Theses (Open Access)
Introduction: Affecting 42% of physicians in the United States, “physician burnout” is considered a public health crisis with adverse impacts for personal providers, patients and organizations. Though much research has been devoted to the existence and causes of burnout, to date few studies have been conducted to identify factors associated with physician fulfillment. Aims: This dissertation research was intended to increase and improve knowledge of factors effective in contributing to physician professional fulfillment utilizing a Positive Deviance based approach. To that end, two studies were conducted: the first, a narrative review of the literature to identify specific correlates of physician …
