Health Psychology Commons^™

Epidemiological Evaluation Of The National Sickle Cell Screening Program In The Republic Of Uganda, Arielle G. Hernandez

Dissertations and Theses (Open Access)

Sickle cell anemia contributes substantially to childhood morbidity and mortality in sub-Saharan Africa, where there are scarce health resources and inadequate awareness among healthcare providers and the community. Without early diagnosis and initiation of preventive treatments, most infants will die of acute complications before their fifth birthday. Information on the mortality associated with sickle cell anemia is excluded from global statistical summaries due to the lack of accurate data, making sickle cell anemia an invisible killer of children on the African continent. Information from long-term large-scale sickle cell screening efforts is not yet available in Africa; therefore, a mixed-methods study …

The Associations Between Fat And Clinical Outcomes Among Lung Cancer Patients: Dietary Intake And Genetic Determinants, Fang Yu Lin

Dissertations and Theses (Open Access)

Higher dietary fat intake and alterations in fatty acid metabolism may affect cancer development and progression. This dissertation conducted a series of studies examining whether dietary fat intake and genetic variants in fatty acid metabolism genes have an impact on clinical outcomes among non-Hispanic whites newly diagnosed with non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). First, a cohort of 2,262 NSCLC patients was prospectively examined for intakes of total, saturated, monounsaturated, and polyunsaturated fat in relation to overall survival and recurrence. Dietary fat intake at diagnosis was assessed with a previously validated food frequency questionnaire and categorized by Dietary Reference Intakes. Multivariable …

External Environmental Dimensions And Financial Performance Of Major Teaching Hospitals In The U.S, Karima Lalani

Dissertations and Theses (Open Access)

Background: Teaching hospitals have a unique mission to not only deliver graduate medical education, but to also provide both inpatient and ambulatory care, and to conduct clinical and medical research; therefore, they are under constant financial pressure, and it is important to find out what types of external environmental components affect their financial performance. No recent studies have been comprehensively conducted for all major teaching hospitals in the U.S. to examine if there is an association between the external environmental dimensions based upon Resource Dependence Theory (Munificence, Uncertainty, Complexity) and the short-term financial performance, measured by days cash on hand …

Access To Antibiotics Without Prescription For Travelers And Colombian Citizens At Community Pharmacies In Bogota, Colombia, Marie Kasbaum

Dissertations and Theses (Open Access)

The misuse of antibiotics has been shown to exacerbate the global antibiotic resistance crisis, which could have major consequences on public health worldwide (Auta et al., 2018). In Bogotá, Colombia, the non-prescription sale of antibiotics still occurs in pharmacies despite national regulations requiring a prescription from a physician or health agency before dispensing antibiotics to a patient (Vacca et al., 2011). The purpose of this study was to investigate the non-prescription sale of antibiotics in community pharmacies to foreign travelers and Colombian citizens in Bogotá, Colombia. Trained Simulated Clients (SCs) gathered experimental data in pharmacies distributed throughout 20 geographic districts …

Examining Differences In Physical Activity By Socio-Demographics, Employment, And Social Support Among U.S. Adolescents, Ashleigh Marie Johnson

Dissertations and Theses (Open Access)

The overall decline in physical activity levels during adolescence supports the examination of intrapersonal-, interpersonal-, and behavior-level factors that may influence physical activity behavior among this population. The three papers within this dissertation aimed to examine associations of socio-demographics and socio-environmental factors with physical activity among U.S. adolescents. Papers 1 and 3 used data from the Family Life, Activity, Sun, Health, and Eating (FLASHE) Study. Paper 1 examined differences in adolescent physical activity by gender and race/ethnicity, and examined modification by grade and socioeconomic status (SES). Paper 3 examined the association of parent- and adolescent-reported parental social support with adolescent …

Nonlinear Functional Models On Causal Inference, Rong Jiao

Dissertations and Theses (Open Access)

Statistical analysis has experienced significant progress on association study, but it remains elusive to understand the etiology and mechanism of complex phenotypes. As a major analytical platform, association analysis may hamper the theoretic development of biomedical science and its application. Thus, many researchers suggest making the transition from association to causation. The mainstream of research in genetics and epigenetics data analysis focuses on statistical association or exploring statistical dependence between variables. Despite significant progress in dissecting the genetic architecture of complex diseases by genome-wide association studies (GWAS), the signals identified by association analysis can only explain a small proportion of …

Understanding The Relatlonships Between Survivorship Care Plans And Survivor Level Outcomes Among Breast And Colorectal Cancer Survivors, Jessica Danielle Austin

Dissertations and Theses (Open Access)

PURPOSE: Cancer survivors have complex journeys following the completion of active treatment. The Institute of Medicine and other high-profile organizations have recommended and mandated the use of a survivorship care plan (SCP) despite mixed evidence supporting the impact of SCPs on key survivor-level outcomes. The purpose of this dissertation was to understand the complex relationship linking the delivery of SCPs and to relevant survivorlevel outcomes. STUDY GROUP: This dissertation focuses on breast and colorectal cancer survivors because they comprise nearly 30% of the entire cancer survivor population in the US and are the two most prevalent cancers in men and …

Dispositional Gratitude Moderates The Association Between Socioeconomic Status And Interleukin-6, Andree Hartanto, Sean T. H. Lee, Jose C. Yong

Research Collection School of Social Sciences

Socioeconomic disparities in health are prevalent and growing in importance as a concern among academics, policymakers, and the general public. However, psychological resources that can narrow such disparities have not been well-examined. The current study examined the moderating role of dispositional gratitude in the relationship between socioeconomic status (SES) and inflammation risk as an index of health. Participants consisted of 1,054 midlife adults from the biomarker project of the Midlife in the United States. Infammation risk was measured by interleukin-6 biomarker and SES was operationalized by education attainment and income. We found that dispositional gratitude signifcantly moderated the relationships between …

Help-Seeking For Cognitive Impairment By The Patient : The Role Of Self-Compassion., Allison J. Midden

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Older adults represent one of the fastest growing population groups with estimates predicting global growth from 617 million in 2015 to 1.6 billion in 2050. As the aged population increases, incidence of Alzheimer’s disease (AD) and other dementias will also increase. Professionals agree that early intervention is essential for therapeutic and quality of life purposes. However, many older adults wait several months or years to seek medical help after first noticing signs of cognitive impairment. The present study seeks to identify the predictors of help-seeking for cognitive impairment by an individual for him/herself and the role that self-compassion may play …

Childhood Abuse, Religiosity, And Opioid Use: Findings From The National Epidemiologic Survey On Alcohol And Related Conditions Data, James E. Lewis

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Religiosity is adopting a belief system surrounding concepts of purpose, meaning, and value through an institution that has already defined these concepts prior to the individual member attending and that member’s degree of participation. Religiosity does have protective factors against negative health outcomes. This protective influence was evaluated in this study. Data from Wave 2 of the National Epidemiologic Survey on Alcohol and Related Conditions were examined to learn about the relationship between protective effects of religious participation on substance abuse, and whether this association weakened for individuals who have experienced higher levels of childhood abuse. A binary logistic regression …

We All Need Somebody To Lean On: Social Support As A Protective Factor For Individuals With Childhood Adversity, Rachel Clingensmith

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Extensive research has shown that childhood adversity impacts development across the lifespan and has been linked to numerous negative health outcomes. Depression symptoms are one such outcome that has been associated with ACE exposure. The literature also indicates emotion regulation may be a mediator between ACEs and depression outcomes. The primary aim of this study (N = 766) is to investigate pathways leading from ACEs to depression and potential protective factors. It was hypothesized that difficulties in emotion regulation would mediate the link between ACEs and later depressive symptoms, social support would moderate the pathway between difficulties in emotion regulation …

Are There Shared Neural Correlates Between Dyslexia And Adhd? A Meta-Analysis Of Voxel-Based Morphometry Studies, Lauren M. Mcgrath, Catherine J. Stoodley

Psychology: Faculty Scholarship

Background

Dyslexia and Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) are highly comorbid neurodevelopmental disorders (estimates of 25–40% bidirectional comorbidity). Previous work has identified strong genetic and cognitive overlap between the disorders, but neural overlap is relatively unexplored. This study is a systematic meta-analysis of existing voxel-based morphometry studies to determine whether there is any overlap in the gray matter correlates of both disorders.

Methods

We conducted anatomic likelihood estimate (ALE) meta-analyses of voxel-based morphometry studies in which individuals with dyslexia (15 studies; 417 cases, 416 controls) or ADHD (22 studies; 898 cases, 763 controls) were compared to typically developing controls. We generated ALE …

Use Of The Montreal Cognitive Assessment (Moca) In A Rural Outreach Program For Military Veterans, Michelle M. Hilgeman, Eugenia M. Boozer, A. Lynn Snow, Rebecca S. Allen, Lori L. Davis

Journal of Rural Social Sciences

The Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA) is a free, easily accessible screener ideal for rural areas where resources are limited. We examined administration and scoring by Veteran Community Outreach Health Workers (VCOHWs); compared positive screening rates using two cutoff scores; and examined predictors of education-adjusted scores in N = 168 rural military Veterans from the Alabama Veteran Rural Health Initiative. Accuracy of administration (95 percent) and scoring (68 percent) was calculated and recommendations are offered. Higher than expected rates of positive screens were observed (40 percent using 24/30 cutoff) in this relatively young (M = 55 years) community-dwelling sample. Age, education, …

Challenge, Hindrance, And Threat Stressors: A Within- And Between-Persons Examination Of General And Specific Stressor Appraisal Tendencies And A Priori Categorizations, Lisa Brady, Christopher J. L. Cunningham

Industrial and Organizational Psychology Translational Research and Working Papers

Within the occupational stress literature, researchers have often identified stressors as being inherently challenging or hindering, based on previous classifications or on the outcomes usually associated with each. Although the challenge-hindrance model is based on the transactional theory of stress (Lazarus & Folkman, 1984), which emphasizes the importance of an individual’s cognitive appraisal of stimuli, much of the research on this framework has failed to measure an individual’s direct appraisal of stimuli in the environment as challenging, hindering, and threatening, which can be problematic when attempting to understand and predict occupational stress. In the present study we identify and share …

Explaining Illness With Evil: Pathogen Prevalence Fosters Moral Vitalism, Bastian Brock, Christin-Melanie Vauclair, Steve Loughnan, Paul Bain, Ashwini Ashokkumar, Maja Becker, Michal Bilewicz, Emma Collier-Baker, Carla Crespo, Paul W. Eastwick, Ronald Fischer, Jennifer Tong, Jennifer Tong

Research Collection School of Social Sciences

Pathogens represent a significant threat to human health leading to the emergence of strategies designed to help manage their negative impact. We examined how spiritual beliefs developed to explain and predict the devastating effects of pathogens and spread of infectious disease. Analysis of existing data in studies 1 and 2 suggests that moral vitalism (beliefs about spiritual forces of evil) is higher in geographical regions characterized by historical higher levels of pathogens. Furthermore, drawing on a sample of 3140 participants from 28 countries in study 3, we found that historical higher levels of pathogens were associated with stronger endorsement of …

Consequences Of Self-Interested Behavior: Pedagogical Questions And Dilemmas Relating To Cases Of A Closed Adoption And A Regional Landfill Proposal, J Forbes Farmer

Journal of Human Services: Training, Research, and Practice

Abstract

The motive of self-interest is the driving factor behind many situations faced by those who have chosen the human services profession. In this article, the author provides two of his own fact-based human service cases (one involving case work and the psychological needs related to a closed adoption and one about community organization and advocacy related to a proposed regional landfill) that can be studied and debated in social work classes. The cases reflect the double identity of contemporary social work. The questions after each case require the students to reflect on and talk about the ramifications of self-interested …

In The Zone And Off The Screen: Optimizing Free Time Through Flow Experiences, Landon Toth

Intuition: The BYU Undergraduate Journal of Psychology

No abstract provided.

Personality And Coping, Alyssa Seely

Intuition: The BYU Undergraduate Journal of Psychology

No abstract provided.

Investigating Stress Fasting And Possible Organizational Interventions, Andrea Meggison, Xaymara Gonzalez-Adams, Jeeun Yi

River Cities Industrial and Organizational Psychology Conference

This project will have two studies: Study 1 aims to examine the relationship between perceived stress and stress fasting, while Study 2 examines how employees who engage in stress fasting react to various organizational interventions. Occupational Health Psychology research has largely focused on the obesity epidemic in the U.S., which includes stress eating and applicable organizational interventions. Little research has been done on individuals who are more likely to participate in stress fasting, which may have equally detrimental health and organizational outcomes. Stress fasting is a detrimental reduction in calories and nutrition consumed, during times of real or perceived stress. …

What Do We Know About The Health Of First-Generation College Students? A First Look At Compensatory Health Beliefs And Behavior, Kristel M. Gallagher

Perspectives In Learning

First-generation college students are less likely than continuing-generation students to reach graduation. Many colleges are working to bridge this divide, however little is known about the physical health of first-generation students. As physical health is associated with academic success, it is important to understand the beliefs and behaviors underpinning the physical health of first-generation college students. The present study examined the relationship between a specific type of unhealthy belief, compensatory health beliefs (CHBs), and the health behaviors of college students, with a focus on eating practices. Participants were first- and continuing-generation students attending a liberal arts institution who completed an …