Health Policy Commons^™

The Global Impact Of The Covid-19 Pandemic On Women’S Careers, Allison Bach

School of Professional Studies

This paper explores the impact that the COVID-19 pandemic has had on women’s careers on a global scale in the past year. It begins by focusing on the many pre-existing barriers that existed in realizing gender equality in the workplace prior to the pandemic, such as inadequate access to proper childcare, uneven participation in household labor between the genders, and pay inequality. The paper then continues to examine the impact that the pandemic has had on women’s careers across a variety of industries, countries, and specific groups. It was hypothesized that the COVID-19 crisis had created worse effects for women’s …

Title Ix: Perceptions And Utilization On U.S. College Campuses, Emma Narkewicz

School of Professional Studies

The research study investigated student perceptions and utilization of Title IX services on U.S. university and college campuses, testing the hypothesis that if students hold negative perceptions of Title IX offices, then they will not report campus sexual violence they experience to Title IX offices. There are currently high rates of sexual violence on college campuses but very low rates of reporting. Current or former U.S. college students aged 18-30 (N = 47) completed a mixed methods anonymous survey composed of Likert scale and open response questions. Participants were asked about prior interactions with Title IX offices and their perceptions …

Bail Discrimination: Racial Disparities In The United States Bail Determination Process, Collin Porter

School of Professional Studies

Nationwide, there is a systemic problem with bail determination: the process that a citizen goes through after they are arrested and before they go to trial to determine guilt or innocence for the crime they have been accused of committing. The United States leads all other countries with approximately half a million individuals detained before trial each year, a number nearly double the next highest country (China) (Nejdl, 2017). The high rate of pre-trial detention in the United States is due to both widespread use of monetary bail and the limited financial resources of most defendants; specifically, African American men. …

A Comprehensive Analysis Of Food Insecurity And Solutions In Worcester, Massachusetts, David Sullivan

School of Professional Studies

Worcester, Massachusetts is a postindustrial city with high levels of potential that faces the persistent obstacle of food insecurity for its low-income and ethnic minority communities. This research thesis examines food insecurity in general and explores data and trends in Worcester, then combines this with conceptual frameworks which explain how socioeconomic factors play into food security. It also explains the systemic inequalities present as a result of food insecurity and critiques academic assumptions surrounding food insecurity. One of these assumptions is that food deserts on their own can explain food insecurity in Worcester and elsewhere, though it has been found …

Happening In Plain Sight: An Evaluation Of Sexual Harassment In Municipal Government Through A Case Study Of Newark, New Jersey, Hoween R. A. Flexer, Caitlin R. Louie

School of Professional Studies

In the city of Newark, New Jersey, Sebrevious Scott, a participant in the New Jersey Reentry program was hired as part-time office assistant in the city's re-entry office. After being transferred to the city’s Parks and Grounds Departments, she started being sexually harassed, inappropriately touched and propositioned by her supervisor, Richard Kirkland. Scott made repeated attempts to report these actions through the appropriate channels. She was met with dismissal, resistance, and later retaliation. While working in this hostile environment she was also pursuing a full-time employment opportunity with the city upon the completion of the reentry program. Unfortunately, this never …

Understanding Modern History Of International Food Law Is Key To Building A More Resilient And Improved Global Food System, Michael T. Roberts

Journal of Food Law & Policy

This article advocates the need for a history of the development of modern international food law and suggests an analytical approach to complement the chronicling of events. Comprehension of this history will help elucidate the evolution of a complicated modern global food system, including its resiliency and vulnerability as demonstrated by Covid-19, thereby providing valuable context for change in the system where needed. This essay makes the case for such a history in three parts. First, it briefly demonstrates the need for a historical perspective through a critical examination of a journal article that speaks to Covid-19 food security in …

Uri And Its Students: A Contract For The Provision Of A Safe Environment, Danielle Joan Beatrice

Senior Honors Projects

DANIELLE BEATRICE (English; Philosophy; Business) URI and Its Students: A Contract for the Provision of a Safe Environment

Sponsor: Judith Swift (Communication Studies, Coastal Institute)

When students begin to attend college, they expect to be consumed with busy schedules, heavy workloads, and an exciting social life. Students do not anticipate being in dangerous situations. However, this does not mean that such situations do not occur. Therefore, it is essential to teach students to be active participants in educating themselves and their peers regarding prevention and response to emergency situations. My Honors Project aims to increase the awareness of safety-related issues …

Mental Illness Economics In The United States: A Comparison With Foreign Countries, Christopher Odum

Economics Undergraduate Honors Theses

In 2018, suicide was the tenth leading cause of death in the United States, claiming the lives of over forty-eight thousand people.1 Globally, eight-hundred thousand people die from suicide every year, which is twice the number from homicide.2 For years, there has been a stigma around mental illness causing it to be a taboo topic, but recently there has been more of a focus and acceptance in our society. Along with the stigma, throughout most of history there has not been a focus on innovating and curing mental health diseases. In many cases, these diseases left unchecked lead to irrational …

A Comparative Study Of Recovery Ecosystems For Opioid Use Disorder In Portugal And Appalachia, Jonathan David Mullins

Undergraduate Honors Theses

A comparison of the structure and effectiveness of recovery ecosystems for opioid use disorder in Portugal and Appalachia, with a focus on identifying areas for improvement within the Appalachian region.

Factors Associated With Health Coverage Gaps And Cost Barriers To Health Services In U.S. Adults Before And After The Aca, Danielle Kilchenstein

Loma Linda University Electronic Theses, Dissertations & Projects

Background

Health law known as the Affordable Care Act (ACA) was passed in 2010 and implemented in 2014 in the U.S. It was intended to reduce cost burdens to health coverage and care.

Purpose

Self-reported health coverage gaps and cost barriers to physical, mental, dental care, and prescription medications of U.S adults before and after the implementation of the ACA in 2014 were examined to determine impacts of health reform on marginalized populations.

Methodology

Cross-sectional secondary data analysis was conducted using National Health Interview Survey Data from the Integrated Public Use Microdata Set (2010-2017). The 140,341 surveys represented an average …

Contextualizing The Health Of U.S. Farmworkers, Gabrielle Hyde

Undergraduate Theses, Capstones, and Recitals

Farmworkers often exist in vulnerable social and occupational positions that make accessing health care a challenge. This literature review seeks to outline the health of U.S. farmworkers in the context of these vulnerabilities through a review of the existing literature. It provides a short background to understand how we have become reliant on immigration to feed our nation and to give a snapshot of where these farmworkers come from and what their health concerns are. A key topic in this literature review is the social context of these health burdens including the attitudes of providers, farmworker’s perceptions of their own …

Increasing Mississippi’S Hpv Vaccination Rate: A Proposal Based On Providers’ Insights, Madison N. Thornton

Honors Theses

Despite high childhood vaccination rates for required vaccinations for kindergarten, including the MMR vaccine, Mississippi has the lowest HPV vaccination rate in the nation. This is so even though the HPV vaccine can prevent multiple cancers, including cervical cancer, of which Mississippi has the nation’s highest mortality rate. This study seeks to understand the factors surrounding Mississippi’s low HPV vaccination rate as well as potential policy solutions to increase this rate. To accomplish this, the author conducted interviews with 13 Mississippi physicians in various specialties to gather qualitative data. As a result of these interviews, the author found that the …

Marketing To Food Insecure College Students: An Investigation Into The University Of Mississippi’S Food Pantry, Dandridge Parks

Honors Theses

College students are documented to suffer food insecurity at a high rate, and student-run food pantries have aimed to alleviate some of this burden. However, these pantries operate inefficiently and struggle to adequately meet student needs. In particular, many students are unaware of the pantry or have barriers to use. Research has found that only 14% of food insecure college students use their campus food pantries. The objective of the following work is to improve future marketing for campus run food pantries, with a specific focus on the University of Mississippi’s pantry.

In the last year, the University of Mississippi’s …

Mortalidad Por Accidente Cerebrovascular En Guatemala 2018: Patrones E Inequidades, Alejandro Cerón, Gila Goldstein

Anthropology: Faculty Scholarship

El presente estudio busca analizar la mortalidad por accidente cerebrovascular (ACV) en Guatemala con el propósito de identificar posibles criterios epidemiológicos que orienten la priorización de acciones de salud pública. El riesgo de morir de ACV en Guatemala muestra marcadas desigualdades por departamento, las que son aún más marcadas al comparar por municipio. El riesgo de morir es también más alto en personas mestizas o ladinas, en niveles educativos bajos, y en personas que se dedican a ocupaciones elementales. Deberían implementarse medidas de salud pública orientadas a los municipios y grupos en mayor riesgo de morir de ACV. Este estudio …

Testing Of Patients First In A Real-World Setting, As A Patient Experience Accreditation Tool For Hospitals And Clinics, Carlos Bezos, Rosa M. Salazar, María Caballero

Patient Experience Journal

Many healthcare providers are developing patient experience strategies and investing in this area. Yet, patients have no means to know if a hospital is following proper patient experience standards. For this reason, it is important to certify that hospitals and clinics follow own a patient experience policy and apply patient experience standards. This is the reason why the accreditation Patients First was developed. The goal of this study is to test the accreditations’ feasibility in a real-life environment. The accreditation was tested at the Guadarrama Hospital, nearby Madrid in Spain. A mixed team between Guadarrama staff and the Institute for …

Patient And Provider Perspectives Regarding Criteria For Patient Prioritization In Two Specialized Rehabilitation Programs, Julien Déry, Angel Ruiz, François Routhier, Marie-Pierre Gagnon, André Côté, Daoud Ait-Kadi, Valérie Bélanger, Marie-Eve Lamontagne

Patient Experience Journal

To increase fairness and equity in access to rehabilitation services, a strategy emerging from the literature is patient prioritization. Selecting explicit prioritization criteria is a complex task because it is important to simultaneously consider the objectives of all stakeholders. The of this study was to compare service users’ and service providers’ perspectives regarding patient prioritization criteria in two rehabilitation programs. We conducted a multiple case study in two rehabilitation programs, i.e., a driving evaluation program and a compression garment manufacturing program. We sent a web-based survey asking two groups (patients and providers) to individually produce a set of criteria, then …

Exploring Mental Health Experience In Individuals Living With Temporomandibular Disorders, Wafaa Safour, Richard Hovey

Patient Experience Journal

Despite the evidence supporting deteriorating mental health because of temporomandibular disorders (TMDs) conditions, there is limited evidence of TMD patients' experience regarding how their mental health is affected by the disorders. As a sequence of these conditions, TMD patients suffer from physical and mental complications, not to mention the loss of food enjoyment. In this study, we aim to explore TMD patients' lived experiences who had changed their dietary habits concerning their mental health. Six participants were interviewed to answer open-ended questions during semi-structured interviews regarding their mental health experiences with TMD-related food routine changes. These interviews were held face-to-face …

Co-Production Of The Quality Of Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Partnerships Instrument For People With Mental Health Conditions, Karen L. Fortuna, Amanda Myers, Jessica Brooks, Caroline Collins-Pisano, Skyla Marceau, Sarah Pratt, Kathy Lyons, Robert Walker, Shavon Thompson, Kaycie Greene, Willie Pringle, Katina Carter

Patient Experience Journal

Mounting scientific evidence over the past decades in the field of psychiatry has shown community engagement in research produces more relevant research, increased uptake of research findings, and better clinical outcomes. Despite the need for the integration of community engagement methodologies into the scientific method, doctoral and master's level competencies in the field of psychiatry commonly do not include dedicated training or coursework on community engagement methodologies. Without appropriate training or research experience, attempts to facilitate community engagement are often ineffective and burdensome and leave stakeholders feeling disenfranchised. The goal of this study was to co-produce an instrument designed to …

The Experiences Of Rural British Columbians Accessing Surgical And Obstetrical Care, Aria Jazdarehee, Anshu Parajulee, Jude Kornelsen

Patient Experience Journal

The attrition of small volume surgical and maternity services in rural Canada over the past three decades has made access to these services especially challenging for rural citizens. While many of these closures have occurred as consequences of regionalization, a strategy to regionally centralize healthcare services, many studies investigating outcomes of regionalization have focused on costs and medical endpoints rather than the direct experiences of the rural patients affected. In this study, we aimed to understand and document the experiences of rural residents accessing procedural and maternity care both locally and away from home. This study is part of a …

Needle Phobia: How To Improve The Child's Experience During Blood Drawing, Maria D. Navarro, Helena Illera, Bonaventura Ruíz, Montserrat Naudó, Núria Serrallonga, Sonia Tordera, David Kornmehl, Lola Crevillén, Ana Bosque, David Nadal, Mercedes Jabalera

Patient Experience Journal

Pediatric diseases, pain and hospitalization have an important impact on children and their families. This is especially significant when considering common invasive procedures, such as blood drawing. The objectives of the study were to assess the experience of children and families during the blood drawing procedure and suggest methods for improvement. The study was conducted in a children’s hospital in Barcelona, Spain, between 2018 and 2020. A mix-method design or combination of qualitative and quantitative methodologies was developed. We carried out a search of the literature, a design thinking approach, and a survey. Results from the qualitative approach identified areas …