Community-Based Research Commons^™

2012, Camp Research Forum Book Of Abstracts, American Camp Association

ACA National Camp Research Forum Abstracts

No abstract provided.

Developing A Water Management Plan: Exploring Water Conservation Strategies On The Illinois Wesleyan Campus, Tim Griffin '13

Outstanding Senior Seminar Papers

The primary purpose of this research was to collect the information necessary to one day develop an environmentally sound and economically feasible water conservation management plan for the Illinois Wesleyan University campus. Freshwater resources are steadily being depleted due to pollution and climate change, while demand for potable water continues to rise alongside an exponentially growing global population. Due to this reason, water conservation is becoming an ever-important practice for municipalities, institutions, and even individuals in pursuit of maintaining a sustainable freshwater supply. Reducing demand upon the water supply of a community remains the best practice for maintaining sustainable freshwater …

Homelessness In Brattleboro: An Examination If A Poor Community In Brattleboro, Vt, What Services Are Available, And How The Community Could Benefit From Sustainable Development Practices., Emily Clever

Capstone Collection

Decades ago the Federal Government created a system of systems to assist in eradicating extreme poverty, however in 2011 the poverty rate was at its highest rate in almost two decades leaving millions of families and individuals searching for assistance. Given today’s statistics it should not come as a shock that more and more families and individuals have accessed the system and government spending has significantly increased. The deterioration of the safety net has left many lost, looking for answers and for change to happen.

This research study focused on a small community in Brattleboro, Vermont and asked: What are …

Selective Screening Of Type 2 Diabetes For Washoe County’S Hispanic Population, Linda M. Dunn

Nevada Journal of Public Health

Hispanic Americans with unrecognized, asymptomatic diabetes are more likely to experience poor quality of life and diabetic complications such as heart, eye and kidney disease than non-Hispanic whites of similar age. Multiple factors, such as cultural beliefs, lack of knowledge and limited access to health care, contribute to the fact that one-third of total diabetes among Hispanic Americans is undiagnosed. For Washoe County, Nevada, the actual percentage of adult Hispanics with diabetes may be almost 12%. In 2003, the Defeat Diabetes Screening Project provided three screenings targeting the Hispanic population in Reno and Sparks. Seventy-one percent of 348 screened were …

How We Want To Be Treated! What Clark County African American Patients Want Their Health Providers To Know, Charlene A. Day, Joyce Woodson, Erica Archuleta

Nevada Journal of Public Health

Research continues to validate the fact that cultural values and beliefs play a major role in determining the extent to which an individual will engage in healthy behaviors, adhere to medical regimen, and seek care when necessary. A 2000 survey of 950 members of predominately African American churches in Clark County, Nevada (a county which comprises Las Vegas) conducted by the University of Nevada Cooperative Extension found members preferred healthcare providers as a source of information on health-related matters. Yet, research shows that for a variety of reasons, many African Americans do not regularly see a health care professional, and …

Screening For Mental Health Problems Among Incarcerated Youth In Nevada: Practice And Policy, Michelle Chino, Jennifer Personius-Zipoy, Denise Tanata

Nevada Journal of Public Health

Incarcerated youth in Nevada with serious mental health problems are not being effectively identified. The current study examined the utility of simple screening instruments as a mechanism for identifying incarcerated youth who may have a mental health disorder. Adjudicated youth, incarcerated at each of Nevada’s 12 juvenile detention facilities, participated in the study by completing a demographic questionnaire and a standardized mental health screening instrument: the Massachusetts Youth Screening Instrument-Version 2 (MAYSI-2). Findings indicate a high prevalence of mental health disorders among incarcerated juveniles in Nevada. Identifying youth with mental health problems is complicated by the lack of a systematic …

Exercise Determined Promise 2003 Logandale, Nevada Plague Prophylaxis Clinic: Exercising The Strategic National Stockpile, Kay Godby, Mary Ellen Harrell, Bonnie Sorenson, Maureen Fanning, Nancy Gerken, Jane Shunney

Nevada Journal of Public Health

The Department of Defense asked the Clark County Health District (CCHD) to participate in the disaster drill entitled Determined Promise ’03 (DP ‘03) from August 18 -23, 2003. The purpose of this exercise was to test the capacities of the U.S. Northern Command (U.S.Northcom) Homeland defense/homeland security mission and integration of the Joint Task Forces-Civil Support (JTF-CS) with state and local responders. Part of the JTF-CS mission was to coordinate military support to civilian state and local authorities when it was requested.

Protecting Children From Overexposure To Lead In Candy And Protecting Children By Lowering The Blood Lead “Level Of Concern” Standard, Bryan Wagner, Colleen C. Hughes, Robert Sobsey

Nevada Journal of Public Health

The American Public Health Association: Recognizing that in April 2004, the Orange County Register in an investigative report, published for the first time information that the state of California had been testing for lead in candies for decades but had not informed the public about the high lead levels in many candies, candy wrappers and seasonings (sold as a snack item and consumed as candy) imported from Mexico, the Philippines and other countries.

Oral Health Needs And Parental Attitudes, Behavior, And Knowledge Of Lower Ses Children, Mildred Mcclain, Clifford R. Mcclain, Anthony Paventy

Nevada Journal of Public Health

Despite the declining prevalence of dental caries over recent decades, caries remain the most common chronic childhood disease, especially in high-risk (low socio-economic status) populations. This appears to be true even when parents are aware of good oral health habits. The purpose of this study was to gather oral hygiene data on high-risk children in Nevada and to assess parental attitudes and education concerning their children’s oral health. Using visual examinations and a dmft (decayed, missing, filled, teeth) severity index, 235 lower SES children were screened and given treatment recommendations. The screenings showed larger than expected prevalence in both caries …

Findings From The Nutrition Challenge Program, Rayleen Earney, Nicole Bungum, Timothy J. Bungum

Nevada Journal of Public Health

Obesity is an epidemic in the United States. Over 61% of U.S. adults and 58% of Nevada adults have Body Mass Index’s (BMI) that classify them as either overweight or obese (Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System [BRFSS], 2005). According to a recent article published in the Journal of the American Medical Association, obesity was the second leading cause of preventable death in the United States behind tobacco use (Mokdad, Marks, Stroup & Gerberding, 2004).

While obesity and overweight are complex, multi-factorial health conditions, an important contributor to the overweight and obesity epidemic is poor dietary habits. One of the major …

Evaluation Of The Impact Of A Health Care Administration Student Practicum, Christopher R. Cochran, Michelle Sotero

Nevada Journal of Public Health

As the health care industry becomes increasingly complex, many leaders and practitioners in the field are worried about the quality and preparation of health care administration graduates (Robbins, Bradley, & Spicer, 2001). Academic health care administration programs prepare students for a professional career in the health care field. One of the biggest challenges for university health care administration programs is to meet industry needs by effectively incorporating practical skills and knowledge into the academic curricula. For students, coursework provides some insight into the demands of the industry, but they also require hands-on experience to be relevant in a highly competitive …

Lead Shot Deposition And Distribution In Southern Nevada, Shawn Gerstenberger, Darren D. Divine

Nevada Journal of Public Health

Densities of lead (Pb) shot in soil and the presence of Pb shot in waterfowl gizzards from past hunting activities at the Overton Wildlife Management Area (OWMA) in southern Nevada were determined. Soil shot densities in fields managed for doves, pheasants and geese, and adjacent fields strictly managed as waterfowl habitat were examined. Soil shot densities ranged from 2,691 to 107,642 Pb shot/ha in waterfowl areas to 649,085 to 862,275 Pb shot/ha in dove management areas. Pb shot deposition rates for the 1998-1999 dove hunting season were also calculated and ranged from 8,970 to 22,559 shot/ha in fields managed primarily …

Adverse Maternal Outcomes For Women With Different Health Insurance Statuses In Nevada, Jay J. Shen, Hong Wei

Nevada Journal of Public Health

Objective. Nevada women with unfavorable health insurance status may face greater barriers than women in the rest of the nation, since the development of healthcare infrastructure in Nevada is running behind population growth. This study examines the relationship between health insurance status and adverse maternal outcomes in Nevada.

Methods. Hospital discharge information of 33,149 women aged 13 or older who delivered in 2004 was abstracted from the 2004 State Inpatient Data for Nevada. A total of 13 measures of complications associated with pregnancy were identified, including preterm labor, hypertensive disorders of pregnancy, gestational diabetes, ante-partum hemorrhage, membrane disorders, cesarean section, …

A Study To Determine If University Athletic Teams In Desert Environments Experience Risky Diet-Related Behaviours, Susan Meacham, Christine Bergman, Marcia M. Ditmyer, Kyle Wilson, Connie Mobley

Nevada Journal of Public Health

Training and competing in desert environments may exacerbate concerns related to disordered eating, supplement use, and hydration in some student athlete populations. A survey administered equitably to both genders solicited self-reported responses from members of 18 different teams over four years from a southwestern United States university athletic program. More than 1,700 athletes responded to 42 items on the questionnaire. Teams, not individual student athletes, were the units of measure for statistical analyses. Initial analysis of results indicated that there were no overt concerns regarding dietary behaviors due to training and competing in the desert environment. Further analysis subjected the …

The Administrative Prevalence Of Autism Spectrum Disorders In Nevada School Districts: A Pooled Time Series Analysis, 1996-2004, John P. Tuman, Sheniz Moonie, Danielle Roth-Johnson

Nevada Journal of Public Health

Objective: To examine the administrative prevalence of Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD) in all seventeen school districts in Nevada during the period of 1996 to 2004.

Methods: Normalized administrative prevalence rates (per 1,000 children ages 6-17) for ASD, Mental Retardation (MR), Learning Disability (LD), and Speech and Language Impairment (SLI) were calculated. Covariates for board certified pediatricians per 1,000 students, Federal special education funding per student, and other measures of school resources were employed. Models were estimated with pooled Ordinary Least Squares (OLS) regression with panel corrected standard errors. A separate analysis compared pooled OLS results to results from Latent Growth …

The Effects Of Television Food Advertising On Childhood Obesity, Aleathia Cezar

Nevada Journal of Public Health

Children’s food choices are influenced by the media, television advertising, focusing directly at infants and toddlers. This literature review presents multiple studies that explain how TV advertising of fast food, sugary cereals and other foods high in calories, fat, sugar, sodium and low in nutrients are contributing to the increase rates of childhood obesity. It is concluded that children are exposed to high amounts of food advertisements which affect young children’s food choices and poor food consumption. Due to the growing numbers of hours that children sit in front of the television, less physical activity and the epidemic of childhood …

Prevalence And Antimicrobial Agent Susceptibility Of Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus Aureus In Healthy Pediatric Outpatients In Las Vegas, Echezona E. Ezeanolue, Mark P. Buttner, Patricia Cruz, Joanne L. Henry, Chad L. Cross, Linda D. Stetzenbach

Nevada Journal of Public Health

Colonization and infection by community-associated resistant strains of Staphylococcus aureus are being reported in epidemic proportions. The purpose of this study was to determine the local prevalence of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) colonization in children and to characterize the MRSA isolates in the laboratory with regard to antimicrobial agent susceptibility patterns, and the presence of the mecA and the Panton-Valentine leukocidin (PVL) genes. Nasal swabs were collected at two pediatric clinics from a total of 505 children during health maintenance visits. A brief questionnaire was administered to collect demographic data and pertinent medical, family, and social history. Samples were cultured …

First-Year Compliance With The Nevada Clean Indoor Air Act, Leslie Elliott, Dana Loomis, Andrew B. Bridgforth, Stephanie O’Mara, Louise T. Brock, Brian Hansen, Melanie Marie Minarik, Kathryn Louderback

Nevada Journal of Public Health

Objectives: We quantitatively evaluated compliance with the Nevada Clean Indoor Air Act (NCIAA) by different types of businesses in Nevada and determined whether compliance affected indoor concentrations of benzene and 3-ethenyl pyridine (3-EP), markers of tobacco smoke.

Methods: Managers of 181 businesses in Washoe County, Nevada, were interviewed about business characteristics and practices and policies related to smoking. During unannounced visits, compliance data and air samples (n=66) were collected from interviewed businesses and from an additional sample (n = 56) of businesses without knowledge of the study.

Results: Overall compliance, as defined by the NCIAA, was low (28.2%). Benzene concentrations …

The Economic Impact Of Latin American & Other Immigrants Iowa, Nebraska And The Omaha-Council Bluffs Metropolitan Area, Christopher Decker, Jerry Deichert, Lourdes Gouveia

Latino/Latin American Studies Reports

Although recent research from the Pew Hispanic Center suggests that the rate of recent immigration to the United States has slowed considerably, other studies clearly show that immigrants make substantial economic contributions to the communities in which they settle.

This report focuses attention on the quantitative economic impact of first-generation, foreign-born individuals on the Omaha-Council Bluffs economy as well as the Nebraska and Iowa state economies in 2010.

Lower Nutritional Status And Higher Food Insufficiency In Frail Older Us Adults, Ellen Smit, Kerri M. Winters-Stone, Paul D. Loprinzi, Alice M. Tang, Carlos J. Crespo

Community Health Faculty Publications and Presentations

Frailty is a state of decreased physical functioning and a significant complication of ageing. We examined frailty, energy and macronutrient intake, biomarkers of nutritional status and food insufficiency in US older adult (age ≥ 60 years) participants of the Third National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (4731). Frailty was defined as meeting ≥ 2 and pre-frailty as meeting one of the following four-item criteria: (1) slow walking; (2) muscular weakness; (3) exhaustion and (4) low physical activity. Intake was assessed by 24 h dietary recall. Food insufficiency was self-reported as ‘sometimes’ or ‘often’ not having enough food to eat. Analyses …