Health Equity for All

Abstract Past research has found clear evidence for racial disparities of chronic disease among African Americans when considered alongside other racial groups. African American men are particularly impacted by these disparities. Social determinants of health such as structural racism combined with cultural elements such as diet and risk-taking behaviors are incredibly predictive of the health burdens of African American men. Furthermore, low-income African American men struggle with food insecurity, lack of housing, and often rely on government health programs due to a lack of health insurance. However, most research on chronic health conditions fails to focus on low-income African American men. Thus, a disturbing gap exists in the research regarding African American men’s health. The purpose of the current research is to expand the literature by exploring the themes from various focus groups associated with health management related to low-income African American men with chronic health conditions. The current project will answer the following question; How do caregivers\u27 perceptions of disparities and institutional racism shape the way they perceive and manage health? Thematic analysis will be used to identify themes that are linked to the data with an inductive approach. The analysis was conducted on a focus group composed of caregivers and family members of low-income African American men with chronic conditions. Clear themes will emerge regarding self-reflective perspectives on health as it relates to their caregiver obligations. Mistrust in providers and low motivation were sighted as barriers to appropriately caring for the men in their life with chronic conditions

The Effect of COVID-19 on African American Men

Recent research has shown that confirmed COVID-19 cases and deaths are disproportionately higher in communities with large African American populations. The direct and downstream effects of COVID-19 have reduced life expectancies for African American men by upwards of three years in 2020 alone. Inequities are further magnified given the known risk factors for COVID-19 complications such as hypertension, diabetes, obesity, and higher prevalence of cardiovascular disease among African American men. Many factors have further exacerbated COVID-19-related disparities such as mistrust in medical systems., lack of health insurance, and more. Applied researchers have developed methods for addressing these issues using a self-management approach. However, previous work has suggested that traditional self-management programs produce as pronounced positive effects for African American men than in other groups. The major goal of culturally competent self-management programs is to provide healthcare workers such as nurses, social workers, and public health professionals with an adaptable program that will give those in need tools designed to improve their day-to-day lives. Moreover, the interruption of the COVID-19 pandemic forced a new vital question: Is a COVID-19, or viral hygiene, specific module necessary for any future self-management program? The purpose of the current project was to evaluate the COVID-19-related knowledge, attitudes, and behaviors of African American men with chronic conditions. In particular, the current project seeks to answer the following question; is a viral hygiene specific module necessary for a culturally competent self-management program? African American men who self-reported at least one chronic disease responded to guided interview questions regarding their knowledge, attitude, and behaviors related to COVID-19 along with self-reported health and quality of life. Thematic analysis was used to identify themes that are linked to the data with an inductive, essentialist, approach

Fourier Spectrum Analysis of the New Solar Neutrino Capture Rate Data for the Homestake Experiment

The paper provides results of the Fourier spectrum analysis of the new Ar-37 production rate data of the Homestake solar neutrino experiment and compares them with results for earlier data, revealing the harmonic content in the Ar-37 production in the Homestake experiment.Comment: 4 pages, 6 figures combined in one eps file, uses espcrc1.sty (included), to appear in Nuclear Physics

Using Low-Stakes Quizzing for Student Self-Evaluation of Readiness for Exams

Introductory level courses in many Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM) disciplines require students to acquire an enormous new discipline-specific vocabulary in preparation for future courses. Students are often not prepared for the amount of self-directed studying they must do to be successful in these types of courses, particularly in their first year of college. To assist students in more accurately gauging their readiness for an exam, online low-stakes quizzes were implemented in a freshman level course, giving students an opportunity to practice their new language with minimal grade-related consequences. This quizzing strategy provides students an opportunity to self-assess their current level of knowledge. The quizzes also provide feedback, helping students determine how to adjust their behavior to ensure that acquisition of the missing knowledge is successful. This paper presents preliminary results of the research effort and illustrates the effects of this low-stakes quizzing. Specifically, this paper evaluates (1) whether the quizzing helps students to better prepare for medium and high stakes exams; (2) whether the quizzing increases the mean exam scores compared to previous semesters with no quizzing; and (3) whether the quizzing must be required (low-stakes) to be effective, or whether it can be optional (no-stakes) and still benefit students

The Influence of Surgical Stress and Inflammatory Biomarkers on the Occurrence of Postoperative Delirium

Research focusing on hypothermia has established a relationship between surgical stress and inflammatory biomarkers on delirium incidents in critically ill non-cardiac surgical patients. Unfortunately, postoperative delirium is a common complication after surgery and results in acute brain failure. Though the cause of delirium is still relatively unknown, systemic inflammation with neurological involvement is one of the leading etiologic theories. Another common complication in surgical patients is the occurrence of unplanned hypothermia during non-cardiac surgeries. For our study, we will be looking at two inflammatory biomarkers: C-reactive protein (CRP), and Interleukin 6 (IL-6). CRP is produced in the liver and is an index of overall inflammation in the body and is found elevated in postoperative delirium. IL-6, a pro-inflammatory cytokine, promotes a variety of cell functions that stimulate and enhance inflammation and is also known as a brain-active interleukin. IL-6 is a biomarker identified as a predictor of postoperative delirium when compared to those that do not experience postoperative delirium. Delirium assessments, surgical temperatures, and blood samples will be obtained from at least 100 non-cardiac surgical intensive care patients at a local hospital for the first three postoperative days. Our role in the project is to separate the serum from the blood and perform enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays (ELISAs) for CRP and IL-6. We will be assaying the separated serum to identify the levels of the two previously established inflammatory biomarkers. Through the comparison of inflammatory biomarker levels and surgical temperatures in non-cardiac patients with and without postoperative delirium, we hope to establish the influence of inflammatory stress and unplanned hypothermia on postoperative delirium. It is hoped that the findings from this study will further the understanding of how to assess, treat, and prevent postoperative delirium. Presently, this is a work in progress and our findings will be shared at the symposium

Impact of a Global Engineering Course on Student Cultural Intelligence and Cross-Cultural Communication

This paper explores the impact of a global engineering course on student development of cultural intelligence and cross-communication skills. Although traveling abroad can lead to these outcomes, engineering students face several barriers to traditional study abroad, including highly structured course sequences and financial challenges. Thus, there is a growing need to identify a variety of methods to help students develop these skills without leaving the country. The program that is the focus of this study combines a global engineering course with a short-term international module. This structure gives us the chance to compare student learning related to different components of the program. In this study we analyzed student results on the Cultural Intelligence Scale (CQS) across three administrations (pre-course, post-course, and post-trip), revealing larger growth post-course than post-trip. We further studied student reflections at the end of the program to understand which experiences were most meaningful to them. A majority of students highlighted experiences where they needed to communicate with someone who did not speak English as a key learning opportunity. However, the depth of learning that students recognized from these experiences varied significantly. Together, these results suggest that students can develop cultural intelligence without traveling abroad, and that creating activities that mimic the cross-cultural communication situations students experience abroad may further assist in such development. Our findings have implications for the development of global engineering programs, including both support for the creation of entirely domestic programs as well as suggested program features to enhance student development of cultural intelligence

Resistance to IT Change in the AEC Industry: An Individual Assessment Tool

Numerous IT adoption studies within the AEC industry identify issues with individuals resisting IT changes. Current change models often only look at organizations and tasks and frequently neglect the individuals involved. The limitations in existing change models and the criticality of people issues in the successful implementation of change necessitates the investigation of individual resistance to IT change. Change management theory and attitude-behavior connections provide a framework to study variables associated with impeding/promoting the use of technologies. Data collected from a 50-person sample of the AEC population allowed reductions of the attitudes, fears, and beliefs variables. Reducing the variables indicative of resistance to information technology change facilitated the creation of a detailed social architecture factor model. Subsequently, a Resistance to Change Index (RTCI) was created, enabling estimations of the intensity of resistance an individual is likely to exhibit using the personality traits and behavioral characteristics identified in the revised social architecture factor model. The RTCI assists practitioners in developing new technology implementation plans. The RTCI also enables researchers to understand how individual participants resist and adapt to change allowing the development of enhanced organizational adoption models for new technology implementation within the building industry