Master of Science

thesisChildren with spinal muscular atrophy (SMA) types 2 and 3 are at risk for overweight and increased body fat. Research objectives were to determine whether increased caloric or fat intake were associated with weight increases across percentile curves over a 1 year period and to support alternative methodology for growth assessment. This retrospective, observational study used data collected at the University of Utah. Data were reviewed one visit prior to weight increases and at subsequent visits. Dietary data from type 2 (N=16) and type 3 (N=4) participants ages 0-18 years old were analyzed. Growth status assessment included only children with type 2 SMA (N=20). Assessments used weight-for-age percentiles, 3-day diet records and food analyses. Modified Hammersmith Functionality Scores and Compound Muscle Action Potential tracked disorder progression. Body fat percentages from dual energy x-ray absorptiometry (DXA) were compared to National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) percentile data and body mass index (BMI) percentiles on the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) growth charts. Mixed-effect analysis was used to evaluate correlations between weight increases and both diet and disorder progression. Descriptive analysis was used to assess growth chart status and body fat composition. Statistical significance was set at p<0.05. There was no statistical difference in dietary intake associated with weight increases. Disorder progression was not statistically different between visits. The majority of participants were obese with body fat percentages greater than the NHANES 95th percentile at the first and last visits (12 of 20 and 19 of 20, respectively). Results indicate that rapid weight gain in children with SMA is a product of disorder progression and not dietary alterations. Children with SMA may plot normally on the CDC BMI growth charts despite a high percent body fat. Alternative methodology for growth assessment in this population is required

Long Run Targets and FOMC Policy Decisions

Monetarists have long been advising policy makers to conform policy decisions to a rule which would set the long-run monetary growth at a rate consistent with real economic growth. The contention is that variability in the rate of growth of the money supply, combined with excessive rates of growth, result in economic havoc accompanied by high rates of inflation and that attempts to employ discretionary counter-cyclical monetary policy are destabilizing. This paper analyzes monetary policy decisions in the years 1980-83 in an attempt to determine the weight given to meeting the announced long-run targets recognizing that departures from that goal might be deemed necessary by changing economic conditions. The first section briefly outlines the much talked about policy change in October 1979 which has been interpreted as a Fed commitment to the monetarists\u27 desired policy. The second section delineates the models which were estimated to analyze policy decisions following the October 1979 policy change and to determine the extent to which policy was made in an attempt to meet the stated long-run targets. The empirical results from estimation of the models in section two are presented in the following section. The fourth section delineates a rationale for the observed policy behavior and the final section presents a conclusion

Economics—A Set of Beliefs

A large number of Economists regard economics to be a science. To quote the opening statement from a recent article in the American Economic Review: Among its practitioners there is a widespread feeling that modern economics has established itself as a science enjoying a high degree of consensus. Science according to Funk and Wagnalls College Standard Dictionary is the knowledge as of facts, laws, and proximate causes, gained and verified by exact observations and correct thinking

A Needs Assessment for Parents of Children with Developmental Disabilities

The purpose of this study was to explore the needs of parents of young children with developmental disabilities. The survey included 70 families served through Early Childhood Special Education. Data collection utilized the Family Needs Survey (Bailey & Simeonsson, 1990). Topics examined were: Information, Family and Social Support, Financial, Explaining to Others, Child Care, Professional Support, and Community Services. Findings indicated that parents have a high need for information about current and future services available for their children. Family and social support data indicated that parents have a need to find time for themselves. The financial needs parents reported were assistance in paying for therapy and day care services. These parents frequently reported a need for babysitters or respite care providers. Professional support needs most frequently reported were finding more time to talk with their child\u27s teacher or therapist. Community service needs were most frequently reported as meeting and talking to parents who have a child like theirs

Adolescent Obesity in the United States: Facts for Policymakers

Adolescent obesity in the United States has many important implications for both the health and well-being of the individual and society. Specific negative impacts of obesity on health include increased susceptibility to a host of diseases, chronic health disorders, psychological disorders, and premature death, which in turn add billions of dollars in health care costs each year. Excess medical costs due to overweight adolescents are estimated at more than $14 billion per year. Furthermore, adolescent obesity affects our nation's ability to protect itself; more than a quarter of 17- to 24-year-olds are not fit to enroll in the military due to their weight. Adolescence is a crucial period for establishing healthy behaviors. Many of the habits formed during this developmental stage will last well into adulthood. Although obesity is a complex problem not yet fully understood by researchers, by addressing the known factors that contribute to obesity in adolescence, policymakers can help ensure a healthy and productive adulthood for our nation's youth. Obesity and poor nutrition — combined with mental health disorders and emotional problems, violence and unintentional injury, substance use, and reproductive health problems — form part of a complex web of potential challenges to adolescents' healthy emotional and physical development

Can Workshops Provide a Way to Enhance Patient/Client Centered Collaborative Teams?: Evidence of Outcomes from TEAMc Online Facilitator Training and Team Workshops

The movement towards collaborative interprofessional teamwork for improving patient care has sometimes been impeded by health providers who have a desire to work together, but are unsure how to move towards such models of care delivery. The situation can be complicated by some reluctance on the part of health care institutions to release staff from normal duties to participate in team building training. The purpose of this study was to report on a collaborative team building process supported by the hospital administration in northern Ontario, Canada, and to provide evaluation results for the Toolkit for Enhancing and Maintaining Team Collaboration (TEAMc) using measurements before the start, at the end of the workshop series and at eight months post-series. Participants were from two teams (Acute Care and Rehabilitation) in a northern Ontario, Canada, hospital. TEAMc was comprised of six, 3-hour workshops offered over six months in 2014/15. A total of 77 health providers completed the pre-intervention Interprofessional Socialization &amp; Valuing Scale (ISVS) and the Assessment of Interprofessional Team Collaboration Scale (AITCS), 50 health providers completed the post-intervention instruments and 32 and at the eight month follow-up. The study found that TEAMc can result in changes in team members’ socialization towards wanting to participate in interprofessional teams and in the team’s ability to emulate interprofessional client-centered collaborative practice. The greatest learning gained by participants was around their role clarification and understanding of each other’s roles and expertise, as well as developing their capacity to use a process to resolve interprofessional conflicts

What Indians think an Indian is : a study of personal and educational attitudes

This study, was conducted with four Indian groups: three of Portland and one in Whiteriver, Arizona. The purpose of the study was to identify attitudes about Indian identity and education through the use of a questionnaire on Indian stereotypes. Each group was unique in it’s response. Members of each group all had a different frame of reference for “who an Indian is.” Therefore, a conclusion could not be drawn because of the differences in attitudes between all four Indian groups