Improving a Clinic\u27s Process to Increase Preventative Health Screenings

Performing health screenings on patients is a potential way to prevent or even identify health issues that may have not otherwise been apparent. In recognition of the importance of this matter, this CNL aims to improve and increase the percentage rate of depression and cervical cancer screenings by addressing barriers that have hindered staff from performing these health screenings. This CNL project took place at a health clinic located in the marginalized community of San Francisco. The health clinic’s primary focus is to foster care to the underserved population—homeless, uninsured, LGBTQ, people of color—and provide them with qualitative patient care. According to the organization’s policy, these preventative health screenings must be performed on every patient of the clinic. However, because this is a small clinic with limited staff and resources, and due to the taxing demands of each of the staff members, they lack efficient performance in EHR consistency and the process of health screening expectations. The generation of baseline data shows that in the last year 51% of patients were screened for depression and 14% of patients were screened for cervical cancer. Therefore, a goal of this project is to ensure staff follows a consistent screening process each time a patient is seen in the health clinic. Education awareness of the problem and visual cueing—a Reference List, Visual Signage, and an EHR Flowchart List—were used to prompt and remind staff that health screenings should be performed. This method was implemented over a three-week period and as a result, preliminary data showed that 54% of patients were screened for depression and 22% were screened for cervical cancer. This is indicative that after post- implementation, there has been a slight increase of screenings within the three-week study due to effective strategies that were utilized to reduce barriers and promote staff compliance and efficiency

Sex Differences in Stress-Responsive Neural Substrates and the Development of Mood Disorder-Like Behavior Following a Rodent Model of Early-Life Adversity

Stress-related mood disorders, such as anxiety and depression, are the most common psychiatric conditions, occurring with a lifetime risk of 15-20%. Women are twice as likely to develop anxiety and depression than men, and this sex difference emerges during puberty. Exposure to abuse or maltreatment during early life increases mood disorder susceptibility, suggesting that females may be especially sensitive to long-lasting, negative effects of early-life stress. While the female-bias in mood disorders is one of the most robust sex differences in psychiatry, the origin of this difference remains unknown. Sexually dimorphic processing of stressors by the adolescent brain, or the sex-specific expression of stress-related neural substrates, may be mechanisms by which stress-related mood disorders are more prominent in females. We developed a novel animal model of early-life adversity, Juvenile Social Subjugation (JSS), to test the effect of chronic adolescent social stress on mood disorder-like pathology in adulthood. This dissertation addressed the following research questions: (1) Does chronic JSS induce sex-specific anxiety and depression-like behaviors and HPA axis dysfunction in adulthood? (2) Is JSS differentially processed by the male and female adolescent brain? (3) Is the corticotropin-releasing factor receptor (CRF) system sex-specifically expressed across development? Together our data point to regional sex differences in neuronal activation and CRF receptor expression in the brain as potential mechanisms by which stressors such as JSS induce sex-specific mood disorder-like behavior in adulthood

Superstitious behavior and ritualistic practices among former athletes

Superstitious and ritualistic behaviors in sport have been well documented (Brevers, Dan, Noel, & Nils, 2011a, 2011b; Buhrmann & Zaugg, 1983 Foster, Weigand, & Baines, 2006). Studies have identified several benefits athletes gain from these practices such as: reduction of sport anxiety (Jackson, Ashford, & Norsworthy, 2006), and reaching peak performance (Krane & Williams, 2010). Other research has studied the effects that personality antecedents, such as locus of control (LOC) and Athletic Identity (AI), might have on these practices (Griffith & Johnson, 2002). To date however, there has been little to no research done on whether former athletes would continue ritualistic or superstitious practices once out of organized sport. Accordingly, the present study evaluated the relationship between athletic career ritual/superstition (ACR/S) and post-athletic career ritual/ superstition (PACR/S); in addition to looking for any moderating variables using an adaptation of the Athletic Identity Measurement Scale (Brewer, van Raalte, & Linder, 1993), an adaptation of the Exhausted Eligibility Transition Scale (Moreland-Bishop, 2009), and the Religion Subscale from the Personal Life Values Questionnaire (Hyde & Weathington, 2006). Analysis of the data showed a positive correlation between ACR/S and PACR/S . Perceived success in sport was shown to moderate the relationship between ACR/S and PACR/S , while Athletic Identity, transition out of sport and religious importance had no significant effect on the relationship

Gender differences in memory recall

Past research suggests that males and females differ in memory associated with genderstereotyped objects. Specific findings, however, have been inconclusive with regards to the specifics of these differences. The purpose of this study was to extend this literature by evaluating gender differences in memory recall when participants are presented with stereotypically masculine items, stereotypically feminine items, and neutral items. Results found that females recalled more items overall and performed better on recalling gender neutral and female stereotyped items. No differences were found between males and females in recalling male stereotyped items. Additionally, no difference was found between males and females in incorrectly recalling items that were not presented in the recall task. Results suggest the ability to recall objects is influenced by an interaction between stimulus and participant gender. Implications and directions for future research are discussed

Addressing Medical Mistrust Within the Black Community to Improve their Health Ourcomes

Mistrust of the healthcare system is increased among the Black population compared to other race/ethnicity groups. Medical mistrust can lead to intensified health inequities and negative health outcomes among this population. Currently, there is limited research that explores ways to address medical mistrust, especially among the Black population. This study investigated medical mistrust to find ways to improve the quality of life amongst the Black population. Twenty-one participants in this study completed a Group Based Medical Mistrust Survey and five of those participants participated in a semi-structured interview. Descriptive and correlation analyses were conducted. The GBMMS was separated into three subscales: Factor 1) Suspicion, Factor 2) Group disparities in healthcare, and Factor 3) lack of support from healthcare providers. The mean score for the GBMMS was 3.41 (SD=0.74). Significant correlations were found between Factor 1 and income (r=-.459, p=.048). Results from the in-depth interview indicated, five primary themes were extracted from the interviews including 1) Historical references to racism in the healthcare system, 2) Racial discrimination common in a doctor\u27s office, 3) Assumptions made about health issues amongst Black patients, 4) Not seeking medical attention when needed, and 5) Utilization of primarily Black doctors. Overall, this study found that medical mistrust in the Black population is multifactorial and offers insight on how to improve relationships between the Black population and the healthcare system

MMP-9 cleaves SP-D and abrogates its innate immune functions in vitro

Possession of a properly functioning innate immune system in the lung is vital to prevent infections due to the ongoing exposure of the lung to pathogens. While mechanisms of pulmonary innate immunity have been well studied, our knowledge of how these systems are altered in disease states, leading to increased susceptibility to infections, is limited. One innate immune protein in the lung, the pulmonary collectin SP-D, has been shown to be important in innate immune defense, as well as clearance of allergens and apoptotic cells. MMP-9 is a protease with a wide variety of substrates, and has been found to be dysregulated in a myriad of lung diseases ranging from asthma to cystic fibrosis; in many of these conditions, there are decreased levels of SP-D. Our results indicate that MMP-9 is able to cleave SP-D in vitro and this cleavage leads to loss of its innate immune functions, including its abilities to aggregate bacteria and increase phagocytosis by mouse alveolar macrophages. However, MMP-9-cleaved SP-D was still detected in a solid-phase E. coli LPS-binding assay, while NE-cleaved SP-D was not. In addition, MMP-9 seems to cleave SP-D much more efficiently than NE at physiological levels of calcium. Previous studies have shown that in several diseases, including cystic fibrosis and asthma, patients have increased expression of MMP-9 in the lungs as well as decreased levels of intact SP-D. As patients suffering from many of the diseases in which MMP-9 is over-expressed can be more susceptible to pulmonary infections, it is possible that MMP-9 cleavage of SP-D may contribute to this phenotype

Jazz Combos

Program for Jazz Combos performance on November 29, 2021.https://digitalcommons.kennesaw.edu/musicprograms/2474/thumbnail.jp

Kennesaw State University Jazz Combos

The KSU Jazz Combos, taught by esteemed jazz faculty and under the direction of Trey Wright. present a virtual concert featuring jazz music throughout the years, including standards, contemporary works, and more. Presented virtually from Morgan Concert Hall of the Bailey Performance Center.https://digitalcommons.kennesaw.edu/musicprograms/2349/thumbnail.jp

Enhancing disaster risk reduction processes through the nexus of indigenous knowledge and community participation: a case study of uMshwathi Local Municipality.

Master of Administration in Management Studies. University of KwaZulu-Natal. Durban, 2017.Indigenous knowledge systems (IKS) are recognised by such global organisations as the United Nations (UN) and the World Bank (WB) and nationally by governments including South Africa. However, African indigenous knowledge systems (AIKS) for disaster risk reduction (DRR) have received insufficient research attention in South Africa. This study investigated how DRR processes could be enhanced through the nexus between AIKS and com-munity participation. The focus was upon pinpointing principles, strategies, procedures and best practices to include AIKS in DRR practices. The study sought to document the AIKS that seem well suited for DRR public use. This qualitative research design was executed through a case study strategy and driven by a con-ceptual framework that intersected DRR, AIKS and public participation. The study sites were the two indigenous communities of uMshwathi (Ward 2) and Swayimane (Ward 6) in uMshwathi Local Municipality, KwaZulu-Natal. Data were collected through interviews, focus groups, ob-servation and documentary evidence. Respondents included municipal officials, traditional lead-ers, community elders and other community members. Data were analysed through a combination of content, matrix and thematic analysis. The findings show that the uMshwathi Disaster Management Unit (DMU) recognises and sup-ports the use of community participation systems to engage indigenous people in DRR. AIKS for DRR strategies is documented, largely through the participation of the ageing population, as key knowledge holders seek to transfer knowledge before they pass on. The study concluded that there is indeed a nexus between DRR, AIKS and community participation, yet one of the themes at the heart of that nexus is conflict, as stakeholder segments disagree as to who should take responsi-bility for DRR. UMshwati municipality could make better use of the AIKS at its disposal; in comparison to other relevant DRR stakeholders, traditional leaders seem less involved in DRR, which detracts from heightened participation of communities under traditional leadership. Recommendations are made regarding conflict management, DRR/AIKS strategy implementa-tion and enhanced cooperation among and between the stakeholder segments. Suggestions for future research are likewise presented

KSU Jazz Combos

The six KSU Jazz Combos present their fall concerts in Scott Hall of the Bailey Performance Center. The Jazz Combo program is directed by Trey Wright.https://digitalcommons.kennesaw.edu/musicprograms/2254/thumbnail.jp