Dissertations / Theses on the topic 'Health and diseases'
To see the other types of publications on this topic, follow the link: Health and diseases.
Create a spot-on reference in APA, MLA, Chicago, Harvard, and other styles
Consult the top 50 dissertations / theses for your research on the topic 'Health and diseases.'
Next to every source in the list of references, there is an 'Add to bibliography' button. Press on it, and we will generate automatically the bibliographic reference to the chosen work in the citation style you need: APA, MLA, Harvard, Chicago, Vancouver, etc.
You can also download the full text of the academic publication as pdf and read online its abstract whenever available in the metadata.
Browse dissertations / theses on a wide variety of disciplines and organise your bibliography correctly.
1
Rivers, Caitlin. "Modeling Emerging Infectious Diseases for Public Health Decision Support." Diss., Virginia Tech, 2015. http://hdl.handle.net/10919/52023.
Full textAbstract:
Emerging infectious diseases (EID) pose a serious threat to global public health. Computational epidemiology is a nascent subfield of public health that can provide insight into an outbreak in advance of traditional methodologies. Research in this dissertation will use fuse nontraditional, publicly available data sources with more traditional epidemiological data to build and parameterize models of emerging infectious diseases. These methods will be applied to avian influenza A (H7N9), Middle Eastern Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus (MERS-CoV), and Ebola virus disease (EVD) outbreaks. This effort will provide quantitative, evidenced-based guidance for policymakers and public health responders to augment public health operations.Ph. D.
2
Mableson, Hayley Elizabeth. "The disease-scape of the new millennium : a review of global health advocacy and its application." Thesis, University of Edinburgh, 2014. http://hdl.handle.net/1842/17855.
Full textAbstract:
The global disease scape is constantly shifting, influenced by demographic transitions, altering the balance of the burden of infectious and non‐communicable diseases. The epidemiological transitions can be divided into three stages: the first, an increase in infectious disease burden as populations settled, then grew into towns and cities providing conditions for infectious agents to maintain spread; the second transition follows industrialisation, changes in lifestyle, diet and improved sanitation whereby infectious diseases are reduced and non‐communicable disease (NCD) prevalence increases; the third transition describes the re‐emergence of infectious diseases as the AIDS epidemic and other emerging and re‐emerging disease outbreaks lead to an increasing burden of infectious diseases, particularly in developing countries. Analysis of the disease‐scape has been carried out using WHO Global Burden of Disease data and correlation to demographic factors calculated using World Bank Development Indicators. The balance of chronic NCDs and infectious diseases can be represented numerically as the unit rate of infectious to non‐communicable diseases. The rate, which indicates at which end the continuum lies can then be correlated to these demographic development indicators to assess the factors which are influential to the continuum. As the balance of infectious and non‐communicable diseases around the world alters, the focus of the advocacy at the global health level has been examined to assess if the trends follow that of the shifting continuum. This has been carried out through an assessment of the WHO World Health Assembly (WHA) resolutions adopted annually between 1948 and 2013 on the subject of infectious and/or non-communicable diseases. The principle of International health stemmed from the need to contain the international spread of communicable diseases, so it is not surprising that in the first decade of the WHO, 88% of the resolutions adopted for infectious and non‐communicable disease were adopted for infectious diseases. In the latest ten years of the WHO, 72% of the Assembly resolutions for infectious and non‐communicable diseases were focused on infectious diseases; this indicates that while there has been a shift in the balance, the adopted resolutions still focus heavily on infectious diseases. An example of how advocacy can elevate diseases to a higher position on the global health agenda is that of the Neglected Tropical Diseases. Following the Millennium Development Goals, this group of seventeen diseases has been highlighted as being “neglected” in terms of funding, research and political will. A review of the campaign to highlight this shows how global health advocacy can elevate diseases to a prominent position on the global health agenda. With this in mind, the advocacy for a sub‐group of Neglected Zoonotic Diseases has been examined at the WHA level. The results highlight the sporadic nature of support to control these diseases, and that activism for control of some of the major zoonotic diseases remains lacking. Rabies is explored as an example of a disease for which there are recommendations and support at the global level for the control and elimination of the disease, but for which barriers to control exist locally in endemic countries. The advocacy for diseases at the global health level has the possibility to impact the priorities of health care within individual nations. However the advocacy at this level may take time to reflect the changes within the disease‐scape. The impact of such advocacy is also limited by local political will, availability of resources and local cultural implications. Therefore there is a need to ensure that efforts to control diseases are tailored to specific populations and that resources are made available to support the advocacy.
3
Rosenberg, Shirit Chaia-Rivka. "Disability, physical activity, health, health status and chronic diseases in adults." Thesis, Teachers College, Columbia University, 2015. http://pqdtopen.proquest.com/#viewpdf?dispub=3704483.
Full textAbstract:
There is a great deal of concern regarding the levels of physical inactivity in people with disability, which is more prevalent than in the general population. Inactivity in individuals with disabilities can lead to higher rates of chronic diseases and obesity and vice versa. Moreover, disability is increasing in middle-aged adults while decreasing among older adults. This purpose of this dissertation was to: 1) evaluate the prevalence of disability across the lifespan, 2) to examine the relationships between disability (DA), physical activity (PA), and factors associated with them, and 3) to look at the trends in these factors to understand the patterns occurring in middle-aged adults compared with older adults.
Data analyzed for this dissertation were collected as part of the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance Survey (BRFSS) conducted between 2003 and 2011. Measures included DA, PA, chronic diseases, sociodemographics, health risk behaviors, and health status.
In our first study, we found that respondents categorized as disabled or functionally limited reported less PA, more chronic diseases, and poorer health behaviors than those categorized as able bodied. There was a higher prevalence of DA in the middle-aged and older adults compared to younger adults. Individuals with lower incomes and those with chronic diseases were more likely to be classified as having a disability compared to individuals with higher incomes and individuals without chronic disease. Our second study showed that middle-aged people were less likely to meet physical activity recommendations compared with older adults. Having a DA and being in poor health were strongly associated with not meeting the PA recommendations. In our third study, we found all the age groups showed an increase in functional limitation and DA over time. Further, among all age groups there was an increase in meeting aerobic recommendations over time. Our studies showed that DA and functional limitation are strongly associated with unhealthy behaviors and chronic diseases and poorer health. Moreover, middle-aged and older adults showed similar results in DA and PA recommendations. Given that physical inactivity has the potential to reduce disability, prevent chronic disease and enhance health, greater public health attention to what is warranted.
4
Chocho, Karen. "Hispanic Migrants and Cross-border Disease Control of Arizona's Vaccine Preventable Diseases." Digital Archive @ GSU, 2008. http://digitalarchive.gsu.edu/iph_theses/35.
Full textAbstract:
BACKGROUND: According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the National Immunization Program, there is an increase in the re-emergence of past diseases. Even with mandatory vaccination practices in the United States, there are still a number of cases of vaccine-preventable diseases (VPDs) reported yearly. It is speculated that the re-emergence of VPDs is in part due to the increase in international travel as well as the influx of immigrants. One particular group of interest includes the Hispanic migrants coming from Central and South America where some of these diseases are endemic. OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this paper is to determine the extent of VPD cases in the border state of Arizona that may be attributed to Hispanic migrant influx using data from the MMWR: Summary of Notifiable Diseases reports for the United States and the ADHS data from all Arizona counties. RESULTS: Since 1995, rates of hepatitis B and pertussis have been increasing in Arizona and have become higher for non-Hispanics than Hispanics. In 2005, hepatitis B rates were 1.53* for the United States and 7.31* for Arizona; pertussis rates were 8.72* for the United States and 21.60* for Arizona. CONCLUSION: The results of this study's analysis show the need to improve immunization efforts within the non-Hispanic populations in all Arizona counties. (*Per 100,000 population)
5
Ding, Hongliu. "Bone Health and Coronary Heart Disease in Postmenopausal Women with Breast Cancer Treated with Tamoxifen: A Dissertation." eScholarship@UMMS, 2008. https://escholarship.umassmed.edu/gsbs_diss/404.
Full textAbstract:
Breast cancer, osteoporosis, and coronary heart disease (CHD) are three major threats to women’s health. Postmenopausal women with breast cancer are also at high risk for osteoporosis and CHD. Adjuvant tamoxifen therapy is not only an effective treatment for breast cancer, but has been shown to have a beneficial effect on bone and the cardiovascular system. Although tamoxifen has been convincingly demonstrated to be able to preserve bone mineral density (BMD), an unexpected increase of risk of fractures in patients treated with tamoxifen has been reported. The findings of the association of tamoxifen and CHD from previous studies were either borderline or inconsistent. To clarify the discrepancy between BMD and fractures and test the potential beneficial effect of tamoxifen on CHD, I conducted a series of retrospective studies in postmenopausal women with breast cancer who participated in the Cancer Surveillance in HMO Administrative Data (IMPACT study) or the Study of Osteoporotic Fractures (SOF).
In patients who participated in the IMPACT study, I demonstrated that the association of tamoxifen and fracture incidence varied at different skeletal sites. Although the association of tamoxifen and fractures in the spine (HR=0.40, 95% CI: 0.09-1.85), wrist (HR=2.49, 95% CI: 0.88-7.06), and total body (HR=0.87, 95% CI: 0.49-1.55) was inconclusive, tamoxifen was associated with an apparent reduction of the risk of hip fracture (HR=0.41, 95% CI: 0.17-1.03, p=0.0565). Importantly, the pattern of observed association of tamoxifen with the risks of fractures among postmenopausal women with breast cancer is consistent with its widely reported preserving effect on bone mineral density.
Using SOF data, I found that the association between BMD and fractures in women with breast cancer varied at different skeletal sites, and type of BMD measured. Non-specific BMD was not associated with hip fracture (HR=1.12; 95% CI: 0.78, 1.59). Site-specific BMD was more likely linked with hip fracture (HR=1.43, 95% CI: 0.99, 2.08) while change in BMD did not predict hip fracture (HR=1.05; 95% CI: 0.63, 1.72). The association of spine morphometric fracture with either non-specific or spine-specific BMD was similar (OR=1.40; 95% CI: 1.04, 1.90; OR=1.35, 95% CI: 0.99, 1.85, respectively). Overall, the association of BMD and fracture in elderly women with breast cancer is weak. Only site-specific BMD appears to have a consistently modest association with fractures in the corresponding skeletal sites.
In the IMPACT study population, compared to patients without tamoxifen, the overall incidence of CHD in tamoxifen-treated patients was lower (adjusted HR=0.60, 95% CI: 0.40-0.88). For each year of tamoxifen use, there was a statistically significant decrease in the risk of CHD (HR=0.90, 95% CI: 0.82-0.98). Further analyses categorized by length of tamoxifen use showed that an apparent association with a decreased CHD risk was found in patients who received tamoxifen for two to five years (HR=0.54, 95% CI: 0.33-0.86). No association was detected after the discontinuation of tamoxifen therapy.
In summary, I detected a possible benefit associated with tamoxifen on fractures in the hip, the most common fracture site. I also found that BMD did not predict osteoporotic fractures well in postmenopausal women with breast cancer. In addition, I demonstrated that tamoxifen was associated with a reduced risk of CHD in postmenopausal women with breast cancer in a dose-dependent manner. An apparent benefit was found in those patients who received tamoxifen therapy for at least two years.
6
Xu, Fang, and 徐方. "Self-rated health, chronic diseases and health service utilisation in Hong Kong." Thesis, The University of Hong Kong (Pokfulam, Hong Kong), 2015. http://hdl.handle.net/10722/212607.
Full textAbstract:
Introduction Self-rated health (SRH) is a widely used indicator of health service utilisation and reflects self-perceived objective health condition. Poorer non-comparative SRH was shown to be related to higher inpatient and outpatient utilisation in Western and elderly populations. Little is known about how healthcare utilisation relates to SRH in non-Western settings, such as Hong Kong and in adult populations. The association of age- and time- comparative SRH with healthcare utilisation is also unclear. This study aimed to assess the association of three types of SRH (non-, age- and time- comparative SRH) with inpatient and outpatient utilisation in Hong Kong‟s general populaion.
Methods Data were derived from 2011 Thematic Household Survey (THS), covering 23,892 non-institutional residents aged 20 and above. The study adopts Andersen‟s Behavioral Model of Health Service Use for the analytical framework. Healthcare utilisation was measured by inpatient use during the past year and outpatient use (including General Outpatient Clinic (GOPC) and Specialist Outpatient Clinic (SOPC)) during the past month, in terms of ever-use and the amount of use (bed-days and number of outpatient visits). SRH was measured with a 5-point Likert Scale: non-comparative SRH from “Excellent” to “Poor”; age- and time- comparative from “much worse” to “much better”. Logistic regression and zero-truncated negative binomial/ Poisson regression were applied to examine the association of SRH and chronic diseases with healthcare utilisation in the public and private sector separately as per the Andersen behavioral model.
Results “Fair/ poor” non-comparative SRH was associated with higher inpatient and outpatient utilisation. The association was not significant for hospital bed-days. Similarly, age-comparative SRH was associated with inpatient (except private bed-days) and outpatient utilisation (except the number of SOPC visits). “Worse/ much worse” time-comparative SRH was associated with higher healthcare utilisation, but the relationship was less clear for private hospitalisation. The presence of cancer, cardiovascular diseases, diabetes, lower respiratory diseases, and musculoskeletal diseases were associated with higher healthcare utilisation, with stronger association observed for ever-use than the amount of use. The relationships between musculoskeletal diseases and inpatient utilisation, between cardiovascular diseases and diabetes and the number of private outpatient visits, and between lower respiratory diseases and GOPC utillisation were not significant.
Conclusions The present study suggests SRH to be a useful health indicator of health service utilisation. All three SRH measures were associated with health service utilisation and no marked differences were observed between different measures. Poorer SRH were strongly related to higher public inpatient utilisation, with stronger association observed for ever hospitalisation than bed-days. Poorer SRH measures were also related to higher outpatient uilisation in both sectors during the past month. All the selected chronic conditions were related to increased healthcare use. The associations were less clear for hospital bed-days and the private sector. Future studies should focus on the predictive validity of SRH on future healthcare utilisation.published_or_final_version
Public Health
Master
Master of Philosophy
7
MURPHY, CATHRYN LOUISE School of Health Services Management UNSW. "INFECTION CONTROL IN THE AUSTRALIAN HEALTH CARE SETTING." Awarded by:University of New South Wales. School of Health Services Management, 1999. http://handle.unsw.edu.au/1959.4/17600.
Full textAbstract:
1,708 members of the Australian Infection Control Association were surveyed to describe the practices of Australian infection control practitioners. The study details the methods infection control practitioners use to co-ordinate and measure nosocomial infections as clinical outcomes of Australian infection surveillance and control programs. Administrators' and clinicians' perceptions of the elements and infrastructure of infection surveillance and control programs and the role of the infection control were measured in 316 hospitals in New South Wales, Australia. A literature review found that the development of Australian infection surveillance and control programs is behind that of U.S.A and the United Kingdom. The survey of the infection control practitioners identified that their role and duties varied between facilities as did the time allocated to infection control tasks. The survey of infection control practitioners demonstrated variation in their levels of skill, education and experience. Infection control practitioners' use and application of evidence and associated skills was examined and found to be limited in relation to clinical decision making and policy development. The survey also examined the methods infection control practitioners use to undertake surveillance of nosocomial infections. The methods reported indicated non-standard approaches to surveillance activity. A survey of administrators and clinicians in NSW hospitals was undertaken to identify variation in administrator and clinician perceptions and to describe their level of support for recommended essential infrastructure and criteria for infection surveillance and control programs and the role of the infection control practitioner in accordance with Scheckler's model. The survey indicated divergent views regarding the role of the infection control practitioner and the essential elements of infection surveillance and control programs. The study identified that education of infection control practitioners is necessary to facilitate standard approaches to co-ordinating infection surveillance and control activity. The development of Australian infection surveillance and control programs require a strategic alliance between stakeholders. to define essential elements of infection surveillance and control programs. In addition, the role of the infection control practitioner must be defined before key stakeholders can agree on the minimum skills, qualifications and experience required by an infection control practitioner.
8
Das, Debalina. "Waterborne Diseases: Linking Public Health And Watershed Data." Amherst, Mass. : University of Massachusetts Amherst, 2009. http://scholarworks.umass.edu/theses/235/.
Full text
9
Faissol, Daniel Mello. "Mathematical modeling of diseases to inform health policy." Diss., Atlanta, Ga. : Georgia Institute of Technology, 2008. http://hdl.handle.net/1853/24690.
Full textAbstract:
Thesis (Ph.D.)--Industrial and Systems Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology, 2008.Committee Chair: Julie Swann; Committee Co-Chair: Paul Griffin; Committee Member: David Goldsman; Committee Member: Pinar Keskinocak; Committee Member: Thomas Gift
10
Stevens, Timothy Richard John. "Neutrophil activation in health and connective tissue diseases." Thesis, University of Bath, 1987. https://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.379167.
Full text
11
Choate, Radmila. "ESTIMATING DISEASE SEVERITY, SYMPTOM BURDEN AND HEALTH-RELATED BEHAVIORS IN PATIENTS WITH CHRONIC PULMONARY DISEASES." UKnowledge, 2019. https://uknowledge.uky.edu/epb_etds/22.
Full textAbstract:
Chronic pulmonary diseases include a wide range of illnesses that differ in etiology, prevalence, symptomatology and available therapy. A common link among these illnesses is their impact on patients’ vital function of breathing, high symptom burden and significantly impaired quality of life.
This dissertation research evaluates disease severity, symptom burden and health behaviors of patients with three different chronic pulmonary conditions. First, alpha-1 antitrypsin deficiency (AATD) is an inherited condition that typically is associated with an increased risk of early onset pulmonary emphysema. This study examines differences in demographic, health, and behavioral characteristics and compares clinical outcomes and health related behaviors and attitudes between two severe genotypes of AATD - ZZ and SZ. The findings of the study suggest that patients with SZ genotype and less severe form of deficiency report higher number of exacerbations, comorbidities, as well as unhealthy behaviors such as lack of exercise and current smoking. In addition, individuals with the more severely deficient ZZ genotype are more adherent to disease management and prevention program recommendations and maintain a healthier lifestyle than individuals with SZ genotype.
Second chronic lung disease examined in this research was chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), the fourth leading cause of death and second leading cause of disability in the United States. Prevalence and burden of cough and phlegm, two of the most common symptoms of the COPD, were assessed among participants of the COPD Foundation’s Patient-Powered Research Network (COPD PPRN). In addition, association between patient-reported levels of phlegm and cough, clinical outcomes and patients’ quality of life were evaluated. Participants’ quality of life was assessed using Patient Reported Outcome Measurement Information System instrument PROMIS-29. Association between changes in symptom severity over time and patient-reported quality of life were examined. Findings of this study indicated that severity of cough and phlegm were associated with higher number of exacerbations, greater dyspnea, and worsened patient-reported quality of life including physical and social functioning. Improvement in cough and phlegm severity over time was associated with better patient-reported quality of life.
Third pulmonary illness described in this dissertation is non-cystic fibrosis bronchiectasis (NCFB), a rare and etiologically diverse condition characterized by dilated bronchi, poor mucus clearance and susceptibility to bacterial infection. Association between presence of Pseudomonas aeruginosa (PA), one of the most frequently isolated pathogens in patients with NCFFB, and disease severity was assessed utilizing enrollment data from the Bronchiectasis and NTM Research Registry (BRR). NCFB disease severity was evaluated using modified versions of validated in large international cohorts instruments, the Bronchiectasis Severity Index (BSI) and FACED. The findings of this study indicate that PA infection is common in NCFB patients, and presence of PA in patients’ sputum is associated with having moderate and high severity of bronchiectasis. In addition, the results of this study suggest that the two severity assessment instruments classify patients with NCFB differently which may be attributed to a greater number of severity markers utilized in the calculation of the BSI compared to FACED.
In conclusion, the proposed dissertation aims to enhance understanding of differences in health outcomes between genotypes of AATD within AlphaNet registry, and to guide future health-promoting behaviors. It highlights the burden of common symptoms such as cough and phlegm in patients with COPD within COPD PPRN and their association with patients’ quality of life. In addition, it introduces modified indices of NCFB severity and emphasizes high burden of the disease in patients with presence of PA within the US BRR.
12
Chochó, Karen S. "Hispanic migrants and cross-border disease control of Arizona's vaccine preventable diseases." restricted, 2008. http://etd.gsu.edu/theses/available/etd-04222008-151047/.
Full textAbstract:
Thesis (M.Ph.)--Georgia State University, 2008.Title from file title page. Richard Rothenberg, committee chair; Russ Toal, Karen E. Gieseker, committee members. Electronic text (135 p. : col. ill.) : digital, PDF file. Description based on contents viewed August 12, 2008. Includes bibliographical references (p. 127-135).
13
Levick, B. A. "The ecological context of diseases of public health importance." Thesis, University of Liverpool, 2017. http://livrepository.liverpool.ac.uk/3007656/.
Full textAbstract:
The prevention and control of infectious disease continues to be a central priority for human public health. Two infectious agents, the bacterium Yersinia pestis and the filarial nematode Onchocerca volvulus have been responsible for significant public health burden in many populations, and challenges remain in the control and prevention of them both. With known environmental and climatic drivers, vector based transmission and in the case of Y. pestis, zoonotic reservoirs, fully characterising the ecological context of both diseases is vital to properly understanding their epidemiology. In the present study, ecological field data is utilised to investigate this, towards improving predictions and designing control strategies. Despite being contrasting infectious agents, the role of spatial scale and resolution are identified to be vital aspects of both investigations. Ultimately, the importance of a holistic approach to infectious disease epidemiology is highlighted across both systems. In humans and some other animals, infection with Yersina pestis causes the disease plague. Although human infections are now limited to the hundreds annually, they disproportionately affect individuals in lower income settings and as such are still of public health concern. A number of wild rodent species tolerant to infection with Y. pestis act as reservoirs for the bacterium, from which it can transmit into less tolerant susceptible populations. To this end, much research has focused on predicting periods of high infection prevalence (epizootic outbreaks) in the reservoir species in order to predict and prevent transmission events into less tolerant populations. One such reservoir species is the great gerbil, Rhombomys opimus, residing across the pre Balkhash desert in Kazakhstan. Y. pestis prevalence in this population is known to be strongly associated with the gerbil population size. The present study aims to resolve current ability to predict the gerbil population. Burrow level environmental properties are identified to be predictors of gerbil presence at, and long term occupancy of burrows. Gerbil occupancy of burrows could not be replicated using standard metapopulation approaches, nor related to the connectivity of the burrow. Atypical strains of Y. pestis lacking the fraction 1 (F1) surface antigen are isolated and found to be common in the gerbil population. This antigen is highly immunogenic and has a role in virulence determinance. However, no significant hetereogeneities in their distribution or associations with epidemiological outputs could be identified. In several African countries with endemic levels of infection with Onchocerca volvulus, an unusually high prevalence of epilepsy has been observed in the population. Here cross sectional data from a population in the Democratic Republic of Congo is used to build a picture of epilepsy prevalence and to explore a possible functional relationship between epilepsy and O. volvulus. The relationship between O. volvulus and epilepsy is strengthened, and spatial and ecological data lead to the suggestion that responsible drivers have local, rather than global relationships with epilepsy.
14
Tang, Shenglan, John Ehiri, and Qian Long. "China's biggest, most neglected health challenge: non-communicable diseases." BioMed Central, 2013. http://hdl.handle.net/10150/610162.
Full textAbstract:
BACKGROUND:Over the past two decades, international health policies focusing on the fight against the human immunodeficiency virus/acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (HIV/AIDS), tuberculosis (TB), malaria, and those diseases that address maternal and child health problems, among others, have skewed disease control priorities in China and other Asian countries. Although these are important health problems, an epidemic of chronic, non-communicable diseases (NCDs) in China has accounted for a much greater burden of disease due to the ongoing rapid socioeconomic and demographic transition.DISCUSSION:Although NCDs currently account for more than 80% of the overall disease burden in China, they remain very low on the nation's disease control priorities, attracting marginal investment from central and local governments. This leaves the majority of patients with chronic conditions without effective treatment. International organizations and national governments have recognized the devastating social and economic consequences caused by NCDs in low- and middle-income countries, including China. Yet, few donor-funded projects that address NCDs have been implemented in these countries over the past decade. Due to a lack of strong support from international organizations and national governments for fighting against NCDs, affected persons in China, especially the poor and those who live in rural and less developed regions, continue to have limited access to the needed care. Costs associated with frequent health facility visits and regular treatment have become a major factor in medical impoverishment in China. This article argues that although China's ongoing health system reform would provide a unique opportunity to tackle current public health problems, it may not be sufficient to address the emerging threat of NCDs unless targeted steps are taken to assure that adequate financial and human resources are mapped for effective control and management of NCDs in the country.SUMMARY:The Chinese government needs to develop a domestically-driven and evidence-based disease control policy and funding priorities that respond appropriately to the country's current epidemiological transition, and rapid sociodemographic and lifestyle changes.
15
Горобченко, Неля Георгіївна, Неля Георгиевна Горобченко, Nelia Heorhiivna Horobchenko, H. S. Maslak, and A. O. Sharafullina. "World Health Organization combating the most dangerous epidemic diseases." Thesis, Видавництво СумДУ, 2011. http://essuir.sumdu.edu.ua/handle/123456789/15946.
Full text
16
Malta, André Filipe Domingues. "Open-source electronic health record system for neglected diseases." Master's thesis, Universidade de Aveiro, 2016. http://hdl.handle.net/10773/18342.
Full textAbstract:
Mestrado em Engenharia de Computadores e TelemáticaLow-resource countries are primarily the ones afected by tropical diseases where environmental factors play a major role. Means for controlling these diseases are often lacking in these countries in part due to their poor support of Health Information Technology. Nowadays, with the advances of standards and software in the health-field, several open-source electronic health record systems (EHR) exist which can assist facilities to capture of information, aiding to research and better health-care of neglected diseases in these countries. In this work, we performed a systematic review of several of such solutions to select the most appropriate candidate to satisfy the requirements of a testbed in a low-resource country - Gondar in Ethiopia. The implementation was conducted with a strong focus on adapting the existing paper-based workflow of the institution to the proposed system, to assure that all the information generated in this center can be captured in a digital way. As a final result, a working prototype was deployed and some conclusions are obtained from all this process.
Países sub-desenvolvidos são os principalmente afectados por um conjunto de doenças tropicais onde factores ambientais desempenham uma contribuição maior na sua origem. No geral estes países não dispõem de métodos para controlar estas doenças eficazmente, em parte devido à fraca implementação de Tecnologias da Informação em Saúde. Atualmente, com o avanço em standards e software na área da saúde, existem diversos sistemas opensource de registos clínicos que podem auxiliar centros de cuidados médicos na captura de informação útil à melhoria dos serviços prestados e há investigação de doenças negligenciadas. Nesta dissertação efectuámos uma revisão sistemática de tais soluções de maneira a escolher um candidato apropriado aos requisitos de uma cama de teste de um país sub-desenvolvido - Gondar, Etiópia. A implementação foi conduzida com ênfase à adaptação do fluxo de trabalho baseado em papel da instituição para o sistema proposto, assegurando que toda a informação gerada pelo centro pode ser capturada de forma digital. Como resultado final, um protótipo foi criado e algumas conclusões obtidas de todo este processo.
17
Pearson, Georgina. "Global health, local realities : neglected diseases in northwestern Uganda." Thesis, London School of Economics and Political Science (University of London), 2015. http://etheses.lse.ac.uk/3303/.
Full textAbstract:
This thesis explores the everyday realities of neglected diseases among people living and working along the River Nile in Moyo and Adjumani Districts, northwestern Uganda. It is based on ethnographic-epidemiological fieldwork carried out over sixteen months during 2013 and 2014. The fieldwork included participant-observation, in-depth interviews and a parasitological survey with structured questionnaire. This thesis takes an interdisciplinary approach in studying global health, contributing to literature at the intersection between medicine and anthropology. The neglected tropical diseases are a group of diverse diseases framed in global health around common socio-economic-political features, persisting in poverty. They affect neglected populations, neglected by public health policy. Current approaches to their management are largely a collection of technical, diseasefocused programmes that disregard the politics of poverty. Contemporary debates surround the side-lining of social science literature, and the evidence behind the biomedically focussed disease control programmes. Fisherfolk are said to be vulnerable to a number of these diseases. Diseases such as intestinal schistosomiasis (one of the neglected tropical diseases) persist in fishing areas despite a global public health programme. However, as this study demonstrates, in northwestern Uganda levels of schistosomiasis infection appear to have reduced. This study situates the success of the global health control programme within the local biosocial context. Furthermore, it shows that while one neglected tropical disease is controlled, other diseases persist and emerge. These other diseases explored in this research were Buruli ulcer and Hepatitis B, diseases that challenged the global health concept of neglected tropical diseases. This thesis contributes methodologically to the growing interdisciplinary field of global health. It provides empirically-based biosocial evidence of the local realities of neglected diseases. In taking this approach, it argues that this concept is misleading. While it has illuminated particular problems in global health, the restrictive gaze disregards local public health concerns.
18
De, Palma Patricia Alvarado. "Oral health among a group of homeless individuals from dental professional's and patient's perspective /." Stockholm, 2007. http://diss.kib.ki.se/2007/978-91-7357-051-0/.
Full text
19
Sihavong, Amphoy. "Management of reproductive tract infections among health providers and in the community in Lao People's Democratic Republic /." Stockholm : Karolinska institutet, 2007. http://diss.kib.ki.se/2007/978-91-7357-383-2/.
Full text
20
Bigatti, Silvia Marcela. "Relationships between perceived burden, physical health, and health care use among spouses of people with fibromyalgia syndrome /." Diss., Connect to a 24 p. preview or request complete full text in PDF format. Access restricted to UC campuses, 2000. http://wwwlib.umi.com/cr/ucsd/fullcit?p9970686.
Full text
21
Natto, Suzan Bakur. "Tobacco smoking and periodontal health in a Saudi Arabian population /." Stockholm, 2005. http://diss.kib.ki.se/2005/91-7140-438-4/.
Full text
22
Dysart, Laura. "Health over time : an investigation into the relationship between the future and health behaviours for people with long-term conditions." Thesis, University of Aberdeen, 2018. http://digitool.abdn.ac.uk:80/webclient/DeliveryManager?pid=239217.
Full textAbstract:
Long-term conditions (LTCs) are a leading cause of morbidity and mortality worldwide. Health behaviours are a component of many self-management regimes. However, adoption of health behaviours for people with LTCs is relatively low. The purpose of this thesis was to explore the role of the future as it influenced the decision to invest in health for people with LTCs. Specifically, I examined the association between the time discount rate and economic insecurity to explore how the future influences health behaviours. In the first empirical chapter, I found that the time discount rate was associated with maintained physical activity participation but not healthy eating or low-risk alcohol consumption in older adults who have at least one LTC. In the second empirical chapter, I found economic insecurity, which is the anxiety produced from an unsafe financial future, was associated with smoking in older women and physical activity in older men. In the final empirical chapter, I explored how health itself may influence perceptions of the future by investigating the effect of a lagged health shock on the time discount rate in a sample of Danish adults. I found positive health shocks were associated with becoming more future-oriented in women at the 90% significance level and more present-oriented in men at the 95% significance level. The findings of this thesis may be used in the development of policy and interventions to support commencement and adherence to self-management regimes for people with LTCs.
23
Guo, Mei. "Exploring health behaviour determinants of ageing Australians with chronic diseases." Thesis, Queensland University of Technology, 2011. https://eprints.qut.edu.au/45939/1/Mei_Guo_Thesis.pdf.
Full textAbstract:
Background: Chronic disease presents overwhelming challenges to elderly patients, their families, health care providers and the health care system. The aim of this study was to explore a theoretical model for effective management of chronic diseases, especially type 2 diabetes mellitus and/or cardiovascular disease. The assumed theoretical model considered the connections between physical function, mental health, social support and health behaviours. The study effort was to improve the quality of life for people with chronic diseases, especially type 2 diabetes and/or cardiovascular disease and to reduce health costs. Methods: A cross-sectional post questionnaire survey was conducted in early 2009 from a randomised sample of Australians aged 50 to 80 years. A total of 732 subjects were eligible for analysis. Firstly, factors influencing respondents‘ quality of life were investigated through bivariate and multivariate regression analysis. Secondly, the Theory of Planned Behaviour (TPB) model for regular physical activity, healthy eating and medication adherence behaviours was tested for all relevant respondents using regression analysis. Thirdly, TPB variable differences between respondents who have diabetes and/or cardiovascular disease and those without these diseases were compared. Finally, the TPB model for three behaviours including regular physical activity, healthy eating and medication adherence were tested in respondents with diabetes and/or cardiovascular diseases using Structure Equation Modelling (SEM). Results: This was the first study combining the three behaviours using a TPB model, while testing the influence of extra variables on the TPB model in one study. The results of this study provided evidence that the ageing process was a cumulative effect of biological change, socio-economic environment and lifelong behaviours. Health behaviours, especially physical activity and healthy eating were important modifiable factors influencing respondents‘ quality of life. Since over 80% of the respondents had at least one chronic disease, it was important to consider supporting older people‘s chronic disease self-management skills such as healthy diet, regular physical activity and medication adherence to improve their quality of life. Direct measurement of the TPB model was helpful in understanding respondents‘ intention and behaviour toward physical activity, healthy eating and medication adherence. In respondents with diabetes and/or cardiovascular disease, the TPB model predicted different proportions of intention toward three different health behaviours with 39% intending to engage in physical activity, 49% intending to engage in healthy eating and 47% intending to comply with medication adherence. Perceived behavioural control, which was proven to be the same as self-efficacy in measurement in this study, played an important role in predicting intention towards the three health behaviours. Also social norms played a slightly more important role than attitude for physical activity and medication adherence, while attitude and social norms had similar effects on healthy eating in respondents with diabetes and/or cardiovascular disease. Both perceived behavioural control and intention directly predicted recent actual behaviours. Physical activity was more a volitional control behaviour than healthy eating and medication adherence. Step by step goal setting and motivation was more important for physical activity, while accessibility, resources and other social environmental factors were necessary for improving healthy eating and medication adherence. The extra variables of age, waist circumference, health related quality of life and depression indirectly influenced intention towards the three behaviours mainly mediated through attitude and perceived behavioural control. Depression was a serious health problem that reduced the three health behaviours‘ motivation, mediated through decreased self-efficacy and negative attitude. This research provided evidence that self-efficacy is similar to perceived behavioural control in the TPB model and intention is a proximal goal toward a particular behaviour. Combining four sources of information in the self-efficacy model with the TPB model would improve chronic disease patients‘ self management behaviour and reach an improved long-term treatment outcome. Conclusion: Health intervention programs that target chronic disease management should focus on patients‘ self-efficacy. A holistic approach which is patient-centred and involves a multidisciplinary collaboration strategy would be effective. Supporting the socio-economic environment and the mental/ emotional environment for older people needs to be considered within an integrated health care system.
24
Wang, Qianyi. "Fatty Acids, Cardiovascular Diseases, and Diabetes Mellitus." Thesis, Harvard University, 2015. http://nrs.harvard.edu/urn-3:HUL.InstRepos:14117764.
Full textAbstract:
Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is the number one cause for mortality and morbidity around the world. Meanwhile, diabetes mellitus (DM) has become an emerging epidemic, causing 1.5 million deaths in 2012, with 80% occurring in low- and middle-income countries. Substantial evidence has linked both lifestyle and metabolic risk factors to increased risk of CVD and death, with suboptimal diet being the single leading modifiable cause of poor health (Lim. SS, et al, Lancet 2012). Of 20 top individual causes of disease burden worldwide, 8 are related to poor nutrition, including suboptimal intakes of various dietary fatty acids. Although previous studies have found divergent health effects of different dietary fatty acids on health, gaps still exist in terms of the scientific knowledge (e.g. how individual circulating vs. dietary trans fatty acid subtypes affect health) and related disease burdens (e.g. national CHD mortality burdens attributable to suboptimal intakes of fatty acids). These gaps have motivated my dissertation researches.
In chapter one and two, I investigated the prospective associations of five subtypes of plasma phospholipid trans fatty acid (TFA) levels with the risk of various disease endpoints, including total, CVD and non-CVD mortality, incident coronary heart disease (CHD) and DM. In chapter two, I also examined the prospective associations of total and subclasses dietary TFA with risk of DM. The analyses were conducted using the Cardiovascular Health Study, a community-based multicenter prospective cohort consisted of older Americans. The risks were estimated using the Cox proportional hazard model.
The study in chapter three was a collaborative effort of the Nutrition and Chronic Diseases Expert Group as part of the 2010 Global Burden of Diseases, Injuries, and Risk Factors study. Using the comparative risk assessment framework, I comprehensively quantified the CHD mortality attributable to suboptimal intakes of saturated fat, omega-6 polyunsaturated fat, and TFA in 186 countries in 1990 and 2010, by age and sex groups. I also estimated the regional and country level trends of these attributable CHD burdens from 1990 to 2010. The findings of this study are relevant for informing regional and country level public health policy priorities.
25
Pallis, Monica. "Lymphocyte adhesion molecule deployment in health and disease." Thesis, University of Nottingham, 1995. http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.282599.
Full text
26
Thomas, Kurt Florian Patrick. "Animal models of retroviral neurological diseases." Thesis, McGill University, 1995. http://digitool.Library.McGill.CA:80/R/?func=dbin-jump-full&object_id=39882.
Full textAbstract:
The neuropathogenicity of two retroviruses was investigated. The human immunodeficiency virus, in addition to its profound effect on the immune system, also causes degenerative changes in the brain, the spinal cord and peripheral nerves. In order to elucidate how it affects the nervous system, transgenic mice were generated that express the entire HIV genome in neurons in the anterior thalamus and in the anterior horn of the spinal cord, and examined clinically, neuropsychologically, electrophysiologically and histologically. Animals developed a neurological syndrome characterized by hypoactivity and weakness, and by axonal degeneration in peripheral nerves. These results provide evidence for a role of HIV in affecting both the central and peripheral nervous systems.In a second project, pathological effects associated with a disease determining region contained in the gp70 envelope protein of the Cas-Br-E murine leukemia virus, were investigated. In infected mice, this virus causes hind limb paralysis and a spongiform myeloencephalopathy with gliosis and neuronal loss. Stably transfected fibroblasts that express gp70 were injected into the brains of mice, and the animals were examined for histopathological changes attributable to the effects of gp70. While gp70 protein was detected at the implantation site, this was not accompanied by any specific histological changes. These data suggest that the intracerebral expression of the neuropathogenic gp70 protein alone is not sufficient to cause disease, and lend indirect support to a model according to which gp70 causes disease by altering the cytokine profile of infected mononuclear cells in the central nervous system.
27
Jansson, Sven-Arne. "Health economic epidemiology of obstructive airway diseases : the obstructive lung disease in northern Sweden studies - thesis VII /." Stockholm, 2006. http://diss.kib.ki.se/2006/91-7140-805-3/.
Full text
28
Tsabedze, Vusumuzi Ndumiso. "Prevalence of impacted mandibular third molar teeth at Medunsa Oral Health Centre." Thesis, University of Limpopo (Medunsa Campus), 2012. http://hdl.handle.net/10386/654.
Full text
29
Maestas, Melissa May. "Air pollution and gastrointestinal diseases in Utah." Thesis, The University of Utah, 2017. http://pqdtopen.proquest.com/#viewpdf?dispub=10246554.
Full textAbstract:
The valleys of northern Utah, where most of Utah’s population resides, experience episodic air pollution events well in excess of the National Ambient Air Quality Standards. Most of the events are due to an accumulation of particulate matter during persistent cold air pools in winter from both direct emissions and secondary chemical reactions in the atmosphere. High wintertime ozone concentrations are occasionally observed in the Uintah Basin, in addition to particulate matter. At other times of the year, blowing dust, wildland fires, fireworks, and summertime ozone formation contribute to local air pollution. The objective of this dissertation is to investigate one facet of the health effects of Utah’s air pollution on its residents: the acute impacts of air pollution on gastrointestinal (GI) disease.
To study the health effects of these episodic pollution events, some measure of air pollution exposure must be matched to the health data. Time and place are used to link the health data for a person with the pollution data. This dissertation describes the method of kriging data from the sparse pollution monitoring network to estimate personal air pollution history based on the zip code of residence. This dissertation then describes the application of these exposure estimates to a health study on GI disease.
The purpose of the GI study is to retrospectively look at two groups of patients during 2000-2014: those with autoimmune disease of the GI tract (inflammatory bowel disease, IBD) and those with allergic disease of the GI tract (eosinophilic esophagitis, EoE) to determine whether disease exacerbations occur more commonly during and following periods of poor air quality compared to periods of good air quality. The primary analysis method is case crossover design. In addition to using the kriged air pollution estimates, the analysis was repeated using simpler empirical estimation methods to assess whether the odds ratios are sensitive to the air pollution estimation method.
The data suggests an association between particulate matter smaller than 2.5 microns and prednisone prescriptions, gastrointestinal infections in general, clostridium difficile infections specifically, and hospitalizations among people who have at least five entries of IBD diagnosis codes in their medical records. EoE exacerbations appear to be associated with high concentrations of particulate matter as well as ozone.
30
Zulu, Tryphine. "Socioeconomic inequalities in non-communicable diseases in South Africa." Doctoral thesis, Faculty of Health Sciences, 2019. https://hdl.handle.net/11427/31799.
Full textAbstract:
Non-communicable diseases (NCDs) have reached epidemic proportions globally and in South Africa. This thesis is situated within the health equity framework. The aim is to assess the extent of wealth related inequalities in NCDs and to assess the impact of the social determinants of health in mediating these inequalities. Data from the first South African National Health and Examination Survey (SANHANES-1) and wave 4 of the South African National Income Dynamics Study (NIDS) were used. The methods used include the concentration curve, concentration index and decomposition analysis to assess the drivers of socioeconomic inequality in NCDs and some causes of NCDs including smoking, obesity, high blood pressure; use of screening services and effective coverage for hypertension management. The prevalence of smokers is 18.7%, the population average BMI is 26.38 kg/m2, and the prevalence of hypertension is 29.7%. The distribution of these risk factors is pro-wealthy with concentration indices ranging from 0.048 for hypertension, 0.057 for smoking prevalence to 0.115 for obesity. While these risk factors are prevalent amongst the wealthy, the outcomes are worse amongst the poor. The concentration index for expenditure on cigarettes is strongly pro-poor, (-0.130) compared to the prowealthy smoking prevalence. The hypertensive poor suffer more severe hypertension with a concentration index of -0.054 for depth and -0.079 for severity, respectively. Obesity affects the wealthiest the most. However, the overweight adults who are poor tend to suffer more severe obesity as shown by a relatively smaller concentration index of depth (0.015) and severity (0.033) respectively. The overall utilisation of screening services is below 50% for eligible respondents. The two wealthiest quintiles benefit disproportionately more than they should, given their share of the population. This is particularly true for diabetes and cholesterol with a concentration index of 0.27 for cholesterol, 0.129 for diabetes and 0.052 for hypertension. Adults that do not take up screening services are predominantly the black race group, poor, rural, male, unemployed and uninsured. Only 23% of those with hypertension are diagnosed, on treatment and are controlled. Wealth-related variables such as education, wealth, health insurance coverage and province of residence drive most of the observed pro-wealthy inequalities in this thesis. Wealthier adults benefit to a larger extent from the care cascade, compared to the poor. Therefore, until there is a substantial increase in early diagnosis and effective treatment, high levels of mortality from NCDs will persist in South Africa. And until the poor are prioritised through radical policy change in all economic sectors, the observed inequalities will continue.
31
Aviña, Aldo. "A Spatially Explicit Environmental Health Surveillance Framework for Tick-Borne Diseases." Thesis, University of North Texas, 2010. https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc30432/.
Full textAbstract:
In this paper, I will show how applying a spatially explicit context to an existing environmental health surveillance framework is vital for more complete surveillance of disease, and for disease prevention and intervention strategies. As a case study to test the viability of a spatial approach to this existing framework, the risk of human exposure to Lyme disease will be estimated. This spatially explicit framework divides the surveillance process into three components: hazard surveillance, exposure surveillance, and outcome surveillance. The components will be used both collectively and individually, to assess exposure risk to infected ticks. By utilizing all surveillance components, I will identify different areas of risk which would not have been identified otherwise. Hazard surveillance uses maximum entropy modeling and geographically weighted regression analysis to create spatial models that predict the geographic distribution of ticks in Texas. Exposure surveillance uses GIS methods to estimate the risk of human exposures to infected ticks, resulting in a map that predicts the likelihood of human-tick interactions across Texas, using LandScan 2008TM population data. Lastly, outcome surveillance uses kernel density estimation-based methods to describe and analyze the spatial patterns of tick-borne diseases, which results in a continuous map that reflects disease rates based on population location. Data for this study was obtained from the Texas Department of Health Services and the University of North Texas Health Science Center. The data includes disease data on Lyme disease from 2004-2008, and the tick distribution estimates are based on field collections across Texas from 2004-2008.
32
Al-Abri, Mohammed Ali. "Genetic variability of health disorders in Ontario Holstein cows." Thesis, McGill University, 2008. http://digitool.Library.McGill.CA:80/R/?func=dbin-jump-full&object_id=112310.
Full textAbstract:
Extensive emphasis on selection for milk yield with minimal attention to the animals' functional performance has increased the yield of North American dairy cattle. The high intensity of selection for production traits such as milk yield, protein yield and fat yield has also brought about a rapid increase in genetic relationships among animals. In dairy cattle, correlated response to selection for milk yield includes fertility and susceptibility to diseases. Although the high producing cows have greater net profit, they also have higher mammary and discarded milk costs associated with high production. Long-term genetic selection against clinically diagnosed diseases might be useful to diminish their incidence. The Scandinavian countries have incorporated the health traits into their selection indices. Canadian breeding programs realize the need to consider traits other than the yield in selection decisions. The objective of this study was to determine the genetic variability of various clinically diagnosed health traits. Data from 171 herds of the Ontario milk-recording program were used. These herds are collaborating with the University of Guelph (Dr. David Kelton) to record health traits. A major impediment to estimating heritabilities for the majority of the disorders was that the progeny group size per sire was not large enough to enable detecting a significant difference among sires. Hence, heritability estimates were not obtained for all the health disorders included in the study. The progeny group size per sire has to be increased such that there are at least 5 cases per progeny group to enable detecting a difference among sires. Heritability estimates for retained placenta and displaced abomasum in the first lactation were 0.067 and 0.212 respectively. The heritability estimate of cystic ovaries in the second lactation was 0.092. In the third lactation, the heritability estimate of mastitis was 0.10 whereas retained placenta had a heritability of 0.25.
33
Amsler, Lorenz. "Prevalence of Tropheryma whipplei DNA in patients with various gastrointestinal diseases and in healthy controls /." Zürich, 2002. http://www.public-health-edu.ch/new/Abstracts/AL_01.09.02.pdf.
Full text
34
Chalmers, Lynn. "A comparative assessment of health and immune response between triploid and diploid Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar)." Thesis, University of Stirling, 2017. http://hdl.handle.net/1893/26609.
Full textAbstract:
Sterile triploid Atlantic salmon represent a solution to the issues of pre-harvest sexual maturation and mature escapees from open aquaculture systems. Although the initial problems of reduced performance and increased deformities in triploids have been thoroughly researched, there is a continued lack of information on their susceptibility and response to disease and routine on-farm treatments compared to diploids. Thus, the main aim of this thesis was to enhance the current understanding of triploid health and immunity through experimental disease challenges and treatments, and aid in determining their robustness and, therefore, suitability for aquaculture. A commercial furunculosis vaccine equally protected diploids and triploids against challenge with Aeromonas salmonicida, and adhesion scores were similar between ploidy (Chapter 2). Interestingly, triploids had lower white blood cell counts but increased cellular activity, e.g. respiratory burst, compared to diploids. Following experimental cohabitation infection with Neoparamoeba perurans, causative agent of Amoebic Gill Disease (AGD), ploidy did not affect the manifestation or severity of AGD-associated gill pathology, or the serum innate immune response (Chapter 3). Hydrogen peroxide, used to treat against parasitic diseases, elicited similar primary and secondary stress responses in both ploidy, but led to differences in the expression of stress (cat, gpx1, gr, hsp70, sod1, sod2) and immune (saa5, crp/sap1a, crp/sap1b, il1β) genes (Chapter 4). Finally, vaccination with different vaccine treatments (4 commercial vaccines, 6 different vaccine combinations and a sham-vaccinated control) showed no ploidy differences in adhesion score or antibody response, although vertebral deformities remained higher in triploids (Chapter 5). Increasing severity of vaccine treatments negatively affected weight, length and thermal growth coefficient in both ploidy. Triploids were heavier than diploids at smolt (+ 14 %) and post smolt (+ 32 %). Overall, this research shows that triploid Atlantic salmon respond as well as diploids to disease and treatment challenges, and supports their application into full-scale commercial aquaculture.
35
Alsan, Marcella Mousavi. "Infectious Diseases and Economic Development." Thesis, Harvard University, 2012. http://dissertations.umi.com/gsas.harvard:10321.
Full textAbstract:
This dissertation contains three essays analyzing how disease (particularly communicable disease) and development interact. The first chapter explores how TseTse-transmitted Trypanosomiasis influenced African development. The second essay seeks to understand why the HIV epidemic declined in Uganda. The third study investigates the effect of population health on foreign direct investment. In the first essay, I examine the effect of the TseTse fly on African historical development. African ethnicities in TseTse suitable areas are found to be more reliant on indigenous slavery, shifting agriculture and are less urbanized as of the 19th century. TseTse suitability does not predict such correlations outside of Africa, where the fly does not exist. Africa would have been more similar to Eurasia in the absence of the fly. Current economic performance appears to be affected by the fly through its effect on historical institutions. In the second essay, David Cutler and I study how and why the HIV epidemic declined in Uganda. We identify reduced pre-marital sexual activity among young women as the most important factor leading to the decline in HIV. We next explore why young women would have changed their behavior. Using two-stage least-squares and difference-in-difference estimators, we find increases in girls’ secondary school enrollment, brought about by a targeted education policy, explains half the reduction in HIV in this cohort and approximately one-third of the overall decline. In the last essay, David Bloom, David Canning and I investigate the role of population health on foreign direct investment (FDI). We conduct a panel data analysis of 74 industrialized and developing countries over 1980-2000. Our main finding is that gross inflows of FDI are positively and significantly influenced by low population health in low- and middle-income countries. Our estimates suggest that raising life expectancy by one year increases gross FDI inflows by 9%, after controlling for other relevant variables. These findings are consistent with the view that health is an integral component of human capital for developing countries.Economics
36
Alamian, Arsham. "Multiple Behavioral Risk Factors for Chronic Diseases and Public Health Implications." Digital Commons @ East Tennessee State University, 2012. https://dc.etsu.edu/etsu-works/1382.
Full text
37
Jackson, Desmarie DeCuir. "Health barriers, health perceptions, and cardiovascular health risk factors of adolescent black American males." View the abstract Download the full-text PDF version (on campus access only), 2007. http://etd.utmem.edu/ABSTRACTS/2007-003-DeCuir-index.html.
Full textAbstract:
Thesis (Ph.D )--University of Tennessee Health Science Center, 2007.Title from title page screen (viewed on April 4, 2008). Research advisor: Mona N. Wicks, R. N., Ph. D. Document formatted into pages (x, 126 p. : ill.). Vita. Abstract. Includes bibliographical references (p. 127-146).
38
Persson, Lena. "Tobacco smoking, vascular reaction and neutrophil activity in periodontal health and disease." Stockholm, 2003. http://diss.kib.ki.se/2003/91-7349-404-6.
Full text
39
Lindberg, Mathilda. "The human gastric microbiota in health and disease." Stockholm, 2010. http://diss.kib.ki.se/2010/978-91-7409-859-4/.
Full text
40
Osika, Walter. "Self-perceived psychological health and vascular changes in childhood /." Göteborg : Dept. of Molecular and Clinical Medicine, Clinical Physiology, Institute of Medicine, Sahlgrenska Academy at Göteborg University, 2007. http://hdl.handle.net/2077/4534.
Full text
41
Lu, Yuan. "Impact of Multiple Risk Factors and Preventive Interventions on Cardiovascular Diseases and Disparities." Thesis, Harvard University, 2015. http://nrs.harvard.edu/urn-3:HUL.InstRepos:14117763.
Full textAbstract:
Major cardiovascular risk factors have changed over the past 3-4 decades throughout the world. While adiposity and diabetes are rising worldwide, blood pressure and cholesterol are declining in high-income and even some middle-income countries, possibly due to improvements in diet or better diagnosis and treatment; the same risk factors have remained unchanged or even increased in low-income countries. To formulate effective prevention and health system policies, there is need to understand the implications of these diverse trends for cardiovascular diseases (CVDs).
This dissertation focuses on quantifying the impact of multiple risk factors and preventive interventions on CVDs and their disparities at the population level. Answering this question requires information on how much of the effects of adiposity on CVDs are mediated through other metabolic risk factors (i.e. high blood pressure, high serum cholesterol and high blood glucose), which themselves have other determinants. The first paper quantifies the direct as well as the mediated effects of excess weight on coronary heart disease (CHD) and stroke through blood pressure, serum cholesterol and blood glucose. The analyses use data of 97 prospective cohorts with more than 1.8 million participants. This allows for assessing whether the extent of mediation is modified by geographical region, study period, and other characteristics of study populations. The second paper revisits the above question using causal inference models and further quantifies the role of inflammatory markers as potential mediators. The analyses use individual-level data from 9 prospective cohort studies that have high-quality measurements of metabolic and inflammatory biomarkers. The third paper uses national data sources in the United States (US) and estimates the distributions of 10-year risk of fatal CHD by race. It also assesses the effects of different population-wide and targeted interventions on CHD risk distributions and their disparities between blacks and whites.
Our findings suggest that nearly half of excess risk for CHD and three-quarters of excess risk for stroke due to excess weight were mediated through three metabolic risk factors: blood pressure, cholesterol, and glucose. Inflammatory biomarkers had much smaller roles than the combination of metabolic risk factors. In the US, the distribution of 10-year CHD risk was shifted to the right among blacks compared to whites and had a heavier tail, leading to a substantially larger proportion of blacks in the high-risk group. A risk-based intervention that identifies and treats these individuals could substantially reduce both the overall risk of CHD and its racial disparities. These results together provide the quantitative evidence on the impact of cardiovascular risk factors and selected interventions on CVDs and their disparities.
42
Abdi, Ali Ahmed Yousra. "A Study on behavioral Health Interventions for Neglected tropical diseases : What is missing in current health interventions?" Thesis, Södertörns högskola, Utveckling och internationellt samarbete, 2017. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:sh:diva-33553.
Full textAbstract:
Aim: The aim of this paper is to provide a deeper understanding of the spread of NTDs but to also determine what is missing in the health interventions that are conducted in the countries affected by NTD. Method and theory: The method used in this paper is the theory testing approach which is the Social Cognitive Theory. Development in the 1970s by A. Badura, it’s based on the concept of interaction between personal, environmental and social factors. Results: The results showed that both the previous research and today’s health interventions lack the understanding of the roll social and personal factors play in the spread of NTD. They mainly target the environmental factors and medical. Therefore, the NTDs are still endemic despite the effort during many years.
43
Gopalakrishna-Remani, Venugopal. "Information Supply Chain System for Managing Rare Infectious Diseases." Kent State University / OhioLINK, 2012. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=kent1341245050.
Full text
44
Coe, Ellen Moster. "The correlation between changes in conicity index and changes in other risk factors for coronary heart disease at baseline and after a six- month intervention program." Virtual Press, 1995. http://liblink.bsu.edu/uhtbin/catkey/941352.
Full textAbstract:
The emphasis of the study was to determine the degree of correlation between the Conicity Index and known risk factors for heart disease. Conicity Index was shown in one study to be a useful screening tool in assessing the relationship between body composition and risk for heart disease. This study was designed to provide nutrition education and teach lifestyle modification to fourteen Veteran's Affairs patients. Change in specific risk factors including Waist-to-Hip Ratio, Body Mass Index, serum lipid levels and dietary intakes were correlated with change in Conicity Index over the six month study. Results from the present study did not suggest that the Conicity Index would serve as an effective screening tool for the present population. Mean body weight, body mass index, hip circumference, cholesterol and triglyceride levels, total caloric and fat intake all decreased significantly as a result of the program. Through nutrition education, behavior modification and group support, the risk for heart disease was successfully modified in this population.Department of Family and Consumer Sciences
45
Leung, Lai-king. "Are health-education programmes effective in improving knowledge of and compliance with non-pharmacological measures against mosquito-borne disease?" Click to view the E-thesis via HKUTO, 2008. http://sunzi.lib.hku.hk/hkuto/record/B40721073.
Full text
46
Costin, Graham A. "Skeletal health education : effects of an educational intervention on health behaviour and health behaviour indicators of adolescent girls." Thesis, Queensland University of Technology, 1998.
Find full textAbstract:
Education provides the critical link between the acquisition of knowledge about the determinants of skeletal health and the availability of that knowledge for application by the wider population. Hence it is one strategy with the capacity to reduce the increasing worldwide incidence of skeletal health problems, in particular osteoporosis. An expanding aged population
requiring increasing care and support for osteoporosis-induced problems and suffering indicates the need for a concerted response incorporating education.
Although osteoporosis is typically associated with old age, the nature of precipitating factors causing bone resorption to exceed that of accretion, and how these factors might be influenced to alter such outcomes are incompletely understood. However, there is increasing evidence, largely from cross-sectional studies, showing that environmental factors such as physical activity and nutrition play a significant role in optimising the genetic potential for the development of peak bone mass.
There is also growing speculation that interventions which promote these factors during childhood and adolescence may increase peak bone mass, thus delaying the development of porotic bone. Al though the optimal dose levels for maximising the effects of these factors have yet to be established, there is sufficient evidence to support the manipulation of these factors to enhance bone accumulation.
Therefore, the general aim of this thesis was to examine the effects of a skeletal health educational intervention
on bone-enhancing lifestyle practices of adolescent girls.
A definite association between skeletal health education and the adoption of lifestyle practices regarded as beneficial to bone growth and development had not been established in the literature. Therefore, the project needed to develop an original educational intervention program focused on these practices, prior to implementation and evaluation. Based on Social Cognitive Theory and current health education practice, this program emphasised the adoption of specific health behaviours and the outcomes, therefore, in addition to the intervention outcomes, the implementation process was assessed.
Responses to this process were obtained from the adolescent girl participants and the teacher-observers using questionnaires and focus group discussions. The respondents found the program and its application very effective and beneficial. The effect of educational interventions on related interaction between mother /daughter couples who participate in the interventions together has not been established in the literature. Therefore, a small group of mothers and their adolescent daughters participated in a separate implementation of the program.
Over the subsequent four weeks, they recorded the nature and frequency of interactions which related to the skeletal health program. This study revealed that joint participation in the program resulted in several forms of cooperative interaction. Although this involved moderate levels of active interaction in physical activity and food organization sessions, the dominant areas were verbal communication and shared eating experiences at meal times.
In summary, health behaviours were maintained at or above
recommended levels during the intervention and over the
subsequent six months. Knowledge and body image satisfaction were the only health behaviour indicators which increased significantly during the intervention and this increase was largely retained six months later. From a curriculum evaluation perspective, the positive results for both the process and outcome measures of the intervention supported its utility.
The substantial amount of mother/daughter interaction resulting from their joint participation in the intervention indicates the potential of this such initiatives to enhance educational outcomes,development of the knowledge, attitude, belief and skill indicators of these behaviours.
The program was implemented in seven weekly sessions of 45 minutes to 13 year old adolescent girls in two similar girls catholic colleges. The intervention group of 97 girls from three year 8 classes at one college represented the total cohort of that age group. The comparison group comprised one year 8 class of 32 girls from the second
college. Data on the health behaviour and health behaviour
indicators were collected from this convenience sample of 129 adolescent girls using a pre-test/post-test/follow-up design.
An examination of results from qualitative and quantitative data revealed differential intervention impacts. No significant intervention effects (P < 0.05) were found for the important bone influencing behaviours of calcium intake, physical activity participation, alcohol consumption, cigarette use and caffeine intake. However, the girls commenced the study with calcium intake and physical activity participation at or above recommended levels, and extremely low drug usage. This pattern of behaviour was maintained throughout the study. The health behaviour indicator results revealed that the intervention girls acquired significantly more skeletal health knowledge than their comparison group (P < 0.001) and that this
knowledge was largely retained over the following six months.
This finding suggests that the intervention was very effective in establishing knowledge needed as a foundation for any further skeletal health initiatives. Body image satisfaction also increased significantly (P < 0.05) and much of this increase was retained six months later. However, when an importance dimension was added to this measure of satisfaction, the significant, between-group difference was not sustained. Self-efficacy for physical activity and for sensible eating did not show significant between-group differences. Similarly changes in the
expected outcomes and perceived barriers for these behaviours did not vary significantly between the two groups of girls.
47
McCormick, Natalie. "The health resource utilization and economic burden of systemic autoimmune rheumatic diseases." Thesis, University of British Columbia, 2012. http://hdl.handle.net/2429/42149.
Full textAbstract:
Background: SARDs (Systemic Autoimmune Rheumatic Diseases) are a group of rare, chronic conditions (systemic vasculitis, systemic lupus erythematosus, scleroderma, Sjogren's disease, and poly/dermatomyositis) associated with high health resource consumption. However, estimates of their healthcare burden are sparse, with most determined at tertiary centres over short periods. Studying them separately has also limited research progress. Here we grouped the SARDs, for the first time ever, to quantify their collective, longitudinal (twelve-year) burden at the population-level.
Methods: A population-based cohort of SARDs cases was identified from the administrative database of BC’s single-payer health system (PopDataBC). A detailed algorithm, with time and specialist parameters, was used to enhance diagnostic specificity. From PopDataBC, all provincially-funded health services, and all prescriptions (regardless of funding source), consumed from 1996 -2007 were captured. Costs for outpatient services and prescriptions were summed directly from paid claims; case-mix methodology was used for most hospitalizations. To quantify their net burden, costs were summed for claims attributable (under broad and narrow definitions) to SARDs. Costs are reported in 2007 Canadian dollars.
Results: 18,741 SARDs cases were identified, contributing 82,140 patient-years(PY). After inflation adjustments, the annual mean per-PY direct medical costs of SARDs averaged $6,954/PY, with $1,882/PY(27%) from outpatient, $3,551/PY(51%) from hospital, and $1,521/PY(22%) from prescriptions. Over twelve years, annual costs decreased by 32%, from $8,901/PY in 1996 to $6,087/PY in 2007. Outpatient costs and encounters decreased by 26% ($2,205-$1,641/PY) and 19% (34-27/PY), respectively. Mean annual hospital costs decreased by half ($5,579-$2,776/PY), and admissions by 46% (0.89-0.48/PY). Despite these decreases, the annual mean number of dispensed prescriptions increased by 49% (23-34/PY), and their costs by 50% ($1,117-$1,670/PY). The annual net per-PY costs of SARDs, mainly from hospitalizations(18-43% of costs) and prescriptions(48-76%), averaged $2,011-$3,202/PY.
Conclusions: SARDs impart a substantial healthcare burden at the population level, and in 2007 were directly responsible for ≥44% of cases’ gross mean annual healthcare costs ($6,087/PY). Most costs have decreased over twelve years; however, medication costs are rising (by 4% annually, on-average), which suggests comorbidity burdens are too. As demand grows for expensive but potentially-better SARDs therapies, research to assess their impact on long-term comorbidity risk is needed.
48
Vrbova, Linda. "Use of animal data in public health surveillance for emerging zoonotic diseases." Thesis, University of British Columbia, 2013. http://hdl.handle.net/2429/44254.
Full textAbstract:
Infectious agents transmitted between animals and humans (zoonoses) are important causes of emerging infectious diseases with major societal, economic, and public health implications. In order to prevent and control emerging zoonotic diseases (EZDs), they should ideally be identified in animals before they affect the human population.
The utility of animal data for public health EZD surveillance was investigated in this thesis in four studies: a systematic literature review of current EZD surveillance systems and three critical examinations of pilot agricultural animal health surveillance systems. The first critical examination used expert-elicited criteria of EZD surveillance needs to evaluate a sentinel clinical pre-diagnostic system. The other two studies used statistical modeling to assess the ability of a laboratory-based system and an integrated system with both human and animal data to detect known patterns and outbreaks.
The systematic review identified few evaluated surveillance systems, hence an evidence base for successful systems could not be obtained. Experts identified diagnostic data from laboratories and information on potential human exposures as important for public health action. While the sentinel animal surveillance system was not deemed useful on its own, identified gaps and biases in laboratory submissions suggest that sentinel veterinarians could inform animal laboratory surveillance.
Seasonal trends and expected events of public health importance were identified in animal diagnostic laboratory data, however, statistical surveillance in either pre-diagnostic or diagnostic data streams did not provide adequate early warning signals for action. While the integrated surveillance for Salmonella bacteria allowed for the examination of the relationship between human and animal data, statistical alerts did not correlate with expert-identified investigations.
Laboratory surveillance is likely the best candidate for EZD surveillance in animals, however, this information needs to be supplemented with potential human exposure information, as well as knowledge of data gaps and biases inherent in the data. Without this additional risk information to convert the animal data into risk for humans, the best use of animal laboratory data at this time is to help generate hypotheses in epidemiological investigations and in helping evaluate programs by examining longer-term trends.
49
龔慧慈 and Wai-chee Annie Kung. "Thyroglobulin gene expression and thyroid functions in health and autoimmune thyroid diseases." Thesis, The University of Hong Kong (Pokfulam, Hong Kong), 1990. http://hub.hku.hk/bib/B31981355.
Full text
50
Beard, Lorraine Joyce. "IgG subclass concentrations in children in health and disease /." Title page, contents and summary only, 1990. http://web4.library.adelaide.edu.au/theses/09MD/09mdb368.pdf.
Full text