Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Promoting Community Engagement Through Basic User Tutorial Of Epa Geospatial Screening Tools, Jonas Nguyen

Master's Projects and Capstones

Social inequalities are riddled with health disparities and outcomes leading toward lower life expectancy. Communities of color, low income, and rural neighborhoods lack the voice and resources to effectively oppose industrial settlement which would likely lead to the release of toxic wastes into the water, air and ground ultimately affecting residential health. Empowering members through community engagement is a relatively new strategic process where researchers are finding mutual benefits in design, implementation, and results. This study aims to identify and promote tools for community engagement within the scope of environmental justice by working with EPA geospatial screening tools and designing …

Return To School 1 Year After Traumatic Brain Injury: A Study Using The Traumatic Brain Injury Model Systems National Database, Kathryn Tarnai

Masters Theses, 2020-current

For many individuals, recovery from moderate to severe brain injuries involves returning to a level of pre-injury productivity. Specifically, previous research has focused extensively on factors predicting return to employment, where students are inconsistently categorized with those in competitive employment. Moreover, research dedicated to return to school for students in secondary and tertiary education is largely qualitative; very few studies have utilized predictive modeling on a sample composed solely of students. For this study, a model including days of post-traumatic amnesia (PTA), length of stay (LOS), rehabilitation discharge Disability Rating Scale (DRS) scores, and educational level was used to predict …

How Does The Effect Of Hurricane Katrina Influence Healthcare Infrastructure And Resilience?, Sean Y. Wei

University Honors Theses

In August 2005, Hurricane Katrina brought upon the city of New Orleans, LA one of the costliest natural disasters in U.S. history. This paper looks at how hospitals were prepared before Katrina, responded to, and grappled with the aftermath of this natural disaster. In the aftermath of Katrina, careful investigation of the healthcare system along with its hospitals, physicians, patients, and residents allow us to take innovative measures and provide guidance to create recommendations to better monitor and care for individuals in the future. Frameworks of resilience theories, studies, and recommendations display how and why disaster planning is essential. The …

Stress And Negative Affect As Mediators In The Association Between Parental Social Support And Lung Function In Adolescents With Asthma, Amber Osorno, Eric Sternlicht, Pornchai Tirakitsoontorn, Azucena Talamantes, Anchalee Yuengsrigul, Zeev N. Kain, Brooke Jenkins

SURF Posters and Papers

Asthma is the leading chronic condition amongst children in the United States as 7.5% of children are diagnosed with asthma. Studies have shown that positive social support is associated with positive asthma management. A strong social support system predicts good management of asthma symptoms; however, current literature has not yet examined how social support impacts lung function as opposed to merely symptom management. Stress and negative affect have been revealed to be associated with worse asthma control, as well as exacerbation of symptoms. Stressful situations, such as the death of a family member, unemployment, and familial tensions lead to worsening …

Special Issue – July 2021 The Impact Of Inequity & Health Disparities On The Human Experience, Patient Experience Journal

Patient Experience Journal

Patient Experience Journal (PXJ) is excited to announce the call for submissions for its July 2021 special issue on the impact of racial inequality, health disparities, and discrimination on the human experience. The world now finds itself in the grips of a global pandemic that is taking its toll on communities socially and economically, placing strain on healthcare workers and revealing the very systemic weaknesses and inherent biases that have been resting just beneath the surface of our society for years. The challenge of disparity and inequity is not unique to healthcare, but in the era of COVID-19, what many …

Micro-Volunteering At Scale Can Help Health Systems Respond To Emergencies, Such As The Covid-19 Pandemic, Neil Churchill Obe

Patient Experience Journal

One of the unprecedented challenges of the Covid-19 pandemic has been to support millions of clinically high-risk individuals who were advised to self-isolate for long periods to reduce the likelihood of infection. The NHS in England issued a mass call for volunteers in March 2020 to help support people who were shielding or vulnerable for other reasons during the lockdown. Three quarters of a million people came forward to aid the health at home experience for these vulnerable individuals by providing friendly telephone calls, help with shopping or collection of medicines or transport to essential hospital appointments. Hospitals also used …

My Six-Word Story: Power To Reconnect And Connect, Alexie Puran

Patient Experience Journal

The COVID-19 global pandemic is a threat to the well-being of our healthcare professionals. Recent studies on the mental health effects of healthcare professionals from China and Italy have revealed higher levels of depression, anxiety and psychological distress. As a Pediatric Emergency Medicine physician working on the frontline and a H3 (Helping Healers Heal) Peer Champion, I sought to support my staff’s well-being and emotional resilience. My Six-Word Story, a simple and meaningful activity was designed to support the psycho-social well-being of those on the frontline providing care. This new project was implemented in the Pediatric Emergency Department at NYC …

Nursing Leadership During Covid-19: Enhancing Patient, Family And Workforce Experience, Anne Aquilia, Karen Grimley, Barbara Jacobs, Maryellen Kosturko, Jerry Mansfield, Charlotte Mathers, Peggie Parniawski, Laura Wood, Victoria Niederhauser

Patient Experience Journal

The global COVID-19 pandemic has challenged nurse leaders in ways that one could not imagine six months ago. Along with ongoing priorities of providing high quality, cost-effective and safe care, nurse leaders are also committed to creating environments that support excellence in patient and family experience. This article will provide exemplars of how nurse leaders used decisive decision-making, adapted to novel situations and issues, ensured reliable and safe delivery of care and engaged patients, families and their workforce to create excellent experiences of care during the pandemic. Throughout this crisis, nurse leaders have learned how to grapple with quick and …

Caring For Our Caregivers In Body, Mind And Spirit During The Covid-19 Pandemic, Rick Evans, Philip J. Wilner, Kristen Spillane

Patient Experience Journal

New York City became the epicenter of the coronavirus pandemic in March 2020. The surge of critically ill patients combined with widespread social distancing measures created extraordinary challenges for healthcare workers. Many frontline workers experienced significant physical, psychological, and emotional distress. They faced demanding patient care responsibilities while managing personal obligations and health concerns.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, it was imperative that NewYork-Presbyterian care for its workforce’s physical, psychological and emotional needs, not only because of our commitment to our colleagues as people, but also because of our obligation to continue to deliver high quality care and experience to the …

Johns Hopkins Medicine Responds To Covid-19: Adjusting Patient- Family- And Staff-Centered Care, Stacy L. C. Colimore, Lisa Allen, Zach Lawrence, Nicole Iarrobino, Sylvia Kavouriou, Adey Betre, Chevaunne Edwards, Amel Elshinawi, Lisa Filbert, Tameka Glenn, Jade Hewitt, Lisa Jibril, Brittney Lawrence, Ariel Mabry, Deborah Miller, Nicole Pritchett, Heather Webb

Patient Experience Journal

The extraordinary impact of the novel coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) on the health care industry included a major, nearly immediate paradigm shift in the visitation policy for Johns Hopkins Medicine. This large health system, comprising six hospitals, a home care group, community physician practices and satellite outpatient sites moved from essentially open visitation to no visitation, creating an entirely new set of needs for our staff, patients and their loved ones. We developed new ways of communicating and connecting staff members, staff and patients, staff and the patient’s loved ones, and patients and their loved ones. Our intent was to …

Positive Patient Experience In Eye Care During Covid-19: A Case From Eye Hospital Sistina Oftalmologija, Vesna Cado

Patient Experience Journal

COVID-19 was a wake-up call, changing the world we know and our experiences in every possible way. Healthcare systems, as the most exposed and stressed in this situation, were called to urgently respond to the new reality. Physical distancing and stay-at-home directives have flattened the curve and decreased the risk of viral transmission but also decreased the clinical volume in eye care medical practice. Hospitals must work hard to find a balance in responding to the pandemic while providing quality care and positive patient experiences. Previous research on crises has been mostly focused on implementing crisis management strategies to handle …

Maintaining A Positive Patient Experience During Covid-19 In A Rehabilitation And Complex Care Setting, Sarah Benn Orava, Kim Cook, Amanda Brown

Patient Experience Journal

West Park Healthcare Centre located in Toronto, Ontario, Canada provides specialized rehabilitative and complex care after a life‐altering illness or injury such as lung disease, amputation, stroke and traumatic musculoskeletal injuries. This narrative showcases the strategies, processes and the lessons learned and subsequently utilized throughout the COVID-19 pandemic to engage patients and their family and peers.

Experience Framework

This article is associated with the Patient, Family & Community Engagement lens of The Beryl Institute Experience Framework. (http://bit.ly/ExperienceFramework)

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Patients And Families Strengthen Covid-19 Communication Across Los Angeles County, Lindsey Galli, Libby Hoy

Patient Experience Journal

PFCCpartners supported Los Angeles County Department of Health Services to develop a Person Family Engaged Culture. When COVID-19 hit Los Angeles, system leaders understood the importance of keeping a pulse on what information people were looking for. With the continued support from PFCCpartners, a survey of community members was conducted to understand their questions during this unprecedented time. The survey highlighted barriers to accessing supplies, refilling prescriptions and using technology for virtual appointments. Utilizing the survey questions, a small group discussion was held to deepen understanding of the barriers and challenges faced during the pandemic. These two engagement activities ensured …

Out Of Sight, But Not Out Of Mind: Keeping Connections Alive During Covid-19, Katie Braun

Patient Experience Journal

The Veteran Affairs Pittsburgh Healthcare System (VAPHS) completed over 750,000 outpatient appointments during fiscal year 2019. With changes occurring around COVID-19, VAPHS saw a significant decline in veterans on campus. VAPHS employees are strongly connected to the mission of serving our nation’s hero’s, while veterans find trust, support and comradery at the VA. The VAPHS Office of Veterans Experience (OVE) realized the impact that COVID-19 isolation may have on veterans quarantined at home and seized the opportunity to continue to build relationships, develop trust and keep connected through the VAPHS Birthday Club. Over 1,300 calls have been placed to provide …

A Comprehensive Call Center Supporting Safe, Efficient Operations During A Pandemic, Janice P. Finder, Ashlyn Proske, Judy Overton, Elizabeth Comcowich Garcia, Michael Frumovitz

Patient Experience Journal

Research has shown that a comprehensive call center can support a safe, efficient, and quality experience for patients and their families. When a patient receives a cancer diagnosis, the stakes are already high. Add a pandemic to an immunocompromised patient population and fear escalates. In order to accommodate the ever-changing information and ease patients’ anxieties surrounding their cancer diagnoses, it is necessary that an institution be available 24/7 to inform, help navigate systems, and manage symptoms because the emergency room, and many times the clinics, have too many inherent risks.

MD Anderson expanded the hours of operation for askMDAnderson, a …

Teleboard: The Move To A Virtual Family Advisory Board, Sheryl Chadwick, Deejo Miller, Kathryn Taff, Amanda Montalbano

Patient Experience Journal

Restrictions on in-person meetings were going to hamper the ability for the well-established Family Advisory Board (FAB) for our pediatric hospital to continue meeting unless a virtual meeting platform was introduced. The FAB was moved to a virtual platform for the April and May 2020 meetings. Attendance rates from family members and staff were measured and compared to the previous 14 in-person meetings. Contributions during the virtual meetings from each attendee type were recorded to analyze engagement during virtual meetings. There was no statistical difference in average attendance for virtual compared to in-person meetings, 75% versus 64.3% for family members …

How University Of Chicago Medicine Designed Virtual Rounding To Maintain Human Connections During Covid-19, Susan M. Murphy

Patient Experience Journal

This story is about how the Patient Experience and Engagement Program (PEEP) team at University of Chicago Medicine adapted our patient rounding program from in-person to virtual during the COVID-19 crisis. With creativity and ingenuity, our team shifted on a dime to ensure that patients received the kind of care and connection that allowed them to start the recovery process from what could otherwise be a traumatizing experience before they even leave the hospital. I will explain the steps we took to quickly transition our rounding program from in-person to virtual. But more than that, I want to convey the …

A Covid-19 Patient’S Experience: Engagement In Disease Management, Interactions With Care Teams And Implications On Health Policies And Managerial Practices, Lihua Dishman, Vicki Schroeder

Patient Experience Journal

This narrative inquiry aimed to explore a COVID-19 patient’s lived experience from contracting the disease to recovery and understand the implications of this unique patient experience on health policies and managerial practices. The personal narrative approach was used to chronicle the patient’s weekly journey in disease management. Best practices emerged from her and her family members’ engagement in managing COVID-19, and interactions with her primary care provider and COVID-19 Response Team. Her COVID-19 patient experience also provided a basis for implications on public health and healthcare policies and managerial practices. Three key dimensions were perceived to have positively impacted the …

Focusing On Positivity During The Covid-19 Crisis: A New York Health System Strategy, Sven Gierlinger, Agnes Barden

Patient Experience Journal

In the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, spreading positivity has become a core mission of Northwell Health, the largest integrated health system in New York. As a state and community health system, we are forever changed, but our need for compassion, humanism, and connection has never wavered. Creating innovative ways to bring humanity to the forefront, hope and optimism echo across the organization as initiatives, forums, and acts of gratitude have ensued.

Experience Framework

This article is associated with the Culture & Leadership lens of The Beryl Institute Experience Framework. (http://bit.ly/ExperienceFramework)

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Chronic Pain, Vulnerability And Human Spirit While Living Under The Umbrella Of Covid-19, Richard B. Hovey Dr., Delane Linkiewich Ms., Mary Brachaniec Ms.

Patient Experience Journal

The purpose of writing this article is to describe what added challenges people like us who are living with chronic pain are experiencing during the COVID-19 pandemic. We explore what this challenging time means to us and how it affects our lives, along with providing insight into our experiences. This is not a research study, but instead an article that shares perspectives from people with lived experience of chronic pain. Our narratives are presented to create an awareness of the plight for people already living with challenging health conditions and how the COVID-19 pandemic has added additional layers of vulnerability. …

Caring For Kids In The Time Of Covid-19, Laurie S. Strongin

Patient Experience Journal

The proliferation of COVID-19 has disrupted tens of millions of children’s lives. Aside from the monotony of living indoors for extended periods, being quarantined can cause feelings of helplessness, anxiety, and fear in kids and parents. These feelings are familiar to chronically ill children whose treatment often necessitates years in and out of hospitals, but COVID-19 has made life harsher for these kids. While otherwise healthy children tend to have milder symptoms than adults, the same isn’t true for kids with compromised immune systems. Keeping these children safe requires hospitals to make adjustments that exacerbate their isolation from everything they …

Treading Water: Coping With Uncertainty During A Novel Pandemic, Sachin Patel

Patient Experience Journal

The abruptness with which the COVID-19 pandemic has changed the delivery of healthcare will have a lasting effect on patients and families of intensive care unit survivors. Using the best science and epidemiology healthcare systems developed protocols and policies to implement the highest level of care but mitigate disease spread. Out of these initiatives the “no visitor” policy was born. The impact of COVID-19 causing florid respiratory failure immediately derailed the lives of a happily retired couple. While on mechanical ventilation for sixteen days, Betty was unable to connect with her husband of over 40 years. In that time, the …

Beyond Platitudes: A Nurse’S Journey Of Self-Reflection And Vulnerability, Monica Friesen

Patient Experience Journal

The efforts taking place in healthcare organizations and communities globally should represent what is best in humanity, perhaps even more so in this unprecedented time of COVID-19. This short personal narrative is the acknowledgement that “best” needs to start with “me” and my story of self-reflection and journey of vulnerability.

Experience Framework

This article is associated with the Staff & Provider Engagement lens of The Beryl Institute Experience Framework. (http://bit.ly/ExperienceFramework)

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Getting Comfortable With Being Uncomfortable: A Conversation With Marsha Sinanan-Vasishta, Jason A. Wolf

Patient Experience Journal

We find ourselves managing two critical moments and a powerful confluence of events, one a crisis in health. We are still facing the COVID crisis, and we are trying very hard to rely on evidence and truth that will lead us forward in addressing that in the best way possible. We are also in a crisis of humanity, one that has been simmering beneath the surface for years, the issue of systemic racism and disparities in healthcare, further highlighted by the COVID crisis. This article shares the conversation I had with Marsha Sinanan-Vasishta, MSN, MBA, RN, NEA-BC, CPXP, Deputy Chief …

Leadership Matters: A Conversation With Dr. James Hildreth, Jason A. Wolf

Patient Experience Journal

I was extremely honored at this moment in the midst of our current health crisis to have a conversation with Dr. James Hildreth, president and chief executive officer of Meharry Medical College. The focus and commitment expressed by Dr. Hildreth reflects the very mission statement of Meharry Medical College itself, to advance health equity through innovative research, transformative education, exceptional and compassionate health services and policy-influencing thought leadership. As equally important is the alignment of Meharry’s purpose with our very own at the Institute, as Meharry’s mission continues to empower diverse populations to improve the well-being of humankind. Dr. Hildreth …

A Commitment To Hope, Jason A. Wolf Phd, Geoffrey A. Silvera

Patient Experience Journal

On April 1, we made the decision to reconfigure our scheduled special issue on Behavioral Health to the topic of this issue - Sustaining a Focus on Human Experience in the Face of COVID-19. In the midst of crisis, we were uncertain how people would respond to this call or even if they could in the face of the realities they were addressing each day. Yet, the research, cases and stories started to arrive. The contributions in this special issue represent a patchwork of powerful insights and a historic record to document this moment. What we have brought together …

Labyrinths, Kevin M. Cahill M.D.

International Affairs

Labyrinths explores the origins of thirteen books I have written in the past few decades, texts that have helped to define the emerging parameters of relief operations that inevitably follow armed conflicts or natural disasters. Widely used in international training programs, these books provide practical, specific approaches and solutions—to complex problems in a multidisciplinary field. But how, and why, and even when certain editorial decisions were made required a deeper probe, and Labyrinths looks back at the formative influences of childhood, adolescence, education, and early professional experiences. Many of the pieces in this volume predate the Fordham University Press Humanitarian …

Are College Students’ Attitudes Related To Their Application Of Sanctions For Campus Sexual Assault Cases?, Jaspreet K. Chahal, Caihong R. Li, Diane R. Follingstad, Claire M. Renzetti

CRVAW Faculty Journal Articles

With growing attention to adjudication of campus sexual assault cases, more is known regarding students’ views of sexual assault, but little the literature focuses on how students perceive “justice” in terms of assigning sanctions or guilt/responsibility for such cases. The present study focused on understanding whether college students’ preformed attitudes and beliefs were associated with the severity of sanctions they applied across a range of sexual assault cases as well as their assignments of guilt and responsibility to the parties involved. To determine students’ attitudes and beliefs mediating effects on sanction choices, five scales (i.e., rape myth acceptance, downplaying the …

Mechanisms Study: Using Game Theory To Assess The Effects Of Social Norms And Social Networks On Adolescent Smoking In Schools—Study Protocol, Ruth F. Hunter, Felipe Montes, Jennifer M. Murray, Sharon C. Sanchez-Franco, Shannon C. Montgomery, Joaquín Jaramillo, Christopher Tate, Rajnish Kumar, Laura Dunne, Abhijit Ramalingam, Erik O. Kimbrough, Erin Krupka, Huiyu Zhou, Laurence Moore, Linda Bauld, Blanca Llorente, Olga L. Sarmiento, Frank Kee

Economics Faculty Articles and Research

This proof of concept study harnesses novel transdisciplinary insights to contrast two school-based smoking prevention interventions among adolescents in the UK and Colombia. We compare schools in these locations because smoking rates and norms are different, in order to better understand social norms based mechanisms of action related to smoking. We aim to: (1) improve the measurement of social norms for smoking behaviors in adolescents and reveal how they spread in schools; (2) to better characterize the mechanisms of action of smoking prevention interventions in schools, learning lessons for future intervention research. The A Stop Smoking in Schools Trial (ASSIST) …

How Do They Feel About It? Testing A New Mixed Methods Survey Tool To Assess Collective Emotional Status, Michael G. Schwab, Vasileios Margaritis

The Qualitative Report

Emotions are now widely accepted as important elements of qualitative research, in studies of individuals and communities. However, collective emotional status—what a community feels about a given situation or proposition—can be challenging to assess. In this study, we examined the validity and acceptability of a new mixed methods survey tool, primarily qualitative, to address this challenge—the Assessment of Collective Emotional Status (ACES). The tool begins with an adjustable set of questions about emotion, to draw respondents’ attention to their own feelings. These are followed by an emotional self-assessment, in which respondents select and prioritize five emotional responses to a standardized …