Teenage pregnancy in Kenya, East Africa, has emerged as a significant public health concern because of its contribution to increased fetal and maternal mortality, increased spread of sexually transmitted infections (STIs) and the declining socio-economic status of women in Kenya. At present 25% of Kenyan females ages 15-19 are either pregnant or have children and 85% of females 15-19 do not use contraceptives. If the country fulfills its unmet need for family planning thus reducing incidences of teenage pregnancy, it can help Kenya significantly reduce the cost of achieving five of the eight Millennium Development Goals (MDG) goals set by the United Nations. To meet their unmet family planning needs, youth nearing or entering their sexual debut need instruction on family planning/sex education. Comprehensive sex education, which includes education on abstinence and birth control methods, has proved effective in delaying sexual debut, reducing frequency of sex, reducing the number of sexual partners and increasing condom or contraceptive use. Comprehensive sex education does not encourage teenage sexual activity nor does it lead to early initiation of sexual activity. Instead participating in a comprehensive sex education programme improved adolescent decision- making skills and boosted self-confidence. An on-line search for functioning comprehensive sex education programmes targeting girls between the ages of 14-18 in Kenya, East Africa, was conducted from January to March 2009. Five programmes were identified: 1) Primary School Action for better Health, 2) Teen Web, 3) The World Starts With Me, 4) Tuko Pamoja [We are One] and 5) Youth for Youth. These programmes met the inclusion criteria used for this paper, all programmes are conducted in Kenya, were initiated after 1990 and are still running, target either adolescent girls or the general adolescent population ages 14 to 18 and must teach comprehensive sex education. Programmes that taught only abstinence were excluded. This paper discusses these comprehensive sex education programmes, examines curriculum design and content and critiques how effectively they met seventeen criteria of a well designed comprehensive sex education (CSEP) curriculum as outlined by Douglas Kirby, a senior research scientist and one of the worlds leading experts on the effectiveness of school and community programmes in the reduction of adolescent sexual risk-taking behaviours. This paper also discusses barriers to implementing nation-wide CSEPs in Kenya and strategies to improve and institutionalize available CSEPs.

This paper critically reviews HIV/AIDS prevention strategies in Kenya. Since HIV/AIDS was discovered over twenty years, it has continued to be a public health problem throughout the world. While global prevalence has stabilized in recent years, the number of people living with HIV is increasing because of new infections with longer survival times. High rates of transmission result from failure to use effective strategies and tools, and failure to target high risk groups. Kenya is no exception to this situation. Objective of this study is to identify gaps in HIV prevention and make recommendations for improvement. Methods The study methodology follows three steps. 1. A benchmark of proven HIV prevention strategies by the HIV prevention working group is identified. 2. Ugandas HIV prevention efforts, a country that has had success in the fight for AIDS, are presented to compare to Kenyas efforts 3. Kenyas prevention strategies have been identified through examination of reports and websites from three umbrella bodies representing the government, non-governmental and community organizations, and international organizations. Examination and comparisons between the three groups will help identify gaps in Kenyas prevention efforts and make recommendations. Results Overall, Kenya has put effort in HIV prevention including using several proven strategies, including, voluntary counseling and testing for HIV (VCT), STI diagnoses and management, abstinence, being faithful condom use and male circumcision (ABCCs), prevention of mother to child transmission (PMTCT), behavior change communication (BCC), safe blood supply and injection safety. Despite these efforts, gaps still exist. First, regional differences in HIV infection, second, most vulnerable and high risk groups need intensive programs, third, prevention efforts lack integration with other programs. Finally there are gender differentials and inequality, insufficient programs for young people and cultural barriers. Conclusions Universal coverage of prevention efforts is necessary. Social factors like inequalities, gender differentials and cultural barriers need to be addressed, especially women empowerment. Youths should be targeted through age specific sex education programs. High risk and vulnerable populations should be prioritized. Local leaders and peer training are necessary to reach these populations. A comprehensive and integrated approach to HIV prevention is advocated

Objective: Given the dramatic increase of new interactive features on the Internet known as Web 2.0 sites, the objective of this study was to determine how features such as member profiles, personal blogs and online social networks were used in virtual communities related to type 2 diabetes and to describe the potential differences between the social ecology model of these virtual communities and traditional physical communities. Methods: All original posts and replies in two diabetes discussion forums in web 2.0 enabled virtual communities were recorded for ninety days. Utilization of these features and content from publicly available components of profile pages were recorded from a purposive sample of 60 members. Content was analyzed using qualitative coding techniques. Utilization of other Web 2.0 features was recorded to determine frequency of use among sampled members. Results: 272 original posts and 3605 replies were generated by the participants in the discussion threads. Discussion forum analysis revealed that food, medication and blood glucose levels were major themes for original posts. Replies usually included the empathic and personal experiences of other members. Group guidance emerged from the cumulative responses provided by the community and provided the individual with a sense of the normalized behaviors of the community. Analysis of the utilization of various Web 2.0 features revealed that those who withheld gender information used the features less often than those identifying with a gender. Utilization also appeared to be dependent on the design attributes of the website. Analysis of 204 personal blog entries revealed the daily struggles of the members and rarely discussed diabetes. Replies to personal blogs were more likely to include religious guidance and expressions of empathy and love. Strong social ties were evident between individual blog entries and those providing the replies. Discussion and Public Health Significance: Discussion forums provided members with the ability to gather disease specific information from a large network of individuals with salient experiences. Personal blogs and other features facilitated the formation of strong social ties to develop. The combination of these features online provides a unique opportunity for public health practitioners to develop comprehensive and multifaceted interventions.

This dissertation project examined protective factors against HIV infection among API MSM. First, we evaluated the literature for scientific evidence that may explain the lower HIV prevalence among API MSM. Four of the ten hypotheses provided some partial explanations or needed further investigation: 1) API MSM's sexual networks may be primarily composed of MSM of low HIV risk profiles; 2) Prevalence of seroadaptive behaviors is higher among API MSM; 3) HIV-positive API MSM have better access to care and treatment; 4) Ethnic heritage acculturation may be protective. Second, we examined race and age mixings among API MSM. It appeared that overall patterns of race and age mixing among API MSM tended to be more assortative. API MSM were more likely to be partnered with other API men than expected and the age difference between API participants and their partners were narrower than that among other participants. In addition, young API MSM were more likely to be aware of their partners's HIV status as a majority of their partners were main partners. Finally, we found that prevalence of seroadaptive behaviors differed little by race/ethnicities, which does not point to seroadaptation as protecting API MSM against HIV infection. Of concern, the significantly lower prevalence of serodisclosure behaviors among API MSM did not appear to translate into lower levels of seroadaptation. Our findings have significant public health implications. First, more research on how structural factors affect HIV infections among MSM are needed. Second, the socio-cultural and structural contexts of partner selection need to be explored. Third, public health professionals should be aware of changing behaviors within MSM communities so that new and innovative interventions can be developed. Fourth, a strength-based approach to studying protective factors against HIV infection among API MSM is overdue. Qualitative studies are needed to develop some strength-based conceptual frameworks. Fifth, it seems that certain Asian/API cultural issues or values would be worth investigating. Lastly, while HIV prevalence remains low among API MSM, bio-behavioral surveillance should keep monitoring HIV incidence and risk behaviors among this population and culturally appropriate interventions should be delivered to them, before it is too late to intervene.

Adolescents engage in risky health behaviors more than young children and adults. This risk taking is thought to be a result of biological and environmental factors influencing adolescent behavior. Teenagers' engagement in risky sexual behavior puts them at a higher risk for morbidity and social stress resulting from unintended pregnancy and sexually-transmitted infections. This increased risk of morbidity emphasizes the public health significance of adolescent risk behavior. Parental monitoring has been identified as an important protective factor for adolescents' negative sexual health outcomes. However, the distinction between rule-setting and coercive discipline is critical in understanding the influence that parents have over their adolescent's risk taking behavior. Without recognition of the importance of a supportive and trusting parent/adolescent relationship, parental monitoring studies and interventions will be less effective in bringing about behavior change in adolescents and their parents. Perceptions of parental monitoring can vary greatly between adolescents and parents, and thus there is a need for a scale to measure actual parental knowledge of adolescent risk behavior. It is also important to consider the quality of parent and adolescent relationships when attempting to understand the effects of parental monitoring. As a result, the examination of barriers to parental monitoring and the nature of the parent/adolescent relationship are crucial for making a lasting positive impact on adolescent sexual health outcomes.

Antenatal depression and anxiety are significant public health problems. Birth and neonatal outcomes suffer as a result of maternal depression and anxiety during pregnancy. As such, effectively treating depression and anxiety in the expectant mother is imperative to the overall health of mother and child. Psychopharmaceuticals are effective in alleviating depressed and anxious symptoms, but the evidence of the safety of their use during pregnancy is inconclusive. Furthermore, pregnant women themselves express the desire for non-psychopharmaceutical options when deciding how to manage their depression or anxiety. Mindfulness-based interventions show promise as a non-invasive, non-pharmaceutical option for managing negative affective states. To help predict the likelihood of a successful adoption of mindfulness-based interventions, midwives perspectives on using mindfulness in clinical settings with their depressed or anxious patients were investigated. Results indicated favorable attitudes towards using mindfulness, along with various barriers that may prevent the adoption of mindfulness in clinical settings.

Complete knowledge of a patients medications, including over-the-counter and alternative medicines, is essential to the healthcare professional in providing quality care. In addition to the multiple steps from prescribing, dispensing to administering of a drug medication, there are several factors that increase an individuals risk for an adverse event and approaches to reduce medication errors. The movement of healthcare systems to an electronic medical record provides the potential of building a better health care system. This retrospective study compares five sources of medication, medical record chart, specialist, electronic medical record, pharmacy, insurance provider and patient, to determine what is the most accurate source of documentation, and what factors leading to better knowledge and documentation of all of a patients medications. This study also identifies additional risk factors, specifically drug affordability and the influence it has on a patients behavior, and discusses some considerations for reducing medication errors. The prevention and reduction of adverse events is of public health significance as there is both a health and financial cost to treating these adverse events.

In the summer of 2009, more than 209 countries officially reported 25,174 deaths from influenza A H1N1 virus infection to the World Health Organization (WHO). As of mid-February 2010, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimated that 57 million people in the United States had contracted the H1N1 virus, resulting in approximately 257,000 hospitalizations and 17,160 deaths. In the event of an influenza pandemic, policies are implemented in order to attempt to lessen the spread of the disease. One of these regards school closure, a non-pharmaceutical intervention, often suggested for mitigating influenza pandemic in a population. Proactive school closure is defined as closing schools ahead of a pandemic arriving in an area, whereas reactive school closure occurs simply because many students and staff are sick and the schools feel it is necessary. Health officials making the decision to close schools must weigh the potential health benefits of reducing transmission against high economic and social costs, difficult ethical issues, and the possible disruption of key services such as health care. This paper examines the public health relevance of school closure as a public health policy in response to an influenza epidemic and shows that school closure as a mitigation strategy will have substantial economic, social, and ethical effects. Seven studies are examined regarding economic costs, social costs, social justice and ethical issues, and effect on the healthcare system, to evaluate the effects of school closure during an H1N1 influenza. Modeling studies are also discussed. Epidemiology studies and surveys highlight the social effects, ethical issues, and healthcare effects. Vulnerable populations often suffer disproportionately during an epidemic, therefore the sources of socioeconomic and racial/ethnic disparities during an epidemic are examined. Finally, there is a discussion on communication and implementation of school closure policies and recommendations for improvement of preventative methods as well as specific plans to minimize the disparities. Overall, closing schools in the United States for an average of four weeks could cost up to $47 billion dollars (0.3% of GDP) and lead to a reduction of 19% in key healthcare workers. School closure also raises a range of ethical and social issues, particularly since families from underprivileged backgrounds are likely to be most affected by the intervention. Some recommendations include simple educational campaigns to be implemented within schools and local businesses to help educate the community about H1N1 influenza. Because it can be extremely difficult for parents to take time off work to get their children vaccinated, doctor offices should offer H1N1 vaccinations during regular check-ups, and schools should try to hold vaccination programs. Finally, due to evidence of existing health care disparities among socially disadvantaged groups, distribution plans of vaccinations may need to include mobile community health centers that can travel to low-income areas and nontraditional sites like soup kitchens and shelters.

Community gardens provide numerous benefits, are important to sustain, and are significant to public health. They go beyond tangible benefits such as improved food security, nutrition and physical activity and can be the host of intangible benefits such as improved leadership, social networks, and quality of life. The essence of a community gardens dynamic transcends across multiple intervention levels making the community garden a flexible initiative. However, recent evidence indicates that community gardens struggle with discontinuation. The overarching goal of this paper is to examine longevity and sustainability issues as they relate to community gardens. I will apply a systematic framework of organizational structure and improvement (Sustainability Assessment Modeling (SAM)) to better understand community garden sustainability. Specifically, I propose the use of the SAM framework to develop a community garden assessment. SAM quantifies stakeholders values, perceptions, and both economic and environmental costs. One aim of this paper is to explore the literature related to SAM and how this model can relate to public health, with a discussion of its methods, strengths, and limitations. The ultimate objective is to synthesize this information into a proposal of an effective, sustainable-focused assessment for community gardens. The participatory assessment process I propose will utilize indicators of organizational strengths, weaknesses and success of community gardens, such as longevity.

Abortion, much like pregnancy, can play a significant role in the course of a womans life. Even so, abortion is complicated by a number of barriers legal, financial, emotional, spiritual, religious, and physical -- with which women and men struggle beyond the mere complexity of undergoing a surgical procedure. Although abortion can be pivotal in a womans life, every individual is remarkably different, and for that reason so is every abortion experience. For over 30 years, Allegheny Reproductive Health Center (ARHC) has embraced a holistic approach that seeks to understand and address the needs of women and men seeking termination services. In 2008, ARHC erected a space, the Sanctuary, designed specifically to encourage personal reflection and quiet meditation among patients and abortion providers coping with the complex issues surrounding abortion. Thus, in order to understand the impact of the Sanctuary, this exploratory study investigates the various uses of the meditative space. Qualitative research was conducted through the use of semi-structured interviews with clinic workers and by asking visitors to the meditative space to respond to a short questionnaire, which upon completion was placed in a secure box installed within the Sanctuary. From the results, four overarching themes were identified: 1. To work within the abortion field is both complex and important; 2. The next step in abortion care is a holistic approach that addresses a patients specific needs; 3. The development of the Sanctuary is a step toward advancing abortion care for women and men; and 4. To establish an understanding of how the space is used by patients and clinic workers. These results imply that applying a holistic approach in abortion care, through the use of a space such as the Sanctuary, is respectful of the varability in womens and mens experiences related to pregnancy termination. Moreover, the findings indicate that participants support the placement and use of the Sanctuary, for themseleves as well as patients. In terms of public health relevance, professionals within the field can utilize this research to advance the understanding of how to assist women and men in managing the complexities of abortion.