This study aims to identify the perceived barriers to eye care and to evaluate concerns about vision and eye care among patients with diabetes in the greater New Haven area. A qualitative study applying one-on-one semi-structured interviews and non-participatory observations was conducted to identify the factors that deter diabetics from seeking eye care. Patients were recruited at the Yale Primary Care Center, Diabetes Center and Eye Center, who met the following criteria: 1) have been diagnosed with type 1 or type 2 diabetes and 2) have been referred to an eye center for dilated eye exam and/or treatment. All interviews and discussions were recorded and transcribed. The transcripts were then analyzed to detect recurrent themes. Data collection continued until no new themes emerged. This study showed that lack of awareness and lack of adequate referral to regular diabetic eye exam were viewed as the most common barriers. Many patients had limited awareness that diabetes could affect the eye or lead to blindness. Patients had little knowledge of diabetic retinopathy, or the significance of early screening and intervention. Primary care providers usually emphasized diet and blood sugar control to prevent future complications; diabetic eye care education was not often prioritized. Other barriers included cost, lack of insurance, immobility due to diabetic complications, reluctance to receive medical intervention, and distrust of the services. A strong family history of diabetes and blindness due to diabetes contributed to the awareness of diabetic retinopathy, and as a result motivated patients to seek regular eye care. Raising the awareness of diabetic retinopathy and the risk of vision loss, offering more diabetic eye care education, tracking the status of patients eye exam attendance, and providing adequate eye exam referral to a patient friendly eye clinic may encourage diabetics to attend regular eye exams.

Thesis (M.A.)--Central Connecticut State University, 1999. / Thesis advisor: Dr. Douglas Engwall. " ... in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts in Psychology." Includes bibliographical references (leaves 28-32).

Thesis (D. Min.)--Harding University Graduate School of Religion, 2004. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 231-247).

Thesis (D. Min.)--Harding University Graduate School of Religion, 2004. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 231-247).

Thesis (D. Min.)--Harding University Graduate School of Religion, 2004. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 231-247).

Thesis (Ed.D.) -- Central Connecticut State University, 2006. / Thesis advisor: Carol Carter-Lowery. "... in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Education." Includes bibliographical references (leaves 69-75). Also available via the World Wide Web.

Tropical Storm Irene’s most extreme rainfall resulted in record-breaking sediment loads from upland tributaries to the Connecticut River. However, was the event exceptional with respect to resultant deposition downstream? Off-river waterbodies to the Lower Connecticut River, such as cut-off meanders and blocked valley lakes, are a particularly important floodplain environment, which have been shown to serve as a focal point for the trapping of sediment and associated contaminants. This study evaluates the relative role of extreme events like Tropical Storm Irene in infilling these off-river environments. To meet this objective we compare the magnitude and composition of resultant sedimentation from Irene to that observed following the 2011 and 2013 spring freshets. Tropical Storm Irene deposits were identified as compositionally distinct, grey layers that were relatively inorganic compared to sediments deposited by the annual spring freshet. Sediment within the Irene deposit was enriched in elemental potassium and depleted in zircon, a finding consistent with being enriched by glacigenic lacustrine and till sediments. Decreased mercury levels in the Irene deposits suggest that this event served to cap highly contaminated, industrial era sediment with a layer of relatively clean, fine-grained silt and clay. Resampling of these waterbodies in Fall 2012 revealed preservation of the 2-3 cm thick Irene deposit as well as 3-4 cm of more recent sediments deposited on top of this event. Sediment contributions from rare events, like Tropical Storm Irene, were found to be less influential than the annual spring freshet in the long-term infilling of waterbodies along the Lower Connecticut River. However, sediments from Irene are compositionally unique and serve to highlight the importance of this event in removing glacially derived fines from the river’s upland catchments.

Under the modern mortality pattern females die at all ages at a lower rate than males. However, this was not always the case. For much of the nineteenth century in the United States and parts of Europe it appears that females died at a higher rate with respect to at least one disease, pulmonary tuberculosis. The purpose of this research is to investigate this question in four towns of the Connecticut River Valley, Massachusetts. First, it is necessary to establish age- and sex-specific mortality rates in the four rural towns in the Connecticut River Valley during the latter half of the 19th century and beginning of the 20th. Secondly, it is necessary to identify those cases in which tuberculosis was the main disease and cause of death. This research seeks to discuss and contribute to the topic of excess female mortality. The four Massachusetts towns of Greenfield, Deerfield, Shelburne, and Montague constitute my research sites. These towns are appropriate for the anthropological pursuit of historical epidemiology due first to the towns’ rural nature at a time when the majority of Americans lived in rural towns, not large urban cities where studies are often focused. Secondly, these towns are of interest because of the extensive data collection that has been conducted previously. Tuberculosis (TB) is an interesting and instructive disease to focus research on. TB has re-emerged in recent decades, and research on the disease may have applied implications and value. TB was the number one killer during the study period, and the nature of the disease is such that it is very sensitive to the social environment. The combination of a rural setting and tuberculosis may give insight into the etiology of a disease that shares a long yet uneven history with humans, and has both biological and cultural significance. Under the traditional mortality pattern females of particular age ranges have greater mortality rates than males. This research discovered that females exceeded males in mortality rates at ages ten to 19 and 30 to 39 and that TB was the root cause of greater female mortality. Interestingly, the sex-specific gap in TB mortality rates was much wider than the gap in overall mortality rates. Thus, while females were dying of one cause, evidence shows that males were dying of another, which may have offset male TB mortality rates.

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No description available.