Thesis (Ph. D.)--Georgia State University, 2008. / Title from title page (Digital Archive@GSU, viewed June 7, 2010). Clifford M. Kuhn, committee chair; Ian C. Fletcher, Charles G. Steffen, committee members. Includes bibliographical references (p. 442-459).

No description available.

Asthma is a leading cause of hospitalizations among children in the United States. It accounts for millions of dollars in hospital charges at the national, state, and county levels. The prevention of these hospitalizations is an important public health issue given the financial costs of hospitalizations in an already overburdened healthcare system. This study addresses sociodemographic factors associated with hospitalizations for childhood asthma among children who reside in DeKalb County, Georgia. Results highlight the unequal burden of asthma in the southern portion of the county. Additional analysis suggests that changes to existing institution-level surveillance systems can be made to improve upon the quality of data available to researchers. This research calls for a state-wide asthma surveillance system that routinely collects information on the most common indicators of disease burden, thereby improving the ability of public health professionals to accurately determine and manage the needs of children with asthma.

The refugee population within the United States is very dynamic, creating new challenges for county boards of health every day. To assist refugee groups in their transition to life in America, their needs must be thoroughly understood. County officials must also recognize their own limitations and be able to overcome them. Appropriate coordination with community resources relieves boards of health of some of the burden. However, county officials must also ensure that services provided in their domain are exceptional. This project aims to aid in this process for the DeKalb County Board of Health (DCBOH) and incoming refugees. A physician directory was created to improve the coordination between the DCBOH and community resources. In addition, a health manual geared towards informing refugees was updated and prepared for distribution.

Safe Routes to School is a national program funded by the Department of Transportation. The goal of the program is to increase children’s active transport to and from school, primarily by walking, in response to the epidemic of childhood obesity. Implementation at the state and local level has had varying success. In my capstone presentation, I discuss the creation, implementation, and ongoing success of the program at Oak Grove Elementary, a local public school in Georgia. The program is comprised of the 5 Es: Education, Encouragement, Enforcement, Engineering, and Evaluation. Each of these five components will be focused on, as well as ongoing challenges in the struggle to retrofit a school to make it more walker-friendly in a car-dependent environment.