Thesis (M.S. Nursing) -- Dominican University of California, 2004. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 30-32).

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Foodborne illnesses continue to have a negative impact on the nation's health, accounting annually for an estimated 76 million illnesses, 325,000 hospitalizations, and 5,000 deaths in the United States. Syndromic surveillance systems that analyze pre-diagnostic data, such as pharmaceutical sales data are being used to monitor diarrheal disease. The purpose of this study is to evaluate the usefulness of a poison control center (PCC) data collection and triage system for early detection of increases in foodborne illnesses.Data on calls to the Arizona Poison and Drug Information Center (APDIC) reporting suspected foodborne illnesses, and Pima County Health Department (PCHD) enteric illness reports were obtained for July 1, 2002 - June 30, 2007. Prediction algorithms were constructed using the first two and a half years, and validated in the remaining two and a half years. Multiple outcomes were assessed using unadjusted and adjusted raw counts, five and seven day moving averages, and exponentially weighted moving averages. Sensitivity analyses were conducted to evaluate model performance. Increases in PCHD laboratory reports of enteric illnesses were used as a proxy measure for foodborne disease outbreaks.Over the five year study period there were 1,094 APDIC calls reporting suspected foodborne illnesses, and 2,433 PCHD enteric illness cases. Seventy-five percent of cases were reported to PCHD within 23 days of symptom onset. In contrast, 62% of callers contacted APDIC within 24 hours of symptom onset. Forty percent of PCHD cases were missing symptom onset dates, which necessitated constructing and validating predictive algorithms using only those PCHD cases with known symptom onset dates.None of the prediction models performed at sensitivity levels considered acceptable by public health department standards. However, it is possible that a temporal relationship actually exists, but data quality (lack of outbreak dates, and missing symptom onset dates) may have prevented its detection. The study suggests that current surveillance by PCCs is insufficient as a univariate model for syndromic surveillance of diarrheal illness because of low caller volume reporting suspected foodborne illnesses; this can be improved. Methods were discussed to utilize PCCs for active surveillance of foodborne illnesses that are of public health significance.

In an effort to bridge the gap between public health practice and academia, the Health Resources and Services Administration–funded Tennessee Public Health Training Center (LIFEPATH) has supported establishment of an academic health department (AHD) involving the East Tennessee State University College of Public Health (COPH) and the Sullivan County Regional Health Department (SCRHD). The SCRHD identified a need to increase internal capacity to conduct ongoing community health assessment and community-centered practice. Similarly, the COPH recognized the need to expand evidence-based practice implementation and evaluation opportunities for public health students. Personnel from the SCRHD, LIFEPATH, and the COPH developed a formal AHD agreement during the summer of 2012 and launched the program the subsequent fall semester. One aspect of the COPH/SCRHD/LIFEPATH model that addresses financial barriers experienced by other AHDs is the competitive awarding of the coordinator position to a doctor of public health student from the COPH, demonstrating investment in the model by the college. The doctor of public health student gains leadership experience through project management, coordination of the local health council, and day-to-day facilitation of undergraduate and master's student interns. The SCRHD benefits from the formal academic background of graduate-level interns dedicated to working in the community. This AHD framework offers an opportunity for doctoral-level students to develop practical leadership skills in a health department while enhancing the capacity of the SCRHD and the COPH to serve their community and stakeholders.

The purpose of t his study was to determine the opinions and perceptions of the residents of Logan , Utah, concerning the role and responsibilities of the Bear River District Health Department , and whether those opinions and perceptions differed among low, middle and high income families; among residents having a high school degree or less, a bachelor's degree or less, or a graduate degree o r less; and among men and women. A survey instrument was administered to a stratified random sample of 150 residents. The data collected indicated that: (1) the majority of the resident s of Logan , Utah, we re not aware of the functions and services of t he Bear River District Health Department. This level of awareness was inversely proportional to income level, (2) the majority of residents of Logan, Utah, felt that the Bear River District Health Department was fulfilling it 's role and responsibilities to the community, and (3) the majority of residents of Logan, Utah, do not utilize the services of the Bear River District Health Department to meet their health needs, but rely on some other agency or professional to meet those needs . This tendency was directly proportional to income level, with low income residents relying on the health department for services to a greater degree than high income residents.

Magister Psychologiae - MPsych / An epidemiological study was conducted with the main goal of describing the occurrences of the various STTs in the Eastern Cape province as well as biographical factors such as age, gender, and geographical location influencing them. Ten primary health care (PHC) centres located throughout the province served as sentinel sites for surveillance data collection for a period of 3 months using Daily and Monthly Report Forms. The surveillance data was analysed using relative frequencies to determine STis prevalence. The main findings from the present study suggest that the most frequently encountered female syndromes were vaginal discharge and lower abdominal pains and most frequent male syndrome was Urethral discharge. Other syndromes accounted for less than 10% of the ST! cases observed at the PHC centres during the study. The study also indicate that more STI patients were seen at urban PHC centres compared to rural ones and that most of the STI patients seen at PHC centres were women. These findings are helpfol for the Health Department in the Eastern Cape Province to effectively plan for the control and prevention of all ST!s including HIV I AIDS

Book Summary: JPHMP's 21 Public Health Case Studies on Policy & Administration , compiled by the founding editor and current editor-in-chief of the Journal of Public Health Management and Practice, provides you with real-life examples of how to strategize and execute policies and practices when confronted with issues such as disease containment, emergency preparedness, and organizational, management, and administrative problems.Feautures: Each case is co-written by a professional writer and tells a “story,” using characters, conflicts, and plot twists designed to compel you to keep reading. Case elements include the core problem, stakeholders, steps taken, challenges, results, conclusions, and discussion questions for analysis. More than 60 contributors—experts in public policy, clinical medicine, pediatrics, social work, pharmacy, bioethics, and healthcare management. Ideal for public health practitioners as well as students in graduate and undergraduate public health and medical education programs. Tracks 2016 CEPH (Council on Education for Public Health) accreditation criteria. These cases can be used as tools to develop competencies designated in the new CEPH (Council on Education for Public Health) accreditation criteria.

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Background: Engagement in the core public health functions and ten essential services remains the standard for measuring local health department (LHD) performance; their role as providers of clinical services remains uncertain, particularly in rural and underserved communities. Purpose: To examine the role of LHDs as clinical service providers and how this role varies among rural and nonrural communities. Methods: The 2013 National Association of County and City Health Officials (NACCHO) Profile was used to examine the geographic distribution of clinical service provision among LHDs. LHDs were coded as urban, large rural, or small rural based on Rural/Urban Commuting Area codes. Bivariate analysis for clinical services was conducted by rural/urban status. For each service, the proportions of LHDs that directly performed the service, contracted with other organizations to provide the service, or reported provision of the service by independent organizations in the community was compared. Results: Analyses show significant differences in patterns of clinical services offered, contracted, or provided by others, based on rurality. LHDs serving rural communities, especially large rural LHDs, tend to provide more direct services than urban LHDs. Among rural LHDs, larger rural LHDs provided a broader array of services and reported more community capacity for delivery than small rural LHDs- particularly maternal and child health services. Implications: There are capacity differences between large and small rural LHDs. Limited capacity within small rural LHDs may result in providing less services, regardless of the availability of other providers within their communities. These findings provide valuable information on clinical service provision among LHDs, particularly in rural and underserved communities.