<p> Obesity often arises from poor diet and lack of exercise. Food deserts, in particular, cause people to develop poor eating habits because of the limited healthy food options and availability to cheap fast food chains. People affected by food deserts are usually found in communities of color and low-income areas. The purpose of the study was to identify whether Fontana residents are willing to adopt healthier lifestyles based on the perceptions about their own health and the health of the community. Mixed method research was utilized for the study. The participants in the study included adult residents of both sexes and all ethnic backgrounds from the City of Fontana. Those participants ranged in ages from 18 and above. The data results proved some significance between Fontana residents' will to adopt healthier lifestyles and their perceptions on personal and community health. The bivariate correlation tests indicated a statistical significance between the tested variables despite their small correlations and large unshared variances. The ANOVA tests aided with proving the validity of the proposed hypotheses. Based on the data findings, the null hypothesis was rejected and alternative hypothesis was accepted. For future research on getting residents to be more proactive about their health and that of the community, shorter and simpler surveys were advised.</p>

Background. Bicycle helmets are 85% effective in protecting against head injury. The City of Tucson enacted an ordinance requiring children to wear a helmet. This quasi-experimental, population-based study evaluates this law's effectiveness. Hypotheses. Primary hypothesis: There will be a significant decrease in head injury occurrence in children after the helmet law. Secondary hypothesis H₂: There will be a significant decrease in head injury severity. Secondary hypothesis H₃: There will be a significant decrease in fatality due to head injury. Data collection. Trauma center trauma registry data, the hospital discharge data from other Tucson hospitals, and the medical examiner's case files. Data analysis. Chi square analysis of the proportion of head injury to all bike injuries, pre and post, revealed a significant drop in head injuries, confirming the primary hypothesis. Other analyses revealed a reduction in injury, but not to significant levels. Conclusion. The helmet law is effective.

No description available.

Thesis (Ph.D.)--Brown University, 2008. / Vita. Advisor : William Rakowski. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 86-99).

<p> Background: AIDS is caused by infection with pathogenic strains of HIV-1 or 2. HIV-2 is broken into 9 groups, A-I. Groups A and B are epidemic in West Africa while the remaining groups are individual cases and are not known to be pathogenic. HIV-2F is an exception being both pathogenic and found in 2 persons, suggesting transmissibility. HIV's origins have been widely studied, however, questions remain. The simian ancestry of HIV is well established yet exactly how SIV adapted to HIV in humans is still unknown. Several theories have been put forth to explain HIV emergence from SIV including the serial passage theory of HIV emergence. Here we conduct an HIV survey in northern Sierra Leone (SL) to assess the public health threat of HIV-2F and also model the serial passage theory of emergence both in vivo and in vitro to elucidate mechanisms of adaptation.</p><p> Materials and methods: For the human HIV study in northern SL, we enrolled persons presenting for a voluntarily HIV test following education and outreach activities and those referred for an HIV test. This is a targeted, higher risk population than the general population. Commercial HIV-1/2 rapid tests were used in the field. Proviral DNA was amplified with PCR methods and sequenced with Sanger methods. Parallel pigtailed (PTM) and rhesus macaque in vivo and in vitro models were used to test the serial passage theory of HIV emergence. Virus was detected with an HIV-2F specific qPCR and commercial SIV p27 Antigen ELISA. Illumina methods were used to deep sequence day 3 samples with peak virus loads. A SNP analysis was conducted to investigate virus variation over serial passage.</p><p> Results: To date we have found the prevalence of HIV in the targeted sample population to be 6.36%. HIV-2 rates in the targeted sample were 0.50%, HIV-1 was 4.81% and apparent co-infections were seen in 1.06% of those tested. Two HIV-1 samples have been sequenced and typed to CRF02_AG. Attempts to PCR amplify proviral DNA from HIV-2 antibody positives were negative, possibly due to low virus load. In vitro, over serial passage, peak virus load decreased to undetectable, the opposite of what was expected. In fact, the in vitro serial passage results exactly contradict what was observed in a parallel in vivo serial passage experiment. In vivo we saw an increase in PVL over serial passage in the PTMs and viral escape in passages 2 and 3. SNP analysis showed mutations over serial passage allowing the virus to adapt to a new host in vivo.</p><p> Conclusion: In this study we asked two main research questions. First, is HIV-2F a public health threat? This question remains unanswered due to our inability to sequence the HIV-2 samples collected in this study. However, the samples remain preserved for applying different techniques. We described HIV burden in a self-selected, at risk population in northern Sierra Leone providing the first HIV-2 data in 20 years. We also provided the first HIV-1 sequence data from Sierra Leoneans living in Sierra Leone, all previous data are from SL immigrants to Europe or the USA. The second question was, can the serial passage hypothesis of HIV emergence be modeled to elucidate the role of serial passage in HIV cross-species transmission, adaptation and diversity? We successfully showed that this can be done through the in vivo serial passage experiment in pigtailed macaques. Together the data from the field studies along with the in vivo and in vitro models presented in this thesis provide a better understanding of mechanisms of HIV emergence as well as much needed information about HIV distribution and genetic diversity in northern Sierra Leone.</p>

<p> Most people have had an episode of foodborne illness at one time or another; however, the majority of those stricken with foodborne illness fails to associate ill health with something consumed within the past 72 hours. The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that foodborne diseases affect 30% of the population in developed countries, and that in developing countries, about 2 million people die yearly due to foodborne illness. Previous researchers have indicated that food handlers with poor personal hygiene are potential sources of infection. Although public health agencies in many countries already regularly inspect food facilities to control potential foodborne illnesses to some extent, the question of the most appropriate and effective means of achieving the goal of food safety remains unanswered. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to determine whether a color-coded placard grading system is an effective tool for achieving this goal while simultaneously educating the public about food safety. This study involved 1,410 randomly selected food service establishments, consisting of traditional restaurants, take-out restaurants, grocery stores, public school cafeterias, and institutional food facilities located in Alameda County, California. Inspection data were analyzed for the first 12 months of placard grading and compared to the following 12 months during the placard grading period. Statistical analysis results did not show significant differences in the CDC major violations and in confirmed foodborne illnesses between the 2 years. However, it is expected that the new program will provide improved food handling practices in the future. Improvement in food handling practices will contribute to social change by reducing the number of foodborne illnesses, promoting better health for the community, and educating the public about food safety.</p>

In spite of Cuba's policy of HIV containment, women's rates of HIV seropositivity are rising in that country (Mann et al. 1992; MINSAP 1997--1999). As with increasing rates anywhere in the world, the reasons he within a complex relationship of global geopolitical location, local economies, and cultural constructions of meaning. This project has three primary research objectives. First, I investigate why women are at risk for HIV in Cuba and which women, if any, are specifically more vulnerable. Secondly, I analyze the viability of HIV prevention programs for women in Havana. Finally, this project investigates how social and government organization of space impacts risk or perceived risk for HIV in women. The main phase of the dissertation fieldwork occurred in 2000 and 2001. I conducted semi-structured surveys with approximately 225 individuals, as well as conducted open-ended interviews with public health officials, analyzed media, and used participant observation method. The primary findings indicate that individual risk is a reflection of one's identity. Often, individuals in this study made a point of distancing themselves from stigmatized groups in Cuba society, such as homosexuals or sex workers. In addition, the women who appeared to be most at risk were those in "monogamous relationships." While these participants thought that the stability in their relationship would make them immune to HIV, often their partners were not sexually faithful to one woman. Therefore, one policy recommendation is that prevention programs in the country target heterosexual women. Additionally, geography factored into peoples' perceptions of risk. Participants associated physical places and spaces with disease and contamination. These spaces were generally where "deviance" was present, for example tourist districts and places where homosexuals are known to congregate. The AIDS sanatorium system is unique to Cuba, and one of its legacies is the "paradox of othering." Participants considered that the physical separation of people living with HIV from the general populace to be good for both the patients and citizens. The participants saw the sanatorium as a way to contain the virus, reform the individuals' behaviors, and thus integrate those with HIV into postrevolutionary Cuban society.

This dissertation is comprised of three papers that address broad theoretical issues surrounding the prevention and control of dengue outbreaks through the study of the 2001-2002 dengue outbreak in Hawaii, centered on Maui, and spread by Aedes albopictus. In the first paper, sub-island precipitation variability is examined, and the relationship between Hawaiian precipitation and the El Nino-Southern Oscillation is explored. The results are applied to the second paper, a study of mosquito habitat across the islands that addresses mosquito control and dengue prevention. The prevention of an outbreak is strongly influenced by the control of mosquitoes particularly near homes, and the more thorough understanding of dengue-climate relationships elucidated in this study outlines areas in which mosquito control efforts should be concentrated. Also, the development of an improved conceptual model for the examination of the relationship between climate conditions and mosquitoes will serve to improve future studies. The third paper explores stigmatization that may occur during a dengue outbreak. The stigmatization of those with dengue or those living in an outbreak area can undermine disease control efforts if the ill are hesitant to seek medical care out of the fear of negative repercussions from uninformed residents. The results of this dissertation contribute to the overall understanding of dengue prevention and control, and are applicable to Hawaii as well as other potential outbreak locations in which the Aedes mosquito is present but the virus has not yet been introduced. These areas include the southeastern and southwestern United States, and tropical and sub-tropical locations around the world.

The objective of this study was to examine the measurement properties of the Balance Scale. In two longitudinal studies, 113 elderly subjects and 70 acute stroke patients were monitored on 4 occasions during periods of one year and 12 weeks, respectively. Results showed that Balance Scale scores were associated with the occurrence of subsequent falls and clinical judgments of balance, and could discriminate subjects by their use of mobility aids and the location of their follow-up evaluation. Balance scores were strongly associated with measures of functional status and motor performance in stroke patients over the 12 weeks. Moreover, changes in the Balance Scale were able to mirror changes in the functional status of stroke patients. In addition, the Reliability Study showed excellent inter and intra-rater reliability and internal consistency of the Balance Scale when used with elderly residents and stroke patients. Overall, the results indicate that the Balance Scale has good measurement properties and is ready for use in clinical practice and research.

Using ArcView 3.2 software, all active TB cases reported in the former city of Montreal 1996--2000 were precisely geo-coded, that is mapped to the corresponding residential address. For comparison, using a case-cohort approach control dwellings were randomly selected from the municipal dwelling GIS, with a 10:1 ratio. We identified 595 case and 5950 control dwellings. Census tract data from the 1996 Canadian Census as well as dwelling characteristics from the Montreal housing database were attributed to both case and control dwellings. Multivariate logistic regression was used with dwelling status (case vs. control) as the dependant variable, to evaluate the independent influence of crowding and other socio-demographic factors. / A high-precision housing GIS complemented census data in pinpointing and characterising the occurrence of TB in Montreal. It provided a more refined assessment of the impact of local crowding, after adjustment for other important factors.