Master of Public Health / Department of Kinesiology / Andrew T. Kaczynski / Background: With the dramatic increase in childhood obesity rates over the last three decades, parks can offer an accessible and affordable population-level solution to the important issue of youth physical inactivity. The primary purpose of this study was to examine the association of park proximity and park features with nearby youth achieving recommended levels of physical activity. Methods: This community-based study was conducted in Kansas City, Missouri. Valid physical activity data were obtained for 191 youth via a parent proxy survey with an overall response rate of 27.4%. Geographic information systems (GIS) were used to create three measures of park proximity within 1 mile of children’s homes. Detailed park characteristic information for all parks within 1 mile of the youth (n=146 parks) was obtained via observational audits. Binary logistic regression analyses were used to examine the relationship between each park proximity and park characteristic variable and the likelihood of youth meeting physical activity recommendations, while controlling individual and neighborhood level covariates. Results: All youth and female youth who had a park within one-half mile of home were more likely to achieve physical activity recommendations than those with no parks nearby. Likewise, all youth and male youth with three or more parks within 1 mile were significantly more likely to achieve physical activity recommendations than those with only 1 park. Further, youth that had a park with a playground within one-half mile or a baseball field within 1 mile of their home were more likely to achieve physical activity recommendations. Finally, having a park with particular amenities within 1 mile from home (transit stops, traffic signals, picnic tables, grills, trash cans, shade, and roads through the park) was also associated with greater odds of achieving physical activity recommendations. Conclusions: Parks are valuable community resources that can play an important role in the battle against rising rates of obesity and chronic disease in youth across the country. Better understanding the ways in which these settings are associated with physical activity among children can inform future research and environmental and policy changes that can promote the health and well-being of generations to come.

Master of Science / Department of Diagnostic Medicine/Pathobiology / Gary A. Anderson / Brucellosis is one of the major endemic zoonotic diseases worldwide, and it has history dating back to 1937 in Iraq when it was first isolated by an Iraqi physician. In order to establish a solution for the continuous devastating impacts of the disease in humans and livestock, the Brucellosis Control Program was established in 1995. The main responsibilities of this program were setting and implementing the appropriate strategies for controlling the disease. After the war in 2003, the United Nation organization for Food and Agriculture (FAO) developed a strategic plan to control the disease. The main goal of the project was to improve productivity in the livestock sector and reduce the prevalence of disease in small ruminants (sheep and goats) to less than 2%, and less than 0.2% in cattle and buffalo. Achieving such goals ultimately would reduce the disease incidence among the human population from more than 27.2 cases/100,000 persons in 2002, to less than 4 cases/100,000 people within 15 years. A serological surveillance was conducted and revealed the apparent prevalence of the disease in sheep and goats, cattle, buffalo, and camels was 6.51%, 1%, 1.48%, and 0.02%, respectively in Iraqi governorates except the three northern governorates of Kurdistan province . Based on surveillance results, a vaccination policy was the only appropriate strategy that could be chosen to control the disease. Four vaccination campaigns were implemented in 2006, 2007, 2008, and 2009, with a total number of vaccinated animals each year at 10099972, 4698482, 753153, and 1833482 head, respectively. The primary satisfactory outcome of the program was the apparent decline in livestock abortions leading to obvious increases in productivity. Regarding the incidence of brucellosis among the human population, the apparent decline in the middle and south of Iraq began with the vaccination phase of the control program in 2006. The results represented a significant decrease in human cases after only four vaccination campaigns of a program that was intended to continue for 15 years.

Master of Public Health / Public Health Interdepartmental Program / Patricia A. Payne / Capstone field experience project with the Fort Riley Department of Public Health (FRPH). This project was two-fold. The first part of the project was to observe, assist with, and develop an understanding of the different areas of the department of public health at Fort Riley. The second was to organize, manage, and analyze a vaccination clinic at the Fort Riley Middle School. The vaccination clinic offered vaccines for chicken pox, tetanus/diphtheria/pertussis, meningococcal disease, human papillomavirus, and the flu.

Master of Public Health / Department of Kinesiology / Andrew T. Kaczynski / Background: Parks are key community assets for promoting physical activity, especially in low income areas where other accessible, low cost resources may not be available. However, some evidence suggests these integral resources are not equitably distributed. The primary purpose of this study was to examine disparities in park availability, features, and quality across socioeconomically and racially diverse census tracts (CTs) in Kansas City, Missouri (KCMO). Methods: All parks in KCMO were mapped using GIS shape files provided by the City of KCMO. Park features and quality were determined via on-site audits using the Community Park Audit Tool. Data from the American Community Survey were used to designate all 174 CTs within KCMO as either low, medium, or high income and percent minority. MANCOVA was used to analyze differences in park availability, features, and quality across income and race/ethnicity tertiles. Results: Low income CTs contained significantly more parks (M=1.46) than medium (M=1.25) or high (M=1.00) income CTs, but also had more quality concerns (e.g., vandalism) per park. High income CTs contained more playgrounds per park (M=.69) than low (M=.62) and medium (M=.52) income tracts. There were more basketball courts per park in high minority CTs (M=.59) than low (M=.13) or medium (M=.30) minority CTs, and more trails per park in low (M=.60) and medium (M=.55) minority CTs than high (M=.39) minority CTs. Finally, there were more sidewalks around parks in low (M=.87) and high (M=.74) income CTs than medium (M=.61) income CTs. Conclusions: This study adds to an important body of literature examining income and racial disparities in access to active living environments. Park availability was greater in low income areas, but several key park characteristics were less common in low income or high minority areas. Future research should consider the quality of park facilities and amenities and the composition of neighborhoods around parks, as well as how disparities in access to park environments are associated with physical activity and health outcomes. Public health and parks and recreation researchers and practitioners should work together to examine policies that contribute to and that might rectify disparities in access to safe and attractive parks and open spaces.

As the United States is in the midst of a proclaimed time of economic distress it is essential to identify the methods which families demonstrate skills of survival. This study is based on the premise that African-Americans have a self-made kin support system and culture which provide resources and skills for the betterment of the family unit. A quantitative methods design is used to identify and prioritize the resources and behaviors utilized by African-American families in time of declared economic crisis. Through the Africultural Coping Skills inventory this study identifies that African-American families within the Metropolitan Atlanta, Georgia area use a great deal of the identified cultural-specific coping mechanisms. In addition, results from the modified version of the Satisfaction with Life Scale demonstrate that the study participant, who served as their African-American family representative, perceived their well-being as positive. A thorough analysis of the study's resulting data and a discussion are provided alongside review of concepts from Afrocentric theory and resource exchange theory. Several recommendations are provided as a result of this analysis and discussion. Recommendations are also provided in hopes of ensuring that continuous efforts are made to document and expose the positive attributes found within African-American family and culture are noted as a natural form of resilience.

The purpose of this research project was to design an alternative ministry for recovering substance abusers and alcoholics during a twelve-week period. This recovery ministry was used in conjunction with Alcoholic Anonymous. The difference between this ministry and Alcoholics Anonymous is the qualitative base upon which this ministry was established and proclaimed. The Christian Church and Alcoholics Anonymous can be used as parallel rehabilitative agencies for substance and alcoholic abusers to a point. This recovery ministry leads the substance abuser and alcoholic to another level of understanding that God is the supreme being that brings deliverance to the addict. The ministry setting is the Third Street Church of God in Washington, D.C. The recovery ministry was developed from the Urban Prayer Breakfast Ministry at this church. The Urban Prayer Breakfast Ministry provides breakfast five days a week to one hundred people who are homeless, substance abusers, and poor. A recovery ministry was established for this particular population. Therefore, it was the writer's intention to organize another way of helping the hurting in this community. Interviews were conducted with one hundred persons of the Urban Prayer Breakfast Ministry who would be interested in participating in the recovery ministry. There were thirteen adult clients (twelve males and one female) from the treatment group who expressed an interest. The clients were given a screening interview prior to acceptance into the recovery ministry. A post-interview evaluation was given at the end of the twelve-week ministry. Five male clients completed the twelve-week recovery ministry. This dissertation includes a twelve-week outline for a spiritually-based program, the interview questionnaire, drug and alcohol testing results, and a daily itinerary of the recovery ministry. One male client did remain drug free during the last six weeks of the recovery ministry. This project was designed to help persons become free of substance abuse. The writer believes that it is possible for a person who desires freedom from substance abuse dependency to gain deliverance in twelve weeks. However, freedom from substance abuse dependency is a one day at a time process. Some substance abusers are delivered instantaneously, others are delivered over a period of time, and some never gain total deliverance from substance abuse. The mission of this project was to create an atmosphere where substance abusers could receive help with their addiction. During the hours of 7:00 p.m. and 9:00 p.m. on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays of the twelve-week recovery ministry, the clients did not engage in substance abuse.

Young people are often constructed in academic and lay explanations as an inherently risky population. They are the age group most likely to feature in public health statistics, especially those of intentional and unintentional injury. A common risk factor cited in these statistics is conflict within or breakdown of an inter-personal relationship, in particular intimate heterosexual relationships. Intimate relationships serve as markers of normal adulthood in New Zealand society, and many young people invest significantly in them for their emotional and material rewards. This study investigated the social processes and experiences that influence young adult New Zealanders' perceptions of their own and others' intimate relationships. It employed an inter-disciplinary framework of critical interpretive medical anthropology and a public health approach with a lifecourse perspective. A multi-interview method was used involving more than 90 people interviewed either in focus groups, as couples, or as individuals. Interviews focused on young people's ideas and experiences of healthy and unhealthy relationships, as well as the influence of families, friends, and popular culture on relationships. Intimate relationships are based on naturalised gender differences that work to construct men as masculine/active and women as feminine/passive and hide disparities based on gender within a discourse of equality. The ideal healthy relationship is based on ideas of individualism, emotional and material inter-dependence, and the addition of other social networks into a partner relationship. Families are primary sources of information about and models for relationships. Friends are significant in establishing an adult identity separate to one's parents. Both families and friends are emotional safety nets in times of relationship difficulties. Understandings of popular culture and its products are most commonly experienced through gendered romantic narratives. Because of their ubiquity and popularity, information produced by mass media is particularly influential for young people. Overall, young people reported that relationships are a considerable source of joy to them. However, when problems occur, they tend to revert to stereotypical and gendered cultural scripts rather than relying on individual knowledge. To mitigate the possible negative effects of these scripts, knowledge of the skills required to overcome relationships difficulties need to be made explicit and fostered by relevant public health and education policy and promotion activities. / Subscription resource available via Digital Dissertations only.

Young people are often constructed in academic and lay explanations as an inherently risky population. They are the age group most likely to feature in public health statistics, especially those of intentional and unintentional injury. A common risk factor cited in these statistics is conflict within or breakdown of an inter-personal relationship, in particular intimate heterosexual relationships. Intimate relationships serve as markers of normal adulthood in New Zealand society, and many young people invest significantly in them for their emotional and material rewards. This study investigated the social processes and experiences that influence young adult New Zealanders' perceptions of their own and others' intimate relationships. It employed an inter-disciplinary framework of critical interpretive medical anthropology and a public health approach with a lifecourse perspective. A multi-interview method was used involving more than 90 people interviewed either in focus groups, as couples, or as individuals. Interviews focused on young people's ideas and experiences of healthy and unhealthy relationships, as well as the influence of families, friends, and popular culture on relationships. Intimate relationships are based on naturalised gender differences that work to construct men as masculine/active and women as feminine/passive and hide disparities based on gender within a discourse of equality. The ideal healthy relationship is based on ideas of individualism, emotional and material inter-dependence, and the addition of other social networks into a partner relationship. Families are primary sources of information about and models for relationships. Friends are significant in establishing an adult identity separate to one's parents. Both families and friends are emotional safety nets in times of relationship difficulties. Understandings of popular culture and its products are most commonly experienced through gendered romantic narratives. Because of their ubiquity and popularity, information produced by mass media is particularly influential for young people. Overall, young people reported that relationships are a considerable source of joy to them. However, when problems occur, they tend to revert to stereotypical and gendered cultural scripts rather than relying on individual knowledge. To mitigate the possible negative effects of these scripts, knowledge of the skills required to overcome relationships difficulties need to be made explicit and fostered by relevant public health and education policy and promotion activities. / Subscription resource available via Digital Dissertations only.

Young people are often constructed in academic and lay explanations as an inherently risky population. They are the age group most likely to feature in public health statistics, especially those of intentional and unintentional injury. A common risk factor cited in these statistics is conflict within or breakdown of an inter-personal relationship, in particular intimate heterosexual relationships. Intimate relationships serve as markers of normal adulthood in New Zealand society, and many young people invest significantly in them for their emotional and material rewards. This study investigated the social processes and experiences that influence young adult New Zealanders' perceptions of their own and others' intimate relationships. It employed an inter-disciplinary framework of critical interpretive medical anthropology and a public health approach with a lifecourse perspective. A multi-interview method was used involving more than 90 people interviewed either in focus groups, as couples, or as individuals. Interviews focused on young people's ideas and experiences of healthy and unhealthy relationships, as well as the influence of families, friends, and popular culture on relationships. Intimate relationships are based on naturalised gender differences that work to construct men as masculine/active and women as feminine/passive and hide disparities based on gender within a discourse of equality. The ideal healthy relationship is based on ideas of individualism, emotional and material inter-dependence, and the addition of other social networks into a partner relationship. Families are primary sources of information about and models for relationships. Friends are significant in establishing an adult identity separate to one's parents. Both families and friends are emotional safety nets in times of relationship difficulties. Understandings of popular culture and its products are most commonly experienced through gendered romantic narratives. Because of their ubiquity and popularity, information produced by mass media is particularly influential for young people. Overall, young people reported that relationships are a considerable source of joy to them. However, when problems occur, they tend to revert to stereotypical and gendered cultural scripts rather than relying on individual knowledge. To mitigate the possible negative effects of these scripts, knowledge of the skills required to overcome relationships difficulties need to be made explicit and fostered by relevant public health and education policy and promotion activities. / Subscription resource available via Digital Dissertations only.

Young people are often constructed in academic and lay explanations as an inherently risky population. They are the age group most likely to feature in public health statistics, especially those of intentional and unintentional injury. A common risk factor cited in these statistics is conflict within or breakdown of an inter-personal relationship, in particular intimate heterosexual relationships. Intimate relationships serve as markers of normal adulthood in New Zealand society, and many young people invest significantly in them for their emotional and material rewards. This study investigated the social processes and experiences that influence young adult New Zealanders' perceptions of their own and others' intimate relationships. It employed an inter-disciplinary framework of critical interpretive medical anthropology and a public health approach with a lifecourse perspective. A multi-interview method was used involving more than 90 people interviewed either in focus groups, as couples, or as individuals. Interviews focused on young people's ideas and experiences of healthy and unhealthy relationships, as well as the influence of families, friends, and popular culture on relationships. Intimate relationships are based on naturalised gender differences that work to construct men as masculine/active and women as feminine/passive and hide disparities based on gender within a discourse of equality. The ideal healthy relationship is based on ideas of individualism, emotional and material inter-dependence, and the addition of other social networks into a partner relationship. Families are primary sources of information about and models for relationships. Friends are significant in establishing an adult identity separate to one's parents. Both families and friends are emotional safety nets in times of relationship difficulties. Understandings of popular culture and its products are most commonly experienced through gendered romantic narratives. Because of their ubiquity and popularity, information produced by mass media is particularly influential for young people. Overall, young people reported that relationships are a considerable source of joy to them. However, when problems occur, they tend to revert to stereotypical and gendered cultural scripts rather than relying on individual knowledge. To mitigate the possible negative effects of these scripts, knowledge of the skills required to overcome relationships difficulties need to be made explicit and fostered by relevant public health and education policy and promotion activities. / Subscription resource available via Digital Dissertations only.