Health Scholar Showcase
Permanent URI for this collectionhttps://hdl.handle.net/10877/16500
The Health Scholar Showcase is an annual event hosted by Texas State University’s Translational Health Research Center, which seeks to improve health by connecting faculty and community partners to engage in innovative research. Health Scholar Showcase highlights some of the best health research happening on campus.
Learn more about Health Scholar Showcase: https://healthresearch.txst.edu/events/health-scholar-showcase.html
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Browsing Health Scholar Showcase by Department "Health Administration"
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Item Assessing the Effectiveness of a Virtual Intergenerational Service-Learning Project on Students' Ageism Attitude Towards Seniors and on Seniors' Social Competence(2023-04) Ramamonjiarivelo, Zo; Osborne, Randall E.; Renick, Oren; Sen, Keya; Pacheco, Gerardo J.; Lee, KimberlyNo abstract prepared.Item Chagas Disease as a Disease of Operational Military Significance: Lack of Essential Policies Present a Clear and Present Danger to Service Members(2023-04) Pacheco, Gerardo J.; Betancourt, Jose; Eoff, Abby; Stigler Granados, PaulaNo abstract prepared.Item Evaluating the Association Between Hospital Labor Costs and the Quality of Care(2023-04) Beauvais, B. Kruse; Ramamonjiarivelo, Zo; Sen, Keya; Pradhan, Rohit; Fulton, LarryThroughout the history of healthcare delivery, patient care has been a personal issue. The competent healing touch of a caregiver is a critical component to the care patients receive. Thus, the more skilled the provider is, the higher the likelihood outcomes will be delivered in a safe and effective manner. However, it is costly to attract and retain high quality clinical staff leading many hospital leaders to continually adjust the staffing mix to minimize labor costs while also ensuring the quality of care is optimized. Unfortunately, in recent years, hospitals in the United States have faced immense financial pressures that are threatening their economic sustainability and patients’ access to care in the future. Through the recent COVID-19 pandemic, the cost of delivering healthcare has continued to escalate, all while the demand for patient care has exceeded many hospitals’ capacity. Most troubling is the impact that the pandemic has had on the healthcare workforce. Over the past two years, many healthcare workers have reached a point of exhaustion and burnout resulting in many leaving the industry. Others have lost their positions due to refusal to accept vaccination requirements. And some, unfortunately, have fallen victim to the disease. This has resulted in a depleted local market workforce and, in turn, has left many hospitals struggling to fill vacancies at ever increasing cost – all while under immense pressure to deliver quality patient care. What remains uncertain is whether the increase in labor costs have been matched with a commensurate rise in the quality of care or if quality has deteriorated as the labor force mix has changed to include more contract and temporary staff. Thus, in the enclosed study, we seek to determine what association, if any, there is between hospitals’ cost of labor and the quality of care delivered.Item Health Literacy: A Crucial Factor in Managing Chronic Disease in Older Adult Populations(2024-03) Sen, Keya; Lockhart, Abby; Salinas, Nazvy; Zachria, Nick; Whisnant Turner, Keith; Ingman, StanHealth literacy plays a key role in the management of chronic diseases in older adults. Geriatric populations with inadequate health literacy may be less likely to engage in preventative care and seek prompt medical care. The research aimed to encourage health literacy in older adults (65+ years) Hypotheses: 1-empower individuals to actively participate in their healthcare. 2-to help individuals understand treatment regimens. 3-adhere to medication schedules.Item Hospital Price Transparency Perceptions and Observations in the United States: A Rapid Review(2023-04) Lieneck, Cristian H.; Darty, Kaven; Huddleston, Caitlin; Kreczmer, Jason; Lambdin, Stacy; Young, DylanThe Centers for Medicare and Medicaid (CMS) began implementing the Hospital Price Transparency Rule in 2019, requiring all participating hospitals to publish their chargemasters online (gross charges) for all services provided. Policy implementation at the organization level has been questionable, with patients and health care consumers left interpreting detailed hospital financial information available online. The research objective was to investigate price transparency perceptions and observations since the introduction of shoppable services price transparency mandates in 2021.Item Intergenerational Befriending: An Antidote to Social Isolation of Older Adults(2023-04) Sen, Keya; Laheji, Nida; Ramamonjiarivelo, Zo; Osborne, Randall E.; Renick, OrenOlder adults account for 16.9% of the population, by 2060, nearly 1 in every 4 U.S. residents will be over 65 years. The surge of aging population has increased the problem of social isolation leading to enhanced feelings of boredom and loneliness. The research aims to explore the effectiveness of the friendly visitations/befriending approach on older adults through undergraduate service-learning classes at TXST.Item Latest Innovations in Natural Gum-based Polymer(2024-03) Mandal, Sujata; Hwang, San; Sen, KeyaSuperabsorbent polymers (SAPs) are polymers that exhibit effective moisture retention and absorbency and hence find applications in baby diapering, packaging, feminine hygiene, and adult incontinence products. Absorbent hygiene products (AHPs) have made an important contribution to the quality of life and skin health of millions of people. Commercial hygiene products are petrochemical-originated, exhibit toxicity, high market price, and pose environmental and public health concerns. They are non-biodegradable and have an estimated period of ~500 years to decompose and are the third largest contributor to municipal solid waste in the USA. Moreover, AHPs are composed of harmful chemicals –dioxins, which can cause an array of health problems including developmental delays, damaged immunity, hormone interference, skin diseases, and certain types of cancer. Biobased superabsorbent hydrogels prepared from natural gum provide greener alternative materials to fossil-based materials and have prospective uses in food, water, energy, environment, biomedical, and hygiene products. Elderly/baby skin is more fragile and vulnerable to injury and has poorer healing properties. In our study, we report the development of Super absorbent Polymer (SAPs) using Guar gum (GG). Guar is considered a safe, environmentally friendly, inexpensive, and abundant polymer extracted from the seeds of the Guar plant.Item Leveraging mHealth and Wearable Sensors to Manage Alcohol Use Disorders: A Systematic Literature Review(2023-04) Kruse, Clemens S.; Betancourt, Jose; Madrid, Stephanie; Lindsey, Christopher; Wall, VanessaThis study centers Treatments for AUD can be both inpatient and outpatient, and they often must be tailored to the individual. Wearable sensors have the ability to observe behavior and physiological constructs and combine them with location tracking. Tracking gait and sweat can provide feedback on abstinence and intoxication. A continuous growth of research combined with the rapid growth of technology compels scientists to systematically summarize available research and synthesize evidence. The study team found that most interventions resulted in a positive outcome (reduced depression, increased satisfaction, increased accessibility, increase quality of life, and decreased cost. Interventions included mobile health apps, eHealth (computer programs), telephone intervention, and 2-way video. The authors used articles for analysis that were published in the last 10 years in peer-reviewed academic journals and in the English language. The articles must include participants who are adults (18+ years). Four data sources were queried: PubMed, CINAHL, Web of Science, and Science Direct. The study team used the Boolean search string in all databases, filtered the results, and screened the abstracts for applicability, in accordance with the Kruse Protocol. Studies were removed that did not address the objective statement. While not all mHealth interventions demonstrated statistically significant reduction in alcohol consumption, most are still clinically effective to treat AUD and provide a patient with their preference of a technologically inclined treatment Most interventions require training of users and some technology literacy, the barriers identified were very few compared with the litany of positive results.Item Leveraging Telehealth for the Management of Breast Cancer Symptoms(2023-04) Kruse, Clemens S.; Pacheco, Gerardo J.; Vargas, Brea; Lozano, Nadya; Castro, Sergio; Gattu, ManasaBreast cancer affects 2.3 million women and kills 685,000 globally, making it the most prevalent cancer. The telemedicine modality has been used to treat the symptoms associated with breast cancer recovery. Objective: To analyze the effectiveness of telemedicine to help women recover from the treatment-associated effects and promote overall recovery from breast cancer. Methods: Four databases were queried for published literature from the last 10 years. The systematic literature review was conducted in accordance with the Kruse Protocol and reported in accordance with PRISMA 2020. Results: Four interventions were identified in the literature, with the most dominant being eHealth and mHealth. The other interventions were telephone, video teleconference, and a combination of eHealth and mHealth. There were positive effects of these telemedicine interventions in 88% of the studies analyzed. Telemedicine is shown to positively affect physical and mental health, sleep outcomes, quality of life, and body image. The largest barriers to the adoption of telemedicine interventions are training, cost, workflow, time of providers, and low reimbursement. Conclusion: Telemedicine offers promise to both providers and breast cancer survivors to improve the physical and mental health detriments of both cancer and its associated treatments. It also helps women develop healthy habits to reduce the risk of reoccurrence.Item Results and Lessons Learned from a Youth Pregnancy Prevention Community Intervention in South Texas(2024-03) Pacheco, Gerardo J.; Werfelli, Howaida; Betancourt, Jose; Shanmugam, Ram; Johnson, AlisonThe aims are: 1) to describe attitudes, beliefs, and self-reported practices among the youth; and 2) discuss the challenges and benefits of designing and implementing the educational intervention framed with community-based participatory research (CBPR) principles.Item Stakeholder Perspectives of the Inflation Reduction Act’s (2022) Impact on Prescription Drugs(2024-03) Lieneck, Cristian; McLauchlan, Matthew; Adachi, Valerie; Billings, RogerIN this review, we examine the impact of the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) of 2022 on pharmaceutical drugs in the United States, drawing on a diverse range of sources to understand the perceptions of multiple stakeholders and professionals. Findings suggest that the Act, while aiming to control price inflation, has had a multifaceted impact on the pharmaceutical sector.Item The Effect of COVID-19 on Cancer Incidences in the U.S.(2024-03) Shanmugam, Ramalingam; Fulton, Larry; Kruse, C. Scott; Beauvais, Brad; Betancourt, Jose; Pacheco, Gerardo; Pradhan, Rohit; Sen, Keya; Ramamonjiarivelo, Zo; Sharma, ArvindDuring COVID-19, income for some employees was less, some lost jobs, some lost insurance coverage, and had decreased access to hospitals/doctors. These negatively impacted them with less ability to obtain timely screening or diagnosis of cancer [32]. For instance, Schafer et al. [34] pointed out that COVID-19 disrupted health care and caused a decline in almost all cancer diagnoses. The principal goal of our research was to assess the impact of COVID-19 on top-10 cancer incidences.