IJSHIM - International Journal of Social Health Information Management

Volume: 3, Issue: 4

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• HEALTH DISPARITIES AMONG HOMELESS MALES IN PROJECT EXCELL - JAIL DIVERSION VERSUS NON-DIVERSION CONSUMERS
  Author(s): Medha Talpade and Christopher Bass
  

HEALTH DISPARITIES AMONG HOMELESS MALES IN PROJECT EXCELL - JAIL DIVERSION VERSUS NON-DIVERSION CONSUMERS

Author(s): Medha Talpade and Christopher Bass

Health disparities in Project Excell, a program intended to engage homeless males suffering from co-occurring substance abuse and mental health disorders in intensive outpatient treatment, were identified. Consumers consisted of 60 males, of which 19 were from jail diversion and 41 were non-jail diversion. Archival and self-report data were analyzed. Results indicated significant disparities in mental, behavioral, physical, and familial health as a function of jail diversion. Implications range from pre-jail diversion and treatment to primary prevention of homelessness.

Keywords: Homeless Males, Treatment, Co-Occurring Disorders, Disparities, Jail Diversion.



• FACTORS INFLUENCING PHILOSOPHIES OF CARE OF STUDENT PHYSICAL THERAPIST ASSISTANTS AFTER THE FIRST CLINICAL EDUCATION EXPERIENCE
  Author(s): Ronald De Vera Barredo, Ashley Mott Murphree and Edilberto A. Raynes
  

FACTORS INFLUENCING PHILOSOPHIES OF CARE OF STUDENT PHYSICAL THERAPIST ASSISTANTS AFTER THE FIRST CLINICAL EDUCATION EXPERIENCE

Author(s): Ronald De Vera Barredo, Ashley Mott Murphree and Edilberto A. Raynes

Purpose: The purpose of this research study was to describe factors that influenced the development of philosophies of care of student physical therapists assistants and to determine how these factors contributed to their emerging professionalism.

Subjects: The reflection papers of twenty-five student physical therapist assistants who had just completed their first clinical education experience were used in the study.

Methods: Students were asked to write at the conclusion of the clinical education experience a reflection paper which answers the following question: "What experiences during this clinical rotation influenced your philosophy of care?" The reflection papers were coded and analyzed for recurring and emergent themes.

Results: Data analysis yielded four themes relative to the internal and external influences that influenced student philosophies of care: who they are, what they do, people influences, and non-people influences.

Conclusions: Student physical therapist assistants in this study described internal and external factors that influenced their philosophies of care: internal factors included who they are and what they do; external factors included people and non-people influences.

Clinical Relevance: Philosophies of care are essential in the development of professionalism in physical therapy practice.

Keywords: Philosophy of Care, Professionalism, Reflection.



• USING SYSTEM-DYNAMICS-BASED SIMULATIONS FOR HIV/AIDS PREVALENCE IN THAILAND
  Author(s): Suthiporn Yingchareonthana, Thippatawat Phongtana, Suthi SaeLim, Cheeva Rubsrisuksakul and Suwannee Adsavakulchai
  

USING SYSTEM-DYNAMICS-BASED SIMULATIONS FOR HIV/AIDS PREVALENCE IN THAILAND

Author(s): Suthiporn Yingchareonthana, Thippatawat Phongtana, Suthi SaeLim, Cheeva Rubsrisuksakul and Suwannee Adsavakulchai

The main objective of this paper is to present the system dynamics simulation for HIV/AIDs prevalence in Thailand. The model is calibrated using Bureau of AIDS, TB and STLs Department of Disease Control; Ministry of Public Health statistics trends over the past 5 years and explores possible futures over the next 10 years. The result of this paper is to integrate both using simulations and creating System-Dynamics-Based simulations for Web-based services for discovery, access and processing learning. The gaps in theory and practice and contentious areas for ongoing research and refinement are explored and potential future enhancements of the simulation are discussed.

Keywords: System Dynamics Simulation, AIDS Prevalence in Thailand, Web-Based Services for Discovery, Access and Processing.



• ASSESSMENT OF FACE-TO-FACE PREVENTIVE HEALTH CARE (PHC) INFORMATION SOURCES: A DEMOGRAPHIC ANALYSIS
  Author(s): Joseph D. Cangelosi Jr., David Kim and Edward Ranelli
  

ASSESSMENT OF FACE-TO-FACE PREVENTIVE HEALTH CARE (PHC) INFORMATION SOURCES: A DEMOGRAPHIC ANALYSIS

Author(s): Joseph D. Cangelosi Jr., David Kim and Edward Ranelli

Preventive health care (PHC) refers to the awareness and efforts a person undertakes to enhance and preserve his physical, mental, and emotional health for today and the future. PHC is becoming more widely distributed as consumers and businesses become increasingly concerned about health-related issues and escalating health care costs. Individuals learn about disease and prevention from their physicians as well as social networks such as family and friends. However, there may be a myriad of reasons why individuals seek or avoid other people to utilize preventive health. These reasons may include their attitudes about preventive health, level of trust regarding different sources of PHC information, and differences in age, income levels, and cultural background. This study examines how different demographic groups assess face-to-face (FF) preventive health care (PHC) information sources. Based on a sample of 550 respondents, formal-clinical FF sources (physicians, nurses, dentists, pharmacists, dieticians, counselors) were considered to be the most important source. Informal-primary FF sources (spouse, parents, children) were also important, whereas formal-non-clinical sources like teachers and clergy were least important. Demographic groups differed in their assessment of FF sources. Individuals who were younger, in higher income brackets, and non-white considered family-friend sources (spouse, parents, children, other relatives, friends, neighbors) and advisory sources (dieticians, counselors, teachers, clergy, and co-workers) of PHC to be more important. Married persons considered both family-friend and clinical sources of PHC information to be more important. That is, they were more likely to seek and utilize preventive information from friends, relatives, physicians, and other health-care professionals.

Keywords: Preventive Health Care (PHC), Face-to-Face Sources, Demographic Variables, Factor Analysis, MANOVA, Spearman's Rank Correlation.



• SHOULD IMMUNIZATION BE A PUBLIC HEALTH MANDATE OR AN INDIVIDUAL CHOICE?
  Author(s): Edilberto A. Raynes, Ronald De Vera Barredo, Elizabeth Kunnu, Natalie Housel and Robert R. O'Connell Jr.
  

SHOULD IMMUNIZATION BE A PUBLIC HEALTH MANDATE OR AN INDIVIDUAL CHOICE?

Author(s): Edilberto A. Raynes, Ronald De Vera Barredo, Elizabeth Kunnu, Natalie Housel and Robert R. O'Connell Jr.

Immunization is one of the preventive measures that is cost-effective and advantageous for the health of the community. The primary goal of immunization is to eradicate and prevent disease occurrence. However, not all immunizations are provided to everyone on a routine basis. Because of this, and due to persistence and importation of disease from other countries, children and adults in the United States are still vulnerable to many vaccine preventable diseases. There are strong arguments to justify compulsory immunization. This paper describes the significance and factual considerations, the ethical considerations and arguments for individual choice, and the arguments for mandatory immunization. The authors concluded that, dependent upon the adequate levels of immunization and communication confrontation between individual and health care professionals, immunization can be either a public health mandate or an individual choice.

Keywords: Immunization, Ethics, Religion, Public Health, Choice, and Privilege.