Search results

Title: THE ROLE OF BEHAVIORAL FACTORS IN THE ONSET OF CANCER OF THE CERVIX.
Creator: RENT, CLYDA STOKES., The Florida State University
Date Issued: 1968, 1968
Identifier: AAI6911321, 2985925, FSDT2985925, fsu:70434
Format: Document (PDF)

Title: A RELAXATION TECHNIQUE AS A PREVENTIVE HEALTH METHOD FOR AN AGING POPULATION.
Creator: FOOTE, DIANNE FISHER., The Florida State University
Date Issued: 1978, 1978
Identifier: AAI7917041, 2989123, FSDT2989123, fsu:73630
Format: Document (PDF)

Title: A SURVEY TO DETERMINE THE SIGNIFICANCE OF VOCATIONAL REHABILITATION SERVICES IN WORK ADJUSTMENT OF DISCHARGED TUBERCULOSIS PATIENTS.
Creator: ECHOLS, FRANK HOWARD, SR., The Florida State University
Date Issued: 1962, 1962
Identifier: AAI6203507, 2985031, FSDT2985031, fsu:69510
Format: Document (PDF)

Title: A STUDY OF OPINIONS REGARDING HEALTH AND ILLNESS AS RELATED TO SOCIAL CLASS MEMBERSHIP.
Creator: THOMSON, BRUCE RANDOLPH., The Florida State University
Date Issued: 1959, 1959
Identifier: AAI5901765, 2984850, FSDT2984850, fsu:69292
Format: Document (PDF)

Title: Predicting Sexual Behaviors Among African American College Students: The Role of Gender, Family Context and Sexual Attitudes.
Creator: Thorpe, Shemeka Y., Gonzales-Backen, Melinda A., Rehm, Marsha Lynn, Brewster, Karin L., Florida State University, College of Human Sciences, Department of Family and Child Sciences
Abstract/Description: The purpose of this study was to analyze the relationship between family structure, SES, and condom use and hookup rates among a sample of N=1,346 African American college students. In addition, the moderating role of sexual attitudes in the association between the relationship of family structure and sexual behaviors and also between SES and sexual behaviors was examined. Gender differences in sexual behaviors and attitudes were also explored. There were significant gender differences in the...
Show moreThe purpose of this study was to analyze the relationship between family structure, SES, and condom use and hookup rates among a sample of N=1,346 African American college students. In addition, the moderating role of sexual attitudes in the association between the relationship of family structure and sexual behaviors and also between SES and sexual behaviors was examined. Gender differences in sexual behaviors and attitudes were also explored. There were significant gender differences in the number of hookup partners, sex attitudes and condom usage. SES was a strong predictor of the number of hookup partners men and women had as well as condom usage. With women from higher SES reporting hooking up with more partners that they knew prior as well as lower condom use. Family structure was not a significant predictor of sexual behaviors. Women were 1.2 times more likely to use condoms than men. Men also reported over three times as many hookup partners compared to women. Women reported more conservative sexual attitudes than men. Overall, sexual attitudes buffered the association between family structures and hookup partners and SES and hookup partners. This study found that African American college students are partaking in normative sexual behaviors and that several factors work together to influence their sexual behaviors and attitudes. Future implications are discussed.
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Date Issued: 2016
Identifier: FSU_2016SP_Thorpe_fsu_0071N_13097
Format: Thesis

Title: Racial, Ethnic, and Class Variation in Exposure to Environmental Toxins: A Pathway to Poor Health?.
Creator: Brailsford, Jennifer Brailsford, Burdette, Amy M., Coutts, Christopher, Taylor, John Miles G., Taylor, John Miles G., Taylor, John Miles G., Taylor, John Miles G., Florida State...
Show moreBrailsford, Jennifer Brailsford, Burdette, Amy M., Coutts, Christopher, Taylor, John Miles G., Taylor, John Miles G., Taylor, John Miles G., Taylor, John Miles G., Florida State University, College of Social Sciences and Public Policy, Department of Sociology
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Abstract/Description: This dissertation contributes to the fields of medical sociology, environmental health, and public health by examining the effects of social stratification on environmental exposures and physical morbidity. Although previous conceptual models suggest that the unequal distribution of environmental exposures may help to explain race/ethnic and socioeconomic differences in physical health, there is little to no empirical evidence to support these processes. Building on previous research, I use...
Show moreThis dissertation contributes to the fields of medical sociology, environmental health, and public health by examining the effects of social stratification on environmental exposures and physical morbidity. Although previous conceptual models suggest that the unequal distribution of environmental exposures may help to explain race/ethnic and socioeconomic differences in physical health, there is little to no empirical evidence to support these processes. Building on previous research, I use data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Surveys (2007-2008) to formally assess the following questions: 1) Does exposure to environmental toxins vary according to race/ethnicity and socioeconomic status? 2) Do race/ethnic and socioeconomic differences in environmental exposures help to explain race/ethnic and socioeconomic differences in physical health? The results of this research extend the literature by revealing empirically the unequal exposures to environmental toxins by race/ethnicity and socioeconomic status. Specifically, race/ethnic minorities (Blacks and Hispanics) and individuals with lower levels of socioeconomic status are disproportionately exposed to environmental toxins. Although overall toxin exposure and lead were unrelated to self-rated health, cadmium was found to partially mediate race/ethnic and socioeconomic differences in self-rated health.
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Date Issued: 2016
Identifier: FSU_FA2016_Brailsford_fsu_0071E_13476
Format: Thesis

Title: Racial and Ethnic Trends in Vaccination Coverage among Adolescents.
Creator: Webb, Noah S., Burdette, Amy M., Coutts, Christopher, Taylor, Miles G., Taylor, John, Florida State University, College of Social Sciences and Public Policy, Department of...
Show moreWebb, Noah S., Burdette, Amy M., Coutts, Christopher, Taylor, Miles G., Taylor, John, Florida State University, College of Social Sciences and Public Policy, Department of Sociology
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Abstract/Description: One of the key determinants of health and wellbeing for adolescents is the utilization of preventive health services. While adolescents are generally healthy, public health officials warn that access to health insurance, preventive care, and proper health education are vital to experiencing continued health and wellbeing throughout the life course. Despite the noted importance of preventive care in adolescence, social disparities continue to exist. Given that racial and ethnic minorities and...
Show moreOne of the key determinants of health and wellbeing for adolescents is the utilization of preventive health services. While adolescents are generally healthy, public health officials warn that access to health insurance, preventive care, and proper health education are vital to experiencing continued health and wellbeing throughout the life course. Despite the noted importance of preventive care in adolescence, social disparities continue to exist. Given that racial and ethnic minorities and those who are socioeconomically disadvantaged are less likely to have health insurance coverage, use preventive health services, and follow the recommended immunization schedule, this dissertation focuses on an important aspect of adolescent preventive health care services: vaccinations. Specifically, this study examines race and ethnic specific trends in meningococcal and tetanus, diphtheria, & acellular pertussis (Tdap) vaccination coverage among adolescents in the United States. Understanding such trends could help providers determine the most effective strategies for immunizing adolescents from different racial/ethnic backgrounds, especially as they age into adulthood, as well as reduce the overall impact of vaccine preventable diseases on households and communities. Using provider reported vaccination histories from the National Immunization Survey-Teen, 2008-2016, this dissertation estimates a series of binary logistic regressions to model racial and ethnic trends in meningococcal and Tdap vaccination coverage among U.S. adolescents (n = 155,461) over a nine-year period. I find that the distribution of meningococcal and Tdap vaccinations among adolescents varies by race and ethnicity. Black and Hispanic adolescents tend to display higher odds of vaccination relative to White adolescents. These increased rates suggest a racial/ethnic minority advantage that, at least among Hispanics, is reminiscent of the “Hispanic paradox.” These results further suggest that racial and ethnic disparities in adolescent vaccination persist. Moving forward, race and ethnic specific trends highlight the need for targeted interventions to reduce disparities as well as continued efforts to increase the overall rate of adolescent vaccination, as adolescents remain the least vaccinated demographic age group in pre-adulthood.
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Date Issued: 2018
Identifier: 2018_Su_Webb_fsu_0071E_14672
Format: Thesis

Title: Survival Analysis Using Bayesian Joint Models.
Creator: Xu, Zhixing, Sinha, Debajyoti, Schatschneider, Christopher, Bradley, Jonathan R., Chicken, Eric, Lin, Lifeng, Florida State University, College of Arts and Sciences, Department...
Show moreXu, Zhixing, Sinha, Debajyoti, Schatschneider, Christopher, Bradley, Jonathan R., Chicken, Eric, Lin, Lifeng, Florida State University, College of Arts and Sciences, Department of Statistics
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Abstract/Description: In many clinical studies, each patient is at risk of recurrent events as well as the terminating event. In Chapter 2, we present a novel latent-class based semiparametric joint model that offers clinically meaningful and estimable association between the recurrence profile and risk of termination. Unlike previous shared-frailty based joint models, this model has a coherent interpretation of the covariate effects on all relevant functions and model quantities that are either conditional or...
Show moreIn many clinical studies, each patient is at risk of recurrent events as well as the terminating event. In Chapter 2, we present a novel latent-class based semiparametric joint model that offers clinically meaningful and estimable association between the recurrence profile and risk of termination. Unlike previous shared-frailty based joint models, this model has a coherent interpretation of the covariate effects on all relevant functions and model quantities that are either conditional or unconditional on events history. We offer a fully Bayesian method for estimation and prediction using a complete specification of the prior process of the baseline functions. When there is a lack of prior information about the baseline functions, we derive a practical and theoretically justifiable partial likelihood based semiparametric Bayesian approach. Our Markov Chain Monte Carlo tools for both Bayesian methods are implementable via publicly available software. Practical advantages of our methods are illustrated via a simulation study and the analysis of a transplant study with recurrent Non-Fatal Graft Rejections (NFGR) and the termination event of death due to total graft rejection. In Chapter 3, we are motivated by the important problem of estimating Daily Fine Particulate Matter (PM2.5) over the US. Tracking and estimating Daily Fine Particulate Matter (PM2.5) is very important as it has been shown that PM2.5 is directly related to mortality related to the lungs, cardiovascular system, and stroke. That is, high values of PM2.5 constitute a public health problem in the US, and it is important that we precisely estimate PM2.5 to aid in public policy decisions. Thus, we propose a Bayesian hierarchical model for high-dimensional ``multi-type" responses. By ``multi-type" responses we mean a collection of correlated responses that have different distributional assumptions (e.g., continuous skewed observations, and count-valued observations). The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) database provides counts of mortalities related to PM2.5 and daily averaged PM2.5 which are treated as responses in our analysis. Our model capitalizes on the shared conjugate structure between the Weibull (to model PM2.5), Poisson (to model diseases mortalities), and multivariate log-gamma distributions, and use dimension reduction to aid with computation. Our model can also be used to improve the precision of estimates and estimate at undisclosed/missing counties. We provide a simulation study to illustrate the performance of the model and give an in-depth analysis of the CDC dataset.
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Date Issued: 2019
Identifier: 2019_Spring_Xu_fsu_0071E_15078
Format: Thesis

Title: The Disablement Process of Aging United States Veterans.
Creator: Urena Salas, Stephanie, Taylor, Miles G., Joiner, Thomas, Quadagno, Jill S., Carr, Dawn C., McFarland, Michael J., Florida State University, College of Social Sciences and...
Show moreUrena Salas, Stephanie, Taylor, Miles G., Joiner, Thomas, Quadagno, Jill S., Carr, Dawn C., McFarland, Michael J., Florida State University, College of Social Sciences and Public Policy, Department of Sociology
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Abstract/Description: Older United States (U.S.) veterans are a population at risk for disability due to their early life experiences with military service and increasing age. Military service was a normative part of early adult life for today's older U.S. population, bringing the number of veterans aged 60 and older in 2015 to over 9.3 million. Despite older veterans' lived experience, substantial population size, and potential impact on the U.S. health care system, the details of their later-life disability...
Show moreOlder United States (U.S.) veterans are a population at risk for disability due to their early life experiences with military service and increasing age. Military service was a normative part of early adult life for today's older U.S. population, bringing the number of veterans aged 60 and older in 2015 to over 9.3 million. Despite older veterans' lived experience, substantial population size, and potential impact on the U.S. health care system, the details of their later-life disability experience are not well understood. The following project uses the nationally representative, longitudinal Health and Retirement Study (HRS) to examine the role of veteran status on the disablement process of veterans compared to nonveterans over a decade (2004-2014), including an exploration of the underlying life course mechanisms influencing disablement, with the goal of providing a recent look at the long-term physical health consequences of military service. Chapter 3 establishes the occurrence of an observable veteran health paradox among HRS respondents 60 years and older. I unpack the components of the disablement process of veterans compared to nonveterans by creating separate baseline 10-year trajectories for number of chronic conditions, disability, and mortality, including veteran status, age, race, and father's education in the model. Three different disability trajectories were measured to capture the gradual progression and severity of disability: functional limitations (FLs), instrumental activities of daily living (IADLs), and activities of daily living (ADLs) which are considered the most severe manifestation of disability. The trajectories depict counterintuitive results: veterans have more chronic conditions but less self-reported FLs, IADLs, and ADLs compared to nonveterans. This finding stands in contrast to the progression of disablement described by Verbrugge and colleagues in the aging and disability literature. Veterans in this sample are also observed to experience a marginally lower risk of mortality at baseline but a significantly greater increasing risk of mortality over time compared to nonveterans, such that veterans have a survival deficit over the majority of the analytic period. The results of more chronic conditions, lower disability, and higher mortality suggest that veterans may die from diseases rather than becoming disabled. These findings are counterintuitive to the traditional disablement process and strongly suggest a veteran health paradox. Chronic conditions appear to play a crucial role within the disablement process of veterans, and they may hold answers to their overall disablement experience, so they are further tested in Chapter 4. Chapter 4 uses the same analytic sample from Chapter 3 to conduct a closer examination of chronic conditions and their role in the observed veteran health paradox. An interaction term for number of chronic conditions and veteran status (chronic conditions * veteran status) along with sociodemographic predictors and life course pathways are added to the trajectory models, which are also run separately with dichotomous variables of seven specific chronic conditions (arthritis, cancer, diabetes, heart disease, hypertension, lung disease, and stroke) and their corresponding interaction with veteran status (specific chronic condition * veteran status). The findings suggest that veterans have less disability despite having more chronic conditions than nonveterans. Veterans, specifically those who self-reported having chronic conditions, seem to have an initial advantage in mortality that diminishes to meet the level of mortality for nonveterans by the end of the analytic period. Further inspection of chronic conditions and life course mechanisms suggest the interaction between veteran status and chronic conditions is driving the effects, with arthritis, diabetes, and heart disease standing out as significant in translating to lower disability (i.e. functional limitations) for veterans compared to their nonveteran counterparts. Exploration of covariates and life course pathways establish socioeconomic status, marriage, and health care access as independently protective mechanisms by which veterans fare better in the disablement process than nonveterans. These findings support the existence of an observed veteran health paradox within the sample and further highlight that the early stages of the disablement process play a key role in disability outcomes for veterans compared to nonveterans. The evidence for the veteran health paradox is new to the aging literature and reinforces the notion that veteran status is still a hidden variable with complex associations that may substantially alter results of population-level studies of health and disability processes. Acknowledgement of the nuanced disablement process of veterans is important for targeting prevention of chronic disease and disability, reduction of healthcare costs, and planning for the future of veteran-specific and population-level disability. This study is intended to make improvements in the overall health equity of U.S. veterans by informing researchers and policy-makers of their paradoxical disablement process and the importance of early stages of disablement to their later-life disability outcomes. Of note, the results highlight the need to tailor the chronic condition and disability management of older adults to their unique early-life experiences and the potential for early intervention to mitigate the onset of disability in later life. Further research is needed to deepen our understanding of the unique disablement process of veterans compared to nonveterans. Mechanisms stemming from specific service-related experiences—combat, environmental hazards, duration of service (career veterans vs. non-career veterans)—should be explored when possible. Differential onset of disability and differential health care access and utilization of veterans compared to nonveterans should also be explored as potential mechanisms for the observed veteran health paradox. All future research should strive for the use of nationally representative, longitudinal samples that include a marker for veteran status, and should use prospective veteran cohorts to document how younger veteran cohorts experience disablement and forecast how healthcare should adapt to their changing needs.
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Date Issued: 2019
Identifier: 2019_Summer_UrenaSalas_fsu_0071E_15329
Format: Thesis

Title: The Impacts of Health Care Capital Controls on Health Outcomes and Regional Competition.
Creator: Chiu, Kevin, Kantor, Shawn Everett, Lee, Keon-Hyung, Kitchens, Carl T., Rodgers, Luke P., Florida State University, College of Social Sciences and Public Policy, Department of...
Show moreChiu, Kevin, Kantor, Shawn Everett, Lee, Keon-Hyung, Kitchens, Carl T., Rodgers, Luke P., Florida State University, College of Social Sciences and Public Policy, Department of Economics
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Abstract/Description: Capital control policies, such as certificate of need (CON) regulations, are often touted as a means of combatting the rising costs of healthcare. However, such policies often have little to no concern with their impact on health outcomes. This dissertation examines this impact. The first chapter, "The Impact of Certificate of Need Laws on Heart Attack Mortality," explores the relationship between heart attack deaths and CON laws, assessing the differential impact on states adopting CON...
Show moreCapital control policies, such as certificate of need (CON) regulations, are often touted as a means of combatting the rising costs of healthcare. However, such policies often have little to no concern with their impact on health outcomes. This dissertation examines this impact. The first chapter, "The Impact of Certificate of Need Laws on Heart Attack Mortality," explores the relationship between heart attack deaths and CON laws, assessing the differential impact on states adopting CON regulation between 1968 and 1982. Using neighboring counties on opposite sides of a state border to account for the endogeneity of healthcare preferences across regions, I find that the introduction of CON regulations led to 6-7 additional heart attack deaths per 100,000 (which represents a 4.2% increase in deaths relative to the pre-CON mean). The goal of the next two chapters is to explain possible mechanisms that links CON policies to the additional deaths. The second chapter, "Health Returns to Hospital-Level Capital Investments: Evidence from Endowment Shocks," measures the effect of capital on health outcomes. Taking advantage of the fact that non-profit hospitals follow a rigid endowment spending policy based upon the market value of their endowments, my coauthor (Shawn Kantor) and I develop an instrumental variable for current capital spending that is based upon each non-profit hospital's endowment level interacted with stock market shocks over time. Using patient-level discharge data from non-profit hospitals in the state of Florida from 2006 to 2014, we find that for every $1,000,000 increase in a hospital's capital expenditure, mortality decreases by 0.0062 to 0.0123 percentage point for the average ER visitor, and 0.0064 to 0.0110 percentage point for the average patient admitted to the hospital. This equates to about 6.2 to 12.3 individuals per 100,000. This effect, however, is economically small, since the average hospital treats 1,357 patients per year. Finally, the third chapter, "Using Certificate of Need Regulations to Deter Entry into the Healthcare Market: Case Study of Florida Prior to Repeal," is a case study of Florida's CON regulations prior to repeal in 2019. The goal is to provide a description of the CON approval process for future research on the impact of CON. This chapter explores the traditional methods of entry deterrence in the healthcare market then discusses how the regulatory environment may provide an additional option for incumbents to use unproductive capital to deter entry into a CON regulatory environment. I then provide an exploratory analysis of whether an incumbent has an impact on CON approval, conditional on the entrant reaching the decision to file a CON application, and briefly describe what needs to be accounted for in any future analysis.
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Date Issued: 2019
Identifier: 2019_Summer_Chiu_fsu_0071E_15397
Format: Thesis

Title: A comparison of compliance to group meditation, individual meditation and didactic group training in a program to help lower blood pressure in black adults.
Creator: Cort, Douglas Alan., Florida State University
Abstract/Description: The prevalence of hypertension is 2 to 4.5 times higher among blacks than whites. Rates of severely elevated pressures are 6 times higher for blacks. In addition, blacks are among the least likely to obtain treatment for this disease. While research suggests that meditation may be useful in lowering blood pressure, the results reflect a good deal of variability between patients. It was hypothesized that a large portion of this variance may be due to differences in compliance to the meditation...
Show moreThe prevalence of hypertension is 2 to 4.5 times higher among blacks than whites. Rates of severely elevated pressures are 6 times higher for blacks. In addition, blacks are among the least likely to obtain treatment for this disease. While research suggests that meditation may be useful in lowering blood pressure, the results reflect a good deal of variability between patients. It was hypothesized that a large portion of this variance may be due to differences in compliance to the meditation regimens., To test this hypothesis, an experiment was conducted with 51 black adults. Compliance was defined as attendance to the weekly meditation or educational training sessions. To increase compliance individuals were assigned to one of three groups; individual meditation, group meditation, or a didactic control group. Each participant was given a questionnaire to assess their degree of comfort with the condition to which they were assigned., The data support the claim that greater compliance to a meditation program leads to greater decreases in blood pressure. Determination of differences in degree of satisfaction and its subsequent effect on attendance to specific programs was not possible, probably because of structural problems in the phenomenological questionnaire.
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Date Issued: 1988, 1988
Identifier: AAI8909930, 3161830, FSDT3161830, fsu:78029
Format: Document (PDF)

Title: Two-phase smoking cessation program.
Creator: Miller, Melinda Ann., Florida State University
Abstract/Description: Research has shown that teaching of behavioral techniques is successful in helping willing smokers to quit, only to return to smoking within a short time period. A sizable minority (20-50%) do not quit at all. This study investigated the hypothesis that the current emphasis on particular techniques for change (i.e. behavioral modification) rather than examining other potentially crucial variables (i.e. health beliefs) is responsible for the aforementioned results. Quitting smoking was...
Show moreResearch has shown that teaching of behavioral techniques is successful in helping willing smokers to quit, only to return to smoking within a short time period. A sizable minority (20-50%) do not quit at all. This study investigated the hypothesis that the current emphasis on particular techniques for change (i.e. behavioral modification) rather than examining other potentially crucial variables (i.e. health beliefs) is responsible for the aforementioned results. Quitting smoking was conceived as a two phase process: (1) developing a set of specific health beliefs, hypothesized to be associated with non-smoking behavior and (2) learning behavioral techniques. The goal was to combine a persuasive message, based on the Health Belief Model, aimed at smoking related attitudes with a behavioral treatment program. Four treatment conditions were tested: persuasive message with behavioral techniques, persuasive message with placebo program, a placebo message with behavioral program, a placebo message with placebo program. Treatment was conducted in 17 groups (186 subjects total). Each group met for 10 sessions over a 9$1\over2$ week period. Data was collected at 5 points: before and after the first session, immediately before the second session, after the ninth session and after the last section. The results, analyzed by a path analysis, did not support the hypothesis. The persuasive message was not effective in changing health beliefs. However, subjects with stronger perceptions of the seriousness of the smoking consequences and lower perceptions of the number of cigarettes that could be safely smoked each day smoked fewer cigarettes. As in prior research, the behavior treatment was effective in reducing smoking, with 51% abstinent at the end of treatment, confirmed by respiratory air measurement.
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Date Issued: 1989, 1989
Identifier: AAI8918328, 3161818, FSDT3161818, fsu:78017
Format: Document (PDF)

Title: An evaluation of personality characteristics of smokeless tobacco users.
Creator: Schaefer, Charles John., Florida State University
Abstract/Description: The purpose of this study was to examine the personality characteristics of male smokeless tobacco users. The study objective was to determine any differences in personality characteristics between smokeless tobacco users, former users of smokeless tobacco, and non-users of tobacco. An additional comparison was made between cigarette smokers and smokeless tobacco users. A survey in the Houston, Texas vicinity provided a sample of 724 males, 202 smokeless tobacco users, 22 former smokeless...
Show moreThe purpose of this study was to examine the personality characteristics of male smokeless tobacco users. The study objective was to determine any differences in personality characteristics between smokeless tobacco users, former users of smokeless tobacco, and non-users of tobacco. An additional comparison was made between cigarette smokers and smokeless tobacco users. A survey in the Houston, Texas vicinity provided a sample of 724 males, 202 smokeless tobacco users, 22 former smokeless tobacco users, 200 non-tobacco users, and 100 cigarette smokers. Each subject was administered a smokeless tobacco questionnaire, the Eyesenck Personality Questionnaire and the Spielberger State-Trait Anxiety Scale. The results of the study indicated that smokeless tobacco use is primarily a white male phenomenon; few black or other racial groups consumed smokeless tobacco amoung their population. Significant (p $<$ 0.05) personality differences were found between non-users of tobacco and smokeless tobacco users. Cigarette smokers reported experiencing more stress, but are less sociable, optimistic and impulsive compared to the smokeless tobacco users. Practical implications and future research considerations are suggested.
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Date Issued: 1990, 1990
Identifier: AAI9027803, 3162080, FSDT3162080, fsu:78278
Format: Document (PDF)

Title: THE STATE OF FLORIDA'S RESPONSE TO ACQUIRED IMMUNE DEFICIENCY SYNDROME: A POLICY ANALYSIS (AIDS).
Creator: LEVINE, HELEN DOROTHY., Florida State University
Abstract/Description: This study examined the development of public policies on AIDS in the public education delivery system of Florida through December, 1986. The study provided insights into how AIDS education policies have been formed in Florida, in which arenas the policy formation process has taken place, and how the interplay between technical knowledge and the political process has mediated the education policy formation process., Three conceptual models of policy formation and decision-making were used as...
Show moreThis study examined the development of public policies on AIDS in the public education delivery system of Florida through December, 1986. The study provided insights into how AIDS education policies have been formed in Florida, in which arenas the policy formation process has taken place, and how the interplay between technical knowledge and the political process has mediated the education policy formation process., Three conceptual models of policy formation and decision-making were used as analytical frameworks from which to study state and local education policy initiatives on AIDS: the rationalist model (Easton, 1953); the organizational model (Simon, 1957; Simon and March, 1958; Simon and Cyert, 1963); and the bureaucratic-politics model (Allison and Halperin, 1972). From the research it can be concluded that of the three models, the bureaucratic-politics model best explained the policy formation process on AIDS and public school in Florida. The strengths of the model included the recognition of organizational patterns as well as individual interests on the policy formation process., In the three models discussed, little place exists for a systematic inclusion of a cultural or contexual explanation. Based on the analysis conducted, the study suggests that the bureaucratic-politics model could be modified to include an explicit cultural component. An expanded version of the model would provide a conceptual framework from which the interplay between cultural considerations, organizational behaviors, and individual interests could be better understood.
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Date Issued: 1987, 1987
Identifier: AAI8711727, 3086550, FSDT3086550, fsu:76025
Format: Document (PDF)

Title: Developing Effective Principles for the Use of Art Materials in Pediatric Medical Settings.
Creator: Weedo, Mary Nicole, Van Lith, Theresa, Gussak, David, Rosal, Marcia, Florida State University, College of Fine Arts, Department of Art Education
Abstract/Description: With art programs becoming more prominent in medical environments, this research seeks to investigate the way art materials are being used and perceived in these settings. Through observation of one pediatric unit and information collected from parents and nurses at this location, this qualitative evaluation aims to promote the ways in which art practices are benefiting children within hospital environments, while also considering the effect art materials may have on health professionals’...
Show moreWith art programs becoming more prominent in medical environments, this research seeks to investigate the way art materials are being used and perceived in these settings. Through observation of one pediatric unit and information collected from parents and nurses at this location, this qualitative evaluation aims to promote the ways in which art practices are benefiting children within hospital environments, while also considering the effect art materials may have on health professionals’ ability to perform primary medical responsibilities. Through an analysis of the data collected through observation and surveys, this research proposes the need for four guidelines for the use of art materials in pediatric medical settings: 1) giving children options rather than beginning with specific directives, 2) providing options for the location of the use of art materials, 3) investing in traditional art materials rather than digital for this population, and 4) creating plans to inform patients of their opportunities to participate in art. These principles consider the combined needs of the patients, families, structure of the hospital, and nurses to inform the development of future art practices within pediatric medical settings.
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Date Issued: 2016
Identifier: FSU_FA2016_Weedo_fsu_0071N_13638
Format: Thesis

Title: AN EVALUATION OF AN OUTREACH PROGRAM DESIGNED TO MODIFY THE SEXUAL KNOWLEDGE, ATTITUDES, AND BEHAVIOR OF LATE ADOLESCENT MALES.
Creator: HANLEY, MORRIS ALLEN., Florida State University
Abstract/Description: This study was an evaluation of an outreach program designed to modify the sexual and contraceptive knowledge, attitudes and behavior of participating late adolescent males. Using a quasi-experimental design the evaluation consisted of pretest, posttest, and follow-up survey., The workshop pretests were completed by 575 participants (mean age 20 years). Slightly more than half of them had experienced intercourse in the 30 days prior to workshop attendance. Approximately one third of the...
Show moreThis study was an evaluation of an outreach program designed to modify the sexual and contraceptive knowledge, attitudes and behavior of participating late adolescent males. Using a quasi-experimental design the evaluation consisted of pretest, posttest, and follow-up survey., The workshop pretests were completed by 575 participants (mean age 20 years). Slightly more than half of them had experienced intercourse in the 30 days prior to workshop attendance. Approximately one third of the sexually active had failed to use contraception., Posttest and follow-up results indicated the workshops were associated with a significant increase in sexual and contraceptive knowledge, a significant change to more positive attitudes towards male and female contraceptives, and a significant decrease in unprotected intercourse. Participants reported the workshops as clearly presented, interesting and meeting their needs., It was concluded that the treatment was effective in promoting change in the sexual knowledge, attitudes and behaviors of the participants. This change was seen to extend through the follow-up period.
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Date Issued: 1981, 1981
Identifier: AAI8115399, 3084908, FSDT3084908, fsu:74406
Format: Document (PDF)

Title: An assessment of health practices and needs among Dade County, Florida adults with implications for improving community health education.
Creator: McLaughlin-Buckner, Marjean., Florida State University
Abstract/Description: The lack of information about the health care practices and needs of Dade County adults has contributed to a delivery system which is fragmented, uncoordinated and crises-oriented. The overall purpose of this study is to help alleviate those undesirable conditions by developing an information base that will specify the health needs of Dade County adults in terms of their perceived health problems, knowledge of health practices, lifestyles conducive to optimum health and knowledge and use of...
Show moreThe lack of information about the health care practices and needs of Dade County adults has contributed to a delivery system which is fragmented, uncoordinated and crises-oriented. The overall purpose of this study is to help alleviate those undesirable conditions by developing an information base that will specify the health needs of Dade County adults in terms of their perceived health problems, knowledge of health practices, lifestyles conducive to optimum health and knowledge and use of health care services., Drawing on literature relating to wellness, health education, health related behavior, the promotion of quality lifestyle, needs assessment and the conceptual framework posited for this study, a needs survey was developed to determine among adults their (1) perceived health status; (2) personal health care practices; (3) frequency of contact with health care providers; (4) personal health behaviors including cigarette smoking, alcohol consumption, exercise, nutrition, stress and hypertension management; (5) experiences with common health problems; and (6) perceived level of control over personal health., This study, descriptive in nature, followed selected and validated procedures of telephone survey methodology. Data were derived from a stratified random sampling of Dade County non-institutionalized adult residents. Data were tabulated by frequency and percentage distribution and tested with Chi Square at the.05 level to identify the association that may exist between dependent and independent variables. Data obtained was used to address five research questions., Findings showed significant relationships between independent and dependent variables in the following: cigarette smoking to education level; alcohol consumption to ethnic background/race, age, sex, household income, and education level; amount of stress to ethnic background/race, age, and education level; and hypertension to ethnic background/race, age, sex and household income., Some implications are that health education programs can contribute to changes in health related practices, and consequently improved health, but such programs are only part of the total effort required to bring about significant change.
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Date Issued: 1988, 1988
Identifier: AAI8822458, 3161627, FSDT3161627, fsu:77827
Format: Document (PDF)

Title: A qualitative investigation into psychosocial factors underlying burnout in youth sport.
Creator: Gerla, Bonita Jene., Florida State University
Abstract/Description: The rate of participants leaving organized sport has increased. Does sport participation provide youth with positive experiences or negative ones? Burnout in sport occurs frequently and most coaches and players experience difficulty in diagnosing, preventing, and treating this problem., Once the causes of burnout are found, interventions to decrease its effects should be more successful. Additional research should determine how and when to intervene. Sport offers a unique context for the...
Show moreThe rate of participants leaving organized sport has increased. Does sport participation provide youth with positive experiences or negative ones? Burnout in sport occurs frequently and most coaches and players experience difficulty in diagnosing, preventing, and treating this problem., Once the causes of burnout are found, interventions to decrease its effects should be more successful. Additional research should determine how and when to intervene. Sport offers a unique context for the study of social processes and relationships. I used a case study approach and incorporated focused interviews., The subjects for this study were ten gymnasts ranging in age from 10 to 16. Subjects were initially and informally interviewed by a panel of experts who used their own line of questioning. In addition, the investigator conducted an extensive interview with all subjects., Also included as subjects were the mothers and coaches (or ex-coaches) of the gymnasts. Subjects were observed for eight weeks, 1 to 2 hours per week., The data was analyzed from a multi-disciplinary perspective. Triangulation prevented the investigator from accepting too readily the validity of initial impressions and provided a means of more directly assessing the reliability and validity of the data collection. The goal of this type of analysis was to arrive at an integrated understanding of the processes being studied., Socially learned blocks can cause early termination, therefore a positive experience can make that difference in the quality of the aport experience. Broader perspectives in psychology and sociology will increase the understanding as to why some children experience sport burnout and others incorporate it into their lifestyle., Burnout was determined to be a multidimensional response requiring consideration from both psychological and sociological perspectives. In the case of the subjects used in this study regular participation in sport comprises a process replete with varied social interactions, acquired deterrents as well as enhancers of personal development. These were revealed during the indepth interviews with subjects. The ways in which the gymnasts integrated environmental stimuli, and dealt with differential social experiences interacted with their personal past experiences, needs and interests, and determined the meaningfulness of gymnastic participation. Certain of these dynamics and mechanics appeared to have generated stress responses which eventually led to burnout., Future research into causes and treatment can resolve the incidence of attrition. Preventive measures should be addressed rather than attending to the aftermath of burnout with various treatment modalities. Many areas need to be examined, enhanced, and restructured to decrease burnout and to increase the athlete and the environment.
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Date Issued: 1991, 1991
Identifier: AAI9209118, 3087711, FSDT3087711, fsu:76521
Format: Document (PDF)

Title: Policy Innovation and Diffusion Through Policy Typologies: Examining the Predictors of Medical Marijuana Legalization in States.
Creator: Kim, Gook Jin, Berry, Frances Stokes, Weissert, William G, Brower, Ralph S., Lee, Keon-Hyung, Florida State University, College of Social Sciences and Public Policy, School of...
Show moreKim, Gook Jin, Berry, Frances Stokes, Weissert, William G, Brower, Ralph S., Lee, Keon-Hyung, Florida State University, College of Social Sciences and Public Policy, School of Public Administration and Policy
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Abstract/Description: In recent years, the legalization of medical marijuana in states has been a controversial topic. Despite conflicting with the federal government ban on marijuana use, 28 states and D.C. have legalized medical marijuana by the year 2016 and other states are currently considering adopting the law every year. Why do some states adopt medical marijuana laws and others do not? This study lays out an approach that explains what and how the predictors of the adoption of medical marijuana laws affect...
Show moreIn recent years, the legalization of medical marijuana in states has been a controversial topic. Despite conflicting with the federal government ban on marijuana use, 28 states and D.C. have legalized medical marijuana by the year 2016 and other states are currently considering adopting the law every year. Why do some states adopt medical marijuana laws and others do not? This study lays out an approach that explains what and how the predictors of the adoption of medical marijuana laws affect legalizing medical marijuana in a state, using a mixed methods approach. In the quantitative research, this study examines the diffusion of medical marijuana laws by analyzing policy adoption from a morality and economic development perspective through three policy typologies such as morality policy, economic policy and multidimensional policy. For the qualitative research, this study uses short case studies of three states (California, Colorado, and Illinois) based on news reports to draw out the politics surrounding the issues and reasons why the policies were adopted. This study finds that the morality policy characteristics as policy diffusion factors -- religious groups, citizens’ liberal ideology, and a ballot initiative process -- have a significant effect on the adoption of a medical marijuana law. Economic indicators -- fiscal capacity growth, incarceration, and cost of justice system -- also have a significant effect on the adoption. As internal characteristics, a major proponent group (number of marijuana users) and state regulatory environment (mandatory minimum sentences for drug offenses and the size of the regulatory bureaucracy) are important predictors of diffusion. Overall, this study shows that the diffusion of a medical marijuana law is mainly determined by the citizens’ opinion rather than elected officials’ political ideology or government's fiscal health conditions. Also, we demonstrated that a multidimensional policy model provides a superior explanation for predicting when a state will adopt medical marijuana policy; policy typologies are still a useful framework for clarifying and understanding characteristics of each policy type and its unique politics pattern. These findings contribute to the literature of diffusion, and they have important implications for the diffusion of multidimensional policies that transcend classical typological boundaries. Moreover, in terms of practical implication, this study provides policy makers and American civil society useful information about which factors impact medical marijuana adoption and why.
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Date Issued: 2016
Identifier: FSU_FA2016_KIM_fsu_0071E_13573
Format: Thesis

Title: The Efficacy of Yoga on the Amelioration of Non Specific Chronic Low Back Pain in Registered Nurses: A Literature Review and Study Proposal.
Creator: Murray, Kevin, College of Nursing
Abstract/Description: This thesis explores the literature for information about the prevalence of Non Specific Chronic Low Back Pain (NSCLBP) among Registered Nurses and the effectiveness of yoga on reducing the pain in order to develop a study proposal that would serve to assess the impact of yoga on reducing NSCLBP in nurses. The aims of this paper are: (1) to conduct a literature review, (2) identify gaps in knowledge about NSCLBP in nurses and the effectiveness of specific complementary alternative therapies...
Show moreThis thesis explores the literature for information about the prevalence of Non Specific Chronic Low Back Pain (NSCLBP) among Registered Nurses and the effectiveness of yoga on reducing the pain in order to develop a study proposal that would serve to assess the impact of yoga on reducing NSCLBP in nurses. The aims of this paper are: (1) to conduct a literature review, (2) identify gaps in knowledge about NSCLBP in nurses and the effectiveness of specific complementary alternative therapies to alleviate NSCLBP, (3) propose a research study to measure the effectiveness of yoga on NSCLBP using mixed methodologies. This paper will be presented at the Florida State University Honors Symposium and will meet the necessary requirements to complete the first Honors in the Major thesis at the Florida State University College of Nursing.
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Date Issued: 2014
Identifier: FSU_migr_uhm-0404
Format: Thesis

Title: The development of trauma systems in Florida: A study of innovation in medical care delivery.
Creator: Mansfield, Christopher John., Florida State University
Abstract/Description: A trauma system is an innovation in the coordinative technology of medical care delivery that can reduce death and suffering of injury victims. An understanding of why it has not been adopted in Florida is presented by answering the following questions: (1) what phenomena have thwarted their development? (2) what public policy has evolved to encourage their development? (3) what factors remain to be addressed? Data in this case study are evaluated in the context of a theory of innovation...
Show moreA trauma system is an innovation in the coordinative technology of medical care delivery that can reduce death and suffering of injury victims. An understanding of why it has not been adopted in Florida is presented by answering the following questions: (1) what phenomena have thwarted their development? (2) what public policy has evolved to encourage their development? (3) what factors remain to be addressed? Data in this case study are evaluated in the context of a theory of innovation diffusion that considers: (1) attributes of the innovation; (2) the social/environmental context; (3) the type of innovation decision(s) required; (4) the implementing entity(ies) chosen; (5) implementation strategies available and used; and, (6) the implementation process. Other important variables considered are predisposition of participants in the diffusion process toward a public versus private approach, and efforts of change agents in influencing the diffusion process. Roles of participants are conceptualized as policy community member, as policy implementor, policy entrepreneur, and policy maker., Essential findings are that diffusion of the innovation has been thwarted by a number of factors. Three attributes of the innovation that have had a negative effect on diffusion are trialability, observability, and adaptability. Compatibility of the innovation with norms and values of implementors may also have been a factor., Though there was strong opposition on the part of the hospital industry to public policy that would restrict the free-market, no general predisposition toward private enterprise for providing health care services was found among the policy community and policy implementors. In the absence of logically conceived public policy, private strategies employed in a voluntary effort by private implementing agencies have been insufficient., Legislation recently passed in spite of hospital industry opposition embodies new public sector strategies, implementation entities, and components of the implementation process. How the policy evolved is explained and implications for future policy and administrative action are discussed.
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Date Issued: 1988, 1988
Identifier: AAI8822457, 3161641, FSDT3161641, fsu:77841
Format: Document (PDF)

Title: Aging and 'contemporary' ethical dilemmas in "Setting Limits".
Creator: Frye, Barbara Ann., Florida State University
Abstract/Description: One of the most important and controversial thinkers to explore the problems of aging and its diverse problems in our modern society, is Daniel Callahan. The central question raised by Callahan is whether the United States has sufficient resources to provide adequate care for the rapidly increasing aging population. Callahan proposes as a matter of government policy, that life extending medical care should be denied to elderly people over the age of seventy. He further argues that length of...
Show moreOne of the most important and controversial thinkers to explore the problems of aging and its diverse problems in our modern society, is Daniel Callahan. The central question raised by Callahan is whether the United States has sufficient resources to provide adequate care for the rapidly increasing aging population. Callahan proposes as a matter of government policy, that life extending medical care should be denied to elderly people over the age of seventy. He further argues that length of life is less important than the quality of life and that the government's responsibility is to help people live out their natural life span with no responsibility to actively extend life with any medical intervention or technological procedure., This author's dissertation explores the current problems in health care, recent public policies which have been formulated in response to the issues involved in health care for the elderly. The issue of ethics and justice is argued, as well as discussion on the many alternative proposals to Callahan's chronological criterion for the allocation of health resources and rationing.
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Date Issued: 1992, 1992
Identifier: AAI9233290, 3087841, FSDT3087841, fsu:76651
Format: Document (PDF)

Title: Predictive Factors of Clinical Trial Participation: An Examination of the Impact of Race on Behavioral Intentions.
Creator: Frady, David Michael, Rayburn, Jay D., Hartline, Michael D., Houck, Davis W., Korzenny, Felipe, Florida State University, College of Communication and Information, School of...
Show moreFrady, David Michael, Rayburn, Jay D., Hartline, Michael D., Houck, Davis W., Korzenny, Felipe, Florida State University, College of Communication and Information, School of Communication
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Abstract/Description: Significant disparities in healthcare among African-Americans are still prevalent in the U.S. with black patients having a higher incidence of common chronic diseases (heart disease, cancer and strokes), die at a higher rate, and lose more years of life as a result of the conditions. One area where the healthcare gap is particularly prevalent is clinical trial participation, with 1% of trial participants identifying as black despite a comprehensive meta-analysis including 70,000 subjects...
Show moreSignificant disparities in healthcare among African-Americans are still prevalent in the U.S. with black patients having a higher incidence of common chronic diseases (heart disease, cancer and strokes), die at a higher rate, and lose more years of life as a result of the conditions. One area where the healthcare gap is particularly prevalent is clinical trial participation, with 1% of trial participants identifying as black despite a comprehensive meta-analysis including 70,000 subjects indicating that minority patients are just as willing to participate in medical trials as non-Hispanic White patients. Mistrust of the medical community and a long history of malpractice in experiments on minorities (i.e. Tuskegee Syphilis experiments, Vertus Hardiman case, and the Henrietta Lacks cases for example) could easily be used as justification of this mistrust, however several studies have shown that while African Americans are aware of the past abuse, awareness of those events does not significantly affect attitude toward participation. A structural model utilizing Ajzen and Fishbein's Theory of Planned Behavior was used in an attempt to explain the inconsistency between the positive attitudes of minority patients regarding participation in clinical trials and the distinct lack of actual participation. The model included measures of attitude, social norms, control and difficulty as functions of behavioral intention to participate in clinical trials and multiple-group structural equation modeling analysis of survey data from 117 black and 457 white participants was used to test group differences. Despite strong loadings on intentions by attitude, based on the structural model it cannot be concluded that the TPB model predicts intentions to participate well for this sample. None of the other constructs had any meaningful effect on intentions, indicating the TPB model does not work well for this sample. Moreover, due to insignificant loadings by social norms, control, and difficulty, it is impossible to distinguish any differences between groups on the constructs with the exception of attitude, which was not significantly different between groups. This study confirmed previous research that showed similar attitudes toward participating in clinical trials by black and white participants and did not find any evidence for including other constructs in future recruiting efforts.
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Date Issued: 2015
Identifier: FSU_migr_etd-9602
Format: Thesis

Title: Methods to Improve Existing Heat Wave Surveillance Systems.
Creator: Jung, Jihoon, Uejio, Christopher K., She, Yiyuan, Elsner, James B., Mukherjee, Tathagata, Wong, Sandy, Florida State University, College of Social Sciences and Public Policy,...
Show moreJung, Jihoon, Uejio, Christopher K., She, Yiyuan, Elsner, James B., Mukherjee, Tathagata, Wong, Sandy, Florida State University, College of Social Sciences and Public Policy, Department of Geography
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Abstract/Description: Elevated and prolonged exposure to extreme heat is an important cause of excess summertime mortality and morbidity. To protect people from health threats, some governments are currently operating syndromic surveillance systems. However, a lack of resources to support time- and labor- intensive diagnostic and reporting processes make it difficult establishing region-specific surveillance systems. Big data created by social media and web search may improve upon the current syndromic...
Show moreElevated and prolonged exposure to extreme heat is an important cause of excess summertime mortality and morbidity. To protect people from health threats, some governments are currently operating syndromic surveillance systems. However, a lack of resources to support time- and labor- intensive diagnostic and reporting processes make it difficult establishing region-specific surveillance systems. Big data created by social media and web search may improve upon the current syndromic surveillance systems by directly capturing people’s individual and subjective thoughts and feelings during heat waves. The primary objectives of the dissertation are to improve existing heat wave and health surveillance systems by testing current heat exposure metrics, checking system improvements with social media/web search data, and studying differential vulnerability to extreme heat exposure. In order to conduct the research, this dissertation employed two popular statistical techniques: time series and case-crossover analysis. Chapter 2 examines the relationship between the count of heat-related tweets and heat exposure. For this, I collected Twitter data focusing on six different heat-related themes (air conditioning, cooling center, dehydration, electrical outage, energy assistance, and heat) for 182 days from May 7 to November 3, 2014. First, exploratory linear regression associated outdoor heat exposure to the theme-specific tweet counts for five study cities (Los Angeles, New York, Chicago, Houston, and Atlanta). Next, autoregressive integrated moving average (ARIMA) time series models formally associated heat exposure to the combined count of heat and air conditioning tweets while controlling for temporal autocorrelation. Finally, I examined the spatial and temporal distribution of energy assistance and cooling center tweets. The result indicates that the number of tweets in most themes exhibited a significant positive relationship with maximum temperature. The ARIMA model results suggest that each city shows a slightly different relationship between heat exposure and the tweet count. A one-degree change in the temperature correspondingly increased the Box-Cox transformed tweets by 0.09 for Atlanta, 0.07 for Los Angeles, and 0.01 for New York City. The energy assistance and cooling center theme tweets suggest that only a few municipalities used Twitter for public service announcements. The timing of the energy assistance tweets also indicates that most jurisdictions provide heating instead of cooling energy assistance. Chapter 3 aims to investigate the relationship between heat-related web searches, social media messages, and heat-related health outcomes. I collected Twitter messages that mentioned “air conditioning (AC)” and “heat” and Google search data that included weather, medical, recreational, and adaptation information from May 7 to November 3, 2014, focusing on the state of Florida, U.S. I separately associated web data against two different sources of health outcomes (emergency department (ED) and hospital admissions) and five disease categories (cardiovascular disease, dehydration, heat-related illness, renal disease, and respiratory disease). Seasonal and subseasonal temporal cycles were controlled using autoregressive moving average-generalized autoregressive conditional heteroscedasticity (ARMA-GARCH) and generalized linear model (GLM). The results show that the number of heat-related illness and dehydration cases exhibited a significant positive relationship with web data. Specifically, heat-related illness cases showed positive associations with messages (heat, AC) and web searches (drink, heat stroke, park, swim, and tired). In addition, terms such as park, pool, swim, and water tended to show a consistent positive relationship with dehydration cases. However, I found inconsistent relationships between renal illness and web data. Web data also did not improve the models for cardiovascular and respiratory illness cases. These findings suggest web data created by social medias and search engines could improve the current syndromic surveillance systems. In particular, heat-related illness and dehydration cases were positively related with web data. This study also shows that activity patterns for reducing heat stress are associated with several health outcomes. Chapter 2 and chapter 3 suggest that web data could benefit both regions without the systems and persistently hot and humid climates where excess heat early warning systems may be less effective. Chapter 4 investigates whether there is a difference between five different types of heat sensitive health outcomes (cardiovascular disease, dehydration, heat-related illness, renal disease, and respiratory disease) between undocumented immigrants and US citizens. This study also examines if the impact of heat exposure on health by citizenship status is further modified by sex, age, or race/ethnicity. I conducted a case-crossover analysis to assess different heat-related health impact by citizenships, focusing on the warm season (May through September) from 2008 to 2012 in Florida. I reported separate case-crossover models for each health outcome and type of healthcare visit (emergency department, hospitalization). I stratified the data by immigration status and then added interaction terms to understand the impact of sex, age, or race/ethnicity. For both groups, higher temperature raised the risk of all heat-related health outcomes and healthcare visits. This analysis suggest undocumented people (ED: 1.127, 95 % CI: 1.056 ~ 1.204; hospitalization: 1.061, 95 % CI: 1.046 ~ 1.076) have moderately higher renal disease ORs than US citizens (ED: 1.069, 95 % CI: 1.059 ~ 1.078; hospitalization: 1.051, 95 % CI: 1.049 ~ 1.053). In addition, male US citizens had significantly higher ORs than female citizens for both ED (male: 1.080, 95 % CI: 1.076 ~ 1.085; female: 1.060, 95 % CI: 1.056 ~ 1.064) and hospitalization (male: 1.063, 95 % CI: 1.060 ~ 1.066; female: 1.054, 95 % CI: 1.052 ~ 1.057). This study documents some heat and health inequalities between US citizens and undocumented immigrants.
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Date Issued: 2019
Identifier: 2019_Fall_Jung_fsu_0071E_15547
Format: Thesis

Title: Exploring the Effects of Formalised, Targeted Municipal Food Planning Initiatives on Access to Healthy Food.
Creator: Usher, Kareem M. (Kareem Malik), Chapin, Timothy Stewart, Butler, William H. (William Hale), Ihlanfeldt, Keith R., Coutts, Christopher, Florida State University, College of...
Show moreUsher, Kareem M. (Kareem Malik), Chapin, Timothy Stewart, Butler, William H. (William Hale), Ihlanfeldt, Keith R., Coutts, Christopher, Florida State University, College of Social Sciences and Public Policy, Department of Urban and Regional Planning
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Abstract/Description: Over the past sixty years, many cities in the United States have experienced the evaporation of independently owned neighbourhood grocery stores and the proliferation of large, full-service suburban supermarkets, leaving behind 'grocery gaps' in central cities. This phenomenon, influenced by powerful economic forces, has made access to healthy food a challenge for some in these food insecure areas. In addition, easy access to fast-food restaurants, higher food prices, lower quality food and...
Show moreOver the past sixty years, many cities in the United States have experienced the evaporation of independently owned neighbourhood grocery stores and the proliferation of large, full-service suburban supermarkets, leaving behind 'grocery gaps' in central cities. This phenomenon, influenced by powerful economic forces, has made access to healthy food a challenge for some in these food insecure areas. In addition, easy access to fast-food restaurants, higher food prices, lower quality food and the lack of transportation has contributed to glaring health disparities where higher incidences of diet-related diseases are evident in low income and largely minority communities. Often policies designed to address the negative health outcomes and co-related 'grocery gaps' focus on availability, affordability and quality of food in neighbourhoods. Few address other psychosocial components of food access. This mixed-methods study extends our understanding of access by exploring five dimensions of access: acceptability, accessibility, accommodation, affordability and availability in a study of four neighbourhoods in Louisville, Kentucky. Through spatial analysis, analyses of stakeholder interviews and ANOVA tests of questionnaire results, I found that the neighbourhood and living in an initiative area affected residents' perception of availability of fruits and vegetables. In addition, residents' perception of accommodation was affected by age. Race, sex, income, food cost, receiving food assistance and vehicle access did not significantly affect access as perceived by participants. Furthermore, access is enhanced through cultural norms and relationships, including relationships among corner stores, corner stores and families, and among neighbourhood residents. Successful corner store initiatives to improve access to healthy food in urban areas should include objective and perceived components of access as well as a temporal component that incorporates inter- and intra-community relationships among neighbourhood residents, corner stores and wider community stakeholders. This relationship amongst the objective, perceived and temporal components of access is conceptualised as the 'Three Pillars of Access'. Finally, this study also holds saliency for communicative action in critical theory of urban planning as a path to move us towards authentic and qualitatively deeper perspectives concerning healthy food access.
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Date Issued: 2015
Identifier: FSU_migr_etd-9474
Format: Thesis

Title: The Impacts of Medicaid Managed Care and Market Structure on Preventable Hospitalization, Length of Stay, and Cost of Inpatient Care in Florida.
Creator: Park, Jungwon, Lee, Keon-Hyung, Weissert, William G., Berry, Frances Stokes, deHaven-Smith, Lance, Florida State University, College of Social Sciences and Public Policy, School...
Show morePark, Jungwon, Lee, Keon-Hyung, Weissert, William G., Berry, Frances Stokes, deHaven-Smith, Lance, Florida State University, College of Social Sciences and Public Policy, School of Public Administration and Policy
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Abstract/Description: In Florida, Medicaid expenditures have grown more quickly than Medicaid caseloads. Since the Medicaid program comprises a large share of all state budgets, controlling Medicaid spending has been the first priority for state governments. To manage spending and improve access to healthcare, states have adopted a managed care approach to Medicaid services. When states pursue Medicaid managed care, they believe that managed care can control Medicaid spending and maintain budget predictability...
Show moreIn Florida, Medicaid expenditures have grown more quickly than Medicaid caseloads. Since the Medicaid program comprises a large share of all state budgets, controlling Medicaid spending has been the first priority for state governments. To manage spending and improve access to healthcare, states have adopted a managed care approach to Medicaid services. When states pursue Medicaid managed care, they believe that managed care can control Medicaid spending and maintain budget predictability through a capitated payment system. Medicaid beneficiaries are also guaranteed access to care through contracts with managed care health plans and/or providers. Several studies that have investigated the impact of Medicaid managed care using nationally representative data have often yielded inconclusive or contradictory results. Despite the growing interest in Medicaid managed care in Florida, only a few studies have examined the impact of managed care programs on preventable hospitalization, length of stay, and cost of inpatient care for Florida's Medicaid enrollees. In addition, only a few studies have examined the impact of Medicaid managed care in the context of different market structures. The purpose of this dissertation is three-fold. First, this study examines the effects of a Medicaid managed care program on preventable hospitalization, length of stay, and cost of inpatient care for Medicaid patients. Second, the impact of market structure on preventable hospitalization, length of stay, and cost of inpatient care is a subject of interest. Finally, this dissertation extends the existing literature methodologically. This study uses multilevel modeling to estimate variables at different levels simultaneously. Agency theory and transaction cost economics provide a useful framework for understanding the effects of different insurance schemes on incentives that affect the behavior of both patients and providers. In addition, the model of market structure provides a theoretical framework for predicting the market behavior of Medicaid managed care organizations under market contexts ranging from monopoly to perfect competition. The study included 1,957,072 Medicaid patients aged 18 to 64 years who were discharged from a short-term general hospital in Florida from January 1, 2006 to December 31, 2012. The researcher used two-level hierarchal models to predict the probability of preventable hospitalization, length of stay, and inpatient cost in Medicaid patients. The results show that Medicaid managed care patients had a higher probability of preventable hospitalization than Medicaid fee-for-service patients. In addition, Medicaid managed care patients were more likely to have shorter lengths of stay and lower inpatient costs compared with fee-for-service Medicaid patients. This study found that market competition moderates the relationship between Medicaid insurance type and dependent variables. The study supports a spillover effect of Medicaid managed care on inpatient costs for Medicaid fee-for- service patients. In conclusion, the dissertation discusses several policy implications.
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Date Issued: 2014
Identifier: FSU_migr_etd-9225
Format: Thesis

Title: The effects of television exposure on the cultivation of AIDS-related fears: A test of a new model for predicting resonance.
Creator: Molitor, Fred Timothy., Florida State University
Abstract/Description: This study examines the relationships between levels of television exposure and AIDS-related fears within the context of cultivation theory and methodology., What has been called the second AIDS epidemic (Ostrow, 1988)--the fears associated with contracting HIV and the consequences of AIDS--has been shown to elicit personal and societal negative effects, including unsafe sexual behaviors, psychopathological disorders, discriminatory attitudes and behaviors, and a decrease in the nation's...
Show moreThis study examines the relationships between levels of television exposure and AIDS-related fears within the context of cultivation theory and methodology., What has been called the second AIDS epidemic (Ostrow, 1988)--the fears associated with contracting HIV and the consequences of AIDS--has been shown to elicit personal and societal negative effects, including unsafe sexual behaviors, psychopathological disorders, discriminatory attitudes and behaviors, and a decrease in the nation's blood reserves., Heavier television viewers were predicted in the present study to be more likely to express heightened, unhealthy levels of AIDS-related fears as a result of their increased exposure to the sexual- and AIDS-related messages the medium provides., Three factorially-derived AIDS-related fear dimensions are found to marginally correlate with levels of television exposure: (a) fear of AIDS contraction through medical tests or procedures, (b) fear of the AIDS virus and other associated viruses through sexual contact, and (c) fear of AIDS contraction through sexual contact with members of risk groups., The data collected using the Arrindell et al. (1989) fear-of-AIDS questionnaire also suggest that college-aged students' overall levels of AIDS-related fears have not changed in the six years since the scale was administered. Within the context of AIDS fears, having contact with other people's blood and sexual contact with different partners are anxieties which appear to have increased, whereas the fears associated with casual contact with homosexual, bisexuals, or an AIDS victim seem to have decreased., A new model for predicting cultivation, dependent upon whether individuals are asked to make evaluations of personal- or societal-level phenomena, is also offered in this study. Within this model, the variable "Perceived Ability to Control Personal Victimization" (CONTROL) was introduced for personal-level perceptual measures. CONTROL had a contingent effect on the "AIDS contraction through medical tests or procedures" factorially-derived fear dimension, but was not found to be an intervening variable within the cultivation process of resonance.
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Date Issued: 1993, 1993
Identifier: AAI9332312, 3088123, FSDT3088123, fsu:76930
Format: Document (PDF)

Title: A Letter to the Editor: Under-Represented Minority Faculty in Academic Medical Centers.
Creator: Campbell, Kendall
Date Issued: 2013
Identifier: FSU_migr_fmr-0042
Format: Citation

Title: The role of individual difference variables in accounting for associations between alcohol consumption and sexual risk-taking.
Creator: Meadows, William Robert., Florida State University
Abstract/Description: Recent investigations have demonstrated that alcohol use in connection with sexual activity is related to unsafe sexual practices known to increase the risk of HIV transmission. However, one is unable to ascertain from these studies whether covariation between these behaviors is due to direct causation or third variables. In this study, college students (N = 590) were asked about the circumstances surrounding their aggregate and event-level sexual behavior. Results showed significant...
Show moreRecent investigations have demonstrated that alcohol use in connection with sexual activity is related to unsafe sexual practices known to increase the risk of HIV transmission. However, one is unable to ascertain from these studies whether covariation between these behaviors is due to direct causation or third variables. In this study, college students (N = 590) were asked about the circumstances surrounding their aggregate and event-level sexual behavior. Results showed significant associations between alcohol consumption and failure to use condoms among subjects' aggregate sexual behavior (lifetime and 30-days) and during their first intercourse with a most recent sex partner. Evaluation of a series of path analytical models allowed for a more focused examination of the direct and unique contribution of alcohol consumption in explaining condom use. These models demonstrated that correlations between drinking and sexual risk-taking were largely inflated by spurious covariation with underlying third variables. In particular, covariation between alcohol and condom use was partly accounted for by sensation-seeking and impulsivity personality factors. Results of this study also revealed that males' alcohol and condom use were partly explained by the expectancy that drinking leads to sexual risk-taking. The co-occurrence of alcohol use and risky sex among women, on the other hand, was partly explained by motives to use alcohol as a method of coping. Implications for AIDS prevention efforts were discussed.
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Date Issued: 1995, 1995
Identifier: AAI9612129, 3088837, FSDT3088837, fsu:77636
Format: Document (PDF)

Title: Pathogenic vibrios in the marine environment.
Creator: Williams, Leslee Ann., Florida State University
Abstract/Description: Marine sediments were assayed for their concentration of Vibrio spp. and Aeromonas hydrophila over 1 year. During this time period of ten of the currently known pathogenic Vibrio spp. were identified to occur in the marine sediments of Apalachicola Bay. A temporal variation was observed in which A.hydrophila, and to a lesser degree V.fluvialis, were found in the winter months, V.parahaemolyticus and V.vulnificus predominated the spring and summer, with non 0-1 V.cholerae and V.alginolyticus...
Show moreMarine sediments were assayed for their concentration of Vibrio spp. and Aeromonas hydrophila over 1 year. During this time period of ten of the currently known pathogenic Vibrio spp. were identified to occur in the marine sediments of Apalachicola Bay. A temporal variation was observed in which A.hydrophila, and to a lesser degree V.fluvialis, were found in the winter months, V.parahaemolyticus and V.vulnificus predominated the spring and summer, with non 0-1 V.cholerae and V.alginolyticus detected in the late summer and fall. These organisms were found in greatest numbers in the top 5 cm of sediment, but were detected down to 15 cm. Epidemiological data revealed a predominance of non 0-1 V.cholerae infections at the time the organisms were observed to flourish in the sediments., A membrane filter method (the FAST method) has been developed to enumerate pathogenic vibrios extracted from sediments. Aliquots of sediments which were blended in a Waring Blender were collected on a black Nuclepore (0.2 $\mu$m pore) filters and heat fixed. Filters were treated to reduce the non-specific fluorescence of background sediment and allowed to dry. Antibody positive Vibrio cholerae non 0-1 cells appeared as cells surrounded by a fluorescent green halo or band. Detrital and other sediment particles appeared as pale green or could not be seen at all. The FAST procedure can be easily adapted for any pathogenic vibrio for which a specific antibody is available., In the absence of a species-specific antibody, laboratories rely on conventional biochemical identification methods for genus and species identification. Apalachicola Bay waters and oysters were tested for the presence of Vibrio vulnificus, the most virulent of the pathogenic vibrios, during the time of greatest public health concern. Conventional biochemical identification methods were compared to serological and gene probe analysis for sensitivity in predicting the illness patterns of the same time period. Oyster analyses appear to correlate more closely to the epidemiological data than water analyses. The biochemical identification methods appear to the most conservative for the protection of public health. More critical identification using the serological and gene probe methods appears to be the methods of choice for the regulatory community.
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Date Issued: 1990, 1990
Identifier: AAI9113959, 3162210, FSDT3162210, fsu:78408
Format: Document (PDF)

Title: Treatment information channels and treatment information-seeking behavior of HIV positive persons in Dade County, Florida: A qualitative study.
Creator: MacCorkle, Gwendolyn Byllesby., Florida State University
Abstract/Description: This study examined the treatment information seeking behavior and use of treatment information channels/sources by individuals with the Human Immunodeficiency Virus Type 1 in Dade County, Florida. The Centers of Disease Control classification criteria was used to group thirty seropositive persons into three disease stages: asymptomatic (8 subjects), symptomatic (12 subjects), and AIDS (10 subjects). Ninety percent of the subjects were males, 70% were white-non Hispanics, 89.6% had two or...
Show moreThis study examined the treatment information seeking behavior and use of treatment information channels/sources by individuals with the Human Immunodeficiency Virus Type 1 in Dade County, Florida. The Centers of Disease Control classification criteria was used to group thirty seropositive persons into three disease stages: asymptomatic (8 subjects), symptomatic (12 subjects), and AIDS (10 subjects). Ninety percent of the subjects were males, 70% were white-non Hispanics, 89.6% had two or more years of college, the median age was 35.5 years old. All subjects had or did participate in a People With AIDS (PWA) self help facility in Miami, Florida., The data was gathered using a semi-structured interview supported by written questionnaires seeking information on self-reported symptoms, the use of 45 types of information sources within the last two months, and demographic data. The data collected were used to develop case studies. Analyses were made within and across disease stages. Differences were found in what sources were used, the number of types of sources that were used, and frequency with which they were consulted. Across all groups the most important sources of treatment information were physicians, PWA related sources (e.g. informed PWA, newsletters, information exchanges, support groups), and friends.
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Date Issued: 1992, 1992
Identifier: AAI9222397, 3087781, FSDT3087781, fsu:76591
Format: Document (PDF)

Title: Gender, race, and access to health care: Florida Medicaid and AIDS.
Creator: Han, Lein Fang., Florida State University
Abstract/Description: The fundamental questions this study raised are whether variations in access to service delivery systems persist among Medicaid beneficiaries, and whether they contribute to inequitable medical care utilization. Theoretically, from a structural perspective, examining factors relevant to access to health care, this research attempts to demonstrate that equity in access to care can only be built on equity in access to service delivery systems and, moreover, to socioeconomic resources at the...
Show moreThe fundamental questions this study raised are whether variations in access to service delivery systems persist among Medicaid beneficiaries, and whether they contribute to inequitable medical care utilization. Theoretically, from a structural perspective, examining factors relevant to access to health care, this research attempts to demonstrate that equity in access to care can only be built on equity in access to service delivery systems and, moreover, to socioeconomic resources at the community level., The study population is Persons With AIDS (PWAs) under the coverage of Florida Medicaid. Variations in their access to the home and community-based services (HCBS) program by gender and race, and its subsequent impact on medical care utilization are examined., This study found that differentials in access to the HCBS program among the Medicaid recipients by gender, race, and socioeconomic conditions of PWAs' county of residence exist in Florida Medicaid; and gender, race, and the PAC program participation are significant factors influencing utilization of inpatient hospital and intensity of physician care for certain HIV/AIDS-related infections. It is the conclusion of this study that inequity in medical care stems from inequity in access to service delivery systems. A defacto separate health care system for women, blacks, or poor communities is very likely to result in unequal health care for these groups., Theoretically this study highlights the complex relationship among gender, race, and health care in a society where economic means and health care facilities are unequally distributed. Universal coverage of health care services for all must be accompanied by changes in the organization of the health care delivery system and in the socioeconomic conditions of the low-income communities. Otherwise, the coverage will not only add more to the already spiraling health care cost, but also prove ineffective in providing health care to large segments of the most needy population.
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Date Issued: 1994, 1994
Identifier: AAI9434107, 3088399, FSDT3088399, fsu:77204
Format: Document (PDF)

Title: A study of services of public health agencies in Leon county, Florida.
Creator: Winsryg, Miriam Thomas
Identifier: ahp9987, 164864, fsu:14826
Format: Document (PDF)

Title: Health Politics in Cold War America, 1953 -1988.
Creator: Whitehurst, John Robert, Doel, Ronald Edmund, Mesev, Victor, Frank, Andrew, Blaufarb, Rafe, Gabriel, Joseph, Florida State University, College of Arts and Sciences, Department...
Show moreWhitehurst, John Robert, Doel, Ronald Edmund, Mesev, Victor, Frank, Andrew, Blaufarb, Rafe, Gabriel, Joseph, Florida State University, College of Arts and Sciences, Department of History
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Abstract/Description: Throughout American history, physicians and their close professional associates, including pharmacists, have been asked to participate in both public health and national security efforts. While these efforts are not inherently contradictory, some physicians within the medical community began to perceive them as such, especially following World War II. These physicians gave birth to an anti-nuclear “physicians’ movement” that challenged the notions of national security and used public health...
Show moreThroughout American history, physicians and their close professional associates, including pharmacists, have been asked to participate in both public health and national security efforts. While these efforts are not inherently contradictory, some physicians within the medical community began to perceive them as such, especially following World War II. These physicians gave birth to an anti-nuclear “physicians’ movement” that challenged the notions of national security and used public health as a basis for doing so. They did this alongside two very important allies: natural scientists and concerned citizens, particularly middle-class women. This dissertation focuses on the two ways in which activist physicians were most directly tied to national security: as purveyors of information on the health effects of radiation (especially that resulting from nuclear testing) on people and the environment, and as participants in civil defense programs and exercises. Cold War physicians and pharmacists were expected to be the arbiters of information concerning the physical impacts of nuclear testing on Americans. Indeed, civil defense programs often described them as the “liaison” between the science community and the general public. Consequently, those within the “physicians’ movement” used their positions to challenge nuclear testing through medical activism. The Physicians for Social Responsibility (PSR), alongside various other anti-nuclear groups like the Women Strike for Peace (WSP) and Committee for Nuclear Information (CNI), presented information which contested the narratives of federal and state agencies, which often claimed that radioactive levels resulting from nuclear testing remained and would continue to remain safe for Americans. This challenge was largely manifest through the national conversation on the consequences of radioisotopes on public health, in particular Strontium 90 and Iodine 131. These radioisotopes fell from the skies in the form of fallout and worked their way back up food chains and into the American diet. This was especially disconcerting to young mothers, as infants and small children were particularly susceptible to these toxins. The “physicians’ movement” mobilized these radioisotopes and challenged civil defense throughout the early Cold War. Its leaders largely did so in the name of public health and were even credited by Kennedy’s science advisor, Jerome Wiesner, for their influence in garnishing American support for the passing of a Limited Test Ban Treaty (LTBT) in 1963. The LTBT was a monumental achievement of the anti-nuclear movement, as it eliminated atmospheric (above ground or aquatic) nuclear testing in both the United States and the Soviet Union. While underground nuclear testing continued, and other nations soon entered the nuclear club, this legislation greatly limited the two largest nuclear powers from further contaminating the global atmosphere to the degree that they had in the early Cold War. During the early Cold war, physicians and pharmacists were also expected to continue the tradition of supporting and preparing for war on the home front via civil defense exercises and practices. With civil defense administrators shifting their focus from conventional toward nuclear arsenals following World War II, they also began to predict the disproportionate destruction of physicians in post-war scenarios. Pharmacists and others within the medical community were being trained to take the place of these theoretically deceased physicians in preparation for a post-attack environment. The idea that pharmacists could replace physicians in a post-nuclear environment, as proposed by civil defense planners, alerted some physicians that something must be done. In response, the PSR participated in several congressional hearings, influenced the narratives of other anti-nuclear groups, funded anti-nuclear media, and fostered citizen-science projects in order to challenge notions of civil defense and nuclear testing in the name of public health. Medical activism, however, did not end with the signing of the LTBT. The PSR, in particular, only grew stronger as the Reagan Revolution and heightened Cold War tensions rose in the late 1970s and early 1980s. The PSR mutated from a local and national organization into an international participant in the Freeze movement and the anti-nuclear resurgence of the early 1980s. Medical activists again used many of the same methods they had relied on during the early Cold War period to challenge militarism such as professional journals, newspaper editorials, and popular media. They also began to use newer forms of media. In particular, the PSR funded the airing of several well-known and influential anti-nuclear films, like Day After and Threads, which challenged the foundations of civil defense throughout the 1980s. The story of Cold War medical activism illuminates the various tensions which have existed, and continue to exist, which are fundamental to balancing the necessities of national security with those of public health.
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Date Issued: 2018
Identifier: 2019_Spring_Whitehurst_fsu_0071E_14837
Format: Thesis

Title: Manufactured Science, the Attorneys' Handmaiden: The Influence of Lawyers in Toxc Substance Disease Research.
Creator: Biegel, Craig Alex, Doel, Ronald Edmund, Wise, Sherwood W., Jones, James Pickett, Creswell, Michael, Harper, Kristine, Florida State University, College of Arts and Sciences,...
Show moreBiegel, Craig Alex, Doel, Ronald Edmund, Wise, Sherwood W., Jones, James Pickett, Creswell, Michael, Harper, Kristine, Florida State University, College of Arts and Sciences, Department of History
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Abstract/Description: Since the early twentieth century, manufacturers and distributors of toxic products have sought to discredit research linking their products with disease. At the same time they conducted research designed to demonstrate minimal risks associated with their products. Much of this activity came about by or through corporate retained attorneys, whose endeavors are the subject of this dissertation. Such attorney involvement has allowed for shielding undesired results through the court-sanctioned...
Show moreSince the early twentieth century, manufacturers and distributors of toxic products have sought to discredit research linking their products with disease. At the same time they conducted research designed to demonstrate minimal risks associated with their products. Much of this activity came about by or through corporate retained attorneys, whose endeavors are the subject of this dissertation. Such attorney involvement has allowed for shielding undesired results through the court-sanctioned attorney right to secrecy. In many cases, this legal participation and even management of medical research has changed the topography of the medical literature, distorting it toward the null hypothesis for disease potential of the subject materials. This is because attorneys, whether they are defense or plaintiff, only sought credible evidence for their position at trial or in regulatory practice, not the advancement of science. Furthermore, the distortion is primarily one-sided, toward the defense of toxic substances. This results from the virtually unlimited financial backing defense lawyers have from large corporations, while plaintiff counsel are almost uniformly reluctant to spend their own money. To date, only limited historical accounts about this attorney effort have been published, largely because of the veil of secrecy created by attorney privileges. This dissertation seeks to look behind the veil to examine the full range of legal activities in case studies of five substances—silica, tobacco, asbestos, chromium, and benzene. These activities include lawyers identifying, hiring, and controlling experts, preparing contracts for research that limited public disclosure, managing research, editing final research papers, harassing opposing experts, and manipulating regulations and workers' compensation laws. This lifting of the veil is possible primarily through disclosures found in bankruptcies and legal proceedings, assets not normally considered by historians of science. The activities of lawyers in manufacturing science had varying degrees of success as they evolved over the course of a century. During the early decades of the twentieth century, attorneys were largely successful in limiting victims' recovery for silicosis and keeping it out of the public eye. Similarly, at first, cigarette and asbestos product manufacturers were successful in limiting litigation's effect on the bottom line. However, a growing number of public health advocates and plaintiff attorneys brought these controversies increasingly into the public legal arena, resulting in massive settlements by the tobacco companies and bankruptcies of many asbestos product manufacturers. The settlements and bankruptcies also provided a treasure trove of documents, many of which detailed extensive involvement of lawyers in the manipulation of medical research. To date, chromium and benzene manufacturers, as well as certain asbestos product manufacturers, have been more successful in limiting damage through lawsuits and regulations. In part this is because of the newest evolution in research tactics. During the last two decades of the twentieth century, "Litigation Support Firms" began undertaking an increasing amount of the attorney-managed research. These companies worked hand in hand with attorneys, as they transformed the peer reviewed medical literature on toxic substances by publishing carefully structured industry friendly research (and reviews of past research) in peer-reviewed, but often industry controlled, journals. Even when researchers have been free to publish their findings, the approval was often subject to final approval of a report exclusively provided to the client. Thus, the public articles rarely disclosed any hazard. On occasion the researchers published the same data in slightly altered forms in two to four publications, thus slanting the entire balance of the peer review literature. Attorney involvement in medical research is a fundamental problem in the production of medical knowledge. The ability to hide and manipulate science has delayed recognition of hazards such as silica, tobacco, asbestos, chromium, and benzene by decades. Today, it continues to skew the understanding of toxic substance diseases.
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Date Issued: 2016
Identifier: FSU_2016SP_Biegel_fsu_0071E_13080
Format: Thesis

Title: Shortages Sign.
Creator: Florida State University Libraries. Heritage & University Archives, Mon, Lorraine
Abstract/Description: An image of a sign. It restricts how much meat a customer is allowed to buy.
Identifier: FSU_HUA_2020_016_020
Format: Image (JPEG)

Title: The Many Faces of a Pandemic.
Creator: Florida State University Libraries. Heritage & University Archives, De La Aguilera, Daniela
Abstract/Description: An essay examining how life is different due to the effects of COVID-19.
Identifier: FSU_HUA_2020_016_013
Format: Document (PDF)

Title: Life in Quarantine.
Creator: Florida State University Libraries. Heritage & University Archives, Howard, Aleya
Abstract/Description: An essay that details the differences in life during the pandemic to life before the virus.
Identifier: FSU_HUA_2020_016_015
Format: Document (PDF)

Title: Forest Fire:Burned by COVID-19.
Creator: Florida State University Libraries. Heritage & University Archives, Ballantyne, Aleycia
Abstract/Description: This essay compares the stages of ife with Covid-19 to the stages of a wildfire.
Identifier: FSU_HUA_2020_016_011
Format: Document (PDF)

Title: Quarantine: Harmful or Helpful.
Creator: Florida State University Libraries. Heritage & University Archives
Abstract/Description: An essay about common problems/situations people find themselves in during the pandemic.
Identifier: FSU_HUA_2020_016_016
Format: Document (PDF)

Title: Untitled.
Creator: Florida State University Libraries. Heritage & University Archives
Abstract/Description: This text shares a story about a girl's life in isolation during quarantine
Identifier: FSU_HUA_2020_016_014
Format: Document (PDF)

Title: Before the Virus.
Creator: Florida State University Libraries. Heritage & University Archives
Abstract/Description: A student's report about how the world reacted to the pandemic
Identifier: FSU_HUA_2020_016_006
Format: Document (PDF)

Title: At Home with the Collections Management Team.
Creator: Florida State University Libraries. Heritage & University Archives, Davis, Hannah
Abstract/Description: A multimedia essay detailing what remote work/life is like for student archival workers.
Identifier: FSU_HUA_2020_016_024
Format: Document (PDF)

Title: Covid-19: Detailed Accounts.
Creator: Florida State University Libraries. Heritage & University Archives
Abstract/Description: A multimedia diary of life during Covid-19
Identifier: FSU_HUA_2020_016_007
Format: Document (PDF)

Title: COVID on Camera.
Creator: Florida State University Libraries. Heritage & University Archives
Abstract/Description: A multimedia essay of daily life in quarantine
Identifier: FSU_HUA_2020_016_012
Format: Document (PDF)

Title: Directions.
Creator: Florida State University Libraries. Heritage & University Archives, Mon, Lorraine
Abstract/Description: An image of a "one way" sticker on the ground of an aisle at a Publix
Identifier: FSU_HUA_2020_016_022
Format: Image (JPEG)

Title: Mask.
Creator: Florida State University Libraries. Heritage & University Archives, Mon, Lorraine
Abstract/Description: A photo of a homemade mask
Identifier: FSU_HUA_2020_016_005
Format: Image (JPEG)

Title: Making Hand Sanitizer, 2020.
Creator: Florida State University Libraries. Heritage & University Archives, Mon, Lorraine
Abstract/Description: A collection of homemade hand sanitizer
Identifier: FSU_HUA_2020_016_002
Format: Image (JPEG)

Title: Working From Home.
Creator: Florida State University Libraries. Heritage & University Archives, Lee, Shaundra
Abstract/Description: A photo of a laptop computer and a teddy bear.
Identifier: FSU_HUA_2020_016_019
Format: Image (JPEG)

Title: Fountains.
Creator: Florida State University Libraries. Heritage & University Archives, Mon, Lorraine
Abstract/Description: An image of out of service water fountains at a Publix.
Identifier: FSU_HUA_2020_016_021
Format: Image (JPEG)

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