Browsing by Subject "Health"
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Item An Assessment of Nutrition Education in Public Schools and How It Has Impacted Childhood Wellness; Special Focus: Baltimore County Public Schools(2017-06-01) Erbe, Julia; Walker, Thomas; Levenstein, Karen; Daniels, Ann; MA in Environmental StudiesOver the past few years, nutrition has become an absolute passion of mine and continues to play a dominant role in the way I live my life. As the youngest of three children growing up in a busy household, proper nutrition was not a part of our daily lives. We always had food on the table and in our lunchboxes, but they were not the healthiest. My parents bought groceries that were affordable and well liked among all three of us. Each of us played sports and were heavily involved in school activities, making weeknight dinners at the table a tough task. Food needed to be convenient and quick. I see this same theme in households today. Although I understand the thought process many parents go through in terms of food choice, I wanted to know more about the factors that affected their decisions. With my eagerness to educate myself on the matters in which nutrition exists in our society, as well as the ways in which it is perceived, I found a great need for discussion and improvement in public school nutrition education. As a former student within the Baltimore County Public School system, I had a strong desire to examine how nutrition education has evolved in comparison to how it subsists in schools present-day. In order to do this successfully, I first assessed the issues that school-aged children are faced with, including obesity and type II diabetes. Much of this is heavily science-based. With illustrations and recent data from surveys and studies, it became quite obvious how these health disparities have negatively affected children over time. Once I laid out this foundation, I then gave support as to why nutrition education is so important in school curricula. An overview of how nutrition education has evolved over the past 75 years, in addition to recent major legislation that revamped nutrition in schools nationwide, are major factors within this chapter. With this detailed information, I continued to research success stories from schools across the country that are paving the way for others to make similar improvements in overall food choice and healthy habits. These include notable schools/programs such as The Ross School in New York and The Edible Schoolyard in California. Once discovering all of the techniques employed to create such a positive, effective learning environment, I sought ways in which Baltimore County Public Schools were making similar efforts. In conversation with the Director of the Office of Food and Nutrition Services for Baltimore County Public Schools, Ms. Karen Levenstein, it became apparent that the desire to create positive change in nutrition education exists, yet issues with cooperation, funding, and accessibility produce obstacles for her team. Further improvements are on the horizon as the problems are being acknowledged and corrected. Likewise, the future of nutrition education looks optimistic as more and more information circulates about childhood health and its impact on their overall well-being. Of all the parties that can have a positive impact on todayās younger generation, I deemed the most essential to be that of the parents/guardians. The divide that exists between school and home must be tightened to ensure the nationās children are learning how food choice and healthy habits can lead to a longer, happier future. In discussion of these issues, I always kept in mind the link to environmental studies and how this topic related. Over the two years Iāve spent studying material ranging from cultural influences, economic impacts, social norms, and more, there are major themes that have traveled through each subject. The most memorable theme is that of overconsumption. Not only does this apply in terms of overuse of fossil fuels and energy, but also in relation to food. Americans, especially, consume large amounts of food that also require large amounts of energy to produce. Due to this, we are operating under unsustainable conditions. Our planet simply cannot continue to support the way in which we live our lives. Another theme I found useful in this project is the role of authority. It is important to question who has the authority in any given situation and what makes them authoritative. We must know background information in order to fully assess oneās right or position to be the authority figure. Who gives them this power? Why should we listen to them? This goes hand in hand with the idea of skepticism and why it is important to question others. We need to have all of the information before making an informed decision; it is not enough to take someoneās word as truth before assessing all factors. I found this very helpful when researching the current trends in obesity and type II diabetes, as well as implementation of current school food standards. The Environmental Studies program is multi-disciplinary and encompasses a wide range of topics. As a student who appreciates holistic learning and understanding how concepts intertwine with one another, I was able to write about an issue that is not only important to me on a personal level, but is also significant on a much larger scale ā much larger than myself.Item Digital Atlas of Megalopolis(Originally published by:) Short, John Rennie; School of Public PolicyItem FACTORS THAT IMPACT FEMALE VETERAN UTILIZATION OF VETERANS HEALTH ADMINISTRATION(2020-01-20) Carr, Faizah Seraz; Miller, Nancy; School of Public Policy; Public PolicyThe Background There are approximately 19.9 million veterans who served the country across the nation, comprising about 6.1% of the U.S. population (National Center for Veteran Analysis and Statistics, 2018 and U.S. Census Bureau, 2018). There are currently 14.5 million veterans who are eligible to receive VA health care services. Although 72.9% of total veterans are eligible for VA health care, only 45% are actually enrolled to receive services (National Center for Veteran Analysis and Statistics, 2018). Little is known about the factors that impact the personal decisions of enrolled women veterans to choose VA health care instead of private health care services. Nor are the factors that influence women veterans? use of private health care, despite eligibility and enrollment in VA health services, well understood. Currently, women comprise 9-10% of the total veteran population (Women Veterans Report, 2015) and according to population model estimates, the share of women veterans is expected to double to 18% by 2025 (Women Veterans Report, 2015). Anticipating the health care needs for the forecasted growth of veteran women should include the anticipation of unintended consequences of those who slip through the cracks of care and extreme outcomes, such as suicide (Washington, 2007). Prior literature and work about the preferences and decision-making about VA health care use inspired this study. Specifically, I sought to understand the decisions to not use VA health care when women have access to other coverage and learned the decision may not solely be about access to other health insurance, but may be related to trust in VA as a system. Research Methods By analyzing the socioeconomic, enabling and need characteristics of veteran women who are enrolled in VA health care services, this study examines the variables that impact their current and planned patterns of utilization of VA health services. Descriptive statistics summarize the study sample. Findings of the analysis of the logistic regression related to prior year use and multinominal logistic regression models for outcomes related to level of use and anticipated future use are discussed. Data The data for this study comes from information presented in the VA Survey of Veteran Enrollees? Health and Use of Health Care (SOE). The SOE is an annual survey that allows veterans to self-report on their personal demographics, patterns of current and planned utilization of VA health services, and information about additional health care coverage. The results of the survey inform annual VHA projections of enrollment, utilization, and expenditures and various budget and policy related analyses. Findings The availability of health insurance coverage, in addition to eligibility for the VA, veteran women'sVA Priority status and their level of trust in the VA, were the most consistent factors associated with use. Veteran women with other sources of coverage and lower priority status had lower levels of use, and they anticipated future use in specific ways, such as a safety net, relative to as a primary source of care. Increasing levels of trust in the VA were associated with greater use of VA services. Policy Implications The research findings give insight to the current utilization, level of use of VA services, and planned ways for future use among veteran women. The VA could leverage these findings to direct communication tactics, not only between the VA and veteran women patients but also information sharing among organizations that have contact with veteran women (Washington, 2007). The data also support opportunities for greater communication and collaboration between VA and public sector agencies that provide health insurance coverage and medical facilities. Increasing education about VA initiatives and benefits, through direct patient communication and indirect communication, via collaboration with other public sector organizations, could increase trust in VA among veteran women. Increasing cultural competence about military culture could also be a training opportunity for care in the community contracts and affiliations. Recent legislation such as the Veterans Access, Choice, and Accountability Act of 2014 and the MISSION Act were created with objectives to increase care in the community and coordination of services to best serve veterans. Although these laws and subsequent initiatives would help alleviate the physical barriers to access for veterans who lived 40 miles or more from the nearest VA medical center, studies have shown that there are other cultural obstacles. A greater focus should be on the perceived barriers for women veterans and reasons for not choosing VA health care services, even when they are eligible for and enrolled in VA health care system. Research has shown that there are lower rates of suicide among female veterans who use VA health care services (Hoffmire, et al., 2015; Veterans Affairs, 2014). Understanding patterns of utilization may be key to decreasing rates of suicide rates among veteran women and findings from this study could influence policy to implement military cultural competence about suicide risks for veteran women across organizations that partner with VA.Item Health preservation over food preservation(2016-05) Reifer, Danielle; Fath, Natalia; Towson SeminarAn examination of the use of synthetic preservatives, synthetic additives, and natural alternatives in food production and their impacts on health.Item The rise of health 2.0 and the impact of user-generated content on pursuing treatment options(2012-05) Poliseo, Stacy J.; Salter, Anastasia; University of Baltimore. School of Information Arts and Technologies; University of Baltimore. Master of Science in Information Design and Information ArchitectureThe range of health information available to consumers today has the ability to empower patients to take control of their health care and improve patient-physician relations. User-generated content and the existence of patient communities is changing the way individuals are able to interact with health information and connect with others experiencing similar diagnosis. This study looks at how individuals are searching for health information and what the potential impact the information they encounter has on their health decisions. It also recommends components and wireframes for an online community that can enable healthcare organizations and medical professionals to provide a better patient experience.