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Subgroups of pelvic pain are differentially associated with endometriosis and inflammatory comorbidities: a latent class analysi
No full textA Socio-Technical Approach to Trustworthy Semantic Biomedical Content Generation and Sharing
No full textReactive Transnationalism and the Ascent of Donald Trump: Evidence From the Latino Immigrant National Election Survey
No full textComplicated Grief: An Arts-Based Trauma-Informed Approach
Get PDFTraumatic loss due to violent death, a death that results from the intentional use of physical force or power, can result in mental health struggles and stigma. Complicated grief, due to traumatic loss, can be felt at both the individual and the community level. A comprehensive community project proposal was presented to a panel of reviewers in the grief, loss, and bereavement community. This proposal was developed to bring awareness to complicated grief, reduce the stigma around suicide and violent death, as well as provide opportunities to grieve safely and healthily. Through artistic expression and a sense of belonging, these projects offer participants the opportunity to find community and create art in memory of their loved ones using a traumainformed approach. Using qualitative methods, a focus group was conducted, and feedback was collected and then transcribed into a spreadsheet with questions and specific responses. These responses were then coded, categorized, and then analyzed using emergent thematic analysis. Two categories of positive or opportunities to grow as well as challenges and clarifications were classified. The following themes emerged community, voice, choice, empowerment, stigma, funding, logistics, opportunity, resiliency, and trauma-informed strategies. The focus group suggested that a project like this would be beneficial in helping individuals and communities to process complicated grief
How Improving Policies Around Immigrants and Refugees Can Help the US Economy
Get PDFThe United States (US) has been grappling with the issue of immigration for decades. Using mixed research methods, this capstone analyzes the current US immigration policies around work visas in the US, focusing on the challenges faced by employers who wish to sponsor foreign workers. The analysis found that the process of sponsoring a visa worker can take an average of 8.6 months and cost between $7,000 to 15,000, which can be a significant barrier for many employers. Gaps in acceptance of credentialing contribute to the barrier for employers to engage highly skilled foreign workers fully. Additionally, the study found that immigrants contribute significantly to the increase in the US GDP. These findings suggest that there is a need for immigration work visa reform to reduce the burden on employers and create a more streamlined, fair process for immigrant workers to contribute to the US workforce. The capstone recommends practical solutions for achieving this goal. By implementing these recommendations, the US can further tap into a diverse pool of talent and improve its capacity for economic growth while offering immigrants a path to economic prosperity
Research and Creative Achievement Conference 2024 Program
Get PDFhttps://scholarworks.merrimack.edu/rcac_2024_posters/1000/thumbnail.jp
Understanding Membership in Alternative Health Social Media Groups and Its Association with COVID-19 and Influenza Vaccination: Web-Based Cross-Sectional Survey
No full textBackground:
Social media platforms have become home to numerous alternative health groups where people share health information and scientifically unproven treatments. Individuals share not only health information but also health misinformation in alternative health groups on social media. Yet, little research has been carried out to understand members of these groups. This study aims to better understand various characteristics of members in alternative health groups and the association between membership and attitudes toward vaccination and COVID-19 and influenza vaccination–related behaviors.
Objective:
This study aims to test hypotheses about different potential characteristics of members in alternative health groups and the association between membership and attitudes toward vaccination and vaccine-related behaviors.
Methods:
A web-based cross-sectional survey (N=1050) was conducted. Participants were recruited from 19 alternative health social media groups and Amazon’s Mechanical Turk. A total of 596 participants were members of alternative health groups and 454 were nonmembers of alternative health groups. Logistic regressions were performed to test the hypotheses about the relationship between membership and the variables of interest.
Results:
Logistic regression revealed that there is a positive association between alternative health social media group membership and 3 personal characteristics: sharing trait (B=.83, SE=.11; P\u3c.01; odds ratio [OR] 2.30, 95% CI 1.85-2.86), fear of negative evaluations (B=.19, SE=.06; P\u3c.001, OR 1.21, 95% CI 1.06-1.37), and conspiratorial mentality (B=.33, SE=.08; P\u3c.01; OR 1.40, 95% CI 1.18-1.65). Also, the results indicate that there is a negative association between membership and 2 characteristics: health literacy (B=–1.09, SE=.17; P\u3c.001; OR .33, 95% CI 0.23-0.47) and attitudes toward vaccination (B=– 2.33, SE=.09; P=.02; OR 0.79, 95% CI 0.65-0.95). However, there is no association between membership and health consciousness (B=.12, SE=.10; P=.24; OR 1.13, 95% CI 0.92-1.38). Finally, membership is negatively associated with COVID-19 vaccination status (B=–.84, SE=.17; P\u3c.001; OR 48, 95% CI 0.32-0.62), and influenza vaccination practice (B=–1.14, SE=.17; P\u3c.001; OR .31, 95% CI 0.22-0.45).
Conclusions:
Our findings indicate that people joining alternative health social media groups differ from nonmembers in different aspects, such as sharing, fear of negative evaluations, conspiratorial mentality, and health literacy. They also suggest that there is a significant relationship between membership and vaccination. By more thoroughly exploring the demographic, or by better understanding the people for whom interventions are designed, this study is expected to help researchers to more strategically and effectively develop and implement interventions
Their Truth is Out There: Scientific (Dis)trust and Alternative Epistemology in Online Health Groups
No full textThe information-sharing practices within alternative health social media groups makes them important spaces for analyzing and understanding the factors shaping the online spread of alternative health and health science (mis)information. Through interviews and observation of participants in alternative health groups on both Facebook and Reddit, we explore how people use health science information from government, health, and news sources, alternative health information from social media groups, and their own personal experiences and concerns to define informational (dis)trustworthiness. We identify factors that lead participants to (dis)trust health science information and explore how members assess the (dis)trustworthiness of health science information using an alternative epistemology. This alternative epistemology, or “their science,” demonstrates a trust in science unless or until it contradicts members’ experiences, beliefs, contextual concerns, or their own “research” practices
