A total of eight Class of 2016 Public Health Projects were selected for presentation at the national American Public Health Association meeting held November 15 to 19, 2014 in New Orleans, La. Two projects were accepted as Oral Presentations, one as a Roundtable Discussion, and five as Poster Presentations.
Oral presentations were delivered by Adam Burgess ’16 and Whitney Thomas ’16.
Burgess presented on his group’s project, which was conducted in collaboration with the Burlington Children’s Space and examined “Nutrition as the Foundation for Good Health: Evaluating the Impact of Food Programs on Health.” The study aimed to demonstrate that providing a healthy meal program at school would reduce the amount of internal behavioral problems seen in children who are otherwise food insecure. The project group found that, despite a small number of participants (25), significant differences in behavioral problems were observed between the food secure and food insecure groups.
“Happy Feet: Podiatric Evaluation of the Burlington Vermont Homeless Population” was the focus of Thomas’ project presentation. She and her group examined the podiatric needs of homeless guests residing at the Burlington, Vt.-based Committee on Temporary Shelter (COTS) Waystation, offering comprehensive foot. They collected data on the individuals’ medical and social history, as well as level of knowledge regarding proper foot care and determined a need for multiple interventions, including foot care education, regular foot exams, and chronic health condition care. Link to the abstract.
Reiko Sakai ’16 presented at a Roundtable discussion on “Ensuring Access to Dental Care for Pregnant Women in Vermont.” For their project she and her group worked with the Community Health Improvement team at The University of Vermont Medical Center to research access to dental care for pregnant women, surveying obstetric providers across the state to gather patient demographics, knowledge, and methods used to address prenatal oral health. The group found that only 18 percent of respondents reported following current oral care guidelines, and 74 percent were not aware of a recent Medicaid change that lifted a $495 cap on reimbursement for perinatal dental care and extends it to 60 days after delivery. They also conducted a patient focus group and found that among the challenges to accessing dental care were a lack of dentists who accept Medicaid and long wait times for appointments. Read the project abstract here.
The five poster presentations included “Creating an Online CME Module: Early Detection and Diagnosis of Dementia and Alzheimer ’s Disease,” a project conducted in collaboration with the Vermont Chapter of the Alzheimer’s Association that was presented by Cornelia Willis ’16, Alex Coffman ’16, and Matthew Jordan ’16; “Factors Leading to Adolescent Drug Abuse in Winooski, Vermont,” a project done in collaboration with the Winooski Coalition for a Safe and Peaceful Community, which was presented by Herman Kalsi ’16; “Family, Social, and Sexual Health Education in Elementary Aged Children,” presented by Madeline Eells ’16, whose group worked with The Schoolhouse Learning Center in South Burlington, Vt.; a project performed with support from the United Way of Chittenden County, titled “Access to Transportation for Chittenden County Vermont Senior Citizens,” which was presented by Leah Fox ’16 and Emily Hadley Strout ’16; and a project titled “Barriers to Access, Disclosure, and Identification in Healthcare for Potentially Trafficked Youth in Vermont,” conducted with the Give Way to Freedom Vermont Human Trafficking Task Force and presented by Maya Son '16 and Nishan Bingham '16.
Learn more about the Public Health Projects course, which is directed by Jan Carney, M.P.H., M.D., associate dean for public health, at the UVM College of Medicine.
