OSCAR Celebration of Student Scholarship and Impact

Category: College of Public Health

Categories
College of Public Health

The Diet of the Climber

Author(s): Daniel Serruya

Mentor(s): Lawrence Cheskin, Nutrition

Abstract
With the inclusion of Climbing in the Tokyo Olympics, climbing has become significantly more performance oriented. Injury prevention to training methods to nutrition and diet are all important factors to performance. Nutrition plays a role in climbing performance and weight management, where being lighter is more conducive to better climbing. Despite this, the pool of nutrition research and services for climbers is extremely limited. My mentor and I have identified this gap in the literature that this project aims to fill.

This project is a research study done on the diets of indoor rock climbers across the United States. The aim of the study is to gather baseline data on the diets and eating habits of a diverse group of climbers and to understand trends between nutritional status, eating habits, climbing habits, and demographics. This will be achieved through having participants complete both a survey and three day food recall. After participants complete the study procedures they are rewarded a $25 gift card as thanks for participation.

Audio Transcript
So thats me 4 years ago. I was around 170 and I had just gotten into rock climbing as a fun hobby.

About 3 months later at the start of the pandemic I was around 165 and was thoroughly enjoying rock climbing. I thoroughly hated being in pictures at this point in time.

This is me about 2 and a half months later. I was around 135 and had become obsessed with rock climbing.

In this short 2.5 month period and for about a year after this I ate between 1400 and 1900 calories per day, had known the nutritional values of all of the foods I allowed myself to eat, weighed myself everyday, I would get injured and take months to recover, I would spend 30 minutes or more per day staring at myself in the mirror, I was exhausted and cold all of the time, and I felt like I was unable to improve at climbing as quickly as I had previously.

Here I am about 3 and a half years later. I now weigh 150 pounds, I eat an unknown number of calories per day, I know the nutritional values for even more foods now as a result of work and study, I weigh myself once a month at most, I can recover from most injuries in a week or two, I accept that I don‘t need to stare in the mirror all the time, I have energy and don‘t feel as cold, and I climb significantly better than when I was 15 pounds lighter.

Rock climbing as a sport and hobby is extremely simple. We use rocks or climbing holds to climb on something. The only enemy we fight against on the wall is gravity. Many climbers of a variety of skills see this and view higher weight as a negative and a hindrance in climbing. Weight and body size is such an important factor when on the wall. Being lighter and more muscular means more effective weight is being moved. As a result, we see eating disorders and disordered eating running rampant in climbers of all skills, ages, and both sexes. The field of climbing research is relatively new and nutrition for climbers is very unknown and under researched for how impactful nutrition and weight management is for climbers. I noticed this gap in the research and have been working alongside my mentor Dr. Lawrence Cheskin in order to research the diets and dietary habits of climbers of all skill levels.

The research we are currently conducting surveys climbers about their climbing habits, eating habits utilizing a measure for disordered eating called the Eating Attitudes 26 question test, and a 3 day food recall. Through this we are aiming to receive a total of 90 responses between 3 different skill groups and both sexes. This will yield us having 15 entries per skill group and sex to allow us to analyze a wide variety of climbers with different views on climbing, eating habits, and diet.

With permission to post fliers from climbing gyms across the United States, we are asking potential participants using this poster to complete an interest form to ensure that we are recruiting an even distribution of individuals. After a participant is selected they are sent the access information for both a survey and the three day food recall. Participants who complete both procedures and then sent a $25 gift card as thanks for their participation.

This research serves to provide baseline information on what rock climbers are eating and where the average climber for different skill groups stands in terms of nutritional status. We want to focus on energy and macronutrient intake and investigate if climbers are meeting, exceeding, or falling short of DRI‘s for their age and sex. Currently we have a few completed responses and are looking to continue accepting responses until we have received 90 total responses before we clean and analyze the data.

I want to extend a special thanks to my mentor Dr. Cheskin, the Undergraduate Research Scholarship Program, the climbing gyms that helped spread the word about the study, and everyone who has participated and will participate in this research to date.

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College of Public Health College of Science OSCAR Summer Team Impact Project

Mpala Waterborne Disease Project

Author(s): Nisa Berlas, Peyton Beaumont, Nicole Brandt

Mentor(s): Michael Von Fricken, College of Public Health

Abstract
Waterborne illnesses present a significant threat to the health of humans, animals, and the surrounding environment. According to a study titled, the intersection of land use and human behavior as risk factors for zoonotic pathogen exposure in Laikipia County, Kenya, “œIn Kenya, resource sharing, or common use of grazing and watering resources among humans and animals, is prevalent in pastoral communities and within arid and semi-arid land (ASAL) areas. Human interactions with domestic animals can increase risk of zoonosis transmission within communities that practice animal production, particularly via contact with infected food and water.” (Kamau et al., 2021). A study by Manetu & Karanjai in 2021 stated that infections can be acquired through untreated water sources while bathing, washing, drinking water, and eating foods exposed by contaminated water. This can result in several symptoms, with diarrhea and vomiting being the most common. According to the study titled Waterborne Disease Risk Factors and Intervention Practices, the Ministry of water and Irrigation report (2012), 50% of Kenya’s households did not have access to safe drinking water and the proportion for the poor households was higher. Most of the Kenyan rural populations obtain their water supplies from unprotected sources, underground water, streams, spring wells, ponds and lakes frequently resulting in diarrhea diseases” (Manetu & Karanja, 2021). Due to the lack of accessibility to safe drinking water, testing the water at the Mpala Research Centre at the 5 different sites would help to evaluate the various pathogens that may be present within the Mpala ecosystem. Additionally, this knowledge could assist in informed decision-making regarding wastewater treatment and could help prevent any future outbreaks of diseases in the Mpala and local communities.
Audio Transcript
Hello, my name is Nisa Berlas, my name is Peyton Beaumont, and I’m Nicole Brandt; and this is the Mpala Waterborne Disease Project. We spent 3 weeks at the Mpala Research Centre in Laikipia county, Kenya to conduct research on pathogens in the area that could impact the health of humans and wildlife in the surrounding environment. Our original plan was to research vector-borne pathogens, but then we learned about an ongoing diarrheal disease outbreak at Mpala. We decided our resources and time would be better spent investigating this outbreak in real-time to find the source of exposure. The objective of the Mpala Waterborne Disease Project was to isolate potential waterborne pathogens from different sources at the Mpala Research Centre and provide recommendations for preventing future disease exposure. Our group designed an original protocol to conduct an experiment with methods derived from similar research studies on wastewater collection. We collected twenty-eight samples from septic tanks and pit latrines around the campus, as well as water from communal sources such as sinks and showers. A nearby dam, which is the water source for Mpala, acts as a watering hole for local wildlife. Because this water is used by both humans and animals, it was also tested to determine any traces of pathogenic origin that could have caused a spillover event. By collecting and testing these water samples, we were able to determine the likely cause of the outbreak. We decided to collect our samples between 9am and 11am due to a recommendation from a previous study by Kevill et al. in 2022 that used similar wastewater collection methods. Next, we needed to figure out how long we would need to sample for, to gather adequate results. We decided two collection days were sufficient enough after several sample test runs of the tampon-dip method. Collection tubes were respectively labeled for wastewater, communal water, and dam water, along with positive and negative controls. We mapped out our collection sites with their corresponding coordinates to determine if location impacted which pathogens may be present. A cooler with ice packs and a tube rack were brought along as we moved from site to site to keep the samples viable. Using proper PPE listed in the protocol, a new tampon was tied to a string and lowered into the wastewater to collect a sample at each site. Once a minute had passed, the tampon was removed from the wastewater and liquid was extracted by squeezing it into a collection tube. Then, a sliver of the tampon was cut and placed into a tube to be homogenized later for PCR.
Between collection sites, new PPE was donned, and ethanol and bleach were used for surface decontamination. For communal water, a collection tube was brought to each site and the water source was run for 20 seconds prior to collection to wash away any stagnant impurities.
The dam water was collected during normal collection times and poured into a whirl-a-bag with approximately two cups of water from the upstream and downstream face of the dam. These steps were respectively repeated for each collection site for the two testing days. To process the field samples, we first used the Biomeme M1 Sample Prep to extract DNA from the collected water to obtain a purified sample. It includes a single-use syringe, binding column tip, and a cartridge with subsequent washes to obtain a purified sample upon elution. Each section of the cartridge has a recommended number of times the syringe must be pumped to mix the solution. Additionally, between each section the contents of the syringe must be expelled before insertion into the next section.
First, using a pipette the sample is transferred into the lysis and binding section of the cartridge, which breaks open the cells. This step was repeated for the protein and salt wash sections to remove any possible proteins and salts present. The syringe was then injected into the drying section of the cartridge where it was pumped rapidly to remove any remaining fluid. Lastly, the syringe was inserted into the elution step which is the process of extracting a substance that is absorbed to another by washing it with a solvent. As a result, the DNA has been isolated and is ready to be extracted and prepared for PCR.
In preparation for PCR, the sample was added to the Biomeme 3-welled Cave Panel B Go-Strips using a pipette. This is a small sterile strip with 3 wells that contains a lyophilized master mix in each well with primers, probes, and enzymes. Each well tests for 3 different waterborne diseases including Salmonella, Listeria, Legionella, Giardia, Campylobacter, E. coli, Cryptosporidium, and Human Fecal Matter (HF183) as the positive control. Additionally, our group used Phosphate- Buffered Saline (PBS) as the negative control to determine if there were any environmental contaminants present. After the sample was added to the Go- Strip, it was flicked several times to ensure there were no air bubbles present which could hinder the results. The Go- Strip is then inserted into the thermocycler machine to undergo PCR, which amplifies the DNA isolated from the Biomeme M1 Sample Prep to determine if there are any waterborne diseases present in the collected water. In a perfect experiment, a researcher wants as many variables as possible to be the same to yield the most accurate results. Unfortunately, there are always some limitations with field work as there are many variables that may be impossible to control. For example, two of the sites that we collected from were open to environmental contaminants, which could have impacted the pathogens found at those locations. Additionally, the tampon saturation varied between testing locations due to the differing characteristics of each site. For instance, when we tested the pit latrines, our tampons did not get fully saturated as the pit latrines did not contain much liquid waste. Another limitation was our sample size, as a larger sample size could have yielded more accurate results. However, on account of our limited time at Mpala Research Centre, as well as resource sharing with other projects, we were unable to collect as many samples as we had initially hoped. Our experiment yielded positive results for diarrheal diseases, however, we will not be disclosing which specific pathogens were found due to privacy reasons. Our research was conducted to help the Mpala Research Centre find the source of exposure so they could make an informed decision about what steps could be taken to prevent future outbreaks. It was determined that the likely source of the pathogen was the dam water that wildlife often uses as a watering hole. While this water is filtered before it gets to Mpala, some pathogens are able to pass through the filter, likely contributing to waterborne disease outbreaks. Because of our research, a fence is being built around the dam to prevent disease spillover from wildlife, and a representative from Mpala will be testing the water on a monthly basis. As a result of our findings, we suggest that any future diarrheal outbreaks be treated with antiparasitics rather than antibiotics. If you would like more details on our research methods, a link to the protocol we wrote will be included at the end of this presentation along with our sources. Overall, this was a great opportunity which helped us start our introductive journey into academic research and helped build our critical thinking skills in terms of developing our own scientific protocol. We were also able to have a positive impact, as our research led to the creation of protective measures to prevent future waterborne disease outbreaks. We would like to thank the OSCAR office, Dr. Michael Von Fricken, and the Mpala Research Centre for making this project possible. We can’t wait to continue our research in the future.
Categories
College of Education and Human Development College of Humanities and Social Science College of Public Health OSCAR Summer Team Impact Project

Addressing Barriers to Domestic and Sexual Violence Services Among Immigrant Populations in Fairfax County

Author(s): Ha Le, Elizabeth Fortson, Paridhi Pradhan, Nallely Calles, Lina Hussein

Mentor(s): Denise Hines, Social Work

Abstract
The immigrant population in Fairfax is one of the highest in the NOVA region; however, these populations can be underserved and underrepresented in domestic and sexual violence treatment. Literature shows that domestic and sexual violence is prevalent within different immigrant communities, but little is known about the barriers that can prevent potential clients from seeking help. This project involved a scoping review and interviews with community leaders of select immigrant populations: Southeast Asian, Sub-Saharan African, South Asian, Latinx, SWANA, and Eastern European. We find that while there are specific considerations for each population, immigration impacts every part of an immigrant’s life and creates a fear of authorities. Additionally, a lack of knowledge of U.S. institutions as well as traditional gender and family dynamics often leave victims unaware of what is considered abuse and what services or options are available. Additionally, the public perception of sexual and domestic violence services within these populations typically views them as serving “other kinds” of people, and unable to address the specific and nuanced needs of immigrant clients.
Audio Transcript
Lina: Welcome to our Oscar Celebration of Learning presentation! This was a summer
team impact project. Here are some key terms and statistics to go over before we go into this
presentation I do want to point out a trigger warning. Topics on sexual and
domestic violence will be discussed, our main focus was on intimate partner violence. On the left side you can read a definition of intimate partner violence and on the
right side are some facts pertaining to the U.S

Paridhi: The summer team impact project was a collaboration with Fairfax County DSVS
to better understand ways in which to provide care for underserved populations.

Elizabeth: To tackle this project we conducted an intensive literature review and
interviewed community leaders to find out what’s known about potential barriers when accepting Domestic and Sexual Violence Services among different populations in the literature review. We looked at General barriers for different populations within the United States as well as potential solutions to overcome these barriers.

Lina: let’s go over some key findings from this scoping review.

Nallely Calles: These are some themes that we all found within our respective immigrant communities. The first one being you know societal perceptions barriers and fears,
family and traditional roles and values, preferences in surface usage, and just the general of lack of awareness and knowledges on services.

Lina: As an example, we will delve into how different communities experience
traditional and familial roles. In the SWANA Community a common traditional perception held by women is the idea of maintaining the family unit. Women feel that by exposing their abuse to outside agencies they are bringing shame and dishonor to their families. This can lead to social ostracization as women are outcasted from their society, which is why women prefer to use informal networks. These perceptions of shame and honor are passed down through
intergenerational transfer. When women are at a power imbalance with their abuser because they are financially dependent on them or rely on them for their immigration status. They are left in a no-win situation where if they stay with their abuser they continue their abuse but if they leave they are left with nothing.

Nallely: In the Latinx community we see family as a support system you know Familismo
which is essentially a built-in support system we have. We come from a collectivist culture that
really prioritizes family. Family is a barrier this prioritization of family can cause women to endure unnecessary abuse. Distance from family, (Pause) a lot of women or immigrants leave their families behind, and they no longer have the support system that they’re used to. Uh gender norms, machismo and marianismo and just conflicting cultural values when
they come to the US specifically with the gender norms that they’re used to.

Elizabeth: In my research I focused on two populations Eastern European immigrants
and sub-Saharan African immigrants, however I found that among both groups immigration can complicate the family roles within a household. As typically in traditional roles the wife would take care of the children whereas the husband would be the main breadwinner of the family. After immigrating to the U.S this wasn’t very feasible as a single income was enough to support the family which meant that the wife would have to go and take on more work which would lead to what was called role strain which could cause conflict that could then escalate into domestic violence.

Paridhi: These are some of the themes that were prevalent among the South Asian
population the first one is insecurity of immigration status since most of the victims immigrated to the United States through marriage for social mobility, but this also gave the risk of not having knowledge about the new country they were going to be living. In the second theme was a lack of support system where victims of domestic violence were conditioned to not speak out about their abuse and many of the victims were also financially dependent on their abusers since they were not allowed to hold jobs.

Paridhi: And lastly moving on to the implications of the project these are the future efforts and
implications it includes understanding societal context to meet the unique needs of each population through a culturally centered approach the main takeaway is that service providers and community members must collaborate together in order to engage effectively to and to make progressive changes.

Paridhi: Thank you for watching our presentation!

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College of Public Health OSCAR Summer Team Impact Project

“The Analysis of Filth Flies as potential Vectors for Disease from Septic Tanks and Latrines at Mpala Research Center” *Part of* Life at the Watering Hole””A One Health Approach to Disease Surveillance in Laikipia County, Kenya

Author(s): Gabriel Ransom, Sonny Todd

Mentor(s): Michael von Fricken, One Health Center of Excellence at the University of Florida

Abstract
Flies are major vectors of disease that mechanically transmit different pathogens to human populations. The Filth Fly Study aims to further evaluate how flies function as mechanical vectors of disease by collecting and analyzing the genetic makeup of flies from latrines and septic tanks to humans at the Mpala Research Center. Identifying what pathogens are present in local flies would be vital to understanding and potentially improving the health of individuals at the Mpala Research Center. A three-day collection period of flies was undertaken at the Mpala Research Center around the latrines and septic tanks through the placement of flytraps. After a four-hour collection period, the captured flies were homogenized and had their DNA extracted for a Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) test. As of right now, results can not be discussed as requested by the Mpala Research Center, but it can be stated that pathogens have been noted from testing done. Overall, further testing should be done on local flies to better expand upon knowledge of flies as vectors for disease.
Audio Transcript
When you think of African wildlife, what comes to mind? Elephants? Lions? Welp, how about arthropods? Insects, bugs, arachnids; they are everywhere. Usually, they are manifested in nightmares, like an inherent, primal fear. These creatures are usually regarded as pests. At best, they annoy their hosts by swarming around them, or with their loud noises. But at worst, they cause epidemics that can kill millions. This is where the GMU STIP team comes in handy.

Led by Dr. Michael Von Fricken, a former professor of community health at GMU and the current director of the One Health Center of Excellence at the University of Florida, the George Mason team efficiently tackled our mission by dividing into three groups: ticks, flies (which we belonged to), and water. Our fly group consisted of Sonny, Gabriel, and James. While we assisted all three groups to some extent, our primary focus for the STIP project was evaluating flies as mechanical vectors of disease. This involved collecting flies from latrines and septic tanks at the Mpala Research Center in Laikipia County, Kenya, and analyzing their genetic makeup. Mpala, located in a secluded rural area, provided pristine wildlife testing grounds. We gathered around 5 flies from each site, homogenized the samples, and utilized a Biomeme machine using a CAVE B panel test for real-time PCR amplification of pathogen DNA carried by the flies. The panel tests included detecting pathogens such as Salmonella, Listeria, Legionella, Giardia, Campylobacter, E. coli, human fecal matter, and Cryptosporidium.

The first step was gathering the flies. This was done by placing a sheet of 3×5 inch fly paper at our six chosen locations and using sugar/fruit to lure them onto it. Over a 4-hour period from 10:00 am to 2 pm, the traps would be checked at 1-hour intervals on a daily basis for the three days of collection. The pool size representing each site was 5 flies, with 1 pool being collected from each site. The tested sites were a public men’s latrine, two separate septic tanks near housing, and a staff latrine. It should be noted that we originally also included areas around the dining facility, however, due to staff concerns, we were unable to complete testing there.
The second step was homogenizing our samples. After we collected the flies from the traps with tweezers, we put them into labeled test tubes. To begin, 400 microliters of lysis buffer was taken from the Sample prep Biomeme cartridge and put into the sample test tube. After 2 minutes the flies are crushed up using a pestle to fully lyse the cell membrane so as to obtain the nucleic materials. Afterward, the Biomeme cartridge is put to use, and the different formulated buffers inside each of the cartridge’s sections are pumped to the recommended set numbers with a syringe. Through this process, the subsequent buffers allow for the nucleic acids to be cleaned and ready for analysis. Once these steps are completed, 800 microliters are extracted and put in another clean test tube for it to be analyzed later.
The third and final step is simply putting it into the Biomeme machine, which is a portable thermocycler, so it can process and analyze each sample for the presence or absence of the searched for target pathogens. How we put it in the machine is by transferring 3 sets of 20 Microliter samples from the test tube into a Go-strip, a set of 3 small vials containing our master mix, and pump the solution using a pipet to ensure there are no bubbles. Finally, we carefully put it into the Biomeme machine, and wait for it to finish reading the fly samples.

So, to preface this aspect, we did find pathogens at all the tested sites. Although our results cannot currently be discussed due to varying factors, the research completed certainly allowed for a variety of new experiences and learning opportunities. In addition, this experience gave us a better scope of the logistics behind research and our limitations. For example, having an increased budget and a longer allotted collection period could potentially allow for more definite results. In addition, the collection of multiple and larger pools for sampling could allow for more accurate results given the increased time window. The use of other means of collection is another topic to consider. Using an apparatus such as a high-powered aspirator could allow for differing results due to the live, whole nature of the flies that the flypaper didn’t always produce. Overall, the opportunity to take part in this research project was an eye-opening experience, and certainly a good start into the field of research.

Although the GMU STIP team worked diligently on vector-borne illnesses, there was also some time for fun and exploring Kenya. We went to an animal habilitation sanctuary. This place helps rescue and rehabilitate troubled wild animals. Another cool thing we got to do was hike to a small waterfall. It was spectacular, to say the least. And of course, we also got to see the local wildlife on a game drive.

We would like to thank the STIP and overall OSCAR program for allowing us to take part in such an exciting program. Without our funding, this project never would have gotten off the ground. In addition, we would like to thank Dr. Von Fricken, the Mpala Research Center staff, and our partner project Wastewater.

Categories
College of Humanities and Social Science College of Public Health OSCAR Summer Team Impact Project

Karissa Raucheisen – Summer Team Impact project: Celebration Video

Author(s): Karissa Raucheisen

Mentor(s): Denise Hines, College of Public Health

Abstract
Summer Team Impact Project: Reducing Inequalities in Fairfax County’s Domestic and Sexual Violence Services. Identify populations that are underserved according to their data. Populations were teenagers, refugees, transgender people, and people with disabilities. During the summer we worked on a scoping review and interviews with community leaders. A scoping review was conducted of relevant literature. For the interviews, I reached out to leaders in the teenage community to be interviewed. Then compare the data from the scoping review to the interview data.
Audio Transcript
hi everyone my name is Karissa Raucheisen and I’m here to talk to you about the summer team impact project that I worked on this summer here at George Mason University so the summer team impact project I got to work on was the reducing inequalities in the Fairfax County’s Domestic and Sexual Violence services to at-risk communities and so one of the first things we did was look at the populations that were underserved according to their data set some of these populations included teens transgender people and people with disabilities and so my group that I chose to do was teenagers and so there were two main things that we did with our data set the entire summer the first is a scoping review and the second is interviewed with people who were identified as Community leaders I am first going to talk about the scoping review that I did so if you don’t know what a scoping review is it’s essentially a review of all relevant literature through different databases or platforms and so I did the scoping review and got some data from that and so I wanted to talk a little bit about the process of the scoping review so when I started the scoping review I plugged in the search terms to the database and I also plugged in exclusion terms to narrow down my search results after I got the search results I screened them in or out through a title and Abstract reading and after that I was left with about like 17 or something articles and so of those articles I either screened them in or out through a full text reading meaning by I read the entire thing and after that I was left with a total of five articles and so after that I coded and did themes from that and that took a very long time but I thoroughly enjoyed it and so I got seven identified themes from that which I can’t talk about yet but I would happily talk about once I’m allowed to talk about and so after the scoping review we did interviews with Community leaders so that was my favorite part about working on the summer team impact project I got to email people about this project and if they would be interested in participating in the interview so I did teens again and so I just emailed people who are leaders within the teenage Community to ask them to interview and then after that we would gather data from that because we would record it and then we would transcribe the data and then code the data from that and so right now it’s just really comparing the data from the interviews to what we have in the scoping review right now so that’s pretty much all I have for you I just wanted to say uh thank you to everyone who helped me throughout this project which is uh Professor Booth Dr Hines and Dr Hand so thank you for allowing me to join you guys on this project I thoroughly enjoyed it thank you!
Categories
College of Public Health

The Impact of Abortion Bans on Maternal and Reproductive Health in Virginia

Author(s): Cityana Teshome, Eliza Liner, Holly Wilson, Katie Volante, Victoria Iveljic

Mentor(s): Daniel Freedman, Social Work

Abstract
Title: The Impact of Abortion Bans on Maternal and Reproductive Health in Virginia
Co-authors: Victoria Iveljic, Katie Volante, Eliza Liner, Holly Wilson, and Cityana Teshome
IRB Approved – Yes
Faculty Sponsor: Dr. Daniel Freedman – [email protected]

Background: The overturn of Roe v. Wade returned the ability to regulate abortion to the states, no longer protecting the right to abortion at the federal level. Currently, 14 states have full bans on abortion (The New York Times, 2023). “It has been projected that a total ban on abortion would lead to a 21% increase in maternal mortality” (Kulczycki, 2022, as cited in Stevenson, 2021). Unsafe abortions present a slew of health risks including infection, hemorrhage, uterine perforation, internal organ damage, and mental distress (World Health Organization, 2021).

Purpose: The purpose of this study is to identify how the Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization decision has impacted the medical care of individuals who can become pregnant in the state of Virginia.

Methods: This qualitative, phenomenological study primarily used snowball sampling to recruit participants. The target population was biologically female, English-speaking, Virginia residents who were 18 years or older who have been pregnant since the Dobbs decision. The researchers sampled from Planned Parenthood Centers, OB/GYN offices, and pre and postnatal support groups. Data was collected from semi-structured interviews and coded using thematic analysis. 10 respondents participated.

Results: Data has not yet been collected but will be completed by May 8, 2023.

Conclusions: This study has the potential to affect policy surrounding healthcare and reproductive rights. Based on themes generated after coding, individuals will have a detailed understanding of how recent legislation impacts the maternal and reproductive health outcomes of individuals in the U.S. who are able to become pregnant.

Audio Transcript
Welcome Everyone. My name is Katie Volante. My fellow group members are Victoria Iveljic, Eliza Liner, Holly Wilson, and Cityana Teshome and we’re here to present the research for our BSW capstone project which focuses on the impact of abortion bans on maternal and reproductive health in Virginia. For a little background on the issue, in 2022, the U.S. Supreme Court decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization denied abortion as a protected right under the U.S. Constitution, reversing the nearly 50 years of legal precedent set forth in Roe v. Wade and, ultimately, returned the ability to regulate abortion to the states. And while abortion remains accessible in Virginia, it’s important to note that it’s not explicitly protected by state or federal law. Though there is no universal consensus in the U.S., for the purpose of our study, viability is understood as occuring at approximately 24 weeks of gestational age, abortion is defined as the termination of pregnancy before the fetus has reached the stage of viability, and an unsafe abortion is one performed by an unqualified provider or in an unsanitary environment.

So why do we care about the impacts of abortion bans on maternal and reproductive healthcare in Virginia? Let’s begin with the research on the subject. Statistics have shown that 4.7-13.2% of maternal deaths are caused by unsafe abortions. This is an abortion that is completed outside of, you know, a hospital without a doctor that is qualified to do so. A total ban on abortion exacerbates issues already occurring in communities of color such as non-Hispanic Black individuals, projecting a 33% increase of maternal mortality and, overall, maternal mortality rates increase by 21%. We have included a graphic that depicts the states in America in which a total abortion ban is in place and the states in which a six-week ban is in effect. Georgia is the only state presented in this graphic, um, to have a six-week ban in effect and 14 states have a full ban in effect including Idaho, North and South Dakota, Wisconsin, Texas, Oklahoma, Montana, Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Kentucky, Tennessee, West Virginia, and Alabama. We can start to understand how the overturn of Roe v. Wade is beginning to effect fetus-carrying individuals.

There are a number of predicted outcomes for the Dobbs ruling including an increase in barriers to accessing time sensitive abortion care and even denial of such access in general. This can then lead to unsafe abortions which can lead to physical health problems such as infection, hemorrhage, incomplete abortions, uterine perforation, internal organ damage, and mental distress. Mental distress can come in the form of stress, anxiety, depression, and a number of other mental health symptoms that negatively impact those who are or can become pregnant. As previously mentioned, a total ban on abortions would increase the number of unsafe abortions leading to an overall rise in the percentage of maternal mortality rates. Data has shown that stricter abortion laws and decreases in abortion access, such as with the Dobbs ruling, leads to an increase in birth rates. However, this has shown to be temporary until people find a way to terminate their pregnancies, which are usually in the form of unsafe and self-managed abortions, leading to a rise in maternal mortality. Previous research has also shown that marginalized communities are disproportionately affected when it comes to access to abortion and healthcare, in general. The Dobbs ruling is predicted to only make this problem worse. Furthermore, the Dobbs ruling also puts anyone in the U.S. who is able to get pregnant in a vulnerable state for legal surveillance, civic detention, forced interventions, and criminal prosecution.

Alright! So our research question is in which ways do abortion bans implemented after Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization impact the medical care of people who can get pregnant in Virginia? And now to talk a little bit about our study design. So our study design is a phenomenology which means we really want to capture the lived experiences of people. We’re going to be conducting snowball sampling in order to get participants. So initially we’re recruiting with flyers, um, and then whoever answers those and meets screening criteria will be counted in the participant pool and then, once we interview those participants, we’re going to ask them, um, if they have any people that they recommend – their friends or family – that they think might also be a good fit for this study and sample from them. As far as measurement goes, we’re going to do semi-structured interviews so we’re going to be holding interviews virtually over Zoom, just due to geographic constraints, and ask a series of open-ended questions to try and capture, um, themes and broad responses – allow the participants to give as much or as little detail as they want. And as far as data analysis goes, we’re going to transcribe those interviews and then code them using thematic analysis which like I said earlier, um, is just going through those transcriptions and pulling out key themes to see what responses and what recommendations, details, things like that, are most prevalent in our participant pool.

We took our sampling from Planned Parenthood Centers, the – from OB/GYN offices, from support groups for people who were dealing with issues related to our study, and from hospitals. Some limitations: Participants had to contact a researcher in order for them to participate. Another limitation we had was time. We did not have as much time as we would like – as we would have liked to have had – to complete our study. And also funding. We were limited by the fact that we did not have really any money to complete the study or to incentivize people or anything like that. Um. So some implications of our study: policy change and also, um, it will affect the delivery of services. If there’s any questions, feel free to ask!

Categories
College of Public Health

Exploring the Association Between Video Games and Psychological Health

Author(s): Blanca Soriano, Jennifer Hernandez, Myrima Rychlik, Sara Awadalsayed, Vivian Vu

Mentor(s): Daniel Freedman, Social Work

Abstract
Video games are one of the most popular hobbies for adults in the United States, particularly in the wake of COVID-19. Similarly, mental health concerns have grown significantly due to necessary social distancing and myriad hardships caused by the pandemic. Video games have been demonstrated to have positive effects on players’ mood, motivation, and cognition. However, negative effects on players due to excessive amounts of or reliance on gaming have also been posited. This research aims to draw and further clarify connections between video games and the psychological health of those who play them to gain deeper insight into both. The following two research questions are used to focus the study: (1) Is there a correlation between time spent playing video games and psychological well-being? (2) Is there a correlation between preferences in game genres and players’ psychological health? The objective of the research is to explore such associations via a cross-sectional, correlational study. Data collection is currently in progress. An online survey regarding players’ gaming habits, preferences, and psychological health (measured via the BRIEF Cope Scale and Symptom Checklist K-9) is being administered to participants. Responses (currently n = 82) will be selected for analysis using simple random sampling. Bivariate analysis of the relationships between pertinent variables will be conducted and descriptive statistics will be calculated (mean hours games are played daily/weekly in the sample, mean scores of the psychological assessments). This study will shed light on an under-researched area for assessment and intervention utilizing the person-in-environment perspective in mental health practice.
Audio Transcript
American adults play video games. This statement is a matter of fact that is supported by data indicating that American adults play an average of almost 8 hours of video games a week, but for a number of years, there seemed to be a general impression that video games are something made for and primarily consumed by children. In actuality, 66 percent of Americans-more than 215 million people – say they play video games regularly, and 76 percent of these people are over the age of 18. Furthermore, the amount of time Americans spent playing games grew significantly during the pandemic, as they offered stress relief, escapism, and opportunities to connect with others during a time of necessary social distancing. The COVID-19 pandemic, similarly, significantly affected Americans’ mental health, particularly with respect to rates of anxiety and depressive symptoms. Therefore, as a team of researchers, we began thinking about the intersection between video games and mental health. Video games are an increasingly common fixture in American adult life, and mental health issues are also increasingly common, so we set out to explore and understand potential connections between the two so as to gain deeper insight into both video games and Americans’ psychological health.

After reviewing literature on the topic, we noted two major areas that called for further research and clarification, thus leading to our two questions of focus. Firstly, is there a correlation between the amount of time an individual spends playing video games and their psychological well-being? Secondly, is there a correlation between preferences in game genres and players’ psychological health? To answer these questions, data is currently being collected and participants have been providing data through an online survey created by the researchers via Qualtrics. Links to the online survey were posted on Reddit, a social news and discussion website, and distributed on Discord, an instant messaging social platform popular in many gaming communities. Posting locations ranged in focus on video games in order to ensure that gamers of diverse levels of dedication are included and exclusion criteria was limited to being under the age of 18.

In the survey, participants indicate their average daily and weekly gameplay time, most often played game genres, and complete two standardized psychological assessments, the Symptom Checklist-K-9 and the Brief COPE scale. Current participants are between 18 and 71 years old (the mean age is 26.88 years), 48 percent male, 47 percent female, and three percent non-binary or another gender. 38 percent of respondents in the sample identify as White (non-Hispanic/Latino), followed by 20 percent identifying as Hispanic/Latino, 17 percent as Black or African American, 14 percent as Asian, and 11 percent as mixed or another race. There is more racial diversity amongst our participants than tends to be seen in comparable studies, many of which were performed in Europe.

Current participants report playing video games an average of 15.92 hours a week. Bivariate analysis of the relationship between average gameplay time and psychological health will constitute a correlation test to calculate the correlation coefficient once all data is collected. Bivariate analysis of the relationship between preferred game genre and psychological well-being will constitute a t-test and the online application SPSS will be utilized to conduct these statistical tests to determine to what extent the variables are associated. Our sample reports playing video games even more often than many national statistics, highlighting the presence of games in the environments of American adults. Thus, this study will shed light on an under-researched area for assessment and intervention utilizing the person-in-environment perspective in mental health practice. We also hope the research will provide further clarification on whether there is a particular amount of hours or point at which gaming is significantly associated with poorer mental health outcomes.

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College of Public Health OSCAR

The Structural Determinants of Health: How Structural Racism Facilitates Community Violence in Washington, DC

Author(s): Nadia Altaher

Mentor(s): Debora Goldberg, Public Health

https://youtu.be/8ovMauNmhqE

Abstract
Racism is deeply embedded in social determinants of health, establishing racial health inequities in populations of color. Recent measures have been taken to address this issue in Washington, DC including the 2020 Racial Equity Achieves Results (REACH) Amendment Act, which focuses on racial equity, social justice, and economic inclusion. To further these efforts, there is a need to understand the relationship between structural racism, unemployment, poverty, and violence. This research explores the correlation between historic racism, social determinants of health, housing policies, and community violence in Washington, DC. Methods include mapping racial covenants from 1940 to 2010, neighborhood displacement, and social determinants of health. Current mortgage lending in the neighborhoods across the city was used to measure the housing market and lending discrimination. Demographic data, drawn from various sources, were used to measure social determinants of health across statistical neighborhoods. Findings indicate Wards 5, 7 and 8, in South and Eastern parts of DC, have the highest rates of crime, unemployment and concentrated poverty, lowest house lending rates, and experienced the most housing displacement from 1940-2010. The district’s racial dissimilarity index of 70.9 indicates that the city is still highly segregated and that zip codes play a significant role in individual health and exposure to violence. To achieve health equity, measures must be taken to dismantle structural racism that include community based participatory research and policies that incorporate a historical context of the problem as well as voices of community members.
Audio Transcript
Hello, everyone. My name is Nadia Altaher. And today I’ll be discussing my research project on the structural determinants of health, specifically how systemic racism facilitates community violence in Washington, DC.

So what is structural racism? Why is it important? It is a product of history but has adapted its contexts over time to create conditions that allow for worse health outcomes in racially marginalized populations. And we still see these worse health outcomes and disparities today as we higher rates of maternal mortality, lower life expectancy, and worse mental health outcomes among racially marginalized populations. It permeates in the various social determinants of health which is the environment in which people live, work, and play. And determines a lot of out health outcomes. As you guys can see, health equity and health equality are completely different as health equity strives to provide greater resources and attention to disadvantaged populations. Structural racism is a driving force many of these health inequities we see today.

So why conduct this research? Well, previous research has shown that mental health problems are more prominent among populations experiencing racism or discrimination. While young individuals are disproportionately impacted by community violence, certain populations are more at risk than others, specifically those experiencing systemic racism, bias, discrimination – which all impact adverse childhood experiences and the environment in which they grow up in. So drivers for violence impact communities of color and place residents at greater risk for poor mental health outcomes, tying metnal health and community violence aspects and their social determinants together. So I wanted to look at this theoretical framework between historic racism, social determinants of health, as well as housing and lending policies in DC as they have affected gentrification, community demographics, as well as community displacement over time. I did this by measuring racial covenants from 1940 to 2010, looking at current and previous housing and lending policies, as well as demographic data from DC department of health.

So my results have found that Wards 5, 7, and 8 – historically black neighborhoods (according to the Racial Covenants) are characterized by the highest poverty rates, gross rent rates, and violence mortality rates. They also have the lowest life expectancy, educational attainment, and income levels.

They are coincidentally make up the majority of the Non-Hispanic Black community as 93.7% to 98% are located in Southeast and Northeast DC. While the non-Hispanic White population is about 61.1% to 72.8% in Northwest and Southwest DC. Ward 3, the highest percentage of White Americans has a higher life expectancy by 16 years compared to Ward 8 which also has a 6 times higher rate of infant mortality, which is also an indicator for systemic racism.

I also wanted to point out that the racial dissimilarity index in DC is 70.9, meaning that 70.9% of White residents would have to move to achieve complete White/Black integration in the city, concluding that the city continues to be highly segregated.

The DC homicide rate is 16.0 per 100,000. That might seem low, but it is three times higher than the national average of 5.3. 74% come from firearms and 26% from suicides. But the most important thing to look at is that 94% of the victims were Black and 88% were males living in Wards 5, 7, and 8. As you guys can see the browner the color, the higher the violence mortality rate.

So this is a table I created looking at the population make up of these wards and their current social determinants such as violence mortality rate, life expectancy, median income, and unemployment. And how they drastically change looking at the Wards 1-3 from Wards 5-8.

So I wanted to look at the DC housing and redlining policies as they have impacted the placement of housing that people currently have in the city. So historic redlining comes from the 1933 New Deal Project which used to further segregation efforts by refusing to lend mortgages in neighborhoods of color while ensuring mortgages and reinvestments in white neighborhoods. It led to lasting impacts of generational wealth and property ownership as Black individuals were less likely to own a property of value and live in disinvested communities that were deliberately maintained by racial segregation. According to a study done on DC Housing in 2005, less than 10% of lending applicants in underserved census tracts were denied loans inequitably. And many public housing projects have been slated for private redevelopment, adding to existing waitlists for rent vouchers to assist underserved populations for private housing.

So what does all this mean? Why is it important? Why should we address this? So drivers for structural determinants of health have a long-standing impact on community violence in Washington, DC. Community trauma from adverse childhood experiences stemming from concentrated poverty, low-quality housing, and community segregation from redlining practices during the Jim Crow Era play a significant role in perpetuating community violence to this day. It was found that the availability of affordable housing shapes families’ choices on where they live and has the potential to relocate low-income families to substandard housing in neighborhoods with higher rates of poverty and crime, and fewer health care services.

So my conclusion from this research project was to look more into the anti-racist housing policies to understand gentrification and violence in low-income DC neighborhood and understanding the historical contexts that allowed for current community demographics and individual displacement. I also wanted to look more into how we can prevent crime and invest in community safety – what changes must be made to community infrastructure involving diverse approaches with youth that are multi-sectoral, include public-private partnerships and have multiple stakeholders in the community.

Thank you for listening! I would like to acknowledge my mentor, Dr. Debora G. Goldberg. The college of public health, GMU undergraduate research scholars program, and the Office of Student Scholarships, Creative Activities, and Research for funding this project. Thank you everyone. I hope you have a great day.

Categories
College of Public Health

Developing an Understanding of Strategies for Empowering Undocumented Students in Higher Education

Author(s): Angelica Guevara Lopez, Elizabeth Garcia Alvarez, Hana Missikir, Liliana Guevara, Mila Rivas, Wendi Ramirez- Montecin

Mentor(s): Dan Freedman, Social Work

Abstract
Background: Only 5-10% of undocumented students continue onto higher education and even less successfully graduate with a degree (Gindling & Poggio, 2012). Approximately 450,000 undocumented students are currently enrolled in higher education institutions (Greico et al., 2012). These students often undergo difficulties that present an immense threat to their ability to be successful in college.
Purpose: The purpose of this study is to gain a better understanding of the obstacles that undocumented college students face; with the intention to ultimately find strategies to alleviate them of these impediments, promote their success, and empower them.
Methods: The sample will consist of 10 participants who identify as undocumented graduate and/or undergraduate students at George Mason University. Based on the university’s demographics, it is anticipated that participants will be of latino ethnic backgrounds and be part of a variety of programs across George Mason University. A purposive sampling method will be used.Ten in-person interviews consisting of open-ended questions will be conducted. The interviews will follow the same agenda and will focus on identifying the strengths, challenges, gaps, and limitations within the areas of mental health and resource accessibility for undocumented students. When interviews conclude, transcripts will be reviewed for the purpose of identifying the most common themes reported by the participants.
Results and Conclusions: The data collection is still in process, results and conclusions will be available before the day of the presentation.
Audio Transcript
Hello, my name is Angelica Guevara Lopez. Members of my group and I will be presenting our capstone project for our social work class for our submission to the Oscar 10th annual Celebration of student scholarships. Our capstone project is about developing an understanding of strategies for empowering undocumented students in higher education.

We will begin with background information about undocumented students.

Only 5-10% of undocumented students continue on higher education and even fewer successfully graduate with a college degree. There are approximately 450,000 undocumented students who are currently enrolled in higher institutions in the united states. Due to their immigration status, there are obstacles they face that make it harder for them in their college career which can result in them not completing college. Based on the facts and statistics on undocumented students, our group came up with our research question which is How can undocumented students in higher education be empowered?

In the next slide, we will discuss the purpose of the study.
The purpose of the study is to gain a better understanding of these and other issues that undocumented college students faced with the intention to ultimately alleviate undocumented students of these impediments as the outcomes of the study can help higher education institutions acquire insight and possibly implement the suggested changes to better serve their undocumented student population to help them reach their full potential as students/upcoming professionals.
Our study consisted of 10 undocumented undergraduate and or graduate students who attend George Mason we used a purposive sampling method to ensure accurate and real information in regards to the challenges the participants faced. We conducted a survey with 10 open-ended questions that took approximately 30 minutes to complete the participants were able to share their stories and comment on what has and hasn’t been challenging with regards to their higher education experience. we decided to do a serving to ensure the participants responses where anonymous the survey was confidential and no identifiable information would be revealed the survey focused on identifying the strengths challenges gaps limitations within areas of Mental Health and resource accessibility for undocumented students. We would review all completed surveys to identify common themes and find quotes that represent each theme. We would identify 3 to 5 themes. Thank you for your time

Categories
College of Public Health

Dietary Habits, Attitudes, and Intakes of Indoor Rock Climbers

Author(s): Daniel Serruya

Mentor(s): Lawrence Cheskin, Nutrition

Abstract
This project has three aims: first, to provide dietary data on a diverse group of climbers; second, to investigate the effect of specific interpersonal, intrapersonal, and environmental factors on eating habits in climbers, including disordered eating behaviors; and lastly, to understand if climbing ability or attitude has any correlation with dietary intake and eating habits. Rock climbing has evolved into a competitive sport over the past few decades. The importance of nutrition is acknowledged within the climbing community; however, there is not much research on nutrition for climbers. This study is designed to investigate and gather data on a diverse group of climbers of all skill levels to understand their dietary habits, attitudes, and intakes and how that may be linked to other lifestyle factors.

Gym climbers were asked to complete an online survey and we are currently randomly selecting participants to complete a three day food diary. The survey asked participants about their demographics, climbing habits, climbing attitudes, climbing ability, diet composition, eating habits, and eating attitudes. The Eating Attitudes 26 question test was used to investigate eating habits and attitudes

We found that there is not a statistically significant correlation between climbing ability and EAT-26 scores and that the prevalence of EAT-26 scores greater than 20 was higher in male-identifying participants compared to female-identifying participants (8.63% vs 6.71%).

Data suggests that the risk of disordered eating habits may not be exclusive to just top level climbers. The male climbers having a higher prevalence of scores greater than 20 suggests that male climbers have similar risk for disordered eating to female climbers, which contradicts current literature that suggests that women have higher prevalence of eating disorders.

Audio Transcript
Hi, that’s me right there. My name is Daniel Serruya, and, I enjoy rock climbing and call myself a climber. I am an undergraduate student at George Mason University studying community health and nutrition and I am interested in nutrition specific to climbers.

Within the climbing world, current research supports the widespread belief that being lightweight and lean is conducive to climbing better. To further emphasize this, here are some of the current world’s best climbers. As we can see, all of these climbers are lightweight and extremely lean. Achieving this type of physique is the result of rigorous training on top of diet.

The importance of diet for climbing is well known; however, there is a severe lack of scientific information and supporting resources about nutrition for climbers. In fact, many climbers, myself included, have seen fellow climbers with disordered eating habits while pursuing performance on the wall. One piece of academic literature published in 2022 titled Attitudes towards disordered eating in the rock climbing community: a digital ethnography written by Mattias Strand found that the online climbing community is very split on the threat of eating disorders and disordered eating for climbers. With the community being so split, and there being such little credible information on what climbers eat and how they compare to the general population, and athletes from other sports, there is a need for research to shed light on this topic.

Alongside my mentor, the department chair for the nutrition department here at George Mason, Dr. Lawrence Cheskin, we aim to shine a light on this new field by investigating the Dietary Habits, Attitudes, and Intakes of Indoor Rock Climbers

This project is a two part study consisting of a survey, and then a three-day food diary. For the survey, we asked participants about their demographics, climbing habits, attitudes towards climbing, climbing ability, diet composition, and eating attitudes.

Some published tools were used as a part of the survey: the IRCRA scale developed by the International Rock Climbing Research Association, the Healthy Eating Index, and the Eating Attitudes 26-question test, EAT-26 for short. The Eat-26 is designed to study eating habits and a score greater than 20 suggests that the testee may want to see a specialist.

We recruited 311 participants by having a recruitment poster on display in 45 different climbing gyms across the United States.

The data collected from this survey has two findings of interest. First, there is no significant correlation between climbing ability and disordered eating. We found that the prevalence of scores over 20 tends to increase with climbing ability, with the exception of the largest category, the advanced climbers. This suggests that the the presence of disordered eating habits is common at all ability levels, but may be more pronounced in the more skilled climbers due to a smaller sample size.

Second, the 139 male-identifying participants in this study had a somewhat higher prevalence of disordered eating habits than the 149 female-identifying participants did, 8.6% for the men and 6.7% for the women. This is groundbreaking since current studies suggest that eating disorders are much more common in women than men. This calls for more nutrition research on climbers and nutrition services that are specific to climbers.
Over the next few months, my mentor and I will collect food recalls from climbers of all skill levels in order to answer the question of “what do rock climbers eat?” so that we can compare the diets of climbers with the diets of the general population, and athletes in other sports.
I want to thank the Undergraduate Research Scholars Program, the Nutrition Department at George Mason University, every climbing gym and their staff listed here on the screen, Matthew Hicks, my mentor Dr. Lawrence Cheskin, and all of you for contributing to this important work!

Categories
College of Public Health

Effects of Substance Use Disorder Incarceration on African American Adult Children

Author(s): Bryce Quinn Schwendiman, Cristina Schuck Adao, Jackie Custer, Paige Crilly

Mentor(s): Daniel Freedman, Social Work

Abstract
Background – Over-policing the African American community for the last forty years has led to an overrepresentation of this demographic in the United States jails and prison systems. Many of these individuals are parents, making their children a highly vulnerable population. Parental incarceration is one of many adverse childhood experiences that can lead to negative mental, physical, and social outcomes. To date, there is little known about these experiences from the now adult child’s standpoint and even less so specific to the African American individual’s experience.

Purpose – The purpose of this study is to understand the lived experience of adult children identifying as African American whose parent(s) were previously incarcerated (at participants’ age of 17 or under) and who had substance use disorders, specifically around an understanding of the emotional, mental, physical, and social impacts of those events.

Methods – Focus group. Online recruitment and snowball sampling. Thematic coding.

Results – Authors expect to find various important themes due to focus group transcription and coding. Themes surrounding negative and positive experiences with mental health and social support are expected to be found based on the literature review performed for the research.

Conclusions – The focus group questions aim to uncover topics surrounding the relationship outcomes of parental incarceration and substance use, social support needed or used during parental incarceration, and the mental and physical health outcomes of such experiences. Lastly, the authors aim to elucidate the programming needs of children experiencing parental imprisonment by analyzing transcribed focus groups.

Audio Transcript
Hello, my name is Cristina Adao and I’m working alongside Jackie Custer, Paige Crilly, and Quinn Schwendiman for our BSW Capstone which is discussing the effects of parental substance use disorder incarceration on African American adult children. Over policing the African American community for the last 40 years has led to an over-representation of this demographic in the United States jails and prison systems. Many of these individuals are parents, making their children a highly vulnerable population. Parental incarceration is one of many adverse childhood experiences that can lead to negative mental, physical, and social outcomes. Research conducted by Stack in 2020 states that “one in nine African American children have an incarcerated parent while only 1 in 57 white children do.” Despite this over-representation in our country’s Criminal Justice System, the lived experiences of adult children who identify as African American with a parent who has been incarcerated and manifests a substance use disorder is absent in the academic literature. The purpose of this study is to understand the lived experiences of adult children identifying as African American whose parents were previously incarcerated at participants age of 17 years or younger and who have also had substance use disorders. We seek to understand the emotional, mental, physical, and social impacts of these events. Informal observations were uncovered through conversations with individuals deemed knowledgeable about the topic of Interest. So, we spoke with individuals who have Professional Knowledge of the phenomenon, those who directly experience the phenomenon, and those identifying as African American. In documenting these interactions, narrative themes emerged and while the results are not based on research, they do align with those from the literature. We found that while the experiences of Parental incarceration were trying and stressful, contacts also disclosed strengths and resiliencies. Notable themes included the negative impacts of incarceration, such as obtaining steady employment and a lack of financial stability, as well as having social solid support. Overall the experiences provided both comfort and confusion and based on these observations we have suggested several guidelines for future research, policies, programs, and standards that include facilitating settings that are inviting for children who are visiting their incarcerated parent, advancing systemic changes to the treatment of those involved in the criminal justice system, developing formal and informal social support programs for children impacted by parental incarceration, and introducing Employment Services to incarcerated parents before re-entry into society. Thank you so much.
Categories
College of Public Health

Impacts of Learning Environments on Stress in the Covid Era and Beyond

Author(s): Alex Ramirez, Amy Burkhart, McKenzie Lauber

Mentor(s): Dan Freedman, Social Work

Abstract
Background: Due to the Covid-19 pandemic, students had to shift to completely virtual learning. Now, with classes shifting back to being in-person, students once again have to adjust to a shift in learning environments. Students naturally experience stress related to school, but with the pandemic and the changes to learning environments, it is unknown how significantly these changes impacted student stress.

Purpose:The aim of this study is to determine what method of learning students prefer and how the pandemic has influenced any change to learning environment preferences and stress levels.

Methods: The survey was conducted online through Qualtrics, and took participants roughly fifteen minutes to complete. Participants were recruited to take the survey through the Department of Social Work email list at GMU, as well as sending the flier out in the weekly student newsletter. Analysis of the data is being conducted on SPSS.

Results: Will have results by time of presentation. The study is currently finishing up with data collection.

Conclusions: Will be done by time of presentation; the study is still ongoing.

Audio Transcript
COVID 19 was a very stressful time and changed parts of our lives in many ways. For students a large part of that was the delivery of courses. We switched from majority in person learning to all online learning. Now there are hybrid options as well. It is unknown how the learning environment and stress has impacted the student. The purpose of this study is to see whether the learning mode or environment has an impact on stress levels for the college student and their preferences of how they like to learn. The methods we are using are a fifteen minutes qualtrics survey. This survey was sent out by email by the professors in the department of social work to both undergraduate and graduate social work students. We are currently in the data collecting stage and will have results by the end of April. We will have conclusions on this study by the time we present in May. Thank you.