Background: The elevated rates of ultraviolet radiation (UVR) exposure and low rates of sun protection in young adult women indicate a need for age- and gender-appropriate interventions that address these behaviors. Aims: To examine the effects of daily behavior tracking and individually tailored text messages on sun protection and UVR exposure…

Health information is increasingly being shared online not just by credentialed sources such as physicians or health organizations, but also by patients with personal experience with a health concern. This dissertation proposes a new measure of vigilance-avoidance, or tendency to approach or avoid threatening stimuli, in order to understand how…

Autistic individuals may be at risk of premature mortality, and physical health comorbidity increases this risk; however, most studies fail to include older autistic adults or consider lifestyle-related factors that affect health. We developed an anonymous, online physical health survey. The final sample included n = 2368 individuals (mean age =…

High human papillomavirus (HPV) prevalence and low HPV vaccine uptake are significant public health concerns. Disparities in HPV-associated cancers and HPV vaccine uptake rates suggest the need for additional research examining factors associated with vaccine acceptance. This study assessed HPV awareness and knowledge and identified…

Objective: To describe the design of, and participant-level outcomes related to, a religiously tailored, peer-led group education program aimed at enhancing Muslim women's mammography intention. Method: Using a community-engaged approach and mixed methods, we identified and addressed barrier beliefs impeding mammography screening among Muslim…

Background: Many misconceptions about breast cancer exist. College students have the opportunity to perform breast cancer risk-reducing behaviors. Purpose: The purpose of this study was to assess breast cancer knowledge among university students and examine the influence of breast cancer knowledge on health behaviors for breast cancer prevention.…

This work presents a three-dimensional (3D) modeling exercise for undergraduate students in chemistry and health sciences disciplines, focusing on a protein-group linked to immune system regulation. Specifically, the exercise involves molecular modeling and structural analysis of tumor necrosis factor (TNF) proteins, both wild type and mutant. The…

Many refugee women emigrate from countries with high cervical cancer incidence rates and have low rates of cervical cancer screening both before and after resettlement. Refugee women face many barriers to cervical cancer screening, including limited knowledge of cervical cancer and screening recommendations and cultural and linguistic barriers to…

This quantitatively driven sequential mixed methods study articulates the role of theory in mixed methods research and assesses the contribution of a mixed methods design to examining gender differences in men and women's genetic testing decisions and the psychosocial factors impacting health-seeking behaviors post-testing. A quantitative online…

The opportunity to engage in scientific research is an important, but often neglected, component of undergraduate training in biology. We describe the curriculum for an innovative, course-based undergraduate research experience (CURE) appropriate for a large, introductory cell and molecular biology laboratory class that leverages students' high…

Although sexual minority women (SMW) are at risk for cervical cancer and sexually transmitted infections (STIs), they may not seek preventative sexual and reproductive health care at the same rates as their heterosexual peers. We conducted a qualitative descriptive study of 22 adult SMW, a subsample of participants enrolled in the Chicago Health…

This brief report describes a mindfulness-based art therapy (MBAT) intervention, "Walkabout: Looking In, Looking Out," which was piloted in 2010 and has since been offered at the Abramson Cancer Center at Pennsylvania Hospital in Philadelphia. The author adapted the original MBAT intervention using a walkabout conceptual model, which was…

Background/Aims: Adolescents who identify as nonbinary gender or as not heterosexual report higher levels of mental illness than their counterparts. Cannabis use is a commonly employed strategy to cope with mental illness symptoms among adolescents; however, cannabis use can have many deleterious health consequences for youth. Within the frame of…

Purpose: Social contact is known to be vital for older adults' mental and physical health but, because communication impairments often co-occur with other types of disability, it is difficult to generalize about the relative impact of a communication impairment on the social relationships of older adults. Specific aims of the study were to examine…

Practitioners working with children diagnosed with cancer in the school environment must consider several facets in order to effectively work with the child and family. The remission rate for children with cancer is relatively high, so one must consider whether the child is anticipating treatment, actively in treatment, or posttreatment when one…