Examples of Past Faculty Projects

 

Diana Finkle, DO – Factors Associated with Resilience and Health Care Outcomes Among Transgender Individuals
Awareness of transgender issues is increasing in the general public. "Transgender is a word that is used to describe anyone whose gender identity does not conform to societal expectations of their assigned sex." Transgender people face discrimination and devaluation in multiple forms due to stigma attached to their gender identity. Studies have shown that resilience among transgender individuals could be protective and associated with various positive outcomes. Resilience is made up of "individual, positive adaptations that individuals make despite experiencing negative experiences and/or challenging environments." Studies have revealed that higher income, connectedness to the transgender community are examples of factors associated with greater resilience.
To date, there is no known study published on factors associated with resilience among transgender individuals in the Newark area and our research aims to help fill that gap.
See the presentation poster presented for the Pozen Showcase.

Yu-Lan Mary Ying, MD; Nicole M. Raia, ScD & Evelyne Kalyoussef, MD - Erasing the Silent Epidemic of Hearing Loss in the Community of Newark: Development of a Multicultural Adult Hearing Screening Program
At least 850,000 New Jersey residents suffer from varying degrees of hearing loss. Our community in Newark, New Jersey is particularly at risk. Residents in Newark are predisposed to chronic medical conditions such as diabetes mellitus, hypertension and autoimmune disorders, and social factors such as loud noise exposure that all contribute to hearing loss. Yet, hearing loss is an underdiagnosed condition that can have a more negative impaction on the quality of life than other known health diseases. Development of effective adult hearing screening protocols are further complicated by the variety of languages that are commonly spoken in Newark. Furthermore, patients are unaware of healthy hearing practices including safe listening levels; when audiological monitoring is necessary; and most importantly, the relationship between hearing well and effective communication for social and occuwellness.
While newborn hearing screening programs are well established, guidelines for other stages of life are neither well established nor well enforced. The American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA) is the only known national organization which has recommendations on adult screening. ASHA recommends that patients are screened once a decade through age 50 and then every 3 years. However, hearing screenings are often voluntary and self-initiated (i.e. patient senses a loss, seeks evaluation).
Our goal is to raise awareness of hearing loss (sometimes referred to as America's silent epidemic but a solvable health issue) in our underserved Newark community by earlier diagnosis so appropriate intervention can be initiated sooner. We aim to develop an easy to use, personable hearing screening tool that can be used in the primary care settings. Those patients identified as high risk for hearing loss by our tool will be referred to Otolaryngology and Audiology attention promptly for consultation.
See the presentation poster presented for the Pozen Showcase.
Ondrea McKay, MD & Steven Kirshblum, MD - Stroke 101 Health Literacy and Support Group
Racial and socioeconomic disparities have long been known to be related to health outcomes. Oftentimes these disparities lead to increased morbidity and mortality for people who belong to disadvantaged groups. While often access to care is a primary concern, differences in education and health literacy contribute as well. While education is typically included in discharge planning by the acute care hospital personnel, in a busy hospital setting poor understanding by the patient may be overlooked and there may be inadequate time to fully answer questions. In underserved populations such as in Newark, individuals are more likely to have low health literacy; and those with low health literacy are more likely to be insured by Medicaid, black or Hispanic, unemployed, disabled or retired, and less educated. Having low health literacy is associated with greater risk of re-hospitalization which further worsens healthcare costs. This places significant additional burden on the patients' health status and affects quality of life. Numerous studies have shown targeted education for patients can improve risk for re-hospitalization as well as improve morbidity and mortality.
The goal of this newly proposed Health Education Series, is to improve health literacy amongst our specific patient population in the Newark and surrounding community, with the ultimate goal to improve general health and understanding of those with disabilities to improve and maintain health and services while decreasing the need for hospital readmission.
See the presentation poster presented for the Pozen Showcase.