Publications by authors named "Andrea Shelton"

Background And Objective: Leishmaniasis, a neglected tropical disease, is endemic in several regions globally, but commonly regarded as a disease of travelers in the United States (US). The literature on leishmaniasis among hospitalized women in the US is very limited. The aim of this study was to explore trends and risk factors for leishmaniasis among hospitalized women of reproductive age within the US.

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Background: Mental health services in the United States public schools are an important component of the academic success of a student. Not all schools, however, have the necessary personnel and funding to offer such services.

Methods: In this paper, we provide an analysis of data collected from schools in 3 geographic locations.

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Objective: The purpose of this study was to determine whether cervical cancer is a risk factor for early mortality among women with HIV and whether racial/ethnic disparity predicted in-hospital death among women living with HIV and diagnosed with cervical cancer.

Methods: We conducted a population-based study using the National Inpatient Sample (NIS) database comprising hospitalized HIV-positive women with or without cervical cancer diagnosis, from 2003 through 2015. We compared trends in the rates of cervical cancer, in-hospital death, and years of potential life lost (YPLL) by race/ethnicity.

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Osteoporosis is a chronic disease that increases the risk of fractures. There are demonstrated ethnic differences in the risks and consequences of osteoporosis. Body shape, defined as either android or gynoid, might be linked to the physiological changes that are associated with menopause, which are a time of worsening bone loss and increased risk for osteoporosis.

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Background: Although African American women have an overall lower incidence of breast cancer, African American women <40 years of age are more likely than Caucasian women of all ages and postmenopausal African American women to be diagnosed with breast cancer and exhibit tumor characteristics associated with poorer survival. To begin to address this disparity, studies must be conducted to examine breast cancer preventive factors in this subpopulation of women. However, the strategies needed to recruit younger African American women have not been well defined.

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The purpose of the Asian American Health Needs Assessment (AsANA) project was to collect information on the health risks, behaviors, and beliefs among Chinese and Vietnamese residents in the Houston area, two of the largest Asian American subgroups in Texas. The first phase of the project was to develop the AsANA survey instrument, which was adapted from the Texas Community Health Survey, a condensed version of the Behavioral Risk Factors Surveillance System. This report describes the steps used in adapting, modifying and developing the survey instrument, and provides insights, which may assist other investigators conducting similar research.

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Although the traditional response to domestic violence has been undertaken by legal and human service agencies, this societal issue has become increasingly recognized as a national public health concern. While identification and intervention in cases of domestic violence are widely recommended, little data exist on intervention outcomes. This retrospective study describes similarities and disparities in sociodemographic variables, health status, referral characteristics, and management strategies among patients referred to a specialty clinic for survivors of domestic violence.

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The aim of this study is to increase awareness of the occurrence of osteoporosis in perimenopausal African-American women. This quantitative study was designed to measure African-American women's knowledge of osteoporosis and to determine on what sources of information about osteoporosis African-American women rely Aside from demographic variables, other data were collected to determine which sources of information about osteoporosis African-American women use, whether they know that osteoporosis is a preventable disease, and whether there is a relationship between sources of information and the level of knowledge about osteoporosis among these women. Participants consisted of 45 perimenopausal African-American women from 42 to 52 years of age residing in Houston, Texas Data were utilized from an ongoing research project.

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In this article, the authors describe a recruitment strategy used to enroll female Bangladeshi immigrants into a study of spousal abuse, crucial in the process of identifying abuse in this community. The researchers used a qualitative method involving a three-staged process designed for sampling and recruiting for focus groups and in-depth interviews. The Bangladeshi women declined participation in either of these qualitative genres, but the modified and adapted strategies proved effective in recruiting participants from the tightly knit immigrant community.

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