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Social Sciences

Review the posters by expanding the research areas below. Remember to interact with student authors by submitting a question. You?ll need the student?s name and poster number to submit.

Poster #4010, James Milam, UTEP BUILDing SCHOLARS
Providers Perceptions of Pregnant Immigrant Women's Experiences Accessing Healthcare

Immigrant populations in the US are subjected to exclusionary policies that often prevent them from accessing insurance coverage and healthcare services. Restrictive immigration policies have been associated with mental health issues among the immigrant population, such as depression, anxiety, and post-traumatic stress disorder (Martinez, 2016). Thus, it is important to understand the emotional experience of pregnant immigrant women in the border region. This paper explores one aspect of this broader issue by exploring how healthcare and social service providers view healthcare for pregnant immigrant women and their observations of the difficulties immigrant women go through in trying to access healthcare. To understand this issue, we interviewed eleven social service and healthcare providers to explore their knowledge regarding the health of immigrant women in the border region and the challenges to providing this population with support, especially in the prenatal and postpartum periods. Interviews were analyzed and broken down into salient themes. The themes include providers? perceptions of women?s challenges and barriers to accessing care, provider challenges to providing care, and provider recommendations for policy. The interview data from providers reveals challenges to providing care and recommendations for policy that may help alleviate those struggles in the future.


Poster #4001, Aileen Kangavary, CSUN BUILD PODER
History of Childhood Maltreatment is Associated with Blunted Anticipatory Startle

Experiencing childhood maltreatment is associated with increased vulnerability to and persistence of neuropsychiatric disorders in adulthood. Neurobiological evidence indicates that childhood abuse and neglect alters the development of neurobiological systems underlying the anticipation of aversive outcomes. However, the literature is mixed regarding whether childhood maltreatment is associated with heightened or blunted anticipatory responding in adulthood. The aim of the current investigation was to compare adults with or without a history of childhood maltreatment on measures of aversive anticipation across three time points. Adult subjects from the Marine Resilience Study with (n=1139) and without a history of childhood trauma (n=1307) completed an affective picture anticipation task where the potentiated startle response was measured while anticipating negative (e.g., combat images) or pleasant images (e.g., smiling baby). History of childhood maltreatment was measured using the Childhood Trauma Questionnaire (CTQ). Data was collected across three time-points, including predeployment, 3-month, and 6-month post-deployment, allowing us to assess the reliability of affective anticipation. Anticipatory startle was moderately reliable across the three measurements (ICCs >.64). A linear mixed effects model revealed that across both groups, startle response was greater for anticipating negative images compared to pleasant images (p=2.2 x 10-16). This effect was qualified by a significant effect x time interaction (p=4.1 x 10-11), where anticipatory startle decreased over the three different time points for negative images (p<.001) but remained relatively stable for pleasant images (p=.93). Importantly, we observed a significant group x affect interaction (p=.038), where subjects with a history of childhood trauma showed reduced startle when anticipating negative images compared to subjects with no trauma (p=.04). These results provide evidence that a history of childhood maltreatment is associated with a reduced startle response when anticipating negative images. These results confirm that the anticipatory startle is moderately reliable, suggesting it could be a valuable biomarker. These data set the stage for a more detailed understanding of how childhood maltreatment could lead to the development of neuropsychiatric disorders.

Poster #4008, Raymond Oliva, UTEP BUILDing SCHOLARS
Novel and Traditional Tobacco and Marijuana Products (NTTMPs): Perceptions of Risk Associated with Combustibles, Vapors, Topicals, Sublinguals and Edibles

Although many laws and regulations have been imposed with aims of reducing traditional tobacco use, the tobacco industry has adapted to these regulations by introducing non-combustible methods for tobacco that are believed to be healthier alternatives (e.g., e-cigarettes). As the national trend towards legalization of marijuana progresses, the marijuana industry has capitalized on many of the novel methods of consuming tobacco by creating similar products. Importantly, research investigating the long-term health effects of using the latter products is in its infancy. Even less is known about the additive and/or synergistic effects of using such products in combination with other substances (e.g., alcohol). The aim of the present study is to investigate college students? perceptions of addictiveness, harm, and benefits of using Novel Tobacco and Marijuana Products (NTTMPs). The study investigated risk perceptions associated with Driving Under the Influence of Small Amounts of Marijuana and Alcohol (DUI-SAMA). Ninety-two adults completed a 15-20 minute survey and were compensated a $10 Starbucks gift card for their participation. Electronic cigarettes and smoking marijuana were the most common NTTMPs used. Participants were more willing to DUI-SAMA than to Drive While Intoxicated (DWI) in both semi-urgent and non-urgent conditions. Findings from the current study suggest that college students may not understand that actual risks associated with DUI-SAMA. Implications of the current findings inform health professionals of perceptions associated with NTTMPs and situations that may encourage risky driving.

Poster #4016, Sara Reagan, UMBC STEM BUILD
The Long-term Outcomes of Childhood Tourette Syndrome: A Systematic Review

Tourette Syndrome (TS) is a neuropsychiatric condition characterized by motor and vocal tics, which onsets in childhood and affects almost 1% of the population. Individuals with TS experience significant distress, impairment, and a poor quality of life. Although much is known about its clinical presentation in childhood, little information exists on clinical outcomes in adulthood for individuals with a childhood onset. This project characterizes the clinical course of TS and identifies childhood characteristics associated with symptom remission into adulthood. A systematic review was conducted using the following terms in PubMed and PsycINFO: (Tourette*) AND ((Long-term) OR (Prospective) OR (Follow-up)). This search identified 913 articles whose abstracts were reviewed for inclusion criteria. After review by two raters, 21 articles were selected for inclusion and relevant data was extracted. Findings suggest that tic symptoms decrease over time for a majority of individuals with TS?without or without evidence-based treatment. However, most patients continued to exhibit some tics in adulthood, with studies that had greater methodological quality identifying lower remission rates. Several predictors of tic severity and/or symptom persistence were identified and related to childhood neurobiological functioning (e.g., caudate nucleus volume, performance on a neuropsychological tasks like the Flanker and Purdue Pegboard).

Poster #4012, Alexis Wilson, UTEP BUILDing SCHOLARS
Patient-Provider Satisfaction and Communication in U.S. Prenatal Care: A Systematic Review

Objective: The primary focus of this study was to conduct a systematic review on what factors influence patient-provider satisfaction in U.S. prenatal care. Methods: From February to September of 2018, a systematic search of 36 online databases using 10 key terms was conducted. 2,563 articles were originally identified. After being screened and reviewed for eligibility, 34 articles were included in the final analysis. Study variables reported from articles were inputted into an Excel spreadsheet and each article was reviewed by two individuals to ensure inter-rater reliability. Results: Communication was measured throughout approximately half of the studies, where most pointed to the importance quality patient-provider communication had on patient satisfaction and patient trust. Patients, particularly racial-ethnic minorities, stressed the need for more information and guidance from their providers. Discussion: These studies highlighted the importance of quality communication between patient and providers, the desire women had to receive more information on varying topics from their providers, and the overall dissatisfaction Hispanic and Native American women had with their care. We hope that the findings from this study allow providers to implement a more patient-centered model of care into their practices. We also recommend future studies look at under-studied variables such as practitioner demographics (e.g. gender, years of experience, race/ethnicity), mothers under 18 years of age, and inclusion of religious minorities and women who have disabilities.

The Diversity Program Consortium Coordination and Evaluation Center at UCLA is supported by Office of the Director of the National Institutes of Health / National Institutes of General Medical Sciences under award number U54GM119024.
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