In 2023, it was expected 350 parents in Arizona would have a child receive a cancer diagnosis (Welcome Arizona Cancer Foundation For Children, n.d.). The news of a child’s diagnosis with cancer can be overwhelming and confusing, especially for those lucky enough to lack a personal tie to the disease that takes approximately 1800 children’s lives each year in the United States (Deegan et al., n.d.). A parent’s beliefs, attitudes, and understandings surrounding cancer are vital for medical staff to provide adequate and culturally competent care for each patient, especially across cultural and ethnic lines in regions housing multicultural populations. Arizona's cultural/linguistic mosaic houses a large percentage of White and Latino populations, and English and Spanish speakers. Variations in insurance coverage, from those insured through public insurance programs (e.g., Medicaid) or private insurance plans (eg., employee-sponsored insurance) versus those uninsured, also factor into health-seeking attitudes and behaviors. To further understand parental attitudes, understandings, and beliefs towards childhood cancer, 22 parents (11 of Latino ethnicity, 11 of White ethnicity) were interviewed on these facets of childhood cancer, despite 21 of the 22 never having a child receive a cancer diagnosis. The exploration of these perceptions across ethnic lines revealed a higher report of fear-orientated beliefs amongst Latino parents--hypothesized to be rooted in the starkly contrasting lack of belief in the possibility of recovering for children with cancer, compared to their white counterparts who displayed more optimism in the recovery process.Further, this study’s results lay the foundation for future scholarship to explore avenues of information dispersal to Latino parents that correct misconceptions of health outcomes and enable earlier intervention to be possible, ultimately correlating to better health and treatment outcomes by increasing parental health literacy rates for childhood cancer in the Phoenix Metropolitan.

The United States healthcare system plays a very important role in everyone’s lives. Americans rely on the system for their overall health and well-being. It is imperative that all Americans have equal access to and quality of healthcare services and healthcare should not differentiate between minorities and nonminorities. The Hispanic population does not have or receive equitable healthcare in comparison to their nonHispanic white counterparts. Due to extreme gaps in quality of and access to care, Hispanics are at risk to endure worse health outcomes. This review dives into defining the necessary definitions of healthcare and racial disparities, looks at what causes these disparities and gaps in care, what outcomes are more prevalent in the Hispanic American population because of the inequities, what solutions are already in place to combat these issues and finally, what solutions need to be implemented at the administration level of healthcare organizations to better treat the Hispanic population in the ways in which they deserve.

This thesis uses the Foucauldian model of the biopolitical state to explain the regulation of refugee women’s bodies who have undergone female genital cutting/mutilation (FGC/M). The main theoretical framework for this thesis is inspired by Dr. Khiara Bridges’ work: Reproducing Race: An Ethnography of Pregnancy as a Site of Racialization (2011). Her book explains how “material and societal conditions appear to affirm the veracity of race” (Bridges, 2011, 10). She describes pregnancy as a “racially salient event” that inevitably engages racial politics. In her book, she illustrates how the material body is the primary sign of racial difference (Bridges, 2011, 47). I argue that race and culture are inscribed in the body, and FGC/M is a physical representation of that inscription. As a result, a physical representation of racialization opens women with FGC/M to far more scrutiny and regulation. I define the United States and France as biopolitical states whose values and agendas regulate and police bodies to behave according to their norms. The value set that underlies the United States is predicated on principles of sovereignty, federalism, and an emphasis on a Puritanical work ethic where an individual must earn their benefits from the state. In France, however, there is less stigma surrounding social welfare but there is forced cultural assimilation that results in a singular, secular French identity. These value systems then inform the tools to police behavior. The tools, or systems, I have identified for this thesis are the adoption of human rights instruments into domestic law, refugee policy, healthcare systems, and regulation of women’s reproductive health. All of these macro-level systems then inform individual patient-provider relationships since those interactions are not independent of these systems. I argue that refugee women who have undergone FGC/M deviate from these prescribed norms and thus are subjugated to overwhelming biopolitical regulation.

Given the high prevalence of out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA), the low survival rate, the high morbidity rate, and the significant cost to both the patient and the system, it is imperative that we address any and all factors that contribute to recognition of a OHCA case, any barriers that prevent chest compressions, and improve medical care to treat OHCA events in order to increase survival rate, decrease morbidity, and lessen the economical burden of cardiac arrest events. Additionally, understanding the relationship between seizures and OHCA can help medical professionals, including Neurologists and other doctors, to explain to the public when one should call into EMS regarding a seizure-like event in the event of a possible OHCA. This would help to address and alleviate the result of this major public health concern.

Arizona children covered by AHCCCS experience increased poor oral health outcomes in comparison to their higher-income counterparts despite receiving comprehensive dental service coverage under the state Medicaid program. The dental health disparities consistently present among this population allude that other barriers are in place preventing pediatric AHCCCS recipients from accessing guaranteed dental care. This thesis addresses the gaps faced by AHCCCS recipients in utilizing dental insurance coverage on behalf of provider availability in proximity and time. A “secret shopper” study was executed to reveal the accessibility barriers experienced by AHCCCS patients in comparison to privately insured patients and the adequacy of AHCCCS contracted providers in maintaining availability for this population. Based on the collected data, AHCCCS patients generally experience increased lengths of time until the next available appointment in comparison to the privately insured, suggesting that despite AHCCCS contracting, there are not currently adequate protective standards ensuring that child AHCCCS patients receive equitable opportunity for good dental health. Furthermore, this study revealed the significant obstructions to accessing dental care for rural Arizonans covered by AHCCCS, as four separate counties were notably found to not have a single AHCCCS provider. State policy must evolve to better support this demographic in achieving equitable oral health, working towards the relief of social determinants oppressing the wellbeing of lower-income families regarding distance to contracted practices and provider availability for the population of AHCCCS recipients.

In recent months, the current administration has proposed a series of recent federal policy changes, namely the Public Charge Rule, intended to limit immigrants into the U.S. on the basis of financial grounds. In essence, the Public Charge Rule redefines the term “public charge”. Under this policy, most applicants for permanent residency who use any number of public benefits—including Medicaid, government housing, and the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP)—count toward being flagged as a public charge, or an individual likely to become dependent on the government for subsistence; this will count against them in residency status applications. Even in the wake of the recent Supreme Court ruling and early implementation of the policy, the Public Charge Rule has shown increasing disenrollment from public benefits along with a growing climate of fear, mistrust, and misinformation in relation to connecting with the healthcare system. This policy particularly threatens low-income children, the majority of which are U.S.-born legal citizens, who are incredibly vulnerable to poor health outcomes without longitudinal, preventive health services. Recent studies show that two million children legally eligible for Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) could be disenrolled from the program due to this climate of uncertainty. This policy brief investigates the role of health systems and providers in bracing for the expected impacts and develops a set of policy recommendations that providers and health administrators may use as a tool for protecting patient health and ensuring patient-centered care. To achieve this, a literature review was performed with a compilation of current population health trends and a historical case study. This compilation of data was analyzed to better understand the current political, social, and economic landscape in the United States. From this, three potential policy recommendations were outlined for health providers. Based on current research and the analysis conducted, community engagement and policy advocacy was identified as the most effective policy option for health providers to best provide patient-centered care. However, a more holistic solution should be considered for states that serve populations that are deemed high-need, namely Arizona. Education within clinic walls for providers and patients will bridge the misinformation gap and build shared understanding between provider and patient. Beyond clinic walls, community engagement and policy advocacy mends community mistrust of health systems. Further pilot investigation is warranted at high-utilization medical centers.

In Arizona black women have a preterm birth rate of 40% higher than any other women. Black women in Maricopa County have the highest incidence of low birthweight and preterm birth. Preterm birth has been linked to cerebral palsy, blindness, cognitive difficulties, and ultimately, infant mortality. Preterm birth is defined by the World Health Organization as delivery of an infant before 37 weeks of gestation. Low birth weight is defined as 1500g or less with extremely low birthweight being 1000g or less. Infants with low birth weight contribute disproportionately to infant mortality. Chronic, toxic stress is a heavy contributor to the racial health disparity of preterm birth and low birth weight. Chronic stress may affect preterm birth by dysregulating the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis, altering the release of cortisol, leading to altered immune function, thus increasing infection and inflammation response (Giuregescu et. al). Studies have shown racial injustice is related to inflammatory stress response. This stress is exacerbated by the long history of injustice and neglect in healthcare due to implicit bias. Recommendations for improvement of this disparity includes cultural competency training for all healthcare professionals and mindfulness yoga training paired with Focused Support Groups for pregnant women for reducing racial stress.

Growing hotspots of unvaccinated children corroborate with states that have highly permissive vaccination policies. State-based nonmedical exemption (NME) policies such as religious or philosophical exemptions make it easy for parents to opt out of vaccinating their children thus lowering herd immunity and increasing the risk of outbreaks. Recent studies have revealed that Phoenix is the metropolitan area with the highest number of nonmedical exemptions in the country with vaccination rates below herd immunity. This thesis investigates the role of the law in enabling low vaccination rates and develops a set of policy recommendations that lawmakers may use as a tool to restore these rates to herd immunity levels. To do this, an in-depth literature review was performed and supplemented with a case study of California’s policy response to the 2014 Disneyland measles outbreak. This information was synthesized into an in-depth policy analysis addressing the political, social, practical, and economic factors of the issue and four potential policy responses for state lawmakers. Based on the analysis and California’s example, eliminating nonmedical vaccine exemptions was identified as the most effective policy option to reach the intended goal of restoring vaccination rates to herd immunity levels. This policy option is both the most cost-effective and productive in reaching herd immunity but infringes the most on parental rights and will be met with the most significant political pushback. Despite these challenges, lawmakers should take this policy step to protect our community and the most vulnerable among us.

Due to unique barriers to access and quality of healthcare, rural Americans have, among many other poorer health outcomes, a worsening life expectancy than their urban counterparts: 76.8 years compared to 78.8 years. In addition to overall mortality, the burden of disease is greater in rural areas, as well as rates of physical injury. There are many intersecting influencing factors including, but not limited to, barriers to access needed healthcare, issues regarding the quality of healthcare provided, the ability to pay for healthcare and other socioeconomic considerations are both causes and consequences of poor health and healthcare access.
The health disparities between rural and urban communities in the United States are not uniquely American. This rural-urban divide in health outcomes is present across the world and, closer to home, across North America. In addition to reviewing the current literature surrounding barriers to health and healthcare access in the United States, we will also use southern neighbor Mexico’s history and their pursuit of rural equity (universally and in health/healthcare access) to contrast initiatives that the U.S. has attempted, with the intent of exploring new theories of rural healthcare provision. By combining the history of social medicine in Mexico with literature on barriers to healthcare access, I hope to highlight areas of innovation and improvement in the American health care delivery system.
The purpose of this paper is to review the current literature regarding health disparities among rural Americans, possible causes of such disparities and current strategies to improve health, healthcare access and healthcare quality in rural America in order to recommend the most effective, practical solutions to improve rural mortality, morbidity and quality of life.

The world of podcasting has exploded in popularity in recent years. This medium is being used in education as well as in the public sector to share ideas, news, and stories. This paper reviews the research behind podcast success as a news form and in the educational sector and the implications of these findings for the future. Podcast listeners tend to listen to podcasts for entertainment and, notably, to diversify their time while completing other tasks. New ways to directly stream media from portable devices and advances in the internet have helped bolster the popularity of this media form. Podcasting proved to be successful in higher education as students tended to perform better when given access to podcasts. However, they were only successful when using podcasts as classroom adjuncts. This implies that educational podcasts must be produced differently than ones intended for the public. By reviewing the neuroscience behind language, emotion and memory, it was found that narrative formats that also evoked emotions had a positive ability in enhancing the listeners learning and memory. Keeping this in mind, the developed podcast aimed to bridge educational material to the general public by utilizing narrative as a vessel in which to deliver complex information about medicine, science and neuroscience. The accessibility and virtually non-existent barriers to the podcasting world offer a breadth of knowledge and opinions that have numerous factors of social influence. The impact of podcasting on the modern world deserves more research in sociology and psychology as it continues to grow in popularity.