Browsing by Author "Dickinson, Stephanie"

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    Assessing the Impact of COVID-19 on Social Work Students: Burnout and Resilience During a Global Pandemic
    (IU School of Social Work, 2023-03-22) Keesler, John M.; Wilkerson, David; White, Kurt; Dickinson, Stephanie; School of Social Work
    COVID-19 had a profound impact on teaching and learning at academic institutions across the globe. This study examined the experiences of social work students (n = 884) during the pandemic and their associated level of burnout. Using a mixed methods approach, data from an online survey within a school of social work at a large Midwestern university were examined using stepwise regression and thematic analysis. Student demographics, academic characteristics, and experiences with COVID-19 were examined as predictors of burnout. Resilience was tested as a moderator of the association between COVID-19 experiences and burnout. Regression models accounted for 34.3% to 45.5% of variance across three domains of burnout (i.e., exhaustion, cynicism, and professional/academic efficacy), with COVID-related experiences accounting for most of the variance. Although resilience had a significant main effect, the interactions of resilience and COVID-19 experiences were not significant. Quantitative results were illuminated by thematic analysis of the qualitative data from which emerged four major themes: online teaching pedagogy, impact of COVID-19, transition of teaching and learning, and affective domains of learning. Engaging in humanistic education is discussed as a possible approach to circumvent burnout, bolster student resilience, and encourage academic success.
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    Plasma metabolites and physical function in patients undergoing hemodialysis
    (Springer Nature, 2024-04-10) Moorthi, Ranjani N.; Moe, Sharon M.; O’Connell, Thomas; Dickinson, Stephanie; Kalim, Sahir; Thadhani, Ravi; Clish, Clary B.; Shafi, Tariq; Rhee, Eugene P.; Avin, Keith G.; Medicine, School of Medicine
    Impaired physical function contributes to falls, fractures, and mortality among patients undergoing dialysis. Using a metabolomic approach, we identified metabolite alterations and effect size-based composite scores for constructs of impaired gait speed and grip strength. 108 participants incident to dialysis had targeted plasma metabolomics via liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry and physical function assessed (i.e., 4 m walk, handgrip strength). Physical function measures were categorized as above/ below median, with grip utilizing sex-based medians. To develop composite scores, metabolites were identified via Wilcoxon uncorrected p < 0.05 and effect size > 0.40. Receiver operating characteristic analyses tested whether scores differentiated between above/below function groups. Participants were 54% male, 77% Black and 53 ± 14 y with dialysis vintage of 101 ± 50 days. Median (IQR) grip strength was 35.5 (11.1) kg (males) and 20 (8.4) kg (females); median gait speed was 0.82 (0.34) m/s. Of 246 measured metabolites, composite scores were composed of 22 and 12 metabolites for grip strength and gait speed, respectively. Area under the curve for metabolite composite was 0.88 (gait) and 0.911 (grip). Composite scores of physical function performed better than clinical parameters alone in patients on dialysis. These results provide potential pathways for interventions and needed validation in an independent cohort.
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    Racial and Socioeconomic Disparities in Cancer-Related Knowledge, Beliefs, and Behaviors in Indiana
    (AACR, 2019-03) Rawl, Susan M.; Dickinson, Stephanie; Lee, Joy L.; Roberts, Jamie L.; Teal, Evgenia; Baker, Layla B.; Kianersi, Sina; Haggstrom, David A.; School of Nursing
    Background: This statewide survey examined differences in cancer-related knowledge, beliefs, and behaviors between racial and socioeconomic groups in select counties in Indiana. Methods: A stratified random sample of 7,979 people aged 18–75 who lived in one of 34 Indiana counties with higher cancer mortality rates than the state average, and were seen at least once in the past year in a statewide health system were mailed surveys. Results: Completed surveys were returned by 970 participants, yielding a 12% response rate. Black respondents were less likely to perceive they were at risk for cancer and less worried about getting cancer. Individuals most likely to perceive that they were unlikely to get cancer were more often black, with low incomes (less than $20,000) or high incomes ($50,000 or more), or less than a high school degree. Black women were greater than six times more likely to be adherent to cervical cancer screening. Higher income was associated with receiving a sigmoidoscopy in the last 5 years and a lung scan in the past year. Those with the highest incomes were more likely to engage in physical activity. Both income and education were inversely related to smoking. Conclusions: Socioeconomic and racial disparities were observed in health behaviors and receipt of cancer screening. Black individuals had less worry about cancer. Impact: Understanding populations for whom cancer disparities exist and geographic areas where the cancer burden is disproportionately high is essential to decision-making about research priorities and the use of public health resources.
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    RNA virus-mediated changes in organismal oxygen consumption rate in young and old Drosophila melanogaster males
    (Impact Journals, 2023) Hagedorn, Eli; Bunnell, Dean; Henschel, Beate; Smith, Daniel L., Jr.; Dickinson, Stephanie; Brown, Andrew W.; De Luca, Maria; Turner, Ashley N.; Chtarbanova, Stanislava; Medicine, School of Medicine
    Aging is accompanied by increased susceptibility to infections including with viral pathogens resulting in higher morbidity and mortality among the elderly. Significant changes in host metabolism can take place following virus infection. Efficient immune responses are energetically costly, and viruses divert host molecular resources to promote their own replication. Virus-induced metabolic reprogramming could impact infection outcomes, however, how this is affected by aging and impacts organismal survival remains poorly understood. RNA virus infection of Drosophila melanogaster with Flock House virus (FHV) is an effective model to study antiviral responses with age, where older flies die faster than younger flies due to impaired disease tolerance. Using this aged host-virus model, we conducted longitudinal, single-fly respirometry studies to determine if metabolism impacts infection outcomes. Analysis using linear mixed models on Oxygen Consumption Rate (OCR) following the first 72-hours post-infection showed that FHV modulates respiration, but age has no significant effect on OCR. However, the longitudinal assessment revealed that OCR in young flies progressively and significantly decreases, while OCR in aged flies remains constant throughout the three days of the experiment. Furthermore, we found that the OCR signature at 24-hours varied in response to both experimental treatment and survival status. FHV-injected flies that died prior to 48- or 72-hours measurements had a lower OCR compared to survivors at 48-hours. Our findings suggest the host's metabolic profile could influence the outcome of viral infections.
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    Thirdhand vaping exposures are associated with pulmonary and systemic inflammation in a mouse model
    (OAE, 2023) Commodore, Sarah; Sharma, Shikha; Ekpruke, Carolyn Damilola; Pepin, Robert; Hansen, Angela M.; Rousselle, Dustin; Babayev, Maksat; Ndeke, Jonas M.; Alford, Rachel; Parker, Erik; Dickinson, Stephanie; Sharma, Sunita; Silveyra, Patricia; Medicine, School of Medicine
    Thirdhand smoke (THS) is the accumulation of secondhand smoke on surfaces that ages with time. THS exposure is a potential health threat to children, partners of smokers, and workers in environments with current or past smoking, and needs further investigation. In this study, we hypothesized that thirdhand Electronic Nicotine Delivery Systems (ENDS) exposures elicit lung and systemic inflammation due to resuspended particulate matter (PM) and inorganic compounds that remain after active vaping has ceased. To test our hypothesis, we exposed C57BL/6J mice to cotton towels contaminated with ENDS aerosols from unflavored vape fluid (6 mg nicotine in 50/50 propylene glycol/vegetable glycerin) for 1h/day, five days/week, for three weeks. We assessed protein levels in serum and bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF) using a multiplex protein assay. The mean ± sd for PM10 and PM2.5 measurements in exposed mouse cages were 8.3 ± 14.0 and 4.6 ± 7.5 μg/m3, compared to 6.1 ± 11.2 and 3.7 ± 6.6 μg/m3 in control cages respectively. Two compounds, 4-methyl-1, 2-dioxolane and 4-methyl-cyclohexanol, were detected in vape fluid and on ENDS-contaminated towels, but not on control towels. Mice exposed to ENDS-contaminated towels had lower levels of serum Il-7 (P = 0.022, n = 7), and higher levels of Il-13 in the BALF (P = 0.006, n = 7) than those exposed to control towels (n = 6). After adjusting for sex and age, Il-7 and Il-13 levels were still associated with thirdhand vaping exposure (P = 0.010 and P = 0.017, respectively). This study provides further evidence that thirdhand ENDS aerosols can contaminate surfaces, and subsequently influence lung and systemic health upon exposure.