Browsing by Subject "Vaccination"
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Item Effect of oxygen on tumor cell vaccine.(2010-08) Toma, ShokoGliomas are the most common type of malignant brain tumor. Even with the recent progress in conventional therapies, the prognosis remains poor and development of effective immunotherapy is needed. Tumor vaccines using CpG and tumor lysate have been demonstrated as effective in glioma therapies. We hypothesized that tumor lysate grown in a physiologic 5 % O2 condition would increase immunogenicity compared to atmospheric 20 % O2 condition since glioma in situ has been demonstrated hypoxic; and hypoxic conditions can activate the danger signal to induce antitumor immunogenicity in addition to CpG. In this study, we characterized the immunogenicity of tumor lysate derived from 5 % O2 condition for the first time in comparison with 20 % O2 condition. Vaccination with lysate from 5 % O2 condition increased the numbers of several lymphocyte subsets at draining lymph nodes compared to the tumor lysate from 20 % O2 condition. Vaccination with lysate from 5 % O2 condition did not change the cytokine levels in the sera compared to the vaccination with lysate from 20 % O2. Tumor reactive antibody levels were increased with the amount of lysate used for vaccines; however, there was not a significant difference in antibody levels with 5 % O2 in comparison with 20 % O2. Lastly, using the tumor lysate from 5 % O2 condition had superior efficacy in inducing cytotoxicity against glioma compared to the tumor lysate from 20 % O2 condition. CD8+ T depletion showed that there were other cells that play a role in this cytotoxicity. Together, these data show that 5 % oxygen tumor lysate has distinct effects on immunogenicity compared to 20 % O2 lysate. These findings indicate a potential application in cancer treatment.Item Essays on child development in developing countries(2013-08) Humpage, Sarah DavidsonThis dissertation presents the results of three field experiments implemented to evaluate the effectiveness of strategies to improve the health or education of children in developing countries. In Guatemala, community health workers at randomly selected clinics were given patient tracking lists to improve their ability to remind parents when their children were due for a vaccine; this is found to significantly increase children's likelihood of having all recommended vaccines. This strategy is particularly effective for older children. In Peru, a teacher training program is found to have no effect on how frequently children use their computers through the One Laptop Per Child program. In Costa Rica, learning English as a foreign language using one software program is found to be significantly more effective than studying with a teacher, or with a different software program, confirming the heterogeneity of effects of educational technology.Item Examining the Variation in Child Vaccination Status by Maternal Vaccination and Birthing Place(2015-06) Fuchs, ErikaOutbreaks of vaccine-preventable illnesses have occurred in recent years in pockets of children who are not up-to-date on their vaccinations, particularly among those whose parents have chosen to delay or refuse vaccinations for their children. It is essential to identify the at-risk children and the characteristics of parents who choose to delay or refuse vaccinations for their children. Numerous studies have focused on the beliefs and attitudes of parents regarding childhood vaccination, but few have focused on the association of other preventive health behaviors with childhood vaccination. Clustering of these behaviors is an important question in social epidemiology and could help in understanding underlying belief systems that influence health behaviors. Mothers who refuse influenza vaccinations during pregnancy report similar attitudes and beliefs to those who refuse vaccinations for their children, yet few studies have investigated relationships between child vaccination and other health behaviors. Additionally, mothers who choose to deliver their babies in out-of-hospital settings, a small, but growing, population in Minnesota, also report similar attitudes and beliefs, though this research is in its infancy. The objective of this study was to examine the variation in infant vaccination by maternal vaccination in pregnancy and maternal attitudes and beliefs using data from the Minnesota Pregnancy Risk Assessment Monitoring System and the Minnesota Immunization Information Connection. An exploratory study of the relationship between out-of-hospital birth and vaccination is also included. If relationships exist between these factors, there may be an opportunity for targeted vaccination interventions in subgroups of pregnant women or new mothers.Item MMR Vaccination: What You Need To Know(2012-07-23) Moalim-Nour, LilianItem The Rhetorical Making Of An Illness: Medical Refusal, Trope, And Improvisation In A Somali Women'S Health Center(2020-05) Campeau, KariThis ethnography examines the ways that individuals and communities come to understand autism, specifically, and health and illness, more broadly, and how these understandings influence medical decision-making. This study, developed in partnership with a Somali women's health center, asks how Somali parents understand autism, use services, and navigate divides between biomedical and other forms of care. To do so, I explore and rhetorically analyze three sites of health-related participation: 1.) public health communication outreach during the 2017 measles outbreak in Minnesota. 2.) the provision of a person-centered pilot grant to Somali families with children with autism, and 3.) alternative healthcare relationships and practices grounded in an understanding of autism as caused by imbalances in the microbiome. I offer three concepts--the situated refusal, bureaucratic literacy, and diagnosis as rhetorical trope--that can theorize health decision-making and can inform policy initiatives toward more accessible medical and social service procedures.Item What are the barriers and facilitators of on-time measles vaccination in Uganda?(2021-05) Griffith, BridgetMeasles is a highly contagious, vaccine-preventable disease, and on-time vaccination is essential for achieving the full benefit of measles-containing vaccines. In recent years, Uganda has experienced measles outbreaks in both urban and rural areas. Investigating the prevalence of and risk factors associated with delayed measles vaccination is an important step toward addressing vaccination barriers and improving on-time measles vaccination coverage. This dissertation characterizes factors associated with on-time measles vaccination in Uganda, defined as vaccination at nine months of age.For manuscript 1 and 2, we conducted a population-based, door-to-door survey of 999 mothers living in Kampala, Uganda. The survey included questions on mothers’ use of their child’s vaccination document, experience seeking vaccination for their child, and the child’s date of measles vaccination. In manuscript 1, we characterized mothers’ retention and use of their child’s vaccination document and evaluated the association between use of the document and achieving on-time measles vaccination for their child. In manuscript 2, we described and characterized potential transportation-related barriers to vaccination and evaluated the association between these barriers and mothers’ ability to achieve on-time measles vaccination for their child. Lastly, for manuscript 3, we used data from the 2016 Uganda Demographic and Health Survey to assess the relationship between mothers’ perceived barriers to healthcare and their ability to achieve on-time measles vaccination for their child. This was evaluated overall, and by urban/rural status. Demographic factors of the mother and child and certain barriers to healthcare were associated with failure to achieve on-time measles vaccination. Overall, our findings contribute to the understanding of the specific factors that influence on-time measles vaccination in this setting. This informs the design of interventions to improve the timing of childhood vaccinations in the future.