Letter from the Editor, Jessica Sanders, PhD, MSPH, 2019
This review represents an overview of health situations and opportunities for improvement in community health in Utah.
Rural-Urban Disparities in Health Outcomes and Access to Care among Women in Utah
The aim of this research project is to enhance understanding of the current rural-urban disparities in health outcomes among women in Utah.
Dental Health Among Pregnant Utah Women
Nearly half of Americans are diagnosed with periodontal disease, of whom an estimated 40% suffer from moderate to severe periodontitis.
Intergenerational Poverty, Women & Children’s Health
Poverty is a key driver of poor population health outcomes. Families or individuals in poverty are more likely to experience chronic conditions, including asthma and diabetes, less likely to have access to healthy food and walkable neighborhoods, and more likely to have limited access to medical care. Women are at an even greater risk of poverty, due to social conditions …
The Impact of Living at Altitude on Depression and Anti-depressant Function in Utah Women: The Need for Novel Antidepressants
Objectives: Utah has the highest rates of depression and suicide in the US, despite high rates of antide-pressant prescriptions. People living at altitude are exposed to chronic hypobaric hypoxia, which may disrupt brain serotonin and bioenergetic function, to worsen depression and reduce selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI) function …
Sexual Violence in Utah: The Relationship between Sexual Education and Sexual Violence
In 2017, Utah Representative Brian King proposed a comprehensive sexual education bill. H.B. 215. This bill included an emphasis on teaching sexual consent, and permitted parents to choose abstinence-based, comprehensive, or no sexual education for their children …
Cost of Sexual Violence in Utah
In Utah, one in three women will experience some form of sexual violence (SV) during their lifetime, and one in eight women and one in 50 men will experience rape …
Data Snapshot: Postpartum Depression
Postpartum depressive symptoms (PDS) can range from the “baby blues”—when for a short period of time after childbirth, a mother experiences mood swings, anxiety, sadness, and/or appetite/sleeping problems—to postpartum depression (PPD)—which involves similar signs and symptoms but is experienced more intensely and for a longer period of time, and may interfere with a mother’s ability to care for her baby and herself …
Breastfeeding and Mothers Own Milk is Best for Babies
Most mothers know that breastfeeding and providing expressed mothers milk is best for babies and is the normal standard for infant feeding and nutrition …