David Fajgenbaum

Received my Master's from Oxford

Jul 31, 2008 04:04 pm 1 Comment

Hi,

The last time I blogged, I was in England preparing for my Master's thesis defense.  On Thursday, July 24 I had my thesis defense and it went really well.  I  entered a professor's office with 2 distinguished professors inside.  They told me that they had enjoyed reading my thesis.  The questioning/defense went fine and they passed me.  My abstract is below:

Public health interventions for the prevention of cardiovascular disease and cancer: towards a more integrative approach in research, policy and practice

David Charles Fajgenbaum
Brasenose College
M. Sc., Trinity Term 2008

Abstract
Nature of the problem: CVD and cancer account for more than 60% of deaths in the developed world. Despite sharing three major risk factors of unhealthy diet, physical inactivity, and smoking, CVD and cancer prevention efforts have traditionally worked in isolation. At the same time the burden of disease continues to increase, limited resources are available for prevention, and current prevention efforts have been inadequate. Therefore, WHO and others have called for a more integrative approach. The aim of this thesis was to gauge the level of integration between CVD and cancer prevention in research, policy and practice.
Methods: A systematic literature review of community-based diet, physical activity, and smoking interventions was conducted to determine whether CVD and/or cancer outcomes were measured. English public health documents were analysed to compare policies and recommendations for CVD and cancer prevention. Finally, case studies were conducted of initiatives attempting to integrate CVD and cancer prevention.
Results: Seventeen community-based interventions were identified which measured CVD morbidity or mortality and only two measured cancer outcomes as well. CVD and cancer prevention policies and recommendations in England have been extremely similar, but there have been no recommendations for how to improve collaboration or integration. Nevertheless, a recent shift towards more of a risk factor based approach was identified. Likewise, several initiatives were identified that have been developed in the last decade to improve integration between CVD and cancer prevention.
Conclusion: CVD and cancer prevention efforts in research, policy, and practice are not integrated. The main barriers to integration are historical issues, competition for limited resources, and concerns about losing autonomy. Researchers, policymakers, and all other stakeholders need to work together to integrate CVD and cancer prevention to prevent the unnecessary loss of lives and resources.

 

I am currently working with a few others on publishing this work.

I am also working on my Georgetown Senior Thesis to publish that.  Abstract below:

    The overall aim of this study was to conduct a comprehensive examination of the services provided to bereaved college students. There were three main objectives: (1) to assess the science behind the body’s physiological and psychological response to bereavement; (2) to evaluate the current practices used by colleges and universities to support bereaved students; and (3) to develop recommendations for future work in this area by synthesizing current policies and practices into programming that can be implemented across academic institutions.  To address these objectives, the following research activities were conducted:  an extensive review of the literature, a cross-sectional bereavement survey of 54 college and university administrators, and five in-depth interviews with expert informants.  For the bereavement survey, counseling center directors, deans of students, and a “third administrator” at four-year, public, private, and geographically-diverse colleges and universities were asked about current practices, programs, and policies that were currently being implemented on their campuses to support bereaved college students.  The data led to three major findings: (1) 100% of university administrators underestimate the prevalence of bereavement among college students; (2) administrators reported believing that bereaved students need support from friends more so than they do from counselors; however, only one institution has an established system in place to provide peer support; and (3) Deans of Students/Student Affairs report that programs that raise awareness and educate campus members about student bereavement are the most important new programs for universities to offer to the student body, faculty and administration; whereas, counseling center directors believe new academic policies and guidelines are most important.  Recommendations are offered for use by members of the university community to improve the current practices, policies, and programs in place to reach and assist bereaved students.


I'm hoping to turn my thesis into an artile that I publish in the next few weeks.

So in addition to chapter development, conference, boot camp and banquet plannng, these 2 publications are eating up my time.

Right now, there isn't enough time in a day, days in a week, or weeks  in a year, but it'll all get done.

Talk to you soon,

Dave

Flag as spam/inappropriate