Emily K. Brunson

Brigham Young University

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Monica Schoch‐Spana

Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security

Sanjana Ravi

Johns Hopkins University

Gigi Kwik Grönvall

Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security

Jessica Mulligan

Providence College

Howard Gwon

Johns Hopkins University

Matthew Shearer

Johns Hopkins University

Eric Toner

Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security

Darryl J. Holman

University of Washington

Tara Kirk Sell

Johns Hopkins University

Elisa J. Sobo

San Diego State University

Cooperative Institutions

Johns Hopkins University

Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security

University of Washington

Texas State University

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

University of Pittsburgh

National Association of County and City Health Officials

Seattle University

University of Maryland, College Park

Center for Health and Gender Equity

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A community-based approach to diabetes control in multiple cultural groups.

PubMed (2004)

Cheza C. Garvin Allen Cheadle Noel J. Chrisman Roxana Chen Emily K. Brunson

Diabetes mellitus is one of the most common, serious, and costly chronic diseases, and is a leading cause of death in the United States. Communities of color bear a disproportionate burden of diabetes risk, prevalence, complications, and mortality. REACH 2010 Seattle and King County provides socio-ecological interventions to reduce diabetes disparities among African-American, Cambodian, Chinese, Filipino, Korean, Latino/Hispanic, Vietnamese and soon Samoan, and Vietnamese groups. This paper reports evaluation results of REACH classes and support groups. Results from participant pre- and post-surveys demonstrated increases in self-reported physical activity and healthier eating, and increased self-efficacy in managing diabetes. Qualitative focus group results revealed participants' enthusiasm for classes tailored to their ethnic groups, and for intervention impact on management of their diabetes. Qualitative results confirmed survey findings that group participation resulted in significant changes in diet and physical activity. The results underscore the need for more widespread adoption of culturally competent diabetes education and support programs.

Vietnamese

Samoan

Diabetes management

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Citations (36)

Emily Brunson's Graduate Recital

Emily K. Brunson

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The Impact of Social Networks on Parents’ Vaccination Decisions

American Academy of Pediatrics eBooks (2018)

Emily K. Brunson

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE Parents decide whether their children are vaccinated, but they rarely reach these decisions on their own. Instead parents are influenced by their social networks, broadly defined as the people and sources they go to for information, direction, and advice. This study used social network analysis to formally examine parents’ social networks (people networks and source net-works) related to their vaccination decision-making. In addition to providing descriptions of typical networks of parents who conform to the recommended vaccination schedule (conformers) and those who do not (nonconformers), this study also quantified the effect of network variables on parents’ vaccination choices. METHODS This study took place in King County, Washington. Participation was limited to US-born, first-time parents with children aged ≤18 months. Data were collected via an online survey. Logistic regression was used to analyze the resulting data. RESULTS One hundred twenty-six conformers and 70 nonconformers completed the survey. Although people networks were reported by 95% of parents in both groups, nonconformers were significantly more likely to report source networks (100% vs 80%, P < .001). Model comparisons of parent, people, and source network characteristics indicated that people network variables were better predictors of parents’ vaccination choices than parents’ own characteristics or the characteristics of their source networks. In fact, the variable most predictive of parents’ vaccination decisions was the percent of parents’ people networks recommending nonconformity. CONCLUSIONS These results strongly suggest that social networks, and particularly parents’ people networks, play an important role in parents’ vaccination decision-making.

Social network (sociolinguistics)

10.1542/9781610022774-the_impact

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Influence of Community and Culture in the Ethical Allocation of Scarce Medical Resources in a Pandemic Situation: Deliberative Democracy Study (Preprint)

Monica Schoch‐Spana Emily K. Brunson Howard Gwon Alan Regenberg Eric Toner

BACKGROUND Stark gaps exist between projected health needs in a pandemic situation and the current capacity of health care and medical countermeasure systems. Existing pandemic ethics discussions have advocated to engage the public in scarcity dilemmas and attend the local contexts and cultural perspectives that shape responses to a global health threat. This public engagement study thus considers the role of community and culture in the ethical apportionment of scarce health resources, specifically ventilators, during an influenza pandemic. It builds upon a previous exploration of the values and preferences of Maryland residents regarding how a finite supply of mechanical ventilators ought to be allocated during a severe global outbreak of influenza. An important finding of this earlier research was that local history and place within the state engendered different ways of thinking about scarcity. OBJECTIVE Given the intrastate variation in the themes expressed by Maryland participants, the project team sought to examine interstate differences by implementing the same protocol elsewhere to answer the following questions. Does variation in ethical frames of reference exist within different regions of the United States? What practical implications does evidence of sameness and difference possess for pandemic planners and policymakers at local and national levels? METHODS Research using the same deliberative democracy process from the Maryland study was conducted in Central Texas in March 2018 among 30 diverse participants, half of whom identified as Hispanic or Latino. Deliberative democracy provides a moderated process through which community members can learn facts about a public policy matter from experts and explore their own and others’ views. RESULTS Participants proposed that by evenly distributing supplies of ventilators and applying clear eligibility criteria consistently, health authorities could enable fair allocation of scarce lifesaving equipment. The strong identification, attachment, and obligation of persons toward their nuclear and extended families emerged as a distinctive regional and ethnic core value that has practical implications for the substance, administration, and communication of allocation frameworks. CONCLUSIONS Maryland and Central Texas residents expressed a common, overriding concern about the fairness of allocation decisions. Central Texas deliberants, however, more readily expounded upon family as a central consideration. In Central Texas, family is a principal, culturally inflected lens through which life and death matters are often viewed. Conveners of other pandemic-related public engagement exercises in the United States have advocated the benefits of transparency and inclusivity in developing an ethical allocation framework; this study demonstrates cultural competence as a further advantage.

Scarcity

Pandemic

Deliberative Democracy

10.2196/preprints.18272

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Citations (1)

Developing and managing qualitative analysis protocol for a large‐scale, multisited project

Annals of Anthropological Practice (2024)

Rex Long Emily K. Brunson

Abstract Collaboration and communication serve as the foundation of team‐based research, and this extends to the analysis phase of a project. This article discusses the work involved in developing, communicating, and managing the analysis plan for a large‐scale, multisited project. To generate an effective analysis plan, we considered what data were needed to reach our project goals and then selected methods and designed data collection tools accordingly. Once data collection commenced, we developed a basic codebook that provided an overarching structure but flexibility for localized tailoring. We then coordinated updates to the coding scheme and conducted reliability checks on the analyses. All of this required regular communication and constant monitoring of progress toward project goals. While only one example, this article provides insights and guidelines for other researchers working on large, team‐based, and/or multisited qualitative projects.

Project team

Qualitative analysis

10.1111/napa.12222

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Citations (4)

Meals on Wheels Central Texas: addressing loneliness and isolation through client-volunteer interaction

Working with Older People (2021)

Christine M. Bonagurio Emily K. Brunson Seanna Marceaux Lauren Sasser

Purpose Meals on Wheel Central Texas (MOWCTX) provides meals to more than 5,000 home-bound older adults in the Austin area every weekday. The purpose of this paper is to examine the impact of client-volunteer interactions to assess the social benefits clients receive and ascertain if and how loneliness and social isolation are addressed. Design/methodology/approach Observations of volunteer-client interactions, interviews with clients and surveys of clients were conducted to gain insight into clients’ experiences with MOWCTX services. Findings Qualitative analysis of observation and interview data revealed four non-tangible benefits clients received from MOWCTX: reduced physical risks when mobility issues are present, a daily safety check, opportunities for social contact and increased ability to maintain independence. Survey results supported these conclusions. Originality/value This research examines the impact of volunteer-client relationships on the experience of loneliness and social isolation.

Social Isolation

Volunteer

Isolation

Social contact

Independence

10.1108/wwop-03-2021-0009

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Citations (3)

How parents make decisions about their children's vaccinations

Vaccine (2013)

Emily K. Brunson

Herd Immunity

10.1016/j.vaccine.2013.08.104

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Citations (119)

Structures of Resentment: On Feeling—and Being—Left Behind by Health Care Reform

Cultural Anthropology (2020)

Jessica Mulligan Emily K. Brunson

Described by many as an emotional state rooted in having been treated unfairly, resentment has surged over the past decade. Resentment politics troubled the passage and implementation of the Affordable Care Act (ACA, 2010) in the United States. While some people gained access to health insurance through the ACA, others experienced continued exclusion from affordable coverage. Drawing on ethnographic interviews with poor whites from Florida, Rhode Island, and Texas, we show how uninsured individuals talked about and experienced resentment through contradictory tropes of “us versus them,” deservingness, and personal responsibility. We argue that policies based in resentment, occurring on both national and state levels, structured these individuals’ experiences and amplified their resentment sentiments. Through this case study we argue that resentment is more than an emotion: it is also a force that structures policies and their implementation. Resentment policies in turn create the social, political, and economic circumstances that generate resentment feelings.

Resentment

10.14506/ca35.2.10

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The public’s role in COVID-19 vaccination: Human-centered recommendations to enhance pandemic vaccine awareness, access, and acceptance in the United States

Vaccine (2020)

Monica Schoch‐Spana Emily K. Brunson Rex Long Alexandra Ruth Sanjana Ravi

Pandemic

10.1016/j.vaccine.2020.10.059

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Citations (215)

Reliability of the ATD Angle in Dermatoglyphic Analysis.

PubMed (2015)

Emily K. Brunson Darryl J. Holman Christina M. Giovas

The "ATD" angle is a dermatoglyphic trait formed by drawing lines between the triradii below the first and last digits and the most proximal triradius on the hypothenar region of the palm. This trait has been widely used in dermatoglyphic studies, but several researchers have questioned its utility, specifically whether or not it can be measured reliably. The purpose of this research was to examine the measurement reliability of this trait. Finger and palm prints were taken using the carbon paper and tape method from the right and left hands of 100 individuals. Each "ATD" angle was read twice, at different times, by Reader A, using a goniometer and a magnifying glass, and three times by a Reader B, using Adobe Photoshop. Inter-class correlation coefficients were estimated for the intra- and inter-reader measurements of the "ATD" angles. Reader A was able to quantify ATD angles on 149 out of 200 prints (74.5%), and Reader B on 179 out of 200 prints (89.5%). Both readers agreed on whether an angle existed on a print 89.8% of the time for the right hand and 78.0% for the left. Intra-reader correlations were 0.97 or greater for both readers. Inter-reader correlations for "ATD" angles measured by both readers ranged from 0.92 to 0.96. These results suggest that the "ATD" angle can be measured reliably, and further imply that measurement using a software program may provide an advantage over other methods.

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Dermatoglyphics

Adobe photoshop

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Citations (6)