The 2022 HHD Spring All-College meeting featured a small group of our faculty presenting some of their current research projects. Below is a sampling of those larger presentations. We hope this piques your curiosity for more, because this fall, the College will host the 2022 HHD Fall Faculty, Staff, and Student Conference so that we can share even more of the ways we enhance, enrich, and empower the human experience. Save the dates: November 17 & 18, 2022.
Get to know about some of these projects and meet the faculty behind them:
Dr. Kacie Blackman, Health Sciences
Addressing Healthcare Disparities for Pregnant Women and New Mothers with an Emphasis on Black Families
Working with non-profit organizations that engage communities by providing frontline doulas, Kacie Blackman is addressing healthcare disparities for pregnant women and new mothers with an emphasis on Black families. Birthing health-disparities among Black women persist regardless of income education and insurance. Black women in the U.S. are four times more likely than non-Hispanic white women to die due to complications of pregnancy. Blackman's work also focuses on maternal and infant health through breastfeeding inequities.
She assesses how the structural and social determinants of health play an integral role in maternal and infant health, including the roles of communities, policies, and birth equity workers (doulas and childbirth educators) on the health of birthing women and their families.
Bringing doulas into the picture to provide birthing support is a promising strategy to address the disproportionate rate of maternal mortality among Black women. During the pandemic, doulas were kept on due to their essential status in birth centers but were required to administer support by phone or video during the most critical periods of the pandemic.
The doulas' continued engagement, from one-on-one interaction to creating partner support cheat-sheets to help birthing person if partner might have to be absent, is instrumental to overall health and successful birth. Blackman’s work adds strength to the voice of advocacy, as the investigation also assessed the challenges and benefits of virtual and hybrid doula care, examining concerns that restrictions from COVID could lead to cutbacks in doula care post-COVID.
Find out more about Dr. Kacie Blackman.
Find out more about Health Sciences.
Dr. Rebekah Child, Nursing
Students Can Practice High-Stakes Medical Skills in the Safety of the Lab Ahead of Real-Time Experiences
Department Chair and faculty Rebekah Child asks, “Have you ever wished you could practice a high-stakes skill somewhere safe before you had to do it in real time? Ever wonder what it would be like to be a healthcare worker, more specifically a nurse, surrounded by colleagues, and have a patient live or die on your watch? The latter outcome sounds frightening, of course, but what if you knew you could replay the scenario over and over again as you learned to save the life?
"The CSUN Nursing Simulation Lab (Sim Lab) provides just that opportunity!
“The lab has seven full-time ‘patients’ and numerous full time patient parts. Students can practice starting IV’s, learn wound care, intubation, sterile technique, even delivering babies…. the list really goes on and on.
“In the Sim Lab, nursing students build the foundation for learning in a safe space. By the time they are at the patient’s bedside, they can confidently complete an assessment or skill because of the time spent in practice. We like to think of it as a professional sport. You don’t just go out and play! You must play, study and prepare for the big event! In our case, though, the big event is a day in a real hospital.”
Find out more about Dr. Rebekah Child.
Find out more about CSUN Nursing.
Dr. Vicky Jacque, Assistive Technology Studies and Human Services
Assistive Technology Provides Equity, Assistive Technologists Create Opportunity
Jaque is faculty in the Department of Kinesiology and has also served as Academic Director of the program for the Master of Science Assistive Technology Studies and Human Services (ATHS) with the Tseng College, since the program’s inception, working with the programs in design and implementation. She oversees faculty teaching in the programs and coordinates course content across the curriculum.
For people with disabilities, Assistive technology can make it possible to not only function, but to accomplish and interact more fully, improving the quality of life immensely. Assistive technology provides equity. There is a need for higher level professionals who can train and educate people in the use of this technology. Jaque works with assistive technologists to help them evaluate proper assistive, adaptive and rehabilitative devices throughout many fields including education, healthcare, human resources and product design.
The history of the CSUN ATHS program goes back to 2007 and is currently running cohorts 11 and 12. Course content is delivered in compliance with ADA guidelines and is fully accessible for users. The program's goal is to ensure all who use such equipment can benefit from advances in the field.
Jaque says there is also a need to dissuade abandonment of devices that may be difficult to use. ATHS specialists promote funding for better devices, and keep a social focus in this degree program.
Faculty serving in the program are generally part-time, as many of them work in related industries at other educational institutions. Employers of graduates from the program are vast, including Providence Health Systems, U.S. Air Force, Hospitals, Los Angeles Public Health and a variety of non-profits that provide assistance and assessment.
Find out more about Dr. Vicky Jaque.
Find out more about CSUN ATHS.
Dr. Taeyou Jung, Center of Achievement through Adapted Physical Activity
Students Gain Service Learning Experience as they Enrich Clients' Lives
The Center of Achievement through Adapted Physical Activity in the Department of Kinesiology has provided fitness and socialization for people with disabilities since 1971. CSUN students gain service learning through both aquatic- and land-based programs, helping clients while earning their degrees.
The Center now has neuro-imaging tools and Virtual Reality (VR) applications, gait and balance assessments, muscular adaptation assessments, screening, and study of ableism motor behavior for people with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), and peer tutoring, as well as mindfulness interventions.
Each semester, 700 students work with 500 clients (this is a pre-COVID count, but numbers are increasing again, now at 20-30% coverage and climbing). The Center offers comprehensive lifespan adapted physical activity for all and is a benchmark model for many academic and medical institutions, providing evidence-based intervention with ongoing clinical research.
There are 10 classes students can take that involve working in the center which also serves campus community. The graduate program prepares health, fitness and rehabilitation professionals, teaching them to evaluate develop and implement programs, conduct research, apply research outcomes, present at conferences, and author publications workshops.
Graduate activities are taking place in both public and private sectors in doctoral programs, clinical rehab settings academic research institutions. Graduates are also getting jobs in industries related to this kind of recovery, and some former students are setting up similar programs based on what they learned at the Center.
Find out more about Dr. Taeyou Jung.
Find out more about the Center of Achievement.
Dr. Witaya “Dan” Mathiyakom, Physical Therapy
Understanding Systems as the Key to Successful Treatment
Dan Mathiyakom looks for ways to minimize health disparity in patients throughout the lifespan locally and globally. He specializes in understanding and treating musculoskeletal pain, with a specific focus on back and shoulder pain.
While a recent sabbatical to Taiwan was called off due to COVID, he has been able to work virtually to continue his research as well as to continue developing important international professional relationships.
The key, Mathiyakom says, is to gain a better understanding of system impairment, working with the knowledge that the human movement system is the functional integration of structures that contribute to the act of moving. And these systems include the nervous, musculo-skeletal, pulmonary, cardiovascular, and endocrine systems.
A specific area of interest in his research is dizziness and balance conditions, and particularly vestibular hypofunction and the evaluation of adaptation, habitation, substitution, balance, and functional training. He has also explored the effectiveness of canalith repositioning maneuvers to treat Benign Paroxysmal Postional Vertigo (BPPV), as well as the role of cervicogenic dizziness and orthopedic physical therapy for chronic neck pain.
Find out more about Dr. Witaya Dan Mathiyakom
Find out more about Physical Therapy.
Dr. Katherine McNamara, Environmental and Occupational Health
Wildfires and Air Quality: Seeking Ways to Educate for Health Equity
As the frequency of wildfires has increased, Katherine McNamara has been studying air quality and inequities in options for people to breathe the best air possible when stay-at-home orders are in place during times of high smoke due to wildfires, specifically in California. She points out that those who don’t have air conditioning don’t really have the option of staying indoors, especially on hotter days.
McNamara has studied health symptoms such as eye irritation, sore throat, cough, and worse, as well as aggravations of pre-existing conditions. She also prepared a group of students, who have worked with her on some of this research, to present at CSUNposium.
Studies showed that over 80% of people spent more than three hours a day outdoors during smoke exposure, and this included laborers who work outside and can’t escape the poor air quality. She also learned that among the high percentage of people who did have air conditioning, only about half used it, and of those, only about 30% changed the filters regularly.
However, those with air conditioning did have higher incidences of sheltering in place during smoky days from fires. Another discovery was that while younger people are accustomed to using weather apps to check air quality, overall, older people did not--or could not--access that information. She discovered there is a great need for education about the health practices people need to employ when smoke is in the air.
Find out more about Dr. Katherine McNamara.
Find out more about Environmental and Occupational Health.
Dr. Emily Russell, Child and Adolescent Development
Jumpstart: Children Increase Pre-Literacy and Social Skills, CSUN Students Gain Professional Skills
The Jumpstart Early Childhood Literacy program at CSUN sets children up for lifelong success, as those with strong literacy skills have been shown to be more likely to graduate from high school and attend college. Emily Russell is the CSUN Campus Champion for the program.
The way Jumpstart helps children is by providing opportunities CSUN students in early education curriculum to work with the children. CSUN is one of Jumpstart’s higher education partners.
Working with traditionally underserved communities, students earn stipend or course credits and gain practical experience, also Federal Work Study (FWS) recently designated CSUN Jumpstart as a workforce development site.
Jumpstart is open to any student on campus, not just Child and Adolescent Development majors. CSUN students learn how much they can take on and accomplish, with a typical corps member participating in 200 hours of training and class sessions, and with many ways to get involved.
Overall, children increase pre-literacy and social skills, CSUN students gain professional skills, civic mindedness, knowledge of early childhood practices and the program enriches our communities and strengthens CSUN’s community connections.
Find out more about Dr. Emily Russell.
Find out more about Child and Adolescent Development.
Dr. Erika HeeKyung Sung, Recreation and Tourism Management
Arts and Related Social Interactions Enhance Wellbeing and Enrich Communities
Through a national study among 518 counties across the United States, Sung has examined cultural wellbeing and its effect on the human experience overall. Exploring arts-based community tourism as well as arts events and related agencies as travel destinations, she seeks to better understand, and teach about, the roles these areas of social interaction play overall wellbeing.
The study has shown a strong relationship between access to the arts and cultural resources and that they do indeed affect individual and social wellbeing.
But it’s not just whether the arts make people feel good, or emotionally affected in positive ways; the arts also have an effect on businesses, consumption, and even people’s perceptions of non-profits and motivation to take action to help others.
Sung hopes to use this new information to reach out to policy makers and community leaders to make them aware and encourage them to include the arts in community-building strategies.
Find out more about Dr. Erika HeeKyung Sung.
Find out more about Recreation and Tourism Management.
Dr. Tracie Tung, Family and Consumer Sciences
As Fast-Fashion Pollutes, New Sustainable Fashion Program Offers Solutions
Reduce, reuse and recycle are often terms associated with plastic consumption, but what if these same principles were applied to the fashion industry? Tracie Tung is faculty in Family and Consumer Sciences/Apparel Design and Merchandising Program, and she is one of the designers of the Sustainable Fashion Project at CSUN, which features a new course in sustainable fashion developed in partnership with the Los Angeles Cleantech Incubator (LACI).
The Sustainable Fashion Ambassador Certificate Program is an interactive, interdisciplinary workshop series that takes place over the course of a semester. The program offers students the opportunity to systematically learn about issues in different facets of the fashion industry while enabling them to have hands-on experience by leading and disseminating this information to their peers and CSUN community partners.
Tung recently told CSUN Today: “We don’t cherish clothes anymore, partly because of fast fashion, so as a result, we have a huge problem of textile waste.” The program is the first of its kind in the CSU system and will teach CSUN students how to responsibly source material, select textiles that reduce waste, and advocate for sustainable fashion. Tung added, “I feel like I am always teaching the dark side of the fashion industry. All of the techniques and the strategies we teach are to help us reduce the negative impact of the industry.” She said she hopes that students will learn to incorporate the lessons learned in the program into their designs and careers.
The program also prepares students to spread the word: they may create a persona on social media to promote sustainable fashion ideas in their interactions with their audiences, or they can conduct research-based case study on the topic.
Find out more about Dr. Tracie Tung.
Find out more about Tracie Tung’s opportunity for students.
Find out more about Family and Consumer Sciences.
Dr. Vickie Yu, Communication Disorders and Sciences
Removing Language Obstacles for Children, the Superheroes of Our Next Generation
Dr. Vickie Yu has been performing a superhero study under the premise that children are the superheroes of our next generation. Working with faculty Christine strike Roussos, she is identifying extralinguistic factors affecting English proficiency in preschoolers in Los Angeles, and specifically researching how language acquisition skews perception of how much the student can understand overall. The object is to identify which children may need teaching in English as a Second Language (ESL) when entering kindergarten.
Yu is working to reach schools and communities, and she is making a global connection working with peers in Taiwan, as well as with UCLA audiology and Los Angeles Children’s Hospital. The team is also working with the Childcare Resource Center (CCRC) Head Start Center performing language tests for children 3-5 years old.
Additionally, Yu is also working on study of COVID long haulers and brain fog. She and a team of graduate students are exploring various therapies and assessments. There is a website users can go to for more information. Funded by the CSUN COVID Care Grant Through this work, the team is able to provide free cognitive assessment and therapy to the CSUN community.
Find out more about Dr. Vicky Yu's Speech-Language Science Lab.
Find out more about the COVID Tail Support Hub.
Find out more about Communication Disorders and Sciences.
Summer, 2022
Jean O'Sullivan/College of Health and Human Development