RCHC Community Project Abstracts

Back to subject search page or search by preceptor site Primary Prevention in Eugene Oregon: Recognizing Environmental Injuries during youth sporting events Project Date: 8/7/2006 Heat injuries have the potential to become a medical emergency if not detected and treated in a timely manner. Heat stroke, the most severe form of heat injury, carries a significant mortality rate, especially when therapy is delayed. Some studies cite mortality rates between 10-70% depending on several factors including duration of peak body temperature. Heat stroke is 100% preventable and with such a high morbidity and mortality rate primary prevention is paramount. Youth sports that start in the fall begin practice in August and there is a potential to develop heat injuries in this population. Coaches involved with these sports should be trained to recognize the signs, symptoms, and initial treatment of heat injuries to prevent the progression to heat exhaustion or heat stroke. In addition, it is important for coaches to recognize when the local emergency medical services should be activated in order to institute a higher level of care with regard to the injured individual. This project focused on educating youth coaches about the signs, symptoms, and treatment of heat injuries in the effort to prevent the morbidity and mortality associated with the more severe forms of heat injury, heat exhaustion and particularly heat stroke. Does Increased Field Burning Affect the Trends of Emergency Room Visits for Respiratory Symptoms at Santiam Memorial Hospital? Project Date: 8/7/2006 This rural health research project sought to determine if peak grass seed burning within Stayton Fire District boundaries affected the number of Emergency Room visits to the Santiam Memorial Hospital for respiratory symptoms. This study considered primary and secondary respiratory diagnoses on ER admissions reports during the peak burning periods in August of 2005 and 2006. Considered diagnoses included acute and chronic forms of bronchitis, sinusitis, rhinitis, asthma, emphysema, pneumonia, conjunctivitis and upper respiratory infections (8 categories). The number of ER admissions for respiratory symptoms was compared with the acreage of field burning in the Stayton Fire District over 21 to 24 day periods with the 7 or 8 days of heaviest burning acreage wedged between two equal length periods of significantly lighter burning. While a positive trend of increased respiratory symptoms was present in 2006, in 2005 the trend was negative. Due to a limited sample size and several probable confounding factors, there was not much statistical significance to this study but perhaps a framework has been established for further inquiry. Well-water use in Springfield, Oregon: Understanding Patient Knowledge and Practices and Developing a Patient Handout on Well Water Safety. Project Date: 7/3/2006 The safety of well water has important health implications for thousands of mostly rural Oregonians. While there is little data quantifying the amount of illness and disease caused each year by the contamination of well water, it is well known that certain contaminants both are present in well water and have the potential to cause short-and long-term health problems. This study attempted to assess the level of knowledge that patients at Springfield Family Physicians have of the potential health risks of drinking well water, as well as patients' knowledge regarding steps that can be taken to assure the safety of well water. This was accomplished by designing a questionnaire about the sources of patients' drinking water and their attitudes and practices regarding water safety. Finally, a handout was developed to provide patients with information about well-water safety and resources to help test and maintain their wells. North Ridge Estates: A Case of Hazardous Asbestos Waste in Rural Oregon Project Date: 3/29/2004 In 2001, the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality began clean-up procedures at a residential housing development in Klamath Falls, which had been deemed a past and present public health hazard due to asbestos contamination. The health risks associated with asbestos exposure have been well documented, and include lung cancer, mesothelioma, asbestosis, and pleural disease. I conducted a literature review of medical, historical, and governmental documents, and focused on the following four questions: 1) How much asbestos exposure were the 68 residents of North Ridge Estates subjected to? 2) What are the realistic present and future health concerns for that community? 3) Do adequate screening tests exist to help identify those people most at risk for developing asbestos-related disease? 4) What efforts are being made to monitor the residents of North Ridge Estates, and which agency, if andy, is responsible for monitoring the health of this community? Back to subject search page or search by preceptor site