e18728 Background: More than 50,000 implantable cardioverter defibrillators (ICDs) are placed in ... more e18728 Background: More than 50,000 implantable cardioverter defibrillators (ICDs) are placed in adults aged 65 years and older in the United States each year to manage cardiac arrhythmias. Shared risk profiles between many cancers and heart disease, as well as cardiotoxic effects of anti-cancer treatments suggest individuals with cancer are likely to have ICD devices. Although ICDs have been studied extensively in Europe, little is known about the US population, and even less is known in populations with cancer. ICDs have critical implications for end-of-life care in patients with cancer. Many patients do not include wishes for their ICD in their advanced directives, and end-of-life shocks can cause pain and distress for patients and their families. We evaluated prevalence and end-of-life monitoring of ICDs in a national sample of older adults who had breast, colorectal, or pancreatic cancer. Methods: We analyzed Surveillance, Epidemiology and End Results (SEER) data for first inci...
Objective:The COVID-19 pandemic initially doubled the rates of food insecurity across the USA and... more Objective:The COVID-19 pandemic initially doubled the rates of food insecurity across the USA and tripled rates among households with children. Despite the association among food insecurity, chronic disease and psychological distress, narratives depicting the experiences of already food insecure populations are notably underrepresented in the literature. The current study assessed the impact of COVID-19 on clients of a food pantry who were also enrolled in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP).Design:A qualitative study probing the effects of the pandemic on daily living, food needs, food buying and food insecurity. Interview transcripts were analysed using a combined deductive and inductive approach.Setting:Interviews were conducted via telephone between May and June of 2020.Participants:Equal numbers of English- and Spanish-speaking clients (n 40 total).Results:Three main findings emerged: (1) the pandemic increased economic distress, such as from job loss or increa...
Food pantries and the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) are widely available resou... more Food pantries and the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) are widely available resources for individuals facing food insecurity, yet the dietary quality of individuals using both programs is not well characterized. We describe the dietary intake of individuals in North Texas who use both food pantries and SNAP to identify nutritional gaps and opportunities to improve food assistance programs. We analyzed baseline data from a randomized controlled trial examining food security and dietary intake at two large food pantries in Dallas County, Texas. Eligible participants were English or Spanish speaking adults receiving SNAP benefits who had used the food pantry within the last 4 months. At baseline, we administered the validated, 26-item dietary screener questionnaire (DSQ). We calculated descriptive statistics for dietary intake variables and compared to the 2020-2025 Dietary Guidelines for Americans recommended intake values. We analyzed baseline DSQ data from 320 partic...
Journal of Social, Behavioral, and Health Sciences
Emergency medical service (EMS) professionals have a stressful vocation, inarguably worsened by t... more Emergency medical service (EMS) professionals have a stressful vocation, inarguably worsened by the COVID-19 pandemic, which affects their mental health and makes them a vulnerable population warranting further study. However, to date, no published research has compared non-treatment and treatment-seeking EMS professionals in the same greater metropolitan area. In this study, we examined differences and similarities among the non-treatment-seeking EMS professionals (n = 57) from a local EMS agency and treatment-seeking EMS personnel (n = 53) from a non-profit community treatment center on six assessment instruments that measure attachment avoidance, attachment anxiety, resilience, depression, generalized anxiety, posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), and suicidality. The Mann-Whitney U test revealed attachment avoidance, attachment anxiety, depression, generalized anxiety, and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) were significantly higher in the treatment-seeking sample compared to ...
e18728 Background: More than 50,000 implantable cardioverter defibrillators (ICDs) are placed in ... more e18728 Background: More than 50,000 implantable cardioverter defibrillators (ICDs) are placed in adults aged 65 years and older in the United States each year to manage cardiac arrhythmias. Shared risk profiles between many cancers and heart disease, as well as cardiotoxic effects of anti-cancer treatments suggest individuals with cancer are likely to have ICD devices. Although ICDs have been studied extensively in Europe, little is known about the US population, and even less is known in populations with cancer. ICDs have critical implications for end-of-life care in patients with cancer. Many patients do not include wishes for their ICD in their advanced directives, and end-of-life shocks can cause pain and distress for patients and their families. We evaluated prevalence and end-of-life monitoring of ICDs in a national sample of older adults who had breast, colorectal, or pancreatic cancer. Methods: We analyzed Surveillance, Epidemiology and End Results (SEER) data for first inci...
Objective:The COVID-19 pandemic initially doubled the rates of food insecurity across the USA and... more Objective:The COVID-19 pandemic initially doubled the rates of food insecurity across the USA and tripled rates among households with children. Despite the association among food insecurity, chronic disease and psychological distress, narratives depicting the experiences of already food insecure populations are notably underrepresented in the literature. The current study assessed the impact of COVID-19 on clients of a food pantry who were also enrolled in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP).Design:A qualitative study probing the effects of the pandemic on daily living, food needs, food buying and food insecurity. Interview transcripts were analysed using a combined deductive and inductive approach.Setting:Interviews were conducted via telephone between May and June of 2020.Participants:Equal numbers of English- and Spanish-speaking clients (n 40 total).Results:Three main findings emerged: (1) the pandemic increased economic distress, such as from job loss or increa...
Food pantries and the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) are widely available resou... more Food pantries and the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) are widely available resources for individuals facing food insecurity, yet the dietary quality of individuals using both programs is not well characterized. We describe the dietary intake of individuals in North Texas who use both food pantries and SNAP to identify nutritional gaps and opportunities to improve food assistance programs. We analyzed baseline data from a randomized controlled trial examining food security and dietary intake at two large food pantries in Dallas County, Texas. Eligible participants were English or Spanish speaking adults receiving SNAP benefits who had used the food pantry within the last 4 months. At baseline, we administered the validated, 26-item dietary screener questionnaire (DSQ). We calculated descriptive statistics for dietary intake variables and compared to the 2020-2025 Dietary Guidelines for Americans recommended intake values. We analyzed baseline DSQ data from 320 partic...
Journal of Social, Behavioral, and Health Sciences
Emergency medical service (EMS) professionals have a stressful vocation, inarguably worsened by t... more Emergency medical service (EMS) professionals have a stressful vocation, inarguably worsened by the COVID-19 pandemic, which affects their mental health and makes them a vulnerable population warranting further study. However, to date, no published research has compared non-treatment and treatment-seeking EMS professionals in the same greater metropolitan area. In this study, we examined differences and similarities among the non-treatment-seeking EMS professionals (n = 57) from a local EMS agency and treatment-seeking EMS personnel (n = 53) from a non-profit community treatment center on six assessment instruments that measure attachment avoidance, attachment anxiety, resilience, depression, generalized anxiety, posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), and suicidality. The Mann-Whitney U test revealed attachment avoidance, attachment anxiety, depression, generalized anxiety, and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) were significantly higher in the treatment-seeking sample compared to ...
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Papers by Kathryn Shahan