Survivors of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) often experience chronic symptoms that include fatigue, shortness of breath, and brain fog. The collection of ongoing post-COVID-19 symptoms have been classified as Post-Acute Sequela of SARS-CoV-2 (PASC). Older adult patients are especially susceptible to experiencing PASC related complications and have a high risk for long-term cognitive impairment symptoms. Definitions for categorizing PASC- associated cognitive impairment and neuropsychological assessments used to evaluate cognitive impairment are inconsistent between studies examining older adults. This systematic review aims to identify which neuropsychological tests best identify cognitive impairments associated with PASC and suggest a guide to standardize the measurement of PASC-related cognitive impairments. Through a literature search using PubMed, we included within this review 14 studies that fulfilled our inclusion and exclusion criteria evaluating middle-aged and older adult populations affected by PASC-associated cognitive impairments. The majority of the studies used tests designed to screen for general cognitive function to test for the prevalence of cognitive impairment, with the most common one being Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA), followed by MMSE and TICS. MoCA reported the highest prevalence of the general cognitive screeners which suggests higher sensitivity and specificity. Telephone Interview for Cognitive Status (TICS) demonstrated similar scores as MoCA despite administration being remote while MMSE identified the lowest prevalence. Four studies also used domain-specific cognitive evaluations and reported instances of cognitive impairment in individuals who had previously tested healthy. Furthermore, the results gathered in this review were stratified based on disease symptom severity. This review identifies MoCA to be better suited for evaluating general cognitive impairment in older adults. TICS has the added utility in being able to access a wider range of older adults through remote screening. Disease severity must be clearly defined to allow better comparisons between studies and allow for standardization. Early identification of PASC-associated cognitive impairment in middle-aged and older adults can be performed using general cognitive function evaluations and administering a baseline cognitive evaluation one month after infection is suggested.

The climate conversation is growing more important and necessary than ever. The media has a way of promoting a "doom and gloom" sentiment over conservation efforts and what the public has the power to do in terms of making a change. Now due to the effects of COVID-19 on the population's attention spans and memories, there is a need for a way to communicate climate science effectively and to encourage those who feel discouraged by climate change to find their inner power. The answer lies in photography. Making science accessible and intriguing through the art of photography is what can get people more interested and empowered to fight against climate change and alter their attitudes towards environmentalism. This thesis explains psychological research and the reasons why people feel helpless in terms of our global future. In then dives into human subjects research conducted on ASU's campus and how the survey results argue in favor of the paper's hypothesis. Additionally, ways to get involved and reasons why we need to remain hopeful are discussed.

With recent reports indicating that there is a relatively low number of pregnant people vaccinated against COVID-19 in the United States (~30% per the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, October, 2021), this study aims to understand the reasons for COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy among the pregnant population in the state of Arizona. Using a mixed-methods approach, this cross-sectional study employs both semi-structured qualitative interviews (n = 40) and a quantitative survey instrument (n = 400) to better understand the reasons for COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy among pregnant people, with data collected over the course of a few months. Descriptive statistics and logistic regression are employed to analyze the quantitative data and the semi-structured interviews are inductively coded to analyze themes across participant interviews. The results from this study are not only able to help better address disparities in COVID-19 vaccinations among pregnant people, but they also provide implications for vaccine hesitancy overall in order to develop interventions to address vaccine hesitancy. Future research is warranted to better understand regional differences in vaccine hesitancy and differences across populations.

SARS-CoV-2 (severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2) is an enveloped single-stranded positive-sense RNA virus that originated in China and has rapidly spread worldwide. With the Delta variant arriving before many K-12 schools in Arizona resumed in-person learning for the 2021-2022 academic year, a plethora of mitigation measures were utilized by schools. Public schools in both Maricopa and Pima county without mask mandates were found to be 3.5 times more likely to have COVID-19 outbreaks in comparison to those with mask requirements at the start of the school year. In addition, when analyzing the presence of three other mitigation measures (cohorting, random testing, and use of improved air filtration), only 5.42% were found to use all four mitigation measures.

During the year 2020, the world saw unprecedented social change with the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, including increased risk of sexual assault. Limited information has been released regarding the pandemic and sexual assault; however, two prior studies reveal decreased utilization of rape kits and fewer emergency department exams for sexual assault during 2020 when compared to values before the pandemic. In Maricopa County, a group of forensic nurse examiners under HonorHealth performed screening exams on patients who reported sexual assault from the years 2015 to 2021. Using the prevalence of screening exams per year in Maricopa County, this study evaluated whether there was significant change in the number of exams performed during 2020 compared to pre-pandemic values. The year 2020 had the greatest percent discrepancy between predicted and observed quantities of exams when compared to the years 2015 to 2019.

The occurrence of tragedies throughout history, whether it be natural disasters, pandemics, or wars, is inevitable. The way that humans have chosen to respond to destruction and disagreements has also changed. However, something that remains the same is that those with less monetary resources and political power are at a higher disadvantage whenever the world is under duress or hardship. This propensity (tendency) can be seen through the comparison of two very different yet very profound events in recent history, the COVID-19 pandemic and World War II. The two events are distinct in their time periods, the nature of the disaster that they caused, and the problems that were created by their existence. Although they are very dissimilar, those in the US who had less monetarily were still disadvantaged much more than those who were more affluent. This pattern of disparity is revealed through the use and failure of the supply chain during both events. A supply chain is the sequence of processes involved in the production and distribution of a commodity or service (Supply Chain Definition & Meaning, n.d.). Although the supply chains used in World War II were not as fine-tuned as the ones required to distribute goods around the world today, World War II was instrumental in the refinement and use of the supply chain due to the high demand for goods and personnel across the world. During COVID-19 the quick shift in demand for unprecedented goods and services exposed the inflexibility of the world's largest supply chains, which in turn caused shortages around the world. For the United States government or large global corporations to fix the problems caused by these events, they both turned to the people who bear the majority of the burden of working overtime to account for the loss of goods; those who are most susceptible to the shortages of goods and services: those in lower-income communities.

The occurrence of tragedies throughout history, whether it be natural disasters, pandemics, or wars, is inevitable. The way that humans have chosen to respond to destruction and disagreements has also changed. However, something that remains the same is that those with less monetary resources and political power are at a higher disadvantage whenever the world is under duress or hardship. This propensity (tendency) can be seen through the comparison of two very different yet very profound events in recent history, the COVID-19 pandemic and World War II. The two events are distinct in their time periods, the nature of the disaster that they caused, and the problems that were created by their existence. Although they are very dissimilar, those in the US who had less monetarily were still disadvantaged much more than those who were more affluent. This pattern of disparity is revealed through the use and failure of the supply chain during both events. A supply chain is the sequence of processes involved in the production and distribution of a commodity or service (Supply Chain Definition & Meaning, n.d.). Although the supply chains used in World War II were not as fine-tuned as the ones required to distribute goods around the world today, World War II was instrumental in the refinement and use of the supply chain due to the high demand for goods and personnel across the world. During COVID-19 the quick shift in demand for unprecedented goods and services exposed the inflexibility of the world's largest supply chains, which in turn caused shortages around the world. For the United States government or large global corporations to fix the problems caused by these events, they both turned to the people who bear the majority of the burden of working overtime to account for the loss of goods; those who are most susceptible to the shortages of goods and services: those in lower-income communities.

In completing this thesis project, I attempted to hypothesize the trigger in my own personal diagnosis of type 1 diabetes through literature research as well as further research on viruses and their contribution to autoimmune disorders. I had previously hypothesized that, based on my own family life, type 1 diabetes could possibly be a non-heritable disease despite its consistent inheritance pattern discovered by researchers; however, the research presented in this thesis project rejects this idea and supports the theory that I may have been previously susceptible to this disorder and would have developed type 1 diabetes naturally. There were multiple viruses discovered during the literature research conducted that could possibly have been triggers in the acceleration of my disease. The major link between enteroviruses and autoimmune disorders was discovered, as well as influenza A and SARS-COV-2 and this is explained further in this project.

In January of 2020, the first cases of COVID-19 were recorded in the United States with one of them being an Arizona State University student. Since these initial cases, over 2.4 million more cases have been recorded in Arizona alone. As of March of 2020, Arizona State University Ambulatory Health Services moved to adjust their healthcare delivery methods in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. We aim to identify areas of ASU Ambulatory Health Services as of March of 2020 that need improvement based on an anonymous survey carried out among ASU students, faculty, and staff. The survey was created through Survey Monkey and consisted of 20 questions about the participant’s experience with ASU’s Ambulatory Health Services; while the survey was being created, a literature review was being conducted concerning ASU’s health care delivery in the past and the health care delivery in the greater Maricopa County region. The overall consensus of the 54 participants who took the survey was that approximately 55% of participants had an overall very satisfactory experience through ASU Ambulatory Health Services with a net promoter score of 87% satisfaction and approximately 47% of participants were very likely to recommend ASU Ambulatory Health Services with a net promoter score of about 79%. Most participants reported overall satisfactory experiences but when asked for further commentary they provided more specific criticisms of their experience that could be improved. The specific frustrations that were mentioned were issues with insurance, lack of awareness with available services, instructions on updated regulations and scheduling, and issues with patients’ visits being logged into their medical records. We recommend that ASU Ambulatory Health Services improve in these areas highlighted by the survey answers; as most of these issues are results from communication issues between ASU Ambulatory Health Services and the public, we suggest better means of communication between the public and the health services.