Research Objective Social determinants of health (SDOH) are the conditions in one’s living environment that affect health, functioning, and quality of life. Total joint arthroplasty (TJA) is a surgical procedure to replace a damaged joint with an artificial joint. TJA complications include acute myocardial infarction, pneumonia, sepsis, surgical site bleeding, pulmonary embolism, or periprosthetic joint infection. Previous research demonstrates that Black race, Hispanic ethnicity and poverty were negatively associated with TJA outcomes in veterans. The goal of this mixed methods quality improvement study is to determine if SDOHs affect TJA complications at a health system in the Phoenix metropolitan area. Methodology For this study, records from patients who underwent hip or knee TJAs at any of the four system facilities between 2/2019-2/2020 were included. Demographics and clinical data were extracted from the electronic health record (EHR) via Midas+ Care Management with SDOH variables from case manager notes corresponding to food, utilities, housing and transportation insecurities, and interpersonal safety. Complications were identified using ICD-10 codes. SDOH for individuals with and without complications were compared. A multinomial logistic regression was performed in SPSS to identify significant variables. Semi-structured interviews with case managers (n=2), orthopedic surgeons(n=5), and primary care physicians (n=4) were performed to explore care team interactions with SDOH. Interview notes were coded and analyzed based on response frequency and themes. Results Of 2,520 patients who underwent TJA, 50 (1.98%) experienced a TJA complication. Of those, 38% screened positive for an SDOH. For those without a TJA complication, 27% screened positive for an SDOH (p=0.093). Most interview participants identified a correlation between socioeconomic status and surgical outcomes. They also recognized that language barriers for Spanish-speaking individuals and family involvement post-discharge are significant factors in TJA outcomes. Conclusions This single system mixed methods retrospective quality improvement study demonstrates that patients who screen positive for an SDOH are more likely to experience a TJA complication. We recommend that SDOH assessments be obtained for all patients undergoing TJA, be available to care teams, and be incorporated into care plans to improve outcomes.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5osMYze5138

In January 2020, the World Health Organization (WHO) declared the outbreak of the novel SARS-CoV-2, otherwise referred to as COVID-19, to be an international pandemic. Ensuing health regulations around the world forced the cease of international traveling, reduced domestic travel, implemented mandatory stay-at-home orders and asked many to wear face masks in public areas. Students, workers, and many in the public sphere switched from in-person interactions to online platforms, operating remotely from their respective homes. The shift to virtual platforms has since greatly impacted arts programs and professions. Whereas the nature of music and art production rely upon the collaboration between people, often in the same room, the forced shift to virtual platforms created an upheaval for artists to re-imagine their work.

Though the transition from in-person to virtual collaboration seemed abrupt and unwanted, it opened up opportunities to create new projects that otherwise may not have happened. “Cross-Disciplinary Arts Collaboration on a Virtual Platform” took advantage of the ubiquitous shift to virtual collaboration of art disciplines. This project combined poetry, music, dance and visual art to create a unique piece that might not have been possible through strictly in-person collaboration. The goal of this project was to amplify the meaning and impact of music through the addition of words (poetry), movement (dance), and visuals (artwork).

The clothing and textile industry is often referred to as one of the largest polluters in the world. Over the last two decades, global annual consumption has increased, and the volume of discarded clothing in America has doubled from 7 to 14 million tons a year (Shirvanimoghaddam, 2020). Over 60% of textile waste overall is exported to the Global South. In the Global South, landfills that receive this waste often lack proper funding and legislation to implement effective waste management systems (Schiros). Textile waste bears a carbon and water footprint that disrupts environmental and health standards on egregious levels, disproportionately harming the health of the populations situated near to those disposal sites, and preventing so-called “developing populations” from economic independence and from sustaining critical environmental health standards. The exploitation of the Global South as a dumping ground also erodes the possibility of economic development by local production and economic self-reliance. Structural adjustments and trade regulated by the ‘developed’ country subjugate the Global South to neo-colonialist, exploitative economic partnerships with the Global North. Rwanda is one example of a country attempting to rise to the World Bank’s classification as a middle-income country, but has been accused of trading human rights for development in the process.

My investigation first seeks to answer, What are the specific health threats of post-consumer textiles? I consider the human health impacts of textiles from cultivation to disposal. This study examines the role of waste as a potential function in the production process, where waste is not considered a negative economic value. My second question is How is the Global South's participation in international collaboration empowered by acts of resistance against the assumptions, research, and policies that suggest Western aid and medicine is superior and the basis for innovative technology? Acts of resistance are pursued within the public sphere (especially in terms of community building and art making), low technology, and locally situated science (that consider the culture, approach, and resources of the Global South before scaling up to the North). Corporations and state policy are considered to expand research, but the focus is largely on acts of resistance by the public, and acts of resistance at a community-level of cooperation. Through the framework of the zine, audiences can better understand the relationship between the US and countries in the East African Community, in South Africa, in shared regions. This creative project informs and challenges the reader to think critically about their role in a postcolonial context. I seek to understand how colonialism pervades the economic relationship and import-export business today between the Global North and the Global South. My purpose is to provide the reader with a vision that suggests the most critical changes that should be made to secure humane and environmentally sustainable solutions. It also serves as a catalyst for additional research on the Global South.

Video link: "The Last Fire Sprite." For my Thesis Project, I wrote, directed and produced a 25-minute long animatic for my series “The Last Fire Sprite.” This animatic is to be used as a pilot for the show to pitch it to studios. It includes an all-star crew of 14 voice actors, 2 artists, a vocalist, and a composer. While most of the work was completed by myself, the project as a whole would not be as quality without the hard work of this amazing crew. The pitch: A young Fire Sprite named Blaise awakens in the future to find her world completely changed. Magic is scarce and sold to the highest bidder. A twisted oligarchy holds the last living witch hostage in order to remain in power. Blaise bands together with Axel, a young street rat, in order to evade countless bounty hunters after the price on her head. Only together can they free the last witch and bring magic back into their world. Please enjoy “The Last Fire Sprite: Welcome to the Future Part 1”! 

U.S. border colonias, otherwise known as Disadvantaged Unincorporated Communities, are rural settlements along the U.S. Mexico border with substandard housing conditions. Colonia residents often face inadequate access to necessities such as appropriate shelter, septic and sewer systems, and potable water. Water insecurity in colonias poses a particularly difficult challenge for residents who require clean water not only for consumption, but also household use in sanitation and hygienic practices. As of 2015, an estimated 30% of over five million US colonia residents lack access to clean drinking water, resulting in health complications and unsanitary living conditions. Preliminary health data collected indicates that due to water insecurity, colonia residents are more likely to contract gastrointestinal disease, be exposed to carcinogenic compounds from contaminated water, and experience psychosocial distress. Yet more comprehensive research needs to be conducted to understand the full breadth of the public health issue. A scoping review on water insecurity in colonias has not been completed before and could be beneficial in informing policymakers and other stakeholders on the severity of the situation while advising possible solutions.

It is a fact of modern food processing that the majority of products contain one or multiple food additives. Yet, while these additives see great abundance of use, the average consumer has relatively little knowledge about them and, more often than not, a negative opinion of their inclusion. This piece explores the discrepancy between these two realities by delving into the origins, histories of use, health effects, and misconceptions that surround a number of modern food additives, exploring along the way the social changes and regulatory history that brought about the legal landscape of food safety in the United States. Ten author-developed recipes are included at the end to encourage not only a conceptual, but also a practical familiarity with these same food additives.

This creative project examines identity, autonomy, and social hierarchy by manipulating the traditions and iconography of female figural painting. Female identity and autonomy is often marked by a tense relationship between the self and the body. Socially acceptable self-expression of one's behavior, body, and desires is strictly regulated within a set of often paradoxical parameters that repress abject, 'animal' behaviors. This series of three paintings reacts to this culture of restraint and repression by exposing the body to nature once more, finding catharsis in annihilation and the destruction of boundaries between the Self and the Other. The human body is depicted as a host for animal life cycles, exploring the duality of creating and supporting life while simultaneously being destroyed. Animals that embody socially unacceptable behaviors are brought crashing back into the human form, reuniting the idealized, contrived female figure with an expressive, imperfect nature and sense of self. Hybridized animal-human relationships in the paintings break down the falsely hierarchical distinction between 'humans' and 'animals' that distances and privileges humanity from that which is considered primitive. By releasing the human body to the uncomplicated consumptive and reproductive forces of ‘trash’ animals in these paintings, the work challenges how the worth of existence is socially defined, instead affirming that all life has some inherent value distinct from its transactional worth to society at large. This celebration of the grotesque shakes off repressive social constructs, offering a unique form of catharsis and agency.

This creative project examines identity, autonomy, and social hierarchy by manipulating the traditions and iconography of female figural painting. Female identity and autonomy is often marked by a tense relationship between the self and the body. Socially acceptable self-expression of one's behavior, body, and desires is strictly regulated within a set of often paradoxical parameters that repress abject, 'animal' behaviors. This series of three paintings reacts to this culture of restraint and repression by exposing the body to nature once more, finding catharsis in annihilation and the destruction of boundaries between the Self and the Other. The human body is depicted as a host for animal life cycles, exploring the duality of creating and supporting life while simultaneously being destroyed. Animals that embody socially unacceptable behaviors are brought crashing back into the human form, reuniting the idealized, contrived female figure with an expressive, imperfect nature and sense of self. Hybridized animal-human relationships in the paintings break down the falsely hierarchical distinction between 'humans' and 'animals' that distances and privileges humanity from that which is considered primitive. By releasing the human body to the uncomplicated consumptive and reproductive forces of ‘trash’ animals in these paintings, the work challenges how the worth of existence is socially defined, instead affirming that all life has some inherent value distinct from its transactional worth to society at large. This celebration of the grotesque shakes off repressive social constructs, offering a unique form of catharsis and agency.

This creative project examines identity, autonomy, and social hierarchy by manipulating the traditions and iconography of female figural painting. Female identity and autonomy is often marked by a tense relationship between the self and the body. Socially acceptable self-expression of one's behavior, body, and desires is strictly regulated within a set of often paradoxical parameters that repress abject, 'animal' behaviors. This series of three paintings reacts to this culture of restraint and repression by exposing the body to nature once more, finding catharsis in annihilation and the destruction of boundaries between the Self and the Other. The human body is depicted as a host for animal life cycles, exploring the duality of creating and supporting life while simultaneously being destroyed. Animals that embody socially unacceptable behaviors are brought crashing back into the human form, reuniting the idealized, contrived female figure with an expressive, imperfect nature and sense of self. Hybridized animal-human relationships in the paintings break down the falsely hierarchical distinction between 'humans' and 'animals' that distances and privileges humanity from that which is considered primitive. By releasing the human body to the uncomplicated consumptive and reproductive forces of ‘trash’ animals in these paintings, the work challenges how the worth of existence is socially defined, instead affirming that all life has some inherent value distinct from its transactional worth to society at large. This celebration of the grotesque shakes off repressive social constructs, offering a unique form of catharsis and agency.

This creative project examines identity, autonomy, and social hierarchy by manipulating the traditions and iconography of female figural painting. Female identity and autonomy is often marked by a tense relationship between the self and the body. Socially acceptable self-expression of one's behavior, body, and desires is strictly regulated within a set of often paradoxical parameters that repress abject, 'animal' behaviors. This series of three paintings reacts to this culture of restraint and repression by exposing the body to nature once more, finding catharsis in annihilation and the destruction of boundaries between the Self and the Other. The human body is depicted as a host for animal life cycles, exploring the duality of creating and supporting life while simultaneously being destroyed. Animals that embody socially unacceptable behaviors are brought crashing back into the human form, reuniting the idealized, contrived female figure with an expressive, imperfect nature and sense of self. Hybridized animal-human relationships in the paintings break down the falsely hierarchical distinction between 'humans' and 'animals' that distances and privileges humanity from that which is considered primitive. By releasing the human body to the uncomplicated consumptive and reproductive forces of ‘trash’ animals in these paintings, the work challenges how the worth of existence is socially defined, instead affirming that all life has some inherent value distinct from its transactional worth to society at large. This celebration of the grotesque shakes off repressive social constructs, offering a unique form of catharsis and agency.