Stephen L. Schensul's research while affiliated with University of Connecticut and other places

... However, with the improvement of research and development in the water sector in Sri Lanka, advanced treatment technologies such as ions exchange (softening), activated carbon filtration, and reverse osmosis (RO) membrane filtration were introduced to these rural areas with groundwater quality issues. 14,15 This huge step in the development of the Sri Lankan drinking water production sector could improve the drinking water in rural regions at a significant level. Now, this RO drinking water has been widely spread throughout the dry zone of Sri Lanka as the major groundwater purification technology. ...

... This is because, if different analytical approaches have been used such as geographical information systems based integrated approach, the potential risk factors for the disease would have been easily understood. Historically, disease mapping, as one of core Geographic Information System (GIS) analytics, has been recognized as essential in public health matters particularly in understanding CKDu epidemics (Vlahos et al., 2021). The relationship between CKDu causing factors and population characteristics could easily be investigated in ...

... In particular, these models highlight the relevance of self-efficacy, sexual assertiveness, knowledge, attitudes, and perception of risk and severity, among other variables [15], as associated factors with SRBs [16]. Evidence shows that different safe (e.g., increased condom use) or risky behaviors (e.g., multiple sexual partners; inappropriate condom use) are associated with different psychological factors, including behavioral dispositions or personality traits [17]; ability to identify risky and safe behaviors [18]; perceived vulnerability or risk [19]; sexual self-image [20]; and attitude toward condoms [21]. Specifically, for this study, the following psychological factors were selected. ...

... A focus on "whole" selves can be informed by intersectionality theory to take into account interlocking systems of oppressionincluding stigma and discrimination [7,8]. More could be learned from other sectors regarding how to understand and address HIV-related stigma, including social ecologies of resilience [9,10], activism [11] and civic engagement [12], community mobilization [13], collective impact [14], peer support and solidarity among persons living with HIV [15], and collective and self-efficacy [16]. ...

... Moreover, in our study, 82.5% of the participants avoided getting contact with people during greeting which was lesser as compared to a study conducted by Ha et al. that reported 99.1% of the 464 participants avoiding contact with people especially handshaking and hugging. 15 In the current study, 35.4% of the participants believed stress to be an impact of social distancing during the pandemic while in a study done by Singh et al., 28.8 % of participants felt falling in stress or boredom to be associated with COVID-19 pandemic. 16 This could be due to loss of a job or decreased social interaction. ...

... In terms of stressors associated with sexual health care access, we suggest integrating mental health services with sexual health interventions and care [41][42][43]. Sexual health services could integrate mental health components by directly providing counseling services, providing referrals to psychological services, and organizing community engagement activities for the transgender and gender diverse people [42,44,45]. ...

... [15] One of the studies among HIV patients has found that alcohol use is negatively impacts viral load outcomes as the alcoholics have poor adherence to treatment. [16] Tuberculosis patient who are using alcohol also found to have additional risk factors similar to our study, like lower caste. [17] One of the recent study from Bengaluru has found that "a behavioral economics and cognitive behavioural therapy" as an effective intervention in reducing hazardous alcohol use. ...

... In particular, literature reports studies examining why some people believe in conspiracy theories about COVID-19, and why they choose to not follow the rules/laws given by the government to prevent contagion. Uncertainty and ambiguity regarding the information about COVID-19 could lead to a lack of trust in governmental regulations, bringing people to respond with adaptive or non-adaptive coping strategies [16]. Some studies investigated how people were influenced by the media (both traditional and new media), and how disinformation may be enhanced by the possibility offered by the new media to share an opinion about medical topics without the proper knowledge, widely spreading conspiracy theories [17]. ...

... These very expensive data-intensive methods may be relevant to further studies on well-studied NCCDs like diabetes and obesity. At a simpler level, Anand et al (2019) have discussed molecular and genetic methodologies for the investigation of the CKDu epidemiology and conclude that "research has been challenging because of political circumstances, the marginalized nature of populations afflicted, and the scarcity of personnel and funding". Given these bottlenecks for CKDu research, even basic statistical data on disease prevalence are sadly lacking. ...

... 8 Later, more objective, less complicated diagnostic models based on serum creatinine, urine albumin, and serum albuminbased diagnostic models were proposed with a good performance in a biopsy-based prospective study. 9 A novel approach using a panel of urinary markers for screening and diagnosis of CKDu has been reported by Fernando et al. 10 Nevertheless, as in most other kidney diseases, despite its invasiveness, renal biopsy remains the gold standard of diagnosis. 10 The main histological features in Sri Lankan CKDu are tubular atrophy (TA), interstitial fibrosis (IF), and periglomerular fibrosis (PGF) in the absence of or with a mild degree of interstitial mononuclear inflammatory cell infiltration and tubulitis. ...