Digital Commons Network^™

The Influence Of English Proficiency In Online Health Information-Seeking: A Comprehensive Model Of Information-Seeking (Cmis) Based Study Using Health Information National Trends Survey (Hints) Data, Lauren M. Perez

Pharmaceutical Sciences ETDs

Understanding language-related challenges is crucial for addressing health and healthcare access disparities. This study examines differences in online health information seeking (OHIS) experiences by English proficiency. It explores factors influencing OHIS that patients in the United States with Limited English Proficiency (LEP) may encounter to shed light on the online health information needs of patients with LEP. The research utilizes data from the 2017 Health Information National Trends Survey (HINTS) 5 Cycle 1 to analyze the OHIS experiences of patients. Findings will inform healthcare providers, policymakers, and researchers, promoting equitable access to reliable health information.

Interrogation Of The Molecular Mechanisms That Finetune Fcεri Signaling And Mast Cell Outcomes, Derek A. Rinaldi

Biomedical Sciences ETDs

FcεRI is the ITAM receptor primarily responsible for the allergic response and immune hypersensitivity diseases such as asthma. Regulation of the strength of both FcεRI signaling, and the resulting outcomes, is accomplished via a complex array of molecular mechanisms whose interactions remain unclear. Here, I explored how the biophysical properties of antigens, crosstalk between FcεRI and integrin signaling and Arf6-mediated control of trafficking and exocytosis tune mast cell outcomes. I first found significant differences in FcεRI aggregation, phosphorylation and granule secretion after crosslinking with the multivalent antigen DNP-BSA or the small, trivalent antigen DF3. I also revealed a bi-directional, Syk-mediated …

Environmental Ozone Exposure, Gestational Health, And The Lung-Placental Axis, Russell Hunter

Biomedical Sciences ETDs

Adverse gestational outcomes of pregnancy are a globally occurring threat to fetomaternal health, with limited clinical prognostic and intervention strategies aside from premature labor induction. Epidemiological data shows strong correlations between gestational exposure to air pollution and the incidence of adverse gestational outcomes. The research presented here was designed to evaluate potential murine models of gestational exposure, as well as quantify maternal cardiovascular damage therein. These studies employ radiotelemetry, echocardiography, single cell RNA-sequencing, and untargeted lipidomic analyses in efforts to study these effects. Results implicate cardiovascular responses to mid-gestational ozone exposure as evidenced by decreased maternal cardiac output and increased …

Mandatory Child Abuse And Neglect Reporting Behaviors Among Registered Nurses In New Mexico: A Statewide Comparative Study, Ingrid Ann Wilson

Nursing ETDs

Child abuse and/or neglect (CAN) is a global problem. Although nurses are mandated CAN reporters, a lack of reporting has been an issue. New Mexico (NM) is faced with higher child poverty and CAN-related substance-abuse compared to other U.S. states. This quantitative study aimed to explore factors influencing intended/actual CAN reporting behaviors among NM registered nurses (RN)s, examine relationships of these factors, and compare differences in reporting behaviors between rural and urban locations. A survey to a sample of RNs (N=146) showed factors associated with CAN reporting intended behaviors were work status (r=.21, p < .05), cues to action (r=.20, …

Analysis Of Interprofessional Education Inclusion Within U.S. Dental Hygiene Programs’ Curricula, Jennifer M. Pacheco

Dental Hygiene ETDs

The purpose of this study was to collect information on the implementation of IPE activities within U.S. dental hygiene programs and whether program faculty are implementing these components into their program curricula. Furthermore, the study would identify which types of IPE activities were being conducted and if these activities met the CODA standards. An original survey was sent out to dental hygiene program directors and faculty. Results revealed both programs agreed that IPE is a significant component to include in hygiene curricula to better equip students as members of the healthcare team to deliver comprehensive care. IPE activities implemented were …

Immigrational Trauma: An Assessment Of Dental Phobia And Access To Care In Undocumented Individuals, Nora J. Vences Ortiz

Dental Hygiene ETDs

The purpose of this study is to assess immigrational trauma as it relates to dental phobia in accessing care from undocumented individuals. Immigrating from a country to the United States presents with unique challenges. These challenges include language barriers, traumatic experiences and cultural factors. These individuals also have perceived notions regarding their treatment with a physician or dentist as their immigration status may or may not be revealed during their care. If reported, they face deportation to their country of origin placing them in the danger they originally fled from. Survey data was collected using REDCap and distributed to students …

Examining The Effects Of Iron-Oxide Nanoparticles On Primary Gingival Keratinocytes For The Prevention Of Oral Disease, Jennifer C. Carranza

Dental Hygiene ETDs

Oral plaque biofilm has been identified as the primary contributor to dental conditions such as dental caries and periodontal disease that promotes a diverse and pervasive collection of microbial species to inhabit the oral cavity. Disrupting the plaque matrix early could help combat this global disease burden. This study evaluated the effect of IONPs on primary gingival keratinocytes.

Purpose: This study aimed to examine existing research regarding nanoparticles and determine if IONPs affect the PGK cell membranes with preliminary research to find the maximum lysis possible with PGK cells.

Methods: IONP core/shell syntheses were performed. Considering keratinocyte characteristics, examining data …

Synthetic Biology Enabled Modification Of Bone Cells And Impact On Bone Mineral Resorption, Dulce C. Hayes

Biomedical Sciences ETDs

Development of a cell culture based bone model can contribute to biomedical research by producing a reproducible model system that mimics a bone remodeling disorder and reduces the use of animals in research studies. Synthetic biology was used to engineer osteoblast cell lines to alter a key protein in the RANKL pathway in efforts to control the bone remodeling process. Osteoblast cell lines, K7M2 and MC3T3-E1 Subclone 4 were engineered to express osteoprotegerin (OPG) and inhibit OPG expression, respectively. The upregulation of OPG expression was confirmed with Real Time PCR and Quantikine® Immunoassay. To identify the functionality of the engineered …

Investigation Of Orthohantavirus Genetics In Rodent Reservoirs And Clinical Samples, Samuel M Goodfellow

Biomedical Sciences ETDs

Orthohantaviruses are negative-sense, single stranded RNA viruses with trisegmented genomes that can cause severe disease in humans and are carried by several host reservoirs throughout the world. In the United States, Sin Nombre orthohantavirus (SNV) is the primary cause of hantavirus cardiopulmonary syndrome (HCPS) with a fatality rate of ~36% and the highest cases occuring in the southwest region. The primary SNV host reservoir is thought to be the western deer mouse, Peromyscus maniculatus, however it has been shown that other rodents can carry different orthohantaviruses. We designed a pan-orthohantavirus detection tool to survey several small mammal populations throughout New …

Determining The Existence And Regulation Of Microlipophagy In Primary Brown And White Adipocytes, Sara C. Arenas De Leon

Biomedical Sciences ETDs

Lipids are one of life’s four main macromolecules and provide essential functions to cells.

The degradation of lipid droplets and mobilization of lipids occurs through lipolysis. Emerging evidence demonstrates evidence of a selective form of autophagy in lipolysis. The process of microlipophagy has only recently been described, and many features of its regulation are still poorly understood. Our recent study showed that inhibiting mammalian target of rapamycin complex 1 (mTORC1) pathway by depletion of Raptor in adipocytes led to an influx of lysosomes and accumulation of lipid droplets within lysosome. Here, we expand on these previous findings. We were able …

An Examination Of The Associations Between Covid-19 Vaccine Hesitancy, Trust In Media, And Trust In Science And Scientists, Jegason Phosphorus Diviant

Psychology ETDs

Recent evidence suggests corroded trust in scientific institutions, but particularly among political conservatives. The current investigation examined the potential role of trust in conservative media sources by capturing associations between trust in politically-biased media sources, trust in science and scientists, and COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy. A total of 1,117 participants completed an online cross-sectional self-report study. Results revealed that: (1) the less trust respondents had in science and scientists, the greater their overall COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy (and perceived risks and fears of COVID-19 vaccines); and (2) the more respondents trusted conservative-leaning news media sources, the greater their overall COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy …

Effects Of Acute And Chronic Gut Injury On Secretory Lineage Differentiation, Roger Atanga

Biomedical Sciences ETDs

Acute and chronic injury to the gut has several detrimental consequences. However, dysregulation of secretory lineage cells is a common observation. To model acute gut injury, we use non-fissile uranium bearing dust (UBD), an environmental toxicant prevalent in communities adjacent abandoned uranium mines, majority of which are located in the Southwestern United States. Repeated exposure to environmental toxins and heavy metals has been obscurely linked to intestinal inflammation, increased susceptibility to pathogen-induced diseases, and higher incidences of colorectal cancer. However, there is no molecular evidence that non-fissile uranium can cause damage to the intestinal epithelia. Human colonoids exposed to UBD …

Risk Management Perceptions And Preventive Practices Of Athletic Directors From Naia Schools, Yan Gioseffi

Health, Exercise, and Sports Sciences ETDs

The increase in the number of incidents associated with sports has led to the rise of litigation, and physical, emotional, and financial damage to stakeholders. Collegiate athletic directors (ADs) have the duty to keep their programs safe.

This study aimed to explore and understand the practices, perceptions, and experiences of ADs from National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) institutions regarding preventive risk management. As risk management is significantly new in the sporting industry, an exploratory study using a qualitative design, grounded in narrative inquiry was conducted using the D.I.M. Process as a guide to collect data from 10 NAIA ADs …

Pregnancy In United States Immigration Detention: Listening To Migrant Women's Stories, Amanda Heffernan

Nursing ETDs

Over the last five years, dramatic shifts in immigration policy across three presidential administrations have impacted migrants arriving at the U.S.’ southern border, with unique impacts on pregnant migrants. The purpose of this study was to document, analyze and contextualize the experience of pregnancy in United States immigration detention. Specifically, the study aimed to: 1) understand the situation of pregnant migrants detained in United States immigration detention facilities between 2017-2022; 2) situate the experience of detained pregnant migrants within multiple contexts, including their own individual and family migration stories and the larger context of United States immigration policy; and 3) …

Determining The Existence And Regulation Of Microlipophagy In Primary Brown And White Adipocytes, Sara C. Arenas De Leon

Biomedical Sciences ETDs

Lipids are one of life’s four main macromolecules and provide essential functions to cells, as they serve as building blocks of cellular membranes, mediate cell signaling, and are a critical energy source. Within cells, esterified fatty acids aggregate into lipid droplets in the form of triglycerides, consisting of a neutral lipid core surrounded by a phospholipid monolayer decorated with various proteins.

The degradation of lipid droplets and mobilization of lipids occurs through lipolysis, a process that hydrolyzes a molecule of triglyceride into a glycerol and three fatty acids. Emerging evidence demonstrates the involvement of a selective form of autophagy in …

Implementing Ethics Education For Nurse Managers, Mona L. Lateyice, Rachel E. Marzec

Doctor of Nursing Practice Scholarly Projects

Background: Every day, nurses are faced with making decisions for patient care and may come across complicated ethical decisions. Ethical practice is essential in every health care organization in providing care and how they conduct themselves (ANA, 2015). Nurse managers are responsible for ensuring ethical standards are met by nursing staff.

Problem: Nurse managers are faced with ethical problems more than fifty percent of their work time (Aitamaa, 2019). There are studies that show nurse managers and nurses have difficulty solving ethical problems because they lack understanding of ethical principles (Huang, et al., 2020). Evidence shows nurses are deficient in …

It Is What It Is... Enduring The Never-Ending: The Lived Experiences Of Parenting Adult Children With Developmental/Intellectual Disabilities, Siri Gurunam Kaur Khalsa

Nursing ETDs

The parental home is the principal place of residence for adults with developmental disabilities/ intellectual disabilities (DD/ID) (Heller et al., 2007). More than 75% of the adult population with DD/ID living in the U.S. continue to have their basic needs provided by their parents (Williamson & Perkins, 2014). This is based on the estimated statistic that 1.0 to 1.58% of the U.S. adult population has a developmental disability (Anderson et al., 2019; Fox et al., 2015). About 2.9 million adults with DD/ID live with a parent of 55 years (Byun et al., 2006), with more than 25% of these parents …

Neuroinflammatory And Metabolomic Temporal Dynamics From Inhaled Wildfire Smoke With Attenuation Via Pharmacological Intervention, David Scieszka, David Scieszka

Biomedical Sciences ETDs

Wildfire smoke is a global issue affecting nearly all humans on the surface of this Earth. Smoke dispersion from wildfires can span continents and cross oceans with amazing ease. Furthermore, total acres of land burned per year in the United States has roughly doubled since 1980, meaning this issue will persist for an indeterminate amount of time. Exposure to wildfire smoke is hazardous and promotes aging-associated events in the cardiopulmonary systems. Yet long- and short-term effects on the brain remain relatively unknown. From these, it is critically important to understand the neurological impacts from wildfire smoke exposure; to compare these …

Dynamic Assessment Of Aac Verb Symbols For Children With Autism Spectrum Disorder, Valerie Prieto, Cindy Gevarter, Cathy Binger, Mary Hartley

Speech and Hearing Sciences ETDs

This study used dynamic assessment (DA) with graduated prompting to evaluate whether preschool-aged children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) demonstrated learning potential with verb-based augmentative alternative communication (AAC) symbols. Four participants completed DA sessions across three instructional conditions: (a) requesting actions embedded in play, (b) labeling actions embedded in play, and (c) labeling actions presented via video. Performance across these conditions along with a control condition was compared using an adapted multielement single-case design. Three participants demonstrated learning in at least two instructional conditions, and only one showed progress in the control condition. Overall, participants initially required less cueing to …

Referral Triage To Improve Neurology Access, Melinda Mata

Doctor of Nursing Practice Scholarly Projects

The demand for neurology consultation far outweighs the number of specialists, thus causing long wait-times for consultation. Other contributing factors to obtaining timely consultation include, quality of information sent with the referral, insurance authorization, triage process, and appointment availability. This retrospective quality improvement study explored the effects of a referral triage process on reducing appointment wait time. All referrals were sent to one fax number and a new standard referral and triage process was implemented with specific operators with defined roles and responsibilities. The initial results following intervention implementation did not show improvement in wait times. Comparing the new triage …

Telehealth Monitoring For Non-Hospitalized Covid-19 Positive Patients In A Rural Setting, Rebekah Leann French

Doctor of Nursing Practice Scholarly Projects

Purpose

This quality improvement project evaluates the efficacy of an outpatient COVID-19 telehealth monitoring program intended to increase access to care, decrease emergency room/urgent care visits, and hospital admissions among telehealth observed adult patients in a rural area while providing safe home monitoring during acute illness.

Rationale/Background

Prior to COVID-19 pandemic, healthcare systems within the United States encountered several challenges including healthcare inequality and decreased healthcare access, particularly in rural communities. These gaps became more apparent when a novel COVID-19 pandemic emerged straining healthcare systems in the United States and throughout the world. Challenges ranged from overwhelmed emergency room (ER) …

Evaluation Of An Educational Intervention For Patients Undergoing Radical Cystectomy, Lisa D. Hendle

Doctor of Nursing Practice Scholarly Projects

Preoperative anxiety can increase stress and cause complications for patients who have upcoming surgery. This project evaluated the effectiveness of an educational intervention of a 4-minute video and opportunity to ask questions after had on the patient’s preoperative anxiety levels prior to radical cystectomy with ileal conduit creation surgery. This project had a small sample size of 5 but found that the educational intervention did create a significant decrease in the average anxiety score reported by the patients scheduled for radical cystectomy with ileal conduit creation surgery (p=0.018). It is unclear whether the intervention itself or the extra time spent …

Perceptions Of Nursing Staff On Restraint Alternatives, Adelia S. Perea

Doctor of Nursing Practice Scholarly Projects

Physical restraint is often used as a nursing intervention for patients with behavioral issues despite current evidence that indicates their use is actually more harmful than helpful. Nursing staff at UNMH are required by policy to use other methods such as restraint alternatives before placing patients in restraint. However, they do not have the necessary resources or tools to comply with the policy. The NPCU conducted a quality improvement project that introduced 5 restraint alternatives followed by a survey focused on nursing perceptions. The results revealed 2 alternatives (Gamewright GoPOP sensory toy & Playtivity sensory disc) were perceived by nursing …

Do-Not-Hospitalize Orders In Assisted Living Facilities: Perspectives From Direct Care Workers, Alanna Kates Dancis Dr.

Doctor of Nursing Practice Scholarly Projects

Context: Do-not-hospitalize (DNH) orders in assisted living facilities (ALFs) are often misunderstood, ignored, or countermanded by direct care workers (DCWs), potentially leading to residents being sent to the hospital against their wishes.

Objectives: The primary purpose of this study was to gather sufficient qualitative data to create an intervention that would help prevent DCWs from sending residents with DNH orders to the hospital against their wishes. To accomplish this goal, the study centered on three research objectives: 1) to understand more fully how DCWs interpret DNH orders; 2) to determine if carrying out DNH orders causes moral distress for DCWs; …

Coaching Student Clinicians And Parents To Use Naturalistic Communication Techniques For Children With Signs Of Autism, Erin M. Gallegos

Speech and Hearing Sciences ETDs

In this study, researchers implemented a short-term cascading coaching program focusing on naturalistic developmental behavioral interventions (NDBIs) with three participant triads consisting of a graduate student clinician, a minimally verbal child with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) or signs of ASD, and the child’s parent. The efficacy of several short-term instruction sessions, in-session coaching, and student clinician parent coaching was evaluated using a multiple baseline across interventionists design. The primary dependent variables were clinician and parent use of elicitation techniques, including creating communication temptations and prompting, and response techniques, including reinforcing child communication and using vocal models. Following targeting coaching, all …

B-Cell Monoclonal Antibodies For Management Of Relapse Remitting Multiple Sclerosis: A Cost Effectiveness Analysis, Sarah Glover

Pharmaceutical Sciences ETDs

Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a neurodegenerative disease in which the central nervous system’s myelin sheath is degraded by auto-immune cells. Relapse remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS) is the most common MS phenotype, accounting for ~85% of new diagnoses. Disease modifying therapies (DMTs) are used in RRMS to reduce the frequency of relapses and prevent disability progression. The present study performed a cost effectiveness analysis of three B-cell depleting monoclonal antibody DMTs: ocrelizumab, ofatumumab and rituximab, in comparison to commonly utilized interferon beta-1a (IFN-B1a). A Markov model was created to determine the impact of selected DMTs on the number of …

Effect Of Ligase I Deficiency On Replication Fork And Chromatin, Seema Khattri Bhandari

Biomedical Sciences ETDs

Half of all the eukaryotic nuclear genome is synthesized as Okazaki fragments on the lagging strand at the replication fork. Okazaki fragment synthesis begins with repeated production of short RNA-DNA primers synthesized by the DNA Polymerase α (Pol α)-primase complex. The primer terminus is recognized by Replication Factor C (RFC) which then loads the sliding clamp protein, proliferating cell nuclear antigen (PCNA), resulting in the recruitment of DNA Polymerase δ (Pol δ) which carries out the gap filling DNA synthesis displacing the 5’ end of the preceding Okazaki fragment which is cleaved by Flap Endonuclease 1 (FEN-1), and ultimately the …

Machine Learning Methods For Computational Phenotyping Using Patient Healthcare Data With Noisy Labels, Praveen Kumar

Computer Science ETDs

Positive and Unlabeled (PU) learning problems abound in many real-world applications. In healthcare informatics, diagnosed patients are considered labeled positive for a specific disease, but being undiagnosed does not mean they can be labeled negative. PU learning can improve classification performance, and estimate the positive fraction, α, among unlabeled samples. However, algorithms based on the Selected Completely At Random (SCAR) assumption are inadequate when the SCAR assumption fails (e.g., severe cases overrepresented), and when class imbalance is substantial. This dissertation presents and evaluates new algorithms to overcome these limitations. The proposed methods outperform the state-of-art for α-estimation, enhance classification performance, …

Applying Data Science And Machine Learning To Understand Health Care Transition For Adolescents And Emerging Adults With Special Health Care Needs, Lisamarie Turk

Nursing ETDs

A problem of classification places adolescents and emerging adults with special health care needs among the most at risk for poor or life-threatening health outcomes. This preliminary proof-of-concept study was conducted to determine if phenotypes of health care transition (HCT) for this vulnerable population could be established. Such phenotypes could support development of future studies that require data classifications as input. Mining of electronic health record data and cluster analysis were implemented to identify phenotypes. Subsequently, a machine learning concept model was developed for predicting acute care and medical condition severity. Three clusters were identified and described (Cluster 1, n …

Racial And Ethnic Differences In The Receipt Of Metabolic Syndrome Risk Factor Screening And Treatment Among Prostate Cancer Patients Treated With Androgen Deprivation Therapy., Yazan K. Barqawi

Pharmaceutical Sciences ETDs

Background: Racial and ethnic health disparities in prostate cancer prevalence, incidence, mortality, quality of life, screening, and treatment constitute the largest of all cancer disparities. These health disparities are associated with higher morbidity and mortality rates in minority populations. Treatment with androgen deprivation therapy (ADT) has been the most widely used therapeutic modality to reduce the progression of prostate cancer to a worse disease stage and relieve potential obstructive symptoms. However, ADT is associated with possible toxic metabolic and cardiovascular (CVS) adverse events that may occur within six months of ADT initiation. These adverse events include metabolic syndrome, type II …