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Using The Prevent-Teach-Reinforce For Families (Ptr-F) With Hispanic Families Of Young Children With Asd, Melissa Santiago

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This study assessed the feasibility of the newly manualized Prevent Teach Reinforce for Families (PTR-F) for use with Hispanic families of young children with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) who have difficulty adjusting to family routine. The study involved three families of children with ASD ages 3 to 6 years old who participated in the 5-step PTR-F process and who implemented the PTR intervention plan during naturally occurring family routines. A multiple-baseline across participants design was employed to examine the preliminary evidence of efficacy of using the PTR-F for children with ASD. The results indicated that Hispanic parents successfully implemented intervention …

Mind Over Matter: Evaluation Of A Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction Program For College Students, Jim Kasper

Public Health Theses

Mind Over Matter: Evaluation of A Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction Program for College Students

By

Jim Kasper

Background: While there is increasing evidence for the effectiveness of mindfulness practice to reduce feelings of anxiety, depression, and stress, and elevate self-compassion and awareness, the impact of brief mindfulness programs on these domains among urban, college-aged populations has not been explored fully. The current study aims to explore the impact of a brief mindfulness program upon student experiences of both positive and negative thoughts and emotions.

Methods: A mixed-methods study was designed to evaluate the impact of a 6-week mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR) …

Primary Care Physician Delivered Brief Behavioral Intervention For Adult Obesity And Associated Health Conditions, Julia C. Huston

Dissertations

Obesity is a chronic health condition with prevalence rates that have continued to rise steadily over the past 30 years to the point that it has now been declared a global epidemic and a serious public health concern. Obesity is associated with significant physical and economic costs, primarily resulting from co-occurring health conditions that increase the risk of morbidity including type II diabetes, hypertension, dyslipidemia, stroke, coronary heart disease, and respiratory problems. Despite the dissemination of several obesity treatments, including pharmacotherapy, lifestyle modification, and bariatric surgery, the prevalence and severity of obesity continues to rise. Federal guidelines recommend the use …

Pyramidal Parent Training For Children With Autism Spectrum Disorder In Southeast Europe, Laura Lyn Knecht

Theses and Dissertations

Families of children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) in developing countries may not have as much access to needed behavioral services as families living in developed countries. Caregivers of children with ASD in developing countries would benefit from an affordable, efficient parent training to teach them behavior techniques to use with their children. Pyramidal training is a cost-efficient method of training individuals through peers and would be a supportive intervention for families in developing countries. This study used a repeated acquisition design across three variables to examine whether a caregiver could train another caregiver on three behavioral interventions. These interventions …

An Efficiency Evaluation Of Procedures To Evoke Vocalizations In Children With Autism, Alejandro Rene Diaz

FIU Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Development of vocalizations in early learners with autism is critical to the acquisition of verbal behavior and other important life skills. The purpose of the present studies was to (1) evaluate the efficiency and efficacy of Stimulus-Stimulus Pairing (SSP) and standard Echoic Training (ET) procedures for the development and onset of verbal behavior in early learners with ASD to improve early intervention efficiency and (2) elucidate predictive characteristics or variables for the effective use of SSP. The present studies were comprised of a multiple-baseline (across behaviors) experimental design buttressed within a reversal design, also known more broadly as within-subject controlled …

Demographics And Cardiovascular Risk Factors In A Bi-Ethnic Church-Based Intervention: Baseline Results Of The Stroke Health And Risk Education (Share) Project, Lesli Skolarus

Journal of Health Disparities Research and Practice

Objectives: Hispanics have a higher incidence of cardiovascular disease (CVD) than non-Hispanic whites (NHWs). Despite proven benefits in other minority populations, few interventions have been conducted in partnership with Churches with substantial Hispanic membership. In this context, we describe the baseline demographics and CVD risk factors among participants of a bi-ethnic Catholic Church-based CVD prevention trial.

Methods: The Stroke Health and Risk Education (SHARE) project was a cluster-randomized, multi-component, faith-based, behavioral intervention that enrolled Mexican Americans (MAs) and NHWs from Catholic Churches in Corpus Christi, Texas. Strategies to ensure MA recruitment included bilingual staff and materials and partnership with Catholic …

Improving Sleep: Promoting Sleep Hygiene Techniques, Katherine Clifford

Family Medicine Clerkship Student Projects

About one third of adults in the U.S. get insufficient sleep, defined as less than 7 hours of sleep per 24 hour period, with similar statistics in Chittenden County, Vermont. Poor sleep/insomnia is a common complaint of patients visiting their primary care providers, and has many important consequences for physical and mental health. While sedative hypnotic medications and over the counter sleep aids are commonly used, they have many important side effects. Cognitive behavioral therapy for insomnia (CBT-I), which includes sleep hygiene techniques, is recommended as an effective, first line nonpharmacologic intervention for chronic insomnia. This project sought to create …