Open Access. Powered by Scholars. Published by Universities.®

Digital Commons Network

Open Access. Powered by Scholars. Published by Universities.®

Articles 1 - 10 of 10

Full-Text Articles in Entire DC Network

Broken Promises: Prolonged Diminished Quality-Of-Life Among Liberian Ebola Survivors Half A Decade After The 2014-16 West African Outbreak, Jessi Hanson-Defusco, Decontee Davis, Meghana Bommareddy, Zainab Olaniyan Apr 2024

Broken Promises: Prolonged Diminished Quality-Of-Life Among Liberian Ebola Survivors Half A Decade After The 2014-16 West African Outbreak, Jessi Hanson-Defusco, Decontee Davis, Meghana Bommareddy, Zainab Olaniyan

Journal of Social, Behavioral, and Health Sciences

The 2014–2016 Ebola outbreak left thousands of Liberian survivors with severely diminished quality of life. Applying a social determinants framework, this mixed method study investigates to what extent Ebola virus disease (EVD) survivors suffer long-haul psychosocial stress, diminished quality-of-life factors, and the impact of EVD-related service provisions on their ongoing healing. We present the results of a quantitative analysis survey of data collected from 19 Liberian EVD survivors in 2022 using snowball sampling. Additionally, a qualitative analysis of survivor statements helps triangulate key statistical findings and inform causal mechanisms. Survivors report experiencing 5.25 of a total of 7 ongoing stressors …


Retention Of Foster Parents For At-Risk Youth In Tennessee, Marvin Amos Jan 2023

Retention Of Foster Parents For At-Risk Youth In Tennessee, Marvin Amos

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Federal legislation with the Family First Prevention Service Act (FFPSA) of 2017 required Tennessee to increase foster parent retention strategies. Tennessee does not have enough available foster homes for adolescents. The purpose of this generic qualitative study was to explore foster parent retention in Tennessee and to inform policymakers on how to adapt policy to increase the retention. The theoretical foundation for this study was based on the policy feedback theory, to identify the policy scope in Tennessee, and the two-factor theory, to guide the data analysis in the context of employee satisfaction and retention measures. Purposive sampling techniques were …


Associations Of Fast-Food Zoning Policy And Cardiovascular Disease In African American Communities, Starrlett Pena-Johnson Jan 2022

Associations Of Fast-Food Zoning Policy And Cardiovascular Disease In African American Communities, Starrlett Pena-Johnson

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Cardiovascular disease (CVD) remains a major public health concern, causing one in every four deaths in the United States. Despite availability of effective disease management, African Americans bear the burden of incidence and mortality as CVD prevails as the primary cause of disparities in life expectancy, stroke, and heart failure. This cross-sectional study investigated fast-food restaurant (FFR) availability and socioeconomic status (SES; income, occupation, and education) to predict CVD risk scores in African Americans residing in Jackson, Mississippi. The social construction of target populations theory was used to inform this study. Using hierarchical multiple linear regression, a secondary data analysis …


Family-Based Caregiving: Does Lumping Asian Americans Together Do More Harm Than Good?, Suryadewi E. Nugraheni, Julia F. Hastings Mar 2021

Family-Based Caregiving: Does Lumping Asian Americans Together Do More Harm Than Good?, Suryadewi E. Nugraheni, Julia F. Hastings

Journal of Social, Behavioral, and Health Sciences

Asian American family caregivers have gained increased attention due to the need to provide life-sustaining aid at home given the rising numbers of older adults. This article reflects upon caregiving-related research studies that have overlooked the circumstances Asian American caregivers bring to the home-care context. Policies written to address community needs tend to omit the social circumstances many Asian American caregivers must face when trying to take advantage of programs and services. For example, the eligibility requirements fail to recognize distinctive cultural values embedded within the caregiving processes. Further, most Asian American data is aggregated. Aggregating data by ethnicity limits …


Health Literacy Best Practices In Policy Development, Stacie Lee Trueheart Jan 2018

Health Literacy Best Practices In Policy Development, Stacie Lee Trueheart

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Low health literacy is a problem the U.S. faces and, like health care itself, is a complex issue stemming from patient demographics and the healthcare providers being very diverse. Tools have been developed to mitigate the risks of low health literacy, however, without formal policy. The purpose of this qualitative case study was to explore and compare commonalities in health literacy best practices of organizations that are recognized as leaders in health literacy and are addressing low health literacy in their communities. By comparing the organizations' abilities to implement standards of plain language and health literacy tools/guidelines, best practice and …


The Adequacy And Perceived Impact Of Nigeria's Health Policy, Kennedy Magoma Ongwae Jan 2017

The Adequacy And Perceived Impact Of Nigeria's Health Policy, Kennedy Magoma Ongwae

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

From 2004 to 2015, the health sector in Nigeria was substantially underfunded despite the existence of a federal health policy committing 15% of the national budget to health care financing. The purpose of this narrative and phenomenological study was to explore the nature and significance of economic claims made in this policy. The central research question examined the extent to which these economic claims were perceived to be realistic, attainable, and successful in meeting their intended policy objectives and impact. The study's conceptual framework combined Kingdon's ambiguity and multiple streams theory, Roe's narrative policy analysis, and Skocpol's policy feedback theory. …


Mandated Continuing Education And The Competency Of Illinois Physical Therapists, Denise Lynn Hunter Ethington Jan 2017

Mandated Continuing Education And The Competency Of Illinois Physical Therapists, Denise Lynn Hunter Ethington

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Continuing education (CE) mandate laws are passed by states because it is in the public interest. The intent behind the passage of Illinois's CE law for physical therapists is to protect public health and safety through ensuring the competency of providers. However, studies into the impact of mandated CE on competency have been mixed. The problem addressed by this study was whether Illinois's CE law was effective in improving the competency of physical therapists and its impact on patient care. The purpose of this study was to understand what role mandated CE played in developing the competency of physical therapists …


Temporary Restaurant Closures And Food Handling Violations: Inspection Reports In British Columbia, Pam Mandarino Jan 2017

Temporary Restaurant Closures And Food Handling Violations: Inspection Reports In British Columbia, Pam Mandarino

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Unsafe food handling practices are implicated in many restaurant-associated foodborne disease outbreaks. Factors that contribute to unsafe food handling in restaurants include inadequate food safety knowledge, employees who perceive that safe food handling is not under their control, and restaurant cultures that do not prioritize food safety. The purpose of this study was to determine whether temporary restaurant closures were associated with reduced food handling violations after closure in restaurants from the Vancouver Coastal Health Authority and the Fraser Health Authority, in British Columbia, Canada. The theoretical foundations used were the health action process approach and the theory of planned …


Relationship Between Nurse Training And Physical Restraints In Nursing Homes, Terah Tessier Jan 2016

Relationship Between Nurse Training And Physical Restraints In Nursing Homes, Terah Tessier

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

According to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), approximately 1.3 million U.S. residents are residing in nursing homes. CMS enforced regulations in the Nursing Home Reform Act. Training in the use of restraints in nursing homes is monitored through the CMS standards. The purpose of this study was to determine whether there was a correlation between training standards of health care practitioners and their use of restraints in nursing homes based on the patterns of citations by RNs and CNAs. Data were collected from Kansas, Louisiana, and Ohio within the CMS Nursing Home Data Compendium. The key research …


Determinants Of Usage Of Age-Appropriate Child Safety Seats In Connecticut, Giuseppina Mendillo Violano Jan 2015

Determinants Of Usage Of Age-Appropriate Child Safety Seats In Connecticut, Giuseppina Mendillo Violano

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

In the United States, motor vehicle crashes are one of the leading causes of unintentional injury death and disability for children ages 1'15 years. Despite local, state, and federal legislative and educational efforts, children continue to be restrained improperly and thus face harm. Identifying behaviors and barriers that place child occupants at risk is crucial for implementing focused, injury-prevention programs and policies. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of Connecticut's child passenger safety law that was strengthened in 2005. This study involved a multifactorial approach to predicting child seat use, guided by Roger's diffusion of innovations …