Medicine and Health Sciences Commons^™

Opioid Use Disorder: A Crisis Of Concern, Evangella Harville

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

According to a statement from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, between 2000 and 2017, approximately 700,000 people died from drug overdoses in the United States. Approximately 128 persons lose their life each day from an opioid overdose. The data for this study were collected by the vice president of operations at the study site from a preexisting database for 2019 and 2020. The participants were inpatient patients, 18 and older, both male and female, and were from all ethnicities. The study facility was located in Western New York and offered a 30-bed inpatient treatment center with 24-hour …

The Effect Of Postpartum Depression Screening Education For Postpartum Nurses, Shecarra S. Cook

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Depression affects about 13% of pregnant women and about 10% of women after childbirth. Some cases are so severe, the mother may even commit suicide. If left untreated, postpartum depression (PPD) affects both the mother’s and the infant’s health as well as their quality of life. The gap in clinical practice is that currently, patients only complete a postpartum depression screening tool during their 6-week follow-up appointment with their OB/GYN, leaving a gap in PPD detection and care during the immediate postpartum period. Postpartum nurses are not usually given specialized training in postpartum depression. The purpose of this study was …

Decreasing Unintentional Pregnancies For Tennesseans, Paula M. Todd

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

In 2018, 49% of all pregnancies in the United States were unintended, with women with a lower- income status being five times more likely to experience an unplanned pregnancy. Tennessee has a high rate of unintended pregnancies, particularly among the uninsured, low-income, and rural teen populations; some 22% of these unintended pregnancies end in abortion. Oral or transdermal contraceptives that are affordable and accessible for women of childbearing age can reduce unintentional pregnancies. The addressed gap in clinical practice was that contraceptives are not currently available over the counter in Tennessee pharmacies without a prescription, which necessitates a costly medical …

An Evaluation Of An Integrated Multidisciplinary Early Identification And Triage Of College Students At Risk For Anxiety And Depression, Sarah J. Templeton

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

College students across the U.S. are experiencing an increasing prevalence of mental health concerns, such as anxiety and depression. Suicide is currently the second most common cause of death among U.S. college students. At the project site, the university health services report that mental health issues significantly impact the students’ academic progress, contributing to poor performance, inability to complete assignments, and sometimes forces attrition. Campus providers traditionally respond when students approach, often at the point of crisis or exacerbation. This Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) project evaluated the impact of a pilot program using an interdisciplinary approach to universal proactive …

Food Addiction And Obesity, Lisa Ling

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The obesity rate in the U.S. adult population has increased to epidemic levels despite attempts to decrease obesity through evidence-based knowledge, clinical practice guidelines, medical interventions, and individual efforts. For certain individuals, food addiction behaviors such as food cravings, loss of control, and binge eating contribute to obesity and require a different approach to care. Little work has been done on adding the possibility of food addiction to obesity screening and treatment. This study utilized a quasi-experimental quantitative pre- and postsurvey research design based on Lewin’s change theory. Nurse practitioners were surveyed regarding the provider’s perceptions, attitudes, and beliefs about …

Policy Development: Stress Management And Critical Incident Debriefing, Karen Loraine Hasie Rowland

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Abstract Workplace stress and associated disorders (occupational burnout, compassion fatigue, secondary traumatic stress, critical incident stress, posttraumatic stress disorder, etc.) disproportionately affect healthcare workers, especially those working in critical care and emergency environments. The financial cost of stress related after-effects experienced by health care workers exceeds $191 billion each year and includes the cost of associated decreased quality of patient care, missed diagnoses, medical errors, and sentinel events leading to patient disablement or mortality. Mental health interventions such as stress management education and critical incident debriefings have been proven effective in reducing workplace stress and building personal resilience. A gap …

Use Of The Prescription Drug Monitoring Program For Substance Abuse Monitoring And Pain Management, Crystal P. Beddard

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Abstract

The United States is in an opioid epidemic. The comitant use of opiates and benzodiazepines can ultimately result in death. This project consisted of a quality improvement approach addressing the continued need to educate prescribers on coprescribing benzodiazepines and opioids to the adult population. A qualitative and quantitative descriptive analysis was utilized for data collection. The results will assist in determining if accessing the Prescription Drug Monitoring Program (PDMP) and utilizing evidence-based guidelines before prescribing treatment compared to the nonutilization of the PDMP and evidence-based guidelines aid in the reduction of mortality and overdose rates within a three-month period. …

Keeping Count: Studying The Effects Of Previous Sexual History On A Current Coupling, Kaelyn D. Pate

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The following thesis details a quantitative study focusing on the sexual double standard and how its impact on sexual attitudes and behaviors has a possible influence on relationship satisfaction. The purpose of this research is to understand how attitudes regarding the prevailing double standard reflect the hesitancy towards having a partner with a previous sexual history as the discussion suggests. There will be a review of previous literature for the traditional, cultural, and even paradoxical aspects that make up the standard. Findings of the study showed that there was no significant relationship found between a respondent’s acceptance of the sexual …

Exploring Online Mental Health Services: A Qualitative Study For First-Year College Students, Leandrian J. Wright

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

American first-year college students are faced with mental health issues, such as anxiety and depression, which can have a negative impact on their academic performance. Research shows that students who suffer from mental illness, such as anxiety and depression, fear their condition will be perceived negatively by their peers and professors. The literature also suggests that U.S. colleges and universities can be more proactive in offering students resources for their mental health concerns to decrease anxiety and depression. It appears that absent or limited mental health resources have failed to address rising cases of student mental illness, and more specifically, …

Experiences Of African American Veterans With Regards To Ethnicity, Mental Health, And Homelessness, Jeffrey Redmond

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Having a secure and permanent home is an important foundational, psychological need because it influences the fulfillment of other aspects of a person’s life. Given the importance of shelter in the well-being of any individual, the problem of homelessness among veterans underscores the significance of ensuring that veterans have access to this basic human need. This phenomenological, qualitative study explored the lived experiences of African American homeless veterans regarding to ethnicity, housing, mental health, and being unhoused with the intent of understanding or identifying meaning in regards to these experiences. The overrepresentation of African American homeless veterans leads to the …