Medicine and Health Sciences Commons^™

Biophilic Design Strategies In Healthcare: Using Nature To Promote Wellness In Small-Scale Mental And Behavioral Health Facilities, Skyler Peckham

University Honors Theses

Designing spaces that promote the health and well-being of the general public has been a highly debated topic for several centuries within the disciplines of architecture, urban planning, and other similar fields. As more research has been done throughout the years, the notion of utilizing nature to promote wellness has become a prominent design strategy. Through the examination of a wide range of scholarship regarding the benefits that nature has for human health and connecting this research to the biophilic evidence-based design strategies of healthcare facilities, I aim to highlight what design aspects truly promote wellness for patients in small-scale …

Artistic Expression Of Medical Experiences Of Mothers Of Color: Perspectives Using Art Therapy, Lauren Barrett

Expressive Therapies Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to qualitatively examine perspectives of mothers of color living in the US and their experiences in the healthcare system through art therapy. The study aimed to further identify personal narrative experiences of mothers of color navigating the healthcare system, promote individual voices, and acknowledge disparities impacting those within marginalized communities. The participants in this study included a total of eight identified mothers of color (non-White) living in the US. Participants took part in four weeks of consecutive art therapy sessions either in 60-minute group or individual virtual meetings. One art therapy directive was provided …

The Consequences Of Homophobia: Analysis Of Discriminatory Medical And Legislative Policies And Their Influence On Health Disparities, Kaiden J. Fandel

Honors Thesis

Are there specific roots that influence the introduction and incorporation of discriminatory medical policies? What are the sources of such stigma, discrimination, and prejudice, in what forms does such discrimination take place, and what negative impacts does such hatred have on health outcomes, quality of care, and health disparities? Through a review of existing literature on this topic, intertwining the examination of the evolution of discriminatory policies and other explanatory literature in the United States, this thesis aims to answer the questions above, and explain the roots of such homophobic discrimination and its prevalence in the United States. Through the …

Lived Experiences Of People With Substance Use Disorder As Healthcare Education To Develop Empathy For This Population, Whitney Bynum

Nursing | Senior Theses

The negative attitudes and feelings of healthcare workers towards patients with substance use disorder are well documented. These include, but are not limited to, believing a person with this disease is “drug seeking”, “violent”, and “unmotivated”. While this population has challenging issues to address, these beliefs can decrease the quality of care provided and results in less people seeking out needed treatment. Reducing stigmas through alternative education methods, like learning the life story of a patient, can help health care workers develop feelings of empathy and compassion. Subsequently, this education can result in better care and outcomes for these patients. …

Understanding Veteran Perceptions About Mental Health And Its Treatment, Quinn Turner Stoddard

Dissertations and Theses

Mental health illnesses are a growing issue for a large part of the country, and veterans in particular are vulnerable to the numerous negative effects they pose. Despite the high number of people that may benefit from treatment, a variety of issues with trust, stigma, and attitudes may act as barriers to care utilization. In response, this study investigated the perceptions that veterans within the Pacific Northwest hold in regards to mental health treatment as well as their intentions to seek it out should they require it. Using the integrated model of behavioral prediction (IMBP), data was gathered about veterans’ …

Using Drama Therapy To Foster Peer Support Among Nurse Leaders, Chyela Rowe

Expressive Therapies Dissertations

This study explored the use of drama therapy to support the social-emotional experiences of nurse leaders at a mid-sized regional hospital system in the Southeastern United States. Nurse leaders have experienced profound changes to their work environments in recent years and burnout has been at an all-time high among healthcare workers globally. Organizational supports for nurses and nurse leaders are both inadequate to meet the needs and under-resourced. The research questions explored 1) whether the drama therapy peer support initiative improved outcomes and 2) whether there was a significant relationship between measures, and 3) what nurse leaders described as facilitators …

Medical Interpreters' Work Impact On Their Lives: Understanding Medical Interpreters' Work Experience, Nicholas M. Herrarte Smith

Senior Honors Projects, 2020-current

Medical interpreters in the US are crucial health workers that specialize in facilitating communication between non-English-speaking patients and English medical professionals. Although much research has been done regarding the positive impact of professional medical interpreters on LEP (limited English proficient) patients' health, it is less known how medical interpreters’ lives are impacted in this line of work. Thus, this study was aimed at gaining a better understanding on the impact that this line of work has on the lives of medical interpreters. For this study, a survey was created with questions regarding demographics, interpretation’s certification process, interpreter’s satisfaction/experience, and mental …

An Analysis Of Burnout And Wellness Of Healthcare Workers Based On Patient Population And Healthcare Worker Location, Spencer Brandenburg

Undergraduate Theses

Healthcare workers, even with all of the positive work that they do, often suffer from increased burnout and decreased wellness/quality of life. This problem is not new and has been steadily worsening for many years, however, there are factors which impact burnout and wellness that have not been analyzed or have produced mixed results in prior burnout and wellness literature. There has been little to no research done on the impact of patient population demographics on burnout and wellness in healthcare workers, and the research analyzing the impacts of demographic healthcare worker location has consistently produced mixed results often based …

Effect Of Covid-Protocols On Athletic Training Burnout, Harrison C. Garcia

All NMU Master's Theses

Burnout is a psychological condition consisting of emotional exhaustion, depersonalization, and a decreased sense of personal accomplishment and identity. Since the start of the pandemic, a significant increase in burnout has been reported by healthcare professionals, however, there is little known regarding the experiences of athletic trainers (ATs). PURPOSE: The purpose of our study was to investigate the association between burnout and COVID-19 related factors among ATs. METHODS: An electronic survey grouped by the Maslach Burnout Inventory – Human Services Survey, COVID-19 related workplace policies, and demographics was sent to 1,000 ATs through the National Athletic Trainer’s Association email listserv; …

Narrative Authority: A Narrative-Based Multicultural Ethics To Overcome Western Biases In The Current Models Of Care, Fahmida Hossain

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Technological advances and globalization are transforming healthcare dramatically. But unfortunately, current medical practices remain blind to their multicultural patients’ varied worldviews and norms, especially in the West. As a result, patients often find themselves isolated, anxious, and resentful.

All the humanistic models in the current literature view the individual as a unique and autonomous being and, in turn, provide practices to access and recognize the patient’s personhood. These models—Narrative Medicine, Narrative Ethics, and Ethics of Care—attempt to catch sight of the individual, the person’s situation, and some semblance of the person’s story before diagnosing or offering prescriptions. However, all these …

Lgbtq+ Health Disparities: Healthcare Intervention, Kara Steinbrecher

The Eleanor Mann School of Nursing Undergraduate Honors Theses

The lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ+) community has carried the burden of countless health disparities throughout its history tied to discrimination, bias, prejudice, and stigma. LGBTQ+ individuals are disproportionately at higher risk for substance abuse, sexually transmitted diseases, cardiovascular disease, mental illness, suicide, and unequal access to healthcare, related to social stigma and bias that exists in healthcare itself. The purpose of this systematic literature review is to analyze existing health disparities among the LGBTQ+ population in the United States and the efficacy of various interventions of health care professionals to reduce them. Twenty-one articles from multiple online …

Emerging Viral Diseases: Generation Z'S Outlook, Ian Mcwhorter

Honors Projects

Generation Z differs notably from previous generations like Baby Boomers or Generation X. In recent years, young adults have been persisting through the COVID-19 pandemic, though not unscathed. This paper seeks to answer the following question: How does Generation Z differ in its outlook on Viral diseases compared to previous generations? Using a series of three surveys conducted on three seperate Viral diseases (HIV, Zika, and COVID 19), it was found that while Generation Z has improved in its ability to combat Viral outbreaks due to factors like high digital literacy, other factors such as poorer mental health show that …

Minimizing Workplace Violence By Initiating An Evidence-Based Community Meeting, Olivia Gabrielle Foster

Dissertations

Problem: Workplace violence (WPV) in healthcare has become an epidemic demanding change. WPV is three to four times higher in the healthcare industry compared to other workplaces. For this project, WPV will be defined as any act of physical violence from a patient to a staff member. Community meetings are one evidence-based approach to decreasing WPV in psychiatric inpatient hospitals. Methods: This descriptive observational project compared data before and after implementing a targeted WPV community meeting, including unit rules, staff and patient expectations, a definition of WPV, and medication options available to reduce anxiety and irritability. This project …

Mental Health In Massachusetts Prisons, Jeffrey Yung

Undergraduate Theses and Capstone Projects

In November of last year, former Massachusetts U.S. Attorney Andrew Lelling and the Department of Justice’s Civil Rights Division released the findings of an investigation of the Massachusetts Department of Corrections (MDOC). They found several violations of prisoner’ constitutionals rights for mental health cases under the Eighth Amendment. The Eighth Amendment prohibits cruel and unusual punishments for criminal defendants. The findings reveal a lack of structured mental health care for MDOC prisoners, untrained employees, and unnecessary abuse of restrictive housing for prisoners designated under a mental health watch program.

Challenges To Career As A Source Of Meaning And Satisfaction Among Certified Athletic Trainers In The United States Of America, Nicole Marie Glasgow

Dissertations and Theses

There is a high prevalence of burnout in the athletic training profession. Similar to what has been found in other healthcare professions, burnout is correlated with lack of job satisfaction, high turnover, and decreased productivity. In phase one of this study, the purpose was to investigate whether there was a relationship between perceived career meaning and burnout among certified athletic trainers. In phase two, the purpose of the study was to explore the lived experiences of meaningfulness and purposefulness by certified athletic trainers. The overall objective of the research was to generate an understanding of factors associated with burnout in …

Healthcare Equity For Transgender Individuals, Mollie Staggs

DSW Capstone Projects

In the field of social justice and integrity, Social Work has dedicated itself to improving the welfare of the world, in which we all participate and interact. There are countless issues in our society that warrant professional attention for the fundamental purpose of positively impacting the livelihood of subcategories of people. For this particular Capstone Project, the focus is on transgender individuals’ systemic healthcare barriers that cisgender people within the United States do not similarly experience. The purpose is to unveil these disparities to then pose progressive alterations within the healthcare system to make the navigation and accessibility better for …

Exercise Prescription Practices In University Counseling Centers: Testing The Information-Motivation-Behavioral Skills Model, A'Naja M. Newsome

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The co-occurence of physical inactivity and poor mental health in the college student population can lead to chronic health issues that have negative short-term (e.g., academic success and weight gain) and long-term (e.g., obesity, serious mental illness, and premature mortality) impacts. Integrating exercise prescription into the mental health treatment plan of college students could enhance the holistic care model described by The American College Health Association (ACHA) and Healthy Campus task force. Understanding the knowledge, attitudes, and skills that mental health professionals (MHPs) hold regarding exercise prescription is important for policy formation and program development for college student health. The …

Designing A Virtual Reality Experience To Reduce Anxiety Of Children With Chd During The Perioperative Period, Yang Zhang

Theses - ALL

Children with congenital heart disease (CHD) often need to bear great anxiety related to various invasive surgeries and medical procedures. In a study of virtual reality technology in the medical industry, I found that it has great development potential in reducing children's anxiety. Therefore, the goals of this thesis project were to use virtual reality technology to reduce anxiety for children with CHD. Using previous research of anxiety in children with CHD and the solutions to children's anxiety in various hospitals, this thesis summarizes the design directions. Then, through interviews with pediatric cardiologists, child development experts, and children with coronary …

Reiki For Recovery: Incorporating Japanese Health Practices To Increase Contemporary Resiliency In American Health, Leif Peterson

Master's Projects and Capstones

The Japanese health practice of Reiki attempts to maximize the latent ability of the human system to heal itself. The Reiki system, established over a century ago, combines multiple Asian health traditions, experimenting with practices that maximize the natural processes of the body to perform its own repairs. Reiki encourages healthy behaviors that balance the mind and body, return the human system to a lowered stress level, and allow for an optimal recovery state for the patient. This paper illustrates how this Japanese health-affirming method can be integrated and utilized within existing health and medical practices. An area that is …

The Effects Of Virtual Reality Therapy On Acrophobia: A Literature Review, Emma Zobal

The Eleanor Mann School of Nursing Undergraduate Honors Theses

This paper examines the effects of virtual reality therapy on acrophobia. Virtual reality therapy is a valuable tool that can be utilized to expose individuals to their phobias in a controlled, virtual setting with the use of technology. Acrophobia is described as an extreme fear of heights and can interfere with the daily lives of individuals. In this review, four studies were examined that focused on the use of virtual reality therapy in individuals with acrophobia. The overall findings indicated that virtual reality therapy was effective in reducing symptoms of acrophobia. Furthermore, this literature review examines the benefits and successful …

Dance/Movement Therapy And A Search For Wholeness Under Capitalism, Autumn Wright

Dance/Movement Therapy Theses

Wellness, as it is currently defined in late capitalism, is a luxury good for the ruling class. Capitalism and the commodification of wellness go largely unaddressed in current dance/movement therapy research. In the United States, dance/movement therapists operate within the for-profit healthcare system. The United States is the only industrialized democracy in the world without a national health insurance program. Despite the access to state licensure for the past 20 years, dance/movement therapists still have no guarantee that health insurance companies will pay for their services. Concurrently, there has been a surgency of self-proclaimed wellness coaches. These …

Political Ideologies, Political Party Affiliation, And Treatment Decisions Of Clinical Mental Health Counselors, Aaron L. Norton

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Literature in the counseling profession has emphasized the importance of recognition of the potential impact of counselor bias on clinical care for decades. A large body of research has been developed on the potential for the personal, social, and religious beliefs of clinical mental health counselors (CMHCs) to impact their work with clients, but comparatively little research has been conducted on the potential impact of the political beliefs of CMHCs and their clinical practice, creating a gap in the professional literature. The present study sought to bridge the gap in CMHC literature by examining the relationship between the political ideologies, …

Service Providers' Perceptions Of Stigma And Its Impact On Mental Health Services, Arthur Gabriel Montes

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Stigma is one of the most significant barriers to access and utilization of mental health services in the United States. Delays in receiving mental health services significantly contribute to health disparities and poor health outcomes. Social workers play an integral part in implementing best practices within health care settings and reducing health inequities impacting vulnerable populations. The purpose of this qualitative action research study was to explore social work service providers perceptions' toward stigma and how it affects mental health services among patients in California's Medicaid program. Stigma theory was applied to gain an understanding of how stigma interacts and …

Workplace Violence: An Urgent Call For Integrated Staff Education In Acute Care Hospitals, Nicole Bellisario

Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) Projects

Problem: Type II workplace violence (WPV) in acute care hospital settings has become an epidemic of costly proportions in the United States. Regulatory mandates and healthcare accreditation standards increasingly require healthcare employers to provide a safe and healthy healing environment for patients and a safe work environment for staff. Implementation of a comprehensive WPV prevention program depends largely on organizational culture, participation and commitment from key stakeholders, and readiness for change.

Context: The patient-clinician relationship has drawn urgent attention, as healthcare organizations around the world implement key components of WPV prevention programs. The clinical management of patient aggression …

Rejection Sensitivity And The Intent To Seek Medical Help Among Gender Minority Individuals, Kellyann Garthe

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Background: As members of a marginalized and socially devalued group, gender minority (GM) individuals regularly experience rejection in healthcare experiences. These rejecting experiences lead to barriers to healthcare access and health disparities. Consequently, GM individuals’ may develop anxious and avoidant attitudes toward their healthcare needs. When considering healthcare, an individual’s inherent attitude informs their intent to seek medical help (ISMH), defined as the attitude that influences one’s decision to seek medical help. When an individual has a hyper-sensitive reaction to perceived rejection, this is termed rejection sensitivity (RS).

Purpose: The purpose of the study was to determine if the independent …

An Examination Of The Association Between State Medicaid Perinatal Services And Birth Outcomes, Joy Morgan Myers

Honors Theses

This thesis investigated the connection between socioeconomic status, healthcare coverage, and birth outcomes. The research question that was posed specifically looked at twenty perinatal services that states covered under Medicaid to varying degrees to see their association, if any, with premature birth rates and low birthweight rates. State-level and Mississippi county-level data were compiled regarding preterm birth rates, low birthweight rates, presumptive eligibility adoption, and coverage of twenty different perinatal services. Using these data, the correlation between state Medicaid expansion status and birth outcomes was first calculated in order to determine if variation in birth outcomes was associated with expanded …

Proceeding Without Consent: The Ethics Of Disregarding Patient Preference For Paternalistic Reasons, Nicholas Munsey

Undergraduate Theses and Capstone Projects

Within the last few decades, modern medical regulations have brought the practicing medical community to an unprecedented level of accountability. Laws and regulations governing the practice of medicine were once, at best, loosely enforced guidelines; practices such as experimental surgeries, dangerous health testing, end of life care, and treatment of mental illness were left comparatively unregulated. The introduction of patient rights and new standards for practicing have left the medical community with a novel dilemma: how might one approach a patient who, according to medical advice, is in need of treatment if that patient is unable to express preference or …

An Exploration Of Factors Of Lgbt Cultural Competency Among Prospective Healthcare Professionals, Heather Isbell

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Literature suggests there is a relationship between cultural competency and health outcomes as well as a perceived fear of discrimination LGBT individuals face when attempting to receive healthcare services. The aim of this study is to assess the level of LGBT CC (cultural competency) among prospective professionals who are expected to provide health care services and to explore factors that affect those attributes. Multiple linear regressions were conducted to test the effect of the following factors of LGBT CC: postsecondary experience, relations with LGBT individuals, and religion using a sample of 57 different healthcare students in a faith-based university during …

Associations Among Healthcare Utilization And Binge Drinking, Ethan Grey, Chad Phalon, Anna Greene, Patricia Harmeyer, Kalyn Rosenberg, Cristine Griffing, Tom Delaney

Master of Public Health Culminating Projects

Objective. To examine associations among routine healthcare services and binge drinking in Vermont adults.

Methods. We analyzed a cross-sectional sample of randomly selected 6516 adults who participated in the self-reported 2017 Vermont Behavioral Risk Surveillance System survey. We estimated odds ratios for responses indicative of binge drinking in association with length of time since last routine checkup using a bivariate logistic regression model.

Results. Participants who reported binge drinking were 31% (OR = 0.69, 95% confidence interval [CI] = 0.56, 0.83) less likely to engage in a healthcare visit within the past year controlling for age, employment status, annual household …

Implicit Attitudes Of Asian American Older Adults Toward Aging, Anita Ho

Scripps Senior Theses

Greenwald, McGhee, and Schwartz (1998) developed the Implicit Association Test (IAT), a measure of mental associations between target pairs and positive or negative attributes. Highly associative categories yield faster responses than the reverse mental associations, which is thought to reflect implicit attitudes toward stereotypes. The present study investigated the effect of ethnic group on one’s implicit attitudes toward aging and gender stereotypes by comparing two groups of older adults, Asian Americans and Caucasian Americans, that likely hold different culture values. Past qualitative studies have established the existence of mental health stigma in Asian American populations, including negative Asian American perceptions …