Medicine and Health Sciences Commons^™

Faith Influences On Health Of Rural Appalachian Older Adults In East Tennessee: An Ethnonursing Study, Karina Elizabeth Strange

Doctoral Dissertations

As the U.S. older adult population increases and diversifies, healthcare providers need innovative, cost-effective, and culturally congruent approaches to gerontological nursing care. Decades of multidisciplinary evidence demonstrate that spirituality enhances older adult holistic health. However, although research about spirituality and nursing has become more culturally diverse, little is known about spirituality-health linkages of rural Appalachian older adults (RAOAs). This knowledge gap is significant because Appalachia leads the country in mortality related to chronic comorbidities such as heart disease, cancer, and depression. Given age, poverty, limited transportation, and health provider shortage areas, RAOAs experience severe health disparities. Moreover, spirituality is an …

The Correlation Between Exercise And Burnout In Student Nurses, Drew Janes

Chancellor’s Honors Program Projects

No abstract provided.

The Effects Of Clonidine On Neonatal Abstinence Syndrome Patient Outcomes, Claire E. Flatt

Chancellor’s Honors Program Projects

No abstract provided.

Addressing Interprofessional Competence In Interpretation Of Electronic Fetal Monitor Tracings, Susan H. Hébert

Doctoral Dissertations

Interpretation of electronic fetal monitor (EFM) tracings is a critical clinical practice skill nurses and physicians perform during the intrapartum stage of pregnancy. However, if performed inaccurately can potentially jeopardize the well-being of the neonate. This risk is present because if concerning EFM tracings are not interpreted accurately, preventative care interventions to promote the well-being of the unborn child do not occur. The project was initiated by completing a scoping literature review on the methods for training and evaluating EFM interpretation competence, which revealed current EFM interpretation training and evaluation methods are lacking. A concept analysis defined nurse competence in …

The Lived Experience Of Losing Employment After Diagnosis With Dementia: A Phenomenological Analysis, Susan K. Blaine

Doctoral Dissertations

The purpose of this study was describing the experiences of people with dementia (PWD) who lose their employment after diagnosis with dementia, but sooner than originally planned. A phenomenological approach based on tenets of Maurice Merleau-Ponty was used. Six telephone interviews were conducted, with participants sharing their experiences. Transcripts were transcribed verbatim, and subsequently analyzed via a hermeneutical analysis approach. Themes were identified within and between transcripts, considering the contextual grounds of Merleau-Ponty’s phenomenology: body, others, time, and world, and the contextual ground of participants’ experience: the stigma of dementia. An overarching, central theme of “still working” was identified across …

How Stress And Coping In Nursing Affect Burnout In The Transition To Practice: A Literature Review And Proposed Study, Natalie Elizabeth Meade

Chancellor’s Honors Program Projects

No abstract provided.

The Psychosocial Experiences Of African American Sexual And Gender Minority Caregivers Of People With Dementia, Lakeva Harris

Doctoral Dissertations

Over 50 million people in the United States provide unpaid care to a family member or friend. One-third of these caregivers (16 million) provide care to someone with Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias (ADRD). Of these caregivers, more than 20% state caregiving has led to a decline in their health. African American caregivers are less likely to report being in very good or better health than their white caregiving peers. Similarly, lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and/or queer (LGBTQ) caregivers are more likely to report fair or poor health than their heterosexual, cisgender peers. The overlap of these minoritized identities may …

Psychosocial Effects Of Providing Nursing Care To Patients From A Multi-Casualty, School-Associated Shooting Event, William Travis Mccall

Doctoral Dissertations

Secondary traumatic stress describes symptoms consistent with post-traumatic stress disorder but that result from witnessing or experiencing the trauma of another individual through a helping relationship. The associated symptoms include intrusions, avoidance, and hyperarousal. Secondary traumatic stress is also associated with the development of compassion fatigue and burnout. The current state of the science identifies that secondary traumatic stress may affect those nurses who provide care to critically ill or injured patients. Research has most commonly examined the prevalence of secondary traumatic stress, compassion fatigue, and burnout among nurses in emergency department settings. While attention is frequently given to the …

Cultural Influences Related To Childhood Obesity In Burmese Children And Adolescents In The Southeast United States, Rebecca Elizabeth Chatham

Doctoral Dissertations

Abstract

Childhood obesity is an unrelenting public health problem disproportionately affecting racial and ethnic minorities. There are multiple, complex factors related to the prevalence of childhood obesity from genetics to behavior to environment. Although ethnic minorities are disproportionately affected by childhood obesity and have a variety of cultural identities, research rarely examines cultural factors. In addition, qualitative research into childhood obesity rarely seeks the perspectives of children. This research study sought to address these gaps by interviewing children from an ethnic minority. The purpose of this study was to discover cultural influences that contribute to or prevent childhood obesity from …

Do Young Adults With Close Family Experiencing Alzheimer's Have Higher Depression Rates, Ali Sullivan

Chancellor’s Honors Program Projects

No abstract provided.

Understanding How Mothers Perceive Doulas During Childbirth, Eva J. Huff

Chancellor’s Honors Program Projects

No abstract provided.

Fall Risk Factors Among Hospitalized Older Adults With Alzheimer’S Disease And Related Dementias, Jean Bettencourtt Sconza

Doctoral Dissertations

Falls are a common and devastating complication of hospital admission for older adults. Falls are especially significant for those with Alzheimer’s Disease and related dementias (ADRD) as they are at high risk to fall and to suffer injuries from falling. Despite the large body of research on falls in hospitals, less is known about fall risk factors among patients with ADRD. The purpose of this retrospective case-control study was to determine which risk factors are predictors of falls among hospitalized older adults with Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias (ADRD) by comparing those who fell with those who did not fall. …

The Lived Resettlement Experience For Single Refugee Mothers From The Democratic Republic Of Congo, Lauren Michelle Mefford

Doctoral Dissertations

At least 72% of the 50,000 Congolese refugees resettled in the USA in the last 5 years are women and children. Many are single refugee mothers (SRM) disadvantaged by obstacles (i.e., childcare) that hinder them from becoming self-sufficient within the required timeframe post-resettlement. Published research on resettlement has focused general challenges, but an understanding of the unique needs and perspectives of SRMs is lacking. This phenomenological, qualitative study provides insight into the lived resettlement experience for SRMs from the Democratic of Congo (DRC). Participants (n=7) were recruited from a refugee resettlement agency in East Tennessee and partook in open-ended, unstructured …

Relationship Between Social Media Use And Sleep Quality Of Undergraduate Nursing Students At A Southeastern University, Stephen B. Nowell, Kathleen Thompson

Chancellor’s Honors Program Projects

No abstract provided.

Attitudes And Beliefs Of Nursing Student Towards Patients With Eating Disorders Before And After Participating In A Psychiatric Mental Health Nursing Course, Kayla N Hindle

Chancellor’s Honors Program Projects

No abstract provided.

Rescue Dosing As A Standardized Treatment Protocol For Neonatal Abstinence Syndrome (Nas) To Decrease Length Of Hospital Stay, Mallory Lanier

Chancellor’s Honors Program Projects

No abstract provided.

Testing A Musical Game Activity For Community-Dwelling Older Adults, Jordan Riggins, Susan Mclennon Phd Arnp

Chancellor’s Honors Program Projects

No abstract provided.

Do Personal Factors And Interpersonal Influences Affect Commitment To A Plan Of Action For Physical Activity Among African-American Women?, Bobbie W. Brown

Doctoral Dissertations

The lack of physical activity (PA) among African American (AA) women is a predisposition to chronic diseases associated with obesity. Women, particularly AA women, who are between 35 and 60 years of age, are particularly noted to be at highest risk for developing obesity-related chronic diseases. Few PA studies have included AA women older than 25 years of age and younger than 65 years of age (Carter-Parker, Edwards, & McCleary-Jones, 2012).

All analyses were conducted using SPSS Version 21 (Armonk, NY: IBM Corporation) and statistical significance was assumed at an alpha value of .05. The assumption of normality for continuous …

Rural Appalachian Person And Family Decision Making At End Of Life, Mary Lou Clark Fornehed

Doctoral Dissertations

The dynamics of delivering care to persons at end of life (EOL) have dramatically changed in the last twenty years. Improved management of chronic illness and provision of aggressive life sustaining measures for an illness once deemed fatal are more common, significantly increasing longevity. While it is estimated that more than 40 million persons with life-limiting illness worldwide are candidates for some form of palliative or end-of-life care (EOLC), less than 14% of them will receive it.

When coping with life-limiting illness, people and their families are asked to make many complex and difficult decisions about EOL, palliative, or hospice …

A Grounded Theory Inquiry Into Crying In Women Dealing With The Emotional Stress Of Personal Crisis, Mary Bess Griffith

Doctoral Dissertations

The belief that crying leads to healing is so widely held and of such longstanding that many healthcare professionals—including nurses, physicians, psychiatrists, and psychologists—accept it as fact even though there is little substantiating scientific evidence. Crying is commonly believed to be an essential factor in restoring mind-body equilibrium after physical and/or emotional trauma has been experienced. If, as has been hypothesized by many scientists and healthcare practitioners, emotional crying is a biopsychosocial healing modality, then specifics of its therapeutic praxis, including limitations and ambiguities, should be incorporated into nursing education and practice. In this grounded theory study, the meaning and …

The Effects Of Motivational Interviewing On Heart Failure Self-Care During Transitional Care In An Appalachian Population, Jennifer Lynn Mabry

Doctoral Dissertations

Research has shown that patients who are successfully engaged in self-care for a chronic illness have a higher quality of life and reduced hospitalizations than those who are not. According to the National Center for Health Statistics, transitional care in the home setting has seen a 51% increase in mortality over the last 15 years (Reeder et al., 2015). This finding contrasts with the reported decline in hospital readmissions for chronic illnesses. With the lack of agreement on best practices for patient discharge education, transitional care has proven to be a weakness in chronic illness care that requires further research. …

Nurse Perceptions Of Their Role In Hospital Reimbursement, Mckinsey Patterson

Chancellor’s Honors Program Projects

No abstract provided.

A Feasibility Study Of Just-In-Time Asthma Self-Management Intervention, Phillip Charles Scruggs

Masters Theses

Quality asthma care requires not only an initial diagnosis, but long term follow up care and education on long term control. Preventable symptoms continue to reduce the quality of life for chronic asthma sufferers and place an unnecessary burden on emergency services and the health care system at large. A mobile health (mHealth) solution is proposed to effectively improve outcomes for patients while ultimately reducing the overall burden of mismanagement on the healthcare system as a whole. The Just-in-Time Asthma Self- Management and Intervention (JASMIN) system provides a way for a patient or user to track, self-manage, and interact with …

“You Came To Not Normal Land”: Nurses' Experience Of The Environment Of Disaster: A Phenomenological Investigation, Stasia Elizabeth Ruskie

Doctoral Dissertations

Previous research suggests US nurses are unprepared for disaster, and suffer from adverse psychosocial outcomes following their disaster response. Current disaster preparedness focuses on providing hospital-centric trauma and acute care in fully resourced Western conditions, and does not include the environmental realities of the disaster setting. This study utilized an existential phenomenological approach to explore the meaning of the nurse’s experience of the disaster environment. Eleven nurses with broad disaster expertise and training levels participated in this research. The essence of their disaster experiences can be summed up by the central theme of “You came to not normal land.” Four …

Examining The Relationships Between Gratitude And Readiness For Self-Directed Learning In Undergraduate Nursing Students, Kellee Renee Vess

Doctoral Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to explore the relationships between gratitude and readiness for self-directed learning among nursing students enrolled in a four-year baccalaureate nursing program. For this study a sample of 59 nursing students were selected from a four-year baccalaureate nursing program, situated in a private, faith-based college in the Southeast United States. During data collection, participants were asked to complete the Gratitude 6-item questionnaire [GQ-], the 40-item Self-Directed Learning Readiness Scale for Nursing Education [SDLRS-NE], and two demographic questions (i.e., age and class rank). Using both parametric and nonparametric statistics, this study examined eight research questions, and …

Experiences Of Newly Licensed Registered Nurses Who Stay In Their First Jobs, Lisa D. Kirkland

Doctoral Dissertations

Most newly licensed registered nurses go to work in acute care hospitals, which means they enter an increasingly complex healthcare environment where they experience staffing shortages, high nurse-patient ratios, and workplace violence. The purpose of this study is to attempt to understand the experiences of newly licensed registered nurses who have endured the early years of bedside hospital nursing and continue to work in their first nursing job. The existential phenomenological philosophy of Merleau-Ponty serves as the guiding framework for this qualitative research study. Following IRB approval, criterion and snowball sampling were used to recruit newly licensed registered nurses who …

Developing An Optimal Model For Infant Home Visitation, Isaac Atuahene

Doctoral Dissertations

The United States, Great Britain, Denmark, Canada and many other countries have accepted home visitation (HV) as a promising strategy for interventions for infants after births and for their mothers. Prior HV studies have focused on theoretical foundations, evaluations of programs, cost/benefit analysis and cost estimation by using hospital/payer/insurance data to prove its effectiveness and high cost. As governments and private organizations continue to fund HVs, it is an opportune time to develop and formulate operations research (OR) models of HV coverage, quality and cost so they might be used in program implementation as done for adult home healthcare (HHC) …

Newly Licensed Registered Nurses' Experiences With Clinical Simulation, Carrie Ann Bailey

Doctoral Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to understand how new graduate nurses perceive the value of simulation in making the transition into professional practice. This study will use a descriptive qualitative approach with a sample of first year nurses. Kolb’s Experiential Learning Model serves as this study’s conceptual framework. For the current study, the sample consisted of 10 newly graduated, female nurses with less than one year of experience working in the hospital setting were interviewed. Data analysis included interviews and transcription by the researcher. Finally, participants were asked about themes to increase rigor. Four themes emerged from this research: …

Exploring Holistic Comfort In Children Who Experience A Clinical Venipuncture Procedure, April Athena Bice

Doctoral Dissertations

Children often experience the uncomfortable effects of invasive procedures as a part of primary health supervision and during times of illness. Inadequate procedural comfort management can lead to numerous lasting harmful effects including distrust of healthcare providers, future intensified pain responses, negative cognitive and emotional experiences, and psychosocial health problems (Czarnecki et al. 2011). Holistic comfort has been well documented in adult literature but little research exists on the understanding of holistic procedural comfort from the child’s perspective. The purpose of this study was to explore perspectives of children age 4 to 7 years and their caregivers regarding procedural holistic …

Disaster Resilience In Rural Appalachia, Erin K. Conley

Chancellor’s Honors Program Projects

No abstract provided.