Medicine and Health Sciences Commons^™

How Did Covid-19 Impact The Mental Health Of Nurses, Pamela Bedoya

Senior Honors Projects

No abstract provided.

Food Insecurity And Charitable Food Services: What Do College Students Think About Such Public Health Interventions?, Kaitlyn Driscoll

Senior Honors Projects

Hunger and food insecurity exist across millions of households in the United States. In 2020, an estimated 1 in 8 Americans were food insecure. The U.S. Department of Agriculture defines food insecurity as a lack of consistent access to enough food required for an individual to maintain an active, healthy life. Food insecurity is associated with an increased prevalence of chronic health conditions and directly affects a student’s ability to learn. Approximately 30% of college students obtaining an education in the United States are currently food insecure. Universities across the country are addressing student hunger via the establishment of on-campus …

Barriers Middle School Students Face In The Pandemic: Addressing And Overcoming Them, Fatine N. Oliveira

Senior Honors Projects

The Covid-19 pandemic has had devastating effects on all factors of society, many still unknown. One of the obvious effects has been how it affects children in school. Middle school students are a part of this unique moment in history. The pandemic and its move to virtual learning has created a lasting impact on middle schoolers’ social skills at the most important time in their development. Quarantine required children to be incredibly isolated from their peers and life activities, in general. Instead, many were overexposed to social media which hindered their ability to interact with peers. I have chosen to …

Emergency Medicine And Mental Health: Are We Adequately Educating And Training Providers To Care For Mental Health Patients?, Abigail Miller

Senior Honors Projects

Mental health is a significant problem in the United States. In the prehospital setting, it is not prioritized like other medical conditions, and therefore, does not receive the same quality of treatment. Emergency Medical Service providers (EMS providers) play a significant role in caring for people experiencing mental health emergencies, as many of these people come to the hospital via ambulance. EMS providers are responsible for providing quality prehospital care, effectively communicating, and advocating for patients during the transfer of care to emergency department staff. This transfer of care is one of the first steps toward quality treatment and continuity …

Associations Of Lifestyle And Sociodemographic Factors With Dietary Supplement Use In College Students, Sydney Chratian

Senior Honors Projects

Background: Dietary supplement use has been shown to be significantly prevalent in the United States, especially among the young adult population. Studies have reported increasing use of dietary supplements among college students in the US. However, little research has investigated the sociodemographic and behavioral characteristics associated with dietary supplement use in this population.

Objectives: The aim of this study was to examine the prevalence of dietary supplement use and sociodemographic and behavioral characteristics associated with dietary supplement use in college students and examine the attitudes and beliefs of college students on dietary supplements.

Methods: A cross sectional study was conducted …

What Socioeconomic Factors Influence Breastfeeding Rates?, Keely Ford

Senior Honors Projects

The American Academy of Pediatricians recommends exclusively breastfeeding for six months due to breast milk's nutritional value and protection against various long term and short-term illnesses. Children who are exclusively breastfed for six months have reduced rates of asthma, obesity, type 1 diabetes, severe lower respiratory disease, acute otitis media, sudden infant death syndrome, gastrointestinal infections, and necrotizing enterocolitis in premature infants. The CDC’s most recent national immunizations study, observing infants born in 2018, discovered that only 56.7% of infants were being breastfed at six months and not exclusively. And only 25.8% of infants born in 2018 were breastfed exclusively …

Nutrition In Uri Athletes Vs. Non-Athletes, Amity Tobias

Senior Honors Projects

Being a student athlete and growing up in sports has had both positive and negative effects on my life. Children often take part in sports at a young age to teach them important life skills such as dedication, hard work, and discipline. While sports are very effective for physical fitness and being a part of a team may be crucial in a kid’s life, there may also be some negative effects. Some sports such as gymnastics, hockey, soccer, etc., have an intensely high demand, both physically and mentally. Athletes are stereotyped to be the fittest, healthiest group of people and …

Children's Book On Pragmatics, Emily Conners

Senior Honors Projects

Pragmatics of communication is the use of social language skills when communicating with others. These skills are important in learning how to appropriately communicate and in building relationships. This is one area of communication that children can have difficulties with when they are developing language skills.

This children’s book focuses on one pragmatic skill learned during development, using language to request permission, with the goal of teaching children aged two to five about its importance. I used my background knowledge in pragmatics and child development to write a story about a boy named Jacob that struggles to ask his Grandpa …

A Child's Experience Working Through Grief: A Booklet For School Aged Children Navigating Their Grief Journeys, Alyssa Johnson

Senior Honors Projects

The term grief describes the feelings you experience in response to the death of a person in your life, while the term mourning represents the period in which you feel or express signs of grief or sorrow. A child’s grief experience after the death of a significant person in their life is an often overlooked and understudied topic. The importance of being open and honest with children as they navigate their grief journey is at the forefront of this project. Using research regarding how children process, express, and understand grief, I created, “A Person In My Life Has Died, What …

Generation Of A More Immunogenic Fh Vlp Platform To Support Covid-19 Vaccine Development, Jewel E. Voyer, Xinyuan Chen Phd.

Senior Honors Projects

The SARS-CoV-2 based pandemic has seen almost a million deaths in just the United States according to the CDC. This number is due to the increase of variants of COVID-19, therefore calling a demand in vaccine production. Vaccine adjuvants and carriers have been studied to increase the immunogenicity and safety of a variety of immunizations. Flagellin fused Hepatitis B core (FH) virus like particles (VLP) has been studied to have beneficial effects of TLR5, IL6 levels, and lack of body temperature rise in murine study. The FH platform also provides an improvement from its predecessors FljB alone which is a …

Burnout Rates Affecting The Future Of Bedside Nursing, Hannah Kramer

Senior Honors Projects

No abstract provided.

Stigma Surrounding The Use Of Food Insecurity Programs Among College Students, Brianna Kelly

Senior Honors Projects

While addressing food insecurity in college students, a multifactorial approach is crucial in understanding the prevalence of food insecurity and barriers that can further hinder a student from becoming food secure, such as stigma. In the United States, 38.3 million Americans are food insecure (Food Security in the US, 2020). Approximately 40% of college students across the nation reported past-month insecurity in a 2019 study (Frank et al., 2021). A qualitative study among students at the University of North Texas found that due to stigma, many students struggling with food insecurity often did not use federal services or turn to …

Assessment Of The University Of Rhode Island's Dining Halls And Student Perceptions Of On-Campus Dining, Maria Cherry

Senior Honors Projects

University dining halls are understudied food environments that affect student diet quality. This study (1) assessed dining hall offerings at the University of Rhode Island (URI) using the Partnership for a Healthier America’s Healthier Campus Initiative (PAHA) criteria for healthier campus food environments and (2) evaluated student perceptions of the dining hall through a campus-wide survey (n=165). We evaluated breakfast, lunch, and dinner using spring cycle menus (16 weeks in 2019 and 4 in 2021) from two full-service dining halls totaling 29 meals in 2019, and 84 meals in 2021 to determine adherence with PAHA criteria for availability of: 1) …

Promoting Adult Pneumococcal Vaccinations Through Pharmacy And Provider Educational Campaigns, Krysia Lesniak

Senior Honors Projects

No abstract provided.

Integration Of Medicinal Fungi Into The Heber W. Youngken Jr. Medicinal Garden, Anthony Makashov

Senior Honors Projects

The Heber W. Youngken Jr. Medicinal Garden is a one-of-a-kind resource that houses close to 300 medicinal plants and is filled to the brim with educational opportunities. For the College of Pharmacy, this garden has been the centerpiece of many classes taught here at the University of Rhode Island and has roots as a physical teaching space. While the garden contains a plethora of plant species, medicinal fungi have yet to have been included in the garden, despite their relevance as both sources of pharmaceutical drug discovery and as natural products with inherent physiological benefits themselves. The purpose of my …

Modulating The Tumor Microenvironment To Improve Immunotherapy Treatments, Lleayem Nazario-Johnson, David Rowley

Senior Honors Projects

Advances in immunotherapy are revolutionizing the treatments of certain cancers, especially those in the blood. However, wider applications for eradicating solid tumors have been slow to emerge. A likely reason is the presence of myeloid-derived suppressor cells (MDSCs) in the tumor microenvironment that secrete immunosuppressive molecules which attenuate the attack of immune cells. We hypothesize that small molecule Wnt/Beta- Catenin inhibitors can be used to modulate the immunosuppressive actions of MDSCs and increase the effectiveness of immunotherapy treatments, such as with chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T-cells. The Wnt/Beta-Catenin Pathway has been shown to be a crucial driving force behind the …

Impact Of Covid-19 Related Deaths On New Nurses In Rhode Island, Jessica Petonak

Senior Honors Projects

The purpose of this project was to identify the impact that COVID-19 related deaths have had on nurses with limited bedside experience in the state of Rhode Island. Exploring the level of preparedness that nurses felt to deal with death can provide insight into nursing and employer education. Hearing about nurses’ experiences during the pandemic helps illustrate the current state of nurses’ mental health. Gaining a better understanding of the amount and types of support that nurses on the frontlines are receiving can identify current gaps and potential areas of improvement. I found that the COVID-19 pandemic and related deaths …

An Intersectional Analysis Of Lgbtq+ Healthcare In The United States, Nicole Niles

Senior Honors Projects

LGBTQ+ healthcare has made some significant progress in the last few decades, yet countless studies have shown that the American healthcare system still lags behind in equitable healthcare. My project sought to identify the issues that prevent the LGBTQ+ community from receiving quality healthcare, which involved the curation of over twenty academic journal articles for an annotated bibliography, along with a paper discussing these articles.

One of the most important concepts to gender studies is intersectionality. Coined by legal theorist Kimberlé Crenshaw in 1989, intersectionality describes the concept of how one’s individual characteristics, including race, class, and gender, intersect and …

The Public Health Crisis Of Alcoholism: What Could Be Done Better In Rhode Island?, Carlos Borges

Senior Honors Projects

Alcoholism is a chronic issue that affects over 3 million people per year in the United States. It is characterized by an individual who is physiologically dependent on alcohol to the point where they cannot carry out common social activities such as having friends or holding down a job. Approximately 88,000 people die per year due to alcohol related events. The economic impact due to hospital bills, criminal justice costs, and lost productivity of the abuser is estimated at $400 billion annually. Alcohol abuse can be used as a coping mechanism in adolescents who are struggling with behavioral health issues …

Dialectical Behavior Therapy For Dual Diagnosis: Treating Adolescent Substance Use Disorder And Co-Occurring Mood Disorders, Melody R. Gately

Senior Honors Projects

No abstract provided.

On The Front Line: Uri's Response To Covid-19 And The Role Of The Student-Run Emergency Medical Services, Michael C. Brennan

Senior Honors Projects

The COVID-19 pandemic has affected all aspects of society, including universities, and we are just beginning to understand its impacts. This project looks at how universities have responded to the pandemic by focusing on the University of Rhode Island, the largest university in the state of Rhode Island. A key aspect of this project is a timeline that documents the policies implemented by URI leadership and relevant policies adopted by the State of Rhode Island. The timeline also includes data about the number of cases at URI and state-wide, as well as figures for the number of students in isolation …

Climate Change And Vaccines: Distrust Of Science In Politics And The Media, Natalie Montalbano

Senior Honors Projects

Distrust in science and the scientific process has increased significantly over the last fifty years, and this distrust is particularly apparent in the fields of climate change and vaccination. Climate change, a relatively new scientific issue, has become one of the hottest topics discussed in both U.S and world politics. The existence and real threat of anthropogenic global warming was publicly declared by National Geographic in 2004, but climate scientists had acknowledged that humans were causing the warming of our Earth as early as the 1980’s. Vaccines, despite being safe and effective in curbing the spread of infectious diseases, have …

A Story Told, Carly Caldarella

Senior Honors Projects

How do we educate our future generations about topics that are difficult to discuss? Oftentimes, children ask us questions that make us think, "How do I respond to this?" It is essential for our young generations to understand the history of racism, its present manifestations, and solutions and methods of action in order for a bright and revolutionary future. It is not always a simple task for children to comprehend such intricate topics. However, through text and pictures in storybooks, children can better grasp the concepts of such subject matter. "A Story Told" shares the story of young children in …

Social Justice Attitudes And Health: A Cross Sectional Study, Edward Donovan

Senior Honors Projects

Background: Increasingly, social justice is being considered as a key factor associated with health outcome. In addition, there is growing interest in exploring perception of discrimination in healthcare settings. This study explored perceptions of social justice, health care discrimination, health care status and utilization of healthcare resources. The investigators predict a significant association between the level of social justice awareness and healthcare utilization based on the hypothesis that those who are cognizant of social inequities are more likely to be informed self-advocates in healthcare settings.

Methods: First, a survey was created based on a review of existing literature. The …

Examination Of The Effects Of Speech Disorders On Juvenile Delinquency And The Potential Benefits Of Speech Therapy For Offenders, Katie Paparelli

Senior Honors Projects

In the United States, there are currently over 50,000 juveniles housed in youth confinement facilities for delinquent acts ranging from truancy to murder. To decrease that number, it is pertinent to identify possible risk factors of juvenile delinquency, but also to establish impactful preventative strategies as well as reactive solutions. Speech disorders and speech differences have been identified as potential risk factors for juvenile delinquency. Having a speech disorder/difference has an undeniable impact on a child’s life, with potentially negative impacts ranging from poor engagement with school and bullying—both risk factors in themselves for juvenile delinquency. Unsurprisingly, researchers have found …

Health Communication Support In Baseline Health Literacy Research, Owen Manahan

Senior Honors Projects

Health literacy refers to the ability to obtain, understand, and use health information to make good health decisions. Improving health outcomes in Rhode Island requires removing health literacy barriers.

In the spring of 2019, researchers at the University of Rhode Island and Rhode Island College received funding from the Rhode Island Executive Office of Health and Human Services to assess health literacy in Medicaid beneficiary outpatient health centers. Such research has never before been conducted in Rhode Island. Researchers administered a modified health literacy assessment to collect self-reported data on patient health status, measure patient confidence in accessing health information, …

Ethnic And Racial Disparities In Covid-19 Infections In The United States������ ��� ������ ����������� �� �������� ���������� �� ��� ������ ��, Seraphina Negash

Senior Honors Projects

No abstract provided.

Project Title: Home Birthing: Analyzing The Value Of Home Births To American Mothers, Julia Santini

Senior Honors Projects

There were about 3.7 million births in the United States in 2018, and a maternal mortality rate of 17.4 deaths per 100,000 live births (37.3 for non-Hispanic black women). The US also has high rates of birth interventions such as episiotomy and instrumental vaginal births, and increasing rates of cesarean sections, and while these interventions can be life saving, they do not always result in better birth outcomes. When the high US maternal mortality rates are compared to those of peer countries such as Canada and the UK, the data suggests that there is much room for improvement in how …

Comparative Gait Analysis Of Transtibial Amputees Versus, Charlotte Vitale

Senior Honors Projects

While individuals with lower limb prosthetics make up a very small percentage of the population, their musculoskeletal deformities impair their abilities to produce “normal” biomechanical actions. The deviations in their walking patterns can further inhibit their efficacy in other activities of basic living. Understanding the distinct kinematic comparisons during gait between lower limb amputees and able-bodied individuals is critical for those planning to enter such a field of study working with this specific population. As an aspiring specialized Physical Therapist, it is very likely that I will be assisting clients to regain a healthy walking pattern after a traumatic accident, …

Exploring The Associations Between Femininity, Burnout, And Health Behaviors Among Middle Age Women, Adelaide Brown

Senior Honors Projects

To date research on how traditional feminine traits and gender role ideology may impact burnout and health behaviors in women is limited. This paper examines how the aforementioned may be associated with higher burnout rates in a community-based cohort of middle-aged women (40-65 years). This study focuses on western traditional feminine traits and gender role ideology, which describe an individual's attitude regarding their assigned role in society and the strength of association with their role. Women who report a stronger connection to more traditional traits or ideology were expected to report higher rates of burnout.

This study also assesses whether …