Medicine and Health Sciences Commons^™

Inclusivity Of In Vitro Fertilization Clinic Websites, Erin Donahue

Honors Theses and Capstones

In the world, many people cannot naturally conceive children. They may be infertile, lack an intimate partner, or be in a same-sex relationship. Artificial reproductive technologies (ARTs) are catered to the aforementioned population. ARTs are fertility treatments that assist people with the fertilization of gametes and/or implantation of embryos. One of the most popular ARTs is in-vitro fertilization (IVF). IVF is a medical procedure in which an egg is fertilized by sperm in a lab so it can develop into an embryo. That embryo can then be implanted directly into the uterus. This quality improvement project aims to determine the …

Student Perspectives On The Adequacy Of Mental Health Curriculum Within The College Of Health And Human Services At Unh, Brianna Lee Meyer

Honors Theses and Capstones

This study aims to understand the confidence students in future healthcare oriented majors feel in regards to treating or interacting with individuals with mental health conditions. It also aims to understand the effect of students' in-major education, outside-major education, and lived experience on this confidence level. Students within the College of Health and Human Services at UNH were the participants who completed a short Qualtrics survey online. The survey collected data from Likert scales and short-answer questions. The Likert scales were then analyzed with a regression and descriptive statistics, while the short-answer questions were analyzed with thematic analysis. The study …

Nursing Education And Comfort Level In Caring For Patients With Eating Disorders, Jaylyn E. Jewell

Honors Theses and Capstones

Nurses are integral to providing care to patients with eating disorders, who often present to the generalized hospital setting related to physical complications from their disorder. Despite the vital role nurses play, a lack of education is cited. This project sought to assess knowledge on eating disorders of nurses at a local hospital through dissemination of a survey. A total of n=18 responses were gathered. Results supported the fact that many nurses have received inadequate education on eating disorders, and consequently have low knowledge and competency in the care of these patients. This project seeks to identify this lack of …

Peer Support To Enhance Safe Alcohol Use In University Students: A Quality Improvement Project, Kerri Reynolds

DNP Scholarly Projects

BACKGROUND: College is a period of transition to adulthood where many students experiment with alcohol consumption. Peer educators can bring access to evidence-based alcohol consumption education through student-centric strategies. This quality improvement project aimed to implement an evidence-based training program for college peer educators followed by the delivery of campus alcohol education in a six week period. Feasible ideas for sustainable college peer educator training were generated at this medium-sized public university. The impact of training on six peer educators’ self-reported professional leadership skills, knowledge, and confidence was measured.

METHODS: The Certified Peer Educator (CPE) training program (NASPA) was used …

Integrating Behavioral Health Into Family Medicine: Improving Access To Specialty Care Using A Collaborative Care Model, Christina Stephens

DNP Scholarly Projects

Primary care, an extensive of family medicine remains a key access point for patients entering the healthcare system. Accessing medical care and specialty psychiatric services is limited in rural communities. Patients often find exhaustive wait times, untimely referrals, and reliance on emergency services for crisis management. The primary care provider is able to help their community improve access to behavioral health care by using a collaborative approach. This quality improvement initiative used the framework produced by the AIMS Center at the University of Washington and adopted for use creating an 8-week intensive program in a family medical practice located in …

Evaluating The Impact Of Simulation On Perceived Knowledge And Confidence Of New Graduate Nurses (Ngns) In Maternal-Newborn Care, Disa Seymour

DNP Scholarly Projects

Abstract

Background: Nursing education worldwide varies in duration and training process, with nurses often facing rapid immersion into patient care complexities when entering the workforce. While new nurses contribute significantly to the nursing community with contemporary knowledge, their transition to practice can be daunting, necessitating support for both competence and retention. As specialty care settings integrate more new graduate nurses (NGNs) to address workforce shortages, collaboration between leaders and educators becomes crucial. Simulation emerges as a vital tool in building confidence while learning, offering a safe space for skill development and growth of confidence.

Purpose: This project’s objective was to …

Scares: A Clinician Guide To Spinal Cord Awareness, Response, And Emergency Support Creation And Implantation Of Scares Protocol Among Hospitalist Advanced Practice Providers, Brittany Biega

DNP Scholarly Projects

While they are more common in patients with oncological disease and trauma, SCE still exist among patients without these comorbidities. Less has been established regarding care protocols in this population. The absence of standardized procedures has been linked to preventable, adverse patient outcomes, including cases of permanent damage due to delayed treatment. This project employs Lean Six Sigma methodologies and Johns Hopkins Evidence- Based Practice to devise a robust SCE protocol, aimed at standardizing care and improving patient outcomes. A multidisciplinary team including general medicine, neurology, neurosurgery, and neuroradiology developed “Spinal Emergency Management Guidelines” protocol, which was implemented within the …

Optimizing The Assisted Living Experience: Integration Of Value-Based Care To Foster Augmented Resident-Centered Quality, Jennette Pietrzak

DNP Scholarly Projects

Background: Fee-for-Service models are quantity-focused reactive approaches and have historically been at the forefront of healthcare. Value-based models focus on proactive, resident-centered care that is aimed at quality care over quantity. Implementation of ValueBased Care models can positively impact healthcare and fiscal outcomes

Purpose: The quality improvement project aimed to develop, integrate, and implement a valuebased model in Memory Care as an alternative to traditional Fee-for-Service models. The project aimed to improve key performance indicators by reducing hospitalizations, emergency room visits, and falls following the implementation of Value-Based Care (VBC) models.

Method: Data metrics for hospitalizations, emergency room visits, and …

Empowering Nurse Leaders To Achieve Harmony: Fostering Work-Life Balance, Gilberto Gamba

DNP Scholarly Projects

BACKGROUND: Balancing professional and personal life demands has become a focal point in today’s healthcare organizational culture. Despite the technological advances in providing better and faster healthcare, team members often struggle to achieve work-life harmony while meeting the demands of a growing population of healthcare clients. The evidence highlights nurse leaders as one group for which the identification and implementation of work-life balance interventions is crucial.

METHODS: An original tool based on available evidence was developed and used with a group of nurse leaders participating in an educational activity to engage them in behaviors supporting work-life harmony. A post-educational survey …

Increasing Education And Staff Knowledge Of Delirium Care: An Evidence-Based Quality Improvement Project, Serena Martinath

Master's Theses and Capstones

Introduction At a small, community hospital in Massachusetts a gap analysis was conducted leading to a quality improvement project to increase staff education and knowledge regarding delirium and evidence-based best practices for delirium care. Delirium is a growing, often under recognized medical condition that occurs in hospitalized patients (Loftus & Wiesenfeld, 2017). Delirium is characterized by acute changes in congnition, level of consciousness, and attention (Loftus & Wiesenfeld, 2017). A better understanding of this condition is expected to result in improved patient care.

Methods The clinical microsystem studied in this gap analysis project was assessed by using the AHRQ Gap …

Exploring Lexical Stress Perception: An Investigation Across Varied Listener Experience With Prosody, Olivia J. Pride

Honors Theses and Capstones

Prosody is a characteristic of speech that allows others to understand emotion, emphasis, and meaning of language more deeply. Perceptual accuracy by speech-language pathologists is critical to diagnosing speech disorders. This study examined perceptual abilities of three different groups in identifying lexical stress across groups. Four SLPs, 6 SLP graduate students, and 6 untrained listeners listened to 396 audio files elicited in a prior study using the lexical stress tasks from the Prosodic Profiling Elements of Prosody in Speech-Communication (PEPS-C) and the naturalistic lexical stress (NLS) tasks. Listeners were asked if syllable stress was on the first syllable, second syllable, …

Non-Invasive Monitoring Device For Early Detection Of Breast Cancer Related Lymphedema, Amy Prendergast

Honors Theses and Capstones

Breast Cancer Related Lymphedema (BCRL) is a common co-morbidity in cancer survivors following neoadjuvant therapies such as chemotherapy, radiation, and/or surgery. It is brought about by the disruption in the lymphatic system (think lymph node biopsy) that leads to a buildup of lymphatic fluid in the arm. Current diagnostic strategies for this condition are merely retroactive, and fairly limited in the parameters that are examined to ensure patient well-being long term. We hypothesize that with an approach that mimics bioimpedance spectroscopy analysis, we will be able to provide a clinical support tool that would better determine early stages of lymphedema …

The Expansion Of Language Interpretation Services Post-Executive Order 13166: Effects On Maternal And Fetal Outcomes Of Non-English-Speaking Patients, Lilly Annabelle Smith

Honors Theses and Capstones

Over 69 million people older than the age of 5 in the U.S. speak a language other than English at home (U.S. Census, 2022). Of this population, around 38% report speaking English less than "very well" or limited English proficiency, “LEP”. Research has shown patient-provider communication quality in healthcare settings to be directly linked to the provider's ability to deliver safe and suitable care for LEP patients (Au et al., 2009). Executive Order (EO) 13166, signed into law in 2000, requires all federal agencies to implement and document language interpretation services in their establishments (Basu et al., 2017). LEP mothers …

Distribution Of Tick Species On Free-Ranging Ungulates In Northern New England, Karisa Graham

Honors Theses and Capstones

In Northern New England, ungulates are often parasitized by ticks, which is one of the leading causes for the decline in population. Ungulates are a good host for ticks, specifically deer ticks and winter ticks, and these ticks cause many tick-borne diseases in humans as well. The purpose of this study was to assess passive sampling from harvested animals as a means of tick surveillance in Vermont and New Hampshire. Ticks were collected from deer and moose and mapped throughout the two states by ArcGIS to visualize the trends in distribution. Relative abundance was greater in southeastern Vermont, with no …

Investigation Of The Causative Agent Of Canine Leproid Granuloma Infection Cases In The Northeastern United States, Nicole J. Marcotte

Honors Theses and Capstones

Canine leproid granuloma syndrome (CLGS) is a form of disease in dogs of many breeds that is characterized by a skin infection in the subcutis and/or dermis. The granulomas that form as a result of infection are typically non pruritic, alopecic, raised, and firm. These mass-like granulomas can ulcerate, causing further infection beneath the skin surface, and are present in areas of the body such as the ears, head, neck, and extremities. CLGS has been known to infect dogs of different breeds and ages, but has most commonly been reported to infect shorthaired, large sized breeds. This disease is suspected …

Understanding Hospital-Based Nurse End-Of-Life Care, Knowledge, And Comfort: A Quality Improvement Project, Emma Doran

Honors Theses and Capstones

Providing physical, emotional, and spiritual care to patients at the end of life (EOL) can relieve their suffering and the pain experienced by loved ones in their presence. As death approaches, patients’ symptoms may require increased comfort measures, and it is imperative that all nurses be properly trained and prepared to provide this care. In this quality improvement (QI) project, the End-of-Life Professional Caregiver Survey (EPCS) and demographic and experiential questions were administered in the form of a Qualtrics survey to nurses working on an acute care inpatient unit at a healthcare organization in New England. 18 survey responses were …

The Influence Of Drd2 Polymorphism Exon 8 C/T (Rs6276) On Manifestations Of Delirium Tremens & Alcohol Withdrawal Seizures, Naomi Schneider

Honors Theses and Capstones

This study explores the correlation between the DRD2 Polymorphism exon 8 C/T (rs6276) and manifestations of delirium tremens (DT). DT is a condition that is clinically diagnosed utilizing two characteristic symptom manifestations: the presence of delirium and severe alcohol withdrawal. It is not entirely understood why DT can occur in some patients, but evidence has suggested that genetic predisposition can play a role. Utilizing the National Institutes of Health (NIH) All of Us Research database and performing a secondary analysis of existing genomic data, this candidate gene association study aims to determine the genotype frequencies within three cohorts: a healthy …