Medicine and Health Sciences Commons^™

Levels Of Distress Among Women Veterans Attending A Women’S Health Specialty Clinic In The Va Healthcare System, Debbie T. Devine

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Currently, between 21.9 and 23 million veterans have served in the United States armed forces. Of those, 2 million are women, and of those, only 6.5% use the Veterans Health Administration system. These females often suffer from physical and mental health disorders, and overall impaired quality of life (QOL), rendering their healthcare needs complex. Seeking, and providing care in this specialty area may become overwhelming not only for the women seeking the care, but also for healthcare systems that are unfamiliar with the specific needs of this population.

A retrospective medical records review was completed of 51 female veterans between …

Examining Content Validity Of The Nurse Competence Scale In The United States, Jessica B. Shearer

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Nursing competence is a necessity as it affects public health, safety and welfare; however there are very few reliable and valid tools that measure nursing competence. The Nurse Competence Scale has been used in many different countries outside of the United States and is based on Benner’s Novice to Expert theory. The purpose of this study was to examine the content validity of the Nurse Competence Scale using a mixed methods approach. Descriptive statistics were used to report results of the frequency of use scale and the critical to practice scale. Nursing faculty indicate Prioritizing My Activities Flexibility According to …

The Effectiveness Of An Intervention Designed To Improve Chlorhexidine (Chg) Bathing Technique In Adults Hospitalized In Medical Surgical Units, Janette Echemendia Denny

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Central line associated bloodstream infections (CLABSIs) are one of the most fatal types of healthcare associated infections (HAIs) and their economic impact is significant. Although some studies have found no signification reduction in CLABSI rates with chlorhexidine gluconate (CHG) bathing; good evidence exists to support the use of CHG bathing as an intervention to reduce CLABSIs (Bleasdale et al., 2007; Climo et al., 2009; Climo et al., 2013; Montecalvo et al., 2012). CHG bathing performance may influence the effectiveness of the CHG bathing protocol.

The purpose of this study was to determine the effect of a targeted educational approach involving …

Cardiovascular Disease Risk Scores And Novel Risk Factors In Relation To Race And Gender, Johanna Wilson

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The use of cardiovascular risk scores remains the foundation for risk stratification to guide clinical management. Clinicians have access to several cardiovascular risk scores in practice settings. While having several risk scores with different risk factors may provide more information, it does not imply accuracy of the cardiovascular risk score used to calculate individual patient cardiovascular risk. The objective of this study was to compare the Framingham Risk score, Reynolds Risk scores, and the Pooled Cohort Risk Equation (3 commonly used equations) scores with respect to ability to predict cardiovascular events in a diverse ethnic population. Additionally, the potential predictive …

Exploring The Relationship Between Severity Of Illness And Human Milk Volume In Very Low Birth Weight And Extremely Low Birth Weight Infants Over Six Weeks, Shannon Leigh Morse

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Very low birth weight and extremely low birth weight neonates have tremendous risk of mortality. This is a grave concern; however, survival alone is not the goal of neonatal intensive care. Survival, along with a reduction or elimination of life long morbidity is the aim of neonatal intensive care.

Human milk is known as the best nutrition for babies and a growing body of evidence supports that human milk is critical in helping these fragile neonates mitigate the overwhelming risks they face. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between neonatal severity of illness and human …

Examination Of The Use Of Accelerated Resolution Therapy (Art) In The Treatment Of Symptoms Of Ptsd And Sleep Dysfunction In Veterans And Civilians, Marian Jevone Hardwick

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) is a prevalent anxiety disorder that is debilitating to both veterans and civilians following one or more traumatic events. Sleep disturbances are hallmark features of PTSD. Sleep disturbances and PTSD remain two significant PTSD-related issues that continue to plague veterans returning from active duty, thereby preventing full reintegration into society. The same problem exists for civilians. This research was conducted as a previously collected pilot study data and a secondary data analysis. The purpose of the study consisted of: 1) examining the impact of treatment with Accelerated Resolution Therapy (ART) on symptoms of PTSD and sleep …

Investigating The Mutual Effects Of Depression And Spiritual Well-Being On Quality Of Life In Hospice Patients With Cancer And Family Caregivers Using The Actor-Partner Interdependence Model, Li-Ting Huang

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The World Health Organization and the leading hospice organizations have emphasized the inclusion of family caregivers of hospice patients with cancer into end-of-life care, as these two dyad members may spiritually and emotionally influence each other. Given that depression and spiritual needs, which are prominent in these pairs, may impair quality of life (QOL) of hospice dyads, examining mutuality within dyads is imperative to develop a more accurate model that includes family caregivers. Therefore, the purpose of the study was to elucidate the importance of mutual effects within hospice dyads by examining the contribution of depression and unmet spiritual needs …

The Change In Nutritional Status In Traumatic Brain Injury Patients: A Retrospective Descriptive A Retrospective Descriptive Study, Dina A. Masha'al

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

There is a high prevalence in malnutrition among traumatic brain injury (TBI) due to the hypermetabolism and hypercatabolism which develop post injury. Traumatic brain injury patients are different, even among themselves, in their energy requirements and response to nutritional therapy. This implies that there are other factors that affect the energy intake of these patients and enhance the incidence of malnutrition.

This dissertation study examines the nutritional status of TBI patients upon admission to the intensive care unit (ICU) and during their hospital stay to describe baseline status, detect changes in nutritional status over 7 days, and identify the factors …

Comorbid Substance Use Diagnoses And Partner Violence Among Offenders Receiving Pharmacotherapy For Opioid Dependence, Cory A. Crane, Robert C. Schlauch, Susan Devine, Caroline J. Easton

Psychology Faculty Publications

While previous studies find mixed evidence of an association between opioid use and intimate partner violence perpetration among community samples, initial evidence has detected increased rates of partner violence among individuals receiving pharmacological intervention for opioid dependence. The current study evaluated the role of current comorbid substance use diagnoses, a robust risk factor for violent behavior, on the likelihood of perpetrating partner violence among a high risk sample of offenders receiving pharmacological intervention for opioid dependence. The authors analyzed self-report data provided by 81 (55 male) opioid dependent offenders during a court-ordered substance use interview. Approximately one-third of the sample …