Medicine and Health Sciences Commons^™

Reframing Resistance, Resilience, And Racial Equity In Maternal Health: A Mixed Methods Exploration Of Paternal Involvement And The Racial Disparity In Severe Maternal Morbidity, Marshara G. Fross

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Background: The preventable, persistent racial inequity observed in maternal and infant death has lasting impacts on African American communities and families. Fathers, partners, and co-parents are important supports during the sensitive and vulnerable perinatal period. Emerging research has begun to demonstrate a concerted effort to move beyond the sphere of medicine and quality improvement, towards exploring and integrating social factors into targeted intervention strategies to address racial inequality in health outcomes. However, sparse literature concentrates on understanding the role of fathers and partners in peripartum care and maternal health outcomes. This study aimed to explore, understand, and describe the role …

The Effect Of Hope On The Relationship Between Personal And Disease Characteristics And Anxiety And Depression In Adolescents And Young Adults With Cancer, Sharon B. Mcneil

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Adolescents and young adults (AYAs) with cancer face physical, psychosocial, emotional, and developmental challenges that are unique to their age group. In facing the crisis of a cancer diagnosis, both social support and hope have been shown to be tools utilized by some AYAs. However, AYAs have higher rates of anxiety and depression than in older adults which may have an effect on their levels of hope.

This cross-sectional study examined the mechanistic effects of hope on the relationship between personal characteristics of age, gender, and social support, the disease characteristics of type of cancer and length of time since …

“What I Hadn’T Realized Is How Difficult It Is, You Know?”: Examining The Protective Factors And Barriers To Breastfeeding In The Uk, Cheyenne R. Wagi

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The international recommendation for breastfeeding is that a baby should be exclusively breastfed for six months. Breastfeeding should be continued for up to two years and beyond with complementary foods (WHO, 2016). The United Kingdom exhibits some of the lowest breastfeeding rates in the world (HSCIC, 2012). The percentage of mothers who breastfed in the United Kingdom falls below 34% at six months, with only 1% of mothers breastfeeding exclusively at this point (HSCIC, 2012:31). This study sought to examine the protective factors and barriers for breastfeeding in the UK. Mums (n=28), their partners (n=6), and facilitators at breastfeeding support …

Exploring Nutritional Needs, Roles, And Expectations Of Latina Breast Cancer Survivors, Pamela Carolina Birriel

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Latina breast cancer survivors, especially those who have undergone chemotherapy, may face major disruptions to their diet and eating habits; and a major concern is their ability to function in daily life roles throughout survivorship. Food and nutrition are suggested to be significant factors that can influence the process of cancer development, yet little research has been done to understand the nutritional needs, roles, and expectations among Latina breast cancer survivors. The purpose of this study was to understand Latina breast cancer survivors’ perceptions of the role of diet and nutrition in helping them cope with the effect of chemotherapy …

Social Supports, Stress And Birth Outcomes Among Latina Mothers In Pinellas County, Florida, Maridelys Detres

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Social supports are linked in public health research to improved birth outcomes. This study explored the relationship of social supports, stress and birth outcomes among pregnant Latinas in Pinellas County, Florida. A sample of 411 Healthy Start women at risk of poor birth outcomes participated in this study (99 Latinas, 142 Black, and 158 White). Study methods included ANOVA, Principal Component Analysis, multivariable regression, logistic regression, and structural equation modeling to identify significant associations between social support scores, stress scores, demographics and health risk factors with infant birth weight, preterm and small for gestational age by ethnic group. Study findings …

Sickle Cell Disease: The Role Of Self-Care Management, Nadine Matthie

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Abstract

Sickle cell disease is the most common genetic disorder in the United States. Approximately 90% of the hospitalizations in this patient population occur due to the most common complication, pain crises. Prevention of these crises is therefore essential and requires the patient to assume an active role in his or her disease management. Studies suggest that further research is needed to examine the self-care management process and to identify factors influencing self-care behaviors. The relationships among these factors must be clearly defined before interventions to improve self-care management can be determined. The aims of the study were threefold. The …

A Longitudinal Investigation Of Stress, Complete Mental Health, And Social Support Among High School Students, Ashley Chappel

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Examinations of stress in relation to adolescent mental health have not often utilized a comprehensive definition of psychological functioning. Recent literature has found support for the importance of examining optimal psychological functioning as the presence of high life satisfaction in addition to low psychopathology (Antamarian, Huebner, Hills, & Valois, 2011; Suldo & Shaffer, 2008). Most research on stress has focused on either major stressful events or chronic environmental stressors; further research is needed on the psychological model of stress, which conceptualizes stress as involving both environmental events and one's cognitive appraisals of the stressor. The current longitudinal study determined how …