Medicine and Health Sciences Commons^™

Mississippi Registered Nurse Perceptions When Communicating With Limited-English-Speaking And Non-English-Speaking Patients, Mary Pipper Widdig

Dissertations

Communication serves as the foundation for safe and effective healthcare practice. Effective nurse-patient communication is the cornerstone of the nurse-patient relationship and is vital for the delivery of safe and effective healthcare. Research has shown patients who are communication impaired are at a greater risk of medical error and poorer health outcomes. A review of the literature revealed various nurse perceptions of barriers when providing care for limited-English-speaking patients and non-English-speaking patients. LEP and NEP patients also identified similar perceived barriers when receiving care. Both nurses and patients revealed a distrust for interpreters and interpreter services. The literature review revealed …

Simulation As Replacement For Traditional Clinical In Pre-Licensure Nursing Education: Outcomes Of Different Ratios Of Replacement Time For Traditional Clinical With Simulation, Tiffany Zyniewicz

Dissertations

The use of simulation in nursing education has grown over the last 30 years. The National Council of State Boards of Nursing National Simulation Study indicated that up to 50% of traditional clinical hours can be replaced with simulation at a 1:1 replacement ratio and produce the same outcomes. A review of the literature indicated that there is no standard replacement ratio for simulation time to traditional clinical time being used in pre-licensure nursing education in the United States. The purpose of this study was to explore the outcomes of utilizing a 1:1 simulation-to-traditional clinical time replacement ratio and a …

Male Nurse Practitioners' Views On Nursing Education As A Career Option: An Inductive Qualitative Content Analysis, James Mcdavid

Dissertations

As the nursing shortage continues, the demand for new nurses will increase. In 2015, nursing schools in the United States turned away 62,361 qualified applicants in the baccalaureate and graduate nursing programs (Fang, Li, Arietti, & Trautman, 2016). The number of funded, vacant nursing faculty positions increased from 6.9% in 2014 to 7.1% in 2015 (Fang et al., 2016). One idea to help with the nursing faculty shortage is to recruit male RNs into nurse faculty positions. Males count for 10.6% of nurses in the United States (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2016). However, men only count for 5.5% of …

Nurse Expectations As Compared To Perceived Reality, Kathryn Mckelvy

Dissertations

Burnout and turnover in nursing have been well documented in nursing literature, but little is known about a nurse’s expectations of the profession compared to their perceived reality of the profession. Do these expectations meet the reality of the workplace, and does this cause the nurse to make a career change? What factors influence a nurse to leave the profession, job-hop, or return to school to further their education? The rate of nurse turnover is an ongoing issue with a lack of research regarding the foundation of nurse expectations compared to the realities of the profession.

The purpose of this …

Self-Care Vs. Self-Sacrifice In Medical-Surgical Nursing Culture: A Critical Ethnography, Elise Jordan Juergens

Dissertations

The critical ethnography research examines need prioritization culture among medical-surgical nurses. Grove, Burns, and Gray (2013) define the problem statement as an explicit identification of the research need. Literature search yields scarce ethnographic research on the nursing population as a culture-sharing group, and no qualitative research exists regarding medical-surgical nurses’ self-need prioritization. The purpose of this critical ethnography is to observe medical-surgical nursing culture, related to personal need prioritization, as reflected by behavior and dialogue.

Qualitative research methodology is appropriate where statistical data is not. Research motivation involves seeking insight and sociocultural understanding. Critical ethnography is the chosen qualitative research …

Indirect & Displaced Aggression: The Role Of Comparison Based Traits And Cognitive Vulnerabilities, Niki M. Knight

Dissertations

The present study explored the relationships of contingent self-esteem, dispositional envy, and two cognitive vulnerabilities (i.e., anger rumination and fear of negative evaluation) to indirect aggression (IA) and displaced aggression (DA) in a college student sample (N = 346). Despite the theoretical relevance of these personality and cognitive factors to aggression, there is little empirical evidence linking them to the perpetration of IA and DA. Bivariate correlations and hierarchical multiple regression were used to test the utility of these constructs in accounting for unique variance in IA and DA and to assess the potential role of participant gender. Participants …

An Investigation Of The Impact Of Family Dynamics On Obesity Among African American Adolescent Girls, Tina Mcdyess

Dissertations

Children who are overweight and obese are more likely to maintain their weight status into adulthood (Fletcher, Cooper, Helms, Northington, & Winters, 2009; World Health Organization [WHO], 2015). The prevalence of obesity has shown a more consistent increase among African Americans aged 2-19 (Flegal, Carroll, Kit, & Ogden, 2012; Ogden, Carroll, Kit, & Flegal, 2012; Ogden, Carroll, Kit & Flegal, 2014) with an even greater disparity among African American girls (Ogden & Carroll, 2010). Family dynamics is one of the many factors of the environment that has been linked to obesity among children and adolescents. The purpose of this study …

The Prospective Influence Of Religiousness On Alcohol Use: What Role Do Perceived Norms Play?, Corey Todd Brawner

Dissertations

Alcohol misuse is recognized as one of the most pressing health hazards for college students. Previous research has supported a protective relationship between religiousness and problematic alcohol use, but it is less clear what aspects of religiousness are protective and through what mechanisms its effect is exerted. The current study utilized a prospective design to accomplish three primary goals: (1) Delineate the protective effects of religious motivation and public participation on alcohol use and alcohol-related problems in a sample of undergraduates at a large public university in the southeastern United States, (2) determine whether effects were maintained long-term, and (3) …

A Novel Role For Osteopontin In Facilitating West Nile Virus Neuroinvasion, Amber M. Paul

Dissertations

West Nile virus (WNV) is a positive-sensed, single-stranded RNA flavivirus that can cause human neuroinvasive diseases, including encephalitis, meningitis, and flaccid paralysis. The mechanisms by which WNV enters the central nervous system and the host-factors that are involved in WNV-neuroinvasiveness are not completely understood. Osteopontin (OPN), a multifunctional glycoprotein, has been implicated as a bio-marker for a number of neuroinflammatory diseases. In particular, secreted (s)OPN has been implicated to participate in recruitment of polymorphonuclear neutrophils (PMN) to sites of its expression, while PMNs have been suggested to act as WNV reservoirs. Therefore, sOPN recruitment of PMNs may contribute to neuroinvasive …

Defining Deliberate Practice In Supervised Dietetics Education, Kevin D. Haubrick

Dissertations

Deliberate practice serves as a potential framework to understand what activities, attributes, and characteristics make an individual an expert in their chosen field or profession. Historically, deliberate practice activities included those that were highly structured with purposeful goals, frequent repetition, and active feedback with immediate remediation. Deliberate practice has never been defined within the context of supervised dietetics education; therefore, the purpose of this research was to develop a valid and reliable instrument to define deliberate practice in supervised dietetics practice, based on the opinions of practitioners and educators in dietetics and allied health professions. Segment one of the research …

An Exploratory Study Of The Utilization Of Evidence-Based Pharmacological Treatment On Heart Failure Patients In Mississippi And Its Impact On Readmission, Keri A. Barron

Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to explore the relationship of adherence to evidence-based guidelines for pharmacologic management by select Mississippi hospitals and their hospital readmission rates. This was an exploratory study with a retrospective design. This design offered insight into the relationship between readmissions of heart failure patients and adherence to the national guidelines for the pharmacologic treatment of heart failure. The study took place in a hospital in the southeastern section of the United States. Data were collected from a database of patients with heart failure seen between January 2011 and June 2014.

The unit of analysis for …

The Design Of An Instrument To Assess Clinical Laboratories Efficacy Post Implementation Of The Patient Protection Affordable Care Act, Harry Mcdonald Jr.

Dissertations

The healthcare system in the United States has undergone substantial changes in support of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA). On March 23, 2010, the implementation of the new healthcare law brought universal healthcare access to all Americans, while attempting to increase quality and decrease medical costs. The new law promotes more of a quality-focused, outcome-based model rather than a pay-for-fee service model; thus, moving the paradigm from infrequent to preemptive healthcare. The PPACA postulates as the only way to achieve cost savings while increasing quality and access. Never before has there been such an extensive change to …

Study Of Rickettsia Parkeri Colonization And Proliferation In The Tick Host Amblyomma Maculatum (Acari: Ixodidae), Khemraj Budachetri

Dissertations

Amblyomma maculatum (Gulf coast tick) ticks are prevalent across the Atlantic to Gulf Coast region of United States. These ticks are recognized vectors of Rickettsia parkeri, a spotted fever group of Rickettsia (SFGR) known to cause American boutonneuse fever associated with fever and eschar rashes localized to the site of bites. We hypothesized that Rickettsia parkeri colonization and proliferation in the tick vector involve pathogen-symbiont dynamics and tick-pathogen interactions, which influence rickettsial transmission to the victims after tick bites. The rickettsial infection is maintained across the tick life cycle for many generations due to transovarial and transstadial transmission of …

William Walker And The Seeds Of Progressive Imperialism: The War In Nicaragua And The Message Of Regeneration, 1855-1860, John J. Mangipano

Dissertations

For a brief period of time, between 1855 and 1857, William Walker successfully portrayed himself to American audiences as the regenerator of Nicaragua. Though he arrived in Nicaragua in June 1855, with only fifty-eight men, his image as a regenerator attracted several-thousand men and women to join him in his mission to stabilize the region. Walker relied on both his medical studies as well as his experience in journalism to craft a message of regeneration that placated the anxieties that many Americans felt about the instability of the Caribbean. People supported Walker because he provided a strategy of regeneration that …

An Analysis Of Ed Nurse Opinion Of Their Ed Nurse Manager Leadership Characteristics And Outcomes, Charlotte Ann Gore

Dissertations

The purpose of this cross-sectional, descriptive, correlational study was to examine ED staff nurses’ opinions of their ED nurse managers’ full range of leadership characteristics , the degree to which the characteristics correlate with specific outcomes of leadership behavior, and how the results of the measure and subscale compare to other nursing groups in literature. The Multifactor Leadership Questionnaire 5X Rater Form (MLQ 5X Rater Form) was used to measure ED staff nurses’ opinions of their ED nurse managers, along with an ED Staff Nurse Demographics Questionnaire to gather information about the characteristics of the population. The population for this …

A Motivational Profile Of Nurses Who Pursue Doctoral Education, Tomekia Yvette Luckett

Dissertations

The need for nurses to pursue doctoral education is imperative to the professionalization of the discipline of nursing in light of the changing healthcare environment. Presently, < 1% of the nursing workforce possesses a doctoral degree (“Transforming Nursing Education,” 2016), albeit recommendations from the Institute of Medicine (IOM) (2010) admonish the need to increase the number of doctoral-prepared nurses. The need to understand characteristics of nurses who seek doctoral education is critical in planning long-term strategies for nursing education in the United States (US) (Kovner, Brewer, Katigbak, Djukic, & Fatehi, 2012). In conjunction with describing characteristics of nurses pursuing doctoral education, this research describes the motivational orientation and factors of registered nurses (RNs) pursuing doctoral education.

A descriptive correlational design was utilized to examine concepts relating to motivational orientation of RNs pursuing doctoral education. Participants were divided into two categories: (a) RNs seeking the Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) degree and (b) RNs pursuing the Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) degree. A total of 173 RNs enrolled in either a Ph.D. or DNP program in the Gulf South region of the US comprised the final sample. Binary logistic regression was utilized …

Faculty-To-Faculty Incivility As Perceived By Nursing Faculty, Melinda Lofton Sills

Dissertations

The purpose of this research was to determine the perceived presence of workplace incivility among nursing faculty in associate, baccalaureate, and graduate nursing programs and whether there was a significant difference between workplace incivility behaviors, occurrence of incivility, extent of incivility, and engagement of incivility among the three groups. A convenience sample of faculty from nursing programs accredited by Accreditation Commission for Education in Nursing and Commission of Collegiate Nursing Education in Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Louisiana, and Tennessee completed the Incivility in Nursing Education-Revised (INE-R) survey. The final sample included 169 nursing faculty.

Based on the results of the study …

A Comparison Of Multipath And Conventional Neuromuscular Electrical Stimulation, Cody Brian Bremner

Dissertations

Neuromuscular electrical stimulation (NMES) is the use of an electrical current for the purpose of eliciting a muscular response, and these treatments are most often used clinically for the specific purpose of increasing quadriceps strength. It is commonly accepted that the effectiveness of NMES for this purpose is primarily determined by the NMES training intensity. However, spatially limited motor unit recruitment, fatigue and discomfort negatively impact NMES-induced torque, which subsequently reduces NMES training intensities. Due to the importance of NMES training intensity, a substantial amount of research has focused on strategies designed to increase NMES-induced torque production, as well as …

A Microbiomic Approach To The Characterization Of The Impacts And Influences Of Viral, Bacterial, And Harmful Algal Bloom Toxins On The Bottlenose Dolphin, Corey David Russo

Dissertations

As apex predators that display high site fidelity Tursiops truncatus (bottlenose dolphin) are indicators of marine ecosystem health. Bottlenose dolphins, additionally, display pathogenesis and immune response similar to that of humans. Humans and coastal bottlenose dolphins, in particular, are constantly exposed to the same industrial, agricultural and domestic toxins and pathogens, contaminants and pollutants. Thus, studies on the bottlenose dolphin are also valuable in bridging the gap between ocean and human health. Bottlenose dolphins are susceptible to viral bacterial and toxin infection. Infection in the bottlenose dolphin manifests itself in the form of mass stranding events, unusual mortality events, chronic …

Epidemiology Of White Spot Syndrome Virus In The Daggerblade Grass Shrimp (Palaemonetes Pugio) And The Gulf Sand Fiddler Crab (Uca Panacea), Muhammad

Dissertations

Ever since the first outbreaks of White spot syndrome virus (WSSV), which causes White Spot Disease (WSD), in Asia in the early 1990s, the pathogen has been a major constraint to the profitability of the shrimp aquaculture industry across the globe. WSSV has a broad host range and is routinely detected in wild decapod crustaceans. In the present study, two common species in the tidal salt marsh along the northern coast of the Gulf of Mexico, the daggerblade grass shrimp (Palaemonetes pugio) and the Gulf sand fiddler crab (Uca panacea), were investigated for their role as …

Group Empowerment Capacity And Capability In Associate Degree Schools Of Nursing In The United States, Christy Lee Savell

Dissertations

The purpose of conducting this research was to determine the perception of group empowerment capacity (EC) and group empowerment capability (E) among faculty and administrators in associate degree nursing programs (ADN) in the United States (U.S.), whether there was a significant difference in the scores of EC and E between the two groups and if there was a significant relationship between the mediating variables and EC. The study was conducted online with administrators and faculty of ADN programs throughout the United States (U.S.). Information letters with questionnaire links were sent to all members of the Organization of Associate Degree Nurses …

Health Literacy As A Moderator In The Relationship Between Diabetes Knowledge And Diabetes Outcomes, Jameshyia Ballard Thompson

Dissertations

The purpose of this research was to determine if health literacy was a moderator in the relationship between diabetes knowledge and diabetes outcomes, and explore the relationship between diabetes knowledge and health literacy. The target population included adults living in Mississippi with a diagnosis of diabetes at any point in life. A pilot study was performed to determine if the Functional Communicative Critical Health Literacy scales (FCCHL) and the Spoken Knowledge in Low Literacy in Diabetes scale (SKILLD) were appropriate for use in a population of adults in Mississippi with a diagnosis of diabetes. Participants for the pilot study were …

An Evaluation Of African American Fathers’ Perceptions And Influences On Child Food Choices And Physical Activity Behaviors, Valerie Annette Richardson

Dissertations

Child obesity is affecting children’s health nationwide. Rates are highest among African Americans (AA) in the South. Research has explored parents’ influence on child eating and activity, but most has reported on mothers’ influences. The purpose of this research was to investigate perceptions about AA fathers’ influences on their children’s eating and physical activity. Using a structured focus group questionnaire based on the parent layer constructs of Birch and Ventura’s Ecological Model for Child Overweight (2009), four focus groups were conducted with 28 AA fathers with children 6- to 11-years-old in a rural and an urban church setting in southeast …

Analysis Of The Intricacies Of Substrate Recognition Of High Mobility Group Proteins And Aminoacyl-Trna Synthetases Using Non-Cognate Substrates, Douglas Van Iverson Ii

Dissertations

The studies presented in section 1 (Chapters I-IV) focus on the design and development of nucleic acid four-way junctions (4WJs) to target a member of the high mobility group (HMG) proteins, the proinflammatory cytokine high mobility group box 1 protein (HMGB1). In the present study, hybrid PNA-DNA 4WJs based on a model DNA 4WJ were constructed to improve the thermal stability of 4WJs while maintaining strong binding affinity toward HMGB1. An electrophoretic mobility shift assay (EMSA) was used to examine the binding affinity of an isolated DNA binding domain of HMGB1, the HMGB1 b-box (HMGB1b), toward a set of PNA-DNA …

The Associations Among Expressed Emotion, Relationship Satisfaction, Ptsd Symptoms, Alcohol Use, And Depression: A Longitudinal Investigation With A Military Sample, Laci Lee Zawilinski

Dissertations

PTSD in military personnel is highly prevalent and accompanied by elevated rates of additional issues such as depression, problematic alcohol use, and interpersonal relationship problems. Family members and spouses of military personnel have also been shown to be negatively impacted by PTSD symptoms. Previous research has indicated that family members and spouses’ expressed emotion regarding the PTSD patients’ symptoms negatively impacts treatment outcome in civilian populations. However, studies have yet to investigate the effect of expressed emotion on the course of PTSD symptoms and associated problems in military personnel. Therefore, the purpose of the present investigation was to examine the …

The Coach Expectancy Cycle And The Impact Of A Coaching Education Intervention In Youth Soccer, Erica Ann Pasquini

Dissertations

The coach expectancy cycle is a four-stage model that explains coaches’ feedback behaviors (Horn, Lox, and Labrador, 1998). In the first stage coaches make judgments based off of previous sport experience and knowledge. In the second stage, these judgments influence coaches’ behaviors. Solomon (2008, 2012) has shown that coaches provide more instruction, praise, and corrective instruction to athletes they perceive to be higher expectancy. In the third stage, the unequal behaviors coaches exhibit affect athlete performance and satisfaction in sport. Research has shown that athletes perceptions of poor coaching behavior positively correlates with drop out (Gearity & Murray, 2011; Hollembeak …

Energy Management Mechanisms Employed At The Human-Material Interface Of Traditional And Minimalist Shod Running, Nadine M. Lippa

Dissertations

From recreational to elite athletes, greater than 50% of runners sustain overuse injuries each year, prompting substantial research efforts to identify causes of—and solutions to—the high injury rate. Different shoe types and material property degradation have been related to injury. Two popular footwear types are traditional shoes with thick graded soles and minimalist running footwear with thinner foam and/or non-graded soles. Notwithstanding 45 years of significant modifications to shoe design features, gained knowledge in kinesiology, and advanced technologies in polymer science, runner injury rates have not decreased and EVA foam has remained the primary running shoe midsole material since the …

Effects Of Expected Service Life Exposures On The Functional Properties And Impact Performance Of An American Football Helmet Outer Shell Material, David E. Krzeminski

Dissertations

The purpose of this dissertation is to gain a greater scientific understanding of the changes in functional material properties and impact performance of an American football helmet outer shell material under expected service life exposures. The research goals are to (i) quantify chemical, physical, thermal, and mechanical degradation of an American football outer shell material under expected environmental conditions and (ii) develop a linear drop test impact protocol to employ expected on-field impact conditions to American football helmet components and a plaque-foam (i.e., shell-liner) surrogate. Overall, a step-wise progression of analysis was demonstrated to concurrently quantify and understand changes in …

Olfactory Enrichment In California Sea Lions (Zalophus Californianus), Mystera M. Samuelson

Dissertations

In the wild, California sea lions (Zalophus californianus) are exposed to a wide array of sensory information at all times. However, it is impossible for captive environments to provide this level of complexity. Therefore unique procedures and practices are necessary for the maintenance of physiological and psychological health in captive animals (Wells, 2009). This project aims to explore the behavioral effect of scent added to the environment, with the goal of improving the welfare of captive sea lions by introducing two scent types: 1.) Natural scents, found in their native environment, and 2.) Non-natural scents, not found in …

Hospital Practices Related To Breastfeeding In Mississippi: A Socio-Ecological Approach, Amir Alakaam

Dissertations

Mississippi continues to have one of the lowest rates and the weakest support in respect to breastfeeding in the nation (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2014a). Hospital practices supporting breastfeeding such as the Ten Steps to Successful Breastfeeding (TSSB) can dramatically increase breastfeeding rates and duration (Rosenberg, Stull, Adler, Kasehagen, & Crivelli-Kovach, 2008). The aim of this study was to explore breastfeeding practices in Mississippi hospitals based on two levels of the Socio-Ecological Model: the organizational level (phase I) examined the hospital practices based on the level of implementation of the TSSB; the individual level (phase II) examined knowledge …