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Full-Text Articles in Medicine and Health Sciences

Identifying Observation Unit As Best Practice, Justin Abraham Aug 2020

Identifying Observation Unit As Best Practice, Justin Abraham

Honors Theses

The rising demand for acute care is attributable to several factors, including poor access to unscheduled primary care and an aging population with complex chronic illnesses which place an increasing demand on crowded ED and hospitals in the United States (American College of Emergency Physicians, 2009). Observation (OBS) services are provided to patients with an acute clinical condition whose need for acute care hospitalization is unclear after their initial evaluation and management. Center for Medicare & Medicaid (CMS) define hospital observation as those services that are reasonable and necessary to evaluate the outpatient's condition whose need for the patient to …


“A Moral Imperative To Prevent Aids”: Race And Religion In Atlanta’S Aids Activism, 1981-1993, Madison Bailey May 2020

“A Moral Imperative To Prevent Aids”: Race And Religion In Atlanta’S Aids Activism, 1981-1993, Madison Bailey

Honors Theses

The early years of the AIDS epidemic marked a tumultuous period of American history, calling into question the authority of doctors and the ability of scientists to cure disease. Already marginalized groups, such as gay men and intravenous drug users, appeared to be most vulnerable to a deadly virus with no cure or effective treatments. In the face of discrimination, activists rose up to provide necessary services for AIDS patients and advocate on their behalf. This activism uniquely characterized the early AIDS epidemic and permanently changed the field of biomedical research. The current historiography of AIDS activism tends to focus …


Sexual Health Assessments In Nursing Practice: Quantitative Analysis Of Nurses’ Behaviors And Perceptions, Allison Culp May 2020

Sexual Health Assessments In Nursing Practice: Quantitative Analysis Of Nurses’ Behaviors And Perceptions, Allison Culp

Honors Theses

Sexual health is an important yet often neglected component of patient care. Most research on sexual health assessment and its place in nursing occurred from the 1970s to the early 2000s, leaving a gap in understanding nurses’ current attitudes and beliefs toward assessing patients’ sexual health. Frequencies by which sexual health assessments (SHA) are performed by nurses today is also unknown. The objective of this study was to provide an updated understanding of attitudes, beliefs, and practices of nurses regarding SHA. An online-based Likert-scale survey was administered via social media platforms for professional nurses to complete. Results indicate that nurses …


Analysis Of The Soil Lead Contamination Issue Of South Chattanooga, Tesros Cherian May 2020

Analysis Of The Soil Lead Contamination Issue Of South Chattanooga, Tesros Cherian

Honors Theses

Childhood lead poisoning is an ongoing health threat despite actions taken by governmental bodies to remove lead from gasoline, paint, and other various household objects in which lead is found. In South Chattanooga specifically, lead has been found in the soil at such a level it is considered a public health threat, especially to children under the age of six. This situation has caused the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to name the South Chattanooga area as a Superfund site known as the Southside Chattanooga Lead Superfund site. This designation has resulted in multiple community meetings between EPA officials and Chattanooga …


Fatty Acid Mediated Alterations In Biofilm Formation With Vibrio Cholerae, Isabel Gray May 2020

Fatty Acid Mediated Alterations In Biofilm Formation With Vibrio Cholerae, Isabel Gray

Honors Theses

Vibrio cholerae is a Gram-negative bacterium known as a waterborne pathogen. It is often found in marine conditions and can infect humans through ingestion. V. cholerae is responsible for cholera, a disease characterized by profuse diarrhea, vomiting, and other dehydration symptoms. Ultimately, severe cases can cause extreme electrolyte imbalances, shock, and acute renal failure which lead to death in a short period of time. Annually, V. cholerae causes approximately 3 million cases of cholera and 100,000 deaths worldwide. V. cholerae can persist in motile and biofilm lifestyles under aquatic and host conditions, a unique biphasic lifestyle that contributes to Vibrio’s …


A Look Into The Impacts Of Tele-Optometry Expansion, Anna Hulsey May 2020

A Look Into The Impacts Of Tele-Optometry Expansion, Anna Hulsey

Honors Theses

Objective This study aims to assess the health and economic costs and benefits to society and patients resulting from the expansion of telemedicine into online refractive exams and to determine the likelihood of potential consumers to utilize such services. Methods A paper survey was distributed at the Inaugural Cempa Health Fair in October of 2019 to both vendors and participants. 105 responses were used to evaluate personal perceptions, practices, and likelihood across a diverse range of demographics. Responses were then entered and analyzed using descriptive statistics and percentages/frequencies. Results Results showed respondents were most attracted to online refractive exams due …


Overcoming Barriers To The Implementation Of Early Warning Systems To Reduce The Maternal Mortality Rate In The United States Of America, Emily Hopkins May 2020

Overcoming Barriers To The Implementation Of Early Warning Systems To Reduce The Maternal Mortality Rate In The United States Of America, Emily Hopkins

Honors Theses

The United States has the highest Maternal Mortality Rate in the developed world, and it has been increasing since 1987. To combat this problem, researchers have developed Early Warning Systems (EWS) to identify when a woman is developing signs of a life-threatening problem during the maternal period. The goal of this research is to identify if these early warning systems are being used in U.S. hospitals, and, if not, what the best way is to implement them. Several interviews were performed with hospitals across the U.S. and the transcripts were run through the analyzing software NVivo. Each transcript will be …