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Public Health

Walden University

Theses/Dissertations

2019

Articles 1 - 10 of 10

Full-Text Articles in Public Affairs, Public Policy and Public Administration

Community Health Worker's Perceptions Of Integration Into The Behavioral Health Care System, Juliette Swanston Jenkins Jan 2019

Community Health Worker's Perceptions Of Integration Into The Behavioral Health Care System, Juliette Swanston Jenkins

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Mental illness in the United States is a major public health problem. According to the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, in 2017, 18.9% of adults in the United States had a mental illness. The purpose of this study was to gain insight into the perceptions held by community health workers (CHWs) regarding their integration into the behavioral health care system in Maryland. Using a social constructivism paradigm and phenomenological approach, a purposive sample of 11 CHWs who supported patients with behavioral health conditions in 17 counties in the state were interviewed. Howlett, McConnell, and Perl'€™s five stream confluence …

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Effects Of Psychiatric Hospital Closures On Local Jail Administrators, Correctional Staff, And Inmates, Mark Christian Lasko Jan 2019

Effects Of Psychiatric Hospital Closures On Local Jail Administrators, Correctional Staff, And Inmates, Mark Christian Lasko

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

A series of psychiatric hospital closures has led to a movement of care for individuals with mental illness from state-run facilities to managed care centers. Many of the individuals who no longer reside in psychiatric hospitals have become ensnared in the criminal justice system. Correctional facilities have an increased burden to care for the needs of the mentally ill, but lack the training and facilities to do so adequately. In this study, the lived experiences of correctional staff who have experienced the process of a hospital closure were examined. Psychiatric rehabilitation and gatekeeper theories served as the theoretical framework for …

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The Shortage Of Licensed Social Workers In Central Florida, Helen M. Burrows Jan 2019

The Shortage Of Licensed Social Workers In Central Florida, Helen M. Burrows

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

For several decades, a national shortage of licensed clinical social workers has been growing in the United States. Licensed social workers provide counsel and advocacy for those affected by mental illness, addiction, abuse, and discrimination, among other economic difficulties, and are the largest group of providers of mental and behavioral health services. The research questions for this project addressed what challenges unlicensed social workers in central Florida identify as barriers to pursuing clinical licensure. This study also explored strategies that unlicensed social workers in central Florida reported to address these barriers and encourage the pursuit of clinical licensure. The purpose …

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Maintaining Confidentiality Among Hiv Infected Couples: Physicians' Patterns Of Decision In Nigeria, Francess Uju Ayaebene Jan 2019

Maintaining Confidentiality Among Hiv Infected Couples: Physicians' Patterns Of Decision In Nigeria, Francess Uju Ayaebene

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Policies mandating HIV status disclosure to decrease incidence create ethical challenges for physicians on whether to breach or maintain infected patients' confidentiality. In Sub-Saharan Africa where HIV incidence is high, there is a need for clear guidelines/policies on making confidentiality decisions. The purpose of this quantitative quasi experiment was to determine whether the gender, gender orientation, and sexual relationship of an infected patient and physicians' demographics predicted physicians' decisions to breach confidentiality. In Plateau State, Nigeria, 222 physicians were given vignette questionnaires containing 6 different descriptions of gender, gender orientation, and sexual relationships of a hypothetical patient. Each physician decided …

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Effect Of Access To Health Services On Neonatal Mortality In Uganda, Imelda Atai Madgalene Musana Jan 2019

Effect Of Access To Health Services On Neonatal Mortality In Uganda, Imelda Atai Madgalene Musana

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Since 2006, Uganda has experienced a nonchanging neonatal mortality rate of 27 out of 1,000 live births, which is higher than the global average of 19 deaths for every 1,000 live births. The purpose of this retrospective cross-sectional study was to determine factors affecting access to health services and their impact on newborn deaths in Uganda. Mosley and Chen's model for child survival in developing nations provided the framework for the study. Secondary data from the 2016 demographic and health survey (UDHS) collected by the Uganda Bureau of Statistics (UBOs) was used. A total of 7,538 cases were used and …

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Survey Of U.S. Undergraduate Self-Reported Opioid Diversion And Heroin Use, Motives, Sources, And Collective Efficacy As Mediating Factors, Mark Francis Plaushin Jan 2019

Survey Of U.S. Undergraduate Self-Reported Opioid Diversion And Heroin Use, Motives, Sources, And Collective Efficacy As Mediating Factors, Mark Francis Plaushin

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Epic morbidity and mortality, and intractability make prescription opioid diversion a wicked problem. Meanwhile, college undergraduates are vulnerable to opioid misuse and its consequences. The purpose of this quantitative study was to assess U.S. undergraduate students' opioid misuse and the relationship between mediating factors. The study's theoretical framework rested on Wakeland's et al. opioid system model and Shaw and McKay's social disorganization theory. This study bridged the gap, measuring collective efficacy and testing its relationship to undergraduate decisions to regulate misuse. Thus, research questions focused on gauging the problem's scope and assessing relationships between factors that drive or potentially regulate …

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Logistical Resource Capability During A Mass Casualty Event In Washington State, Todd Devin Brauckmiller Jan 2019

Logistical Resource Capability During A Mass Casualty Event In Washington State, Todd Devin Brauckmiller

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The need for increasing efficiencies for medical resource delivery during a mass casualty incident/event is a paramount logistical planning factor that could mean life or death to the citizens affected by a disaster. As such, Washington State has prioritized emergency management and preparedness. Using the just-in-time system by way of Baghbanian' s complex adaptive decision-making theory as the foundation, gave purpose to this qualitative study. This was accomplished by analysis of emergency management professional responses, and to what degree, improvements can be made to the medical resource delivery system during a mass casualty incident/event. Data were collected through semi structured …

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The Impact Of Congressional Attention And Policy Mood On Public Health Funding, Evelyn Denise Dunn Jan 2019

The Impact Of Congressional Attention And Policy Mood On Public Health Funding, Evelyn Denise Dunn

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Congressional appropriations for federal public health agencies are subjected to external factors throughout the congressional appropriations process, resulting in fluctuations in funding. Recent literature has focused on externals factors, such as political attention and public attitudes, that could influence government funding levels; however, the impact of these factors on federal public health funding was not addressed. The purpose of this study was to determine whether a relationship exists between these external factors and federal public health appropriations. A quantitative study was used to examine congressional attention, policy mood, and the influence on the change in the level of federal public …

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Preventing Obesity And Type 2 Diabetes In Immigrant Populations, Maxwell K. Chikuta Jan 2019

Preventing Obesity And Type 2 Diabetes In Immigrant Populations, Maxwell K. Chikuta

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Obesity-related diseases have been increasing in African immigrants throughout the United States. Although research has been done to identify risk factors associated with many ethnic groups in the United States, only a few studies exist that explore obesity and type 2 diabetes diseases among Central African immigrants. The conceptual framework for this qualitative case study was social constructivism and the health belief model. The primary research question addressed the potential underlying causes for an increase in obesity and type 2 diabetes among Central African Immigrants. The secondary research questions explored how culture, illiteracy, and religion contribute to the problem of …

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Incentive Size Alignment With Accountable Care Organization Performance, Kristie D. Racca Jan 2019

Incentive Size Alignment With Accountable Care Organization Performance, Kristie D. Racca

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Changes to the country's health care political landscape in 2012 resulted in the development of federal programs aimed at containing costs and improving the quality of care delivered. Accountable Care Organizations (ACO) emerged linking performance to rewards. Guided by Conrad's value-based performance incentive theory as the theoretical foundation, the purpose of this quantitative study was to determine the relationship between financial incentive size and ACO performance measures. The research questions examined the predictive relationship of incentive size and acute care readmission rates, emergency department (ED) visits, and per capita spending of the ACO Medicare Shared Savings Program population. The study …

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