Medicine and Health Commons^™

Patient-Reported Outcomes Screening For Improved Patient Wellness: A Cancer Center Initiative, Alison Morris

Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) Projects

Background: People experiencing serious illness have significant unmet physical, emotional, social and spiritual needs. The Quality Oncology Practice Initiative (QOPI) requires patients to be screened for emotional wellbeing and pain by their second oncology visit. This project details one cancer center’s quality improvement initiative to (a) implement electronic screening of every cancer patient by their second oncology visit, (b) design processes for ongoing assessment and intervention of need(s), and (c) develop measurable and sustainable evaluation metrics to ensure that palliative care needs are met. Methods: In June 2015, we launched electronic collection of patient-reported outcomes (PROs) using the Patient Reported …

The Hidden Epidemic: Mental Health Epidemiology In Post-Conflict Populations And Implications For Conflict Transformation Practices, Jennifer Sato

Capstone Collection

This capstone explores the ramifications of unmitigated mental health illness in conflict populations, paying special attention to refugees and migrants. The intersection between conflict and mental health is explored and analyzed in order to highlight the implications of the findings and to make recommendations to both metal health and conflict transformation practitioners. This capstone depends predominately on secondary resources and personal interviews and is informed by my own practicum experience at a refugee health center. The need to improve mental health outcomes in order to pursue conflict transformation and peace building is a key focus and is supported by the …

To A Better Understanding Of Professional Practice: Provider Decision-Making When Delivering Hiv Services, Carizma Amila Chapman

Loma Linda University Electronic Theses, Dissertations & Projects

Over the last several decades an abundance of research has been conducted on HIV/AIDS. These studies have focused on the infection, impact of the disease on the health and quality of life of people living with the infection, and on treatment effectiveness. However, limited studies are available that explore the experiences of providers delivering HIV/AIDS services. Research demonstrates that providers have an important impact on treatment, shaping not only patient retention, but also treatment adherence. The critical role HIV/AIDS providers have in shaping treatment makes understanding provider experiences a pertinent area of inquiry to understand HIV/AIDS care. In this study, …

Socially Deviant Communities Online: How The Pro-Anorexia Movement Utilizes The Anonymity Provided By The Internet To Thrive, Samantha Thomas

Honors Theses

The creation of the internet has produced an environment in which many communities have been able to develop into strong and thriving societies. A large number of communities that are now predominantly online were unable to exist successfully before the establishment of the internet for a variety of reasons. The internet has made it easier for people from different backgrounds and locations to network, form communities, and share information with one another. Unfortunately the internet has also given harmful underground communities the opportunity to develop and thrive as well. Socially deviant communities, groups that support ideas and behaviors deemed unacceptable …

Children's Mental Health Over The Early Life Course: The Impact Of Economic Resources, Neighborhood Disorder, And Family Processes, Jinette M. Comeau

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Drawing upon a stress process and life course framework, and using data from the Child Supplement of the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth, the three papers presented in this dissertation examine the extent to which economic resources, neighborhood disorder, and family processes influence children’s trajectories of mental health.

In the first paper, I empirically construct six categories that represent children with comparable profiles of family income over time: increasing, decreasing, fluctuating, and stability across low-, medium-, and high-income families. The income categories are incorporated in multiple group latent growth curve models to assess the extent to which they initiate and …

Health-Related Beliefs, Practices, And Experiences Of Migrant Dominicans In The Northeastern United States, Constance Sobon Sensor

Seton Hall University Dissertations and Theses (ETDs)

Purpose: This study aimed to discover and describe migrant Dominican cultural beliefs and practices related to health, the ways that migrant Dominicans take care of their health in their new environment, and their experience with professional health care in the Northeastern United States.

Design: This descriptive qualitative study was guided by Leininger’s Theory of Culture Care Diversity and Universality and four-phase analysis method. The health-related beliefs, practices and experiences of a convenience sample of 15 self-identified adult Dominicans living in the United States for six months or more were explored in three focus groups, assisted by trained culturally appropriate interpreters. …

The Effects Of Social Status On The Quality And Affordability Of Healthcare, Robert O. Burns

Honors College Theses

Access to healthcare is very important in today's society, as is the quality of said healthcare. The socioeconomic status (SES) of an individual is the most important factor when it comes to determining both the accessibility and quality of said care, and as such has been studied extensively. Across different countries, lower SES has been linked to the decreased affordability and success rates of medical treatments such as coronary heart disease medication or health risk prevention regimes. In many cases, low SES patients were found to be less likely to seek treatment than higher SES patients as the debt they …

"A Doula Can Only Do So Much": Birth Doulas And Stratification In United States Maternity Care, Kaylee S. Wolfe

Honors Projects

No abstract provided.

Concern About The Freshman 15, Peer Influence, & Weight-Control Behavior Among Freshmen, Sarah Bauman

Undergraduate Honors Thesis Collection

Objective: The author investigated how individual and perceived concern about the Freshman 15 influences weight-control behaviors among collegc freshmen, if peers have an effect on an individuals' concern about the Freshman 15, and whether students exercise, diet, or exhibit disorderly eating habits. Gender differences were also examined. It was hypothesized that (1) higher levels of concern about the Freshman 15 will result in greater weight control measures (2) peers influence individuals' use of weight-control measures and individuals who perceive their peers as concerned about the Freshman 15 will be more likely to engage in weight-control behaviors (3) that although females …

Investigating Sex Positivity: Does Education And Socialization Increase Sexual Satisfaction In Young Adults, Kendall Coffman

Undergraduate Distinction Papers

Abstract

This study was designed to investigate a proposed association between exposure to sexual education, positive information, and materials, and an individual’s level of comfort, sexual satisfaction, and willingness to discuss sexual topics. This study also looked at the influence of various other variables such as gender, sexual orientation, and relationship status. Undergraduates at a small, private Midwestern college were surveyed with questions regarding the context in which they were exposed to various sexual topics as well as their current levels of sexual satisfaction and willingness to discuss sexual material with a friend, family member, intimate partner, or a stranger. …

Activist Doctors: Explaining Physician Activism In The Oregon Movement For Single-Payer Healthcare, Jennifer Cullen Loomis

Dissertations and Theses

Changes in American healthcare over the last half century have created social and economic crises, presenting challenges for doctors and patients. The recently-implemented Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act is an incremental reform that does little to change the complex multi-payer financing characterizing American healthcare. There have been growing demands for more equitable financing arrangements, notably, a single-payer healthcare system in which medical care is financed through a single, non-profit payer and in which medical care is treated as a public good and medically-necessary care is available to everyone.

Nationally-representative surveys have demonstrated widespread physician support for single-payer legislation. Yet, …

Uncovering Meanings Of Death, Trauma, And Loss As Experienced By Hospice Bereavement Coordinators: A Phenomenological Study, Rochelle S. Clarke

Department of Family Therapy Dissertations and Applied Clinical Projects

This study examined the experiences of Hospice Bereavement Coordinators (HBCs) and Hospice Chaplains working with grief narratives from patient-family units exhibiting signs of anticipatory or complicated grief. While a significant amount of research has been conducted on Hospice employees, no qualitative studies have examined the interpretation of meaning from employees whose primary role focused on the psychosocial-spiritual aspects of clients exhibiting anticipatory or complicated grief. The researcher identified shared meaning of death, trauma, and loss from six participants in the context of a high stress and high loss environment. This study‘s findings revealed ten central themes: Death is an earthly …

Negotiating Diabetes: Professional Diabetes Care Work In The U.S., Melissa Marie Gesbeck

Dissertations

The rising incidence of diabetes mellitus (types 1 and 2) transcends national borders, creating a global pandemic. The U.S. leads the world in diabetes prevalence, despite its wealth and access to sophisticated medical technologies. Within health care, there is an increasing focus on lifestyle and behavioral interventions that research suggests may be the key to reversing this trend, but thus far their effectiveness in practice is uneven at best. In order to gain a better understanding of the other factors involved in professional diabetes care work that might support or inhibit effective diabetes management, this research treats diabetes as a …

Falls Among Community-Dwelling Older Adults: Determining The Relationship Between Social Networks And The Risk For Falls, Smita Sikhrakar

All Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Other Capstone Projects

Falls among community-dwelling older adults is a big public health problem, which have an effect on older adults' health, independence, and quality of life. The purpose of this study was to determine the relationship between social networks and the risk for falls among community-dwelling older adults. This was a descriptive correlational study, which utilized a cross-sectional survey for the data collection. The dependent and independent variable of this study were the risk for falls among the community-dwelling older adults, and the strength and type of social networks respectively. In this study, 218 community-dwelling older adults were recruited, who were living …

Barriers To Health Care Among Laotian Americans In Middle Tennessee, Xaiyavong Saenphansiri

DNP Scholarly Projects

Background. Laotian Americans have unique heath beliefs and practices. The cultural differences between Laotian American patients and American health care providers can create challenges in achieving not only evidence-based, but also culturally sensitive care. Although the current literature addresses barriers to health care for Asian Americans, there are few studies related to the Laotian-American minority.

Aim. Describing the particular barriers to preventive and curative care in the Laotian-American population in Middle Tennessee would inform strategies for successful prevention and early treatment programs for this population. The purpose of the study is to describe the health beliefs and barriers to …

Adhd Versus Ptsd In Preschool-Aged Children: Implications For Misdiagnosis, Klaudette D. Stewart

PCOM Psychology Dissertations

Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) has been one of the most diagnosed disorders in children since it was included in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders−III (DSM−III) in 1980. The number of children who have been diagnosed since that time has grown significantly, raising concerns about the overwhelming number of young children being diagnosed and prescribed medication. According to the literature, young children are diagnosed at a higher rate by pediatric primary care physicians (PCPs) than clinical child psychologists (CCPs) because they are taken to a PCP’s office by a parent, rather than referred from a school environment, …

Hood's Theory Of Aging, Drew Michael Hood

All Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Other Capstone Projects

This thesis proposes that the theory of gerotranscendence can be improved by emphasizing life course events that influence the gerotranscendence process. Further, this paper proposes that teaching gerotranscendence to long-term care staff and residents with Hood's theory of aging and with a departmental framework will yield better results in staff following gerotranscendence best practices and thus result in increased resident development towards gerotranscendence.