Medicine and Health Commons^™

Shadow Standards And The Logic Of Costs: Care, Stewardship, And Data In U.S. Community Health, Margarite J. Whitten

All Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

This dissertation examines the delegation of responsibility for providing health care to particular categories of marginalized populations in the United States in the absence of a uniform and universal health care system. It explores how the U.S. federal government governs patient populations at a distance by mandating that healthcare providers collect, produce, and report on patient data. Drawing from eighteen months of ethnographic research in Massachusetts clinics for the homeless and the frail elderly between 2014-2015, I argue that when marginalized patients are unable to satisfy the neoliberal ideal of self-governance to maintain their health in cost-effective ways, providers ...

Pushing The Boundaries Of Healing, Alankrit Shatadal

VA Engage Journal

This paper explains a summer volunteering opportunity at a nonprofit organization dedicated to creating a home environment for low-income families coming to city hospitals for intensive pediatric care. The importance of social determinants of health during the healing process is explored through examples of services provided by the Ronald McDonald House. These services range from meeting basic human needs to emotional care of pediatric patients. In addition, routes to potentially ameliorate observed challenges associated with pediatric hospitalization are discussed.

In fall 2020, Alankrit Shatadal will begin her senior year at Washington and Lee University, where she is pursuing degrees in ...

Pre-Professional College Women’S Perceptions Of The Social Implications Of Company Sponsored Fertility Postponement, Jordane Schooley

Undergraduate Honors Theses

Large corporations, such as Apple and Google, as well as other tech companies, began incorporating fertility postponement in their health benefits to employees through the form of egg freezing and in-vitro fertilization starting in 2014. While some research exists looking at the implications of this policy for women in the workforce, little attention has been given to the perspective of young women about to enter the workforce. This research examines the perceptions of pre-professional women on the implications of potential future employers offering them egg freezing and IVF benefits, revealing contradictory feelings towards such policies. Since these women are in ...

Student Wellbeing And Open Studio Process In The School Curriculum, Maria Kim

Expressive Therapies Dissertations

This study aimed to explore whether Open Studio Process (OSP) increased wellbeing of middle and high school students when facilitated by teachers as a part of the regular art curriculum. It was hypothesized that OSP might increase the sense of wellbeing among middle and high school students as well as facilitating teachers. The research was conducted as a mixed methods study in South Korea where students need preventative interventions for their wellbeing. The researcher trained eight teachers to facilitate OSP and five of them implemented it with their classes for seven sessions. Quantitative data (K-YSR; pre- and posttest) were collected ...

An Examination Of The Association Between State Medicaid Perinatal Services And Birth Outcomes, Joy Morgan Myers

Honors Theses

This thesis investigated the connection between socioeconomic status, healthcare coverage, and birth outcomes. The research question that was posed specifically looked at twenty perinatal services that states covered under Medicaid to varying degrees to see their association, if any, with premature birth rates and low birthweight rates. State-level and Mississippi county-level data were compiled regarding preterm birth rates, low birthweight rates, presumptive eligibility adoption, and coverage of twenty different perinatal services. Using these data, the correlation between state Medicaid expansion status and birth outcomes was first calculated in order to determine if variation in birth outcomes was associated with expanded ...

An Examination Of Student Health Insurance And Student Health Center Policies Across The Southeastern Conference, Katrina Gateley

Honors Theses

Campus health care services are often overlooked by prospective students and families during the college search process, yet the access and affordability of these services may have a significant impact on the overall health of college students. This study sought to compare student health services and policies at the 14 member institutions of the Southeastern Conference (SEC). Additionally, this study explored student perceptions about campus health services and policies. A mixed methods approach was used to gather both quantitative and qualitative data. Institutional website reviews of all 14 SEC institutions were conducted to gather information regarding health insurance policies, health ...

Health Care Access For Children In Latinx Immigrant Families In The Greater Philadelphia Area, Sophia King

Politics Honors Papers

This work examines the gap that exists in access to health care in the Greater Philadelphia Region for children of Latinx immigrant families in comparison to other children in the nation. It provides a critical analysis of the gap in access to coverage, noting that this exists despite wide support for a human right to health. This study draws on existing scholarly research as well as interviews with staff at two health clinics and one community outreach center that are located in Greater Philadelphia. It demonstrates that Latinx immigrant families are less likely to have health insurance and get primary ...

“Disbelieving Black Women To Death”; The “Double Jeopardy”: Racism And Sexism Affects Black Women’S Access To And Quality Of Care During Pregnancy, Birth, And Postpartum, Madeline St. Clair

Theses/Capstones/Creative Projects

This paper explores possible reasons why Black women in the United States experience a higher maternal mortality rate than their white counterparts. Using books, articles, journals, documentaries, personal experiences and stories of Black women and mothers, I argue that barriers from the societal to the individual level create health and medical disparities for Black mothers in pregnancy, during delivery, and the postpartum period. The paper concludes with a multifaceted solution and call to action.

The Role Of Culture In Engaging The Senior Population In Omaha, Ne, Jamie Bish

Theses/Capstones/Creative Projects

In recent years, the senior care industry has become the focus of many public health initiatives as we have come to better understand the significance of our aging population (Olivari et al., 2020). Between the years 2010 and 2050, the population of the United States over 65 years is expected to more than double, from 40.5 to 89 million (Dall et al., 2013). While this data provides a national outlook, further research is needed to determine local impacts. This project centers on developing a better understanding of the demographics of seniors in the Omaha-Council Bluffs Metropolitan Statistical Area and ...

From Burnout To Wellness: Using Appreciative Inquiry To Shift Midmichigan Health Towards A Strengths-Based Perspective, Kunal Chohan, Karen Fetzer, Sophia R. Heiser, Seth Norman

Master of Applied Positive Psychology (MAPP) Service Learning Projects

Over half of providers in the healthcare field experience burnout. Burnout syndrome is defined by the prolonged psychological and physiological response to chronic and interpersonal job stressors, and can result in a number of symptoms that negatively affect workplace morale and performance, including physical exhaustion, job dissatisfaction, and feelings of hopelessness. MidMichigan Health (MMH), a division of the University of Michigan Health system that serves nearly 1 million people in Michigan, has created the Provider Wellness and Burnout Council (PWBC) to address issues of burnout within the organization. To build on their initial work, we propose a long-term intervention based ...

Myocardial Infarction And Treatment Adherence Rates Across Sociodemographic & Health Indicators, Deborah Shim, Ashley Wendell Kranjac

Student Scholar Symposium Abstracts and Posters

Trends on first myocardial infarction and rates of adherence to treatment across age were estimated. Data sourced from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES), 1999-2016, were used to determine the patterned age trends of patients’ first myocardial infarction as well as their subsequent willingness to comply with treatments, such as weight loss. Demographic characteristics and socioeconomic status were taken into account and integrated as they play a key role in contextualizing and understanding these health trends. Preliminary historical trend analyses across 9 waves of data spanning 17 years indicate that patients are increasingly presenting with myocardial infarction earlier ...

Care, Culture, And Neoliberalism: A Case Study In A Private Long-Term Care Facility In Northeastern China, Maya Alexis Bian

Chancellor’s Honors Program Projects

No abstract provided.

Supporting Positive Lifestyle Changes Among Patients With Diabetes Mellitus Type 2, Alison Tynan

Nursing | Senior Theses

The following thesis is a compilation of literature reviewed to formulate background research for a pilot study. The literature reviewed pertains to the potential benefit of added case management for patients with diabetes mellitus type 2. A proposed pilot study, based off of this research, aims to identify topics, tools, facts, and changes that can be made to case management to improve not just the biological aspects, like HbA1c levels, but the mental and emotional as well to allow for whole person care.

The primary question being asked is “what types of support do people with diabetes mellitus type 2 ...

Breastfeeding And Feminism In France, Megan Wadsworth

2020 JHU Richard Macksey National Undergraduate Humanities Research Symposium

Women in France have some of the lowest breastfeeding rates among high-income countries in Europe. The World Health Organization encourages new mothers to breastfeed for up to two years, and globally around 60 percent of women are still breastfeeding at this point. However, only 63 percent of French mothers ever start breastfeeding, and typically stop after just 17 weeks. These numbers are perplexing because they are significantly lower than the breastfeeding rates among other high-income countries such as the US at 74.4 percent and the UK at 81 percent. After researching the debate surrounding breastfeeding in France it became ...

280— Exploring The Geographic Distribution Of Childbed Fever Deaths In Mid-19th Century Rochester, Ny, Meaghan Parks

GREAT Day

Childbed fever, formally called puerperal fever or puerperal septicemia, is an infection typically contracted by women after childbirth. Historically, childbed fever was a serious threat to maternal health. Childbed fever is caused by exposure of open wounds or abrasions, which are common after giving birth, to group A and B Streptococcal bacteria. Ignaz Semmelweis discovered that hand washing using a chlorinated solution reduced cases of childbed fever in 1847. This project reviews the instances of death from childbed fever in Rochester, New York from 1837-1860 and later from 1907-1919 and attempts to determine which areas of the city had the ...

The Effect Of Volunteering On Stress Hormone Levels Of Graduate Student Volunteers, Kyra Valovick, Kelsey Swegle

Student Showcase for Research and Creative Inquiry

The purpose of this presentation is to set up methods for a long-term study using graduate students in the Speech Pathology graduate program at Longwood University. Previous studies have shown that levels of stress hormones, cortisol and alpha-amylase, decrease after a volunteering activity. In this study, we aim to replicate those results by taking saliva samples from graduate students who are volunteering with disabled children at a local therapeutic barn, Heartland Horse Heroes. From those samples, we will measure levels of cortisol, alpha-amylase, and DHEA, a hormone measuring resistance. We expect to see a decrease in cortisol and alpha-amylase and ...

Exploring Nurses' Attitudes Toward Assisted Suicide: A Study Of Nurses Working With Terminally Ill Patients, Marjie L. Schoolfield

Scholar Week 2016 - present

Physician-assisted suicide, legalized in many states is becoming an option for patients diagnosed with a terminal illness. Nurse participation in physician-assisted suicide is not supported through state nurse practice acts or national nursing organizations, causing potential contradictions in practice rights for advanced practice nurses. The purpose of this study was to examine the attitudes of registered and advanced practice nurses who work with the terminally ill regarding the patient option of physician-assisted suicide. This quantitative research was conducted with hospice registered nurses employed by a hospice organization in the Midwest and included participants from states where physician-assisted suicide is legal ...

Psychedelic Assisted Psychotherapy, Lori Ferguson

Showcase of Osprey Advancements in Research and Scholarship (SOARS)

Beginning in the early 1900s, research into Psychedelic Assisted Psychotherapy (PAP) showed promising results. After psychedelics were made illegal in the early 1970s they went largely underground. Psychedelic research resumed in the 1990s and the research shows great promise. Unlike traditional antidepressants that only manage symptoms and cause long term side effects, psychedelics could possibly be a cure with no side effects once the drug has worn off. Treatment often includes preparatory therapy sessions before, a session which includes the use of a psychedelic, and integrative therapy sessions after. Right now the Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies (MAPS) is the ...

Saving Black Mothers: A Case For Midwifery, Tiffany Cardinale

Student Writing

No abstract provided.

Marginalization And Criminalization Of People With Mental Illness, Ariana Walker

Student Writing

It is worth noting that people with a mental illness or disorder have a stigma around them that dictates how others treat them. With this stigma comes discrimination stemming from an already established opinion and experience with a person who has a mental illness. People who have a mental illness that affects their life are marginalized within our society, which means they get treated differently than the majority. This essay will serve as a discussion of the treatment history of mental disorders, forced institutionalization of the people, the impact deinstitutionalization had, and how this led to today’s problem of ...