Digital Commons Network^™

Analyzing The Patient-Provider Relationship And Assessing Shortages In Oral Healthcare In Arenac County, Michigan, Aaron Norfleet

Honors Projects

The purpose of this prospective study will be to assess the patient-provider relationship in Arenac County, Michigan, analyze barriers to treatment for rural patients, and develop a meaningful plan to improve upon these categories. The intended outcomes of this study will be the development of a resource for rural oral healthcare providers to better understand and treat the needs of their patients based on knowledge from beyond the chairside, as well as the development of an easily repeatable model for patient-provider analysis. Furthermore, the questionnaires and data collected from this could assist in informing governmental or non-governmental organizations in identifying …

Analysis Of A Future Dentist, Monica J. Nagy

Honors Projects

My Senior Honors Project at GVSU is centered around the options I will have in front of me once I graduate from dental school. First I researched what the future of dentistry will look like 10 years from now. The COVID-19 pandemic has greatly impacted the dental field, creating better sanitation and procedural changes that will likely last forever. The second part of my project entailed the creation of a Business Model Canvas for owning a private dental practice. The final aspect of my project is a presentation of my potential plans of action. The powerpoint provides the steps for …

Oral Healthcare Education, Equity And Policy Implementation In Rural Honduran Communities, Alexander J.R. Dyke

Honors Projects

Rural Honduras encompasses many individuals with limited access to a dental professional. Many public health studies demonstrate that dental shortage areas have more dental cavities, missing teeth, and more complex restorations that need periodic treatment. Dental hygiene is undermined at home with limited access to oral health advocates, and dental education becomes more essential. Here, we report an educational consensus and perspectives of rural Honduras through a questionnaire distributed at 13 mobile dental clinics in remote villages. To assess the effectiveness of education, the World Health Organization (WHO) has deemed two important indices in assessing trends: Community Periodontal Index of …

The Interactions Between Oral Biofilms, Antibiotic Resistance, And Dentistry, Maxine Taylor

Honors Projects

Antibiotic resistance is a pressing concern that demands further action to reduce and develop new countermeasures. Antibiotic resistance impacts all fields of health and medicine, including dentistry. Many of the preventive and restorative dental procedures are due to a bacterial cause. Knowledge of oral biofilm development mechanisms and the interactions and relationships between oral microbiota is necessary to combat the spread of antibiotic resistance and develop more effective dental treatments. Exploring how the oral microbiomes and their treatments impact the health of the rest of the body is another important consideration since dentistry is part of the general healthcare system. …

Improving Health Care Accessibility Among Geriatric Patients In Rural Communities, Capriana Calvachi

Honors Projects

The following literature review and analysis compiles information regarding ways to improve rural geriatric healthcare accessibility through the use of interprofessional care and outreach. I also wish to bring to light the various deficiencies often seen in this realm of care, and the reasons behind the inadequate rural physician retention rates. Using this background information, I compiled various collaborative approaches which seek to ease the strain faced by the healthcare system and its elderly patients.

Improving healthcare accessibility through the use of interprofessional care and outreach is an essential facet in geriatric medicine. By exploring the deficiencies of geriactric healthcare …

Creating And Conducting Intergenerational Learning In Higher Education, Andrea Lauren Holt

Honors Projects

The creation, conduction and revision of a one of a kind intergenerational course taught in the Grand Valley State University Fredrick Meijer Honors College. Elders and Traditional Honors College Freshman came together in a mixed classroom in order to bridge the gaps of communication and misunderstanding between generations.

Trans, Gender Non-Conforming, And Non-Binary Experiences With The Us Health Care System, Brenna Wyffels

Honors Projects

This research aims to identify health care obstacles faced by members of the trans, gender non-conforming, and non-binary community. Through a literature review and a Qualtrics survey distributed to university students in the target community via email, obstacles to health care access and solutions to the obstacles were identified. Data collected from survey participants included demographic information, anecdotes about inclusive and exclusive health care experiences, and proposed solutions to health care obstacles. Obstacles to health care access stemmed from many sources, including from biases of health care providers. Solutions ranged from changes that individual providers could make to nation-wide education …

Bilateral Ovarian Dermoid Cysts’ Treatment, Hilary Skalski

Honors Projects

Ovarian dermoid cysts are the most common neoplasm found in the ovary. They are also the most commonly removed ovarian neoplasm. Still, most reported cases of ovarian dermoid cysts are unilateral, so there is little research on bilateral ovarian dermoids. Nevertheless, bilateral treatment options should be explored, due to an increased likelihood of obtaining complications from a treatment or lack thereof. A meta-analysis on ovarian dermoid literature from 1991 to 2015 was performed to compile a treatment and prognosis for bilateral dermoids. The results found that a bilateral laparoscopic cystectomy was the optimal treatment method when treatment was desired. There …

An Overview Of Acute Myeloid Leukemia, Ryan Durkee

Honors Projects

Acute Myeloid Leukemia is a rare disease with an estimated 20,830 new cases in the U.S. in 2015.4 Although it is a rare disease it is crucial to understand the history, pathophysiology, and epidemiology of AML. Comprehending the steps behind treating AML is another crucial aspect in appreciating the care that must be put into AML and the patients that suffer from it. A comprehensive look into these two aspects of AML will give a better understanding for what causes AML, how it is treated, and what these patients experience. Through this comprehensive study the future of this field will …

New Youth For Health Care: The Affordable Care Act Story, Thomas Nieboer

Honors Projects

No abstract provided.