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“These Classes Have Been My Happy Place”: Feasibility Study Of A Self-Care Program In Native Hawaiian Custodial Grandparents, Loriena Yancura, Heather Greenwood-Junkermeier, Christine A. Fruhauf

Asian/Pacific Island Nursing Journal

Native Hawaiian custodial grandparents have a distinctive set of strengths and challenges that may lead them to benefit from a structured self-care program. The purpose of this paper is to describe a feasibility study with nine Native Hawaiian custodial grandparents who participated in a 6-week self-care intervention. Based on open-ended questions during the post-questionnaire and at the 6-month follow-up focus group, grandparent participants noted that their grandchildren needed education and clothing. Most grandparents did not endorse statements that their grandchildren had any mental or physical health conditions. Grandparents reflected that the intervention provided them with skills to help cope with …

Gerontological Community-Academic Partnership For An Msn Internship, Francine Serafin-Dickson

Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) Projects

The growing population of older adults beckons nursing education to evolve and prepare the future nursing workforce with skills and knowledge to coordinate care for the community-dwelling older adult (gerontological) population. The purpose of this project is to develop, implement, and evaluate academic partnerships with agencies serving community-dwelling older adults for the Master of Science in Nursing (MSN) Clinical Nurse Leader (CNL) students. The formation of Community-Academic Partnerships (CAP) offers the opportunity for an experiential learning internship in combination with a gerontological curriculum. The curriculum is integrated into the CNL role courses and internship, focusing on person-centered interactions with older …

Occupational Therapy Treatment Of Distal Radius Fractures: Best Practices, Erika Schleis

Honors Theses

This paper describes information on best practices for occupational therapy treatment of distal radius fractures including current information about etiology, incidence and prevalence, diagnostic criteria, comorbidities, associated client factors involved in this injury and the effects of this condition on occupational performance. Two hypothetical case studies are presented using evidence-based treatment information. Discussion of additional research necessary to continue to determine best practice approaches is presented.

Fall Prevention, Linda Fang

Master's Projects and Capstones

Fall Prevention Abstract

Background: According to the CDC, the medical cost for falls was approximately $30 billion in 2012. When a patient falls, and gets serious injury, these costs could sum up to $14,056 per patient. As a result, hospital stays per patient are observed to increase by approximately 6.3 days longer than those patients who haven’t encountered falls.

This study focused on identifying high fall risk patients, and developing a plan of care to reduce the occurrence of falls in a hospital setting. Nurses using safe fall interventions techniques have been proven to inspire fall preventions.

An assessment of …

Aging, Inflammation, And Gut Microbiota In Mice, Jody Demeo

Honors Projects

Inflammation and gut microbiota are two areas of study that can be linked to aging in the body. As a person ages, systemic inflammation tends to increase, and changes in microbiota in the gastrointestinal system occur as well.

Self-Reported Professional Competencies Of Rn-To-Bsn Students, Nicole Thompson

Honors Theses

Groundbreaking research by Aiken et al. (2003) and subsequent researchers has determined increased educational preparation and Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN) degree obtainment of Registered Nurses (RNs) to be associated with improved patient safety and outcomes. Other organizations, such as the World Health Organization (WHO), have demonstrated professional competency to be an important indicator of quality nursing care. The purpose of this study was to evaluate self-reported professional competency of RN-to-BSN students at the point of graduation in order to investigate the added value of baccalaureate degree obtainment to the actual nursing practice of RN-to-BSN program graduates. The Nurse …

Improving Transitions In Care For People With Dementia: The Cared Tool, Yuwen Deng, Jamie Bisset, Silk Lim, Maryssa Edwards

Community Engaged Learning Final Projects

Transitions in Care are challenging for people with dementia due to impairments in communication and disorientation from being in a foreign environment. Transitions in care have lead to incidents of unnecessary physical and chemical restraints of this vulnerable population. To investigate how to optimize care transitions, qualitative descriptive information was collected through three personal interviews to gain a broader understanding of mechanisms of care transitions in London, ON. After conducting interviews and literature review, the CARED Tool was developed. The CARED Tool promotes social inclusion of patients with dementia through recognizing that people with dementia have complex needs, thereby allowing …

Individualized Glycemic Targets For The Elderly Residing In Long Term Care Facilities, Abegail Hubberd

Doctor of Nursing Practice

Of people age 65 and older residing in a long-term care facility, 1 in 4 has Type 2 diabetes (Smide & Nygren, 2013). Care and management of this population is a challenge for nurses and other providers. Results of a needs assessment in a local long-term care facility identified deficiencies in the provision of evidence-based Type 2 diabetes care for this target population. American Diabetes Association Guidelines (2017) recommend application of individualized HbA1c targets for the elderly residing in long-term care facilities, especially for those with compromises in clinical and functional status. This two prong quality improvement project strove to …

Improving Vaccination Rates In Adults With Type Ii Diabetes In A Family Practice Setting: An Evidence-Based Quality Improvement Project, Ronda Gottlieb

Doctor of Nursing Practice

The purpose of this evidenced-based quality improvement project is to implement processes to facilitate providers’ adherence to the American Diabetes Association (2017), American Association of Clinical Endocrinologist (2015), and American College of Endocrinology (2015) immunization guidelines for adults with type II diabetes. Presently, diabetes is the 7th leading cause of death in the United States contributing to serious complications throughout the body as a result of poor glucose control. Adults with diabetes are at increased susceptibility to infectious disease because of hyperglycemia, poor glucose control, and decreased immunity. A protocol was created using The Four Pillars Transformation Program ™ to …

Outpatient Vestibular Rehabilitation For A Patient Three Months Post Acoustic Neuroma Resection: A Case Report, Joel Harrison

Case Report Papers

An acoustic neuroma, also known as a vestibular schwannoma, is a benign and slow growing primary intracranial tumor that originates from Schwann cells of the vestibular nerve within the inner ear. It is estimated that acoustic neuromas occur in 10-20 individuals per 1,000,000 annually in the United States. The tumor itself is often treated through surgical removal; however, the tumor and subsequent surgery frequently lead to vestibular nerve impairment. The vestibular nerve transmits sensory information to the brain from the peripheral vestibular system of the inner ear. Damage to one of the vestibular nerves may lead to vestibular dysfunction on …

A Review Of Occupation And Impairment Based Assessments Used In Occupational Therapy, Mariana D'Amico

OCCUPATION: A Medium of Inquiry about Health through Occupation

Objective: The objective of this paper was to analyze the psychometrics, efficacy, and usefulness of assessments to measure occupational performance and occupation-based outcomes.

Methodology: Eight Doctor of Occupational Therapy Students at Nova Southeastern University, along with their professor, analyzed and appraised 46 commonly used assessments to discover and explore the assessments’ purposes, theory-bases, psychometric properties, and usefulness as outcome measures.

Results: We found that many high quality assessments exist and meet the standards for validity and reliability. Although some assessments are client-centered and useful, some still require additional research to strengthen their psychometric properties.

Conclusion: Some widely used assessments …

Cognitive Trajectory Changes Over 20 Years Before Dementia Diagnosis: A Large Cohort Study., Ge Li, Eric B Larson, Jane B Shofer, Paul K Crane, Laura E Gibbons, Wayne Mccormick, J D Bowen, Mary Lou Thompson

Articles, Abstracts, and Reports

BACKGROUND/OBJECTIVES: Longitudinal studies have shown an increase in cognitive decline many years before clinical diagnosis of dementia. We sought to estimate changes, relative to "normal" aging, in the trajectory of scores on a global cognitive function test-the Cognitive Abilities Screening Instrument (CASI).

DESIGN: A prospective cohort study.

SETTING: Community-dwelling members of a U.S. health maintenance organization.

PARTICIPANTS: Individuals aged 65 and older who had no dementia diagnosis at baseline and had at least two visits with valid CASI test score (N = 4,315).

MEASUREMENTS: Average longitudinal trajectories, including changes in trajectory before clinical diagnosis in those who would be diagnosed …

An Exploration Of Dementia Friendly Communities From The Perspective Of Persons Living With Dementia, Catherine Hebert

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The growing global prevalence of dementia coupled with a shift in public perception from a hopeless disease to the possibility of living well with dementia has led to the formation of dementia friendly communities (DFC). DFCs are a new phenomenon in the United States, with a gap in knowledge on input from people living with dementia (PLWD). This study investigated DFCs from the perspective of PLWD in Western North Carolina, with the following research questions:

1. How are interactions and relationships experienced by persons living with dementia in the community?
2. How is community engagement experienced by PLWD?
3. To what extent and …

Exercise, Cognition, And The Aging Process Among Active, Competitive, And Sedentary Middle-Aged And Older Adults, Katherine Adams

Health, Human Performance and Recreation Undergraduate Honors Theses

Purpose This study aimed to compare the cognitive measures of reaction time and dual-task performance among recreationally active, master athletes, and sedentary older adults aged 50 years or older. Methods 59 late middle-aged and older adults between the ages of 50 to 88 years old participated in reaction time and dual-task tests of which consisted of multiple trials on the same day. Subjects were placed either into the recreationally active, masters athlete, or sedentary activity level group based on the Rapid Assessment of Physical Activity (RAPA) form. For the gait speed with associated dual-task component, subjects walked 10-meters at two …

Dementia Survey Among Attendees Of A Dementia Awareness Event In Karachi, Pakistan, Qurat Ul Ain Khan, Yusra Hanif Khan, Mohammad Zaman Khan, Shireen Najam

Pakistan Journal of Neurological Sciences (PJNS)

There is little information available about peoples'knowledgeregarding symptoms of dementia, dementia diagnosis, and care arrangementsfor dementia patients in Pakistan. Aims: We aimed to find out if patients with dementia and their caregivers were aware of diagnosis, the most common and most distressing symptoms, and care arrangement for these patients.

Evaluation Of Current Emergency Department Fall Risk Assessment Tools: Is An Emergency Department Specific Fall Risk Assessment Tool Needed?, Carrie A. Brown

Nursing Masters

Problem: The ability to accurately and quickly identify patients at high risk for falls at the point of entry into the emergency department is the most important step in fall prevention and avoiding harm. Using an inpatient falls risk assessment tool is not adequately identifying patients at risk in the emergency department setting. Multiple factors contribute to falls and are not included in the risk assessment tool. The purpose of the study was to determine if the false risk assessment tool used in the Emergency Department (ED) adequately identifies a patient at risk for falling.

Methods: This study …

Factors That Influence Self-Reported Health Changes With Caregiving, Margaret Danilovich, Xiaoling Xiang, Daniel Pinto

Physical Therapy Faculty Research and Publications

Objective: This study examined factors associated with the self-reported change in health status as a result of caregiving. Method: Multinomial logistic regression were performed to examine the sociodemographic characteristics, care recipients’ characteristics, and caregiving experiences that affect caregivers’ perceptions of health affected by caregiving using data from 1,087 caregiver respondents in the Caregiving in the U.S. 2015 data set. Data were collected through an online or telephone survey of randomly selected adults in 50 states. Results: Worsened self-reported health with caregiving occurred for caregivers aged 50 to 64, racial/ethnic minorities, those who lived within 20 min of the care recipient’s …

Predictors Of Cognitive Function Among Cognitively Impaired Older African Americans Living In Congregate Residential Settings, Zyra Daffodil Apugan

Dissertations

The purpose of this secondary data analysis was to identify potential psychosocial predictors of cognition, including social support, depression, and functional activity, among older African Americans, ≥ 65 years, with a diagnosis of Alzheimer’s disease and living in congregate residential settings. Guided by the main effect model of social support, this study used existing data from the National Alzheimer’s Coordinating Center Uniform Data Set, an NIH-funded multicenter study. Results showed that on average, the participants (n=56) were 81.7 years of age with 13.8 years of education. All, but six, were married. Bivariate Pearson correlations indicate a moderately strong negative relationship …

Lessons Learned From The Quality Improvement Process In A Community Based Hospital: The Dissection Of Implementation Failure Of Use Of The Prism Mortality Risk Tool And Standardization Of Case Management To Reduce Readmissions In High Risk Patients, Mary K. Ziomkowski

Doctoral Projects

Hospital readmission, particularly within 30 days of discharge, is a wicked problem. Effective case management is an imperative component of high quality healthcare for the successful transition of patients across acute and post-acute settings. Patients with complex care needs endure an increased risk for negative outcomes, mortality, and hospital readmission. A small body of evidence suggests that early, targeted interventions aimed at high risk patients can mitigate complications and poor transitions. Patient complexity is an important consideration when establishing a comprehensive care management plan. Risk prediction tools are valuable for ensuring that high risk patients receive appropriate resource allocation. Case …

Strategies To Decrease Depression From Social Isolation Among The Elderly Population, Erin Gallagher, Megan Russ

Grace Peterson Nursing Research Colloquium

Strategies to Decrease Depression from

Social Isolation Among the Elderly Population

Erin Gallagher and Megan Russ

Faculty Sponsor: Christina Lattner, DNP, APRN, AGNP-C, ANP-BC

Background: The lack of social interaction among the elderly population has been directly linked with higher rates of morbidity related to diabetes, arthritis, cancer, and heart disease, thus leading to higher rates of mortality.

Objectives: This comprehensive literature review selected a variety of social interactions to present to the elderly population to examine if an increase in socialization will decrease the depressive symptoms felt during social isolation.

Method: An integrative literature review of both qualitative and …

Grace Peterson Research Colloquium, Emma Pfeiffer

Grace Peterson Nursing Research Colloquium

Mental illness is commonly under-diagnosed, misdiagnosed, or untreated, particularly in the elderly population. An expected population increase for those 65 years and older, increased in health care expenses coupled with the moral and ethical obligation of health care providers to promote quality of life at all ages makes investigation to alternative treatments in this population is worth investigating. The purpose of this literature review is to synthesize existing studies to clarify the following questions: What are the effects of pet therapy on those experiencing signs and symptoms of depression and anxiety? Why is pet therapy still lagging in validated studies, …

Cardiovascular Health Is Associated With Physical Function Among Older Community Dwelling Men And Women., Yichen Jin, Toshiko Tanaka, Yan Ma, Stefania Bandinelli, Luigi Ferrucci, Sameera A Talegawkar

Exercise and Nutrition Sciences Faculty Publications

Background

Age related decline in physical function is a significant concern affecting the quality of life of older individuals.

Methods

We examined the associations between baseline overall cardiovascular health (CVH), its components, and physical function in 906 men and women from the InCHIANTI cohort. Physical function was assessed using the Short Performance Physical Battery and poor physical function was defined as an Short Performance Physical Battery score less than 10. Overall CVH score, ranging from 0 to 12 in the cohort, was operationalized using adherence to ideal levels for health behaviors including smoking status, physical activity, body mass index, and …

Adverse Childhood Experiences And Its Association With Cognitive Impairment In Non- Patient Older Population, Mohini D. Dutt

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This study explores cognitive impairment and its correlation to early- life adverse experiences in non-patient population between the ages of 50 to 65. This developmental approach and observational study design explores cognition in pre-clinical Alzheimer’s disease (AD). Using a standardized neuropsychological instrument, the Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA) and clinically administered questionnaire, the ACE (Adverse Childhood Experiences), I hypothesized that participants with high ACE scores will inversely have low MoCA scores.

My goal was to use a multiple linear regression model with 3 covariates and 1 predictor of interest (ACEs). At 80% power, a sample size of 40 was calculated as …

Low Arousal Positive Emotional Stimuli Attenuate Aberrant Working Memory Processing In Persons With Mild Cognitive Impairment, Lucas S. Broster, Shonna L. Jenkins, Sarah D. Holmes, Gregory A. Jicha, Yang Jiang

Behavioral Science Faculty Publications

Emotional enhancement effects on memory have been reported to mitigate the pathophysiology of Alzheimer’s disease (AD). However, relative to their manifestation in persons without pathologic aging, these effects may be reduced in magnitude or even deleterious, especially in tasks that more closely model ecologic memory performance. Based upon a synthesis of such reports, we hypothesized that in persons with AD low arousal positive stimuli would evoke relatively intact emotional enhancement effects, but that high arousal negative stimuli would evoke disordered emotional enhancement effects. To assess this, participants with and without mild cognitive impairment (MCI) presumed to be due to AD …

Operationalizing Person-Centered Care Practices In Long-Term Care: Recommendations From A “Resident For A Day” Experience, Jennifer L. Johs-Artisensi

Patient Experience Journal

As the senior population continues to age, long-term care is positioned for growth and care recipients are demanding more person-centered care. While long-term care leaders may understand and believe in the value of person-centered care, sometimes operationalizing practices to ensure its delivery can be challenging. Using an ethnographic approach, over three years, 159 long-term care administrator-in-training practicum students each lived as a resident for 24 hours in a nursing home. Following the experience, using the Picker Institute’s framework, each participant identified and justified an Always Experience® – an optimal experience they believed should routinely occur for every long-term care resident. …

Legacy Of Research In Japanese Gerontology, Elijah Beaudoin

International ResearchScape Journal

No abstract provided.

When Is Affect Variability Bad For Health? The Association Between Affect Variability And Immune Response To The Influenza Vaccination, Brooke N. Jenkins, John F. Hunter, Marie P. Cross, Amanda M. Acevedo, Sarah D. Pressman

Psychology Faculty Articles and Research

Objectives—This study addresses methodological and theoretical questions about the association between affect and physical health. Specifically, we examine the role of affect variability and its interaction with mean levels of affect to predict antibody (Ab) levels in response to an influenza vaccination.

Methods—Participants (N = 83) received the vaccination and completed daily diary measures of affect four times a day for 13 days. At one and four months post-vaccination, blood was collected from the participants to assess Ab levels.

Results—Findings indicate that affect variability and its interaction with mean levels of affect predict an individual’s immune response. …

Hospice Utilization Of Medicare Beneficiaries In Hawai‘I Compared To Other States, Deborah Taira, Merle Kataoka-Yahiro, Angela Sy

Asian/Pacific Island Nursing Journal

The objective is to examine hospice utilization among Medicare beneficiaries in Hawai‘i compared to other states. Data were from the 2014 Medicare Hospice Utilization and Payment Public Use File, which included information on 4,025 hospice providers, more than 1.3 million hospice beneficiaries, and over $15 billion in Medicare payments. Multivariable linear regression models were estimated to compare hospice utilization in Hawai‘i to that of other states. Control variables included age, gender, and type of Medicare coverage. Medicare beneficiaries using hospice in Hawai‘i differed significantly from beneficiaries in other states in several ways. Hawai‘i beneficiaries were more likely to be Asian …

Demystifying Research: Accessing & Understanding Evidence For Clinical Practice, Kimberly A. Murphy, Meredith Poore Harold, Mary Huston

Communication Disorders & Special Education Faculty Publications

The demands on clinicians for evidence-based practice (EBP) are great. However, many speech-language pathologists have received little to no training in how to ‘do’ EBP. In this presentation, we aim to describe and provide practical suggestions for two of the steps in EBP—accessing, then reading and interpreting research to inform clinical decision-making. Our goal is to give clinicians the tools and confidence they need to grow into expert clinicians.

Learner Outcome 1: Describe the components of evidence-based practice (EBP)

Learner Outcome 2: Identify ways to access research

Learner Outcome 3: Identify steps in reading and evaluating the …

Dynamic Range Of Frontoparietal Functional Modulation Is Associated With Working Memory Capacity Limitations In Older Adults, Jonathan G. Hakun, Nathan F. Johnson

Physical Therapy Faculty Publications

Older adults tend to over-activate regions throughout frontoparietal cortices and exhibit a reduced range of functional modulation during WM task performance compared to younger adults. While recent evidence suggests that reduced functional modulation is associated with poorer task performance, it remains unclear whether reduced range of modulation is indicative of general WM capacity-limitations. In the current study, we examined whether the range of functional modulation observed over multiple levels of WM task difficulty (N-Back) predicts in-scanner task performance and out-of-scanner psychometric estimates of WM capacity. Within our sample (60–77 years of age), age was negatively associated with frontoparietal modulation range. …