Digital Commons Network^™

Power Centres: A Collaborative Development Proposal For Addressing Poverty And Related Challenges In Rural Communities In Kenya, Kennedy Okello Miruka, Kennedy Okello Miruka

Regis University Student Publications (comprehensive collection)

In Homa Bay County, Kenya, a community-led development initiative called the Power Centre is transforming the fight against poverty and powerlessness. Grounded in principles of decolonization and participatory action, this project addresses the root causes of marginalization by empowering residents of Kokal Village to become active agents of change. Through a robust mixed-methods research approach, the project identifies systemic challenges and leverages existing social networks to build a sustainable, locally-owned model for development. The Power Centre implements a three-pronged strategy, focusing on increasing community participation, strengthening existing groups, and fostering collaborative networks to weave a robust support system. By addressing …

Does Intimate Partner Violence Affect A Child's Developing Brain, Betsy Calloway

Graduate Research Projects

No abstract provided.

Transpersonal Approaches To Clinical Supervision, Harris L. Friedman

International Journal of Transpersonal Studies

Transpersonal psychology can provide unique approaches to clinical supervision by offering an interconnected self-expansive view of the self across time and space, as well as can provide a secular avenue to consider the importance of spirituality without relying on supernatural assumptions. Transpersonal supervisors can challenge conventional notions about what and how supervisees know, and even the nature of being a knower, through providing a more inclusive, perhaps even holistic, vantage that is both critical of mainstream approaches and surpasses their ability to provide a coherent “super” (i.e., going beyond the usual more-myopic understandings) vision. Background on transpersonal psychology related to …

Winona State University Improving Our World Blog: 2013-2022, Winona State University

Winona State University Blogs

The Winona State University (WSU) Improving Our World Blog articles and entries from September 2013-February 2022. Note: there may be format coding in the document.

Examining Effects Of Perceived Discrimination And Loneliness On Overall Health Outcomes In Black Americans, Apoorva Saravanan

AUCTUS: The Journal of Undergraduate Research and Creative Scholarship

On average, Black Americans suffer more from a wide range of diseases when compared to White Americans. The national mortality rate for Black Americans is also 24% higher than their White counterparts. Although there are multiple factors contributing to such disparities, one line of research provides strong evidence that negative health outcomes are more likely to occur in Black Americans who experience racial discrimination than those who experience no discrimination. A separate line of research also provides evidence that loneliness is a major health risk factor. In fact, prior research indicates that the experience of discrimination and loneliness are both …

Data Driven Trade-Off Analysis For Cybersecurity, Goskel Kucukkaya, Murat Ozer, Murat Balci, Emrah Ugurlu

Engineering Management & Systems Engineering Faculty Publications

Trade-off analysis, a specialization of systems engineering, addresses design criteria like security, cost, performance, and compliance. Monte Carlo simulations are commonly employed to generate impact scenarios for trade-off analysis combined with solution alternatives that accommodate industry-specific considerations and uncertainties. In the cyber domain, this paper proposes a methodology for data-driven trade-off analysis in cybersecurity, leveraging industry reports as primary data sources using confidentiality, integrity, and availability as trade-off analysis objectives. Distribution functions are derived to manage and model uncertainties for various industries. The approach given in this study aims to facilitate informed choices and to enhance cybersecurity decision making and …

U.S. Online Romance Scams: A Mixed Methods Analysis Of Factors Associated With Victimization And Exploration Of Lived Experiences Of Victimization, Rebecca A. Cole

Social Work Dissertations - Archive

The objective of this dissertation is to understand develop an understanding of experiences of online romance scam¹(ORS) victimization and to examine factors associated with ORS victimization. The dissertation samples ORS victims and uses purposive sampling strategies to recruit participants. The research used a mixed methods explanatory design approach. Inclusion criteria included ORS victims 18 and older who lived in the U.S., lost any amount of money in ORS scam, and met the scammer on any Internet platform. Three research manuscripts complete this dissertation. The first manuscript is a scoping review to understand the mental and physical health outcomes …

Boiling Behind Bars: Exploring The Hidden Toll Of Extreme Heat On Mental Health In Texas Prisons, Sandra K. Miller

Social Work Theses - Archive

The State of Texas supports the largest prison system in the US and held 132,859 people in 100 units scattered across the state as of December 2023. Approximately 70% of Texas prison beds are not air conditioned, despite the state’s reputation for dangerously hot, humid summers. The State has officially recorded temperatures inside Texas prison facilities as high as 120 degrees with heat index values of over 150. Although there is a growing body of research on the negative physiological and psychological consequences of extreme heat among the general public, little is known about the physical and emotional toll of …

The Prescription Drug Monitoring Program And Its Effect On Drug Overdose Mortalities, Charles Lee

All ETDs from UAB

The opioid epidemic is a growing concern, and the health and economic impacts on rural and urban counties are increasing. Between 1999 and 2019, approximately 841,000 people died from drug overdoses involving heroin, synthetic opioids, and prescribed opioids with 71,000 dying in 2019. This study examined the relationship between drug overdose mortalities and three independent variables, (a) Medicaid expansion, (b) Years PDMP active, and (c) Academic detailing engagement. Results of this study will contribute to the literature by determining if the Medicaid expansion, years prescription drug monitoring programs active, and academic detailing engagement decrease drug overdose mortalities. This study includes …

Advancing Genomics To Improve Health Equity, Ebony B. Madden, Lucia Hindorff, Vence Bonham, Tabia Akintobi, Esteban Gonzalez Burchard, Kellen E. Baker, Rene L. Begay, John D. Carpten, Nancy J. Cox, Valentina Di Francesco, Denise Dillard, Faith Fletcher, S. Malia Fullerton, Nanibaa' Garrison, Catherine Hammack-Aviran, Vanessa Hiratsuka, James E.K. Hildreth, Carol Horowitz, Chanita A. Hughes-Halbert, Michael Inouye, Amber Jackson, Latrice Landry, Rick Kittles, Jeff T. Leek, Nita A. Limdi, Nicole Lockhart, Elizabeth Ofili, Eliseo Perez-Stable, Maya Sabatello, Lorjetta Schools, Jennifer Troyer, Ben Wilfond, Genevieve Wojcik, Judy Cho, Sandra Soo-Jin Lee, Eric Green

Law Faculty Scholarship

This perspective article examines the relationship between human genomics research and health equity, highlighting persistent disparities in the design, participation, and implementation of genomic science. Although genomics has substantial potential to improve disease prevention, diagnosis, and treatment, the benefits of genomic advances have not been equitably distributed across populations. Historically, genomic research has disproportionately relied on datasets derived from individuals of European ancestry, resulting in limited generalizability of findings and the risk of exacerbating existing health disparities. Drawing on insights from a National Human Genome Research Institute (NHGRI) workshop and a targeted literature review, the authors identify key challenges and …

Alternatives To The Squad Car: A Strategy Providing Hope For People With Mental Illness, Judy Ann Clausen, Joanmarie I. Davoli

UF Law Faculty Publications

Frontline healthcare providers and first responders have had enough of mental health care policy rooted in ideology and utopian visions instead of the practical realities of the nature of Serious Mental Illnesses (SMI). The current system of a severe shortage of mental health beds and strict criteria for administering mental health treatment in contravention of illness-induced treatment refusals has caused the real-world preventable tragedies of mass shootings, incarceration, homelessness, victimization, and death of people suffering from untreated SMI. Innovative programs and long-established protocols have been profiled by the media and examined by scholars. Momentum is brewing. Across the country, creative …

"Shut Down And Closed Off": A Routine Activity Approach To Investigating The Relationship Between Covid-19 School Closures And Child Sexual Abuse Report Characteristics In Georgia, Spencer E. Riner

College of Graduate Studies: Theses & Dissertations

The COVID-19 pandemic of 2020 created a public health crisis that led to an unprecedented number of school closures. A major concern raised by child advocates, law enforcement, and social service providers was the possible increase in undetected child abuse and maltreatment. Undergirding this concern was the belief that this mitigation effort might place child abuse victims and offenders within proximity for extended periods of time. While this was a significant concern, it has rarely been analyzed empirically. To address this gap in the literature, this thesis investigates how school closures impacted the characteristics of child sexual abuse (CSA) reports …

Operationalizing Power In Health Law: The Hospital Abolition Hypothesis, Matthew B. Lawrence

Faculty Articles

This symposium Article describes how prison abolitionist arguments also support the hypothesis that a defining goal of health law should be the abolition of hospitals. Like prison abolitionism, the hospital abolition hypothesis can provide a constructive way to shift the focus of legal analysis from substantive dimensions (in health law — cost, quality, access, and equity) to the dimension of power.

ความรอบรู้ด้านสุขภาพจิตและปัจจัยที่เกี่ยวข้องในนักเรียนแพทย์ทหาร, ศุภวิชญ์ แสงอุดม

Chulalongkorn University Theses and Dissertations (Chula ETD)

การศึกษานี้มีวัตถุประสงค์เพื่อประเมินระดับความรอบรู้ด้านสุขภาพจิตและปัจจัยที่เกี่ยวข้องในนักเรียนแพทย์ทหารไทย โดยเป็นการวิจัยเชิงพรรณนาภาคตัดขวางที่เก็บข้อมูลจากนักเรียนแพทย์ทหารชั้นปีที่ 2 ถึง 6 จำนวน 406 คน ผ่านแบบสอบถาม Thai Mental Health Literacy Scale (TMHLS) และวิเคราะห์ข้อมูลด้วยสถิติเชิงพรรณนาและสถิติเชิงอนุมาน ผลการศึกษาพบว่าระดับคะแนนเฉลี่ยของความรอบรู้ด้านสุขภาพจิตอยู่ในระดับปานกลาง (119.05 ± 11.07) โดยมีมิติการตระหนักรู้ปัญหาสุขภาพจิตในระดับสูง ขณะที่ความรู้เกี่ยวกับการขอความช่วยเหลือ การดูแลตนเอง การค้นหาข้อมูล และทัศนคติต่อการเข้ารับบริการสุขภาพจิตอยู่ในระดับปานกลาง ปัจจัยที่ส่งผลต่อระดับความรอบรู้ด้านสุขภาพจิตอย่างมีนัยสำคัญ ได้แก่ นักเรียนแพทย์ชั้นปีที่สูงกว่ามีคะแนนสูงกว่าชั้นปีที่ต่ำกว่า (p < 0.001) นักเรียนเพศหญิงมีคะแนนสูงกว่าเพศชาย (p < 0.001) นักเรียนที่อยู่กับเพื่อนมีคะแนนต่ำกว่าผู้ที่อยู่คนเดียว (p = 0.005) ผู้ที่เคยเรียนวิชาจิตเวชศาสตร์และอ่านหนังสือเกี่ยวกับสุขภาพจิตมีคะแนนสูงกว่าผู้ที่ไม่เคยเรียนหรืออ่านหนังสือดังกล่าว (p < 0.001) นอกจากนี้ นักเรียนที่เคยมีเพื่อนหรือคนใกล้ชิดที่เจ็บป่วยทางจิตมีคะแนนสูงกว่าผู้ที่ไม่มีประสบการณ์ดังกล่าว (p < 0.001) จากผลการศึกษานี้ ชี้ให้เห็นถึงความจำเป็นในการพัฒนาหลักสูตรด้านสุขภาพจิตที่มีโครงสร้างชัดเจน เพื่อส่งเสริมความรอบรู้ด้านสุขภาพจิตในนักเรียนแพทย์ โดยควรเน้นการลดการตีตราพัฒนาทัศนคติที่ดีและสนับสนุนพฤติกรรมการรับรู้หรือขอความช่วยเหลืออย่างเหมาะสม

The Development Of A Recovery Coaching Training Curriculum To Facilitate Linkage To And Increase Retention On Medications For Opioid Use Disorder, Trevor Moffitt, Amanda Fallin-Bennett, Laura Fanucchi, Sharon L. Walsh, Christopher Cook, Devin Oller, Anna Ross, Molly Gallivan, John Lauckner, Jeremy Byard, Phoebe Wheeler-Crum, Michelle R. Lofwall

Center on Drug and Alcohol Research Faculty Publications

Introduction: Medication treatment for opioid use disorder (MOUD) decreases opioid overdose risk and is the standard of care for persons with opioid use disorder (OUD). Recovery coach (RC)-led programs and associated training curriculums to improve outcomes around MOUD are limited. We describe our comprehensive training curriculum including instruction and pedagogy for novel RC-led MOUD linkage and retention programs and report on its feasibility.

Methods–pedagogy and training development: The Kentucky HEALing (Helping to End Addiction Long-termSM) Communities Study (HCS) created the Linkage and Retention RC Programs with a local recovery community organization, Voices of Hope-Lexington. RCs worked to reduce participant barriers …

Perceived Versus Actual Hiv Risk Among Prep Indicated Persons With Criminal Legal Involvement, Taylor Krajewski, Katherine H. Lemasters, Carrie B. Oser, Lauren Brinkley-Rubinstein

Behavioral Science Faculty Publications

Individuals involved with community supervision experience multi-level obstacles impacting health outcomes. This is a high-risk period for HIV acquisition due to potential reengagement in unprotected sex and/or unsafe injection drug practices. This study aimed to assess the congruence between actual and perceived HIV risk and the degree to which individual, social, and behavioral factors impact risk perception among individuals on community supervision. While all participants were clinically indicated for PrEP, most participants (81.5%) did not consider themselves at risk for HIV (69.5%) or were not sure of their risk (12.0%). Among those with no or unsure perceived risk, 94% engaged …

Screening Incarcerated Women For Opioid Use Disorder, Michele Staton, Martha Tillson, Mary M. Levi, Matthew Webster, Carrie B. Oser, Carl Leukefeld

Behavioral Science Faculty Publications

The overall aim of the present study is to examine the utility of the DSM OUD Checklist and the NM-ASSIST screening tools to identify symptoms consistent with OUD among incarcerated women in county jails. This study contributes to the existing literature because research on screening and assessment approaches for incarcerated women has been limited. The focus of the current study is to describe the screening procedures and study recruitment for a larger parent study focused on increasing treatment linkages. Study findings indicate a positive correlation between indicators of OUD using the two screening tools, as well as a high degree …

A Social History Of Opioids’ Crimedical Cycle, Jerel M. Ezell, Alex Rains, Babatunde Patrick Ajayi, Kyle Miller, Erin Augustine, Dawn Goddard-Eckrich, Elizabeth N. Kinnard, Michelle R. Lofwall

Behavioral Science Faculty Publications

Historically, public and political discourse around people who nonmedically use opioids has largely been rendered via a deficits-oriented lens, presenting this population as weak, disinterested, and deviant,and thus undesirable and ill-positioned for wellness and communal integration. These narratives, and subsequent policies used to engage people who use opioids, are intermittently formed and disrupted by geopolitical changes, as public and institutional attitudes, often driven by racial and class-related considerations, shift. As part of what we term the crimedical cycle, a population’s behaviors fluctuate between periods of medicalization and criminalization. Strengths-based theory, an offshoot of ‘positive psychology’ that helps contextualize the crimedical …

Adverse Outcomes Of Co-Occurring Methamphetamine And Opioid Use Among Pregnant And Postpartum Women, Hope Tevis

Theses and Dissertations--Public Health (M.P.H. & Dr.P.H.)

Background

Overdose mortality rates increased significantly between 2018 and 2021 in the United States (NIH, 2023). Moreover, pregnant and postpartum women (PPW), who were aged 35 to 44 were observed to have the highest overdose mortality rates (NIH, 2023). Although there is existing research that examines the increase of co-occurring opioid and methamphetamine use, it still remains understudied when specifically focusing on PPW. This analysis intends to explore this gap in research by 1) exploring the history of co-occurring methamphetamine and opioid use among PPW who were seeking residential treatment, 2) highlighting the adverse health outcomes that follow co-use among …

The Unequal Distribution Of Social Risk For Black Men Across The Life-Span. A Novel Framework., Waleed Y. Sami

Adultspan Journal

This conceptual overview offers a comprehensive overview of systemic pathways that negatively impact the mental health of Black Men throughout their lives. Our argument highlights the importance for counselors and mental health professionals to utilize a thorough social risk assessment that considers these pathways in order to effectively address the mental health needs of Black Men while fostering positive working relationships. This overview strongly advocates for the use of context and structural determinants when evaluating mental health symptoms. Without an appropriate understanding of social risk and determinants, counselors may inadvertently perpetuate disparities by decontextualizing symptomology, and reproducing racist discourse.

Health Consequences Of Racial Disparity In Access To Abortion: A Systematic Review, Lacy M. Frye, Calvin Odhiambo

University of South Carolina Upstate Student Research Journal

Prior to the 2022 Dobbs decision, Black women already experienced negative maternal health outcomes at an alarmingly disparate rate in comparison to White women. Given that the Dobbs decision emboldens state power to enforce abortion restrictions or protections, there has been significant strides made in both directions. Nonetheless, within states where reproductive rights have been significantly eroded, the heightened abortion restrictions may compound the limited access that Black women previously had before Dobbs. This, in turn will exacerbate the already disparate negative maternal outcomes that Black women experience. However, research on the relationship between the lack of access to abortion …

Scales For Participant Alliance With Recovery Coach (Sparc): Initial Development And Pilot Test, Amanda Fallin-Bennett, Martha Tillson, J. Matthew Webster, Carrie B. Oser, Jennifer Edwards Becan, Kevin Knight, Jeremy Byard, Michele Staton

Center on Drug and Alcohol Research Faculty Publications

Recovery coaches are individuals with lived experience with recovery from substance use disorder who typically engender a greater sense of trust than found with other types of healthcare providers. However, there currently are no validated tools that measure the connection between recovery coaches and their participants. The purpose of this study was to describe the initial development of the Scales for Participant Alliance with Recovery Coach (SPARC) to measure recovery coach connection or alliance, including initial psychometric analyses. Measurement development began with five scales of the Client Evaluation of Self Treatment (treatment participation, treatment satisfaction, rapport, peer support, and social …

Guideline For Screening Of Trichomonas Vaginalis Infections In The Correctional Setting, Nahirobi J. Madrid Antunez

Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) Scholarly Projects - Archive

Objective: This guideline project focused on creating a screening guideline for T. vaginalis that would benefit healthcare providers in a correctional healthcare setting for incarcerated females entering the facility.

Methods: A literature review was conducted. The PubMed and MEDLINE search engines, were used to obtain medical, biomedical and life sciences literature, and CINAHL for nursing and allied health resources, Governmental agency sites, such as the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), were also explored. Guideline recommendations were extrapolated from the literature review, and then rated by, stakeholders.

Results: Several overarching themes were identified. Screening of asymptomatic women for T. …

Obesity Management Guideline For The Correctional Setting, Rumi Y. Sato

Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) Scholarly Projects - Archive

Obesity can cause multiple chronic conditions, including cancer and death. Los Angeles jail primary care clinics do not address obesity management despite health hazards, rising costs, and high obesity rates in correctional facilities. The Centers for Medicare and Medical Services (CMS) obesity-management guidelines are over ten years old and outdated. The aim of this Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) project was to update the CMS obesity-management guideline with the newest intense behavioral therapy (IBT) evidence to assist the correctional multidisciplinary healthcare team. This project took place in a Los Angeles correctional facility's primary care clinic. A detailed literature review gathered …

Real Individuals Striving For Excellence (Rise): An Occupational Therapy Based Re-Entry Program For A Rural Jail Facility, Kennedy Tooke

Occupational Therapy Capstones

Title: Real Individuals Striving for Excellence (RISE): An occupational therapy based re-entry program for a rural jail facility.

Introduction: The United States criminal justice system continues to be known for currently holding over 2 million people within state, federal, local, and juvenile correctional facilities (prisonpolicy.org, 2021). Jail incarceration rates have increased 15% from 2020 to 2021 following a 26% decline from midyear 2019 (Zeng, 2022). Many individuals involved in the criminal justice system will be arrested again within the same year due to unsuccessful transitions back into the community. The purpose of this scholarly project was to develop a program …

Improving Occupational Performance For Survivors Of Sex Trafficking: An Executive Functioning Program, Riley P. Thomas

Occupational Therapy Capstones

Purpose: In 2021, the U.S. reported 10,360 human trafficking cases, of which 7,499 or 72% were explicitly identified as instances of sex trafficking (National Human Trafficking Hotline, 2021). Sex trafficking is “a form of modern-day slavery in which individuals perform commercial sex through the use of force, fraud, or coercion” (National Human Trafficking Hotline, n.d., para. 1). Due to survivors of sex trafficking being exposed to dehumanizing and traumatic events, this may impact the ability to participate and engage in daily activities related to an individual's executive functioning and life skills. The purpose of this scholarly project was to analyze …

Pharmacy Involvement In Increased Access To Opioid Treatment Programs, Catherine O'Rourke

Theses and Dissertations--Public Health (M.P.H. & Dr.P.H.)

The opioid epidemic still affects many Americans today. Despite approved medication treatments for opioid use disorder (OUD), a majority of the population with OUD have not received treatment. Since pharmacists are the most accessible health care professional and had an important role providing care during the COVID-19 pandemic, there has been a push to expand pharmacists’ scope of practice. The primary purpose of this investigation was to identify the benefits and barriers to community pharmacist-led treatment of OUD. The secondary purpose was to determine whether pharmacist participation in opioid treatment programs (OTPs) or office based opioid treatment (OBOT) would be …

The Effects Of Stigma Within The Prep Care Cascade Among People Who Inject Drugs In Rural Kentucky, Abby Burton

Theses and Dissertations--Public Health (M.P.H. & Dr.P.H.)

Background: Injection drug use has increased HIV burden in low-prevalence communities, specifically within rural Kentucky. Pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) has been successful in terms of HIV prevention, yet uptake remains low among people who inject drugs (PWID). PWID living in rural areas face unique challenges to receiving PrEP care, including significant barriers of substance use- and HIV-related stigma. Recent studies have only started to explore the overlapping effects of these two stigmas. Considering the barriers each stigma independently poses to PrEP care, it is important to investigate their role in tandem for any compounding effects. This paper is a secondary analysis …

Adverse Childhood Experiences Increasing The Likelihood Of Substance Use Disorder, Kelsey L. Cain

Graduate Research Papers

No abstract provided.

Cultural Predictors Of Self-Esteem Among Black Women With Criminal Justice Involvement And Herpes Simplex Virus, Natalie Malone, Jardin N. Dogan-Dixon, Shemeka Thorpe, Shawndaya S. Thrasher, Paris Wheeler, Danelle Stevens-Watkins, Carrie B. Oser

Sociology Faculty Publications

Black women have disproportionately alarming HSV-2 infection rates yet receive little attention in sexual health literature. Using a strengths-based resilience framework, this study sought to determine culturally relevant protective predictors of self-esteem for Black women who are justice-involved and have HSV-2. The authors conducted secondary data analysis on data from the “Black Women in the Study of Epidemics (B-WISE) Project,” a longitudinal prospective study investigating health disparities and health services utilization among Black women with justice involvement. At baseline, N = 151 Black women with HSV-2 who were incarcerated or on probation completed survey measures assessing selfesteem, ethnic identity affirmation …