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Animal-Assisted Therapy As A Pain Relief Intervention For Children, Carie Braun, T. Stangler, J. Narveson, S. Pettingel

Nursing Faculty Publications

Animal-assisted therapy (AAT) is a healing modality involving a patient, an animal therapist, and handler with a goal of achieving a specified therapeutic outcome. Despite the myriad of studies documenting the benefits of AAT, no studies have yet determined the impact of animals on alleviation of pain in children. Therefore, a quasi-experimental intervention design was used to capture the change in pain and vital signs with (n = 18) or without (n = 39) AAT in children ages 3–17 in one acute care pediatric setting. The AAT intervention group experienced a significant reduction in pain level compared to …

Commencement Program 2009, Loma Linda University

Commencement Programs

CONTENTS

2 | 2009 Events of Commencement

3 | The Academic Procession

4 | Significance of the Academic Regalia

5 | The Good Samaritan

6 | The Speakers

13 | The University Honorees

19 | The School Honorees

30 | The Program

• School of Medicine, 31
• School of Pharmacy, 46
• School of Dentistry, 51
• School of Science and Technology and School of Religion, 63
• School of Nursing, 71
• School of Allied Health Professions - Physical Therapy, 78
• School of Allied Health Professions, 86
• School of Public Health, 95

A Case Study On Using The Via Christi Breastfeeding Assessment Tool In A Clinical Setting, Rouba Taha

Honors Scholar Theses

Aims- The goal of this study is to obtain a subjective point of view of the use, benefits, and shortcomings of the Via Christi breastfeeding Assessment Tool in a clinical setting.

Methods- This case study is based on a single yet detailed interview with a lactation consultant who has utilized the Via Christi Breastfeeding Tool in a clinical setting.

Findings- Advantages of the Via Christi Breastfeeding Assessment Tool include that the tool is practical and concrete, encompassing both a subjective dimension and the basic elements of breastfeeding. Shortcomings of the tool include its non-specificity in focus on the feeding technique …

The Relationship Between Nurse To Population Ratio And State Health Ranking, Jeri Bigbee

Nursing Faculty Publications and Presentations

Objective: To evaluate the relationship between nurse to population ratio and population health, as indicated by state health ranking.

Design: Secondary analysis correlational design.

Sample: The sample consisted of all fifty states in the U.S.

Measurements: Data sources included the United Health Foundation’s 2006 state health rankings, the 2004 National Sample Survey for Registered Nurses, and the U.S. Health Workforce Profile from the New York Center for Health Workforce Studies.

Results: Significant relationships between nurse to population ratio and state health ranking (rho = -.446, p =.001) and 11 of the 18 components of the overall ranking (motor vehicle death …

Development And Psychometric Evaluation Of The Provider Response To Emergency Pandemic (Prep) Tool, Linda Suzzanne Good Phd

Dissertations

Background: History and science would suggest that a worldwide influenza pandemic is near and its implications are on the minds of healthcare workers (HCWs). Previous studies revealed that HCW have loss-related fears and concerns associated with working during a disaster, especially one with a biologic component. Most healthcare organizations have well-crafted disaster plans in place; however, these plans often rely on the assumption that HCWs will report to work as usual, which may not be the case. Objective: The purpose of this study was to determine if HCWs' fears and concerns are a predictor of their willingness to report to …

Utilizing Community Based Participatory Research To Address Health Literacy Issues: An Example In Southeastern Mn, Jennifer A. Weis

Theses and Graduate Projects

Low health literacy interferes with an individual's ability to reduce and treat preventable diseases. Given the spectrum of disease burden throughout the US, there are a number of important health topics deserving of our immediate attention in order to improve the public's health literacy. Overweight and obesity have surfaced as societal topics and any quest to improve health literacy must address these growing problems as they are likely to contribute to disease prevention and improved disease management. Unfortunately, the growing problem of overweight and obesity is not restricted to adults. America's youth are also experiencing epidemic rates of overweight and …

Nursing Annual Report 2008, Children's Mercy Hospital

Nursing Annual Reports

Annual report for nursing services at Children's Mercy Kansas City.

Experiences Of African Immigrant Women Living With Hiv In The U.K.: Implications For Health Professionals, Eunice Ndirangu, Catrin Evans

School of Nursing & Midwifery, East Africa

In the U.K. immigrant women from Africa constitute an increasingly large proportion of newly diagnosed cases of HIV. A significant minority of these are refugees and asylum seekers. Very little is known about their experiences of living with HIV/AIDS, their psychosocial needs or their views of health care provision. This paper reports the results of a qualitative study that explored these issues by interviewing eight African women living with HIV in the British city of Nottingham. Women’s ability to live positively with HIV was found to be strongly shaped by their migration history, their legal status, their experience of AIDS-related …

Effects Of An Educational Intervention On Hospital Acquired Urinary Tract Infection Rates, Sharon Lanier Smith

UNF Graduate Theses and Dissertations

In today's hospital environment, good care has become synonymous with positive patient outcomes. Marring this landscape is the alarming rate of hospital acquired (nosocomial) infections. Urinary tract infection (UTI) is one of the most common hospital acquired infections. The major cause associated with these infections is the use of indwelling urinary catheters. Bacteria invade the lower urinary tract by ascending through or around the catheter. Morbidity associated with urinary catheter-associated UTI can be minimized by prudent decisions concerning catheter usage and good catheter care. The principle route of dispersal of nosocomial infections is likely from patient-to-patient via transiently contaminated hands …

Consumer Perspectives Of Health During Prenatal Care In The Usa And Iceland: An Exploratory Study, Claudia Wiseman

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Purpose: Prenatal care (PNC) is the healthcare service most often provided to women of childbearing age throughout the world. Poorly understood and defined, based on culture, and expensive for any healthcare system, PNC remains a target for change and improvement. The purpose of this cross-national qualitative research study using narrative inquiry methods was to explore consumer perspectives of individual health and routine PNC in the USA and Iceland. Methods: A purposive sampling technique was used to identify study participants (n = 32) from the United States (n = 16) and Iceland (n = 16). Data were collected via a semi …

Use Of The Public Health Nursing Bag In The Academic Setting., Pamela M. Aaltonen, Elizabeth Richards, Kay Webster, Lynn Davis

School of Nursing Faculty Publications

The nursing bag has been a vital tool for public and community health nurses since

the early 1900s. However the practice of utilizing the nursing bag has declined. This study sought to determine if the practice of teaching students to use a public health nursing bag when making home visits should continue.

Deans and directors of all schools of nursing with baccalaureate programs listed on the Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education (CCNE) website (n=437) were e-mailed an exploratory, descriptive self-report survey. Although 32% of responding schools continued to utilize a standard public health bag during home visits, the majority did …

The Importance Of Hiv Specialist Services For African Women Living With Hiv In Nottingham: Results Of A Qualitative Study, Eunice Ndirangu, Catrin Evans

School of Nursing & Midwifery, East Africa

This article reports the results of a qualitative study of the experiences of African women living with HIV in Nottingham, UK. Globally, sub-Saharan Africa is the region most severely affected by the HIV pandemic [1]. This pattern is also reflected in the UK where African migrants make up 27% of those diagnosed with HIV despite the fact that they constitute less than 1% of the population [2-4]. Healthcare staff play a central role in meeting the prevention and care needs of people living with HIV/AIDS [5]. In contexts of increasing migration, health workers are called upon to recognise the diverse …

Critical Care Nurse Personality And Methods Of Coping After A Critical Incident, Sandra Huggins

Graduate Research Projects

No abstract provided.

Outcomes Of Safety And Effectiveness In A Multicenter Randomized, Controlled Trial Of Whole-Body Hypothermia For Neonatal Hypoxic-Ischemic Encephalopathy, Seetha Shankaran, Athina Pappas, Abbott R Laptook, Scott A Mcdonald, Richard A Ehrenkranz, Jon E Tyson, Michelle Walsh, Ronald N Goldberg, Rosemary D Higgins, Abhik Das

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

BACKGROUND: Whole-body hypothermia reduced the frequency of death or moderate/severe disabilities in neonates with hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy in a randomized, controlled multicenter trial.

OBJECTIVE: Our goal was to evaluate outcomes of safety and effectiveness of hypothermia in infants up to 18 to 22 months of age.

DESIGN/METHODS: A priori outcomes were evaluated between hypothermia (n = 102) and control (n = 106) groups.

RESULTS: Encephalopathy attributable to causes other than hypoxia-ischemia at birth was not noted. Inotropic support (hypothermia, 59% of infants; control, 56% of infants) was similar during the 72-hour study intervention period in both groups. Need for blood transfusions …

Shea/Apic Guideline: Infection Prevention And Control In The Long-Term Care Facility, Philip W. Smith, Gail Bennett, Suzanne Bradley, Paul Drinka, Ebbing Lautenbach, James Marx, Lona Mody, Lindsay Nicolle, Kurt Stevenson

United States Department of Veterans Affairs: Publications

Long-term care facilities (LTCFs) may be defined as institutions that provide health care to people who are unable to manage independently in the community.¹ This care may be chronic care management or short-term rehabilitative services. The term nursing home is defined as a facility licensed with an organized professional staff and inpatient beds that provides continuous nursing and other services to patients who are not in the acute phase of an illness. There is considerable overlap between the 2 terms.

More than 1.5 million residents reside in United States (US) nursing homes. In recent years, the acuity of illness …

Spirituality And Symptom Self Management Of Osteoarthritis, Lois M. Kannan Phd

Dissertations

Healthcare providers need to identify holistic self-care techniques that are endorsed by patients as effective strategies for symptom management of osteoarthritis, which is the single most common cause of disability in older adults. Research in this area may direct the development of interventions to ensure that older adults are afforded every opportunity to remain active and productive, with an improved health related quality of life, despite age related musculoskeletal conditions. The purpose of this study was to describe the relationships among symptom experience, symptom management, and symptom outcome based on spiritual well-being. A quantitative, descriptive, correlational, and noninterventional study design, …

Identifying Determinants Of Physical Activity In Maritime Union Members Using The Theory Of Planned Behavior, Susan Atkinson Tweed

Health Services Research Dissertations

This study examined the usefulness of the Theory of Planned Behavior to predict how attitude, subjective norm, perceived behavioral control, and intention are associated with physical activity in longshoremen from the Hampton Roads Shipping Association-International Longshoreman's Association (HRSA-ILA). The study was conducted in two phases. In the first phase, five focus groups were conducted to elicit information about the health behaviors of longshoremen. From the results of these focus groups, a 90-question, theory based, self-reported questionnaire was developed to identify beliefs, attitudes, subjective norms, perceived behavioral control, and intentions that contribute to longshoremen engaging in physical activity. In the second …

Bringing Down The Barriers Of Maggot Debridement Therapy, Kristine L. Gillard

Theses and Graduate Projects

The purpose of this paper is to describe the rationale for Maggot Debridement Therapy (MDT) and the development of a practice model. Chronic wounds are a growing problem in health care. Debridement of a wound is an essential component of wound healing as the presence of devitalized tissue can impede the healing process. Even with today's high-tech medicine there are still times we need to resort back to the basic and simple principles from nature that may help combat medical problems. The use of maggot larvae for wound debridement has made resurgence into wound management in the last 15 years. …

Bed Assignment: A Nurse's Call, Sandra L. Prince

Theses and Graduate Projects

The purpose of this Integrated Thesis Project is to develop a nursing unit based bed assignment procedural guideline. Currently general care patients admitted to the hospital are assigned to a bed through a centralized bed assignment process that does not involve nursing input. The nursing unit based bed assignment process is developed using the assumption that nurses will select the right bed for the right patient the first time with consideration given to patient's individual needs and staffing on the unit. A nursing unit based bed assignment process is anticipated to increase satisfaction for patient, family and nurse. Jean Watson's …

Giving Voice To Lived Experience Of Children Affected By Hiv/Aids In Namibia, Annie Retter

Theses and Graduate Projects

Namibia is one of the top five countries where HIV/AIDS is at epidemic proportions and thousands of Namibian children have become innocent victims of the disease. Research on children's lived experience of HIV/AIDS in Namibia is needed in nursing literature. The purpose of this project is to answer the question: What is it like to grow up in a society where AIDS is the leading cause of death and HIV infection rates are at epidemic proportions? Madeleine Leininger's Culture Care Theory will guide the research. An ethnonursing methodology that incorporates hermeneutic phenomenology will be used to answer the research question …

Time-Related Centile Ranges For Quality Of Life Outcomes In Renal Transplantation, Katy Garth

Theses and Dissertations (ETD)

The purpose of this study was to create time-related centile ranges that could be
used as benchmarks for evaluating and monitoring quality of life (QoL) following kidney transplantation. QoL is commonly viewed as an important indicator of successful outcomes in chronic disease including kidney transplantation. Despite extensive research documenting the value of QoL, routine measurement of QoL outcomes in clinical practice as a means of patient evaluation to augment clinical care has not been widely accepted. Lack of benchmarks for interpreting QoL scores may contribute to the reluctance to incorporate QoL measures into clinical care. The research question and study …

Predictors Of Depressive And Anxiety Symptoms Among African American Hiv-Positive Women, Nina Katherine Sublette

Theses and Dissertations (ETD)

This descriptive correlation study had four purposes: describe depressive and anxiety symptom levels in pregnant and non-pregnant African American (AA) HIV-positive women, examine the association between underlying vulnerabilities and depressive symptoms in HIV-positive AA women, determine the association between underlying vulnerabilities and anxiety symptoms in AA HIV-positive women, and determine the predictors of depressive and anxiety symptoms among African American HIV-positive women. A convenience sample of 80 African American HIV-positive women was recruited from university-based obstetrics/-gynecology and infectious disease practices in a large metropolitan city in the Mid-South. Depressive symptoms were measured with the Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale …

Refinement Of The Shared Care Instrument-Revised: A Measure Of A Family Care Interaction, Margaret Sebern

College of Nursing Faculty Research and Publications

This study’s purpose was to evaluate the psychometric properties of the Shared Care Instrument-Revised (SCI-R) in a sample of family care dyads. The SCI-R was developed to measure the construct of shared care, which is a system of three constructs (communication, decision making, reciprocity) used in family care to exchange support. An important aspect of evaluating the SCI-R was to create a measure that is statistically sound and meaningful for patient and caregivers. Surveys were mailed to randomly selected home health dyads, which included 223 patients and 220 caregivers. Reliability and confirmatory factor analysis, and concurrent validity were examined. Internal …

Struggling With Disconnection: The Lived Experience Of Being Homeless And In Need Of Healthcare, Nonceba Mbangata

Theses and Graduate Projects

The intent of this field project was to study the disconnection that is experienced by homeless persons within the healthcare system. Homelessness is a growing concern that affects all age groups throughout the United States. It is not a secret that the increase in homelessness is stressing the health care system and limiting choices of becoming a healthy individual. The state of the health care system today and the nomadic habits of homeless persons make it impossible for those struggling with homelessness to stay connected to health care services. This project will illuminate the lived experiences of homeless persons as …

Nursing Annual Report 2007, Children's Mercy Hospital

Nursing Annual Reports

Annual report for nursing services at Children's Mercy Kansas City.

The Effect Of A Nurse-Respiratory Therapist Weaning Protocol On The Duration Of Mechanical Ventilation And The Incidence Of Ventilator-Associated Pneumonia, Andrea Lucas

Theses, Dissertations and Capstones

The purpose of this research study was to show the effectiveness of implementing a standardized nurse-respiratory driven weaning protocol in decreasing the time spent on mechanical ventilation and the incidence of ventilator-associated pneumonia in mechanically ventilated patients compared to using individual physician methods. Chart reviews were performed to compare the incidence of ventilator-associated pneumonia (VAP) prior to the initiation of the nurse-respiratory driven weaning protocol. Sister Callista Roy’s Adaptation theory was used as a framework for this study to show that nurses could promote adaption by using a standardized ventilator weaning protocol. The study did not show statistical significance that …

Uab Nursing - Winter 2008, University Of Alabama At Birmingham

UAB Nursing magazine

No abstract provided.

Evaluation Of The Antecedents Of Cultural Competence, Mary Harper

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Purpose: The threefold purpose of this research is to identify the essential antecedents of cultural competence as identified by international nurse researchers, to compare the content of the extant cultural competence instruments to these antecedents and to potentially identify gaps in their conceptualization. A secondary aim of this research is to initiate validation of Harper's model of ethical multiculturalism. Conceptual Basis: The model of ethical multiculturalism depicts the attributes of ethical multiculturalism as the fulcrum of a balance between two ethical philosophies of fundamentalism and relativism. The attributes of moral reasoning, beneficence/nonmaleficence, respect for persons and communities, and cultural competence …

How Well Does Spirituality Predict Health Status In People Living With Hiv-Disease?, Rachel Kidd Cobb

Theses and Dissertations

Problem: The United States of America has one of the highest number of HIV infections in the world; approximately 1.3 million people in North America were living with HIV in 2007. Factors influencing HIV survival are essential to disease management and care. Research findings suggest religion and spirituality may be essential components to health and well-being in individuals with HIV-Disease. Purpose: This study was designed to determine how well spirituality predicted health status in a convenience sample of 39 adults diagnosed with HIV-Disease. Procedure: A model building approach was used to explore relationships among the five variables of the Neuman …

The Foundation, Education, And Practice Of Osteopathic Medicine, Anthony P. Salvador

Honors Theses

Osteopathic medicine has quickly grown into a successful and respectable branch of medical practice. It was created out of a necessity for change in the late 1800s, and continues to be a credible form of alternative medicine. After reviewing literary material, journal articles, and numerous osteopathic college sources it was seen that osteopathic medicine can be practiced in numerous settings and will become integral in the near future due to the shortage of physicians in the United States. Today, osteopaths work closely with all types of medical personal including medical doctors.