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Maternal Depression And Covid-19: A Secondary Analysis Comparing Postnatal Depression Rates During And Before The Covid-19 Pandemic, Amanda A. Berney

2025 Spring Honors Capstone Projects - Archive

The COVID-19 pandemic created increased psychological vulnerability across the globe through isolation, fear of infection, and misinformation from various sources, including social media. Women giving birth during the pandemic, therefore, may be extremely vulnerable psychologically. Per the World Health Organization, the years 2020 to mid 2021were designated as an intense time during the COVID-19 pandemic. Thus, the objective of this secondary analysis was to compare depression scores among women giving birth during these intense years and women giving birth before 2020. However, due to a small window of time and sample size, statistical analysis failed to find a correlation between …

Gad-7 Screening In Middle School Students: Evaluating The Effectiveness On Referral Rate Scoping Review, Bailey Hall, Cara Dennis, Kayla Drennen-Ferguson, Pamela B. Taylor, Laura Reed Dnp, Aprn, Fnp-Bc, Cne

Doctor of Nursing Practice Projects

Purpose/Background

The prevalence of anxiety disorders among adolescents, mainly middle school-aged students, highlights the critical need for practical screening tools to support early detection and intervention. The Generalized Anxiety Disorder-7 (GAD-7) scale is widely utilized in various settings, but its efficacy in this specific population remains underexplored. This scoping review examines the use of the GAD-7 in middle school-aged students, evaluating its reliability, validity, and impact on referral rates to mental health services. The review also considers factors influencing anxiety and identifies gaps in current research.

Methods

Ten articles, published in peer-reviewed journals within the past decade and involving human …

Postpartum Depression Screening At First Year Well-Child Visits: Evaluating The Rate Of Maternal Ppd Detection, Chidera A. Speight, Bsn, Rn, Katherine Scarbrough, Bsn, Rn, Camille Jones, Bsn, Rn, Laura Reed, Dnp Fnp-C

Doctor of Nursing Practice Projects

Purpose/Background

Postpartum Depression (PPD) is a concerning mental health condition characterized by feelings of extreme sadness, exhaustion, and challenges with maternal-infant bonding. PPD effects mothers’ ability to adequately care for themselves and their newborns. Current research suggests that one in seven women experience symptoms of PPD as late as 12 months postpartum. Despite screening guidelines set forth by the American Academy of Pediatrics, 50% of mothers with PPD will not receive a diagnosis.

This study aims to evaluate the rate of PPD detection at well-child visits occurring within the first 12 months postpartum by administering the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale …

Enhancing The Eden Alternative Model With Well Standards: A Case Study Analysis, Mariah Stoner

Architecture Masters of Science Program: Theses

This thesis investigates the potential for improving the Eden Alternative Model, a person-centered approach to elder care that emphasizes creating a homelike environment and meaningful relationships, using WELL Standards, a building certification system focused on enhancing human health and well-being through improvements in environmental quality. Through a mixed-methods approach involving quantitative data analysis and qualitative case studies, this research examines how WELL Standards, which cover aspects such as air quality, water quality, lighting, and thermal comfort, can improve environmental quality and resident satisfaction within the Eden Alternative Model. This research introduces a tailored approach to elder care by combining these …

The Effect Of Administered Animal-Assisted Therapy On University Students' Anxiety And Stress, Chloe Penton

The Eleanor Mann School of Nursing Undergraduate Honors Theses

Abstract

Purpose: The purpose of this research study is to evaluate the effects of animal-assisted therapy (AAT) on undergraduate student anxiety and stress, comparing the effectiveness between an individual AAT session to a group study session without AAT. Animal-assisted therapy is a type of canine therapy that may be a helpful tool to decrease student test anxiety, and potentially, a meaningful stress-reducing intervention for university students. Our results sought to examine differences in traditional study practices vs the use of AAT prior to exams, and support or refute animal-assisted therapy as a low-cost, minimal-risk, effective solution for undergraduate student anxiety. …

Global Perspectives In Nursing Education: The Impact Of Study Abroad Programs On Nursing Students, Julia E. Molleston

The Eleanor Mann School of Nursing Undergraduate Honors Theses

Studying abroad as a nursing student is an under-researched topic that has many perceived and identified beneficial outcomes for students who participate. This expanded literature review utilizes 20 studies and one literature review to explore the facets of an immersive and international study abroad program on nursing and healthcare students. There are many benefits to professional, personal, and cultural growth that come from the experience of international study abroad. Such programs have shown to positively impact students' perceptions of their own cultural competence, abilities to overcome barriers, expand their perspectives, and grow in confidence. There are also many precipitating and …

Predicting Perinatal Mood Disorders, Honey Newton

Doctor of Nursing Practice

Perinatal Mood Disorders (PMD) constitute a significant public health concern, impacting the perinatal patient and the family.

Purpose

This project describes the relationship between Adverse Childhood Experiences and Perinatal Mood Disorders including depression and anxiety.

Goals

The goals of this study were to define the perinatal population in a rural Montana clinic and describe the relationship between ACEs and PMDs to identify early intervention opportunities.

Methods

A ten-year retrospective IRB approved study described the relationship between ACE, PHQ9 and OASIS scores to determine the prevalence of PMD and connection to ACE’s in perinatal patients in rural northwest Montana. Calculations were …

What's In It For Me? The Benefits Of Breastfeeding For The Mother, Emily H. Mcmennamy

The Eleanor Mann School of Nursing Undergraduate Honors Theses

The purpose of this systematic review was to investigate both the short- and long-term benefits that breastfeeding has on maternal physical and mental health. The PICOT question was: In postpartum mothers, how does breastfeeding compared to formula and mixed feeding affect maternal physical and mental health, including outcomes in cardiovascular health, BMI, bleeding risk, and mental health both short term and long term? For this research, EBSCOhost and the National Library of Medicine databases were searched to find relevant studies and systematic reviews. Terms such as “breastfeeding and maternal health benefits,” “breastfeeding and postpartum health,” and “breastfeeding and weight loss” …

Do Perceptions Affect Outcomes In Patients With Metabolic-Associated Steatotic Liver Disease? A Clinical Inquiry., Tim Kimball

The Eleanor Mann School of Nursing DNP Capstone Projects

Abstract

BACKGROUND & AIMS: Metabolic-associated steatotic liver disease is a chronic condition that often coexists with metabolic disorders and impacts a significant portion of the global population. The literature indicates that patients’ perceptions are linked to outcomes; however, there is a gap in the literature examining the influence of these perceptions on the outcomes of metabolic-associated steatotic liver disease. This clinical inquiry investigated this relationship.

METHODS: Data collection occurred between January and February 2025 in a primary care setting, utilizing a 5-point Likert scale of patients’ perceptions of care, disease severity, and self-efficacy. Patients were identified through a retrospective chart …

Lateral Violence Awareness In Nursing Students At The University Of Southern Mississippi, Aika Owens

Honors Theses

The purpose of this honors thesis was to obtain descriptive data about how nursing students at the University of Southern Mississippi School of Professional Nursing Practice perceive lateral violence in their clinical rotations and educational environments. This Honors thesis is significant to nursing because although lateral violence is a well-researched topic among scholars of nursing practice, there is little gathered data regarding lateral violence among nursing students, specifically at the University of Southern Mississippi. Nursing students are a vital population to examine because nursing students are often first exposed to lateral violence within a clinical setting, leading to early internalization …

Replication Of “Assessing The Student Nurses’ Knowledge Of Oral Health Care”, Heaven Mcnalty

Honors Theses

Oral health is an important part of overall health and well-being. In nursing care, maintaining good oral hygiene helps prevent infections, improves comfort, and supports nutrition especially in patients who are extremely sick, elderly, or unable to care for themselves. Nurses play a key role in assessing and promoting oral health as part of the daily care that they provide to patients. Even though oral health is important, it is often not emphasized enough in nursing education. Many nursing students may not get enough training or experience in this area, which can lead to gaps in their knowledge and confidence …

The Documented Relationship Between Sexual Health Knowledge, Attitudes, And Impact On Sex Behaviors For Students In The United States, Rivers M. Nicholas

The Eleanor Mann School of Nursing Undergraduate Honors Theses

Purpose: To determine whether there is a documented relationship between sexual health knowledge, attitudes, and sex behaviors in students in the US.

Methods: This study conducted an expanded literature review. Multiple databases were utilized including EBSCO host academic complete search, CINAHL, and Google Scholar. Searches included the following phrases: “sexual health education”, “united states”, “sexual health knowledge”, “sex behavior”, “risk seeking behavior”, and “sex attitudes or perceptions or opinions.” Studies were included based on relevance to topic, geographical location, age group, and recency.

Result: 40 peer-reviewed articles were reviewed. The majority of students failed in knowledge based assessments on sexual …

The Effect Of Maternal Anxiety On Breastfeeding Exclusivity And Duration, Zoe E. Treat

Health, Human Performance and Recreation Undergraduate Honors Theses

Background: The postpartum period, especially during the first year, presents a heightened risk for maternal anxiety. Research suggests a potential negative relationship between maternal anxiety and breastfeeding duration, though there is currently a gap in the existing literature regarding how maternal mental health impacts breastfeeding outcomes.

Purpose: This study seeks to investigate the influence of postpartum anxiety on both the duration and exclusivity of breastfeeding, crucial knowledge required to support and implement targeted interventions. We expected that maternal anxiety would predict shorter exclusive and total breastfeeding durations.

Methodology: To explore the relationship between postpartum anxiety and breastfeeding behaviors, we distributed …

Understanding Weight Loss Maintenance In Postmenopausal Women: A Qualitative Exploration, Amy M. Field

Nursing Theses and Dissertations

Postmenopausal women are treasures in our community. They contribute to society in countless ways, often using their life experience, wisdom, and resilience to serve as caregivers, mentors, and educators. As women age, hormonal changes contribute to increased abdominal adiposity and subsequent metabolic disorders, cardiovascular disease, cancers, and bone and joint problems. Weight loss and maintenance of that loss likely contribute to decreased risk factors of comorbidities associated with excess weight and increased daily functioning and fulfillment of desired tasks. Weight management strategies are well-studied. However, postmenopausal women are more likely to regain weight lost. This work explores the gap in …

Timing End-Of-Life Care Education For New Graduate Icu Nurses, Annelies J. Harrison

Nursing Theses and Dissertations

Problem: New graduate nurses (NGNs) in the intensive care unit (ICU) experience a readiness to-practice gap when providing end-of-life (EOL) care.

Research Question: What is the effect of differences in timing EOL education in an ICU NGN’s first year and their self-efficacy to provide EOL care, emotional exhaustion, and reality shock?

Design: This pilot study used a complex experimental mixed methods design with the qualitative strand embedded after the quantitative intervention.

Methods: Pre- and post-intervention data were collected from 135 nurse residents (62 ICU nurses), 34 of whom were trained within 4 months of practice and 28 of whom were …

Development And Validation Of An Adolescent Sleep Algorithm For Pediatric Primary Care, Holly Hink

Doctoral Scholarly Projects & Capstones

Poor sleep quality is a common challenge for many adolescents due to various developmental, environmental, and social factors. Nearly half of all adolescents reported regularly experiencing sleep disruptions. Poor sleep quality among adolescents might have severe mental, emotional, and cognitive consequences including an increased risk for several psychiatric conditions, obesity, and poor academic performance. However, sleep disorders among this population frequently go unreported and are rarely screened during annual well-child exams with primary care providers. The purpose of this project was to develop an evidence-based sleep algorithm for pediatric primary care providers designed to improve screening and treatment of adolescent …

To Heal A Mind: A Comparison Of Functional And Conventional Treatments In Major Depressive Disorder, Gillian Chambers

Senior Honors Theses

Incidence of major depressive disorder is increasing year over year, with little able to be done to halt the spread of the condition. However, there are many treatment possibilities considered unconventional by the healthcare system. This thesis examines the respective benefits and risks, in comparison to one another, between conventional pharmacological treatment and functional, holistic treatment of depression. This was done via integrative review of available clinical literature, synthesizing evidence on both conventional and functional treatments for depression, as dictated by Whittemore and Knafl (2005). Exploratory search methods revealed 758 records fulfilling inclusion criteria, which were screened and narrowed down …

Healthy Sendoffs: The Long-Term Mental Health Effects On Nicu Parents And How Nurses Can Improve Outcomes, Christine Lyford

Senior Honors Theses

Parents who enter the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) undergo numerous stressors on their psychological wellbeing that can leave them with impacts long after discharge. This review was conducted to analyze the severity of long-term mental health deficits in parents and compare various nursing interventions that could decrease the incidence of these deficits. Seven databases were searched within the past seven years and documented in the PRISMA flow chart with twelve articles being identified as meeting the inclusion requirements. These articles found a higher prevalence of adverse mental health outcomes in NICU parents, with a focus on family centered care …

Exercise As An Intervention For Postpartum Depression (Ppd), Kylie P. Mistretta

Honors Scholar Theses

Objective: To illustrate the applications of exercise for preventing the development of postpartum depression (PPD) and addressing associated risk factors identified in the literature. Data Sources: PubMed and EBSCO: Academic Search Premier were accessed using the search terms exercise OR physical activity OR yoga AND postpartum depression OR postnatal depression. A secondary search of PubMed was conducted using the search terms exercise AND pregnancy AND depression OR gestational diabetes OR weight gain OR sleep quality.

Study Selection: Studies selected for inclusion were peer-reviewed, published after January 2012, written in English, and relevant to the PPD risk factors examined. Only clinical …

Nurse-Physicians: From Nursing School To Practicing Physician, Tobias Fraedrich

Honors Scholar Theses

Nurse-physicians are healthcare professionals who have obtained both a nursing degree and a medical degree, transitioning from Registered Nurse (RN) or Advanced Practice Registered Nurse (APRN) to a licensed physician, including Medical Doctor (MD), Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine (DO), or Naturopathic Doctor (ND). Research on this phenomenon conducted to date is limited to a single study. Some nonresearch sources indicate a small presence of this topic online. Yin’s (2018) descriptive, multiple-case study approach was employed to investigate the phenomenon using oral history interviews and a survey of the online platform YouTube as data sources. For the intention of pursuing this …

Impact The Utilization Of Evidenced Based Practices Has On Post Kidney Transplant Patient Outcomes, Judith Bautista, Vicky Loren Dela Cruz, Ervieneth Martin, Jennifer Mauricio, Alf Bernardino

Covenant Nurses Week 2025

No abstract provided.

Special Population Health Challenges, Kelli Goree, Angela Wolf

Covenant Nurses Week 2025

No abstract provided.

The Effects Of Retrieval Practice On Knowledge Acquisition And Durable Learning In Undergraduate Nursing Students, Jessica Everritt Gay

Dissertations

Recent reports of unpreparedness and failure to rescue incidents among new graduate nurses are concerning for nurse educators and health care. New graduates must retrieve and apply learned knowledge to make sound clinical decisions, emphasizing the need for durable learning and knowledge acquisition. Durable learning, which involves understanding and recalling learned information days, weeks, or months later is crucial for clinical judgment. Nurse educators should facilitate durable learning through effective, evidence-based learning techniques such as retrieval practice (RP), which has shown promise in health professions education but is underutilized in nursing education.

This study explored the impact of RP on …

Is There A Relationship Between Motivation And Nursing Student Engagement? A Quantitative, Cross-Sectional, Correlational Study, Angela Coes

Dissertations

Nursing education is concerned with helping to alleviate the nursing shortage in the United States; this can be done by graduating safe competent novice nurses. Motivation and engagement levels in nursing students have been tied to better academic outcomes including graduation rates, transition to practice, and first time National Council Licensure Examination for Registered Nurses pass rates. There was a gap in prelicensure nursing education research in the United States concerning the relationship among motivation, engagement, and possible influential variables.

The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between motivation and academic engagement among prelicensure nursing students in …

The Role Of Self Esteem Upon The Recovery Of Eating Disordered Patients, Samanta Flores Velazquez

Undergraduate Honors Theses

Eating disorders such as anorexia-nervosa, bulimia-nervosa, and binge-eating disorders are detrimental to overall health and well-being. The demands of beauty ideals and attitudes impact young adults negatively as they attempt to meet societal beauty standards. The need for approval, fitting in with the community, and confidence drive the behaviors of people in negative ways. In recent years, the modernization of social media has contributed to dieting cultures, the thin ideal, harmful weight-loss practices, and the cycle to use the body as a means to control or repent. External factors affect the risk of eating disorders which contribute to the challenge …

Interventions Of Eating Habits And Healthy Behaviors, Diego Armando Mazariegos Espinosa

Undergraduate Honors Theses

About thirty to fifty percent of college students report having negative emotions such as anxiety, depression, sadness, anger, hopelessness, shame, fear, and more. And over seventy percent feel exhausted or overwhelmed by schoolwork. According to scholarly research, these emotions pose obstacles during college life impacting the eating habits and healthy behaviors of college students. These habits can have a possibility of bringing lifelong issues in social, educational, and self-esteem aspects. Technology has revolutionized the world in a spectacular way in a short period of time. As students today have access to all sorts of technology like phones and computers, the …

Improving Nurse Confidence Around Communication With Physician Partners Through The Caritas Processes, Deborah M. Yracheta

Doctoral Projects

Nurses are the eyes and ears at the bedside during a patient’s hospital stay. They are responsible for communicating significant changes in a patient’s health status, mainly to their physician partners. Unfortunately, good communication between nurses and doctors is a shortcoming of the nursing profession. Seven thousand reviewed malpractice lawsuits were directly related to poor provider communication, resulting in $1.7 billion in malpractice cases and 2,000 preventable deaths. These communication errors also lead to prolonged hospital delays in care, underscoring the need for improved communication. These poor outcomes compromise patients’ lives, safety, and well-being and decrease patient satisfaction scores, ultimately …

Sexual And/Or Gender Minority (Sgm) Stigma Within Nursing Schools: The Relationship Between Stigmatic School Attributes, Minority Stressors, And Sgm Nursing Student Mental Health, Michelle Gee

Dissertations

Nursing education is heteronormative and cis-normative, which has been correlated to stigma and ignorance exhibited by nurses towards sexual and/or gender minorities (SGM). Minority Stress Theory (MST) states that circumstances in the environment that promote stigma related to minority identities lead to unique minority stressors, such as discrimination. These minority stressors subsequently affect mental health. While it is known that SGM patients experience mental health issues that relate to stigma and discrimination in healthcare settings, nothing is known about SGM nursing students dealing with stigma and discrimination within nursing education. The aim of this descriptive correlational study was to inform …

An Exploration Of Bedside Critical Care Nurses’ Attitudes Towards The Teleicu, Theresa Marie Drucker

Theses & Dissertations

Background

Acute care facilities are seeing an increased demand for critical care resources, given the increasing aging population with more complex health problems, retiring healthcare professionals, and subsequent decreasing supply of new expertise (Shahpori et al., 2011). Telehealth in the ICU is a valuable resource that some hospitals have employed to bridge this gap. The use of the teleICU has been associated with improved outcomes for patients (Williams et al., 2019), and reduction in failure to rescue (FTR) events. Despite the increasing availability of teleICU programs and the associated potential benefits, there continue to be inconsistencies in terms of usage …

The Lived Experience Of Women Who Have Experienced Intimate Partner Violence In Trinidad And Tobago, Lyris Antoinette Greenidge

Theses & Dissertations

Background: Intimate partner violence (IPV) is an increasing public health issue worldwide and is predominantly committed by males against females. One in every three women worldwide has experienced IPV (World Health Organization [WHO], 2024). The Pan American Health Organization studied IPV in 12 Latin American and Caribbean countries (Bott et al., 2019), and the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago was included. At the inception of this study in 2018, the prevalence and effect of IPV, though captured in the media by Fraser (2014) and others, were recognized as a widespread monumental problem in Trinidad and Tobago. However, it appeared to …