Digital Commons Network^™

Impact Of Covid-19 On Individuals With Aphasia: Effects On Quality Of Life And Communication, Kaci L. Gammon

Honors College Theses

Speech-language pathologists (SLPs) help people with aphasia (PWA) manage their communication symptoms and become more independent by supporting them linguistically and emotionally. During COVID-19, speech and language services were not as readily available to PWA due to quarantine restrictions resulting in isolation within this population. Individuals with aphasia had to redirect and find a new way to function daily. This study explored factors that affected quality of communication and quality of life for PWA during the pandemic, including technology, living situation, timing of stroke, and speech-language pathology services. Through an online survey, PWA from across the country expressed how their …

"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

Electronic Theses and 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 …

Effect Of Covid-19 On Icu Nurse Burnout, Kayce Sheppard

Honors College Theses

Burnout is becoming increasingly worse for those in the nursing field after the height of the COVID-19 pandemic. While all nurses are at risk, ICU nurses are seen as at a higher risk for this increased burnout due to the already high stress environment they are subjected to in their unit. Without proper intervention of this issue, the levels of burnout are expected to continue to remain high, leading to job dissatisfaction, short staffing, and reduced patient satisfaction. The objective of this study is to review the level of burnout among ICU nurses. A burnout study was conducted on ICU …

Examining The Nexus Of Housing Instability And Neighborhood Within New York City (Nyc), Benjamin Boateng

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Housing instability within the New York City (NYC) area significantly affects the community's well-being. As a robust and growing city, many families in the low-income bracket face the challenge of spending a significant portion of their monthly income toward housing costs (rent, utilities, insurance). With families spending 50% (extreme housing burden) and more of their monthly income to stay in their housing units, various disparities have presented themselves within the housing context.

Even before the COVID-19 pandemic in March 2020, families within NYC have struggled to maintain their housing stock. Policy and community-based actions are needed to reduce the burden …

Effects Of The Covid-19 Pandemic On Health Behaviors And Mental Health During Pregnancy: A Systematic Review, Kara C. Middleton

Honors College Theses

The Coronavirus pandemic had many negative impacts on healthcare. During the COVID-19 pandemic, specialist care providers closed their offices to reduce transmission. Maternal healthcare was severely impacted. Mothers were unable to receive the prenatal and perinatal care they needed. Other specialist care, such as mental healthcare was severely impacted as well. There was also a lack of prenatal care occurring due to offices being closed. There is an established link between anxiety, depression, emotional eating, and Gestational weight gain. Gestational Weight Gain is associated with a higher prevalence of behavioral health conditions that were exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Role Of Socio-Cultural Perspectives And Vaccine Misinformation On The Intention To Receive Covid-19 Vaccination In A Selected Sample Of Georgia Southern Students, Alyssa G. Love-Archey

Honors College Theses

The purpose of the study was to explore sociocultural influences on the intention to receive the Covid-19 vaccination and to measure which sociocultural factor had the greater influence: misinformation about the vaccine or specific cultural beliefs (religion and/or cultural practices) on vaccine intent in Georgia Southern students. An anonymous, exploratory survey was utilized to collect information on these constructs in two selected groups of students: those who had been vaccinated prior to taking the survey and those who had not been vaccinated prior to taking the survey. Subjects of the study were undergraduate, master’s degree, and doctoral students of the …

Nursing Students’ Perspectives On The Covid-19 Vaccines: Moderna, Pfizer, And Johnson And Johnson, Savannah M. Workman

Honors College Theses

There are very few things that everyone in the world shares in common, but there is one thing that has recently plagued our entire world and has impacted each person’s life. The first case of COVID-19 occurred in the United States in January of 2020. In the United States during March of 2020, life as we knew it changed. Restrictions were put in place, schools closed, food and supply chain shortages occurred, travel was banned, and we were warned to stay away from others as they could be symptomatically or asymptomatically carrying the novel coronavirus. Since the time of quarantine …

A Virtual Camp For Adolescents With Developmental Disabilities During The Covid-19 Pandemic: Changes In Physical Activity, Function, And Psychosocial Health, Sarah Creveling

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Adolescents with developmental disabilities (DD) have low levels of physical activity (PA), are more likely to be overweight or obese, and are at an increased risk of developing secondary conditions compared to their typically developing peers. Participation in PA has been linked to a myriad of benefits including improvements in psychosocial health, decreased risk of developing secondary conditions, and opportunities for socialization. Summer camps provide opportunities for adolescents with DD to participate in meaningful activities while being physically active during the summer months when school is out and there is a change in routines, skill and learning loss is a …

A Secondary Data Analysis Exploring The Impacts Of Synchronous And Asynchronous Sexual Assault Bystander Intervention Training: A Pilot Study, Jacquelyn A. Mesenbrink

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Campus sexual assault has been recognized as one of the most pressing issues on college campuses and an epidemic across the U.S. The purpose of this study is to explore perceived prosocial behavior change of one bystander intervention training in two different modalities: synchronous virtual via Zoom and asynchronous online training via a learning management system (LMS). To date, there is no research study that evaluates the same bystander intervention program across different intervention delivery modalities. This research is the first of its kind to examine the relationship between intervention delivery modality and post-evaluation questions and serves as a pilot …

Social Media Use And Loneliness During The Covid-19 Pandemic, Katelyn Hughes

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Social media has played a prominent role in society as a safe way of communicating and connecting with friends, family, and others during the time of the COVID-19 pandemic of 2020. This study examined the general use of social media over the time of the COVID-19 pandemic and correlations with levels of loneliness, depression, anxiety, and stress in comparison to how people felt about their social media use before the pandemic. This study collected self-reported introspection on social media use during the pandemic and before the pandemic from Georgia Southern University students to compare if there are less feelings of …

An Exploration Of Home Office Design And Its Effect On Stress Reduction, Happiness, And Productivity For Working Mothers’ Well-Being During Covid-19, Janay Brown

Honors College Theses

This study explores how the home working environment can help reduce stress, increase productivity, and support happiness for remote working mothers within a home office environment aiding in their overall well-being. In response to COVID-19, many workers have transitioned to working from home to maintain safety. This study aims to help examine the impacts of home office design on working mothers with respect to stress reduction, happiness, and productivity. The researcher conducted face-to-face virtual interviews and the results were analyzed by creating categories and themes out of the rich descriptions to understand working mothers’ experiences in their home office environment …

Unscheduled Events, Stock Returns, And Market Efficiency: A Covid-19 Case Study Of Industry Leaders, Nathan R. Durham

Honors College Theses

This thesis explores the effects of unscheduled events on stock market returns due to increased uncertainty. A case study is done on the Coronavirus pandemic for the dates of March 9th, 2020, through March 23rd , 2020. The findings allow for short-run and long-run narratives where long-run returns, and short-run volatility explain how the role of psychology and different forecasting strategies are used to differentiate industry outcomes and technology sector returns.

Socially Acceptable Alcohol Use: The Normalization Of Binge-Drinking And The Influences Of The Covid-19 Pandemic In A College Sample., Carter Golembeski

Honors College Theses

The relationship between college students and binge-drinking is a heavily researched and discussed topic. However, with the COVID-19 pandemic a whole new side of the issue is introduced. The impacts of the pandemic on binge drinking episodes, as well as personal desire to binge drink, is valuable data to be analyzed. This capstone project collected data from Georgia Southern students on their drinking habits, as well as how COVID-19 interrupted their social life. Their personal drinking habits were investigated, including how often they find themselves “black-out drinking” and how many drinks they usually consume on a single drinking occasion, as …

In The Midst Of A Pandemic: Exploring Nursing Students' Attitudes And Beliefs Toward Their Training And Education, Harper C. Lewis

Honors College Theses

During Spring of 2020, didactic and clinical courses for nursing students at Georgia Southern University transformed to virtual platforms due to COVID-19. Student nurses learn their profession with experiences in both classroom and clinical settings. Clinical setting helps students strengthen psychomotor skills learned during simulated laboratory work. While all health profession students expressed stress as a major factor for well-being, student nurses seemed to experience more stress. Stress threatens nursing students’ sense of control over present and future performance. Competently performing skills required of newly graduated nurses greatly determines new graduates’ ability to secure employment as a registered nurse in …

Perceptions Of Covid-19 In College Students: Effect On Emotional Well-Being, Mikayla N. Murphy

Honors College Theses

This study explores the connection between emotional well-being of college students and the COVID-19 pandemic. Many physical distancing practices have negatively affected emotional well-being, such as increased time alone and screen time. A purposive sample of convenience was utilized to collect information on the emotional well-being of a selected group of students at two time points: January through March 2020 and January/February 2021. Students from the Honors College were selected as the study population. The survey questions were administered electronically through Qualtrics software, Version: February 2021. Of the 101 survey responses obtained between January 27 and February 22, 2021, 89 …

The Effects Of Covid-19 On China’S Luxury Retail Market, Shirlysia D. Daniel

Honors College Theses

The Coronavirus outbreak that occurred in 2020 negatively impacted the world globally. China handled the pandemic better than other countries due to their experience with prior virus outbreaks, SARS and MERS. It is important to research how the Coronavirus outbreak affected and is still affecting China’s economy, as it is a leading role in other countries’ economies as well. Before Covid-19, Chinese consumers made up one-third of global spending on luxury goods. Global luxury spending decreased drastically as many were impacted financially, emotionally, and physically. However, China’s success during the pandemic has been predicted to be the largest luxury retail …

The Association Of Demographic Characteristics And Social Vulnerability With Covid-19 Outcomes, Gloria D. Boone

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The Association of Demographic Characteristics and Social Vulnerability With COVID-19 Outcomes

by

Gloria Boone

(Under the Direction of Gulzar Shah)

ABSTRACT

This research explored 102 Illinois counties' COVID-19 data to determine whether demographic characteristics and social vulnerability are associated with increased vulnerability to COVID-19 infections and deaths. COVID-19 is disproportionately impacting vulnerable groups and has been deadlier for African American and Hispanic people. The findings of this research will contribute to the knowledge base regarding social vulnerability and assist public health officials in targeting resources and designing interventions. This study used a retrospective cross-sectional design to assess demographic characteristics of …

Influence Of Political Affiliation On Perceived Media Bias And Trustworthiness In The Covid-19 Pandemic, Tabitha Lamberth

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Partisanship and news source attribution may influence perceived media bias and trust in COVID-19 information. This study aimed to explore how the similarity liking effect relates to political identity and perceived credibility. Our main hypothesis was that individuals would find news sources that shared their political affiliation as more trustworthy than other news sources. To test our hypothesis, 216 undergraduate students participated in a study that measured participants’ trustworthiness of a news article with randomized source attribution from a liberal, conservative, and neutral source. A 2X3 ANOVA tested the relationship between our participants’ political affiliation, measured by the 12-item Social …

Thinking Ethically About Hiv Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis: Retention In Care And Sexually Transmitted Infection Testing In A Southeastern United States Local Health Department In The Time Of Covid-19, Ellie Purdy

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Local Health Departments (LHDs) are critical providers of Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) and sexually transmitted infection (STI) prevention efforts. HIV Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis (PrEP) is an evolving public health initiative and practitioners should consider PrEP interventions in context of ethical decision-making and a broad STI prevention strategy as global incidence of bacterial STIs remains high and those at-risk for HIV are generally at-risk for other STIs. An evaluation of the Thinking Ethically framework and LHD PrEP services was performed to fill a gap in the literature and support program decision-making. A retrospective review of PrEP user medical records from a LHD …

United States Nursing Homes And Health Equity During The Covid-19 Pandemic, Carla Cooper

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Objective: The COVID-19 pandemic disproportionately affected older populations, with nursing homes impacted early on by the disease. The contribution of race/ethnicity of nursing home residents and facility characteristics on COVID-19 were unknown. The Donabedian model framework was used to study the relationship between the racial/ethnic characteristics of nursing home residents and COVID-19 outcomes and to examine if this relationship was moderated by the racial/ethnic composition of the county of nursing home location.

Method: Cross-sectional research design merging data from five publicly available sources. Laboratory confirmed COVID-19 cases and deaths were compared by the racial composition of the county and nursing …