Digital Commons Network^™

Using Technology Responsibly To Align Church Ministry With God's Plan, Sandra Rolon-Rodriguez

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The proliferation of digital technologies, including live-streaming services, online community platforms, and virtual events, is revolutionizing the operational dynamics of church ministries. Churches of all sizes are embracing these changes to expand their influence, engage with members in new ways, and enhance the impact of digital technology on their ministry. Implementing digital transformation has led to innovative approaches in worship services, outreach programs, and community engagement, enabling churches to meet the evolving needs of their congregation and the broader community.

This dissertation-in-praxis explores the broader biblical and theological significance to gain a deeper understanding and demonstrate the practical application of …

Palliative And End-Of-Life Care Education In Undergraduate, Pre-Licensure Nursing Program Curriculums: The Lived Experience Of Students, Whitney Hicks

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The purpose of this qualitative study with a transcendental phenomenological approach is to investigate and describe nursing students’ experience with palliative and end-of-life care education within their undergraduate, pre-licensure nursing program curriculum. The study utilizes Kolb’s Experiential Learning Theory as its theoretical framework to answer the central research question and three sub-questions. The central research question is: what are nursing students' lived experiences with palliative and end-of-life care education within their undergraduate, pre-licensure nursing program curriculum? Twelve senior level nursing students participated in the study. The data collection methods included one-on-one interviews, observations, and journal entries. Data was analyzed using …

Empowering Kansas City Veterans Administration Chaplains: A Spiritual Leadership Toolkit For Nursing Staff Support, Leonard Gicheru

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

This doctoral research project addresses the critical issue of burnout among nursing staff at the Kansas City Veterans Administration (KCVA). Burnout is often worsened by a lack of spiritual support, thereby negatively impacting both the well-being of nurses and the quality of patient care. This project study aims to mitigate these challenges by implementing a spiritual leadership resource toolkit, tailored to equip KCVA chaplains with creative strategies to provide spiritual care for nurses.

Based on Spiritual Leadership Theory and guided by biblical principles, this project explores how structured spiritual direction can improve the resilience and emotional well-being of nursing staff. …

A Phenomenological Study Of Forgiveness Following Infidelity Focusing On Robert Enright's Forgiveness Model, Delondria R. Hines

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The purpose of this phenomenological study is to describe the experiences of women who chose to forgive their partner’s infidelity using Robert Enright’s Forgiveness Model. The study explores the motivations for forgiveness after infidelity, focusing on women aged 25–70 in heterosexual relationships from various racial and ethnic origins who have decided to remain with their partners. Extending Robert Enright's Forgiveness Model, this study examines the benefits of forgiveness. The study uses thematic analysis to identify common themes in the participants’ stories, enhancing understanding of their motivations for forgiveness. Semi-structured interviews served as the main method for data collection, offering a …

The Impact Of Religious Music On Psychological Well-Being: A Survey Study Of Chinese Christians In Hong Kong Churches, Ka Man Lee

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

This cross-sectional survey investigates the relationship between listening to religious music and psychological well-being among Chinese Christians in Hong Kong, addressing a critical gap in Asian studies. Data were collected from 243 participants through a survey comprising demographic questions, music-listening habits (weekly frequency, average duration, and music era preference), and the 24-item Chinese Ryff Psychological Well-being Scale. Multiple linear regression and ANOVA analyses reveal that the average duration of listening to religious music positively associates with overall psychological well-being and its six dimensions, while frequency shows a negative relationship. Traditional religious music (composed in or before 1980) is associated with …

The Differences In Perceived Stress And Coping For Prelicensure Nursing Students After A Positive Reappraisal Coping Intervention, Deanna Lynne Walborn

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

Academic stress has become a common problem among nursing students, which can lead to undesirable student outcomes if their stress goes unabated. The purpose of this quasi-experimental pretest/posttest study is to determine if an intervention using a positive reappraisal coping intervention (PRCI) can reduce student nurse stress. Knowles’ theory of adult learning along with Lazarus and Folkman’s transactional model of stress and coping (TMSC) provided a foundation for the study. Olejnik’s (1984) table was used to determine the minimal total sample size required for this research. A sample of 26 nursing students from those who are enrolled in a public …

Middle School Teachers’ Experiences In The Virtual Co-Teaching Setting: A Qualitative Transcendental Phenomenological Study, Suzette A. Smith

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The purpose of the qualitative transcendental phenomenological study was to describe the collaborative planning, instruction, and evaluative practices of middle school co-teachers working in a virtual setting within a southeastern state. This study's theory stems from Kolb’s (1984) experiential learning theory. A sample population included twelve co-teachers in different middle schools throughout a school district in the Southeast. Data was obtained using the semi-structured interviews from 12 participants, 11 participants participated in the focus group sessions, and all 12 participants participated in the guided writing approach. All transcription were analyzed and coded, which led to the to identification of common …

Adding Video Teaching To The Standard Of: Oral And Written Discharge Instructions, Pamela Austill Harris

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

Adding video education to a patient’s discharge instructions on a rehabilitation unit of a skilled nursing facility (SNF) is researched for its use in decreasing the 31-day readmission rate from the community back to the hospital or SNF. A quasi-experimental method was used. There was a mean of 6 readmissions per month before the video intervention and during it was 0.6. Adding video education may be useful in an SNF to decrease the readmission rate from the community back to the hospital after discharge.

A Phenomenological Research Study Of The African American Male And Grief: The Need To Communicate, Theresa E. Ellis

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

This is a dissertation on death, grief, and the communication styles of African American males after the loss of a loved one. It will speak to the limited amount of literature reviews surrounding death, culture, race, gender, and the social determent of death. This dissertation will issue a summation of the limitations of older studies and how to fill the need to conduct newer studies. This dissertation offers suggestions on the need to encourage future researchers to take up the mantle and use their lived experiences on death, grief counseling, mental health counseling, and how spiritual counseling can be used …

Investigating The Perceived Efficacy Of Support Groups As A Secondary-Organization Stress Intervention Measure For Hospice Nurses, Sade A. Allen

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

This dissertation investigated the perceived efficacy of support groups as a secondary organizational intervention measure for hospice nurses. Workplace stress is a common issue in hospice care that impacts workers negatively. It results in declining mental, physical, and social wellness. While research indicates significant benefits of support groups, they are not commonly applied in hospice care. Support groups have been widely used in mental health for years to share information and experiences and discuss problems. This dissertation interviewed eight participants using a qualitative case study approach. The participants were recruited from an online hospice nurse group on Facebook. The information …

Care Providers Caring For Military Members Struggling With Grief, Clara Altagracia García

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

This research aims to address the lack of grief support services for service members (SMs) and veterans, which affects them and the wider community. The mission is to uncover the needs of SMs and veterans and devise effective strategies to support them. The literature review will provide the foundation for the need for research and create a reasonable solution for a healthier grieving process for SMs. This research aims to determine how complicated grief goes undetected and how counseling can help SMs and veterans. The thesis project will impact the grief counseling process of others in this field and bring …

Planning In Advance (Pia): Teaching London Seventh-Day-Adventist Church Leaders In Providing Spiritual Care For Dying And Mourning Parishioners, Walace Saint Louis

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The London Seventh-Day Adventist Church (LSDAC), Maybee, Michigan, grapples with the lack of trained leaders in EoL to provide pastoral care for dying and mourning African American parishioners. The purpose of this DMIN action research project is to educate LSDAC leaders in providing spiritual care for their congregants as lay chaplains. The city of Maybee contains 612 people, with 95 % Caucasians and 5% other racial groups. The LSDAC membership is 99% African Americans and 1% Caucasians. It has around 30 members.

The philosophical concept of this research lies in the presuppositions that African Americans prefer spiritual EoL care from …

Solution-Focused Pastoral Counseling For Bereavement, Wayne A. Benner

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The topic of this action research is Solution-Focused Pastoral Counseling for grief and bereavement. The need for the research completed is for hospice chaplains to have a workable tool to use for grief and bereavement. The problem is that many hospice chaplains do not have a framework to use for counseling in grief. The action researcher worked on the thesis of if chaplains use Solution-Focused Pastoral Counseling for grief they will be more effective. The research was completed using Solution-Focused Pastoral Counseling to counsel six participants in grief. Each participant completed a pre-counseling questionnaire and a post-counseling questionnaire to assess …

Psychotropics And Fall Reduction Through Nursing Education, Jenny L. Stillman

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

Falls in long-term care centers (LTC) remain a significant problem due to their association with increased mortality, healthcare costs, and decreased patient outcomes. A major contributing factor to falls is the use of psychotropic medications commonly prescribed in LTC facilities despite evidence against their use. This paper discusses a quasi-experimental study aimed at reducing falls through nursing education on how psychotropics contribute to falls. The study also highlights the regulatory requirements for LTC facilities to monitor and reduce fall occurrences and the efforts made by a State Veterans Home to address the number of falls. The results demonstrate a reduction …

Family Communication Patterns Theory: A Mixed Methods Examination Of Single Mothers’ Communication Styles, Susan Renee Mattson

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The mixed methods approach was used to research single mothers’ communication patterns. Fitzpatrick and Ritchie’s family communication patterns theory (FCPT) was used to guide the research. Online surveys and semi structured interviews were used to gather data that were analyzed through MAXQDA and SPSS software. The research examined factors such as age, culture, and the number of children a mother has in correlation to variables such as conformity and conversation orientation on the FCPT scale. The quantitative portion of the research revealed significant findings about culture and conformity orientation in single mothers from collectivist cultures. The qualitative section mirrored similar …

Physiological And Biomechanical Perspectives On Elbow Function During Forehand And Backhand Disc Golf Throws: A Novel Investigation, Lauren Rachelle Giles

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

Over 81% of players have reported injuries linked to disc golfing, predominantly due to overuse. Since disc golf originated, there is a lack of research on the proper biomechanics of the disc golf throw. This descriptive, quantitative study seeks to be the first. We investigated 6 females and 35 males, aged 21-66, registered to compete in disc golf. The goal was to examine the kinetic parameters of healthy disc golfers to identify biomechanics likely associated with safety. Research questions investigated whether there is a connection between lean body mass and disc distance traveled, elbow torque and disc distance, or grip …

End-Of-Life Care Curricula For Respiratory Therapy Students: A Qualitative Study, Ginger Goff Coles

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The purpose of this descriptive case study was to understand the current end-of-life curriculum within didactic, laboratory, and clinical courses for entry-to-practice respiratory therapy students at Respiratory Therapy University (RTU), a pseudonym for the university. The theory guiding this study was Bandura’s (1988) social cognitive theory. This study used the four constructs of observational learning, perceived self-efficacy, expectancies, and behavioral capability to explain and address the problem of limited end-of-life care curricula within an entry-to-practice BSRT program. Data collection occurred through semi-structured interviews with 13 Entry-to-practice BSRT students advancing into their senior year. The findings aligned with existing theoretical and …

Examining The Relationship Of Simulation To Nursing Communication Competency: A Quantitative, Causal-Comparative, Retrospective Study, Patresha Pamella Pearson

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

This quantitative, causal-comparative, retrospective study investigated the impact of simulation-based education on nurse communication competence by evaluating communication skills between two groups of recently graduated and licensed registered nurses while controlling for total experience hours. Though nursing communication competence significantly impacts patient care outcomes, few studies have addressed the impact of simulation on the communication competence of licensed nurses practicing in the clinical setting. The study was conducted in the clinical setting with 78 participants divided between two categorical groups of recently graduated and licensed registered nurses depending on the proportion of simulation-based education received during clinical experience requirements. The …

Equipping Church Leadership Through Team Ministry: A Dissertation-In-Praxis Model, Judith Aarian Hawkins

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

Using teams in the workplace has become an efficient means to employ workers' creativity, productivity, and effectiveness (Ross et al., 2008). Likewise, ministry through teams offers the Church these same outcomes to meet its charge of the Great Commission (King James Bible, 1769/2017, Matthew 28:16-20). This research was implemented with BOLD Deliverance Ministries Incorporated (BOLD), a non-denomination church in Temple Hills, Maryland. The church’s theme of “Where together we equip the saints to serve all people” indicates an existing ideology of collaboration. This project aimed to build on this collaborative mindset by applying team leadership theory within a team ministry …

Reduction Of Inpatient Falls In The Treatment Of Patients With Behavioral And Psychological Symptoms Of Dementia (Bpsd), April Davis

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

Aim: To identify if utilization of non-pharmacological interventions versus pharmacological interventions can promote the reduction of falls and potential injuries in patients with BPSD on an inpatient geriatric psychiatric unit, ultimately improving patient-centered treatment courses, outcomes, and improved QOL. Background: Falls in the elderly population have a significant impact on the patient and the health care system. Even though health care organizations have been dedicated to developing and implementing strategies to reduce and prevent patient falls, they remain unequivocally the leading cause of adverse events that occur during an acute hospitalization, causing significant injury, disability, morbidity, mortality, and financial burden …

Worship In Life, Worship In Death: Elements Of Worship In A Believer’S Final Days, James William Lawrence

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

In Isaiah 43:21 (English Standard Version), God declares through his prophet that he created humankind for himself, for them to declare his praises. God created humanity to worship. In the last phase of a believer's life, there is a possibility of not being able to join the rest of the church in corporate worship. This text addresses the question: How does assisting shut-in Protestant Christians with end-of-life worship impact the patient, family, and the concept of dying well? Pastors, chaplains, and ministers from many walks of life have recorded and underlined the importance of worshipful pastoral care in the latter …

Action Crisis Intervention Response, Dwayne Pine

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

Establishing a peer-to-peer mental health intervention program for healthcare workers at Henry Mayo Hospital is imperative for addressing stress, anxiety, depression, job burnout, and compassion fatigue. The growing mental health crisis among healthcare workers, leading to a significant number leaving the industry due to lack of support from management, underscores the urgency of this initiative. This action research project emphasizes the need for such a program in conjunction with the established Mental Health First Aid. While the latter provides tools to recognize a mental health crisis, it lacks holistic approaches to aid healthcare workers in immediate crisis mode. The project …

Broken Picket Fences, Lori Ann Feeley

Masters Theses

Broken Picket Fences is a women's fiction novel that explores the bittersweet reunion of two young sweethearts who see each other again after twenty years. Love is reignited, old memories die hard, and dark secrets struggle to find the light of day in a maze of choices. Raeanne finds that what she thought she wanted may not be what she truly needs. She embarks on a journey through her past to rediscover the essence of who she really is. It has been so long since she viewed her own life through a clear lens. She desperately searches for who she …

Review Of On The Resurrection: Evidences Volume 1, Brian G. Chilton

Liberty Theological Review

Dr. Brian Chilton reviews the first volume of Dr. Gary Habermas's magnum opus On the Resurrection: Evidences. Chilton summarizes Habermas's work, offering key themes found throughout the book. Then, he analyzes the methodology of the book and confronts the possible objections offered by popular naysayers of the minimal facts approach. Chilton ultimately deduces that the naysayers objections are overblown and that Habermas's approach stands on its own.

The Pause: Impacting Moral Distress In Our Caregivers, An Integrative Review, Bethany Corinne Furman

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

Moral distress is endemic to healthcare in the emerging post-covid era. Moral distress is defined as the knowledge of the correct or ethical action but the repeated inability to act in that manner. First studied in nursing, it has been found in nearly every facet of healthcare and is strongly associated with clinician burnout, intent to leave position, and behaviors that can in turn compromise patient safety. Intensive care unit (ICU) nurses experience moral distress at higher rates than other subspecialties. Prevention of and recovery from moral distress is complex, but various forms of debriefing have long been suggested to …

Implementation Of A Nursing Care Bundle For Hospitalized Patients Receiving End-Of-Life Care, Klaire Thomason

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

A significant number of patients die in the hospital. Family-centered nursing care interventions are critically important to help ease the physical, social, spiritual, and emotional symptoms that patients may experience at the end of life. Despite the importance of the nurse’s role in delivering comprehensive end-of-life care, many nurses lack the knowledge and confidence necessary to implement evidence-based interventions. The purpose of this project was to evaluate the effectiveness of a nursing care bundle on increasing nurses’ self-perceived ability to deliver high-quality end-of-life care to patients in the inpatient setting. For this pilot study, an evidence-based Comfort Care Nursing Bundle …

Narrative Activism: Strategic Storytelling For Women’S Advocacy, Lili G. Morgan

Masters Theses

The COVID-19 pandemic has drastically widened existing spheres of gender inequality, increasing disparities related to poverty, forced marriage, maternal mortality, gender-based violence, economic vulnerability, and illiteracy. For organizations aiming to rectify these areas of inequality, storytelling is a powerful tool for advocacy. This thesis investigates the intersection of storytelling and advocacy, focusing on the writing strategies utilized by leading gender-equality-oriented organizations. Utilizing Grounded Theory (GT) methodology, this thesis explores the emerging patterns and themes that arise in organizational storytelling strategies across differing contexts. An introduction chapter provides insights into the subject matter, highlighting existing knowledge gaps and rationalizing this study’s …

Afrofuturism And The Reclamation Of Black Culture And History Within Science Fiction, Dawanda S. Hall

Masters Theses

This paper aims to delve into the key aspects of Afrofuturism, and to trace its evolution from its origins to its current expansive form. By examining the works of its most influential authors and their contributions to the genre, we can gain a deeper understanding of Afrofuturism’s legacy and its potential as a vehicle for Black liberation.

The Importance Of Being Your Authentic Self, Aleathea G. Higginbottom

Masters Theses

The vision for this paper is to encourage others through the references, expert advice, and a memoir full of experiences. Also, to dive into the realm of self-discovery and be the best version of the authentic self-possible and allow those beautiful pixels of gifted expression to shine through that have been pushed back or forgotten. There is a freedom that authenticity brings which cannot be described. Breaking free from a life of the expectations of others and living true to oneself brings forth a happier person, spirit, soul, and body.

Undergraduate Baccalaureate Nursing Student Knowledge And Attitudes Towards Neonatal And Pediatric Pain Management Practices, Jordan Lee Slowik

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

Research has indicated that pain management practices amongst registered nurses is inadequate across all age groups; however, it is frequently noted that children receive less analgesia in comparable situations than adult clients leading to harmful and costly consequences. There is a distinct gap in nursing educational research understanding nursing student knowledge and attitudes towards neonatal and pediatric pain management practices. Using a convenience sample from a private, Christian-based university in the southeastern United States, this study used a quasi-experimental, one-group pretest/posttest design to understand the impact of elective nursing courses on undergraduate baccalaureate nursing student knowledge and attitudes towards neonatal …