Digital Commons Network^™

Competitive Advantage Strategies For Independent Restaurant Owners, Bobby Mccrary

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Independent restaurant owners often face challenges in achieving a sustainable competitive advantage, resulting in poor business performance and loss of profitability. Identifying practical competitive advantage strategies is essential for independent restaurant owners to surpass five years of business operations. Grounded in resource-based view theory, the purpose of this multiple case study was to explore effective competitive advantage strategies independent restaurant owners used to sustain operations beyond five years. Purposeful sampling was used to select four independent restaurant owners located in Wichita, Kansas, who sustained operations beyond five years through competitive advantage strategies. Data were collected from semistructured interviews and from …

Exploring Leadership Strategies To Foster Effective Employee Engagement, Antonwaun Johnson

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Employee disengagement is an organizational disruption that erodes trust, weakens culture, and undermines the performance systems leaders depend on to drive results. Functional leaders are concerned with employee disengagement because it can lead to poor organizational performance and affect organizational success. Grounded in leader–member exchange (LMX) theory, the purpose of this qualitative pragmatic inquiry was to explore effective strategies functional leaders use to foster employee engagement in a working environment to enhance organizational success. The project participants were six functional leaders working in an e-commerce order fulfillment center in the southeastern United States. Data were collected through semistructured interviews and …

Staff Education On Standardized Appointment Reminder & Follow-Up Protocol, Sambila V. Zangre Congo

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Inconsistent staff performance in making appointment reminders and follow-up calls contributed to workflow variability and reduced patient engagement in outpatient primary care settings. This DNP Quality Improvement Project intended to enhance staff knowledge, confidence, and consistency in implementing standardized reminder and follow-up call protocols using an evidence-based educational intervention. A quantitative pre/posttest design was used to evaluate changes in staff competency, supported by descriptive and comparative analyses of test scores, percentage changes, and qualitative feedback. Seven clinic staff members attended the PowerPoint education session, and pretest and posttest data were used to address a practice-focused question about standardized communication workflows. …

Relationship Between Perceived Leadership Styles And Millennial Membership Growth In Nonprofit Churches, Larry Latham

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Despite the widespread decline in church membership and attendance among all mainline denominations, there was a particular concern about retaining the millennial generation. Church leaders need to understand this concern as a key indicator of millennial retention in nonprofit churches. The purpose of this quantitative study was to examine the relationship between millennial membership growth and perceived leadership styles, including authoritative, partnership, democratic, team oriented, relationship oriented, serving, people oriented, task oriented, and goal oriented leadership. The social exchange theory and resource-based view theory grounded this study. The archival data from 2011 to 2022 comprised 17,012 Millennial participants from 665 …

Staff Education On Vital Sign Assessment And Electronic Health Record Documentation For Acute And Critical Care Nurses And Patient Care Technicians, Natalie Brock

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

A staff educational quality improvement initiative aimed at enhancing the knowledge and accuracy of acute care nurses and patient care technicians (PCTs) in vital sign documentation was the focus of the doctoral project. Gaps in vital sign obtainment and electronic health record (EHR) documentation were identified through organizational serious safety event reviews, highlighting risks to patient safety and clinical decision-making. The project addressed the question of whether, in the inpatient hospital setting, a staff educational training program for acute and critical care nurses improves their knowledge of accurate vital sign documentation in the EHR. I analyzed pre- and posttest assessments …

Key Strategies To Entrepreneurial Sustainability In The Information And Communications Industry, Agabi Godwin Onugba

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Many businesses in the information and communications industry fail within the first 5 years, yet the existing empirical research has not sufficiently explained how surviving businesses achieve long-term sustainability. Startup business leaders are concerned about the high failure rate and the lack of evidence-based strategies that support sustained operations beyond 5 years. Grounded in Porter’s five forces theory, the purpose of this qualitative pragmatic inquiry project was to identify and explore successful strategies that information and communications industry startup business leaders use for long-term business sustainability beyond 5 years. Purposeful sampling was employed to select six startup leaders in the …

Education To Nursing Staff On Evidence-Based Lifestyle Interventions For Hypertension, Meagan Deese

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

This Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) project was a staff education project that addressed a practice gap in a primary care setting related to limited nursing knowledge of evidence-based lifestyle interventions for hypertension management. Hypertension is a prevalent chronic condition and a major contributor to cardiovascular morbidity and mortality. Although clinical guidelines recommend lifestyle modification as first-line management, nurses may receive limited formal training in nonpharmacologic interventions. The practice-focused question was, in a primary care setting, does a nursing education program on evidence-based lifestyle interventions for hypertension improve nursing knowledge as measured pre- to post education? The purpose of the …

Perceptions Of Community College Faculty Regarding Online Student Engagement Challenges And Recommendations, Jana Allen-Bishop

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The problem addressed through this study is that local community college faculty members struggle to develop student engagement in online courses. The purpose of this basic qualitative study was to explore community college faculty perceptions about challenges with student engagement in online courses and recommendations for fostering that engagement. The conceptual frameworks for this study were Knowles’ theory of andragogy and self-directed learning, as well as Mezirow’s transformative learning theory. Data were collected through semistructured interviews with eight community college faculty members teaching online courses. Through open and axial coding the following themes emerged: faculty noted that their own technological …

Exploring Turkish Adolescents’ Humor Styles And Social-Emotional Skills In Relation To Gender, Alev Üstündağ, Elif Dursun, İlayda Avcı

Journal of Social, Behavioral, and Health Sciences

We conducted this study to explore the relationship between different humor styles and social-emotional competence in terms of gender differences in Turkish adolescents. A total of 504 high school students participated in this descriptive, cross-sectional, and correlational study. The age of the subjects ranged from 15 to 18 years. We used a demographic information form, the Child Humor Styles Questionnaire (CHSQ), and the Social Emotional Competency Questionnaire as data collection tools. The data were analyzed with percentage and mean, t test in independent groups, Pearson correlation analysis, and multiple linear regression analysis. We found a relationship between gender and humor …

Perspectives Of Efl Teachers Toward The Influence Of Ai Writing Tools On Students' Writing Content And Organization, Nguyen Huu Hoang

Higher Learning Research Communications

Objectives: This study investigated Vietnamese English as a foreign language (EFL) teachers’ perspectives on the influence of artificial intelligence (AI) writing tools on students’ writing content and organization, examining tool selection patterns and effectiveness relationships through a mixed-methods approach.

Methods: An exploratory sequential mixed-methods design was employed, combining semi-structured interviews and classroom observations with six EFL teachers, followed by a survey of 52 teachers from various Vietnamese universities. Data analysis integrated thematic analysis of qualitative data with correlation and regression analyses of survey responses to examine relationships between usage patterns, institutional factors, and effectiveness ratings.

Results: Teachers strategically combined multiple …

Use Of Innovative Methods In The Creation Of Testing And Assessment Materials For Future Computer Science Teachers, Gulzhan Mazhibayeva, Serik Kenesbayev, Salamat Idrissov, Indira Salgozha, Zhanel Akhmetova

Higher Learning Research Communications

Objectives:This study aims to examine the effectiveness for future computer science teachers of employing innovative methods when creating innovative testing and assessment materials.

Methods:The methodology for this study involved analyzing survey data using statistical methods, such as descriptive analysis, correlation analysis, analysis of variance (ANOVA), regression, and factor analysis to evaluate the effectiveness of innovative methods in computer science education. Additionally, this study incorporated virtual labs, learning management systems, interactive quizzes, and artificial intelligence–based assessment tools to enhance learning outcomes and student engagement. We collected survey responses for this study from 56 student participants. We then developed a …

Lived Experiences Of Law Enforcement Officers Assigned To Co-Response Teams Responding To Mental Health Crises, Roxanne Miller

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Law enforcement officers are increasingly called upon to respond to mental health crises, yet their experiences as members of co-response teams (CRTs) remain underexplored. This study was conducted to address that gap by examining the lived experiences of officers assigned to CRTs that pair specially trained officers with mental health clinicians to respond jointly to calls involving individuals in crisis. The purpose of this qualitative phenomenological study was to describe how officers experience CRT work and how it shapes their perceptions, practices, and professional identity. The study was guided by Lazarus and Folkman’s transactional theory of stress, appraisal, and coping, …

Investigating Sex Offenders’ Experience Of Being Registered As A Sex Offender, Stacey Mitchell-Swingle

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

In society, sex offenders are subject to unforeseen consequences of the sex offender registry. The purpose of this qualitative study was to investigate how the sex offender registry contributes to the mental distress of registered sex offenders and their concerns about recidivism. This study addressed a gap in understanding the sex offender registry experiences from the offender’s perspective. The research question addressed how adult male registrants describe their experiences of mental distress associated with registration and how they perceive registration as shaping their risk of reoffending. The theoretical framework was John Braithwaite’s reintegrative shaming theory, with a specific focus on …

Psychologists’ Attitudes On Capital Punishment And Interpretation Of The American Psychological Association’S Ethics Code, Darya Baugh-Ruschman

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

When defendants are sentenced to death due to the nature of the crime, psychologists may be asked to participate in these cases, performing tasks such as conducting competency evaluations. Because the American Psychological Association (APA) Ethics Code states that psychologists cannot participate in activities that violate human rights, an ethical debate has emerged regarding whether they should participate in capital cases. The present study examined psychologists’ opinions on capital punishment and their interpretation of the APA Ethics Code, which does not specifically define what constitutes a violation of human rights. The theoretical framework for the study is the ethical decision-making …

How Case Management Can Improve Access To Outpatient Mental Health Clinics For Low-Income African American Women, Marie Daphney Vilseant

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Abstract: African American women face deeply rooted systemic challenges that affect their access to mental health care treatment. There are no case management techniques that are strategic and equity driven and offer individualized support tailored to the needs of African American women, especially those from low-income backgrounds. The purpose of this study was to explore the role of case management as a potential solution to improve access to outpatient mental health services for this under-served group. The Anderson behavioral model for health care was utilized to understand access and utilization of health care services. The review question focused on case …

Strategies For Retaining Employees In The Global Healthcare Industry, Tanisha L. Smith

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

High healthcare employee turnover rates pose a significant threat to organizational productivity, workforce stability, and patient outcomes. Healthcare leaders are concerned with high employee turnover because it contributes to rising operational costs, employee burnout, and a decline in the quality of patient care. Grounded in Herzberg’s two-factor theory of motivation, this qualitative, pragmatic inquiry identified and explored effective strategies that healthcare leaders use to retain employees to maintain organizational productivity and enhance patient outcomes. Data were collected from nine healthcare leaders in the United States using semistructured interviews and publicly available documents. Through thematic analysis with triangulation and member checking …

Enhancing Rn Confidence In Early Recognition And Treatment Of Sepsis, Tiffany Lee Gossai

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Background: Sepsis is a leading cause of mortality in U.S. hospitals, with delays in recognition and treatment significantly contributing to poor patient outcomes. Nurses are essential to early identification and timely intervention; however, gaps in confidence and preparedness persist, particularly among newly hired staff. Traditional educational approaches may be insufficient to support rapid clinical recognition and evidence-based management. Purpose: This staff education project evaluated whether participation in a virtual sepsis escape room during general nursing orientation improved newly hired nurses’ confidence in early identification and treatment of sepsis. Methods: A virtual escape room was integrated into an existing general nursing …

Clinical Practice Guidelines For Suicide Risk Assessment, Jelitta Cleatus

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

In this doctoral project, I developed a clinical practice guideline (CPG) to address the lack of a standardized suicide risk assessment protocol at a Texas mental health clinic. At project initiation, suicide risk assessment at the facility was inconsistent due to the absence of a CPG. The guideline incorporated the Columbia-Suicide Severity Rating Scale (C-SSRS), a validated instrument that improved early detection of suicidal ideation and behaviors, which were often under recognized in older adults. This inconsistency led to the following clinical question, Does the evidence support the development of a CPG for assessing suicide risk among high-risk patients using …

Improving Early Detection Of Lung Cancer In Underserved Primary Care Settings, Trent Arden Goode, Ii

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer-related mortality in the United States, with underserved populations experiencing higher rates of late-stage diagnosis and preventable death. Despite established screening guidelines, adherence within primary care remains inconsistent, particularly in safety-net settings, reflecting a healthcare administration problem driven by organizational structures and care processes. The purpose of this integrative review was to identify administrative interventions that improve primary care provider adherence to lung cancer screening referral guidelines in safety-net healthcare settings. Guided by the Donabedian Quality Framework, a systematic integrative review was conducted to examine how healthcare structures and processes influence screening implementation. …

Staff Education On Medication Adherence, Jerome Obiagba

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Summary The Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) project focuses on improving medication adherence in mental health settings, where many patients do not take medications as prescribed, leading to worsening symptoms, relapse, frequent hospitalizations, higher healthcare costs, and reduced quality of life. This problem mainly affects individuals with anxiety, bipolar disorder, major depressive disorder, and schizophrenia, and is often related to poor understanding of treatment, cultural beliefs, or limited access to care. Because nurses play a key role in medication monitoring, education, and patient support, the project examined whether staff education improves nurses’ knowledge, confidence, and effectiveness compared to standard practice …

Optimizing Patient Intake Efficiency: Integrating Data Accuracy And Workflow Improvement Strategies, Breanna Virginia Martin

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

For a professional therapist, social worker, psychologist, or psychiatrist, improving the quality and effectiveness of patient care is a central responsibility. This qualitative single-case study examined how WGGX, a nonprofit behavioral health organization in South Philadelphia, addressed challenges within its patient intake process to improve workflow efficiency, data accuracy, and the client onboarding experience. Guided by the Baldrige Health Care Criteria for Performance Excellence, the study explored how leadership practices, workforce engagement, and process management influenced organizational effectiveness related to intake operations. Data were collected through semistructured, in-person interviews with six organizational stakeholders and a review of organizational documents and …

Staff Education To Improve Nurse Use Of Teach-Back In Outpatient Diabetes Care, Latoya Hodge-Curtis

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Type 2 diabetes mellitus is a prevalent chronic condition in the United States, with ineffective patient education and low health literacy linked to poor glycemic control, preventable complications, and increased health care utilization. At the project site, a practice gap was identified related to a lack of knowledge among nurses regarding the use of teach-back strategy for use with Type 2 diabetes education. The practice-focused question was: Does educating nurses on the teach back strategy for Type 2 diabetes improve knowledge as evidenced by pre- to post-survey? This project was implemented using the ADDIE (analysis, design, development, implementation, and evaluation) …

Enhancing Medication Adherence In Home-Based Hypertension Care Through Targeted Staff Education, Marie Lunie Bazile

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Summary In this practice-based, quality improvement project, I incorporated a one-group, pre-/posttest design with the aim to evaluate a staff education intervention, reflecting on key principles in improving practice, including continuous evaluation and informing locally based change. This Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) project addressed the issue of inconsistent adherence to medication and the lack of staff skills in home-based hypertension management. Notably, the nurse plays an important role in medication adherence to care and in the consistent, evidence-based care with chronic diseases. The practice-focused question was: For home health staff, how does participation in an evidence-based medication adherence education …

A Prevention Model For Delaware: Reducing Opioid Relapse After Release From Incarceration, Jaime Basara

Selected Social Change Portfolios in Prevention, Intervention, and Consultation

Goal Statement

The goal of this Social Change Portfolio is to reduce relapse risk among individuals with opioid use disorder who are reentering society after their release from a Delaware correctional facility, by enhancing clinical continuity of care, including counseling, relapse-prevention planning, and linkage to community-based treatment programs.

Significant Findings

This portfolio aims to raise the awareness that justice-involved individuals with opioid use disorder in Delaware face extremely high rates of relapse, overdose, and death during the post-release period, particularly within the first few weeks and months after reentering society. This is often due to abrupt discontinuation of treatment, reduced …

Better It Disaster Recovery And Procedures To Improve Response After Computer Crime, Allan Eduardo Arroyo-Melendez

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

A lack of an effective disaster recovery plan (DRP) can negatively impact business outcomes following a cyberattack. Information technology (IT) managers are concerned that the lack of DRP may increase the risk of ransomware, fines, and public distrust. Grounded in the unified theory of acceptance and use of technology, the purpose of this qualitative pragmatic inquiry study is to explore strategies that some IT managers use to implement a DRP. The participants are four IT managers in the southeast United States. Data were collected through semistructured interviews and a review of publicly available documents. Through thematic analysis, three themes were …

The Environmental Mental Health Services Needed For Youth Ages 18-25 Aging Out Of The Foster Care System, Keelin Leger

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Youth transitioning out of foster care experience increased mental health challenges that affect their ability to age out successfully to independence. In this qualitative modified action study, the environmental mental health services needed for adolescents, aged 18 to 25, aging out of the foster care system in Lafayette Parish, Louisiana were explored. This study was guided by the Families Rising framework. Purposeful sampling was used to recruit 20 participants who provided insights to this study. Participants were reached by posting flyers on social media and the online platform forums, and they signed the consent form to participate. The data were …

Hiring Practices And Staff Retention At A Non-Profit Organization In Florida, Jajaira Matos Jemmott

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

A nonprofit organization in Florida that provides wraparound services to vulnerable families faced a significant staff retention problem, where persistent turnover disrupted service delivery, strained grant funding, contributed to burnout, and increased the cost of rehiring and training. Addressing this organizational challenge was critical to ensuring consistent, high-quality services. Guided by the practice-focused question, What changes can the client organization implement to retain staff and reduce training costs? The purpose of this study was to explore organizational factors influencing staff retention and recommend evidence-based strategies for improvement. The conceptual framework incorporated Herzberg’s motivation-hygiene theory, Lewin’s change theory, and social exchange …

Strategies Some Small Business Owners Use To Implement New Accounting Technology, Susie Annmarie Stewart-Branch

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Abstract Small business owners often face challenges when implementing accounting information systems, resulting in inefficiencies and reduced competitiveness. The study was grounded in the technology acceptance model (TAM), which guided examination of how small business owners implemented, evaluated, and sustained accounting software use while addressing implementation challenges and leveraging internal and external support. Data were collected through semi-structured interview questions from six small business owners who used accounting software such as QuickBooks, and thematic analysis identified five themes: (a) change management and organizational culture, (b) importance of external support and strategic partnerships, (c) measuring effectiveness through operational and client metrics, …

Staff Education To Use The Teach-Back Method Toward Increasing Adherence To Medications In A Mental Health Clinic, Yanysel Gonzalez Torres

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

A staff development project was conducted at a mental health clinic to improve medication adherence among patients. The intervention was an evidence-based presentation on the teach-back method for staff members to educate them about the importance of using the teach-back method for patient teaching to increase medication adherence among mental health patients. The gap identified by leadership was that staff members are often unaware of strategies for patient education designed to ensure that patients take their medications as prescribed by the provider. The project was conducted over a period of 4 weeks, with sessions held 3 days per week, taking …

The Role Of Leadership And Communication Training In Non-Profit Hospitals And The Influence On Leadership Change, Brian Pugliese

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Non-profit healthcare organizations face ongoing challenges in aligning leadership competencies with the dynamic demands of the healthcare environment, with a significant gap persisting in formal leadership training and communication development for both emerging and established leaders. The purpose of this integrative review was to examine existing knowledge on healthcare leadership in non-profit hospitals and provide best practices in leadership communication to decrease leadership-gap in current and future leaders in non-profit hospitals. The review question focused on determining evidence-based strategies for enhancing communication training and leadership skill development among administrative leaders. Kotter’s 8-Step Process provided a framework for successful organizational change. …