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Developing The Social And Legal Competence Of Future Social Counselors, Lazzat Suleimenova, Saira Zhiyenbayeva, Kamchat Yessenova, Yernar Onalbekov, Elmira Bayarystanova

Higher Learning Research Communications

Objectives: The social and legal (also referred to as sociolegal) competence of future social counselors is one of the key factors that ensures the effectiveness of their professional activities—protecting the rights of the individual, collaborating with other professionals, and contributing to the creation of a safe social environment. The study aimed to create and implement a model and pedagogical conditions for the development of sociolegal competence of future social counselors in higher education institutions of the Republic of Kazakhstan.

Methods: As part of a study conducted at L.N. Gumilyov Eurasian National University, Faculty of Social Sciences, in the social pedagogy …

Healthcare System Barriers To Somali Refugees In Kenya, Zahra Sharif Hashim

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Access to health care is a fundamental right of every refugee, yet gaps in implementing Kenya's Refugees Acts of 2006 and 2021 continue to limit access for Somali refugees in Dadaab camp. Existing research has documented resource constraints, movement restrictions, and other barriers to refugee health care, but how policy implementation gaps shape access in Dadaab has not been well explored. The purpose of this qualitative descriptive study was to understand barriers to health care access for Somali refugees resulting from gaps in implementing Kenya's refugee health policies. The narrative policy framework guided the study. Data from semistructured interviews with …

Strategies General Practitioners Use To Effectively Communicate Patient Cases To Medical Specialists In Saudi Arabia, Alshraefarana Alharthi

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Effective communication between general practitioners (GPs) and medical specialists is essential for reducing healthcare costs and improving continuity of care. Healthcare leaders are concerned that ineffective communication between GPs and specialists may contribute to delays in care, fragmented services, and inefficient use of healthcare resources. Grounded in relational coordination theory, the purpose of this qualitative pragmatic inquiry was to explore the effective communication strategies used by six GPs in Saudi Arabia when communicating patient cases to medical specialists to reduce healthcare costs and improve the quality of patient care. The participants were six GPs in Saudi Arabia. Data were collected …

Strategies Used By Small Information Technology Business Leaders For Retaining Employees And Business Sustainability, Ayodeji Rex Abitogun

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Failure to retain employees remains a significant concern for small information technology (IT) business leaders. Without clear, actionable strategies, these leaders may struggle to avoid the high costs associated with employee turnover, negatively affecting revenue. Grounded in situational leadership theory, the purpose of this qualitative pragmatic inquiry project was to identify and explore effective strategies small IT business leaders in Nigeria use to retain IT employees for business sustainability. Participants included seven small IT business leaders in Nigeria who had used effective strategies to retain employees. Data were collected from semistructured interviews and publicly available documentation. Six themes emerged from …

Visual Arts Teachers’ Perception Of Integrating Visual Arts To Help With Student Core Content Achievement, Amanda Munoz

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The problem addressed in this study was that local school districts in Texas do not offer a visual arts-integrated curriculum despite the known academic and social-emotional benefits for K–12 students. The purpose of this basic qualitative study was to explore the perceptions of Texas K–12 visual arts teachers regarding arts integration to enhance core content learning. Grounded in Gardner’s multiple intelligences theory, the research questions focused on teachers' perceptions of arts integration and their recommendations for implementation. Data were collected through semistructured interviews with 10 K–12 visual arts teachers in Texas who had at least 1 year of teaching experience. …

Youths' Responses To Street-Level Bureaucratic Failures In Lebialem, Division Cameroon, Forchenmbin Charles Abessoh

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

No abstract provided.

Strategies That Black American Female Business Owners Use To Secure Government Contracts, Darrilyn Marie Brittian

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Black American female business owners remain underrepresented in government contracting despite the availability of federal, state, and local procurement opportunities. Some Black American female business owners lack effective strategies to secure government contracts, which may limit business growth and profitability. Grounded in innovation and entrepreneurship theory, the purpose of this qualitative pragmatic inquiry was to identify and explore the strategies Black American female entrepreneurs use to secure government contracts. The participants were six Black American female entrepreneurs who had successfully secured government contracts and possessed experience navigating government procurement processes. Data were collected using semistructured interviews and organizational documents. Through …

School Principals’ Perspectives Regarding Successful Professional Development, Kathryn L. Bauserman, Diana Quatroche, Linda E. Martin

Journal of Educational Research and Practice

This descriptive study examined K–12 principals’ perspectives on providing and supporting school‑based professional development in one Midwestern state. Survey responses from 300 principals explored how they defined successful professional development, how they determined teacher learning needs, and the challenges they encountered. Findings revealed that principals valued professional development aligned with instructional improvement, yet many relied on their control of decision‑making processes. Professional development was commonly delivered by school or district personnel, funded through limited local and state resources, and typically offered in short sessions. Principals identified success through surveys, observations, and student achievement data while noting challenges related to funding, …

Level Of Stroke Center Designation And The Association With Hcahps Nurse Communication Scores And Hcahps Discharge Instruction Scores In North Carolina Hospitals In 2023, Donna Lee Frederick

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Strokes are costly and the leading cause of disability and a leading cause of death in the United States. Stroke management has improved through a partnership between The Joint Commission and The American Heart Association, which established stroke care center certifications for hospitals nationwide. Despite this progress, North Carolina (NC) remains within the Stroke Belt due to the high prevalence of stroke there. In some areas of NC, the stroke mortality rate is 40% higher than the national average. Guided by the Donabedian model, this quantitative correlational study investigated the association between stroke center designation levels and the Hospital Consumer …

Clinical Supervision In Local County Jails: The Descriptive Experiences Of Mental Health Supervisors, Vanessa Qualls

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The overrepresentation in correctional settings of persons who are seriously mentally ill and/or challenged with addiction has necessitated the presence of qualified mental health professionals. Implementation of quality mental health treatment in correctional settings has been met with various barriers, such as limited resources, physical space constraints, and safety concerns. While these barriers are present in most correctional settings, jails are more likely to encounter individuals who are experiencing acute symptoms related to mental illness and addiction, aggression, and crisis. Mental health counselors make up a significant portion of the mental health workforce in jail settings and may assume clinical …

Nurses' Perceptions On Emotional Exhaustion, Hannah Espera

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The problem that was addressed through this study is that U.S. nurses experience high levels of emotional exhaustion (EE) in their role as professional caregivers, adult learners, and educators. Grounded in Maslach's burnout theory, the purpose of this qualitative study was to explore U.S. nurses’ perceptions of EE as professional caregivers, adult learners, and educators. For this basic qualitative design, semistructured interviews were conducted with 10 nurses licensed in the United States who were working in direct patient care roles, across multiple specialties, and with various levels of experience and licensure. Through in vivo and pattern coding, the following findings …

The Lived Experiences Of Workplace Discrimination Of Transgender People In Mississippi, Wendy Mann

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

In recent years, transgender people have been more open to living as the gender they believe they were meant to be, instead of the gender they were born as. With this decision, they are more susceptible to mistreatment and discrimination in the workplace. The purpose of this qualitative study was to explore and understand the experiences and perceptions of discrimination of transgender individuals within workplaces in the U.S. state of Mississippi. Transgender identity development (TID) and social identity theory provided a theoretical framework for examining participants’ lived experiences of perceived transgender workplace discrimination, navigation of this discrimination, and the role …

Navigating Sexuality In Therapy: Counselors Lived Experiences Of Initiating Conversations With Clients, Sandra Mireles

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Gaps in counselor education leave many counselors inadequately prepared to initiate sexuality-related conversations with clients. This qualitative hermeneutic phenomenological study was an exploration of the lived experiences of independently licensed mental health counselors and the personal, cultural, and professional meanings they constructed around initiating conversations related to sexuality. Guided by hermeneutic phenomenology and social constructivism, semistructured interviews were conducted with six independently licensed mental health counselors who had practiced independently for at least 5 years and primarily worked with adult clients. Data were analyzed using interpretative phenomenological analysis (IPA). Three overarching themes emerged: (a) societal and religious influences and misconceptions …

Relationship Between Financial Performance And Healthcare Quality Outcomes, Ela C. Lena

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Hospital leaders face increasing pressure to improve quality outcomes while controlling costs. The evidence is limited on whether hospital financial performance predicts overall quality star ratings. Grounded in the general contingency theory, this quantitative, correlational project examined the predictive relationship between operating margin, current ratio, and a composite of quality metrics represented by the overall hospital Quality Star Rating (QSR). Data included the population of acute care hospitals in Massachusetts with 25 or more beds, yielding a final analytic sample of 54. Four year-specific multiple linear regression models were performed from 2021 through 2024. The analyses did not indicate a …

U.S. Rural And Frontier Stakeholders’ Use Of Storytelling To Advocate For Competency Development, Aliza Ruby Quinlan

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Although rural advocacy is widely recognized as important to community change, the experiences of rural and frontier advocates, particularly in regard to their use of storytelling to support skill acquisition, relational trust, and asset-focused advocacy competencies, have been understudied. The purpose of this constructivist grounded theory qualitative study was to understand how rural and frontier community advocates describe their experiences and how sharing lived experiences may inform advocacy competency development. Semistructured interviews were conducted with nine advocates across the Pacific Northwest region of the United States, including caregivers, health care professionals, educators, nonprofit leaders, and individuals with lived experience working …

Revictimization Of Female Sexual Assault Survivors During Cross-Examination From The Perspective Of Criminal Prosecutors, Robyn Fuchs

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Sexual assault is a heinous crime that remains one of the most underreported crimes. Victims of sexual assault face scrutiny for reporting and may be revictimized by the process. The intent of this study was to examine how cross-examination has the potential to revictimize female sexual assault survivors from the perspective of criminal prosecutors. This study may provide insight on whether defense attorneys intentionally cause harm to victims or if there is an automatic level of trauma in testifying. Ten interviews were conducted with criminal prosecutors across the United States. After the interviews, the transcripts were manually analyzed to identify …

Staff Education On Standardized Suicide Risk Assessment In An Outpatient Clinic For Behavioral Health, Fanta Haja Cabah

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Suicide risk assessment is a high-priority nursing safety responsibility in outpatient behavioral health. The practice gap was a variation in nurses’ knowledge of validated suicide screening, direct inquiry, risk escalation, referral, and related documentation expectations working in an outpatient behavioral health clinic located on the Eastern Atlantic Coast. To address this problem, I developed, implemented, and evaluated a staff education program on a standardized suicide risk assessment. The practice question focused on whether staff knowledge increased following participation in the education program. Ten nursing staff members participated in a 60-minute education program. Pretest and posttest questionnaires included 20 multiple-choice questions. …

Staff Education On Teach- Back Communication Method For Psychiatric Nursing Staff, Adanma Violet Ebere

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Summary Patient education delivered without a standardized communication protocol for patients with serious mental illness (SMI), especially for those who face disproportionate health literacy deficits, cognitive challenges, and stigma, may increase the risk of medication misunderstanding and non-adherence. An outpatient psychiatric practice lacked a standardized patient education protocol. This quality improvement staff education initiative equipped all clinical nursing staff with the 5Ts for Teach Back framework, an evidence-based, five-step method endorsed by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ), The Joint Commission (TJC), and the American Hospital Association (AHA), and grounded with evidence in 13 sources at Levels I …

Implementing A Routine Fall Risk Assessment In Older Adults In An Inpatient Psychiatric Setting, Amaka Obi

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The purpose of the project was to implement and evaluate a structured fall risk assessment process that promoted the early identification of patients at increased risk for falls and supported interventions designed to prevent fall-related events. A pre- and post-implementation evaluation design was used to assess the intervention's effectiveness by comparing fall rates before and after implementation of the standardized assessment protocol. De-identified data obtained from the electronic health record (EHR) were analyzed using descriptive statistics to evaluate changes in fall incidence and protocol adherence. The project findings demonstrated that provider-led, standardized fall-risk assessments improved screening compliance, provider adherence, and …

Staff Education To Increase Knowledge And Awareness Of Sexually Transmitted Diseases, Alie Sholola Sahid

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Background STIs or sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) are consequential public health emergencies that affect millions of people globally and have long-term health implications (Garcia et al., 2024). STIs are infections that are passed from one person to another through sexual contact with the most common types of STIs include chlamydia, trichomoniasis, general herpes, and human papillomavirus (HPV). It is estimated that each year, more than 20% of the U.S. population has had an STI, with around 26.2 million cases per year (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention [CDC], 2024a). The common types of STIs include chlamydia, trichomoniasis, general herpes, and …

Optimizing Advanced Ehr And Enhanced Data-Sharing And Reporting In Rural Health Clinics, Adaeze Honesta Duru

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Rural clinics continue to face several barriers in utilizing advanced electronic health record (EHR) features, including interoperability, data sharing, and care coordination. The purpose of this integrative review was to investigate strategies to overcome barriers to the use of advanced EHRs and enhance data-sharing and reporting capabilities in rural clinics. The review question emphasized viable strategies for overcoming barriers to advanced EHR utilization and enhancing data-sharing and reporting capabilities in rural clinics. The consolidated framework for implementation research provided a conceptual model for understanding the various facets of EHR optimization. A literature search initially resulted in 135 relevant articles. After …

Principals’ Experiences With Implementation Practices For School Board Policies In An Urban School District, Andrea J. Richardson

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Effective policy implementation is crucial for improving educational outcomes and ensuring equitable learning environments. While existing literature has shown that policy implementation is influenced by factors such as leadership capacity, stakeholder engagement, communication, resource availability, organization context, and accountability, there is little known about how K-12 urban principals narrate, interpret, and make meaning of their experiences to implementing board-mandated policies. This study addressed this gap by exploring how principals in an urban school district in Ohio navigated the complexities of implementing school board policies amid resource limitations, stakeholder resistance, and accountability pressures. The purpose of this qualitative narrative inquiry study …

Nihilistic Violence Aesthetics In Public Online Communication, Heath Nicholas Landress

Journal of Social, Behavioral, and Health Sciences

Public online communication has increasingly included violence-related content that is meme-based, ironic, visually stylized, multimodal, and only partially ideological. This comprehensive literature review synthesized research on online extremism, extremist memes, toxic multimodal content, dehumanizing digital communication, nihilistic violent extremism, warning behaviors, platform affordances, and youth-facing online environments. The purpose was to clarify what the literature had established; identify where the scholarship remained fragmented; and map research domains relevant to social, behavioral, public safety, and human services scholarship. The review used a structured, comprehensive literature review strategy supported by integrative synthesis procedures. The final corpus contained 34 scholarly sources, including 32 …

Beyond Boundaries: Unlocking Positive Social Change Through Shared Expertise, Sigifredo Castell Britton

Journal of Social Work in the Global Community

Societal progress thrives through the dynamic interplay of diverse disciplines, each contributing unique insights to advance positive change. Interdisciplinary collaboration plays a crucial role in addressing complex social challenges by combining the strengths of various fields. This article explores the historical evolution, theoretical foundations, and practical applications of interdisciplinary collaboration to foster positive social change. The discussion provides definitions of key terms, such as societal progress and positive social change, within distinct ideological and contextual frameworks. It makes use of these to clarify the direction of positive change in different societal settings. Historical and contemporary examples, such as Bolivia’s social …

Personal Experiences With Remarkable Outcomes Of Stage 4 Cancer: A Phenomenological Study, Gail Firman Porter

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Prayer as a source of improved physical outcomes for individuals with medically diagnosed Stage 4 cancer has not been thoroughly addressed in recent academic literature, despite an increase in individual reporting within nonacademic sources.. The purpose of this phenomenological study was to explore the lived experiences of individuals in the United States who experienced remarkable healing from Stage 4 cancer after receiving Christian prayer for healing. Using the biopsychosocial-spiritual model as the conceptual framework, this study investigated the lived experiences of participants regarding their decision to seek prayer to heal their Stage 4 cancer, and its subsequent effects on their …

The Post-Covid Experiences Of Low-Income Single Mothers In Maintaining Social Capital And Informal Social Support, Marissa L. Goldman

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Low-income single mothers often manage financial, caregiving, emotional, and logistical demands with limited resources and rely on informal support networks that may be inconsistent. This problem matters to social workers, community-based practitioners, and researchers because a greater understanding can guide interventions that reduce isolation and role overload and improve resource access. The purpose of this generic qualitative study was to explore how low-income single mothers used trust, reciprocity, social norms, and collective support to maintain informal networks in the post-COVID era. Guided by Bourdieu’s social capital theory, the study included 10 English-speaking U.S. mothers with household incomes at or below …

Staff Education To Enhance Clinical Staff Knowledge Of Medication Adherence Strategies In Bipolar Disorder, George Niyi Ojewale

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Medication nonadherence in bipolar disorder is a significant contributor to relapse, hospitalization, and functional decline. This doctor of nursing practice (DNP) staff education project addressed a practice gap at the project site involving inconsistent clinician knowledge and absence of a standardized approach to adherence education. The practice-focused question for this project was: How does implementing an evidence-based staff educational program improve clinical staff knowledge in supporting medication adherence in patients with bipolar disorder? The purpose of this project was to implement a structured, evidence-based educational intervention to improve clinician knowledge related to medication adherence strategies. The intervention consisted of a …

Electrical Leaders’ Effective Strategies To Reduce Workplace Fatalities And Injuries, Amy Clark

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Workplace electrical safety programs help reduce injuries and fatalities, yet some U.S. electrical leaders who manage safety programs and oversee safety issues lack effective strategies to sustain safe environments to reduce electrical accidents. Grounded in Heinrich’s incident/accident pyramid theory and behavior-based safety theory, this qualitative pragmatic inquiry explored strategies used by six electrical leaders who successfully reduced workplace incidents. Data were collected through semistructured interviews and document analysis and analyzed using Castleberry and Nolen’s inductive thematic approach. Key themes included hazard identification, controls, personal protective equipment and inspections, common challenges (time, resistance, complacency), communication and engagement, safety culture and leadership, …

Reducing Inpatient Falls Through Staff Education, Courage Duin Chiangeh

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Patient falls remain a major patient safety concern, particularly among hospitalized stroke patients who are at increased risk because of impaired mobility, neurological deficits, and cognitive changes. The inpatient stroke unit selected for this quality improvement project consistently reported the highest fall rates within the hospital system, highlighting the need for evidence-based interventions. The purpose of this project was to determine whether a structured fall-prevention education program incorporating evidence-based practices and the 4Ps of purposeful rounding (pain, potty, position, and possessions) would improve staff knowledge, increase compliance with fallprevention practices, and reduce patient falls over a 2-month period. Guided by …

Workplace Loneliness And The Impact Of Social Connections In Distributed Teams, Belkys Stallings

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Workplace loneliness is a growing organizational challenge as the rise of distributed teams reshapes opportunities for social connection and engagement. Business leaders need to understand this challenge because it is associated with reduced belonging, lower job satisfaction, diminished productivity, and increased turnover intentions. The purpose of this quantitative correlational study was to examine the extent to which distributed team environments (remote, hybrid, or flexible) impacted workplace loneliness and whether social connectedness moderated this relationship. Social exchange theory, self-determination theory, and Weiss’s concept of loneliness grounded this study. The participants comprised 84 adults working full-time in distributed team environments across the …