Digital Commons Network^™

Parental Perception Of Physician Cultural Sensitivity And Adherence To Asthma Treatment, Narue Jaynelle Wright-Jegede

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

In the United States, asthma remains a major cause of frequent urgent care visits, hospitalizations, and preventable deaths among children. Nationwide, the chronic disease continues to fall disproportionately on minorities, mostly residing in urban localities. When a child is diagnosed with asthma, the parents are typically tasked with managing the child's condition. Establishing a collaborative partnership between parents and their child's primary physician is significant for improving asthma self-management among youth. Using the theory of reasoned action as a theoretical framework, this mixed-methods study examined whether a relationship exists between parental perceptions of physician cultural sensitivity and parental care in …

How People With Multiple Sclerosis Experience Web-Based Instructional Technologies, Gary Eugene Deroest

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

People with the autoimmune disease multiple sclerosis (MS) have few options for

educational activities. Although web-based instruction may be a viable option, little is known about how people with MS perceive this form of learning. The purpose of this qualitative study was to understand the experiences of people with MS regarding web- based instruction. The 3 learning structures--differentiated instruction, collaborative learning, and assistive technology--provided the conceptual framework for this research. Nine volunteers from the Pacific Northwest area of the United States who have MS were individually interviewed for this basic qualitative study. Transcripts were analyzed using open, axial, and selective …

Effect Of Hot Spot Policing On Reducing Officer Stress, Alfred Henry Hollie

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Police officers endure various threats ranging from verbal abuse to physical attacks, which can escalate and lead to police officer stress. Despite the abundant research exploring the relationship between high-stress occupations and environmental health, adequate exploration of the relationship between officer stress and hot spot policing (HSP; area with an above-average level of crime) has yet to occur. The purpose of this correlational study was to use Cohen and McKay's conceptualization of the stress-buffering hypothesis to explore whether HSP mitigates the negative impact of job stress, leading to improved officer performance and ultimately improved relationships between the police and communities …

Strategies To Improve Small Business Sustainability, Tywon Guy

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Small businesses are considered the backbone of the U.S. economy with significant contributions in the areas of job creation and economic development. However, 79% of small businesses fail within the first 5 years. This multiple case study aimed to explore strategies and knowledge of resources that owners of small businesses used to sustain business operations for longer than the first 5 years. The population included 5 minority owners of small businesses in Texas. Chaos theory formed the conceptual framework. The data collection process included semistructured interviews, member checks, field notes, company artifacts, and archival documents. Data were analyzed using Yin's …

Gaming, Workplace, Self-Esteem, Counterproductive Work Behaviors, Sarah Marie Dyson

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Although there is ample information on the negative aspects of video game playing, we know less about the benefits and how the benefits transfer to the gamers’ workplace. Further understanding of these relationships may offer employees and employers more insight on how they can reduce counterproductive workplace behaviors (CWB) while also improving workplace morale and productivity. The purpose of this quantitative nonexperimental study is to examine the relationships between time spent engaging in gameplay, workplace self-esteem, and positive and negative workplace behaviors among gamers. Participants anonymously completed an online questionnaire utilizing the Behind the Screen Measure, Counterproductive Workplace Behavior Checklist, …

Instructional Practices Of Career And Technical Teachers Toward English Language Learners, Alan Kendall Crouch

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

In Midwestern high schools, English language learners (ELLs) who are enrolled in Career and Technical Education (CTE) classes transition from school to the workforce at unacceptably low levels. This loss of opportunity has been linked to CTE instructional practices. The purpose of this study was to explore the instructional practices used by CTE teachers to support ELL instruction and how the teachers perceive those practices to improve ELL transition from school to the workforce. The conceptual framework included Freire's critical consciousness theory, which holds that it is important to include learners in the learning process. The framework grounded the study …

A Survey Study Of Elementary Teachers' Perceptions Of Student Classroom Behavior, Duane L. Davis

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

In a midwest, rural, and high-poverty elementary school, teachers expressed concerns about difficult student behaviors in their classrooms. It was important to address the problem because student misbehavior disrupts the learning of all students in the classroom. To provide information to the school that could inform possible interventions, a survey was conducted that measured the perceptions of 24 classroom teachers about concerning student behaviors, their methods of dealing with such behaviors, their needs for further support, and their confidence in dealing with difficult student behaviors. The conceptual frameworks that guided this study were the behaviorist theories of Watson and Skinner. …

Implementation Of A Transcultural Nursing Education Program To Improve Nurses' Cultural Competence, Ann Marie Elizabeth Edwards

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The exponential growth of culturally diverse populations in the United States has led to a multicultural patient population while the nursing workforce remains predominantly White. At the project site, managers identified that staff nurses struggled to deliver culturally competent care. The purpose of this project was to improve the cultural competence of registered nurses (RNs) through a transcultural nursing education program. Leininger's transcultural nursing theory guided the project. Sources of evidence used to develop a face-to-face educational program included peer-reviewed journals, credible websites, and the Inventory for Assessing the Process of Cultural Competence Among Healthcare Professionals-R tool. Aggregate pretest and …

Prescreening Recommendations For Patients On Medical Cannabis, Wen Chieh Hu

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Marijuana is the most frequently used illegal substance in the United States and is most widely used among young people aged 12 to 21 years. Accurate screening and monitored issuance of medical cannabis recommendations have been shown to decrease abuse rates of the substance, create fewer deaths from opiates, reduce crime rates, reduce marijuana use in youths, decrease car crash deaths, and lessen prevalence of suicide in young men. The purpose of this project was to explore whether multiple screening methods for depression and anxiety in patients who seek medical cannabis referrals for anxiety and depression would improve screening and …

Reducing 30-Day Readmissions For Patients With Stroke, Faith Omomen Ighile

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

In a stroke-certified 500-bed acute care hospital, the 30-day readmission rates for patients discharged to rehabilitation centers or skilled nursing facilities were higher than the rates for patients discharged to home. A review of data by the stroke team showed 44 patients readmitted within 30 days of initial stroke discharge between October 2016 and January 2017. The rate of re-admission for those discharged home was 41% (18 patients), whereas the rate for those discharged to acute inpatient rehabilitation, long-term acute care, or skilled nursing facilities was 59% (26 patients). The practice-focused question for this project assessed whether using a re-admission …

Resilience And Healthy Adult Relationships Post-Childhood Maltreatment, Nicole Sharie Jackson

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The purpose of this study was to understand the role of resilience and protective factors (PFs) in the life of women who have experienced childhood maltreatment (CHM). A further purpose was to understand how women who faced CHM develop resilience, and how the proper use or misuse of PFs later affected their adult relationships, whether intimate, social, or familial. Resiliency theory was the theoretical foundation that informed the study. A qualitative methodology with an interpretative phenomenological analysis design was used in this study. Participants included 7 women who were recruited through social media support groups for adult survivors of child …

Middle School Teachers' And Administrators' Experiences When Students Transition, Thomas L. Jones

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Student discipline and subsequent placements are a common problem in education. This qualitative phenomenological study addressed a gap in the literature by discovering the experiences of middle school teachers and administrators regarding student discipline, classroom removal, and assignment of students to alternative education. This research describes the development of an interview protocol based on critical incident theory and demonstrates its usage in drawing out thick, rich descriptions which help increase the trustworthiness of qualitative research. Initial interview data are presented to highlight the utilization of critical incident theory to elicit specific information about how participants experienced various critical interactions that …

Staff Education On Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease Self-Management Using Teach-Back, Yvonne Etenyi Fomengia

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Exacerbation of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is the leading cause of hospital admissions and an estimated 120,000 deaths among older adults in the United States. In the community health clinic that served as the project site, more than 80% of patients with a COPD diagnosis had frequent exacerbations, with a hospital readmission rate of 23.2%, which was higher than the national benchmark of 21%. The clinic did not have a COPD discharge education plan with a teach-back tool for staff to teach patients. The purpose of the project was to develop an evidence-based COPD educational packet for staff on …

Employee Retention Strategies In Nonprofit Organizations, Ann Laing

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The nonprofit sector is faced with the business problem of low employee retention rates. Low employee retention rate presents various business challenges, which includes the inability to offer community members much needed social service programs as well as providing a competitive compensation package to their employees. The purpose of this descriptive phenomenological study was to explore the evidence-based best practice strategies in employee retention used in the nonprofit sector. The research included a conceptual framework focusing on Herzberg's Motivation - Hygiene Theory. The conceptual framework utilized in this study included segmentation of different employee retention strategies in nonprofit organizations. Data …

Thirty-Day Readmission Risk Factors Of African American Adult Copd Patients With Tracheostomies, Shekeita Gibson

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The purpose of this study was to assess the association between hospital readmission and demographic variables (age, BMI, gender, income, marital status, comorbidities, and smoking history), and size and type of tracheostomy among African American chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) patients with tracheostomies. The Andersen model was the theoretical framework for this quantitative study. Secondary data were obtained from a long-term acute care facility. The sample comprised 438 African American adult patients admitted between 2010 and 2017. Logistic regression was used to analyze each research question and assess the odds of 30-day hospital readmission. The results indicated that the odds …

Correlational Analysis Of The Relationship Among Mastery Experience, Self-Efficacy, And Project Success, Olakunle Taofeek Lemboye

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Project managers are important to organizational performance and survival because of their role in managing, controlling, and steering organizational projects to success. Research has shown that project failures are globally pervasive due to the shortage of experienced and well-skilled project managers. The purpose of this descriptive correlational study was to improve the current understanding of the relationships among project managers' project management experience, self-efficacy, and project success, for which the research questions were focused on in addition to the role of project management experience on self-efficacy and project success. The theoretical framework was based on the social cognitive theory. This …

Service Providers' Perspectives On Coping Strategies Of Discharged Adolescent Psychiatric Patients, Laneeka S. Henry

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Using systems theory, the purpose of this qualitative study was to explore the perspectives of service providers about the psychiatric experiences of hospitalized adolescents, their coping strategies and the aftercare services they used following discharge. The goal was to learn about their experiences as they transitioned into mainstream culture. This study was conducted for psychiatric policy makers to assist with implementing therapeutic programs that teach adolescents coping strategies that help them make a smooth transition. The technique used to recruit 21 participants (psychiatrists, psychologists, social workers, psychiatric nurses, and direct care workers) was snowballing. The participants involved in face-to-face or …

Social And Cultural Factors Influencing The Management Of Type 2 Diabetes Among African American Men, Lavetta W. Lopez

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

African American men are more likely to have diagnosed or undiagnosed diabetes than non-Hispanic White Americans and are less likely to adhere to treatment. Culture in the African American community plays a key role in how this community copes with illness and the health care system. The purpose of this study was to examine the lived experiences of social and cultural determinants of Type 2 diabetes self-management among African American men. Bandura's social cognitive theory provided the theoretical framework for the study. The research question sought to identify cultural and social factors that contribute or protect how African American men …

Stress Of College Students And Memory With The Implementation Of Brief Mindfulness, Rebecca Lopez

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

College students are faced with stressors which can negatively impact memory function, thereby, negatively affecting academic performance. This study used a field experiment design to investigate the effects of brief mindfulness on levels of distress and memory functioning between first-year community college students engaging in a brief mindfulness intervention (n = 29) and a control group (n = 28) by using ANCOVA, MANOVA, correlations, and descriptive statistics. Research questions examined whether a brief mindfulness intervention lowered levels of distress in a treatment group. Second, the study examined whether the intervention of brief mindfulness in a treatment group improved memory function. …

Probation Officers And Parole Agents' Perceptions Of Institutional Obstacles To Reducing Recidivism In A Midwestern State, Gertha Lee Lusby

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Prison management and key stakeholders lack an understanding of how institutional obstacles interfere with probation officers and parole agents' ability in managing offenders to reduce recidivism in a Midwestern state. In 2014, 1 out of 52 adults in the U.S. were under the supervision of probation officers or parole agents. The purpose of this descriptive phenomenological study was to identify the institutional obstacles that exist for probation officers and parole agents in terms of their lived experiences in their jobs. The participants were 5 probation officers and 6 parole agents from a municipal district in a county in a Midwestern …

Policy Implications Of Intentional Contamination Of The Retail Food Chain, James C. Mack

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The retail food safety chain is vulnerable to deliberate contamination, yet food safety professionals and emergency managers typically respond to intentional contamination in different ways. Little is known about the practices of environmental health food safety professionals (EHFSP) as compared to emergency managers and whether those approaches can be combined to more successfully impede intentional food contamination. The purpose of this narrative policy analysis was to use routine activity theory to compare the narratives of EHFSPs and emergency managers to determine whether there are opportunities to better understand the relationship between vulnerability and resiliency of the retail food safety chain. …

Successful Strategies For Retaining Profitability In An Education-Sector It Project, Cassandra Romae Middleton

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Many information technology (IT) project managers (PMs) and other business leaders lack effective strategies for enhancing communication among their project team members, thereby reducing profitability and organizational cohesion. The purpose of this multiple case study was to explore communication strategies that IT PMs used to successfully complete IT mobile device projects. The conceptual framework for this study was McQuail's mass communication, Craig's communication, and Deming's profound knowledge theory. Purposive sampling method was used to identify 6 successful IT PMs and leaders who worked at 2 leading educations settings located in southeastern South Carolina. Data gathered from the semistructured interviews and …

Association Of Adaptive Early Phase Study Design And Late Phase Study Results In Oncology, Donna Elise Levy

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

This quantitative study assessed the association of the design methods used for early phase oncology studies (adaptive versus traditional) and the outcome of late stage clinical trials. Differences by cancer type and by drug classification were also assessed. The theoretical and conceptual frameworks used were the general systems theory and the design and evaluation of complex interventions, respectively. Units of analysis were individual oncology studies in the ClinicalTrials.gov database and Bayesian logistic modeling was applied on a random sample of 381 studies initiated after November 1999 to December 2016. When assessing study design and outcome, there were lower odds of …

Extent, Correlates, And Consequences Of Careless And Inattentive Responding In Certification Job Analysis Surveys, Patricia M. Muenzen

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Survey data quality is influenced by the care and attention that respondents take in answering questions. Careless and inattentive (CI) responding is a confound in survey data that can distort findings and lead to incorrect conclusions. This quantitative study explored CI responding in job analysis studies supporting occupational certification programs and its relationship to survey features, data quality measures, and test content validity. Satisficing theory served as the framework, and secondary analysis of 3 job analysis surveys was undertaken. Results indicated that 9-33% of respondents engaged in CI responding, with the rate differing by CI index used (Mahalanobis distance, long …

The Relationship Of Online Communication Modes On Counselor Educator Job Satisfaction, John-Mike Nelson

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

With the increase in pressures related to teaching online, counselor educators are experiencing greater amounts of burnout. The purpose of this quantitative causal-comparative survey study was to assess for significant differences and correlations between synchronous and asynchronous communication modes on online counselor educators' job satisfaction levels as measured by the Online Instructor Satisfaction Measure, and levels of burnout, as measured by the Maslach Burnout Inventory Educators Survey. The researcher used Moore's theory of transactional distance as the theoretical framework to answer 2 research questions: (a) Is there a significant difference in faculty satisfaction and burnout levels based on communication modes?; …

The Long-Term Health-Related Outcomes Of Breast Ironing In Cameroon, Norbert Nicholas Njume Nkwelle

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Breast ironing (BI) practice is a common practice in Cameroon. Most villages and towns continue with BI because they believe it constitutes a positive cultural lifestyle. However, public health officials and other advocates have branded BI as a harmful traditional practice because of the traumatic impact it has on the women who experience it. The purpose of this quasi-experimental study was to examine the perceived long-term health-related outcomes of BI and the quality of life changes on these women. Underpinning this study was the betrayal theory of trauma. A survey was used to collect data from 230 women. Descriptive analysis …

Telehealth Implementation Strategies For Healthcare Providers, Ismaila Gbenga Olatinwo

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The shift in the landscape of healthcare services from inpatient care to outpatient care prompts healthcare leaders to re-evaluate their strategies to boost declining revenue. Telehealth offers potential for increasing efficiency and access to care, and the acceptance of its modal quality is essential for its diffusion and adoption. The purpose of this single case study was to explore strategies that healthcare providers used to implement telehealth to increase profitability. The conceptual framework was the technology acceptance model. Data were collected through semistructured interviews and review of organizational documents. The research population comprised 4 healthcare leaders in 1 organization in …

Emergency Responders' Perceptions Of Mental Health Patients While Providing Care In Rural Areas, Cindy Perkinson Costilla

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Prior research has shown a correlation between public stigma and emergency responders' perceptions of mental health patients while providing care. However, research examining public stigma and emergency responders' perceptions of mental health patients is limited in rural areas. The purpose of this study was to explore possible relationships between the dependent variable, public stigma, and the independent variables: social distance, blameworthiness, and fear of unpredictable behavior. Link's modified labeling theory was the theoretical framework for this study. A sample of 92 emergency responders obtained from Facebook completed a questionnaire that consisted of three Likert scales. A multiple regression showed little …

Foster Care System Effectiveness In Assisting Young Adults' Transition To College, Vivienne Mitchell

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Research suggests that the relatively low rates of former foster youth enrolling in and graduating from a postsecondary institution may be related to lack of foster care system support. This study examined whether perceived support from the foster care system was related to the postsecondary enrollment and academic performance of former foster youth, and whether males and females differed in perceived support from the foster care system. Forty-five former foster youth aged 18-24 years who had transitioned from a southeastern state completed a measure of social support and reported whether they had attended a postsecondary institution and, if so, their …

Pediatric Behavioral Health Best Practices In The Children's Emergency Department, Kristina Marie Pickering

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Emergency department (ED) use for behavioral-health-associated diagnoses has steadily increased in adult and pediatric populations, accounting for 1 out of every 8 ED visits. The increase in pediatric behavioral health ED visits, combined with limited resources for treatment, has created a challenge for EDs faced with extended boarding and constant observation of this population. The generalized behavioral health guidelines used at the practice site have not been adapted for the pediatric population. This project focused on providing age- and developmentally appropriate best practice guidelines for children under constant observation in the children's emergency department (CED) using Havelock's theory of planned …