Digital Commons Network^™

Management Of Inappropriate Behaviors By Healthcare Risk Managers, Sahar Ebrahim Zadeh

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Medical errors are the 3rd leading cause of death in the U.S.. The problem is timely recognition and management of inappropriate healthcare worker behaviors that lead to intimidation and loss of staff focus, eventually leading to errors. The purpose of this qualitative modified Delphi study was to seek consensus among a panel of experts in hospital risk management practices on the practical methods for early detection of inappropriate behaviors among hospital staff, which may be used by hospital managers to considerably mitigate the risk of medical mishaps. High reliability theory guided the research process, utilizing the conceptual framework of fair …

Effects Of Social Support On Health-Seeking Behaviors Among African-American Men Who Have Sex With Men, Chan Moore

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The rate of HIV/AIDS infections among African American men who have sex with men (MSM) is alarming. There has been a challenge in reducing HIV/AIDS among the African American MSM population due to internal and external factors that affect their decision making. The theory of social support and reasoned action were applied to gain knowledge on the lived experiences and perceptions of African American MSM as related to social support and seeking health care, which can help fight the heavy impact HIV/AIDS has placed on this population. Data was collected from 14 African American men who openly identified as MSM. …

Effects Of Patient Protection And Affordable Care Act On Behavioral Health Access, Godwin Oshegbo

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

About 50% of adults in the United States suffer from at least 1 mental health challenge in their lifetime. Annually, mental health and substance use disorders cost the United States about $800 billion, leaving individuals with unaffordable cost of care and the nation with diminished productivity and revenue. With the Essential Health Benefits and Medicaid expansion under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA), healthcare resources were created to address gaps in behavioral healthcare. There is a need to understand how the healthcare law has influenced the availability of behavioral health services and access to needed care. This study …

Perceptions Of Healthcare Workers Toward Influenza Vaccination, Amos Adedokun

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Even though influenza vaccinations were provided free to all healthcare workers in the United States, healthcare workers were not 100% compliant. The non-compliance with influenza vaccinations may expose their patients, their families, and the public at large to a high-risk source of influenza infection. This study's research questions included how registered nurses perceived influenza and influenza vaccination; registered nurses' self-reported incidents with influenza vaccination; and factors that contributed to registered nurses' non-compliance with influenza vaccination. Guided by the theory of reasoned action and the theory of planned behavior, the purpose of this qualitative study was to determine the factors that …

Strategies Taxicab Owners Use To Sustain Their Operations In A Competitive Environment, Emmanuel Appah

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Taxicab owners are losing market share to technology companies including Sidecars, Lyft, and Uber. Whereas Uber is growing rapidly, operating in over 150 U.S. cities and 58 countries with an estimated market valuation of $62.5 billion, taxicab owners have experienced a significant decline in growth because of a deficiency of business strategies. The purpose of this qualitative multiple case study was to explore business strategies taxicab owners use to sustain their operations. A purposive sampling of 6 taxicab owners and managers from 6 taxicab companies in Denver County, Colorado participated in semistructured face-to-face interviews. Data from the interviews were transcribed, …

The Single Working Mother's Experience Of Listening To New Age Music For Stress Relief, Estella M. Castillo

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Many single working mothers are challenged with the task of balancing work and home demands. Prolonged exposure to stress can threaten individuals' physical and emotional health and well-being. Listening to music is one commonly used positive coping mechanism for stress management and relief. The purpose of this phenomenological study was to explore the lived experiences of single working mothers who regularly listen to New Age music for stress relief. Participants were single working mothers, 30-45 years old, with self-reported stress, who were employed at least part time and who had at least 1 child under 18 years of age in …

Variables That Impact Incidence Of Diarrhea Amongst Under-Five In Uganda, Anne Ngonde Muli

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Diarrhea in children remains a major public health problem in Uganda and other countries in the region and acts as one of the leading contributors to child mortality. Most of the risk factors for diarrhea in children are preventable. This study, guided by the socioecological model, was conducted to investigate the association between the occurrence of diarrhea in children and length of breastfeeding, coinfection with acute respiratory infection (ARI), and vaccination status of the child. These variables were identified in the literature as risk factors for diarrhea that had not been investigated in Uganda. The source of the data for …

Offender Families As Victims And Their Role In Offender Reintegration, Catherine Warren Pfeiffer

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Ninety-five percent of all offenders are released, most of whom return to family members who have suffered greatly from their loved one's criminal behavior; yet, research on their victimization and trauma is rare. Additionally, families anticipate a role in the offender's reintegration; however, little research has explored their own recovery and insights on their reintegrative efforts. This qualitative phenomenological study sought to discover a deeper understanding of the lived experiences of 13 offender family members in Texas. Participants were recruited through community organizations and selected through a purposeful sampling strategy to ensure diversity. The data were collected through screening and …

Hardiness, Adult Attachment Style, And Burnout In Nurses, Kristy A. Negri

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The current nursing shortage is a pressing crisis that is expected to worsen over time. A key reason nurses leave nursing is burnout. The purpose of this study was to investigate personality hardiness and adult attachment style in relation to the development of burnout in licensed professional nurses. Hardiness theory and attachment theory indicated that each provided protection against burnout, but no research has been conducted to examine both factors in relation to burnout in nurses. Research Question 1 asked if there was a relationship between attachment style and total hardiness score; Research Question 2 asked if there was a …

Patient-Centered Medical Homes And Parental Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder Medication Beliefs And Adherence, Sydney L. Watkins

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

As many as 87% of children discontinue ADHD medication, which can lead to clinically significant academic, cognitive, and social impairment. ADHD costs billions of dollars to the healthcare and educational systems, and previous attempts to stem these costs and increase ADHD medication adherence have been unsuccessful. The purpose of this study was to determine if patient-centered medical homes (PCMH), which have been shown to improve patient health outcomes, impact parental beliefs (benefits vs. risks) about ADHD medication and adherence to ADHD medication. The theory of planned behavior was the theoretical framework for this study. There were 294 parents of children …

Media Marketing Strategies University Leaders Use To Increase Alumni Financial Support, Wesley Carter

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Colleges and universities in the United States could end operations in record numbers largely from financial shortfalls. The Urban Institute reported that nonprofit organizations lost $3.4 billion in reneged pledges from 2013 to 2014 from donor dissatisfaction, creating a problem because financial losses can occur from a lack of understanding on how media marketing efforts affect fundraising. The purpose of this qualitative multiple case study was to identify traditional and social media marketing strategies that some nonprofit college and university leaders use to increase alumni financial support. Interviews took place with 7 college or university leaders at 3 private, nonprofit …

Waste Management Minimization Strategies In Hospitals, Andrea L. Clark

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

During the delivery of healthcare services, hospital employees use enormous amounts of water, energy, and nonbiodegradable carcinogenic plastics. In the U.S., hospital staff generate an average of over 7,000 tons of waste per day at an average cost of $0.28 per pound for the disposal of regulated medical trash, which if efficiently managed or reduced, could result in substantial cost savings. Using the organizational learning and the transaction cost economics theories as the conceptual frameworks, the purpose of this qualitative case study was to explore strategies healthcare leaders used to minimize their waste management operational costs. Data were collected using …

Strategies To Reduce Maquiladora Employee Absenteeism In Mexico, Antonio Jose Cachazo

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Employee absenteeism is a costly problem, affecting organizations' ability to deliver products and services. Finding strategies managers use to help reduce employee absenteeism is critical to sustain operational capacity, control labor costs, and to achieve organizational success. Drawing from the Herzberg 2-factors theory, the purpose of this qualitative case study was to explore strategies implemented by six business organizations to reduce employee absenteeism in the maquiladora industry in Mexico. Through semistructured interviews, 11 management participants shared strategies implemented to reduce absenteeism. In addition, other data sources, such as organizational policies, management graphs, and meeting minutes were used. Data were coded …

Geographic Variations In Antenatal Care Services In Sierra Leone, Eunice Nyambura Chege

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Despite antenatal care presenting opportunities to identify and monitor women at risk, use of recommended antenatal care services remains. Barriers preventing use of antenatal services vary between countries, and limited knowledge exists about the link between geographical settings and antenatal service use. The objective of this cross-sectional quantitative study was to explore geographical variations and investigate how social demographic characteristics affect use of antenatal care for women in Sierra Leone using the Andersen behavioral model. The data used were from the 2016 maternal death surveillance report of the whole counrty (N =706). Logistic regression analysis was used to determine the …

Transitional Care For The Cardiac Surgery Population: Development Of A Clinical Practice Guideline, Sheila Davies

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Recovering from a cardiac surgery procedure and the transition to home can be an overwhelming experience for patients and caregivers. A tertiary care hospital's cardiothoracic surgery department suspended a nurse-practitioner-coordinated transitional care program in the 1st quarter of 2016. Following this decision, the readmission rate increased from its previous rate of 15.6% in quarter 1 to 20% in quarter 3. The purpose of this scholarly project was to develop a clinical practice guideline (CPG) that can bridge the gap in the transitional care process. The transitional care model informed the design of the project. A draft guideline was distributed to …

Access To Primary Care In Pennsylvanian Rural Townships, Ann Eneh

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Access to primary care is limited in rural communities across the United States. Evidence supports primary care as the cornerstone of healthcare. The purpose of this project was to explore community perceptions of barriers to primary care access with the aim of learning about ideas for possible interventions that could improve primary care access for Mifflin County residents. Penchansky and Thomas's model of healthcare access provided the theoretical framework for this qualitative phenomenological study. Using a community-based research approach, semistructured, open-ended telephone interviews and qualitative surveys were conducted with 26 participants, including physicians, nurses, and residents. Data were analyzed using …

The Effects Of Foreign Direct Investments On Oil Sands Industry Development In Canada, Kolawole Ilesanmi

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The apparent decline in conventional crude oil reserves creates concern about how to meet future global oil demand. The Canadian oil sands industry could help to fill the gap in projected world oil supply; however, the oil sands industry in Canada is operating below capacity because local investors lack the funds needed for sufficient development. Foreign direct investment could enhance the quick evolution of the oil sands industry in Canada. The purpose of this case study research was to explore the effects of foreign direct investment on the development of the oil sands industry in Canada by examining the case …

Development Of A Scholarly Educational Intervention To Improve Inpatient Diabetes Care, Sharon.Hasfal Hasfal

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Advanced practice providers (APPs), consisting of nurse practitioners and physician assistants, face many challenges in the provision of evidence-based practice in their management of hospitalized adult patients with diabetes. Some of the barriers faced by APPs at a Northeast acute care facility are poor communication between disciplines, lack of confidence in initiating insulin, limited understanding of the management of insulin and the insulin pump, and insufficient treatment of the hospitalized patient with diabetes that aligns with current clinical guidelines for the management of inpatient hyperglycemia. This quality improvement project focused on the development of an evidence-based theory supported educational intervention …

Effective Strategies Used By Restaurant Managers To Reduce Employee Absenteeism, Dawn Renita Johnson-Tate

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Employee absenteeism costs organizations in the U.S. restaurant industry more than 15% of profits each year. Some restaurant managers lack strategies to reduce employee absenteeism. Using the expectancy theory, the purpose of this single case study was to explore effective strategies that restaurant managers use to reduce employee absenteeism. The target population was managers of a single restaurant, known for successfully implemented strategies to reduce employee absenteeism, located in the Baltimore-Washington, DC, metropolitan area. Data collection included semistructured face-to-face interviews with 3 managers and a review of company archival documents such as memorandums, training documents, employee records, and employee performance …

Strategies For Retaining Qualified And Experienced Employees In The Nonprofit Sector, Ebony Irene Mason

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Retention of qualified and experienced employees is the greatest challenge faced by nonprofit organizations. Using transformational leadership theory, the purpose of this single-case study was to explore strategies used by managers of nonprofit organizations to increase employee retention. The population for this study included 3 managers of one nonprofit organization in Texarkana, Texas, with tenure of at least 2 years. These managers had successfully implemented retention strategies to retain qualified and experienced employees for more than 2 years. Collected data included semistructured, face-to-face interviews and from archived documents that pertained to employee retention in nonprofit organizations. The data analysis process …

Substandard Rental Housing In The Promise Zone Of A Mid-Sized U.S. City, Ruth Elizabeth Metzger

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

A persistent gap exists between established federal, state, and local standards for housing habitability and the condition of rental housing. The condition persists despite local code enforcement mechanisms, leaving significant potential to improve housing. Such housing can have adverse impacts on people's physical and mental health, economic stability, education, crime, community development, and municipal budgets. The purpose of this case study was to identify factors that create and perpetuate the problem, make it difficult to resolve, and to identify policy actions with the potential to help mitigate it. Rational choice theory and public choice theory formed the framework to analyze …

A Diabetic Child's Impact On An African American Family, Silvanus Okeke

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Diabetes, a chronic disease with devastating but preventable consequences, is common in the United States, especially within African American communities. Earlier research has indicated that 21.7% of African American parents have children diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes in the Mississippi Delta Region. Researchers have examined coping, stress, and behaviors of African American parents of children diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes; however, there is a gap in literature regarding how African American parents can cope with stress and how changes in health behavior due to Type 1 diabetes impact African American families. The purpose of this qualitative phenomenological study was to …

Perceptions Of Reasonable Use Of Force By Probation Officers And Civilians, Timothy Loranzy Sowards

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

There is little academic research that examines whether there are differences between the ways probation officers and community members perceive the use of force on juvenile offenders. Failure to understand the differences in these perceptions negatively affected a probation department in California, which failed to address public concerns regarding the use of force in the juvenile hall, which resulted in a consent decree and a costly financial settlement. Using socialization theory as the foundation, the purpose of this study was to understand if there is a statistically significant difference between probation officers and civilians regarding their perceptions of use of …

Reducing High-Risk Young Adult Offenders' Attrition From Reentry Programs, Rosema Jackielyn Taylor

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Reentry programs have been demonstrated to reduce recidivism. These same programs experience high attrition rates that degrade effectiveness and reduce capacity. Recidivism rates are reported as over 77% after 5 years from release which negatively impact society, victims and the released offenders. The purpose of this grounded theory study was to examine recently released offenders' insights regarding attrition from reentry programs to provide program administrators with themes that may be useful in addressing attrition. Social learning theory was used to frame the study. Audio recordings were collected during semistructured interviews with 21 reentry program participants. The recordings were transcribed and …

Perceptions Of Stress: Employee Participation In A Yoga Class, Rosemarie Lee

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Abstract

Employees experience workplace stress that can affect their health resulting in chronic diseases such as diabetes, stress, hypertension, and cardiovascular diseases. Stress also contributes to staff presentism, absenteeism, and high turnover rate. The employee wellness program (EWP) yoga class at a metropolitan teaching hospital has not been evaluated for its effectiveness in employee stress reduction and improvement in employee health. The practice focus question for this project explored employees' perception of the impact of a metropolitan teaching hospital's EWP yoga class on their stress reduction and health promotion activities. The theoretical framework for this project is Lazarus' transactional model …

Stakeholders' Perceptions On Mandated Student Retention In Early Childhood, Jennifer Kate Mankins

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Reading is one of the primary goals of the early elementary grades. When students start to struggle with this complex skill, educators and parents search for solutions to rectify quickly mounting gaps before a child falls too far behind. In the State of Oklahoma, lawmakers have passed a law requiring mandatory 3rd grade retention for students who do not pass the state reading test. The purpose of this qualitative case study was to examine the perceptions of stakeholders who had experienced implementation of mandated student retention in early childhood. The study is informed by Bourdieu's cultural capital theory of social …

Effect Of Gender On Attitudes Toward Female Sexual Offenders, Heidi Senethavilay

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Mental health professionals may lack the necessary knowledge and competency to work with female sexual offenders. The purpose of this quasi-experimental study was to determine whether gender influences attitudes toward sexual offenders and their treatment outcomes among psychology and mental health graduate students. This study was grounded in a dual form of deductive theory; alpha and beta bias was the primary theory and constructivism was the secondary theory. Data were collected from 186 graduate students in mental health programs from multiple universities. The Community Attitudes Towards Sex Offenders and the Attitude Towards the Treatment of Sexual Offender assessments were used …

Increasing The Career Longevity Of Teachers Of Students With Emotional And Behavioral Disorders, Leroy V. Smith

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Teachers of students with emotional and behavioral disorders (EBD) have among the highest attrition rates of any teaching discipline in the United States. High attrition rates affect EBD teachers, school districts, and students with EBD. Through the theoretical lenses of Maslow's hierarchy of needs theory and Eisenberger's organizational support theory (OST), this study sought to determine if there was a difference in college preparation, job support, and job benefit/amenity factors identified by EBD teachers who intended to leave the discipline (n = 6) and those who intended to stay (n = 9). This quantitative, survey-based study yielded data from 15 …

An Exploratory Case Study: Persistence And Retention Of Students In An Alternative High School, Lametrica Andrews

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Students with emotional behavioral disorders (EBD) are at greater risk for dropping out of high school than other students, and are likely to experience fewer employment options and more societal marginalization. Alternative schools have been viewed as a last chance and best option for educating many students with EBD who have not actually been diagnosed. The purpose of this qualitative case study was to explore persistence and retention in the alternative school setting for students who may or may not have been diagnosed with EBD. Students in this study will be referred to as EBD. Although they have not been …

Psychological Consequences Of The Boko Haram Insurgency For Nigerian Children, Paul Adebayo Adepelumi

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Studies have examined the causes and impacts of terrorism in Nigeria; however, no known research has documented the psychological impacts of witnessing ongoing Boko Haram terrorist violence based on the lived experiences of Nigerian children. The purpose of this qualitative phenomenological study was to examine the psychological consequences of the Boko Haram insurgency based on the lived experience of Nigerian children exposed to terrorism in Nigeria. The study's theoretical framework combined Piaget's theory of cognitive development and punctuated equilibrium theory. The central research question examined the adverse psychological effects of the Boko Haram insurgency for Nigerian children residing in Nigeria. …