Digital Commons Network^™

Simulated Presence Use For Quality Of Life Maintenance And Reduction Of Symptoms Of Distress In Persons Living With Dementia In Long-Term Care, Erin E. Bush

Dissertations

Nursing home residents with dementia often have an array of neuropsychiatric symptoms, including dementia-related agitation. It is theorized that many of these agitation symptoms occur due to unmet psychosocial needs that could be met by the presence of a caring nursing staff member, family member, or friend.

The purpose of this study was to determine whether live simulated presence improves dementia-related agitation when offered, identify barriers and facilitators to simulated presence between caregivers and residents of long-term care during the COVID-19 pandemic, and to determine if live simulated presence by a caregiver delivered one-on-one improved quality of life in long-term …

Evaluating The Impact Of A Mindfulness Intervention On Mindful Attention And Awareness Resilience To Stress, And Perceived Stress In Newly Licensed Nurses In A Nurse Residency Program, Vicki L. Washington

Dissertations

A career in the healthcare profession of nursing provokes significant stress in newly licensed nurses. Previous studies suggested that mindful practice enhanced well-being by bringing awareness to thinking and living in the present moment (being mindful), decreased stress, and enhanced resilience to stress.

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the impact of a mindfulness intervention on mindful attention and awareness, resilience to stress, perceived stress, and health status in newly licensed nurses in a nurse residency program (NRP).

Effects Of Extra-Curricular Project-Based Learning Experiences On Self-Efficacy And Interest In Stem Fields In High School, Taihao Kevin Wan

Dissertations

As our society and systems become more technologically advanced, increasing opportunities exist for students interested to pursue careers in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) fields. However, pervasive inequities have led to differences in the extent to which women and underrepresented racial/ethnic groups choose to pursue study and career pathways in STEM. Project-Based Learning (PBL) is among the most widely researched strategies suggested to support student learning and motivation and has more recently been applied to school-based efforts to increase student interest in STEM related fields. Rooted in Social Cognitive Career Theory, this study examined changes in students’ self-reported general …

Unpacking Educational Harm: Parent And Teacher Perceptions Of English Learners, Amalia Guzmán Ayala

Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to: (1) provide the opportunity to Spanish-speaking parents of English Learner (EL) students to voice their perceptions regarding policies, procedures, and programs related to ELs, and (2) provide the opportunity to teachers to share their perceptions regarding the policies, procedures, and programs related to ELs. The research design for this qualitative study was exploratory and descriptive. The key findings were: (1) Hispanic Spanish-speaking parents had limited knowledge about policies, procedures, and programs related to ELs; and (2) Teacher knowledge about the policies, procedures and programs related to ELs was limited. The conclusions were: (1) …

Exemplary Urban Unified District Superintendents Leading With Transformational Strategies During The Covid-19 Global Health Crisis, Sandra Hernandez

Dissertations

Purpose: The purpose of this qualitative multiple case study was to identify and describe strategies exemplary urban unified district superintendents used to lead in crisis using the five critical tasks of strategic crisis leadership (sense making, decision making and coordination, meaning making, accounting, and learning) during the COVID-19 pandemic. In addition, it was the purpose to understand and describe the experiences of exemplary leaders during a time of crisis.

Methodology: In this qualitative multiple case study, interviews were used to secure data from exemplary urban unified district superintendents to identify and describe the strategies they used to lead during the …

Factors Affecting The Outcome Of The National Council Licensure Examination Among Nontraditional Learners From Associate Degree Nursing Programs, Angela C. Gaud

Dissertations

The composition of student population in higher education is a reflection of a globalized society and current socioeconomic conditions. Characteristics of nontraditional adult learners have a significant impact in the achievement of their academic goals. A more diverse composition of students enrolled in nursing programs poses an important challenge to NCLEX-RN pass/fail outcomes. Studies that explore or predict the factors associated with NCLEX-RN performance amongst nontraditional adult learners after graduation are limited.

This study analyzed how the demographic, social, and psychological factors observed in the characteristic profile of the nontraditional adult learner are related to NCLEX-RN performance for graduates of …

Empathy As A Moderator Of Preservice Teachers’ Culturally Responsive Teaching Self-Efficacy And Outcome Expectancy Beliefs, Juta Tammachart

Dissertations

The main purpose of this research was to examine the relationship model between culturally responsive teaching self-efficacy (CRTSE) and culturally responsive teaching outcome expectancy beliefs (CRTOE) in Thailand. There were two research questions outlined in the study: what is the relationship between preservice teachers’ CRTSE and CRTOE? Also, does the culturally responsive teaching teacher empathy (CRTTE) moderate the relationship of preservice teachers’ CRTSE and CRTOE?

Based on the CRT standards by Siwatu (2005), there were three measures applied in the study: CRTSE, CRTOE, and CRTTE scales. These instruments were piloted with 536 preservice teachers in the Faculty of Education, Prince …

Lived Experiences Of New Nurses With Lateral Violence And Their Decision To Remain In The Nursing Profession, Lorraine Ann Hover

Dissertations

The issue of lateral violence, or nurse-on-nurse violence, is a major factor in why new nurses leave the nursing profession within the first two years of professional practice. There is considerable research into mitigating factors, why nurses leave, and programs to address lateral violence, however, little to no research has been conducted on why nurses choose to remain in the profession despite their experiences. This lack of research necessitates the need for further study into the lived experiences of new nurses with lateral violence and their decision to remain in the profession. This qualitative descriptive phenomenological study helps to address …

The Experience Of Being Aware Of Disease Status In Women With Recurrent Ovarian Cancer: A Phenomenological Study, Catherine Scott Finlayson

Dissertations

In the United States, each year about 22,440 women are diagnosed with ovarian cancer, the deadliest gynecological cancer - with an estimated 14,080 deaths each year. Patients with recurrent ovarian cancer have more options today due to advances in treatments, and specifically, with the advent of immunotherapies. Many have to make many treatment decisions throughout the disease trajectory and awareness of disease status is one of the factors of the treatment decision making process in the ovarian cancer population. To date the literature has generally conceptualized and operationalized awareness of disease status in cancer patients from the health care provider's …

Implementation Of An Opiate Use Disorder (Oud) Screening Tool To Reduce Opioid Abuse In A Pain Management Clinic, Brian D. Pervis

Dissertations

The long-term use of opioids to manage chronic pain in those with an opiate use disorder (OUD) is dangerous and poses a considerable risk of death. Pain management providers must have protocols and tools in place for OUD screening and referral. If OUD is not managed correctly, such as through provider education, screening, and referral, morbidity and mortality rates will severely affect society (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2020). This quality improvement (QI) project's PICOT was among providers in a pain management treatment center, how will implementing an evidence-based OUD screening tool, compared to no screening tool, affect OUD …

"All For The Family:" A Case Study On The Migration Of Philippine Educated Nurses To Ontario Through The Live-In Caregiver Program, Oluwabukola Oladunni Salami

Dissertations

Despite evidence that suggests that nurses migrate to Ontario through the Live-in Caregiver Program, no research has been conducted on this group of nurses in Ontario. This study addresses that gap utilizing the transnational feminist concept of "global care chains" in a single holistic case study design to explore the experience of nurses who migrate to Ontario through the Live-in Caregiver Program (2001-2011), and examine the diverse perspectives of stakeholders on issues of rights and obligations of these nurses. Fifteen live-in caregivers and nine policy stakeholders were interviewed, and an analysis undertaken of immigration and nursing policy documents. Findings indicate …

Evidence-Based Educational In Home Program To Improve Self-Management Adherence And A1c Levels For Patients With Diabetes, Garrett Blaker

Dissertations

Background: Diabetes diagnosis rates continue to grow, affecting many patients, communities, and health care organizations. One of the greatest challenges faced by patients with diabetes is maintaining diabetes self-management activities including self-blood glucose monitoring, physical activity, a healthy diet, and daily foot checks in order to control their diabetes and reduce their A1c. Diabetic Medical Concepts (DMC) previously provided intermittent and inconsistent in-home diabetes self-management education. An in-home diabetes self-management education program, adherence system and A1c testing component was implemented among DMC's patients as part of a quality improvement project.

Aim: The aim of the quality improvement project was to …

Testing Peplau's Theory Of Interpersonal Relations In Nursing Using Data From Patient Experience Surveys, Thomas A. Hagerty

Dissertations

Patients' experiences in hospitals are important indicators of quality. Patients' opinions about their experiences in hospitals are significantly associated with their opinions of those hospitals' nursing services. Nurses in the US have traditionally focused on patients' experiences, and Peplau's (1952/1991) theory of interpersonal relations is early evidence of that focus. This study tested Peplau's (1952/1991) theory of interpersonal relations in nursing using confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) on data from 12,436 patient experience surveys. Two hypotheses were supported: (a) patient experience data (i.e. responses on the Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems - Hospital [HCAHPS] survey) collected from patients in …

The Impact Of Mississippi’S K-3 Literacy Initiative Professional Development, Billie Fick

Dissertations

This quantitative survey study explored the statistical significance of participation in the training Language Essentials for Teachers of Reading and Spelling (LETRS) by early childhood educators in Mississippi, specifically K-3. The three outcome measures were teachers’ beliefs related to Mississippi’s K-3 Literacy Initiative: instructional practices, student learning outcomes, and barriers of technology use in literacy instruction. A total of 78 people completed the LETRS Survey, which consisted of a five-point scale. Demographic data included: grade range, teaching experience, number of students taught weekly, highest degree earned, teaching a tested subject/grade, mode of instructional delivery, technological barriers, and parental support for …

The Relationship Between Shared Decision-Making And School Climate, Sara Bardwell

Dissertations

The focus of this study was to determine the extent of the relationship between shared decision-making and school climate. In order to explore these constructs, a quantitative survey included SEDS-R, OCI, and demographic items. The 109-item survey questionnaire was made available to K-6 elementary teachers in Mississippi.

Two hundred twenty-nine teachers responded to the questionnaire using Qualtrics. Survey results from SEDS-R and OCI were downloaded into Excel and cleaned of incomplete data sets and participants who did not meet the specifications set by the researcher. SPSS was then used to average the results from SEDS-R and OCI. Demographic information gathered …

Conflict Management Strategies Among Nurses In Hospitals, Rita Nassuna

Dissertations

In the present study, participants described their conflict management strategies. After obtaining the participants form nursing associations, qualitative in-depth interviews were conducted. The twenty-seven individuals responded to questions relating to the communication strategies they used in a conflict, the factors which affected their approaches to conflict management, the types of Emotional labor (EL) they performed, how deception could be correlated with EL and whether EL contributed to conflict between nurses. After analyzing and transcribing the data, the qualitative software program NVivo was utilized to discover themes and subthemes.

The results indicated that nurses adhered to the Code of conduct’s mandate …

A Comparison Of Evaluation Methods Of Intravenous Catheter Insertion Skills In Third-Term Associate Degree Nursing Students, Dara Jones Murray

Dissertations

Nursing programs are responsible for ensuring student nurses are competent in performing psychomotor skills before clinical experience to ensure patient safety. Traditional, face-to-face methods of evaluating skills are time-consuming for nursing faculty. However, online video recording tools provide a potential solution to provide a quality evaluation while creating a more efficient process. The purpose of this study was to compare faculty work hours, the number of student errors identified by the faculty, and the number of students achieving a passing score when using an online video recording tool versus the traditional face-to-face approach in the evaluation of peripheral intravenous catheter …

Modernizing The School Calendar To Fit The Needs Of The 21st-Century Student, David K. Baker

Dissertations

Ever since the 1983 landmark study, A Nation at Risk, was released, educators have been examining the effectiveness of instructional time in American schools (Pedersen, 2012). However, school calendars have remained stagnant and seemingly a product of society and economy, tied to agriculture, for over 100 years (Turner & Finch, 2018). In Missouri, a growing number of schools are reevaluating the five-day school week and implementing a four-day school week in response (Turner & Finch, 2018). As stated by Thompson (2020), the impact of the four-day school week on student achievement requires more study. This study involved investigating the impact …

The Impact Of Organizational Citizenship And School Culture And Climate Behaviors Of Small Elementary School Principals, Teresa Cowan-Fayter

Dissertations

Purpose: The purpose of this mixed methods study was to determine whether there was a relationship between the small school elementary principal organizational citizenship behaviors (OCBs) as measured by the Principal School OCB Survey and the student academic achievement on the California Assessment of Student Performance and Progress (CAASPP) in California small school districts. An additional purpose was to determine how small school elementary principals identify and describe the impact of their personal behaviors on school culture and climate.

Methodology: This is a mixed methods study. Archival data were collected from the California Department of Education (CDE) Dashboard, and additional …

The Evaluation Of Service-Learning As An Innovative Strategy To Enhance Bsn Students' Transcultural Self-Efficacy, Theresa Mary Ann Adams

Dissertations

The purpose of this non-equivalent, multiple year, quasi-experimental study was to evaluate service-learning as an innovative teaching strategy to change pre-licensure baccalaureate nursing students' perceived transcultural self-efficacy (TSE) in providing culturally competent nursing care to diverse populations.

The Significance Of Continuing Education On The Intention Of Advanced Practice Registered Nurses To Report Child Maltreatment, Adaorah N. U. Azotam

Dissertations

The Centers for Disease Control have recognized child maltreatment as a national epidemic that calls for healthcare providers to focus on early identification and prevention of violence against children. Even though society has this expectation for healthcare professionals, research has shown that there is still a pervasive phenomenon of underreporting this societal ill. Current nursing research identifies education as a significant factor in determining the decision to report child maltreatment in the mandatory reporter role. Based on this conclusion, the Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB) served as the research framework to understand the pertinent facilitating components of intended reporting behaviors …

Understanding The Undergraduate Experience Of The Baccalaureate Nursing Student With English As An Additional Language, Dolores R. Dzubaty

Dissertations

Disparities exist in healthcare related to language barriers and lack of cultural understanding between caregivers and recipients. Increasing the linguistic and cultural diversity of caregivers may decrease the healthcare disparities observed. The research study described in this manuscript was conducted to explore the undergraduate student experiences of nurses representing multiple cultural groups, speaking multiple languages, and representing a cross section of the population of interest. The challenge of speaking English as an additional language (EAL) and belonging to differing cultural groups presents difficulties while successfully completing a baccalaureate nursing program of study. The Theory of Margin was the theoretical framework …

Family Child Care (Fcc) Provider Perspectives Of Barriers To Obtaining Resources And Support Services For Quality Child Care Outcomes: A Qualitative Study, Kathleen Diane Tostado Kenshur

Dissertations

Purpose: The purpose of this qualitative descriptive study was to explore family child care (FCC) provider perspectives of barriers to obtain resources and support services for quality FCC outcomes. Methodology: This study used a phenomenological qualitative research method to identify and describe barriers that hinder FCC providers from obtaining resources and support for quality outcomes. Four open-ended and semistructured interview questions were administered to 12 participants online via the Zoom platform. This study analyzed data across three categories of barriers: (a) situational, (b) dispositional, and (c) institutional. Results of analysis guided the narrative by identifying and prioritizing themes. The population …

The Relationship Between Principal Support And First-Year Teacher Job Satisfaction, Beau Hannah

Dissertations

The purpose of the study was to assess the relationship between the four dimensions of principal support and first-year teacher job satisfaction. First-year teachers responded to an online questionnaire that collected demographic data and information regarding principal support importance and overall job satisfaction, using a Likert scale. This questionnaire was developed to measure principal support and first-year teacher job satisfaction. The researcher used a combination of the Principal Support, Minnesota Satisfaction Questionnaire, and a collected of items addressing the importance of the principal supports, along with demographics of the respondents.

A multiple linear regression was used to predict to what …

Employee Engagement And The Role Of Time Perspective, Donna Valestro

Dissertations

Employee engagement is how employees think, feel, and form intentions to decide behavioral actions. A review of related literature indicated a central tension between employees and the work environment requires psychologically adapting and adjusting to cope with their perceptions of internal and external conditions. The employee’s goal is to stay as close to their authentic self as possible within the organizational environment to maintain their well-being. The psychological process comprises a temporal dimension represented as time perspective in this study. The purpose of this research is to determine if a relationship exists between employee engagement and time perspective.

This nonexperimental, …

Is Testing A Laughing Matter? Achievement Effects Via Working Memory And Humor Relevance, Ivan Jay Wayne

Dissertations

The relevant literature concerning the relationship between humorous intervention and academic performance features conflicting evidence. Authors present evidence that humor is able to directly benefit student academic performance (Ford et al., 2012), while other authors suggest humorous distraction may actually worsen performance (Bieg et al., 2015). Among the issues contributing to these contradictory findings are two particularly important considerations: the mechanism by which humor may impact performance and the content of humor used in interventions. One mechanism by which humor could impact subsequent academic performance is working memory (Strick et al., 2009). The first study (n = 31) investigated if …

Pedagogy Is Research: Investigating The Teacher-Researcher Identity And Pedagogy Of Teachers Who Completed An Action Research Project, Meagan Chelsea Brown Varona

Dissertations

This research study explored the development of a teacher-researcher identity and investigated the pedagogy of two teachers who completed an action research course. I sought to investigate the development of a teacher-researcher identity in connection to the utilization of critical responsiveness in order to address the stifling of teacher agency that has resulted from standardization and deprofessionalization of the teaching profession. Through braiding the theoretical frameworks of cultural-historical activity theory, pragmatism, and critical theory, I examined the development of a teacher-researcher identity and how it impacted the pedagogical judgments and decisions of teachers. This multiple case study required data collection …

Informing Cognitive Screening In The Young Adult Population, Samantha L. Mcdaniel

Dissertations

The clock drawing test (CDT) is a cognitive screening measure with sound psychometric properties which has been well researched over the past century. The CDT is a popular tool for many healthcare professionals to administer independently or as part of a more thorough cognitive evaluation. Given the drastic technological and social developments over the years since the CDT was developed as well as the persistent research focus on older adult populations, a gap in the CDT literature presented for young adults, who may have difficulty drawing an analog clock. Identifying cognitive impairment can improve health outcomes. The young adult population …

Refugee Social Relations: The Development Of Social Ties Among Burmese And Congolese Refugees In West Michigan, Diane M. Roushangar

Dissertations

Refugee resettlement has been studied extensively in the academic realm. Yet, an area that is less understood is among Burmese and Congolese refugees and their adaptation processes in the United States. This study focuses on the development of social relations within these two groups as they navigate interactions within their ethnic group and with the native-born community. Examining the process of how social relations are constructed, this study reveals the nuances of how Burmese and Congolese form close social ties by focusing on four distinct social domains. Illuminating how social relations are formed and maintained within the ethnic community, church …

An Investigation Of A Teacher Education Program And The Hiring Of Newly Certified Teachers In At-Risk And Non-At-Risk Schools, William Lancaster

Dissertations

Research has shown teachers are the most important factor when determining student success, even with the field of education in a constant state of uncertainty. Schools all over the nation are struggling to acquire quality teachers into their buildings, and teacher preparation programs are having a difficult time producing enough teacher candidates. This study investigated what initial jobs students choose to take in their first year after completing an educational degree from one study university’s teacher preparation program, through numerous secondary data points and a participant survey. The quantitative data suggests that recent graduates are just as likely to go …