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The Lived Experience Of Nurse Practitioners In Independent Practice, Annmarie Waite

Dissertations

The purpose of this qualitative phenomenological study was to explore the lived experience of Nurse Practitioners in independent practice. The aim was to give NPs a voice to express their individual experience, provide an inductive description of the lived experience, and gain understanding of the essence of being an independent practitioner. Philosophical Underpinning: This qualitative study was guided by the hermeneutic phenomenological approach of Max van Manen (1990).

African American Elementary School Principals' Perspectives Of The African American Student Achievement Gap, Lisa Broomfield

Dissertations

Purpose: The purpose of this phenomenological study was to identify and describe the strategies implemented by African American elementary school principals in Riverside County, California to close the achievement gap that exists for African American students using the CASEL SEL core competencies: (a) self-management, (b) self-awareness, (c) social awareness, (d) relationship skills, and (e) responsible decision making.

Methodology: A qualitative research design was chosen for this phenomenological study. A phenomenological study was used to study the lived experiences of TK-6 African American Principals. This technique involves the use of interviews, “directed toward understanding their perspectives on their everyday lived experience …

Implementing The Richmond Agitation-Sedation Scale To Assess Delirium In A Pediatric Icu, Leigh Paridy

Dissertations

Purpose: The purpose of this quality improvement project was to establish early identification of delirium in the intensive care setting to reduce the impact of long-term patient outcomes. Description of project: A retrospective-prospective medical chart review was completed. The retrospective chart review looked at fifty-two patients admitted to the pediatric intensive care unit (PICU) between October 1, 2020 and December 1, 2020 for patient demographics and State Behavior Scale (SBS) and the Cornell Assessment for Pediatric Delirium (CAPD) charting compliance especially with children with developmental delay and those with a high susceptibility to delirium. The prospective chart review looked at …

Violation Of Personal And Professional Nursing Values: Six Case Studies Of Nurses Who Have Left Nursing, Robert James Muster

Dissertations

Registered Nurses (RNs) comprise the largest group of health care providers in the US. The shortage of RNs is expected to worsen to 29% by 2020. Many nurses depart practice prior to retirement. Previous research has linked professional turnover to various aspects of job satisfaction.

This study sought to understand and describe the decision to leave nursing.

The Self-Directed Goal Theory Experiment: A Mixed Methods Study Of Personal Development Goal-Setting Programs And Self-Efficacy, Tara N. Strickland

Dissertations

Andragogy is not dead; it may be simply lying dormant until its essential component, self-directed learning, revives it again. The fact is that self-directed learning can be formal or informal. This mixed methods study explored the informal side of self-directed learning, concentrating on self-help (a popularized form of personal development goalsetting). Despite a thriving self-help market, several personal development goal-setting programs focus more on goal achievement, little on goal planning, and even less on the individual. A comparative analysis of autonomous, guided, and self-directed personal goal-setting programs determined if self-directedness maximizes self-efficacy. Additionally, the researcher’s original Self-Directed Goal Theory and …

Giving Up Their Place In The Walls: The Lived Experience Of Community College Nursing Faculty Who Leave The Profession Of Teaching, Cherry A. Karl

Dissertations

Community college nursing faculty members are essential to the continuation and growth of the profession of nursing. Every loss of a nursing faculty member represents an even greater loss to the practice of nursing within the health care system. Previous research has documented the serious and inter-related shortage of both nursing professionals and nursing faculty. This phenomenological study explores the underlying themes leading to the decisions made by nursing educators to leave the practice of teaching, and presents strategies for preserving and strengthening the position of nursing faculty within the community college. The guiding question for this inquiry is: "What …

Coping Strategies, Social Support, And Self-Care Among Young Women With Pelvic Inflammatory Disease, Jessica L. Tillman

Dissertations

Pelvic inflammatory disease (PID), a spectrum of inflammatory disorders of the female upper genital tract, is a serious complication of sexually transmitted infections (STIs) that may lead to chronic pelvic pain, ectopic pregnancy, and tubal infertility. Although PID treatment is critical for the preservation of fertility and health-related quality of life, many young women diagnosed with PID do not fully adhere to treatment recommendations. Interventions focused on clinician practices, patient education, and behavioral modeling have generated limited improvements in outpatient PID treatment adherence among young women, thereby suggesting the influence of other determinants, such as psychosocial factors. Coping and social …

A Quality Improvement Project To Assess Anxiety Of Family Members Who Receive Standard Communication During The Intraoperative Period, Ashlie E. Sinclair

Dissertations

Introduction: The waiting period for surgical patients' family members can be stressful, causing increased frustration and fear. Most patients and families do not regularly experience the surgical environment in the same way that the operating room (OR) staff do, making this area unfamiliar. If there are inconsistent and insufficient information provided to the family, anxiety levels may increase. It is essential that staff attend to family members' needs while the patient is in surgery. The evidence is overwhelming that structured patient status updates to family members and varying waiting room techniques are critical in decreasing their anxiety.

Methods: This quality …

The Meaning Of Immigrant Women's Experience Of Childbirth For The First Time In A United States Hospital, Carole A. Lorup

Dissertations

The increasing population of immigrants in the United States is largely comprised of immigrant women, whose first contact with the health care system is often to seek maternity care. The literature suggests that immigrant women frequently do not receive the same quality of care and satisfactory experiences from maternity care as their native population counterparts. This study described the experience of maternity care from the perspective of immigrant mothers who gave birth in the United States for the first time. A purposive sample of mothers, who were born outside of the United States, and who have given birth to a …

Perceptions Toward A Restraint-Free Practice: A Case Study, Suzanne Barnum Goetz

Dissertations

The importance of reducing the use of psychiatric-mental health mechanical restraints has been the focus of clinical nursing practice. A hospital with two psychiatric-mental health units has demonstrated a sustained success related to reducing mechanical restraints. In this qualitative case study, nurses were interviewed to understand how the reduction of mechanical restraints on the psychiatric-mental health units impacts the practice culture and the perception of the psychiatric nurses toward a mechanical restraint-free practice. This study provided new knowledge related to evidence from the psychiatric-mental health nursing practice, themes of barriers, and facilitators toward a restraint-free practice. The participants describe the …

Climate Control: Does Caring Really Matter?, Wendy A. Dubose

Dissertations

In an attempt to address healthcare disparities, nursing programs have been charged with increasing success rates of minority students to increase diversity within the profession. Despite an upsurge in enrollment numbers of minority students in nursing programs, attrition rates are higher for minority students as compared to majority students. Persistence is paramount for minority students to overcome barriers encountered while pursuing an education in nursing. Perceptions of faculty caring behaviors may heighten nursing students' academic self-efficacy.

Newly Graduated Registered Nurses' Perceptions About And Use Of Principles Of Palliative Care In Acute Care Settings: An Interpretive Phenomenology Study, Latrina T. Geyer

Dissertations

The terms serious or life-threatening illness now included in current palliative care literature indicate the broadened scope of palliative care. However, the change in defining terminology has not consistently translated to a broadened understanding or advanced clinical practice for many healthcare professionals in acute care settings. The purpose of this research study was to discover NGRNs' perceptions, meanings, and use of principles of PC for seriously ill patients in acute care settings. The research question for this study was: What are NGRNs' lived experiences of providing PC for seriously ill patients in acute care settings?

Impact Of Water, Hygiene And Sanitation On Medication Adherence Intention Among Hiv Positive Women Enrolled In Option B+ Treatment Regimen In Zambia, Jerry John Yao Nutor

Dissertations

Mother-to-child transmission (MTCT) of HIV is a major problem in sub-Saharan Africa despite increasing availability of free and subsidized antiretroviral treatment (ART); MTCT can be significantly reduced provided pregnant and breastfeeding mothers adhere to prescribed regimens. Access to potable water and adequate sanitation is a major problem in low-resource countries including Zambia, located in sub-Saharan Africa. This study investigated the influence of water hygiene and sanitation (WASH) on ART adherence intention among HIV positive women enrolled in Option B+ regimen, the current World Health Organization recommendation for low resource countries.

Speaking Up Or Remaining Silent: Understanding The Influences On Nurses When Patients Are At Risk, Jennifer Boice Rainer

Dissertations

Objective: The purpose of this study was to understand speaking up behavior among RNs.

Background: Speaking up is the use of one's voice to share information or alert those in authority of one's concerns about patients, and is primarily influenced by organizational culture, personal culture, and workforce generation. Failure to speak up can lead to moral distress; speaking up can lead to moral courage.

Methods: A cross-sectional electronic survey was distributed to several thousand RNs resulting in 303 surveys providing usable data.

Results: We found that organizational culture was a strong predictor of speaking-up behaviors, and that speaking up partially …

Educational Intervention To Enhance Staff Knowledge And Increase Awareness Regarding Risk Assessment And Personal Protective Equipment Selection To Reduce Blood And Body Fluid Exposures, Teresa Smoot

Dissertations

Accidental occupational blood borne pathogen exposures pose a great occupational risk for healthcare workers, worldwide. After an occupational exposure, there is a potential risk for transmission of blood borne infections such as human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), hepatitis B and hepatitis C, to health care workers. Blood and body fluid exposures reported in an academic healthcare facility in Northeast Florida have been trending upward since 2015. The literature shows accidental blood borne pathogen exposures were greater among healthcare workers with little or no training in exposure prevention.

Teacher Perceptions Of The Curricular Viability Of Missouri Learning Standards As Correlated To Student Outcomes On End-Of-Course Assessments, Kevin G. Lowery

Dissertations

Approved by the Missouri State Board of Education in 2016, the Missouri Learning Standards “define the knowledge and skills students need in each grade-level and course” (Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education [MODESE], 2021g, About the Missouri Learning Standards section). State-mandated end-of-course assessments, such as the English II end-of-course assessment, are directly aligned to the Missouri Learning Standards and are administered in courses that have content associated with the standards (MODESE, 2021c). The purpose of this correlational study was to determine if significant relationships existed between teachers’ perceptions of the guaranteed and viable nature of Missouri Learning Standards and …

Preventing Food Fights: A Meta-Analytic Review Of Single Case-Design Research In The Cafeteria Setting, Mary Ware

Dissertations

Disruptive behavior is one of the most prevalent problems in schools, with nearly 50% of all disruptive behavior occurring in non-classroom settings (e.g., cafeteria; Colvin, Sugai, Good, & Lee, 1997). However, the extent to which intervention strategies exist to address these behaviors in these settings is unknown. The purpose of the current study was to conduct a meta-analytic review in order to identify, review, and determine the effectiveness of interventions implemented within the cafeteria setting. Eighteen articles were identified through a comprehensive database search and application of inclusion criteria were included. Overall results determined that interventions implemented in the cafeteria …

An Evidence-Based Evaluation Tool To Assist Healthcare Providers In Their Assessment Of Effective Mhealth Applications For The Management Of Chronic Health Conditions, Sara Belle Donevant

Dissertations

Mobile health (mHealth) apps are considered a viable option to improve chronic disease management. Healthcare providers are now recommending mHealth apps for patient use to assist in managing chronic diseases. However, healthcare providers may have difficulty locating effective, evidence-based mHealth apps for patients as there are currently over 325,000 available health apps (Research2Guidance, 2017). Limited evaluation tools are available to assist healthcare providers in this process. Therefore, our goal was to develop an online mHealth evaluation tool to assist healthcare providers in the selection of evidence-based mHealth apps.

After creating a comprehensive pool of mHealth features, healthcare providers provided feedback …

Career And Technical Education Students Advancing To Higher Education Through Faculty Mentoring, Joneane P. Davis

Dissertations

Purpose: The purpose of this phenomenological study was to identify and describe the career technical education (CTE) mentoring experiences of adult learners who completed an allied health certification and subsequently went on to pursue higher education such as a bachelor’s degree, from the lens of Zachary’s four phase mentoring model.

Methodology: Semi-structured interviews were conducted with adult former CTE learners who advanced to higher education. Through purposeful sampling, 10 participants were selected to participate in the interviews. The interviews were recorded and the recordings transcribed. The data were coded and analyzed for common themes.

Findings: The data …

Chinese-U.S. Leadership: A Case Study Of A U.S. Manufacturing Company In China, Mengting Gong

Dissertations

The purpose of this case study is to gain a better understanding of the way in which some Chinese managers describe their leadership approaches and why they accept and use U.S. leadership approaches in a U.S. manufacturing company in China. Within the single-case (embedded) research design, in-depth interviews and existing data are two main methods of the researcher’s data collection. A purposeful sample (N = 8) of managers from the corporation served as participants. After collecting relevant qualitative data, two rounds of coding occurred. In the first round, initial coding was comprised of identifying codes from the transcripts. For the …

Self-Management Experiences Of Community-Dwelling Adults With Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease, Wendy S. Bauer

Dissertations

Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) is an incurable lung illness causing significant individual and public health burden. Individuals with COPD often experience high symptom burden, unpredictable exacerbations, numerous comorbid conditions, and frequent health care utilization. Self-management can improve health outcomes and reduce health care costs; however, many individuals with COPD struggle with effective self-management. Improving the self-management of individuals with COPD and the delivery of self-management support from health care providers is crucial to reducing the individual and societal costs of the illness.

The purpose of this study was to explore the self-management experiences of community-dwelling adults living with COPD …

Examining Media Dependency And Parasocial Relationship On Protective Action Behaviors During Covid-19, Amy Hyman

Dissertations

The COVID-19 pandemic illuminated the significant role that mass media plays in disseminating messages to the public during disasters and public health crises. Information disseminated during a disaster influences individuals’ decision-making process regarding protective actions, or mitigation behaviors. This study examined the relationship between media dependency theory, parasocial relationship, and media effects (cognitive, affective and behavioral) during the COVID-19 pandemic. A quantitative approach was used with a convenience sample. The sample focused on residents in the state of Arkansas and specific generational cohorts. The results found that the generational cohorts had different media preferences during the height of …

Determinants Of Residents’ Shadow Evacuation Intention During A Hurricane In The Rio Grande Valley, Texas, Manpreet Jaiswal

Dissertations

Studies on hurricane evacuation behaviour focus primarily on why individuals do not evacuate when they are instructed to, while few examine the reasons why individuals choose to evacuate under conditions that would not require them to, termed shadow evacuation. Such behaviour might delay the timely evacuation of more at-risk coastal residents. To better understand the reasons for shadow evacuation, this study analyzes data from a household evacuation behavioural survey administered between 2012-2013 to 479 households in Cameron, Hidalgo, and Willacy Counties, Texas, known as the Rio Grande Valley. This area features a number of Colonia neighborhoods with high rates …

A Mixed-Methods Investigation Of First-Year Learning Communities In A Private, Midwestern University, Elaine M. Ragland

Dissertations

In the 2017-2018 academic year, the School of Humanities of a private, Midwestern university began a pilot program of two first-year learning communities in the Fall, with an additional learning community in the Spring. Each learning community consisted of three theme-linked courses, for a total of nine courses over two semesters. As the study unfolded, the first and the third of the learning communities lived up to expectations of the faculty and administrators as communities of increased engagement and academic success. The second community struggled with engagement and both students and faculty felt that their theme-linked group failed to demonstrate …

Telework Intensity, Work-Family Conflict, And Work-Family Balance, During The Covid-19 Pandemic, Timir Jayesh Bharucha

Dissertations

The COVID-19 pandemic has led to increased popularity, application, and utilization of telework. To vastly reduce the spread of COVID-19, governmental agencies worldwide have implemented lockdowns and emphasized businesses and corporations should implement telework wherever possible (Anderson & Kelliher, 2020; Belzunegui- Eraso & Erro-Garces, 2020; Buomprisco et al., 2021; Chong et al., 2020; Contreras et al., 2020; Mouratidis & Papagiannakis, 2021; Nguyen, 2021; Oz & Crooks, 2020; Raišienė et al., 2020; Tavares et al., 2020). States of emergency can disturb employees’ workflow and lead to financial difficulties; thus, telework presents an option to reduce that disruption. In such unprecedented times, …

Impact Of Counselor Wellness On Positive And Negative Consequences Of Covid-19 Shared Trauma, Monique Rahman

Dissertations

This study sought to explore how the shared trauma of the COVID-19 pandemic has impacted Texan counselors both positively and negatively, as well as the mediating or moderating effect of counselor wellness. Negative consequences of stress such as secondary traumatic stress, burnout and compassion fatigue were explored, but also positive consequences such as compassion satisfaction and post-traumatic growth. Measures such as the Five Factor Wellness Inventory (FFWEL), the Shared traumatic and Professional Posttraumatic Growth Inventory (STPPGI), and the Professional Quality of Life Measure (ProQOL) will be utilized in addition to demographic questions and COVID-19 stress related questions mirroring Park et …

Two For The Price Of One! A Study Of Persistence Of Adult Education Students Pursuing A High School Equivalency Credentiial And A Study Of The Researcher's Experience Conducting That Study., Jacqueline Lynch

Dissertations

This two-in-one study was an exploration of persistence. The quantitative study explored the relationship between the self-efficacy and persistence of adult learners pursuing a high school equivalency credential. Bandura’s theory of self-efficacy and Lewin’s Force Field Analysis offered an effective framework for considering this relationship. The findings of this study were statistically insignificant due to the low response rate.

The second study, a qualitative study, was added to understand my experience trying to gather data during the quantitative study and to explore the implications of data collection, sharing, and use in the adult education field. Resource Dependence Theory (RDT) and …

The Role Of Neighborhood Factors In School Choice Decisions, Sarah Jefferson

Dissertations

No abstract provided.

Adult Postoperative Open-Heart Patients: Anemia And 30-Day Hospital Readmission, Lindsey J. Ryan

Dissertations

In 2013 alone, more than 4% (3.9 million) of patients discharged from a hospital were readmitted. Anemia following a surgical procedure is associated with early hospital readmission.

The following specific aims were addressed:

• Aim 1. To develop an operational definition of the term condition-based maintenance as applied to health care and discuss the applicability and effectiveness of condition-based maintenance within health care.
• Aim 2. To identify the number of adult patients undergoing elective open-heart surgery with preoperative anemia.
• Aim 3. To examine the relationship between preoperative anemia, sociodemographics, and 30-day hospital readmission rates among postoperative open-heart adult patients.
• Aim 4. …

The Preparedness Assessment For The Transition Home After Stroke (Path-S) Instrument, Michelle Elizabeth Camicia

Dissertations

Care transitions for individuals with disabling conditions, such as stroke, are often ineffective and inefficient, resulting in unmet patient and caregiver needs, increased safety risks, readmissions, and increased healthcare costs. An assessment instrument designed to evaluate caregiver's preparation to assume the caregiving role is needed to facilitate the development of tailored care plans and interventions to mitigate the risks of poorly prepared caregivers, and associated health effects on caregiver and stroke survivor. The purpose of this dissertation was to develop and then evaluate selected psychometric properties of the proposed Preparedness Assessment for the Transition Home after Stroke (PATH-s), a 25-item …