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Application Of The Transtheoretical Model Of Change To The Smoking Behavior Of Men During Their Partner's Pregnancy, Mary Ellen Tanner

Dissertations

This study describes the smoking behavior and selected characteristics of men during their partner's pregnancy. Constructs of the transtheoretical model of behavior change were used to describe socio-demographic characteristics of these men, to compare their smoking behavior in various stages of change, and to explore the relationship of the smoking behavior of the male partner to that of the pregnant partner. The study used a non-experimental, descriptive correlational design with a self-administered survey tool.

A Grounded Theory Study Exploring Lesbian Patient Self-Disclosure Of Sexual Orientation In Acute Care, Margaret Ruth Neese

Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to develop a grounded substantive theory to describe the process involved in lesbian self-disclosure of sexual orientation in acute care settings. Philosophical Underpinning: The philosophical underpinning was grounded theory as described by Strauss and Corbin (1998).

Navigating Through Uncertainty: Breastfeeding The High-Risk Infant, Susan Golembeski

Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to understand the breastfeeding process mothers' face with their high-risk infants. Grounded theory methodology was used in this qualitative study to capture the richness of this experience. A purposive sample of 20 breastfeeding mothers, with diverse cultural backgrounds, whose babies had been discharged from the neonatal intensive care unit, was recruited. Open-ended, interactive, telephone interviews were conducted to obtain data. Coding procedures and constant comparative analysis were utilized for the simultaneous data collection and analysis. The core category that emerged from the data was, ";Navigating through Uncertainty";. Mothers described breastfeeding the high-risk infant as …

The Relationship Between Faculty Research Productivity And Organizational Structure In Schools Of Nursing, Eileen M. Kohlenberg

Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to identify the relationship between faculty research productivity and the organizational structure in schools of nursing. The need for nursing research has been widely recognized by members of the nursing profession. However, only 25% of faculty in schools of nursing have indicated current involvement in conducting research (Nieswiadomy, 1984). While contextual variables have been investigated which facilitate and inhibit nursing research, the relationship between organizational structure and nursing research productivity has not been examined. The research question which was investigated in this study was: What is the relationship between nursing faculty research productivity and …

Influence Of Stress, Cognitive Appraisal, Resilience, And Social Support On Coping Of Older Women Whose Spouses Have Undergone Coronary Artery Bypass Surgery, Suzanne K. Marnocha

Dissertations

To describe the influence of stress, cognitive appraisal, resilience and social support on coping of older women in relation to the coronary artery bypass graft surgery (CABG) of their spouse. Many older men are having coronary artery bypass graft surgery (CABG) and as the population ages these numbers are anticipated to increase. Surgery is a stressful experience and how the spouse of the patient appraises the surgical event may enhance her coping. Additionally, it is anticipated that resilience and social support will impact spousal coping.

The Relationship Between Hardiness And Burnout In Female Nursing And Liberal Arts/Science Faculty, Constance F. Buran

Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to determine if a relationship exists between hardiness and burnout in female liberal arts/science faculty and female faculty in nursing. Degrees of hardiness were determined for each group with attention to the dimensions of commitment, control, and challenge. Degrees of burnout were determined for each group with attention to the components of emotional exhaustion, depersonalization, and personal accomplishment. The two groups were compared to determine if the levels of hardiness and burnout in faculty members were related to the area of teaching responsibility, and demographic characteristics.

Effect Of Conversation On Nursing Student Outcomes In A Web-Based Course On Cardiac Rhythm Interpretation, Karen Harris Frith

Dissertations

The demand for professional nursing care is expected to rise dramatically during the next 20 years. Decreased enrollments in nursing programs and an aging RN workforce will exacerbate the shortage of nurses. One clear method for increasing the supply of nurses is to increase the number of graduates from nursing programs. Distance education is an important option to investigate because it can offer a convenient way for students to attend school while working, having a family, or living far from educational institutions. However, teaching in web-based courses requires thoughtful consideration of instructional design, including ways to fully engage students in …

Factors Related To Mexican-American Workers' Use Of Hearing Protection, Madeleine J. Kerr

Dissertations

Significant numbers of Mexican Americans work in jobs where they are exposed to harmful noise, therefore they are vulnerable to noise-induced hearing loss. Use of hearing protection is often the only way to prevent exposure to loud noise, yet there is no knowledge of how to promote its use among Mexican American workers. This study builds on a program of research by Lusk in which the determinants of health-protective behavior are identified in order to design effective safety programs. This study was based on a theoretical model adapted from the Health Promotion Model (Pender, 1987).

An Interpretive Study Of The Bulimic Woman's Experience Of Relationships, Mary Tantillo

Dissertations

The purpose of this dissertation was to access the meanings of the bulimic woman's experience of relationships in everyday life, in order to reveal a contextual understanding of this experience. Literature review revealed that the bulimic woman's experience of relationships has been conceptualized in terms of two main paradigms: the dominant paradigm of human psychological growth and development, and the newer, feminist relational paradigm. A critical examination of present theoretical understandings and previous research related to the bulimic woman's experience of relationships, revealed certain deficiencies and limitations in our understanding of this experience.

Guided Imagery For Enhancing Health And Health Seeking Behaviors Of Employees In The Worksetting, Susan Wanda Vines

Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of an intervention program in the work-setting using guided imagery to enhance the health and health-seeking behaviors of employees. The health indicators for this study were multidimensional and included the following (a) blood pressure and pulse, (b) personal lifestyle practices, (c) self perception of health, and (d) psychological health status. The relationship and fluctuation of these dependent measures were tracked over a nine month time period. Observations were taken every two weeks from month 1 through the middle of month 5. Two additional data collection time periods were in months …

Research Utilization Of Registered Nurses In United States Army Hospitals, Deborah J. Kenny

Dissertations

The use of research findings in clinical nursing practice has been studied extensively in civilian institutions or with civilian nurses. However, little research utilization study has been done in US military facilities. Everett Rogers' theory on diffusion of innovations posits that a system's social structure and cultural norms affect an innovation's diffusion in several aspects, including innovation decisions, rate of diffusion, and the consequences of innovation (Rogers, 1995). Due to differences in organizational culture between civilian and military facilities, it is difficult to generalize the research done in civilian nursing facilities to the military organization. All nurses working at three …

Cardiovascular Changes During Dialogue, Patricia Liehr

Dissertations

This study was designed to explore the experience of listening, noting how listening was distinct from talking and from silence. There was interest in the potential for listening to engender lowered physiological arousal. Listening was defined within an interpersonal context, as one person listened to another tell a story. Clinical experience has demonstrated that persons who are listening to a clinician share a story often relax. Psychophysiological measures were used to assess the experience of listening. Cardiovascular parameters (mean arterial pressure, systolic blood pressure, diastolic blood pressure, heart rate, skin temperature) and eye contact (videotaped data) were measured during listening. …

"We Are Strong Women": A Focused Ethnography Of The Reproductive Lives Of Women In Belize, Carrie S. Klima

Dissertations

Belize is a small country in Central America with a unique heritage. The cultural pluralism found in Belize provides an opportunity to explore the cultures of the Maya, Mestizo and the Caribbean. Women in Belize share this cultural heritage as well as the reproductive health issues common to women throughout the developing world. The experiences of unintended pregnancy, contraceptive use and abortion were explored with women using a feminist ethnographic framework. Key informants, participant observations, secondary data sources and individual interviews provided rich sources of data to examine the impact of culture in Belize upon the reproductive lives of women.

The Personal Experience Of Developing Sexuality In Middle Childhood, Marie Winn

Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to investigate the personal experience of developing sexuality in middle childhood.

In-Groups, Out-Groups And The Challenge Of Increasing Diversity Through Intentional Inclusion And Equity Practices: Exploring The Roles Of Urban Land Managers, Affinity Groups, And Alaska Residents, Susan Newton, Amy Markle, Laurie Stuart

Dissertations

Public lands belong to all of us. Yet, data indicate that some Americans are participating more than others in the decision-making processes that guide use, access, and availability of our public lands and resources. Three researchers investigated three ways public participation intersects with the decision-making process, with a focus on illuminating barriers to full public participation as well as potential bridges to increasing equitable inclusion. Researchers interviewed urban land managers and affinity group leaders, surveyed a sample of residents in Alaska, and examined public testimony from a city council discussion about an inclusion resolution in Homer, Alaska. Qualitative and quantitative …

The Nurse's Role In Gender Identification, Melissa Kay Haworth

Dissertations

Individuals identifying as gender non-conforming are members of a minority culture underserved by the current lack of guidelines for nursing care. This project developed due to a practice gap at the public health clinic with the nurse's ability to provide care to gender non-conforming patients. The purpose of this project was to work with nurses at a rural health clinic to provide culturally competent, holistic care to individuals who identify as gender non-conforming. The PICOT question that guided this project was: For public health nurses in a rural health clinic (P), will a quality improvement project aimed at providing education …

The Impact Of Discontinuing Contact Precautions For Multi-Drug Resistant Organisms, Darlene Carey

Dissertations

The utility of contact precautions (CPs) for multi-drug resistant organisms (MDROs), such as Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) and Vancomycin-resistant Enterococcus (VRE) colonization and infection remains a debatable component of infection prevention for many reasons. Applying CPs for MDRO colonization and infection includes financial costs associated with nursing workloads, patient supplies, patient throughput delays, and social isolation concerns for patients. Recent literature indicates the discontinuance of CPs and the application of standard precautions (SPs) for MDRO colonization and infection is an effective infection prevention strategy, as it decreases associated costs without increasing infection risks or adverse events. The objective of this …

The Effect Of Self-Regulation On Breastfeeding Duration In Primiparous Mothers, Deborah L. Pollard

Dissertations

Eighty-six primiparous breastfeeding mothers were recruited from a community hospital in the northern panhandle of West Virginia. A randomized, controlled, two-group experimental design was used to examine the association between the self-regulation intervention, encompassing self-monitoring and reinforcement, and breastfeeding duration over 6 months.

Let The Circle Be Unbroken: Health Of Elderly Southern Appalachian Widows, Sonya Renae Hardin

Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to facilitate discovery and description of the health experience from the perspective of elderly Appalachian widows. The concepts of health, health beliefs, and health practices were explored using the qualitative research design of ethnography.

Diffusion Of Inclusion: Measuring Willingness To Adopt Inclusive Teaching Strategies In Nursing Educational Environments, Janet A. Levey

Dissertations

The purpose of the study was to: (1) examine psychometric properties of the Willingness to Adopt Inclusive Teaching Strategies (ITSinNE) instrument and (2) measure factors influencing a nurse educator's willingness to adopt inclusive teaching strategies based in universal design for instruction (UDI). Universal design for instruction (UDI) is one approach to facilitate multiple ways of learning and evaluation in various learning environments for all learners; however, it is not well known or researched in nursing education. Diffusion of innovation theory (Rogers, 2003) and universal design for instruction (McGuire & Scott, 2006) provided the theoretical framework for the study. A cross-sectional …

Governance And Economic Growth In The Arab World: Evidence From Panel Data Analysis, Adel H. Aladlani

Dissertations

Economic growth has been volatile and slow in the Arab World during the last two decades. Arguing that good governance is a precondition to vibrant economic systems and growth, comparative researchers and development policy practitioners view such a slowdown in growth in the Arab World to be triggered by weak governance performance. This cross-national study examines the relationship between governance and economic growth in the Arab World, which includes 22 member-states of the League of Arab States, over the period 1996-2017. By using World Bank data, governance is operationalized through voice and accountability (VA), political stability and absence of violence …

Essays In The Application Of Machine Learning In Development Economics, Dweepobotee Brahma

Dissertations

This dissertation comprises four essays which apply Machine Learning (ML) techniques to examine India’s progress towards meeting several child-health targets under United Nation’s “Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) 2030”. The application of novel ML techniques unmasks certain detailed empirical aspects of the road to meeting specific indicators of SDG - child mortality, malnutrition, immunization coverage and health-expenses.

The first essay employs multiple parametric and non-parametric Machine Learning (ML) techniques (LASSO, Classification Random Forest, Boosted Logistic Regression, Boosted Classification Trees) to build predictive models for the incidences of neonatal and infant mortality. A large national level household survey dataset is used. All …

Three Essays On Food Insecurity In Nigeria, Pimam Manzi Pidalatan

Dissertations

Households experience multiple shocks, among which health-related and agricultural-related shocks are the most frequent shocks in developing economies. Households’ exposure to shocks contributes more to the risk of being food insecure than a poor resource endowment (Azeem et al., 2016). Moreover, in low-income countries about 3.5 million mothers and children under the age of five die every year because they are undernourished FAO, IFAD, UNICEF, WFP AND WHO 2017). Sub-Sahara Africa is the region with the highest prevalence of undernourished people (22 percent) and stunted children (30 percent) (FAO, IFAD, UNICEF, WFP AND WHO 2017). Three of the seventeen Sustainable …

Functional Assessment And Treatment Of Elopement Occasioned By Transitions, Denice Rios Mojica

Dissertations

Elopement is a dangerous behavior in children with developmental disabilities because it greatly increases the risk of accidents that lead to serious injury or death. The dangers of elopement are especially high during transitions because these situations increase the chance that a child will gain unsupervised access outside, where the most serious accidents typically occur. Despite its severity, assessment methodologies that specifically evaluate the contextual variables found during transitions are not available. Additionally, treatment for elopement during transitions typically involves antecedent interventions which do not address function. Continued research on effective and efficient means for the assessment and treatment of …

Examining Protective Factors That Promote Resilience Among Children With An Incarcerated Parent, Celeste A. Jackson

Dissertations

Children of incarcerated parents (CIP) represent one of the most vulnerable, at-risk populations in the United States (Johnston, 1995). Best estimates suggests there are 2.7 million children with an incarcerated parents and African-American children are disproportionately represented at a figure of 1 in 9 children (Glaze & Maruschak, 2008). Much of the research attempting to understand this population and guide intervention efforts has employed a deficit-based approach, highlighting the plethora of adverse risk factors and negative outcomes associated with being the child of an incarcerated parent. This approach fails to acknowledge the presence of resilience inherent in these youth. The …

Artist As Academic Leader, George H. Brown

Dissertations

The American College President Study (ACE, 2017) revealed that 78% of university presidents are planning to retire within the next nine years. With the increasing complexity of higher education, the demand for innovative leadership will grow as a result of the departure of these leaders. This demand will create opportunities for artist practitioners interested in higher education leadership. However, if artist practitioners doubt an administrative role will give voice to their imagination, will they accept the challenge and opportunity of leadership?

Currently, only 0.33% of university presidents serving four-year degree-granting institutions of higher education in the U.S. come from the …

Sources Of Missed Understanding: A Framework For Diagnosing Comprehension Breakdown, Tarr Jennifer

Dissertations

This research sought to understand how a formative assessment framework created by the researcher (called the Sources of Missed Understanding construct) would be used by teachers to diagnose students’ reading comprehension challenges during authentic reading instruction, and to understand the context and supports teachers needed to use the tool effectively. A design experiment methodology was used to follow the diagnostic processes of five reading specialist candidates, each working one-to-one with an upper elementary or middle school reader during a five week summer university-based tutoring setting, resulting in five case studies and cross case analysis. This study shows that teachers who …

A Phenomenological Study On The Perceptions Of The Veterans Transition Into The Civilian Workforce, Tiffany M. Allen, Tiffany Allen-Hampton

Dissertations

This study evaluated three specific factors affecting Veterans who have separated from military service and transitioned into the civilian workforce. The support and resources offered and received, as well as the participants’ adaptability in handling the transition, were examined. Additionally, perceptions of success and transition readiness were studied. Prior research on veterans indicate that many face challenges beyond service, including difficulty in finding employment. The impacts of participating in supportive services and obtaining work, particularly in relation to how respondents perceive the post military experience as either aligned or not with their pre-existing knowledge and skill sets were considered. In …

Ngos Embodying Decoloniality: Towards Emanticipatory Psychological Practice And Pedagogy In Palestine, Hana Masud

Dissertations

Abstract

The Palestinian need for aid is entirely a result of a decades long conflict with Israel. Western funders to Palestinian NGOs working in psychological services may have good intentions, but their traditional approaches to therapy and well-being may be inconsistent with a collective Palestinian identity of liberation. These colonizing therapies may stigmatize Palestinians as "traumatized", encouraging a defeated or passive mentality, undermining values of resistance, while ongoing Israeli oppression continues. The NGO policies and modes of work can also influence the worldview, practices, and motivations of Palestinian Mental health workers who are serving populations with much experience of violence …

Making A Way Out Of No Way: A Phenomenological Study Of Black Maternal Activism In Chicago, Deidra Somerville

Dissertations

To date, the lived experiences of Black maternal activists in North Lawndale have not been documented, even with the critical role many played while organizing with Dr. Martin Luther King as part of the Chicago Freedom Movement and the critical role of the Illinois Black Panther Party to the Black Power Movement (Seligman, 2005; Rice, 2003). With no studies of the lived experiences of Black maternal activists in North Lawndale, the theories of bridge leadership, tempered radicalism and their application to those lived experiences is not known. By examining the relationships and organizations influencing black maternal activism, this study aims …