Digital Commons Network^™

Protective Play: The Impact Of A Before-School Play Program On Sixth-Grade Students’ Social-Emotional Well-Being, Luleta Dardovski

Dissertations

This mixed-methods study explored the impact of a daily thirty-minute before-school play program on sixth-grade students' social and emotional well-being, using the five CASEL core competencies and S.A.F.E. (Sequenced, Active, Focused, Explicit) framework as guiding principles. The study addressed the central research question: How does unstructured play before school influence students’ social-emotional learning (SEL) skills and well-being? Data was collected through student surveys, interviews with teachers, and observations to explore how play fosters SEL skill development. Play was found to offer an authentic environment for sixth grade students to actively practice SEL skills, fostering benefits in self-esteem, social connectedness, emotional …

Engaging Families In School-Based Physical Activity Promotion, Veronica Becerra

Dissertations

This dissertation explored how schools promote and engage families in physical activity (PA) opportunities through two studies conducted in a Mountain West state. Study one explored strategies schools used to engage families in PA. Study two examined how a purposefully selected K-8 school developed family-school partnerships to support PA engagement through Epstein’s (2010) Six Types of Involvement framework.

Study one used a collective case study design guided by the following research questions:

• Q1.1 What strategies do schools implement to promote and engage families in physical activity programming?
• Q1.1a What tactics do schools use to implement these strategies?
• Q1.2 What are …

Effect Of Activities, Social Environment, And Psychotropic Medication Use On Behavioral Symptoms Of Persons With Dementia In Nursing Homes, Ben R. Inventor

Dissertations

A secondary data analysis was conducted using existing clinical and observational data of a 3-year longitudinal study to describe associations of time-varying background factors (cognitive function, physical function, psychotropic medication use), and proximal factors (activities, social environment) with positive and negative behaviors of persons with dementia at 24 months. Participants included residents with Alzheimer's disease living in two nursing homes in Chicago. A Total 25,560 observation sessions, collected for all participants at baseline, 12-months and 24-months were used in analyses. Results showing that: 1) higher cognitive and physical functions, and being located in own bedroom and shower/tub/bathroom had the most …

The Lived Experiences Of Nurses Caring For Dying Pediatric Patients, Danna L. Curcio

Dissertations

The purpose of this research study was to explore the lived experiences of nurses caring for dying pediatric patients. Nurses and health care professionals may at times have difficulty adjusting and processing when life ends and this may have the potential to interfere with patient care. Reflection on past events and actions enable critical discovery of strategies to benefit both nurses and patients. The method for conducting this research study was from a qualitative phenomenological perspective exploring the lived experiences of nurses caring for dying pediatric patients. The philosophical underpinning of Merleau-Ponty (2008), in combination with the research method of …

The Relationship Between The Perception Of Nurse Caring, And The Phase Ii Cardiac Rehabilitation Patients' Depression, Anxiety, And Adherence, Jo Ann Kim

Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to determine if there was a relationship between perception of nurse caring and Phase II cardiac rehabilitation (CR) participant's depression, anxiety, and adherence. Duffy and Hoskins (2003) Quality-caring model © was used as a theoretical framework to guide the descriptive correlational study. A convenience sample of 109 outpatients lived in the mid-Atlantic portion of the United States. The four data collection instruments included the Center for Epidemiological Studies-Depression Scale (CES-D), State-Trait Anxiety Inventory- Y-1 (STAI-Y-1), Caring Assessment Tool-IV (CAT-IV), and a Phase II CR Patient's Program Data Sheet. Pearson's product-moment correlational analysis was used …

Development And Evaluation Of A Nurse Leader-Led Acuity-Based Nursing Assignment Program And Its Outcome On Peripheral Intravenous Infiltrations And Extravasations In Pediatric Patients, Cassandra D. Dike

Dissertations

In this evidence-based project, the team developed a model of patient assignments for nurses in a pediatric acute care setting based on workload and acuity as opposed to hours per patient day (HPPD). The team used a plan-do-study-act, or PDSA, cycle of quality improvement methodology to demonstrate that assignments based on acuity as opposed to ratios would improve patient outcomes. The outcome measure was peripheral intravenous infiltrations and extravasations (PIVIEs). In the 6-week time frame only two PIVIEs were identified, and they occurred on shifts in which the ideal acuity score was not met for the nursing assignments due to …

A Focused Ethnography Of Healthcare Transition Among Persistent Asthmatic/Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (Copd) Adult Pennsylvania Medicaid Beneficiaries, Agnes Marie M. Cummings

Dissertations

The Affordable Care Act (ACA) (2010) provided for the largest reform of Medicaid since its 1965 Centers for Medicare and Medicaid implementation, providing funding for both low-income and disabled citizens. The additional amount of Medicaid beneficiaries increased the complexity and effectiveness of an already struggling, massive and bureaucratic government program. From a beneficiary perspective (emic perspective), Medicaid as a federal agency, is far from "user-friendly." This problematic complexity remains despite ACA-induced Medicaid reform. Thus despite new eligibility for Medicaid services, a client may still face unresolved health concerns due to system-based or client-based obstacles to effective Medicaid utilization. Failure to …

A Qualitative Exploration Of Associate Degree Nurse Educators' Teaching Experiences Regarding Health Literacy, Connie Marshall

Dissertations

Worldwide health literacy levels are low. Nurses should be able to lead the improvement of the health literacy of the populations they serve. During a comprehensive review of the literature, it became apparent that previous research regarding the provision of health literacy education within Associate Degree Nursing programs was not available. The Associate Degree is the initial degree that allows the graduate to take the NCLEX-RN board exam, so it was interesting to determine how learners are prepared to discern the health literacy levels of the patient population. The research question, "How do nurse educators describe their experiences with health …

Improve Exclusive Breastfeeding Rates Through Early Breastfeeding Initiation, Camille Chua

Dissertations

Exclusive breastfeeding can be challenging to maintain. At the project site there was an inconsistent process for breastfeeding support, so an evidence-based solution was sought. The purpose of this quantitative, quasi-experimental quality improvement project was to determine if or to what degree the implementation of the World Health Organization (WHO) Guideline’s Baby-Friendly Hospital Initiative (BFHI) Step Four would impact exclusive breastfeeding rates (EBFRs) when compared to current practice among adult postpartum patients in an acute care hospital in Southern California over four weeks. Nola Pender’s middle-range nursing theory utilizing the health promotion model (HPM), and Kurt Lewin’s change theory provided …

The United Arab Emirates Birth Cohort Study: A Pilot Examination Of Maternal And Infant Health Outcomes, Sharon Mutare

Dissertations

The first 1,000 days of life represent a critical window for influencing optimal fetal growth and establishing lifelong health foundations. Recent evidence underscores the significant association between maternal health and nutrition during this period and the subsequent risk of non-communicable diseases, which are responsible for 74% of global deaths. Despite the rapid globalization and urbanization experienced in the United Arab Emirates in recent years, there remains a paucity of research on how maternal health and nutrition impact perinatal outcomes among Emirati women.
/="/">
/="/">The primary objective of this dissertation was to profile the nutritional habits, status, and lifestyle of …

The Effect Of A Self-Guided Simulation Tool On Anxiety Related To Clincal Practice Among Baccalaureate Nursing Students During Their First Clinical Rotation, Karen M. Vargas

Dissertations

Research has demonstrated that anxiety can have a detrimental effect on learning and performance. Of great concern is the impact of anxiety on nursing students. By extension, additional research has shown that nursing students experience extremely high levels of anxiety, higher than many students in other programs. Specifically, nursing students have moderate to severe levels of anxiety due to many aspects of the educational program, but particularly when beginning clinical practice. Anxiety when beginning clinical practice among nursing students can cause negative outcomes in learning and performance. That is, when nursing students experience severe anxiety, they may experience the inability …

Influences Of Perceived Environment, Partner Support, And Attitudinal Familism On Physical Activity Among Mexican American Women, Neomie C. Congello

Dissertations

Healthy lifestyle behaviors such as engaging in physical activity (PA) may reduce the risk for cardiovascular disease (CVD), the number one cause of mortality among Mexican American women (MAW). Research findings show that MAW have low levels of leisure time PA and vary in the amount of overall PA. The influence of partner support has received little attention in studies examining predictors of PA. This cross sectional study investigated factors influencing PA among MAW aged 19 to 64 years old (mean = 39.4, SD = 11.1) who may be at increased risk for CVD based on hypertension, diabetes and obesity …

The Relationship Between The Neighborhood Environment, Health Behaviors And Health Outcomes Among Urban Hispanics In New York City, Manuel C. Co Jr.

Dissertations

Hispanics account for more than half of the total United States (US) population growth between 2000 and 2010. To gain a comprehensive understanding of a predominantly Hispanic urban community in Northern Manhattan, the aims of this cross-sectional observational study were: (1) to characterize the actual and perceived neighborhood food environment in Northern Manhattan, (2) to understand the relationship between the actual and perceived neighborhood food environment, sociodemographic characteristics and the likelihood of consuming five or more servings of fruits and vegetables per day, and (3) to describe the contribution of participants' sociodemographic characteristics and health behavior to their health outcomes.

Attitudes, Subjective Norms, And Perceived Behavioral Control Of Perianesthesia Nurses' Intentions To Engage In Mindful Self-Care, Brenda K. Sanya

Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to examine the relationships among attitudes, subjective norms, perceived behavioral control, and intentions to engage in mindful self-care among nurses working in the peri-anesthesia setting. The study utilized cross-sectional design and was guided by the Theory of Planned Behavior.

Hotspotting In Home Health: The Impact Of Interprofessional Student-Team Home Visits On Health Outcomes Of Super-Utilizers Of The Health Care System, Jennifer T. Alderman

Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to examine the impact of interprofessional student-team home visits on the health outcomes of super-utilizers of the health care system. The cost of health care continues to increase at an unsustainable pace. Innovative educational approaches integrated with existing models of care are an example of a potential strategy aimed at reducing costs and improving outcomes. The model implemented in this study is referred to as hotspotting, an emerging term that describes an intervention during which super-utilizers are the focus of the intervention. Teams of interprofessional health professions students performed home visits on these patients …

Resiliency And Positive Childhood Experiences: Implications For Black Youths' Mental And Behavioral Health And School Engagement, Sharnequa Nashay Hunter

Dissertations

Two independent studies were conducted to examine the buffering impact of positive childhood experiences on Black youths’ mental and behavioral health and school engagement outcomes. The purpose of Study 1 was to investigate the potential moderating effects of positive childhood experiences on the relationship between adverse childhood experiences and the occurrence of mental or behavioral health conditions (anxiety, depression, ADHD/ADD, and/or a behavioral/conduct problem) and school engagement, using secondary data from the 2020 National Survey of Children’s Health, a survey completed by primary caregivers. The study sample included 2,201 Black youth ages 6-17 across the United States. Logistic regression and …

Understanding Stress, Strengths, And Strategies To Support Immigrant Youth: A Bundled Dissertation, Sarah Jolie

Dissertations

In the study of child development and mental health of Latine and immigrant and refugee youth, it is necessary to understand their cultural experiences and stress experiences in the U.S. The present project aims to address culture, stress, and the development of internalizing outcomes among Latine, immigrant, and refugee youth across two important stages of development: middle childhood and adolescence. The first study provides a comprehensive review of Latine children’s immigration experiences, the effects of exposure to multiple stressors, cultural factors, and intervention implications. The second study provides a focused examination of the impact of two culturally relevant stressors among …

Middle Class African Americans Diagnosed With Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus Self-Care Practices Related To Their Spirituality, Self-Efficacy, And Health Literacy, Jacqueline G. Moody

Dissertations

Diabetes mellitus continues to be one of the most commonly diagnosed medical conditions in the United States. More than 25 million children and adults are living with type 1 or type 2 DM (ADA, 2012). Even though 18 million patients have been diagnosed with diabetes, an additional 7 million are unaware they have the disease. An important factor in health outcomes for diabetes is self-care that includes proper glucose levels control. Self-care for diabetes mellitus is important to decrease an individual's risk factors. Self-care consists of the practice of activities that maturing and mature persons initiate and perform, within time …

Optimistic Biases On E-Cigarette Cessation: Examining Competing Theoretical Models For Young Adults With And Without Chronic Health Conditions, Eleanor Steffens

Dissertations

The dramatic increase in youth nicotine initiation is an ongoing public health concern and heightens risk for morbidity and mortality, especially among young adults with chronic health conditions. Consequently, there is an urgent need for research exploring potential psychological mechanisms for continued e-cigarette use to aid in the development of targeted cessation interventions and combat the re-emerging nicotine epidemic. Utilizing the Population Assessment of Tobacco and Health (PATH) Study, the present study modeled the impact of optimistic biases for e-cigarette use on e-cigarette cessation interest among young adults with and without chronic health conditions (n=1,827). Results showed that, regardless of …

Exploring Factors Influencing Health Promoting Behaviors Among Latino Immigrants, Martin J. Mikell

Dissertations

Latino immigrants may experience stress during acculturation to the U. S., which can influence their ability to engage in health-promoting behaviors, such as dietary intake and physical activity. Dietary intake and physical activity influence the prevention or development of pre-diabetes/Type 2 Diabetes (T2DM). The immigrant's ability to perform health-promoting behaviors can also be influenced by their perceptions of self-efficacy to engage in health-promoting behaviors. Limited information is available in the literature on effective strategies for decreasing stress during the acculturation process of Latino immigrants, while also increasing self-efficacy in health-promoting behaviors. The purpose of this study was to explore the …

Collegiate Esports Participation And Its Perceived Effects On Student Experience: A Phenomenological Study Of Collegiate Esports Teams, David Shimokawa

Dissertations

In an increasingly competitive higher education marketplace, institutions are seeking innovative strategies to grow or maintain their existing student populations. As student interests shift over time, institutions must stay informed of the rise and decline of various sporting activities and the impact those activities have on the student body. As more institutions look to utilize esports as a tool for recruiting and retaining students, the purpose of this qualitative phenomenological research study was to create new knowledge on the phenomenon of collegiate esports participation and its perceived effects on student experience. This study had 11 participants who were active undergraduate …

Investigating Nature-Based Mindfulness In Nurse Anesthesia Students: A Pilot Study, Douglas Lovern

Dissertations

Across the country, the mental health crisis continues to rage. Varying degrees of depression, stress, and anxiety are commonly found in college-age students. The COVID-19 pandemic augmented this crisis, but the pandemic is not the sole culprit for the escalation of mental health disorders in the United States. Students across the globe suffer mental health disorders that include depression, anxiety, and stress. Research has shown that graduate students are six times more likely to develop anxiety and depression than the general population. Student registered nurse anesthetists (SRNAs) are vulnerable to mental health disorders. SRNAs enter labor-intensive doctoral programs fraught with …

Acculturation, Well-Being And Identity Of Oromo Immigrants, Hawi M. Wako

Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between racial and ethnic identity, acculturative stress, and well-being for first generation Oromo immigrants. Studies regarding immigration, acculturative stress, identity, and well-being have primarily centered on Hispanics, Asians, and Caribbean individuals, but there has been a lack of attention toward Black African immigrants, including Oromo immigrants. The lack of inquiry into Black African immigrants, especially Oromo immigrants, creates a perception that all immigrants are the same, leading to a generic approach toward immigrant interventions and falls short of meeting the unique mental health needs of specific African communities.

Immigrants must …

The Effects Of Ambient Light Intensity On Affordance Perception, Tyler Overstreet

Dissertations

Humans can reliably perceive whether a slanted ground surface can be stood on or not. In the present study we investigated how differences in ambient lighting conditions affected the perception of stand-on-ability. The study manipulated lighting conditions (photopic, mesopic, scotopic) under which participants made affordance judgements about the stand -on-ability of a presented ramp in a virtual reality environment. We hypothesized that less visual information would be available in the scotopic condition, which would result in changes to affordance boundaries and movement complexity, when measured from head sway and center of pressure. Results indicated that participants’ affordance judgements were more …

Nursing Faculty As Self-Care Influencers: Current Nursing Students’ Perspectives, Shane Yardley

Dissertations

The future of health care depends on nurses who can provide expert patient care and are equally prepared to care for themselves. This balance allows nurses to effectively model caring for themselves to their patients while also enabling them to withstand the inevitable rigors of the profession. As role models, nursing faculty exhibit behaviors that influence students or role aspirants' ability and motivation to successfully perform self-care. For nursing faculty to be intentional in their influence in this area, they must understand what students interpret as helpful and detrimental in facilitating their self-care. The purpose of this study was to …

Voices Of Change: Exploring The Narratives Of Physical Education Stakeholders’ Policy Work In Colorado, Lisa Paulson

Dissertations

Quality physical education, pivotal for the development of physical, social, and emotional skills for an active and healthy lifestyle (Society of Health and Physical Educators [SHAPE] America, 2014; United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization [UNESCO], 2021), has been globally marginalized, necessitating a heightened focus on policy advocacy engagement (Hardman, 2013; van der Mars, 2021). Policies touch nearly all aspects of physical education (UNESCO, 2014), and a significant barrier is the ‘policy illiteracy’ that contributes to the field’s neglect (van der Mars et al., 2021). Many educators receive little to no policy education, often not identifying as policy actors (Lorusso …

Finding The Gut Microbiome Connection To The Risk Of Childhood Obesity Through An Examination Of Gut Microbiota Among Children In Los Angeles, California: A Cross-Sectional Pilot Study, Cecille M. Basilio

Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to examine the association between gut microbiota composition and child obesity. The specific aims were to: 1) evaluate the impact of child obesity status on three related outcomes to be assessed by extracting DNA from children's stool samples using 16S rRNA gene sequencing: alpha diversity of gut microbiota composition, Firmicutes: Bacteroidetes ratio, and abundance of SCFA-generating gut microbes between obese and non-obese school children; 2) compare the dietary habits and intakes between obese and non-obese school children; and 3) evaluate the association of body mass index differences in gut microbiota composition between obese and …

Health-Promoting Behavior As A Predictor Of Bachelor Of Science In Nursing Faculty Intent To Remain In Academe, Felisa Haywood Smith

Dissertations

The purpose of this predictive study was to identify whether health-promoting behavior, as identified in the Health-Promoting Lifestyle Profile II (HPLP II), is a significant predictor for intent to remain in academe teaching in Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN) programs among nursing faculty at four-year institutions in the Southern region of the United States. Health-promoting behavior dimensions measured by the HPLP II are physical activity, health responsibility, nutrition, interpersonal relations, spiritual growth, and stress management.

Identifying Delirium In Hospitalized Patients Using Nursing Delirium Screening Scale, Christina S. Arockiam

Dissertations

Delirium is a sudden brain dysfunction that can affect the mental status of hospitalized adult patients. At the project site, there was no consistent screening tool for delirium, so an evidence-based solution was sought. The purpose of this quality improvement project was to determine if the translation of Heinrich et al.'s research regarding Gaudreau et al.'s Nursing Delirium Screening Scale (Nu-DESC) would impact the identification of delirium and subsequent provider notification within 30 minutes among adult patients in an acute care hospital in urban California over eight weeks. Virginia Henderson's need theory and the Iowa Model Revised: Evidence-based practice to …

Describing Nursing Care Of Severely Obese Patients In Critical Access Hospitals Using Total Quality Management Theory: A Qualitative Study, Amy M. Blankenship

Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to explore nurses' perceptions and experiences regarding caring for severely obese patients and factors that affect quality care of these patients in Critical Access Hospitals (CAHS).