Digital Commons Network^™

Exploring Educator Burnout: Experiences And Perceptions Of Teachers And Principals In Canadian K-12 Seventh-Day Adventist Schools, David Anthony Elias

Dissertations

Problem

Burnout among educators is a growing concern, particularly within faith-based school systems where teachers often balance high professional expectations with spiritual commitments. In K-12 Canadian Seventh-day Adventist (SDA) schools, limited research has explored how burnout manifests, the factors contributing to it, and its impact on teacher retention. This study aimed to examine the levels and causes of burnout among SDA educators, as well as the systemic factors influencing their experiences.

Method

This study employed an explanatory sequential mixed-methods design. Quantitative data were collected using the Maslach Burnout Inventory – Educators Survey (MBI-ES) to measure emotional exhaustion, depersonalization, and reduced …

What Works In Telehealth Play Therapy? An Appreciative Heuristic Inquiry, Veronica Ann Ball

Dissertations

With the onset of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) in the United States in March 2020 (World Health Organization, 2020), professional counselors providing traditional in-person play therapy found themselves in a quandary regarding the delivery of services during a global pandemic (Evans, 2022; Mitchell, 2020; Whaibeh et al., 2020). Online counseling proffered a means to prevent the disruption of services, respond to the need for emerging counseling services, and comply with social restrictions (Evans, 2022). Prior to the pandemic, telehealth play therapy was used sparingly (Haslam & Harris, 2011; Smith et al., 2021), and many child-serving mental health professionals lacked training …

What About The Children? An Exploration Of Family Counselors' Play Therapy Training And Preparedness To Integrate Children Into Family Counseling, Patricia J. Walker Monical

Dissertations

Children are an important part of families, yet family counselor education programs often do not incorporate training for including children in family counseling. At some point in their careers, family counselors and therapists will encounter clients who have children 3–12 years old. The problem is that since these professionals often receive little to no training in play therapy and thus do not typically include young children in family therapy, these younger family members are often overlooked. Research has confirmed that, due to a lack of sufficient training and supervision in play therapy, many family therapists report feeling unprepared to work …

Evaluating The Impact Of Post Discharge Callback On Patients With Copd Exacerbation, Stephanie L. Staten

Dissertations

The purpose of this project was to evaluate the impact of a post-discharge callback within 72 hours of discharge on medication adherence, attendance to post discharge follow up clinic visit, and 30-day readmissions in COPD patients. A secondary purpose was to explore reasons why patients who are discharged with a diagnosis of COPD exacerbation, did or did not adhere to their medications and keep their post-discharge follow up clinic visit during the 30-days following hospital discharge.

An Exploratory Study Of The Barriers Of Pediatric Palliative Care Programs And Their Relationships To Funding, Mary Maureen Kirkpatrick Mclaughlin

Dissertations

This study, a sequential mixed methods design, used quantitative techniques and a qualitative, phenomenological approach. The quantitative phase addressed the research question: Does the reimbursement of services for the delivery of pediatric palliative care differ between types of funding, and is funding related to directors' perceptions of obstacles to the delivery of care? The qualitative phase addressed the research question: What are the barriers that CHI PACC directors' experience in their roles and how do they overcome them?

The Relationship Between Task-Oriented Self-Efficacy, Openness To Experience And Internal & External Barriers To Social Work Educators To Teach Online Courses, Nancy Swindle

Dissertations

This study investigated the attitudes of social work faculty at accredited programs in the United States toward teaching online courses. An online survey was used to gather data on faculty members' internal and external barriers to teaching online, their openness to new experiences, and their confidence in creating and teaching online social work courses. Correlation and bivariate analyses were used to understand the relationships between these variables. The results showed positive relationships between years of teaching experience, faculty age, and self-efficacy scores, as well as between years of experience and professional training. However, these relationships were not statistically significant. Similar …

A Delphi Study Exploring Scope And Sequence Of Trauma Education In Counselor Education Master Level Council Of Accreditation Of Counseling Related Education Programs, Alexis A. Hauck

Dissertations

The growing awareness of trauma and its impacts on the social, emotional, and overall wellness of individuals, couples, and families underscores the need for counselor educators to prepare counselors to address trauma symptoms effectively. To bridge this gap, counselor education programs can benefit from expert guidance on the content scope and course sequencing of trauma education in master’s programs.

This research aimed to articulate trauma education scope and sequencing by gathering expert recommendations on best practices for trauma knowledge, awareness, and skill development through clinical experiences in counselor education programs. The grand research question explored expert opinions and beliefs about …

The Effectiveness Of Mbsr On The Occupational Stress Of Correctional Officers, Nikolas Kerr

Dissertations

This dissertation looks at the negative effects of the work environment and other factors related to correctional officers lived experience. The intervention concentrates on the effect of mindfulness-based stress reduction on the occupational stress of correctional officers. Correctional officers have always dealt with difficult work conditions, but over the last 30 years the increase in the number of incarcerated people, the lack of retention among correctional officers, and the proliferation of inmates with complex mental health issues and gang affiliations have all created a much more complex and dangerous work environment. Combine this with the new understanding of the effects …

Study Of Yoga Intervention To Reduce Secondary Traumatic Stress Among Public School Educators, Leslie Marie Hillen

Dissertations

A problem in education was the great amount of stress teachers were under. Secondary Traumatic Stress “is the emotional duress that results when an individual hears about the first-hand trauma experiences of another” (The National Child Traumatic Stress Network, n.d.). When teachers feel they cannot work or are overwhelmed with the demands of education, this can be attributed to Secondary Traumatic Stress (STS) (Caringi et al., 2015). Many teachers felt there was not enough support from the administration, as they not only deliver curriculum, but they also worried about the students’ mental health, home lives, hunger, and how to support …

A Randomized Controlled Trial Comparing A Companion Dog Walking Intervention To An Attention Control Education Intervention On The Psychological Health Of Adult Intensive Care Unit Survivors: The Pooch Study, Lindsey Nelson

Dissertations

Intensive care unit (ICU) survivors are at risk for persistent anxiety and depression after hospital discharge that contribute to the psychological component of post intensive care syndrome (PICS). Quality evidence supporting innovative home and community-based interventions that improve psychological health in ICU survivors is needed. The use of companion dogs to improve the health and wellbeing of ICU survivors is a novel strategy not previously explored in the ICU survivor population. The purpose of this randomized controlled trial (RCT) was to evaluate the feasibility and acceptability of a companion dog walking intervention compared to an attention control education intervention for …

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 …

Student Nurse Perspectives On The Impact Of Longitudinal Home Visits To People With Dementia And Their Carers, Wendy J. Grosvenor

Dissertations

Multiple deficits have been identified in dementia education by UK policy makers and, from September 2015, the Department of Health mandated that undergraduate healthcare curricula included dementia. Here I explore one particular novel approach, the Time for Dementia Programme, which had at its core longitudinal learning from people with dementia and their carers.

The study aimed to evaluate the impact of visits to the homes of people with dementia and their carers as part of the Time for Dementia Programme. To do this it explored adult nursing students' perceptions of their professional learning and practice and career destination.

Screening, Brief Intervention, And Referral To Treatment For Pregnant Women, Rebekah Feeney

Dissertations

Abstract

Background: In the United States, 10-20% of pregnant women reported using drugs during pregnancy. Current recommendations are to screen for drug use in all patients and provide a brief intervention and referral to treatment. The purpose of this quality improvement project was to evaluate the impact of implementing a standardized screening, brief intervention, and referral to treatment (SBIRT) protocol for first-trimester pregnant patients who are seen in the obstetrical department.

Methods: The Tobacco, Alcohol, Prescription Medication, and Other Substance Use (TAPS) screening tool was administered to first-trimester pregnant women, 13-45 years of age, seen in the obstetrical department from …

Examining The Adjustment And Coping Trajectories In Healthy Siblings Of Children With Life-Threatening Conditions, Joanne Tay

Dissertations

Siblings of children with life-threatening conditions are often referred to as "forgotten" mourners as focus tends to be on the ill child and parents. With limited knowledge about siblings' experience, it is challenging to provide appropriate supports.

The purpose of this dissertation was to examine and expand current evidence about siblings' experiences to guide research and clinical practice.

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 …

Abriendo Caminos: A Case Study Of An Online Bilingüe Msw Program, Celeste Natividad Sanchez

Dissertations

Latine students are underrepresented in social work education. This case study focuses on the Online Bilingual MSW (OBMSW) Program, the first bilingual (Spanish and English) and online MSW program in the mainland United States. The purpose of this study was to explore and have a greater understanding of how the OBMSW program is providing an alternative educational pathway specifically for Latine students. Purposeful sampling was used to identify seven interview participants who have had direct involvement in the creation, design, and/or implementation of the OBMSW program. A document review of program documents was also conducted. Data were analyzed using the …

Bipoc Counseling And Health Service Psychology Graduate Students’ Experience Of Racism And Sense Of Belonging: A Conditional Mediation Analysis Of Coping And Social Support, Erica Pinney

Dissertations

This study sought to understand the relationship between experiences of racism within academic settings and sense of belonging to the field of Counseling/Health Service Psychology (C/HSP) for BIPOC graduate students. Further, this study sought to understand the potential mediating role of engagement coping in this relationship, as well as the conditional effect of high, neutral, or low perception of race-related social support from faculty/peers. Two-hundred forty-nine BIPOC C/HSP students responded to survey questions measuring frequency of racial/ethnic microaggressions, sense of belonging to C/HSP, engagement styles of coping with racism (Education/Advocacy and Resistance), and perception of availability of racism-related social support …

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 …

“I Really Like The Idea Of Being The Source Of Change”: The Perspectives Of Black And Latine Youth Experiencing Low Income About How Personal Change Occurs In Out-Of-School Group Programs, Kevin Miller

Dissertations

Structured out-of-school programs (OSPs) can be contexts in which youth can be producers of their own positive change (Eccles & Gootman, 2002). However, despite a considerable body of research documenting the benefits of participating in OSPs, there is a lack of knowledge about how youth of color in low-income communities define positive personal change in OSP settings. As a result, many OSPs and interventions designed for youth of color rely on adult practitioners’ or researchers’ perspectives of the change process, which may weaken program impact and fail to holistically meet youths’ developmental needs. This study uses a critical realist scientific …

Child-Parent Psychotherapy In Child Welfare, Michelle Saulnier

Dissertations

Objective: Child-Parent Psychotherapy (CPP) is a therapeutic model that works within the caregiver relationship with children 0 – 6 years old who have experienced trauma or maltreatment. This study utilized a mixed methods design to evaluate how CPP was implemented within a child welfare waiver project in one Midwestern city. This study also looks at various factors impacts on CPP service delivery outcomes and examines how CPP impacts child welfare outcomes within the context of a larger evaluation. Methods: A sequential mixed methods design was completed with descriptive, and correlation statistical analysis completed. In addition, person-time fixed level analysis was …

Assessing The Role Of Psychological Self-Sufficiency And Organizational Factors In Achieving Economic Self-Sufficiency Among Low-Income Populations, Alanna Jeeyoung Shin

Dissertations

Low-income populations in the United States face complex challenges amid persistent high levels of poverty, income inequality, and child poverty (OECD, 2023; OECD, 2024; Smeeding & Thévenot, 2016; U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2023b). Influenced by neoclassical economic theory and human capital theory, work-first initiatives like Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) focus on fostering individual change by enhancing employable skills (Kim, 2010). These programs predominantly emphasize personal responsibility as a strategy for reducing poverty. However, multilayered barriers remain that hinder the achievement of economic self-sufficiency (Hong et al., 2014). To challenge the prevailing approach focusing on the individual level, …

Clinical Social Workers, Telemental Health And The Covid-19 Pandemic, Juli Chaffee

Dissertations

As a result of the COVID-19 Pandemic, and due to the shelter in place order that most states required, licensed clinical social workers (CSW’s) were forced to switch from in person services to telemental health services almost overnight. Many did so without previous training, adequate technology, a confidential office, or professional support. While there is a growing body of research regarding the increased use of telemental health in the mental health field during COVID-19, there is minimal research which narrows in what it was like for the CSW’s who made this transition. The purpose of this study was to better …

Addressing Gatekeeping Challenges In Counselor Education: A Grounded Theory, Vanessa Pauline Gill

Dissertations

This constructivist grounded theory study explored how counselor educators navigate remediation and gatekeeping challenges in CACREP-accredited programs. Fifteen counselor educators with at least one challenging gatekeeping experience participated in semi-structured interviews conducted via Zoom. All interviews were recorded and transcripts were completed. Data was analyzed using grounded theory methodology and analysis efforts were organized using the MAXQDA 2024 software. Data analysis involving constant comparison methods and memo-writing generated an emerging theory describing counselor educators’ journey from uncertainty to increased confidence in addressing remediation issues. The theory illuminates how experiential learning, reflective practice, and supportive professional relationships inform this developmental process. …

A Fundamental Cause Approach To Intimate Partner Violence In Marginalized Populations, Nicholas S. Metheny

Dissertations

Intimate Partner Violence (IPV) is a serious public health concern that transcends partnership types and societies, affecting approximately one-third of women worldwide. Men in same-sex relationships likely experience violence at similar rates. This dissertation takes a fundamental cause approach to social-ecological and minority stress theories, arguing that structural forces are the root causes of violence in two target populations: women residing in low- and middle-income countries (LMIC) and Indigenous men who have sex with men (MSM) in the United States. Consisting of eight chapters, four of which are empirical studies, this body of work creates new knowledge surrounding how social …

Resilience And Associated Factors In Pediatric Nurses, Benjamin M. White

Dissertations

The purpose of this dissertation was to explore pediatric nurse resilience and the contextual factors surrounding it, and propose a heuristic framework of pediatric nurse resilience. A convergent mixed-methods approach to secondary analysis was utilized and the resulting findings informed the heuristic framework.

Project Poppseed: A Mixed-Methods Exploration Of Parents' Lived Experiences With Anencephaly, Shandeigh N. Berry

Dissertations

One in four women who experience perinatal loss develop intense grief. Adverse outcomes of intense grief include depression, anxiety, posttraumatic stress disorder, substance abuse, suicidal ideation, obesity, hypertension, and diabetes. Congenital anomalies such as anencephaly are the leading cause of perinatal mortality in the United States. The purpose of this study was to identify the impact of common experiential themes on perinatal grief intensity by exploring parents' lived experiences with a pregnancy complicated by anencephaly.

Impact Of Gamification On Engagement Of Prelicensure Nursing Students: Faculty Perceptions, Elizabeth A. Lucas

Dissertations

The United States is facing a current and worsening nursing workforce shortage which poses a threat to today's healthcare structure. Strategies to combat this shortage by increasing the number of qualified applicants admitted to nursing programs each year have been implemented. In addition to increasing the number of students admitted each year, work must be done to better support those nursing students to make it to graduation. A method that can help is through achieving student engagement which has been linked to improved critical thinking, learning, and grades. One teaching strategy that has the potential to increase student engagement is …

Sales Professional Preservation: Examining The Impact Of Incongruent Ideological Belief Systems On Intentions To Quit Among Sales Professionals, Brian Lee Morgan

Dissertations

Organizations that lead with ideologies of moral tradition, politics, and social economics are playing a losing game. The ideological belief system congruence within the organization between leaders and members creates a better atmosphere with less turnover and better recruitment. Sales professionals want an environment free of ideological incongruence. Without ideological alignment, they will defect from the organization. Leaders are miscalculating the negative impact on members’ intentions to quit when they are faced with leaders acting upon ideology changes that affect the member-customer ecosystem. In addition, leaders should be aware of the personal attributes that can exacerbate turnover and work to …

Exploring Psychology Graduate Students’ Desire And Ability To Discuss Their Personal Trauma History With Clinical Supervisors, Madeleine Lane

Dissertations

Inspired by the archetype of the “wounded healer,” described by Carl Jung as a psychologist who enters the field with psychological wounds of their own, and the prevalence of such wounded healers in the mental health field today, this study aimed to explore clinical psychology doctoral students’ experiences of self-disclosure of their personal trauma history, a specific type of psychological wound, in clinical supervision. The goal was to explore whether and how students’ trauma history is discussed in clinical supervision; the importance of such discussions for students’ professional and personal development; and the impact of having or not having …

The Development And Testing Of An Instrument To Measure Perceptions Of Body Art Among Nurse Educators And Nursing Students, Deana M. Nunes

Dissertations

Increasing diversity in the nursing workforce is a national priority to better care for a diverse patient population and minimize healthcare disparities. Nurse educators teach students to practice with compassion and respect, recognizing the dignity, worth, individual choice, and unique attributes of all patients. Perceptions of nursing professionalism are heavily influenced by appearance. Many nursing programs restrict visible body art in their dress code policies based on long-held notions and negative stereotypes of individuals with body art. Shouldn't nursing students who choose to have body art receive the same respect and lack of judgment? A better understanding of nurse educators' …