Digital Commons Network^™

Factors Affecting Clinical Research Enrollment Among Individuals With Alzheimer's Disease And Related Dementias, Nicole Grace Bouranis

Dissertations and Theses

The need to increase ADRD research participation has become more pressing as the prevalence of ADRD increases. Nearly 70,000 Oregonians and 7 million people in the United States live with ADRD, and this number is expected to increase by 200% by 2050 without identification of an intervention to halt its increase. Developing mechanisms for effective care and treatment depends on implementing research with numerous participants. Historically, ADRD research programs have had difficulty recruiting and enrolling individuals into studies for a variety of reasons. Given low recruitment rates, the interest in researching and evaluating effective strategies to recruit specifically for ADRD …

Psychosocial Impacts And Employment Preparedness Of Participating In An Hiv Peer Program: Implications For Tailoring A Vocational Counseling Model For Plwh, Erin R. Mckinney-Prupis

Dissertations and Theses

Background:

Medical advancements in HIV care should have reduced barriers to employment for PLWH, yet in 2017 only 47.7% of PLWH reported being employed, as compared to 62.9% in the general population. Employment is a significant social determinant of health, it impacts a variety of factors related to health, including earned income, access to healthcare, and social connectedness. Quantitative and qualitative studies have identified several concerns PLWH have about entering the workforce; the most pressing being fear of losing benefits. Targeted work readiness programs for PLWH is an important approach to help PLWH overcome their unique barriers to work, such …

Sexual And Reproductive Health Outcomes In Women By Dimensions Of Sexual Orientation: An Examination Of 2011-2017 National Survey Of Family Growth Data, Lauren Porsch

Dissertations and Theses

Background: Sexual minority women experience disparities in sexual and reproductive health outcomes including higher rates of certain STIs, lower engagement in preventive sexual health behaviors, and higher rates of unintended pregnancy compared to their non sexual minority counterparts. Much prior research on sexual minority women’s health has been limited by incomplete or inconsistent definitions of sexual minority status, and has failed to consider sexual orientation branchedness as a risk factor.

Method: Using pooled National Survey of Family Growth data, survey cycles 2011-2013, 2013-2015, and 2015-2017, we performed bivariate and multivariable logistic and multinomial regression analyses to estimate the independent associations …

Investigating The Impact Of The Nursing Practice Environment (Npe) On Central Line-Associated Bloodstream Infections (Clabsi) Among Older Adults In The Intensive Care Unit (Icu), Kristen A. Cribbs

Dissertations and Theses

Background: Health care–associated infections, resulting from treatment received for medical or surgical conditions in a health care setting, represent a critical public health and patient safety issue, exacting substantial medical, social, and economic costs. The costliest among the leading causes of preventable health care-associated infections is central-line associated bloodstream infections (CLABSI), to which older adults (age 65 years and older) are particularly susceptible, especially during intensive care unit (ICU) stays. A rich body of research has empirically linked the quality of the nursing practice environment (NPE) in hospitals to both positive and negative patient outcomes; yet, surprisingly few studies have …

The Social Construction Of Deservedness In Medicaid Eligibility Design: A Qualitative Content Analysis Of State Policy Responses To The Affordable Care Act, Carmina Bernardo

Dissertations and Theses

When the U.S Supreme Court in 2012 ruled that the federal government could not withhold Medicaid funding from states that did not expand Medicaid to low income, non-disabled adults under the Affordable Care Act (ACA), Medicaid expansion became a state option. By the end of 2015, nineteen states had not expanded Medicaid, excluding about 2.5 million individuals from affordable health coverage and access to care. Prior research explored the reasons certain states expanded or did not expand Medicaid, but state decisions did not always result in one of these binary outcomes. There were four policy responses to the ACA’s Medicaid …

Impacts Of Rift Valley Fever Virus: A One Health Approach To Assess Burden And Inform Prevention And Control Options, Catherine Machalaba

Dissertations and Theses

Background: Rift Valley Fever (RVF) is a climate-sensitive emerging zoonotic disease associated with large-scale livestock production losses and human disease burden in Sub-Saharan Africa and the Middle East. While recognized as a key One Health issue based on its transmission dynamics involving human, animal and environmental determinants, there has been poor coordination between sectors to reduce the risk and impact of RVF. Efforts to counter the disease remain largely reactive, presenting an ongoing threat to local and global health security. The intent of this dissertation was to improve understanding of the burden of RVF across society and to identify entry …

An Assessment Of Potential Causal Pathways Between Two Autoimmune Diseases: Mendelian Randomization Studies Of Rheumatoid Arthritis And Crohn’S Disease; And A Phenome-Wide Association Study To Assess Potential New Targets For Tocilizumab, An Interleukin-6 Inhibitor, Staci Abramsky Risman

Dissertations and Theses

Background

Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and Crohn’s disease (CD) are two among a group of immune-mediated inflammatory diseases (IMIDs). These diseases are common, collectively affecting as many as two million Americans and as many as 28 million people worldwide. They have different clinical presentations but may have a common pathogenesis. An over-expression of tumor necrosis factor (TNF) and interleukin-6 (IL-6) have been proffered as a causal factor for IMIDs. These and other IMIDs may co-occur in patients, and it has been shown that patients with one IMID may have an increased risk of another IMID. What is not clear is whether …

An Evaluation Of Respiratory Exacerbation In New York City Given Current Trends In Climate Variability And Predictive Sociodemographic Factors, Sarah L.R. Kuril

Dissertations and Theses

Background: Within the last century, the massive increase in emissions due to economic growth has made climate variability a major problem for many of the industrialized countries and an emerging problem for the rest of the world. With an increasing number of extreme weather events, such as heat waves, cold fronts, floods, heavy rain, and storms, individuals with Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) and asthma remain a vulnerable population, placing them at highest risk of respiratory exacerbation. This dissertation aims to contribute to our understanding of how climate variability, which can influence patterns of rainfall, temperature and other variables on …

An Evaluation Of A Web-Based Tool To Improve Feeding Practices And The Home Environment Among Parents Of Low-Income Minority Preadolescents At-Risk For Childhood Obesity, Katrina F. Mateo

Dissertations and Theses

Background: Web-based/mHealth interventions may be an engaging approach to promote positive dietary-related behaviors among parents of youth at-risk for childhood obesity. Importantly, childhood obesity research highlights the role of parents as a key support mechanism in improving child dietary outcomes. Intervention INC is a childhood obesity intervention that comprises a unique, interactive web-based child nutrition comic aimed at improving dietary behaviors among urban Black/African American (AA) and Latino preadolescents, and also weekly online parent newsletters (with feeding tips, healthy printable recipes, links to coupons to support healthy eating/feeding and health-promoting local/community events, and access to the child nutrition comic) to …

Convex And Nonconvex Optimization Techniques For Multifacility Location And Clustering, Tuyen Dang Thanh Tran

Dissertations and Theses

This thesis contains contributions in two main areas: calculus rules for generalized differentiation and optimization methods for solving nonsmooth nonconvex problems with applications to multifacility location and clustering. A variational geometric approach is used for developing calculus rules for subgradients and Fenchel conjugates of convex functions that are not necessarily differentiable in locally convex topological and Banach spaces. These calculus rules are useful for further applications to nonsmooth optimization from both theoretical and numerical aspects. Next, we consider optimization methods for solving nonsmooth optimization problems in which the objective functions are not necessarily convex. We particularly focus on the class …

Animal Magic, Secret Spells, And Green Power: More-Than-Human Assemblages Of Children's Storytelling, Angela Molloy Murphy

Dissertations and Theses

Early childhood settings have become contested spaces, or sites of struggle, between economic and sociocultural interests disputing their purpose. Recent years have shown increased pressure on children in early education settings to demonstrate predetermined learning outcomes, which (a) limits the scope of what is possible in the classroom, (b) narrows the range of what learning is considered valid, and (c) privileges the experience and values of the dominant culture, thereby determining who and what matters in early childhood settings. Thus, in the current education climate where conventional knowledges are routinely privileged, unconventional knowledges and small stories from children's lives are …

Exploring The Role Of Transformational Leaders In The Mentorship Of Top-Level Administrators: A Case Study Of The Veterans Health Administration (Vha) Visn Lead Program, Frederick Giovanni White Jr.

Dissertations and Theses

Despite the proliferation of studies focused on transformational leadership, there is a lack of clarity related to how transformational leaders are developed in public organizations and the impact of mentors in this process. This is particularly troubling given a 2017 Bureau of Labor Statistics estimate that over 44% of the current U.S. workforce is 45 years or older.

In public and private settings, organizations are challenged to develop the competencies critical at higher levels of management in their future leaders, specifically advanced human and conceptual skills. These skills are most useful for emerging leaders that will have the responsibilities to …

From Theory To Practice: Interdisciplinary Science In Undergraduate Education, Brie Tripp

Dissertations and Theses

Science has undergone a major transformation in the 20th and 21st centuries with new fields emerging at the intersection of disciplines, such as bioethics, bioinformatics, and chemical ecology. Yet, opportunities to engage with interdisciplinary science, and the skills needed to work in these fields, are largely absent from undergraduate biology classrooms. As a consequence, students are potentially deprived of opportunities to think interdisciplinarily and engage with real-world issues that often necessitate interdisciplinary efforts. To be informed citizens in society and forward-thinking scientists in the workforce, undergraduate students will undoubtedly benefit from exposure to these interdisciplinary science experiences.

Given these considerations, …

What’S For Lunch? Examining The Factors Associated With Food Choices And Food Insecurity Among Cuny College Students- A Mixed Methods Study, Rachel G. Taniey

Dissertations and Theses

Background: The growing rates of food insecurity in college students points to the need to examine food choices within the context of a socio-ecological framework with an emphasis on the contribution of financial constraints and limited food access on food-based decisions.

Methods: A mixed-methods study design using both primary and secondary data analysis was developed for this dissertation. Primary data examining undergraduate college students was collected on three CUNY campuses including: semi-structured in-depth interviews (N=33), computerized 24-hour dietary recalls using the ASA24 program (N=45), three focus groups (N=26) with students who utilize on-campus food assistance programs, and key informant interviews …

The Reproductive Health And Academic Impact Of The New York City School-Based Health Center Reproductive Health Project For Adolescents, Michelle Silverio

Dissertations and Theses

Background: Gaining an understanding of how school reproductive health policies impact adolescent sexual health and academic outcomes is a public health priority in the United States (U.S.) since it has the highest rates of adolescent pregnancy and sexually transmitted infections among developed nations. Adolescence is a critical developmental period and influences in this period affect reproductive health and social well-being over a person’s entire lifespan. Almost all adolescents spend the majority of their time in school settings; therefore local school reproductive health policies may have substantial lifetime impacts. Policies such as providing comprehensive sexual health education and contraceptive access in …

Development Of A Hospital Readmission Reduction Program For Patients Discharged To Skilled Nursing Facilities: An Application Of Artificial Intelligence And Machine Learning Techniques, Anna Stachel

Dissertations and Theses

Background

Hospital readmissions within 30 days after discharge have drawn national policy attention as they are a reflection of suboptimal patient care. Readmissions are costly, accounting for more than $17 billion in potentially avoidable Medicare expenditures - nearly 78% of readmissions may be avoidable. Rich electronic data from medical records, growing computing capacities, and open source machine learning algorithms offer new opportunities to predict patients at high risk for readmission and prevent readmission through focused interventions. Prediction models might also serve to provide a more nuanced context of patient characteristics that lead to variations in readmission rates. Furthermore, transitional care …

Using Short Chain Fatty Acids To Inactivate Pseudomonas Aeruginosa Biofilms, Stephen Lee

Dissertations and Theses

Abstract

Using Short Chain Fatty Acids to Disinfect Pseudomonas Aeruginosa Biofilms

by

Stephen Lee

Background

The study of bacteria typically focuses on the planktonic or free-living single-cell state that is purely cultured in a laboratory for subsequent growth with appropriate media. Although this traditional way of growing bacteria has been paramount to the understanding of bacterial behavior, physiology, and pathogenesis, bacteria rarely exist as pure cultures of planktonic growth forms in the natural habitat. Bacterial contamination of environmental surfaces, in the form of biofilms, is a prime public health problem and causes numerous infections within the general public. Biofilms are …

Where's The Learning In On-Campus Student Employment? An Inquiry Into The Experiences Of Undergraduate Student Employees, Patricia Ann Dorman

Dissertations and Theses

Student employees spend a significant amount of time at work. Prior research has primarily focused on the deleterious academic impacts on students, with little consideration of how student employment could be effectively framed as an educationally purposeful activity. This qualitative study explored how individual, social, and organizational factors influence learning while working on campus. In-depth, semi-structured interviews were conducted with undergraduate student employees who work within student affairs units. The findings indicate that on-campus employment is a site for learning; particularly competency development in communication, professionalism, problem solving, and leadership skills. Interdependent personal, interpersonal, and environmental factors of campus employment …

#Adultingwhileblack: Encountering In The Campus Climate And The Formation Of Racialized Adult Identity Among Traditional-Age Black College Students, Sarah Nana Kutten

Dissertations and Theses

The college years represent a time when traditional-age students transition from adolescence to adulthood. During this period, many Black students encounter racist campus climates that can hinder their academic success and lead to marginalization and departure. Educational scholars have long understood the relationship between identity development and college student success, yet adult identity models often fall short for Black students because they do not consider the impacts of racism on development. As such, Black students face systemic, organizational, and individual racist encounters in higher education that keep them from fully engaging in the college experience and their personal development. This …

Individual And Community Supports That Impact Community Inclusion And Recovery For Individuals With Serious Mental Illnesses, Rachel Elizabeth Terry

Dissertations and Theses

The current dissertation presents two published manuscripts and discusses a third study that explored the role of social support in promoting community participation for individuals with serious mental illnesses. The first manuscript investigated sense of community as a potential mediating factor between community participation, psychological distress, and mental health functioning utilizing quantitative methods. The results indicated that sense of community acted as a partial mediator between community participation and psychological distress, as well as mental health functioning. The second manuscript is a literature review that explored the influence of social support on community integration for individuals with serious mental illnesses. …

Collaboration And Evaluation In Urban Sustainability And Resilience Transformations: The Keys To A Just Transition?, Liliana Elizabeth Caughman

Dissertations and Theses

Climate has changed and will continue changing; city populations are swelling as urbanization continues to accelerate; extreme environmental events like heat waves and floods are becoming more severe and more common; and the climate justice movement is rapidly gaining momentum. It in this context that municipal governments find themselves urgently seeking solutions to transition cities from extractive, vulnerable, and unjust to sustainable, resilient, and equitable. The task is complex and will require systemic transformations across interconnected social, environmental, and economic infrastructures. Emerging theories regarding how to govern such massive changes suggest Transition Management strategies and the values of a just …

"I Should Have Moved Somewhere Else": The Impacts Of Gentrification On Transportation And Social Support For Black Working-Poor Families In Portland, Oregon, Steven Anthony Howland

Dissertations and Theses

Portland has faced a mass displacement of Black households from the historically segregated area of Albina through various phases of urban renewal, urban deterioration, and gentrification. A substantial number of them have moved to East Portland, a suburban segment of the City of Portland that was unincorporated county land prior to the 1990's. As Black people have left Albina, the roots of Blackness there have eroded from the area as businesses and churches catering to them have also closed as a result of lost patrons.

In this study I interviewed 27 low-income working-age Black people with children with the sample …

Identifying A Starting Point For The Guided Reinvention Of The Classification Of Chemically Important Symmetry Groups, Anna Marie Bergman

Dissertations and Theses

The study of abstract algebra is both required for most mathematics majors and notoriously difficult. Much of the mathematics education literature on investigating student thinking in abstract algebra highlights student struggles with understanding even the most fundamental concepts. The abstract nature of the content of the course has been credited as one of the contributors to student difficulties. While there have been various instructional innovations designed to support students in better understanding abstract algebra, and group theory in particular, they have not specifically focused on the issue of the abstract nature of the content. My dissertation study aimed to develop …

An Inquiry Into Developing College Student Socially-Responsible Leadership: Ethics Of Justice And Care In The Midst Of Conflict And Controversy, Jill Frances Childress

Dissertations and Theses

Colleges not only educate students in academic discipline knowledge, but also help them develop skills to meaningfully lead and participate in our complex democracy as socially responsible citizens. All campuses have formal and informal opportunities to engage students in roles that challenge and develop students' socially responsible leadership skills including commitment, common purpose, and collaboration. However, individual and organizational elements such as differences in perspectives and hostile climates can quell leadership and educational participation, inhibit critical student development skills, and result in disempowerment, especially for those students from underserved communities. Given this, a critical question is how can colleges foster …

In Search Of A Third Place On Campus: An Exploration Of The Effects Of Built Space On Students' Sense Of Belonging, Kimberly S. Stave

Dissertations and Theses

Despite decades of environmental behavior research demonstrating the impact physical space has on human behavior, the American university has been slow to adopt this data into campus design and renovation plans. Campus ecology literature has demonstrated that the physical environment of the university campus communicates messages that influence students' feelings of well-being, mattering, and inclusion within the campus community, all significant contributors to student learning and retention.

Campus spaces designed for community building are essential to cultivate a sense of belonging for university students, however, locations dedicated to this type of social interaction, such as third places, are an often-underestimated …

Faculty Use Of Collaborative Online International Learning (Coil) For Internationalization At Home, Sally Strand Mudiamu

Dissertations and Theses

Universities are not preparing all of their students for 21st century global work and citizenship. Internationalization of the Curriculum is critical to this preparation and equity in higher education. Over the past decades, universities have relied on outbound and inbound student mobility to internationalize their institutions, the curriculum, the faculty, and student learning. However, 90% of U.S. students neither study nor intern abroad. Of the 10% who do go abroad, very few are underrepresented, Pell-eligible, or post-traditional students. Universities need to shift their focus from student mobility to Internationalization at Home so that all students may have an internationalized education …

Wildlife Connectivity Modeling For The Northern Red-Legged Frog In The Portland Metropolitan Area, Oregon, Amanda Hilary Temple

Dissertations and Theses

Effective habitat connectivity tools that use GIS data perform well in remote areas but may not be as dependable in urban environments. The goal was to study uses and limitations of a conservation management tool in development, the Metro Regional Habitat Connectivity Toolkit, which evaluates connectivity for and permeability of wildlife movement. Habitat quality scores are generated from GIS-derived and field collected data such as connectivity patch/matrix characteristics, water source, vegetation, other structural components, wildlife observations, and human disturbance at survey sites. I compared GIS and field generated habitat quality scores for the Northern Red-legged Frog (Rana aurora) …

A Colorless Nature: Exploring The Mental Health (Help-Seeking) Experiences Of Pre-Adolescent Black American Children, Christopher Ashley Burkett

Dissertations and Theses

Black American children and adults seeking help for mental health concerns face countless obstacles rooted in systematic oppression, institutional inequalities, and structural disparities; consequently, accessing essential services at much lower rates than their White American counterparts. The unidentified and untreated mental health issues of Black American children and youth can have catastrophic life outcomes for them. Some researchers cite barriers such as stigmatization, negative attitudes toward mental health services, and a lack of culturally relevant treatment models as explanations for these impediments to mental health (help-seeking). It is my contention that these analyses are arguably incomplete, despite having accurate elements. …

Teachers' Critical Reflection In An Equity-Focused Professional Learning Community: A Case Study, Patrizia Lina Mastne

Dissertations and Theses

In a culturally diverse world, teachers adopt complex roles to educate a changing student body toward higher standards. They can respond to students' needs and design responsive curriculum by engaging in ongoing learning and improvement. When teachers have time and space for collaboration and reflection, they can learn and improve. Professional learning communities (PLCs) are forums for educators to think deeply about praxis. In this study, the problem of practice is that teachers have had few opportunities to reflect critically within PLCs. The purpose of my study was to describe and explain how critical reflection occurred in an equity-focused PLC …

Exploration Of The Complex Relationship Among Multilevel Predictors Of Prep Use Among Men Who Have Sex With Men In The United States, Kristina M. Rodriguez

Dissertations and Theses

Background: Men who have sex with men (MSM) remain the group most heavily affected by HIV in the United States (US), with MSM of color further disproportionately represented. In July 2012, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved the use of tenofovir disoproxil fumarate plus emtricitabine (TDF-FTC, Truvada) for use as pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) in HIV-negative adults who are at high-risk of HIV infection. Despite its effectiveness, PrEP prescriptions are reaching only a small proportion of those who could benefit from the drug and prescription rates vary both by race and geographic region. The goal of this dissertation was …