Digital Commons Network^™

Analysis Of Patient Information: An Empirical Modeling Approach, Tony A. Murphy

Theses and Dissertations

With rising costs and increasing complexities, many hospitals seek to better understand the intricate details of their operations. Increasingly, these organizations have a strong desire to accurately predict the resources required to effectively treat their patient load. This research investigates patient length-of-stay in a hospital neurological unit using an empirical modeling approach. Factors significantly affecting patient length of stay were identified and used to construct a regression model. The predictive model provides hospital decision makers with a compact tool to input what-if scenarios and predict future patient treatment lengths, thus, allowing the hospital to properly allocate resources.

The Behaviors Of The Home Health Nurse Towards The Patient And Influence On Medication Compliance, Rhoda A. Owens

Theses and Dissertations

No abstract provided.

Access To Healthcare In North Dakota Through Telemedicine, Peggy Vaagen

Theses and Dissertations

No abstract provided.

Enfants Des Bonnets Rouges Et Sainte-Anne : Abandonment In Eighteenth-Century Dijon, Jessica Nelson

Theses and Dissertations

No abstract provided.

Facilitating Communication About Death Between Mothers And Adolescent Sons Using Fictional Children's Literature, Deon G. Leavy

Theses and Dissertations

Most children will experience the death of a loved one in their lifetime and will need to develop healthy grieving patterns. Communication between parents and children is a key ingredient in facilitating this development. Current opinions about bibliotherapy, using a book to assist in healing, suggest that books provide understanding about grief and death and open channels of communication. Although the use of bibliotherapy is gaining popularity, little research exists about its efficacy. Utilizing the book The Bridge to Terabithia, this study evaluated the facilitation of communication about death between 19 dyads of mother and adolescent sons. Their answers and …

Knowledge And Perception Of North Dakota Nurses Regarding Palliative Care, Nancy Joyner

Theses and Dissertations

Palliative care, also known as comfort care, involves the holistic care of patients when curative treatment is not effective. The principal factors of palliative care include the aggressive treatment of pain and other symptoms, including physical, psychological, emotional, social and spiritual problems. Nurses spend more time with patients and their families than any other health care professional, placing them in a position to provide palliative care in a variety of different settings. This requires nurses to have a sound knowledge base in this specialty. Not all nurses, however, are adequately prepared for or comfortable with palliative care.

The purpose of …

Quality Laboratory Services – Is It Related To Personal Credentials?, Maria Dannessa Delost

Theses and Dissertations

Performance on proficiency test (PT) surveys provides an objective and consistent evaluation of laboratory quality. The goal of the study, a retrospective review of existing PT results (2003) from six clinical laboratories in northeastern Ohio and western Pennsylvania was to determine the relationship of PT performance to the personnel credentials of the laboratory testing personnel. Predictor variables included the practitioner's major area of study, degree, certification and years of laboratory experience.

The study group consisted of 174 testing personnel and 11,689 proficiency-testing results, of which 11,233 were valid and included in the study. Of the 11,233 results, there were 11,120 …

Healthcare Professionals' Perceptions Of Humor Therapy In A Hospice Setting, Cynthia A. Stedje

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to explore the therapeutic benefit oflaughter for the body, mind and spirit of hospice patients, and how hospice healthcare professionals perceive humor and if they find it as a beneficial therapy. This study identified the healthcare professionals' thoughts of humor use and perceived facilitators and barriers to its use. There are many opportunities for healthcare providers to use humor. Humor has been viewed as a social lubricant in situations that involve conditions associated with the physical, the psychological, and the sociological aspects of life. In order to understand humor and laughter, it should be …

Interorganizational Collaboration: An Examination Of Factors That Influence The Motivation For Participation In A Collaborative Partnership Of Homeless Service Providers, Jan Marva Ivery

Theses and Dissertations

This project was a mixed methods study that examined the collaboration dimensions of Homeward's planning process and the factors that motivate organizations to participate. The study examined the collaborative strategy used by an organization called Homeward located in Richmond, Virginia. Homeward is a broker organization (Chaskin, Brown, Venkatesh, & Vidal, 2001) that was created in 1998 to mediate and nurture relationships among partnering organizations in order to facilitate the collaborative process required by the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) to receive Continuum of Care funding. During the quantitative component of the study, a survey was sent …

Implementation Of The Patient Self Determination Act In A Rural Community In North Dakota, Jacquelyn M. Lindsey

Theses and Dissertations

No abstract provided.

Assisted Living: Internal Communication To Align Identity And Image, Katherine Pittman Govito

Theses and Dissertations

Accomplishment of the mission of any organization relies on relationships developed. Key to these relationships is an internal communication program. As a function of public relations, the value of an internal communication program must be recognized as a requirement and implemented to achieve objectives set forth in an organization's mission statement.

This case study established the core elements of the mission statement of Meadow Glen, an assisted-living facility. The researcher evaluated its internal communication program by conducting surveys of Meadow Glen's three central internal relationships to measure alignment of its identity with its image. The three groups surveyed were: employees, …

The Onset And Progression Of Speech And Swallowing Deficits In 31 Patients With Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis, Susan M. Davidson

Theses and Dissertations

No abstract provided.

Hospital Re-Engineering : Unintended Effects On Nurse Staffing And Patient Outcomes, Marlene E. Brisson

Theses and Dissertations

No abstract provided.

Differences In Knowledge Of The Prospective Payment System For Home Health Nurse Administrators In Rural Versus Urban North Dakota And Its Effect On Home Health Services, Bruce L. Davidson

Theses and Dissertations

No abstract provided.

Spiritual Growth Resulting From The Death Of A Loved One, Jennifer L. Kane

Theses and Dissertations

No abstract provided.

The Effects Of Eldercare Responsibilities On Employed Caregivers, Nancy Jean Mcenroe

Theses and Dissertations

The number of people in the older population will continue to grow as the decades progress. The most rapid increase expected would be between the years 2010 and 2030 when the “baby boom” generation reaches 65 years or older. By the year 2030, there will be about 70 million older persons, more than twice the number than for the year 1998.

More and more people will live long enough to experience multiple chronic illnesses, disability, and dependency; in addition there will be more relatives in their fifties and sixties who will be facing the concern and expense of caring for …

Assessing The Needs Of Native Elders For The New Millennium, Leander Russell Mcdonald

Theses and Dissertations

No abstract provided.

Knowledge And Perception Of North Dakota Registered Nurses Concerning Hepatitis C, Margaret A. Gebhardt

Theses and Dissertations

No abstract provided.

A Community Wide Study Of The Hospice Referral Process, Jarilyn K. Gess

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this research study was to understand the decision making process when seeking hospice care. The objectives were to identify the decision maker for the patient when seeking hospice care, why they were seeking hospice care, who initiated the referral, if the decision maker was aware they can self refer to hospice care, and the benefits of hospice care for the patient and family.

The study is a qualitative and quantitative descriptive study utilizing a telephone survey design as described by Dillman (1978). One hundred patients who had been referred to Hospice of the Red River Valley (HRRV) …

Parish Nurses' Satisfaction With Their Preparation And Their Role, Wanda L. Davis

Theses and Dissertations

No abstract provided.

Opinions Of Nurse Practitioners In North Dakota Toward Assisted Suicide And Euthanasia, Stefanie Wilson

Theses and Dissertations

No abstract provided.

Minnesota Registered Nurses' Knowledge, Attitudes, And Interventions Related To Near-Death Experiences, Rhonda Bender

Theses and Dissertations

No abstract provided.

The Impact Of Religiosity On Coping Among Lds Adolescents, Matthew P. Roper

Theses and Dissertations

This study examines the impact of religiosity on coping in a group of Mormon (Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints) youth. Longitudinal data were gathered from detailed questionnaires administered to 2852 male and female adolescents in 1990 and 1993. Coping was conceptualized as four general dimensions (self-concept, public activities and service, deviance and future plans). Religiosity was also conceptualized multi-dimensionally (religious belief, public religiosity, private religious behavior, and religious experiences). Multiple regression analysis was used to investigate the unique effects of each of the dimensions of religiosity on each dimension of coping. It was hypothesized that religiosity was positively …

A Comparison Of Burnout Levels Between Special Educators And Regular Educators, Andrea Liddle

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to determine if teachers who work with mentally and physically handicapped children in special education schools have a higher incidence of burnout than teachers who work in regular education schools.

Twenty regular educators from a public school, k-12, and twenty special educators from two private special education schools, k-12, participated in the study. The special educators taught children with moderate levels of mental retardation and multiple handicaps, Each participant completed the Maslach Burnout Inventory, Educator's Survey.

Three two-tailed t-tests were computed to compare the means of the three subscales of the burnout survey: Emotional …

Death, Dying, And End-Of-Life Care: Nurse Educators' Prescription For Nursing Education, Carmencita C. Mercado-Poe

Theses and Dissertations

Education on death, dying, bereavement, and end-of-life care is a vital component of the basic preparation of the registered nurse. Yet, practicing nurses continue to report that programs offered in nursing schools do not prepare them adequately to provide comprehensive care to the dying. An explanation given in the literature is that some nurse educators do not value the inclusion of death education in the nursing curriculum. These educators argue that the current curricula are already too full and that skills related to the care of the dying are not as important as life-sustaining skills. They believe that skills related …

Student Nurses' Intention To Care For Older Adults, Joann M. Gleeson-Kreig

Theses and Dissertations

No abstract provided.

Correlations Among Nurses' Age, Education, Experience And Bioethical Issues, Linda L. Lohnes

Theses and Dissertations

No abstract provided.

Induction Into Academia: The Experiences Of New Occupational Therapy Faculty, Catherine R. Acre

Theses and Dissertations

The American Occupational Therapy Association (AOTA) estimates the number of therapists in the nation's occupational therapy workforce at 46,357. Silvergate (1994) estimates a 71% shortage based on the actual vacancies for occupational therapy personnel currently exists. In response to the growing demand for occupational therapists, the number of academic programs in occupational therapy has increased. Currently there are 85 accredited occupational therapy programs and 30 developing programs in the United States. In addition, for every newly available student space in professional-level programs, there were a reported 3.4 applicants. With only five doctoral programs in occupational therapy in the United States, …

Non-Workplace Risk-Taking Propensity Of Registered Nurses, Frances J. G Kiefer

Theses and Dissertations

No abstract provided.

The Effects Of Age And Sense Of Coherence On Bereavement Outcome., Michelle Marie Micsko

Theses and Dissertations

An important component of hospice programs is providing ongoing support to bereaved individuals. Bereaved, who receive organized support following the death of a loved one, have better bereavement outcomes than individuals who do not receive organized support. Many risk factors relating to characteristics of individuals might place them at risk for experiencing a pathological bereavement reaction following the death of their spouse such as the nature of the relationship they had with the deceased, nature of the death of the deceased, behaviors and attitudes appearing early in the grieving process, and specific characteristics of the bereaved individuals. Hence, in identifying …