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Self-Identifying Latino/A/X Former Mental Health Therapy Clients’ Experiences Receiving Mental Health Therapy, Teresa Sypolt

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The Latino/a/x population in the United States continues to increase as does the need for mental health professionals who are bilingual and knowledgeable on multicultural issues. Spanish is the native language spoken in approximately 13% of the households in the United States, with 36% of Spanish-speakers seeking mental health treatment. Research on therapists serving Latino/a/x clients indicated that therapists struggled to provide culturally sensitive and linguistic appropriate interventions. While therapists’ challenges and experiences have been explored, little is known on the therapeutic experiences of Latino/a/x former clients. The purpose of this interpretative phenomenological analysis was to explore the therapeutic experiences …

Bmi Screening Tool To Identify Elementary School Children At Risk For Obesity, Talia S. Thompson-Jones

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Obesity is a public health epidemic and is as relevant in the pediatric population as it is in adults. The purpose of this DNP project was to develop a clinical practice guideline (CPG) that would use existing evidence to support the development of body mass index (BMI) screening in primary schools for the early detection of childhood obesity. Globally, more than 41 million children were obese or overweight by 2018. Due to incidence rates, developing an effective strategy to address childhood obesity is critical. The practice-focused question asked whether the evidence supported the development of a CPG for implementing BMI …

Leadership Strategies For Obtaining Employee Involvement In A Behavioral Health Organization, David Henry Thompson

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Maintaining a stable and engaged workforce is essential in providing quality treatment to individuals with behavioral health disorders. Soliciting and accepting input and feedback from workforce members is vital in ensuring that competent staff is available to this vulnerable population. Behavioral health leaders can facilitate this goal by cultivating environments that support employee involvement in organizational decision-making. This case study focused on identifying strategies for obtaining employee involvement by examining organizational culture and perceptions, with specific attention to existing opportunities for engaging the workforce in corporate decisions. Using the Baldridge Excellence Framework conceptually, data collection comprised five leadership interviews, organizational …

Vitamin K Deficiency And Ischemic Stroke In Atrial Fibrillation Patients On Warfarin, Kimberly Therese Thompson

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Individuals with poor nutritional vitamin K status can suffer from atrial fibrillation (AF) due to misinterpretation of warfarin instructions by healthcare providers. The purpose of this quantitative study was to determine if there was an association between inadequate dietary vitamin K intake in AF patients and stroke outcomes to address the lack of research surrounding stroke outcomes in patients with true vitamin K deficiency. Grounded in the health belief model, this study assessed if individual beliefs from health education influenced the nutritional quality of their diet and health outcomes. The study is a secondary data analysis of the Framingham Heart …

Systematic Literature Review Of Residency Program For Transition To Intensive Care, Sonja Marguerite Thornton

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The purpose of the systematic literature review project is to present the benefits of a nurse residency program (NRP) to assist new graduate nurses (NGNs) in transition to intensive care nursing. A theory-to-practice gap in knowledge and experience results in the need to support these nurses during their transition to professional practice. This project focused on compiling a systematic review of existing literature to provide evidence and insights into the optimal structure and process of transitioning new graduate nurses to intensive care nursing practice. The American Associations of Critical Care Nurses synergy conceptual model and Patricia Benner's novice to expert …

Clinical Practice Guideline For Preventing Falls In Geriatric Patients, Rachida Abboud Todd

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

AbstractFalls among geriatric patients within the acute care setting constitute significant threats to their physical and mental health and quality of life. Falls, with or without injuries, can prolong the length of stay at the hospital and cause early placement in an aged care institution. The etiology of falls is a multifactorial phenomenon involving cumulative risks shared by many adults. In answering the practice focused question, the purpose of this doctorate project was to develop an evidenced-based clinical practice guideline (CPG) to provide a standardized guide to provide ready access to the evidence-based interventions found to be most effective in …

Depression Among Older Immigrant African Women In Metro West Massachusetts, Bi Toh

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

AbstractThis study addressed depression among older immigrant African Women in Metro West Massachusetts to better understand the causes and prevalence of depression among older women coming from Africa to live in the United States. The study situated older women to be above the age of 55 and focused on exploring the views of social workers in relation to issues of depression among these women. It addressed the factors that influence older immigrant African women’s adaptive capacity in Metro West Massachusetts, the mental health service social workers offer to older women from Africa living in the United States, how social workers …

African American Male College Graduates’ Paternal Incarceration Experiences, Natassia Toxey Askew

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Various public polices contributed to the significant increase of parent incarceration in the United States among African Americans. The purpose of this transcendental phenomenological study was to gain an understanding of the perspective of African American male college graduates who experienced paternal incarceration during childhood and/or adolescence about the role of family and persevering to obtain a college degree by the age of 30. Utilizing a transcendental phenomenological approach to describe the essence of paternal incarceration as experienced by 12 participants, emergent themes were uncovered to build the characteristics of success relative to the role of family. The modified van …

The Influence Of Parents' Pathological Social Media Engagement And Parenting Style On Delinquent Behavior Among Mexican American Adolescents, Martha Lilia Varela-Rios

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The pathological use of social media is a growing problem for diverse groups today. For parents, the resulting detachment from their adolescent children, compromised communication, and limited monitoring of children's activities appear highly correlated with increased adolescent delinquency. The purpose of this quantitative correlational study was to examine the predictive relationships between Mexican American parents’ pathological use of social media and their adolescent's delinquent behavior and between these parents’ parenting styles and their adolescent's delinquent behavior. Unhealthy parenting styles have also been associated with delinquency in adolescents. The theoretical foundation of the study was based on Bowlby’s attachment theory and …

A Phenomenological Study Of Mental Health Providers' Cultural Sensitivity Towards Latinx Clients, Nohemi Vasquez

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

AbstractThis hermeneutic phenomenological study explored the lived professional experiences involving mental health providers’ cultural sensitivity towards Latinx clients in the context of mental health service delivery. Pedersen and Essadoh’s multiculturalism framework, known as the “fourth force” of psychology, was used as a guiding framework. Fifteen mental health providers were recruited. Data were collected using semi-structured interviews via Skype, in-person, or phone interviews with participants who had from two to over thirteen years of working experience with Latinx populations. Interviews were examined using an interpretive phenomenological analysis. Four themes emerged from participant responses. Findings revealed that cultural competence and cultural awareness …

Impacts Of Immigration Detention On Sub-Saharan Africa Asylum Seekers In The United States, Felix Vescovi Ogunsuyi

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Detaining asylum seekers has become an established practice in many countries. There is a large body of research suggesting that immigration detention causes asylum seekers harm. However, the focus of these studies has been on diagnosable disorders and mental health, with no descriptive understanding of how detention and resettlement are experienced and conceptualized by asylum seekers. The purpose of this phenomenological study was to examine how formerly detained asylum seekers from sub-Saharan African countries perceive the impact of detention on their resettlement experience in the United States. Ager and Strang’s conceptual framework of refugee integration was used as the study’s …

Principals Cultivating Collective Teacher Efficacy, Frank Vetter

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Nationally, collective teacher efficacy (CTE) has been correlated with higher levels of student achievement. The problem addressed through this study was that local school district leaders have been unsuccessful in cultivating CTE through the district’s collaborative planning process. Guided by the enabling conditions of CTE, the purpose of this basic qualitative study was to explore how local middle school principals cultivated CTE in their schools through the collaborative planning process. Eight middle school principals with experience using the district’s collaborative planning process completed semistructured interviews. Data analysis employed inductive, open coding to identify themes. Themes indicated that, as part of …

The Association Between Self-Efficacy, Patient Health Education, And Self-Management In Patients With Rheumatoid Arthritis, Julie Vultaggio

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Although previous researchers have studied education for patients with chronic conditions, they have not adequately considered the relationship between self-efficacy (SE), patient health education, and perception of self-management (SM) in patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA). Educating a patient can empower them to better SM. The purpose this study was to examine these associations in this patient population. This quantitative research study featured a descriptive, nonexperimental cross-sectional survey design using nonprobability convenience sampling. The theoretical framework was the social cognitive theory. The independent variables were SE and patient health education. SM was the dependent variable. Patients with RA from a rheumatology …

Core Subject Area Vocabulary Instructional Strategies For Middle School English Language Learners, Tiffany N. Waller

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Academic vocabulary is one of the most important skills needed in language learning, but it may be difficult for students whose native language is not English. The purpose of this qualitative study is to investigate how classroom core subject teachers at Middle School 55 (pseudonym) perceive their ability to implement specific instructional model strategies to support explicit academic vocabulary building for ELL students. This study was grounded in Becker and Engelmann’s direct instruction framework for effective and efficient teaching and involved providing research-based principles for teachers supporting ELLs in middle school who are developing academic vocabulary skills. Open-ended semistructured interviews …

Third Grade Arabic And English Dual Language Learners’ Literacy Achievement Associated With The Scott Foresman Reading Street Program, Katina Latrice Walton

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The academic success of dual language learners (DLLs) has been studied extensively, but few studies have investigated the effectiveness of the Scott Foresman Reading Street (SFRS) program on DLL struggling readers. The purpose of this quantitative study, grounded in the linguistic interdependence theory, was to compare the Measure of Academic Progress Reading Fluency (MAP RF) Rasch Unit (RIT) scores of third grade DLL struggling readers before and after they participated in 1 year of the SFRS program at Commonwealth School in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. The RIT scores measure students’ progress between grades. A repeated-measures t test was used to examine …

Leadership Strategies To Mitigate Alternative Dispute Resolution Grievances, Retaliation, And Revenge, Andrew Washington

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Alternative dispute resolution (ADR) has been an area of study among scholars since the 1970s. Critics have questioned protections, gaps in the literature, and inconsistencies in the law. The current study was essential for organizational leaders and EEOC facilitators to understand why the ADR process does not protect U.S. Federal government organizational leaders from unjustified or unreasonable claims and retaliation. The overarching research question addressed how the ADR process protected U.S. Federal government organizational leaders in Washington, D.C., Maryland, and Virginia from unjustified or unreasonable claims and retaliation. The purpose of this qualitative multiple case study and purposeful sampling was …

Disciplinary Teacher Perceptions And Challenges Of Literacy Instruction For English Language Learners, Scarlett Nicole Wetherington

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Disciplinary teachers who teach mathematics, science, and social studies are challenged to embed literacy instruction into their disciplines for the growing population of English language learners (ELLs). In a rural middle school in the Southern region of the United States, disciplinary teachers are struggling to embed literacy instruction to support ELLs to meet grade-level achievement standards. The purpose of this basic qualitative study was to explore teachers’ perceptions about the challenges of using literacy strategies to teach ELLs in the disciplinary classroom. The conceptual framework for this study included Mezirow’s theory of transformative learning. The key research questions of this …

Academic Self-Efficacy And Satisfaction Among College Students With Autism Spectrum Disorder, Cannda Wilbanks

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Over decades, researchers have identified an increase in autism spectrum disorder (ASD) diagnosis resulting in a growing population of students with ASD attending higher education environments. Several researchers have found that individuals with ASD experience challenges in on-campus college settings. Examining other postsecondary learning environments may have provided insight into settings that may reduce the challenges students with ASD experience. The purpose of this quantitative study was to examine differences in self-efficacy and satisfaction among college students with ASD enrolled in on-campus-only, blended, and online learning environments. The theoretical foundations were Oliver’s social model of disability and Bandura’s self-efficacy theory. …

Reducing Sepsis Rates Through Nursing Staff Education, Joshua J. Wilkinson

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Many hospitals fail to comply with sepsis treatment core measures. The purpose of this project was to educate nursing staff in a small rural emergency department in the Midwest United States about core measures that included 1-hour bundles for sepsis treatment. The project attempted to answer the practice-focused question: Does educating emergency department nursing staff in a small rural emergency department on the 1-hour sepsis bundle increase knowledge? Lewin’s Change Theory and Kirkpatrick’s Four-Level Training Evaluation Model served as the framework for the project. A 1-hour in-person education was developed using the Analyze, Design, Develop, Implement, and Evaluate model with …

An Exploration Of Principal Leadership Practices To Support Gifted And Talented Programming And Academic Performance, Tiffany Deneen Williams

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The purpose of this qualitative multiple case study was to explore how elementary and middle school principals perceive their leadership to address the decline in the academic performance of gifted and talented students in their transition from elementary to middle school, addressing a gap in the literature. Transformational leadership served as the conceptual framework to inform the data collection and analysis. The three research questions focused on elementary and middle school principals’ perceptions of their experiences with gifted and talented education, their perceptions of the decline in gifted and talented student academic performance, and their perceived leadership practices to address …

Exploring Early Childhood Teachers’ Experiences When Teaching Phonics With The Letterland Program, Laura A. Winters

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

In 2015, a small school district in a mid-Atlantic state implemented Letterland, a phonics-based early reading program, to increase early reading levels. The problem investigated in this study was that, despite district implementation of the Letterland phonics program, early childhood students continued to struggle with mastery of phonics and phonemic awareness skills, suggesting that improvements might be needed in program implementation. The purpose of this project study was to explore the experiences and perceptions of early childhood teachers who teach phonics and phonemic awareness using the Letterland program. The conceptual framework that guided this study was the constructivist theory. The …

Opioid Naloxone Education Clinical Practice Guideline, Tat'yana Sahleem Alethia Worthy

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

As a result of an institution-wide campaign to train providers on the administration of opioid reversal agents within a large medical center in the northeastern United States, the practice problem emerged that there was no patient/family education document for healthcare providers to use as a guide to educate patients on opioid risk and proper administration of naloxone to prevent opioid overdose in the outpatient setting. This scholarly project used an interprofessional team to develop comprehensive opioid naloxone education guidelines to close the gap in clinical practice. The purpose of this project was to develop a patient education clinical practice guideline …

Nontraditional Students’ Perceptions And Experiences Using Technology In A Teacher Preparation Program, Amy Wright

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

AbstractTechnology integration is a key part of a 2-year teacher education program at the Canadian university; nontraditional students seemed unprepared to use technology for learning. The purpose of this study was to investigate nontraditional students’ perceptions and experiences about their successes and challenges using technology in the program. The study was guided by Knowles’s andragogy theory, which presents a learner-centred perspective on adult learning. The research questions focused on nontraditional students’ successes and challenges using technology in coursework. A basic qualitative design was used to capture the insights of 10 purposefully selected, nontraditional university students through semistructured interviews. Themes were …

Teachers' Perceptions And Experiences Related To Preparing English Language Arts Students For American Literature End-Of-Course Exams, Felicia Wynter

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Students in the local school district have continued to score below the state average on the standardized American Literature end-of-course (EOC) assessment. It was unclear what 9th-, 10th-, and 11th-grade teachers in the district were doing to prepare students for success on the American Literature EOC. The purpose of this basic qualitative study was to examine teachers’ perceptions of the reason for the low assessment scores and their experiences implementing instructional strategies to prepare students for the American Literature EOC. The conceptual framework for the study was Hunter’s model of mastery learning and explicit instruction. The research questions focused on …

Subnational Data To Inform Measles Vaccination Campaigns In Children Under 5 Years In Tanzania, Tracie Jean Wright

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Measles is one of the most contagious diseases ever known, infecting as high as 90% of susceptible persons encountering the virus, and globally is one of the main causes of disability and death among children. Measles remains an avoidable disease that can be prevented by receiving a measles containing vaccine using supplemental immunization activities (SIA) implementation strategies. Because national-level measles data may not reflect geographic differences, program capacity, or localized outbreaks, SIAs prompted by and geared toward the subnational level may have a greater impact than a nationwide SIA. The purpose of this retrospective cross-sectional study was to examine the …

Assessment Of Multidrug Resistance Among Tuberculosis Patients In Lesotho, Jerry Yakubu Yahaya

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The emergence of multidrug-resistant tuberculosis (MDR-TB) jeopardizes the tremendous efforts in the fight against tuberculosis in Lesotho. To understand the occurrence of MDR-TB, it is important to identify the associated risk factors and how to address them. There is a literature gap on the sociodemographic risk factors associated with MDR-TB in Lesotho. This study assessed whether there is any significant association between age, employment, income, sex, education, place of residence and MDR-TB. The association between HIV and MDR-TB was also evaluated. Guided by the health belief model and social cognitive theory, a retrospective case-control study design and a proportionate stratified …

Childhood Anxiety And Roles Of Parents, Educators, And Pediatric Healthcare Providers In Addressing Protective Factors, Gabriela Zamora-Ahlstrom

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

AbstractChildhood anxiety affects over 32% of youth in the United States, and when left untreated, contributes to poor school performance, social difficulties, truancy, school dropout rates, juvenile delinquency, substance abuse, and family and community difficulties. Preventing childhood anxiety by implementing effective protective factors for children can eliminate many of these outcomes. Using the biopsychosocial theory and social work systems theories, this study involved exploring the beliefs and attitudes of parents, educators, and pediatric healthcare providers in an affluent suburban community of Detroit (Rochester/Rochester Hills, MI), regarding their roles in providing protective factors against childhood anxiety. A generic qualitative research design …

The Use Of Social Media For Disaster Information In Houston-Galveston, Tx, Erik Phillip Zugner

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

AbstractDisasters, natural or human-caused, have the ability to inflict catastrophic economic and physical damage to communities around the world. As social media is becoming more widespread in the use of information sharing, it is not being used to its full potential to communicate with the communities in the greater Houston-Galveston, TX region. The purpose of this study was to address the use and implementation of social media for disasters and large-scale events in the Houston-Galveston, TX region. I used the transformative framework as outlined by Creswell as the theoretical framework for this study. The qualitative research questions focused on social …

Gestational Weight Gain, Level Of Education, And Infant Mortality Among African American Women, George Lee Amanambu

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Abstract

African American (AA) women in Mississippi have a higher burden of infant mortality, especially those with low income and educational levels, as compared to other regions of the country. However, it is unknown if abnormal gestation weight gain (GWG) is contributing to this increased burden. This quantitative cross-sectional study examined the association between GWG (25-35lbs), level of education, income, and infant mortality among AA women with normal prepregnancy body weight who were between 30 to 47 years old in the state of Mississippi from 2016 to 2018. Biopsychosocial and ecosocial models were used as the theoretical foundation to design …

Strategies Of Successful Project Managers Leading Virtual Teams, Allison Harris Bean

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Some project managers lack strategies to effectively lead virtual project teams, which can result in a lack of clear project direction, collaboration and communication, and empowerment to solve problems within the team. Grounded in transformational leadership theory, the purpose of this qualitative multiple-case study was to explore strategies project managers use to lead virtual teams effectively. The participants were three project managers in. the United States who worked exclusively with virtual teams and had a minimum of one year of experience leading a virtual project team. Data were collected using semi-structured interviews and analyzed using thematic analysis. Three themes emerged: …