Digital Commons Network^™

Exploring Employee Retention Strategies In The U.S. Hotel Industry, Nathaniel Nwabuzor

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Organizational managers and business leaders struggle to retain hotel employees. The purpose of this qualitative, multiple case study was to explore the strategies that hotel managers use to improve employee retention and reduce turnover. The conceptual framework for this study was Herzberg's motivation-hygiene theory. The 4 cases were 4 different hotels in the midAtlantic region of the United States. Data were collected through semistructured interviews with 4 purposefully selected hotel managers (1 from each hotel) and document review. Data analysis consisted of compiling the data, coding for emergent and apriori codes, disassembling the data into common codes, reassembling the data …

A Patient-Centered Approach To Diabetes Education In A Rural Clinic, Paul Okpuzor

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) is a heterogeneous metabolic disease impacting more than 8.3% of adults in the United States. Diabetes-related care accounts for more than 11% of all patient care expenditures. The purpose of this project was to identify the primary concerns of members of the T2DM patient population in an underserved clinic in rural southcentral United States and to make recommendations for a staff diabetes education program to address these concerns. Orem's theory of self care outlined the importance of educating and supporting patients in their efforts to manage their own healthcare. Knowles's assumptions of how adult's learn …

Strategies Of Successful Government It Projects Based On Cost And Time, Ullice John Pelican

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

From 2001 through 2015, some information technology (IT) project managers failed to deliver U.S. Government IT projects on time and within budget. The failure of IT project managers to complete projects on time and within budget provoked the U.S. Government Accountability Office to classify IT projects as high risk. This multiple case study explored strategies government contracted IT project managers use to reduce cost overruns and improve on-time delivery. The participants in this study were government contracted IT project managers from organizations that provide IT project management in the Maryland area. Employing purposeful sampling of the explicit population, 5 selected …

Leveraging Artificial Intelligence To Improve Provider Documentation In Patient Medical Records, Evangeline C. Ozurigbo

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Clinical documentation is at the center of a patient's medical record; this record contains all the information applicable to the care a patient receives in the hospital. The practice problem addressed in this project was the lack of clear, consistent, accurate, and complete patient medical records in a pediatric hospital. Although the occurrence of incomplete medical records has been a known issue for the project hospital, the issue was further intensified following the implementation of the 10th revision of International Classification of Diseases (ICD-10) standard for documentation, which resulted in gaps in provider documentation that needed to be filled. Based …

Ensuring Quality Consumer Service Encounters, Katina Robertson

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Counterproductive employee behaviors are inevitable, unpredictable, and widespread in the U.S. retail industry. The purpose of this multiple case study was to explore U.S. midlevel retail leadership strategies used to prevent and correct employee behaviors that sabotage quality service encounters. Gilbert's behavior engineering model, which links employee behaviors to performance, was the framework used in this study. The data-collection process comprised 7 semistructured interviews with midlevel retail leaders, online company documentation, and researcher observations and assisted in achieving methodological triangulation. Member checking ensured the accuracy of participant responses, while Moustakas' modified van Kaam method was used to guide the data …

A Community Oriented Solution To Access To Care, Margaret Louise Thornell

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Access to primary health care services is a significant issue for many communities seeking to improve the health of their populations. This single case study describes the 12-year journey of 2 adjoining rural counties in 2 states towards meeting the primary and specialty care needs of the uninsured and underinsured population. Data were triangulated using historical documents, first-person interviews, and health utilization data. The community leadership moved through various models including a free clinic and a university-sponsored health center before finally establishing a federally qualified health center, which now serves 40,000 citizens in these counties. The site is now hosting …

Fast Food Business Survivability Beyond 5 Years In Nigeria, Victor Ukorebi

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The lack of manager's effective business strategies contributes to the failure of fast food businesses in Nigeria. The size of the fast food industry in Nigeria grows at the rate of 4% annually with rapid rate of return on investment. The annual value of the fast food business in Nigeria was N250 billion in 2015, which is approximately US$700 million. However, approximately 80% of fast food restaurants launched in Nigeria in 2014 failed to persist for longer than 5 years because of lack of survival strategies. Using the human capital theory, the purpose of this multiple case study was to …

Development Of A Clinical Nurse Leadership Orientation Program, Sunita Waddell

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Nurses are often promoted or hired into leadership positions without the benefit of a formal orientation to their new leadership positions. The challenge of navigating the various expectations of the role of clinical nurse leader (CNL) such as fiscal ownership, staffing patterns, payroll, and disciplinary action process can be overwhelming. The lack of a formalized orientation process and an identified nurse leader to function as a mentor can contribute to the novice CNL feeling unsupported and overwhelmed. The purpose of this project was to identify, develop, and evaluate a CNL orientation manual, outline, and program for newly appointed CNLs. The …

Marketing Strategies Of International Pharmaceutical Companies In The Middle East And North Africa Region, Ali Abou Abbas

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The declines in oil and gas prices in 2014 by 50% or more led governments in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region to decrease healthcare budgets correspondingly by more than 30%. The purpose of this multiple case study was to explore the marketing strategies that managers of international pharmaceutical companies have successfully implemented in the MENA region to ensure profitability after the 2014 decreases in the healthcare budgets, which followed the decline in oil and gas prices. The study involved data collection through semistructured interviews of 6 middle and executive managers working in 2 international pharmaceutical companies located …

Postmilitary Life Satisfaction And Social Support, Educational Attainment, And Length Of Service, Tara Nicole Brunson

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The U.S. military has downsized since the early 2000s and has plans to continue to decrease their forces. There are negative implications many veterans experience after discharge. Using the transition theory as the framework for this study, the purpose of this between-groups study was to explore the differences in life satisfaction scores between voluntarily- and involuntarily-discharged U.S. service members and the associations between educational attainment, social support, and length of service. The participants were honorable discharged U.S. service members. A total of 182 participants were included in this study; 141 were voluntarily discharged and 41 were involuntarily discharged. The participants …

Factors Affecting Colorectal Cancer Screening Among African-Born Immigrants In The United States, Chidoziri Chibundu

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Despite the evidence that colorectal cancer screening is effective in reducing the incidence of and mortality from colorectal cancer, racial and ethnic disparities in colorectal cancer screening persist in the United States. African-born immigrants in the United States have lower colorectal cancer screening rates than native-born Americans. The purpose of this quantitative, retrospective, cross-sectional study was to examine how family income, health insurance status, language of interview, length of stay in the United States, perceived health status, level of education, and having a usual place for medical care affect colorectal cancer screening among African-born immigrants in the United States. The …

The Use Of Performance Measurement Data In Nonprofit Organizational Sustainability, Helen S. Coy

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

In the United States, nonprofit organizations (NPOs) face a precarious future because of their heavy reliance on the financial support of government funding, other donor agencies, and philanthropic foundation resources. The purpose of this study is to understand how and to what extent leadership of NPOs can benefit from using funder-required performance data to improve organizational sustainability. Using Pfeffer and Salincik's resource dependency theory to explain organizational sustainability, this qualitative multiple case study of 10 NPOs in a northeastern U.S. state includes 14 interviews with NPO leadership, a document review of NPO 990 tax filings, annual performance reports, and board …

Perceived Cardiovascular Risk Among West Africa Immigrants In Dekalb County, Georgia, Oluwayomi Fabayo

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

West African immigrants appear to carry a heavier burden of hypertensive heart disease than the native-born African Americans in the United States. In this study, I used the socioecological model theory as a guide to examine the association between perceived stress, length of stay in United States, smoking status, housing conditions, and the risk of hypertensive heart disease among West African immigrants, ages 18 - 54 years in DeKalb County, Georgia. In this quantitative, cross-sectional design, self-reported data were collected from a sample of West African immigrant (N=107) in the DeKalb County of Georgia, using a demographic data/screening sheet and …

Experiences Of Current Or Former Homeschool Students Who Report Adhd Symptoms, Melissa Felkins

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Homeschooling is currently the fastest-growing educational population in the United States with an estimated 2 million students. Because 11% of school children have been diagnosed with attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), there are likely to be many children with ADHD symptoms in the homeschooling population. The purpose of this study was to extend knowledge of the experiences of homeschooling in this population to assist students with ADHD as well as their parents and educators to make informed educational decisions. The multiple intelligences theory provided the theoretical framework for this phenomenological study. The key research question was focused on how current or …

The Impact Of Authentic Leadership Development On Safety Climate Change, Victoria Hoyt

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Tragic, life-changing, and fatal incidents are a reality on large-scale, civil construction projects. Despite a decline following the enforcement of the 1971 Occupational Safety and Health Act, serious and fatal incidents on heavy construction projects remain higher than that of the active military and have not declined in any notable way in the past decade. Industrial-organizational literature suggested a lack of applied testing for the well-developed theory of authentic leadership (AL) to impact safety outcomes. This quasi-experiment combined the constructs of authentic leadership with safety climate perception as quantifiable measurement of potential safety outcomes in the workplace. The research question …

Medication Reconciliation In Primary Care Setting, Lawrence James-Osondu

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Polypharmacy entails the use of multiple drugs taken at the same time to manage the various comorbidities common among elderly patients. Polypharmacy is associated with increased health care spending due to drug duplication, adverse drug events, and medication noncompliance. Medication reconciliation has been shown to reduce the problems seen with polypharmacy. The purpose of this project was to review published evidence to develop a staff education program on medication reconciliation in a primary care setting and determine the efficacy of the program in relation to staff confidence and knowledge levels concerning medication reconciliation. The project was guided by Nola Pender's …

Hiv Testing Service Utilization Among Men And Women In Dominica, Carol Rosetta Jno.Baptiste-Smith

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Voluntary HIV/AIDS testing and counselling (VHTC) is one of the preventive measures used in many countries to decrease the spread of HIV/AIDS. Archived data from National HIV/AIDS Response Program's (NHARP) raw 2016 dataset were used to identify relationships and to assess significant differences between sociodemographic factors and selected sexual risk behaviours versus VHTC practices among adults 18 years and older who resided in Dominica. The health belief model was used as the framework for this cross-sectional study. The sample comprised 982 participants (40% [394] men and 60% [588] women). Logistic regression analysis was used to assess associations between sociodemographic and …

Music Artists' Strategies To Generate Revenue Through Technology, Kalilu Kamara Ii

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Music streaming services are increasing, compact discs (CDs) and digital download sales are declining, and many music artists are becoming affected by this positive shift in music technology. Music streaming revenue does not compensate for the decrease in revenue from CDs and paid downloads. Based on organizational configuration theory (OCT), the purpose of this multiple case study was to explore the technology and marketing strategies that small business music artists used to generate sales revenue from the Internet. Six small business music artists who were 18 years or older with different music revenue streams participated in semistructured interviews. These small …

Policy Implications And Perceptions Of African American Men Who Used Ritalin As Children, Divine Ayivor

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Even though there are high diagnosis rates of ADHD among young African American

men, policy makers and parents have largely viewed the use of Ritalin as a psychotrop

ic

drug that raises public health concerns. African American parents may be reluctant to

treat their children pharmacologically. Very few studies have fully explored the

perceptions of African American men

about the consequences of their

Ritalin

use

as

chi

ldren. The purpose of this qualitative study was to explore the experiences of African

American men who used Ritalin as children

so that

policy makers

and

parents of children

with ADHD

might

better …

The Effects Of Increased Emotional Intelligence On Information Technology Professionals, Reba Alexander Businsky

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Information technology professionals effectively manage complex, tactical processes and procedures for internal and external customers. At the time of this study there was a gap in the literature regarding the effects of emotional intelligence on information technology professionals. An organization's internal and external customers may become dissatisfied with the information technology professionals because of their communication style lacking an increased level of emotional intelligence. The purpose of this quantitative study was to research the effects of increased emotional intelligence by surveying 315 information technology professionals. Data were collected using 3 electronic surveys including a general questionnaire to collect demographic data, …

The Relationship Between Body Dissatisfaction And Cosmetic Enhancement Surgery, Amanda Crandall Sharp

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Previous research has indicated an increasing trend toward elective cosmetic surgery to achieve a perceived ideal body image and meet psychological and social needs. However, there remains a gap in the literature regarding the number of procedures performed on a single patient, and the potential that patients may suffer from body dysmorphic disorder (BDD). Therefore, the purpose of this quantitative study was to examine the relationship between the number of cosmetic surgeries undergone, level of body dissatisfaction, level of dysmorphic concern, and preoccupation with appearance. Participants included 75 females and 55 males, ranging in age from 18 to 64 years. …

Family, Community, And Peer Factors In Substance Abuse Recovery And School Achievement, Lisa Duszynski

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Research correlates adolescent drug use and dropout rates, and the National Survey on Drug Use and Health shows 31.4% of those who dropped out of high school had used an illicit substance recently. The purpose of this study was to examine adolescents' perceptions of the influence of family, peers, and community, on recovery and academic achievement as a result of participation in a school-referred drug education program. To inspect the study purpose, Henggeler's multisystemic therapy was used to guide the study. Data collection used a researcher-designed, open-ended survey to collect responses from 14 individuals involved in a school-referred substance education …

Implementation Strategies For Quality Assurance Performance Improvements In Nursing Homes, Ameer Gilyard

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The healthcare industry, and more specifically the nursing home sector, is changing operations and services due to a healthcare mandates and enactment of the 2010 Affordable Care Act. Such changes are termed quality assurance performance improvements (QAPI), to receive government subsidies and indemnification compensations. The purpose of this single case study was to explore effective strategies implemented by 4 healthcare leaders to comply with QAPI regulations. Total quality management theory was the conceptual framework used in this study. Data were collected through semistructured, open-ended, face-to-face interviews with 4 participants who serve in a management capacity at an organization located in …

The Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement And The Changing Face Of Free Trade Agreements: The Resultant Social, Political, And Economic Consequences, Joseph Heyliger

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Little is known about the impact of nontrade issues on developing countries entering trade agreements. The Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement (TPPA) represents an attempt to set high-standard trade rules for participating countries in the Asian-Pacific region that require the inclusion of wide-ranging nontrade issues in the TPPA. This general qualitative study explored the economic, social, and political consequences for developing countries by including nontrade issues in Free Trade Agreements (FTAs). The overarching research question addressed whether nontrade issues in FTAs detract developing countries from achieving their trade goals. This study was guided by the theory of comparative advantage propounded by Ricardo …

Improving Workers' Safety And Health In The Zimbabwean Mining And Quarrying Industry, Bernard Mabika

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Lack of effective occupational safety and health (OSH) strategies is a reason that

workplace accidents in the mining and quarrying industry remain high, making the

industry one of the riskiest operations worldwide. The purpose of this multiple case study

was to explore successful strategies mining and quarrying leaders in Zimbabwe used to

improve OSH. The key research question addressed successful strategies leaders in the

mining and quarrying industry use to improve employee occupational safety and health in

Zimbabwe. Six successful business leaders from 3 mining and quarrying mines in

Zimbabwe demonstrated an exception to unsafe practices, particularly through their

exceptional …

Small And Medium-Size Enterprise Owner Strategies For Invoice Factoring Financing, Winniefred Nabawanda

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Small and medium-sized enterprise (SME) business owners influence the growth and development of sub-Saharan Africa and the welfare of its citizens. However, SME owners often lack the strategies to access and obtain invoice factoring financing to fund their businesses. Guided by the pecking order theory and the credit rationing theory, the purpose of this multiple case study was to explore strategies that 3 SME owners in Kenya used to access and obtain invoice factoring financing to fund their businesses. Data were collected from in-depth semistructured Skype interviews and organizational documents. Data were analyzed using the Krippendorff content analysis methodology. Member …

Public Health Providers' Perceptions Of Electronic Health Records In A Disaster, Sherhonda Yvette Harper

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The introduction of federal initiatives and incentives regarding health information technology fostered a movement towards the adoption of electronic health records (EHR). Implementation of EHRs sparked discussions among healthcare providers, patients, and others about the benefits or challenges of the move from the traditional paper method to the electronic version in healthcare settings. A knowledge gap in research involving the usefulness of EHRs and their impact to the delivery of care in other settings exists. The purpose of this qualitative study was to explore public health providers' perceptions of the meaningful use of EHRs in a disaster setting. Study participants …

Young Female College Millennials' Intent For Behavior Change With Wearable Fitness Technology, Andrea Christine Haney

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Among young college-aged females, overweight and obesity, type 2 diabetes, uncontrolled hypertension, and high stress levels have increased, causing overall worse health conditions than previous generations. The use of wearable fitness technology (WFT) by young adults assists in fitness and nutrition monitoring, provides feedback in health statistics, and has shown improvements in reducing health-related issues in young college females. A wide body of literature related to physical activity, nutrition, and health issues in young college females exists; however, the experiences and intent of WFT use for behavior change by young college female millennials has not been well researched. The purpose …

Strategies To Minimize Direct Care Worker Shortages, Eric Ik Iloabachie

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

There is a worldwide shortage of direct care workers who help older adults in their own homes. The purpose of this multiple case study was to explore strategies that owners of home health care businesses can use to retain adequate direct care workers for their businesses. Five home care agency owners from Wake County, North Carolina, participated. Each owner had successfully implemented strategies to ensure adequate caregivers to sustain the business. Human relations theory was used to address the business problem. Data collection involved interviewing the 5 owners of home care agency businesses in their offices. Through a process of …

Technology Acceptance And Compliance In Obstructive Sleep Apnea Patients, Asif Kidwai

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The focus of this study is the problem of declining trend in obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) patient compliance. Studies reported improved compliance in patients with chronic diseases due to technology-based interventions. However, researchers have not investigated the advantages of technology to improve the compliance of OSA patients in detail. The specific problem was the lack of engagement between patients and healthcare managers, resulting in low compliance within OSA patients. The purpose of this qualitative study was to evaluate how technology-based interventions can improve OSA patient engagement with the healthcare managers resulting in improved compliance with treatment procedures. In this study, …