Digital Commons Network^™

Exploring Patterns Of Resilience In Individuals Who Identify As Native American, Kimberly Ann Landrau

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Native Americans experience a higher rate of homicide, suicide, and injury, on average, than do others in the United States. There has been little research, however, on turning point and epiphany experiences as factors that contribute to resilience in Native Americans. The purpose of this study was to add to this body of knowledge, and promote social change such as greater engagement and dialogue within Native American communities. The theory that informed the study was resilience theory. Two questions were answered: (a) the ways in which turning point life experiences have correlated with resilience in Native American individuals, and (b) …

Teachers' Perceptions In Developing Robust Vocabulary Instruction At An American International School, Cathleen S. M. Lee

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

At an international school in Taiwan, English learners have struggled to meet the U.S. national average in vocabulary on standardized testing instruments. This problem has become more significant since 2009. The purpose of this research was to conduct a case study on successful vocabulary teachers to determine their perceptions of effective teaching. Knowles' andragogy, Brookfield's self-directed, experiential learning, and Vygotsky's social constructivist framework provided the conceptual framework for this study. The research questions focused on teachers' perceptions of why they were successful in teaching vocabulary in English. The study site had access to quantitative data regarding previous standardized testing results; …

Leadership Style And Organizational Citizenship Behavior In Community-Based Mental Health Facilities, Paula Ann Lucey

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

A dramatic and historic evolution has occurred as mental health care has shifted from institutional-based care to community-based care. Framed by the social exchange theory, the purpose of this study was to identify the correlation of the leadership style of supervisors in residential care facilities with the organizational citizenship behavior of the residential care workers. The research questions focused on the correlation between the leadership styles and organizational citizenship behavior (OCB) with a secondary focus specifically on transformational leadership. Residential care workers in 3 states working in 65 facilities within a single organization completed 2 surveys: the Multifactor Leadership Questionnaire …

The Effectiveness Of Individualized And Rehabilitative Therapies For Children In Foster Care, Alma Pozo-Breen

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Children placed in foster care face considerable stress and trauma related to being removed from their homes and subsequently living in a new environment. They may exhibit severe disruptive or antisocial behavior as a consequence. Clinicians and researchers often have not considered that these behaviors may be due to children's underdeveloped cognitive control and response. Treatment approaches that offer more holistic perspectives on stress and the inclusion of individual and specialized therapies may help foster children to better control their responses and return to their biological families sooner. The purpose of this study was to focus on whether individual therapy …

The Implementation Of The Anti-Bullying Bill Of Rights Act: New Jersey High School Educators' Perceptions, Stacey Zaremba

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

New Jersey's high school teachers have many responsibilities to their students: they must educate them, work to mold their strength of character, and protect them from harming each other. The Anti-Bullying Bill of Rights Act (ABR), legally fortified these goals by protecting students from harassment, intimidation, and bullying (HIB), at the state level. Previous research has indicated that incident rates for these negative behaviors are growing globally. This reality has driven the need for intervention and prevention programming; however, few instances of successful implementation exist. An important gap remains in the current literature, as there is still a need to …

An Evidence-Based Mentorship Program For Experienced Nurses, Roma Allen

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Turnover of experienced nurses is a component of the nursing shortage, which has created a lack of expert nurses administering bedside care. The project site is a Chicago suburban hospital with an average first year turnover of experienced nurses at 35%. This rate is above the 27% first year turnover reported by the Metropolitan Chicago Healthcare Council. This project focused on development and evaluation of an evidence-based mentorship program supported by theory that can contribute to an increase in experienced nurse retention. A detailed literature review references causative factors of turnover, such as an increasing workload, a multigenerational and aging …

The Relationship Between Self-Efficacy And Advanced Stem Coursework In Female Secondary Students, Bethany Marie Bernasconi

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Despite years of attention, gender inequity persists in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM). Female STEM faculty, positive social interactions, and enrollment in advanced STEM secondary coursework are supportive factors in promoting female students' persistence in STEM fields. To address the gap in understanding these factors, this study employed a sequential mixed method design using a framework of social cognitive theory. Research questions focused on how levels of self-efficacy and perception of personal and social factors among female secondary students related to their enrollment in advanced STEM coursework and extracurricular activities in a rural New England school where gender parity …

Culturally Competent Nutrition Counseling And Health Outcomes Of Patients On Emergency Dialysis, Edlyn Geraldine Bustamante

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Undocumented end stage renal disease (ESRD) patients in the United States only have access to emergency dialysis. To compensate for the lack of regular dialysis these patients must follow strict renal dietary restrictions. However, nutrition counseling by a dietitian is not part of the renal management of patients on emergency dialysis. The purpose of this quantitative quasi-experimental treatment-control study was to assess how the application of nutritional counseling that is both culturally and linguistically competent affects dialysis frequency and biochemical lab values such as serum potassium, phosphorus, and vitamin D of patients in emergency dialysis. The study was grounded on …

Development Of An Evidence-Based Protocol For The Management Of Acute Vertebral Fragility Fractures, Shannon De Ann Carey

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Vertebral fragility fractures are common, affecting approximately 50% of all postmenopausal women and 33% of men over the age of 50, and are the most common type of fracture seen in osteoporosis. The management of vertebral fragility fractures in the acute care setting is lacking in standardization, in the use of evidence-based practice, and in addressing the underlying cause of osteoporosis. The purpose of this project was to develop an evidence-based protocol to standardize the care of the vertebral fragility fracture in the acute care setting. This protocol included patient education, fall risk assessment, screening for osteoporosis, and follow up …

Nurse Practitioner Navigator Policy And Procedure Protocols In Private Practice, Wendy Grose

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

In 2010, the Patient Protection and Affordable Healthcare Act (PPACA) implemented changes to reduce healthcare spending that incorporated Centers for Medicare and Medicaid (CMS) incentive programs to reduce 30-day readmission rates in seniors with heart failure. This project includes a policy and procedure for private practice using a nurse practitioner navigator (NPN) led multidisciplinary team (MDT) for the patient-centered medical home (PCMH) to improve communication between hospitals and PCMH to decrease readmission rates in seniors with heart failure (HF). This practice change will provide an implementation and evaluation plan along with plans for future expansion. Meetings were held twice weekly …

Studying The Prevalence Of Depression Among Diabetic Patients In Primary Care, Lanita Rochelle Hood

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Abstract

The prevalence of diabetes in the United States in 2015 was 30.3 million people; which is the equivalent of 9.4% of the population. It is a major contributor to morbidity and mortality. Depression is often underdiagnosed in these patients, which contributes to poor self-management and poor health outcomes. In a large primary-care practice on the East Coast, there is no guideline for depression screening in the diabetic population. Focusing on this specific primary care setting, the research question addressed the underdiagnoses of depression in diabetic patients. The project evaluated the prevalence of depression among patients diagnosed with diabetes by …

Defining The Scope Of Practice For Nurse Practitioners In Miam, Samantha Lucero

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Minimally invasive aesthetic medicine (MIAM) is a relatively new field, which lacks a clearly defined scope of practice. The purpose of this project was to clarify the scope of practice for nurse practitioners in MIAM in California. Without a clearly defined scope of practice, nurse practitioners are unable to practice to the full extent of their license which causes them to be underutilized and face liability issues. This project sought to answer the question: What is the scope of practice of the nurse practitioner in MIAM in the state of California? The model of professional nursing practice regulation was the …

Servant Leadership And Its Effect On Employee Job Satisfaction And Turnover Intent, Dennis M. Mitterer

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Experts expect a shortage of more than 900,000 nurses by 2022, according to the United States Bureau of Labor Statistics Employment Projections. Turnover in nursing contributes significantly to the shortage and often results from poor leadership of nurse managers. The purpose of this quantitative study was to investigate how servant leadership behaviors affected the psychological state and behavioral response of staff nurses as reflected by job satisfaction and turnover intention. Specifically, the research question addressed whether servant leadership positively contributes to the psychological states and the behaviors of staff nurses leading to greater job satisfaction. The study design was correlational, …

Coping And Work-Related Correlates Of Burnout For Counselors Of Sex Offenders, Sonya A. Adams

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Burnout affects mental health workers both personally and professionally. Identifying variables that lead to burnout, such as poor coping skills, may assist organization in preventing burnout among mental health workers. Most researchers studying burnout in the mental health field have focused on human service workers in general. There is a gap in the literature concerning job burnout among counselors of sex offenders. The theory of cognitive appraisal and coping was the theoretical foundation for this study. The purpose of this quantitative study was to examine whether problem-focused coping and emotion-focused coping, genders, years of experience, and caseload size predict job …

Senior Students' Experiences, Perspectives, And Attitudes Of Technological Competencies In Nursing Education, Patricia C. Bennett

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Technological standards appear to be needed in undergraduate nursing education, as existing research has yet to establish technological standards for undergraduate nursing students. The purpose of this qualitative study was to examine the lived experiences of senior nursing students with respect to their perceptions regarding exposure to and abilities gained in the areas of information management, information literacy, and computer literacy. The framework of the study was based on Bandura's theory of self-efficacy and the Dreyfus model of skills acquisition. Using a phenomenological approach, in-depth face-to-face interviews were used with a purposive sample to collect data about the technological competencies …

Violence Against Nurses, Terri Lynne Declerck

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Workplace violence against nurses causes stress, job dissatisfaction, injury, and financial burden. The purpose of this project was to examine training for nurses on violence, risk factors and on reporting workplace violence. The practice-focused question was designed to examine the effectiveness of educating nurses regarding violent patients and how to report episodes of violence. Benner's novice to expert theory guided the skill acquisition training of a convenience sample of 25 Midwestern medical nurses. The nurses participated by completing a survey prior to and following a violence simulation. A qualitative design was used with the 25 nurse participants who completed the …

Influence Of Leadership Style On Leaders' Transition From Private To Public Sector, Lorinda Lee

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Leadership can improve the quality of work through motivation or degrade work through pressure. Leadership effectiveness depends on style and work environment. Differences in work environment may create challenges for leaders transitioning from private to public organizations. The purpose of this quantitative correlational study was to examine the relationship between leadership styles and ease of transition from private to public organizations. The study included the full-range leadership model as the theoretical foundation. Seventy-seven public sector employees in Ontario, Canada, participated in a survey to measure leadership style and effectiveness of transition from private to public sector. Results of multiple linear …

Relationship Between Active Learning Methodologies And Community College Students' Stem Course Grades, Cherish Christina Lesko

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Active learning methodologies (ALM) are associated with student success, but little research on this topic has been pursued at the community college level. At a local community college, students in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) courses exhibited lower than average grades. The purpose of this study was to examine whether the use of ALM predicted STEM course grades while controlling for academic discipline, course level, and class size. The theoretical framework was Vygotsky's social constructivism. Descriptive statistics and multinomial logistic regression were performed on data collected through an anonymous survey of 74 instructors of 272 courses during the 2016 …

Facial Emotional Perception, Psychosis, Antisocial Traits, And Violence In Schizophrenia, Clarita Villafranca Hipol Ligot

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Compromised social cognition, psychosis, and antisocial traits are associated with violence in individuals with schizophrenia. Facial emotional perception (FEP) has been used to measure social cognition in schizophrenia, but its relationships to psychosis, antisocial behavior, and violence have not been explored. Archival data from a sample of 38 participants ages 18-55 with schizophrenia were analyzed in a quasi-experimental design using a 2-way analysis of variance to determine the relationship of psychosis, antisocial traits, and FEP. The main factors of the analysis were psychosis, classified as either high or low, and antisocial traits, classified as high or low. The dependent variable …

Strategies For Crisis Preparedness Of Tourist Destinations, Carrine V. M. Todman-Lewis

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Billion-dollar disasters are projected to increase at a statistically significant rate of 5% annually. Crises affect the viability and lucrativeness of tourism business and implicate destinations in the process. Crisis preparedness is vital to improving outcomes and reducing consequential effects in the tourism industry-a key contributor to socioeconomic progress and infrastructural development worldwide. The study was an exploration of the strategies used for crisis preparedness to reduce business interruptions and improve the image of destinations affected by large-scale natural disasters and human-induced crises. A multiple case study was conducted based on the cycle of preparedness framework. Data were gathered from …

Development Of A Quality Improvement Initiative To Screen For Postpartum Depression, Renee Traube

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Postpartum depression (PPD) is a mood disorder affecting approximately 20% of women within 6 months of delivery. Untreated PPD diminishes a woman's functioning and may result in short and long-term consequences for her infant. Screening with evidence-based tools can identify prenatal and postpartum women at risk for PPD, ensure early treatment, and limit adverse maternal and infant effects. Using Rosswurm and Larrabee's evidence-based practice model, a multidisciplinary team of 7 key stakeholders, including directors and a nurse from the departments of OB/GYN, Pediatrics, and Primary Care, a psychiatrist specializing in women's health, and a member of nursing leadership, formed to …

Improving Fall Prevention Strategies In An Acute-Care Setting, Sylvia B. Boye-Doe

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Falls with or without injuries among the elderly have become a public health concern, with falls among adults age 65 years and older increasing every year. Nurses play a role in ensuring patient safety by following fall prevention guidelines. The purpose of this evidence-based study was to implement the RE-AIM evaluation tool to determine the impact of the Safe Five program on staff compliance with the program; patients' awareness of the need for falls prevention; and falls among older adults, ages 65 years and older, admitted to an acute care nursing unit. The literature supports implementing a falls prevention program …

Strategies For Retaining Employees For Call Centers, Kimberly M. Combs

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Voluntary employee turnover has several adverse consequences for call center managers, including lowered productivity and decreased profitability. The purpose of this descriptive multiple case study was to explore strategies used to reduced voluntary employee turnover among 2 call center managers in the southern United States. These managers had been recommended by the human resource directors of the organizations because of their implementation of strategies to reduce voluntary employee turnover. The conceptual framework for this study was Herzberg's motivation-hygiene theory. Data were collected from semistructured face-to-face interviews and employee handbooks. The data analysis consisted of compiling the data, disassembling the data …

Factors Related To Nursing Student Persistence In An Associate Degree Program, Patricia Ann Farley

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The retention of nursing students remains a challenge in higher education, and the need for nurses in the United States is projected to increase. The purpose of this study was to investigate nursing student persistence in an associate degree program by examining differences in the presence of key social, environmental, and academic factors across 2 types of students: completers and non-completers of the 1st course in a registered nursing program. The study framework was based on Tinto's Student Integration Model and the Nursing Undergraduate Retention and Success Model, which identify key social, environmental, and academic factors as critical to student …

Science Technology Engineering Math (Stem) Classes And Females' Career Choices, Dr Reagan Lorraine Lavorata, Phd

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Females have been discouraged from taking science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) classes during high school and college, resulting in limited access to high-paying STEM careers. Therefore, these females could miss opportunities for these high-paying careers. The rationale of this research was to quantify the relationship between the number of STEM classes the sampled females took, the number of female role models they had during high school and college, their career choices, and salaries. The theoretical construct was based on Erikson's social developmental theory, which postulates a relationship between earlier life events and later life events, and Acker's masculinity theory, …

Impacts Of Observing Live Open Heart Surgery On Young Adults' Health Behaviors, Muhammad Musa Qarizadah

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Having a heart healthy lifestyle at a younger age is beneficial in reducing the risk of coronary heart disease (CHD) in adulthood and various health education programs for CHD prevention exist to persuade young adults to adopt a heart healthy lifestyle. Little is known, however, about the influence of watching live open heart surgery on young adults' adoption of a heart healthy lifestyle. To address that gap in knowledge, this study was conducted at a health facility in Virginia where students came to observe live open heart surgery. The purpose of the study was to understand whether watching live open …

Sleep Among Young Adults Living In Rural Poverty, Susan Barber Skinner

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Lack of restorative sleep is implicated in threats to public health and safety as well as negative individual health outcomes, which are more pronounced among those living in rural poverty. This study addressed the need for an approach to these problems that is sensitive to culture and community. The purpose of this phenomenological study was to explore the lived experience of sleep among young adults living in rural poverty to inform development of strategies to improve sleep behavior in this population. Research questions explored the lived experience of sleep, constructs of the theory of planned behavior which was used as …

Correlations Between Management Behaviors And Financial Indicators With Fda Compliance Leading To Medicine Shortages, Francisco Gutierrez-Perez

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

In the first 3 years of the Obama Administration, 2009-2011, the number of warning letters issued to pharmaceutical firms for manufacturing and quality issues increased by 81% to 49 letters. Only 9 letters were issued in the last 3 years of the George W. Bush Administration. Shortfalls in compliance and product quality led to medicine shortages that affected patients' treatment and health. This quantitative study sought to learn to what extent, if any, the independent variables, management behaviors and financial indicators at pharmaceutical firms in the United States, correlated with, or predicted, the dependent variable, compliance with the FDA regulations. …

Evaluation Of Automated Reminders To Reduce Sepsis Mortality Rates, Maria M. Lindo

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Sepsis is still a leading cause of death in the United States despite extensive research and modern advancement in technology. Early recognition of sepsis and timely management strategies are important for effective reduction of sepsis-related morbidity and mortality. Guided by the logic model, the purpose of this project was to evaluate the effectiveness of electronic reminders in enhancing clinical decision-making among 30 nurses in 3 medical-surgical units. The practice-focused question addressed the effectiveness of electronic reminders for early recognition and initiation of goal-directed treatment of sepsis in hospitalized patients on medical-surgical units in an effort to reduce sepsis mortality rates. …

Identifying Communication Barriers And Trust Issues Of Black Women Seeking Preventive Health Services In Houston, Texas, Melissa E. Shelton

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Black women mortality rates are perceived to be impacted by communication barriers, trust issues, and the lack of quality preventive health services. The purpose of this phenomenological study was to explore communication barriers and trust issues perceived by Black women when seeking preventive health services. HMB was used to identify public attitudes around receiving preventive health services and to construct each question based on perceived susceptibility and perceived severity of communication barriers and trust issues. An ecological model of the communication process was used as a framework to identify fundamental relationships between the Black female patients and health care providers. …