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Leaders And At-Risk Students' Perceptions Of Online Credit Recovery Opportunities And The Role Of Efficacy, Angelo Mitsuo Barcinas

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Although online credit recovery opportunities are available to high school students enrolled in a United States of America territory credit recovery school, the inability of students to access these courses outside of the school is difficult because students do not have online access. This study examines the role self-efficacy plays on students successfully completing high school through taking advantage of online credit recovery opportunities. The purpose of this general qualitative interview study was to examine at-risk students’ perceptions of online credit recovery opportunities and the role of efficacy for students enrolled in online credit recovery school. Using the social cognitive …

Strategies Small Business Owners Use To Access Working Capital To Fund Operations, Michael Patrick Belleman

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Many small business owners encounter a lack of access to traditional bank funding that limits the owner’s ability to meet working capital shortages to sustain operations. Grounded in the resource-based view, the purpose of this qualitative multiple case study was to explore strategies that small, home health care agency owners use to access working capital lending sources to finance their operations. The participants comprised 3 owners of small home health agencies in Wayne County, Macomb County, and St. Clair County, Michigan, who developed and implemented successful strategies to obtain working capital. Data were collected through semistructured interviews using open-ended questions, …

Cloud Adoption Decision-Making Processes By Small Businesses: A Multiple Case Study, Francis Blay

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Cloud services have emerged as a compelling technology with immense benefits, but many companies still have concerns about cloud services adoption because of several failures that have occurred, including mistakes by service providers, exploitation of security flaws by hackers, and immature policies and procedures. The specific problem is how small businesses often lack the understanding of the ramifications of their respective decision-making processes to adopt cloud services. There is little understanding of the decision-making processes managers use in cloud services adoption. The purpose of this qualitative multiple case study was to explore the decision-making processes of 3 small businesses in …

A Phenomenological Study: Police Officers’ Lived Experiences With The Use Of Ceds, Gustavo Alejandro Escalante

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The use of conducted energy devices (CEDs; e.g., TASER) in the U.S. has increased significantly since their endorsement by the police in the 1990s. Police administrators have struggled with CED placement in use of force continuums, and citizens have voiced concerns regarding their disproportionate use and health effects. An increase in understanding of the value of CEDs, specifically the devices’ role when used as a threat only, provides police administrators with more significant insights regarding their appropriate placement in department policies, which leads to more proportionate use by police officers. This phenomenological study explored police officers’ lived experiences involving displaying …

Low-Income Household Adults Sustaining Affordable Housing In Affluent Neighborhoods, Edward Brian Flournoy

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Public housing policy continues to exacerbate the concentration of poverty for low

income household adults (LIHA), preventing their mobility to achieve or sustain

affordable housing in low-poverty affluent neighborhoods. Successful design and

implementation of public housing policy for LIHA has been elusive for policymakers

seeking to address socioeconomic self-sufficiency problems in the United States.

Wilson’s spatial mismatch theory on social transformation of the inner city was the

theoretical framework for this study. This qualitative study utilized policy analysis and

key interviews to explore the importance of public policy design and implementation in

how the Moving to Opportunity (MTO) program influenced …

Pulmonary Rehabilitation: A Quality Improvement Evaluation, Michelle Groth

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

COPD is a progressive, multifaceted, chronic disease with steadily increasing worldwide rates of prevalence, morbidity and mortality, making improved COPD care a global health priority. Current practice guidelines are in place, but the literature continues to demonstrate inadequacies in practice, for example the inconsistent use of pulmonary rehabilitation (PR). The purpose of the project was to conduct a quality improvement initiative evaluation of the PR program at a hospital in south-central Idaho. The practice-focused question was: What impact has implementation of a PR program had on COPD care in the area? Donabedian’s framework for healthcare quality evaluation was the theoretical …

Work-Life Balance Best Practices, Amy Marie Higgins

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Poor balance between workplace and family life has been shown to increase stress and impact emotional well-being. Nurses continue to report burnout and high stress levels from time spent in the workplace which contributes to an inability to balance work with life. The gap in nursing practice leadership is the lack of knowledge and tools for supporting the emotional well-being of managers and direct care nursing staff. The purpose of this systematic review was to compile a summary of rigorous evidence-based literature on programs and strategies that nursing leaders can use to provide support in achieving work-life balance for nursing …

Effects Of Transformational Leadership On Direct Home Healthcare Employee Turnover, Lisa K. Johnson

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Ineffective leadership and excessive direct home healthcare workers’ intent to resign may decrease home healthcare worker satisfaction, increase workplace accidents, and hinder the quality of patient home healthcare. Home healthcare leaders have a problem of retaining direct home healthcare workers and can benefit from comprehending the factors that enhance leadership and mitigate the turnover of home healthcare workers. Grounded in transformational leadership theory, the purpose of this quantitative correlational study was to examine the relationship between the perception of transformational leadership behaviors and direct care intent to resign. The population consisted of direct home healthcare workers who reported to frontline …

Strategies To Integrate Technological Innovations For Caribbean Small- And Medium-Sized Enterprises, Deborah J. Mahabir-Yearwood

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Up to 59% of managers in small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) fail to integrate technological innovation (TI) strategies. Restricted access to sophisticated technology, limited capital, and discontinuous collaborations between SMEs and government organizations hamper the successful integration of TI by managers of Caribbean SMEs. Managers of SMEs in the Caribbean region must exploit strategies for improved efficiencies in operational capacity, continuous development in business profits and growth, and surviving hyper-competition. Grounded by the theories of diffusion of innovation and adopter-based instrumentalist, the purpose of this qualitative multiple case study was to explore strategies that 4 operation managers of SMEs …

Special Education Teachers’ Instructional Practices For High School Students With Developmental Disabilities, Suzann Farmer Mohacsi

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Students with developmental disabilities (DD) require intensive instruction from special education teachers to obtain functional skills. At the high school level, special education teachers’ instructional practices for this significant population have rarely been studied by researchers. Using Vygotsky’s social development theory as the conceptual framework, the purpose of this qualitative descriptive study was to explore how special education teachers implement instructional practices for high school students with DD. Participants were 10 public high school special education teachers who had skills and experience implementing instructional practices for students with DD. Data were gathered through open-ended, face-to-face interviews. Analysis of the data …

Public Health Leadership In The Philippines: Effective Approaches In Malaria Surveillance, Gethro Nullan

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Leadership traits that affect and shape cost-effective practices ensure the long-term

growth and success for any organization. The purpose of this single case study was to explore leadership traits that may contribute to cost-effective approaches in a malaria surveillance program in the Philippines. The National Health Service Leadership Framework provided the conceptual framework for this study. The participants included 12 public health leaders/managers who have worked or been involved in malaria surveillance programs with budgetary oversight. Data were collected through in-depth interviews and document analysis. Values coding was used for data analysis, in which participants’ perspectives were coded using the …

Educational Engagement In A Workplace Setting, Rodney Rountree

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

At a local setting in the Southwestern United States, 44% of adults elected not to participate in the organization’s free nonmandatory educational programs. There was a lack of understanding of the reasons for why this phenomenon existed, which is inconsistent with the rising trends of adults returning to formal degree or certification programs. The discrepancy between educational engagement at the work organization and current educational trends among adults may signal a practice gap in the way the organization markets its educational curriculum. The purpose of this study was to explore why some adults at the local setting elected not to …

Systematic Review Of Loss-Frame Messaging And Change In Health Behavior, Eddie Jean Simmons

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Recent analysis estimates Type II diabetes affects 23.4 million people in the US. Approximately 30% of these patients are not in optimal control of their diabetes, raising risks for blindness, amputation, and cardiac disease. A gap in diabetes education practice is that traditional positive-framed messaging has not persuaded many patients to modify their self-management behaviors. There is a need for alternative ways to communicate the risks of not managing the disease to patients who may have different health beliefs. The purpose of this systematic review was to examine the best available evidence regarding the efficacy of loss-frame messaging when used …

The Impact Of Faculty Bullying On Associate Degree Nursing Students, Angela M. Vitale

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Bullying is prevalent in the profession of nursing, impacting the quality of health care and health care costs. The foundation of bullying, in the profession of nursing, may be attributed to bullying behaviors in nursing academia among nursing faculty and nursing students. Using Bandura’s social learning theory, the purpose of this study was to determine the relationship between bullying behaviors of nursing faculty and bullying behaviors of nursing students in associate degree nursing programs. Seventy-one randomly selected registered nurses who graduated from associate degree nursing programs in the past 5 years completed an online Incivility in Nursing Education-Revised survey. Spearman’s …

Identifying What Hinders Effective Interactions Between Correctional Staff And Transgender Juvenile Offenders, Tawanda Walker

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Communication serves as an avenue for individuals to introduce themselves to others and the world, but communication for individuals who identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, questioning/queer, or intersex (LGBTQI) creates an opportunity discrimination, bias, and mistreatment. Research has been conducted to address the issues of discrimination, bias, and mistreatment among LGBTQI youth in juvenile detention centers; however, a gap exists in the literature exploring correctional staff members’ beliefs, attitudes, and understandings of transgender juvenile offenders. The purpose of this action research, quasi-experimental, mixed-method study was to explore if correctional staff members’ religious beliefs, lack of LGBTQI training, and inadequate …

Nurse Leaders’ Perspectives On Animal-Assisted Interventions, Samantha Vita Abate

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Knowledge deficits and unfavorable attitudes are commonly cited barriers that prevent adoption of animal-assisted interventions (AAIs). Nurse leaders’ (NLs’) knowledge of and attitudes toward AAIs have not been well documented in the literature. The purpose of this study was to identify NLs’ perspective on AAI, including their usage, knowledge, and attitudes. This information may be helpful in overcoming common barriers to AAI usage. The theory of transformational leadership guided this 3-manuscript dissertation study, which included 3 studies on NLs’ use of AAIs, the relationship between NLs’ knowledge of AAIs and NLs attitudes toward AAIs, and the potential impact of AAI …

Assessing Pain-Related Factors As Predictors Of Distress During Transitional Musculoskeletal Pain Experience, Gary Robert Ahlstrom

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

During people’s pain experience, certain difficulties may emerge within individuals’ psychological and social domains that can confound and exacerbate the frequency of their pain-related distress episodes. Previous research has consistently found psychosocial factors evident during the first months of unresolved pain are reliable predictors of pain chronicity and disability at 12 months. This exploratory descriptive quantitative multivariate study included 2 nationwide online surveys that examined the frequency of moderate-to-severe symptoms of distress within the anxiety-depression spectrum, and the extent that 8 pain-related factors influenced and predicted episodes of anxiety and depressed mood, which included 2 demographic risk factors (age range …

Sudden Leadership Loss And The Importance Of Succession Planning In Behavioral Health Care, Angela R. Dawson

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

This study examined sudden leadership loss and the importance of succession planning in behavioral health. The organization at the center of the study is located in the midwestern United States and is known for providing stellar services to its clients and fostering a quality workspace for its employees. The findings provided the organization with a clear and specific understanding of the value of succession planning for sustainability. The study was conducted using a qualitative research method. Semistructured interviews with 5 senior-level leaders from a single site location provided the primary source of data. Additional data were collected from the organization’s …

E-Business Training Strategies For Profitability In Small And Midsize Enterprises, Papa Faal

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

E-business skills are an essential part of the global market, yet many small and mid-size enterprise leaders lack the necessary training to become competitive. Grounded in the diffusion of innovation theory, the purpose of this qualitative multiple-case study was to explore e-business training strategies small and mid-size enterprise leaders use to increase profitability. The participants comprised 5 small and mid-size enterprise leaders in a metropolitan area in the Gambia who have increased profitability using e-business tools and training strategies. Data were collected from semistructured interviews and company documents. Thematic and content analysis were used to analyze the data. Three themes …

Health Literacy And Diabetes Among Refugee Women Residing In Arizona, Aline Nina Indatwa

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

There is limited research available linking health literacy and diabetes knowledge to poor health outcomes among refugees. The aim of this study was to determine the levels of health literacy and diabetes knowledge and examine whether different factors (age, education, employment status, number of years lived with diabetes and length of stay since resettlement) are associated with health literacy and diabetes knowledge. A cross-sectional study was performed among 82 refugee women with a known diagnosis of diabetes and residing in Maricopa County, Arizona. A modified two part questionnaire (self-reported health literacy extracted from the European Health Literacy Questionnaire [HLS-EU-Q16] and …

Lived Experiences Of Medical Coders Who Work Remotely In A Sedentary Environment, Theresa Deans Jones

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Abstract

Sedentary behavior is a public health issue which may increase the risk of mortality. The work environment is critical to the success of reducing sedentary behavior due to the amount of time spent in the workplace. Excessive sitting during work hours may perpetuate sedentary behavior of medical record coders that may result in adverse health outcomes. There is a lack of understanding of the lived experiences of coders who work in sedentary home environments toward their perspectives of the effect that sitting may have on their health. The purpose of this descriptive phenomenological study was to understand the lived …

Provider Education Increasing Recommendation For Human Papillomavirus Vaccination, Tiffany Charest Skinner

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Human Papillomavirus (HPV) was the most common sexually transmitted disease in the United States in 2018 according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). The CDC established the Healthy People 2020 initiative for HPV vaccination uptake of 80% to effectively eliminate HPV associated cancers. The project site, a rural multispecialty clinic in the Mid-Atlantic United States reported a 3% vaccination compliance rate, well under the national average and the benchmark of 80% recommended by the CDC. The practice-focused question for this project was to determine how education of primary providers will increase recommendation rates for vaccination of HPV. …

Electronic Media Use And Dating Aggression Among Young Adult College Students, Christy Bazemore

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Electronic media are popular for communication among adults ages 18 to 25. However, electronic media may also be used as tools for dating aggression, such as intimidation, insult, control, or abuse. The purpose of this quantitative casual-comparative study was to examine whether adult attachment styles predict electronically-mediated dating aggression. Adult attachment style theory provided the framework for the study. Survey data were collected from 300 first-year college students ages 18 to 25. The independent variable was students’ attachment style as measured by the Experiences of Close Relationships Scale–Revised. Dependent variables were operationalized using the Partner Electronic Aggression Questionnaire, the Situational …

Staff Instruction On Patient Health Questionnaire And Collaborative Care Model In Primary Care, Jennifer Carton

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The DNP project examined the effectiveness of the Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9) and the Collaborative Care Model (CCM) as a practice protocol for patients suffering from depression in primary care to address the problem of a shortage in mental health specialists. Research reveals an increase in Americans suffering from depression. Many primary care clinics do not have a practice protocol in place to screen and manage depression. The project's purpose was to develop a lesson plan to instruct staff on the PHQ-9 and CCM to implement into their practice. The project questions were if the lesson plan developed by the …

Strategies To Minimize The Use Of Automotive Products That Contribute To Recalls, Joseph Hansen

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Automotive industry managers face monumental product recall situations resulting in fatalities and injuries to their customers. The recall of defective products cost an automotive manufacturer $4.1B and an estimated $150M compensation funds to victims. The purpose of this qualitative single case study was to explore strategies some automotive industry managers use to minimize the use of products that contribute to a product recall. The high-reliability theory was the conceptual framework for this study. Data were collected through semistructured interviews from 3 automotive industry managers in one Michigan company, a review of organizational documents, and from the company website. During data …

Law Enforcement Stress, Gender, And Work Performance, Angelia L. Harger

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Police officers experience continuous periods of work-related stressors throughout their

careers, affecting job performance, sleep, and family life. However, there is limited qualitative research in the area of police officer gender and stress, in law enforcement. Therefore, the purpose of this phenomenological qualitative study, guided by resilience theory, was to examine how gender and stress influence work performance, sleep, and family life in police officers. Six male and 4 female patrol officers were individually interviewed to gather information related to (a) their experiences regarding stress, (b) signs and symptoms of stress, (c) how gender affects stress, and (d) their coping …

Hypertensive Self Care: An Educational Tool For Advanced Practice Nurses, Kelisia Burks Mckay

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Poorly controlled hypertension is a serious public health problem. Persons with high blood pressure are required to perform a variety of self-care behaviors. Advance practice nurses can improve health outcomes for hypertensive patients when they provide self-care education along with prescribing appropriate medications needed to treat high blood pressure. The purpose of this study was to educate rural advance practice nurses about hypertension medication and self-care management using the Hypertension Self-Care Activity Level Effects (H-SCALE) and the 8th National Joint Committee (JNC- 8) hypertensive guidelines. Twelve primary care advanced practices nurses (APN's) participated in an educational presentation that included pre …

Bioterrorism: Exploring Factors For Improving Nurse Preparedness, Policies, And Practices, Leone Okey Tom-James

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Ebola virus release/attack in New Jersey could go unnoticed but have immediate and long-lasting effects on the broader population and security. The risk underscores the need to prepare and enhance the state’s efforts to deal with a release and treat the confirmed cases. This descriptive single case research explored factors for improving nurses’ preparedness, policies, and practices for a bioterrorism release/attack. The epidemiological triangle conceptual framework was used descriptively in exploring, and developing a knowledge base of Ebola virus pathogenicity, characteristics, routes of transmission, and infection. The unit of analysis was Summit Ridge Genesis Healthcare Center. The theory of robust …

Gay-Affirmative Social Work Practice With Homeless Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, And Transgender Youth, Aissa Deloatch-Williams

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender youth are overrepresented in the homeless population and experience higher rates of discrimination and unfair treatment when accessing services and shelter. Research indicates that homeless LGBT youth remain homeless for longer periods of time than their heterosexual peers because of bias and stigmas associated with their gender identity and sexual orientation. The purpose of this qualitative study was to determine if social workers in the city of New Haven, Connecticut, used an affirmative model of intervention when working with homeless LGBT youth. Maslow’s self-affirmation theory served as the conceptual framework for this study. The interview …

Principal Leadership For The Establishment Of Family-School Partnership, Mickelli Dunn

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The area of family engagement and its benefits to the academic outcomes of students has been well researched. Educators, including practitioners and those who prepare them, and community members need to understand more about the leadership actions of principals, especially in urban, low-income predominantly African American schools, that lead to effective communication and learning at home partnerships. The purpose of this qualitative case study was to explore the leadership actions of principals that support teachers establishing productive communication and learning at-home family engagement practices. Epstein’s school, family, and community partnership model was the framework that guided this research. Research questions …