Digital Commons Network^™

Implementation And Evaluation Of Dietary Modification With Gestational Diabetes, Celia T. Ojeaga

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) negatively affects the health of both mothers and babies, and is the most common pregnancy complication in the United States. Many dietary modification programs for pregnant women diagnosed with GDM rely on a one-size-fits-all approach to menu planning. The purpose of this project was to develop a diet modification program for GDM management using a patient-centered approach. The project objective was to develop the policies, procedures, and supporting documents needed to implement a successful GDM management program for pregnant women receiving antenatal care at an obstetrical clinic. The developed program incorporated strategies for clinic nursing staff …

Teacher Perceptions And Attitudes Of Classroom Technology Integration Related To Ipad Training, Theresa Marie Pepe

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

While professional development on the use of technology in the classroom aids educators to implement new teaching strategies, little is known about teachers' concerns with professional development specifically for adopting mobile technologies like iPads in their classrooms. The purpose of this study was to discover teachers' attitudes and perceptions toward teacher training for integration of the iPad into their classroom instruction. Using a case study approach and the concerns-based adoption model as a framework, this study examined teachers' concerns about their training for using the iPads in the classroom. Participants were 7 teachers from a small, suburban, Catholic K-8 school …

A Plan For The Implementation And Evaluation Of Diet Education In Type 2 Diabetes, Soy Ramsumeer

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Abstract

Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus (T2DM) is the seventh leading cause of death in the United States with a projected increase of 552 million people worldwide who will be affected with this illness by 2030. The need to address this issue is vital to prevent complications and reduce healthcare spending. The DNP project is aimed at planning and designing a nutritional education program tailored toward specific ethnic groups in order to increase knowledge in making healthy food choices. This project is intended to educate Registered Nurses (RNs) on nutrition so that they can offer dietary knowledge to T2DM patients. Additional …

Improving Patient Care Delivery In A Small Alaska Native Health Care Organization, Annette Cecile Siemens

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Chronic diseases impose heavy burdens on the United States health care system, particularly among some ethnic/racial groups such as American Indian and Alaska Natives who experience higher incidence of these diseases than non-Native population. In an effort to improve the health status of its patients, the Ukudigaunal Wellness Center (UWC) partnered with the Improving Patient Care (IPC) Collaborative to implement changes designed to improve chronic disease care for Native Alaskans through intensive monitoring of screening for chronic disease and selected chronic disease outcomes. For this program evaluation, the units of analysis were the changes in health service delivery and the …

The Relationship Between Knowledge Management Tools And Interprofessional Healthcare Team Decision Making, Lisa Simon

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Rising costs and continued risks in patient care indicate that knowledge management (KM) tools have not been fully recognized in healthcare. A case study was conducted to determine how KM tools might support the decision-making process of interprofessional teams. The study was predominately qualitative with a quantitative supplemental component. A questionnaire was used to collect data; this questionnaire contained open-ended questions along with Baggs' Collaboration and Satisfaction about Care Decisions and Anderson & West's Team Climate Inventory instruments. Responses to open-ended questions were reviewed, categorized, and coded as part of the qualitative analysis. Descriptive statistics were completed from Likert scale …

The Impact Of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder On Recurrent Violent Behavior Among African American Males, Adrian Cox

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

African American men in their late teens to early 20s account for nearly half the victims of violent crimes. This mixed methods social epidemiological study was designed to identify the social determinants of violence as described by a purposive sample of young adult African American men (n=353) who have experience as a victim or witness to any type of violence to determine the impact post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms have on recurrent violent injury. The pathways to recurrence model shaped the theoretical framework of this study. Quantitative data were collected using the Past Feelings and Acts of Violence (PFAV) …

Executive Banking Leaders And Risk-Management Strategies On Subprime Mortgage Lending, Sam Elbarouki

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

During 2000-2008, subprime mortgage loans were a profitable and popular commodity for banks and lenders alike. The majority of banks that offered this type of mortgage eventually suffered grave financial consequences, largely due to the lack of risk-mitigating processes within their mortgage portfolio. Guided by the stewardship theory, the purpose of this qualitative multiple case study was to explore the risk-mitigation protocols that 4 bank CEOs employed in Northern California used to mitigate the offering of this risky product. Semistructured interviews were used to elicit detailed narratives from these purposively selected bank CEOs on their experiences in risk mitigation. A …

Multinational Corporations' Return On Investment Optimization In Nigeria's Business Environment, Funlola Francesca Fajinmi

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Trade between the United States and Africa decreased 32% from US$125 billion, in 2011, to US$85 billion, in 2013; however, MNCs from other regions have continued to increase investments in Africa. Multinational corporations (MNCs) generate most of their return on investment (ROI) from the Western world. Globalization, increasing middle classes in emerging markets, and decreasing population in the Western world have lead to unsustainable ROI. Nigeria, the most populous and largest economy in Africa and the 27th largest economy in the world, offers new opportunities with an annual growth rate forecast of 6% to 8%. Utilizing the diamond theory of …

Promote Comprehension In The Reading Classroom, Antoine Kevin Flanigan

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Students at 3 elementary schools in the southern region of the United States struggled with or failed to meet grade-level expectations in reading comprehension. School district leaders had little understanding regarding the perceptions of educators, care givers, and community supporters on the strategies to increase reading comprehension. To address that gap, the purpose of this study was to explore participants' perceptions regarding reading strategies and comprehension instruction practices in the local setting. The conceptual framework was based on the elements of Fisher's and Frey's work: (a) effective teaching in reading strategies, (b) reading instructional comprehension practices, (c) effective caregiver involvement, …

Adherence To Self-Care Management Of Sickle Cell Disease Among Caregivers, Muinah Adenike Fowora

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The self-care management of sickle cell disease (SCD) improves mortality rate; however, compliance with SCD self-care management remains a problem. The purpose of this study was to examine the knowledge and factors that influence compliance with SCD self-care management recommendations among caregivers of children with SCD. The health belief model was used as the theoretical foundation of this study, theorizing that caregivers' perceived susceptibility, severity, and benefits of SCD self-care management will influence compliance. The study used a quantitative research design. A cross-sectional survey was administered to 100 caregivers of children with SCD attending sickle cell clinics in Lagos, Nigeria …

Association Between Diabetes/Chronic Disease Incidence And Lifestyle Factors Among African-Born Populations, James Walakerwon Gbala

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Numerous studies have revealed that immigrants' health and well-being is challenged by an increased susceptibility to diabetes/chronic disease as they settle in the United States. This study investigated a potential association between the incidence of diabetes/chronic disease and various lifestyles factors among Sub-Saharan African immigrants and refugees. The lifestyle factors studied were sociodemographics, food practices and dietary habits, access to healthcare and insurance, acculturation, and the length of stay in the United States among these immigrants and refugees residing in Minnesota. The health belief and the socioecological models guided this study to improve understanding of Sub-Saharan African's health behavior and …

Relationship Between Stress And Young Adults' Complementary And Alternative Medicine Use, Anupama Kizhakkeveettil

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) refers to a group of diverse medical and healthcare systems, practices, and products not treated as conventional medicine. The body of literature on stress and stress management among young adults has not addressed the use of CAM modalities for stress management among this population. The theoretical foundation of the study was based upon the transactional model of stress and coping, which describes stress as an interaction between an external stressor and the resources available to eliminate the stressor. The purpose of this quantitative study was to examine whether variables such as exposure to CAM, stress …

Identifying The Beliefs And Barriers To Mammography In Rural African Women, Linda Harper Mangum

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Breast cancer is the most commonly diagnosed cancer in African-American (AA) women and is the second leading cause of cancer-related deaths in the United States among AA women ages 40 to 55 years of age. The 5-year breast cancer survival rates for AA women (78%) are lower than are those of Caucasian women (90%). The purpose of this project was to describe the benefits and barriers toward screening mammograms for breast cancer in AA women living in the Southside Health District in Virginia. The subscales of The Champion's Mammography Beliefs and Attitudes Questionnaire (MBAQ, 1999), which is based on the …

Electronic Warfare Receiver Resource Management And Optimization, William Metz

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Optimization of electronic warfare (EW) receiver scan strategies is critical to improving the probability of surviving military missions in hostile environments. The problem is that the limited understanding of how dynamic variations in radar and EW receiver characteristics has influenced the response time to detect enemy threats. The dependent variable was the EW receiver response time and the 4 independent variables were EW receiver revisit interval, EW receiver dwell time, radar scan time, and radar illumination time. Previous researchers have not explained how dynamic variations of independent variables affected response time. The purpose of this experimental study was to develop …

Successful Implementation Of Grocery Store Loyalty Reward Programs, Cristina Reinert

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Consumer loyalty programs are a key marketing strategy implemented across multiple industries in the United States. A successfully implemented loyalty program can benefit both the consumer and the company. The purpose of this single case study was to explore strategies that grocery store managers use to successfully deliver consumer loyalty programs. The theory of planned behavior was used as the conceptual framework to guide the study. Semistructured interviews, guided by the theory of planned behavior, were conducted with 4 participants who had direct involvement with the delivery of the consumer loyalty program, in Ocala, Florida. Data were also gathered from …

Teachers' Perceptions Of Differentiated Learning For At-Risk Second-Grade Students In Reading, Morelisa Lakisha Sabb-Cordes

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Students were performing below grade level in reading, fluency, and comprehension in a suburban school in South Carolina. The purpose of this study was to explore the perceptions of teachers about their preferred differentiated instruction approach (face-to-face vs. computer-based) to meet the needs of at-risk students in 2nd grade. The underlying theoretical framework was drawn from constructivist theory, observation theory, and social development theory. The study questions were on teachers' perceptions of the best form of differentiation, improved reading based on peer socialization in face-to-face instruction, and benefits and limitations of a computer-based approach. The study was a single case …

Revenue Losses: Exploring Strategies Required By Managers To Inhibit Movie Piracy, Nana Aishat Shaibu Akaeze

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The piracy of movie products resulted in 72,000 lost jobs and $4.5 billion in lost wages to the United States economy in 2012. The purpose of this multiple case study was to explore what strategies movie corporation managers use to inhibit piracy of movie products to achieve profitability. The sample consisted of 6 movie industry managers who managed movie corporations for not less than 5 years in New York City. The conceptual framework for this study was based on the general systems theory. Data were collected through face-to-face semistructured interviews. Transcript review and member checking were used to ensure credibility …

The Association Between Osteoporosis And Early Menopause Following Hysterectomy, Mia Meeyaong-Won Botkin

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Osteoporosis is considered to be the most adverse public health disease associated with substantial mortality among postmenopausal women. Hysterectomy, surgically induced menopause, contributes to the early onset of menopause. However, there was no evidence of an association between early menopause following hysterectomy and osteoporosis among postmenopausal women. The purpose of this quantitative study was to examine the association between demographic and behavioral factors and the prevalence of osteoporosis among hysterectomized postmenopausal women. The integrated theory of health behavior change theoretical framework guided study. Cross-sectional secondary data from the 2009-2010 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey were used. Multiple logistic regression …

Transformational Leadership In The Public Sector, Glenda Bumgarner

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Senior leaders in state government public sector agencies must manage employee performance to ensure quality services to the citizens they serve. Limited academic research exists to study the barriers that these leaders acknowledge as deterrents to managing employee performance. The purpose of this qualitative study was to understand the reasons that public sector leaders at the Ohio Department of Transportation (ODOT) were challenged to manage employee performance and explore the role of transformational leadership. The ODOT was selected for this research because two prior worker surveys conducted by the agency revealed that employee performance accountability was an issue of concern. …

Gender Pay Disparity Among Women, Garnise Ann Dennis

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Irrespective of professional experience and educational background, gender pay disparity is a problem in the federal government. Women have to overcome salary barriers, such as agency segregation, position segregation, and invisible barriers known as the glass ceiling and the glass wall. Recent studies have indicated that human capital variables, people skills, discrimination, and policies all contribute to gender pay disparity in America's workforce. However, there are limited studies that focus on the indirect factors that also contribute to gender pay inequality. The purpose of this quantitative research was to investigate the relationship between wages and job responsibility (as defined by …

Lived Experiences Of Women From The Odi Community In Nigeria Of Female Genital Mutilation, Doris Atibinye Dotimi

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Female genital mutilation (FGM) is a public health challenge because it jeopardizes the health of women and girls. FGM is condemned worldwide but, it is still practiced in the Odi community of Nigeria. The literature on women's lived experiences of FGM in other parts of the world was reviewed, but knowledge is lacking on the lived experiences of women from Odi community in Nigeria. The purpose of this phenomenological study was to explore their lived experiences, their perspectives on the current legislation for the prevention of FGM, and their perspectives on the cultural myths surrounding the practice. The phenomenological lens …

Caregivers' Perceptions Of An Early Diagnosis Of Alzheimer's Disease In African Americans, Stanita Jackson

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Alzheimer's disease (AD) is significantly more prevalent among African Americans than within the general population, but rates of early detection are lower in the African American community. Researchers have demonstrated that both pessimistic Alzheimer's-directed health beliefs, and negative perceptions of the effectiveness and the accessibility of medical care act as barriers to care seeking by African American family members of individuals with the disease. Recent research into causal judgments made by potential caregivers about individuals with undiagnosed AD suggests that gender bias and errors in attribution may constitute covert barriers to both lay and professional interpretations regarding the need for …

Maternal And Child Health Access Disparities Among Recent African Immigrants In The United States, Bakali Mukasa

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Health care disparities are U.S. national public health concerns that disproportionately affect minority populations. The focus of published studies on the health of larger immigrant populations from Europe, Asia, South America, and the Caribbean has revealed a knowledge gap on the health of African and other minority immigrants. The purpose of this phenomenological study was to explore disparities in access to maternal and child health (MCH) care as well as the causes and effects of such disparities to care-seeking experiences of recent African immigrants. Andersen's behavioral model of health services use provided the theoretical lenses to interpret study findings. Eleven …

Nurses' Knowledge Of Pain Assessments And Reassessments Impacts Hospitalized Patients' Reporting Of Pain, M. Michele Potter Williams Williams

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Ineffective pain management can prolong a patient's length of stay and increase cost of care. Inadequate pain control decreases the patient's quality of life and contributes to poor health outcomes. A recent record audit showed that documentation of pain reassessments occurred only 20% of the time within an hour after administering pain medication. Furthermore, nurses may have insufficient knowledge regarding pain assessments and reassessments or hold irrational fears about addiction leading to inadequate treatment of pain. The purpose of this quality improvement project was to evaluate the effectiveness of an educational program for acute care nurses for the assessment and …

Executive Compensation, Firm Performance, And Net Community Benefits Within Nonprofit Urban Hospitals, Terry Deshawn Long

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Nonprofit hospitals are under increased pressure to maintain financial stability and compliance with Internal Revenue Service (IRS) net community benefit requirements. Boards of directors are not always confident that the compensation packages awarded to executives stimulate them to act in the organization's best interest. The principal-agent theory formed the basis of this correlational study. Archival data from National Center for Charitable Statistics, Guidestar, and the Center for Medicare & Medicaid Services were collected from 117 nonprofit urban hospitals for the fiscal year 2013. Regression analysis was used to determine the significance of relationships between return on assets (ROA), change in …

Perceptions And Behaviors Of Caribbean And South American Women Of Color Living In The United States Towards Breast Cancer, Bernadette Serena Loncke

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Breast cancer is a global public health issue, and even though the incidence and mortality rates for this disease have declined, a substantial gap in mortality rates between U.S. women of color and European American women remains. Strategies have been initiated to decrease this gap, but they have not addressed the special needs of women of color residing in the United States, who tend to be diagnosed only after they have developed late-stage breast cancer. The purpose of this phenomenological study was to understand the perceptions and behaviors of 20 first-generation Caribbean and South American-born women of color living in …

Effect Of Class Size On Student Achievement In Secondary School, Christopher Eric Uhrain

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The school board of a school district in South Carolina has proposed to increase class size in all schools due to mandatory budgetary reductions. However, at the secondary school level, the literature on the effect of larger class size on student achievement is conflicting. The theoretical framework by Lazear suggested that the minimization of negative externalities (i.e., problematic behavioral and academic characteristics of students) achieved through the mechanism of smaller class size impacts student learning. Reducing the number of students in a classroom alters the entire classroom environment, creating a more positive learning environment in which students are able to …

The Relationship Between Suicide Ideation And Adult Support Among African American Adolescent Lesbians, Latonya Jill Watters

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The suicide rate among African-American youths has significantly increased in recent years. Studies have indicated that racism, sexism, and homophobia put African-American adolescent lesbians (AAALs) at high risk for suicide. Earlier studies recognized the importance of adult support for adults, but the relationship between the AAAL suicide rate and the level of adult support has never been formally studied. Based on social support theory, this survey study examined the relationship between adult social support and attitudes toward homosexuality (as the independent variables) and suicidality and hopelessness (as the dependent variables) in a convenience sample of 200 self-identified 13-to-19-year-old AAALs. Data …

Sustainability Of Small Businesses In Zimbabwe During The First 5 Years, Barbra Sibanda

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Small businesses in Zimbabwe make up 94% of the country's business population but only contribute 15% to the country's economy due to a high failure rate during the first 5 years. The purpose of this descriptive multiple case study was to explore strategies and skills that may contribute to the sustainability of small businesses during the first 5 years. The study population consisted of 5 small business owners in Ntepe village in Zimbabwe who had sustained their businesses for the first 5 years of operations. The conceptual framework that grounded this study was management theory. The data collection process involved …

The Associated Risk Factors That Lead To The Onset Of Sarcoidosis In Black American Women, Tiffany Mcintyre Simmons

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Sarcoidosis is a disease characterized as noncaseation granulomas. Granulomas are clusters of cells that form a discrete nodule. This research was important because Black American women develop saroidosis at a higher rate than any other race. The purpose of this phenomenological qualitative study was to examine the impact of sarcoidosis in the lives of Black American women diagnosed with the disease and to consider how occupational experiences may have contributed to participants' development of sarcoidosis. Research states that domestic work such as cleaning, when performed on a daily basis or as an occupation, can contribute to adverse health effects. The …