Digital Commons Network^™

Mindful Mind Project, Toussaint Campbell

Capstones

Mindfulness includes the methods one takes to care for themselves by acknowledging and accepting one’s feelings, thoughts, and bodily sensations while conducting daily tasks. Mindfulness can manifest in unique actions and activities depending on an individual's needs. However, many lack education on mental health resources as well as access to the tolls that could be beneficial to them. This collection of opinion pieces takes a look at themes in a society where mindfulness can be incorporated and how practices can impact communities of color.

Link to capstone: https://mindfulmindproject.com/

A Review Of Horticultural Therapy And Horticultural Therapy Education In The United States: Addressing Challenges And Opportunities, Derrick R. Stowell

Doctoral Dissertations

The Horticultural Therapy (HT) profession has been formally organized in the United States since 1973. Despite the long history of horticulture being used as therapy, the profession of HT in the United States has not advanced as quickly as other allied healthcare professions. This study will review the current challenges and opportunities for HT and HT education in the United States.

A qualitative study of the status of the profession was conducted to determine what challenges and opportunities the profession of HT currently has and how the profession can meet those challenges and opportunities. The study sample was recruited from …

Bystanders’ Perspectives On The Provision Of Informal, Hospital-Based Care To Bedridden Patients With Cancer In Sri Lanka, B. Sunil S. De Silva

Nursing ETDs

Due to the nursing shortage in Sri Lanka, patients need informal caregivers, known as bystanders, to help provide patient care. This study described bystanders’ perspectives on informal, hospital-based care to bedridden patients with cancer in Sri Lanka. In this qualitative descriptive study, 17 bystanders at Apeksa/Cancer Hospital, Sri Lanka, were recruited using snowballing sampling. Data were collected through telephone interviews and analyzed using content and thematic analyses. Findings showed that paid and unpaid bystanders cover all caregiving tasks with minimum interaction with nurses. Unpaid bystanders described the need for same-sex bystanders and additional help with patients’ mobilization and specialized care. …

The Horn Fly And Its Association With Milk Yield, Milk Quality, And Staphylococcus Mastitis In Organic Dairy Herds, Emily Luc

Masters Theses

Summer mastitis continues to be a challenge on many dairy farms. Greater understanding of the factors affecting mastitis will aid in developing management programs. Mastitis and fly populations both increase during the summer months, but the relationship between the two is unknown in lactating dairy cows housed partly or fully on pasture. Our objectives were to 1) determine the association between horn fly numbers, somatic cell count (SCC), and milk yield on organic dairy herds and 2) identify specific Staphylococcus mastitis pathogens (Staph. aureus, Staph. chromogenes, Staph. hyicus and Staph. agnetis) in quarter milk samples and …

Development Of An Active Infection Monitoring Knee Spacer For Two-Stage Revision, Michael K. Lavdas

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Infections requiring surgical revision occur in ~3% of total knee arthroplasty (TKA) procedures. The standard treatment for TKA infection in North America is referred to as the two-stage revision process. Unfortunately, the success rate of the two-stage revision is low, at roughly 85%. There are indications that the two-stage revision may fail to clear the infection due to unsatisfactory diagnostic tools. This thesis depicts the development and evaluation of a novel telemetric sensing package designed for integration into the two-stage revision process. Studies within evaluate its performance through sensor validation, thermal insulation testing, radio frequency penetration evaluation, a cadaveric loading …

Complementary And Alternative Medicine Use Among Latino College Students, Andrea Pineda

Electronic Theses, Projects, and Dissertations

Objective: The objective of this study is to understand the need of CAM methods among college students.

Methods: The method used for this study was a secondary analysis of an anonymous cross-sectional survey. Students were asked different questions about their CAM uses and the reason behind them.

Results: 96.9%of students stated that they have use a form of CAM before. This shows how prevalent CAM is among college students. 47.5% of students rated their health average to below poor. It indicated how important it is to understand college students’ health and help them feel above average.

Conclusion: CAM uses are …

Lift A Life, Vidur Madhav

Masters Theses

This project analyzes the role that culture and demographics play in interventions within a pre-existing system network. The research is geared towards understanding how healthcare systems demand different solutions across cultural and geographical boundaries. My work acknowledges and highlights the unimportance given to non-clinical services which results in a stark contrast between the ground reality versus the theory of healthcare design. To approach these larger domains of region-specific healthcare problems, I conducted research in the form of case studies, interviews, and on-site observation on three levels: urban tier 1, urban tier 2, and rural. The resultant design, essentially a culmination …

An Integrative Health Approach For Geriatrics With Neurocognitive Disorders Living In A Care Facility, Brianna Marie Kvanli

Doctor of Nursing Practice Projects

Integrative health (IH) has been shown in the literature to decrease resistance to cares and behaviors and improve apathy levels, patient-staff relationships, and quality of life in patients with neurocognitive disorders (NCD), formerly known as dementia, yet there continues to be a lack of implementation of these modalities. Coinciding with this, many CNAs working in care facilities are faced with decreases in job satisfaction due to disconnect they experience with these patients. This project was designed for CNAs to pilot a soothing touch protocol to a Midwestern care facility’s residents to improve CNA’s job satisfaction; increase connectivity, peace, and closeness; …

Medical Faculty Engagement In Curricular Revisions: An Inquiry Into Individual And Organizational Factors That Support Participation, Tomoko Tanikawa

Dissertations and Theses

In efforts to facilitate the education of highly qualified and best-prepared medical professionals, many medical schools are either planning for or engaging in curriculum revisions including a complete overhaul of the curricular structure, academic and medical content, and pedagogical delivery modalities. To be effective, such changes require faculty buy-in, participation, engagement, and innovation. Unfortunately, despite medical schools' efforts to support faculty involvement in curricular revision, a range of reactions exist, including resistance. Thus, understanding the interactions between individual faculty attitudes and behaviors toward organizational initiatives and structural support is critical in advancing the educational mission of medical schools. Based on …

Dietary Alternatives In The Treatment Of Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder: Behavioral Symptoms And School Performance, Samantha R. Goers

All Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Dietary alternatives for the treatment of Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) are less commonly known and discussed, leaving some children untreated and vulnerable to negative consequences. However, numerous studies have examined the behavioral and academic benefits of following diets as alternative treatments for ADHD. This literature review answers the question: Can school performance, negatively impacted by ADHD, be managed in children by following diets that eliminate artificial food coloring (AFC) or by taking iron supplements? The review found that some children with ADHD can benefit from following an AFC exclusion diet or from taking iron supplements. Benefits were more common …

Methods To Increase The Rate Of Childhood Vaccinating, Mary Beth Tillman

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Vaccinations such as polio, diphtheria, varicella, and meningitis help to protect a child from life-threatening illnesses which have previously been contained by routine vaccinations. However, misinformation, negative press, and other contributing factors, have influenced caregivers to refuse to vaccinate their children placing the children at risk for contracting the disease. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends regular vaccinations for children beginning as newborns, yet the vaccination rate remains below acceptable levels. This project was developed to provide an educational program guided by Orem’s self-care theory and intended to increase nurses’ knowledge of vaccination and ultimately vaccination rates. A …

Ancient Wisdom And Future Medicine: A Defense Of The Science Of Ayurveda, Michael Eatmon

Master of Liberal Studies Theses

A growing number of people turn to Ayurveda as a complement or an alternative to conventional Western medicine. What are they turning to—a genuine medical science or a patent pseudoscience? This paper claims that modern Ayurvedic medicine is a genuine science with a promising future.

Prescribing The Profession: Representations Of Medical Professionalization Debates In American Literary Forms, 1830-1940, Jeffrey Wayne Yeager

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports

This dissertation traces the debates concerning the professionalization of medicine in America across the 19^th- and well into the 20^th-century and explores how the debates concerning professionalization in any given moment affected popular literary forms. Using Fredric Jameson’s The Political Unconscious as its theoretical framework, this dissertation’s chapters on the gothic, realism, naturalism, and satire trace each mode’s dominant hegemonic position on this issue while showcasing dissenting voices across this century-long discourse. This project’s methodology is centered in the New Historicism. Unlike other projects before it, this dissertation focuses primarily on the historical problem of state …

An Analysis Of One Medical School's Student Mentoring Practices, Soraya Smith

Electronic Theses and Dissertations, 2020-

Mentoring for medical students has been shown to be beneficial for mentees and mentors, aiding in career development, improved academics, and personal benefits like reducing burnout. The provision of mentoring is also an accreditation standard for all allopathic medical schools in the United States. This study examined a mentoring program in one urban medical school during the 2019-2020 academic year. The purpose of this study was to determine participant perceptions of their mentoring experiences and alignment with the qualities of the career and academic advising and mentoring standards identified by the literature, looking specifically at programmatic structure, oversight, integration into …

Science And Spirituality As Applied To Od: The Unique Christian Science Perspective: A Qualitative Research Study, Charlotte Booth

Theses and Dissertations

This qualitative study researched Christian Science principles, a blended approach of science and spirituality, and their relevance and contribution to the field of Organization Development. Data was gathered as to whether or not Christian Science principles should be considered a resource for handling business challenges. The 14 individuals who participated in this study were asked 15 questions that correlated to the primary three research questions. Participant's answers were collected and coded in order to analyze and determine reoccurring and prominent points in the data. The study found that some current OD methods and tools are similar in context to Christian …