Digital Commons Network^™

Development Of Staff Education On Improved Compliance Adherence In Sleep Apnea, Mayla F. Garcia

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The increasing prevalence of sleep disorders such as obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) affects approximately 25% of adults in the United States and an estimated 34% of men and 17% of women in the primary care population. In the clinical project site, the practice problem involved the increasing clinicians’ knowledge about OSA and being able to implement screening tools for further treatment and evaluation. The purpose of this project was to develop an educational training and intervention for staff to increase their knowledge of OSA conditions and have it validated by a panel of experts before dispersing it to the intended …

Community-Oriented Policing: Building Trust And Collaborative Relationships With The Black Community, Tunice M. Cole

DSW Capstone Projects

Black people die at the hands of police at a disproportionate rate. In the United States, Black citizens are three times more likely to be killed by police than White citizens. This, along with other factors, has caused a lack of trust, legitimacy, and relationships between police and the Black community. Examining this problem from a socio-ecological and social constructivist perspective suggests that the solution encompasses the use of community feedback and experiences to build and develop a model of community-oriented policing that addresses the issues of the community being served.

Product one of this capstone was a systematic literature …

Mental Health Professionals Working In Prisons: Their Perspectives On The Quality And Availability Of Treatment And Therapy For Mentally Ill Inmates, Tara Harvey

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The perspectives of mental health professionals who work with inmates who have serious and persistent mental illnesses is largely unknown. Prisons, law enforcement, and the courts may all benefit from understanding these perspectives regarding how to treat the mentally ill in the criminal justice system (CJS). Many studies (mostly quantitative) have been conducted to address the increase of mentally ill inmates and have focuses on different areas of this phenomenon. However, to date, no qualitative studies have been located that depict the perceptions of mental health professionals working in prisons and their viewpoints regarding this population’s access to quality and …

Phenomenological Perceptions Of Judges, Attorneys, And Victim Service Professionals Regarding Stalking Victimization, Julienne Long

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Stalking is a public health crisis and a public safety issue. There is extant research on relationship violence, such as domestic violence and sexual assault; however, stalking is not generally the focus of practitioners. There are no qualitative studies on the perceptions of judges, attorneys, or victim service professionals regarding stalking victimization. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to explore how judges, attorneys, and victim service professionals perceive stalking victimization. Through a qualitative, phenomenological inquiry, six judges, six attorneys, and eight victim service professionals in the state of Ohio were interviewed. Systems theory was used as the theoretical framework. …

Effects Of Rehabilitative Programs On High Louisiana Incarceration Rates, Daimian T. Mcdowell

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Felony offenders may face incarceration as a result of their offenses, which takes them away from their families and communities and causes financial burdens for all stakeholders for extended periods. The purpose of this ethnographic study was to explore reentry programs in Louisiana through the accounts of ex-offenders. Reality testing and social learning theory formed the theoretical foundation. The study examined what reentry topics ex-offenders feel needed to be addressed to ensure habitual offenders successfully transition back into society and what role ex-offenders felt reentry programs played in reducing recidivism rates among habitual offenders. Data collection focused on firsthand knowledge, …

An Evidenced-Based Nursing Education Discharge Plan For Prescription Opioids, Josephine J. Messelmani

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The reported number of prescription opioid overdoses justifies the need for providing patients with opioid discharge information and follow-up care as recommended. To prevent any misuse of prescription opioid drugs, it was critical for patients to receive a thorough review of their medications prior to being discharged. The purpose of the project was designed to educate nurses on the importance of delivering essential information to patients prescribed opioids. Implementation of an opioid discharge plan integrated with the teach back method increased patients’ understanding of how to properly take prescription opioids compared to the patients who did not receive opioid education …

Barriers That Prevent Officers From Seeking Mental Health Support, Jessica Jude Ziegler

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

AbstractLaw enforcement officers have hidden their inability to cope with the exposure to trauma and occupational stress endemic to the profession. This particular community continues to suffer because of the stigma associated with seeking mental health and stress management. The problem this study addressed are factors embedded within police culture that deter officers working in the Tampa Bay region from help-seeking behaviors. There is a critical need to evaluate officers’ perceptions in order to provide lifesaving tools that can ultimately mitigate police suicide. Participants were ten police officers from six different agencies located within the Tampa Bay region. Data were …

Delphi Study Of International Cybersecurity Norms, Kenneth J. Biskner

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Unregulated state cyberattacks are an urgent threat to international peace and security because of the costs they impose and the devastating effects they can create. However, international norms governing state cyberattacks (international cybersecurity norms) have not yet emerged. The lack of meaningful consequences for state cyberattacks, and the high rewards derived from them, incentivize states to engage in this new form of hostile conduct (cyberconflict). The problem addressed in this modified Delphi study was the persistent struggle between authoritarian and democratic states over competing international cybersecurity norms that cause cyberconflict to remain unregulated. Kingdon’s multiple streams framework was used as …

Implementing The Sponge City Concept On North Carolina’S Federal Emergency Management Agency’S Acquired Properties, Artriel Askew Kirchner

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

In North Carolina, the U.S. Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) offers a grant program to assist communities with purchasing flood–prone, private properties to decrease the effects of flooding within flood–prone communities. In flood management, incorporating the Sponge City concept within federally acquired properties is not widely considered by flood management professionals as an effective means to manage floods. The purpose of this qualitative single case study was to explore the feasibility of incorporating the Sponge City concept on federally–acquired properties to reduce significant flooding within designated flood–prone communities. The concept of disaster recovery, which focuses on the process of restoring, …

Combating Firefighter Line Of Duty Injuries, Anthony Stowers

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

AbstractFirefighter injuries add significant costs to fire department budgets and negatively impact operational readiness. Fire service leaders who lack strategies to minimize firefighter injury risk increased department costs and reduced operational readiness. Grounded in transformational leadership theory, the purpose of this multiple case study was to explore strategies fire service leaders use to minimize firefighter injuries. The participants included fire chiefs in New Hampshire and Massachusetts who successfully implemented strategies to minimize firefighter injuries. Data were collected from semistructured interviews and a review of fire department policies and records concerning firefighter injuries and injury prevention. Thematic analysis of the data …

Building Strong Leadership In A Fire Service Organization, Eddie Drew Gauntt

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

This study site fire department is one of many metropolitan fire departments in the world and has lost many leading personnel to retirement. The position of focus in this study is chief officer, which encompasses the top three positions within the organization: the ranks of district fire chief, assistant fire chief, and the fire chief. The loss of this leading personnel has caused a decline in the strength of the leadership within the department, making it necessary to rebuild that leadership to secure the department’s future. The purpose of this qualitative study was to provide an understanding of the assumptions …

Lived Experiences Of Crisis Counselors With Repeat Exposure To Mental Health Crises, Emily Genever

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Due to the potentially traumatic content that crisis counselors face, members of the counselor education community must understand the psychological implications of repeated exposure to mental health crises to fulfill their responsibility of properly training, supervising, and supporting crisis counselors. The purpose of this qualitative phenomenological study was to explore the lived experiences of crisis counselors who had worked full-time with a variety of mental health emergencies. A hermeneutic design and constructivist self-development theoretical lens allowed for the illumination of the perceived positive and negative consequences of crisis work. Purposive sampling strategies were employed to recruit seven crisis counselors for …

Lead Toxicity, Attention–Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, And Gun Violence Among Young African American Men, Gwendolyn Hooker-Mcintosh

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Violence among adolescents and young adults is a major public health concern in the United States, but it disproportionally affects African Americans. This racial disparity is especially concerning in New Orleans, Louisiana, where fatal and nonfatal shootings have been consistent since 2010 for young African American men. Also, Louisiana ranks third in the nation in prevalence of attention–deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) among children. African Americans in New Orleans have lived in areas known to have greater concentrations of lead in the soil, and African American children and their parents have a lower level of awareness of lead toxicity. The purpose …

Perceptions Of Juvenile Justice Personnel On Effects Of Detention Assessments On Low-Risk Offenders, Desire' Angela Hulse-Stewart

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Nationally, arrest rates have declined; however, Georgia faces disproportionately high crime rates, mainly among African American juveniles in Fulton County. Juvenile recidivism has been a long-standing issue. Researchers have demonstrated that risk factors impact recidivism amongst youth offenders at 17 and 18 years of age. Researchers have not yet been able to establish how risk factors impact recidivism risks of low-risk youth offenders. The purpose of this study was to explore the experiences and perceptions of Fulton County juvenile justice personnel on the detention assessment’s effects on low-risk youth offenders and impact on recidivism risks of African American youth. Heidegger’s …

Exploring African American Experiences With Police In Cleveland, Ohio, Hamza Khabir

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

According to previous research, African Americans in Cleveland, OH, reported having more negative experiences with the Cleveland Police Department (CPD) than any other demographic in the city. Furthermore, The U.S. Department of Justice, Civil Rights Division, determined that the CPD had regularly engaged in excessive force by police officers. This study's purpose was to understand African Americans' experiences in Cleveland regarding the CPD. This study's research question focused on African Americans' experiences in Cleveland and their relationship with the Cleveland police. The study used a general qualitative design to conduct interviews with 10 African Americans between the ages of 18 …

Barriers And The Prevention Of Human Trafficking Child Exploitation, Earl Wilson Laws

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Human trafficking is a global phenomenon encompassing areas of sex trafficking, labor trafficking, and indentured servitude. Human trafficking is an exceptionally under-researched and growing phenomenon. Texas ranks as the state with the second-largest human trafficking population in the United States. The current qualitative research study sought to discover whether, and to what degree, barriers are being presented by law enforcement policies and procedures to law enforcement officials of a human trafficking unit within a greater metropolitan area in Texas within human trafficking child exploitation prevention of children aged 5–17. The study utilized Senge’s systems theory as a framework to understand …

Beliefs, Skill Sets, And Behaviors Of Police Officers Regarding Mental Health Treatment, Kareem C. Puranda

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Current law enforcement training assumes that police officers can manage their mental health with minimal support. This cultural attitude creates a fear of being unfit if police officers seek assistance for their mental health. Law enforcement suicide rates have outnumbered duty-related deaths in recent years. Statistics show that police officers are twice as likely to die by suicide for reasons related to stress. Mental health treatment is the ideal solution, but research has shown that police officers often reject treatment due to stigma. This qualitative study aimed to examine factors that hindered law enforcement officers from obtaining mental health treatment. …

Services For Homeless Veterans: A Study Of Access To Benefits, Sheryl Maddox Williams

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

AbstractHomelessness among veterans in the United States is a multifaceted social and health concern that has continued to increase despite immense efforts to minimize and eliminate this issue. Numerous organizations have dedicated resources; however, many veterans do not use benefits and resources that are available to them, and homelessness remains a health and social concern. The purpose of this study was to explore and describe how individual and interpersonal barriers, community factors, organizational structure, and existing policies for assistance are perceived by support staff that work with veterans with mental disorders who are homeless or at risk of becoming homeless. …

Opioid Naloxone Education Clinical Practice Guideline, Tat'yana Sahleem Alethia Worthy

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

As a result of an institution-wide campaign to train providers on the administration of opioid reversal agents within a large medical center in the northeastern United States, the practice problem emerged that there was no patient/family education document for healthcare providers to use as a guide to educate patients on opioid risk and proper administration of naloxone to prevent opioid overdose in the outpatient setting. This scholarly project used an interprofessional team to develop comprehensive opioid naloxone education guidelines to close the gap in clinical practice. The purpose of this project was to develop a patient education clinical practice guideline …

Pitolisant, A Novel Histamine-3 Receptor Competitive Antagonist, And Inverse Agonist, In The Treatment Of Excessive Daytime Sleepiness In Adult Patients With Narcolepsy, Noeen Sarfraz, David Okuampa, Hannah Hansen, Mark R. Alvarez, Elyse M. Cornett, Juyeon Kakazu, Adam M. Kaye, Alan David Kaye

School of Pharmacy Faculty Articles

Narcolepsy is a debilitating sleep disorder that presents with excessive daytime sleepiness (EDS) and cataplexy, which is a sudden paralysis of muscle tone triggered by strong emotions such as laughing. It is also associated with many other disorders, including psychiatric disorders, neurologic illnesses, and medication side effects. Common causes of delayed and incorrect diagnoses of these conditions include lack of physician familiarity with narcolepsy symptoms and comorbidities which mask narcolepsy signs and symptoms. Current pharmacologic therapies include Modafinil and Armodafinil for EDS and sodium oxybate for cataplexy. This review discusses the epidemiology, pathophysiology, risk factors, presentation, treatment of narcolepsy, and …

Georgia Public Fire Investigators’ Behavioral Approach To Fire Scene Investigation, Kyle R. Bradshaw

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Wrongful prosecutions for the crime of arson are occurring. An identified cause of this problem is the investigation processes used by public fire investigators. The purpose of this general qualitative study was to identify the targeted behaviors that influence public fire investigators when conducting fire scene investigation. Street-level bureaucracy theory indicates public fire investigators are street-level bureaucrats (SLBs). The intent of this study was to identify behavioral interventions that can be implemented to aid public fire investigators in their approach to fire scene investigation. Semistructured interviews were conducted with a purposeful sample of 10 public fire investigators in a metropolitan …

Strategies For Improving The Effectiveness Of Internal Control Processes In Nonprofit Organizations, Annie Selorm Dumoga

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Some leaders of nonprofit organizations (NPOs) lack financial strategies to develop and implement effective internal controls for their financial health and the continuation of their organizations’ provision of humanitarian services. The failure of leaders in NPOs to implement adequate internal controls results in insolvency, the inability to pay off debts, and threatens the ability to provide needed social services. Grounded in the Committee of Sponsoring Organization's internal control integrated framework, the purpose of this qualitative multiple case study was to explore strategies NPO leaders used to develop and implement effective internal controls for their organization's financial health and ability to …

Parents' And Caregivers' Attitudes About Child Passenger Safety, Latoya Wider

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Motor vehicle crashes are a leading cause of childhood injury and death in the United States. Many car seats are installed incorrectly, and many children under the age of 6 are seriously injured or killed in a motor vehicle crash. The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between age of child, age of parent/caregiver, attitudes, and behaviors of child passenger safety among parents and caregivers in South Carolina. The influence of age and attitude on consistent car seat use was also examined. The study was based on the theory of planned behavior. A survey design featuring questions …

The Analysis Of Commercially Available Kratom Products In Richmond, Virginia, James H. Fleming Jr, Justin Poklis, Michelle R. Peace, Emanuele A. Alves

Graduate Research Posters

Kratom is a novel psychoactive substance that has gained popularity within the past ten years. Originating from Southeast Asia, the leaves of the Mitragyna speciosa tree contain two principal alkaloids, mitragynine and 7-hydroxymitragynine, that play a key role in opioid-like effects. Twenty-nine kratom products were obtained from tobacco shops in the Richmond, Virginia area, including powders, teas, capsules, extracts, and a carbonated beverage. Samples were analyzed using Direct Analysis in Real Time-Mass Spectrometry (DART-MS) for kratom alkaloids, labeled ingredients, and other possible organic compounds. Inductively Coupled Plasma-Optical Emission Spectroscopy (ICP-OES) was used to quantitate aluminum, arsenic, copper, iron, magnesium, nickel, …

Criminal Law—Give Me Freedom!: How Ambiguous Federal Supervised Release Conditions Undermine The Purpose Of The Sentencing Reform Act, Igor V. Bykov

Western New England Law Review

Vagueness, as the word suggests, is inherently uncertain. This Note addresses the issues of vagueness presented by unclear supervised release conditions, as well as discusses the split of authority pertaining thereto. Specifically, the condition discussed throughout the Note prohibits defendants from frequenting places where controlled substances are illegally present. Because federal appellate courts differ as to the condition’s meaning and its application, the existing circuit split will be thoroughly discussed. The main issues with the condition demonstrate a lack of attentiveness and forethought of the sentencing judges that ultimately impose undue hardships onto the defendants wishing to enter back into …

Immigration Law—The $2 Cost Of Deportation For Black Immigrants, Aisatou Diallo

Western New England Law Review

The United States is a nation with protected borders and in order to protect the immigration laws control who may or may not come into the country. One way this is done is been by excluding individuals who have been convicted of crimes involving moral turpitude. There is no single definition of what a crime involving moral turpitude is, but over time the types of crimes held to involve moral turpitude have expanded. This article describes how this expansion of the types of crimes that are categorized as crimes involving moral turpitude have had a drastic impact on black immigrants …

Constitutional Law—Penalizing The “Unsightly”: An Argument For The Abolishment Of Laws Criminalizing Life-Sustaining Behaviors Among The Homeless, Carli Ross

Western New England Law Review

Thousands of people across the country suffer from homelessness. Instead of funding more shelters or dealing with the lack of subsidized housing, cities have chosen to rely on the criminal justice system to regulate homeless behavior. Homeless individuals are being punished with fines and potential jail time for sleeping, sitting, gathering, and camping in public. Not only does this practice contribute to the homelessness crisis in the United States, but it also creates an additional obstacle for homeless individuals. Additionally, relying on the criminal justice system is more costly than helping homeless individuals find a permanent shelter. The Ninth Circuit …

When Exemptions Discriminate: Unlawfully Narrow Religious Exemptions To Vaccination Mandates By Private Colleges And Universities, Ronald J. Colombo

Western New England Law Review

Numerous colleges and universities have imposed COVID-19 vaccination mandates upon their students. Most of these mandates also include language purporting to recognize medical and religious exemptions. With regard to religious exemptions, some are unjustly discriminatory. Most notably, some give preference to students who are members of organized religions over students who are not. And even facially neutral exemptions can be administered in an unjustly discriminatory way by, for example, giving preference to one set of religious denominations over another, or by engaging in “religious profiling” (whereby students of a particular denomination are held completely beholden to the beliefs of that …

Criminal Law—Under The Gun Of Rehaif V.United States: How State Legislatures And Courts Must Blunt The Effect Of Knowledge, Meaghan E. Collins

Western New England Law Review

For well over thirty years, courts across the nation maintained an interpretational unanimity in applying 18 U.S.C. § 922(g) in thousands of cases. This law specifies that a defendant commits a crime if they were previously convicted of a felony and then later possess a firearm in or affecting commerce. Under the original statutory interpretation, the government was only required to prove that a person knew of their possession of a firearm. However, in 2019, the Supreme Court of the United States overturned that traditional understanding. Under the more recent interpretation, the government is required to prove not only that …

A Job-Demand Resource Theory And Psychological Flexibility Integrated Model Of Police Officer Burnout, Lucas David Baker

Dissertations and Theses

Police officers encounter stressors as a result of job responsibilities that contribute to high rates of occupational burnout. Defined by three primary components (emotional exhaustion, depersonalization, and professional inefficacy), burnout is associated with health- and work-related problems among officers. In addition, police agencies incur significant costs associated with burnout due to performance decline and turnover. Officer burnout is also a matter of public interest given that burnout is associated with low prosocial behavior and high use of force. As such, research that aims to explore the formation and maintenance of officer burnout may be consequential for the profession and society …