Assessment Of Factors That Affect Men’S Access And Utilization Of Tuberculosis Services In Zululand District In South Africa, Maureen Fatsani Tshabalala

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Tuberculosis (TB) remains the leading cause of death in South Africa, with higher mortality rates among men compared to women, despite the availability of free TB services and a reduction in TB death rates. However, research on the factors influencing men's access to and utilization of TB services is limited. The purpose of this study was to assess the factors affecting men's geographical access and quality utilization of TB services in the Zululand district of KwaZulu Natal province, South Africa. A survey questionnaire was used to collect data from 200 men recruited from selected primary health care facilities. Andersen's model …

Parent Perspectives On How The Covid-19 Pandemic Affected Symptoms Of Autism Spectrum Disorder In Their Children, Desiree Marie Vanderlick

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Autism is a disorder that is characterized by struggles with socialization anddevelopmental delays that often involve much guidance and support. The purpose of this study was to explain the experience of parents as they attempted to manage behaviors related to symptoms of autism during the worldwide quarantine prompted by COVID-19. This study aimed to close the gap in literature and explore to see if there were any concerns that could be addressed by future studies. The study was framed around Bowen’s theory, which addresses emotions within a family unit, and the interdependence theory, which addresses how humans thrive to be …

Impact Of Family Health Outcomes And Work Balance On Health Services Organizations’ Workplace Attendance, Marcus Levinsky Wade

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Work-life balance (WLB) is employees’ ability to effectively manage between job obligations and everyday life activities involving family, health, and social life. Successful WLB has become increasingly important to healthcare administrators due to staff shortages and essentials of job performance, attendance, and satisfaction. The purpose of this quantitative study was to determine if there was a correlation between WLB, workplace stress, and employee workplace attendance. The two research questions were correlational; the dependent variable was workplace attendance, and the independent variables were workplace stress and WLB. The compensation theory served as the foundation for the study, in which both family …

Patient-Rated Physician Compassion And Patient Compliance With Colorectal Cancer Screening, Christine Caputo Winn

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

In 2021, colorectal cancer was the second leading cause of cancer deaths in the United States, where screening prevented 46%–63% of colorectal cancer deaths. Compassionate care has been an area of study among scholars since Hippocrates. The purpose of this quantitative research study was to examine whether there was a relationship between the independent variables of provider compassion, patient gender, and length of provider patient relationship with the dependent variable of patient adherence behavior for prescribed colorectal cancer screening tests among primary care patients between 2019 and 2020 in a northeastern U.S. state. Guided by the theory of planned behavior …

Nonprofit Leader Strategies For Revenue Growth And Financial Sustainability, William David Woods

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Nonprofit leaders must ceaselessly endeavor to become more entrepreneurial by accumulating strategies for growing organizational revenue and promoting financial sustainability when charitable contributions cannot fund their business operations. The failure to obtain charitable contributions can lead to nonprofit closure. Grounded in behavioral portfolio theory, the purpose of this qualitative single case study was to explore strategies a leader of a small Wisconsin nonprofit used to increase revenue and financial sustainability when charitable contributions were insufficient to finance business operations. Data collection included semistructured interviews; organizational documents and reports; financial records and reports; social media; and internet reports. Data were analyzed …

Strategies To Mitigate Inappropriate Test Utilization By Physicians To Improve Efficiency In A Healthcare Setting, Christine C. Wood

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Inappropriate test utilization by physicians for clinical decision-making in patient care is a significant problem facing some healthcare leaders. Healthcare leaders are concerned about inappropriate test utilization because it can increase healthcare costs and degrade patient outcomes. Grounded in the complex adaptive system and Lean Six Sigma conceptual frameworks, the purpose of this qualitative single-case study was to identify strategies seven hospital leaders in Maryland and Washington, DC. who implemented successful test utilization strategies for physicians. Data were collected from semistructured virtual interviews and organizational reports and analyzed using Yin’s 5 step process. Five themes emerged: (a) continuing physician education, …

Retrospective Student Accounts Of Teacher Burnout Behaviors That Impact Social-Emotional Development, Erika Young

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Teachers are the stability of the classroom where students are learning, making connections with peers, and preparing for their future. Teachers who are burnt out could make this difficult for some students. This qualitative, narrative study addressed the problem of discovering how teacher burnout behaviors impact social and emotional development among six public high school students through student retrospective stories. The theoretical foundation for this research was Bandura’s reciprocal determinism. Data were gathered through six semi-structured interviews and analyzed by thematic analysis, which provided four themes: 1) Variability in the impact of teacher burnout behavior, 2) The ways teacher burnout …

“Ingenious Entanglements”: Sheriffs, Capitalism, And Civil Society In America, 1750-1850, Chad R. Holmes

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Sheriffs served as indispensable legal actors who facilitated the expansion of democracy and capitalist transformation, processes that eventually limited their ability to profit from their work and diminished their social status. This dissertation is organized around specific sheriffs and the actions they performed to illustrate how county officers influenced society beyond the execution of court orders. These men—Rhode Island’s Beriah Brown, Pennsylvania’s John Barker, and Massachusetts’s Elisha Porter, Luke Baldwin, and Charles P. Sumner—believed they understood how to balance community demands and state directives in ways that would produce personal profit and greater authority. The work of these officers and …

Abundance-Habitat Relationships And Aquatic-Terrestrial Habitat Selection Patterns For Wood Turtles (Glyptemys Insculpta) In The Upper Midwest, Jena Marie Staggs

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Due to range-wide population declines, wood turtles (Glyptemys insculpta) are under review for federal listing under the United States Endangered Species Act. Understanding how habitat associations and environmental conditions influence population dynamics and spatiotemporal activity patterns is fundamental for designing effective management strategies. Previous work on wood turtle abundance-habitat relationships focused on broad-scale habitat relationships in northeastern North America. However, regional differences in climate, habitat conditions, and land use patterns limit their applicability to much of the wood turtle’s Upper Midwest distribution. Much of our understanding of wood turtle activity patterns is based on radiotelemetry studies, which are biased towards …

Social Workers’ Growth, Identity, And Professional Quality Of Life After Adverse Childhood Experiences, Hope Beavers

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) have been linked to long-term impairments involving neurobiological and epidemiological functions and increased risk for mental and physical health challenges. Many social workers have experienced a high number of ACEs, which increases risks for problems involving wellness, employment instability, and secondary traumatic stress (STS). However, the impact of total ACEs on social workers’ identity, growth, and professional quality of life (PQL) is less known. Using a correlational cross-sectional design, this quantitative study involved examining the impact of total ACEs on posttraumatic growth (PTG), event centrality, and PQL (in terms of burnout, STS, and compassion satisfaction) for …

Qualitative Assessment Of Psychological Safety And Ethics In Corrections Officers, Gary Robert Breig

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

AbstractIn this qualitative study, I explored psychological safety, team learning, and ethical and moral perception among correctional officers that worked in the prison industry. Former officers provided data by participating in an open-ended question interviews. I used a phenomenological approach to gather information from former officers about their psychological safety experience and their ethical and moral perceptions. Participants gave insight into their training and their work as individuals and as teams exploring individual and team psychological safety and ethical and moral perception while interacting with each other in the prison workplace. Research questions were about officer preparation, officer collaboration quality, …

Understanding Experiences Of Racial Microaggressions Among African American Women In Cross-Racial Supervision, Nicole Daley

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Racial microaggressions are statements that occur in everyday life that are regarded as instances of subtle or unintentional discrimination against members of a racial or ethnic minority. For African Americans, racial microaggressions are feelings of denigration and exclusion. Racial aggressions experienced by African American women in clinical counseling profession (counseling, psychology, social work, mental health) supervision have not been well-studied. Interpretative phenomenological analysis was used in this qualitative study to explore African American women supervisees' experience of racial microaggressions in cross-racial supervision. Intersectionality theory and identity negotiation theory were used to guide the development and analysis plan. Semistructured, audio-recorded interviews …

Sun Exposure And Protective Behaviors Among U.S. Hispanic Farmworkers, Claudia Marie Delgado Cebollero

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Sun exposure increases the risk of sun-related illnesses and skin cancer among U.S. Hispanic farmworkers. Reinforced by the health belief model, the purpose of this study was to determine the association between socio-demographic factors (i.e., age, educational attainment, gender, income, and marital status) and skin cancer with the level of sun exposure (sun’s effect on skin, sunburn reported) and protective behaviors (use of cap/visor, use of sunscreen) among adult Hispanic farmworkers in the United States. The study included Hispanic farmworkers aged 21 or older (N = 112) who responded to the 2015 National Health Interview Survey. Ordinal logistic regression showed …

A Comparison Of The Failure Rate Of Two Orthodontic Light-Curable Adhesives: A Chart Review, Ian Montgomery Weaver

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

A Comparison of the Failure Rate of Two Orthodontic Light-Curable Adhesives: A Chart Review

Ian Montgomery Weaver, D.D.S.

Background and Objectives: The overhead costs of running a private orthodontic practice are infamously high, thus there is a notable benefit to finding the most cost effective methods of treating patients while still maintaining high quality care. A relatively new light-cure orthodontic adhesive BracePaste®^® (American Orthodontics™, Sheboygan, WI), introduced to the market in 2017, can fluoresce under UV light to assist in identifying the difference between the enamel of the tooth and the adhesive material itself, an ability which can aid …

Understanding Being A Special Education Teacher In The Era Of Covid-19: Teacher Perceptions Two Years In, Amanda N. Walkup

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

The COVID-19 pandemic not only caused a disruption to the education of children, but has contributed to the ever-growing teacher shortage in the United States. In an effort to better understand the effects of the pandemic on special education teachers, this study utilized a hermeneutic phenomenological methodology to explore the lived experiences of special education teachers in one southeastern state. Lived experiences of these teachers during the pandemic focused on “Frustrations Beyond Their Control,” “Unorganized Processes and Procedures,” and “Building Relationships.” Overall, participants were found to either languish in the ramifications of the pandemic on their schools and students, or …

Effects Of Aripiprazole Alone And In Combination With D-Amphetamine On Probability Discounting In Sprague-Dawley Rats, Paige Currie

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Pharmaceuticals are helpful tools in aiding individuals with psychiatric diagnoses. Sometimes, the drug’s side effects can be more severe than the initial problem. Maladaptive behaviors, like pathological gambling, overeating, and substance abuse, are important to consider during the prescription of different pharmaceuticals, particularly those used to treat Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) and autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Individuals with these diagnoses are often prescribed: stimulants, like d-amphetamine (d-AMP; for symptoms associated with ADHD), and antipsychotics, like aripiprazole (ARI; for symptoms associated with ASD). These drugs in combination could influence maladaptive behavior, including risky choice (probability discounting). The present study …

Spin Recovery Analysis On A Simulation Model Of The Nasa F-18 High Alpha Research Vehicle (Harv) Using Thrust Vectoring, Brock M. Dolly

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

In the early years of aviation, spins were poorly understood and frequently fatal. With just over a century of research and experiments dedicated to spins, today’s aviation world has a very firm grasp on spin aerodynamics. Most fighter aircraft have airframes and control surfaces specifically designed to ensure the ability of departure from the possible spin modes the aircraft can enter. An alternative and/or additional approach is given by thrust vectoring. Implementing thrust vectoring into spin recovery can potentially save an aircraft and/or the life of the pilot in situation where control-surface-only spin recovery is not able to recover the …

High School Teachers’ Perceptions Of Their Use Of Equity Practices In Classrooms, Seeku Cleland

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

As the study site district became more diverse, providing educational opportunities that met all learners’ needs became more urgent in a large US school district. The local problem was that little is known about how teachers perceive their use of equity practices in diverse classrooms. The purpose of this study was to investigate teachers’ perceptions of their understanding and use of equity practices as well as suggestions for improvement. The study was grounded by Banks’ three dimensions of multicultural education: content integration, knowledge construction, and equity pedagogy. Semistructured interviews were conducted with eight full-time high school teachers with at least …

Effect Of Drug Medi-Cal Organized Delivery System Access To Substance Use Disorder Treatment, Ana Y. Davies

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Drug addiction, mental health disorders, and homelessness has impacted communities nationwide increasing mortality and morbidity and is a public health threat. But access to substance use treatment has been a problem due to the lack of the ability by many to pay for services. This observational quantitative research design utilized administrative secondary data collected between July 2017 and June 2022. The key variables are Insurance Status, Number of Admissions, and Successful Discharges in outpatient substance use treatment. The purpose of the study and research questions involved evaluating the effects Drug Medi-Cal (DMC) Organized Delivery System program by analyzing program admissions …

The Effect Of Face Interpretation Training On Social Anxiety Symptoms, Grace L. Wheeler

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

According to cognitive models of social anxiety disorder (SAD), individuals place excessive importance on gauging others’ reactions (e.g., facial expressions) to their social performance. Facial interpretation bias modification (FIBM) was developed to shift interpretations of ambiguous faces. The current study uses FIBM to test whether face interpretation is causally related to SAD symptoms in an unselected adult sample. Participants (N=139) were randomized to 1 of 3 conditions (positive, negative, accurate) in a single-session, online study. Pre- and post- intervention measures of face interpretation and SAD were completed. In line with hypotheses, individuals in the positive condition interpreted faces more positively …

Effects Of Development On Hpa Function Following Pubertal Stress, Brittany D. Elliott

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

For women, two of the greatest risk factors for affective disorders are adversity experienced during puberty and later becoming pregnant. We have created a translationally relevant mouse model where we address these complex risk factors. Previously, we discovered that pregnant mice (dams) that experienced chronic variable stress (CVS) during puberty display a blunted hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) response when exposed to an acute stressor. Interestingly, this alteration only first becomes apparent during pregnancy, which is a sensitive period for these effects due to normative neuroendocrine changes. Further investigation of the mechanisms underlying this dysfunction revealed altered gene expression in the paraventricular nucleus …

Tuberculosis-Associated Knowledge, Stigma, And Health Seeking Behavior Among Traders In Onitsha Main Market, Anambra State, Nigeria, Benedeth N. Ezeosim

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The utilization of tuberculosis (TB) health care services in a Nigerian state has not been optimal. Many residents do not utilize available health care resources when they experience symptoms of TB. Although much is known about the determinants of health seeking behavior (HSB), there is a gap on how TB knowledge and TB related stigma among traders in one main market contribute to HSB. This study examined the effect of TB knowledge and TB related stigma on HSB among traders. The health stigma and discrimination and health belif models served as the theoretical foundation. A quantitative cross-sectional analytical survey design …

Evaluation Of Renewal During Differential Reinforcement With Asymmetrical Choices And A Context Fading Mitigation Technique, Kacey R. Finch

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Successful clinical behavior analytic treatment often results in decreases in challenging behavior and increases in appropriate behavior. These reductions in challenging behavior are often achieved by implementing differential reinforcement of alternative behavior (DRA; Petscher et al., 2009). One variation of DRA to decrease challenging behavior is differential reinforcement with asymmetrical choices, which are two or more concurrently available response options associated with differential outcomes (Fisher & Mazur, 1997; Kestner et al., 2023). However, responding that was previously reduced sometimes reemerges. Specifically, renewal is the reemergence of a previously reduced response following a context change. The first two experiments evaluated renewal …

Epistemological Insecurity In The Anthropocene, Dustin Purvis

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

This dissertation analyzes how increased mainstream awareness of climate change and other complex environmental phenomena transforms some of the basic tools we use to understand the world, including notions of agency, evidence, and causality. More specifically, this project highlights numerous contemporary literary and cultural narratives that formally and thematically depict impromptu systems of action and comprehension developed by humans confronting the unique forms of information overload that result from damaged and rapidly changing environments. Following critics like Ulrich Beck, Rob Nixon, and Stacy Alaimo, I suggest our current era of ecological instability and destructive environmental practices dictate what I refer …

Clinicians' Perceptions Of Telehealth Services During The Covid-19 Pandemic In Virginia, Johnetta Hill Guishard

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The onset of COVID-19 introduced unprecedented changes to how U.S. public health services were delivered. Many public and private agencies faced mandatory closures, social distancing mandates, and rapid transitions to telehealth interventions and treatment. Mental health clinicians witnessed disruptions in continuity of care and an increase in mental health risks overall. Although some studies have been conducted to survey clinicians’ perceptions of the usefulness and ease of use of technology-based interventions, knowledge about mental health clinicians’ experiences and perceptions in Virginia was sparse. The purpose of this generic qualitative study was to explore how mental health clinicians in Virginia described …

Educator Preparedness In The Use Of Simulation In Nursing Education, Marcelene E. Hart

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

AbstractNurse educators lack preparation when using simulation as a teaching modality in educating nurses and nursing students within their clinical environment. The purpose of this basic qualitative study was to understand nurse educators’ perceptions of the challenges in preparing for simulation-based training experiences for nurses and nursing students. Vygotsky’s constructivist theory was used as the conceptual framework for the study to emphasize students’ innate ability to learn using active and hands-on processes through simulation experiences. Questions were developed to explore the challenges nurse educators encounter when preparing for simulation activities. Survey questionnaire invitations were sent through email to hundreds of …

Beliefs Of Higher Education Online Faculty Regarding The Integration Of Multimedia, Kimberly Diane Hoyt

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Integration of multimedia resources in higher education curricula continues to be a concern for today’s teachers, especially in identifying effective, efficient, and engaging resources that provide individualized instruction and meet a variety of learning needs. However, there was a gap in the literature regarding teachers' beliefs about multimedia integration within the context of adult learning in online higher education. The purpose of this basic qualitative study was to explore the benefits and challenges higher education online teachers experienced when integrating multimedia resources into their courses. The research question explored the beliefs of higher education online instructors about their experiences when …

Evaluating A Virtual Reality Simulation-Based Tool In Undergraduate Nursing Students For Impact On Accuracy, Clinical Judgment, Fear, And Self-Confidence When Donning, Doffing, And Disposing Of Personal Protective Equipment, Stacy Lynn Russell

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Background: PPE training is essential to prevent transmission of infections or autoinoculation of infections among healthcare providers and patients. Student nurses play a vital role in infection control practices to protect themselves and patients from transmittable infections. The purpose of this study was to evaluate an innovative teaching and learning strategy known as virtual reality simulation in teaching proper PPE use in comparison to more traditional learning.

Research Questions: This study aimed to answer three research questions: (1) What is the acceptability among faculty of using a head mounted VRS to train undergraduate nursing students in the proper …

Help-Seeking Behaviors And Employment Hope Among Depressed Black Male Foster Care Alumni, Vanessa Jennings

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Traumatic depression is a system of experiences where the mind, heart, and gut track happenings lingering among systemic models of prevention and intervention and personal stories. This nonexperimental correlational study aimed to provide insights into mental help-seeking and employment hope among depressed Black/African American foster care male alums. The central research question was to what degree, if any, a positive relationship exists between employment hope and seeking access to mental health-related services among male foster care alums who identify with depression. It was hypothesized that a statistically significant relationship exists. The social cognitive career theory and theory of planned behavior …

The Enigmatic Nature Of Toxic Masculinity: Utilizing Quasi-Photovoice Methodology To Make Distinctions Between Hegemonic And Toxic Masculinity, Taylor Elizabeth Remsburg

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Studies of masculinity are fraught by inconsistent and unclear definitions. A comparison of literature which uses either hegemonic or toxic masculinity as a framework reveals that toxic masculinity can be virtually indistinguishable from hegemonic masculinity. I posit that toxic masculinity is and should be distinct from hegemonic masculinity. Failure to distinguish toxic masculinity from hegemonic masculinity makes toxicity difficult, if not impossible, to operationalize. I designed a vignette survey to clarify the conceptualization and operationalization of toxic masculinity. My vignette survey, which asks participants to respond to prompts regarding both toxic masculinity and masculinity, uses quasi-photovoice methodology to allow participants …