Digital Commons Network^™

Functional Performance Of Patients With Stroke During Inpatient Rehabilitation: A Cross-Sectional Study Of Home And Access Visits, Melissa J Krauss, Emily Somerville, Callista Poiter, Rebecca M Bollinger, Brianna M Holden, Gabrielle Blenden, Danielle Kretzer, Susan L Stark

2020-Current year OA Pubs

BACKGROUND: Home visits prior to inpatient rehabilitation facility (IRF) discharge allow occupational therapists to observe functional abilities among patients with stroke and address barriers that impact daily activities at home. However, home visits prior to IRF discharge are not standard practice due to barriers of time and cost constraints. We explored whether an access visit (visiting the home without the patient) could serve as an alternative to a home visit (with the patient) to anticipate functional abilities at home.

METHODS: We used baseline data from a randomized controlled trial that occurred before and during the COVID-19 pandemic, which caused predischarge …

The Impact Of Covid-19 On Hiv Care: A Comprehensive Analysis Of Patient And Healthcare Providers Experiences At The Largest Hiv Treatment Center In Ghana, Peter Puplampu, Justice K Baah, Karl Osei Afoduo, Bright A Adjei, Araba Abaidoo-Myles, Victor G Davila-Roman, George B Kyei, Collins S Ahorlu

2020-Current year OA Pubs

BACKGROUND: We sought to determine how the COVID-19 pandemic affected care delivery for HIV patients in Ghana.

METHODS: Guided by the Consolidated Framework for Implementation Research (CFIR), we performed a cross-sectional study between May and July 2021 among 40 people living with HIV and 19 healthcare providers caring for HIV patients. In-depth interviews and focus group discussions were done with HIV patients, doctors, nurses, pharmacists, laboratory scientists, data scientists, administrators, and counselors to ascertain barriers and facilitators to HIV care during the pandemic. We asked for their input on removing barriers to care during this and future pandemics. Data was …

Covid-19 Vaccine Hesitancy Among Black Women In The Us, Brittany C Slatton, Farrah G Cambrice, Serwaa S Omowale

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

IMPORTANCE: COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy among Black women is a critical public health concern, potentially exacerbating existing health disparities and impacting community-wide vaccination efforts.

OBJECTIVE: To explore the factors associated with COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy among Black women in the US and identify the specific concerns and experiences shaping hesitant attitudes toward vaccination.

DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS: Qualitative study using in-depth, semistructured interviews conducted virtually between June and November 2021. Thematic analysis was used to identify key themes from the interview data. Participants were recruited through social media platforms and word-of-mouth referrals from various regions of the US. Interviews were conducted remotely …

Covid-19 Pandemic And Racial And Ethnic Disparities In Long-Term Nursing Home Stay Or Death Following Hospital Discharge, Laurent G Glance, Karen E Joynt Maddox, Patricia W Stone, Jingjing Shang, E Yoko Furuya, Ashley M Chastain, Ji Won Lee, Bridget Morse-Karzen, Andrew W Dick

2020-Current year OA Pubs

IMPORTANCE: Long-term nursing home stay or death (long-term NH stay or death), defined as new long-term residence in a nursing home or death following hospital discharge, is an important patient-centered outcome.

OBJECTIVE: To examine whether the COVID-19 pandemic was associated with changes in long-term NH stay or death among older adults with sepsis, and whether these changes were greater in individuals from racial and ethnic minoritized groups.

DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS: This cross-sectional study used patient-level data from the Medicare Provider Analysis and Review File, the Master Beneficiary Summary File, and the Minimum Data Set. Community-dwelling individuals aged at least …

A Single-Cell Compendium Of Human Cerebrospinal Fluid Identifies Disease-Associated Immune Cell Populations, Claudia Cantoni, Roman A. Smirnov, Maria Firulyova, Prabhakar S. Andhey, Tara R. Bradstreet, Ekaterina Esaulova, Marina Terekhova, Elizabeth A. Schwarzkopf, Nada M. Abdalla, Maksim Kleverov, Anne H. Cross, Maxim N. Artyomov, Brian T. Edelson, Gregory F. Wu, Et Al.

2020-Current year OA Pubs

Single-cell transcriptomics applied to cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) for elucidating the pathophysiology of neurologic diseases has produced only a preliminary characterization of CSF immune cells. CSF derives from and borders central nervous system (CNS) tissue, allowing for comprehensive accounting of cell types along with their relative abundance and immunologic profiles relevant to CNS diseases. Using integration techniques applied to publicly available datasets in combination with our own studies, we generated a compendium with 139 subjects encompassing 135 CSF and 58 blood samples. Healthy subjects and individuals across a wide range of diseases, such as multiple sclerosis (MS), Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease, …

“That’S Where I Learned To Be A Good Mommy” Understanding How Adults Learn In A Home Visitation, Community-Based Partnership, Kelli R. Kerbawy

Theses, Dissertations and Capstones

In higher education, a growing interest exists in fostering partnerships between institutions and community-based programs to enhance the lives of individuals. These initiatives have encompassed a variety of programs, including life skills development and civic engagement opportunities facilitated by academic experts. Despite the plethora of educational prospects surrounding health, community engagement, and civic improvement, assessing the efficacy of adult learning in community settings remains challenging. Previous research has indicated inadequacies of conventional prenatal education programs in addressing the complex needs of expecting mothers.

This study centered on the adult learning experiences in the Maternal Infant Health Outreach Worker (MIHOW) program, …

An Analysis Of The Impact Of The Transition To Online Learning And Remote Work On The Army Congressional Fellowship Program, Jason Edward Roberts

Theses, Dissertations and Capstones

The purpose of this phenomenological, qualitative case study is to investigate the extent to which the compulsory transition to online learning and remote work affected the academic and workplace performance of select personnel in the Army Congressional Fellowship Program (ACFP). This study also aims to better understand the role of classroom and workplace socialization in supporting desired academic and professional outcomes. The sample consisted of twelve Army personnel selected as part of Cohort FY2021 of the ACFP. Each participant was asked to express how online learning and remote work affected their ability to perform their duties as a fellow in …

Covid-19 Induced Mda5-Associated Necrotizing Myositis, Sarah Steadman, Amit Sikder, Harsh R. Desai, Bradley Collins, Tiffany Baker, Julie Worthington

South Atlantic Division GME Research Day 2025

No abstract provided.

Emergency Shift To Remote Cbt: Clinicians’ Evolving Experiences, Angela Flanagan M.S.

Selected Full Text Dissertations, 2011-

Since the emergence of the COVID-19 pandemic, remote health services have surged in popularity. This study focuses on the initial experiences of CBT psychologists previously untrained in telehealth during the emergency shift to remote therapy, and how these attitudes and experiences have evolved over the last four years. Participants included nine licensed clinical psychologists previously untrained in remote therapy who were practicing CBT treatment for at least two years before the pandemic. This phenomenological qualitative research design involved semi-structured interviews with these nine psychologists. The analysis revealed three main interpretive themes: (1) Experiences Related to the Human Factor, (2) Experiences …

The Effect Of Covid-19 Lockdowns And Social Isolation On Adolescence, Madeleine J. Bakken

All Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Adolescents around the world were impacted by social isolation resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic. Students experienced sudden school closures and isolation from classmates resulting in increased screen time, the erosion of social skills, lower academic motivation, and a period of unstructured and unfamiliar learning (Hong et al., 2022; Kannan & Veazie, 2023; Leventhal & Morishta, 2024; Menzies et al., 2024; Warford, 2019). Current research is working to measure the impact and severity of these factors. Early findings suggest that students are academically and emotionally behind where their predecessors were pre-COVID (Menzies et al. 2023; NWEA Connection, 2024). Educators and mental …

Covid-19 Taking Aim At The Heart Of Public Education, Jeremy James Pyle

Theses, Dissertations and Capstones

The COVID-19 pandemic, distinguished by both its duration and widespread impact, stands apart from other crises typically faced by schools, such as natural disasters, school violence, or isolated traumatic incidents. Unlike these shorter-term events, the pandemic fundamentally altered the educational landscape, reshaping both school climate and instructional practices. This non-experimental, descriptive study employed a phenomenological research approach to examine the lived experiences of teachers during and after the pandemic. The central aim was to explore how pandemic-related stressors influenced teachers’ decisions to remain in or leave the profession, as well as to identify the supports educators perceived as necessary for …

Neighborhood Context And Covid-19 Mortality, Patrick Dawid

Theses and Dissertations

Background: The COVID-19 pandemic disproportionately affected racial and ethnic minority populations in the U.S., with disparities in infection rates and population-level mortality. Research on racial/ethnic differences in case fatality rates (i.e., mortality per diagnosed case) has yielded mixed results, with some studies finding higher mortality for racial/ethnic minority patients and others showing no differences. These inconsistencies may stem from context-dependent factors including neighborhood characteristics. One potential neighborhood variable which may affect health is ethnic density—the concentration of a racial/ethnic group within a neighborhood—which has shown protective, detrimental, and neutral effects in prior studies. Ethnic density may influence health outcomes through …

Neurosurgical Praxis Guidelines During The Covid-19 Outbreak. Consensus-Based On Currently Available Literature., José Antonio Soriano Sánchez, Bárbara Nettel Rueda, José Alberto Israel Romero Rangel, Armando Alpizar Aguirre, Miguel Ángel Andrade-Ramos, Ulises García Dr., Diego Mendez Rosito, Jorge A. Santos, Sara Patricia Pérez Reyes, Julian Eduardo Soto Abraham, Jose E. Valerio Pascua, Marco Antonio Barajas Romero, Eduardo Díaz Juárez, Alma Griselda Ramírez Reyes, Maria Elena Gonzalez, Claudia Katiutska González Valdez, Félix Domínguez Cortinas, Noé Santiago Ramírez, Tenoch Herrada Pineda, Manuel Eduardo Soto García, Edgar Nathal Vera, Gustavo Melo Guzmán

Archives of Neurosurgery

INTRODUCTION: The World Health Organization recommended several strategies to contain the COVID-19 pandemic, including optimization of care for all patients, especially the seriously ill. Given the strain, the pandemic has posed on healthcare systems around the world, many neurosurgical associations have provided triage recommendations for patients to save resources for the pandemic. We aimed to provide practical recommendations based on specific illnesses requiring surgical procedures commonly performed by neurosurgeons on a life-threatening basis of patient illness. We consider this guideline will help neurosurgeons for the appropriate triage of patients on a daily-situation basis during this pandemic.

METHODS: The Mexican Society …

Social Comparison And Pressure: Examining The Roles Of Sex And Rank, Ashley East

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

Faculty in academia face intense competition and growing expectations, often shaped by perceptions of others’ performance. During the COVID-19 pandemic, these dynamics were magnified, making social comparison a critical factor in understanding academic workplace pressures. The purpose of this study is to examine the changing work pressures and social comparison tendencies among academics during the COVID-19 pandemic. It is hypothesized that social comparison tendencies will be positively related to time pressure (H1a) and telepressure (H1b), with moderation by sex (H2a and H2b) and organizational rank (H3a and H3b). Using a panel survey of 197 tenure-track and tenured faculty members in …

Covid-19 In The History Of Capitalism, Victor Wallis

Faculty Works

The obvious role of capital in generating poverty, war, and environmental breakdown has not led to a parallel recognition of how deeply it shapes the ideology and practice of healthcare. Progressives view access to healthcare as a matter of “right,” but with rare exceptions they do not focus attention on the wider determinants of health policy – from the life-conditions that shape public health to the prevalence, in capitalist countries, of market-inspired remedies. Looking at the US experience and noting how capitalist priorities have permeated official policies toward Covid-19, this essay discusses how medical objections to these policies have been …

A Teacher Preparation Program's Stakeholders' Perceptions Since Campus Closure Due To Covid-19, Laurie J. Mccormick

Theses, Dissertations and Capstones

COVID-19 closed colleges and forced faculty and students to learn a new way of teaching and learning. Like most institutions, Marshall University’s College of Education and Professional Development struggled to provide the practicum experience required for teacher preparation when most public schools shifted to remote learning. This qualitative study investigated the reactions of, and ongoing impact on, a university’s college of education’s administrators, faculty, undergraduates, the institution’s instructional designers, and the Counseling Center’s director when the campus closed spring of 2020 due to the pandemic. Initial and ongoing challenges faced, and strategies implemented were categorized by the four themes that …

An Exploration Of Teacher Exodus In Predominantly African American Secondary Public Schools Amid Covid-19, Keith Demond Ford

Educational Leadership & Policy Studies Dissertations - Archive

For some time, K-12 teachers across America have been resigning from classrooms in large numbers. Like many of the nation’s communities, schools in American neighborhoods of color have seen an overwhelming amount of teacher resignations amid the COVID-19 pandemic. According to existing literature, education’s traditional systemic norms and health protocols which were initiated during COVID-19 motivated classroom teachers to leave their jobs. This qualitative study uses a phenomenological methodology as it discovers that an interrelatedness of factors influences six participants to resign from their classroom teaching roles at predominantly African American middle and high schools during and immediately following …

Nursing Workplace Rituals: Communication Before, During, And After Covid-19, Angel Infante

Nursing Dissertations - Archive

ABSTRACT

NURSING WORKPLACE RITUALS: COMMUNICATION BEFORE, DURING, AND AFTER COVID-19

Angel Infante, PhD

The University of Texas at Arlington, 2025

Professors: Dr. Deborah Behan (Committee Chair), Dr. Yungfei Kao (Committee Member), and Dr. Jessica Grace Smith (Committee Member)

Background: According to Griner et al. (2021) many disruptions caused confusion for healthcare workers during the pandemic. Communication is imperative when dealing with everyday disruptions in a hospital setting. However, it is even more important to learn about the different types of communication and what is communicated during a past pandemic to know how and what to communicate in a future pandemic. …

Covid-19 And Capitalism: The Shunning Of Evidence In Sam Friedman’S “House Organ”, Victor Wallis

Faculty Works

Sam Friedman’s September 2025 “House Organ” is devoted to criticizing my writings on COVID-19. Friedman begins by attributing to me a more definitive position than I have actually taken in regard to COVID origins. He then denies that there was censorship around the injection agenda and contends that the negative effects of the jabs were minimal. I present counter-evidence to all these assertions, along with a critique of his argumentation.

Shifting Treatment Patterns In Achalasia: The Surge In Poem Adoption & The Impact Of Covid-19, Carson Cornell Creamer, Mohammad Abuassi, Harsimran Kalsi, Kobina Essilfie-Quaye, Tony S. Brar, Yaseen Perbtani

North Florida Division GME Research Day 2025

No abstract provided.

Personal Wisdom And Coping: Insights From The Covid-19 Pandemic, Noah Ringler

CGU Theses & Dissertations

Much of personal wisdom research has focused on the relationship between personal wisdom and difficult life events (DLEs). Research indicates that those high in personal wisdom cope more effectively with DLEs. However, these studies primarily focused on older adults and assessed coping through well-being measures. Seeking to address these limitations, Ringler (2021) found that mindfulness partially mediates the relationship between personal wisdom and coping with DLEs (measured through meaning-making) in a more age-diverse sample. Despite this progress, several gaps in knowledge remain. For example, there is still a lack of understanding about how wisdom relates to the use of specific …

Creating & Validating A Teacher Resilience Scale In The U.S. Context, Joy Mccreary

CGU Theses & Dissertations

The teaching force faces significant challenges, including high attrition rates and an aging workforce, exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic. Prior research highlights teacher resilience as a critical factor in addressing these challenges, emphasizing its multi-dimensional and contextual nature. While several international scales have been developed to measure teacher resilience, none exist tailored to the unique educational landscape of the United States. This study developed and validated a U.S.-specific Teacher Resilience Scale (USMTRS), confirming its strong reliability and multidimensional structure. Findings showed that teacher resilience is widespread and most strongly tied to job satisfaction, while only weakly related to burnout. Results …

Covid-19 Risk And Crisis Communication Challenges And Opportunities: Qualitative Insights From Rural Wastewater Surveillance Partners, Savannah Tucker, Beverly May, Matthew Liversedge, Scott M. Berry, James W. Keck, Anna G. Hoover

UK CARES Faculty Publications

Objectives: Understand perceptions of COVID-19 messages and information sources among rural wastewater treatment plant operators to inform context-specific communication strategies for implementing wastewater surveillance methodologies locally.

Methods: Eight employees from 7 Eastern Kentucky facilities involved in SARS-CoV-2 wastewater surveillance participated in semi-structured interviews. Respondents shared perceptions of traditional and social media COVID-19 information channels in their communities, as well as factors influencing trustworthiness of sources. Using the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Crisis and Emergency Risk Communication (CERC) framework, 3 investigators conducted iterative, thematic coding of interview transcripts.

Results: Respondents’ statements most frequently related to “Be Credible,” “Be …

Trends In Science Outreach Research Through Social Media (2000-2023): A Comprehensive Bibliometric Analysis, María Del Pilar Quezada Castro, Marco Antonio Rodríguez Vega, María Del Pilar Castro Arellano, Guillermo Alexander Quezada Castro

Health Professions Education

Purpose: Scientific dissemination is key to transmitting specialized knowledge to society, using social networks and digital platforms as essential tools. This study aims to conduct a comprehensive bibliometric analysis to identify trends, key themes, and collaboration networks in scientific outreach research.

Methods: A bibliometric analysis of 1577 papers indexed in the Scopus database between 2000 and 2023 was conducted using advanced tools such as Biblioshiny and VOSviewer. The analysis focused on co-authorship patterns, citation networks, and emerging thematic trends.

Results: The findings showed exponential growth in scientific output over the last four years, shaped by the impact of the COVID-19 …

Description Of Implementing A Mail-Based Overdose Education And Naloxone Distribution Program In Community Supervision Settings During Covid-19, Carrie B. Oser, Margaret Louise Mcgladrey, Douglas Oyler, Hannah K. Knudsen, Sharon L. Walsh, Susannah Stitzer, Michael Goetz, Marisa Booty, Erica Hargis, Sarah Johnson, Michele Staton, Patricia R. Freeman

Behavioral Science Faculty Publications

Introduction: This study uses the Exploration, Preparation, Implementation , and Sustainment (EPIS) model to retrospectively describe the mail-based overdose education and naloxone distribution (OEND) program developed in collaboration with the Kentucky Department of Corrections (DOC) for use in the HEALing Communities Study in Kentucky (HCS-KY) and details the reach of this innovative delivery model.

Methods: HCS-KY is a community-engaged cluster-randomized trial assessing the effects of implementing evidence-based practices, including OEND, on overdose death reduction across 16 communities highly impacted by the opioid epidemic in Kentucky. ⁶ The study launch coincided with the COVID-19 pandemic. All coalitions in the 16 HCS-KY …

Addressing Barriers To Racial Health Disparity Policy Change Advocacy: Exploring White Defensiveness Strategies, Mary Beth Deline, Mary Katreeb, Emily Mj Mason, Laura N. Richard, Ertemisa Godinez, Kajsa E. Darlymple

Faculty Publications - Communications

Efforts to effect racial health disparity (RHD) policy change are urgent, necessary, and subject to a key barrier: defensiveness among White privileged audiences. Within the literature to date, such defensiveness is under-investigated, and when examined, is typically conceived of as an individual cognitive outcome—a message effect—rather than a communication interaction. Yet policy change advocacy efforts, ranging from community organizing to change campaigns, necessitate communication interactions between advocates and privileged policy change audiences, such as neighborhood groups or policymakers themselves. This defensiveness conceptualization, focused on individual cognitions, therefore limits our understanding of interactive communication barriers in RHD policy advocacy processes. To …

11. Me-Search Research: The Use Of A Self-Study Methodological Approach To Teaching Documentation, Cynthia Korpan

Documenting Teaching Excellence

As teaching in higher education becomes increasingly complex (De Courcy, 2015), documenting one’s teaching practice requires instructors1 to take a more nuanced approach. The diversity associated with teaching today, impacted by COVID (Scholkmann et al., 2024), the various teaching modalities now available (McManus et al., 2024), and the introduction of artificial intelligence into academia (Li, 2025; Sok & Heng, 2024), has created a concoction of elements available to each instructor. This means that every instructor, bringing their own philosophical and ontological approach to teaching, has a myriad of decisions to make about how to best teach each course to students. …

Being And Becoming Third-Space Professionals: A Case Study From Low-And-Middle Income Countries, Azra Naseem, Jannat Karim Khan, Tashmin Khamis, Jane Rarieya

Institute for Educational Development, East Africa

This case study explores the authors’ experiences of establishing the identity of third-space professionals at a multi-country university with campuses on three continents. In particular, it draws on their identities and experiences as female leaders in educational development. Using autoethnography, the authors reflect on their experiences to identify issues, strategies, and areas for further development regarding third-space professionals’ identities, particularly with regard to women. As the concept of third-space professionals is relatively new in Low- and Middle-Income Countries (LMICs) where the university is located, this journey of becoming and being third-space professionals was fraught with challenges that question traditional norms …

Sars-Cov-2 Genomic Surveillance Using Self-Collected Saliva Specimens During Occupational Testing Programs, Andy T. Schnaubelt, David Brett-Major, Janet Williamson, Bailey Barcal, Julie Carstens, Ashley Peer, Michael R. Wiley, M. Jana Broadhurst

Journal Articles: Epidemiology

Continually emerging SARS-CoV-2 variants pose challenges to clinical and public health interventions, necessitating sustainable approaches to real-time variant monitoring. This case study describes an innovative SARS-CoV-2 screening and surveillance program that demonstrates the utility of sequencing-based variant monitoring using self-collected saliva specimens. We conducted saliva-based SARS-CoV-2 screening in occupational settings in Omaha, Nebraska from December 2021 through November 2022. 8,372 saliva specimens collected from 1,480 participants were tested for SARS-CoV-2 RNA by extraction-free PCR, with 334 positive samples referred for whole-genome sequencing analysis. Program utilization, quality metrics, and sequencing outputs were compared across sites. Specimen quality was high across program …

Design And Implementation Of An Evidence-Based Pilot Program To Support New Graduate Nurses' Transition To Professional Practice: Application Of Soft Skills Education In An Associate Degree Program, Torri Crosby-Martin

All Capstone Projects

Problem Statement:
Post-pandemic nurse graduates experienced difficulty transition to professional practice due to limited focus on soft skills acquisition in pre-licensure nursing curricula.

Background:
Faculty characterized graduates as underprepared for professional practice, stating concerns affecting retention, patient outcomes, and work satisfaction.

Aim:
The quality improvement project goal was to address the transition to practice readiness by providing soft skills education to associate degree students.

Theoretical Framework:
This project applied Benner's Novice-to-Expert MOdel and Duchscher's Stages of Transition.

Methods:
Utilizing a mixed methods approach, March-April 2024, a sample size of 28 participants completed both pre- and post-Casey-Fink Readiness for Practice Surveys …