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Ecological Momentary Assessment Of Caregiver Distress In Home Hospice Caregivers: A Study Protocol, Tuzhen Xu, Ya-Ching Huang

International Nursing Research Congress (INRC)

Background: Caregivers of hospice patients, often family or close friends, provide continuous support for individuals with a life expectancy of six months or less. In 2022, 1.72 million Medicare beneficiaries received hospice care, most at home, with an average stay of 98 days. Caregivers manage medications, symptoms, personal care, emotional support, and provider coordination, placing them at high risk for fatigue, anxiety, depression, sleep disturbance, and burnout. Traditional surveys or single-point interviews often fail to capture the dynamic nature of distress, especially during nighttime care or crises.

Purpose: To characterize real-time patterns of physical and psychological distress among home hospice …

Psychometric Evaluation Of The Chinese Version Of The Death Literacy Index Among Nursing Students, Shu-Fen Wu, Li-Er Hung, Hsiu-Chen Liao, Shih-Ting Lo, Chia-Yu Chen

International Nursing Research Congress (INRC)

Background: Death literacy encompasses the knowledge and skills enabling individuals and communities to access, understand, and act on end-of-life care options. For nurses, it influences communication, decision-making, and palliative care quality. However, few studies have examined death literacy among healthcare providers, and no validated Chinese instruments exist for its assessment.

Purpose: To translate the Death Literacy Index (DLI) into Chinese and examine its reliability and validity among nursing students in Taiwan.

Methods: A cross-sectional correlational study was conducted. The DLI underwent translation and back-translation to ensure conceptual and linguistic equivalence, followed by expert review for content validity. Convenience sampling was …

Return-To-Work After Out-Of-Hospital Cardiac Arrest: A Scoping Review, I-Ying Lu, Meei-Fang Lou, Yi-Hui Chen, Shir Lynn Lim, Nien-Tzu Chang

International Nursing Research Congress (INRC)

Objectives: Return to work (RTW) after out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA) reflects neurological, psychological, and social recovery. Although survival after OHCA has improved, evidence on RTW prevalence, assessment methods, and influencing factors remains limited. This scoping review aimed to synthesize current evidence on RTW definitions, rates, and determinants among OHCA survivors.

Methods: Six databases (PubMed, Embase, Scopus, CINAHL, Web of Science, and PsycINFO) were searched from inception to July 2025. Studies involving adult OHCA survivors that reported RTW outcomes were included; those focusing solely on in-hospital cardiac arrest or without RTW data were excluded.

Results: Ten observational studies, including 4,465 survivors, …

Reliability And Validity Of A Spiritual Health Scale For Older Adults In Long-Term Care Facilities, Kuan-Pei Lee, Ya-Lie Ku

International Nursing Research Congress (INRC)

Purpose: This study aimed to develop a Spiritual Health Scale designed for elderly residents in LTC facilities and to establish the reliability and validity of the instrument.

Methods: This study adopted a scale development approach. Based on the Elderly Spiritual Health Scale by Li and Shih (2021), the researchers integrated additional components derived from the conceptual framework to create a revised scale consisting of 16 items distributed across four dimensions—personal, community, environmental, and transcendental—with four items per dimension. A dichotomous scoring system was employed with responses coded as 1 (presence) or 0 (absence) of a spiritual issue scores ranged from …

Personality Traits, Work Values, And Organizational Commitment Predict Retention In Emergency Nursing, Boyu Wang, Bo-Cyuan Wang, Jun-Yu Fan, Li-Chen Chen, Li-Chin Chen, Yi-Ting Wang

International Nursing Research Congress (INRC)

Purpose: Retention of skilled emergency nurses has become a growing challenge worldwide. This study examined how personality traits, work values, and organizational commitment relate to the intention to remain in the workplace. The findings aim to help nursing leaders identify practical approaches to improve retention and strengthen organizational culture.

Methods: A cross-sectional study was carried out in the emergency department of a medical center in northern Taiwan. Data were collected from 120 emergency nurses between December 1 and 31, 2023, using validated Chinese versions of the IPIP-15 Big Five Personality Scale, Work Values Questionnaire, Organizational Commitment Scale, and Intent to …

Exploring The Lived Experiences Of Nurse Well-Being Among Clinical Nurses In The Inpatient Setting, Annabelle Arnston, Ora Asheton, Malorie Brooks, Julie Van Orne

International Nursing Research Congress (INRC)

Background: Nurse well-being is a critical factor influencing patient safety and the sustainability of the nursing profession. Organizations that foster nurse well-being report improved staff retention, satisfaction, and engagement. Low nurse well-being can lead to burnout, compassion fatigue, job dissatisfaction, and high turnover. A nursing evidence-based practice and research council at a pediatric hospital conducted a concept analysis of nurse well-being, which guided the development of a mixed-methods study protocol to examine and enhance nurse well-being. This study explores the lived experiences of clinical nurses regarding wellness in an inpatient pediatric hospital, with the aim of informing the development of …

Effectiveness Of Telehealth For Dsmes Among Type 2 Diabetes: A Systematic Review And Meta-Analysis, Ramida Subpaiboonkit, Asmat Burhan, Hsiu-Ting Tsai

International Nursing Research Congress (INRC)

Aim: Diabetes Self-Management Education and Support (DSMES) is recommended as standard care. Telehealth may extend DSMES beyond clinic settings, but its effects on self-efficacy and quality of life are unclear. We evaluated the effectiveness of telehealth for DSMES on (1) self-efficacy and (2) quality of life (QoL) in adults with type 2 diabetes mellitus.

Methods: This study is a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials following the Cochrane Handbook guidelines and PRISMA2020. Following PRISMA, six databases (PubMed, Scopus, Embase, Cochrane, CINAHL, Web of Science) were searched from 2000 to 10 October 2025, plus reference lists. Eligible studies were …

Debunking Toxic Social Media Bias With The Implementation Of Evidence-Based Nursing Education, Brittany Nettles, Julie Baker-Townsend

International Nursing Research Congress (INRC)

Social media has become a powerful influence on student nurses in the United States, shaping both their personal values and professional behaviors. Its impact is multifaceted, with evidence pointing to both positive and negative effects, particularly in relationship to nursing student empathy (Nihayati et al., 2025; Tan, Ni, Liu, & Shorey, 2024). Empathy, which is to understand and value another person’s experiences, is the cornerstone of nursing practice and remains central to ethical patient care, particularly in relation to the principles of beneficence, nonmaleficence, autonomy, justice, fidelity, and dignity. In 2024, a new ideology emerged on social media platforms: “Toxic …

A Review Of Bast Fibres And Their Composites: Part 5 ~ Sustainability, Luke Branca, Badr Moutik, John Summerscales

School of Engineering, Computing and Mathematics

Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) is a methodology for the evaluation of the (relative) potential environmental impacts of a product system throughout its life cycle. It is standardised under the ISO14040 and ISO14044 series. When conducted rigorously, LCA provides a quantitative framework for comparing environmental impact and can challenge or substantiate common assumptions regarding environmental performance of the system. However, it is essential that any reported results are read in combination with the defined goal and scope, as the choice of the system boundary and/or the allocation of burdens and other methodological choices can influence the outcome presented. This review will …

Ervin Domingo-Felipe V. Attorney General United States Of America

2026 Decisions

Agency

Principles Of Sociopolitical Competency In Psychological Practice, Research, And Teaching, Richard E. Redding, Nina C. Silander

Psychology Faculty Articles and Research

Research shows that sociopolitical attitudes and values (SPAVs) often play an important role in people’s personal and social identity, life choices, psychological and behavioral functioning, and interpersonal relationships (including those between psychologists and their clients). Thus, SPAVs are frequently relevant to the work that psychologists do, whether as clinicians, researchers, or educators. After reviewing the research on the impact of SPAVs on people’s lives and relationships, we provide a set of evidence-based principles for effectively addressing SPAVs in clinical practice, psychological research, education and professional training, and professional ethics.

The Intervention Design Specialist Program As A Tier Iii Support In Elementary Schools: An Explanatory Case Study, Kevin G. Spaulding

Graduate Dissertations and Theses

This explanatory qualitative case study explored how the Intervention Design Specialist (IDS) program functions as a Tier III behavioral intervention within the Multi-Tiered System of Supports (MTSS) framework in elementary schools in Francis County Public Schools. Grounded in Social Cognitive Theory, the study examined stakeholders’ perceptions of the program’s purpose, implementation, influence on students with intensive behavioral needs, impact on classroom and school climate, and the factors that supported or challenged successful implementation. Data were collected through semi-structured interviews, observations of classroom interventions and team meetings, and review of program records. Data were analyzed using an inductive, iterative coding process …

Segmented Profile Analysis (Sepa): Plane-Wise Decomposition Of Within-Person Variation Via Ipsatized Singular Value Decomposition, Se-Kang Kim, Joe Grochowalski

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

Traditional profile analyses summarize multivariate person data with overall mean levels and relative patterns, but existing methods often blur these sources of variation or reduce each individual to a single best-fitting profile. Segmented Profile Analysis (SEPA) offers a unified, ipsatized singular-value decomposition (SVD) framework that decomposes individual profiles into orthogonal level (LE) and pattern (PE) effects and, crucially, introduces plane-wise segment profiles (summaries of each person's response pattern within each variable-contrast dimension) as primary person-oriented objects. Within each low-dimensional plane, SEPA defines a projected response pattern (segment profile), domain-person cosines that index variable-by-variable alignment, and plane-fit correlations that summarize how …

Arrythmias In Autoimmune Diseases: Immune-Mediated Mechanisms And Management, Kamala P. Tamirisa, Jorge A. Irizarry-Caro, Ian Curnutt, Devika Adusumilli, Mia Jose, Meenakshi Jolly, Estelle Torbey, Annabelle S. Volgman

Student Publications

Autoimmune diseases substantially increase the risk of atrial and ventricular arrhythmias and sudden cardiac death through shared immune-mediated mechanisms. Pro-inflammatory cytokines, autoantibodies, and progressive myocardial fibrosis disrupt ion channel function, impair conduction, and create re-entrant substrates. Across systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), rheumatoid arthritis (RA), and systemic sclerosis (SSc), these pathways manifest as atrial fibrillation, ventricular arrhythmias, conduction disease, and heightened arrhythmic mortality. Anti Ro/SSA antibodies, in particular, contribute to QT prolongation and atrioventricular (AV) block, while cytokines such as TNF α, IL 1β, and IL 6 remodel electrophysiological properties and promote fibrosis. Advanced cardiac imaging, especially cardiac magnetic resonance (CMR), …

Night To Light Revive Before You Drive, Imelda S. Oca, Grace Marie Delgado, Mary Ann Sison, Armie Poralan

International Nursing Research Congress (INRC)

At times, night shift nurses had little or no recollection of their commute home emphasizing the exhaustion experienced after working an overnight shift. Night To Light Revive Before You Drive is a project aimed to increase safety awareness to combat drowsy driving among night shift nurses through targeted interventions promoting wellness and safety. This in turn, positively enhanced the work environment, decreased the job burnout scores and lowered the night shift RN Vacancy and Turnover rates.

The Night to Light Revive Before You Drive is a pre-post interventional study design with an implementation timeline of twelve months focused on awareness …

Enhancing Resilience For Well-Being To Reduce Health Inequity In Global Nursing Professionals, Fiona Yu, Deborah Raphael, Lisa Mackay, Melody Smith, Ritin Santiago Fernandez

International Nursing Research Congress (INRC)

Nurses, as the largest population in the healthcare service, play a critical role in achieving global health equity to sustain the health of the entire population (1). They are key when providing care in health promotion, disease prevention, treatment, and rehabilitation across diverse populations and clinical settings (2). However, nurses face significant challenges, and the COVID-19 pandemic has exacerbated their situations. Specifically, nursing shortages have a significant impact on frontline nurses, contributing to a heavy workload and unsafe practice, and placing them at a high risk of burnout, stress, fatigue, and ill health, thereby increasing turnover (3, 4).

Research shows …

Modeling Cognitive Function With Functional Fitness And Daily Function: A Pls-Sem Approach, Kuei-Min Chen, Hsiao-Ting Tung

International Nursing Research Congress (INRC)

Purpose: Cognitive decline is a clinically significant issue among older adults with dementia, often compromising their functional independence and quality of life. However, limited research has explored how functional fitness and daily function contribute to cognitive performance in this population. This study aimed to validate a structural model of cognitive function among older adults with dementia, focusing on the roles of functional fitness and daily function as key influencing factors.

Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted among 258 older adults with dementia recruited from adult daycare centers. Participants were identified either through a physician’s clinical diagnosis of dementia or by …

Prevalence And Risk Factor Of Chronic Illnesses Among Staff Attending Employee Wellness Clinic, Elham Mansour Alsanea

International Nursing Research Congress (INRC)

Background: Chronic diseases (CDs) such as hypertension, diabetes, dyslipidemia, and obesity represent a major public health concern globally and nationally. In Saudi Arabia, one-third of adults are affected, and the economic cost exceeds $24 billion annually. Despite ongoing national efforts, limited evidence exists regarding the prevalence and risk profile of chronic diseases among healthcare workers (HCWs)—a group exposed to unique occupational stressors and lifestyle risks.

Aim: This study aimed to assess the prevalence of chronic diseases, modifiable risk factors, and preventive screening uptake among HCWs attending the Virtual Employee Wellness Clinic at King Faisal Specialist Hospital and Research Centre – …

Secondary Traumatic Stress In Baccalaureate Nursing Students, Kristen N. Oakley, Linda Carman Copel, Jennifer Gunberg Ross

International Nursing Research Congress (INRC)

Nursing students undergoing clinical training are at risk of developing negative physical and psychological secondary traumatic stress (STS) symptoms. However, the study of STS in this population has been limited by both a lack of clarity on the concept of STS and the lack of generalizable findings. Therefore, the purpose of this multi-method study was to determine the prevalence, severity, and experience of STS in traditional, non-accelerated prelicensure baccalaureate nursing students in the United States. The relationship between STS and personal and clinical learning environment factors was also explored. A descriptive, correlational multi-method survey design was used. Instruments included a …

Sleep And Mood In New Fathers: A Longitudinal Study From Pregnancy To Six Months Postpartum, Hiroko Iwata, Marika Seki, Emi Mori, Kunie Maehara, Kayoko Kimura, Fusae Toyama

International Nursing Research Congress (INRC)

Aims: Parents often experience sleep disturbances during the neonatal period. However, few studies have examined both objective and subjective sleep quality in fathers. The purpose of this study was to characterize men’s sleep quality from pregnancy through 6 months postpartum, and to explore its association with depressive symptoms.

Methods: This prospective observational study was performed in Japan. Men with primiparous partners at greater than 20 weeks gestation were recruited. Sleep was assessed both objectively and subjectively using actigraphy and the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index, respectively, and depressive symptoms were assessed using the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale. Data were collected at …

Early Indicators Of Transition To Severe Dependency In Older Adults With Dementia, Kuei-Min Chen, Szu-Yu Chen

International Nursing Research Congress (INRC)

Purpose: Functional assessment plays a critical role in monitoring dementia progression. However, the early identification of individuals who are at risk of rapidly deteriorating into severe functional dependency remains a significant challenge in dementia care. This study aimed to address this issue by examining the association between cognitive impairment and functional ability among older adults with dementia.

Methods: This study employed a cross-sectional survey design, recruiting 258 older adults from 22 adult daycare centers in southern Taiwan. Data collected included demographic characteristics (age, sex, education, marital status, and cohabitation status), chronic diseases, cognitive impairment, psychiatric and behavioral symptoms, and functional …

Missed Diagnoses Beyond Endemic Borders: How Knowledge And Resource Access Shape Testing For Cutaneous Leishmaniasis And Chagas Disease, Alyssa Agnew, Brandon Lopez, Cherry Mawii, Erin Aslan, Sreshta Sankar, Semené Clement

OneUSF Undergraduate Research Conference

Cutaneous Leishmaniasis (CL) and Chagas Disease (CD) are both tropical vector borne diseases most common in endemic regions. CL is caused by a parasite spread through sandfly bites. CD is caused by the parasite transmitted through the feces of Triatomine bugs. They are not common in non-endemic regions resulting in lack of training and knowledge required to properly diagnose and treat these diseases. This study assesses how clinician knowledge and access to diagnostic tools influence testing practices for CL and CD in non-endemic regions and contribute to diagnostic bias, underrecognition, and delayed diagnosis.

A comprehensive literature review was performed through …

Leveraging High School Students Knowledge Of Obesity Conundrum, Lauren R. Mcconnell, Nalani N. Galindez, Lauren R. Selent

OneUSF Undergraduate Research Conference

Adolescent obesity, defined as a BMI at or above the 95th percentile for age and sex, affects approximately 21% of US adolescents aged 12 to younger than 18 years. This chronic, progressive disease is associated with significant immediate and long-term health consequences and requires comprehensive, intensive treatment rather than "watchful waiting.Changes in diet, including decreased fast food and soda consumption are necessary to obesity reduction. The purpose of this study is to examine high school students knowledge and attitudes regarding obesity. A quantitative, causal-comparative design was used to identify differences across groups. The independent variable was the grade level of …

Leveraging Compliance With Infection Control Policies Among Healthcare Workers In A Multi-Hospital System, Lauren R. Mcconnell, Ethan C. Anthony, Lauren R. Selent

OneUSF Undergraduate Research Conference

Despite the national push, healthcare workers compliance with Standard Precautions (SP) and Transmission-Based Precautions show significant gaps in both understanding and implementation.1 The conundrum of hospital nosocomial infections obfuscates the threat to patient safety.2 The purpose of this study is to examine staff compliance with infection control policies by infection type within a multi-hospital system. A quantitative, causal-comparative design was used to identify differences across groups. The independent variable was the ‘type of isolation’ assigned by the infection control practitioner. The dependent variables were staff adherence to the infection control policies including: 1) Isolation sign on patient’s door ; 2) …

Patient Perspectives On Lung Cancer Screening Uptake: Findings From In-Depth Interviews, Patricia A. Falcon

OneUSF Undergraduate Research Conference

Lung cancer remains the leading cause of cancer death in the United States and is primarily caused by tobacco use. Lung cancer screening with a Low-Dose Computed Tomography (LDCT) scan is an established method to detect this disease at an early stage and can reduce its death rate by up to 20%. However, the uptake of lung cancer screening across eligible individuals has been low, especially among underserved populations. The goal of this study was to have a better understanding of how to increase lung cancer screening among eligible underserved population. Eligible participants included adults aged 50 to 80 years …

Leveraging The Patient Experience: Satisfaction With Hospital Food Services, Daniel Hansen Harwin, Lauren Rae Selent, Lauren Reilly Mcconnel

OneUSF Undergraduate Research Conference

Patients want and expect better health care services than they did in the past. Within hospitals, consumption of proper nutrition is vital. Patients and nutrition share a unique relationship that is essential for health, this connection is complex including important variables such as food quality. This study examined how patients’ satisfaction with food differed by clinical units. Initially, a MANOVA was conducted. For significant findings ANOVA contrasts were conducted on each dependent variable. The independent variables are the individual clinical units to which the patients were admitted. The dependent variables were the patients' responses to survey questions including: 1) There …

The Aging Muscle Phenotype Of C57bl/6j Wild-Type Mice, Gaurav Shingote

OneUSF Undergraduate Research Conference

Aging causes a slow and progressive loss of muscle fiber number and size. Sarcopenia is termed as an age-related loss of muscle mass and function. Here, we characterized the aging skeletal muscle phenotype of C57Bl/6J wildtype mice. 30 weeks old (young) and 2 years old (aged) C57Bl/6J wildtype male mice were utilized in this study. The body weight and hind leg muscle weight were recorded during collection. The hind leg muscle Tibialis anterior (TA) was OCT embedded, cut at the mid- belly region, and stained with hematoxylin and eosin (H&E) stain as per our previously published protocol. The 20X images …

Efficacy Of Monoclonal Antibody Treatment On Lowering Infectious Disease Burden In U.S. Elderly Patients, Lyndsey M. White, Daniel Johnson, A'Niya Jackson, Laiba Majid

OneUSF Undergraduate Research Conference

Older adults in the United States experience a high burden of infectious diseases due to age related immune decline, reduced vaccine responsiveness, and increased comorbidities. Monoclonal antibody therapies are an important strategy for lowering this burden because they provide immediate and highly specific immune protection. This review evaluates the effectiveness of monoclonal antibodies in reducing infectious disease severity in elderly populations and examines how neutrophils and the formation of neutrophil extracellular traps interact with antibody based treatments. Throughout the review, these therapies have been shown to be successful against multiple infectious diseases, and clinical findings suggest that hospitalized elderly or …

Leveraging Computer Vision-Based Hand Tracking In Smartphone Xr Exposure Scenarios To Enable Controller-Free Interaction, Alex C. Lim, Trang Nguyen

OneUSF Undergraduate Research Conference

Extended reality (XR) has emerged as an effective and convenient solution for broadening accessibility to exposure therapy. Smartphone-based XR, though cost-effective, is often constrained by limited interactivity, engendering a passive experience that can compromise the user-immersion and treatment efficacy. To address this limitation, this study presents a novel computer vision–based hand-tracking approach using Google MediaPipe, integrated within a stereoscopic smartphone-based XR system to enable real-time, controller-free interaction in a dog-fetch scenario. Hand landmark coordinates derived from MediaPipe are algorithmically adjusted based on changes in inter-knuckle distances during anterior/posterior movement to approximate depth, at which point interactive spheres are overlayed to …

Accelerating Protein Engineering: Using Computer Modeling To Identify Beneficial Interleukin-23 (Il-23) Mutations, Andrew S. Chadwell

OneUSF Undergraduate Research Conference

Interleukin-23 (IL-23) regulates inflammation, yet its overproduction, driven by genetics or overactive immune triggers, can lead to chronic inflammatory diseases like psoriasis. IL-23 consists of two subunits; an exclusive subunit, p19, and a second subunit, p40, that is shared with Interleukin-12. Driving selectivity of p19-p40 interactions promotes a shift in cytokine formation between IL-23 and IL-12. By integrating computational biology, protein engineering, and structural data from the RCSB Protein Data Bank (entry 4RGW), the research addressed structural challenges like unresolved regions in experimental structures and the difficulty of predicting beneficial mutations. Structural modeling using ColabFold, a prediction tool based on …