Digital Commons Network^™

Reshaping Workplace Well-Being: The Journey To Human Connection, Heike Doody, P. Ann Blaney

Creating Healthy Work Environments (CHWE)

As healthcare continues to evolve in post-Covid environment, nurse leaders face increasing challenges with guiding teams, improving engagement, and promoting overall wellbeing. Increasing work engagement is an important indicator of workforce sustainability and wellbeing (Schaufeli, 2021). Leaders foster a culture of wellbeing, safety, and support for employees in healthcare organizations with a human connection. The purpose was to reengage direct care nurses to implement wellbeing standards and reestablish the human connection among staff by utilizing engaging leadership concepts.

Faced with lack of council engagement, leaders from the Healthy Work Environment Council (HWEC) shifted their leadership style from transitional to engaging …

Exploring Nursing Students' Strategies To Promote Self-Care And Well-Being, Kelley Mcguire, Sheri L. Compton-Mcbride

Creating Healthy Work Environments (CHWE)

Burnout and nurses leaving bedside practice have become critical contributors to the nursing shortage (Weston, 2022). In alignment with Chapter 10 of The Future of Nursing 2020-2030 (2021), which addresses workforce well-being, healthcare leaders have begun to demonstrate an intentional focus on improving nurse well-being and resilience. Recent evidence suggests that waiting to begin well-being training until nurses are in practice is too late (NWAA, 2023). This is supported in Domain 10 of The Essentials: Core Competencies for Professional Nursing Education (2021), which ensures that students are competent in self-care and well-being. The purpose of this study is to understand …

Rear Leg-Derived Moment Contributes To Resistance Against Hip Extension In Bulgarian Split Squats, Hiroshi Arakawa, Hikaru Nakashima, Xuanrui Li, Michiya Tanimoto

International Journal of Exercise Science

International Journal of Exercise Science 18(7): 881-894, 2025. The Bulgarian split squat (BSS) is a unilateral exercise that emphasizes hip extension more than knee extension, compared to other squat variations. This study aimed to (1) empirically verify the existence of the rear leg-derived moment (M_RL)—a theoretically plausible but previously untested external resistive hip moment acting against the net hip extension moment (M_HE) of the front leg—and (2) examine how stance width and forward trunk-leaning angles affect M_RL during the BSS. Nine trained male participants performed bodyweight BSS under two stance conditions (wide and narrow) and …

16-Week Physical Transition From Professional Mma To Tactical Firefighting: A Case Study, Cole D. Smeester, Gabriel J. Sanders, Corey Peacock, Jose Antonio

Journal for Sports Neuroscience

Firefighters, whose occupation involves intense physical, mental, and environmental demands, must be physically and mentally prepared to perform job-specific tasks effectively and safely. Nearly half of all injuries sustained on and off the fireground are musculoskeletal, highlighting issues in the preparation and maintenance strategies for work preparedness among firefighters. This case study examines the effectiveness of a 16-week conventional, conjugate strength and conditioning model on a fire recruit transitioning from a career as a professional MMA fighter. Specific data metrics were used to assess increases in firefighter-specific performance (i.e., EPAT time and body composition). After the 16-week program, the participant …

An Introduction To History Of Medicine, Mary E. Horton, Adan Rios

History of Medicine Seminar

Monthly Monday Seminars at Noon for the Academic Year:

• Attendance at seven sessions required for credit
• Includes Special Speakers as part of the TMC History of Medicine Society sponsored by Houston Methodist Hospital
• Spring merge with Baylor Medical College medical student elective
• Additional activities available:
  • Scavenger Hunt at the TMC Library Archives
  • Houston Methodist Hospital Lectures (Sponsored by the TMC History of Medicine Society)
  • Rice University Lectures
  • Baylor Medical College seminars

Exploring Effective Weight Loss Interventions Among Three Fqhc-Based Clinical Programs In Central And Southern Illinois, Patrick Bruch, Oluwaseun Adeleke, Mia Lambert, Taylor Sutton, Georgia Luckey, Rebecca M. Hoffman Md,Msph

SIU Journal of Medical Science Scholarly Works

Background: Obesity affects 1 in 3 United States adults is associated with several chronic diseases. Disparities in obesity are seen in many vulnerable populations such as low-income groups, racial and ethnic minorities, and rural residents. Although primary care is often presented as a solution to the obesity crisis, management of obesity is complex and numerous challenges in helping patients achieve weight loss are still present. The U.S. Preventive Services Task Force recommended in 2018 that primary care providers screen for obesity and offer obese patients to intensive, multicomponent behavioral obesity treatment. However, there is little research involving primary care physicians …

Idmatch Bike Fitting Enhances Power Output In Recreational Cyclists: A Pilot Study, Evan T. Hoyt, Gregory N. Ruegsegger

International Journal of Exercise Science

International Journal of Exercise Science 18(2): 864-880, 2025. Optimizing bike position is essential for enhancing cycling performance, improving comfort, and reducing injury risk. This study examined the acute effects of a bike fit using the idmatch^® system on power output, rate of perceived exertion (RPE), and discomfort in recreational cyclists. Twelve participants (10 males, 2 females; 37.0 ± 9.4 years) underwent an idmatch system bike fit, which employs three-dimensional motion capture to optimize rider position. Cyclists completed a six-second peak power test (PPT6) and a 20-minute functional threshold power (FTP) test before and after the fit. Performance metrics (power, …

Examining The Self-Care Practices And Needs Of Baccalaureate Nursing Students, Vicki Renee Voskuil, Ellie Marion, Hannah Peirce, Erika Frost

Creating Healthy Work Environments (CHWE)

Nursing students are taught to promote self-care for patients, but they often neglect their own self-care.1 Stress, combined with lack of effective coping strategies, can lead to burnout and health problems among nursing students.2 Interventions designed to improve self-care practices of nursing students are needed to reduce stress and improve well-being.3 The purpose of this study was to examine the self-care practices and needs of baccalaureate nursing students to inform a curricular intervention. This study used a cross-sectional descriptive survey design involving baccalaureate nursing students (N=112) at a liberal arts college in the Midwestern United States. Self-care practices were examined …

Empowering Nurses To Drive Healthy Work Environments: Addressing Burnout And Well-Being, Maggie Mccright

Creating Healthy Work Environments (CHWE)

Nurses face challenges of burnout, staffing shortages, and high turnover, impacting mental health and job satisfaction. This session offers evidence-based strategies to foster positive practice environments. Attendees will explore assessing mental wellness, integrating well-being into strategic plans, and addressing compassion fatigue. Additionally, a new program aimed to close existing gaps in organizations’ well-being programs will be introduced.

From Intra To Interdisciplinary: Growing An Inclusive Nicu Wellness Team, Christina Rose San Filipo

Creating Healthy Work Environments (CHWE)

Neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) teams care for some of the hospital’s most fragile and sick patients. Larger NICUs frequently care for more acute patients, increasing the risk of burnout among team members.1,2 These NICUs often see a larger volume of patients, presenting challenges to teaming and collaborating effectively as team sizes increase to meet patient care demands.1,2 The AACN Healthy Work Environment (HWE) assessment tool was deployed to nurses in an upstate NY level IV NICU. The lowest-scoring areas were true collaboration, skilled communication, and meaningful recognition. Based on HWE data, the ACE-15 Teamwork and Collaboration survey was distributed …

Factors Influencing Voluntary Nurse Turnover, Tracy A. Riley, Jennifer A. Sledge, Marilyn Shallom, Heidi K. Holtz

Creating Healthy Work Environments (CHWE)

Background: Nurse staffing in the acute care setting remains turbulent and unstable, and there is increased evidence that the context within work environments may contribute to turnover. Contributing factors of this instability lead to burnout, including emotional exhaustion, depersonalization, and a decreased sense of personal accomplishment. RNs who experience burnout are twice as likely to leave their bedside nursing job in comparison with RNs who are not experiencing burnout. Significant post-COVID turnover within the acute care setting has been identified, however, current evaluation of voluntary nurse turnover is needed. This study examines exit survey data from nurses voluntarily terminating their …

Overcoming Toxic Positivity: Leadership Strategies For Promoting Healthy Nursing Work Environments, Hannah Grace Shipp, Katherine Christine Hall

Creating Healthy Work Environments (CHWE)

In the post-COVID-19 landscape, many nurses report feeling abandoned (5), undervalued (6), and inadequately supported (2,3). As such, it is incumbent for organizational leaders to take action to support nursing staff and implement strategies that foster healthy work environments and promote nurses’ well-being. A potentially overlooked contributing factor is toxic positivity. While this phenomenon appears to be present in nursing, it remains underexplored. The purpose of this presentation is: (a) to provide an overview of the concept of toxic positivity, (b) to explore its potential impacts on patient care outcomes, and (c) to discuss strategies nurse leaders can employ to …

Reigniting The Passion: Alluring Our Future Leaders, Catherine J. Mohammed

Creating Healthy Work Environments (CHWE)

Background/Significance: Although the influence of leadership style on empowerment and job satisfaction of the workforce has been documented, there are few researchers who examined the influence of the leader’s experience in developing not only their own leadership skills in the creation and sustainment of healthy work environments but to engage and “train up” the development of our future nurse leaders. The current nursing workforce is struggling with engagement and retention and the lack of interest in leadership in the emerging generations.

The empirical evidence supports of the creation of the healthy work environment whether it is a Magnet designated facility …

Building Resiliency In Senior Nursing And Health Profession Students, Diane K. Brown

Creating Healthy Work Environments (CHWE)

Nurses and students report high stress and burnout associated with front line care. Nursing curriculum and other health professions dedicate little instruction regarding resiliency or handling professional stress. This lack of training may account for the high rate of job and professional turnover in the first year of practice. Stress in the health professions begins as students who arguably work harder than many other students in other majors to meet the high demands of challenging curriculum and clinical practice hours.

The purpose of this presentation is to describe a resiliency training workshop and the effect on student participants regarding feelings …

Fostering Wellness In Nursing: Insights From Mental Health Bulletin Boards, Christina Marie Lightner, Kelly A. Wolgast, Khalid Almasloukh, Amy Criscitello

Creating Healthy Work Environments (CHWE)

The College of Nursing promotes a wellness culture to address growing mental health challenges among nursing students and professionals (Lipson et al., 2022). Grounded in the 12 dimensions of wellness (Gawlik et al., 2024), these initiatives foster resilience, support healthy lifestyle behaviors, and create a nurturing environment for the nursing community. Mental health and wellness interventions play a crucial role in improving the well-being of college students, including nursing students (Melnyk et al., 2020).
This presentation outlines the development and thematic analysis of Mental Health Bulletin Boards (MHBBs), designed to engage nursing students and professionals in self-care and resilience-building practices. …

Creating Healthy Work Environments Through Holistic Innovation, Bree Joseph

Creating Healthy Work Environments (CHWE)

Purpose: Holistic Certified Nurse Specialists (HCNS) with nurse leadership responded to clinical nurse feedback to support their ability to use available wellness and stress reduction resources. Together, they developed a scheduling system to maximize clinical nurse use of holistic support.

Significance: An organizational well-being survey indicated that clinical nurses experienced higher stress and burnout than other clinical staff. Covid 19 and its aftermath significantly impacted the overall health of nurses who reported symptoms of stress, anxiety, and emotional exhaustion. Through transformational leadership, the HCNS leveraged the hospital’s person-centered care philosophy to create an environment for nurse wellbeing.

Methods: Previously, the …

Addressing Nurse Mental Health And Suicide Prevention: The Role Of The H.O.P.E. Certification, Christopher Wojnar, Sally Spencer-Thomas

Creating Healthy Work Environments (CHWE)

Nurses' mental health, essential for quality patient care, is severely compromised by systemic issues, resulting in heightened suicide risks. Recent data reveals that nurses face a higher suicide risk than other professions. This was tragically exemplified by the 2023 suicide of Tristin Kate Smith, whose "Letter to My Abuser" exposed the profound emotional and psychological toll of her work environment and inadequate support, highlighting critical systemic failures.

Statistical Context:
Between 2017 and 2018, 729 nurses in the U.S. died by suicide, totaling 2,374 nurse suicides from 2007 to 2018 (Davis et al., 2021).
40% of nurses report severe psychological distress, …

Multidisciplinary Workplace Wellness Committee To Improve Employee Engagement, Fatima Arastu, Helen Chen, Hillary Duncan, Rich Elles

Creating Healthy Work Environments (CHWE)

Background: A healthy work environment is an active process that involves employees and the leadership team to meet the complexities of the health care settings. Post Pandemic, there’s been intentional efforts to redesign the worker well-being to reduce workplace stress and increase staff engagement (Grant et al., 2020, Lovejoy et.al., 2021). A healthy work environment is foundational to safety culture, as it promotes effective communication, collaboration, shared decisions-making, authentic leadership, and meaningful recognition (Grant et al., 2020, Vaughan, 2023). Employers have increasingly invested in workplace wellness programs to enhance employee health at the organizational level (Song & Baicker, 2019). However, …

Supporting A Healthy Work Environment By Attending To Nurse Mattering, Katherine Hall, Beth Epstein

Creating Healthy Work Environments (CHWE)

Background: Mattering, the feeling that you make a difference and are significant to others,1 is endorsed by the U.S. Surgeon General as an essential part of a healthy work environment.2 Mattering is negatively associated with nursing burnout and turnover, and targeted interventions to enhance nurses’ perceptions of mattering may be useful for making systemic changes to the nursing work environment. 3,4 To-date there are no studies that explore how nurses perceive they matter at work.

Purpose: To explore aspects of the health care work environment that influence nurses’ perceptions of mattering and identify workplace changes that can be made to …

Nurse Advocacy: Elevating The Voice Of Nurses From The Bedside To The Capitol, Judy Ong Ho

Creating Healthy Work Environments (CHWE)

Background: Workplace violence and nursing shortages are challenges for nurses. Studies have listed insufficient staffing and workplace violence as contributory factors to nurses leaving their jobs. This presentation aims to demonstrate how a healthcare system empowers, enables, and engages their nurses to collaborate with their Government Affairs team to advocate for resources and solutions through legislative efforts. Nurses use their professional expertise, knowledge, and experience to effectively communicate the challenges to the legislators.

Method: To prepare the nurses, training sessions, supplemented by FAQs were provided. Our healthcare system sponsored 80+ nurses to attend the 2023 Nurses Day at the Capitol …

The Power Of Wellness And Self-Care: Transforming Transition To Practice Programs, Vanessa Lopez, Grace Sekayan, Ghada Dunbar

Creating Healthy Work Environments (CHWE)

In alignment with literature findings and program data, RNs transitioning into a new specialty experienced heightened levels of stress and anxiety related to role transitions and changes in workplace settings. The integration of a structured, evidence-based wellness program would prioritize the mental health, well-being, and self-care of experienced nurses entering a new practice setting. NPD Practitioners collaborated with organizational subject matter experts to develop resources & curriculum for the Transition to Practice Specialty RN Program to reduce stressors and enhance a positive experience & transition. Wellness Huddles were designed and integrated into the TTP program to support RN personal and …

The State Of Nursing Student Mental Health And Wellness Support As Perceived By Nursing Faculty, Catherine A. Stubin

Creating Healthy Work Environments (CHWE)

Nursing education has consistently been associated with stress, anxiety, and depression among students (Fauzi et al., 2020; Milić et al., 2019). Demanding course loads, rigorous examinations, and continued pressure to attain a high-grade point average result in greater stress, anxiety, and depressive symptoms among nursing students (Kim et al., 2021). Identifying key traits and manifestations of negative mental health wellness, as well as resilience-building strategies and supportive behaviors to assist students, are critical. Nursing faculty must have the knowledge to identify when symptoms are overwhelming, as well as provide necessary support, before students experience unhealthy symptoms and academic failure (Kells …

Living The Healthy Nurse Definition: Development And Personal Stories, Holly Carpenter

Creating Healthy Work Environments (CHWE)

This session will describe how a national nurses association developed and updated the definition of a healthy nurse. The need for the updated definition as well as the methodology behind the development will be explored. Inspiring true-life stories of nurses exemplifying the new definition will be highlighted.

Advocating For Nurse Engagement: Cultivating Leadership And Resource Availability, Kasey Duffie Chance, Jacquelyn Smith, Brandy Simpler

Creating Healthy Work Environments (CHWE)

Background: Approximately three million nurses report to work daily across the United States (Alexander et al., 2021). Despite this number, there is a critical nursing shortage that must be addressed (Bong, 2019). Nurses work in a high-demand profession that affects their ability to acquire or conserve resources to stay engaged and avoid burnout (Contreras et al., 2020; Paustian-Underdahl et al., 2023). Healthcare organizations must focus on retaining nurses by providing them with resources and tools to be engaged and provide quality care (Bong, 2019; Contreras et al., 2020; Othman & Nasurdin, 2019).

Methods: A review of literature was …

Discrimination Among Healthcare Professionals During The Covid-19 Crisis: A Phenomenological Study, Marjorie Fay Paredes Sta. Maria

Creating Healthy Work Environments (CHWE)

This phenomenological research capture the phenomenon of discrimination among the nurses in the initial six months of the COVID-19 outbreak. Participants of the study comprised fifteen registered nurses from different government and private hospitals in the Philippines with the criterion sampling technique used in the selection of participants. The participants in the study were interviewed and responded to a series of semi-structured questions and the data thus collected were analyzed in a manner that was quite consistent with Colaizzi’s seven-stage phenomenological data analysis and reduction technique to be able to get to the very core and essence of the participants’ …

Faculty Newsletter Fall 2024, University Of Missouri-St. Louis Libraries

Library Publications

No abstract provided.

Proceedings Of The 2025 Berry Summer Thesis Institute, University Of Dayton. University Honors Program, Dorian Borbonus, Nicholas J. Canfield, Triet M. Cao, Thomas Crossman, Jeffrey Huettemann, Aung Myat Khaung, Chase Kinder, Elizabeth Krahe, Anh Duc Nguyen, Quynh Anh Nguyen, Anna M. Petre, Kayden G. Rothery, Anna M. Schmitz, Rachel Zeller

Proceedings of the Berry Summer Thesis Institute (2013-Present)

Thanks to a gift from the Berry Family Foundation and the Berry family, the University Honors Program launched the Berry Summer Thesis Institute in 2012. The institute introduces students in the University Honors Program to intensive research, scholarship opportunities and professional development. Each student pursues a 12-week summer thesis research project under the guidance of a UD faculty mentor. This contains the product of the students' research.

Faculty Senate Executive Committee Agenda August 25, 2025, Utah State University

Faculty Senate & Faculty Senate Executive Committee

• 3:00 Call to Order
• Approval of Minutes - April 14, 2025
• 3:05 University Business
• 3:20 Faculty Senate Business
• 3:35 Information
• EPC Report - April 3, 2025
• Title IX
• 3:50 Reports
• Empowering Teaching Excellence
• Center for Instructional Design and Innovation
• 4:00 Old Business
• 4:05 New Business
• Adjourn: 4:30 pm

Personality As A Moderator Of The Relationship Between Casual Sex Behavior And Psychopathology, Dean J. Harris

Theses and Graduate Projects

Prior research has evaluated the impact of casual sex on mental health outcomes; however, there is a lack of research on the possible moderating effects of personality traits on this relationship. Thus, the purpose of this study was to clarify whether personality traits -specifically extraversion and neuroticism- are protective or risk factors for symptoms of anxiety and depression among individuals who engage in casual sexual behaviors, particularly in college-aged individuals. Using a cross-sectional design, 108 participants who met survey criteria completed self-report measures assessing casual sex behavior, the PHQ-9, the GAD-7, the International Big-Five Mini- Markers, and demographic questions. Moderation …

An Analysis Of Ex-Offender’S Perspectives On The Impact Of The Time Frame Of Reentry Programs On The Likelihood Of Recidivating, Angel Yates

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The problem this study explored is how the timing of when reentry services are provided to incarcerated individuals and the impact it will have on their reintegration process and recidivism rates. This qualitative study analyzed the timing of when reentry programs are provided to incarcerated individuals and the impact it has on reducing recidivism rates. This study’s flyer was posted on social media platforms and shared with reentry programs. A total of 20 interviews were conducted. All participants answered the requirement questions via email; for those who met the criteria, consent forms were then sent, and interviews were scheduled. Transcripts …