Digital Commons Network^™

Implementation Of A Death Anxiety Screening Protocol Specific To Patients With Advanced Cancer In An Outpatient Palliative Care Setting, Olivia M. Sasdi

DNP Projects

Abstract

Background: Recent studies have shown that upwards of 80% of patients with advanced cancer suffer from death anxiety resulting in increased physical and psychological suffering. Despite death anxiety’s ubiquitous nature and negative impact, the literature regarding this condition consistently indicates that it remains under-identified and undertreated in patients with advanced cancer. The “Death and Dying Distress Scale” (DADDS) is a clinically validated tool used to identify, measure, and guide effective treatment modalities for death anxiety specifically in patients with advanced cancer, but is scarcely used routinely in practice. Incorporating this screening tool to be used regularly could improve identification …

Beyond Problem-Solving Courts, Erin Collins

Law Faculty Publications

Problem-solving courts were borne out of a well-meaning experimentalist spirit, one that inspired judges to attempt to close the so-called “revolving door” to the courthouse by providing treatment instead of, or in addition to, incarceration. The problem-solving court movement is now more than thirty years old and the results of this experiment in court reform are underwhelming. Viewed in the most favorable light, studies suggest that problem-solving courts can modestly reduce the likelihood that some court participants will be arrested or convicted again. Meanwhile, the 40% to 60% of people who begin but do not complete problem-solving court programs often …

The Theory Of Learning In Micro: Context & Explanation, Irene A. Bal, Mohammad Shams Ud Duha, Okan Arslan, Jessica Collier, Paula Marcelle, Annetta Dolowitz, Jamie Brernhardt, Meg Swanson, Monalisa Dash, Bohdana Allman (Ed.), Heather Leary (Ed.), Royce Kimmons (Ed.)

STEMPS Faculty Publications

The Theory of Learning in Micro is a proposed theory on how people micro-learn. This theory is based on the hypothesis that learning is a continual process better supported with smaller, more focused learning resources and activities. Based on two main beliefs, knowledge and design, The Theory of Learning in Micro was crafted as a foundation for how people learn in micro, providing a set of beliefs and assumptions for the microlearning design and development community.

Culturally Responsive Librarians: Shifting Perspectives Toward Racial Empathy, Elizabeth A. Burns

STEMPS Faculty Publications

Libraries are charged with being inclusive spaces for all patrons. Library (library and information science [LIS]) preparation programs, by extension, must prepare the next generation of librarians to meet the needs of an increasingly diverse population. It is imperative that today’s librarians are equipped to infuse diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) theory with best practice when establishing policy and procedure for the library environment, staff, and programing. With little research and no established protocol in LIS education, it is unclear how pre-service librarians are trained in DEI to meet the needs of all users. This exploratory study used a participatory …

Universal Design For Learning Implementation In Higher Education: Survey Of Faculty And Instructional Designers, Breanne A. Kirsch, Tian Luo

STEMPS Faculty Publications

Universal design for learning (UDL) is an inclusive design framework. Faculty and instructional designers were surveyed to investigate UDL implementation in higher education. This survey was based on one used by Westine et al. (2019). Results about how faculty and instructional designers learn about UDL, how instructional designers train and support faculty in UDL, and why and how participants choose to employ UDL are shared. The results from this study have provided new findings in relation to faculty and instructional designer UDL implementation efforts in higher education that have implications for training and supporting faculty with UDL application efforts.

Secondary Traumatic Stress: Therapists’ Past Trauma And Workplace Interventions, Morgan Wickman

Honors Program Theses

Secondary traumatic stress (STS) is a type of indirect trauma wherein listening to the traumatic experiences of another causes a stress reaction. STS can lead to PTSD-like symptoms which can develop after only one instance. STS affects mental health professionals at high rates because they have high rates of exposure to traumatic content. In particular, therapists with a personal trauma history have an increased risk of developing STS, as they are more likely to identify with their client’s traumatic experience. This review examines how therapists’ STS severity and frequency is impacted by a personal trauma history. It also identifies workplace …

“To Live In The Body Of A Survivor ”: Unique And Cumulative Disaster Exposure And Mental Health In A Sample Of Hurricane Katrina Survivors, Noelle Serino

Public Health Theses

Introduction: Fueled by the escalation of climate change, weather-related disasters are increasing in frequency and severity. Existing research has documented the extensive harm induced by such disasters, yet few studies have examined how individuals’ psychological well-being fares when exposed to multiple, diverse threats, including other weather-related and public health disasters (e.g., COVID-19). As such, the present study explores posttraumatic and psychological distress in the context of unique and cumulative disaster exposure.Methods: The data utilized for this study came from the Resilience in Survivors of Katrina (RISK) Project. The sample was comprised of 381 predominantly Non-Hispanic Black (84.5%) women who experienced …

Understanding The Current Role Of Social Media In American Samoan Adolescent Lives, Mukund Desibhatla

Public Health Theses

Purpose: This exploratory study investigated the social and cultural factors that shape social media use among adolescents in

American Samoa. Methods: This project was a secondary qualitative analysis. Methodological considerations included an

interpretivist approach to epistemology and alignment with the Fa’afaletui Pacific framework. Phenomenology methods were

used to “bracket” researcher biases. A 21st-century flexible coding approach proposed by Deterding et al. 2021 was applied

to the dataset [31]. Transcript excerpts were re-sorted by the index code: social media/technology as a predictor of mental

illness. An abductive thematic analysis, stemming from inductive and deductive reasoning, was used to analyze the codebook …

Challenges Of Integrating Community Health Workers (Chws) Into Health Systems To Improve Hiv Care Engagement: A Qualitative Study, Yue Hu

Public Health Theses

CHWs provide valuable support to individuals managing chronic diseases, especially populations encountering stigma, discrimination, and other services barriers. CHWs effectively improve HIV outcomes for PLWH, and innovative approaches are needed to maximize their impact on self-management by strengthening their roles as liaisons between clinical services and community resources. Four clinical providers, five community leaders, six CHWs/supervisors in HIV services, and twelve PLWH from St. Louis, Missouri participated in semi-structured interviews, and twelve front-line health workers participated in one of two focus groups. Discussions explored employing CHWs for enhancing HIV care management and retention. Rapid qualitative analysis methods were used to …

An Ecological Approach To Data Governance, Jasmine Mcnealy

Notre Dame Journal of Law, Ethics & Public Policy

No abstract provided.

2023 Annual Report, Evidence To Practice, Cep Annual Reports, Lisa Staples, C. Leonardi, B. Dupre, Gabrielle Gonzalez, Nichole Cohen, Ronnie Rubin, Stephen Phillippi

Policy & Position Papers

No abstract provided.

A Coalition-Driven Examination Of Organization Capacity To Address Food Insecurity In Greater Houston: A Qualitative Research Study, Jemima C John, Jennifer Gonzalez, Sara-Grace Chan, Heidi Mcpherson, Jennifer N Aiyer, Esperanza Galvan, Nicole Browning, Shreela V Sharma

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

BACKGROUND: Economic and social hardships have worsened food insecurity, particularly among low income and racial-ethnic minority groups. Given the core goal of the 150+ member Houston Health Equity Collective (HEC) to reduce food insecurity by 5% in 2025, we explored member organizations' capacity and challenges faced in screening and responding to food insecurity through care coordination efforts.

METHODS: A twice-administered Qualtrics XM survey (Provo, Utah) with 76 organizations, followed by five focus groups with 22 of these organizations, explored reach and response efforts to food insecurity. Qualitative assessments lasted between 0.5 to 1.5 h, were audio-recorded, cleaned, coded, and thematically …

Connecting Children With Birth Defects To Health And Social Service Programs: A Collaboration Between The Texas Birth Defects Registry And Agency Social Workers, Dayana Betancourt, Mark A Canfield, Mary K Ethen, Charles Shumate, Margaret Drummond-Borg, Christina Kubenka, Jessica Palacios, A J Agopian

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Background: Timely referral to services for children born with birth defects can improve health outcomes. Birth defects surveillance registries may be a valuable data source for connecting children to health and social service programs.

Methods: Population-based, state-wide data from the Texas Birth Defects Registry (TBDR) at the Texas Department of State Health Services (DSHS) were used to connect children 9-18 months old, born with select birth defects with DSHS social workers. The social workers reviewed developmental milestones and referred children and their families to various health and social service programs. We tabulated the proportions of children meeting milestones and referral …

2024 Annual Report, Evidence To Practice, Cep Annual Reports, Lisa Staples, Tommy Nguyen, Brooke Dupre, Alice Yeh, G. Gonzalez, Stephen Phillippi

Policy & Position Papers

No abstract provided.

Toward A More Comprehensive Understanding Of Organizational Influences On Implementation: The Organization Theory For Implementation Science Framework, Sarah A Birken, Cheyenne R Wagi, Alexandra G Peluso, Michelle C Kegler, Jure Baloh, Prajakta Adsul, Maria E Fernandez, Manal Masud, Terry T-K Huang, Matthew Lee, Mary Wangen, Per Nilsen, Miriam Bender, Mimi Choy-Brown, Grace Ryan, Aliza Randazzo, Linda K Ko

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

INTRODUCTION: Implementation is influenced by factors beyond individual clinical settings. Nevertheless, implementation research often focuses on factors related to individual providers and practices, potentially due to limitations of available frameworks. Extant frameworks do not adequately capture the myriad organizational influences on implementation. Organization theories capture diverse organizational influences but remain underused in implementation science. to advance their use among implementation scientists, we distilled 70 constructs from nine organization theories identified in our previous work into theoretical domains in the Organization Theory for Implementation Science (OTIS) framework.

METHODS: The process of distilling organization theory constructs into domains involved concept mapping and …

Effectiveness Of Cognitive Behavioral Therapy Versus Therapeutic Play For Hospitalized Children Diagnosed With Cancer: An Integrative Systematic Review, Dianne Kong

Theses and Dissertations

Psychotherapy provides essential coping mechanisms and strategies for children who are diagnosed with cancer, as they experience the extraordinary burden of physical, emotional, and mental strains. While many medical advancements have been made within the past few decades, progress related to psychotherapy for pediatric cancer patients has not been commensurate, evidenced by the limited current literature. Given the sparsity of relevant research, it is presently difficult to compare and evaluate the various psychotherapeutic interventions available for pediatric oncology patients. Additionally, there are significant challenges in providing psychotherapeutic care for patients and their families, including lack of consistency, disruption of care, …

The Use Of Dance And Movement For The Embodied Healing Of Interpersonal Trauma In Women And Girls: A Systematic Review, Catherine Xinyu Liang

Theses and Dissertations

Interpersonal trauma is a serious and devastating problem for women and girls from all walks of life. Research has shown that there are physiological consequences for experiencing trauma, and as such, treatment for trauma may need to target the body. Dance/Movement Therapy (DMT) has been emerging in the current literature as one body-oriented treatment approach that is effective in helping women and girls heal from interpersonal trauma. This review examines how practitioners are currently using DMT for this population, what treatment outcomes have been observed, and what the racial/ethnic identities and international contexts are for survivors who have benefited from …

Application Of Third-Wave Cognitive-Behavioral Interventions In The Treatment Of Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder, Emily Hanna

Theses and Dissertations

Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) has a high comorbidity rate, with substantial risks for anxiety, mood, and substance use disorders. Exposure and response prevention (ERP) is considered the first-line psychotherapy treatment for OCD. While highly efficacious, not all patients achieve full remission with ERP, and given the chronicity of OCD and its sensitivity to stress-related events, many patients struggle with ongoing symptoms. A growing area of research has been the use of third-wave behavioral and cognitive therapies that potentially enhance patients’ willingness to engage with exposure-based treatment and provide strategies to cope with residual symptoms. This integrative systematic review summarizes and synthesizes …

Trust In Integrated Medical Care Using A Population-Based Normative Approach, Heather Summers

Theses and Dissertations

The role of integrated care partnerships in addressing health care and social needs to achieve whole person care is important as health care costs rise and quality of care outcomes are incentivized. Medicaid reform and 1115 Medicaid waiver programs are implemented statewide as innovative programs aimed at achieving cost savings and improved clinical quality of care outcomes. Understanding how cross sector partnerships can meet the needs of individuals through integrated care cross sectoral coordination between government, social services and managed care is needed. This research study examined the role of normative care values, vision, trust, shared care, and leadership. The …

Affordable Housing For Austin’S Homeless Population, Brittany M. Bilbo

Selected Social Change Portfolios in Prevention, Intervention, and Consultation

Goal Statement: In this portfolio, the issue of homelessness in Austin will be discussed as well as the impacts affordable housing and easier access to resources could have as preventative measures.

Significant Findings: The target population of this portfolio includes individuals at risk of entering into homelessness in Austin, Texas. In communities across the United States, higher rates of homelessness are correlated with higher rates of criminal activity, mental health issues, and substance abuse across all subgroups of those communities (Center for Evidence-Based Solutions to Homelessness, 2019). Thus, the issue of homelessness is a public health issue because it impacts …

Effects Of Poverty On Children's Mental Health In Orlando, Fl, Everlee R. Ensminger

Selected Social Change Portfolios in Prevention, Intervention, and Consultation

Significant Findings: Poverty significantly impacts children's mental, physical, and cognitive development, especially during the first five years of life. Children of color living in poverty face higher risk factors, impeded self-regulation abilities, prejudice, and discrimination associated with seeking and obtaining mental health treatment. The stigma and obstacles in accessing treatment, particularly for underrepresented groups, are significant issues in Orlando, FL. Prevention starts with utilizing theories such as the Health Belief Model (HBM) and Social Cognitive Theory (SCT), which deepen the understanding of how personal, environmental, and human behavior influence each other in an ongoing process. Collaboration and advocacy efforts between …

The Latina Experiences Of Intimate Partner Violence In The Rio Grande Valley, Lucas Enrique Espinoza, Luis Enrique Espinoza, Rosalva Resendiz, Georgina Villegas-Montenegro

Criminal Justice Faculty Publications

Intimate partner violence (IPV) is a severe public health and criminal justice issue that disproportionately affects women more than men. This sought to explore Latina experiences of IPV in the Rio Grande Valley (RGV). Twelve Latina IPV survivors from the RGV, ages 24 to 40 years old, were interviewed using purposive and snowball sampling methods. Several primary themes were discovered: types of abuse; perceived reasons for the abuse; education and economic insecurity; why stay or leave an abusive relationship; the criminal justice system’s role; and self blaming. All participants (n = 12) were college educated and endured IPV victimization at …

The Effects Of Relational Poverty: Healing Our Culture, Jenet Erickson

Issues in Religion and Psychotherapy

One of the most vexing challenges of our day is a profound hunger for connection, evidenced by an epidemic of loneliness, violence, relational poverty, and increasing mental health challenges. We are born to be in deep connection with others. As German analyst Frieda Fromm-Reichman wrote, “The longing for interpersonal intimacy stays with every human being from infancy through life, and there is no human being who is not threatened by its loss.” A radical cultural focus on autonomy with the associated ruptures in family stability, decreased religiosity and community engagement have increased loneliness in spite of the seeming “connectivity” of …

Cuing Disparities: The Consequences Of Race-Based Social Stressors For Academic Achievement, Dorainne J. Green, Kathryn M. Kroeper, Mary Murphy

Psychology Faculty Publications

Underrepresented racially and ethnically minoritized (URM) students contend with individual-level race-based stressors in college, like racialized discrimination and microaggressions. In this study, we consider whether URM students' perceptions of racial inequity on campus—a context-level race-based stressor—trigger adverse psychological and physical stress responses that, in turn, undermine academic achievement. Using a sample of 781 science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) students, we found in a longitudinal study that URM students report perceiving more inequality on campus compared with White and Asian students. Greater perceived inequality was, in turn, associated with increased psychological and physical stress responses, which, in some cases, predicted …

An Introduction To Local And Global Health Behaviors Using A Collaborative Online International Learning Exchange, Niamh M. Higgins, Lisa B. Smith

Psychology Faculty Publications

Collaborative Online International Learning (COIL), uses technology to facilitate the engagement of students from different countries in collaborative coursework and sharing of cultural perspectives. The existing literature concerning COIL exchanges points to the need to further explore student satisfaction and engagement with such exchange projects, and whether course learning outcomes are being achieved. This practice paper describes a COIL exchange between students of health psychology at Mary Immaculate College, Ireland, and Sacred Heart University, in the United States. During this 10-week project students were required to engage in synchronous and asynchronous activities. Following the completion of the COIL project, students …

Secondary Traumatic Stress Is An Occupational Hazard For Pet Hospice Support Staff: Psychoeducational Support Groups Provide The Cure, Kari Hayden

DSW Capstone Projects

There are three separate yet interrelated products presented in this final capstone product. The completed product is focused on pet hospice veterinary support staff and the need for an evidence-based social work intervention to combat secondary traumatic stress. This capstone uses the andragogical approach to adult learning theory as the foundation to construct a psychoeducational peer support group specific to this population. Implications for clinical social work in veterinary medicine are presented within this project.

The first scholarly product presented is the Systematic Literature Review (SLR). The SLR utilizes a scoping review process in an attempt to locate prior research …

International Social Work Field Education, Shelli Gregory

DSW Capstone Projects

International Social Work Field Education (ISWFE) involves a set of unique challenges. For the literature review of this capstone project 20 peer-reviewed journal articles written between the years 2009 and 2018 were reviewed to answer the following research question: What are the unique challenges associated with ISWFE and the best practices for combatting these challenges? The challenges most frequently mentioned in the literature are the perpetuation of colonial mindset; students experiencing emotional vulnerabilities, stress, & distress (guilt, shame, loneliness, fear, helplessness, isolation, and homesickness); supervisory issues; language barriers; funding; culture shock, disequilibrium, or clash; safety concerns; administrative problems such as …

Pandemic Driven Mobility In Higher Education: The Good, The Bad And The Useful, Orly Calderon, Susan Penque, David Luhr, Caryn Nahum, Lauren Scardigno

Nursing Faculty Publications

The purpose of this mixed method research study is to describe the experiences of faculty and students in post-secondary education institutions as they shifted to remote education at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, and to understand these experiences in the context of previous research about pre-pandemic remote or mobile education. One hundred and two participants in the study include full-time and adjunct faculty, undergraduate and graduate students. A convergent mixed method survey queried about participants’ demographics, mobility experiences in terms of frequency of access to technology and a suitable learning/teaching environment and usefulness of various web and video conferencing …

Acculturative Stress And Quality Of Life Among Older Korean Immigrants: Do Religiosity And Resilience Matter?, Sunghwan Cho

Theses and Dissertations

The impact of acculturative stress on the quality of life among older adults has been widely acknowledged in previous literature. However, few studies have explored the role of religiosity and resilience in this relationship among older Korean immigrants. This dissertation explores the relationships between acculturative stress, religiosity, resilience, and quality of life among 300 older adults aged 65 years and over who live in an ethnic Korean enclave of Queens, New York. The study employs path analysis and multiple regression analyses to test hypothesized relationships among these variables.

The key findings of the study are as follows: (1) higher acculturative …

The Environment Of Interprofessional Education In Graduate Education: Exploring Professional Programs Of Occupational Therapy, Physician Assistant, And Physical Therapy, Allison R. Kaczmarek

Theses and Dissertations

Interprofessional education (IPE) is an educational approach of increasing popularity in professional schools for the preparation of a collaborative ready healthcare workforce. The accrediting bodies of professional education programs in occupational therapy (OT), physician assistant (PA), and physical therapy (PT) have incorporated standards for outcomes addressing IPE. Although they have endorsed the Health Professions Accreditors Collaborative (HPAC) consensus document on quality IPE, we do not have a contemporary snapshot of the IPE environments in the curriculum of their accredited programs. This dissertation, a collection of three distinct inquiries, has two aims: first, to provide a description of IPE as it …