Open Access. Powered by Scholars. Published by Universities.®

Digital Commons Network

Open Access. Powered by Scholars. Published by Universities.®

Articles 1 - 30 of 253

Full-Text Articles in Entire DC Network

Race-Related Stress, Medical Mistrust, Covid-19 Worry, And Covid-19 Vaccination Behavior Among African Americans, Lisa A. Cash Feb 2024

Race-Related Stress, Medical Mistrust, Covid-19 Worry, And Covid-19 Vaccination Behavior Among African Americans, Lisa A. Cash

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

In the United States, nearly 104 million cases and over 1.1 million deaths from novel coronavirus disease of 2019 (COVID-19) have been reported overall, but African Americans have been disproportionately affected. Nevertheless, this population has demonstrated the lowest intention to be vaccinated and lowest vaccination rates of all racial/ethnic groups in the United States. The research problem addressed by this study is African American COVID-19 health disparities. The purpose of this investigation was to examine factors that influence COVID-19 vaccination behavior among African Americans, which is important to better understand how to achieve health equity. Using the health belief model …


Association Between Marital Status, Family Size, And Diabetes Among Asian-American Women, Rhea Ann Reyes Mcbride Jan 2024

Association Between Marital Status, Family Size, And Diabetes Among Asian-American Women, Rhea Ann Reyes Mcbride

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

No abstract provided.


Staff Education Project To Decrease Variations In Surgical Optimizations, Shelly Bressoud Dec 2023

Staff Education Project To Decrease Variations In Surgical Optimizations, Shelly Bressoud

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

No abstract provided.


Government Applications Of Digital Health (Telehealth) In Multi-Sectoral Settings: Participatory Action Research With Key Stakeholders, Irina Gelman Dec 2023

Government Applications Of Digital Health (Telehealth) In Multi-Sectoral Settings: Participatory Action Research With Key Stakeholders, Irina Gelman

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

No abstract provided.


Examining Factors Associated With Covid-19 Full Vaccination Rates Among Healthcare Workers, Carrie Jeanne Vanzant Nov 2023

Examining Factors Associated With Covid-19 Full Vaccination Rates Among Healthcare Workers, Carrie Jeanne Vanzant

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

No abstract provided.


Association Of Socioeconomic Status And Marital Status With Genuine Halitosis Among Dental Patients In Sudan, Eiman Abd Almonim Khidir Jan 2023

Association Of Socioeconomic Status And Marital Status With Genuine Halitosis Among Dental Patients In Sudan, Eiman Abd Almonim Khidir

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

AbstractThe prevalence of halitosis has been rising in recent years and has become a social and public health problem worldwide. People’s concerns about halitosis can influence their psychological, social, and professional lives and lead to social isolation and anxiety. The purpose of this quantitative cross-sectional study was to examine the association of socioeconomic status and marital status with genuine halitosis after adjusting for age, gender, and smoking among patients attending dental clinics in Khartoum, Sudan. The social-ecological model grounded the study. Secondary data from dental clinics in Khartoum, Sudan, were used with a sample size of 340. Data analysis included …


Impact Of An Outpatient Chronic Care Model On Uninsured Inpatient And Emergency Department Utilization, Jamie L. Judd Jan 2023

Impact Of An Outpatient Chronic Care Model On Uninsured Inpatient And Emergency Department Utilization, Jamie L. Judd

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Healthcare systems incur significant uncompensated costs due to uninsured chronic disease patients’ overutilization of urgent and emergent emergency care. This study was important because there was very little literature addressing the impact of the chronic care model (CCM) on reducing uncompensated healthcare system costs regarding patients with chronic disease. The purpose of the study was to investigate whether the Healthy Education Lifestyles Program (HELP) was of any significance to healthcare system’s cost of uninsured chronic disease patients. The theoretical foundation for the study was the CCM espoused by Wagner and colleagues. The research questions were to determine significant differences in …


Impact Of Type 2 Diabetes And Hypertension On Allocation Of Grant Funds In Federally Qualified Health Centers, Rhonda Mullins Jan 2023

Impact Of Type 2 Diabetes And Hypertension On Allocation Of Grant Funds In Federally Qualified Health Centers, Rhonda Mullins

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Limited resources exist for managing the increasing cases of hypertension and type 2 diabetes, which underlines the need to continuously review reimbursement plans to ensure care affordability for chronic illness. The purpose of this quantitative study was to determine whether a correlation existed between the number of patients with type 2 diabetes, hypertension, and demographic characteristics (independent variables) seen at Federally Qualified Health Centers (FQHCs) and the allocation of grant funds from Health Resources and Service Administration (HRSA) (dependent variable) from 2016 – 2020 among adults 18 years old and older in the United States. Guided by the Transaction Cost …


Trauma-Informed Behavioral Health Leadership And Employee Engagement At A Child Advocacy Center, Andrew Krantz Jan 2023

Trauma-Informed Behavioral Health Leadership And Employee Engagement At A Child Advocacy Center, Andrew Krantz

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Employee engagement is essential for an organization to meet its mission and vision. When employees are not engaged, there are higher levels of turnover, secondary traumatic stress, and burnout. Furthermore, when employees are not engaged, there is a decrease in the quality of patient care. Behavioral health leaders can positively impact employee engagement by engaging in trauma-informed behavioral health leadership. This qualitative case study reviews the impact of trauma-informed behavioral health leadership on employee engagement at a large Child Advocacy Center in the northeastern United States who was struggling with low levels of employee engagement and high levels of turnover …


Experiences Of Older Adults With Hiv/Aids Enrolled In Case Management Programs In Northwest Indiana, Antoinette Cardenas Jan 2023

Experiences Of Older Adults With Hiv/Aids Enrolled In Case Management Programs In Northwest Indiana, Antoinette Cardenas

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

AbstractIn 2016, more than half of those infected with HIV/AIDS were age 50 years or older. Since the introduction of antiretroviral therapy, the survival rate of HIV patients has been on the rise with a predicted increase by 2030, but this has also contributed to early onset of comorbidities such as cardiovascular disease, osteoporosis, and kidney failure. The purpose of this generic qualitative study, driven by ecological systems theory, was to explore the experiences of older adults (age 50 and older) with HIV/AIDS who were enrolled in case management programs in Northwest Indiana. Data were collected from semi structured interviews …


Effect Of Family Engagement On The Behavioral Health Of Mentally Ill Offenders, Jessica Rae Horn Jan 2023

Effect Of Family Engagement On The Behavioral Health Of Mentally Ill Offenders, Jessica Rae Horn

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

In the United States, 40% of incarcerated individuals have been diagnosed with a mental health disorder, but they often lack the support system needed to navigate their incarceration. This study addressed ways to understand how family engagement opportunities can improve the behavioral health of mentally ill offenders. Specifically, five research questions were used to explore the degree to which the practice of family engagement was understood as a method for providing support to mentally ill incarcerated individuals. The study followed the Baldrige Framework of Excellence to identify current organizational leadership and management issues that can help reach its goals, improve …


Evaluation Of Recovery Level And Surgical Site Infection For Hip Replacement Surgeries, Misha Foster Jan 2023

Evaluation Of Recovery Level And Surgical Site Infection For Hip Replacement Surgeries, Misha Foster

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Surgical site infection (SSI) is one of the most common healthcare associated infections and is a major cause of morbidity and mortality. Existing studies have focused primarily on perioperative intervention strategies to reduce infection risks following total joint replacement (TJA) procedures. However, postoperative (post-op) SSI risk factors may account for a significant percentage of hospital readmissions due to infections at the surgical site. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to examine the association between post-op recovery level and SSI among patients who underwent primary hip arthroplasty procedures. Using the social ecological model, which conceptualizes health broadly and focuses on …


How Supply Standardization Affects Non-Emergent Laparoscopic Cholecystectomy Costs And Length Of Stay, Marc Lopez Jan 2023

How Supply Standardization Affects Non-Emergent Laparoscopic Cholecystectomy Costs And Length Of Stay, Marc Lopez

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

This study was conducted to identify if there were practices that could be implemented to decrease costs in the operating room without negatively effecting patient outcomes. With the cost of healthcare in the United States consistently increasing, studies that focus on cost-reduction measures such as this one are crucial to ensure health systems continue to operate with a neutral or positive margin to remain available to provide patient care. This was a retrospective quantitative research study built on the diffusion of innovation theory. It focused on motivating factors such as differences in cost between surgical cases that used a standardized …


Influence Of Staffing Shortages On Safety And Communication In Behavioral Health, Raven Brittany Robinson Jan 2023

Influence Of Staffing Shortages On Safety And Communication In Behavioral Health, Raven Brittany Robinson

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

At the selected behavioral health organization (BHO), leaders desire to improve patient safety and staff communication to provide quality mental health services. They need strategies to achieve these goals. The Baldrige Excellence Framework was used to identify the workforce challenges and practices that facility leaders can potentially use to improve performance to help achieve success, sustainability, and the mission of the BHO. The data sources consisted of (a) semistructured interviews with the CEO, the leader of the intake department, an intake therapist, an intake coordinator, and an RN and (b) reviews of the BHO’s website, and pertinent academic literature. Data …


Factors Impacting College Students’ Receipt Of Human Papillomavirus Vaccination, Joy Yvette Payne Jan 2023

Factors Impacting College Students’ Receipt Of Human Papillomavirus Vaccination, Joy Yvette Payne

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Less than half of U. S. students entering college have had a human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccination, placing them at risk for HPV-related cancers. This study’s purpose was to identify predictors of HPV vaccination initiation in college students. Andersen’s behavioral model of health services use was used to examine the differences in predisposing, enabling, and need factors in U.S. college students ages 18–26 years who received an initial HPV vaccination in college compared to those who never received an HPV vaccination. The study was a quantitative, cross-sectional survey design using multivariable logistic regression for data analyses. Data were collected through an …


Factors Impacting College Students’ Receipt Of Human Papillomavirus Vaccination, Joy Yvette Payne Jan 2023

Factors Impacting College Students’ Receipt Of Human Papillomavirus Vaccination, Joy Yvette Payne

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Less than half of U. S. students entering college have had a human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccination, placing them at risk for HPV-related cancers. This study’s purpose was to identify predictors of HPV vaccination initiation in college students. Andersen’s behavioral model of health services use was used to examine the differences in predisposing, enabling, and need factors in U.S. college students ages 18–26 years who received an initial HPV vaccination in college compared to those who never received an HPV vaccination. The study was a quantitative, cross-sectional survey design using multivariable logistic regression for data analyses. Data were collected through an …


Association Of Socioeconomic Status And Marital Status With Genuine Halitosis Among Dental Patients In Sudan, Eiman Abd Almonim Khidir Jan 2023

Association Of Socioeconomic Status And Marital Status With Genuine Halitosis Among Dental Patients In Sudan, Eiman Abd Almonim Khidir

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

AbstractThe prevalence of halitosis has been rising in recent years and has become a social and public health problem worldwide. People’s concerns about halitosis can influence their psychological, social, and professional lives and lead to social isolation and anxiety. The purpose of this quantitative cross-sectional study was to examine the association of socioeconomic status and marital status with genuine halitosis after adjusting for age, gender, and smoking among patients attending dental clinics in Khartoum, Sudan. The social-ecological model grounded the study. Secondary data from dental clinics in Khartoum, Sudan, were used with a sample size of 340. Data analysis included …


Impact Of Type 2 Diabetes And Hypertension On Allocation Of Grant Funds In Federally Qualified Health Centers, Rhonda Mullins Jan 2023

Impact Of Type 2 Diabetes And Hypertension On Allocation Of Grant Funds In Federally Qualified Health Centers, Rhonda Mullins

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Limited resources exist for managing the increasing cases of hypertension and type 2 diabetes, which underlines the need to continuously review reimbursement plans to ensure care affordability for chronic illness. The purpose of this quantitative study was to determine whether a correlation existed between the number of patients with type 2 diabetes, hypertension, and demographic characteristics (independent variables) seen at Federally Qualified Health Centers (FQHCs) and the allocation of grant funds from Health Resources and Service Administration (HRSA) (dependent variable) from 2016 – 2020 among adults 18 years old and older in the United States. Guided by the Transaction Cost …


How Supply Standardization Affects Non-Emergent Laparoscopic Cholecystectomy Costs And Length Of Stay, Marc Lopez Jan 2023

How Supply Standardization Affects Non-Emergent Laparoscopic Cholecystectomy Costs And Length Of Stay, Marc Lopez

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

This study was conducted to identify if there were practices that could be implemented to decrease costs in the operating room without negatively effecting patient outcomes. With the cost of healthcare in the United States consistently increasing, studies that focus on cost-reduction measures such as this one are crucial to ensure health systems continue to operate with a neutral or positive margin to remain available to provide patient care. This was a retrospective quantitative research study built on the diffusion of innovation theory. It focused on motivating factors such as differences in cost between surgical cases that used a standardized …


Influence Of Staffing Shortages On Safety And Communication In Behavioral Health, Raven Brittany Robinson Jan 2023

Influence Of Staffing Shortages On Safety And Communication In Behavioral Health, Raven Brittany Robinson

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

At the selected behavioral health organization (BHO), leaders desire to improve patient safety and staff communication to provide quality mental health services. They need strategies to achieve these goals. The Baldrige Excellence Framework was used to identify the workforce challenges and practices that facility leaders can potentially use to improve performance to help achieve success, sustainability, and the mission of the BHO. The data sources consisted of (a) semistructured interviews with the CEO, the leader of the intake department, an intake therapist, an intake coordinator, and an RN and (b) reviews of the BHO’s website, and pertinent academic literature. Data …


Impact Of An Outpatient Chronic Care Model On Uninsured Inpatient And Emergency Department Utilization, Jamie L. Judd Jan 2023

Impact Of An Outpatient Chronic Care Model On Uninsured Inpatient And Emergency Department Utilization, Jamie L. Judd

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

AbstractHealthcare systems incur significant uncompensated costs due to uninsured chronic disease patients’ overutilization of urgent and emergent emergency care. This study was important because there was very little literature addressing the impact of the chronic care model (CCM) on reducing uncompensated healthcare system costs regarding patients with chronic disease. The purpose of the study was to investigate whether the Healthy Education Lifestyles Program (HELP) was of any significance to healthcare system’s cost of uninsured chronic disease patients. The theoretical foundation for the study was the CCM espoused by Wagner and colleagues. The research questions were to determine significant differences in …


Trauma-Informed Practices For Behavioral Health Leaders Serving Sex-Trafficking Survivors And Personnel, Evelyn Cordero Molina Jan 2023

Trauma-Informed Practices For Behavioral Health Leaders Serving Sex-Trafficking Survivors And Personnel, Evelyn Cordero Molina

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Trauma-informed practices are essential to successful treatment outcomes and employee wellness in the context of sex trafficking clinical intervention. This single case study described the trauma-informed practices developed in a residential program for biologically-female sex trafficking survivors in the Southwest United States. The Baldrige excellence framework and the trauma-informed framework informed the study to comprehend organizational key factors and principles in the context of the residential program. Data were collected through semistructured interviews with four leaders at the senior and middle management levels, and internal documentation such as procedures, protocols, strategic plans, and yearly reports were included in the analysis. …


Perceived Barriers To Health Care Access And Delivery Among Arkansas Medicaid Beneficiaries, Kimbra D. Butler Jan 2022

Perceived Barriers To Health Care Access And Delivery Among Arkansas Medicaid Beneficiaries, Kimbra D. Butler

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Arkansas has historically been one of the lowest ranking states in the United States in education, economy, opportunity, crime and corrections, and health care. Though more than 3 million Arkansans live in the state, nearly 1 million receive Medicaid-funded health insurance. This phenomenological study employed a constructivist paradigm and focused on the perceptions of underserved Arkansans regarding their health and their access to health care; additionally, within this study, the Health Belief Model shifted the study’s focus to individuals’ perspectives, perceptions, experiences, and opinions through interview responses. The research was intended to identify factors that may relate to the higher …


The Correlation Between Laura’S Law And The Incarceration Of The Mentally Ill In A Southwestern State, Aaron Alarcon-Bowen Jan 2022

The Correlation Between Laura’S Law And The Incarceration Of The Mentally Ill In A Southwestern State, Aaron Alarcon-Bowen

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Assisted outpatient treatment and involuntary outpatient treatment laws refer to the power of the court system to order community-based treatment without hospitalization to individuals with a mental illness diagnosis. Studies have linked these laws to a decrease in the use of incarceration among this population. The effectiveness of the assisted outpatient treatment law in a Southwestern state, known as Laura’s Law, has not been studied. With a theoretical foundation based on the social contract and multiple streams analysis theories, a quantitative, casual, comparative study using an independent t test was centered on determining whether the mean numbers of incarcerated individuals …


Development Of Staff Education On Improved Compliance Adherence In Sleep Apnea, Mayla F. Garcia Jan 2022

Development Of Staff Education On Improved Compliance Adherence In Sleep Apnea, Mayla F. Garcia

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The increasing prevalence of sleep disorders such as obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) affects approximately 25% of adults in the United States and an estimated 34% of men and 17% of women in the primary care population. In the clinical project site, the practice problem involved the increasing clinicians’ knowledge about OSA and being able to implement screening tools for further treatment and evaluation. The purpose of this project was to develop an educational training and intervention for staff to increase their knowledge of OSA conditions and have it validated by a panel of experts before dispersing it to the intended …


The Perceptions Of Adult Patients Who Experience Needle Fear During Cosmetic Injections, Julia Hoy Jan 2022

The Perceptions Of Adult Patients Who Experience Needle Fear During Cosmetic Injections, Julia Hoy

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

AbstractAdult patients receiving cosmetic injections frequently experience needle fear symptoms which results in patient discomfort, suffering, and poor injection outcomes. The needle fear experience contributes to a decreased quality of life and possible avoidance behaviors involving other medical treatments requiring needles. Researchers have conducted quantitative studies which explored interventions on pain reduction but there are no qualitative studies from the perspectives of adults experiencing needle fear. The purpose of this research study was to explore the perceptions of needle fear in adult patients receiving cosmetic injections in a medical office setting. The interpretative phenomenological approach was used to provide an …


Perspectives Of Social Barriers To Accessing Health Care Insurance Among The Homeless Population, Abedalhakeem Damin Abukhalil Jan 2022

Perspectives Of Social Barriers To Accessing Health Care Insurance Among The Homeless Population, Abedalhakeem Damin Abukhalil

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Access to healthcare services and healthcare insurance has been considered problematic for many populations in the United States. Despite many efforts to solve these issues, there is a significant gap in research related to the perceptions of the population experiencing homelessness associated with the social barriers they face with access to health insurance and health care. The behavioral-ecological framework best suited this study. In this qualitative descriptive study the perceptions of a sample of 10 individuals experiencing homelessness, who accepted to sit for 60-minute interviews, were investigated. Purposeful sampling was used to identify these individuals, whose age 18-60 years old, …


Effect Of Covid-19 On Comprehensive Predictor Exam Scores And Nursing Program Scores And First Generation College Students, Heather Marie Austin Jan 2022

Effect Of Covid-19 On Comprehensive Predictor Exam Scores And Nursing Program Scores And First Generation College Students, Heather Marie Austin

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The COVID-19 pandemic forced nursing education programs to change traditional face-to-face teaching to virtual education and simulated experiences. Therefore, research is needed to determine how this change affected nursing students’ academic performance and their performance on standardized exams. The purpose of this three-part study, guided by Knowles’s adult learning theory, was to determine if there was a difference in Associate of Science in Nursing (ASN) students’ performance on: (a) Assessment Technology Institute (ATI) Comprehensive Predictor (CP) scores, (b) end of program scores, and for (c) CP scores for first generation students before the COVID-19 pandemic compared with nursing students’ scores …


Gender And Risk Behaviors Association With Hepatitis-B Infections Among Liberia Military Personnel, Joseph B N Kowo Jr Jan 2022

Gender And Risk Behaviors Association With Hepatitis-B Infections Among Liberia Military Personnel, Joseph B N Kowo Jr

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The increasing number of hepatitis B-related deaths in the Armed Forces of Liberia was due to the lack of understanding of the associated risks with the disease. Gender, substance use, and condom use have been researched as related risk factors for hepatitis B virus infection (HBV). The goal of this study was to determine if gender (male or female) and risk factors (substance use, alcohol abuse, and condom use) predicted hepatitis B infections after adjusting for age, marital status, education, and military rank among Liberia military population. The theory that grounded this study was Bronfenbrenner’s socio-ecological model (SEM) which posits …


Relationship Of Mindfulness To Worldview Defense When Mortality Is Salient, Blake Ausmus Jan 2022

Relationship Of Mindfulness To Worldview Defense When Mortality Is Salient, Blake Ausmus

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Humans value self-preservation, and therefore that which is perceived to threaten survival should cause stress. However, humans have also developed the understanding of their own mortality, meaning that they cognitively understand that death is inevitable. The conflict arising from these opposing constructs holds the potential to cause anxiety. Interestingly, this anxiety is not easily observed in most. Terror management theory posits that there are buffer systems in place that help to keep death anxiety at bay so that humans are able to continue to function in their daily lives. These buffers include becoming more stringent to one’s worldviews and less …