Digital Commons Network^™

2024 Spring Commencement, Harding University

Commencement Programs

Program for the Harding University Commencement on May 4.

Commencement Speakers:
9a.m.: Ross Cochran
noon: Tim Baird
3p.m.: J.D. Yingling

From Survivors To Care Providers: A Multi-Dimensional Study On Physical Activity In Cancer Care, Gaurav Kumar

Theses & Dissertations

As the population of cancer survivors grows, understanding the dynamics of physical activity (PA) engagement is critical due to its potential benefits in reducing adverse health outcomes and mortality associated with cancer. Despite known benefits, both adherence to and promotion of PA among cancer survivors face significant challenges. This comprehensive study examines PA levels, barriers, facilitators, and perceptions among cancer survivors and oncology care providers over a ten-year period. The objectives are to assess adherence levels to PA among cancer survivors, explore the perceived barriers and facilitators to PA engagement from the survivors' perspectives, and understand the barriers, facilitators, and …

Correspondence Between Sensitivity Tests And Functional Analyses To Assess Emerging Challenging Behavior, Isaac J. Melanson

Theses & Dissertations

Behavior analysts typically assess and treat challenging behavior after it occurs regularly and at high severity. Although effective, this reactive approach is quite costly and resource intensive. A growing body of literature supports an alternative preventive approach, the first step of which involves conducting sensitivity tests to screen the emergence of lower-severity challenging behavior and functional skills (e.g., Fahmie et al., 2020). Research on sensitivity tests has shown that information on the function of emerging challenging behavior can be acquired in a relatively short period of time. Despite the potential value of sensitivity tests, their validity has not yet been …

Association Of In-Group Colorism With Vascular Function In Black Emerging Adults, E Blake, M Sobambo, L Eagan, C Weiner, S Khan, S Mascone, F Tyrell, S Ranadive

International Journal of Exercise Science: Conference Proceedings

A

Sex-Differences And Changes In Psychophysiological Stress And Resilience During Military Training, J Forse, K Koltun, M Bird, M Lovalekar, E Steele, B Martin, B Nindl Facsm

International Journal of Exercise Science: Conference Proceedings

A

The Effect Of Physical Activity And Ace Scores On Psychological Vs. Physiological Addiction, B Hendershot, C Robertson, R Koenig, J Metz

International Journal of Exercise Science: Conference Proceedings

A

Alanine Aminotransferase In Emerging Black Individuals: A Potential Biomarker For Early Aging?, S Khan, L Eagan, E Blake, C Weiner, S Mascone, F Tyrell, S Ranadive

International Journal of Exercise Science: Conference Proceedings

A

Perceived Wellness And Common Barriers To Wellness Services And Programming Following Covid-19, L Smith, A Feit, C Allison

International Journal of Exercise Science: Conference Proceedings

A

Compensability Of Law Enforcement Officers’ Suicide Under The Illinois Workers’ Compensation Act, Peter J. Nickell

DePaul Law Review

No abstract provided.

Homecoming Or Homeless: An Exploration Of The Ethno-National Identities Of Japanese-Brazilian Dekasseguis, Malina Yuen

Young Historians Conference

The return migration of Japanese-Brazilians to Japan from 1990-2008 encapsulates a complex issue of nationality, ethnicity, and belonging between two different cultures who came to depend on each other. Beginning in 1990, Japan instituted a new migration policy that opened the door for second and third generation ethnically Japanese individuals who were living in foreign nations to receive temporary work visas. This allowed for a great amount of migration from Brazil of Brazilians with Japanese heritage. This population is especially significant due to the high level of Japanese immigrants to Brazil during the early 20th century, due to reasons such …

“The Tin Pan-Tithesis Of Melody”: A Socio-Musical History Of Eastern European Jews In New York 1880-1920, Jascha Stern

Young Historians Conference

Influxes of Eastern European Jewish people immigrating to the United States in the late 19th and early 20th centuries motivated by poor economic and social conditions in their home countries and the appeal of economic opportunity in the U.S. settled in New York City. This event and decades of its aftermath are reflected in American popular music of the era. Tin Pan Alley, consisting primarily of Jewish composers and songwriters, became a metonym for the popular music industry in the U.S. The lyrical and melodic content of songs that came out of this reflect the Jewish-American national duality and Black …

Applied Theatre For Peacebuilding: Exploring The Value Of Embodied Practice, Emily Machin-Mayes

Capstone Collection

Arts, storytelling, theatre, and drama have been woven into strategic approaches to peacebuilding after conflict to engage with people’s experiences and emotions, share silenced stories, and build trust and empathy. Applied theatre challenges audience members to take a more active role, either through participating in the storytelling or acting itself or through dialogue and reflection activities. This collaborative art form has been used for community-building, reconciliation efforts as well as in post-conflict settings. This study examines the impact and value of an intensive applied theatre workshop, using participant-observation, and semi-structured interviews. Some of the qualitative findings include the value participants …

Language And Music Perception Lab Projects, Ellis Noteboom

Creative Collaborations: Annual Showcase of Undergraduate Research

Organizing complex perceptual input in real time is crucial for our ability to interact with the world around us, and information received in the auditory modality in particular is central to many fundamental aspects of human behavior. In the Language and Music Perception Lab, we take an interdisciplinary approach to studying auditory perception. Our research encompasses cross-modal, music, and speech perception using a combination of behavioral, cognitive neuroscience, and computational modeling approaches. Our research focuses on the importance of interactions, including the interaction of bottom-up and top-down processing and interactions within and across modalities. Our current studies employ behavioral testing, …

Impact Of Covid-19 On Student’S Change In Willingness To Use Telemental Health (Tmh), Ana Mccawley

Creative Collaborations: Annual Showcase of Undergraduate Research

Several studies have shown that the onset of COVID-19 significantly impacted the psychological well-being of students, particularly college undergraduates. Given that many students view telemental health as convenient, accessible, and user-friendly, we proposed that willingness to try telemental health will increase as the COVID-19 pandemic continues and that this will vary by prior history of treatment. The current study examined whether openness to telehealth changed from 2020-2023. Participants included 462 liberal arts college students enrolled in Psychology 101 who completed online self-report measures from September 2020-May 2023 across three academic years. Two-way ANOVA showed a main effect of prior history …

Cultural Factors Influence Mental Health-Related Experiences And Behaviors Of Latinx Youth, Ehliyhan Eslava-Deanda

Creative Collaborations: Annual Showcase of Undergraduate Research

Recent studies reveal that Latinx youth are more prone to mental health issues and are less inclined to seek professional help when compared to other ethnic-racial groups (Galvan & Gudiño, 2021; Varela & Hensley-Maloney, 2009). This thematic review covers themes that include self and public stigma, traditional cultural roles (i.e., marianismo, machismo, familismo), and cultural orientations (i.e., ethnic-racial socialization, acculturation/enculturation), all of which influence the mental health and mental-health-seeking behaviors of Latinx youth. Findings suggest that certain beliefs and attitudes prevalent in Latinx families, such as traditional gender roles, can prevent children and youths’ abilities to seek appropriate care for …

Rat Spatial Discounting And Value Appraisal, Rachel Conley, Malia Fesler, Leah Friedman, Victor Lysenko

Creative Collaborations: Annual Showcase of Undergraduate Research

In psychology, the Traveling Salesman Problem (TSP) is used as a spatial task that requires the selection of an efficient route among multiple targets. One strategy rats may use to solve the TSP is the nearest neighbor strategy. This technique is founded on two key assumptions: first, that rats possess the perceptual acuity to compare relative target distances, and secondly, that they are motivated to select routes that optimize efficiency. This study aims to investigate rats' ability to compare relative distances of targets. Each rat underwent eight trials, five in an open maze and three in a T-maze. Each rat …

Sexuality, Sex Education, And Intellectual Disability: Guidance For Counselors, Julie C. Hill, Jill M. Meyer, Lindsay E. Stokes, J.C. Ausmus, Brandon Worthey, Jamie Carney

Journal of Counseling Sexology & Sexual Wellness: Research, Practice, and Education

Sexual health and sexuality can be an important component of an individual’s identity. Sexual health and sexuality are a vital part of an individual’s quality of life and overall health and well-being. Individuals with intellectual disabilities have been viewed as asexual, lacking sexual interest, or have an inability to engage in sexual activity. These views have led to individuals with intellectual disabilities to be excluded from sexual education programs or lack appropriate knowledge of sexuality, sexual health, and healthy relationships. It is important for parents, medical providers, mental health professionals, and caregivers to have the knowledge needs to have conversations …

We Are Family: Queer And Transgender Family Building, Jennifer M. Gess, Nattalie Wolff-Tseng, Kaitlin J. Phelps, Madison Morley

Journal of Counseling Sexology & Sexual Wellness: Research, Practice, and Education

LGBTQ+ people experience resiliency and discrimination when attempting to build families. There are massive systemic barriers and oppressive walls LGBTQ+ people face when forming either a blended family, trying at-home insemination, using assisted reproductive technology, working with a gestational carrier, or attempting to become a foster parent or adopt a child. Queer reproductive justice provides a foundation for counselors to support clients by using affirmative counseling, providing positive mandatory interactions clients are ordered to during family building, and advocating with and on behalf of their LGBTQ+ clients building families.

Can A Course On Sexuality Counseling Increase Empathy When Working With Sex- And Gender-Minoritized Individuals?, Betty Cardona, Robinder P. Bedi

Journal of Counseling Sexology & Sexual Wellness: Research, Practice, and Education

This study examined whether a sexuality counseling course could increase self-perceived empathy for working with Sex and Gender minoritized (SGM)individuals. Forty-two students enrolled in a sexuality counseling course completed empathy assessments prior to starting the course and after completing it. Statistically significant increases in empathy towards gay/lesbian, bisexual, and transgender individuals were found (moderate to a large effect sizes). Results indicate that, at least under some circumstances, empathy levels for SGM individuals in counselors-in-training (CITs) could be increased through coursework. Increases in practitioner empathy for SGM individuals can translate into lower uniliteral termination rates and better counseling and psychotherapy outcomes.

Sexological Ecosystemic Assessment: A Systems Approach To Understanding Sexual Issues In Individuals And Couples, Stephanie Buehler

Journal of Counseling Sexology & Sexual Wellness: Research, Practice, and Education

Sexuality is a complex construct made up of the influence of systems upon the individual and counterinfluence of the individual upon systems, which can make sexual history taking problematic. The adaptation of Bronfenbrenner’s developmental ecological systems model has been employed to create a Sexological Ecosystemic Assessment. The Sexological Ecosystemic Assessment is described as a means of gathering and organizing information about an individual’s sexual development and current sexual expression across five subsystems that range from the microsystem, wherein interactions take place among and between family members and close caregivers, to the chronosystem, which is the effect of time across the …

The Influence Of Plato’S Symposium: Love And Beauty Throughout Media & Culture, Anna E. Roberts

Young Historians Conference

The Ancient Greek philosopher Plato is unquestionably one of the most influential writers of philosophy in history. Through his various writings and works, Plato influenced the entire world's ways of thinking and discussion. In his dialogue The Symposium, Plato explores the humanistic complexities of love, beauty, and desire and shows various approaches to these topics, from mythological ideas to complex philosophical thought. The Symposium has managed to stretch far beyond the world of ancient Greece and has influenced the works of many different authors, artists, and writers. From Shakespeare in Renaissance-era England, to Freudian thought, the idea of Platonic Love, …

Virtual Support For Bereaved Parents: Acceptability, Feasibility, And Preliminary Efficacy Of Hope Group, Emma Archer, Bs, Amelia Hayes, Mpg Ccls, Kristin Drouin, Lcsw, Elissa G. Millier, Md, Aimee Hildenbrand, Phd

Health Equity and Quality Improvement (HEQI) Summit

Background

• Bereaved parents demonstrate increased risk for long-term psychological problems and poorer overall quality of life. Bereavement support programs can promote improved coping and are positively received by parents but remain underutilized.
• Virtual programs may help address barriers to accessing bereavement resources, such as families’ physical distance to the hospital and trauma reactions when exposed to a setting where the child received care.
• The objective of this quality improvement study is to examine caregivers’ bereavement experiences and perspectives on HOPE Group, a virtual group program for bereaved caregivers administered by the palliative care team at Nemours Children's Hospital, Delaware.

The Utility Of The Pap Nap For Increasing Patient Utilization Of Positive Airway Pressure Therapy, Erin Creighton, Md, Nicole Molin, Md, Dimitri Markov, Md, Ritu Grewal, Md

Health Equity and Quality Improvement (HEQI) Summit

Background

Problem Statement:

• An estimated 9-38% of adults have obstructive sleep apnea (OSA), and about 80% is undiagnosed.
• OSA has been linked to excessive sleepiness, neurocognitive impairments, reduced quality of life, diabetes, heart disease, stroke, hypertension, and motor vehicle and workplace accidents
• Approximately85% of people with diagnosed OSA receive PAP and only 35-60% remain compliant long term
• Many factors impact CPAP use: disease and patient characteristics, titration procedures, device factors, side effects, psychological and social factors

Project AIM: Evaluate whether a daytime, abbreviated cardio-respiratory sleep study (AKA the PAP NAP -developed to help improve adherence in patients with OSA and …

The Association Of The G8 Questionnaire With Treatment Side Effects And Unscheduled Care Among Older Adults With Bladder Cancer, Umma Fatema, Md, Amman Bhasin, Md, Michael Zimmerman, Md, Julia Palecki, Md, Kendall Ozorowski, Kristine Swartz, Md, Kevin Zarrabi, Md, Kuang-Yi Wen, Phd

Health Equity and Quality Improvement (HEQI) Summit

Background

• The average age of people when they are diagnosed with bladder cancer is 73
• Bladder cancer in the geriatric population is often complicated by the presence of comorbidities and this population is at increased risk of experiencing short-term and long-term toxicities
• This necessitates a multimodal treatment approaches with a careful balance between efficacy and toxicity management
• The G8 questionnaire, a geriatric assessment tool, is designed to identify frailties and health risks in older patients, guiding healthcare professionals in tailoring treatment
• The aim of the study is to determine the predictive value of the G8 scores for adverse treatment outcomes …

Knowledge And Receptiveness Of Epidural Labor Analgesia By Parturients At Two Teaching Hospitals In Rwanda: A Cross-Sectional Study, Casey Fishman, Ba, Justin Do, Bs, Richita Bashyal, Mph, Fidele Hakorimana, Md

Health Equity and Quality Improvement (HEQI) Summit

Introduction

• Pain during labor can result in lasting psychological and physiological effects.¹ Although epidural analgesia is a first line pain management treatment and is used to reduce birth complications in many western countries, it is not commonly used in much of the world including Rwanda. The literature shows that African women have some of the lowest rates of pharmacological pain relief usage.
• Barriers to accessibility include; availability of equipment, staff with sufficient skills and monitoring, or myths and controversies surrounding labor.² Studies have found that some women believe that crying is a sign of weakness.³
• The aim …

Finding Ways To Decrease The Number Of Pediatric Type 1 Diabetes Patients With A Hba1c Over 8.5%, Abigayle Hoover, Bs, Ashley Medina, Dhsc, Kimberly Shoe Moyer, Apm, Evan G. Graber, Do, Patrick C. Hanley. Md

Health Equity and Quality Improvement (HEQI) Summit

Background

Problem Statement:

Hemoglobin A1c is the standard of care for monitoring the metabolic control of patients with Type 1 Diabetes.¹ Patients should have HbA1c checked every 3 months.

Higher HbA1cs are linked to higher morbidity and mortality in patients with diabetes.²

Project AIM:

Develop, implement, and evaluate different methods to engage patients with an

Measuring Standard Of Care Physical Parameters In An Academic Psychiatric Practice During The Covid Pandemic – A Trainee Driven Quality Improvement Study, Himangshu Rathinakumar, Md, James Luebbert, Md

Health Equity and Quality Improvement (HEQI) Summit

Background

• Outpatient Psychiatric services need to monitor certain evidence-based quality indicators that promote patient safety and guide standards of care.
• Our Child and Adolescent Psychiatry (CAP) fellow outpatient clinic provides psychotherapy and pharmacological management to a population in a major metropolitan city, who belong to various minority predominantly African American and reduced socio-economic at-risk groups.
• The COVID pandemic has brought about a lot of changes in psychiatric practice which includes Telepsychiatry.
• This study aims to determine if greater use of telepsychiatry has resulted in changes in compliance with the evaluation of basic vital sign parameters of our patients during the …

Patient-Provider Communication About Cognition And The Role Of Memory Concerns: A Descriptive Study, Justin Do, Bs, Casey Fishman, Ma, Emily Bratlee-Whitaker, Phd, Rn, Heejung Jang, Phd, Sakshi Bhargava, Phd, Jennifer R. Turner, Phd, Andrea Yevchak Sillner, Phd, Rn, Jacqueline Mogle, Phd, Ms, Nikki L. Hill, Phd, Rn

Health Equity and Quality Improvement (HEQI) Summit

Introduction

• 40% of Alzheimer’s disease cases could be delayed or prevented with early intervention¹
• Early detection remains challenging due to lack of consensus regarding screening, time constraints
• Subjective memory decline (SMD): “the perception of a decline in memory ability when objective cognitive testing indicates normal performance.”²
• Linked to early stages of Alzheimer’s Disease and mild cognitive impairment (MCI)
• Older adults with SCD up to 4 times more likely to develop MCI or dementia³
• Older adults consider severity of problems, potential benefits or consequences of disclosing concerns, as well as past interactions with healthcare providers when discussing cognition …

Enhancing Quality Of Life: Addressing Care Gaps In Lung Cancer Survivorship Through Comprehensive Needs Assessment, Umma Fatema, Md, Ida Micaily, Md, Ms

Health Equity and Quality Improvement (HEQI) Summit

Background

• The growing population of lung cancer survivors in the United States underscores the importance of addressing their multifaceted needs beyond treatment completion.
• There's a pressing need to understand and address the ongoing challenges of lung cancer survivors at Jefferson Health, being a major treatment center.
• Given the shifting demographics of lung cancer patients, with a growing proportion being younger individuals, the necessity for lung cancer survivorship programs has become increasingly evident
• A survivorship survey enables comprehensive assessment of survivors' physical, psychological, and practical needs
• By gathering data on the interests and needs of lung cancer survivors can guide tailored …

Implementation Of Pediatric Behavioral And Developmental Health Screening Tools At Student-Run Free Clinics In Philadelphia Shelters, Renee Li, Jasmine Miller, Martin Henry, Do, Bob Motley, Md, David Beckmann, Md, Mph

Health Equity and Quality Improvement (HEQI) Summit

Background & Project Aims

• Children experiencing homelessness (CEH) are at increased risk for behavioral health problems: 78% show behavioral problems, academic delays, or depression.¹

• Recent research suggests an increased prevalence of Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) among people experiencing homelessness.^2,3

• Psychosocial challenges are exacerbated by limited access to behavioral health and developmental disability screening, which is essential for early intervention.^4-6

• Recent studies have found that behavioral health screening in shelters is feasible, can generate a large number of referrals, and can be carried out by a student-run clinic without significantly disrupting workflow.^7,8