Digital Commons Network^™

Exploring Adherence Barriers To Nutrition Intervention: A Qualitative Study Of The Pro-Heart Trial, Andrew Thomas Reyes, Angelina Nguyen, Alona D. Angosta, Rebecca Meraz, Kelly L. Wierenga, Jennifer Kawi, Lorraine S. Evangelista

International Nursing Research Congress (INRC)

Altering the dietary habits of individuals with obesity, heart failure, and cardiometabolic comorbidities can enhance their health outcomes (Gjermeni et al., 2025). Adhering to these interventions remains challenging, leading to higher dropout and lower retention rates in clinical nutrition trials (Chao et al., 2021). To develop enduring, patient-focused interventions, it is essential to understand participants' experiences. Therefore, this qualitative sub-study explored participant-reported barriers to dietary adherence within the Pro-HEART randomized controlled trial, which evaluated the effects of high-protein versus standard-protein diets in individuals with heart failure and metabolic syndrome or Type 2 diabetes mellitus. The intervention in the Pro-HEART trial …

Curriculum Integration Of High-Consequence Infectious Disease Preparedness In Nursing Education, Shinu Joy, Corri Levine, Kimberly Rumsey

International Nursing Research Congress (INRC)

Infectious threats with pandemic potential are occurring more frequently, emphasizing the need to prepare the next generation of healthcare professionals for safe, effective management of complex cases. The health system serves as one of 13 federally funded Regional Emerging Special Pathogen Treatment Centers (RESPTCs) and the only one in the Health and Human Services (HHS) Region 6. The on-site Biocontainment Care Unit (BCU) is designed to care for patients with high-consequence infectious diseases (HCIDs). The Special Pathogens Excellence in Clinical Treatment, Readiness, and Education (SPECTRE) Program supports this mission by providing comprehensive training for professionals and students in the recognition, …

Preparing Patients Without Caregivers: Nursing Strategies For Safe Discharge To Home, Christine Rae Platt, Alycia Bristol, Hannah Wilkerson, Susy Vega, Deedee Long, Catherine Elmore, Andrea Wallace

International Nursing Research Congress (INRC)

Background: Hospital discharge represents a critical transition in care, particularly for individuals without caregiving support. Patients who identify as having “no one to help” face heightened vulnerability to complications and rehospitalization. Understanding how nurses can identify and address these gaps is essential to reducing post-discharge complications and readmissions.

Purpose: To explore from the patient perspective how nurses can effectively prepare patients, who have no identified caregivers, for discharge home.

Methods: A qualitative descriptive design was used. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 16 adults recently discharged from a large metropolitan hospital in the western United States who reported having no one …

Evaluating An Innovative Frugal Nurse-Led Diabetes Self-Management Educational Programme In Uganda, Melanie Stephens, Louise Ackers, Rincy Sajiith, Daniel Parker, Rachel Namirro

International Nursing Research Congress (INRC)

Background: Diabetes is a global health care problem, with Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus (T2DM) in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) projected to increase by 2045 (WHO, 2023). Diabetes health related complications such as foot ulcers (DFU) constitute the largest proportion of admissions, amputations, and mortality and have significant impact on healthcare resources, patients and communities in low to middle income countries (Rigato et al., 2018). Using Burdett Trust for Nursing funding the research team (two nurse researchers, a social scientist, and a biomechanic scientist) wanted to address this issue by introducing 'nurse-led frugal innovations' to demonstrably improve morbidity, reduce mortality, in-patient stays …

Depressive Symptoms By The Quality Of Life Among Korean American Midlife Women, Yeeun Kim, Jiwon Baek, Dongmi Kim, Seulgi Ryu, Wonshik Chee, Eun-Ok Im

International Nursing Research Congress (INRC)

Background: Midlife women experience a major developmental transition involving multidimensional changes (physical, psychological, and social changes), before, during, and after their menopause (1-4). During this transition, the women’s depressive symptoms could be linked to their quality of life (5). However, few studies have been conducted on the women’s depressive symptoms by their quality of life. The aim of this study was to identify patterns of depressive symptoms by the QoL among Korean American midlife women and provide directions for future interventions for this specific population.

Methods: This is a part of an ongoing randomized controlled trial of Korean American midlife …

Trajectories Of Compassion Competence Among Clinical Nurses: A Longitudinal Study, Eunkyo Lee, Sunghee Park, Youngjin Lee

International Nursing Research Congress (INRC)

Purpose: This study aimed to identify distinct trajectories of compassion competence among clinical nurses and to examine demographic and psychosocial characteristics associated with each trajectory.

Background: Compassion competence is a vital attribute in nursing practice, encompassing cognitive, emotional, and behavioral capacities that enable empathetic, patient-centered care. Although compassion competence is recognized as essential to both care quality and nurse well-being, limited longitudinal evidence exists on how it develops over time. Identifying its trajectories and influencing factors is crucial for designing interventions that sustain compassionate care and workforce resilience.

Methods: A longitudinal cohort study was conducted with clinical nurses in South …

Lived Experiences Of Noise Exposure And Hearing Loss Among Native Americans, Melessa N. Kelley, Rose Wimbish-Tompkins, John Lowe, Camila Solorzano-Barrera, Oi Saeng Hong

International Nursing Research Congress (INRC)

Noise-induced hearing loss (NIHL) is an irreversible chronic condition resulting from prolonged exposure to loud noise and represents a major global public health concern. Native American (NA) populations are particularly vulnerable due to social and occupational determinants that increase exposure to high-noise environments, including construction, manufacturing factory, farming, and forestry. Hearing health has deep cultural importance for NAs, as oral communication is central to transmitting traditional knowledge and cultural teachings. Despite this, limited research has examined noise exposure, hearing protection practices, and the lived experiences of hearing loss within NA communities.

This study explores NA tribal members’ experiences with noise …

Effects Of Family-Based Frailty Self-Management Program On Caregivers Of Patients With Heart Failure, Yung-Ching Yang, Ai-Fu Chiou

International Nursing Research Congress (INRC)

Background: Family caregivers of patients with heart failure often experience decreased confidence in caregiving due to limited heart failure knowledge, the complexity of patient's condition and treatment, and insufficient social or professional support. These challenges can adversely affect caregivers' quality of life.

Objective: The study examined the effects of a family-based frailty self-management program (FRAIL-SM) on knowledge, self-care confidence, strain, and quality of life among family caregivers of patients with heart failure.

Methods: A randomized controlled trial was conducted with 116 pairs of frail patients with heart failure and their family caregivers recruited from two medical centers in Taiwan. Participants …

Limited Australian Clinical Guidelines For Pain Assessment In Hospitalized Older Adults With Cognitive Impairment: Implications For Safe And Quality Care, Rosemary Saunders, Kaoru Nosaka, Seng Giap Marcus Ang, Natasya Raja Azlan, Aaron Alejandro, Rohini Sharma Bhardwaj, Olivia Gallagher, Irene Ngune, Amineh Rashidi, Yan Hui Celestine Wee, Nilufeur Mckay

Research outputs 2022 to 2026

Introduction – Pain assessment remains challenging in healthcare settings in patients who are unable to self-report their pain. More than 50% of individuals with dementia and other forms of cognitive impairment (CI) experience pain daily. However, pain is frequently overlooked and inadequately assessed by healthcare professionals due to their lack of knowledge and guidelines to inform pain assessment. Pain is also a leading cause of hospital presentation and inappropriate pain assessment can impact on pain management and compromise safe and quality care. Evidence-based guidelines that inform appropriate pain assessment and management are therefore essential. This scoping review aimed to explore …

Book Review: Sex, Desire, And Taboo In South Asia: Religion, Culture Of Ability, And Patriarchy, Ritu Varghese

Journal of International Women's Studies

No abstract provided.

Book Review: Unmasking (New) Maternal Realities: Pregnancy, Childbirth, Postpartum In Global Literature, Cinema, And Media, Julie Glickman

Journal of International Women's Studies

No abstract provided.

Relational Knowledge In The Women’S Majlis: Towards A Culturally Grounded Qualitative Methodology In The United Arab Emirates, Gareth Davey, Suaad Al Oraimi

Journal of International Women's Studies

Women-centered qualitative research in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) requires methodological approaches attentive to the places and practices through which Emirati women produce, share, and interpret knowledge. While feminist, decolonial, and participatory methodologies have challenged research approaches centered around men that are adapted for use in the UAE, comparatively little attention has been paid to grounding research in the everyday epistemic practices and social worlds of Emirati women. In this article, we develop a majlis-based relational methodology as a women-centered qualitative approach in the UAE. Our approach is centered on the women’s majlis—an Arabic term meaning a communal gathering place …

Recent Femvertising And The Flying Kick To Patriarchy: A Cross-Cultural Interpretation Of South Asian Media, Saheeh Shafi

Journal of International Women's Studies

This study bridges a critical gap in scholarship on “femvertising”—advertising aimed at women that promotes women’s empowerment—by shifting the focus from the Global North to South Asia’s under-researched media landscape. Using an explanatory sequential mixed-method design, the quantitative phase of the research analyzed 145 femvertising advertisements from India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, and other international campaigns using chi-square tests to examine associations between gender portrayals and three empowerment types: woman-to-woman (solidarity among women), man-to-woman (patriarchal negotiation), and woman-to-self (self-determination). The qualitative phase employed semi-structured interviews with twenty women consumers to explore how they interpret, experience, and respond to these empowerment narratives. Findings …

Career, Self-Worth, And The Need For Self-Care: Understanding Urban Indian Women’S Journeys From Career Break To Re-Entry, Prabha Masilamani, Priya Gupta

Journal of International Women's Studies

Women often take career breaks as a response to major life events such as marriage, childbirth, and migration; nevertheless, the emotional complexities and nuanced decision-making attached to these events are hardly discussed. This study explores the lived experiences of twenty-two urban Indian women from the information technology sector who took career breaks and then returned to work. Using an interpretivist phenomenological approach and reflexive thematic analysis, five themes were identified across the three phases of career transition: before, during, and after the career break. Drawing on feminist frameworks including Kabeer’s (1999) agency within constraints and Kandiyoti’s (1988) patriarchal bargaining, the …

The Unseen Burden: A Rural Indian Woman’S Resistance To Political Marginalization And Mankeeping, Suraj Kumar Verma

Journal of International Women's Studies

This qualitative study examines how “mankeeping”—invisible emotional labor— undermines women’s political autonomy and sense of belonging in rural India, despite the implementation of gender equality policies. Women often perform unrecognized emotional, interpretive, and relational labor to maintain intimate relationships and community cohesion. Drawing on contemporary concepts of intersectionality, epistemic injustice, testimonial injustice, hermeneutical injustice, and the “third shift,” this study systematically employs a reflexive, narrative inquiry approach focused on Varsha, a forty-five-year-old lower-caste woman from Uttar Pradesh, India. The study reveals how her daily care work, such as caregiving, managing household dynamics, and navigating community expectations, affects her access to …

Workplace Cultures And Gender Dynamics In The Uae: Emirati And Expatriate Perspectives, Maxime Jaffré, Tatiana Karabchuk, Asna Kozhikkattil

Journal of International Women's Studies

This study examines the moral regulation and institutional structure of the gendered division of labor in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), a rapidly modernizing society characterized by demographic imbalance and state-led economic diversification. Drawing on Durkheim’s theory of moral regulation and Weber’s concept of rationalization, the paper analyzes how women’s empowerment and Emiratization policies reshape workplace cultures across gender and citizenship lines. The analysis is based on original survey data collected between 2019 and 2024 (N=10,100), comparing Emirati citizens and expatriate residents. Descriptive findings reveal overwhelming support for women’s right to work and for gender parity in political representation, indicating …

Beyond The Double Burden: A Gendered Analysis Of E-Commerce, Unpaid Care Work, And Financial Resilience In Indonesian Msmes, Mia Ajeng Alifiana, Mamduh M. Hanafi, Bowo Setiyono

Journal of International Women's Studies

This study challenges the narrative of e-commerce’s potential for empowering women in the Global South by exploring the structural barriers that women entrepreneurs face in Indonesia, both as paid and unpaid workers. The study also challenges the notion of “techno-optimism,” which suggests that digital entrepreneurship inherently empowers women, by highlighting the obstacles women face in economic engagement due to a “second shift” of domestic labor. Through a systematic review and bibliometric analysis of 158 articles indexed in Scopus and Web of Science, we map the intellectual structure of the literature on e-commerce and the financial performance of micro, small, and …

A Feminist Examination Of Ao Naga Practices In Relation To Gender Roles And Care Work, Limatula Ozukum, Aswathy V. K.

Journal of International Women's Studies

Food practices within Indigenous communities are important sites of caregiving, cultural identity, and knowledge transmission. This study examines the food practices of the Ao Naga Tribe in Northeast India through a feminist ethnographic lens, focusing on the gendered organization of cooking, caregiving, and traditional healing practices. Drawing on qualitative fieldwork conducted in 2025, including semi-structured interviews and oral histories with community members in Nagaland’s Mokokchung district, the study explores how everyday food preparation and care practices shape household and community life. The findings reveal that women perform most of the daily cooking and caregiving responsibilities. At the same time, men …

A Comprehensive Analysis Of Government Initiatives And Microfinance Performance: Economic Empowerment Of Women Through Self-Help Groups In India, Diganta Sarkar, Dileep Kumar Gupta, Shipra Gupta

Journal of International Women's Studies

This study is anchored in feminist understandings of empowerment as a relational process shaped by gendered power hierarchies within households, communities, and financial institutions. We offer a comprehensive analysis of governmental efforts, bank linkages, and economic empowerment of women through micro-finance in Self-Help Groups (SHGs). Although the National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD) data only provides aggregate financial indicators, we interpret the trends in savings, borrowing, and repayment in dialogue with feminist and intersectional scholarship on microfinance in India. The study provides insights into the role of microfinance in SHGs and the magnitude of support for women’s empowerment, …

Crafting Resistance: Kalpourgan Pottery As Gendered Expression And Cultural Identity Among Baloch Women In Iran, Arman Ovla

Journal of International Women's Studies

This article examines the Indigenous pottery tradition of Kalpourgan, a remote village in Iranian Baluchistan, where women have sustained a thousand-year-old ceramic crafting practice that does not require a wheel. Drawing on visual ethnography, field interviews, and postcolonial feminist theory, the study explores how Kalpourgan pottery functions not only as material culture but also as a gendered form of labor embedded within household economies. Through direct observation, semi-structured interviews with women potters, and visual documentation—including photography, drawing, and video—the research traces how design is embedded in oral transmission, ritual practice, and intergenerational knowledge systems. The findings demonstrate that pottery production, …

Moralized Patriarchy In Kazakhstan, Aigul Zabirova

Journal of International Women's Studies

This article examines how patriarchal norms persist in post-socialist Kazakhstan despite expanding opportunities for women in education and public life. Using nationally representative survey data (N=8,101), I analyze attitudes toward maternal employment, educational priorities, labor market rights, and household income arrangements. I find a hybrid gender regime in which support for women’s education and public participation coexists with continued endorsement of men’s economic priority and authority within the family. Gender hierarchy does not disappear under modernization. Rather, it is reproduced through culturally valued ideas of duty, virtue, and family harmony. I call this gender order “moralized patriarchy.” To explain how …

Home As A Workplace: Gender, Labour, And Domesticity In Homestays In Kerala, India, P P Anjusha, Prachi Thakur, Toney K Thomas

Journal of International Women's Studies

Tourism homestays are increasingly presented as an opportunity for women’s empowerment and inclusion around the world. However, this study argues that the focus on homestays as entrepreneurial opportunities for women obscures the persistence of patriarchal structures that limit women’s agency when their labour is commercialised. Grounded in theories of “doing gender” (West & Zimmerman, 1987) supplemented by role theory and critical feminist perspectives, the study highlights how gender is enacted and reproduced daily in homestays. This research draws on qualitative interviews with women hosts in the state of Kerala, India to explore how the gendered division of labour operates within …

Rural-To-Urban Migration And Household Reconfiguration In China: Lived Experiences Of Muslim Migrant Women Workers In Jinan, Ila Joshi

Journal of International Women's Studies

Rural-to-urban migration in China has profoundly reshaped Chinese society since 1979, resulting in separated families, so-called “left-behind children,” and socio-economic inequalities as part and parcel of the migration process. This paper examines the impact of rural-to-urban migration by focusing on the experiences of migrant women belonging to the Muslim (Tatar/Hui) community in Jinan, Shandong province of China. Despite the relaxation in restrictions on migration in the post-reform era, migrants—especially women migrants—face persistent legal and emotional challenges. Through ethnographic fieldwork, this study analyses the experiences of eight migrant women employed in formal, semi-formal, and informal work sectors. These in-depth interviews are …

Special Issue Editorial Introduction: Family Formation, Gender Equality, And The Gendered Division Of Labor In The Global South, Tatiana Karabchuk, Soumaya Abdellatif, Aizhan Shomotova, Malina Voicu, Muhamad Olimat

Journal of International Women's Studies

No abstract provided.

When You Are Done Before You Have Begun: A Focus-Group Research Study On The Perception Of Burnout In Physician Assistant Students, Iris M. Villanueva

Pacific Journal of Health

Objective: This study explored Physician Assistant (PA) students’ perceptions of burnout and underlying factors to guide program-level mitigation strategies. Participants: 28 students from the University of the Pacific’s PA program participated in this study. Methods: 5 focus group interviews were conducted. Themes were identified using inductive thematic analysis.  Results: Students described burnout as emotional exhaustion, cynicism, and loss of interest in academics, driven by internal pressures, time demands, and inconsistent assessments, and linked to strained relationships, guilt, and isolation. Coping strategies included breaks, enjoyable activities, peer connection, and exercise. Students recommended program-level strategies, such as scheduled class bonding, flexible scheduling, …

Criteria For Determining The Level Of Media Literacy Development Of Students In The Summative Assessment System, Bakhtiyor Kadirov, Dilnoza Kadirova, Rashid Omanov, Anvar Allamurodov, Asqar Kholturayev

Journal of Media Literacy Education Pre-Prints

The integration of digital technologies into education necessitates how students’ media literacy is developed and assessed. High school students require skills in critical thinking, digital content evaluation, and the identification of manipulative information.This study examines the effectiveness of summative assessment in measuring media literacy skills and explores the impact of an artificial intelligence-based digital platform enriched with augmented and virtual reality modules. An empirical design was employed involving 120 students from five schools assigned to control and experimental groups. The experimental group engaged with AI-supported media literacy platform over a ten-week period. Data were collected through pre- , post-tests, summative …

Letting Time Serve You: Boot Camps And Alternative Sentencing For Female Offenders, Wilson Z. Liu

Florida Journal of International Law

Across multiple American presidential administrations, the United States has made its discontent with the dispute resolution bodies of the World Trade Organization known. The actions of the United States initiated a crisis of confidence in the World Trade Organization. This Note examines that crisis and posits what comes next for the World Trade Organization and the resolution of international trade disputes in general.

Look What You Made Me Do: The Impact Of Taylor Swift's Re-Recording Project On The Global Copyright Industry, R. Jacob Gilbert

Florida Journal of International Law

Taylor Swift redefined the relationship between artists and their labels. Although there has been discussion about the impact of these new recordings on Swift’s personal catalog, there has been no analysis of how Swift’s action will impact the global copyright industry. Taylor Swift is viewed as a trailblazer by many in the music industry. This is because many artists have rerecorded or remastered their original works out of spite, but only one other major artist even attempted to complete a rehaul of their entire discography. In the digital age of master recordings, Swift’s impact has far-reaching effects. This Note examines …

A Review Of International Surrogacy Arrangements From A Private International Law Prespective And China's Policy Response, Yingying Wu

Florida Journal of International Law

Surrogacy has risen on a global scale due to the development of medical technology. International surrogacy is intensive as a result of forum shopping out of the variety of national policies on surrogacy and laws on legal parentage, resulting in some private international law issues. For instance, the complexity of parentage in many international surrogacy cases in recent years often leads to parentless surrogate born children. To that end, the Hague Conference on Private International Law has been working on this affair in order to protect children and women in international surrogacy from a private international law perspective.

In light …

Use Value, Growth, And The Ontology Of Capitalism: Richard Westra Interviewed By Larry Alan Busk, Richard Westra, Larry Alan Busk

Emancipations: A Journal of Critical Social Analysis

No abstract provided.