Medicine and Health Sciences Commons^™

Acknowledgment Of Culture And Stereotypes: Black Participants’ Perceptions Of Specific Therapist Behaviors, Tsotso T. Ablorh

Graduate Masters Theses

Mental health disparities for Black people of diverse ethnicities compared to people of other racial identities has been well-documented (Alegría et al., 2008; Maura & Weisman de Mamani, 2017). Research addressing this pervasive systemic and interpersonal problem often focuses on client-related factors that create or intensify barriers to care. However clinician-related factors (i.e., racial identity, multicultural training, implicit biases, behavior, etc.) also have a significant impact on barriers to care, retention in therapy, and clinical outcomes for people of African descent (Larrison & Schoppelrey, 2011; Owen, Imel, Adelson, & Rodolfa, 2012). Researchers suggest that the favoring of historically white perspectives, …

A Call To Create: Poetry As Healing And One Nurse’S Self-Discovery, Kim Cornett Henry, Kim Cornett Henry

English Theses

Florence Nightingale’s vision for nursing has changed greatly in the past one hundred and fifty years, with nursing’s identity replaced with an emphasis on science over caring. The fast-paced, technologically sophisticated environments, designed to meet the declining health of an American public, have resulted in nurses who are being pulled away from nurse-to-patient caring acts and the reasons they felt called to become nurses. These changes have had detrimental psychological and emotional effects on nurses and are especially evident in Intensive Care nurses. Expressive writing as poetry, autoethnography, and participation in vibrant writing communities offer nurses experiences for healing, voice, …

Dear Maliha,, Na-Eela Djemil

Capstones

Dear Maliha is a short documentary film exploring the complexities of spiritual abuse through Maliha Fairooz. Spiritual abuse is a form of abuse that uses spiritual or religious beliefs to control or manipulate others. In some cases, spiritual abuse can be used to describe a religious leader who abuses their platform. But in Maliha’s story, we explore the concept of parental spiritual abuse. However, we learn more about this through Maliha Fairooz and the creative use of her journal.

For Maliha journaling is a form of therapy she uses to process her feelings and days. She also uses it as …

An Investigation Into The Relationship Between Obstetric Racism And Postpartum Depression In Black Women, Miguel A. Claxton Iii

University Honors Theses

Postpartum depression is the most common postpartum mood disorder, with 13% of new mothers reporting symptoms within the first year. Adverse birth outcomes, such as low birth weight and preterm birth co-index with the development of postpartum depression. This correlation is particularly alarming considering that Black women have about a 60% higher rate of preterm birth and an 88% higher rate of low birth weight infants than Caucasian women. By utilizing theories of stratified reproduction, necropolitics, and obstetric racism, this paper aims to situate postpartum depression in Black women as a psychological response to systems of medicolegal control and domination. …

Stress And Burnout Among Undergraduate Music Education Majors: An Examination Of Trends, Influences, And Coping Mechanisms, Emily Carroll

Honors Projects

Previous research points to an increase in undergraduate music education major stress. A stress questionnaire was sent to three Midwest collegiate institutions: one was a mid-sized liberal arts school, another was a conservatory, and the last was a large state institution. Findings confirm concerning elevated levels of stress among undergraduate music education majors. The levels of stress appear to be a universal issue in this particular degree program, implying there is a need for change to better student wellness.

New Word Learning In Spanish/English Bilingual Children, Haley Wemple

Honors Projects

This study aims to examine how Spanish-speaking ELLs learn new words and their features within a storytelling context. Specifically, the aim is it learn how ELLs build their vocabularies by creating taxonomic (i.e. categorical) and thematic relations between novel and known words.

Healthcare Access Barriers And Proposed Solutions For Limited English-Proficient (Lep) Latinx Patients In Southwest Michigan, Carmen Vinkemulder

Honors Theses

This research study explores the circumstances and experiences of LatinX patients with limited English proficiency (LEP) when seeking treatment in the healthcare system of Southwest Michigan, in addition to proposing solutions to better facilitate this population’s access. The terminology used in this research, LatinX, is an American English neologism used as a genderinclusive term used interchangeably with Latino/a and/or Hispanic. This research provides an overview of the current socio-political legislature and climate of the American healthcare system as it pertains to the LatinX population to spread awareness and identify the barriers existing in our current healthcare model. This study will …

Covid-19 Masks In Terms Of Functional, Expressive, And Aesthetic Consumer Needs, Lily Highley

Apparel Merchandising and Product Development Undergraduate Honors Theses

The purpose of this study was to assess consumers' perspectives of COVID-19 masks under the functional, expressive, and aesthetic areas. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, masks have become an “accessory” to everyday life, and it was essential to research masks under these unique areas and explore consumer perceptions.

This study took place after background research on the topic and the FEA model. The study included a survey sent to Bumpers College students upon approval from the IRB. The data was analyzed and interpreted specifically in the FEA areas and can be useful to better understand the students at the University …

Period Poverty: Achieving Menstrual Equity In Bowling Green, Ohio, Courtney Foerg

Honors Projects

Period poverty is the persistent lack of access to sanitary products, menstrual hygiene education, and sanitary facilities (Alvarez, 2019). Until quite recently, it has received very little attention in the United States. This project proved the prevalence and relevance of period poverty in the United States. As an applied research project this project acted upon this finding and aimed to help combat period poverty in the Bowling Green, OH community. This paper details the process and results of a campus menstrual products drive and social media advocacy campaign to address the stigma of menstruation in the United States. The overall …

A Biocultural Analysis Of The Impacts Of Interactions Between West Africans And Europeans During The Trans-Atlantic Trade At Elmina, Ghana, Heidi Ellen Miller

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This project utilizes a biocultural approach to assess the demographics and health of the West African population from Elmina, Ghana. Elmina, selected by the Portuguese in 1482 as the site of the first European trade fort in sub-Saharan Africa, grew from a small coastal fishing village to a large settlement over the course of more than 400 years of trade and cultural entanglement. Taken over by the Dutch and then ceded to the British, the people of Elmina navigated significant cultural changes, changes and experiences that can be detected in their skeletal remains. Bioarchaeological research concerned with the effects of …

Intersectionality, Relational Positionality, And The Lived Experiences Of Inequality: Contextualizing Intergenerational Opioid Use And The Constrained Choices Of Indigenous, Latina, And White Women Caregivers In Rural New Mexico, Carmela M. Roybal

Sociology ETDs

Opioid addiction is a serious and persistent global health issue. The federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reported that between 1999 and 2016, more than 630,000 people in the United States died of an overdose of a prescription opioid or illicit drug (CDC 2018). Extant research has suggested that for nearly a century, New Mexico has experienced some of the highest rates of prescription and illicit opioid death in the nation (Goldstein and Herrera, 1995; Landon, 2003; Shah et al., 2008). I examined intergenerational opioid dependence through the lived experience of women caregivers of opioid-addicted family members. Data …

Resilience And Health Outcomes Of Sexual Minority Middle-Aged And Older Adults, Christi L. Nelson

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

While research on lesbian, gay, and bisexual (hereafter referred to as sexual minority) middle-aged and older adults has increased over the past decade, there is still a critical need for more research on the health and resilience in this growing subpopulation. Research has provided evidence that sexual minority adults have an increased risk of negative health outcomes when compared to heterosexual adults. Research has also demonstrated possible resilience in sexual minority middle-aged and older adults; however, few studies have measured resilience in middle-aged and older adults. Gaining a better understanding of resilience in sexual minority adults may help identify modifiable …

Informed Consent: Foundations And Applications, Joanna Smolenski

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Since its advent in the 20th century, informed consent has become a cornerstone of ethical healthcare, and obtaining it a core obligation in medical contexts. In my dissertation, I aim to examine the theoretical underpinnings of informed consent and identify what values it is taken to protect. I will suggest that the fundamental motivation behind informed consent rests in something I’ll call bodily self-sovereignty, which I argue involves a coupling of two groups of values: autonomy and non-domination on the one hand, and self-ownership and personal integrity on the other. I will then go on to consider two 'case …

A 10-Year Post-Analysis Of The Maya Health Toolkit For Medical Providers, Lorenna Garcia-Bochas

Master of Science in Integrative Biology Theses

Researchers have often overlooked America's Indigenous community when conducting health disparities research. In Central and South America, The World Bank 2015 report identifies 774 indigenous groups living today (Davis-Castro, n.d.). One of the oldest known is the Maya people. The Maya have been through various cultural struggles, from the Spanish conquistadors of the past to current anti-indigenous discrimination, violence, and rhetoric. The historical conflict and prejudice have contributed to why many Maya migrate north to the United States for a better opportunity and a more peaceful life for their families. In doing so, they face many health risks to their …

Racial And Socioeconomic Disparities Influencing Obesity Amongst Middle-Aged Women, Morgan Woods

Master of Science in Integrative Biology Theses

Many studies have examined the effects of racial and socioeconomic differences on health-related disparities involving obesity but, few have examined the mental and physical well-being intersection. Obesity is a disease that affects many Americans and has become an epidemic affecting the American population. Obesity, especially morbid obesity, is a risk factor for many other obesity-related diseases such as diabetes, cardiovascular diseases, hypertension, and more. Using the 2018 Healthcare Avoidance Study, differences were found between two racial groups, Caucasian and African-American women. Race was found as a significant factor for both level of physical activity and ideal body image perception

The Emergence Of The Legitimacy Of Religious Healing Knowledge In Taiwan, Wei-Cheng Chiu

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

This dissertation investigates how religious healing knowledge has been defined and used by scholars, physicians, and New Agers and how religious healing knowledge emerged as a legitimate area of knowledge in Taiwan. The key position of religious healing knowledge within the entanglement between religion and spirituality is also examined. After the martial law was lifted in 1987, Taiwan’s society had rapidly diversified, and its religions were at the transition point between the old and the new. Meanwhile, the new spirituality culture was introduced into Taiwan in the 1980s and got popular in the 1990s, and it inherited the trend of …

Technological Change And The Practice Of Healthcare Communication: Implications For Patient-Centered Care, From A Communication Ethics Perspective, Emmalee Torisk

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Written in a historical moment marked in many ways by the COVID-19 pandemic and the changes it has wrought, including the increased availability and use of telehealth services, this project attempts to consider the implications of the continued integration of technology into health care, centering on the following essential question: How do technological changes affect the contemporary practice of healthcare communication, particularly that which occurs between the patient—the consumer of health care—and their provider? This dissertation thus considers the ways in which such linkages of technology and health care seem to fit into a larger shift within health care …

Bharatanatyam, An Effective Psychotherapeutic Intervention In Dance/Movement Therapy, Maanasa Marghashayam Bharath

Dance/Movement Therapy Theses

Dance/movement therapy is a psychotherapeutic modality that acknowledges the human body as a window to the human mind and spirit. Through creative and dynamic interventions, it fosters a healthy unification of the mind and body to enhance an individual's holistic health. This research focuses on the traditional dance form of India, Bharatanatyam, and its influence on the body and mind of the practitioner. Journeying through the history of the dance form to its relevance in the field of dance/movement therapy, the thesis explores how Bharatanatyam can be useful as an alternate method, in a therapeutic session to facilitate navigation through …

The Relationship Between Participation In Recreational Therapy Physical Activity And Symptoms Of Mental Health Issues In Veterans, Krista F. Mcdonagh

Graduate Doctoral Dissertations

Background/Objective: The growing prevalence of mental health issues in veterans has triggered a wide-spread effort to identify and provide complementary intervention strategies to increase help-seeking behavior in this population. Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and substance use disorders (SUD) have become two of the most common mental health issues as a result of the demanding environment of military life. This study looks specifically at therapeutic recreation-based physical activity opportunities as a complementary treatment option for veterans at an increased risk for mental health issues.

Method: A correlational survey research design was used to examine relationships between factors of participation in different …

Alcohol Use In Women: Resources And Recommendations For Counselors, Samantha Haling

Educational Specialist, 2020-current

The research shows that alcohol use is rising rapidly among women, resulting in devastating consequences that have not been sufficiently explored in counselor education and training. This paper aims to address this by providing a review of the literature which shows that women are more vulnerable to many of the physical and mental health consequences of alcohol use than men, and that they have unique treatment needs and face gender-specific risk factors and barriers to treatment. The review examines the interaction between gender and alcohol use, summarizes the existing research on the physical and behavioral health consequences of alcohol use …

Divorce And Dance/Movement Therapy: Helping School-Aged Children Find A Sense Of Self-Agency, Madeleine Vouros

Dance/Movement Therapy Theses

The divorce rate currently sits at 50% for families in the United States. Divorce can and will look different for all families. Children are directly impacted by this event externally as their familial structure is shifts and internally on a body-level. This can cause children to have feelings of shame, neglect, self-doubt, fear of abandonment, embarrassment as well as behavioral issues.Many times, these feelings can go unaddressed and can cause new “challenging” behaviors.

Dance/movement therapy is a therapeutic approach that presents tools which are beneficial for school-age children going through divorce. More specifically, using body-based grounding techniques can help school-aged …

Examining Health Inequity In Ancient Egypt, Samantha Rose Gonzalez

MSU Graduate Theses

This thesis explores the history of medicine in ancient Egypt between the Middle and New Kingdoms, and offers a case study highlighting the use of religion and magic in healing and analyzing health inequity. I am interested in medical practices, treatments, diagnosis methods, and access to healthcare in the ancient world. I seek to bridge the gaps and help unify the knowledge surrounding ancient Egyptian medical practices and contribute to the studies in the history of medicine. I explore types of diseases that commonly affected the ancient Egyptians and how they integrated religion and magic into their understanding and treatment …

Relationships Between Perceived Quality Of Life And Spiritual Beliefs, Education Level, Socioeconomic Status, Gender, And Ethnicity In Cancer Patients And Cancer Survivors, Eva Arjona

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to identify a relationship between perceived Quality of Life and religious/spiritual beliefs. Additionally, it aimed to explore relationships between perceived QOL and age, gender, ethnicity, education level, and Socioeconomic Status (SES). The research question examined in this study was: What is the relationship between perceived quality of life and spiritual beliefs, education level, socioeconomic status, age gender, and ethnicity in cancer patients and cancer survivors? A total of 100 cancer patients or cancer survivors were surveyed for this study. A regression analysis was conducted to explore relationships among the variables; the alpha level was …

Being A Child Bride In Nigeria: A Feminist Narrative Inquiry, Olubukola Foluke Sonibare

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

This thesis draws on narratives of northern Hausa-Fulani Nigerian women married as child brides. The aim was to gain an in-depth understanding of Child Early Forced Marriage (CEFM) as experienced by these former child brides and identify the conditions that influence their decision-making autonomy on health care services utilization. A narrative inquiry approach within an intersectional feminist lens was used to analyze the structural, social, cultural, and religious realities that shape the experiences of former child brides in Nigeria. Fifteen former child brides from rural northern Nigeria who now reside in a southern urban setting of the country completed semi-structural …

Campus Mental Health Service Use Among Female Survivors Of Sexual Violence: An Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis, Hannah Coffman

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Description: Despite the increase in resources to address the alarming rates of collegiate sexual violence (SV), survivors consistently do not disclose or seek mental health treatment from campus supports (Halstead et al., 2017). The purpose of this study was to understand the lived experiences of women who survived SV during college.

Method: Seven women who experienced SV during college completed a series of two semi-structured interviews using a HIPAA-compliant, web-conferencing software (Seidman, 2013). The interviews were transcribed verbatim and analyzed using an interpretative phenomenological analysis (IPA) framework (IPA; Smith, 2004; Smith et al., 2009). A six-step data analysis procedure identified …

Incivility Of Coworker Behaviors And Minority Firefighters’ Belongingness In The Workplace, Alyssa Reiter

Counseling & Human Services Theses & Dissertations

Research with firefighters continues to indicate that this population is particularly vulnerable to development of mental health conditions as a result of their professional roles (International Association of Firefighters [IAFF], 2019; Stanley et al., 2017; Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration [SAMHSA], 2018) and minority firefighters may be at heightened risk as a result of their experiences within the fire service. An answer to this concern may lie in the exploration of belonging and uncivil behaviors, as research has demonstrated that belonging in the workplace serves to reduce mental health symptoms and enhance an individual’s ability to cope with …

Body Dissatisfaction And Disordered Eating Among College Women’S Social Networks: An Investigation Of Perceived Changes Following A Dissonance-Based Body Image Intervention, Rachel I. Macintyre

Psychology Theses & Dissertations

Body dissatisfaction is associated with numerous health consequences and is pervasive among college women. Effective interventions exist that reduce body dissatisfaction in college women by helping them resist sociocultural pressures to conform to the appearance ideal, such as the Body Project. Yet research is limited on whether social and behavioral processes help participants reduce their engagement in sociocultural appearance-ideal messages and contribute to the intervention’s effectiveness. The primary purpose of the present study was to examine these social and behavioral processes, including the changes in college women’s social networks associated with their participation in the Body Project. Undergraduate and graduate …

Effect Of A 2-Week Relaxing Music Intervention On Anxiety, Stress, And Gut Symptoms In Aerobic Exercisers, Halie Marisa Maass

Human Movement Sciences & Special Education Theses & Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to determine the impact of a two-week relaxing music intervention on stress, anxiety, and gastrointestinal (GI) symptoms in exercisers with at least mild anxiety and exercise-related GI symptoms. Block randomization was used to allocate 15 women and two men into control (n = 8) or intervention (n = 9) groups following a one-week baseline. During the baseline period, participants recorded details of their aerobic exercise sessions and discomfort with GI symptoms (nausea, regurgitation/reflux, stomach fullness, bloating, abdominal cramps, gas, the urge to defecate). Following randomization, both groups tracked these same details for two additional …

The Wounded Inheritance: Epigenetics And The Family Line, Lisa Banta

University Honors Theses

Through the process of researching, conceptualizing, and creating my honors thesis I have been investigating my previously unknown family history and the events that led into generations of parental abandonment and inflicted trauma, in tandem with learning some basics about the research and science of epigenetics. In my own family line, the traumas endured by and inflicted upon the last five generations have, with no exaggeration, shaped every aspect of my life and history. Epigenetics explains how severe trauma can be passed down many generations through chemical changes in DNA. In other words, individuals may carry within their own bodies …

Reflections From The In-Between: Visualizing The Mental Thresholds Of Dissociation, Katherine Virag

Theses - ALL

I am fascinated by the state of being in-between; by the mental spaces that are somehow neither here nor there, but also somehow both here and there. At a young age, I began to experience depersonalization and derealization, and this dissociated state left me feeling trapped somewhere on the threshold of reality and non-reality. My artistic practice is concerned with the psychological antitheses of dissociation – comfort vs discomfort, safety vs danger, and reality vs non-reality, and the continuum of space between these polarities. Often through large-scale installations, I create a physical space for the viewer to enter. These spaces, …