Medicine and Health Sciences Commons^™

The Art Of Surviving: Alchemy Of Healing Trauma In Relation To Identity: A Self Study., Rebecca Morgan

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The following thesis explores trauma’s physical and psychological aspects concerning identity as an artistic practice. Through exploring materials, subject matter, and media, my approach to trauma is based on personal and socially engaged experiences and my attempt to re-conceptualize that experience through the language of contemporary art. Extensively this work is governed by childhood memories and the critical aspect of being raised as a female in a patriarchal society. Being raised female comes with a certain number of expectations and requirements. This work creates a physical and spiritual connection between trauma and the identity of what is female. Discussing these …

Effectiveness Of Harm Reduction On Substance Abuse In Homeless Adults, Isabella I. Farnese, Madison M. Fitts, Bailey T. Carter

Non-Thesis Student Work

In addressing the high-risk substance misuse and addictive disorders that have emerged as a public health crisis over the last 40 years, we looked into the following evidence based PICOT question: In homeless adults are harm reduction therapies compared to preventative therapies effective in reducing the rate of substance abuse in one year? Harm reduction therapy is an alternative approach that aims to decrease direct and indirect harm associated with drug use without necessarily preventing drug consumption. This form of therapy is guided by clinical ethics to institute policies and services, such as naloxone availability and clean needle exchanges for …

Healthcare Workers On A Rotating Schedule Experiencing Burnout, Sunni Holland, Isabelle Boria, Samantha Hamblen

Non-Thesis Student Work

In addressing the burnout symptoms seen in a healthcare workers and how their shift time intensifies those symptoms, we ask the following evidence-based PICOT question: In (P) healthcare workers within the first five years of employment, is there evidence that suggests (I) rotating between night and day shifts compared to (C) a fixed schedule impacts the (O) presence of burnout symptoms? Healthcare professionals work shifts to cover the full 24 hours of care required for patients. The majority of workers will work 12 hour shifts in either the day or night hours. In workers that rotate between the shifts it …

Improving Retention Rates Of New Graduate Nurses, Rebekah B. Littlefield, Courtney Kelsey, Sophia Howrey

Non-Thesis Student Work

The purpose of this project is to explore if pairing (P) new grad nurses (I) with a similar personality nurse preceptor (C) as compared to a randomly assigned nurse preceptor (O) improves retention rates (T) over a 24-month period? Nursing has been recognized as a highly stressful profession that can lead to early career burnout. New nurses have reported an intention to leave the profession due to high-stress levels from unrealistic career expectations. Studies have shown that having a supported, planned, and consistent residency program for new nurses will increase retention of the nurses at the beginning of their careers. …

Utilization Of Creativity-Based Interventions To Combat Nursing Burnout, Heather J. Webb, Pamela Burhoe, Ryan Johnson, Brenna Milliken

Non-Thesis Student Work

In addressing the potential for a creative writing practice to serve as an effective intervention against nurse burnout, we ask the following research question: In RNs who have practiced between 2-10 years, does participation in a creative writing program decrease burnout symptoms compared to nurses who do not participate within a time frame of one year. Burnout syndrome is a collective term that encompasses many subcategories that result in negative attitudes towards patients and coworkers, as well as increased turnover rates. Burnout syndrome was already a significant concern before the COVID-19 pandemic because of the high demand and stress of …

Research Skills Combining Microbes And Social Equity (Avs 590-0980), Sue Ishaq, School Of Food And Agriculture

General University of Maine Publications

To understand a microbiome, you must learn about the bustling community of microorganisms and the complex ecosystems they live in, because one cannot exist without the other. So, too, does microbiome research rely on understanding the lives and ecology of humans, because there is no aspect of human life which does not involve microbes in some way. To become better microbiome researchers, we must understand social and environmental contexts which affect humans and, in many cases, prevent them from making choices which result in beneficial microbial exposures. This symposium will focus on developing research skills to create transformative research, including …

Tabletop Roleplaying Games, And Depression, And Social Anxiety, Noelle B. Ott

Honors College

Tabletop roleplaying games are a form of in-person, multiplayer games structured around group interaction, set rules of gameplay, strategic group decision-making, and active character roleplaying. While such games have existed in some form for thousands of years, more recent and modern versions such as Dungeons & Dragons and Call of Cthulhu have increased attention not only to their use as a form of entertainment, but as a potential extension of play and drama therapies in a clinical setting (Henrich & Worthington, 2021). Research into therapeutic roleplaying, both with and without gameplay supervision, has shown a promising association with increased understanding …

Effects Of Rumination And Co-Rumination On The Relationship Between Self-Efficacy And Depressive Symptoms, Evelyn G. Clement

Honors College

Depressive symptoms have far-reaching and negative implications on both an individual and societal level, with college students generally considered to be a particularly vulnerable population in terms of risk for depressive symptoms. Two internal cognitive processes, self-efficacy, and rumination, as well as the interpersonal form of rumination, co-rumination, have all been uniquely linked to depressive symptoms. The literature linking these four constructs is not nearly as extensive as it is with any of the constructs uniquely relating to depressive symptoms. Rumination is related to lower levels of self-efficacy, but the interaction of self-efficacy and co-rumination as well as the effects …

Perfectionism, Perceived Stress, And Maladaptive Eating Behaviors In High-Achieving And Honors Undergraduate Students At The University Of Maine, Jaimie Giguere

Honors College

This thesis investigates the differences in perceived stress, perfectionism, and maladaptive eating behaviors among high-achieving honors and non-honors undergraduate students (N=413) at the University of Maine. Students were classified as high-achieving based on a UMaine Honors College c-index ((GPA× 12.5)+(SAT×

.03125)), which uses a student’s GPA and SAT score to assign them a numerical value. All UMaine undergraduate students were invited to participate. Participants completed a survey containing measures that assessed levels of perceived stress, perfectionism, and maladaptive eating behaviors. They were also asked questions about their major, honors status, grade point average, and SAT scores. Results indicated that there …

Evaluating Forensic Nursing Content Within Maine's Undergraduate Curricula, Paige E. Solans

Honors College

Victims of violence are highly likely to be under the care of a nurse at some point in their life and require specific assessments, communication techniques, and background knowledge to ensure high-quality patient-centered care. Therefore, it is imperative that senior nursing students who are about to enter the nursing profession are properly educated on how to care for these vulnerable patient populations. The aim of this study was to determine the efficiency of the forensic nursing content in Maine’s public universities' nursing curricula in preparing its students to care for these patients. This study included a 28-item survey distributed to …

Optical Illusions To Schizophrenic Delusions: How Your Brain Can Alter Reality, Kathryn Stanislaski

Honors College

Widely misunderstood, stigmatized and understudied, schizophrenia is often misdiagnosed and incorrectly treated. While people diagnosed with schizophrenia are often thought to misinterpret reality, they may be more adept at processing visual sensory information and perceive reality better than those without schizophrenia. Studies involving patients with schizophrenia have shown consistent and extensive insusceptibility of these patients to a variety of optical illusions. In this paper, I propose that when processing visual information, people with schizophrenia rely greater upon the dorsal stream and areas in the brain associated with bottom-up processing, as opposed to those without schizophrenia that utilize the ventral stream …

Confrontation As A Coping Strategy To Protect Women's Mental And Physical Health, Ailin S. Liebler-Bendix

Honors College

Women suffer harmful consequences for mental and physical health after being exposed to sexism. In this study, I explored confrontation as a coping mechanism to protect women’s mental and physical health following an experience of sexism. This study consisted of a mock job search review in which the participant was exposed to blatant sexism and was instructed to confront or ignore the sexism. The participants completed measures of perceived sexism, psychological wellbeing, mental health, and physical health following the committee meeting. I hypothesized that women who were instructed to confront would do so and those instructed to ignore would not. …

Implementing Landscape Design Principles To Improve Green Spaces And Promote Ecotherapy On A College Campus, Jessica Hutchinson

Honors College

As students in Maine are subject to harsh winters and a disconnectedness due to the pandemic, the creation of an ecotherapy focused garden may benefit the community at the University of Maine. Mental health is a rising concern within the United States, where anxiety has been the most frequent in students at 62.7% from a survey conducted by the Center for Collegiate Mental Health (Son et al., 2020). Ecotherapy is the practice of holistic psychology where healing is derived from interactions with the surrounding ecosystem (Summers and Vivian, 2018). Through literature review and gardening, this creative project provides a green …

Covid-19_Umaine News_Pandemic Mental Health Impacts On Adolescents Quantified In New Umaine Study, University Of Maine Division Of Marketing And Communications

Division of Marketing & Communications

Screenshot of UMaine in the News regarding a University of Maine study that COVID-19 has led to an increase in mental health issues like depression and self-destructive behavior.