Medicine and Health Sciences Commons^™

The Impact Of The Deinstitutionalization Policies On Homelessness, Henrique Krigner

Helm's School of Government Conference - 2021-2024

Homelessness is a growing issue in America. In 2019 there were 567,715 homeless individuals in the United States, distributed in emergency shelters (63%) or residing unsheltered on streets (27%). In 2021, even though specialists argue that the Covid-19 restrictions greatly harmed an accurate counting, the total number of unsheltered homeless in America increased in 20%. Such increase became a central discussion not only to regular citizens and neighborhood associations, but it also became a great concern within the federal government which has been appropriating billions of dollars each year to “end homeless”.

Specialists point out that the growth of the …

Drug Ideologies Of The United States, Macy Montgomery

Helm's School of Government Conference - 2021-2024

The United States has been increasingly creating lenient drug policies. Seventeen states and Washington, the District of Columbia, legalized marijuana, and Oregon decriminalized certain drugs, including methamphetamine, heroin, and cocaine. The medical community has proven that drugs, including marijuana, have myriad adverse health side effects. This leads to two questions: Why does the United States government continue to create lenient drug policies, and what reasons do citizens give for legalizing drugs when the medical community has proven them harmful? The paper hypothesizes that the disadvantages of drug legalization outweigh its benefits because of the numerous harms it causes, such as …

Implementing A Medication Preference Questionnaire In Schizophrenia To Decrease The Risk Of Relapse, Chelsea Aldridge

Doctoral Projects

Schizophrenia is a debilitating disorder that affects the mind causing individuals to have delusions, hallucinations, disorganized thought processing, and or negative symptoms ranging from isolation to anhedonia. Schizophrenia has capabilities of becoming a disabling disorder if symptoms are not properly managed with appropriate psychotropic medications. Psychiatrists, Primary Care Providers (PCPs), and Psychiatric- Mental Health Nurse Practitioners (PMHNPs) typically treat the symptoms of schizophrenia with antipsychotics. Antipsychotics fall into two drug classes: first- generation or typical antipsychotics and second- generation or atypical antipsychotics that can be given orally or intramuscularly. Typical antipsychotics generally have more side effects than atypical antipsychotics. However, …

Social Cognition Across Bipolar Disorder And Behavioral Variant Frontotemporal Dementia: An Exploratory Study, Izabela Guimarães Barbosa, Flávia Da Mata Chiácchio Leite, Maxime Bertoux, Henrique Cerqueira Guimarães, Luciano Inácio Mariano, Leandro Boson Gambogi, Antônio Lúcio Teixeira, Paulo Caramelli, Leonardo Cruz De Souza

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

OBJECTIVES: Bipolar disorder type 1 (BD1) and behavioral-variant frontotemporal dementia (bvFTD) share similar behavioral and cognitive symptoms, rendering the differential diagnosis between them a clinical challenge. We investigated the accuracy of social cognition (SC) measures to differentiate bvFTD from BD.

METHODS: We included three groups of participants: early-onset BD1 (in remission, n=20), bvFTD (n=18), and cognitively healthy controls (HC) (n=40), matched for age, schooling, and sex. All participants underwent cognitive assessment, including the Facial Emotion Recognition (FER) and Modified Faux-Pas (mFP) tests, which assess mentalizing.

RESULTS: Compared to HC, BD1 and bvFTD patients underperformed on both SC measures. BD1 and …

A Modified Dbt-Informed Art Therapy Group Curriculum With A Focus On Neurodiversity Acceptance, Megan Moyer

Art Therapy Counseling Final Research Projects

Historically, therapy methods made to support neurodivergent individuals have been focused on reducing “challenge behaviors” and modifying behavior to societal standards. Simultaneously, many behavior modification therapies neglect the emotional well-being of the individual. As neurodiversity grows to be accepted as an aspect of diversity, so too must therapy methods change to promote skill building in line with the cultural values and strengths of neurodivergent individuals and promote social-emotional well-being. This group therapy curriculum poses as one such possibility to this change by utilizing DBT and Art Therapy in a group psychoeducation format.

Factors Affecting Initiation And Retention Of Medication-Assisted Recovery (Mar) Within A Pilot Pharmacist-Involved Practice Model At A Federally Qualified Healthcare Center (Fqhc) During The Covid-19 Pandemic, Tiffany Nguyen, Thomas Craig Cheetham, Souhiela Fawaz, Richard Beuttler, Sharon Xavioer

Pharmacy Faculty Articles and Research

Background: During the COVID-19 pandemic, opioid-related overdose deaths increased. Although Medication-Assisted Treatment or Recovery (MAT or MAR) is available, initiation and retention rates vary. The goal of this study was to evaluate clinical, demographic, and Social Determinant of Health factors affecting MAR initiation, on-time initiation of medications, and successful retention in the program. The secondary goal was to evaluate the impact of a novel interprofessional practice model incorporating pharmacists. Methods: A retrospective analysis was conducted using electronic health record data from a pilot MAR Program initiated within a California Federally Qualified Healthcare Center. Results: From September 2019 to August 2020, …

Du Undergraduate Showcase: Research, Scholarship, And Creative Works, Caitlyn Aldersea, Justin Bravo, Sam Allen, Anna Block, Connor Block, Emma Buechler, Maria De Los Angeles Bustillos, Arianna Carlson, William Christensen, Olivia Kachulis, Noah Craver, Kate Dillon, Muskan Fatima, Angel Fernandes, Emma Finch, Colleen Cassidy, Amy Fishman, Andrea Francis, Stacia Fritz, Simran Gill, Emma Gries, Rylie Hansen, Shannon Powers, Jacqueline Martinez, Zachary Harker, Ashley Hasty, Mykaela Tanino-Springsteen, Kathleen Hopps, Adelaide Kerenick, Colin Kleckner, Ci Koehring, Elijah Kruger, Braden Krumholz, Maddie Leake, Lyneé Alves, Seraphina Loukas, Yatzari Lozano Vazquez, Haley Maki, Emily Martinez, Sierra Mckinney, Audrey Mitchell, Kipling Newman, Audrey Ng, Megan Lucyshyn, Andrew Nguyen, Stevie Ostman, Casandra Pearson, Alexandra Penney, Julia Gielczynski, Tyler Ball, Anna Rini, Christina Rorres, Simon Ruland, Helayna Schafer, Emma Sellers, Sarah Schuller, Claire Shaver, Kevin Summers, Isabella Shaw, Madison Sinar, Claudia Pena, Apshara Siwakoti, Carter Sorensen, Madi Sousa, Anna Sparling, Alexandra Revier, Brandon Thierry, Dylan Tyree, Maggie Williams, Lauren Wols

DU Undergraduate Research Journal Archive

DU Undergraduate Showcase: Research, Scholarship, and Creative Works

Prescription Drug Misuse Among Graduate Students: Prevalence And Links To Mental Health And Academic Burnout, Madison De Gruiter

Honors Theses

The aims of this study are to examine the prevalence of prescription drug misuse (PDM) among doctoral students and assess associations between PDM and anxiety and burnout in this population. Additional analyses analyzed differential associations by doctoral degree type (i.e., research versus professional programs). A sample of doctoral students (n=131) affiliated with the University of Mississippi participated in an anonymous survey to assess research aims.

Synthesis Of Salvimadol Analogues For The Studies Of Pain, Anxiety, And Depression, Seth Mccaughan

Honors Theses

From 2001 to 2013, worldwide prescriptions of opioids more than doubled from around 3 billion daily opioid doses per year to 7 billion due to major shifts in pain management culture and attitude.¹ This surge in opioid prescriptions brought quick pain relief to patients, but it also brought new challenges, such as nonmedical opioid use, opioid use disorders, and overdose deaths.² In 2015, 33,091 of the 52,404 drug overdose deaths were contributed to opioids, and in 2013, the cost of opioid overdose and addiction was estimated to be $78 billion in economic burden.^3,4 The social and economic …

Links Between Mental Health And Employment Outcomes Among Adults With Autism Spectrum Disorder, Emma Atkinson

Honors Theses

Problem: Mental health outcomes related to Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) have been extensively researched, although most research in the area is on children with ASD. Studies on adults with ASD are scarcer. More specifically, studies that analyze the association between mental health and work-life balance (WLB) as well as mental health and job satisfaction (JS) among employed adults with ASD is limited. The purpose of this study was to analyze the association between mental health and WLB among adults with ASD, the association between mental health and perceived JS among adults with ASD, and whether or not ASD severity moderates …

Opioid Overdose: Rural Georgia Vs. Urban Georgia - Who's Winning The Battle?, Zizah-Wosseni Blair, Justice Dove, Didem Aydin, Stacie Fairley

Research Day

INTRODUCTION: The opioid crisis is a major public health issue affecting communities across the United States, including Georgia. The widespread misuse of prescription and illicit opioids has led to a significant increase in opioid-related overdoses and deaths. The impact on Georgia communities has been devastating, affecting individuals from all walks of life and causing significant harm to families and communities. The Georgia Department of Public Health reported that the number of drug overdose deaths in the state rose by 61.9% from 2019 to 2021. Rural and Urban communities in Georgia face unique challenges in addressing this epidemic. Rural communities often …

Mental Health Navigators Bridging The Gap Of Care, Valentina Loreto-Ashley

DNP Qualifying Manuscripts

Individuals with schizophrenia are most vulnerable at time of discharge due to risk factors that lead to relapse, re-admission, suicide and/or danger to others. A successful discharge process can decrease overall care costs, promotes team collaboration, supports the therapeutic relationship between client and care provider, and helps the client to reach autonomy and self-efficacy. This DNP is a quality improvement project that aims at educating Mental Health Navigators about symptoms of schizophrenia, medications management, and community resources. Effectiveness of the educational intervention will be assessed as the differences between the pre- and post-test assessment score on insight or lack of …

Exploring Barriers To Rural Mental Health Practice: A Pilot Study, Caitlin Vu

Educational Specialist, 2020-current

There is a shortage of mental health professionals in rural areas around the world. Current literature on barriers to healthcare professionals choosing to practice in rural areas mainly focuses on medical professionals, with few studies examining the barriers to rural practice for mental health professionals. Along with examining the perceived barriers and enablers to rural mental health practice, researchers wanted to further examine the reliability of the revised Barriers to Rural Mental Health Practice instrument. Researchers distributed the survey to mental health professionals across the United States. Preliminary findings support high internal reliability for the total scale and three of …

A Multimodal Intervention Treatment Plan For Adults With Generalized Anxiety Disorder In Primary Care, Morgan Cullings

Evidence-Based Practice Project Reports

Generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) is a debilitating psychological condition that affects 3.1% of the American population and is one of the leading causes of disability (Anxiety and Depression Association of America, 2022; Baxter, 2014). The purpose of this evidence-based practice project was to implement a multimodal intervention to decrease GAD symptoms in adults in the primary care setting. The PICOT question that guided this project was: In adults, over the age of 18, who have been diagnosed with generalized anxiety disorder (GAD), does the combination of digital cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) through a smartphone application, lifestyle modification education, and pharmacotherapy …

Rapid Neuroplasticity Changes And Response To Intravenous Ketamine: A Randomized Controlled Trial In Treatment-Resistant Depression, Jared Kopelman, Timothy A Keller, Benjamin Panny, Angela Griffo, Michelle Degutis, Crystal Spotts, Nicolas Cruz, Elizabeth Bell, Kevin Do-Nguyen, Meredith L Wallace, Sanjay J Mathew, Robert H Howland, Rebecca B Price

Staff and Researcher Publications

Intravenous ketamine is posited to rapidly reverse depression by rapidly enhancing neuroplasticity. In human patients, we quantified gray matter microstructural changes on a rapid (24-h) timescale within key regions where neuroplasticity enhancements post-ketamine have been implicated in animal models. In this study, 98 unipolar depressed adults who failed at least one antidepressant medication were randomized 2:1 to a single infusion of intravenous ketamine (0.5 mg/kg) or vehicle (saline) and completed diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) assessments at pre-infusion baseline and 24-h post-infusion. DTI mean diffusivity (DTI-MD), a putative marker of microstructural neuroplasticity in gray matter, was calculated for 7 regions of …

Coda Identity - Why Our Stories Are Important: A Qualitative Look At The Personal Narratives Of Adult Hearing Children Of Deaf Adults, Emma Tripp

Undergraduate University Honors Capstones

Children of Deaf adults (Coda) possess bicultural identities which may play a significant role in their mental health journeys. Bicultural identities can be a source of both stress and pride. Harmony between multiple cultural identities is associated with more positive mental health outcomes (Tikhonov et al., 2019). Codas belong to an under researched population of Deaf communities, further mystifying the inner worlds of Codas. This preliminary study aims to document the personal narratives of Codas’ lived experiences and perceptions as individuals with bicultural identities by thematic analysis of qualitative interviews with five Codas in hopes to identify areas of future …

Mind The Gap: Revealing The Association Between Depression, Marijuana Use, And Mental Health Care Utilization, Zachary (Zak) A. Kobs

Honors Program Theses and Research Projects

Depression is a widespread mental health condition affecting millions worldwide, with young adults being particularly vulnerable. The concurrent use of marijuana has become an increasingly relevant factor in treating depression, especially in this population. However, recent literature reviews have highlighted a significant gap in knowledge regarding treatment outcomes in adolescents who utilize both mental health treatments, including antidepressants (AD), and marijuana. This research seeks to better understand the relationship between mental health treatment utilization and marijuana together by exploring the association between depression, marijuana use, and mental health care utilization. Our findings suggest that depression and marijuana use tend to …

Breaking The Stigma: Challenging The Mental Health Crisis Through A New Way Of Designing A Recovery Facility In Salt Lake City, Utah, Lindsey Denig

Bachelor of Architecture Theses - 5th Year

Mental health is a highly stigmatized topic within today’s society. The mental health system in the United States has failed to consistently create safe and successful spaces for recovering patients with psychological disorders.

Facilities are often described as “inhumane” by patients in how they are designed. Patients have expressed that there is lack of safe, private spaces. The spaces that are considered “private” are solitary confinement wards with no windows or furniture. It is said that interior design is not a priority as well, with no colors or art on walls. Spaces are cold and dead feeling, which does not …

Assessing Gender Differences In Usd Students In The Consumption Of Pornography, Abbey Selleck

Honors Thesis

While pornography consumption has been studied many times in the past decade, little has been done on assessing the gender differences behind it. This study sought out to find those differences. A total of 306 University of South Dakota students participated in an online pornography survey. There was 231 females and 75 males. When asked about intentionally consuming pornography, there was 241 responses, 180 females and 61 males. Of those responses, 57 males (93%) and 142 females (79%) said they intentionally consume pornography. As hypothesized, a higher percentage of men said they consumed porn regularly (34%) than did women (4%). …

Interpretive Phenomenological Analysis [Ipa]: Examining The Impact Of Sleep Disturbances On Lived Experiences Of Persons With Parkinson’S Disease (Pwpd), Adriana Ornelas, Angela Blackwell, Karen Aranha

Spring 2023 Virtual OTD Capstone Symposium

Introduction: This investigation aimed to examine the lived experiences of PwPD who suffer from insomnia. Sleep disturbance affects up to 96% of individuals with PD. The non-motor symptom (NMS) significantly reduces HR-QOL, positively correlates with disease severity and duration, and increases the disease burden of care. Due to the nature of the disease, typical sleep hygiene protocols may not be the most effective intervention for this population. Understanding their challenges is vital to developing a sleep hygiene protocol tailored to their needs.

Methodology: A pilot qualitative study using an interpretive phenomenological analysis (IPA) with PwPD (N=12). The study received IRB …

Tf-Cbt Training Augmented With A Self-Care Focus: Understanding Facilitators And Barriers To Treatment Implementation., Julie P. Harrison, Esther Deblinger, Elisabeth Pollio, Beth Cooper, Robert A Steer

Rowan-Virtua School of Osteopathic Medicine Departmental Research

Clinicians working with youth exposed to trauma may be at increased risk for experiencing elevated levels of stress and symptoms of secondary traumatic stress, which can negatively impact clinician wellbeing and ultimately contribute to reduced access to quality care for clients. An innovative Trauma-Focused Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (TF-CBT) training incorporating self-care practices (i.e., Practice What You Preach; PWYP) was developed to help facilitate the implementation of TF-CBT and to enhance clinicians' coping and decrease stress. The primary purpose of this study was to determine whether the PWYP-augmented training met three Objectives: (1) increase clinicians' feelings of TF-CBT competency; (2) improve …

The End Of Roe V. Wade: Implications For Women's Mental Health And Care, Amalia Londoño Tobón, Eileen Mcnicholas, Camille A Clare, Luu D Ireland, Jennifer L Payne, Tiffany A Moore Simas, Rachel K Scott, Madeleine Becker, Nancy Byatt

Marcus Institute of Integrative Health Faculty Papers

The Supreme Court decision in Dobbs v. Jackson in June 2022 reversed precedent which had previously protected abortion prior to fetal viability as a universal right within the United States. This decision almost immediately led to abortion restrictions across 25 states. The resulting lack of access to abortion care for millions of pregnant people will have profound physical and mental health consequences, the full effects of which will not be realized for years to come. Approximately 1 in 5 women access abortions in the U.S. each year. These women are diverse and represent all American groups. The Supreme court decision, …

Covid, Creativity, And Connecting Through Change: Reviewing The Literature On How Art Therapy Can Help Children And Adolescents Cope With Pandemic-Related Grief, Lydia Speicher

Expressive Therapies Capstone Theses

The COVID-19 pandemic has been one of the most significant global events in the past century, both resulting in massive casualties and significant mental health outcomes across the world. Some of the most impacted populations are children and adolescents whose lives have been interrupted during their formative years. The purpose of this literature review is to explore how art therapy has been used during the COVID-19 pandemic to address the grief experienced by children and adolescents through their losses of stability and peer support surrounded by uncertainty. This literature review seeks to understand exactly how the pandemic has affected the …

The Breath As A Holistic Regulator: An Expressive Arts Therapy Community Project, Jacobita Munoz

Expressive Therapies Capstone Theses

This capstone offers the idea that evolution has challenged appropriate breathing and led humans to breathe incorrectly, thus negatively affecting their physical and mental health. As breath can damage the body, it can also serve as a regulator of the mind and body. This thesis points out the multiple effects when uniting controlled respiration, drumming and nature sounds. Breathing, music and nature have many things in common. These include repetition, pattern, awareness of the present moment and relaxation. They all contain a rhythm, and they offer self-regulatory skills. Music-based expressive arts therapies intervention is postulated to provide breathing techniques, united …

Prescribing Music To Forensic Settings: A Literature Review, Sydney A. Bouchard

Expressive Therapies Capstone Theses

Though prison is inherently musical, evidence-based forensic music therapy is rather understudied. This thesis critically reviews musical experiences in forensic environments and synthesizes its intersection with inmates' psychological distress. Additionally, the literature explores how forensic music therapy can act as a health and social resource for the incarcerated and their communities. Engaging in this work is vital because healthier correctional systems mean healthier communities (Hopwood, 2021). This review synthesizes relevant literature to inform better practices in music therapy, counseling, and healthcare and seeks to popularize discussion around an otherwise unpopular population, incarcerated folx. Emerging themes include (1) incarceration breeds negative …

Playing With Policy: What Insights Arise From Transgender Adults After Participating In A Legislative Theatre Exercise, Skylar A. Stratemeyer

Expressive Therapies Capstone Theses

The transgender community is underrepresented in the current body of academic research, underserved in the current clinical model of healthcare services, and legislatively oppressed on a state and federal level in the United States. As of March 2023, more than 400 anti-LGBTQI laws have been introduced on a state level in 2023 alone (ACLU, 2023). In response to the hostile Western sociopolitical climate, this thesis will focus on what insights arise from transgender adults and cisgender allies (N = 12) after participating in a dramatherapeutic group therapy session that explored current anti-trans legislation and highlighted the legal needs of …

Connecting With Our Roles Through Post Traumatic Growth After Experiencing Medical Trauma, Marie Angier

Expressive Therapies Capstone Theses

This paper explores the combination of drama therapist, Robert Landy’s (1993), Role Theory and the psychological concept of Post Traumatic Growth (Tedeschi, 2018). The author created a protocol that involved psychoeducation surrounding the five domains of Post Traumatic Growth and a role card sort involving the drama therapeutic process of role theory. A young adult client experiencing significant medical trauma participated in these processes during a three session intervention. Results indicated that the client viewed negative experiences as potentials for growth toward furthered resilience and future hope and optimism. The sample size was limited to one person and further search …

Enacting Stories: Discovering Parallels Of Narrative And Expressive Therapies, A Literature Review, Zoe Reddig

Expressive Therapies Capstone Theses

This literature review will analyze the use of narrative therapy (NT) techniques, dance/movement therapy (DMT) techniques, and expressive therapy (ET) techniques in an effort to distinguish where theoretical parallels exist between these methods of counsel. Narrative therapy is a postmodern framework of counseling that assists clients in resisting damaging stories that have been embedded through bioecological systems of exposure throughout development. Narrative therapy structures its philosophy through processes of externalization and deconstruction, and encourages the process of reframing or re-authoring one’s personal self-narrative. At their core, DMT and ET already utilize components of foundational NT practices, through processes of enactment, …

Art Therapy As A Tool For Korean American Families: A Literature Review, Minju Park

Expressive Therapies Capstone Theses

This literature review aims to offer a comprehensive overview of attributes of Korean culture that make significant impacts on the family dynamic in the Korean immigrant households and to learn different types of art therapy that can help them. This literature review identifies specifically the struggles both first-generation Korean immigrant parents and second-generation Korean-American adolescents experience in order to understand where their conflicts come from. Later, different approaches of art therapy for the conflicts Korean immigrant households face are discussed. Data are collected from existing literature and videos by terms including art therapy for immigrants, family art therapy, Korean immigrant …

Second-Victimhood Among Anesthesia Providers & The Effects On Patient Outcomes, Erika Aitken

Doctor of Nursing Practice Projects

Anesthesia providers work in environments promoting productivity with tremendous pressure to begin the next case regardless of any recent adverse events that may have occurred (Wands, 2021). Certified nurse anesthesiologists (CRNAs) potentially struggle with a lack of recognition, a high number of hours, inadequate work-life balance, and limited professional advancement, which all contribute to high stress levels within the field (Andrade & Dantas, 2015). A healthcare professional involved in an unexpected adverse event, medical error, or patient-related injury is labeled as a second victim. Thirty anesthesia providers from a central Illinois hospital viewed a PowerPoint presentation, completed a survey, and …