Medicine and Health Sciences Commons^™

Assessment Of The Perceived Access To Health Care By Migrant And Seasonal Farm Workers In Southern New Jersey, Karen Custodio, Xitlalichomiha O'Dell, Lori Talbot

Rowan-Virtua Research Day

Migrant and seasonal farm workers (MSFW) are one of the most economically disadvantaged populations in the United States. MSFW confront numerous health challenges as a result of occupational hazards, poor living conditions, and inadequate nutrition, in addition to common health concerns like diabetes and hypertension. The objective of this study was to identify major barriers to health care for individuals working in the agriculture industry in southern New Jersey. Though there are numerous factors which impact health for migrant farmers, we hypothesized that language, financial burden, and fear from immigration status will be the most significant. Research was conducted using …

Omt For The Treatment Of Depression And Anxiety, Zachary Winchell

Rowan-Virtua Research Day

Osteopathic manipulative therapy (OMT) fundamentally aims to remedy somatic dysfunction through the manipulation of the patient. In this regard, OMT is a particularly viable non-pharmacological adjunct for patients with depressive and generalized anxiety disorder (GAD).

In both of these disorders, the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis has an interdependent relationship with physiological stress that feed one another to both increase symptomology and leave patients vulnerable to negative life events. Additionally, pro-inflammatory cytokines acting on the brain over long periods of time can lead to exacerbation of disease and the development of depression in susceptible individuals. Altered cytokine balance has also been found in …

Retrospective Analysis On The Susceptibility Of Opiate Addiction Based On Prescribed Medications And Chronic Pain Diagnoses, Momna Ayub, Richard Jermyn

Rowan-Virtua Research Day

Introduction: Opioid medications have been increasingly prescribed in recent years, particularly to treat individuals with chronic pain. In the U.S., opioid abuse has been declared an epidemic by the Department of Health and Human Services as the number of opioid-related overdoses in 2010 exceeded 16000 and alarmingly continued to rise 15% from 2015 to 2016. Due to opioid dependence and abuse, opioids are a gateway to subsequent drug addiction.

Objective: The goal of this project was to identify a link between certain prescribed opiates and a susceptibility for abuse or misuse in patients with chronic pain through a retrospective analysis. …

The Effect Of Omm On Opioid Users With Chronic Low Back Pain, Danielle Cooley, James Bailey, Deanna Janora, Catherine Fusco, Kishan Patel

Rowan-Virtua Research Day

In the United States, approximately 100 million adults are affected by chronic pain, which reduces their quality of life and productivity, while accounting for billions in health care costs and lost revenue. (1) Opioids are considered the gold standard in the pharmacological treatment for chronic pain conditions, and prescriptions for opiates/opioids increased by 400% from 1999 to 2010. (1,2) Although opioid treatment is warranted during postsurgical and active cancer pain, physicians still commonly overprescribe opioids, which has led to addiction, high deaths rates by overdose, and the spread of communicable diseases. (1)

Since chronic pain is sustained by noxious sensory …

Pain-Related Fear: Metacognitive And Health Belief Predictors Of Cogniphobia, Maddison Miles

Masters Theses, 2010-2019

Individuals who have an unreasonable fear of headache pain or painful re-injury during cognitive exertion are said to suffer from a pain-related fear referred to as cogniphobia. Specifically, individuals high in cogniphobia avoid cognitive tasks in an attempt to reduce the risk of initiating or exacerbating headache-related pain. While health beliefs concerning pain-related fear have been examined through the concept of kinesiophobia, defined as the unreasonable fear of pain or painful re-injury during physical movement, little research has been done through a cognitive framework. The health anxiety beliefs, metacognitive factors, and negative thinking patterns related to cogniphobia remain unclear. This …

Development Of A School Boredom Proneness Scale For Children, Taylor Carrington

Educational Specialist, 2009-2019

One common phrase heard from students is, “I’m bored.” However, there is no real understanding of what this actually means. In this study, elementary-age students were asked to respond to a newly developed School Boredom Proneness Scale (SBPS) including questions relating to a five-factor model of boredom. Students were also asked to rate how often they become bored at school and how bored they seem compared to classmates. In addition to student responses, parents and teachers were asked to rate how bored they thought the student was, and teachers were additionally asked to rate students’ level of work completion. The …

School Psychologists’ Current Practice, Training, And Interest In The Integration Of Substance Abuse Training As Part Of The Mental Health Profession, Margaret Dassira

Educational Specialist, 2009-2019

Adolescents’ suffering from substance abuse may also be experiencing academic, social, emotional, and behavioral difficulties. Substance abuse problems are difficult to address in schools due to barriers related to confidentiality, implementation, and resources. School personnel may also lack necessary experience or training to adequately provide these services to students’ suffering from substance abuse. School-based intervention programs have shown to be effective in helping to identify and support students with substance abuse issues (Mitchell et al., 2012; Winters et al., 2012). With both evidence-based intervention practices and competent mental health professionals, students experiencing substance abuse problems may receive needed services and …

Understanding The Help-Seeking Behaviors Of Student-Athletes: Effect Of A Multidisciplinary Healthcare Team And The Perception Of Barriers And Facilitators For Seeking Help, Lauren M. Sander

Masters Theses, 2010-2019

This study was aimed at identifying barriers and facilitators that influence help-seeking as well as the effect of implementing an integrated healthcare approach based on current recommendations. A total of 411 student-athletes from 18 intercollegiate teams at a mid-major Division I institution in the mid-Atlantic region completed a 12–item instrument comprised of ten quantitative items and two open-ended questions. The quantitative data was analyzed using SPSS software, and a constant comparative method was used to code responses from the open-ended questions. Findings suggested a prevalence of mental health challenges among student-athletes, especially overwhelming stress, struggles with time management, and anxiety. …

Unplugged, Krisha Patel '21, Jonathan Gao '21, Jason Li '21

Student Leadership Exchange (SLX)

Technology has infiltrated every aspect of our lives. Regardless of financial conditions, most people have a cellphone in their hands at all times—usually a smartphone. TVs are installed in almost every single room in the typical American household and very often powered up with a marathon of a favorite show, playing episode after episode without pause. Kids become obsessed with the latest video game consoles and games, paying exorbitant amounts to be the first of their friends to get their hands on them. Even many parents compulsively check and post updates to a variety of social media sites throughout the …

Mental Health And Drug Use At Imsa, Megan Ptak '21, Melena Braggs '21, Emma Darbro '21, Brooke Bolsinger '21

Student Leadership Exchange (SLX)

Within our campus, there is an evident problem relating to drug use and to underlying mental health issues among students. It is known that the students at IMSA use drugs and alcohol as a coping mechanism for their mental health issues; however, this issue is not discussed on our campus. While many measures have been put into action on campus to prevent drug use, there has been no action to solve the root of the problem, mental health issues. This leads to a continuous problem of drug use within our student body and has a lasting effect on the mental …

Depiction And Function Of Madness In Elizabethan And Jacobean Literature, Yeiji Seo

Young Historians Conference

Since the ancient times of Israel, Greece, and Rome, people with mental illnesses have been regarded as different from others in society. This paper aims to analyze the motives of authors of medical and dramatic texts of Elizabethan and Jacobean literature in regards to mental illness by specifically observing William Shakespeare’s King Lear and Robert Burton’s The Anatomy of Melancholy. This paper also considers the views of other scholars of the field to compose a complete insight on Shakespeare and Burton’s goals in depicting mental illness and finally advocates further research and understanding to positively contribute towards disability reform today.

Importance Of Social Support In Athletics As It Relates To Injury Recovery And Preparedness To Return To Play, Haleigh Gray

Graduate Theses

Background: Recent studies have evaluated the physical problems as well as the psychological complications that arise from sport injuries. However, little research has been done on techniques to address or mitigate these psychological issues. Objective: The purpose of this study was to investigate how social support was perceived during the injury rehabilitation process and how it influenced return to play preparedness. Setting: National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I mid-major university. Participants: A total of 21 previously injured student-athletes participated in the study. Methods: Through this mixed method study, each student-athlete completed a validated social support survey that evaluated perceived …

"Notjustgirls": Exploring Male-Related Eating Disordered Content Across Social Media Platforms, Jessica Pater, Lauren Reining, Andrew D. Miller, Tammy Toscos Phd, Elizabeth D. Mynatt

Mirro Center Articles

ABSTRACT: Eating disorders (EDs) are a worldwide public health concern that impact approximately 10% of the U.S. population. Our previous research characterized these behaviors across online spaces. These characterizations have used clinical terminology, and their lexical variants, to identify ED content online. However, previous HCI research on EDs (including our own) suffers from a lack of gender and cultural diversity. In this paper, we designed a follow-up study of online ED characterizations, extending our previous methodologies to focus specifically on male/masculine-related content. We highlight the similarities and differences found in the terminology utilized and media archetypes associated with the social …

Counseling For Patients With Hyperacusis, Mary Maraist

Communication Sciences and Disorders: Student Scholarship & Creative Works

Hyperacusis is the phenomenon of experiencing moderately loud sounds as overly loud and/or intensely annoying. Hyperacusis can also cause fear or pain in response to sound. There is no one known cause of hyperacusis, and because of the variety of ways it presents itself, the approximate prevalence is difficult to determine. Despite the ambiguity of hyperacusis, the audiologist is an important part of diagnosing and educating clients with hyperacusis. During this project we aimed to discover the challenges individuals with hyperacusis face. These include anxiety, depression and avoidance behavior, and sometimes co-occurring tinnitus and hearing loss. Another aim was to …

Social Media's Affect On Self Image And Daily Life, Sarah Falkowski

Senior Honors Projects

In the US alone over 244 million people use social media daily. Social media has become a huge part of the world today, helping people stay connected, share, influence, and interact. Though social media has many constructive aspects, it can affect its users in many negative ways. This research looks deeper into the way people use social media, how it’s content can be damaging, and the emphasis people place on their social media image. The study conducted looks further into how social media’s effects vary between age groups and genders. Results show that females between 16-20 are most negatively affected …

'Holy Seeing' From The Art Of The Saint John's Bible, Barbara Sutton

School of Theology and Seminary Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Using A Faculty Community Of Practice To Support College Students With Mental Health Needs, Rebecca L. Simon

Health & Wellness Department Faculty Publications and Research

The purpose of this qualitative study was to better understand how a community of practice for faculty in higher education might improve interaction and understanding between faculty and students with disabilities, therefore supporting engagement and retention. In this context, a community of practice is defined as a group of individuals who will come together to learn and support one another regarding use of accommodations for students under the current Americans with Disabilities Act (Section 504) and resources for students with mental health disorders. Research has shown there is an increase of students who have mental health disorders in higher education. …

The Relationship Between Human Trafficking And An Occupational Therapy Career, Lexie France

Rehabilitation, Human Resources and Communication Disorders Undergraduate Honors Theses

Occupational therapy crosses physical-mental health boundaries. It has been stated that occupational therapists have an innate duty to work with not only individuals, but society as a whole when individuals experience social and occupational injustices. An example of a social/occupational injustice that an individual may experience is human trafficking. Human trafficking not only affects the individual physically and emotionally, but it also has a pervasive impact on the individual’s ability to function as an occupational being. These experiences have the potential to affect the individual in varied contexts and environments, and over the lifespan. Due to an occupational therapist's proficiency …

The Effects Of A Dementia Simulation Experience On Attitudes Towards People With Dementia, Micah Huckabee

Health, Human Performance and Recreation Undergraduate Honors Theses

Introduction: The neurodegenerative effects of dementia resulting in cognitive and behavioral impairments is plausibly one of the reasons for a societal stigma towards individuals with dementia. Societal stigmas are associated with decreased life satisfaction, depressive symptoms, and decreased psychological well-being for stigmatized individuals. In an effort to improve attitudes towards individuals with dementia, this study utilized a dementia simulation to measure attitudinal changes after a dementia simulation. Methods: There were 33 participants in this study (13 male and 20 female) between the ages of 18 and 25. Participants completed a Dementia Attitudes Scale (DAS) survey, and then they dressed in …

Evaluating The Effectiveness And Implementation Of Evidence-Based Treatment: A Multisite Hybrid Design., Jamile A Ashmore, Kirk W Ditterich, Claire C Conley, Melissa R Wright, Peggy S Howland, Kelly L Huggins, Jena Cooreman, Priscilla S Andrews, Donald R Nicholas, Lind Roberts, Larissa Hewitt, Joan N Scales, Jenny K Delap, Christine A Gray, Lynelle A Tyler, Charlotte Collins, Catherine M Whiting, Brittany M Brothers, Marlena M Ryba, Barbara L Andersen

Articles, Abstracts, and Reports

The gap between treatment development and efficacy testing to scaled up implementations of evidence-based treatment (EBT) is an estimated 20 years, and hybrid research designs aim to reduce the gap. One was used for a multisite study in cancer control, testing coprimary aims: (a) determine the feasibility and utility of a flexible EBT implementation strategy and (b) determine the clinical effectiveness of an EBT as implemented by newly trained providers. Therapists from 15 diverse sites implemented the biobehavioral intervention (BBI) for cancer patients (N = 158) as part of standard care. For implementation, therapists determined treatment format, number of …

Ethical Art Waste: Examining Resource Management In The Art Studio, Amanda Peavey

Expressive Therapies Capstone Theses

This paper highlights the lack of education about production and disposal of art materials within the field of art therapy. Failure to educate clinicians creates ethical problems when hazardous materials are used in sessions unknowingly. This paper is grounded in environmental studies and chemical management to supplement the art therapy field’s lack of research and commentary. The literature is dedicated to educating the reader about the hazardous nature of materials, issues surrounding regulations of chemicals involved in production, and consumerism in relation to waste processing. The research data was collected from a community engagement project: an educational presentation was offered …

The Effects Of Participation In A Grief Choir On Perceived Grief, Coping, Energy, Social Support, And Health Among Bereaved Adults: A Mixed Methods Randomized Control Study, Lauren Dimaio

Crossroads of Music and Wellness

The purpose of this study was to test the effects of participation in a grief choir vs. verbal grief group on bereaved persons’ perceived grief, coping, energy, social support and health and to examine the experiences of those participating in both groups. In this mixed-methods study, the results from qualitative phenomenological focus groups were used to explain and interpret the findings of the Randomized Control Trial (RCT). Findings demonstrated that the grief choir may have been as effective as the verbal grief group when impacting the participants’ experience of grief.

Mindfulness-Based Interventions For Adolescents With Cancer And Teen Cancer Survivors, Daniela Ramirez-Ibarra

Capstone Projects and Master's Theses

Adolescence is a significant period for identity construction and self development (Jones, Blunda, Biegel, Carlson, Biel, & Wiener., 2013). This critical development period is quickly disrupted for adolescents with cancer. With the challenges of undergoing cancer treatment, come abnormal daily routines and changes to the developing self, which may cause anxiety, depression, and other mental health disorders (Jones et al., 2013). Even after an adolescent survives cancer, he or she may be likely to face chronic adjustment difficulties, cognitive challenges, struggles at school, social deficits, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), anxiety, and depression (Jones et al., 2013). To address the stressful …

Mental Health On Trial: An In-Depth Look At The Criminalization Of Mental Illness In The United States Criminal Justice System, Addison Elise Shemin

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The criminal justice system was created to identify, incarcerate, and rehabilitate men and women that have broken the law. However, over two million people with mental illnesses are placed into jails every year. The lack of proper psychological evaluation and diagnosis coupled with misunderstood evidence and economic hardship has produced a system that treats these men and women as criminals rather than someone suffering from an illness. When an individual with mental health issues comes into contact with the criminal justice system they are often improperly evaluated by first responders, wrongfully convicted, and inappropriately sentenced. The lack of proper psychological …

The Effect Of A Training Clinic On The Self-Efficacy Of Counselors In Training, Jihene Ayadi

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The primary focus of this study was to examine the differences between trainees’ perceived self-efficacy when they graduate from a counseling program that has a community based mental health training clinic versus a program without a training clinic. A web-based survey was developed with the questions from the Counseling Self-Efficacy Inventory (COSE) (Larson et al., 1992) and 45 (N = 45) participants took the survey online. Participants were students enrolled and taking a practicum or internship class in a counseling program with a training clinic (WTC) or in a counseling program without a clinic (WTTC). Mann-Whitney Wilcoxon test, a non-parametric …

A Bilingual Approach To Pediatric Occupational Therapy: The Importance Of Communication Between Providers & Spanish-Speaking Families In Northwest Arkansas, Emily Ann Davidson

World Languages, Literatures and Cultures Undergraduate Honors Theses

Due to the demographic demands of Northwest Arkansas and the prevalence of disparities in health care, this study aims to assess the current practices, perceived need, and willingness to provide bilingual Spanish-English outpatient pediatric occupational therapy options in Northwest Arkansas. The hope of this study is to better inform pediatric occupational therapy providers of the growing need for bilingual services so that they may respond appropriately in order to better serve Latino and Spanish-speaking patients and their families or caregivers.

The Self-Efficacy Of Biological Mothers And Foster Mothers Caring For Infants Prenatally Exposed To Drugs Or Treated For Nas : Examination Of Potentially Influencing Factors., Megan Kathleen Sherehiy

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This study sought to identify demographic risk and protective factors that may relate to parental self-efficacy in biological and foster mothers caring for infants prenatally exposed to opioids. The study also examined whether participation in treatment for biological mothers and in training for foster mothers was associated with parental self-efficacy. Forty-nine women (21 biological mothers and 28 foster mothers) were surveyed. Measures included demographic, treatment, and training information. A single-item, self-report measure was used to assess satisfaction with support from friends using an item from the World Health Organization Quality of Life-Bref scale (Skevington, Lotfy, & O'Connell, 2004). The Karitane …

The Shape Study : The Survey Of Health And The Perceived Environment Study., Colette Patrice Davis

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Introduction: Few studies have considered how an individual’s perception of their built environment may be a risk factor for being overweight or obese. Adolescents may be particularly vulnerable in the context of “impoverished environments”, which they may perceive to be difficult, dangerous, resource deficient, and unaesthetic. This study aids in clarifying how the built environment influences the risk of obesity among adolescents residing in a neighborhood in Louisville, KY. Objective: The overall objective was to conduct a cross-sectional epidemiologic pilot study among adolescents aged 12-17 years residing in West Louisville, Kentucky to evaluate the association between perceptions of …

Innovation And Equity In Public Health Research : Testing Arts-Based Methods For Trauma-Informed, Culturally-Responsive Inquiry., Tasha Golden

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

As the field of Public Health has shifted from a biomedical paradigm to a social ecological approach, focusing on health equity and social determinants of health, it has increasingly acknowledged the roles of culture and trauma in health outcomes. The field has responded by modifying some research practices, but continues to prioritize conventional methodologies—with few options designed to foreground trauma- and cultural-responsiveness. Unfortunately, to the extent that conventional approaches require health to be defined, communicated, or valued according to dominant norms, they risk perpetuating inequities. Health equity therefore requires the development of research methodologies that increase inclusivity and access, elicit …

Effects Of Art Therapy On Dissociation Related To A Veteran’S Experience With Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, Camacho Ronald

LMU Theses and Dissertations

This paper depicts a U.S. veteran and graduate student’s experience using meditation, artmaking, and journaling to target the effects of trauma and its symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder and dissociation. This is a self-study utilizing art as the main method for communication and knowing. The data was gathered by using a combination of Pat Allen’s Open Studio Process and elements of the Art Therapy Trauma Protocol using bilateral artmaking in a five-session process conducted in a local art studio in San Diego. The meditation was conducted as a contemplative practice with attention and intention focusing on traumatic experiences. Fragmented memories …