Medicine and Health Sciences Commons^™

Student Perspectives On Working In Interdisciplinary Teams To Implement Mhealth, Elina Chun

Undergraduate Honors Theses

Interprofessional education of students in healthcare professions can lead to positive outcomes for students that are unique in a university setting. The purpose of this thesis is to describe benefits and challenges students encounter when working with students of other majors. This study used a convenience sample of students working on a university project to implement mHealth. Participants responded to two surveys with quantitative and qualitative questions. Students reported greater appreciation for diversity, the necessity of communication skills, and self-awareness of their own responsibilities in a team.

Continuous Glucose Monitoring: An Overview For Nurse Practitioners, Casey Neeley, Donna Freeborn

Student Works

Continuous glucose monitoring (CGM) is a revolutionary addition to diabetic management for patients with type 1 diabetes mellitus (T1DM). CGM, when used properly, improves overall glycemic control. In the short term, CGM decreases incidences of hypoglycemic events and improves day to day blood glucose control. In the long term, CGM decreases hemoglobin A1c levels and decreases incidences and severity of long term complications of diabetes. When patients are educated and supported by providers on the use of CGM, patients with T1DM can achieve optimal glycemic control.

Forensic Nursing: Overview Of A Growing Profession, Julie L. Valentine

Faculty Publications

IN THE CURRENT ERA of the #MeToo movement and prominent sexual assault disclosures, these types of crimes are finally receiving the attention they deserve. Our society is acknowledging what research has been telling us for years about the high incidence of sexual violence in the United States. According to a recent Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) report, more than 36% of women have experienced contact sexual violence in their lifetime and 19% have experienced attempted or completed rape. Men also report high rates of sexual violence; more than 17% have experienced some form of contact sexual violence in …

Napnap Position Statement On Immunizations, Lacey Eden, Cheryl Cairns, Karlen E. (Beth) Luthy, Mary Koslap-Petraco

Faculty Publications

The National Association of Pediatric Nurse Practitioners (NAPNAP) supports the timely and complete immunization of all infants, children, adolescents, and adults in an attempt to maximize the health and wellbeing of all people. Routine childhood immunizations prevent as many as 3 million deaths per year. In addition, 1.5 million deaths per year could be avoided if global vaccination efforts continue to improve (World Health Organization, 2017).

Meg Final Report: Peer Teaching Teamstepps, Dr. Michael Thomas

Journal of Undergraduate Research

1. Have student teaching assistants in the N293 Communication for Nurses Lab course and untrained faculty members attend the TeamSTEPPS Master Trainer course.

-This objective was met at a very high level. Funds from the MEG paid for four student teaching assistants and two faculty members to attend a TeamSTEPPS Master Trainer course at a regional training site. At this training, I was able to make a connection with the director of the TeamSTEPPS national implementation team. Through this connection, I was able to coordinate a 2 day TeamSTEPPS Master Trainer course training on-site at BYU for 55 full and …

N404 What Our Students Learn Through Serving Our Veterans Meg 2015 2016 Final Report, Ron Ulberg

Journal of Undergraduate Research

Evaluation of how well the academic objectives of the proposal were met: The academic objectives of the MEG proposal were met and exceeded. Specifically, students were exposed to local and national venues in which Veterans and their history are prevalent. Examples of this include visits by the students and faculty to Walter Reed National Military Medical Center, Arlington National Cemetery, US Capitol, Lincoln Memorial, Washington Memorial, WW I Memorial, WW II Memorial, Korean War Memorial, Vietnam War Memorial, Museum of American History, etc. We also met with Senator Mike Lee from the State of Utah to discuss issues pertaining to …

Meg Final Report: Peer Teaching Teamstepps, Dr. Michael Thomas

Journal of Undergraduate Research

1. Have student teaching assistants in the N293 Communication for Nurses Lab course and untrained faculty members attend the TeamSTEPPS Master Trainer course.

-This objective was met at a very high level. Funds from the MEG paid for four student teaching assistants and two faculty members to attend a TeamSTEPPS Master Trainer course at a regional training site. At this training, I was able to make a connection with the director of the TeamSTEPPS national implementation team. Through this connection, I was able to coordinate a 2 day TeamSTEPPS Master Trainer course training on-site at BYU for 55 full and …

Learning History: Understanding And Facilitating Improvement In Clinical Microsystems, Dr. Bret Lyman

Journal of Undergraduate Research

The academic outcomes of the proposal were generally met (and exceeded). The proposal specified that four students would be involved in the mentoring environment, yet we found it possible to include eight students in faculty-mentored research efforts. Although only three students applied for ORCA grant funding (rather than the proposed four), the MEG Grant was sufficient to support nine students’ professional presentations and six students’ peer-reviewed publications. Five students will be continuing to work on projects made possible by this grant, including writing for publication and developing/testing research instruments based on our findings. We anticipate all ten students will ultimately …

Family Health History: What’S The Best Tool?, Dr. Gaye Raye, Dr. Karen Whitt

Journal of Undergraduate Research

The purpose of this project was to mentor undergraduate nursing students as they worked on a project to identify the most effective tools for collecting family health history and to assess the impact of knowledge of family health history on preventive health behaviors. This project helped to identify tools that can be used to collect family health history and provided evidence that informs clinical practice. This project provided multiple mentoring and learning opportunities for undergraduate nursing students. Those mentored had opportunities to prepare manuscripts and present study findings at conferences and directly see how evidence is translated into practice. Mentored …

N404 What Our Students Learn Through Serving Our Veterans Meg 2015 2016 Final Report, Ron Ulberg

Journal of Undergraduate Research

The academic objectives of the MEG proposal were met and exceeded. Specifically, students were exposed to local and national venues in which Veterans and their history are prevalent. Examples of this include visits by the students and faculty to Walter Reed National Military Medical Center, Arlington National Cemetery, US Capitol, Lincoln Memorial, Washington Memorial, WW I Memorial, WW II Memorial, Korean War Memorial, Vietnam War Memorial, Museum of American History, etc. We also met with Senator Mike Lee from the State of Utah to discuss issues pertaining to our Veterans.

Family Health History: What’S The Best Tool?, Dr. Gaye Raye, Dr. Karen Whitt

Journal of Undergraduate Research

The purpose of this project was to mentor undergraduate nursing students as they worked on a project to identify the most effective tools for collecting family health history and to assess the impact of knowledge of family health history on preventive health behaviors. This project helped to identify tools that can be used to collect family health history and provided evidence that informs clinical practice. This project provided multiple mentoring and learning opportunities for undergraduate nursing students. Those mentored had opportunities to prepare manuscripts and present study findings at conferences and directly see how evidence is translated into practice. Mentored …

Learning History: Understanding And Facilitating Improvement In Clinical Microsystems, Dr. Bret Lyman

Journal of Undergraduate Research

The academic outcomes of the proposal were generally met (and exceeded). The proposal specified that four students would be involved in the mentoring environment, yet we found it possible to include eight students in faculty-mentored research efforts. Although only three students applied for ORCA grant funding (rather than the proposed four), the MEG Grant was sufficient to support nine students’ professional presentations and six students’ peer-reviewed publications. Five students will be continuing to work on projects made possible by this grant, including writing for publication and developing/testing research instruments based on our findings. We anticipate all ten students will ultimately …

Nicu Nurses' Suggestions For Improving End-Of-Life Care Obstacles, Renea L. Beckstrand, Rebecca F. Isaacson, Janelle L. B. Macintosh, Karlen E. Luthy, Lacey Eden

Faculty Publications

Background: Neonatal deaths (infants less than 28 days old) account for two thirds (66.7%) of all infant deaths with most occurring in an ICU setting. NICU nurses are frequently involved in end-of-life (EOL) care and face unique obstacles.

Objective: The objective of this study was to obtain NICU nurses’ suggestions for improving obstacles in EOL care in NICUs.

Methods: Suggestions were obtained through mailed survey research in qualitative study design. Returned surveys yielded 121 nurse respondents who gave a total of 138 suggestions.

Results: A total of 10 cohesive themes were identified: (1) environmental design issues, (2) improved communication between …

Emergency Nurses’ Department Design Recommendations For Improved End-Of-Life Care, Renea L. Beckstrand, Elise M. Corbett, Janelle L. B. Macintosh, Karlen E. (Beth) Luthy, Ryan J. Rasmussen

Faculty Publications

Introduction: Although death is common in emergency departments, there is limited research regarding ED design as an obstacle to end-of-life care. This study identifies emergency nurses’ recommendations regarding ways designs have negative or positive impact on care for dying patients and their families.

Methods: A 25-item questionnaire was sent to a national random sample of 500 emergency nurses. Inclusion criteria were nurses who could read English, worked in emergency departments, and had cared for at least 1 patient at the end of life (EOL). Responses were individually reviewed and coded.

Results: Major obstacles included (1) issues related to limited space, …

Adult Vaccination Rates In The Severely Mentally Ill Population: An Improvement Project In An Outpatient Setting In Utah, Nathalia H. Williams, Leslie Miles, Beth Luthy, Lacey Eden

Student Works

Background: Adults who suffer with severe and persistent mental illness (SPMI) rarely access medical care to address basic medical needs, so they are subsequently less likely to receive preventive vaccines. The aim of this project was to increase the rate of vaccines among the SPMI population. This project started in 2011 and still is ongoing. It took place in an outpatient community mental health center (CMHC) which serves about 4,200 SPMI clients. Personnel managing the project included registered nurses from the local health department, staff from the CMHC, and volunteer nursing students.

Methods: A review of the literature identified a …

Effect Of Formal Simulation Training On Perceptions Of Students, Joni Lybbert, Stacie Hunsaker

Journal of Undergraduate Research

High-fidelity simulation refers to the use of computerized manikins to simulate real-life situations. High-fidelity simulation is now a crucial part of nursing programs everywhere helping students gain necessary critical-thinking skills. The College of Nursing (CON) at Brigham Young University (BYU) includes simulation in their curriculum to assist students in developing decision-making skills in a modified clinical setting. However, more than the possession of simulation technology, the interaction between students and the simulation facilitator helps to achieve these aims.

Parents Of Children With Special Healthcare Needs: Relationships With Healthcare Providers, Janet Jackson, Dr. Janelle Macintosh

Journal of Undergraduate Research

The purpose of this project was to explore the significance and influence of relationships between healthcare providers (HCP) and parents of children with special healthcare needs (CSHCN) regarding healthcare plans.

In exploring previous research conducted in this area, we found many examples of the stress related to raising CSHCN, including physical, mental, and social stress. Much of this stress involved caregivers feeling unsupported, isolated, and misunderstood. For this reason, we chose to conduct focus groups to gather data and provide connections for these caregivers that would help them feel less stressed.

Research previously conducted in this area lacked an emphasis, …

It Runs In The Family: Determining The Most Important Characteristics In Family Health Histories, Lauren Bretzing, Gaye Ray

Journal of Undergraduate Research

Family health history (FHH) is a significant risk factor for many diseases and can help determine which patients need further genetic testing, lifestyle changes, and preventative screenings at earlier ages. Though recognized as an important step in controlling and preventing disease, FHH is often underutilized in health care settings. In a busy clinic setting, many clinicians may only have a couple minutes to discuss FHH with their patient, or may choose to forego it entirely. Apart from being time intensive and inaccurate, the FHH tools available are often seen as too complex. Additionally, a lack of uniformity in the collection, …

Improving Healthcare Through Interdisciplinary Education, Johnathan Jacobs, Katreena Collette-Merril, Phd, Rn

Journal of Undergraduate Research

The culture of education prepares healthcare professionals in silos, then expects them to work collaboratively upon graduation. Medical errors, resulting from communication issues, are considered a leading cause of patient death. Interdisciplinary education of future professionals may prevent communication issues and reduce patient deaths. Interprofessional education (IPE) of undergraduates may improve communication of future professionals educated in universities without medical schools. The purpose of this project is to evaluate the effect of interprofessional education (IPE) on undergraduate students’ attitudes of interprofessional work, perceptions of working together, and ratings of teamwork.

A Standardized Hand-Off Tool For Undergraduate Nursing Students, Abigail Sutton, Stacie Hunsaker

Journal of Undergraduate Research

In establishing patient safety, communication is one of the most important components to consider. In order to coordinate a patient’s care properly, the multiple and diverse healthcare providers must operate smoothly as a team through well-constructed communication techniques. TeamSTEPPS is a government designed program to educated healthcare professionals on how to work and communicate effectively as a team. The program initiators included specific tools to be used to perform hand-offs. Hand-offs is when a healthcare professional transfers crucial information requiring a patient’s care with another healthcare professional. This is an extremely important process because it can cause devastating results if …

Organizational Learning On Hospital Units: Instrument Development Cognitive Interviews And Content Validity Stages, Hannah Hoyt, Dr. Bret Lyman

Journal of Undergraduate Research

Approximately 400,000 deaths occur each year due to preventable errors in hospitals.¹ Organizational learning² is the process through which organizations progress toward achieving their desired outcomes. Hospital units can use principles of organizational learning to reduce errors and achieve excellent performance outcomes.³ Unit managers have limited evidence-based resources to guide their organization’s development toward achieving desired outcomes. The purpose of this project was to develop two reliable survey instruments to measure the presence of certain contextual factors (environment) and mechanisms (actions) that are conducive to organizational learning on hospital units. These contextual factors and mechanisms emerged from …

Can Pokémon Go “Protect The World From Devastation”?, Hannah Schmidtlein, Dr. Neil Peterson

Journal of Undergraduate Research

The purposes of this project were to assess how Pokémon Go impacts physical activity levels in players and whether it produces short- or long-term health benefits. This project was an observational study. Subjects were required to meet three requirements to be eligible: (1) they started playing Pokémon Go when it launched in July 2016, (2) they currently use a device such as a FitBit or Apple Watch to track physical activity, and (3) they began wearing the activity tracker at least one week prior to beginning to play Pokémon Go. Once subjects were determined to be eligible, they filled out …

Food Insecurity Among Byu Students, Kielee Wiser, Neil Peterson

Journal of Undergraduate Research

The purpose of this project was to assess food insecurity among college students attending Brigham Young University (BYU). Food insecurity is the lack of consistent access to food, which has become an increasing problem among college students throughout the United States. The lack of food can contribute to poor performance in school, health complications, and homelessness.

Palliative Care Services Perception Study, Klinton Metcalf, Katreena Collette-Merril, Phd, Rn, Kevin Mcewan

Journal of Undergraduate Research

Patients with chronic illnesses are often plagued with multiple side effects and secondary diagnoses that significantly limit everyday function. Managing these side effects along with the patient’s illness often requires a multidisciplinary approach to providing optimal care. Palliative Care is a growing field of medicine that delivers quality symptom management for patients with complex illnesses and symptoms. Although relatively new, evidence shows that Palliative Care interventions not only decrease the severity of side effects during the treatment process, but also improve the quality of life and feelings of well-being for the patient, and even extend length of survival. Palliative Care …

Law Enforcement Trauma Informed Response Training In Adult Sexual Assault Cases, Chelsie Lawter, Julie Valentine

Journal of Undergraduate Research

Sexual assault (SA) is one of the most common crimes in the state, affecting one in three Utah women (Mitchell & Peterson, 2008). Despite this, shockingly low numbers of Utah SA victims see their cases progress to prosecution; for example, in Salt Lake County from 2003-2011, only 6% of SA cases were successfully prosecuted (Valentine, Shaw, Lark & Campbell, 2016). These numbers reflect an urgent need in Utah to identify barriers to prosecution and take steps to eliminate those barriers. Police officers, as first responders when victims seek to report an incidence of SA, have an important role in determining …

Utah Immunization Module, Erin Marshall, Lacey Eden

Journal of Undergraduate Research

Herd immunity requires that 95% of a population is immunized in order to be effective. In Utah, only 75.2% of children have received all of the recommended vaccinations by age two1. Herd immunity is of great importance to a population because it protects those who cannot be immunized (such as newborns and those with chronic illnesses). These individuals are offered some protection because when the majority of a population is immunized, the disease has little opportunity to spread within the community2. In Utah, the number of individuals that choose not to immunize themselves or their children is constantly increasing. Those …

Parental Experiences Of Raising A Child With Type 1 Diabetes To Adulthood, Claire Christiansen, Sn, Donna Freeborn, Aprn, Phd

Journal of Undergraduate Research

The purpose of this research was to better understand parental experiences of raising a child with type 1 diabetes mellitus (T1DM) to adulthood in order to help parents and educators better understand how to facilitate child(ren) with T1DM in transitioning into adulthood and managing diabetes independently. T1DM is commonly diagnosed when someone is younger than 18. This life-changing diagnosis not only affects the child, but the whole family unit. Although there is research involving parents who are currently raising T1DM children, there is very little research involving parents whose children with T1DM are now adults. As parents reflect on their …

Evidence-Based Strategies For Treatment And Referral Of Chronic Pain In Primary Care, Morgan Ann Bateman, Katreena Collette-Merrill

Student Works

Chronic pain is an ever present issue in the United States, with more people suffering from it than heart disease, cancer, and diabetes combined. Chronic pain is the most frequent complaint in primary care, and it poses significant challenges to both primary care providers (PCPs) and their patients. At the root of many of these challenges is the prescription and management of opioid prescription drugs used to treat chronic pain. Opiate misuse, abuse, and diversion are serious risks of opiate prescribing. Risk assessment tools are available to aid the PCP in determining the severity of risk for potential patient abuse, …

Effectiveness Of Integrative Restoration (Irest) Yoga Nidra On Mindfulness, Sleep, And Pain In Health Care Workers, Eva Livingston, Katreena Collette Merrill

Faculty Publications

This article examines the effectiveness of Integrative Restoration (iRest) Yoga Nidra meditation on mindfulness, sleep, and pain in health care workers. As health care workers provide emotional support to patients, it is not uncommon for workers to experience both physical and mental exhaustion. One holistic approach to support employees is mindfulness training. iRest Yoga Nidra is a complementary and integrative health therapy that increases mindfulness. A pre-/postinterveniton descriptive survey design was used. Before and after experiencing iRest meditation, participants completed a 51-item questionnaire consisting of demographics plus 3 validated instruments: the Five-Facet Mindfulness Questionnaire (FFMQ), the Epworth Sleepiness Scale (ESS), …

Parenting Practices And Disordered Eating Behaviors In Adolescents, Rebekah Johnson

Student Works

Background/Purpose: Eating disorders are a common chronic condition among adolescents. Some parenting styles have been associated with adolescent disordered eating behaviors (DEB), which can lead to eating disorders and a variety of other psychological and physical complaints. Healthcare practitioners and parents need to identify these DEB early and intervene in hopes of preventing the sequela of other health problems. The purpose of this article is to review current research on the association between parenting styles or practices and DEB as well as associated psychological symptoms in adolescents.

Methods: CINAHL, Academic Search Premier, MEDLINE, and PsycINFO databases were searched for English-language …