Medicine and Health Sciences Commons^™

Nursing Perspectives On Intimate Partner Violence Screening In The Emergency Department, Justin Cabrera

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Using descriptive and quality descriptive (QD) analysis, emergency department nurses from around the country completed a modified version of the Physician Readiness to Manage Intimate Partner Violence Survey (PREMIS) tool to gain insight on their attitudes, knowledge, and preparedness about working with patient survivors of intimate partner violence (IPV) regarding their willingness to and comfort in engaging in IPV screening practices. In total, 1,523 responses were received from emergency department nurses currently or formerly in practice.

Findings show that there was no correlation between emergency department nurses’ education and training on IPV and willingness and comfort with IPV screening with …

The Lived Experience Of Using Opiates Among Young Adults, Catherine Mbewe

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

The purpose of this research study is to explore the lived experience of using opiates, as described by young adults aged 18 to 25 years. Over the last 2 decades, opioid use disorders (OUDs) and opiate overdose deaths have increased dramatically in the United States. What used to be a problem primarily contained to minority groups in poor inner-city areas is now increasingly common in all races, genders, ages, and classes. There has also been an alarming increase in opiate use—including fentanyl, both legal and illegal—among young adults. While much of the literature has been focused on the opiate use …

Never-Ending Parenting: Challenges Experienced By Caregivers Of Adults With Severe Autism, Andrea Palerino

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Despite the large number of children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) who are annually aging out of the school-based systems in the United States, much of the academic literature has been focused on the concerns and challenges of preschool or school-aged children with ASD. As a result, there lacks a clear understanding of how primary caregivers of adult children with severe autism spectrum disorder (SASD) utilize various forms of capital to navigate care.

This qualitative descriptive study explored some of the challenges experienced by primary caregivers of adult children with SASD. Convenience sampling was used to conduct semi-structured interviews with …

Social Identities And Campus Belonging As Predictors Of Flourishing Among College Students, Christine Gilchrist

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Annual data since 2012 shows college students’ flourishing (a measure of psychological well-being) in continuous decline, with 2022 showing the largest decrease. Since the knowledge base of the predictors of flourishing is limited, how college executives can best address this issue is unclear. Variations in flourishing have been observed in studies that examined the relationship between food insecurity (DeBate et al., 2021), race/ethnicity (Lipson et al., 2018, 2022; Nyunt et al., 2022; Parr, 2022), immigration status (Cadenas & Nienhusser, 2021), as well as gender identity and sexual orientation (Parr, 2022). The intersectional impact of demographic and social identities has not …

Gender Role Conflict, Campus Climate, And Satisfaction Among Male Undergraduate Nursing Students, Randelle Sasa

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Background. Gender role conflict (GRC) has been identified in the literature as a contributing factor to male undergraduate students’ dissatisfaction with the nursing program. Utilizing Bandura’s social cognitive theory as guiding framework, this study examined the relationships between GRC, campus climate (CC), satisfaction with the nursing program (SS), and demographic factors among male undergraduate nursing students. Understanding the associations between these variables may inform success initiatives for these at-risk students.

Methods. A cross-sectional survey was developed from valid and reliable instruments. The Gender Role Conflict Scale – Short Form measured GRC; the adapted Inventory of Male Friendliness in Nursing Programs …

The Effects Of Music Therapy On Elderly Adults With Dementia, Jeante J. Jackson

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

As people age, the brain is more susceptible to changes that diminish cognitive function. In recent years neuroscience has found convergent evidence between music therapy and brain architecture, as it has shown the generation of new connections in the brain or a reorganization and possible strengthening of existing connections already in the brain. However, the literature regarding music training’s effects on executive control, selective attention, and speech processing is lacking particularly when it comes to older populations.

This study investigated Verbal Working Memory, Visuospatial Attention and Task Initiation, and Auditory Selective Attention in a 91-year-old adult (B.P.) diagnosed with dementia. …

Caring For Children With Mental Health Concerns: The Experience Of Being A School Nurse, Jeannine Kaskoun

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Mental health issues have for years been on the rise among our nation’s schoolchildren, and the COVID-19 pandemic has only served to aggravate what can now be called a crisis. Researchers agree that timely assessment, diagnosis, and treatment of mental health concerns in children are critical to maintaining their growth and development and could potentially aid in decreasing serious mental health events as they move into adulthood. While in an ideal world, each child would have a family medical provider, the fact is that for many children, the school nurse is the child’s sole provider of health care. Many times, …

Incarceration-Related Stigma And Caring Self-Efficacy Among Long-Term Care Nurses, Sandra D. Langston

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Background: A silver tsunami is occurring in U.S. prisons because of an unprecedented increase in the older population. Prisons are structurally ill-suited to care for this population and financially burdened with providing the necessary medical and nursing care. States have enacted legislation to afford justice-involved persons parole to manage chronic conditions in community-based long-term care (LTC) facilities. Changes in Medicaid regulations provide a seamless transition from prison to community long-term care for this population. However, it is not known if the stigma of justice involvement impacts the perception of long-term nurses concerning this population.

Aims/Purpose: This study examined the effects …

Race, Gender, Physical Activity, And Cancer: A Quantitative Investigation, Shawna A. Townsend

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Black women are more likely to die from cancer than any other population in the United States. Physical activity is known to be associated with preventing and reducing cancer burden. However, Black women are less physically active than their White counterparts and have a higher prevalence of diseases related to lack of physical activity than any other female group. To better understand these issues, this study employed the self-and-family management framework and intersectionality as theoretical frameworks through a secondary analysis of the Health Information National Trends Survey (HINTS) dataset and hierarchical regression modeling to examine the relative impact of (a.) …

Sit Less, Move More: A National Study Of Physical-Activity Behavior And Cancer, Stella O. Nwogugu

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Background: Physical activity is associated with lower risks of cancer, the second leading cause of death among Americans. Yet, sedentary behavior is the prevailing lifestyle for about 80% of American adults. Additionally, cancer survivors remain significantly inactive, even though physical activity has been shown to decrease risk of cancer and cancer recurrence, improve tolerance of cancer therapy, and reduce mortality. This research explores the relative impact of personal agency, social support, and key demographic variables on physical-activity behavior for a national sample of adults as well as how these relationships differ for cancer survivors and their counterparts.

Methods: Using the …

Factors Associated With Technology Adoption By Community-Dwelling Older Adults During The Covid-19 Pandemic, Elizabeth A. Sutton

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

The COVID-19 pandemic brought to the forefront the disparity between older and younger Americans in the utilization of information and communication technologies (ICT) when measures such as the COVID vaccine rollout were dependent on technology use. Technology adoption has implications for overall health and the continuation of disparities in technology adoption is associated with poor aging outcomes. The aim of this study was to understand factors associated with technology adoption by community-dwelling older adults during the COVID-19 pandemic. A nationally representative sample of 2,954 community-dwelling older adults who completed the National Health and Aging Trends Study (NHATS) COVID-19 Questionnaire was …