Medicine and Health Sciences Commons^™

Life After The Pandemic: Use Of An Educational Coping Strategy Tool Kit For Healthcare Professionals, Christine Thorpe-Gilpin

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Research has proven that acute care healthcare professionals (i.e., nurses, certified nursing assistants, and respiratory therapists have been experiencing ongoing challenges and ineffective coping mechanisms. The Toolkit for Emotional Coping for Healthcare Staff (TECHS) educational toolkit has introduced practical coping skills that could benefit healthcare workers. Using the TECHS has effectively inspired the development and usage of practical coping skills among healthcare workers. There were three tools included in the TECHS educational material to understand and manage adversity, which can be repeated for new or recurring stressful situations in a personal or team-based approach. These tools were based on cognitive-behavioral …

The Impact Of Self-Compassion Strategies To Reduce Stress And Support The Transition To Practice For New Graduate Nurses: A Pilot Project, Charity Michelle Ballmann

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Abstract The purpose of the study was to analyze the impact of self-compassion exercises to reduce stress and support the transition to practice for new graduate nurses. As the years pass, one thing remains a consistent topic in healthcare, and the need for nurses remains constant. The nursing staffing shortage gap seemingly widened further as the COVID-19 pandemic created additional challenges for healthcare systems, patient care, and employees. Retention of the workforce and an intentional focus on new graduate nurses' well-being have become increasingly important. New graduate nurses are a pipeline for the nursing workforce. Supporting the transition to practice …

Addressing Stress In Graduate Nurse Practitioner Nursing Students, Shandria K. Sawyer

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This project was developed to address the issue of high stress levels among graduate nursing students, which is a common phenomenon that increases the risks of mental health disorders, professional burnout, and poor-quality patient care among students and professional nurses after earning their degrees. This project sought to utilize a simple educational intervention delivered online to impart coping skills to graduate nursing students to assist them in reducing their stress levels. The intervention was a brief, single-session, self-guided educational module featuring informational and participative elements related to stress causes, the impacts of stress, and stress reduction techniques. In total, 11 …

School Nursing Practice And Experiences During School Closures, Susie E. Birden Brown

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This evidence-based quality improvement project was to evaluate public school nurses’ relationships and reaction to their new work environment during the closure of schools in Northern California resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic. This project addressed the change in school nursing, especially the nurses’ working environment. A stress management program was offered to the school nurses as an intervention to give them information on perceived stress. The stress management program included mindfulness and stress-relieving techniques over a 1-month period. The research methodology used in the project was a pre- and postintervention using the Perceived Stress Scale-10 (PSS) to measure if the …

The Impact Of A Digital Intervention On Perceived Stress, Resiliency, Social Support, And Intention To Leave Among Newly Licensed Nurses: A Randomized Controlled Trial, Lisa Concilio

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The nursing shortage has been deemed a public health crisis with the turnover rate of newly licensed nurses (NLNs) growing (Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, 2014). One out of five NLNs are leaving the profession due to work dissatisfaction and feelings of inadequacy (National Academy of Medicine, 2017). NLN attrition during the first year of hire has been associated with feelings of overwhelming stress and decreased sense of support which negatively impact patient safety (Spence Laschinger et al., 2016). As seasoned nurses are attempting to retire amidst a nursing shortage (American Association of Colleges of Nursing, 2018), NLNs require more support …

Lowering Perceived Stress Levels In Undergraduate Nursing Students, Caitlin Dodd

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This project analyzed the effects of guided meditations and a stress management class on undergraduate, prelicensure nursing students’ perceived stress levels. College students and professional nurses are both susceptible to having high stress levels. Mindfulness activities have been shown to lower stress levels. Undergraduate, prelicensure nursing students participated in this project determining the effects of guided meditations and a stress management class on perceived stress levels in a quantitative, pre- and postinterventional study. Participants in the project completed a stress management class and 18 guided meditation sessions in an undergraduate classroom setting. The researcher used the Perceived Stress Scale-10 (PSS-10) …

Developing Resilience Training For The Healthcare Employee In A Rural Medical Center, Sandra E. Gothard

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

In the clinical setting and in their personal lives, health professionals are confronted with many stressors that impact their time and the clarity of their role. Stressors are emotional, moral, or spiritual in nature as a result of exposure to suffering and death. There are often occupational stressors, such as reduced social support, excessive workload, or a prolonged misalignment among personal needs, individual values, and the work role. As a result of these challenges, health care employees need to create coping skills when stressors and demands become hindrances to personal well-being and their professional ability to care for others. Developing …

Self-Management As A Mediator Of The Relationship Between Social Support And Health Outcomes Of African American Adults With Type 2 Diabetes., Tariq N. Al-Dwaikat

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Type 2 diabetes (T2D) is often associated with serious complications. African American adults have higher rates of diabetes-related complications than other ethnicities. Diabetes self-management reduces the risk of developing biological and psychological symptoms. Social support promotes positive behavior change and self-management that leads to improved biobehavioral and psychosocial outcomes. Few studies explored the relationship between social support dimensions and self-management behaviors, diabetes biomarkers, and psychosocial outcomes of African American adults with T2D. The purpose of this dissertation was to examine the relationships of various dimensions of social support with self-management behaviors and diabetes biomarkers and psychosocial outcomes of African American …

Parents Of Children Who Had Hypoxic-Ischemic Encephalopathy: A Mixed-Methods, Exploratory Study, Natalene Kramer

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Background: There is scant literature addressing the parents of children who had hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy (HIE). therefore only inferences may be made as to issues of that experience affecting parents.

Purpose: The purposes of this study was to uncover the lived experiences of parents of children who had HIE, evaluate issues of stress, depression, coping, and impact of neurologic disability in order to better care for them and thus their families

Methods: A parallel, convergent mixed-methods design was used to explore experiences and perceptions of these parents regarding their experiences and life changes. The quantitative strand addressed four research questions which …

Identification Of Predictors And Moderators Of Weight-Related Behaviors In College Students., Heather Owens

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

College students are at increased risk for weight-gain and obesity compared to their non-student peers. Although many studies have confirmed these findings, few address the underlying causes of weight-related behaviors in college students. Associations between sleep behaviors (sleep duration and sleep quality), stress and weight-related behaviors (physical activity and food choices) have been identified, but studies have not adequately explored these associations among college students. Further, the influence of bioecological determinants of health cannot be overlooked when addressing health-related behaviors in diverse populations. The purpose of this dissertation was to explore factors impacting sleep behaviors and weight-related behaviors in college …

Predictors Of Uncertainty, Stress, Anxiety, And Depressive Symptoms Of Parents Of Preterm Infants In The Neonatal Intensive Care Unit., Maryam Isa Alaradi

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Admission of a sick neonate to the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) can be a very stressful experience for the parents. Parents strive to deal with stress, uncertainty, anxiety, and depressive symptoms in this potentially threatening environment. Research on parental uncertainty in the neonatal population is limited. Moreover, very few studies examined predictors of stress, anxiety and depressive symptoms in parents of NICU infants. The purpose of this study was to identify predictors of uncertainty, stress, anxiety, and depressive symptoms in parents of preterm infants in the NICU. A cross-sectional explorative design was used to recruit a convenience sample of …

The Self-Described Experience Of Coping And Adaptation Associated With Workplace Stress Of Registered Nurses In The Acute Care Setting In Florida: An Ethnographic Study, Joyce Burr

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Little is known about how nurses learn and use coping and adaptation skills in the workplace. Quantitative studies have identified the factors, nature, and outcomes of nursing stress. However, qualitative studies describing the human experience associated with workplace stress are lacking. The phenomenon of interest for this study using focused ethnographic method is the self-described experience of coping and adaptation associated with workplace stress of registered nurses working 12-hour shifts employed in acute care hospital facilities in east central and central Florida. Three aspects of the phenomena were examined: the self-described experiences of stress, the manner in which coping skills …

Stressors Experienced By Emergency Department Registered Nurses At The Bedside: A Phenomenological Study, Stephen D. Heglund

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The Emergency Department (ED) as a workplace for the Registered Nurse (RN) is a stressful environment. Reasons are thought to include interactions with other members of the interdisciplinary team as well as the situations associated with the environment of the ED such as trauma, death, sadness, joy and the general unpredictability of each moment. Studies have documented general health care workplace stress and its influence on staff, but a very limited number of studies have concentrated on the ED. No widely published studies have identified stressors from the perspective of the ED RN. This dissertation is an interpretive phenomenological study …

The Effect Of Combat Exercises On Cardiovascular Response: An Exploratory Study, Melisa Gantt

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

PURPOSE: Hypertension (HTN) affects one in every three adults in the United States. Often associated with the older population, this silent killer has emerged in an unsuspecting group, young military soldiers. With the rapid succession of multiple deployments, long intervals between blood pressure (BP) assessments, and the absence of cardiovascular (CV) measures during the pre and post deployment health screenings; soldiers may be at higher risk for HTN than their civilian counterparts of the same age. The purpose of this study was to explore real-time continuous CV measures of soldiers before, during, and after exposure to a simulated combat stressor …

Effects Of An Evidence-Based Intervention On Stress And Coping Of Families Of Critically Ill Trauma Patients, Sandra Knapp

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Problem/Purpose: Critical care nurses are frequently exposed to the stress experienced by their patients' families, yet they often do not have the knowledge or skills to help family members cope with the stress of critical illness. While needs and stressors of families of the critically ill have been researched extensively, no prior studies have been conducted to determine the effects of an evidence-based nursing intervention for reducing family members' stress and improving their coping skills. The purpose of this study was to determine if an evidence-based nursing intervention designed to address the needs of family members would reduce stress and …

Occupational Stress Among Nurse Administrators In General Hospitals In Tennessee, Ruby T. Davis

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to determine the level of occupational stress among nurse administrators and to identify the types of strategies used by nurse administrators to deal with or manage occupational stress. The study examined the relationship between selected demographic variables, occupational stress, and strategies. The research design included five research questions along with seven null hypotheses testing the relationship between occupational stress and demographic variables--age, gender, marital status, years of professional nursing experience, years as a nurse administrator, educational attainment, and hospital bed capacity. There were seven additional hypotheses testing the relationship between the same demographic variables …