Medicine and Health Sciences Commons^™

The Voices Of Veteran Women Shared With The World: Experiences Of Military Sexual Trauma, Kerri Alaine Qualls

Doctoral Dissertations

Through the cumulative work of this dissertation, I sought to provide a new perspective on the experience of Military Sexual Trauma (MST) through the voices of veteran women who shared their stories with the world through the internet. This approach had three sequential segments: (a) an integrative literature review, (b) an innovative methodology approach involving the application of the netnographic method, and (c) a qualitative research study. First, I present an integrative review of current MST literature. After the evaluation of thirteen studies common findings were the numerous barriers to disclosure that women veterans encountered, as well as the negative …

Discriminative Nursing Care Practices Towards Patients With Opioid Use Disorder In The Hospital Setting: How Knowledge And Social Attitudes Impact Care Delivery, Jeanne Adam Bernier

Doctoral Dissertations

Discriminative nursing care (DNC) practices towards patients with opioid use disorder (OUD) is a current phenomenon negatively affecting patient care and patient outcomes. It leads to delays in care, insufficient pain control, and feelings of guilt and shame, and it is linked to self-isolation, social isolation, social rejection, and even unemployment and housing disruption which perpetuate a dangerous cycle of inequity that is hard to overcome. In some cases, OUD stigmatization even increases morbidity and mortality rates. OUD stigmatization and discrimination are real problems in today’s health care climate due to the vast number of people affected by OUD and …

Faith Influences On Health Of Rural Appalachian Older Adults In East Tennessee: An Ethnonursing Study, Karina Elizabeth Strange

Doctoral Dissertations

As the U.S. older adult population increases and diversifies, healthcare providers need innovative, cost-effective, and culturally congruent approaches to gerontological nursing care. Decades of multidisciplinary evidence demonstrate that spirituality enhances older adult holistic health. However, although research about spirituality and nursing has become more culturally diverse, little is known about spirituality-health linkages of rural Appalachian older adults (RAOAs). This knowledge gap is significant because Appalachia leads the country in mortality related to chronic comorbidities such as heart disease, cancer, and depression. Given age, poverty, limited transportation, and health provider shortage areas, RAOAs experience severe health disparities. Moreover, spirituality is an …

How Do Psychiatric Healthcare Workers Prevent The Use Of Restraint And Seclusion?, Kelly A. Carlson

Doctoral Dissertations

The purpose of this grounded theory method study was to understand the complex, interactive, and interrelated processes that psychiatric healthcare workers engage in to prevent the use of restraint and seclusion. Without supporting evidence of therapeutic validity, restraint and seclusion are commonly used by psychiatric healthcare workers to control disruptive patients. The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration issued a call for the elimination of restraint and seclusion use in psychiatric care settings in 2003. Workplace violence, another major public health concern, is both a cause and effect of the restraint and seclusion use. Individuals continue to be needlessly …

It Transforms All Of You: Lived Experiences Of Partners Of Iraq Combat Veterans With Traumatic Brain Injuries, Laurel Sue Cassidy

Doctoral Dissertations

Just over two million service men and women have been deployed to the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan over the past ten years. Conservative estimates suggest that nearly one fifth of those deployed sustain a blast induced mild traumatic brain injury (TBI). Nearly half of those in the service are married, meaning a large number of spouses unexpectedly find themselves navigating a “new normal” after their partner returns from combat with ongoing sequelae from a TBI.

Ultimately, a sizeable number of spouses of Iraq combat veterans with TBIs have found themselves in the role of caregiver. The large majority of …