Medicine and Health Sciences Commons^™

Transcriptomic Profiling Of Postmortem Prefrontal Cortex And Nucleus Accumbens From Chronic Alcohol Abusers., Eric S. Vornholt

Theses and Dissertations

Alcohol use disorder (AUD) is a debilitating psychiatric illness that develops from a combination of genetic and environmental factors. While it is well documented that AUD is heritable, the shift from recreational alcohol use to abuse/dependence is poorly understood. In this dissertation, using postmortem brain tissue from individuals with alcohol dependence (AD), we profiled the genome-wide expression of circular RNA (circRNA), microRNA (miRNA), and messenger RNA (mRNA) to better understand the impact of gene expression on the development of AUD. To achieve this, we performed two independent studies that explore transcriptome differences between AD cases and controls. The first of …

Can School Be A Source Of Trauma? Assessing Academic Traumatic Stress As A Mechanism Underlying The Health Outcomes Of Black Undergraduate Students, Ebony A. Lambert

Theses and Dissertations

Research examining Black students’ school experiences demonstrates that exposure to oppressive power dynamics in schools may lead to adverse physiological and psychological consequences. Recent conceptualizations in public discourse further posit that traumatic educational experiences, operationalized here as academic trauma or the cumulative toll of adverse and oppressive experiences in academic settings, may influence Black students’ wellbeing even after they have graduated. However, academic trauma has yet to be investigated empirically, and the health contributions of such educational harm remain unstudied. Moreover, little is known about how culturally-relevant personal characteristics (e.g., emotion regulation strategies) influence Black students’ reactivity to academic trauma. …

Effects Of Latinx Parental English Proficiency On Stress, Maria Alvarez Pineda

Global Public Health | Senior Theses

Background

In the United States, patients who have Limited English Proficiency (LEP) report having more problems communicating with their children’s doctor which leads to these children having worse health care access than those who have parents with a High English Proficiency (HEP). Parents with LEP also experience discrimination in this setting which can lead to increased psychological distress. The goal of this study was to determine if the level of English Proficiency is associated to stress levels and discrimination among Latinx parents when they take their chidlren to the doctor.

Methods

Participants consisted of 22 Latinx parents (86.4% Mexican and …

Evidence-Based Diagnosis Of Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Using Quantitative Electroencephalography, Roger Yoder

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Diagnosing post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is challenging and is currently, diagnosis through self-administered checklists. Because a diagnosis of PTSD can open up significant benefits to compensation, education, and medical care, people can tailor their responses to the checklist to help ensure a diagnosis of PTSD. The purpose of the study was to examine the utility of the quantitative electroencephalograph for diagnosing PTSD. Frequency and presence of biomarkers and alpha brain wave symmetry in the frontal and parietal lobes were examined. Research questions involved examining the presence of alpha wave imbalance across the frontal lobe and between the right and left …

Stress And Job Satisfaction As Predictors Of Teacher Turnover Intentions, Alrick Thompson

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

High teacher turnover is problematic because of the costs associated with recruiting and training new hires. However, some of the factors originating outside of the working environment that may influence teacher turnover intentions are not fully understood. The purpose of this quantitative correlational design study was to examine the extent to which job satisfaction, commuting stress, and financial stress are predictors of teacher turnover intentions. The study involved a purposive sampling of 227 teachers within a school district in the South Eastern part of the United States. Hobfoll’s conservation of resources theory provided the theoretical framework for the study. Validated …

Measuring Knowledge Of Chronic Kidney Disease (Ckd) Among Community College Students, Jacquelyn Caldwell Moore

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Chronic Kidney Disease (CKD) once detected is easily treated; however, it has become a major health problem associated with increased morbidity and mortality rates, creating an economic burden worldwide. While approximately 24 million Americans over the age of 20 suffer from CKD, there is a lack of awareness among the general population. Using a pre/post assessment, this quantitative study measured the impact of a 75-minute workshop on 126 community college students' knowledge of kidney disease, perception of its severity, and perceived susceptibility. The theoretical framework for the study was the health belief model, which suggests that individuals will make positive …

Traditional Latinx Gender Role Norms And Exposure To Sexual Health Programming For Latinx Men Who Have Sex With Men (Lmsm), Austin Connor Eklund

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

Latinx men who have sex with men (LMSM) are at significantly greater risk for HIV infection than their non-Latinx peers. One important way of helping prevent the spread of HIV is exposing vulnerable populations to HIV prevention programming. Little is known about what factors predict exposure to HIV prevention programming for LMSM. Given extant links between traditional masculine gender role norms and health outcomes, this study sought to examine possible relations between constructs of machismo, caballerismo, and heterosexual self-presentation, along with demographic covariates, and exposure to HIV prevention programming among LMSM. Among the 530 LMSM in our sample, 89% reported …

Does Common-Sense Communication And The Interpersonal Relationship Predict Oral Health Self-Management?, Kieran J. Maestro

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

This study sought to understand how patients’ perceptions of the nature and manner of communication with dental health professionals may impact their health self-management quality and habits in the context of preventable illness. Specifically, this study investigated the distinct and overlapping impacts of (a) communication based in the Common Sense Self-Regulation Model (CSM; Leventhal et al., 1980), and (b) the interpersonal relationship between the patient and the dental health professional provider on patients’ oral hygiene quality and habits. It was hypothesized that the interpersonal relationship would positively moderate a positive relation between CSM-based communication and patients' oral health self-management and …

Spatial Memory And Executive Functioning In The Goto-Kakizaki Rat Model Of Diabetes, Lorielle Dietze

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

Type 2 diabetes mellitus is a disease that adversely affects cognitive function in areas extending to memory and executive functioning. The Goto-Kakizaki (GK) rat provides a model of type 2 diabetes that can illustrate the mechanisms by which this disease works. The present study compared hyperglycaemic GK rats and age-matched Wistar rats in the Morris water maze to assess spatial memory, and in a perceptual attentional set-shifting task to assess putative prefrontal-dependent executive functioning. Results showed there was no difference in path length during training trials, however, GK and Wistar rats differed in the path length travelled in the target …

Assessing A Two-Hit Model Of Schizophrenia: Prenatal Choline Deficiency And Induced Hypofunction Of Nmda Receptors In Male And Female Long Evans Rats, Samuel Gray, Samuel W. Gray

Honors Theses

Choline is an essential dietary nutrient essential to the development and function of the central nervous system. Prenatal choline deficiency alters hippocampal development as well as acetylcholine metabolism, leading to cognitive impairments and attentional and sensory processing deficits into adulthood. MK-801 is an NMDA receptor antagonist frequently used in rodent models of neuropsychiatric conditions, particularly schizophrenia. Acutely and sub- chronically, it causes hyperlocomotion and social withdrawal. One primary goal of the present study were to investigate prenatal choline deficiency induces a biological vulnerability to the motor deficits, anhedonia, and social impairment precipitated by low-dose sub-chronic MK-801 administration in adulthood. Another …

The Relationship Between Social Media Engagement And Psychological Well-Being In College Students At The University Of New Hampshire, Emily G. D'Antonio

Honors Theses and Capstones

Social media use has increased substantially in recent years, and for the college-aged population, social media is often the leading method of communication. Research indicates this reliance on digital connection could have a negative impact on the health of young adults (Bagroy et al., 2017). The college years are a time of personal growth and defining actions, yet can also be burdened by mental health issues related to stress, anxiety, and depression (Hunt & Eisenberg, 2010). Acknowledging these trends, the current study explores how college students’ specific frequency and intentionality while interacting on social media relates to their psychological well-being. …

Job Self-Efficacy, Alexithymia And Secondary Traumatic Stress Among Correctional Officers, Paulette Andrea Gayle

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Correctional officers work in a volatile environment and are regularly exposed to inmates’ violence or cruelty. These factors negatively affect their job performance, contribute to physiological and mental health issues that could result in secondary traumatic stress (STS) symptoms. Researchers have identified job self-efficacy and alexithymia traits as mitigating factors against elevated stress. Other researchers have identified the traits as strongly associated with mental health illnesses. The purpose of this quantitative study, using a convenience sampling strategy, was to determine whether job self-efficacy and alexithymia traits were predictors of STS among a sample of 79 correctional officers working for Her …

Mental Health Service Utilization Among Urban Adolescents: The Roles Of Perceived Mental Health Problems, Attitudes Towards Professional Help, And Stigma, Yi Tak Tsang

Wayne State University Dissertations

Mental health among adolescents is widely acknowledged as a significant concern in the United States. Based on a national survey, Merikangas et al. (2010) found that among 13-17 year olds, 42% to 48% reported experiencing mental health concerns. It is estimated that only half of adolescents with mental health problems utilize mental health services (Costello et al., 2014). An initial study found that caregivers of disadvantaged youth appeared to function as the “gatekeepers” to mental health services (Tsang et al., 2020). Also, the results suggested that positive attitude towards professional psychological help, but not stigma, predicted service enrollment. The current …

The Effects Of Virtual Reality In The Treatment Of Stroke Patients, Melissa Schoettle

Capstone Showcase

The Effects of Virtual Reality in the Treatment of Stroke Patients

Stroke patients face many challenges on their road to recovery. Patients may lose motor function, speech abilities, and other important cognitive functions. They go through various forms of therapy to help rehabilitate them and improve their cognition, including physical, occupational, and speech therapy. Physical therapy helps improve motor function and muscle control, occupational therapy improves those skills needed for success in work and life, and speech therapy helps patients recover the ability to speak and the cognitive processes to think and form words and sentences. While these therapies are …

Do Medical Students' Assessments Of A Patient's Pain Vary Significantly With Gender And Year Of Medical Training?, Catherine Phamduy

Scholarship in Medicine - All Papers

Chronic pain is a common ailment among US adults and can lead to high cost of healthcare when not treated effectively. Unfortunately, studies show that characteristics of the patient population and physician may also influence their treatment of patient pain. Increased years of medical training is associated with a decline in empathy, which may be measurable by a decline in physician’s assessment of patient’s pain. Doctors with the least experience tend to underestimate their patient’s pain. However, very little is known about medical students’ assessment of patient-reported pain. The objective is to determine the significant differences in medical students’ perceptions …

The Long-Term Biopsychosocial Effects Of Children Reared In Blended Families, Kerene T. Brown

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Family dynamics have experienced an immense transformation in the last 4 decades. Children are less likely to live in a 2-parent household with parents that are both biologically related to them due to various factors. Blended families (especially the children) face many adversities during the initial stages of formation and rarely receive specialized intervention when compared to nuclear families. The purpose of this basic qualitative study was to understand the long-term biopsychosocial effects experienced by young adults who lived in a blended family household. In addition, what services or interventions were offered to newly established blended family systems were also …

Do Racial Stereotypes Contribute To Medical Misdiagnosis Of Child Abuse? Investigating Tunnel Vision In The Emergency Room, Cynthia J. Najdowski, Kimberly M. Bernstein, Katherine S. Wahrer

Psychology Faculty Scholarship

Despite growing recognition that misdiagnoses of child abuse can lead to wrongful convictions, little empirical work has examined how the medical community may contribute to these errors. Previous research has documented the existence and content of stereotypes that associate race with child abuse. The current study examines whether emergency medical professionals rely on this stereotype to fill in gaps in ambiguous cases involving Black children, thereby increasing the potential for misdiagnoses of child abuse. Specifically, we tested whether the race-abuse stereotype led participants to attend to more abuse-related details than infection-related details when an infant patient was Black versus White. …

Health Behaviors And Pandemics, Jay E. Maddock, Anna E. Greer

Public Health Faculty Publications

Human health behaviors are essential to reducing the spread and impact of pandemics. However, most behavioral scientists do not work in the area of pandemics given the infrequency of their occurrences. This editorial examines relevant health behavior theories, in particular the precaution adoption process model, and how these apply to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Predictors Of Kidney Transplant Receipt And Medicare Costs For Patients, Parisa Asgarisabet

Dissertations and Theses (Open Access)

Background: The objectives of this study were to first understand whether a dialysis center’s ownership status modified the association between informing end-stage renal disease (ESRD) patients about transplantation options and patients’ transplantation status; and second, to understand whether Medicare’s Prospective Payment System (PPS) implementation affected the cost of care for ESRD patients from Medicare’s perspective.

Method: This study used the United States Renal Data System (USRDS) data containing information on all ESRD patients in the US, linked to Medicare claims. To address the first objective, a multi-level analysis using mixed effect multinomial logistic regression model was conducted with …

Impact Of Race-Related Stress And Intraracial Microaggressions On Self-Efficacy Of African Descendants, Samina Long

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Race-related stress such as ancestral trauma and experiences of out- and in-group microaggressions can be intergenerationally transmitted from parent to child. The current study was conducted to address the need for research on race-related trauma and out- and in-group discrimination by providing evidence-based research on whether African descendants experiencing and witnessing race-related stress and intraracial microaggressions results in low self-efficacy. The purpose of this quantitative, multiple regression design was to explore the relationships among race-related stress, intraracial microaggressions, and self-efficacy, which may provide clarity on the psychological impact of these stressors. This study addressed the question of whether race-related stress …

Experiences Of College Freshmen Women Who Eat In A Social Environment, Kylie Cowens Blodgett

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The social cognitive theory suggests that social surroundings influence health behaviors, and social modeling literature supports that eating behaviors are influenced by social norms. Eating decisions are especially vulnerable to social influence during the transition to college, although current interventions do not address social influence in the context of the eating environment itself or consider how men and women may experience this environment differently. This generic qualitative study explored how freshmen women perceived their experiences eating in a cafeteria setting. The research questions investigated freshmen women’s perceptions about social influence on self-efficacy, self-regulation, outcome expectations, and modeling of normative information …

Measuring The Effects Of Lobinaline-N-Bioxide (419) On Alcohol Consumption, Nicotine Locomotor Sensitization, And Conditioned Place Preference In Mice And Rats, Cocanut M. Suhail

Theses and Dissertations--Medical Sciences

Objective: Novel drug 419 was examined to see the effect it has in vivo mice and rats on alcohol consumption, nicotine locomotor sensitization, and conditioned place preference (CPP) models regarding behavioral tests on dopamine transporter activity.

Methods: Mice and rats were used to see how they react to the drug 419 and control vehicle, in each of the models. The animals were assessed to pre- and post- drug administration of novel drug 419. We examined each model to see the association between how drug 419 will help with treating drug abuse.

Results: We found that in alcohol consumption model the …

Tripping Over The Other: Could Psychedelics Increase Empathy?, Emily Blatchford, Stephen Bright, Liam Engel

Research outputs 2014 to 2021

There is increasing evidence that psychedelic-assisted psychotherapy is effective for a range of psy-chological conditions. There are likely numerous mechanisms of action that contribute to these clinicaleffects. One such mechanism of action might involve psychedelics increasing levels of empathicfunctioning. This paper synthesises research concerning the relationship between psychedelics andempathy, emphasising neuroscientific and clinical contexts. We conclude that neuropsychological andclinical evidence imply psychedelics could lead to increased empathic functioning. The effects of psy-chedelics on the 5-HT system, default mode network, neural connectivity and ego dissolution areimplicated in these changes. Changes in empathic functioning also likely relate to increases in thepersonality trait …

Investigating The Impact Of Explanation On Repairing Trust In Ai Diagnostic Systems For Re-Diagnosis, Lamia Alam

Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports

AI systems are increasingly being fielded to support diagnoses and healthcare advice for patients. One promise of AI application is that they might serve as the first point of contact for patients, replacing routine tasks, and allowing health care professionals to focus on more challenging and critical aspects of healthcare. For AI systems to succeed, they must be designed based on a good understanding of how physicians explain diagnoses to patients, and how prospective patients understand and trust the systems providing the diagnosis, as well as the explanations they expect. In this thesis, I examine this problem across three studies. …

Nsu College Of Psychology Graduate Student Catalog 2020–2021, Nova Southeastern University

College of Psychological Services / College of Psychology Postgraduate Student and Course Catalogs

No abstract provided.

The Value Of Patient-Provider Interactions In Orthopedic Settings: An Evidence-To-Practice Review, Matthew S. Panetta, Carly J. Wilson, Zachary Winkelmann

Clinical Practice in Athletic Training

Clinical outcomes are influenced by specific physical therapy interventions and several nonspecific factors associated with the healthcare professional, patient, and setting. The relationship built between patients and providers is based on treatment outcomes is referred to as the patient-provider interaction, which is a nonspecific factor. The purpose of this review was to investigate patients’ and clinicians’ perceptions of factors that influence patient-provider interactions. Eleven different databases were accessed as potential research sources. Thirteen qualitative studies were selected that examined the perceptions of non-specific factors which impact the patient-clinician relationship as well as the perceptions that healthcare providers and patients in …

Well-Being, Discrimination, And Self-Management Among Racialized Lgbq+ Newcomers Living In Waterloo Region, Ontario, Emily Cox

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

Racism and homo/biphobia may negatively impact the well-being of racialized LGBTQ+ newcomers. While current research focuses predominantly on negative aspects of well-being (e.g., distress, exclusion), research on resilience and positive aspects of well-being (e.g., positive affect) is limited. Although self-management strategies (i.e., activities and attitudes to improve one’s well-being) could be a key factor in promoting well-being, previous research has not addressed how racialized LGBTQ+ newcomers use self-management strategies. Further, there is limited research about the role service providers (e.g., settlement services, mental and physical health services) play in supporting these strategies. In this study, eight racialized LGBQ+ newcomers and …

Positive Wellbeing Among University Students From Diverse Communities: A Place-Based Approach, Kevin Bonnell

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

Universities in Canada and across the globe are experiencing a significant diversification of their student population. However, there is a great need to understand how campus spaces can better support the wellbeing of diverse students, where supports have traditionally been built to support a privileged and homogenous group of students. The study builds on a multi-disciplinary theoretical framework (wellbeing, intersectionality, microaggressions, and the Psycho-environmental Potential Model) to explore a) the positive wellbeing of diverse students (i.e., racialized; lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer, and/or living with any type of mental health issue or physical disability) and b) how the physical …

What Makes An Image Memorable? Effects Of Encoding On The Mechanism Of Recognition, Asiya Gul

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

Memory is undoubtedly one of the most important processes of human cognition. A long line of research suggests that recognition relies on the assessment of two explicit memory phenomena: familiarity and recollection. Researchers who support the Dual Process Signal Detection (DPSD) model of recognition memory link the FN400 component (a negative ERP deflection peaking around 400 ms at frontal electrodes) with familiarity; however, it is currently unclear whether the FN400 reflects familiarity or implicit memory. Three event-related potentials (ERP) studies were conducted to determine whether implicit memory plays a role in setting up encoding strategies, and how these encoding strategies …

Psychological Symptoms In Chinese Nurses May Be Associated With Predisposition To Chronic Disease: A Cross-Sectional Study Of Suboptimal Health Status, Jinxiu Zhu, Wenjuan Ying, Li Zhang, Gangyi Peng, Weiju Chen, Enoch Odame Anto, Xueqing Wang, Nan Lu, Shanshan Gao, Guihai Wu, Jingyi Yan, Jianfeng Ye, Shenglin Wu, Chengzhi Yu, Minghui Yue, Xiru Huang, Nuo Xu, Pengxiang Ying, Yanhong Chen, Xuerui Tan, Wei Wang

Research outputs 2014 to 2021

© 2020, The Author(s). Background: Suboptimal health status (SHS) is a reversible state between ideal health and illness and it can be effectively reversed by risk prediction, disease prevention, and personalized medicine under the global background of predictive, preventive, and personalized medicine (PPPM) concepts. More and more Chinese nurses have been troubled by psychological symptoms (PS). The correlation between PS and SHS is unclear in nurses. The purpose of current study is to investigate the prevalence of SHS and PS in Chinese nurses and the relationship between SHS and PS along with predisposing factors as well as to discuss the …