Medicine and Health Sciences Commons^™

An Assessment Of Primary Care Physician Opinions About Supporting The Independent Autonomous Practice By Advanced Practice Nurses, James Michael Flanigan

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The Affordable Care Act (ACA) changed the national discussion about who is the decision-maker in healthcare delivery – physicians or others that pay the bill. The federal government is the largest payer of healthcare services while states are responsible for implementing the ACA’s features. Through the ACA, the federal government endorsed non-physician primary care by advanced practice registered nurses (APRN). The research question of this study is: Why do some primary care physicians support independent autonomous practice for advanced practice registered nurses while others do not? The research question should be important to policy-makers because physicians are the predominate purchasers …

A Community-Based Participatory Approach To Understanding Health Beliefs, Policies, Barriers, And Solutions Related To The Health Disparities Of Marshallese Cofa Migrants In Arkansas., Pearl Anna Mcelfish

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Public policies have different effects on different populations groups and can perpetuate health disparities among some populations. My research utilizes community-based participatory approach to research in the examination of one unique population: the Marshallese. This dissertation research presents three papers that are part of a cohesive research agenda predicated on community-based participatory research (CBPR) to facilitate policy-oriented learning. My research can be used to inform health policy, health care services, and health education. Chapter Two presents the article titled: Health Beliefs of US Marshallese Regarding Type 2 Diabetes.

This article explores the research question: what health beliefs related to diabetes …

Socially Constructing Drug Addicts From The Poor: A Critical Discourse Analysis, Kalynn Susan Amundson

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Welfare drug testing was authorized by the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act (PRWORA) of 1996, and has subsequently garnered extensive legislative interest in numerous states. This policy raises several questions, which are the subjects of the two journal articles and one manuscript included in this dissertation.

The first article addresses the question of a possible confluence of War on Drugs and Welfare Reform policies as evidenced through welfare drug testing policy, and indicated by continuity in policymakers’ rhetoric. This study examines federal-level policymakers’ debate discourse in these two policy streams. The analysis finds themes of the Social pathology, …

Reporting Practices, Knowledge And Opinion Of Policy Regarding Drivers With Dementia Among Arkansas Neurologists And Geriatricians, Erika Martin Gergerich

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Background: States have various policies regarding a physician's ability or responsibility to report at-risk drivers with dementia to the Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV). Some states have mandatory reporting policies, others have optional reporting policies and some have no policy regarding this issue. Arkansas has no reporting policy regarding drivers with dementia to the DMV. Therefore, physicians in Arkansas face the risk of liability if they report a patient against their will to the DMV in good faith. Neurologists and geriatricians are often in a position to diagnose and treat individuals with dementia. Research Questions: The following three research questions …