Medicine and Health Sciences Commons^™

The Mediating Role Of Psychological Distress In The Relationship Between Adverse Childhood Experiences And Adult Smoking, Tara Wynn Strine

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

While research has indicated that impaired mental health partially mediates the relationship between adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) and alcohol and illicit drug use, little research has examined potential mediators in the relationship between ACEs and smoking, the number one cause of preventable mortality in the United States. Accordingly, this study examined the potential mediating effect of psychological distress on the relationship between ACES and smoking using data from Wave II of the ACE Study, a cross-sectional study completed between June and October of 1997 on a sample of adult health maintenance organization members (N = 7,211). The theoretical underpinnings for …

Immigration And Obesity In African American Adults Residing In The United States, Julius N. Ade

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Obesity increases risk for heart disease, hypertension and other chronic diseases, and it affects minority ethnic groups disproportionately. However, it is unknown if African American immigrant adults, an increasing segment of the population, are at higher risk for obesity than African American non-immigrant adults residing in the United States. This study examined the association of obesity and immigrant status by comparing African American immigrant adults now residing in the United States to the general population of African American adults. The socio-ecological model provided the conceptual framework for this study. This study used a cross-sectional quantitative self-administered web-based survey to collect …

Predicting Walking Using The Theory Of Planned Behavior In A Worksite Wellness Setting., Lucia Hernandez

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

The study examined constructs from the Theory of Planned Behavior (TpB) as predictors of walking behavior among adult university employees. Specifically, attitudes, subjective norms, and perceived behavioral control towards walking were used to predict behavioral intentions to walk and concurrent walking behavior in a sample of adult university employees. The study is a secondary analysis of data already collected on a sample of 118 employees enrolled in a Worksite Wellness Program from a large southwestern university who completed a self-administered questionnaire regarding, TpB constructs and actual walking behavior. The questions from the survey where derived from the Theory of Planned …

Health Promotion And Health Education: Nursing Students’ Perspectives, Kathleen Ann Halcomb

University of Kentucky Doctoral Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to determine student nurses’ perceptions of (1) the role of the nurse in health promotion, and (2) how the concept of health promotion is presented in nursing curricula. Research questions for this study included the following: 1) Can nursing students explain the difference between health education and health promotion? 2) What have nursing students been exposed to within their curriculum regarding health promotion? 3) What health promoting behaviors are nursing faculty role modeling as perceived by nursing students? 4) What is the role of the nurse in implementing health promotion as perceived by nursing …

Clinical Recognition Of Obstructive Sleep Apnea In A Population-Based Sample, Mark R. Zellmer

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA), a disorder in which the airway intermittently collapses and obstructs during sleep, is associated with increased cardiovascular and cerebrovascular morbidity and mortality, increased risk of motor vehicle accidents, metabolic syndrome, hypertension, and depression. Treatment of OSA attenuates or reverses many of these associated risks. However, most cases of OSA are unrecognized and untreated. The two most recent studies using 1990s data found that only 6.5 - 15.4% of OSA cases, depending on severity, are clinically recognized in mixed gender populations. Based on a conceptual framework of improved physician awareness of OSA, and reduced diagnostic access bias …

Knowledge, Attitudes, And Behaviors Of African American Women Regarding Breast Cancer Screening, Lilian Uwuseba

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Breast cancer is one of the most widespread chronic diseases and a major cause of death among women in the United States. African American women have a higher incidence of breast cancer than their counterparts from other ethnic/racial groups. The purpose of this cross-sectional survey of 126 African American females from the western US metropolitan area was to assess knowledge, attitudes, and behavior with respect to breast cancer manifestation, detection services, and the role of mammography in breast cancer prevention and control. The health belief model guided this study. A 41-item, ethnically sensitive, self-administered, and gender-specific instrument, the Champion Revised …

Risk Factors For Development Of High Blood Pressure And Obesity Among African American Adolescents, Monique Shanta White

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Childhood obesity has reached epidemic proportions in the United States and has been linked to hypertension, especially among African American youth. Optimistic bias leads youth to underestimate their susceptibility to negative health outcomes. Public health officials want to reduce risk factors to result in significant long term reduction in cardiovascular disease. The purpose of this study was to explore adolescent behavior practices in a school district and prevalence of high blood pressure and obesity in that population. The health belief model guided the framework for this study. Research questions examined relationship between individual health risk practices and optimistic bias on …

Who Shares? Managerial Knowledge Transfer Practices In British Columbia's Ministry Of Health Services, Gwendolyn Elizabeth Lock

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The British Columbia government's Ministry of Health Services will experience significant loss of operational knowledge from an aging managerial workforce, increased staff turnover, and difficulties in recruitment. The purpose of this study is to provide the ministry's Strategic Human Resources Planning branch staff with a map and description of knowledge transfer practices used by approximately 40 managers within the ministry's Health Sector Information Management/Information Technology division and its Vital Statistics Agency. The study is a mixed-methods case study of knowledge retention and transfer practices founded on a knowledge management and social network theoretical foundation. To understand the ministry's complex nature …

The Use Of Human Patient Simulators To Enhance The Clinical Decision Making Of Nursing Students, Sharon Kay Powell-Laney

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

One of the newest teaching modalities in nursing education is the use of human patient simulators (HPS). An HPS simulation scenario creates a software program vignette in which students interact with a manikin to practice caring for critical patients in a risk-free environment. Although used extensively in schools of nursing, there is little research that examines if these expensive simulators improve the clinical decision-making ability of nursing students. The purpose of this experimental differentiated treatment study was to assess if HPS technology leads to increased clinical decision-making ability and clinical performance more than the teaching modality of a paper and …

The Effect Of Breastfeeding On The Bmi Of Hispanic Preschool Children, Linda M. Kilby

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The American Academy of Pediatrics and World Health Organization recommend exclusive breastfeeding for the first 4-6 months of life to reduce risk of obesity in pre-school children. Previous research has indicated a high rate of obesity among Hispanic children in the northeastern United States. There is also a gap in the literature regarding the effectiveness of exclusive breastfeeding in preventing obesity among preschool Hispanic children. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to determine if there was an association between exclusive breastfeeding and obesity among pre-school Hispanic children enrolled in the Special Supplemental Nutrition Education Program for Women, Infants and …

Social Capital Variables As Predictors Of Hiv Risk-Taking Behaviors Among Sub-Saharan African Immigrants In The United States, Gbadebo Ogundiran Ogungbade

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Vulnerable populations, including immigrants, are often at risk for human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection because of their risk-taking behaviors. This study investigated risk-taking behavior for HIV infection among Sub-Saharan African (SSA) immigrants in United States. Using social capital as a theoretical foundation, the study aimed to address the question, is there any association between social capital assets of educational opportunity, employment, and eligibility for social assistance and HIV risk-taking behavior, defined as condom use before sex (CUBS) among SSA immigrant in the U.S? Potential participants were recruited through religious and social organizations in a southwestern US state. The survey generated …

A Single Case Study Of A Three Year Coordinated School Health Program At A Rural North Mississippi Elementary School, Sandra Lena Howell

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The single case study presents the story of the implementation of a three year Coordinated School Health Program (CSHP) at a rural North Mississippi school. The school was recognized by the Mississippi Department of Education, Office of Healthy Schools, as one of ten selected model Mississippi healthy schools. An awarded grant of one hundred thousand dollars funded the implementation of the CSHP over a three year period. The study examined the impact of the CSHP on the students, staff, and personnel. Two types of data were collected and analyzed including archived documents and interviews conducted with five members of the …

Experimental Study Of The Effects Of Green Tea, Alejandra Avila

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Background. Leishmaniasis is a parasitic disease caused by an intracellular parasite belonging to the genus Leishmania. The cutaneous form of the disease causes often significant disfigurement, accelerates progression to clinical AIDS and tuberculosis, and is associated with a number of adverse economic, psychosocial, and nutritional consequences. An estimated 350 million persons are at risk for this globally distributed disease and 1.5-2 million new cases occur annually. Leishmaniasis is endemic in 88 countries on five continents. It is distributed throughout most of the Americas ranging from southern Texas to northern Argentina. It is also regarded as a threat to the readiness …

The Effects Of Self Management, Education And Their Combination On Glucose Control Among Hispanics Visting A Community Health Clinic, Isela De Baca

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

The purpose of the present study was to measure the impact of diabetes self-management instruction alone, and in combination with diabetes education, on glucose control among diabetic patients at a local community clinic. The researcher of the study was particularly interested in assessing whether self-management goals and diabetes classes positively influence A1C values in this sample.

For this study, the medical charts of 131 patients at Centro San Vicente Health Clinic, a Federally Qualified Community Health Center in El Paso, Texas were reviewed. In addition to collecting A1c values at pretest (baseline) and at three and six months post intervention, …

Conceptualising Bullying In An Aboriginal Context As Reported By The Yamaji Community, To Inform The Development Of A Bullying Prevention Program That Is Culturally Sensitive To The Needs Of Aboriginal Students, Juli Coffin

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

The Solid Kids Solid Schools project aimed to capture the unheard voices of Aboriginal children and community members on the issues surrounding ‘bullying’. In an Aboriginal context bullying is different and the outcomes are different, yet mainstream programs are utilized to combat the issue. We need to know how bullying is different for Aboriginal children and young people, why it is different and what does this difference mean in terms of addressing this issue in a school and community setting? A community based steering group guided the direction of this study and the larger Solid Kids Solid Schools project. Snowball …

Athlete And Coach Knowledge, Attitudes, And Perceptions Of Sickle Cell Trait And National Collegiate Athletic Association Mandated Testing: Recommendations For Intervention, Raymona Holloway Lawrence

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Individuals with Sickle Cell Trait have died suddenly after extreme exertion during military training, athletic practice or games (Kerle & Nishimura, 1996; Harrelson, Fincher & Robinson, 1995; Howe & Bowden, 2007). One of those deaths, Dale Lloyd, a football player at Rice University, prompted a change in the National Collegiate Athletic Association's (NCAA) Sports Medicine Handbook Guideline 3c: The Student Athlete with Sickle Cell Trait. Effective August 2010, the NCAA Division I Proposal No. 2009-75-B mandated sickle cell trait testing in all Division I athletes unless documented results of a prior test are provided to the institution or the student-athlete …