Medicine and Health Sciences Commons^™

Let's Talk About Sex & Prep: District 2 Does!, Chrissa M. Shaffer

Georgia Public Health Association Annual Meeting and Conference

Defining what a PrEP Service Program entails and how it could benefit your district or county health center. Discussing methods that have been used to set up PrEP Services within a district – including training, resources, and promotion. Identifying the challenges and working through them. Reviewing the results of the PrEP Services over the past year, and the ongoing goals to encourage and increase our PrEP Services.

Covid-19 Vaccination: A Study Of College Students’ Perceptions Regarding Inoculation Post-Covid Infection, Analisa Harter, Wilma Matti

Honors College Theses

Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), known as Covid-19, was first identified in China and proclaimed a pandemic in March 2020 by the World Health Organization (WHO). Covid-19 is a virus transmitted via respiratory droplets and becomes airborne when a person who carries the virus coughs, sneezes, or breathes out droplets, and the virus enters a susceptible host. Since the pandemic outbreak, three vaccines have been approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Despite FDA approval, many Americans are hesitant to receive Covid-19 vaccinations. The perceived severity of SARS-CoV-2 and the perceived safety of the vaccine appear to …

Eating Disorders: Barriers To Peer And Self Recognition And The Ability To Seek Or Give Help, Savannah Mcvey

Honors College Theses

A lack of knowledge concerning eating disorders has been found to play a major role in self-recognition, peer recognition, and barriers to seeking treatment at all. More specifically, straight men were more often not able to identify these issues in themselves or others. Theories that have been presented involve the image of eating disorders being a “woman’s issue” and a possible obsession with weight lifting and changing one’s body to take on a more masculine build. Combatting this issue needs to begin in the form of basic education on college campuses due to the prevalence in this particular age group. …

Staffing Up For A Pandemic And Beyond: Utilizing A Prn Nursing Pool, Leyna Mashburn, James Watkins

Georgia Public Health Association Annual Meeting and Conference

The COVID-19 pandemic’s early vaccination stage required health department staff to work long, odd hours to accommodate the needs of Georgia residents. This presented a challenge since some health departments only have 2-3 full-time nurses. District 2 hired a pool of PRN nurses to cover significant gaps in workforce throughout multiple vaccination phases of the pandemic response. This additional workforce allowed District 2 to maximize number of vaccine doses given.

During later COVID vaccination phases (summer 2021 – present), PRNs allowed health departments to resume regular services alongside high vaccination capacity. With various funding sources, District 2 used the PRNs …

Implementation Of A Virtual Nurse Residency Program For Public Health Nurses: A Pilot Study, Ashlie L. Pullen

Journal of the Georgia Public Health Association

Implementation of a Virtual Nurse Residency Program for Public Health Nurses: A Pilot Study

Background: Nursing retention is a growing concern for many healthcare organizations. One of the Georgia Department of Public Health’s goals is to improve the recruitment and retention rates of public health nurses in the state. In this cohort study of nurses with less than 18 months of experience in public health, pre and post-tests were conducted to measure stress, confidence, job satisfaction, and public health core competencies.

Methods: The participants took part in asynchronous and synchronous online content led by public health professionals. These two modules …

Infant Car Seat Safety Education And Confidence Measure For Maternal-Child Nursing Students, Mariah A. Arnett

Honors College Theses

Studies have shown that nursing students experience a greater-than-normal amount of anxiety and decreased clinical confidence when in settings involving infants and children, which is said to have a negative impact on the learning experience (Lassche, 2013; Moscaritolo, 2009). Patient education is a vital aspect of nursing, but one that the student nurse may not feel comfortable taking part in, either because of their lack of nursing experience or because of a lack of experience with infants and infant safety (Potter, 2020; Lassche, 2013). This project attempts to assess for a change in clinical confidence after providing a subject specific …

Bridging The Gaps: Exploring Factors Associated With Goal Achievement Within An Accountable Care Organization Care Coordination Program, Jessica L. Polk

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Background: Healthcare cost in the U.S. has been increasing at an unsustainable rate due to the growing population diagnosed with multiple chronic conditions and a fragmented healthcare system. The high-risk patient population includes persons who over utilize the healthcare system with frequent avoidable hospitalizations, emergency room visits, and exacerbations of their chronic conditions. This high-risk population makes up five percent of the U.S. but accounts for over fifty percent of all healthcare spending. Care coordination models have emerged to focus proactive health interventions for the highest-risk patient populations to reduce overutilization and empower patients to improve long-term health. Evidence has …

I'Ve Been Diagnosed: A Champion! Crohn's & Colitis Family Day, Samantha M. Goldberg

Honors College Theses

This Honors thesis outlines the creation of “I’ve Been Diagnosed: A Champion! Crohn’s & Colitis Family Day”—an experience designed to provide Southeast Georgia children and families affected by inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) an opportunity to enhance community involvement and build a support network through therapeutic recreation, team-based activities, education, and a positive family-centered environment. Following the nursing process focusing on the community as the patient, this paper is organized by assessment, diagnosis, planning, intervention, and evaluation. A literature review was conducted and interviews with a medical professional and a patient were completed. Specific interventions were planned using the nursing process …

Pink Goes Red For A Day: Is Your Heart Healthy?, Quierra W. Jones

Honors College Theses

There is a major lack of public health education among college aged students at many colleges and universities across the country. Even further, many minority college students are unfamiliar with one of the most life-threatening health issues that affect them the most: heart health. As a nursing student and member of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority Inc., I strive to uphold our “service to all mankind” motto and also educate the public about important heart health matters. On February 4, 2014, I presented a program through my sorority entitled Pink Goes Red for a Day in which I educated the primarily …

The Effects Of Latent Stage Diabetic Education And Tele-Health Reinforcement On The Knowledge Of Low-Income Diabetic Patients, Hannah M. Chicowlas

Honors College Theses

Diabetes is a chronic disease that affects millions globally. Poverty and obesity are factors that affect the development and progression of this disease. Although education has been identified as a factor affecting treatment adherence, on-going education for diabetes typically occurs in the early stages. This pilot study consisted of a quantitative, comparative study utilizing tele-health as the primary form of educational reinforcement for latent stage, low-income diabetics. Six clients agreed to participate. It focused on participants from a local clinic in Georgia. All participants live at or below 200% of the federal poverty guidelines. An initial survey was followed by …

The Youth Health Summit, North Carolina: A University-Community Partnership To Promote Health Among Rural Youth, Janie Canty-Mitchell Ph.D., R.N., Musarrat Nahid M.Sc.

National Youth Advocacy and Resilience Conference

Learn how to build partnership with educators, researchers, and practitioners in order to develop educational programs, such as, the Youth Health Summit- a university initiated program undertaken in collaboration with schools and healthcare organizations to promote mental and physical health and create awareness about HIV/AIDS, substance abuse, teen pregnancy, and other hazards among rural middle school students in North Carolina.