Medicine and Health Sciences Commons^™

Introducing Comprehensive Sexuality Education And Hiv Prevention And Treatment Methods Through Pop-Up Clinics To Secondary School Girls In Kwazulu-Natal, South Africa, Eliza I. Tobin, Joaquin Carlos Pinga, Caitlyn Stanya

Capstone Showcase

Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) is a retrovirus that attacks the immune system leading to people living with HIV (PLHIV) immunodeficient and more susceptible to other infections or diseases (UNAIDS, 2023b). This can lead to acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) within 8-10 years of infection (UNAIDS, 2023b). HIV does not always present symptoms, making it hard for people to identify their HIV status without proper screening. The lack of awareness around a person’s status has led HIV to spread worldwide. In addition to the worldwide spread of HIV, there is no cure for the disease, however, antiretroviral therapy (ART) is mainly used …

How And Why Do Race And Gender Affect Adhd Diagnosis Levels?, Caitlin N. Bennett

Capstone Showcase

Attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is a disorder of the brain that impairs one’s daily functioning and focus. Previous research has shown that two groups are disproportionately under-diagnosed: females and Black people. It is important to understand why these groups, and possibly others, are under-diagnosed as those without a diagnosis do not get the treatment that they need. Literature reveals that differences in symptom presentation (inattentive vs. hyperactive), biases in symptom reports, barriers to accessing mental healthcare, and negative stigmas about, and within, certain groups lead to the under-diagnosis of females and Black people. In conclusion the diagnostic criteria of ADHD …

The Positive Effects Of Medical Cannabinoids On The Dysregulated Endocannabinoid System In Autism Spectrum Disorder Patients, Caroline J. Reichelderfer

Capstone Showcase

Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) is a developmental disability. The symptoms include a lack of social skills, a need for repetitive patterns of life, difficulty in communication, speaking deficits and numerous other symptoms. While the specific cause is unknown, there is much research being done on mechanisms including dysregulations of the immune system, endocannabinoid system, and overall brain (Nez Govorova 2021, Pol 2021). The Endocannabinoid system is a recently discovered branch of the nervous system composed of endocannabinoids which are produced naturally in the body; lipid-based neurotransmitters that bind to cannabinoid receptors (CBRs) and cannabinoid receptor proteins that are expressed throughout …

The Program To Reduce Implicit Bias In Carroll Hospital Center Using The Implicit Association Test, Katherine E. Traynor

Capstone Showcase

Natural brain processes make all individuals susceptible to unconscious bias; however, stressful, fearful, or anger-evoking situations as well as the negative influence of media and social surroundings increase the risk of holding obstructive bias, and there is a greater risk of being negatively impacted by this phenomenon when belonging to a minority population (Rose & Flores, 2020). As a result, high rates of infant mortality (10.2 deaths per 1,000 live births for the Non-Hispanic Black population compared to 4.1 in the White population) and cardiovascular related diseases (190.0 cases per 1,000 in the Non-Hispanic Black population compared to 161.3 in …

Bodily Autonomy And Anti-Vaccine Discourse During The Covid-19 Pandemic, Haley Sherman

Capstone Showcase

This paper explores the relationship between anti-vaccine discourse and ideas about bodily autonomy. I analyze the cyclical nature of vaccine hesitancy and show that it can lead to misinformation and harmful narratives. This paper uses theories of bodily autonomy that identify a concept called moral obligation. This concept, as explored by Alberto Giubilini, is a utilitarian approach in which citizens have a responsibility to their governments to get vaccinated so that, in turn, their governments can fulfill their obligation of protecting other individuals’ health (Giubilini 2020, 54). A discourse analysis of four key players in the anti-vax movement shows that …

Opioid Use Disorder: The Timeline For Medication Assisted Therapy, Alexander Cristofori

Capstone Showcase

Opioid Use Disorder is patterns of opioid use leading to withdrawal, giving up important life events in order to use opioids, and excessive time spent using opioids, to name a few diagnostic criteria. The clinical progression of the disorder involves periods of acute exacerbation and remission that are cyclic in nature. Treatment is most effective when it includes both pharmacological and psychosocial modalities, referred to as medication assisted therapy (MAT). Three drugs used commonly in MAT-based treatment for OUD from oldest to newest include Methadone, Buprenorphine-naloxone, and Naltrexone. Treatment program models that prioritize total abstinence from the addictive substance attached …

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 …

Weight Stigma In Different Aspects Of Life, Emanuel Noyola

Capstone Showcase

Weight stigma is discrimination or bias against any individual who is perceived to be overweight or obese. It has recently been recorded that the effects of weight discrimination have an influence on three major areas of life which include schools, the workplace, and personal relationships. This is important as weight discrimination was found to mostly have negative effects in all these areas but was also found to be sometimes beneficial in others, such as retail. Past research has also shown that the effects of weight discrimination are 37 times worse among obese females compared to obese males. One alarming setting …

The Efficacy Of Ketamine In Adult Patients With Obsessive Compulsive Disorder With Symptoms Refractory To Standard Of Care Treatment., Brooke Thornton

Capstone Showcase

First line pharmacologic treatments for adult patients with Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD) involve selective serotonin/norepinephrine reuptake inhibitors (SSRI/SNRIs). These drug classes often fail to deliver timely relief of symptoms as well as maintain longevity of symptom recurrence. This research analyzed the use of ketamine in adult patients suffering with OCD for the purposes of more efficacious management of symptoms. Although ketamine demonstrated a timelier relief of symptoms in some small clinical studies, its effects were ultimately unable to be sustained long term. Additionally, a wide range of adverse effects including dissociation, and rebound symptoms were observed. As a result, large …

"It's All In Your Head": Diagnostic Overshadowing And Mental Illness, Katya Monarski

Capstone Showcase

Diagnostic overshadowing in mentally ill patients is the misattribution of physical illness to a preexisting mental health condition. This phenomenon contributes to the fact that patients with mental illness to receive diagnoses later, receive less treatment, and live with untreated chronic conditions. The societal attitudes on mental illness associate sufferers with negativity, danger, fear, and strangeness. This stigma could affect the formation of a realistic schema for mentally ill patients, even in a medical context. Doctors who view mental illness with the misinformed stereotypes may only see the patient for that stereotype and not as a whole. A detriment to …

Project Adkeyso: Addressing Female Genital Mutilation And Cutting In Somaliland, Ayanna Joyner

Capstone Showcase

Project Adkeyso: Addressing Female Genital Mutilation and Cutting in Somaliland

Ayanna Joyner

Faculty Advisor: Dr. Comfort Olorunsaiye

Female Genital Mutilation or Cutting (FGM/C) is the procedure of intentionally causing injury and altering the vulva of a young girl or woman for non-medical reasons. There are four types of FGM/C however, type III or infibulation, remains the most dangerous because the procedure consists of the narrowing of the vaginal opening by creating a seal with the labia majora through stitching. With infibulation, there will be a need for further surgeries or re-infibulation, which requires reopening of the stitches covering the vagina …

A Natural Remedy: Nbccpt Approach In School For Adhd Diagnosed, Kiran Patel

Capstone Showcase

Nature-based child centered play therapy (NBCCPT) is a non-directive approach that can be practiced by the counselor in a natural environment consisting of natural tools. The approach allows a child to lead a therapy session without the counselor’s input. Such an approach can be beneficial for children with Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), especially in a school setting. Therapy in school can aid families that cannot afford outpatient therapy as well as allow counselors to track the child’s therapy progress. In school, counselors can utilize an outdoor garden to conduct NBCCPT with the help of five stages, planning, preparing, planting, …