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 …

A Descriptive Case Study Of Individuals With Presumed Ocular Histoplasmosis Syndrome Utilizing A Facebook Support Group, Lisa Aimee Thompson

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation describes the experiences of people diagnosed with presumed ocular histoplasmosis syndrome as they participate in an online peer-support group on Facebook. This is a descriptive case study of factors related to adjustment, treatment, emotional distress, access to services, and online peer support. Participants were interviewed and observed, and documents were collected to describe this phenomenon.

Community-Based Rehabilitation Supports For Social Inclusion And Work Participation Of Young Adults With Visual Impairment In Kenya: A Case Study, Philomena Jepkemboi Tanui

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Young adults with a visual impairment (VI) experience less interaction with the community that impacts the way they relate to the world as they transition to the larger society where they face significant barriers of adjustment, exclusion, and work participation. Young adults with VI contend with cultural stigma, inequality, poor self-esteem caused by marginalization, a low quality of life (QOL), and lack of Social support systems that exist beyond the home. The aim of this study was to understand the perceptions of young adults with VI in Elgeyo-Marakwet and Kisumu Counties of Kenya concerning the barriers to community inclusion and …

Understanding Technology Diffusion And Spatial Accessibility In The Home Healthcare Industry, Mehmet Serdar Kilinç

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Home healthcare is becoming an important alternative to institutionalized care. It not only reduces costs but also increases health outcomes and patient satisfaction. However, the availability and efficiency of home healthcare services need to be improved as the aging population increases in the US. Hence, understanding home healthcare utilization and access are the essential steps to develop strategies ensuring effective and sustainable services to patients.

This research aims to study two main issues in the US home healthcare system: diffusion and long-term impacts of home telehealth and potential spatial accessibility of home healthcare services. Home telehealth is a promising technology …

Students' Perspectives After Participation In A Mandated College Level Alcohol Intervention Program: A Phenomenological Study, Suzanna L. Guizar

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Alcohol abuse among college students continues to be a significant problem by which the consequences impact the student, their peers, and the university. Although quantitative research with volunteer participants supports the use of enhanced brief motivational interventions and cognitive behavioral skills training in reducing risky drinking behavior (binge drinking), research with mandated students has shown inconsistent findings. The current study is a phenomenological qualitative study exploring the students’ perspectives after attending a mandated college-level alcohol intervention program. Mandated students are students who have been referred to an alcohol intervention as a result of violating an alcohol related policy on campus. …

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, …

Development And Preliminary Validation Of A Nonmedical Prescription Drug Motives Questionnaire, Lauren Ashleigh Milner

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The prevalence of nonmedical prescription drug (NMPD) use continues to increase among emerging adult populations; however, little is known about the motivations behind this use. The current study aimed to extend previous research by developing and validating the first known comprehensive NMPD motives measure. As such, the primary focus of the current study was to examine evidence for the reliability and validity of the NMPD Motives Questionnaire by assessing the factor structure, internal consistency, and construct validity of the motives scale. Participants were drawn from a larger study of college student substance use behaviors and attitudes (N = 1,427; Mage= …

Investigating The Theory Of Ambiguous Loss: The Role Of Ambiguity Tolerance In Pre-Death Grief For Caregivers Of Individuals With Dementia, Megan Kale-Cheever

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This thesis sought to investigate the relationship between ambiguity tolerance and caregiver grief within the framework of ambiguous loss theory. Thirty-one family caregivers completed a quantitative survey comprising two pre-existing scales and several demographic questions designed to assess level of ambiguity tolerance, level of grief, caregiver age and gender, type of relationship to the care recipient, living situation, length of caregiving career, level of Social support and frequency of difficult behaviors. Quantitative data analysis revealed that while no relationship existed between total ambiguity tolerance and total caregiver grief, a modest, inverse relationship exists between tolerance toward general-type ambiguity and burden, …

Effects Of Mild Hypohydration And Hyperthermia On Cognition And Mood In Obese And Non-Obese Females, Jenna Marie Burchfield

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

INTRODUCTION: Information regarding effects of hypohydration (HY) and hyperthermia (HT) on cognition, mood and development of symptoms is conflicting since the two conditions often confound each other. Further, although obese individuals may have physiological impairments during heat stress, whether psychological impairments occur with HY and HT is unknown. PURPOSE: To assess the independent and combined effects of mild HY and HT on cognition, mood, and the development of symptoms in obese and non-obese females. METHODS: Twenty-two healthy females (11 non-obese, 22±2y, 61±6kg, 25±4% body fat; 11 obese, 22±2y, 80±18kg, 44±5% body fat) volunteered in two randomized, repeated-measures trials, involving passive …

Local Modulation And Measurement Of Macrophage-Derived Bioactive Proteins From Implanted Biomaterials In Rat, Geetika Bajpai

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Fibrosis around the implanted medical devices is a severe problem that can plague long-term device reliability. Activation of macrophage phenotype (macrophage polarization) has emerged as a new and possible means for reducing fibrosis in the fields of biomaterials and regenerative medicine. Macrophages are phagocytic cells that respond to microenvironmental cues that direct their phenotype. Macrophage activation has been widely studied in mouse and human in the context of tumor biology, yet little information is available regarding how macrophage activation could be used in a biomaterials context. Further, rats rather than mice are the common subjects in biomaterials experiments. A significant …

The Role Of Stress: Low Birth Weight And Preterm Birth For African American Women, Tionna Latrice Jenkins

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This population-based study evaluates the impact that psychoSocial stress has on adverse birth outcomes of low birth weight (LBW) and pre-term birth (PTB) among African American mothers in Arkansas. The relationship between adverse birth outcomes in African American women and stress in comparison to non-Hispanic Caucasian women data was evaluated from the Pregnancy Risk Assessment Monitoring System (PRAMS) quantitative survey. Data from 2005 through 2010 was reviewed to show the impact that psychoSocial stress has on adverse birth outcomes. The study sample was comprised of 14,196 participants.

Ethnic group status is the key maternal-level independent variable in this study. Of …

The Effect Of Balance-Based Torso-Weighting On Mobility, Gait, Balance, Postural Control, And Falls Efficacy In Mobility Limited Older Adults, Jennifer L. Vincenzo

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Exercise is a known intervention to prevent fall risk among older adults; however, adherence is poor. Therefore, it is of interest to determine if other interventions improve function and decrease fall risk among older adults. Balance-Based Torso-Weighting (BBTW) is a non-exercise intervention that improves functional measures among adults with multiple sclerosis, yet the effectiveness of BBTW has not been assessed among older adults without progressive neurological disorders. We conducted a double-blind, randomized study to analyze the effect of BBTW on functional measures and falls efficacy among community-dwelling, mobility limited older adults after 5 days of wearing BalanceWear® for 4 hours …

Assessing Vocabulary Of Children: Investigating The Evaluation And Instruction Of Basic Concepts, Rebecca Elizabeth Smith

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Vocabulary knowledge of preschool children is a key factor in predicting literacy success in elementary school (Hammer, Farkas, & Maczuga, 2010). However, few deliberate attempts to teach basic concept vocabulary have been studied (Bowers & Schwarz, 2013; Wilson, 2004). The purpose of this research is to determine if large group explicit instruction with interactive activities of specific basic concept vocabulary will increase preschool children's understanding of basic concept terms when measured by a standardized basic concept assessment. This research will also assess the validity of a basic concept-curriculum based measure (BC-CBM) as an efficient tool to monitor a child's understanding …

The Paleoepidemiology Of Malaria In The Ancient Near East, Nicole Elizabeth Smith

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The end of the Late Bronze Age in the Near East (1300 - 1200 BCE) saw the widespread collapse of several large cultural centers, the reasons for which are a subject of continued debate. Evidence from events leading up to this cultural collapse suggest epidemic disease may have factored into the eventual downfall of these early civilizations. Recent DNA analysis from Egyptian mummies who lived during the period leading up to the Late Bronze Age collapse identified malaria in several elite individuals, suggesting the widespread prevalence of this infectious disease in Egypt. However, the exact prevalence, antiquity, and dynamics of …

Emr Training Tactics: A Case Study Of Clinical Staff Training Experiences, Needs And Perceptions, Victoria Leaann Miller

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Electronic medical record systems have become essential for giving patient care at health care institutions. The purpose of this study was to explore the training provided to staff at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences Northwest Family Medical Center in an effort to identify participant training experiences, needs, and perceptions. This study included qualitative, case study research. There were fourteen participants in the study. A focus group interview was conducted with eight administrative and training participants. Interviews and observations were conducted with six staff members.

The literature review of this study discussed educational theories including andragogy and training techniques. …