Medicine and Health Sciences Commons^™

The Efficacy Of A Communication Guide On Stress Experienced By Family Members Of Patients Admitted In The Intensive Care Unit With Covid-19, Kandace Williams

The Eleanor Mann School of Nursing Student Works

Coronavirus disease (COVID-19), first introduced in the United States on January 20, 2020, has created worldwide panic due insufficient research and understanding of the nature of this new disease. Patients suffering from COVID-19 often require intensive care unit (ICU) admissions, resulting in stress and confusion amongst patients and their families. The high transmissibility of the disease has caused hospitals to adopt firm visitor restrictions to protect the public from exposure and spread. Families experience increased anxiety and stress due to ineffective communication with staff and restricted access to their hospitalized loved ones. A needs assessment revealed a gap in care …

The Effects Of A Survivorship Care Plan On Hospital Readmission Rates In Allogenic Stem Cell Transplant Patients, Chantaney Williams

The Eleanor Mann School of Nursing Student Works

Stem cell transplants (SCTs) are complicated treatments utilized to treat hematologic malignancies and other disorders, such as multiple myeloma, non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma, Hodgkin’s lymphoma, acute myeloid leukemia, neuroblastomas, germ cell tumors, amyloidosis, and autoimmune disorders such as systemic lupus erythematosus and systemic sclerosis. The complex care of patients undergoing SCTs place them at high risk for adverse outcomes, including infection, cytomegalovirus, graft vs host disease, secondary new cancers, infertility, and sexual dysfunction (American Cancer Society, 2020). Survivorship care plans (SCPs) are a vital part of the discharge process to educate allogenic SCT patients about post-transplantation care. SCPs are implemented to reduce …

Streamlining The Specialty Weight Management Clinic Referral Process, Callie Ann Talley

The Eleanor Mann School of Nursing Student Works

Obesity affects a vast amount of the population within the state of Arkansas and has a high prevalence across the US. Weight management is notoriously difficult in the primary care setting. Currently the referral process to a specialty weight management clinic in Northeast Arkansas is incredibly lengthy and inefficient, often leading to missed or inappropriate referrals. As a result of a needs assessment within the health system, this DNP Quality Improvement Project focused on improving the referral process to a specialty weight management clinic. The aim was to create a more efficient referral process to benefit both the clinic, the …

Depression Symptoms And Covid-19, Kaylee Armendariz

The Eleanor Mann School of Nursing Student Works

The COVID-19 pandemic presents new challenges in behavioral healthcare. Americans may face anxiety surrounding the virus, economic strain, isolation, and grief, putting them at increased risk for depression symptoms. This Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) quality improvement project aimed to increase depression screening rates and utilized data from a Federally Qualified Health Center (FQHC) to identify population groups at higher risk for depression symptoms during the COVID-19 pandemic. Using the Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ) depression screening tool, a statistical analysis determined if being tested for COVID-19 or testing positive for COVID-19 had an impact on depression symptoms. Additionally, this project …

Adolescent E-Cigarette Use, Carley Lueken

The Eleanor Mann School of Nursing Student Works

Adolescent e-cigarette use in the United States (U.S.) is trending upward at a concerning rate. Many of the short-term and long-term effects of e-cigarette use are unknown. However, scientists do know that e-cigarettes can have harmful effects on the respiratory system playing a role in E-cigarette or Vaping Use-Associated Lung Injury (EVALI) and Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19). Additionally, some e-cigarettes contain nicotine, which is widely known to have negative effects on the developing adolescent brain. Previously, there is only one e-cigarette prevention program that has been developed, implemented, and evaluated in the U.S. Thus, showing the need for further research …

Implementation Of Same Day Discharge Following Elective Percutaneous Coronary Intervention, Kaitlyn Miller Jeffcoat

The Eleanor Mann School of Nursing Student Works

High rates of Cardiovascular disease (CVD) and ischemic heart disease (IHD) have led to ever-increasing numbers of percutaneous coronary interventions (PCI) performed. The prevalence of IHD and subsequent PCI has been found to limit bed availability and access to cardiovascular care. Historically, the standard of care following elective PCI has included overnight observation (OO) though clinical advances to PCI procedures have made it possible for same day discharge (SDD) following elective PCI. There are many benefits of SDD following elective PCI that include increased access to cardiovascular care, hospital cost savings, and patient satisfaction without compromising patient safety. The DNP …

Nursing Fatigue In Intensive Care Units: A Clinical Inquiry, Elizabeth A. Gambill

The Eleanor Mann School of Nursing Student Works

Registered Nurses (RN) working in Intensive Care Units (ICU) report increased physical and emotional fatigue from a combination of various environmental factors. Fatigue is suspected as contributing to low retention rates of ICU RNs. A meeting was arranged with an ICU nursing director in an acute care facility in Northern Arkansas revealing the need for a clinical inquiry into the prevalence of fatigue. A review of literature further analyzed the impact of fatigue, management practices, safety culture in the workplace, the Occupational Fatigue/Exhaustion and Recovery (OFER) scale, the Copenhagen Burnout Inventory (CBI), and the Moral Distress Scale- Revised (MDS-R). The …

The Effects Of Administrative Support On Registered Nurse Well-Being During The Covid-19 Pandemic, Cassandra Fox

The Eleanor Mann School of Nursing Student Works

Attention to the well-being of nurses is necessary to ensure the healthcare system can operate effectively, particularly during the COVID-19 pandemic. The workplace environment and support from nursing leadership strongly contribute to nurses’ well-being. Currently, there is little evidence on the effect nursing leadership has on nurses’ well-being during the COVID-19 pandemic. This DNP clinical inquiry project sought to learn more about the effects of caring leadership behaviors on nurses’ well-being during the COVID-19 pandemic. A survey composed of questions from previously validated and reliable surveys used in the field of nursing was used to collect data. Neuman’s systems theory …

Implementation Of Telephone-Based Medication Adherence Conferences To Improve Health Outcomes Of Heart Failure Patients, Diana Marie Broadway

The Eleanor Mann School of Nursing Student Works

Cardiovascular disease (CVD) has been a significant health problem worldwide and is the leading cause of death globally. Heart failure (HF) is a chronic progressive form of CVD that affects millions of adults in the United States. The treatment for heart failure is very complex and requires an ongoing regimen of medications. In heart failure, many patients report nonadherence to their medication regimens, which leads to a magnitude of preventable deaths annually. With frequent medication nonadherence of the HF patients, there must be an intervention used to combat this problem. The use of telephone-based interventions (TBI) can modify nonadherent medication-taking …

Exploring The Phenomenological Experience Of Precepting, Erica Fowler

The Eleanor Mann School of Nursing Student Works

Nurse practitioners and physicians are increasingly sought to volunteer as preceptors for nurse practitioner students. Preceptors serve a crucial role in student education in providing mentorship, instruction, and supervision in the clinical setting. However, preceptors are often difficult to come by, leaving a shortage of available clinicians willing to participate in preceptorships. There is a paucity of information related to exploring the experiences of precepting among clinicians who have served as preceptors. Insight into these experiences are imperative in identifying the impetuses that drive or dissuade clinicians to commit to the preceptor role. This DNP project implemented a survey designed …

Exploring Parent Perception Of Adverse Childhood Experiences Screening In Pediatric Primary Care: A Clinical Inquiry Project, Kathryn Stevens

The Eleanor Mann School of Nursing Student Works

This manuscript explores the incidence and implications of Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) and outlines a project assessing parental perception of their own ACEs screening during their child’s wellness visit. ACEs are adversarial events occurring during childhood, which may be chronic or singular. Abuse, neglect, and household dysfunction result in negative outcomes, including compromised neurological development and cognitive behaviors, developmental delays, poor lifestyle choices, and reduced mental and physical health. Additionally, a growing body of literature supports the impaired parenting skills in those with a history of ACEs. This can perpetuate intergenerational trauma, deprived opportunities, and poor familial health. Despite the …

Journal Of The Arkansas Academy Of Science - Volume 75, 2021, Academy Editors

Journal of the Arkansas Academy of Science

No abstract provided.

Business Meeting Report (Secretary's And Treasurer's Report), Academy Editors

Journal of the Arkansas Academy of Science

No abstract provided.

An Automated Method To Enrich And Expand Consumer Health Vocabularies Using Glove Word Embeddings, Mohammed Ibrahim

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Clear language makes communication easier between any two parties. However, a layman may have difficulty communicating with a professional due to not understanding the specialized terms common to the domain. In healthcare, it is rare to find a layman knowledgeable in medical jargon, which can lead to poor understanding of their condition and/or treatment. To bridge this gap, several professional vocabularies and ontologies have been created to map laymen medical terms to professional medical terms and vice versa. Many of the presented vocabularies are built manually or semi-automatically requiring large investments of time and human effort and consequently the slow …

Distal Excurrent Ducts And Penile Morphology Of The Urogenital System In The Mississippi Mud Turtle, Kinosternon Subrubrum Hippocrepis (Chelonia:Kinosternidae), Stanley E. Trauth, Michael V. Plummer

Journal of the Arkansas Academy of Science

We examined the distal excurrent ductal morphology and penile anatomy of the urogenital system in the Mississippi Mud Turtle, Kinosternon subrubrum hippocrepis, from a small sample of individuals collected in Arkansas in order to provide additional information regarding turtle urogenital anatomy. Specifically, we focused on the basic anatomy and histology of distal excurrent ducts (ductus deferens and ureter), associated structures (urogenital papillae), and penile histology in this kinosternid turtle. In addition, we provide an overview of the gross urogenital anatomy in this turtle, given that little detailed information exists on this topic in the chelonian literature.

Fostering Peer Evaluation Skills In Nursing Students, Lisa Dubose

Journal of the Arkansas Academy of Science

Nursing peer review is a professional practice in which nurses offer constructive, non-personal, practice-related feedback to fellow nurses. The use of nursing peer review has been recommended by the American Nurses Association (ANA 1988, 2014) and the American Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC 2008). Despite being recommended by professional organizations, the use of peer review in nursing has not been widely implemented. Evaluation of nursing colleagues has the potential to enhance professional nursing, both in practice and in nursing education.

Fostering the skills needed to provide peers with evaluative feedback might best be accomplished if the process is started during nursing …

An Updated Checklist Of The Spiders (Arachnida: Araneae) Of Arkansas, Henry W. Robison, C. Renn Tumlison, Paula E. Cushing, Peggy R. Dorris

Journal of the Arkansas Academy of Science

A total of 510 species of spiders representing 43 families and 215 genera are herein reported from Arkansas. The most diverse families of state spiders were Salticidae (64 species), Lycosidae (59 species), Araneidae (55 species), and Gnaphosidae (54 species). Twelve families had only a single representative species in the state. Additional taxa will surely be added to the checklist with future taxonomic studies incorporating molecular analyses and additional collecting. This updated checklist is intended to be of use to arachnologists, researchers, naturalists, professional biologists, and managers in determining the biodiversity for Arkansas. We have worked to insure that the taxonomy …

Morphology Of Rathke’S Glands In The Alligator Snapping Turtle, Macrochelys Temminckii (Chelonia: Chelydridae), Stanley E. Trauth

Journal of the Arkansas Academy of Science

I examined the morphology of Rathke’s glands (RG) in the Alligator Snapping Turtle, Macrochelys temminckii, using light microscopy and scanning electron microscopy. This species possesses 4 pairs of RG (i.e., an axillary and three inframarginals) that are embedded beneath marginal bones and are named primarily according to the anatomical location of their orifices. These holocrine-type, exocrine, integumentary glands are anatomically and ultrastructurally similar to one another. Each gland contains a single and highly vascularized secretory lobule, which is bounded by a thick tunic of asymmetrically-arranged striated muscle bundles. Two types of secretory vacuoles were identified within the holocrine cells …

Development Of Aptamer Rolling Circle Amplification Platform As A Vaccine Adjuvant To Control Salmonella In Broiler Chickens, Abigeal Iyabode Omolewu

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Salmonella has been a major source of concern in public health and food industry. It is the cause of gastrointestinal illness and fever called salmonellosis. Severe cases of salmonellosis have resulted in hospitalization and even death around the world. Salmonella can be found in the intestinal tract of animals including chickens and can be transmitted to human through contaminated food. Hence, it is highly important to find ways of reducing the transmission of Salmonella from chickens to humans. This work is focused on the control of Salmonella in broiler chicken through the development of novel vaccine adjuvant. Two different aptamer …

Examining Pathogenesis And Preventatives In Spontaneous And Staphylococcus-Induced Bacterial Chondronecrosis With Osteomyelitis In Broilers, Nnamdi Simon Ekesi

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Bacterial chondronecrosis with osteomyelitis is the most important cause of lameness in broilers. This is important to poultry production, as it poses animal welfare issues, and causes a significant loss in revenue. The remediation of this disease requires the study of its etiology with fitting models and evaluating preventatives. The research reported herein covers genomic virulence analysis of BCO isolates, mainly Staphylococcus aureus, and Escherichia coli retrieved from lame birds. We found that S. aureus isolates were closest to chicken strains in Europe but may have been in the Arkansas area for a decade. Phylogenomics suggest our S. aureus is …

The Surveillance Of Gastrointestinal Parasitic Nematodes Of Northwest Arkansas Dairy Cattle Using Traditional And Genetic Parasitological Identification Procedures, Eva M. Wray

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Traditional and genetic parasitological identification procedures were compared using naturaland artificial nematode parasite infections in Holstein steer calves. The traditional parasitological procedures measured fecal egg counts, coprocultures with subsequent larval collection and adult nematodes collected at necropsy. The genetic identification procedures measured ITS-2 sequences extracted from different stages of nematode development: raw feces, concentrated nematode eggs, third stage larvae and adults. The primary nematodes observed were Cooperia oncophora, Cooperia punctata and Ostertagia ostertagi. The traditional techniques were not significantly different from one another, while the genetic sequencing showed variation amongst the different procedures. The raw feces sequences showed the most …

Understanding Radiation Resistance In Head And Neck Tumor Xenografts Using Diffuse Reflectance And Raman Spectroscopy, Sina Dadgar

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Each year, 800,000 new patients are diagnosed with head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC), a majority of whom are treated with a combination of daily fractions of radiation and weekly chemotherapy sessions for up to seven weeks. Current methods to evaluate treatment response of individual patients are limited to anatomical measurements of tumor burden using CT scan or MRI 4-8 weeks after completion of treatment. However, earlier knowledge of radiation-response prior to or at early days after commencement of therapy can aid oncologist with escalating and de-escalating treatment plans for exceptionally non-responding and responding patients. Such a knowledge can …

Functional And Physiological Role Of Extra-Hypothalamic Corticotropin Releasing Hormone Neurons In The Nucleus Of The Hippocampal Commissure In Regulation Of Stress Response, Hakeem Kadhim

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Corticotropin releasing hormone (CRH) neurons located within the paraventricular nucleus (PVN) are known to be involved in regulation of stress responses. Recently, CRH neurons were identified above the PVN within the nucleus of the hippocampal commissure (NHpC) that located in the septum. We hypothesized that CRH neurons in the NHpC play a critical role in the stress response due to their rapid activation and could be a part of the traditional hypothalamo-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis. The dissertation addresses the role of 1) CRH expressing neurons in the NHpC compared with those within the PVN utilizing two different stressors, food deprivation (FD) …

Biogeography Of The Bovine Respiratory Microbiome And Its Relationship With Bovine Respiratory Disease, Jianmin Chai

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Bovine respiratory disease (BRD) is the most common and costly disease in the beef cattle industry, leading to high morbidity, mortality and huge economic loss. Despite the recent advances in vaccination and antimicrobial techniques, no significant health-improved outcomes have developed. Due to a deep investigation of the microbiome, respiratory microbiotas are known to have important roles for host health and disease. However, BRD specific pathogens have not yet been identified since they are found in both healthy and diseased animals. A systemic and comprehensive study of the biogeography of the bovine respiratory microbiome and its relationship with BRD is lacking …

Ensemble Learning With Recursive Partitioning Methods To Explore Relationships Between Mental Health And Physical Activity, Jessica Gilmore

Health, Human Performance and Recreation Undergraduate Honors Theses

Physical and mental health are imperative to maintaining a well functioning immune system, which is especially critical during a global pandemic. Moreover, physical and mental health contribute to the overall quality of life experienced by an individual. Consequently, it is important to explore factors that contribute to both physical and mental health. Physical activity has been previously shown to improve physical and mental health yet many individuals do not get enough physical activity daily. Using data collected during the larger Exercise is Medicine (EIM) study, the current study utilized ensemble learning with recursive partitioning methods to explore the relationships that …

Occupational Health Nursing - Musculoskeletal Disorders & Stretching, Katherine Hale

The Eleanor Mann School of Nursing Undergraduate Honors Theses

For employees who work in food processing plants, work related injuries can take a serious physical toll because of the continuous repetition of the tasks that they perform. Occupational health nurses work hard to encourage correct body mechanics in the workplace and are often the ones to treat those injuries. An internship at a food manufacturing plant allowed me to step into the shoes of an occupational health nurse and witness the difficulties that come with the position. The purpose of my position was to educate the food processing plant employees on proper ergonomics as well as create a stretching …

Nurses' Attitudes Toward Physician-Assisted Suicide, Cheyenne Star Lowrey-Lagrone

The Eleanor Mann School of Nursing Undergraduate Honors Theses

Physician-assisted suicide, or PAS, is end-of-life option in which patients self-administer physician-prescribed lethal medication to end their life. Nurses' own interpretations and understandings of the legalities, ethical dilemmas, and factors that influence their attitudes can be analyzed to determine the nurses’ role in the support or opposition of the practice. Although nurses do not have an active role in PAS, they play a pivotal role in patient advocacy and education. This paper analyzes the factors that contribute to nurses’ attitudes toward the practice, along with the benefits of education of this topic going forth.

The Exploration Of The Long-Term Effects Of Stroke Patients In The Icu, Hannah Smith

The Eleanor Mann School of Nursing Undergraduate Honors Theses

Hospitalization in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) has been shown to have poorer long-term effects in stroke patients from the time of admission up to one year of discharge. Throughout the world, people suffer from the complications of having a stroke and being in the ICU. Increased mortality rate, dysphagia, poor speech, loss of mental status, and decreased muscle movement are found in stroke patients who received treatment in the ICU. The poorer long-term effects in stroke patients receiving treatment in the ICU may be caused by the type of stroke, comorbidities, or mental status at admission. The long-term effects …

Identifying Signs Of Human Trafficking In Healthcare Settings: A Literature Review, Mary Elizabeth Baldwin

The Eleanor Mann School of Nursing Undergraduate Honors Theses

Human trafficking is the commercial trade of human beings for profit, and it is the fastest growing criminal industry in the world. There are an estimated 40 million people that are trapped in this modern day slavery (National Human Trafficking Hotline, 2020). In the United States, over 86% of trafficking survivors reported accessing healthcare at some point during their trafficking situation (Lederer & Wetzel, 2014). Healthcare workers are on the front lines of battling this crime, as they have a vital role in identifying signs of trafficking in their patients. This review evaluates ways in which healthcare workers can screen …

Reflections On Southwestern Diabetic Foundation Internship, Katherine Hamilton

The Eleanor Mann School of Nursing Undergraduate Honors Theses

Residential diabetes camp plays an important role in the health care plan of children with diabetes. The multidisciplinary team at Camp Sweeney provides primary care and continued diabetes health education for their patients, empowering them to build healthy lifelong habits. An internship with the Southwestern Diabetic Foundation allowed me to gain more hands on experience with a pediatric population, acquire a greater understanding of the complex variables that go into treating chronic illness, and create age appropriate teaching presentations. The purpose of my position was to engage with children in order to create a positive experience for both their physical …