Medicine and Health Sciences Commons^™

Differences In Amphetamine/Dextroamphetamine Prescriptions In Areas With & Without Large Universities, Heather Bacon

Honors Theses

This investigative study is examining trends in stimulant prescribing for several Michigan counties. An ex-post facto design was used to determine trends in the amount of amphetamine/dextroamphetamine dispensed in four Michigan counties containing large universities and two Michigan counties not containing large universities over the years 2007-2012. The study found suggestive evidence that there is an increasing trend of amphetamine/dextroamphetamine prescriptions filled in both counties with and without large universities. Suggestive evidence was also found that counties with large universities display a greater average amount of amphetamine/dextroamphetamine dispensed than counties without large universities for the years 2007-2012. Because the study …

Retinal Ganglion Cell Neuroprotection Induced By Neuropharmacological Agents In An In-Vivo Model Of Glaucoma, Quinn Ameel

Honors Theses

Recent discoveries from this lab have demonstrated that activation of alpha7 nicotinic acetylcholine receptors (α7 nAChRs) on retinal ganglion cells (RGCs) in the retina is linked to neuroprotection of RGCs that are typically lost in glaucoma-like conditions. Various chemical agents have been produced to increase overall neurotransmission of ACh from cholinergic neurons. DMP-543 is an agent that increases calcium release from cholinergic synaptic terminals. Donepezil is an acetylcholinesterase inhibitor that inhibits the breakdown of ACh in the synaptic cleft, prolonging ACh’s effect. In this study, the neuroprotective activity of these two agents was analyzed at the synapse between starburst amacrine …

Effect Of Listening To Music During Warmup On Wingate Anaerobic Test Performance, Russell P. Fox

Masters Theses

The primary purpose of this study was to determine whether or not different music conditions would affect performance on the Wingate anaerobic test. We also sought to explore the effect of music on psychological variables such as, rating of perceived exertion (RPE).

16 subject (8 males, 8 females) listened to either pre-selected music, self-selected music or white noise during a 10-minute warmup, cycling at 50 Rev.min-1 for 10 minutes with a light resistance of one kilogram. Once the warmup was completed they performed a Wingate Anaerobic test against a resistance of 7.5% of their body mass in kilograms.

There were …

The Oncolytic Potential Of Tanapoxvirus To Treat Retinoblastoma, John D. Christie

Masters Theses

Retinoblastoma is the leading cause of intraocular malignancy in children under 2 years of age. Current treatments, while generally effective in eliminating the tumor, have many negative side effects. Oncolytic virotherapy is the use of either wild type or recombinant viruses, to destroy tumor cells. There are currently several viruses being engineered as potential therapeutics for a wide range of cancers. They offer tumor specific alternative to current therapies with lesser toxicity. This study looked at the oncolytic efficacy of multiple tanapoxviruses (TPV) recombinants in an in vitro retinoblastoma. Here we have tested recombinants of TPV for their ability to …

Visual Impairment And Factors Associated With Difficulties With Daily Tasks, Anne T. Riddering

Dissertations

In the past 10 years, the number of American adults with visual impairments has increased from 1 million to 4 million and is expected to double to 8 million people by the year 2050 (The Eye Diseases Prevalence Research Group, 2004; National Eye Institute, 2013). Therapies to treat retinal diseases causing visual impairment, such as diabetic retinopathy and age-related macular degeneration (Massof, 2002; Mogk, 2011), have evolved in the past two decades (Gupta et al., 2013; Hooper & Guymer, 2003), but little research has examined recent population and difficulties with performing daily activities. Different types of professionals, including ophthalmologists, optometrists, …

Factors Affecting Community Participation In Young Adults With Intellectual And Developmental Disabilities, Molly Bathje

Dissertations

Young adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD) participate less frequently in communities than other disabled and non-disabled peers (Verdonschot, de Witte, Reichrath, Buntinx, & Curfs, 2009) even though they express a desire to participate (Kampert & Goreczny, 2007) and federal policy mandates community inclusion (Haertl, 2014). Participation in one’s community is linked to health and quality of life (World Health Organization, 2002). The broad goal of this three paper dissertation is to contribute to a deeper understanding of what facilitates and impedes community participation for young adults with IDD by (1) developing a new conceptual model, (2) evaluating a …

The Role Of Physician's Assistants On Limiting The Risk Of Surgical Errors, Courtney Adler

Honors Theses

Surgical errors existed long before physician assistants (PA) starting joining surgical teams. However, the addition of PAs to surgical teams added a team member with a medical perspective that was different from everyone else’s. PAs are able to follow surgical patients through all the steps of the surgical process. This allows them to have a deeper knowledge of the patient’s case, putting them in a position to promote a culture of safety and reduce the risk of surgical errors. This study generates an idea of how the PA plays a role in lowering the risk of surgical errors by promoting …

Integration Of Professional Identity And Christian Religious Identity In Undergraduate Social Work Students, Lolene K. Bargerstock

Dissertations

Undergraduate social work programs are responsible to prepare students who will practice in accordance with the NASW Code of Ethics. Such preparation is not simply limited to developing a body of knowledge or set of skills but extends to adoption of a professional identity. Several research studies point to religious values as a significant motivational factor in choosing social work as a profession, yet little research has been conducted to investigate the integration of religious identity with an emerging professional identity. The current study sought to explore the experience of professional identity formation in undergraduate Christian social work students …

Three Essays On Informal Payments In The Health Care Sector In Russia, Alexandra Polovinka

Dissertations

Health care is one of the most corrupt sectors in Russia. In 2015 twenty percent of patients paid a bribe for the health care services once or twice, and thirteen percent more than twice (Russian Public Opinion Research Center, 2015). Using data on adults from over 5,000 households in Russia, this three-essay study analyzes out-of-pocket formal (official) and informal (unofficial, bribes) payments for the health care.

In the first essay, I study whether there is a difference in the amount of unofficial pay-ments across five types of health care services (ambulance, inpatient, outpatient, dental, and medical checkups) and two types …

Private Vs. Public Healthcare In South Africa, Montgomery Young

Honors Theses

This paper explores the South African healthcare system in regards to the gap between the private and public healthcare sectors. Public healthcare is government funded and offered to all citizens of South Africa, but there are many disadvantages such as long wait times, rushed appointments, old facilities, and poor disease control and prevention practices. Citizens can opt to purchase private insurance in order to be treated at private hospitals and health clinics. The private healthcare sector has many perks that set it apart from public healthcare, such as short wait times, appointments are not rushed, better facilities, and proper disease …

Piloting A Screening Tool For Eating And Eating-Related Behavior, Michael N. Reynolds

Dissertations

Obesity is a common medical condition associated with negative health and social outcomes. Obesity has a primary malleable behavioral cause, eating more calories than are metabolized. While metabolic rate is malleable with exercise, eating can more quickly add calories than exercising can subtract them. In the past, behavioral weight-loss treatment studies relied on multi-component package interventions that have shown reliable patterns of participant weight-loss during treatment and weight-regain in follow-up. Those findings could be conceptualized as an ABA withdrawal design, eating behavior returns to baseline after the prosthetic contingencies of the treatment study are withdrawn. We must develop ways to …

The Use Of Hydrotherapy In Labor To Promote Physiologic Labor, Nicolette Johnson

Honors Theses

The pain of labor is well understood, yet, very difficult to treat. This is secondary to the fact that each woman’s perception of pain varies as it is influenced by many different factors. According to Lowedermilk, Perry, Cashion, & Alden, (2012) how the woman perceives pain is “influenced by a variety of physiologic, psychological, emotion, social, cultural and environmental factors” (p. 387). A nurses’ role is to act as a patient advocate and with that entails maintaining the patient’s comfort throughout the labor process. In order to do so, a nurse must be able to assess the patient from not …

How Recipient Age Affects Long Term Survivability In Heart Transplantation Patients, Daniel Baker

Honors Theses

Heart transplantation is very traumatic for the human body. It involves physically taking out an organ that is vital for normal function and replacing it with an organ that is foreign to the body. However, it is sometimes thought that this is a very well known and well-researched procedure, when the reality is that the very first heart transplant took place less than 50 years ago by Dr. Christiaan Banard (Brink & Hassoulas, 2009). During the last 50 years many breakthroughs have been discovered and the procedure has been vastly helped by the rise of immunosuppressant’s and new surgical technology, …

Verification And Quantification Of Surface Electromyographic (Emg) Activity Of The Masseter Muscle, Kelsey Bowles

Honors Theses

Purpose: The goal of the present study is to develop and evaluate an automated technique for measuring biting and chewing related surface electromyographic (EMG) activity of the masseter muscle.

Methods: Data from 28 neurologically healthy participants between the ages of 18-40 were selected for this study. The procedure for collecting the bite/chew data consisted of the participant biting down and chewing three small breath mints while an EMG sensor recorded the masseter muscle activity. A five-step Matlab-based algorithm was created to accurately identify onsets and offsets of each bite and chew event.

Results: Compared to manual measurements using standard …

Acoustic Correlates Of Speech Naturalness In Post-Treatment Adults Who Stutter: Role Of Fundamental Frequency, Jacqueline Schmitt

Honors Theses

No abstract provided.

Using Focus Groups To Identify Ways To Reduce Infant Mortality In Kalamazoo, Leah Dries

Honors Theses

Study goals were to explore maternal perceptions of possible ways to reduce infant mortality in Kalamazoo County, with specific regards to the infant mortality rates of non-Hispanic African American babies versus non-Hispanic Caucasian babies. Two focus groups were conducted of voluntary, anonymous, participants from the YWCA domestic violence shelter and clients of home visiting services provided by the Kalamazoo County Department of Health and Community Services. The focus groups were guided allowing women to voice their opinions about ways to prevent infant mortality in Kalamazoo. Women were also asked to respond to the goals created by a community planning committee …

Mindfulness And Prevention In Western Medicine: Focus On Physician Assistant, Amber Bernelis

Honors Theses

The health and wellness of the mind has been an important aspect that has been recognized by different cultures and medical traditions for thousands of years, but was generally neglected in the United States until recently. The beginning of the western mindfulness revolution started when Jon Kabat-Zinn introduced the concept and practice of mindfulness to care for the health and wellness of our mind. “Mindfulness is a simple concept in which one pays attention on purpose, in the present moment, nonjudgmentally” (Kabat-Zinn, 1994, p. 4). Research indicates that mindfulness helps to treat aspects of chronic diseases, pain, as well as …

Acoustic Correlates Of Speech Naturalness In Post-Treatment Adults Who Stutter: Role Of Speaking Rate, Caylee Jessen

Honors Theses

Purpose: While many stuttering therapy programs can result in a decrease in stuttering behaviors among participants, some clients leave therapy with speech sounding unnatural due in part to the therapy techniques themselves. The aim of the current study is to examine associations between selected acoustic measures of speaking rate and listener ratings of speech naturalness in a group of adults who stutter following participation in an intensive fluency shaping treatment program.

Methods: Twenty-nine adults who stutter, drawn from an existing database of speech samples, served as participants. All participants had recently completed a four-week group-based intensive fluency shaping treatment program. …

Exploring The Impact Of Globalization On Linguistic Culture, Autumn Kearney

Honors Theses

Awareness and mastery of a country’s cultural norms provides a person with access to public services, ceremonies, traditions and an unlimited number of other dimensions that would be otherwise unavailable. This study looks specifically at linguistic culture, which is the entirety of views, attitudes, assumptions and other ideas people acquire about language (Schiffman, 2012). Although the linguistic climate in the U.S Midwest is different than that in Senegal, one cannot fully understand either culture without knowledge of the linguistic culture in both country contexts. This study examines the linguistic cultures in both country contexts and uses ethnomethodology to examine the …

The Effects Of Globalization On English Language Learning: Perspectives From Senegal And The United States, Anna Poggensee

Honors Theses

This study is an analytical comparison among perspectives about English as a nonnative language and its function in Senegal, West Africa and the U.S. Midwest. The purpose of this study is to establish a better understanding of the effects of globalization in both countries by focusing on the increasing use of the English language (Crystal, 2003) and how it is used within diverse societies. Globalization can be defined as “the interconnections of global economic, political, cultural and environmental processes that continually transform present conditions” (Steger, 2003, p.7-8).Within the context of globalization, this topic allows for a broader understanding of the …

Using Sbirt As An Intervention For Substance Use In Public Schools, Amanda Higgins

Honors Theses

In Kalamazoo County, youth substance use is on the rise. In recent years (2012-2014), alcohol use has nearly doubled in the adolescent population. With the easy accessibility of alcohol in Kalamazoo, alcohol use among adolescents will continue to rise if early intervention protocols are not implemented. Screening, Brief Intervention, and Referral to Treatment (SBIRT), could be the model of intervention within Kalamazoo public schools, if implemented correctly. According to the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Service Administration (SAMHSA), SBIRT is an evidence-based practice used to identify, reduce, and prevent problematic use, abuse, and dependence on alcohol and illicit drugs. Public …

Behavioral Sensitization Following Concurrent Exposure To 4-Methylmethcathinone (4-Mmc) And 3,4-Methylenedioxymethamphetamine (Mdma) In Male Sprague-Dawley Rats, Trent Bullock

Honors Theses

Recreational use of a new class of stimulant drugs known as synthetic cathinones is a recent public health concern. Although the Drug Enforcement Administration placed several of the most common of these substances permanently on schedule 1, their use is still prevalent as they remain low cost, accessible, and potent. Concomitant use of cathinone derivatives with other psychostimulant drugs is commonly reported by recreational users. Despite the prevalence of synthetic cathinone abuse, there is currently a paucity of scientific research regarding the behavioral and neurochemical effects of these drugs in mixtures with other drugs of abuse. The behavioral sensitization paradigm …

The Effects Of Aging And Estrogen Treatment During Aging On The Rat Epididymis, Kathryn Davis

Honors Theses

Previous studies from our lab have demonstrated that a normal estrogen environment in the testis contributes to maintaining spermatogenesis in adult rats and that estrogen treatment can attenuate the age-associated decline in sperm production. The purpose of this study was to determine if the estrogen environment of the epididymis is altered with age and what effects estrogen treatment may have on the epididymis during aging. The study compared untreated rats at 15 months of age to 18 month old rats that were treated with either vehicle, or estradiol- valerate, once every third day from 15 to 18 months. Mean concentrations …

Improving The State Of Health Literacy Among American Adults: Why Community Outreach Methods Are More Effective Than Literacy-Level Screenings, Lydia Simpson

Honors Theses

Health literacy refers to an individual’s ability to access and process health information to make important decisions about their health. Unfortunately, millions of American adults have inadequate health literacy skills and are not able to navigate their way through the world of health care. This may lead to disastrous consequences and poor health outcomes. To improve health literacy, nationwide health education programs are imperative. Despite this, low health literacy is often ignored, or only considered for individuals suspected of having low health literacy who might then be administered a screening instrument. A better model for the American health care system …

Memory Support For Adults With Alzheimer’S Disease: Applications For Speech-Language Pathologists, Laura Dober

Honors Theses

Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is the most common form of dementia and is known to cause progressive and severely debilitating impairments in cognition, especially in memory. Deficits in memory and cognition are clearly reflected in the communication of people diagnosed with this progressive, degenerative, incurable disease, placing speech-language pathologists as important members of a care team for adults with AD. Speech-language pathologists provide treatment to support memory, and therefore communication, in people with AD through direct and indirect methods. Some examples of memory supportive strategies include spaced-retrieval learning, the use of external memory aids and assistive technology, Montessori methods, and manipulations …

Discriminative Stimulus Properties Of 3.0 Mg/Kg Mephedrone In Rats, Nathyn Thompson

Honors Theses

Consumption of a prominent synthetic cathinone known as mephedrone (4-methylmethcathinone) has become a popular alternative to club drugs such as ecstasy, cocaine, and methamphetamine within the past decade. The pharmacological mechanisms that contribute to its subjective effects have yet to be fully characterized and are thus warranted for investigation. The present study employed drug discrimination methods to train eight male Sprague-Dawley rats to discriminate injections of 3.0 mg/kg mephedrone from saline. Various doses of mephedrone, 3,4-methylenedioxypyrovalerone (MDPV), d-amphetamine (AMPH), cocaine, (+)-methamphetamine (METH), and 3,4-methylenedioxy-methamphetamine (MDMA) were investigated for their ability to substitute for the stimulus cues of the training …

Recurring Ankle Injuries In Dancers, Alexis Jawny

Honors Theses

The purpose of this research, obtained from various Journals of Dance Medicine and Science, is to identify the cause of recurring ankle injuries in the dance community. Ankle injuries are the most common type of injury making up 50% of injuries in dancers. The main cause of recurring ankle injuries is improper diagnosing and then leading to the wrong treatment plan. The research focusses on how to prevent these improper diagnoses and what the dancer and specialty care professional (orthopedics, physical therapists, and rehabilitative medicine) can do to decrease the number of ankle injuries occurring and reoccurring in the dance …

Relationship Between Ambulation And Position Changes During Labor And Hormonal Physiology Of Childbearing, Zoe Nokomis

Honors Theses

The birthing process for many women is a complex period of time that involves many changes in the mother’s body as well as the baby’s preparation to enter the world. Medical advances and technology have improved care for at-risk women but the increased number of unnecessary interventions during labor currently may actually hinder a healthy mother from having the best possible birth experience and outcomes for her and her child. Mothers can use many different, non-medical, non-pharmacological strategies to cope with the stress of labor. These strategies may include ambulating or position changes during the first stage of labor, massage …

Characteristics Of Patients Who Experience Fear During Hospitalization, Marlena Vande Streek

Honors Theses

Purpose/Background The purpose of this study is to describe individuals likely to experience fear, apprehension, or anxiety during hospitalization. Supporting literature has much to say about intervening once these feelings occur, but little on the description or characteristics of patients exhibiting these feelings during hospitalization. The intent of this exploration is to allow nurses to identify these patients sooner and prevent unnecessary stress and delays in care.

Theoretical Framework When a patient experiences fear, they respond through the stress response cycle commonly observed as delays in wound healing and immunosuppression when feelings are prolonged. Identifying individuals likely to experience fear …

The Barriers And Facilitators To Becoming A Baby-Friendly Hospital, Bohn Emily

Honors Theses

The Baby-Friendly Hospital Initiative is a designation hospitals can achieve that states the facility encourages breastfeeding and mother-baby bonding. The Initiative involves changing over hospital protocols, employee training, and implementing the Ten Steps to Successful Breastfeeding. Although the designation is positive, there have been identified facilitators and barriers that influence the implementation process which can influence whether a hospital will choose to or not to achieve designation. A literature review was performed. Facilitators included: certificate as a marketing tool, project management involvement, the 4-D Pathway, and support. Barriers included: adherence, staffing insufficiencies, provider-level issues, and financial and facility support. Interviews …