Medicine and Health Sciences Commons^™

The Ecology Of Mental Health And The Impact Of Barriers On Mental Health Service Utilization, Alisha Aggarwal

Theses & Dissertations

Mental health has emerged as a major public health concern in recent times with several disparities and barriers related to adequate health service utilization. Different age groups experience diverse symptoms and face distinct barriers in accessing and utilizing healthcare. Policies like Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act and the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act were launched to improve insurance coverage and delivery of mental health services. However, a large gap of unmet needs exists for adequate mental health service utilization in the country. This dissertation aims to describe the financial and non-financial barriers to mental health service utilization …

Serving Our Students: Evidence-Based Sex Education Policies And Practices Needed In Ohio, Lily Mckenzie Rosenberg

Honors Projects

Ohio has very minimal state-wide sex education laws, requiring only venereal disease education that has many similarities with abstinence-only education. Abstinence-only education has been shown to be ineffective in delaying first sex and lowering teen STDs, pregnancy, and birth rates. When students receive ineffective (or no) sex education it can impact them in many ways, leaving them unprepared for sexual lives as adults. To analyze the state of sex education in Ohio, this paper will look at sex education throughout Ohio both in law and in practice. I will then explore the impact of these minimal sex education laws on …

Mental Health And Adolescents: The Impact Of Social Isolation In Adolescents During The Covid-19 Pandemic, Gabriella Aguinaldo

Nursing | Senior Theses

In early 2020, the coronavirus pandemic, first detected in late 2019, afflicted the world. The disease associated with the virus became known as COVID-19. COVID-19 was recognized as a highly contagious and deadly disease. In California, United States, COVID-19 was detected in February and the first shelter-in-place orders were ordered by the counties and state, which forced children and adults to stay at home and attend school and work virtually. Shelter-in-place orders were quickly implemented around the world.

As the world began this sudden switch in lifestyle, many were concerned for the mental health and safety of themselves and their …

Engaging Middle School Students And Parents/Guardians Via Structured Virtual Media On Food Allergy And Anaphylaxis Awareness: A Quality Improvement Project, Jodi Licata

Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) Manuscripts

Abstract

Background and Significance: More than 40% of children with food allergies have experienced anaphylaxis, a life-threatening condition (Food Allergy Research & Education [FARE], 2021). Anaphylactic reactions require immediate treatment with an intramuscular injection of epinephrine by a health care professional or by a self-injectable epinephrine auto-injector device. If anaphylactic symptoms are not promptly recognized and treated, fatal consequences may occur (FARE, 2021). Repeated education, training, and a supportive social environment, specifically with adolescents, have been found to facilitate self-management with food-induced anaphylaxis (Comberiati et al., 2019). Purpose: In this quality improvement project, virtual education interventions to increase food allergy …

Translation And Validation Of The Spanish Version Of The Quality Of Life Inventory For Adolescents (Qolie-Ad-48), Perla Michelle Martinez

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Background: In 1999, an instrument was developed to assess quality of life (QoL) among adolescences with epilepsy. To our knowledge there is not a validated Spanish version of this questionnaire. There is a gap in the literature about QoL and epilepsy among speaking Spanish populations. Objectives: 1) To conduct an English-Spanish translation of the QOLIE-AD-48; 2) to evaluate the reliability of the Spanish version of the QoLIE-AD-48; and 3) to assess the validity of the Spanish version of the QoLIE-AD-48. Method: Phase 1 translation: Methods followed the published work of Sousa and Rojjanasrirat (2010). Phase 2 Pilot study: the sample …

When Healthy Turns Harmful: Increasing Understanding Of Potential Risk Factors And Approaches To Decreasing Orthorexic Behaviors, Elizabeth King

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Orthorexia Nervosa (ON) is a relatively new term used to describe individuals who place an excessive value on consuming a “pure” or healthful diet, so much so that their psychological, and potentially physical, health is negatively affected. ON is driven by a focus of consuming high-quality foods rather than limiting the quantity of food. This has sometimes been referred to as “clean eating”, or only consuming “clean” foods. A commonality between ON and other eating disorders (EDs) is that the behaviors are rooted in restriction, where an individual with ON would focus on restricting specific foods, or even entire food …

Concurrent Reporting Of Adverse Childhood Experiences Among Perspectives Of Adolescents And Caregivers., Katie J. Berghuis

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The consequences of Adverse Childhood Experience (ACE) events in youth have predominantly been studied through retrospective studies that assess adults’ first 18 years of life or caregiver report of ACEs in youth. Reliance on only caregiver report to discern ACEs is a limitation amongst prior studies as research has found that caregivers tend to underestimate ACEs among their children, and there is even a greater discrepancy of reporting between caregivers and youth 12 years and older. Therefore, this study investigated concurrent reporting of self-report ACE scores in adolescents – defined in this study as 12 to 20 years old – …

Intimate Partner Violence Education For High School Students, Morgan Foster

Dissertations

Problem Adolescents are at risk for experiencing intimate partner violence (IPV). As early as seventh grade, over half of adolescents have reported being in a romantic relationship. Adolescent screening for and education of IPV is minimal, and only the Healthy Relationships Quiz developed by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services [HHS] screens young adolescents across all aspects of IPV, including psychological and sexual violence. The purpose of this project was to develop an IPV education plan for high school students in a health course.

Methods An educational lesson plan for IPV was created for high school teachers.

Results …

Increasing Referrals To School Counselors By Integrating An Evidence-Based Program For Educators Identifying Adolescents At Risk For Suicide In A Rural High School, Wendy Holloway

Doctor of Nursing Practice Projects

Background: Addressing suicide in America's youth is imperative. Teachers play an essential role in identifying and intervening with adolescents experiencing psychological distress leading to suicide. Teachers and staff lack professional development addressing the identification of students in psychological distress.

Purpose: This project aimed to increase referrals to school counselors by integrating an evidence-based program for educators identifying adolescents at risk for suicide in a rural high school.

Design Method: This was a quantitative quality improvement project with a pre-/post-test design. Additionally, referrals to the school guidance counselors before implementing the program and after the completion of the program were …

A Quality Improvement Initiative: Combination Oral Contraception And Counseling For Sexually Active Adolescent Girls 12-18 Years Old, Angelica Del Toro

Cohort IX

According to the 2016 “U.S. Selected Practice Recommendations for Contraceptive Use” and the “U.S. Medical Eligibility Criteria for Contraceptive Use,” published by the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) and the World Health Organization (WHO), sexually active adolescents benefit from oral contraception and counseling from their primary care practitioners, as they already have an existing relationship. As a family nurse practitioner, I could provide an initial assessment and prescribe the appropriate contraceptive instead of referring them to a gynecologist.

I learned this in my practice during a 10-day reflective practice log. After a literature review and several supporting articles, I received …

Development Of An Ehealth Harm Reduction Resource To Address Opioid Use Among Youth In Rural Northern California, Carolyn Perrotti Lake

Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) Projects

Problem: Opioid use and misuse is a leading cause of injury and death among adolescents and young adults in the United States, with a three-fold increase in opioid overdoses since 2000 (Carney et al., 2018; Hudgins et al., 2019). Opioid misuse correlates with misuse of other substances, which exponentially increases health risks over time. The most effective treatment for opioid use disorder (OUD) among adolescence is through effective prevention interventions that either prevent the development of the OUD or enable timely diagnosis and treatment in order to prevent poor health outcomes.

Context: The use of eHealth technology, which has …

The Relationships Between Stress, Psychosocial Resources, And Mental Health And Adherence Outcomes Among Perinatally Hiv-Infected Adolescents In South Africa, Thabani Nyoni

Brown School Theses and Dissertations

Adolescents living with perinatally acquired HIV (APHs) in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) constitute a significant population group that is experiencing poor HIV treatment outcomes (CIPHER Global Cohort Collaboration, 2018). Compared to younger children and older adults within the SSA sub-region, APHs experience poorer health outcomes, including retention in care, virologic treatment failure, and mortality rates (Anderson et al., 2019). Among countries in the SSA sub-region, South Africa has 360,000 adolescents living with HIV (ages 10-19), a disproportionate burden, accounting for 20% of the global adolescents living with HIV (UNAIDS, 2019a). The public health costs of suboptimal antiretroviral treatment (ART) adherence in …

You Are What You Think: The Impacts Of Body Weight Perception In Young Adolescent Women, Olivia Ceja

DNP Qualifying Manuscripts

While research suggests a multifactorial array of contributors to adolescent obesity including lack of physical activity, dietary behaviors, psychosocial factors including the perception of being overweight and body dissatisfaction have been more recently associated with unhealthy weights, unhealthy behaviors and amplified risk of obesity. At an all girl’s private college preparatory middle and high school in Los Angeles, amid a competitive and rigorous academic environment, students face additional pressure to succeed and strive for perfection. Although body weight perception can be used to identify students who are at risk for eating disorders at the middle and high school levels, the …

Mental Health Resources For The Pediatric And Adolescent Populations In The Rural Setting, Devon Shafer, Kyle Aldridge, Amy Lilly

Doctor of Nursing Practice Projects

Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) is a mainstay of treatment for problems such as anxiety and depression. However, access to this form of psychotherapy treatment is limited in rural areas, especially in pediatrics. The purpose of this project was to increase access to CBT through the use of smart phone CBT applications for patients at one rural midwest pediatric clinic. An extensive literature review revealed that mobile cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) applications can be an effective option for adjunct therapy when provider access is limited. Two CBT mobile applications were selected for the project and training was provided to clinic providers. …

Effectiveness Of An Online Intervention Combating Mental Health Stigma On Adolescent Help-Seeking Behaviors, Chelsea Krayecki

Counselor Education Capstones

Mental health stigma has been shown to be a barrier to seeking help for mental health concerns. This is especially true for adolescents due to important developmental characteristics. According to the World Health Organization (WHO) (2021), depression is one of the major causes of mental health concerns and disability among adolescents. In addition, the WHO (2021) also states that mental health conditions account for 16% of global burden of illness in people ages 10-19-years-old. The current pandemic has only increased these concerns, as social, emotional, and mental well-being has been impacted by the pandemic (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, …

Study Of The Perception And Practices Among Adolescents Regarding The Consumption Of Ultra-Processed Foods And Its Association With Lifestyle Diseases., Rajesh Sm

Kasturba Medical College, Mangalore Theses and Dissertations

No abstract provided.

Smart Brain Of India Vs. Tricky Drugs, Rashmii K.S.

Kasturba Medical College, Mangalore Theses and Dissertations

No abstract provided.

Improving Adolescent Risk Assessment And Provider Follow-Up In Primary Care, Darby R. Disselkoen

Doctoral Projects

Purpose: The purpose of this quality improvement project was to improve preventive care for adolescent patients by implementing standardized, routine screening for risk-taking behaviors and improving provider response to identified risks using the Rapid Assessment for Adolescent Preventive Services tool and resources for providers to reference during discussions about risk.

Methods: Quality improvement methodology was utilized at a midwestern pediatric primary care office to implement a practice workflow for staff to follow during annual, adolescent wellchild exams beginning at age thirteen.

Results: Analysis of project results demonstrated a significant increase in routine screening for adolescent risk behaviors compared to the …

Long-Term Impacts Of Acute Stressor Exposure On Locus Coeruleus Function And Anxiety-Like Behavior In Rats, Olga Borodovitsyna

Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences Theses and Dissertations

Stress is a physiological state characterized by behavioral arousal that occurs during exposure to harmful or threatening stimuli, and usually facilitates an adaptive behavioral response. The persistence of stress sometimes causes it to become maladaptive, potentially contributing to disease development, including physiological complications with altered neuroendocrine signaling and impaired function of organ systems, and psychological conditions including depression and anxiety. Anxiety disorders in particular are associated with a history of stress and are the most common class of mental disorders, with a lifetime prevalence of 33.7% in the general population. The locus coeruleus (LC) is a major node in the …

Contraceptive Accessibility And Reproductive Outcomes In Adolescents Seeking Care At School-Based Health Centers: A Systematic Review, Jamie Jenkins

All Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Other Capstone Projects

Context: Adolescent pregnancy continues to be a public health concern in the United States. School-based health centers are an ideal setting for providing affordable, accessible, and confidential reproductive services for adolescents that can help prevent unintended pregnancies. However, there are great variations in the reproductive services offered at school-based health centers across the United States. Objective: This study aims to explore the question: Do school-based health centers that provide on-site contraception access have lower adolescent pregnancy rates and higher reported contraception use when compared to school-based health centers that do not provide on-site contraception? Methods: A literature …

The Effect Of Race, Provider-Location Type, And Region On Adolescent Hpv Vaccination, Erica Sade Hunter

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Studies have been conducted on various factors and their effect on human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccination uptake amongst adolescents. However, these studies typically point to communication factors and provider recommendations as having a significant effect on HPV vaccination uptake, ultimately leading to the need for more information on other factors that may increase HPV vaccination amongst adolescents. The purpose of this quantitative cross-sectional study was to determine if race, provider-location type, and region of the United States have a statistically significant effect on HPV uptake amongst adolescents. The 2018 National Immunization Survey (NIS) was used, and 34,980 participants were included in …

The Impact Of Social Media On Teenage Females Self-Esteem, Amanda C. Perkovich

All Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Other Capstone Projects

Social media has become the way we connect with the world. Social networking sites, including Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, Twitter and TikTok, allow users to share intimate details of their lives, upload photographs, initiate and maintain relationships, plan social gatherings, observe the lives of others and express beliefs, values and emotions. In the last ten years, numerous articles have focused on the relationship between social media use and mental health however, very few studies have concentrated on self-esteem, especially in teenage females. The purpose of this literature review is to explore the associations between increased social media activity (greater than 2 …

Experiences Of Married, First-Time Pregnant Adolescents When Seeking Care In Kano State, Yashua Alkali Hamza

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Kano State in Northern Nigeria has very high maternal mortality rates. Early marriage and early pregnancies between 15 to 18 years of age are two of the most significant factors in the high maternal mortality rates in Kano State. This phenomenological qualitative research study focused on young first-time mothers’ experiences of seeking care between the ages of 15 and 18. The study’s theoretical framework was the feminist theory of intersectionality. Colaizzi’s seven-step method was the means used for data analysis. This study found that young adolescent first-time pregnant women in Kano City faced significant barriers at home and in health …

Factors Associated With Electronic Cigarette Use Among Adolescents In Texas, Christie Anuli Okonkwo

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The use of electronic cigarettes among adolescents has remained a major public health concern. Reports have shown that the adolescent brain is still growing and can be affected by nicotine and cancer-causing chemicals contained in e-cigarettes. The rising trend of e-cigarette use by adolescents has reportedly reached an epidemic, and there is a knowledge gap in the factors associated with this behavior and the provision of appropriate interventions for the at-risk population. The purpose of this quantitative, cross-sectional study was to investigate the association between sociodemographic factors and the tendency of Texas adolescents to use e-cigarettes. This study was a …

Primary Care Providers’ Perceptions Of Adolescent Friendly Health Services In Relationship To Adolescent Pregnancy, Jill Marie Ensminger

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

According to recent research, adolescent health continues to be a public health concern. The purpose of this qualitative research was to identify the perceptions of primary care providers regarding adolescent friendly health services and the relationship to adolescent pregnancy. The theoretical and conceptual framework used for this research included the social ecological model and the recommendations of the World Health Organization (WHO) for providing adolescent friendly health services. Using a phenomenological qualitative research approach, interviews were conducted over the telephone. Data analysis included hand coding with emerging themes and subthemes in relationship to each research question. The results of the …

Long-Acting Reversible Contraception Education For Street-Involved Youth: Impact On Knowledge, Attitudes, And Behaviors, Lizzie Simon

Doctor of Nursing Practice Projects

Despite evidence that long-acting reversible contraception (LARC) is safe, appropriate, and highly efficacious for people under age 25, this younger population is under-represented among LARC users in the US. At the Orion Clinic in Seattle, Kaiser Permanente offers primary care to street-involved young people between the ages of 12 and 24. Since opening in 2016, young patients at the Orion Clinichave initiated LARC at low rates, which reflects national trends. The aims of this project are to understand the reasons for this population’s underuse of highly effective contraceptive methods; to increase participants’ knowledge and positive attitudes toward LARC; and to …

The Impact Of Mindfulness On Mental And Emotional Health, Physical Fitness, And Academic Performance, Melanie B. Smith

Online Theses and Dissertations

Past research has indicated promising results with mindfulness and mental health. This study examines the relationship between mindfulness and mental health, physical fitness, and academic performance for middle and high school students enrolled in health and physical education courses. The Calm app was utilized in part of the Calm Schools Initiative. (n.d.) as part of the intervention. The treatment group took part in mindfulness activities twice per week for the duration of the study. Measurers were recorded using the Mindful Attention Awareness Scale – Adolescents (Brown, West, Loverich, & Biegel, 2011), Perceived Stress Scale (Cohen, Karmarck, & Mermelstein, 1983), Patient …

The Primary Care Provider’S Role In Screening And Intervening In The Human Trafficking Of Adolescents: A Systematic Literature Review, Brittany Schmid

All Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Other Capstone Projects

Human trafficking (HT) is a growing concern within the United States (U.S.) and internationally. With the alarming number of HT victims presenting for medical care, primary care providers (PCPs) are in a unique and privileged position to encounter HT victims within the healthcare system. Adolescents, in particular, are vulnerable to HT because of minimal life experiences, inadequate social support, and limited coping mechanisms (Ertl et al., 2020). Failure to recognize and intervene in cases involving HT victims who are minors is detrimental to the individual’s health, wellbeing, and safety. With the assistance of education and training, community resources, guideline adoption, …

Occupational Therapists’ Consideration Of Sexual Orientation And Gender Identity When Working With Adolescents: An Exploratory Study, Kristin Willey

Occupational Therapy Doctorate Capstone Projects

Executive Summary

Background: A review of the Occupational Therapy Practice Framework (AOTA, 2020) and scholarly literature within healthcare fields, including occupational therapy, discuss the contextual issues of occupational justice and health disparities in situations when sexual orientation and gender identity (SOGI) are not considered as part of the occupational therapy process.

Purpose: This study explored if occupational therapists (OTs) considered a client’s SOGI when providing services to an adolescent. Subsequent research questions were: do OTs perceive that SOGI influences adolescents’ occupations, and do OTs perceive gaps in their knowledge related to SOGI?

Theoretical Framework: This research project was based on …

Factors Influencing Family Planning Uptake Among Adolescents And Postpartum Women In Kenya, Shiphrah Kuria-Ndiritu

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Family planning (FP) is a cost-effective public health strategy, but the uptake is low with marked disparity among adolescents and postpartum women. However, data on these marginalized groups are limited. This quantitative, cross-sectional study sought to provide information on the factors that contribute to the uptake of FP among adolescents and postpartum women in Kenya. The 2014 Kenya Demographic Health Survey FP data were analyzed regarding the factors associated with FP uptake among adolescents and postpartum women as well as the differences by region. The factors were organized according to the socioecological model (SEM) and included intrapersonal, interpersonal, community, and …