Medicine and Health Sciences Commons^™

Traumatic Brain Injury Severity In Older Adults: Impact On Anxiety And Depression Symptoms And Community Engagement, Ashley Tomford

Theses and Graduate Projects

Background: Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) is one of the leading causes of physical and cognitive disability worldwide. TBI can negatively impact cognitive, physical, social, and psychological functioning.

Objective: This study investigated interactions between TBI severity, mental health symptom severity, and community engagement among older adults. Specific aims included investigating 1) the relationship between TBI severity at the time of injury and psychiatric symptom severity at one-year post-TBI; 2) the relationship between TBI severity and community engagement at one-year post-TBI; and 3) whether mental health symptom severity moderated the relationship between TBI and post-injury community engagement.

Methods: Archival data was analyzed …

Can Exercise Be An Alternative Treatment Option For Depression, Walker Rogers

Theses and Graduate Projects

As most people know, exercise has always been beneficial for our overall health. No matter which exercise program it is, they all provide some sort of benefit. A growing problem has been depression as more and more people are being diagnosed. Since normally, most people would be prescribed SSRIs, I wanted to find out if there were alternative options. I sought to determine if exercise can be an alternative treatment option for depression. A comprehensive literature review was conducted using the websites PubMed, NCBI, Science Direct, & Academic Search Premier and using the search terms depression, anxiety, exercise, yoga, resistance …

Investigating The Relationship Between Mental Health And Co- Morbidity Management During The Covid-19 Pandemic: A Literature Review, Alejandra Soto

Theses and Graduate Projects

Background: The COVID-19 pandemic caused many disruptions to millions of lives, especially with the enforcement of government shutdowns, isolations, and social distancing. These measures lead to increased anxiety and depression in the general population. With many high- risk patient populations having chronic comorbidities, accessing routine medical care and supplies became difficult during the pandemic.

Purpose: How has mental health affected the management of pre-existing comorbidities during the COVID-19 pandemic?

Methods: A comprehensive literature review was conducted using the research engine PubMed using the search terms: “pandemic”, “COVID-19”, “comorbidities”, “mental health”, “morbidity”, and “mortality”. Inclusion criteria were studies …

Does Probiotic Supplementation Improve Depression/Anxiety Outcome Measures?, Kathryn M. Decleene

Theses and Graduate Projects

Background: Depression and anxiety continue to be a healthcare burden worldwide. Current depression and anxiety treatments include medications and psychotherapy; however, for many patients this is not enough. Literature has recently come out detailing the gut-brain axis and its potential impact on mental health.

Purpose: This literature review sought to answer the question if probiotics could play a role in the treatment of depression and anxiety. Specifically, does supplementation with a probiotic improve clinical outcome measures of depression, anxiety, or both? Methods: A comprehensive literature review was conducted using PubMed and Google Scholar using the search terms probiotics, …

Lowering Depression Symptoms In Adults: Exploring Nonpharmacologic/Non-Talk Therapy Based Approaches, Alyssa A. Raiolo

Theses and Graduate Projects

Background: Depression has a high prevalence, affecting more than 300 million people worldwide.1 Antidepressants and talk therapy are the current mainstays for treatment. Given the high prevalence of depression, there is value in the research regarding further treatment options.

Purpose: A literature review of studies exploring additional treatment modalities to lower depression symptoms in adults.

Methods: A comprehensive literature review was conducted using with the search terms <(adults) AND (depression, low mood, mental health) AND (pharmacologic, SSRI, SNRI) OR ( physical activity, fitness, exercise), OR (time outdoors, UV exposure, phototherapy) OR (non-talk therapy)>. Inclusion criteria were studies that were published from 2015 to the present. Exclusion criteria were studies not in English.

Conclusions: Aside from the currently recommended approaches to treating …

A Literature Review: What Mental Health Challenges Are Experienced By First-Generation Latino Immigrant And Refugee Families Entering The U.S.?, Hunnaan M. Khan

Theses and Graduate Projects

It is believed that people leave their homeland and come to America for better opportunities, freedom, safety, or second chances at life. As of 2021, Latino’s account for Americas largest minority population however measures to support their communities medically and socially have fallen short. The downfalls of misunderstanding the traumas experienced in their homelands, accounting for premigration, during migration, and postmigration stressors, and systemic issues that fall short in providing culturally sensitive care creates room for mental health challenges to accumulate. Cases of traumas experienced in homelands, cultural implications, the controversies, and difficulties of being held in detention centers, challenges …

Eating For Health, Tanya Reese

Theses and Graduate Projects

As anxiety and depression have increased exponentially, researchers have discovered a link between nutrition and incidences of anxiety and depression. The communication between the gut and the brain is imperative for mental health. The inflammatory process that is initiated in the intestinal tract can change the chemistry of the brain resulting in anxiety and depression. Newman’s Theory, Health as Expanding Consciousness, helps people to identify patterns in their food choices and change those patterns to choose healthier foods. This scholarly project was implemented to teach youth and adults living in a rural community about the link between food and anxiety …

A Literature Review: An Analysis Of The Widespread Effects Of Solitary Confinement/Social Isolation On Mental Illness And Mortality, Taneasha Muonio

Theses and Graduate Projects

Solitary confinement or isolation is widespread globally and has been used as a form of punishment, reform, reflection, and cleansing throughout time. The devastating impacts of not having social interactions for extended periods of time have been documented and noted.1 These impacts include severe mental health disorders such as schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, anxiety, depression, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), suicide, motor disturbances, biological changes, and increased mortality.1-3 The analysis of how the United States became the country with the largest prison system and mentally ill population is addressed in this thesis including understanding how the prison-industrial complex was built. Understanding how …

Suicide Throughout Military Personnel And Veterans: A Literature Review, Brandon Cottrell

Theses and Graduate Projects

Background: Suicide among uniformed servicemembers and veterans is hauntingly common, with numbers increasing despite growing efforts to address potential problem sources. Numerous programs, strategies, research studies and system-wide efforts continue to attempt to stifle the losses. The purpose of this systematic literature review is to evaluate the gravity of the multifactorial situation, and potentially offer insight into future plans to stop these very preventable tragedies.

Methods: A database search was conducted for studies from January 2010 or more recent using PubMed, Elsevier, ScienceDirect, and UpToDate. The search terms/keywords used were “veterans, suicide, prevention, reduction, treatment, strategies, therapy, medications, antidepressant, selective …

A Support Group Proposal For Women Seeking Fertility Treatment, Emily Jazdzewski

Theses and Graduate Projects

lnfertility is the inability to conceive a pregnancy. Not being able to conceive or carry a child is a devastating reality for many women. Infertility causes both physical and emotional stress that can make it difficult to cope. A literature search revealed the need for a support group for fertility patients to share their journey to decrease the incidence of depression and anxiety. A proposal to develop a support group supported by a Reproductive Endocrinology Department will be explored. The proposal will describe benefits of a support group, integrating cognitive behavioral therapy and relaxation and Mindfulness techniques to promote self-soothing …

Introduction Of Healing Touch Into An Established Torture Treatment Center: A Graduate Field Project, Kathleen Mccullough-Zander

Theses and Graduate Projects

Healing Touch, an energetic treatment modality developed by nurses, was introduced into an established torture treatment center with the goal of decreasing torture-related symptoms and increasing survivors' overall sense of well-being and health. Three methods of evaluation were used to determine if the project goal had been met. The first project objective of showing a decrease in participants' reported feelings of anxiety and depression was not achieved. The second project objective of demonstrating a reduction in participant's reported levels of pain was achieved with statistically significant results. The third project objective of obtaining statements of recognition of the therapy as …

A Lived Experience Of Being A Mother Of A Child With Depression: A Hermeneutic Phenomenological Inquiry, Maralou R. Brose

Theses and Graduate Projects

There have been few studies that have attempted to understand the world of parents raising a child with depression. This study introduces the magnitude of the problem of childhood depression and explores what it means to be the mother of an adolescent with depression. For this study, three mothers of adolescents wit.h depression were questioned interviews were in unstructured interviews. The taped transcribed, and the resulting texts were Four core themes were analyzed using a six-stage process. extracted-maternal role, support, and grief-and reveal_ed what it was family disequilibrium, like for mothers raising a child with depression. Hermeneutic phenomenology provided the …