Medicine and Health Sciences Commons^™

Self-Reflections Through A Screen: Self-Identity, Social Media, And Psychological Well-Being, Jeremy J. Serio

Undergraduate Honors Thesis Collection

Social media use among emerging adults is assumed to be related to a variety of negative psychological outcomes and has, in recent years, become a widely studied phenomenon (Kim, 2017, Pew Research Center, 2018). Despite the widespread assumption, the results from empirical studies of the effects of social media use on mental health in this population have been inconsistent and inconclusive (Keles et al., 2020, Yang et al., 2021). Several meta-analyses (e.g., Keles et al., 2020) demonstrate these inconsistent results across studies and point to the need to consider individual difference factors when researching this issue. Different self-identity styles have …

Patient Harm Associated With Illegal Online Sellers Of Covid- 19 Drug Products: A Year In Review, Kyla Rae Maloney

Undergraduate Honors Thesis Collection

As the online marketplace continues to expand, more patients are turning to the internet for their needs, including COVID-19 pharmaceuticals. However, the current online marketplace is saturated with illegal sellers offering substandard and falsified (SF) products with the potential of causing harm to patients. The primary objective of this thesis is to identify documented cases of harm resulting from illegal online sale of SF COVID-19 related drug or vaccine products. This review utilizes reports by the Medicines Quality Monitoring Globe (MQM Globe) to assess patient harm associated with illegal online sales of COVID-19 marketed pharmaceuticals. This review found 28 references …

The Influence Of Improv Experience On Uncertainty Tolerance, Social Anxiety, And Communication In Adolescents On The Autism Spectrum, Kathryn K. Desbiens

Undergraduate Honors Thesis Collection

This study examined the influence of an improvisational theater experience on perceptions of social anxiety, intolerance of uncertainty (IU), and quality of communication life in autistic adolescents. Seven participants were recruited from Indiana University’s Camp Yes And, a virtual day camp specializing in teaching improv strategies to autistic adolescents. Participants completed three scales measuring social anxiety, IU, and quality of communication life via surveys sent prior to and after attending the camp. It was hypothesized that levels of social anxiety and IU would decrease while quality of communication life would increase. Results indicated that pre- and post-test survey responses showed …

A Survey To Determine The Relationship Between Health Literacy And Vaccine Hesitancy In College Students At Butler University, Lindsey Schreiber

Undergraduate Honors Thesis Collection

The prolonged pandemic has proven the need for vaccines to protect the public against COVID-19. The goal of immunity across populations has been hindered by vaccine refusal and vaccine hesitancy. Finding the root of this hesitancy could be critical in increasing vaccination, which is needed to alleviate the strain that Coronavirus has had on the world. A Qualtrics skip logic survey was created that collected demographic information, vaccine status, vaccine influences, vaccine concerns, and The Newest Vital Sign, a health literacy assessment. The purpose of this study was to find a relationship between health literacy and vaccine hesitancy in order …

The Impact Of Dance On Physical, Intellectual, And Social Aspects Of College Life, Jenna Jean Hensen

Undergraduate Honors Thesis Collection

This study aimed to examine the physical, intellectual, and social impacts of dance on collegiate life. Members of the Butler University Dance Team were surveyed, and 3 members were interviewed in order to gain insight into how they perceived dance has impacted various aspects of their college life. Results showed that increased physical activity levels, academic motivation from teammates and coaching staff, as well as a positive relationship with teammates were positive aspects that dance team participants added to their college experience. Negatively, results showed lack of time for proper warm up, intense time commitments, and pressure to maintain a …

Inducing Alternative Forms Of Cell Death In Multidrug Resistant Ovarian Cancer, Chloe Reese Kotrba

Undergraduate Honors Thesis Collection

Ovarian cancer remains the deadliest gynecological cancer for women today. In 2021, an estimated 21,410 new cases of ovarian cancer were diagnosed in the US, and approximately 13,770 of these women will not survive the disease[2]. This malignancy’s low survival rate is attributed to late diagnoses, as well as the cancer’s tendency to recur after chemotherapy treatment due to acquired drug resistance. The standard of care for this disease includes surgery and chemotherapy. One of the commonly used chemotherapeutic drugs is cisplatin, which works by inducing a programmed form of cell death known as apoptosis. However, many ovarian cancer tumors …

The Effect Of Covid-19 On Substance Use And Mental Health On A College Campus, Georgia Coffman

Undergraduate Honors Thesis Collection

In this research the authors surveyed a university population to determine the impact COVID-19 has had on substance use and mental health. Current research provides significant data indicating worsening mental health and substance use. This paper looks at how applicable those trends are to a small, private university in Indianapolis, Indiana. The data included 261 respondents composed of students, faculty, and staff of the university. The results reveal college students, faculty, and staff experienced statistically significant increases in feelings of unhappiness, depression, loneliness, hopelessness, agitation, and irritability during the pandemic compared to pre-pandemic. Data analysis of survey responses reveals COVID-19 …

From Madness To Medicine: How Nazi Medical Experimentation Morphed Into Today’S Medical Field, Alexandria Daughn Kerby

Undergraduate Honors Thesis Collection

It is no secret that many of our current scientific and medical advancements stem from a long history of research, trials, and experimentation, but not enough is known about the origins of our routine practices. The Holocaust enabled Nazi doctors to explore countless victims in search of the ultimate answer to the Jewish question. The answer: to alleviate the burden that those deemed “unworthy of life” placed on the greater society. The mass extermination practices which highlight the atrocities of the Holocaust are the end result of constant scientific developments disguised as medicine. Tiergarten 4 (T4) serves as the beginning …

Functional Movement Screen And Its Link To Sports Injury In Butler University Division I Student Athletes, Sarah Dickinson

Undergraduate Honors Thesis Collection

The Functional Movement Screen (FMS) is a physical assessment made up of seven fundamental movements which are designed to evaluate an individual’s functional movement patterns. The seven subtests target mobility and stability to identify limitations or asymmetries in normal movement (O’Conner et al., 2011). It is suspected that individuals who continue to use substandard movements during training are more susceptible to musculoskeletal injury (Chorba et al., 2010). In this study, FMS data from Butler University’s Division I men’s and women’s basketball, soccer, and cross-country teams were analyzed to investigate potential correlation with injury prevalence, sports team, and gender. Research from …

Proposing An Educational Framework For Healthcare Professionals On The Topic Of Substandard Or Falsified Medications And Illegal Online Pharmacies, Margo Elaine Whitehead

Undergraduate Honors Thesis Collection

Background: Substandard or falsified medication prevalence in countries like the United States is documented with much more consistency than developing nations. On the contrary, although online pharmacies have been around for several decades, there is very limited data published establishing the prevalence of online pharmacy use by the general population (Fitler). Currently, there is no standardized curriculum regarding substandard or falsified medications and illegal online pharmacies offered to healthcare providers to combat the problems raised by counterfeits. Therefore, it is necessary to assess institutions’ current stance on implementing concepts in the curriculum and to create an educational framework based on …

Comparison Of Injuries To The Anterior Cruciate Ligament In Male Soccer And Football Athletes And The Effect Of Varying Rehabilitation On Recovery Time, Matthew Moraw

Undergraduate Honors Thesis Collection

Injuries are commonplace when a sport involves high levels of physical contact and quick movements. Athletes often strain or tear muscles and sprain ligaments when they are putting above normal levels of stress on the connection points through their explosive motions and high force collisions. Two sports where this is particularly common are soccer and football. Due to the high levels of running and cutting in both sports, lower body injuries, particularly to the knee are some of the most common injuries that occur. The purpose of this study was to take a retrospective look at ACL tears in college …

Religious And Cultural Considerations In Nigeria Regarding The Low Vaccination Rates For The Oral Polio Vaccine, Allison Luann Welz

Undergraduate Honors Thesis Collection

When the polio vaccine was developed in the 1950s, the healthcare field saw the eradication of polio happening by the turn of the 21st century. However, in 2022 there are still countries with endemic strains of polio, with Nigeria only recently being taken off of this list in 2020. This paper focuses on synthesizing research about the initial oral polio vaccine (OPV) efforts in 2002 Nigeria to improved efforts in the 2010s. Nigeria is widely known for boycotting the vaccine and implementing extensive educational programming attempts to remedy the situation. By looking at various cultural and religious factors that caused …

Development And Evaluation Of A Diabetes Themed Escape Room For Students Completing An Ambulatory Care Advanced Pharmacy Practice Experience, Katherine Frances Brown

Undergraduate Honors Thesis Collection

Introduction: Escape rooms are a novel form of entertainment that have become increasingly popular in the United States. The idea of an escape room has great potential for educational purposes as well. In professional healthcare schooling, they have been used to supplement what students learn in the classroom. Interactive learning through the use of an escape room has been studied in the setting of pharmacy students completing their third year of traditional didactic learning. As of yet, there is no published literature that analyzes the use of escape rooms in the Advanced Pharmacy Practice Experience (APPE) setting.

Objectives: The primary …

Unique Needs, Barriers, And Discrimination Experienced By Spinal Cord Injury Patients In Dental Facilities, Lindsey Brooke Schuler

Undergraduate Honors Thesis Collection

Objective:

The primary objectives of this study are to determine SCI patients' barriers to dental care, perceptions regarding dental professionals understanding of their unique needs, and feelings of SCI- related discrimination.

Methods:

An online survey was conducted through SCI social media support pages. A modified version of the Discrimination in Medical Settings Scale (DMSS) was utilized to capture perceived discrimination in dental facilities.

Results:

The majority of participants (53%) experienced at least one barrier in dental care. If patients experienced a barrier, they reported lower oral health ratings (p=0.031) and were less likely to have been to the dentist within …

English Morpheme Accuracy, Diversity, And Productivity Measures In School-Aged Bilingual Children, Gabrielle Raab

Undergraduate Honors Thesis Collection

The identification of meaningful language measures for bilingual children has important clinical implications in the diagnosis of impairment. Given the shortage of bilingual speech-language pathologists, informative English measures are invaluable. This study extends current research to examine the utility of widely accepted English grammatical measures in bilingual school-aged children with differing levels of English exposure. The language sample analyses implemented have shown repeatedly to discriminate between typical and language impaired monolinguals, and more recently were considered in the assessment of developing bilinguals. Measures were taken from the language samples of thirteen school-aged bilingual Spanish-English speaking children who told a story …

Perceived Harm Level Of Personal Listening Devices And Effects On Task Performance, Laura White

Undergraduate Honors Thesis Collection

This study aimed to examine if people know what intensity level of white noise or music will harm hearing with prolonged exposure. Each of the 25 college students were surveyed to find their perceived harm level in white noise and music, then completed a comprehension test while listening to each sound at that intensity level. The participants did not have perceived harm levels above the NIOSH-recommended 85 dB-A and there were no significant differences between the sound conditions. This showed that using personal listening devices while completing daily tasks is highly variable and may not cause harm.

Language-Deprived Environments: Neonatal Intensive Care Units And Hearing Loss, Margaret Caesar

Undergraduate Honors Thesis Collection

Adequate language exposure is crucial for speech-language development in children. Previous research suggests that decreased language exposure leads to an increased risk for speech-language developmental delays. This study aims to explore the language exposure of two arguably language-deprived environments: Neonatal Intensive Care Units (NICU) and severe-to-profound hearing loss. This is a two-part study that examines caregiver-infant interactions through the analysis of infant-directed speech (IDS). In the first part of the study, researchers transcribed and analyzed pre-recorded Language Environment Analysis (LENA) audio recordings of five (5) infants with severe-to-profound hearing loss (6-months post cochlear implantation). These LENA recordings collected speech, language, …

The Impact Of Nurse Stress, Job Distress, Job Satisfaction And Mood On Patient Outcomes, Madelynne Wright

Undergraduate Honors Thesis Collection

This study examined the intercorrelations among nursing home healthcare providers’ stress, job distress, job satisfaction, and mood, as well as the relationships between these factors and patient outcomes. Additionally, this study investigated the impact Butler University’s Music First! program had on nurse job perceptions. A total of 63 nurses from 9 long-term care facilities completed questionnaires asking about stress, job distress, and global job satisfaction. Nurses’ depression, anxiety and hostility were also assessed with a 15-item Profile of Mood States questionnaire. Of these 63 nurses, 20 completed the questionnaires at three different time points during the implementation of the Music …

The Role Of Gender In The Perception Of Lipreading, Emma Richards

Undergraduate Honors Thesis Collection

The experiment examines the gender differences in lipreading ability. We tested 25 fluent English-speaking adults with normal hearing and vision. Each participant was asked to watch four videos testing their lipreading ability with matched and nonmatched gendered speakers. The participants were asked to transcribe 40 sentences, which were scored on the number of target words correct. It was found that participants who watch the videos with matched genders perceived more target words than in the mismatched gender videos. The results could explain previous inconsistencies in earlier research of whether ability to lipread is improved by the gender of the speaker.

Counseling On Exercise: The Pharmacist's Role, Katelyn Hettinger

Undergraduate Honors Thesis Collection

Only one in three adults in the United States meets the weekly physical activity recommendations, and only 5% of adults are active for at least 30 minutes a day.¹ Exercise is a key component of health and wellness, especially for patients already experiencing comorbid conditions. Exercise has been proven to help alleviate pain in patients experiencing anything from low back pain to fibromyalgia and has been a helpful adjunct in diabetes management.² Pharmacists are in an exciting position to advocate for changes in patients’ lifestyles daily and are in an incredibly accessible position to do so. However, exercise …

Emergent Shift To Telepractice During The Covid-19 Pandemic By School-Based Speech-Language Pathologists, Charlotte May Hilker

Undergraduate Honors Thesis Collection

Purpose: Schools across America closed abruptly and indefinitely starting March 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. As a result, speech-language pathologists (SLPs) working in these schools turned to telepractice to meet the needs of their clients. Telepractice is a relatively new service delivery model in the field of speech-language pathology. Challenges related to telepractice include clinicians’ limited hours of training for telepractice, clients’ lack of access to telehelpers during therapy, and both clinician and client beginning to work from home, and issues with working from home. The aim of the current study was to assess how these issues affect telepractice …

The Influence Of Music Training And Bilingualism On Speech And Music Perception, Allison Marie Smith

Undergraduate Honors Thesis Collection

This case study investigates the role that bilingualism and/or music training plays on the pitch perception of non-native speech and musical pitch contrasts in 6- to 7-year-old children. This study aimed to investigate two research questions. First, does the infant bilingual advantage in pitch perception persist through childhood? Second, does music training lead to an advantage in pitch perception? There were 4 participants with the following criteria: a monolingual non-musician, monolingual musician, bilingual non-musician, and a bilingual musician. The participants performed a series of perception tasks, including English minimal pairs, Mandarin pitch contrasts, and violin pitch contrasts. It was found …

The Effects Of A Glp-1 Receptor Agonist On Hba1c And Weight In Comparison To Standard Therapy In A Veteran Population, Isaac Warshawsky

Undergraduate Honors Thesis Collection

Glucagon-Like Peptide 1 Receptor Agonists (GLP-1 RAs) present a novel therapy for use in Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus (T2DM) patients to reduce Hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c) and weight. GLP-1 RAs are costly medications and are not currently on the national formulary for Veterans Affairs medical centers. This study looks to explore the efficacy data in a veteran population.

Evaluating The Impact Of Verigene® Organism Identification On Antimicrobial Stewardship Recommendations, Rebecca Gerske

Undergraduate Honors Thesis Collection

Verigene® is one of many commercially available rapid diagnostic tests (RDT) for organism identification in blood culture. Community Health Network (CHNw) utilizes this system to identify blood cultures and guide antimicrobial therapy. As antibiotic resistance becomes more and more prevalent, limiting exposure to broad-spectrum antibiotic therapy is of paramount importance. RDT provides more timely information to providers, which if utilized appropriately, can result in the patient receiving appropriate antibiotic therapy in a shorter time and further limits unnecessary antibiotic exposure. This study was a three-part, retrospective chart review to determine the microbiological accuracy of Verigene® within CHNw and evaluate the …

Evaluation Of Attendance, Patient Satisfaction, Knowledge, And Clinical Outcomes Following Participation In A Group Diabetes Self-Management Education And Support Program In A Primary Care Clinic Setting, Jordan Rauh

Undergraduate Honors Thesis Collection

Introduction: Although group Diabetes Self-Management Education and Support (DSMES) programs have been attempted throughout Community Health Network, no evaluation of the programs had been conducted.

Objectives: The primary objectives of this study were to evaluate attendance, patient satisfaction and change in disease state knowledge following participation in six sessions of a group DSMES program led by a multidisciplinary team. The secondary objective was to evaluate clinical outcomes.

Methods: This retrospective, observational study focused on process improvement evaluating a standardized approach to a group DSMES program beginning in August 2017 within Community Health Network. Eleven courses ran six sessions lasting approximately …

The Motivations And Perceived Benefits Of Student Participation In Dance Marathon, Emily Nettesheim

Undergraduate Honors Thesis Collection

The Children’s Miracle Network Dance Marathon movement has attracted over one million college students nationwide and fundraised over $38 million in 2017. The objective of this study was to determine student motivations and perceptions of the benefits of participation in Dance Marathon. This was a quantitative and qualitative cross-sectional study administered using an online survey software. Undergraduate students from three different Indiana programs were invited to participate. The survey consisted of 20 questions divided into four categories: demographics, what is Dance Marathon participation, motivations, and perceived benefits from DM involvement. There were 161 respondents out of 1492 recipients for an …

Parent Interaction Between An Infant With A Cochlear Implant And Additional Disabilities, Lillian Southern

Undergraduate Honors Thesis Collection

Pediatric hearing loss has many spoken language learning issues that can impact parent-infant interaction. Moreover, additional disabilities are likely to increase stress, which could have cascading effects on communication. The purpose of the study was to examine interactions between mother- and father-child dyads with and without hearing loss and/or Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), Cytomegalovirus (CMV), and global delay. Recordings of the parents speaking with six infants in the study were analyzed: an infant with cochlear implants and ASD (low socioeconomic status, SES), two infants with cochlear implants and normal development (high SES and low SES), one infant with a cochlear …

Assessment And Analysis Of H.Pylori Infection Treatment Strategies Of St. Vincent Hospital's Family And Internal Medicine Clinics, Rebecca Orr

Undergraduate Honors Thesis Collection

Helicobacter pylori is a gram-negative bacteria that is responsible for causing chronic gastritis, ulcers in the stomach and intestine, and eventually even gastric lymphoma or cancer. Multiple treatment options have been recommended for treating an H. pylori infection based on kidney function, previous antibiotic exposure, and whether or not the infection is recurrent. The most common regimens used at St. Vincent's primary care centers closely mimic the American College of Gastroenterology's clinical guidelines. However, these medications (clarithromycin and levofloxacin) have been associated with high rates of resistance in other countries. The United States has very limited data on H. pylori's …

Evaluation Of An Outpatient Parenteral Antimicrobial Therapy Program In A Specialty Clinic Setting, Elizabeth Hauk

Undergraduate Honors Thesis Collection

Introduction: Outpatient parenteral antimicrobial therapy (OPAT) has gained popularity since its first description in 1974. At Community Health Network (CHN), the OPAT clinic was developed three years ago by an ambulatory care clinical pharmacist and includes pharmacist driven monitoring for all patients receiving OPAT. The pharmacist ensures labs are drawn weekly to assess for renal or hepatic function changes, medication levels are drawn and adjusted as needed, and repeat labs and levels are ordered to continue assessing therapy. There have not been any studies to date to investigate CHN’s OPAT program both demographically and clinically.

Objectives: The primary objective of …

Effect Of Rurality On Diabetes-Related Hospitalizations In A Small Acute Care Hospital In Jackson County, Indiana, Lindsey Ridlen

Undergraduate Honors Thesis Collection

Patient access to healthcare can be a potentially significant barrier to overall health outcomes, especially when paired with a costly and complex disease state such as diabetes. The purpose of this study was to determine if patients with Type 2 diabetes mellitus living in rural areas of Jackson County experience greater health disparity and more diabetes-related hospitalizations than those living in non-rural areas. The study was conducted at Schneck Medical Center in Seymour, Indiana. A total of 164 patients were included in the final analysis based on the presence of a diabetes-related diagnosis code in the patient’s chart; of these, …