Medicine and Health Sciences Commons^™

Comparing Balance Performance On Force Platform Measures In Individuals With Parkinson's Disease And Healthy Adults, Cathy C. Harro, Amanda Kelch, Cora Hargis, Abigail Dewitt

Funded Articles

Introduction. Postural instability is a known contributing factor to balance dysfunction and increased fall risk in those with Parkinson’s disease (PD). Computerized posturography employing a force platform system provides objective, quantitative as- sessments of postural control impairments. This study examines balance performance as measured by force platform (FP) tests in persons with PD compared to age-matched healthy adults. Secondarily, we examine if these FP measures provide diagnostic and clinically meaningful information about the underlying balance impairments in the PD population.

Methods. Participants—42 individuals with PD (Hoehn and Yahr stage 2.33 0.77) and 55 age-matched healthy adults—were assessed on …

Implementing Palliative Care Pre-Cardiothoracic Transplant, Sarah E. Bakker

Honors Projects

Palliative care is defined as a specialty of medicine that improves the quality of life of patients and family members facing a life-threatening illness, by providing early detection and prevention of pain, psychological, and other physical struggles. Patients diagnosed with diseases such as congestive heart failure or lung disease will face an ongoing list of problems that impacts their quality of life, yet most do not receive the proper tools to manage their disease until the last stages of their life. Implementing palliative care at the initial diagnosis of a chronic cardiothoracic disease improves precision of patient-centered goals, symptom management, …

Analysis Of Maternity Practices In Ghana With The Implementation Of Telemedicine, Pierce Henderson

Honors Projects

This paper will specifically examine the similarities and differences between maternity practices in Ghana and the U.S., and identify how telemedicine can be used to improve these practices.

Let's Talk About Dementia: The Effects Of Dementia On Communicative Functions, Mary Kate Hoeve

Honors Projects

A general outline and presentation designed for a seminar setting aimed toward an audience of medical staff in skilled nursing facilities. The purpose of this training is to educate frequent communication partners of those with dementia about effective communication tactics, as well as, a brief definition of dementia. Additionally, a small portion is dedicated to dysphagia. The possible role of a speech-language pathologist in dementia care is also discussed throughout the training.

Creating And Conducting Intergenerational Learning In Higher Education, Andrea Lauren Holt

Honors Projects

The creation, conduction and revision of a one of a kind intergenerational course taught in the Grand Valley State University Fredrick Meijer Honors College. Elders and Traditional Honors College Freshman came together in a mixed classroom in order to bridge the gaps of communication and misunderstanding between generations.

Mindfulness’S Effects On Undergraduate Nursing Students' Negative Mental Health Symptoms: A Systematic Review, Erin Sartorius

Honors Projects

Undergraduate nursing students endure unique stressors that potentiate negative consequences to their mental health. Mindfulness-based interventions may improve these negative mental health symptoms in nursing students. The objective of this review is to assess available research regarding the effects of mindfulness-based interventions on the negative mental health symptoms of undergraduate nursing students. The databases CINAHL Complete, PubMed, and PsycINFO were searched for relevant research. Search terms were brainstormed and individually assessed to determine relevancy to the research question. In order to be incorporated into this systematic review, all assessed studies needed to include (1) an intervention rooted in mindfulness, (2) …

Hiv Diagnosis Disclosure To Infected Children And Adolescents; Challenges Of Family Caregivers In The Central Region Of Ghana, Anna Hayfron-Benjamin, Dorcas Obiri-Yeboah, Stephen Ayisi-Addo, Peter Mate Siakwa, Sylvia Mupepi

Peer Reviewed Articles

Background

Disclosure of Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) to infected older children and adolescents is essential for both personal health maintenance and HIV prevention within the larger population. Non-disclosure of HIV status has been identified as one of the potential barriers to optimum adherence especially in children and adolescents. Like many other countries in the SSA region, Ghana has significant number of children and adolescents infected by HIV, who have increased survival times, due to increased access to ART. However, both family caregivers and healthcare workers face an array of challenges with the disclosure process, including the timing, what information about …

An Enhanced Actualized Dnp Model To Improve Dnp Project Placements, Rigor, And Completion: A Research Brief, Marie Vanderkooi, Dianne Conrad, Sandra Spoelstra

Funded Articles

Doctor of nursing practice (DNP) projects are summative evaluations of enactment of the DNP Essentials. However, information about structure, process, and outcomes of DNP projects is scarce. Guided by an enhanced actualized DNP model, this study tested the effect of a PhD-DNP-site mentor model to guide DNP projects. Time-to-complete assignments, defense, and graduation improved; high satisfaction for students, mentors, and faculty were found; and a strengthened academic-practice partnership occurred, leading to additional student placements. Broader testing of the enhanced model in various size and types of academic-practice settings is needed prior to use.

Kappa Opioid Regulation Of Depressive-Like Behavior During Acute Withdrawal And Protracted Abstinence From Ethanol, Sorscha K. Jarman, Alison M. Haney, Glenn R. Valdez

Funded Articles

The dynorphin/kappa opioid receptor (DYN/KOR) system appears to be a key mediator of the behavioral effects of chronic exposure to alcohol. Although KOR opioid receptor antagonists have been shown to decrease stress-related behaviors in animal models during acute ethanol withdrawal, the role of the DYN/KOR system in regulating long-term behavioral changes following protracted abstinence from ethanol is not well understood. The objective of the current study was to further explore the role of the DYN/KOR system in regulating stress-related behavioral changes associated with acute withdrawal and protracted abstinence from ethanol. More specifically, the present experiments sought to examine the ability …

Profiles And Predictors Of Risk For Developmental Delay: Insights Gained From A Community-Based Universal Screening Program, Jing Chen, Gwenden Dueker, Candace Cowling

Funded Articles

No abstract provided.

Test Of An Interprofessional Collaborative Practice Model To Improve Obesity-Related Health Outcomes In Michigan, Jean Nagelkerk, Ramona Benkert, Brenda Pawl, Amber Myers, Lawrence J. Baer, Ann Rayford, Scott J. Berlin, Kimberly Fenbert, Holly Moore, Mark Armstrong, Drew Murray, Phyllis D. Boone, Sandra Masselink, Carly Jakstys

Funded Articles

The purpose of the study was to test the effectiveness of an interprofessional collaborative practice (IPCP) education program on clinicians' and students' knowledge and attitudes toward IPCP and to determine the effectiveness of an IPCP weight loss program in two nurse-managed centers. The study team used the Midwest Interprofessional Practice, Education, and Research Center (MIPERC) collaborative practice education program that consists of online learning modules followed by daily huddles and collaborative care planning. The obesity intervention program was implemented by faculty and staff practitioners and students in two clinics with very different patient populations (community residents and college students). Staff/faculty …

The Death Debate: Penumbra Conundrum, Robert F. Johnson

Peer Reviewed Articles

Determination and declaration of death by neurologic criteria, brain death, is an established and legally accepted clinical practice with profound implications. Concerns regarding the accuracy of this diagnosis raise important clinical, ethical, and legal issues. A recent magazine article highlights these concerns by describing a poignant example of a patient meeting accepted clinical and ancillary testing criteria for brain death in the setting of post cardiac arrest hypoxic ischemic encephalopathy (CA-HIE). With continuation of ventilatory and nutritional support, this patient not only survived but over time demonstrated findings that were no longer consistent with brain death. Offered here is a …

Vaccines: History And Science, Khyllian Lowry

Honors Projects

This document aims to provide some information about vaccination including their history and the basic science behind their design.

Nursing Student Perceptions Of Study Abroad, Emma Branch

Honors Projects

Following the author's own study abroad in Cusco, Peru in May 2017, a literature review was conducted on nursing students who studied abroad and its effect on their ability to provide culturally competent care. Based on that review, the author created a standardized survey tool to be used on other nursing students who study abroad. This tool includes pre-travel and post-travel questions. It collects demographic data, data on the logistics of the trip, and open-ended questions about the experience. The tool was distributed to the GVSU nursing students who went to Ghana, Africa in March 2018. The data from that …

Trans, Gender Non-Conforming, And Non-Binary Experiences With The Us Health Care System, Brenna Wyffels

Honors Projects

This research aims to identify health care obstacles faced by members of the trans, gender non-conforming, and non-binary community. Through a literature review and a Qualtrics survey distributed to university students in the target community via email, obstacles to health care access and solutions to the obstacles were identified. Data collected from survey participants included demographic information, anecdotes about inclusive and exclusive health care experiences, and proposed solutions to health care obstacles. Obstacles to health care access stemmed from many sources, including from biases of health care providers. Solutions ranged from changes that individual providers could make to nation-wide education …

It’S Not About You—It’S About Me, Robert F. Johnson

Peer Reviewed Articles

Hold Me, a film written and directed by Teace Snyder (2016) was distributed by email to palliative care clinicians and educators. The viewpoint presented here is not a review of this movie as a drama for entertainment. Rather it reviews the film to address the suggestion by its producers that it could serve as an adjunct to palliative care professional education.

Improving Care For Children With Down Syndrome: Nursing Interventions, Hannah Burt

Honors Projects

Down Syndrome (DS) is a genetic disease that affects thousands of families. Children with DS often require more medical care since there are over 100 anomalies associated with DS (Philips & Boyd, 2015). Without proper knowledge of DS, it is difficult for healthcare workers to provide effective and relevant care. This paper will focus on physical differences of people with DS, emotional coping in families of children with DS, along with interventions for physical and behavioral health that nurses can implement.

An Analysis Of The Factors That Contribute To High Hiv Rates In The Southern United States, Sabrina Williams

Honors Projects

A thirty three page research examining how factors such as poverty, homophobia, religion, and stigma play a role in the South’s high HIV diagnosis rates.

Current Understanding Of Klippel-Trenaunay Syndrome: A Review Article, Philip Sheridan

Honors Projects

Klippel-Trenaunay Syndrome (KTS) is a rare congenital disease that causes improper lymph, capillary, and venous development that leads to malformations. The disease also causes hypertrophy of soft and bony tissues that, along with lymphedema and the previously stated malformations, causes localized enlargement. The most likely location for this localized enlargement is in the lower extremities. The genetic mutations associated KTS are within the Phosphatidylinositol-4,5-Bisphosphate 3-Kinase Catalytic Subunit Alpha (PIK3CA) and Angiogenic Factor With G-Patch And FHA Domains 1 (AGGF1) genes. These mutations result in enhanced cell proliferation (angiogenesis). Current treatments for KTS are focused on preventative measures (compression and laser …

Relationship Between The Cortisol-Estradiol Phase Difference And Affect In Women, Karyn Butler

Funded Articles

Affective disorders impact women’s health, with a lifetime prevalence of over twelve per cent. They have been correlated with reproductive cycle factors, under the regulation of hormonal circadian rhythms. In affective disorders, circadian rhythms may become desynchronized. The circadian rhythms of cortisol and estradiol may play a role in affective disorders. The purpose of this study was to explore the temporal relationship between the rhythms of cortisol and estradiol and its relationship to affect. It was hypothesized that a cortisol-estradiol phase difference (PD) exists that correlates with optimal affect. A small scale, comparative, correlational design was used to test the …

Improving Outcomes In Adults With Diabetes Through An Interprofessional Collaborative Practice Program, Jean Nagelkerk, Margaret E. Thompson, Michael Bouthillier, Amy Tompkins, Lawrence J. Baer, Jeff Trytko, Andrew Booth, Adam Stevens, Kayleah Groeneveld

Funded Articles

In 2014, the Midwest Interprofessional Practice, Education and Research Center partnered with a Federally Qualified Health Center (FQHC) to implement an interprofessional collaborative practice (IPCP) education program to improve the health of adult patients with diabetes and to improve practice efficiency. This partnership included integrating an interprofessional team of students with the practice team. Twenty-five students and 20 staff engaged in the IPCP program, which included completion of educational modules on IPCP and implementation of daily huddles, focus patient visits, phone calls, team-based case presentations, medication reconciliation, and student-led group diabetes education classes. This study used a sequential mixed methods …