Medicine and Health Sciences Commons^™

Illness Perceptions And Health-Promoting Behaviors: The Buffering Role Of Resilience In Adults With Congenital Heart Disease, Taylor Rose Eldridge

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Congenital heart defects (CHD) are one of the most prevalent genetic abnormalities, impacting the lives of millions of children, teens, and young adults. Conservative diagnoses estimate that 2.4 million children and adults are living with CHD in the United States (Gilboa et al., 2016). CHD requires consistent cardiac support with multiple surgeries and hospitalizations expected throughout the lifetime, which significantly impacts psychological health. Specifically, patients present with a host of extra-cardiac conditions that impact their quality of life. With advancements in medical technology, mortality rates continue to improve for this population; however, individuals face a number of consequences that impact …

Balancing Wellness And Leadership: Exploring Black Women Administrators’ Subjective Well-Being, Resilience, And Radical Self-Care In Higher Education, Lashae Grottis

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Leaders in higher education experience high and unrealistic demands for their skills, time, and energy, causing stress, competing priorities, burnout, compromised health, and attrition. However, unlike other racial and gender groups, Black women higher education administrators experienced these challenges more intensely. As a result of chronic stress associated with being undervalued and overworked, discriminatory and unwelcoming workplaces, and intersectional biases, Black women leaders are leaving higher education workplaces. Despite the link between gendered racism and unwellness, little is known about the problem from a positive leadership perspective. This study addressed the lack of knowledge of the wellness strategies Black women …

The Impact Of Self-Compassion Strategies To Reduce Stress And Support The Transition To Practice For New Graduate Nurses: A Pilot Project, Charity Michelle Ballmann

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Abstract The purpose of the study was to analyze the impact of self-compassion exercises to reduce stress and support the transition to practice for new graduate nurses. As the years pass, one thing remains a consistent topic in healthcare, and the need for nurses remains constant. The nursing staffing shortage gap seemingly widened further as the COVID-19 pandemic created additional challenges for healthcare systems, patient care, and employees. Retention of the workforce and an intentional focus on new graduate nurses' well-being have become increasingly important. New graduate nurses are a pipeline for the nursing workforce. Supporting the transition to practice …

Building Resilience In Graduate Nurses Through Online Virtual Simulation, Robert Grant Harmon

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Resilience has become a popular topic in nursing research. Nurses experience enormous stress throughout their training process that extends into their first employment as they transition into practice. Simulation training is a standard for training nurses and for continuing professional education within academia. Most simulation training for nurses is focused on building critical thinking skills. While critical thinking is an essential quality equipping nurses to meet professional demands, resilience is a crucial quality to overcome the stress of both training and practice. Resilience is believed to play an essential role in the retention of new graduate nurses and preventing burnout …

Adverse Childhood Experiences (Aces): Assessing Their Impact On Mental Health Outcomes Among Us Children And The Mitigating Role Of Resilience, Glory Okwori

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

ACEs are traumatic life events occurring during childhood that can have negative effects. Common mental disorders that are diagnosed in childhood are attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), behavior disorders, anxiety and depression. The associations between ACEs and such problems in children have not been significantly examined. There are protective factors that can help reduce the effects of exposure to ACEs that have not been fully explored.

The purpose of this research study was to examine: 1) the prevalence of mental health outcomes in children; 2) the associations between ACEs, resilience and mental health outcomes; and 3) the role of resiliency as a …

Policy Development: Stress Management And Critical Incident Debriefing, Karen Loraine Hasie Rowland

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Abstract Workplace stress and associated disorders (occupational burnout, compassion fatigue, secondary traumatic stress, critical incident stress, posttraumatic stress disorder, etc.) disproportionately affect healthcare workers, especially those working in critical care and emergency environments. The financial cost of stress related after-effects experienced by health care workers exceeds $191 billion each year and includes the cost of associated decreased quality of patient care, missed diagnoses, medical errors, and sentinel events leading to patient disablement or mortality. Mental health interventions such as stress management education and critical incident debriefings have been proven effective in reducing workplace stress and building personal resilience. A gap …

The Impact Of A Digital Intervention On Perceived Stress, Resiliency, Social Support, And Intention To Leave Among Newly Licensed Nurses: A Randomized Controlled Trial, Lisa Concilio

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The nursing shortage has been deemed a public health crisis with the turnover rate of newly licensed nurses (NLNs) growing (Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, 2014). One out of five NLNs are leaving the profession due to work dissatisfaction and feelings of inadequacy (National Academy of Medicine, 2017). NLN attrition during the first year of hire has been associated with feelings of overwhelming stress and decreased sense of support which negatively impact patient safety (Spence Laschinger et al., 2016). As seasoned nurses are attempting to retire amidst a nursing shortage (American Association of Colleges of Nursing, 2018), NLNs require more support …

The Interaction Of Adversity, Hope, Social Support, And Academic Resilience In Emerging Appalachian Adults, Daniel Joseph Gottron Jr.

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The negative impact of adverse childhood experiences on both short-term and long-term wellbeing has been repeatedly validated across multiple populations. While adverse childhood experiences have been thoroughly researched in many contexts, this is not the case for Appalachia, which has often been relegated to the fringe of scholarly research, resulting in an overall lack of research on Appalachia. Further lacking is research into how protective factors might be utilized to help overcome adversity. While some recent research on the relationship between adverse childhood experiences, hope, and resilience has been conducted, it too has been limited to select populations. It is …

Emergency Department Nursing Psychological Care (Early Crisis Intervention) For Adult Victims Of Violent Crime: A Quantitative Study, Barbara Conn

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Recognition of the significance of early interventions and the importance of addressing psychological trauma for the victim of violence is of utmost importance for quality of life and the victim’s future. The serious impact of psychological trauma on victims of violent crime supports further study to determine whether Emergency Department (ED) nurses assess this trauma and initiate early interventions and referral for ongoing psychological care. Nursing care, assessment and early intervention with victims of violent crime was the focus of this dissertation study.

A quantitative study, with a non-experimental, descriptive design employed retrospective chart reviews to determine whether ED nurses …

Developing Resilience Training For The Healthcare Employee In A Rural Medical Center, Sandra E. Gothard

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

In the clinical setting and in their personal lives, health professionals are confronted with many stressors that impact their time and the clarity of their role. Stressors are emotional, moral, or spiritual in nature as a result of exposure to suffering and death. There are often occupational stressors, such as reduced social support, excessive workload, or a prolonged misalignment among personal needs, individual values, and the work role. As a result of these challenges, health care employees need to create coping skills when stressors and demands become hindrances to personal well-being and their professional ability to care for others. Developing …

An Exploration Of Dementia Friendly Communities From The Perspective Of Persons Living With Dementia, Catherine Hebert

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The growing global prevalence of dementia coupled with a shift in public perception from a hopeless disease to the possibility of living well with dementia has led to the formation of dementia friendly communities (DFC). DFCs are a new phenomenon in the United States, with a gap in knowledge on input from people living with dementia (PLWD). This study investigated DFCs from the perspective of PLWD in Western North Carolina, with the following research questions:

1. How are interactions and relationships experienced by persons living with dementia in the community?
2. How is community engagement experienced by PLWD?
3. To what extent and …

Determining The Relationship Among Change Fatigue, Resilience, And Job Satisfaction Of Hospital Staff Nurses, Robin Brown

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Purpose: The purpose of the study was to determine if there is a relationship among change fatigue, resilience, and job satisfaction of hospital staff nurses and if differences exist between novice and experienced staff nurses.

Background: Healthcare is typified by change. Organizational changes have a negative impact on nurses and the effects of organizational change are being overlooked and under researched. Change fatigue is a result of constant organizational change and has not been researched with nurses.

Methods: The study utilized a descriptive correlational design. Participants completed an online survey, using three tools: Change Fatigue Scale, Connor-Davidson Resilience Scale (CD-RISC), …

Pilot Study Of The Effects Of Heart Rate Variability Biofeedback On Perceived Stress, Perceived Coping Ability, And Resilience In Accelerated Baccalaureate Nursing Students, Andrea J. Harmelink

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Objective. The purpose of this quasi-experimental randomized controlled two-group pilot study was to test the effectiveness of a Heart Rate Variability Biofeedback (HRVB) intervention on accelerated baccalaureate nursing (ABN) students’ perceived stress, perceived coping ability, and resilience over four weeks during an academic term of ABN coursework. This study was guided by Lazarus and Folkman’s Transactional Theory of Stress and Coping, with a focus on primary appraisal.
Background. ABN students report higher perceived stress and anxiety compared with nursing students in traditional four-year nursing programs due to the compressed and fast-paced format of the ABN curriculum. Qualitative data points to …

Is Conflict A Factor In A Population's Quality Of Life? A Comparative Study Of University Students In The Palestinian Territories And Jordan, Yara Asi

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

As nearly one third of the world's population lives in an area that is in some way touched by war, researchers have long been interested in the varied impacts of conflict on civilians. Many indicators, measuring both physical and mental constructs, have been assessed in war-torn populations from around the world, one of which is health-related quality of life (HRQoL). The occupied Palestinian Territories (oPt) are one region in which copious research on health indicators has been undertaken in an effort to understand how long-term conflict manifests itself in noncombatant populations. However, existing studies focus primarily on indicators within the …

Resiliency In Adolescent College Students, Nancy Ahern

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The construct of resilience has gained considerable attention over the last four decades since researchers observed that children and youth could cope and adapt in spite of adversity. Resilience involves a dynamic process involving an interaction between both risk and protective processes, internal and external to the individual, that can modify the effects of an adverse life event. Adolescence is considered to be a period of vulnerability for most individuals as they often partake in high risk behaviors. Further, those individuals who are in their early college years are faced with the developmental challenges of this life phase which can …