Medicine and Health Sciences Commons^™

The Impact Of Intrauterine Exposure To Gestational Diabetes Mellitus On Early Childhood Body Mass Index Trajectories, Aniq Anam

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Background: Although gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) has been linked to pediatric obesity, there is limited research on the impact of intrauterine exposure to GDM on trajectories of childhood growth. Objective: To assess the effect of prenatal GDM exposure on childhood body mass index (BMI) trajectories. Design: Analyses were conducted using data from cycles 2 to 6 (1994-2004; N=3412 children) of the National Longitudinal Survey of Children and Youth. Latent growth curve modelling (LGCM) was used to model BMI trajectories from age 2 to 10 years with prenatal exposure to GDM as a predictor. Effect modification by breastfeeding was assessed. Results: …

Word-Finding Difficulties: Exploring Tip-Of-The-Tongue States In Young And Old Adults, Allison J. Partridge

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

A Tip-of-the-Tongue (TOT) occurs when you are trying to think of a specific word but lack the ability to bring it to mind. The present study examined implicit learning processes operating under errorful (20-second delay) or errorless (0-second delay) learning conditions in TOT states. Participants included 15 young (20-30 years) and 15 old (65-88 years) adults who were tested twice a week for four weeks on a definition-word pair task. For young participants, results indicated that a TOT was more likely and older participants were more likely to indicate they did not know the word on a consecutive session after …

Mitigating Risk Factors For Disease Progression In Patients With Varus Gonarthrosis, Angelo Boulougouris

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Knee osteoarthritis (OA) is a leading cause of disability worldwide. Its growing burden is related to an aging population, obesity and physical inactivity. The progression of knee OA involves both biomechanical and systemic mechanisms. Known risk factors that might be altered through interventions include lower limb alignment, the distribution of loads across the knee during walking, body composition and muscular strength. The overall purpose of this thesis was to evaluate the effects of multi-modal, rehabilitative and surgical interventions that target different risk factors for disease progression in patients with medial compartment knee OA and varus mal-alignment (varus gonarthrosis). The thesis …

The Development Of A New Dry Powder Inhaler, Xi Zhang

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

A new dry powder inhaler (DPI) for respiratory drug delivery was developed. This novel device is characterized by a micro-dose, passive delivery and multiple doses individually sealed in one replaceable disk. The micro-dose delivery system uses only a small amount of excipient, such as 2-3mg lactose, thereby improving the drug delivery efficiency. The passive delivery method eliminates the need for coordination between breath and device actuation such as the pressure metered dose inhaler (pMDI). Finally, 14 doses on a disk reduce the need to frequently change dosage disks. In addition, each dose is effectively protected by a blister package to …

How Age Friendly Is This City? Strategies For Assessing Age-Friendliness, Michelle Dellamora

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

The Age-Friendly Cities framework, created by the World Health Organization (WHO), has emerged as a community-based response to the challenges of demographic aging and increasing urbanization. In 2010, London, Ontario, became the first city in Canada to join the WHO Global Network of Age-Friendly Communities. Network milestones require the measurement of the baseline age-friendliness of the community. The objectives of this thesis are: 1. Determine the best available assessment tools for measuring the age-friendliness of a community, and 2. Establish the baseline age-friendliness of London, Ontario. A scoping review was utilized to collect and assess available surveys and questionnaires. A …

Are Health Care Providers Following Evidence-Based Practice Guidelines For The Screening, Diagnosis And Treatment Of Childhood Obesity?, Cara Harris, Thu Tran

MSN Research Projects

The purpose of this study was to determine if preteens and adults are screened and given the diphtheria toxoid and acelluar pertussis vaccine.

Healthcare Provider Adherence To Asthma Education Guidelines, Jill Lyle, Misti Garnett, Lisa Hayes

MSN Research Projects

The purpose of this project was to compare the care provided to congestive heart failure patients by three different provider types. The providers chosen were a cardiologist, a family physician and a nurse practitioner. The researchers used guidelines set forth by the American Heart Association and the American College of Cardiology.

Adherence To Guidelines For The Screening And Treatment Of Vitamin D Deficiency In Elderly Patients, Kelly Massey, Rebekah Overstreet, Franklin Golden

MSN Research Projects

The purpose of this study was to determine if health care providers are educating adult asthma patients according to the NHLBI guidelines.

Primary Care Management Of Type 2 Diabetic Patients With Dyslipidemia According To Ncep Atp Iii Guidelines, Alyssa Simmons, Mary Williams

MSN Research Projects

The purpose of this study was to evaluate healthcare providers compliance with the guidelines established by The Endocrine Society regarding Vitamin D.

Tetanus, Diphtheria, And Pertussis Screening And Pertussis Prevention Throughout The Age Span, Lacey Gullick, Kevin Miller

MSN Research Projects

The purpose of this study was to determine the number (percentage) of boys, ages 9-21, who were educated on or who received the HPV vaccine at their local community clinic.

Healthcare Provider's Adherence To The Centers For Disease Control And Prevention's Guidelines Regarding The Human Papillomavirus Vaccine In Males, Lacey Gullick, Kevin Miller

MSN Research Projects

The purpose of this study was to determine the number (percentage) of boys, ages 9-21, who were educated on or who received the HPV vaccine at their local community clinic.

Managing Congestive Heart Failure : A Study Comparing The Management Provided By A Cardiologist, Family Physician And Nurse Practitioner, Jill Lyle, Misti Garnett, Lisa Hayes

MSN Research Projects

The purpose of this project was to compare the care provided to congestive heart failure patients by three different provider types. The providers chosen were a cardiologist, a family physician and a nurse practitioner. The researchers used guidelines set forth by the American Heart Association and the American College of Cardiology.

Healthcare Provider Adherence To Asthma Education Guidelines, Kelly Massey, Rebekah Overstreet, Franklin Golden

MSN Research Projects

The purpose of this study was to determine if health care providers are educating adult asthma patients according to the NHLBI guidelines.

Adherence To Guidelines For The Screening And Treatment Of Vitamin D Deficiency In Elderly Patients, Alyssa Simmons, Mary Williams

MSN Research Projects

The purpose of this study was to evaluate healthcare providers compliance with the guidelines established by The Endocrine Society regarding Vitamin D.

Tetanus, Diphtheria, And Pertussis Screening And Pertussis Prevention Throughout The Age Span, Cara Harris, Thu Tran

MSN Research Projects

The purpose of this study was to determine if preteens and adults are screened and given the diphtheria toxoid and acelluar pertussis vaccine.

The Creation And Implementation Of Interprofessional Simulation Leadership Scenarios, Angeline C. Delucas

Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) Projects

Healthcare is in a historical state of change creating an era that requires superior leadership skills. Leaders face burgeoning challenges in a competitive environment ensconced in reform. Today’s dynamic healthcare environment demands that nurse and interprofessional leaders be astute in a variety of areas including: fiscal responsibility and accountability, organizational politics, interpersonal skills, human resources, communication, conflict resolution, and emotional intelligence. Some areas such as fiscal management are considered hard skills, or skills which can be taught, while others such as conflict resolution are referred to as soft skills, or skills that are learned through experience. Though soft …

Factors Mediating Disruptive Behaviors In A Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Marylois Lacey

Dissertations

. Disruptive behaviors are often related to care giving situations in which the patient wants something that is not possible, refuses to participate in what is required, demands instant gratification, or demands immediate emotional support. In response to the patients’ demands and actions, health care providers use limit setting, activity demand, and denial of request. This study sought to answer the following questions: (a) Are code greens associated with symptoms of a medical and/or psychiatric diagnosis, denial of request, limit setting, and activity demand? (b) Are activity demand, denial of request, and limit setting more likely to be associated with …

Cultural Conflict In Medicine: A Moral Debate Between Paternalism And Patient Autonomy, Hannah Webb

Honors Theses

In today’s society filled with globalization and mass movement of people and ideas, there is an ever present question of how each individual society fits into the overall culture of a diversified country such as the United States. The idea of the US as a melting pot has triggered the inability to create a “one size fits all” style of living. In terms of medicine, westernized practices are typically accepted in a majority of the world. However, conflicting traditional practices as well as religious beliefs are still present in some areas of the world as well as in the US …

Children At-Risk For Hearing Impairment: A Retrospective Study Of The Ontario Infant Hearing Program Population, Katherine M. Smith

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

There is widespread agreement that infant hearing screening programs are effective but such programs may fail to detect all hearing impairment and children can develop subsequent hearing loss after passing the initial screen. This is the core rationale for surveillance programs that are analyzed in this thesis. Infants with hearing risk factors are followed using surveillance programs that include monitoring by audiological assessment.

The study population in this thesis consists of 2,390 children with normal hearing and 248 children with hearing impairment from different referral routes. The Infant Hearing Program Surveillance group is 1.48% of the number of hearing-impaired children. …

Characterizing The Human Vaginal Microbiome Using High-Throughput Sequencing, Jean Megan E. Macklaim

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

The human vaginal microbiome undoubtedly has a significant role in reproductive health and for protection from infectious organisms. Recent efforts to characterize the bacterial species of the vagina using molecular techniques have uncovered an unexpected diversity. Using high-throughput sequencing I sought to describe the structure and function of the vaginal microbiome under different physiological states including healthy, bacterial vaginosis (BV), post-menopausal vaginal atrophy, and acute vulvovaginal candidiasis (VVC).

Partial 16S rRNA gene sequencing revealed that healthy, asymptomatic women most often have vaginal biotas dominated by Lactobacillus iners or L. crispatus. In contrast, BV is a heterogeneous, highly diversified condition …

Resilience As Health Promotion In Action: University Students Who Grew Up Amid Violence Directed Towards Their Mothers, Tatiana Murkin (Zdyb)

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Abstract

Violence against women is among the greatest threats to the health of our population. An estimated three hundred and sixty thousand children in Canada, and over two million worldwide are exposed to violence in their homes (UNICEF, 2006). Growing up amidst such violence seriously compromises children’s capacities for healthy development. Violence against women is not limited by culture, geography or socioeconomic status. It constitutes one of the most pervasive and yet least openly discussed human rights violations and public health issues known today.

Researchers and allied health professionals generally agree that children whose development has been interfered with by …

Academic Achievement Of Children And Adolescents With High-Functioning Autism Spectrum Disorder With In-Depth Focus On Written Expression, Heather M. Brown

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

The goal of this research was to identify areas of strength and need in the academic abilities of students with high functioning autism spectrum disorder (HFASD).

Three studies were undertaken: 1) six meta-analyses investigated whether nonverbal IQ was in accordance with academic achievement scores in the areas of reading, writing, and math for students with HFASD; 2) the narrative writing skills of students with HFASD were examined in order to describe the ways their writing may differ from their typically developing (TD) peers; and 3) the persuasive writing of students with HFASD was examined to determine whether their texts resembled …

Using Habit Reversal To Decrease Filled Pauses And Nervous Habits In Public Speaking, Carolyn Joanne Mancuso

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

ABSTRACT

Public speaking is a challenge faced by people from all walks of life. Research in the area of public speaking has focused on examining techniques to reduce public speaking anxiety. Very little research, however, has focused on the acquisition of public speaking skills. While presenting speeches, many people engage in nervous habits that have the potential to decrease the effectiveness of the speech and their credibility as a speaker. This study evaluated the effectiveness of simplified habit reversal in reducing three of these nervous habits: filled pauses, tongue clicking, and inappropriate use of the word like. Following baseline, participants …

Evolution And Functional Morphology Of The Cephalic Lobes In Batoids, Samantha Lynn Mulvany

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Cephalic lobes are unique structures derived from the anterior pectoral fins, found in select myliobatid stingrays. Many benthic batoids utilize undulatory locomotion and use their pectoral fins for both locomotion and prey capture. Pelagic myliobatids that possess cephalic lobes utilize oscillatory locomotion, using their pectoral fins to locomote and their cephalic lobes for prey capture. Despite differences in habitat usage and locomotor modes, these batoids feed on very similar benthic organisms. The purpose of this study was to 1.) compare the morphology of the cephalic lobes and anterior pectoral fins in lobed and lobeless species, looking at skeletal elements, musculature …

Influencing Change In Healthcare Providers: Communication Strategies For A New Era In Healthcare, Ceonne Raasikh

Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) Projects

Effective provider communication is the key to patient engagement. However, many providers are not able to effectively communicate with patients, in part due to low health literacy. Evidence in the literature supports the use of specific strategies aimed at improving communication with patients. The purpose of this quality initiative was to influence providers to adopt new communication strategies with their patients. Pharmacists, nurses and physicians were invited to participate in a free, full-day, educational event. During the event providers were alerted to the issue of health literacy and provided communication strategies to improve patient comprehension and engagement. Following the presentation, …

Differences Between Healthcare Systems In Costa Rica & The United States And How Those Differences Affect The Overall Quality Of Healthcare, Carlie Decker

Honors Theses

This thesis seeks to examine the similarities and differences between the healthcare system employed in Costa Rica and the healthcare system employed in the United States through a series of interviews and web-based research. Four healthcare system components will be examined in order to determine the success of each system. These components include health insurance coverage, access to pharmaceuticals, medical licensing requirements, and medical research.

Following the completion of the interviews and research, I found that United States citizens pay nearly four times the amount Costa Rican citizens do for health insurance coverage. This dramatic increase in price can be …

Physician Assistants: The Rise Of A Career From A Missed Opportunity In Nursing, Madeline Jary

Honors Theses

The implementation of the concept of mid-level providers in healthcare has undoubtedly contributed greatly to the solution of the physician shortage. This shortage of physicians had posed a problem in the delivery of health care for decades, particularly in rural areas. Nurse Practitioners and Physician Assistants as we know them today may not have existed without previous groundwork and inspiration. The introduction of the nurse clinician concept by Frances Reiter in 1943 led to the later development of a masters nurse clinician program at Duke University by Dr. Eugene Stead and Thelma Ingles. Despite the denial of accreditation of the …

Glass-Ceramics For Non-Metallic Dental Implant Applications, Selma Saadaldin

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Metallic dental implants are an important treatment for the replacement of missing teeth. However, for esthetic and environmental issues, there is a need to develop non-metallic dental implant materials. In this thesis, two novel glass-ceramics (GCs), miserite and wollastonite, were synthesized for one-piece dental implant applications. Glasses were synthesized by wet chemical methods, followed by calcination, melting and quenching. The crystallization kinetics of these glasses were determined by differential thermal analysis (DTA). GC specimens were produced by cold pressing of the glass powder and sintering using schedules determined by DTA. The crystalline phases and microstructure of the GC samples were …

Exploring The Structure And Biochemistry Of Oxidation-Mediated Inhibitation Of The Peptidyl-Prolyl Isomerase Pin1, Brendan T. Innes

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Pin1 is a phosphorylation-dependent peptidyl-prolyl isomerase that has been shown to be neuroprotective in aging-related neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer's disease (AD). However, it is not active in AD brain, and a recent proteomic screen of Mild Cognitive Impairment (MCI) brain samples revealed that Pin1 is oxidized in the brains of these pre-AD patients. This suggests that this oxidation may be the cause of the loss of the neuroprotective Pin1 function in AD. The Pin1 active site contains a functionally critical cysteine residue (Cys113) with a low predicted pKa, making it highly susceptible to oxidation. We hypothesize that Pin1 is …

An Exploration Of Early Childhood Education Students' Knowledge And Preparation To Facilitate Physical Activity For Preschoolers, Olivia Martyniuk

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Early childhood educators play an important role in influencing preschoolers’ physical activity levels. The current study sought to explore Early Childhood Education (ECE) students’ physical activity (PA)-related knowledge and educational experience. A total of 1,113 ECE students from 20 Ontario Colleges completed the study survey (online or on paper), which examined students’ PA course content; awareness of PA guidelines; understanding of health-related benefits of PA; self-efficacy to facilitate PA for preschoolers; as well as PA resource needs. Survey results identified that 72.1% of ECE students had not completed any PA/physical education specific courses, while only 28.7% were familiar with, and …