Medicine and Health Sciences Commons^™

Perceived Diabetes Susceptibility Among African American Female College Students, Khaliah India Wilson

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Type 2 diabetes is a leading cause of death among African American women ages 20-44 years, and African American female college students are at high risk. Research shows that college students tend to underestimate their susceptibility to Type 2 diabetes, despite their existing risk factors. There is a gap in knowledge concerning African American female college students and their perception of diabetes susceptibility, despite their increased risk. The purpose of this quantitative nonexperimental, correlational study was to identify the factors associated with perceived personal susceptibility to Type 2 diabetes and Type 2 diabetes-related health behavior among African American female college …

Improving Nurses Knowledge Of Hypertension & Self-Care In Va Telehealth Patients, Rochelle Windley

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

AbstractManagement of hypertension (HTN) is essential to nursing practice. Clinical care home telehealth (CCHT) nurses should be assertive and competent to help patients self-manage high blood pressure in the comfort of their homes. Locally, it was noted that there was a gap in knowledge and skills of the CCHT nurses to deliver evidenced-based and consistent patient education to home telehealth patients. To address the gap, an online training program was developed to increase staff knowledge and skills in hypertension management to improve their ability to coach patients in self-care strategies. The online training program was based on the Eighth Joint …

Subnational Data To Inform Measles Vaccination Campaigns In Children Under 5 Years In Tanzania, Tracie Jean Wright

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Measles is one of the most contagious diseases ever known, infecting as high as 90% of susceptible persons encountering the virus, and globally is one of the main causes of disability and death among children. Measles remains an avoidable disease that can be prevented by receiving a measles containing vaccine using supplemental immunization activities (SIA) implementation strategies. Because national-level measles data may not reflect geographic differences, program capacity, or localized outbreaks, SIAs prompted by and geared toward the subnational level may have a greater impact than a nationwide SIA. The purpose of this retrospective cross-sectional study was to examine the …

Treatment-Seeking Behaviors And Malaria Prevalence Among Under-5 Children In Niger, Aissa Yaye Habi

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Malaria is a deadly vector-borne disease that mainly affects children in Africa, especially in Niger. Although public health efforts in malaria prevention have been successful in many parts of the world, malaria remains a significant public burden in sub-Saharan Africa, especially among children. Despite the numerous studies conducted on individual factors influencing the prevalence of malaria in sub-Saharan Africa and Niger, there is little knowledge about the collective influence of treatment-seeking behaviors and malaria prevalence among under-5 children in Niger. This study was a quantitative study with a cross-sectional design guided by the social-ecological model (SEM) that used secondary data …

Staff Education On Psychosocial Rehabilitation Management Of Individuals Diagnosed With Severe Mental Health Illness, Evarist O. Oguguo

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Serious mental illness (SMI) is common in America and is associated with behavioral and emotional conditions that can lead to serious functional impairment and interfere with a person's decision making and general life activities, negatively impacting themselves and their caregivers, families, and communities. Psychosocial rehabilitation (PSR) is one evidence-based, person-centered approach known to be effective in helping individuals diagnosed with SMI manage their symptoms and improve their daily functioning. To effectively participate in providing PSR, caregivers must have special PSR knowledge. A staff education program was developed to educate and increase staff knowledge about PSR. The purpose of the project …

The Perceptions Of Adult Patients Who Experience Needle Fear During Cosmetic Injections, Julia Hoy

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Adult patients receiving cosmetic injections frequently experience needle fear symptoms which results in patient discomfort, suffering, and poor injection outcomes. The needle fear experience contributes to a decreased quality of life and possible avoidance behaviors involving other medical treatments requiring needles. Researchers have conducted quantitative studies which explored interventions on pain reduction but there are no qualitative studies from the perspectives of adults experiencing needle fear. The purpose of this research study was to explore the perceptions of needle fear in adult patients receiving cosmetic injections in a medical office setting. The interpretative phenomenological approach was used to provide an …

Exploring Nurse Leader Self-Efficacy, Burnout, And Intent To Leave, Donna Donova Johnson

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Nurse leader turnover is an emerging issue in healthcare services. Considerable research has been done over the last decade revealing that nurse leaders are experiencing an increased rate of burnout with an intent to leave their jobs. Less research has been done to understand how to mitigate the rate of nurse leader burnout and retain nurse leaders in the workforce. Higher levels of self-efficacy have mediated the effects of work stress on job burnout in other service related fields. The purpose of this quantitative, non-experimental, cross-sectional study was to explore the possible mediating effect of leader self-efficacy between burnout and …

Relationship Between Healthcare Provider Communication And Preventable 30-Day Copd Readmission Rates, Jonathan Butler

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

AbstractThe Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services implemented the Hospital Readmission Reduction Program in 2012. Ten years later, hospitals across the United States have had negligible improvement in reducing preventable 30-day hospital readmissions for COPD patients. Healthcare, specifically the hospital setting, consists of complex processes and procedures. Not one process or procedure is the sole cause of correcting excessive preventable 30-day readmissions of patients with COPD. The essential elements of provider communication were studied using the Complex Adaptive Systems theory in this quantitative study. Each fundamental element of provider communication was the independent variable, and the preventable 30-day COPD excessive …

Nursing Faculty Experiences With Interactive Games And Gaming And Student Preparedness, Laura S. Dana

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Although instructional strategies to enhance student learning is a critical component of the faculty role, nursing education has been slow to incorporate games and gaming into the learning environment. The primary purpose for this qualitative phenomenological research study was to explore the lived experiences of nursing faculty of associate degree programs, specifically regarding the use of games and gaming as interactive, experiential teaching and learning strategies. This study was designed to answer the question, “What are the lived experiences of faculty who use games and gaming as instructional approaches in associate degree nursing (ADN) education.” Through one-on-one interviews via Zoom …

Relationships Between Stress Self-Management, Social Support, And Health In Hispanic Informal Caregiver Burnout Prevention, Nicole Alexandra Mas Román

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Burnout syndrome is a psychological disorder characterized by physical, emotional, and mental distress and exhaustion resulting in feelings of depression, anxiety, irritability, and negative attitudes. If left unattended, burnout syndrome can lead to new or worsening health outcomes. The purpose of this nonexperimental quantitative study was to examine the relationship between stress self-management, perceived social support, health status, and burden among Puerto Rican informal caregivers. The theoretical foundations for this research were the informal caregiving integrative model and the individual and family self-management theory. Survey data were collected from 415 participants. Multiple regression analyses were performed to determine the relationship …

Medicine Adherence As A Determinant Of Complication Development In Diabetes And Hypertension Patients On A Medical Aid Scheme In Zimbabwe, Tsitsi Moyo

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Pharmacotherapy is a significant component of chronic disease management; its efficacy depends on long term, correct, and consistent use; however, medicine adherence rates remain low. The cost of medicines is considered a significant barrier to adherence, especially in low-income settings. This quantitative cross-sectional study was conducted using data from Cimas Medical Aid Society collected between 2015 and 2019. The purpose of the study was to determine the extent of the association between medicine adherence, complication development, and cost of care among diabetic and hypertensive patients while controlling for age and gender on a population that does not experience cost barriers …

Educating Providers About Integrated Treatment For Individuals With Co-Occurring Disorders, Ihuarulam Chidiebere Okoroji

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

AbstractThe problem identified by this staff education project was the providers’ lack of knowledge on integrated treatment for individuals with co-occurring disorders (CODs). Integrated treatment is the gold standard for working with individuals with CODs. Providers knowledge gap and barriers were addressed by educating them on integrated treatments. This project used the analysis, design, development, implementation, and evaluation (ADDIE) model in planning, implementation, and evaluation. The participants were 20 providers in a residential addiction treatment facility which include one physician, three nurse practitioners, eight counselors, one registered nurse, and seven licensed practical nurses. This project used a pretest to determine …

Wellness Programs: Strategies For Increasing Employees’ Productivity And Reducing Health Care Costs, Lymari Rentas González

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Business executives risk higher healthcare costs and absenteeism rates without implementing cost-effective strategies to support wellness within the organization. To offset rising healthcare costs and absenteeism, executives should implement wellness programs as a component of the benefits package provided to their employees and families. Grounded in the theory of planned behavior, the purpose of this qualitative multiple case study was to explore the cost-effective strategies that executives in the private and not-for-profit sectors implemented to encourage employees to adopt healthy habits for increasing productivity and decreasing organizations’ healthcare costs. Six executives from the healthcare sector within the southern region of …

Gestational Weight Gain, Level Of Education, And Infant Mortality Among African American Women, George Lee Amanambu

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Abstract

African American (AA) women in Mississippi have a higher burden of infant mortality, especially those with low income and educational levels, as compared to other regions of the country. However, it is unknown if abnormal gestation weight gain (GWG) is contributing to this increased burden. This quantitative cross-sectional study examined the association between GWG (25-35lbs), level of education, income, and infant mortality among AA women with normal prepregnancy body weight who were between 30 to 47 years old in the state of Mississippi from 2016 to 2018. Biopsychosocial and ecosocial models were used as the theoretical foundation to design …

A Self-Guided Educational Program Based On Informatics Competency Self-Assessment, Brenda J. Kulhanek

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The informatics competency gap for nurses has existed since the first use of technology in healthcare. Although numerous informatics competencies for nurses have been identified over the past 20 years, there is a lack of standardized educational content to help address the informatics competency gap. In a digital healthcare environment, the ability for nurses to understand and use informatics competencies is essential and the lack of informatics competency has a far-reaching impact. Based on the identified gaps, an informatics competency self-assessment tool with associated microeducation was developed to provide a standardized learning approach that would be supported by stakeholders in …

Exposure To Malaria Awareness Messages And Preventive Health Behaviors Among Informal Workers In Ghana, Nora Larkai

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Malaria is a global health issue that is most prevalent in Sub-Saharan countries such as Ghana. In the past, various studies have examined the use of malaria messages and malaria prevalence; however, very few Ghanaian studies focus explicitly on using various types of malaria-related messaging modalities and the impact of these messaging systems on lessening malaria contraction among the informal sectors. The aim of this study was to analyze the relationship between exposure to malaria awareness messages, place of residence, and preventive health behaviors controlling for sex, occupation group, marital status, and educational level among Ghanaian informal workers. This study …

Hand Hygiene Education For Nursing Homes, David La Rosa-Presume

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

In the health care sector, hand hygiene has been identified as one of the most appropriate approaches to preventing health-associated infections or nosocomial infections. A nursing home in the western United States had repeated survey findings showed that their hand hygiene compliance rates did not meet the expectations of the Long-Term Care Institute. This project was aimed to develop and implement an education program to improve hand hygiene compliance in a nursing home setting. The project practice question asked whether an education program would increase staff’s knowledge of hand hygiene methods within a skilled nursing facility. The Joint Commission’s Targeted …

Lived Experiences Of Nurse Leaders, Catherine Jeannette Mohammed

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

AbstractThe National Academy of Medicine (NAM) has called for more leadership, more accountability, and increased education and training of health care leaders. The NAM has demanded that nurses participate in health care policy making, increase their knowledge of research and data collection, advise leaders across the business world, train and educate seamlessly, and practice to the full extent of their licensure. The purpose of this qualitative phenomenological study was to explore the lived experiences of 12 influential nurse leaders from the state of Arizona. Transformational leadership theory provided the framework for the study. Semi-structured interview data were transcribed, coded, and …

Job Satisfaction Among Nurse Practitioners Who Work At Retail Health Care Centers, Karen Morrissey

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Retail health care clinics (RHCCs) were designed to ease the shortage of access to primary care by having nurse practitioners (NPs) provide quality care to patients on a walk-in approach. RHCCs can be stressful work environments and when NPs become dissatisfied, they may leave RHCCs which creates a shortage of primary care access. The purpose of this descriptive study, guided by Herzberg’s dual-factor theory, was to determine if there was a relationship between: (a) challenge/autonomy, and professional growth and job satisfaction among NPs who work at RHCCs and (b) intrapractice partnership/collegiality, professional, social and community interaction, time and benefits and …

Factors Of Experience And Training And Physician Intention To Adopt Telemedicine, Tina Mozhayski

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Despite the increased role of telemedicine services, physicians’ intention to adopt telemedicine for the long term remains disproportionately low; further, little research has focused on the factors behind these intentions. The purpose of this study was to determine and compare the effects of two causal factors: previous experience of physicians in telemedicine and company telemedicine training, on physicians’ intention to adopt telemedicine. The Davis’s technology acceptance model was used as a theoretical framework for this study, which included analytical data of health care regulatory organizations, medical professional alliances, and secondary statistical data of a marketing company with experience in conducting …

Weight Change And Hyponatremia As Predictors Of Polydipsia Among Persons With Schizophrenia, Kingsley Okechukwu Nwachukwu

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

AbstractPolydipsia is found in 20% of inpatients with chronic severe mental disorders. Of this, 80% are diagnosed with chronic schizophrenia, hence polydipsia is strongly associated with chronic schizophrenia. Despite the prevalence and serious health complications of coexisting polydipsia in this population, its current method of detection is flawed. The purpose of this quantitative study was to accurately identify comorbid polydipsia in schizophrenia using periodic weight change and hyponatremia. The Wilson’s complexity theory and primary data were used to attempt to explain the relationship between weight change and hyponatremia and polydipsia, in a cross-sectional study design. The dependent variable was polydipsia, …

Examining Clinical Behaviors That Demonstrate Intersectionality And Cultural Humility In Mental Health Treatment, Loretta Kosi Okeke

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

AbstractCultural humility is an ethical standard within the social work profession. As the United States becomes more diverse, there are increasing rates of failure to implement cultural humility in social work practice in mental health settings. The purpose of this generic qualitative study was to examine how clinical social workers demonstrate cultural humility and intersectionality in mental health settings. The theoretical basis on which the research was conducted includes the person-centered theory and the feminist theories, which provided a strong framework for understanding the influences of cultural dynamics and intersectionality on the quality of patient outcomes in mental health care. …

Relationship Between Information System Success Model Dimensions And Electronic Health Records Use, Gloria Oshegbo

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The rise in the use of electronic health records (EHRs) in health care facilities necessitates a standardized tool for evaluating their effectiveness. Delone and McLean’s information system success model (ISSM) was the theoretical foundation, which consists of seven dimensions namely system, information, service qualities, user satisfaction, use, system usefulness, and net benefits. The purpose of this study was to examine EHRs’ efficiency and identify ISSM dimensions that influenced net benefits, the dependent variable. The research questions examined the relationship between dimensions of ISSM and the dimensions that affect net benefits. Participants were recruited using purposeful sampling via social media and …

Staff Education Program: Increasing Nursing Knowledge Of Exclusive Breastfeeding, Leigh Anne Panek

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

AbstractIn the initial postpartum period, exclusive breastfeeding (EBF) improves women's and children's health status and outcomes. Gaps in nursing practice that decrease the rate of EBF during hospitalization at this site were identified by the lactation consultant using a standard chart audit during the last two years. The purpose of this Doctor of Nursing Practice education project was to provide a comprehensive education program that included the purpose, philosophy, nursing practice, and evaluation tools for increasing the EBF rates to meet the Joint Commission’s standard of improvement for perinatal care core measures. A formal educational program that included didactic and …

Risk Factors Associated With Access To Intermittent Preventive Treatment For Malaria Among Pregnant Women In Uganda, Mayanja Simon Peter

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Intermittent preventive treatment of malaria in pregnancy (IPTp) is an intervention consisting of the full course of therapeutic antimalarial medicine administered to pregnant women during routine antenatal visits regardless of whether the woman is infected with malaria. The use of intermittent preventive treatment of malaria in pregnancy using sulfadoxine-pyrimethamine (IPTp-SP) has been reportedly low in most of the malaria endemic areas, including Uganda. The coverage of IPTp in Uganda has been estimated to be as low as 17%. An in-depth secondary data analysis using the 2016 Uganda Department of Health Services survey was conducted to understand the causal relationships between …

Depression, Drug Use, And Hsv-2 Among Women Who Have Sex With Women, Viani Picchetti

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Herpes simplex virus type 2 (HSV-2), the main cause of genital herpes, is an incurable sexually transmitted infection responsible in 2018 for 18.6 million infections in the United States. HSV-2 is twice as frequent in women than in men. Women who have sex with women (WSW) have a higher prevalence of depression and drug use than women who have sex exclusively with men (WSM), which are each related to HSV-2 as they increase the likelihood of engaging in risky sexual behaviors. The purpose of this study was to assess the predictive relationship between depression status, nonprescription drug use status, and …

Grief Experiences Of Mothers After A Child’S Death From A Drug Overdose, Shonetesha L. Quail

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

AbstractResearch on young adult deaths primarily focuses on other causes of death such as homicide, suicide, and accidents. There is very little research surrounding maternal bereavement when the cause of death is from a drug overdose. The purpose of this phenomenological study was to explore the perceptions, attitudes, and lived experiences of grieving mothers who had a biological, adopted, or stepchild die from a drug overdose when the decease’s age was between 18 and 25. Guided by Le Poi Devin’s multidimensional grief theory, the study sought a better understanding to assist mental health and other healthcare providers in developing individualized …

Situation-Background-Assessment-Recommendation During Hand-Off In A Mental Health Nursing Unit, Renel Ramos

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

AbstractCommunication failures, especially inadequate hand-off communication, in U.S. hospitals has accounted for 30% of malpractice claims, resulting in 1,744 deaths over 5 years. This prompted the Joint Commission to recommend utilizing standardized communication tools to reduce the number of medical errors related to miscommunication. The Situation-Background-Assessment-Recommendation (SBAR) Communication Tool has been used to improve the effectiveness of communication among health care providers. The partner organization noted failures to communicate patient-care-related information between psychiatric mental health nurses (PMHN) during hand-off, given the absence of standardized communication. This project aimed to develop a program to educate PMHNs on the SBAR Communication Tool. …

Improving Pediatric Nurses Knowledge About Palliative Care Services, Marilia M. Rivera Camacho

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Palliative care knowledge is important for nursing staff caring for children with life-threatening and debilitating illness because it can provide comfort-based interventions to optimize their quality of life. Nurses in pediatric settings can support the patient and family by providing education and evaluate patients who can benefit from palliative care services. If nurses do not have the palliative care education to support this comfort care process, the quality of life for children with life-threatening and debilitating illness may be affected. The purpose of this DNP project was to educate pediatric nurses about pediatric palliative care standards. The educational program resulted …

Gaps In Immunization Prevention In The State Of Ohio, Audrey Shaw

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

In the United States, the total cost for vaccine preventable diseases was $8.95 billion in 2015. The unvaccinated accounted for 80% of the total costs. This quantitative study was conducted to investigate the success and/or gaps in the implementation of the measles, mumps, and rubella (MMR) vaccine through the Vaccine for Children (VFC) Program by the Ohio Department of Health. General systems theory was chosen as a theoretical framework due to the complicated nature of the healthcare system. Healthcare is a complex system composed of multidisciplinary units that have their own structure and purpose that interact to accomplish the mission …