Medicine and Health Sciences Commons^™

Reducing Opioid Prescribing By Using The Center For Disease Control Guidelines, Christina Marie Peters

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Opioid abuse is a serious national health crisis resulting in overdose and increased mortality in chronic pain patients. The purpose of this evidenced-based, quality improvement (QI) project was to improve primary care provider’s (PCP) awareness of The Center for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) opioid prescribing guidelines to reduce opioid prescribing at this project site. The Donabedian model of structure, process, and outcome was used as the framework for this QI project. Lewin’s change management model of unfreezing and freezing was used as a guide to implement organization change by creating problem awareness, seeking alternative methods, and integrating the new …

Examining The Relationship Of Social Inclusion On Job Satisfaction And Turnover Intentions Of Us Post-9/11 Veterans, Sheree' L. Peters

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Many American veterans return to the civilian workforce and report having problems reintegrating into society, as well as finding their role in the new corporate social realms. Over 80% leave their civilian jobs within the first two years of employment, and over 70% report experiencing feelings of loneliness. Recently, the World Health Organization reported that the lack of perceived social inclusion also has a significant economic impact on both individuals and societies. A quantitative, nonexperimental methodology was used to examine the moderating relationship of social inclusion on the relationship between job employee turnover intentions of post-9/11 enlisted veterans. This study …

Religious Parents’ Awareness Of And Attitudes Toward Their Adolescent Children's Utilization Of Sexual Health Services, Ashley Thompson

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Parents are a key influence on their adolescent children's sexual health care decisions. Few researchers have considered the impact of religious environments and parental expectations on adolescents’ use of sexual health services, and research on religious parents’ awareness of adolescents’ use of sexual health services in Christian environments is scarce. The purpose of this basic qualitative study was to explore religious parents' awareness of and attitudes toward their adolescents’ use of sexual health services. The social ecological theory provided the conceptual lens for this study. Eight Christian parents participated in in-depth virtual interviews to discuss their encouragement or discouragement of …

The Human-Canine Bond: Levels Of Stress Among Military Spouses During Deployments, Angela L. De Leon-Muniz

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Previous research has found that deployment may impact military spouses’ emotional wellbeing and attachment with family members. There remains a critical gap in the literature regarding difference in stress levels between military spouses who own canines and those who do not. The theoretical foundations for this study were Bowlby’s attachment theory and Bowen’s family systems theory. Research questions included exploring the relationships between (a) pet canine ownership, deployment length of time, and military spouses’ stress levels, and (b) pet canine owners’ pet attachment and stress experienced, when their significant others are deployed. The sample comprised 82 spouses with deployed military …

Heart Disease Prediction Using Stacking Model With Balancing Techniques And Dimensionality Reduction, Ayesha Noor, Nadeem Javaid, Nabil Alrajeh, Babar Mansoor, Ali Khaqan, Safdar Hussain Bouk

School of Cybersecurity Faculty Publications

Heart disease is a serious worldwide health issue with wide-reaching effects. Since heart disease is one of the leading causes of mortality worldwide, early detection is crucial. Emerging technologies like Machine Learning (ML) are currently being actively used by the biomedical, healthcare, and health prediction industries. PaRSEL, a new stacking model is proposed in this research, that combines four classifiers, Passive Aggressive Classifier (PAC), Ridge Classifier (RC), Stochastic Gradient Descent Classifier (SGDC), and eXtreme Gradient Boosting (XGBoost), at the base layer, and LogitBoost is deployed for the final predictions at the meta layer. The imbalanced and irrelevant features in the …

The Effects Of Secondary Traumatic Stress And Resilience On The Indicators Of Compassion Fatigue Among Occupational Therapists, Gayla Ann Aguilar

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

AbstractCompassion fatigue (CF) has been described as the “cost of caring” for traumatized individuals, which may lead to missed workdays, diminished work satisfaction, increased turnover, and decreased client care. CF has long been studied in other caring professionals, but occupational therapy practitioners (OTPs) have been largely overlooked. The purpose of this quantitative correlation study was to determine the relationship between secondary traumatic stress (STS) and resilience (RES) on burnout (BO) and compassion satisfaction (CS; i.e., indicators of CF) in OTPs. In this study, the moderation effect that RES has on STS and BO as related to CF in 68 completed …

Comparison Of The Effects Of Telehealth Versus N95 On Nurse-Patient Communication, Tony Christopher Bloomfield

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Telehealth and face masks are some of the infection control measures nurses use while attending to patients. Nurses provide the most patient care in hospital settings and thus spend the most time with patients in their recovery journey. Because communication is paramount to the role nurses play as health care professionals, there is a substantial need to investigate how infection control measures affect the quality of nurse-patient communication. The purpose of this quantitative cross-sectional study was to describe the relationship of methods aimed at maintaining social distancing between nurses and patients to nurse-patient communication and to compare differences in the …

Factors Contributing To High Rates Of Pre-Eclampsia Among African American Women, Tinisia Jordan Boyd

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Maternal and neonatal deaths remain a significant healthcare concern globally. For instance, 4% of pregnancies in the United States are affected by pre-eclampsia, which is the second leading cause of maternal mortality globally. However, evidence shows that African American women are at higher risk of developing pre-eclampsia during pregnancy, and the population experiences severe maternal outcomes compared to other communities. Therefore, the goal of the project was to assess nurses' level of knowledge working in maternal units on pre-eclampsia and eclampsia and assess the effectiveness of simulation-based training on pre-eclampsia on improving nurse knowledge and self-efficacy. Several models were used …

Influences On Influenza Vaccine Uptake Among Older Lebanese Adults, Doha D'Agostini

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Influenza is a viral infection that is globally transmitted and that increases the risk for infectious diseases, hospitalization, and morbidity and mortality, especially among the older adult population. Although influenza vaccines are recommended in several countries, influenza vaccine hesitancy remains a challenge. In Lebanon, there is minimal research related to older adults’ attitudes and perceptions associated with influenza vaccination. To explore older Lebanese adults’ vaccination experiences and perceptions of the factors that affect their influenza vaccine uptake, a qualitative investigation was conducted. The theory of planned behaviors served as the theoretical framework for the study. A thematic analysis was conducted …

Facilitating Staff Education To Improve Effective Styles Of Nursing Leadership In An Orientation Setting, Tammy Melinda Finney

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Nursing leadership is the cornerstone of the ever-changing landscape of healthcare. Minimal courses are included in nursing curriculums to prepare nurses to become proficient and develop knowledge of nursing leadership styles. There is a direct correlation of evidence-based leadership styles that impact effective communication, improved patient outcomes, succession planning, nursing retention, and relationship management. In an effort to bridge the gap of knowledge, an educational face-to-face training was developed and presented to new nursing staff in an orientation setting. The project practice question focused on commitment from nursing staff to implement increased knowledge of nursing leadership styles into their practice. …

Impacts Of White Privilege And Implicit Bias On Treatment Implementation With Black Pediatric Patients, Tara Geer-Leiker

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

White privilege and implicit bias are known contributing factors to the racial health inequities that exist in the treatment of Black children in U.S. hospitals. There is limited research, however, on the potential for White nurses to engage in self-examination related to either concept. The purpose of this basic qualitative inquiry was to understand how White privilege and/or implicit bias shapes the lived experiences of White nurses as they treat and interact with Black pediatric patients. The conceptual framework included a modified model comprised of Hobbs’s concept of White privilege and Blair et al.’s model of influences of implicit bias …

Help-Seeking Behaviors And Employment Hope Among Depressed Black Male Foster Care Alumni, Vanessa Jennings

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Traumatic depression is a system of experiences where the mind, heart, and gut track happenings lingering among systemic models of prevention and intervention and personal stories. This nonexperimental correlational study aimed to provide insights into mental help-seeking and employment hope among depressed Black/African American foster care male alums. The central research question was to what degree, if any, a positive relationship exists between employment hope and seeking access to mental health-related services among male foster care alums who identify with depression. It was hypothesized that a statistically significant relationship exists. The social cognitive career theory and theory of planned behavior …

Factors Influencing Newly Licensed Nurse Position Selection And Retention, Melinda S. Kidder

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Newly licensed nurse turnover can be costly, causing a mismatch between supply and demand for nurse staffing needs, lowering quality outcomes, and decreasing patient satisfaction. This quantitative study was conducted to identify the relationship between why newly licensed nurses selected their first position and their retention in that initial position. Other factors examined in relation to retention were unit most worked, age, race, sex, and education level. Irvine and Evans’s theory of job satisfaction and Maslow’s hierarchy of needs guided the analysis of the data. Secondary data used were the Newly Licensed Registered Nurse New Cohort 3 Survey from 2016 …

The Association Between Working Habits And Hypertension Among First Generation African Immigrants, Olalekan Kilo

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Even though hypertension affects people of all races, it is more prevalent among African Americans. However, recent research has revealed that the prevalence of hypertension is progressively increasing across Africa. African immigrants in the United States are the least-studied immigrant group prone to health inequalities when compared to their African American counterparts. To help bridge this gap, a secondary data analysis of a cross-sectional study was conducted to investigate the association between working habits (hours worked, diet at work), length of stay in the United States, and hypertension rates for first-generation African immigrants residing in the United States. The study …

Nutrient Pollution And Chlorophyll-A As A Precursor To Harmful Algal Blooms And Cyanotoxins In Rehabilitated Machado Lake, California, Michael E. Shiang

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Algal blooms result in the formation of cyanotoxic conditions in a freshwater lake causing severe detrimental impacts to community and public health. Nitrogen, phosphorous, and ammonia stimulate the growth of phytoplankton biomass and algae, as measured by chlorophyll. This retrospective quantitative research study, grounded in the socioecological model, examined the relationship between nutrient pollutants and chlorophyll-a (Chl-a) that forecast harmful algal blooms, a precursor to cyanotoxins. A former impaired lake, Machado Lake in California, provided an ideal setting to assess relationships among nutrient indicators and Chl-a post-lake rehabilitation. Correlation and multiple regression analyses were performed to determine if a relationship …

Clinical Vaccination Education Guideline For The African American Community, Margaret Chinedum Nwoji

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

AbstractVaccination hesitancy is high among African Americans and other people of color. The practice gap addressed in this project was the lack of a culturally sensitive clinical guideline for vaccination education relevant to the African American community. The practice-focused question was answered by developing an evidence-based Clinical Vaccination Education Guideline for the African American Community (CVEGAAC) that was validated by a group of four content experts using the Appraisal of Guidelines, Research, and Evaluation tool. The content experts scored each of the domains above 90%, implying that the CVEGAAC is of high quality and ready for implementation. The end users …

Experiences Of Older Adults With Hiv/Aids Enrolled In Case Management Programs In Northwest Indiana, Antoinette Cardenas

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

AbstractIn 2016, more than half of those infected with HIV/AIDS were age 50 years or older. Since the introduction of antiretroviral therapy, the survival rate of HIV patients has been on the rise with a predicted increase by 2030, but this has also contributed to early onset of comorbidities such as cardiovascular disease, osteoporosis, and kidney failure. The purpose of this generic qualitative study, driven by ecological systems theory, was to explore the experiences of older adults (age 50 and older) with HIV/AIDS who were enrolled in case management programs in Northwest Indiana. Data were collected from semi structured interviews …

Self Care Education For Nurses Following An Assault, Barbara Lynn Schwarz

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

AbstractSelf-Care Education for Nurses Following an Assault by Barbara Lynn Schwarz MS, Nebraska Wesleyan University, 2008 BS, Nebraska Wesleyan University, 2004

Project Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Nursing Practice

Walden University August 2023 Abstract Every day, 1 in 4 nurses experience physical and/or verbal assault, surpassing the rates among police officers and prison guards. This issue is particularly widespread among nurses working in mental health settings. The local practice problem for this project was the absence of self-care education for nurses following workplace assaults. The literature revealed that such assaults have traumatic …

Stress And Coping Among Sud Certified Peer Recovery Specialists, Cynthia June Thomas

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Certified Peer Recovery Specialists (CPRSs) are individuals with lived experience in the successful recovery of substance use or mental health disorders. CPRSs provide services for individuals seeking or enrolled in substance use disorder (SUD) recovery, provide mentoring and coaching, service and resource connections and lead recovery groups but, the job of a CPRS can have beneficial and detrimental impacts on the CPRS’s personal recovery. The purpose of this quantitative study, guided by Lazarus’s theory of coping and stress, was to determine whether there is (a) a relationship in stress and coping effectiveness among CPRSs, (b) a difference in the level …

12-07-23 Hsc Committee Agenda, Hsc Committee

HSC Committee (A subcommittee of the UNM Board of Regents)

No abstract provided.

Thermodynamic Analysis Of Digestate Pyrolysis Coupled With Co2 Sorption, Antonella Dimotta, Cesare Freda

Conference papers

To date the management of digestate is a crucial task for anaerobic digestion process. In the present work a strategy for digestate management is thermodynamically analyzed by a commercial software for process simulation called CHEMCAD®. Pyrolysis of digestate is simulated by a minimization of the free Gibbs energy. The sequestration of the carbon dioxide (CO2) released by the pyrolysis is investigated by the addition of calcium oxide, in order to reduce CO2 emissions. The effect of the pyrolysis temperature between 400–900 °C and of the CaO/digestate mass ratio between 0–0.5 was discussed, as well. The CHEMCAD application allowed to investigate …

[Research Note] The Random Somatic Mutation Is Not Quite Random, Florentin Smarandache

Branch Mathematics and Statistics Faculty and Staff Publications

This research note challenges the idea that Random Somatic Mutations are entirely random, highlighting their non-equiprobable nature and their influence on evolution, involution, or indeterminacy. It recalls the Neutrosophic Theory of Evolution, extending Darwin’s theory, and emphasizes the importance of distinguishing between different senses of “random mutation” in evolutionary theory.

Medical Diagnosis Via Refined Neutrosophic Fuzzy Logic: Detection Of Illness Using Neutrosophic Sets, K. Hemabala, B. Srinivasa Kumar, Florentin Smarandache

Branch Mathematics and Statistics Faculty and Staff Publications

The objective of the paper is to implement and validate diagnosis in the medical field via refined neutrosophic fuzzy logic (RNFL). As such, we have proposed a Max-Min composition (MMC) method in RNFL. This method deals with the diagnosis under certain constraints like uncertainty and indeterminacy. Further, we have considered the diagnosis problems to validate the sensitivity analysis of the novel multi attribute decision-making technique. Finally, we gave the graphical representations and compared the obtained results with other existing measures in refined neutrosophic fuzzy sets.

Remark On Regenerative Medicine And Potential Utilization Of Low-Intensity Laser Photobiomodulation To Activate Human Stem Cells, Victor Christianto, Florentin Smarandache, Robert N. Boyd

Branch Mathematics and Statistics Faculty and Staff Publications

Recently, a friend of one of these writers told her story of using one of a healthcare product to activate her stem cells as part of regenerative medicine. Regenerative medicine is a field of medicine that seeks to repair or replace damaged or diseased tissues and organs. This can be done through a variety of methods, including stem cell therapy, tissue engineering, and gene therapy. This is a short review article on this rapid field called regenerative medicine, in particular via a new method called photobiomodulation, especially by virtue of low-intensity laser pen treatment. Hopefully it will attract more research …

Should Near Systemic Pulmonary Hypertension Be A Contraindication For Rheumatic Mitral Stenosis Valve Surgery In Egyptian Population?, Ahmed Mostafa Omran, Hany Fayed

Journal of Medicine in Scientific Research

Background: pulmonary hypertension is a well known risk factor leading to mortality and morbidity in Mitral stenosis patients, in spite of long term outcome are being comparable regarding severe and mild or moderate pulmonary hypertension but definitely short term results are worse.

Objective: new management protocol to decrease the immediate postoperative differences between patients having Mitral stenosis with near systemic pulmonary hypertension compared to patients with mild or moderate pulmonary hypertension.

Patients and Methods: Prospective cohort single centre study was held in National heart institute, between 2016 and 2022, on patients undergoing Mitral valve surgery for Mitral stenosis with near …

Expression Levels Of Matrix Metalloproteinase 2 Protein In Preinvasive And Invasive Cervical Lesions And Its Clinicopathological Association: A North Indian Study, Rekha Sachan, Pushp L. Sachan, Ayushi Shukla, Malti Maurya, Munna L. Patel

Journal of Medicine in Scientific Research

Background Matrix metalloproteinase (MMPs) play an important role in development of female genital cancers and metastasis. The aim of this study was to analyze expression levels of MMP2 in various grades of cervical intraepithelial neoplasia (CIN) and squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) of cervix and its association with clinicopathological variables. Patients and methods This prospective study was carried out in a tertiary care center in Northern India over a period of 1 year. A total of 664 participants with gynecological complaints and unhealthy cervix were recruited for colposcopy. Of these, 70 biopsy samples were obtained from higher grade colposcopy lesions, where …

Standard Median Sternotomy Versus Minimally Invasive Approach For Atrial Septal Defect Closure In Adults, Ahmed S. Ali, Ahmed G. Abd El Fattah Fahmy, Hatem K. Madkour, Reham M. Salah Eldin Ahmed

Journal of Medicine in Scientific Research

Background

Atrial septal defects (ASDs) in adults and adolescents are not uncommon. Surgical ASD closure through a standard median sternotomy (SMS) has become less attractive approach in favor of minimally invasive techniques, especially in young female patients.

Objective

The aim was to compare early postoperative outcomes of surgically closed secundum ASDs through a SMS approach versus minimally invasive right anterolateral thoracotomy (MIRAT) approach in adults.

Patients and methods

The authors prospectively studied 60 adult patients who had their secundum ASD anomalies surgically closed at National Heart Institute between the period of September 2020 and February 2022. A total of 30 …

Molecular Detection Of Entamoeba Histolytica In Diarrheic Fecal Samples From Patients Attending National Hepatology And Tropical Medicine Research Institute, Azza Hasan Abbas, El Shahat Ahmed Elshahat, Heba Mohamed Abdelglil

Journal of Medicine in Scientific Research

Background: Amoebiasis is a worldwide disease caused by Entamoeba histolytica infection. The true prevalence is unknown due to the difficulty in distinguishing Entamoeba histolytica from non-pathogenic amoebas especially when microscopic diagnosis is performed, to overcome microscopy misidentification. Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) assay is necessary as a highly sensitive and specific technique. Objective: To determine the value of Real-Time PCR (RT.PCR) in the diagnosis of Entamoeba histolytica in the stool samples of diarrheic patients attending NHTMI versus microscopy, copro- antigen, and serum antibodies detection techniques. Subjects and Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted on 150 diarrheic patients. Their stool samples were …

The Immune Response To Long Term Administration Of Dipravan Compare To Dormicum In Surgical Care Unit, Ashraf Abd El Hameed Soliman, Wael Abd Elateif El Hakeem, Raghad S. Abdellatif

Journal of Medicine in Scientific Research

Introduction : - Immune response may be affected by anesthesia and sedation. In anesthesia, the immue response is temporary as anesthesia is used for short time. However, the immune response more obvious in critical illness patients because of long time of sedation. Diprivan and dormicum are two commonly used medications for sedation and analgesia in critical care unit patients. Dipravan is a good medication for sedation in the surgical care unit. Dormicum in the surgical care unit, usually producing prolonged time of sedation when used for long time in surgical care unit. Patients and methods: - This article was done …

The Relation Between Heart Rate Response During Exercise And Angiographic Severity In Patients With Chronic Coronary Syndrome, Emmanuel Louka

Journal of Medicine in Scientific Research

Introduction Ellestad and colleagues, in 1975, reached to the conclusion that impaired heart rate response to exercise carries a similar risk for future coronary events such as ischemic ‘ST’ segment changes. Mc Neer and colleagues went beyond these observations to include a survival benefit in patients who achieve a higher peak heart rate (PHR), a more advanced level of exercise, and have a normal exercise electrocardiogram. Aim The aim of this work is to clarify the relation between the chronotropic response to exercise and the severity of coronary artery disease in patients with chronic coronary syndrome. Patients and methods The …