Medicine and Health Sciences Commons^™

Phosphoglycerate Dehydrogenase Regulated By The Mitogen-Activated Protein Kinase Pathway Is An Actionable Vulnerability In Cutaneous Melanoma, Neel Jasani

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Metabolic alterations play a critical role in shaping tumor growth and development. Many metabolic enzymes are shown to play an important role in different aspects of tumor development, growth, and metastasis. One such enzyme that we are investigating in this project is the Phosphoglycerate Dehydrogenase (PHGDH). The PHGDH gene, encoding the rate-limiting enzyme of the serine synthesis pathway, is located at chromosome locus 1p12 and frequently amplified in melanoma. PHGDH is required for the proliferation of melanoma cells with chromosome 1p12 amplification. However, the role of PHGDH in chromosome 1p12 non-amplified melanoma is poorly understood. In this project, we sought …

The Effects Of Intersectional Identity Affirmation On The Relationship Between Racist Or Heterosexist Microaggressions And Mental Health For Lgbtq+ People Of Color, Kevin J. Chi, Joshua G. Parmenter, Renee V. Galliher

Psychology Student Research

Lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ+) people of colour (POC) live at the intersection of multiple marginalised statuses. While previous literature has linked positive, affirmed identity with better mental health for LGBTQ+ individuals, identity affirmation may be compromised by intersecting systems of oppression. This study 1) investigated how multiple intersecting forms of oppression (i.e. racism within LGBTQ+ communities and heterosexism within ethnoracial communities) relate to anxiety and depression for LGBTQ+ POC, and 2) examined the indirect effects of intersectional microaggressions on mental health through identity cohesion. A subsample of participants who identified as both a member of the LGBTQ+ …

Genetics Of Latin American Diversity Project: Insights Into Population Genetics And Association Studies In Admixed Groups In The Americas, Victor Borda, Douglas P. Loesch, Bing Guo, Roland Laboulaye, Diego Veliz-Otani, Jennifer N. French, Thiago Peixoto Leal, John Blangero, Ravi Duggirala, Joanne E. Curran

School of Medicine Publications

Latin Americans are underrepresented in genetic studies, increasing disparities in personalized genomic medicine. Despite available genetic data from thousands of Latin Americans, accessing and navigating the bureaucratic hurdles for consent or access remains challenging. To address this, we introduce the Genetics of Latin American Diversity (GLAD) Project, compiling genome-wide information from 53,738 Latin Americans across 39 studies representing 46 geographical regions. Through GLAD, we identified heterogeneous ancestry composition and recent gene flow across the Americas. Additionally, we developed GLAD-match, a simulated annealing-based algorithm, to match the genetic background of external samples to our database, sharing summary statistics (i.e., allele and …

Decreasing The No-Show Rate In A Mental Health Clinic., Aina Oyibo

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The identified practice problem of high no-show rates within a mental health clinic setting creates immense challenges to patient care continuity and clinic efficiency. This issue, in the context of nursing practice, needs resolution for improved patient outcomes and the best possible utilization of clinic resources. The practice-focused question to guide this doctoral project is: Will staff education on the importance of consistent appointment reminders improve knowledge? This project's intervention in staff education concerning the importance of consistent appointment reminders focuses on telephone reminders. A literature search used CINAHL, MEDLINE, PubMed, Google Scholar, and textbooks. All the articles were peer-reviewed …

Preeclampsia As A Risk Factor For Developing Heart Failure, Blessing Akomas, Confidence Nwalor, Tara Li

Master's Projects

Title: Preeclampsia as a Risk Factor for Developing Heart Failure

Introduction: Preeclampsia affects a significant number of pregnancies worldwide. Preeclampsia has been linked with increased cardiovascular risks for women later in life, thus threatening their life. This literature review examines the existing scientific evidence on the relationship between preeclampsia and the long-term risk of heart failure in postpartum women over a 10-year period.

Methods: A literature search was conducted using CINAHL, PubMed, and Google Scholar. The Melnyk Level of Evidence tool was used to evaluate 10 studies. Identified studies were published between 2019 and 2023. Thematic analysis was used to …

Quality Of Newborn Care And Associated Factors: An Analysis Of The 2022 Kenya Demographic And Health Survey, John Baptist Asiimwe, Earnest Amwiine, Angella Namulema, Quraish Sserwanja, Joseph Kawuki, Mathius Amperiize, Shamim Nabidda, Imelda Namagembe, Lilian Nuwabaine

School of Nursing & Midwifery, East Africa

Kenya one of the African countries has pledged to reduce neonatal death as per the 2030 World Health Organization target. Providing high-quality newborn care is critical in minimizing neonatal mortality. This study aimed to determine the factors that influence the quality of newborn care in Kenya. Secondary data from 11,863 participants of the 2022 Kenya Demographic and Health Survey (KDHS) were analyzed. The participants were chosen using two-stage stratified sampling. The quality of newborn care was operationalized as receiving all components of newborn care after childbirth, as reported by the mother. Using SPSS (version 29), univariate and multivariable logistic regression …

Evidence-Based Project To Improve Staff’S Knowledge And Attitude Toward Electroconvulsive Therapy, Nicole A. Marshall

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

Electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) is a safe and effective treatment for depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, catatonia, schizoaffective disorder, and neuroleptic malignant syndrome. Barriers to the use of ECT are misinformation and stigma among healthcare workers and limited access to the treatment. The clinical question for this scholarly project was, “In adult psychiatry and operating room staff at a multisystem hospital located in the mid-Atlantic region of the United States, improve knowledge and attitudes toward ECT?” After a brief educational PowerPoint presentation on ECT with the adult psychiatry and operating room staff, staff knowledge rose from 66% to 72% within the QuAKE …

Improving Student's Hands-On Clinical Experience Through Staff Development, Courtney Eileen Bailey

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

Precepting students in clinical practice is a widely accepted practice for nursing education. Preceptors are nursing staff on the units working on the days the students come to practice clinical skills. These preceptors typically have minimal to no training in precepting, making them expert clinicians but novice educators. This situation can lead to a lack of knowledge of how to guide students in hands-on clinical skills during the student’s time at clinical. This lack of hands-on skills creates a poor clinical perception for the student and reduces their preparedness for practice. The purpose of this quantitative, quasi-experimental, pretest-posttest, within-subjects design …

The Relationship Between Moral Courage And Professional Confidence And Academic Achievement Among Precertification Radiologic Sciences Students In The United States: A Cross-Sectional Quantitative Study, Kristin M. Beinschroth

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

Moral courage and professional confidence are traits that benefit healthcare professionals and students in practice but have yet to be explored in the radiologic science population. This study aimed to discern if relationships exist among moral courage, professional confidence, and academic achievement factors in pre-certification radiologic sciences students in the United States. This cross-sectional, nonexperimental quantitative study employed correlation and regression analyses using abridged versions of the Nurses’ Moral Courage Scale (NMCS) (Numminen et al., 2019) and the Confidence in Managing Challenging Situations Scale (CMCS) (Walsh et al., 2021). Participants exhibited high moral courage and high professional confidence, and both …

Worldwide Trends In Diabetes Prevalence And Treatment From 1990 To 2022: A Pooled Analysis Of 1108 Population-Representative Studies With 141 Million Participants, Ncd Risk Factor Collaboration (Ncd-Risc), Bin Zhou, Archie W. Rayner, Edward W. Gregg, Kate E. Sheffer, Rodrigo M. Carrillo-Larco, James E. Bennett, Jonathan E. Shaw, Jesus Melgarejo, Gladys Maestre

School of Medicine Publications

Background: Diabetes can be detected at the primary health-care level, and effective treatments lower the risk of complications. There are insufficient data on the coverage of treatment for diabetes and how it has changed. We estimated trends from 1990 to 2022 in diabetes prevalence and treatment for 200 countries and territories.

Methods: We used data from 1108 population-representative studies with 141 million participants aged 18 years and older with measurements of fasting glucose and glycated haemoglobin (HbA1c), and information on diabetes treatment. We defined diabetes as having a fasting plasma glucose (FPG) of 7·0 mmol/L or higher, having an HbA1c …

Staff Education On Service Recovery For New Nurse Leaders, Cara Conley

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The goal of this staff education project is to improve nurse leaders’ ability to execute service recovery strategies in a hospital setting. The identified practice problem was the lack of structured education for nurse leaders on service recovery, which impacts their effectiveness in managing patient dissatisfaction, potentially leading to compromised patient safety and organizational performance. The practice-focused question was: In nurse leaders, does the implementation of a service recovery education course significantly improve their knowledge on how to perform service recovery? The purpose of the project was to create and implement a structured education course for nurse leaders with 0–5 …

Early Mobility And Delirium Prevention For Intensive Care Unit Patients At Kingman Regional Medical Center, Lyndsey R. Lehman Ms, Otr/L

Masters Projects

Over five million patients are admitted to the intensive care unit (ICU) annually in the United States, with 50-70% of those developing debilitating physical, cognitive, and mental health issues. Occupational therapy (OT) is a holistic profession that provides evidence-based interventions to improve ICU patients’ function and participation in daily occupations by addressing early mobility and delirium. A needs assessment performed for the Kingman Regional Medical Center (KRMC) ICU revealed a lack of knowledge about early mobility and delirium prevention among nursing staff, underutilization and limited understanding of OT services, and KRMC-specific barriers impacting patient care. This author designed and implemented …

Ar (Cag)N Microsatellite And Apex1 C444t>G (Pasp148glu) Polymorphisms As Independent Prognostic Biomarkers In Prostate Cancer: Insights From An Argentinian Cohort, Gaston Pascual, Agustina Sabater, Juan Bizzotto, Rocio Seniuk, Pablo Sanchis, Sabrina Ledesma-Bazan, Estefania Labanca, Carlos Scorticati, Osvaldo Mazza, Elba Vazquez, Ayelen Toro, Federico Prada, Geraldine Gueron, Javier Cotignola

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Background/objectives: Prostate cancer (PCa) is the leading malignancy and the third most common cause of cancer-related death in Argentinian men. Predicting outcomes in localized PCa remains difficult due to tumor heterogeneity. In this study, we assessed the impact of AR (CAG)n and APEX1 c.444T>G polymorphisms on biochemical relapse in Argentine patients with localized PCa.

Methods: We genotyped blood samples from 123 PCa patients for AR (CAG)n and APEX1 p.Asp148Glu (c.444T>G) polymorphisms. Associations with clinicopathological parameters and biochemical relapse-free survival (BRFS) were assessed.

Results: AR (CAG)20-23 was associated with a family history of breast/ovarian cancer (p = 0.0469). …

The Il-1Β Inhibitor Canakinumab In Previously Treated Lower-Risk Myelodysplastic Syndromes: A Phase 2 Clinical Trial, Juan Jose Rodriguez-Sevilla, Vera Adema, Kelly S Chien, Sanam Loghavi, Feiyang Ma, Hui Yang, Guillermo Montalban-Bravo, Xuelin Huang, Xavier Calvo, Joby Joseph, Kristy Bodden, Guillermo Garcia-Manero, Simona Colla

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

In myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS), the IL-1β pathway is upregulated, and previous studies using mouse models of founder MDS mutations demonstrated that it enhances hematopoietic stem and progenitor cells' (HSPCs') aberrant differentiation towards the myeloid lineage at the expense of erythropoiesis. To evaluate whether targeting the IL-1β signaling pathway can rescue ineffective erythropoiesis in patients with MDS, we designed a phase 2 non-randomized single-arm clinical trial (NCT04239157) to assess the safety profile and efficacy of the IL-1β inhibitor canakinumab in previously treated lower-risk MDS patients. We enrolled 25 patients with a median age of 74 years; 60% were male, 16% had …

Effects Of High-Intensity Interval Training Combined With Resistance Training On Functional Capacity And Clinical Risk Factors In Patients With Cardiovascular Disease, Philip Matthew Wilson

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

Moderate-intensity continuous training (MICT), resistance training (RT), MICT combined with RT, and high-intensity interval training (HIIT) have all been proven to provide clinical benefits for individuals with cardiovascular disease (CVD). However, the effects of HIIT combined with RT on functional capacity outcomes and clinical risk factors outcomes in patients with CVD are not well investigated. Therefore, the purpose of this retrospective cohort study is to investigate the synergistic effects of HIIT combined with RT on functional capacity outcomes including six-minute walk distance (6MWD), peak oxygen uptake (VO2peak), and metabolic equivalent of tasks (METs) and clinical risk factors outcomes including systolic …

The Efficacy Of Suboxone As Mat Therapy For Women: A Phenomenological Study, Sara C. Swepston

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The Opioid Epidemic has plagued the nation for decades, with little success in treating patients for long-term sobriety. Billions of dollars are spent annually treating patients with opiate use disorder, most popularly with the pharmaceutical drug, Suboxone. However, evidence and research are lacking to truly understand if the synthetic opiate medication works in treating women with OUD. The purpose of this phenomenological study is to know from the women who have been treated using Suboxone if the medication works. The participants are all women, aged 18-45 who used Suboxone for Medically Assisted Treatment for a minimum of 90 days. The …

Effectiveness Of Clinical Reasoning Reflection Prompts To Develop Clinical Judgment In Prelicensure Nursing Students: A Quasi-Experimental Study, Tiffany Condren

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The development of clinical judgment is an important topic in nursing education, and various teaching strategies have been proposed to improve this skill among nursing students and new graduate nurses. However, the effectiveness of these strategies is not well-researched. One promising approach is using higher-order questions to guide and develop the thought patterns of clinical reasoning. One suggested teaching strategy is using clinical reasoning reflection prompts based on Tanner’s Clinical Judgment Model. This study aimed to evaluate the efficacy of using clinical reasoning reflection prompts in the patient care setting to develop clinical judgment among 35 pre-licensure nursing students within …

Short-Term Effects Of Opioids During Therapeutic Hypothermia For Neonatal Encephalopathy, Tina Jumani, Priya Mishra, Tonya Robinson, Jeffrey Shenberger, Jonathan Davis, Benjamin Sweigart, Rodica Turcu

Department of Pediatrics Faculty Papers

OBJECTIVE: To examine the effects of opioids during therapeutic hypothermia (TH) on short-term outcomes in neonates with neonatal encephalopathy (NE).

METHODS: Multicenter retrospective study of neonates with moderate/severe NE from Jan. 2013-Feb 2021. Opioid exposure was classified as positive (>0.1 mg/kg) or negative (no exposure or ≤0.1 mg/kg) based on cumulative morphine milligram equivalents (MME). Negative binomial regression models were used to evaluate clinical outcomes.

RESULTS: One hundred and twenty neonates were included. Adjusted analyses indicated that opioid exposure was associated with an increase in (1) length of hospitalization, (2) hypotension/use of vasopressors, and (3) need for and longer …

The Infected Diabetic Foot: Does Negative Pressure Wound Therapy With Irrigation Reduce Bioburden And Improve Wound Healing?, Mehmet A Suludere, Matthew Malone, Michael C Siah, Arthur Tarricone, Tyler L Coye, Bijan Najafi, Lawrence A Lavery

Center on Aging Staff Publications

The aim of this study was to compare the microbial loads of patients with diabetic foot infections treated with negative pressure wound therapy (NPWT) with and without irrigation with polyhexamethylene biguanide (NPWTi-P). This is a post hoc analysis of combined data of two randomized clinical trials. We evaluated people with diabetes treated with moderate and severe diabetic foot infections that required surgery. Tissue specimens were obtained after the initial surgery and following a second planned return to the operating room after 48-72 h of NPWT or NPWTi-P, prior to the second surgery. We used quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR) to …

Long-Read Sequencing Of An Advanced Cancer Cohort Resolves Rearrangements, Unravels Haplotypes, And Reveals Methylation Landscapes, Kieran O'Neill, Erin Pleasance, Jeremy Fan, Vahid Akbari, Glenn Chang, Katherine Dixon, Veronika Csizmok, Signe Maclennan, Vanessa Porter, Andrew Galbraith, Cameron J Grisdale, Luka Culibrk, John H Dupuis, Richard Corbett, James Hopkins, Reanne Bowlby, Pawan Pandoh, Duane E Smailus, Dean Cheng, Tina Wong, Connor Frey, Yaoqing Shen, Eleanor Lewis, Luis F Paulin, Fritz J Sedlazeck, Jessica M T Nelson, Eric Chuah, Karen L Mungall, Richard A Moore, Robin Coope, Andrew J Mungall, Melissa K Mcconechy, Laura M Williamson, Kasmintan A Schrader, Stephen Yip, Marco A Marra, Janessa Laskin, Steven J M Jones

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

The Long-Read Personalized OncoGenomics (POG) dataset comprises a cohort of 189 patient tumors and 41 matched normal samples sequenced using the Oxford Nanopore Technologies PromethION platform. This dataset from the POG program and the Marathon of Hope Cancer Centres Network includes DNA and RNA short-read sequence data, analytics, and clinical information. We show the potential of long-read sequencing for resolving complex cancer-related structural variants, viral integrations, and extrachromosomal circular DNA. Long-range phasing facilitates the discovery of allelically differentially methylated regions (aDMRs) and allele-specific expression, including recurrent aDMRs in the cancer genes RET and CDKN2A. Germline promoter methylation in MLH1 can …

The Complex Relationship Between Tuberculosis And Hyperglycemia, Michelle Byers, Elizabeth Guy

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

Hyperglycemia and tuberculosis are dual global pandemics. Each has a propulsive and amplifying effect on the other, and, because of this, we must consider hyperglycemia and tuberculosis together. Hyperglycemia is immunosuppressive and increases the risk of tuberculosis by threefold. It also leads to a more advanced presentation of pulmonary tuberculosis, thus increasing the likelihood of being smear positive and having cavitating lesions, and it impacts the duration and outcomes of treatment, with an increased one year mortality seen in patients with tuberculosis and diabetes. Additionally, any degree of hyperglycemia can have an impact on susceptibility to tuberculosis, and this effect …

Tumor-Promoted Changes In Pediatric Brain Histology Can Be Distinguished From Normal Parenchyma By Desorption Electrospray Ionization Mass Spectrometry Imaging, Ana L Seidinger, Felipe L T Silva, Mayara F Euzébio, Anna C Krieger, João Meidanis, Junier M Gutierrez, Thais M S Bezerra, Luciano Queiroz, Alex A Rosini Silva, Iva L Hoffmann, Camila M M Daiggi, Helder Tedeschi, Marcos N Eberlin, Livia S Eberlin, José A Yunes, Andreia M Porcari, Izilda A Cardinalli

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

Background: Central nervous system (CNS) tumors are the second most frequent type of neoplasm in childhood and adolescence, after leukemia. Despite the incorporation of molecular classification and improvement of protocols combining chemotherapy, surgery, and radiotherapy, CNS tumors are still the most lethal neoplasm in this age group. Mass spectrometry imaging (MSI) is a powerful tool to map the distribution of molecular species in tissue sections. Among MSI techniques, desorption electrospray ionization (DESI-MSI) has been demonstrated to enable reliable agreement with the pathological evaluation of different adult cancer types, along with an acceptable time scale for intraoperative use.

Methods: In the …

Behavioral And Neural Mechanisms Of Face-Specific Attention During Goal-Directed Visual Search, Jie Zhang, Xiaocang Zhu, Huihui Zhou, Shuo Wang

2020-Current year OA Pubs

Goal-directed visual attention is a fundamental cognitive process that enables animals to selectively focus on specific regions of the visual field while filtering out irrelevant information. However, given the domain specificity of social behaviors, it remains unclear whether attention to faces versus nonfaces recruits different neurocognitive processes. In this study, we simultaneously recorded activity from temporal and frontal nodes of the attention network while macaques performed a goal-directed visual search task. V4 and inferotemporal (IT) visual category-selective units, selected during cue presentation, discriminated fixations on targets and distractors during the search but were differentially engaged by face and house targets. …

Synthesis And Evaluation Of Photoaffinity Labeling Reagents For Identifying Binding Sites Of Sulfated Neurosteroids On Nmda And Gabaa Receptors, Mingxing Qian, Yuanjian Xu, Hong-Jin Shu, Zi-Wei Chen, Lei Wang, Charles F Zorumski, Alex S Evers, Steven Mennerick, Douglas F Covey

2020-Current year OA Pubs

The endogenous neurosteroids dehydroepiandrosterone sulfate (DHEAS) and pregnenolone sulfate (PS) are allosteric modulators of γ-aminobutyric acid type A (GABA

Preferences For Starting Daily, On-Demand, And Long-Acting Injectable Hiv Preexposure Prophylaxis Among Men Who Have Sex With Men In The United States (2021-2022): Nationwide Online Cross-Sectional Study, Duygu Islek, Travis Sanchez, Jennifer L. Glick, Jeb Jones, Keith Rawlings, Supriya Sarkar, Patrick S. Sullivan, Vani Vannappagari

School of Public Health Faculty Publications

BACKGROUND: Long-acting (LA) injectable preexposure prophylaxis (PrEP) and on-demand PrEP may improve overall PrEP uptake among men who have sex with men (MSM), but little is understood about the PrEP option preferences of MSM in practical scenarios where they may choose between various PrEP options. OBJECTIVE: This study aims to examine the preferences for starting various PrEP options among a US nationwide online convenience sample of MSM from September 2021 to February 2022. METHODS: Participants reporting no prior HIV diagnosis were provided brief descriptions of each PrEP option and were asked, "If [PrEP option] were available from your local doctor …

Convergence Of Alcohol Consumption And Dietary Quality In Us Adults Who Currently Drink Alcohol: An Analysis Of Two Core Risk Factors Of Liver Disease, Peng-Sheng Ting, Wei-Ting Lin, Suthat Liangpunsakul, Madeline Novack, Chiung-Kuei Huang, Hui-Yi Lin, Tung-Sung Tseng, Po-Hung Chen

School of Public Health Faculty Publications

BACKGROUND/OBJECTIVES: Alcohol consumption and poor dietary habits are on the rise in the United States, posing significant challenges to public health due to their contribution to chronic diseases such as liver failure. While associations between alcohol consumption patterns and diet quality have been explored, the relationship between specific alcoholic beverage types and diet quality remains underexamined. This study aims to compare diet quality among consumers of different alcoholic beverage types. METHODS: We conducted a cross-sectional analysis of 1917 current alcohol drinkers from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) who completed a 24 h dietary recall survey. Diet quality …

Mouse Mammary Tumor Virus (Mmtv) Genomic Rna (Grna) Packaging: Selective Grna Encapsidation Is Facilitated By Long-Range Interactions (Lris) That Facilitate Specific Gag Binding, Suresha G. Prabhu

Thesis/ Dissertation Defenses

Mouse mammary tumor virus (MMTV) is a betaretrovirus that induces breast cancer and sporadically, T-cell lymphomas in mice. MMTV serves as a pertinent model for elucidating the mechanism(s) of oncogenesis and the genetics associated with the development of mammary tumors. Being a rodent retrovirus, MMTV is phylogenetically distant from human and other primate retroviruses; thus, positioning it ideally as a potential vector of choice for human gene therapy. This may circumvent safety concerns such as recombination with other related endogenous human retroviruses. In addition, MMTV is distinct from most other retroviruses, but similar to lentiviruses, in that it has the …

The Mediating Role Of Religious Coping And Psychological Inflexibility In The Relationship Between Perceived Life Stress And Depression In An Arab Muslim Sample, Mariam Kashakesh

Thesis/ Dissertation Defenses

This study examines the association between depression and perceived stress, with a particular focus on the mediating function of psychological rigidity and religious coping strategies in a sample of 18–30-year-old Arab Muslims. Online questionnaires measuring psychological flexibility, perceived stress, depression, religious coping, and demographics were filled out by participants. Higher stress levels were expected to be associated with higher levels of depression (H1), and the study postulated that both negative and positive psychological inflexibility and religious coping would mitigate this association (H2a and H2b, respectively). Significant positive relationships were found between religious coping qualities, depression, and perceived stress. A mediation …

Exploring The Interplay Of Loss, Perceived Social Support, And Prior Anxiety Levels In Predicting Death Anxiety Among Individuals Who Experienced The Loss Of A Loved One, Zeina Bassam Makki

Thesis/ Dissertation Defenses

The study explores the relationship between preceding anxiety, perceived social support, and death anxiety, particularly following bereavement. Death anxiety is a significant psychological issue, especially after the loss of a loved one, and is linked to various mental health disorders. Despite the known importance of social support in mental health, its role in mitigating death anxiety remains underexplored. This study aimed to: (1) examine how bereavement impacts death anxiety; (2) investigate whether perceived social support mediates the relationship between bereavement and death anxiety; and (3) assess the influence of preceding anxiety on death anxiety. A cross-sectional design was utilized, with …

Examining The Mediational Role Of Self-Efficacy In The Relation Between Grit And Well-Being Among Non-Traditional (Working) University Students In The U.A.E, Ektha Benny

Thesis/ Dissertation Defenses

Developments in the educational and economic sector have led to a rising number of older adults enrolling to pursue higher education. In the UAE, there is a large proportion of students who may be categorized as “non-traditional”, i.e., university students who are working, married or older in age, in comparison to “traditional” students. Yet there is a dearth of literature to understand the unique experiences of this specific student population, especially in the current context. This study adopts a strengths-based approach to investigate the experiences of university students in the UAE who are also simultaneously working. The aim of the …