Other Medical Specialties Commons^™

Epithelial And Mesenchymal Olfactory Stem Cells Gathered With Minimally-Invasive Micro-Brush, Tyler Petersen

Medical Student Research Symposium

Spinal cord injury (SCI) causes devastating lifestyle and financial consequences for the patient. Treatment strategies emphasize neuroprotection, but not regeneration. In this regard, stem cells are an innovative field of study that has the potential to regenerate neural tissue, thereby increasing a person’s ability to regain function. The purpose of this project is two-fold: to attain olfactory stem cells located in the nasal canal in a minimally-invasive way and to gather neural cells from the epithelium and mesenchymal cells in the lamina propria. Cells were gathered with sterile nasal micro-brushes, stored, and grown in flasks. After cells reached confluency, they …

Understanding The Utilization Of Community-Based Services In Late Old Age: A Participatory Approach For Connecting Through The Communication Ecology, Carrie Leach

Wayne State University Dissertations

As the pool of eligible recipients continues to grow, understanding service system utilization and barriers can help ensure very old adults can access support from their communities when needed. Mounting research demonstrates that investment in community-based services to ensure seniors remain independent translates to saved government dollars. As a contributing researcher of a multi-year county-wide older adult needs assessment in Monroe County, Michigan, data collected from 1,870 people revealed a communication disjuncture between seniors and service providers. In response, officials convened a post assessment working group that focused on communication and outreach. Along with members of the Community Advisory Group …

An Examination Of Quality Of Life Of Parents Of Adult Children Diagnosed With Autism Spectrum Disorder, Christina Noel Marsack

Wayne State University Dissertations

Previous research on parental caregivers has focused primarily on caregivers of individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities, rather than focusing specifically on parents of adult children diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Most research on ASD has centered on parents of young children with this diagnosis, but not on parents of adult children with ASD. Understanding the experiences of parents caring for adult children with ASD is important given the increase in the prevalence of individuals with ASD and the lack of information regarding parents of adult children with ASD. A nonexperimental, quantitative, correlational design was used to examine effects …

Fear Of Alzheimer's Disease And Its Role In Memory Monitoring And Control, Annalise Marie Rahman

Wayne State University Dissertations

Introduction: Fear of Alzheimer’s disease (FAD), or Anticipatory Dementia, is a healthy adult’s misinterpretation of everyday memory failures as indicators of developing dementia. The current study investigated the construct of FAD and aimed to contextualize FAD within the Health Belief Model through development of a new scale, the Anticipatory Dementia Index (ADI). The study also assessed the relationship between FAD and metacognitive monitoring and metacognitive control.

Methods: 94 cognitively-intact community-dwelling older adults with and without a history of family history of AD completed questionnaires regarding their subjective memory complaints, state and trait anxiety, depression, and multiple measures of FAD, including …

Development Of A Financial Decision-Making Self-Efficacy Measure For Older Adults, Evan Gross

Wayne State University Theses

Financial decision-making is important for older adults, and many are at increased risk for elder financial exploitation due to a combination of biological, social, and psychological factors. The role of self-efficacy for financial decision-making in this population has received little attention from researchers, but evidence suggests it may be a critical aspect in motivating positive decisions and avoiding exploitation. This study developed the Financial Decision-Making Self-Efficacy Scale (FDMSES) for older adults. Participants (N = 200, mean age = 71.5) completed the Lichtenberg Financial Decision-Making Rating Scale (LFDRS) and a neuropsychological test battery. Items from the LFDRS related to financial decision-making …

Essays On Healthy Aging From The Perspective Of A Health Production Function, Nasim Baghban Ferdows

Wayne State University Dissertations

This dissertation examines the determinants of healthy aging among older adults using Grossman’s framework of a health production function. Healthy aging is produced using a variety of inputs, including some determined in early life, such as health and socioeconomic status as a child, others determined in young adulthood, such as education, others determined in mid-life, such as household wealth, and still others determined in later-life, such as current health habits. A production function for healthy aging is estimated using nationally representative data from the 2010 Health and Retirement Study on non-institutionalized seniors, and positing a simultaneous equations mediation model, recognizing …

The Experiences Of Black American Older Adults Managing Pain: A Nursing Ethnography, Sheria Grice Robinson

Wayne State University Dissertations

Introduction: Pain can negatively affect quality of life for Black elders. They are less likely to report pain concerns and have voiced pain needs adequately met. To better understand the pain management experiences and concerns of Black elders, an ethnographic study was completed within an urban, low-income, elder housing facility. Methods: 106 participants completed a questionnaire comprised of a demographic tool, the PROMIS Global Health Scale (PROMIS), the Brief Pain Inventory (BPI), and the Psychological Stress Measure (PSM-9). Additionally, participant observation, informal interviews, and 20 formal recorded interviews with individuals identified as having pain were completed. Qualitative and frequency analysis …

What Impacts Life Satisfaction Of Aging Adults Following Stressful Life Events?: An Examination Of The Buffering Effect Of Personal Resources, Cassandra Barragan

Wayne State University Dissertations

Purpose: Existing research has shown that elders experience changes in their life satisfaction following stressful life events. There is an abundance of literature supporting the predictive nature of not only stressful life events on life satisfaction, but social support, autonomy, and financial security. What the literature is lacking, is examination of the buffering effect of social support, autonomy, and financial security on the relationship between stressful life events and life satisfaction. This study hypothesizes that increases in social support, autonomy, and financial security will buffer the impact of SLEs for elders and thus, they will experience increases in their life …

Engagement In Activities And Cognitive Functioning Among Older Adults In The Health And Retirement Study, Pamela Emily May

Wayne State University Dissertations

The goal of this dissertation is to examine the effect of cognitive and social activities on cognitive performance and health conditions in a national sample of older adults from the Health and Retirement Study (HRS). This dissertation first aimed to identify longitudinal relations between activity frequency and cognitive functioning. Two hypotheses were tested, baseline activity frequency predicts change in cognitive functioning over time, and baseline cognitive performance predicts change in activity frequency over time. The dissertation’s second aim was to identify links between activity frequency and cognitive trajectories. The third aim was to identify longitudinal relations between activity frequency and …

African American Grandparents Residing In A Nursing Facility: Perceptions Of Influence With Their Grandchildren, Family, And Community, Monica Bester

Wayne State University Theses

African American older adults have historically been identified as vital members of the African American family and community (Hill, 1972; Cox, 2002; Waites, 2008). Unfortunately, research has shown an increasing number of older African Americans are being admitted into nursing facilities (Paul, 2004; Feng et al., 2011). Between the years of 1998-2008, it was projected African Americans living in nursing homes increased by 10.8% (Feng et al., 2011).

This study explores the intergenerational relationships of older African American adults with their grandchildren, family, and community through the lens of Intergenerational Family Systems Theory. By viewing this qualitative study through the …

White Matter Integrity And Age Related Differences In Reaction Time Components, Yiqin Yang

Wayne State University Dissertations

Reduced speed in information processing is a well-documented phenomenon associated with advanced aging. Age-related deterioration in white matter integrity might play a role in age-related increase in reaction time (RT). However, the association between microstructural differences in particular white matter regions or tracts with RT is unclear. Decomposing RT into parts might be a better way to understand the relationship due to multiple processes involved in RT. In a lifespan sample of 90 healthy normotensive participants, this study examined the association between RT components derived from the Ratcliff diffusion model with age related difference in DTI indices of a wide …

Patients' And Caregivers' Inside Perspectives: Living With A Left-Ventricular Assist Device As Destination Therapy, Linda Marcuccilli

Wayne State University Dissertations

Left-ventricular assist devices (LVADs) have improved the quality of life for many patients with advanced heart failure. Past research focused on technology issues and survival rates, but patients' and caregivers' perspectives of living with an LVAD as a destination therapy (e.g., permanent alternative to transplant) was not explored. Roy's adaptation model provided a framework to guide an understanding of how participants adjusted and accepted living with destination therapy. A hermeneutic-phenomenology as described by van Manen was used to explore and describe the essence of destination therapy from patients' and caregivers' perspectives in order to understand the meaning of this experience. …

Type 2 Diabetes And Insomnia: Impact On Metabolic Control, Cheryl Lee Tannas

Wayne State University Dissertations

Diabetes is one of the most serious health challenges in the United States, affecting nearly 21 million Americans. The goal of diabetes management is to maintain the blood glucose close to normal to prevent diabetic complications and therefore extending life expectancy and improving quality of life. Research now indicates a relationship of the quantity and quality of sleep to glycemic control in type 2 diabetics. No research on the impact of insomnia on diabetes prevention and/or management was found in the literature. The purpose of this 11 week intervention study was to examine the effects of participation in Cognitive Behavioral …

Effects Of Two Group Approaches On Life Satisfaction And Mood Of Older Females In Nursing Homes, Bede Redpath Ryan

Wayne State University Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of two group counseling therapy interventions on levels of life satisfaction and mood disturbance of older women, age 65+, living in two Detroit-based skilled nursing home facilities. This quasi-experimental, two-treatment group design examined the pretest-posttest data of two group counseling therapy interventions, Group Art Therapy (GAT) and Group Life Stories Narrative Therapy (GLSNT). Seventeen participants completed the bi-weekly, 90-minute sessions, over a four-week period. A univariate ANCOVA with group membership as fixed independent variable was used to compare life satisfaction post scores with pre scores as covariates. Mean scores were …

The Lived Experiences Of Older African Americans Residing In Urban Nursing Homes, Marilynn Gail Byrd Knall

Wayne State University Theses

As huge numbers of baby boomers reach old age, an increased need for nursing home care in the future is inevitable. Older people face more complex health issues that often lead to debilitation or disability and thus the need for long-term care. The numbers of consumers needing long-term care services will more than triple during the next 30 years.

African Americans compose less than 10% of nursing home residents and even at age 84 and older, when the likelihood of nursing home placement is higher, proportionately fewer African Americans live in nursing homes. The underrepresentation of ethnic minorities groups in …