Mental and Social Health Commons^™

Analysis Of The Dental Emergency Visits At Fqhcs In Michigan And Recommendations For Change, Xuesi Hua, Martha Mccomas, Elizabeth Hatfield

The Journal of the Michigan Dental Association

This mixed-methods study evaluates emergency dental operations across Michigan's Federally Qualified Health Centers (FQHCs). Utilizing clinician interviews, surveys, and state usage data, the authors examine care delivery models, identify clinician and patient barriers to access, and analyze reasons why patients utilize hospital emergency departments rather than community health centers. System-level recommendations are proposed to optimize emergency triage, expand capacity, and improve outcomes for underserved populations.

The End Of Unmeasured Exploitation: How A.S.M., C.A.S., And S.I.A. Challenge Digital Attention Capitalism, Delante Clark

Graduate Scholarship and Creative Works

Digital attention capitalism generates value through the capture and monetization of human attention, yet it has historically lacked standardized mechanisms for measuring attention-related harm. This paper argues that the Attention Safeguard Models (A.S.M.), Cognitive Attentional Standards (C.A.S.), and Sociological Impact Assessment (S.I.A.) collectively challenge this system by introducing an integrated framework for classifying, measuring, and evaluating digital attention harm and its societal consequences. C.A.S. provides standardized measurement of digital attention harm, A.S.M. identifies and classifies patterns of attentional disruption and manipulation, and S.I.A. evaluates broader impacts on institutions, communities, civic engagement, education, social cohesion, and inequality. Together, these systems transform …

“When I’M Not Heard, I Feel Like I Don’T Matter”: Advancing Equity In Disability Policy Through Critical Participatory Action Research With People With Intellectual Disability, Cris Marchionne

Student Theses

People with intellectual disability deserve a system that offers flexible, timely, and person-centered support — one that is innovative, sustainable, and holistic in enabling them to live fulfilling lives. This qualitative study, grounded in Critical Participatory Action Research (CPAR), examines how people with intellectual disability experience participation in decision-making within New York State's disability service system. By centering lived experience, the study identifies factors that facilitate or hinder participation in decision-making and examines structural, social, and policy-related barriers that limit agency. Through six focus groups and a Photovoice project with self-advocates receiving OPWDD services, participants described systemic barriers that limited …

Post-Pandemic Telebehavioral Health: Sustaining And Regulating Remote Mental Health Care As A Core Modality, Weiqiao Dong

Dartmouth College Master’s Theses

The United States continues to face a persistent mental health crisis after the COVID-19 pandemic, raising a policy question about the long-term role and regulation of telebehavioral health as a core modality of care. This thesis examines that question through a case study of New York State, an early center of the pandemic and a leader in telehealth policy reform.

Guided by the Health Policy Triangle framework, this thesis integrates longitudinal data from all 62 New York counties for 2010-2025 with a 2025 cross-sectional dataset covering 61 counties. Seventeen standardized indicators are organized into four dimensions: geographic, economic, demographic, and …

Mission Of Mercy: Restoring Smiles With Dignity, Anne Berquist

The Journal of the Michigan Dental Association

This feature chronicles Michigan’s 2026 Mission of Mercy clinic, where more than 1,200 volunteers provided 5,656 procedures to 771 patients. The article describes patient experiences, volunteer contributions, and the extensive planning required to transform a sports arena into a temporary dental clinic. Beyond oral healthcare delivery, the program restored confidence, relieved pain, and highlighted the dental profession’s commitment to serving underserved populations.

Essays On Opioid Prescription Limit Policy Diffusion, Evaluation, And Opioid Use Disorder Treatment Utilization, Md Ashiqur Rab

All Dissertations

The drivers of the opioid epidemic in the United States include the oversupply of prescription opioids, the availability of illicit drugs, under-resourced healthcare settings, and several socio-economic factors. Federal and state-level initiatives, including policy interventions to curb the oversupply of prescription opioids, providing access to healthcare, prevention and recovery support services, and community-level engagement, have been adopted to combat the opioid epidemic. Motivated by the need to better understand the policy and recovery efforts to address the epidemic, this dissertation examines opioid prescription limit policy diffusion, evaluation, and treatment utilization patterns. This dissertation comprises three manuscripts that offer a comprehensive …

Emergency Medical Services Mental Health: Causes Of Providers Leaving The Industry, Brian C. Selke

Graduate Theses and Dissertations (2019 - present)

Employee resilience and mental health have become critical concerns in Emergency Medical Services (EMS) as workforce shortages increasingly threaten staffing stability and patient care. National Registry of Emergency Medical Technicians (NREMT) data indicates that more than 30% of eligible EMS providers did not recertify between 2020 and 2023, raising concerns about workforce sustainability. This study examines EMS providers’ intentions to leave the profession and identifies workplace factors associated with turnover. A statewide survey of more than 1,200 licensed EMS providers in Alabama was analyzed using regression techniques to evaluate the relationship between workplace conditions and turnover intentions. Results demonstrate that …

Screening And Treatment Protocols Used In Nicus Across Minnesota For Perinatal Mood & Anxiety Disorders (Pmads), Rachael Witt

Journal of Justice-Informed Social Work Practice and Research

Parents of infants with prolonged neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) hospitalizations are a population that is overlooked in recommended routine screening for perinatal mood and anxiety disorders (PMADs), yet this population is at greater risk for developing diagnosable mental health disorders. Previous research shows that across the US, PMAD screening and treatment practices vary widely, with many NICUs not providing any routine PMAD screening, psychoeducation, or treatment options to parents. The objective of this study was to explore the current mental health screening and treatment protocols used in NICUs across the state of Minnesota to learn if there are areas …

(Re)Claiming Homeplace: Dance As Embodied Resistance & Healing For Health & Spatial Justice, Preeya G. Kannan

University Honors Theses

This thesis argues that dance functions as both an upstream public health intervention and a form of radical spatial resistance; creating healing, agency, and belonging among historically marginalized communities. Drawing on bell hooks' concept of homeplace, Jasbir Puar's assemblage theory, Nancy Krieger's eco-social theory, and Katherine McKittrick's Black geographies, I position the body as both an ecological and political landscape shaped by histories of colonialism, racial capitalism, displacement, and resilience.

Through this community-based participatory research study, Homeplace, I explore dance as a form of social prescription that centers liberation rather than pathology. Movement is often reduced in public health discourse …

Determinants Of Corporal Punishment And Severe Physical Punishment In Egypt: A Mixed-Methods Analysis For Child Protection Policy, Marwa Moustafa Nassef

Theses and Dissertations

Corporal punishment (CP) and severe physical punishment (SPP) remain a major public health, child rights, and child protection policy concern. In Egypt, despite legislative reforms, survey-weighted analysis of the 2021 Egypt Family Health Survey (EFHS) 2021 (CAPMAS, 2022) reveals prevalence rates of 60.5% for CP and 27.4% for SPP among children aged 1–14 (author’s calculations using EFHS-2021, n=7623), yet evidence distinguishing the determinants of routine corporal punishment from escalation to severe physical punishment remains limited in low- and middle-income contexts. Guided by Bronfenbrenner’s ecological framework, this mixed-methods study identifies key drivers of CP and its escalation to SPP among Egyptian …

When School Culture Excludes: Deficit Discourse, Microaggressions, And The Mental Health Of Marginalized Students – A Conceptual Framework With Implications For School Psychology Practice And Equity Policy, Modupe Mercy Oyewunmi

Publications

Deficit-laden language like ‘behavior problem,’ ‘not college material,’ ‘won’t fit in’, ‘not a cultural fit’, operates as a systemic form of implicit bias and microaggression in school settings. Despite decades of research on school belonging and well-being, school psychology has yet to integrate these exclusionary discursive practices into a coherent health-determinant model that also accounts for the current anti-diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) policy environment. This conceptual paper proposes a testable framework linking deficit discourse and school-based microaggressions to student identity suppression, academic impostor phenomenon, and educator moral injury, with downstream effects on school mental health outcomes. We situate these …

Understanding And Enhancing Suicide Prevention Strategies In The Military: The Roles Of Culture, Leadership, And Command Climate, Kelly Johanna Pires

Dissertations

Military service members are shaped and molded to fit a military culture that emphasizes mission readiness and continuous preparedness. Countless hours are spent training for various situations that can arise. Many trainings are geared toward worst-case scenarios that can cause an increase in stressors and traumatic events. They are expected to demonstrate resilience and overcome adversity to remain mission-ready. This expectation to be mission-ready creates the space for mental health difficulties as well as stigma and avoidance of help-seeking behaviors. In many cases, the desire to stay mission-ready creates a barrier for conversations around mental health. The military emphasizes qualities …

Beyond Stabilization: Biological Healing, Structural Exclusion, And The Recovery Gap After Border-Fall Trauma At The U.S.-Mexico Border, Julia Robinson

Undergraduate Honors Theses

This honors thesis examines the biochemical, ethical, and public health consequences of insufficient post-operative follow-up care for undocumented immigrants injured in border falls. Discussing pathways of inflammation resolution, wound healing, and bone remodeling, this thesis argues that recovery depends on tightly regulated molecular and cellular processes that are highly vulnerable to disruption without continued monitoring and rehabilitation (Loi et al., 2016; Maruyama et al., 2020). When follow-up care is absent, these processes can be predicted to derail, leading to infection, impaired healing, and permanent disability (Chung & Sohn, 2025; Howard et al., 2020; Kruidenier et al., 2018). Framed through principles …

Prenatal Care, Pregnancy Risk, Birth Outcomes And The Role Of Neighborhood Characteristics, Monica Garcia-Perez Phd, Randy Huard Phd, Christopher Thoms Phd, David Tilstra Md

InnovateHER Meeting 2026

This study links 2024 CentraCare Health birth records with neighborhood census tract conditions from the National Neighborhood Data Archive (NaNDA, 2020/2021) to examine how place, prenatal care, and clinical risks influence birth outcomes in Central Minnesota. Neighborhood factors are standardized and paired with measures of prenatal-care adequacy and pregnancy-risk indicators in a series of multivariate linear models to explore their effect on birth outcomes. Analyses adjust for maternal demographics and clinical risks to identify independent neighborhood effects. A privacy-preserving, tract-linked dataset is also created to help local partners target high-need prevention areas.

“There Was Nothing Left To Give”: Experiences Of Compassion Fatigue Among Former In-Patient Psychiatric Clinicians, Katie Ladner

Counseling and Psychology Dissertations

Compassion Fatigue (CF) is a state of emotional and physical exhaustion resulting from prolonged exposure to stressful or traumatic experiences, specifically among healthcare workers, and it negatively impacts their ability to provide care to their patients and perform their jobs effectively (Singh et al., 2020). The purpose of this qualitative study is to explore the lived experiences of compassion fatigue in mental health clinicians who previously worked in in-patient psychiatric hospitals and their subsequent resignations. This phenomenological research explored participants' understanding and descriptions of their CF experiences in their roles within psychiatric hospitals and how CF contributed to their leaving …

The Impact Of Trump Administration Immigration Policies On Connecticut Educators And Families, Elena C. Bielesz

Honors Scholar Theses

Anti-immigrant rhetoric, policies, and practices, which have grown increasingly prevalent due to the current national political climate, have adverse effects on the mental health of immigrant families and the teachers that support them in Connecticut. This study seeks to represent the opinions of Connecticut K-12 MLL (Multilingual Learners) Education Teachers and Administrators whose daily lives are impacted by the anti-immigrant and anti-refugee policies and procedures. The study employed a human subjects-based approach supported by a review of related literature. MLL Educators from around the state of Connecticut were interviewed. These interviews found that while immigration-based trauma and stressors are common …

Abortion Politics And Policy: Stigma And Access In The Silver State, Celene Fuller

Lincy Institute Events

In the aftermath of the Supreme Court’s Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization (2022) overturning Roe V. Wade, states have taken divergent paths in regulating access to abortion services. In 2024, Nevada voters overwhelmingly passed Question 6 proposing to codify abortion rights into the state constitution. In November 2026, Question 6 will again be on the ballot for final confirmation. If it passes, these rights will be protected from future legislative action.

Despite Nevadans’ strong support for abortion rights, the state’s dearth of abortion providers limits access to these services. As this lecture explores, both providers and individuals seeking abortions, …

Governing Addiction: An Anthropological Comparison Of Care In The United States And The Netherlands, Kiren K. Bagga

Bates College Journal of Political Studies

This article examines addiction care as a form of moral governance through a comparative anthropological analysis of the United States and the Netherlands. Drawing on a Foucauldian theory of biopolitics alongside this study argues that approaches to addiction treatment reveal how states differentially value life, citizenship, and vulnerability. Joan Tronto's relational definition of ethical care is used to move beyond a solely moral context, towards an ethical understanding of both caretakers and those who require care. In the United States, addiction policy has historically functioned as a punitive and moralizing project, shaped by racialized drug criminalization, neoliberal ideals of individual …

Pages Of Despair: Economic Policy Uncertainty And Mental Health, Kori Massner

SACAD: Scholarly Activities

Policy uncertainty threatens access to affordable medical care, yet few studies have examined how it shapes what people search for online. This study examines whether economic policy uncertainty predicts mental health information-seeking behavior by analyzing daily Wikipedia pageviews from July 2015 to April 2026 using a time series model. Results show that as economic policy uncertainty increases, there is an increase in pageviews on Wikipedia for suicide related information. When there is an increase in those searching for information on pages about depression and pages about anxiety, there is also an increase in pageviews on Wikipedia for suicide related information. …

Pastoral Listening Skills Training In The Black Baptist Church: Equipping Clergy To Better Support Congregants, Regina Pair Allen

Doctor of Ministry Projects and Theses

This study engages a historical survey of qualitative studies of perspectives of Black pastors regarding pastoral care, examining various avenues for training in pastoral listening and the role of ministers as theological clinicians in supporting church ministries and community needs. The findings highlight the ongoing need for professional development among pastors as primary educators and theological clinicians. The study underscores the importance of equipping Black Baptist pastors to address the clinical pastoral needs of African American congregants. The significance to this field of study is providing Black Baptist clergy with practical skills and tools, grounded in theological principles, to better …

"On The Same Rope": An Exploratory Study Of Staff Experiences At The Mountain Seed Foundation's Healing Base Camp Program, Jill C. Kivikoski

Counseling & Human Services Theses & Dissertations

Since the escalation of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022, Ukrainians have faced significant social and public health challenges, particularly among Service Members, Veterans, and their Families (SMVF), including disability, traumatic stress, and barriers to mental health care (Kostenko et al., 2024; Krasnodemska et al., 2023; O’Grady & Galouchka, 2023). Retreat based programs grounded in shared military identity may offer an accessible form of support (Barrett & Currin, 2024). Mountain Seed Foundation’s (MSF) Healing Base Camp (HBC) was developed to promote healing and resilience among Ukrainian SMVF (Mountain Seed Foundation, n.d.).

This qualitative dissertation used a single-case study design (Yin, …

From Arrival To Opportunity: A Policy Analysis For Supporting Newly Arrived English Learners In California, Valeria Gabrielli, Stephanie Mendoza Hernandez

School of Public Policy Capstones

Newly arrived immigrant students, commonly referred to as “newcomers,” represent a notable portion of the English Learner (EL) population in California’s K–12 public schools. As of Fall 2023, the California Department of Education reported that newcomers comprised 3.27% of total student enrollment. Although enrollment is projected to decline in the near term, the potential for future increases highlights the need for sustainable, evidence-based support systems. This study examines how California K–12 public schools with large EL populations provide academic and trauma-informed support services to newcomer students, with a particular focus on early intervention in grades K–5. Using the Bardach policy …

Diagnostic Trends And Service Enhancements In Deaf Mental Health: A Longitudinal Analysis, Kent Schafer, Steve Hamerdinger, Frank Wu, Rie Sakai Bizmark, Charlene Crump

JADARA

A longitudinal study investigated mental health diagnostic trends and patterns among Deaf and Hearing individuals using a comprehensive dataset from Alabama Department of Mental Health spanning 2004-2024 (Deaf=4,547; Hearing=2,056,188). Chi-square analysis revealed significant proportional differences in diagnoses between the groups. Deaf individuals showed significantly higher proportions of psychotic (12.93% vs. 8.33% Hearing), mood (20.76% vs. 18.84% Hearing), and personality (0.58% vs. 0.43% Hearing) disorders. These findings suggest that increased access to specialized and competent mental health services for individuals who are Deaf, particularly following the increase of staffing patterns for the Office of Deaf Services in 2015,contributed to more accurate …

Substance Use Stigma: Examining The Role Of Social Work Education., Eboni Burton

Doctor of Social Work Capstone Projects

This study explored the extent of substance use related stigma among social work students and professionals (i.e., BSW, MSW, PHD and DSW) and its relationship to specialized education/training in substance use and professional practice with people who use drugs (PWUD)/live with a substance use disorder (PWSUD). Stigma was measured using the Opening Minds Provider Attitudes Toward Opioid Use Scale and the Medical Condition Regard Scale. The final sample size was 263. Results indicate that current enrollment in a social work program, post degree or non-curriculum related substance use related training, and personal and professional experience with substance use specifically, mitigate …

The State Of Mental Health In The Mountain West, 2025, Cason Noll, Anirudh Polagani, Taylor Volk, Olivia K. Cheche, Caitlin J. Saladino, William E. Brown Jr.

Health

This fact sheet presents data on the mental health of youth and adults, as well as the availability of mental health care, across the five Mountain West states of Arizona, Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico, and Utah in 2025. The data are derived from "The State of Mental Health in America 2025,” originally published by Mental Health America (MHA).

Humanity Is Evolving Its Consciousness: The Role Of Archetypal Energies As Guides During An Unfolding Weeding Out And Alignment Process, Carroy U. Ferguson

Psychology Faculty Publication Series

Humanity is evolving its consciousness at individual and collective levels.  Given these seemingly tumultuous times, as of this writing (January 2026), to make such a statement may sound like a strange thing to say.  However, I suggest that if you are alive today and if you are reading these words, these are the very times for which you were born—to assist Humanity as it evolves its consciousness with your unique gifts, whatever they may be.  That is, this period of our individual and collective human being-ness may be characterized as an unfolding period of weeding out and alignment with the …

Feeding Missoula: Food Insecurity In Rural Children And Youth, Chani Brammer, Braelee Cheeks, Jordin Holland, Rayne Mccollough, Laurel Palmer, Therese Solomon

Undergraduate Theses, Professional Papers, and Capstone Artifacts

In Montana, approximately one in seven children live in a food-insecure household, with rural Montanans in particular facing significant barriers. Existing needs-based food assistance programs, such as SNAP and WIC, have structural weaknesses: SNAP benefits are often not sufficient to last through the month, and those eligible for these programs face a confusing application process, shame and stigma, and logistical hurdles, such as limited transportation.

“Feeding Missoula” began with an evaluation of how current food assistance programs met or failed to meet the needs of rural youth. Our methodology integrated a comprehensive review of existing literature and structured interviews with …

Simulating Social Attitudes With Llms: Accuracy, Demographic Effects, And Refusal Behavior In The Sensitive Domain Of Suicide Prevention, Cristina J. Perez, Michael P. Vasquez Jr., Philippe J. Giabbanelli, Patrick Y. Wu

VMASC Publications

Large language models (LLMs) are increasingly used to simulate public opinion, yet their validity in sensitive policy domains remains underexplored. We evaluate whether LLMs can reproduce attitudes toward suicide prevention policies using 32 questions drawn from seven nationally representative U.S. surveys (2023-2025). We systematically vary demographic conditioning (race/ethnicity, gender, age, education, income, party), prompt framing (direct elicitation, respondent embodiment, specialist embodiment), and model architecture (GPT-5 Nano, DeepSeek V3.2, Meta Llama 3.1 8B, Mistral Small 24B). Across 811,560 prompts, the mean absolute error—the average gap between predicted and human response distributions—is 23 percentage points. We also find that LLM responses to …

Legislative Debate-Attributed Suicidality Among Lgbtq+ Adults: The Buffering Effect Of Community Belongingness, Keith J. Watts, Shawndaya S. Thrasher, Laneshia R. Conner, Nicole Campbell, Louis G. Baser, Dekeitra Griffin, Sydney P. Howard, Missy Spears, Justin X. Moore

Counseling & Human Services Faculty Publications

Background: In recent years, the sociopolitical landscape in the United States has shifted due to an increase in state-level legislation regarding LGBTQ+ rights, a trend that has been particularly pronounced in the Commonwealth of Kentucky. While the mental health impacts of enacted laws are increasingly documented, a critical gap remains in understanding the psychological toll of the legislative debates themselves—the prolonged periods of public discourse surrounding the restriction of rights. Methods: Utilizing data from the 2025 Queer Kentucky Survey (N = 817), this exploratory study examined the association between LGBTQ+ community belongingness and acute suicidality attributed specifically to anti-LGBTQ+ legislative …

The Influence Of Familial Substance Use Disorder On Perceptions And Attitudes Towards Substance Use Disorders And Participant Substance Use Behavior Among Emerging Adults, Elijah M. Lefeld, Jennifer Stanley

Williams Honors College, Honors Research Projects

This research project explores how the lived experience of having an immediate family member with a substance use disorder (SUD) influences a person’s perceptions, attitudes, and behaviors related to substance use. Rather than focusing on the individual diagnosed with SUD, the study examines the reciprocal impact on family members within the social subsystem. Using a quasi-experimental design, the project will compare participant responses using with and without a familial connection to SUD. Data will be collected through Qualtrics surveys distributed via SONA. These measures will record demographic information, personal substance use habits, attitudes toward addiction, perception of substance use disorders, …