Mental and Social Health Commons^™

Mindfulness Based Stress Interventions In Physician Assistant Programs, Lucas Vance

Physician Assistant Capstones, 2020-current

Mindfulness based interventions (MBI) have been used successfully in a variety of venues from the treatment of chronic pain to reducing stress in the workplace. The benefits of MBI programs that have been studied range from self-reported anxiety, depression, and empathy levels to levels of cortisol¹ to amygdala changes seen on magnetic resonance imaging.² MBI programs have been studied in pre-medical, medical, and graduate schools, as well as, nursing programs, and generalized healthcare cohorts.

Investigating The Psychological Impact Of Covid-19 Among Healthcare Workers: A Meta-Analysis, Kavita Batra, Tejinder Pal Singh, Manoj Sharma, Ravi Batra, Nena Schvaneveldt

Environmental & Occupational Health Faculty Publications

© 2020 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. Previous meta-analyses were conducted during the initial phases of the COVID-19 pandemic, which utilized a smaller pool of data. The current meta-analysis aims to provide additional (and updated) evidence related to the psychological impact among healthcare workers. The search strategy was developed by a medical librarian and bibliographical databases, including Medline, Embase, CINAHL, PsycINFO, and Scopus were searched for studies examining the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the psychological health of healthcare workers. Articles were screened by three reviewers. Heterogeneity among studies was assessed by I2 statistic. The random-effects model …

Effect Of A Self-Care And Self-Awareness Education Program On Resilience To Burnout And Depression In Clinically Experienced Nursing Students, Andrew Taylor

Undergraduate Honors Theses

The purpose was to examine the effect of a self-care educational intervention on nursing student resilience and thus the potential for compassion fatigue, depersonalization, burnout, depression, and inadequate self-care. A one-group pretest-posttest research design was applied to a convenience sample of 104 nursing students near the end of their last semester in a baccalaureate nursing program. The measurements were demographics, a psychometric resilience scale, program evaluation, and reflection question. The intervention was a standardized, intensive 30 min training program on the high degree of stress and burnout nurses face and the core self-care methods that can promote resilience to these …

Benefits Of Therapy Dogs Among College-Aged Communication Sciences And Disorders Students, Allison Szramek

Graduate Independent Studies - Communication Sciences and Disorders

There are many current strategies and techniques proven to help college age students reduce their stress. However, there is limited research about the use of therapy dogs to help reduce stress among this population. This literature review investigates the relationship between therapy dogs and the power to reduce stress among college students, especially those majoring in Communication Sciences and Disorders (CSD). The analysis shows a strong correlation between utilizing a therapy dog and the reduction of stress for college students. Further research and implementation should be done to determine the effectiveness of therapy dog interactions with college student and the …

Law Library Blog (November 2020): Legal Beagle's Blog Archive, Roger Williams University School Of Law

Law Library Newsletters/Blog

No abstract provided.

Effects Of A Physical Activity Intervention On The Stress Reduction Of Underserved Adolescent Youth, Gwenyth C. Asbury

Senior Theses

Stress levels of American teenagers are rising. Studies show that teens are reporting higher stress levels than what they perceive to be healthy and that these levels are higher than the levels of perceived stress reported by adults (APA, 2013). In addition to reporting unhealthy levels of stress, adolescents are reporting feeling overwhelmed and depressed due to their stress (APA, 2013). These findings are especially true for underserved adolescents who are more likely to have exposure to violence, discrimination, racism and conditions of poverty in addition to experiencing the typical stressors associated with adolescence (American Academy of Child and Adolescent …

Indicators Of Psychological Distress And Body Image Disorders In Female Patients With Breast Cancer, Helena Van Oers, Lourens Schlebusch

Journal of Mind and Medical Sciences

Breast cancer patients are vulnerable to elevated stress related to receiving the diagnosis, unfamiliar and invasive treatment, and coping with the side-effects of treatment, which may find various forms of expression. Another common feature of this patient population is body image dysphoria. Both the disease and treatment lead to impairments in physical appearance and general bodily functioning. This study aimed to explore the differential manifestations of stress and the nature of body image dysphoria within a sample of female breast cancer patients (n=80), compared to female patients with other sites of disease (n=80) in order to examine differences in the …

The Association Between Depressive Symptoms And Accumulation Of Stress Among Black Men In The Health And Retirement Study, Roland J. Thorpe, Jr., Ryon Cobb, Keyonna King, Marino A. Bruce, Paul Archibald, Harlan P. Jones, Keith C. Norris, Keith E. Whitfield, Darrell Hudson

Publications and Research

Background and Objectives: Among the multiple factors posited to drive the health inequities that black men experience, the fundamental role of stress in the production of poor health is a key component. Allostatic load (AL) is considered to be a byproduct of stressors related to cumulative disadvantage. Exposure to chronic stress is associated with poorer mental health including depressive symptoms. Few studies have investigated how AL contributes to depressive symptoms among black men. The purpose of the cross-sectional study was to examine the association between AL and depressive symptoms among middle- to old age black men.

Research Design and Methods: …

Exploring The Mental Health Needs Of Intensive Care Unit Nurses Facing The Pandemic Of Covid-19, Bushra Salamah

The Eleanor Mann School of Nursing Student Works

Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) has spread domestically and internationally, with approximately 134 billion confirmed cases worldwide and over 2 million deaths attributed to the virus. Frontline healthcare workers are at a substantially higher risk of infection and death due to excessive COVID-19 exposure while also facing mental health challenges. Epidemiological data on the mental health statuses of frontline nurses is still limited. The aim of this study was to examine mental health (burnout, stress, emotional exhaustion, disengagement) and associated factors among Intensive Care Unit (ICU) Nurses who are caring for COVID-19 patients to support and maintain their psychological well-being.

Mindfulness: A Promising Practice To Reduce Accountant Stress, Abigail Anderson

Marriott Student Review

This article considers the practice of mindfulness as an approach to reduce stress within the lives of accountants. Mindfulness has existed for centuries as a Buddhist tradition and has only recently become popular in the Western world as a stress-reduction technique that can lead to improved mental and emotional well-being. This article also examines the prevalence of mindfulness within the Top 10 accounting firms in the United States and some results regarding employee performance. As more and more firms begin to utilize mindfulness as a low-cost method to better employee performance and well-being, university accounting programs should consider incorporating the …

Investigating The Impact Of The Fava Well-Being Protocol On Perceived Stress And Psychological Well-Being With At-Promise High School Students, Renee L. Fensom

Counseling & Human Services Theses & Dissertations

An elevation in stress levels can be caused by many contributing factors, which can ultimately interfere with the learning of young people. Fortunately, an increase in well being can help promote resilience, creating a buffer to stress. Therefore, the current study investigated the influence of a positive psychology intervention aimed at lowering perceived stress and increasing well-being among at-promise students. The theoretical framework for this study was based on Ryff’s Model of Psychological Well-Being (PWB). The specific intervention used was the Well-being Therapy School Protocol developed by Fava and associates, based off of Carol Ryff’s Model of PWB (Fava, 2016). …

Are Effort And Helpfulness Ratings Of Session Activities Associated With Improved Outcomes In Web-Based Acceptance And Commitment Therapy (Act) For Caregivers?, Hannah R. Cragun

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Family caregivers for people with dementia are providing care for up to ten years because people with dementia are living longer. This role can be demanding because the person with dementia can have behavioral and psychological symptoms that can be stressful for the caregiver to witness and manage. Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) in its traditional face-to-face format has strong scientific support in helping caregivers to be less depressed and better cope with the stress associated with taking care of their loved one. However, because caregiving is a time-demanding role, caregivers can struggle with accessing face-to-face therapy, making online ACT …

Effectiveness Of Ashtanga And Vinyasa Yoga: Combating Anxiety, Depression, Stress And Sleep Quality., Kati Street

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Purpose: This lack of rigor in yoga research methodology hinders the understanding of yoga components and best practices. This study implements two yoga interventions with recommended adequate structure, one more physically demanding (Ashtanga Vinyasa) and a less physically demanding (slow flow vinyasa). The instructor, who is also the lead researcher, developed a slow flow vinyasa sequence and modified the set sequence of Ashtanga Vinyasa for beginners. Both yoga interventions cover domains suggested by Sherman (2012) for meticulous methods in yoga research.

Methods: This study implements two styles of yoga with university students over the course of eight weeks, meeting twice …

Exploring The Experience Of Psychological Distress For Young Adults With Cancer: Implications For A New Diagnosis Of Medical Traumatic Stress, Audrey Ryan

Counseling and Psychology Dissertations

The purpose of this qualitative study was to investigate how a serious medical diagnosis, such as cancer, can act as an acute or prolonged trauma. This was explored through the lived experiences of psychological distress of young cancer survivors. Participants were 12 men and women who had been diagnosed with cancer within the past seven years when they were between the ages of 18 and 39. From these interviews several themes emerged that describe the phenomenon of what I have termed medical traumatic stress.

Trauma from a medical event does not currently meet criteria for PTSD in the DSM-5 …

The Correlation Between Personal Stressors, Anxiety And Caffeine Consumption Among Jmu Faculty, Erica B. Larocca

Senior Honors Projects, 2020-current

This study investigates the relationships between caffeine consumption, stress and anxiety among faculty at James Madison University. This was examined using a mixed methods study with a sample of twenty undergraduate faculty members from all Academic Colleges besides the College of Education. Quantitative data serves to provide descriptive statistics as well as data from the Generalized Anxiety Disorder-7 scale and the Caffeine Expectancy Scale. Qualitative data serves to learn about the motivations and habits surrounding caffeine, and about the stressors and anxieties specific to faculty members. Anxiety and caffeine are reported to have an association (p=0.656). It was found that …

Examining Black Art Therapy Graduate Students' Experiences With Racial Battle Fatigue, Marilyn Holmes

Art Therapy Counseling Final Research Projects

ABSTRACT Examining Black Art Therapy Graduate Student’s Experiences with Racial Battle Fatigue by Marilyn Holmes Chairperson: Jayashree George, DA, ATR-BC, LMFT, SEP Racial Battle Fatigue (RBF) is a term used to describe the psychological and physiological symptoms Black students experience after repeated exposure to microaggressions in higher academic settings (Smith, Yosso, & Solorzano, 2006). In this study, I sought to explore the specific experiences with RBF of current and former Black art therapy in their graduate programs and supervision. Supervision is an essential and necessary aspect of art therapy education that involves power dynamics that can be complicated by race. …

The Effects Of Generalized Stress And Anxiety On Clinical Athletic Training Students: A Qualitative Study, Morgan E. Dumont

Masters Theses, 2020-current

Stress and anxiety are present and acknowledged on our society as seven out of 10 United States adults deal with moderate stress or anxiety on a daily basis (Beiter et al., 2015). Sport research has primarily focused on student-athletes, how they struggle, and the resources that can be provided to help this population cope and manage their stress. However, there is lack of research about stress and anxiety among those individuals who provide the care to student-athletes, specifically the athletic training students within their clinical assignments. Athletic training students lead similar schedules to student-athletes by devoting time to prepare for …

College Education Can Induce Stress, Anxiety, And Depression – Are You Sad?, Nathan L. Boyd

2020 Symposium Posters

College students must manage a great deal of stress, including heavy loads of coursework, deadlines, finances, families, working part-time or full-time, and choosing their lifelong careers. The Center for Collegiate Mental Health has reported that stress, anxiety, and depression (SAD) are the leading reasons that students reach out for mental health services. However, stigma has been identified as the primary barrier to treatment. Students should be encouraged to seek the help of medical professionals and develop healthy habits because these serious conditions can negatively affect educational performance, work performance, and quality of life. Secondary research methods will be used to …

Managing Stress In A Constantly-Changing Workforce, Lorri Burch-Hubbard

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

When staffing reductions occur in the workplace, staff left behind may face increased stress, may not be given the support they need to manage the feelings caused by the reduction. This study was conducted to evaluate the impact of stress caused by staffing reductions has on medical technologists (MT), medical technicians (MLT) and respiratory therapists (RT), and to identify any common methods of stress management used by those staff who remain in the organization.

Literature research showed the negative impact stress can have on individuals when it is not addressed, such as decreased work performance, health issues, and even the …

The Influence Of End Of Life Education On Stress, Anxiety, And Attitude Of The Healthcare Profession Student, Chiquesha Davis

DNP Final Reports

Providing comfort and support to the dying patient is a significant part of the dying process. When soothing a patient, who is dying, the goal is to prevent or relieve suffering as much as possible. Respecting the patient's health and quality of life goals and decisions is essential. Healthcare profession students can experience multiple levels of anxiety, stress, and a negative attitude while taking care of the dying patient. The implementation of a successful intervention is at the cornerstone of helping reduce stress, anxiety, and attitude change in healthcare profession students. The application can also have a positive impact on …

Fall Reading Week: Exploring The Effects On Student Well-Being, Roobina Medhizadah

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

Mental health is a concerning issue in post-secondary institutions across Ontario. Post-secondary students are challenged with many stressors such as time management and living independently for the first time (Wagner & Rhee, 2013). In an attempt to help students, maintain or improve their mental health, universities across Ontario have implemented fall reading week, a mid-semester break (Poole et al., 2017). Previous studies (Cramer & Pschibul, 2017; Poole et al., 2017) provided mixed results in whether fall reading week positively influences student mental health and well-being. To date, few studies have explored the influence of fall reading week on student health …