Public Health and Community Nursing Commons^™

Care For Inmates With Mental Illness: What Can Nurses Do?, Rebecca K. Sakai

Honors Projects

This paper serves to inform nurses of the medical and psychiatric treatment that inmates with mental illness receive and to offer suggestions for treatment interventions. Current practice includes mental health screens, psychotropic medication administration, psychiatric departments, and administrative segregation. The recommended interventions include providing therapy (including Cognitive Behavioral Therapy and Group Therapy), decreasing administrative segregation, implementing reintegration programs, and training and collaborating with correctional officers.

The Effect Of Mantram Repetition On Qol In Low-Income, Urban Dwelling Older Adults, Marissa Katerina Mackiewicz

Dissertations

Background: Quality of life is an important concept of increasing significance for the healthcare in the United States, especially when taken in perspective of the aging population. Low-income, urban dwelling older adults are challenged in a number of ways that may negatively impact their QOL. This unique group is prone to report lower QOL, therefore, interventions targeted to improve QOL are timely. The purpose of this study was to describe the effect of mantram repetition (MR) on QOL in a sample of low-income, urban dwelling older adults.

Methods: A quasi-experimental pre-posttest study was conducted using a sample population of low-income …

Increasing Follow-Up In College Students With Latent Tuberculosis Infection, Emily Middleton, Dnp, Aprn, Ccrn, Kathy James, Dnsc, Aprn, Faan, Kimberly Woodruff, Md, Mph

Doctor of Nursing Practice Final Manuscripts

Around 13 million people in the United States have latent tuberculosis infection (LTBI) with a 5-10% chance of developing active tuberculosis (TB) in their lifetime if not treated (Center for Disease Control, 2015). At a University Student Health Center (SHC), there is a matriculation requirement for TB testing for students that screen as high risk. Many students have these testing requirements performed at outside clinics, including foreign clinics, and follow-up regarding education about LTBI and treatment recommendations was often missing. The purpose of this evidence-based practice (EBP) project was to increase follow-up, education, and treatment options after diagnosis of LTBI. …

An Assessment Of Maternal Mortality In Papua New Guinea: An Explanatory Sequential Mixed Methods Approach, Jennifer Litau

Adventist Human-Subject Researchers Association

Research into the serious manifestation of maternal mortality in Papua New Guinea is essential for formative knowledge and intervention. Explanatory sequential mixed methods approach employed first involved SPSS analyses of Gulf Provincial Hospital’s obstetric data revealing high rates of home deliveries by mothers. Interviews in high incidence communities provided explanations and mortality experiences.

The Clinical Nurse Leader As Outcomes Manager: Optimizing Screening Mammography In An Outpatient Breast Center, Yao Luo

Master's Projects and Capstones

The Clinical Nurse Leader as Outcomes Manager: Optimizing Screening Mammography in an Outpatient Breast Center

Abstract

This clinical nurse leader (CNL) practice improvement project was conducted in an outpatient breast center that is part of a community safety-net hospital. The patient population consists of a large proportion of disadvantaged, low income, low English literacy, and high-risk women over 445 years of age. Recent observations and baseline data from the breast center and the mobile mammography van indicated that five to eight radiologic views were taken during a routine mammogram in a subset of screening patients which exceeds the standard set …

Advanced Access: Creating An Infrastructure For Success In Primary Care, Kimberly D. Perris

Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) Projects

The Humboldt Independent Practice Association (IPA) has sought to improve the health of Humboldt County through practice transformation efforts. To date, Humboldt IPA’s primary care practice, the Priority Care Center, is building a foundation toward an Advanced Access model of care with an overarching aim of effectively improving access to quality care in Humboldt County. The 10 Building Blocks of High Performing Primary Care Practices framework set the stage for the intervention and was used as a roadmap to build an infrastructure for success. Team-based care was highlighted as the project relied on having systems and processes that empower the …

Decreasing Environmental Health Risks In The Philippines: Implementation Of A Culturally Appropriate Screening Tool, Alyssa Samson

Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) Projects

Objectives: The purpose of this DNP project was to increase the knowledge of environmental health risk factors in the Philippines among nurses and doctors located within that healthcare system. The overall goal was to educate providers on local environmental health risks, provide training for the use of a screening tool (Tagalog Environmental Health and Safety Assessment Tool [TEHSAT]), and provide resources aimed at increasing screening of at risk populations and provide opportunities for education and health promotion.

Methods: This project included a two-part educational training session. The first part included a preliminary presentation on environmental health and the use of …

Addressing Disparities Among The Homeless Population With Type Ii Diabetes Through The Use Of Educational Programs, Allison Moses

Senior Honors Projects, 2010-2019

Background: The homeless population is exposed to many difficulties and barriers while attempting to manage Type II Diabetes Mellitus (DMII), which involves complex medication regimens and dietary and exercise modifications. The aim of this literature review is to increase awareness among healthcare professionals, to improve their understanding and ability to educate the homeless population, to help reduce health disparities and promote chronic disease management.

Methods: Access to two electronic search engines, CINAHL and PubMed, was obtained through James Madison University’s Library Database. The Ratings System for Level of Evidence was used to determine articles for inclusion based on reliability, sample …

Sun Prevention Fun (Spf): A Multicomponent Sun Prevention Program For Children In Kindergarten And First Grade, Sarah Gouker

Evidence-Based Practice Project Reports

Skin cancer is an important topic in the United States due to the recent increase in cost and mortality. The purpose of this evidence-based practice (EBP) project was to determine if the early implementation of a multicomponent sun prevention program positively impacted kindergarten and first grade students’ knowledge and behavioral intentions to practice safe sun techniques after a one week period. Kotter’s Model of Change and the ACE Star model were utilized to guide this EBP project. An exhaustive review of the literature yielded 12 articles which were used to develop best practices for education on sun safety. The quality …

Oral Health Literacy In Parents And Care Providers Of Young Children, Rachel Nye

Doctor of Nursing Practice Scholarly Projects

Tooth decay ranks first as the most common chronic disease in childhood (U.S. Department of Health and Human Services [HHS], 2000). In addition to the morbidity directly related to cavities, there are a myriad of other systemic implications of this disease. The purpose of the study was to determine baseline oral health literacy levels for a sample of pediatric caregivers living in the Upper Peninsula and to determine the impact of a community based education program on these levels. The program was offered at three locations. A paired sample t-test of sixty-four complete data sets demonstrated a statistically significant increase …

Evidence-Based Study Of Medication Compliance Project In Hiv Prevention Using Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis (Prep) Antivirals For Hiv-Negative Males, Ming-Chun Ho

Doctoral Projects

In 2012, emtricitabine/tenofovir was the only Food and Drug Administration-approved medication for pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) used in human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) prevention. To date, there is little research on open-label and mixed-payer characteristics supporting medication compliance of men who have sex with men (MSM). The purpose of this research was to describe individual demographic variables associated with PrEP medication adherence and to examine the effect of a follow-up phone call from a nurse once a month for 3 months. A total of 30 MSM were recruited and data were collected using a demographic questionnaire, medication adherence tool and follow-up phone …

Sexually Transmitted Infection Risk Reduction For College Students, Mary Kathryn Dowling

Doctoral Projects

University students have been assessed through many sexual health lenses, but there is a paucity of research on the sexual health of community college students. This population may provide good access to at-risk youth, and opportunity to reverse steep climbs in sexually transmitted infection (STI) rates. This research project pilot tests a theory-based intervention employing social facilitation to reduce STI risk among college students. Fifty students were recruited from Human Sexuality courses to participate in a 60-minute workshop. Pre- and post-testing measured for change in STI knowledge, attitude towards safer sex, and self-efficacy for engaging in safer sex practices.

A …

Adolescent Sexual Health: Provider Evaluation Of A Sexual History Tool At A School-Based Health Clinic, Gillian Marie Williams

Doctoral Projects

There is a growing concern within the United States in regard to sexual behavior within our adolescent population. Sexually transmitted infections (STIs) have always been a concern, however, there has been a steady increase since 2014 in the three nationally reportable diseases of chlamydia, gonorrhea, and syphilis. According to the CDC (2017), 15-24 years old account for half of all the new STI s. There is a need to provide more sexual health to adolescents during their health visits. It is also imperative to understand the beliefs and attitudes of providers with providing these types of exams and asking questions …

Perceptions Of College Students Towards Healthcare Provisions On Campus, Sarah Houtz

Honors Theses

Healthcare on university campuses is not a new concept. There is little evidence surrounding the effectiveness and adaptability of services provided to students by providers or healthcare facilities located on campus. Literature describes individual concepts of healthcare resources provided on campus including convenience, holistic care, abilities to refer to off campus specialty clinics, and factors related directly to the patient’s beliefs and values. However, there is a considerable gap in tools used to measure opinions directly related to the services, quality, perception, initiatives, and overall satisfaction with the provisions provided by healthcare professionals located on university campuses. Of the 23 …

Emergency Preparedness Among College Students At The University Of Arkansas, Mary Gadberry

The Eleanor Mann School of Nursing Undergraduate Honors Theses

Students at the University of Arkansas could be susceptible to multiple forms of disaster including severe winter weather, earthquakes, tornadoes, lightning, floods, toxin release, radiological release from nuclear power plant, infectious diseases, food contamination, fires, active shooters, and bomb threats (Federal Emergency Management Agency [FEMA], 2013). The unpredictability of natural disasters, coupled with the increase in targeted school violence, served as the impetus for various federal initiatives intended to protect university populations (FEMA, 2003). The purpose of this study was to determine the emergency preparedness levels of college students at the University of Arkansas. Only 50% of students were concerned …

Pornography As A Public Health Issue: Promoting Violence And Exploitation Of Children, Youth, And Adults, Elisabeth Taylor

Dignity: A Journal of Analysis of Exploitation and Violence

The pornography industry is expanding exponentially as a result of ongoing technological advances. The ability to stream videos over the internet and the ubiquity of the smart phone have meant that pornography producers are able to use algorithms to target potential consumers, to cultivate new sexual tastes and to deliver content to a more diverse audience over mobile devices. The advent of virtual reality pornography with interactive sex toys and sex robots imbued with artificial intelligence promises to unleash a further step-change in the extent to which pornography influences ‘real-world’ sexual culture. The critical analysis of pornography undertaken over decades …

Most Effective Interventions For Disaster Relief Preparation, Elizabeth Keating, Faith Edwards, Cheryl Swanson Phd, Rn

Anna Vaughn School of Nursing Undergraduate Work

Because disasters are sometimes unpredictable and difficult to measure, it is exceedingly important to have properly trained healthcare professionals that are prepared for a variety of natural and manmade crises. Victims affected by disasters may be numerous and have severe injuries, but nurses, as first-responders, with proper education and experience can drastically reduce the amount of casualties in a particular disaster. However, it is clear that nurses currently feel unprepared in the event of a natural or manmade disaster, and therefore need more training and preparation for such occurrences. This systematic research review set out to find the most effective …

Can Using A Smartphone Application Improve The Ability Of Law Enforcement Officers To Recognize Commercially Sexually Exploited Children And Report Them To Child Welfare Authorities?, Sheree Goldman

Doctoral Projects

The commercial sexual exploitation of children (CSEC) is a crime of abuse that is frequently unrecognized because mandated reporters may be unfamiliar with the indicators. Commercially sexually exploited minors participate in sex acts in exchange for money, goods, or services. At least 200,000 American children are believed to be victims of this crime each year (County Welfare Director Association of California, 2015). Victims often go undiscovered and experience significant health issues. A public health model is used to explain the context of victimization and the need for interdisciplinary collaboration to discover victims and connect them with needed services. A randomized …

An Exploration Of Barriers To Health Care Access Among Uninsured Patients: Using The Moderating Effect Of Patients’ Enablement, Enedelia L. Jessup

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

ABSTRACT On March 23, 2010, Congress passed the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA) to increase value of care, improve clinical outcomes, decrease health care costs, and increase affordability in health care access. The purpose of the study attempts to examine the moderating effects of patient enablement impacting barriers, low socio economic status, and unmet basic needs, toward health care access in uninsured populations post ACA. Only certain aspects of patient enablement in self-management of an individual’s health care goals have been conducted with uninsured populations with barriers toward health care access. The research design was a quantitative, exploratory, …

Book Review: Surrogacy: A Human Rights Violation By Renate Klein, Sheela Saravanan

Dignity: A Journal of Analysis of Exploitation and Violence

No abstract provided.

Factors Associated With Household Contacts' Tuberculosis Testing And Evaluation, Elvy G. Barroso

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Contact investigation (CI) is one of the core elements of tuberculosis (TB) control. It is intended to achieve early identification of contacts who may have been exposed to a patient with infectious active TB and contacts who may benefit from treatment for latent tuberculosis infection (LTBI). LTBI is an infection in which the Mycobacterium tuberculosis organisms cause no signs and symptoms but the infection can be reactivated and develop into full-blown active TB disease. Failure to be identified as a contact is the primary reason for disease development in more than half of TB patients, thus a complete and timely …

Perceived Health: A Grounded Theory Study On How Young Black Men Process Their Health, Layla L. Qaabidh

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

This dissertation explored the perceptions young, Black men have regarding their health. It also sought to understand behaviors young, Black men engage in to maintain their health.

Culture Care Needs Of Puerto Rican Women Receiving Hiv Care From Nurse Practitioners In New York City, Michele Crespo-Fierro

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

The purpose of this mini-ethnonursing research study was to discover, describe, and interpret culture care values, beliefs, expressions, practices and needs of Puerto Rican women receiving HIV care from nurse practitioners (NPs) and other providers in New York City. The emic, or insider, perspective of Puerto Rican women living with HIV was the focus of this study and Leininger’s Culture Care Theory (CCT) provided the theoretical framework. Various enablers of the CCT, including Leininger’s Sunrise Enabler to Discover Culture Care, guided the design andimplementation of the study. Six key and twelve general informantswere interviewed and data from the interviews were …

Elementary School Teachers' Student Health Concerns And Knowledge Of Resources, Aubrey Gahagan

The Eleanor Mann School of Nursing Undergraduate Honors Theses

Teachers are with their students an average of seven to 10 hours a day, five days a week. The substantial amount of time teachers spend with their students allows them to provide helpful insight into health problems children face. The purpose of this study was to identify elementary school teachers’ concerns for student health and to assess their knowledge of resources that address those health concerns. A convenient sample of 86 teachers from three elementary schools in Northwest Arkansas was surveyed. Surveys were used to identify the three main concerns teachers have for their students. A cross-sectional design was used …

The Relationship Between Community Dwelling Older Adult’S Fall Risk And Beliefs Of Risk For Falling In Northwest Arkansas And Bolgatanga, Ghana., Natalie Gohman

The Eleanor Mann School of Nursing Undergraduate Honors Theses

Title: The Relationship Between Community Dwelling Older Adult’s Fall Risk and Beliefs of Risk for Falling in Northwest Arkansas and Bolgatanga, Ghana.

Gohman, N., Patton, S., Smith-Blair, N., Agana, C.: University of Arkansas, Fayetteville, AR

Background: Older adults worldwide live with comorbidities, physical and psychological changes associated with aging. Statistically, however, older adults are more likely to die as a result of falling. As the worldwide population of individuals over 65 rises, so will the possibility for injuries from falls. Much research has been published concerning fall risk prevention, but minimal research surrounding protocols and practices for protecting against falls …

Development And Validation Of A Silhouette Scale To Measure African-American Mothers’ Perception Of The Body Size Of Their Two To Four Year Old Children, Joan Buckley

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Background: In the United States (U.S.), the Center for Disease Control (2011 – 2014) reported that one-third of adults and 17% of children between the ages of two and nineteen are obese. Obesity in the U.S. is higher in the African-American groups comprising 13.2 % of the U.S. population. With the link between obesity and chronic diseases, such as, diabetes, heart disease, stroke, and some cancers there is a necessity to understand and reverse the consequences of obesity. There is a need to change the development of obesity/adiposity from childhood to adulthood in African-Americans. Exploring the parent’s awareness of …

A Journey Through Homelessness: A Photovoice Project With Youth Experiencing Homelessness In Minnesota, Bonnie D. Paulsen

Theses and Graduate Projects

The purpose of this project was to conduct a photovoice project with youth experiencing homelessness who frequent a drop-in center in the Midwest. Youth experiencing homelessness are a marginalized population whose numbers continue to grow. Photovoice is a method by which marginalized populations have an opportunity to express their lived experiences through photographs and what those photographs mean to them. Four youth from the drop-in center in the Midwest participated in the photovoice project. The youths were given cameras and instructions to take photographs of three broad areas: what homelessness means to them, their dreams for their futures and how …

The Effect Of My Health Companion© On Self-Management And Quality Of Life In Persons With End Stage Renal Disease: A Multiple Case Study Approach, Julie D. Leming

Nursing Theses and Dissertations

End stage renal disease (ESRD) is the fifth and final stage of chronic kidney disease. Persons with ESRD face significant challenges to quality of life when undergoing renal replacement therapy with hemodialysis. Complex medical regimens accompanied by severe physical discomforts related to both ESRD and dialysis can take a serious emotional toll. Two manuscripts presented in this dissertation portfolio explore the issues facing this population. First, a comparative concept analysis explores three potential psychosocial responses for which nurses are uniquely positioned to intervene. A second manuscript details a multiple-case study with embedded units of analysis that aimed to test the …

Maternal Obesity And Fetal Macrosomia: An Integrative Review Of The Literature Regarding Interventions, Charity Stalcup

Senior Honors Theses

Research suggests pre-pregnancy obesity is associated with an increased risk of macrosomia in the newborn. Since women are expected to gain weight during pregnancy, the standard recommendation of weight loss for obesity is not ideal for this population. In this systematic review of the literature regarding interventions for maternal obesity to reduce fetal macrosomia, 149 articles were screened using three different databases to identify recent randomized controlled trials related to this topic. A total of 11 full text articles were analyzed and included in the review. The articles addressed nutritional, lifestyle, and pharmacological interventions. The results indicated there is currently …

Advanced Disease Management In Home Healthcare: Palliative Integration, Missy Stober

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Capstones

Advanced Disease Management in Home Healthcare: Palliative Care Integration

Abstract

With home health caring for patients with serious illnesses and advancing disease states, palliative care in a community setting like the home, can provide many benefits. This population currently has a gap in the healthcare continuum at the point of advancing disease state to end of life care. Recently, new payment models based around clinical outcomes, including hospitalization scores and quality indicators, has caused home health to explore different ways to deliver quality and effective care, especially for those with the highest risk of hospitalization. A literature review was conducted …