Other Medicine and Health Sciences Commons^™

National Emergency Department Sample In Geriatric Subsequent Mild Traumatic Brain Injury Visits And Associations With Sex, Falls, Payor, And Discharge Outcomes, Carrie Ann Barrett

Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to explore the variables of sex (male, female), fall mechanism of injury, payor source, and emergency department (ED) discharge outcomes in patients aged >65 who presented with mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI) subsequent ED visits.

A secondary data analysis was performed to assess the relationship among the independent and dependent variables listed above. The independent variables were dichotomous for age (>65, < 65), sex (male, female), and fall mechanism of injury (yes, no), and categorical for payor source (Medicare, Medicaid, Private, Other). The ED discharge dependent variables were categorical [home; healthcare services (including skilled nursing facility, home care, and intermediary care)]. Logistic regression analyses were performed to evaluate specific variables that increase the probability of affecting ED discharge outcomes. The software, SPSS v. 28 was used in the statistical calculations. The study was approved by the Western Michigan University Human Subjects Internal Review Board.

Allied Health Faculty Members’ Perspective On Interprofessional Collaborative Practice: A Hermeneutic Phenomenological Study, Prajakta Khare-Ranade, Margaret Newsham Beckley, Mary Geders Falcetti

Dissertations

A framework for interprofessional collaborative practice (IPCP) was developed by the World Health Organization (WHO) (WHO, 2010) in response to the need to address the complicated conditions that exist in today’s health systems. Much of the focus of today’s health service delivery is predicated on the social determinants of health (Barzansky et al., 2019), which refer to the environmental conditions associated with where people are born, live, go to school, work, play, age, and worship that have an impact on health, function, quality of life, and risks (Healthy People 2030, n.d.). IPCP is thought to be the only approach effective …

Strategies For The Improvement Of Healthcare Through Simulation, Roger Lankheet

Dissertations

Title:Strategies for the improvement of healthcare through simulation

Background: Medical errors continue to plague the healthcare industry. The annual rates of morbidity are approximately 2.69 million (AHRQ, 2019), while mortality rates exceed 400,000 per annum (Makary & Daniel, 2016). There may be no panacea to combat these egregious rates. However, simulation of patient care events may better prepare healthcare professionals to prevent medical errors as it has been proven to be an effective learning strategy (Kirkham, 2018), enhancing skills while gaining experiential knowledge, without risk to actual patients.

Purpose: The purpose of this qualitative study was to gain a …

Missed Appointment Rates And The Implication On Primary Care Practice, Kelly Martin

Dissertations

Problem: Missed appointments cost primary care facilities money and resources through lack of utilization. When patients fail to attend their scheduled appointment the providers are non-productive when they could be seeing other patients that are potentially moved to other days, sending patients to other providers, or worse sending patients to the prompt care or the Emergency Department for care. The missed appointment rate at Office A Primary Care is approximately ten percent, while Office B has a nearly 11% missed appointment rate. Both facilities make reminder calls to patients the day before their appointments to remind them of their appointment …

The Experience Of Early Mobility After One Week Of Hospital-Acquired Deconditioning, Lila S. Moersch

Dissertations

Abstract

Older adults who are hospitalized spend most of their time in bed. Prolonged bed rest and immobility in older adults may result in deconditioning of the muscles, leading to a loss of muscle mass and strength. The loss of muscle mass results in weakness and reduced physiological functioning post-hospital discharge. Immobility is especially problematic in older adults who naturally lose muscle mass and strength due to the aging process. Older adults who experience weakness post-hospital discharge face challenges with mobility. The purpose of this study was to describe the early mobility experiences of adults who are 60 years old …

Evaluating Controlled Substance Documentation In An Electronic Medical Record, Delora Brooks

Dissertations

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) directives issued in 2016 gave guidelines for safely prescribing opiates; however, primary source discussions about methods used for documenting opioid and controlled substance monitoring within an electronic medical record (EMR) are limited (Hussain, Nelson, Polston & Zheng, 2019). This leaves individual providers to determine the appropriate way to document. Inconsistent documentation may not protect providers or organizations from regulatory, civil or criminal liability. As stated by Raveesh, Nayak & Kumbar (2016), “The best way to handle medico-legal issues is by preventing them”. Even with the advent and widespread use of EMRs, documentation …

The Lived Experiences Of Parenting Children With Food Allergies: A Phenomenological Study, Anne Zavell

Dissertations

This phenomenological study focuses on five mothers' experiences of the phenomenon of living with a diagnosed food allergy in the family. Attention is given to the contexts or situations that have typically influenced or affected their experiences, including the impact of the diagnoses, travel and restaurants, friendships, sibling relationships, and anxiety. There is a major emphasis on these mothers' experiences advocating for the needs of their children in schools, including their strategies, concerns, and frustrations. Policies related to food allergies are reviewed from the contemporary and historical perspectives, with recommendations for policy change. The lived experiences of food allergy mothers …

Implementing The Cdcs Core Elements Of Outpatient Antibiotic Stewardship Program Into The Urgent Care, Deanna Powelson

Dissertations

Purpose: The inappropriate use of antibiotics has led to the development of antimicrobial

resistance which is a severe threat to the public and an increasing global problem. The

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimates at least two million illnesses

and 23,000 deaths are caused by antibiotic-resistant bacteria in the United States (CDC,

2014). The purpose of this quality improvement (QI) project was to evaluate the

effectiveness of an antibiotic stewardship program (ASP) on urgent care providers'

prescribing on viral respiratory tract infections (RTIs) including the common cold,

pharyngitis, and bronchitis.

Methods: This QI project implemented the CDCs Core …

An Evaluation Of African American Fathers’ Perceptions And Influences On Child Food Choices And Physical Activity Behaviors, Valerie Annette Richardson

Dissertations

Child obesity is affecting children’s health nationwide. Rates are highest among African Americans (AA) in the South. Research has explored parents’ influence on child eating and activity, but most has reported on mothers’ influences. The purpose of this research was to investigate perceptions about AA fathers’ influences on their children’s eating and physical activity. Using a structured focus group questionnaire based on the parent layer constructs of Birch and Ventura’s Ecological Model for Child Overweight (2009), four focus groups were conducted with 28 AA fathers with children 6- to 11-years-old in a rural and an urban church setting in southeast …

Processing And Characterization Of Innovative Magnesium Alloys For Biodegradable Orthopaedic Implants, Christopher E. Smith

Dissertations

There is a need for innovation in medical implant devices through novel biomaterials that will improve the quality of life. The first step in the creation of a foundation of knowledge and technology to improve these implant devices is through the creation of new alloys with the capabilities of biodegradation and bioabsorption without a toxic effect that will pass through FDA regulatory procedures. In this study, unique heat treatment processing techniques coupled with innovation in elemental alloying produced distinctive magnesium (Mg) based alloy systems. The MgZnCa system was used as the underpinning system where four groups of novel alloys were …

Are Women Aware? : Factors Related To Women's Knowledge Of Risk And Preventive Factors In Breast Cancer, Sandra M. Walther

Dissertations

Problem. Women have a one-in-eight chance of being diagnosed with breast cancer in their lifetime. In the past decade, there has only been a decrease of less than 1% in breast cancer morbidity and mortality rates. Breast cancer continues to be a feared disease that ravages even its survivors, and grips many with fear. Furthermore, breast cancer remains the highest cost of care among cancers. In 1990 the overall cost of care for breast cancer was $4.2 billion. In 2010, the total cost of breast cancer care rose to almost $17 billion, and by 2020 the cost trends show …