Other Medicine and Health Sciences Commons^™

Well-Being Beyond The Binary In Perinatal Healthcare: An Application Of Reproductive Justice, Orphea D. Wright

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Gender diverse birthing individuals face several systemic barriers to accessing affirming and empowering perinatal healthcare. The present study utilizes the term gender diverse and the abbreviation TGE to describe those who self-identify as broadly non-cisgender, an umbrella term for people whose gender identity differs from their sex assigned at birth. Gender identities that may be included in this definition include transgender/trans, gender expansive, non-binary, gender fluid, gender nonconforming, gender variant, gender queer/queer, and/or agender. Gender diverse individuals face unique barriers in perinatal healthcare due to the pervasiveness of cisnormativity in perinatal healthcare spaces. Research has documented the harm caused to …

Healthcare Utilization Patterns, Associated Factors, And Readmission Rates Among Children With Sickle Cell Disease., Daniya Mohammed Sabrah

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Sickle Cell Disease (SCD) is common in Saudi Arabia, with a prevalence rate of 2.3%. It is an expensive disease to manage due to the extensive utilization of healthcare resources, including hospital readmissions, extended hospital stays, and frequent emergency department visits, which cost approximately $395 million annually in U.S. dollars. The primary objective of this study was to conduct a systematic literature review of healthcare utilization and cost of patients with SCD, following the PICO framework and PRISMA guidelines. The second aim utilized count models, including the negative binomial and Poisson, to identify factors associated with emergency, inpatient, and outpatient …

Effectiveness Of Antibiotic Stewardship For Healthcare Providers At Urgent Care Clinics, Helen T. Adewole

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Antibiotics have revolutionized modern medicine; however, the overuse in urgent care and primary care significantly contributes to the global burden of infections resistant to available antimicrobial medicines. Approximately 30% of the antimicrobials prescribed in acute care settings are unnecessary. Patient demand for antibiotics has seemingly skyrocketed following the recent COVID-19 pandemic. Practitioners must be knowledgeable about antibiotic stewardship initiatives, such as the wait-and-see approach, to reduce antibiotic overuse and improve the trajectory of antibiotic resistance and patient health outcomes. The gap in practice was the limited awareness of scientific evidence-based tools to partner with patients and improve antibiotic prescription patterns. …

A Case Study Of The Political Determinant Of Health On The Public Health Crisis Of Malaria In Nigeria, Bisola M. Olumegbon

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Abstract

Globally, there were about 229 million cases of malaria in 2022. The sub-Saharan African region accounted for 92% of the reported cases and 94% of deaths. Nigeria had the highest number of malaria cases and deaths, representing 27% of global cases. This scholarly project was a case study guided by the political determinants of health. Triangulation of data using thematic analysis was used to identify the political determinants of malaria in Nigeria and to understand how the concept of interaction contributes to the persistence of the disease. The analysis involved a deductive and inductive approach based on the literature …

Psychological Safety And Conflict Management Among Nurse Practitioners In Interprofessional Teams, Scott Tyler Faust

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This quantitative correlational study explored the relationships between perceived psychological safety, conflict management styles, and perceived conflict management success among nurse practitioners (NPs) operating in interprofessional acute or critical care teams in the United States. Despite existing literature on conflict management and psychological safety, there is a noticeable gap concerning the interplay of these factors, specifically among NPs. A multi-item survey was developed from validated measures to assess psychological safety, conflict management success, and conflict management style. The final sample included 944 NPs. The findings revealed a statistically significant difference in the scores of perceived psychological safety, depending on the …

A Phenomenological Inquiry Into Healthcare Professionals Who Are Experts In Cannabinoid Therapy And The Endocannabinoid System (Ecs), Courtney Collins

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Cannabis is a prevalent alternative treatment for many symptoms and conditions given its medicinal qualities and few side effects. As legalization for both medical and recreational purposes continue to develop quickly across the United States of America, there is serious discrepancy between legalization and clinical research. Clinical data is difficult since the U.S. federal government still classifies cannabis as a Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) Schedule I drug with no clearly established medical value. This lag in evidence-base data has affected cannabinoid therapy and endocannabinoid system education (ECS) for healthcare professionals. There are gaps in medical school and continuing medical education …

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, …

Molecular Characterization Of Human Papillomavirus In Head And Neck Tumors., Sujita Khanal

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Head and neck cancers (HNCs) are common causes of cancer-related deaths worldwide. An increasing incidence of subsets of HNCs is due to human papillomavirus (HPV). Other subsets are associated with tobacco and alcohol use. Determination of differential biomarkers and molecular mechanisms distinguishing HPV-associated and unassociated HNCs should improve diagnostic and therapeutic strategies. This study was designed to identify potential biomarkers for HPV detection, and to evaluate viral and host genetic and epigenetic mechanisms involved in HPV-associated HNCs. Overexpression of a cellular protein, p16INK4a, which is widely used as a surrogate marker for HPV-positive HNC, is non-specific because some HPV-negative cancers …

Influencers And Barriers To Consumption Of Healthful Diets In Rural Youth In Context Of The Bioecological Model, Megan Bren

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study is to determine influencers and barriers to healthful dietary intake in rural youth in context of the bioecological model. Four focus groups as part of Ignite, a tri-state, five-year, community based partipatory research (CBPR) intervention were conducted with 6th to 8th grade adolescents from an economically disadvantaged community of rural South Dakota. Results were categorized into the context of the bioecological model. Within the model, the process, person, context and time (PPCT) design with the three types of personal characteristics were used to describe the framework in which the systems are embedded. Focus group content …

Radiography Faculty Perceptions Of The Effectiveness Of Asynchronous Online Courses, Shirley J. Cherry

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to assess radiography faculty perceptions of the effectiveness of asynchronous online courses. Learning effectiveness in a web-based virtual learning environment (VLE) was the conceptual framework for this project (Piccoli, Ahmad, & Ives, 2001). For the purposes of this study, learning effectiveness was defined as the quality of learning being comparable between online and traditional courses (Moore, 2011).

Ten research questions were used to guide this study, and statistical tests were conducted to evaluate 17 null hypotheses. The statistical tests included use of one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA), Pearson correlations, and single-sample t-tests. Ten of …

An Evaluation Of The Quality Assurance Plan At East Tennessee State University’S Dental Hygiene Program, Jennifer E. Fielden

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Quality assurance in healthcare is fundamental in ensuring the achievement of desired outcomes for patients. In 2011 a quality assurance plan was created at the East Tennessee State University (ETSU) dental hygiene program in order to meet accreditation standards. The purpose of this study was to evaluate this plan in order to determine its effectiveness in improving the quality of patient care indicators. One hundred fifty patient charts were selected and audited. Deficiencies were counted in the categories of assessment, treatment, documentation, referral, caries management, perio management, patient education, and follow-up. Research findings were varied; however, external variables with the …

Systemic Leptin Modulates The Expression Of E-Cadherin, Β-Catenin In The Ovary Of Dietary-Induced Obese Infertile Rats, Olufunke A. Sokan

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

One of the numerous complications of obesity is infertility. Leptin has been shown to reverse infertility; however, exact mechanism is poorly understood. Recent evidence indicates Ecadherin/ β-catenin complex, which is a structural constituent of adherens junction, is expressed in the rat ovary during folliculogenesis. We hypothesized that systemic leptin modulates the expression of E-cadherin and β-catenin in dietary-induced obese infertile rats to reverse infertility. Female Sprague-Dawley rats were fed either regular chow diet (RCD) (n=6) or high fat diet (HFD) (n=14). Oestrus cycles were monitored daily until their cycles became irregular. 100 ug/ml of leptin was given intraperitoneally to HFD-fed …

Regulating Rsma Expression In Pseudomonas Aeruginosa, Sean D. Stacey

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Pseudomonas aeruginosa, a Gram-negative bacillus, commonly infects immunocompromised individuals and uses a variety of virulence factors to persist in these hosts. The posttranscriptional regulator, RsmA, plays a role in the expression of many virulence factors in P. aeruginosa. RsmA up regulates virulence factors used in colonizing hosts. However, regulation of rsmA is not well elucidated. Transposon mutagenesis was performed on P. aeruginosa containing a transcriptional rsmA-lacZ fusion to answer this question. Mutants were screened via β-galactosidase assay and transposon insertions identified via arbitrary PCR. A probable MFS transporter, we named mtpX, was one significant transposon mutant identified. …