Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Impact Of Traditional (Non-Affirming) Black Church Affiliation On Exploration Of Sexual Identity For Black Assigned Female At Birth Lgbq+ Individuals And The Associated Mental Health Risk, Aurielle J. Sutton

Doctoral Dissertations

This dissertation explored the impact of Black traditional church upbringing on the sexual and religious identity development, including the subsequent mental health risk, for Black assigned female at birth (AFAB) LGBQ+ individuals. Studies conducted on Black AFAB LGBQ+ individuals are limited, especially in terms of  assessing their experiences in sexual identity development based on religious upbringings. Studies have overlooked the experience of LGBQ+ Black AFAB individuals navigating sexual orientation development and religious and racial identities. Studies have greatly favored Black gay men and supported health risks such as HIV. In the present study, twelve Black AFAB Queer individuals participated in …

Sanctuary: Counter-Oppressive Relationships With Farmed Animals As An Ecopsychological Imperative, Kelsey Bomboy

The International Journal of Ecopsychology (IJE)

Consumers are intentionally shielded from and often misled about the process of breeding, raising, and slaughtering animals for consumption. By confining most farmed animals to warehouses in rural areas while the majority of humans are sequestered in urban areas, we have effectively created a world where humans do not have to contend with the sense of interconnectedness that arises when witnessing and being witnessed by a farmed animal. Within industrial slaughterhouses, the physical act of killing is minimized to just a fraction of the workers, so that even those who are responsible for rendering a once living being will never …

Shadow Garments: Costume Creation For Integrating Alienated Parts Of The Self, Mega M. Galvin

Art Therapy | Master's Theses

This study explores costume creation as a narrative-based intervention for integrating "shadow" parts, or aspects of the self that are repressed or alienated due to shame, trauma, or social pressure. Grounded in Jungian analytic psychology, narrative therapy, and expressive arts theory, the research addresses the limitations of traditional talk therapy in accessing somatic memory and proposes costume making as a pathway for externalization and re-authorship. Using a qualitative, participatory study inspired by Pat B. Allen’s Open Studio Process, four adult participants engaged in a three-session workshop to design, construct, and wear costumes representing their identified shadow aspects. Data was collected …

Nourishing Births: A Program Evaluation Proposal For Community-Based Nutrition Education, Food Access, And Garden Engagement Among Black Birthing People, Naa Deedei-Vera Hammond

Master's Projects and Capstones

Black birthing people in the United States continue to experience unequal maternal health outcomes, shaped in part by racism and barriers to nutritious food, culturally relevant health education, and supportive community spaces. While prenatal nutrition education and food assistance programs can provide important resources, information alone cannot address the challenges many people face when trying to access healthy and affordable food during pregnancy. The Nourishing Births Initiative is a proposed community-based maternal health program designed to respond to these needs by bringing together prenatal nutrition education, help connecting to food resources, community gardening, and peer support for Black birthing people …

Correctional Officer Suicide: A Theory-Driven Investigation Of Acquired Capability And Suicide Behavior, Abigail R. Andersen

All-Inclusive List of Electronic Theses and Dissertations

A growing body of research suggests that correctional officers (COs) die by suicide at a significantly higher rate compared to the general population and some other public safety personnel. Despite what is known about this phenomenon, an understanding of the risk factors driving the high rate of suicide among this population remains unclear. Specifically, little attention has been paid to specific risk factors for suicide among this population and there is an overall absence of theory-driven research investigating CO suicide. The present study sought to address the gap in this area of research by investigating potential risk factors for suicide …

Beyond Symptoms: Examining Perinatal Mental Health Care Among Black, Indigenous And People Of Color With Polyendocrine Metabolic Ovarian Syndrome, Vinaya Thomas

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Perinatal mood and anxiety disorders (PMADs) are as a public health concern in the United States. Individuals from minoritized racial/ethnic groups face a significantly elevated risk of maternal morbidity, mortality, mental health disorders, and associated adverse outcomes. Emerging studies also reveal a higher likelihood of experiencing perinatal mental health concerns in individuals with polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS), currently known as polyendocrine metabolic ovarian syndrome (PMOS). People who identify as Black, Indigenous, or a person of color (BIPOC) face unique healthcare challenges given the added structural and social burdens. This online survey study aimed to 1) understand the relationship between PMOS …

Exploring Burnout Among Ncaa Collegiate Athletes: The Impact Of Gender, Sport, Seasonal Demands, And Other Contributing Factors, Anneliese Wong

Undergraduate Honors Theses

The purpose of this study was to examine burnout among NCAA Division I student-athletes at one mid-sized University in the Rocky Mountains region of the United States and determine whether differences existed based on gender, sport type, competitive season stage, and burnout dimension. A quantitative, cross-sectional survey design was used and data was collected from 76 student-athletes across 11 varsity sports. Burnout was assessed using items adapted from the Athlete Burnout Questionnaire (ABQ; Raedeke & Smith, 2001), along with additional items assessing fatigue and seasonal experiences.

Descriptive results showed the student-athletes reported the highest mean level of physical burnout, followed …

Evaluating The Pulse Of Exercise Programs: Developing And Validating The Intervention Usability Scale For Exercise (Iuse) To Enhance Implementation And Adherence, Anne Inger Mørtvedt, Eva Ageberg, Steven Elmer, Kevin Trewartha, Erich Petushek

Michigan Tech Publications

Background: Adherence to exercise interventions is often suboptimal, despite numerous studies documenting barriers and facilitators. Usability may be a critical yet underexplored determinant of adherence. This study aimed to develop and assess the psychometric properties of the Intervention Usability Scale for Exercise (IUSE). Methods: Item generation and content validation involved cognitive interviews and feedback from eight exercise intervention stakeholders and ten target users from the general public. Subsequently, 526 target users from University, Qualtrics and Prolific participant panels assessed exercise programs through an online survey. Dimensionality was assessed using Principal Component Analysis (PCA), Exploratory Factor Analysis (EFA), and bifactor models. …

Baggage Claim: Carrying What We Cannot See, Jada S. Frazier-Bailey, Faith Woodall

Honors Nursing Posters

Empathy is a core component of compassionate, patient-centered nursing care and is linked to better patient outcomes, safety, and satisfaction. This preliminary literature review synthesized research on empathy development in undergraduate nursing education to inform the study of Baggage Claim: Carrying What We Cannot See, an experiential activity designed by Dr. Anita Lowe in which students anonymously share a personal burden that is redistributed among classmates for reflection and discussion. CINAHL and PubMed were searched for peer-reviewed articles published 2015–2026 on empathy in prelicensure nursing students; 20 of 27 articles met inclusion criteria (12 original studies and 8 reviews), …

Journal Publishing On Digital Commons, Alice Sherwood

Library Class: Lunch & Learn

Have you visited Digital Commons@TMC, the institutional repository before?

Take your research to the next level and learn about the basics of how you can publish your open access student-led (faculty advisor needed) or professional journal on this platform and the steps getting started. DigitalCommons@TMC is viewed by 165+ countries, 2500+ institutions, with more than 120k downloads monthly.

Innovation In A Time Of Change—Annual Report 2025, Population Council

Annual Reports

This is the 2025 annual report for the Population Council,  a leading research organization dedicated to building an equitable and sustainable world that enhances the health and well-being of current and future generations. We transform global thinking on critical health and development issues through social science, public health, and biomedical research. We generate ideas, produce evidence, and design solutions to improve the lives of underserved populations around the world.

Hydroponic Black Gram (Vigna Mungo) Fodder For Goats: Cultivation, Chemical Composition And Short-Term Feeding Acceptance, Nitira Anakkul, Nutthee Am-In, Theerawat Swangchan-Uthai

The Thai Journal of Veterinary Medicine

Hydroponic black gram fodder (HBGF; Vigna mungo) may provide fresh supplemental forage for goats in land-restricted production systems. This descriptive study evaluated the seven-day growth characteristics and chemical composition of HBGF across indoor and outdoor conditions at seed densities of 1 and 2 kg/m², alongside short-term feeding responses. Indoor HBGF at 1 kg/m² was selected for a feeding study of two consecutive five-day periods in eight 50% Boer-crossbred does housed in two pens of four. At Day 7, indoor treatments yielded 5.33–8.50 kg/m² fresh biomass and 23.0–24.5 cm shoot length, compared with 2.10–3.94 kg/m² and 12.0–14.0 cm outdoors (ranges …

Uthealth Mcgovern Medical School 2026 Quality Symposium Abstracts-2

Teaching in Clinics

UTHealth McGovern Medical School 2026 Quality Symposium Abstracts-2

Uthealth Mcgovern Medical School 2026 Quality Symposium Abstracts-1

Teaching in Clinics

UTHealth McGovern Medical School 2026 Quality Symposium Abstracts-1

The Rise Of The Machines: Ai And The Future Of Residency Training, Marsal Sanches

Teaching in Clinics

The Rise of the Machines: AI and the Future of Residency Training

Contemplative Pause: Practice As Pedagogy In A Liberal Arts Classroom, Sienna R. Craig, Sid Babla, Abbey Savin

Journal of Contemplative and Holistic Education

This article discusses the integration of contemplative pedagogies – including but not limited to yoga nidra – into two case study courses at an elite private liberal arts institution. We begin by describing the structure, context, and nature of this experiment in contemplative pedagogy, considering this experiment in the context of what we call the “liberal arts promise” at a moment of heightened mental health crises across institutions of higher education and increasing public skepticism about the value(s) of higher education. The article takes as a starting point the idea that building forms of contemplative pause into the fabric of …

Tmc Library Newsletter: From Its Past To Present, Alice Sherwood

Library Staff Publications

This presentation describes the early beginnings of our library newsletter, and the progress of its technology changes over time. "The TMC Library Newsletter" started out in 1998 as a quarterly print newsletter, "Library Lines", and evolved into a web-based one, "The Insider," published 6 and then 12 times a year through 2013. Since 2015, its name changed to what it is today and is also available on Digital Commons, an open journal available for the community and beyond. As an open journal using Digital Commons as its platform since April 2025, the items in this journal has grown to more …

Advancing Pfac Initiatives, Effectiveness, And Visibility Through Strategic Planning And Assessment, Aimee Williamson, Katherine Litterer

Patient Experience Journal

Patient and Family Advisory Councils (PFACs) are a growing approach for engaging patient and family voices into healthcare organization decisions and projects. While their importance is well accepted in the literature, individual councils often grapple with practical challenges and a desire to elevate visibility and impact. Over the last ten years, Boston Children's Hospital's Family Advisory Council (FAC) has embedded strategic planning practices into council governance and operations to elevate council functioning and drive innovation. Beginning with an initial formal strategic planning and visioning process in 2016, followed by annual prioritization and strategic planning refresh sessions every three years, the …

A Dynamic Three-Stage Co-Design Process For Developing An Assessment Scale For Children With Neurodevelopmental Conditions, Syeda Ishra Azim, Christa Lam-Cassettari, Tsz Ying Wong, Ping-I Lin, Antonio Mendoza Diaz, Anne Masi, Kylie-Ann Mallitt, Alicia Montgomery, Catherine Mchugh, Andrew Whitehouse, Mark R Dadds, Valsamma Eapen

Patient Experience Journal

Background: Involving patient partners and diverse stakeholders in research is increasingly recognised as essential for aligning outcomes with patient priorities and improving service design. Co-design brings together individuals with lived experience, professional insights, and technical knowledge to improve research tools. Objective: This case study describes the process of co-designing a user-friendly assessment scale for children's developmental issues. It highlights the collaborative effort to integrate the unique perspectives of diverse stakeholders, including families and service providers. Methods: A three-stage iterative approach was used to collect qualitative data gathered through semi-structured interviews engaging adults with lived experience, parents, clinicians, and disability service …

Optimizing `People-Centred Care' Best Practices In A Multi-Site Community Hospital: A Case Study, Kimberly Johnston, Carla Arpa, Mary Jane Mcnally, Veronique Boscart, Shalini Pattabiraman

Patient Experience Journal

Objective: In 2016, The World Health Organization issued a People-Centred Care Policy Framework highlighting the importance of engaging and empowering people and communities, where care is coordinated around people's unique needs and preferences, is affordable, timely and safe. A multi-site community hospital set out to advance patient and family engagement through the Registered Nurses Association of Ontario (RNAO) Best Practice Guideline (BPG) on People Centred Care (PCC) and a modification of the Health Quality Ontario Patient Family Engagement Framework. Methods: This intervention study implemented the BPG for PCC with several initiatives directed towards improving patients' perception of their involvement in …

Improving Patient Experience Scores Through Patient Experience Coaches: A Case Study, Maryann Bowersox, Patricia Coryea-Hafkey, Kristin Baird, Raime Cendoma, Nancy Borkowski

Patient Experience Journal

Patient experience (PEX) is a key healthcare quality metric that may signal safety vulnerabilities by revealing gaps in communication and care processes before adverse events occur. Despite the importance of evidence-based practices (EBPs), maintaining consistent adherence remains a challenge. As a strategy to improve patient experience while reinforcing adherence to EBPs, this case study describes the development, implementation, and evaluation of a Patient Experience Coach (PEXC) program at two hospitals within a large health system. The intervention embedded trained coaches within clinical units to provide real-time observation, feedback, and reinforcement of EBPs. Core EBPs targeted by the program included hourly …

The Global Experience Measure: A Common Ground For Experience Excellence, Jason A. Wolf, Brittany Lax, Karen Walsh

Patient Experience Journal

In 2022, The Beryl Institute community called for a new approach to experience measurement, one that was focused on what truly matters to patients and promoted opportunities for shared learning across borders. Over four years, more than 1,000 community members from six continents co-designed the Global Experience Measure (GXM). Between October 2024 and May 2026, GXM was deployed to healthcare organizations in 12 countries and translated from English into five other languages, capturing over 8,000 diverse voices. The six core questions formed a single, reliable measure overall (Cronbach's α = .95) and held strong in every country surveyed (α …

Does System Structure Affect Organizational Application Of Prems: A Comparative Evaluation Of 5 Countries, Heather Lee, J'Aime C Jennings, Logan R Marler, Raime Cendoma, Amy Yarbrough Landry

Patient Experience Journal

Patient-reported experience measures (PREMs) are widely used to assess healthcare quality, yet approaches to measurement and data utilization vary significantly across countries. This meta-narrative review examines how health system structure, regulatory context, and market dynamics shape the collection, reporting, and application of PREM data in Canada, Germany, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, and the United States. Using RAMESES guidelines, we searched PubMed, Web of Science, and ABI/INFORM and identified 58 peer-reviewed studies, primarily from the U.S. and U.K. Studies most frequently examined the relationship between hospital characteristics and patient experience, measurement tools, and quality improvement efforts. Our findings suggest that …

Beyond Borders: A Comparative Analysis Of The Patient Experience Of Kazakh Citizens In Türkiye And Kazakhstan, Azhar Zhaiykkyzy, Harun Kırılmaz

Patient Experience Journal

Patient experience is widely regarded as a core indicator of healthcare quality. Whilst the majority of research focuses on ethnic disparities, there is a paucity of studies that examine structural influences when cultural background is held constant. The present study sought to compare patient-reported experiences of 600 Kazakhstani citizens (n = 300 per country) receiving care in Kazakhstan and as medical tourists in Türkiye. The Picker Patient Experience Questionnaire (PPE-15) was utilised to analyse domain-level problem scores, employing chi-square tests (Cramer's V) and binary logistic regression. The findings indicated significant disparities in several domains, including coordination of care (V = …

Who Is The Patient Trusting? A Scoping Review Of Patient-Physician Trust In The Generative Artificial Intelligence (Genai) Era, Ashleigh M. Allgood, Eugenia B. Yiadom, Michele L. Heath, Geoffrey A. Silvera

Patient Experience Journal

Patients extend trust to physicians whose expertise they cannot fully inspect. Generative artificial intelligence (GenAI) is now part of that exchange. Clinicians use it, organizations deploy it, and patients bring it to appointments themselves. This scoping review asks what is known about GenAI and trust in the patient-physician relationship. Following PRISMA-ScR guidance, we searched PubMed, Scopus, CINAHL, and APA PsycINFO on March 9, 2026, and screened records in Covidence. Twelve studies met inclusion criteria. For each article, we documented how trust was conceptualized and measured, then classified each study by construct fidelity and closeness to an actual care relationship. None …

Use Of Generative Artificial Intelligence For Development Of Plain Language Summaries: A Blinded Assessment Of Education Preferences Of The Uk Sickle Cell Disease Community, Oliver Shastri, Orlando Agrippa, Valerie Moss, Eleanor Millard, Lianne More, Eleanor Rose Brown, Seraj Sharif, Chris Finch

Patient Experience Journal

Objective: Generative artificial intelligence (GenAI) supports medical content development, including plain language summaries (PLS), thereby supporting accessibility of education. We examined preferences of PLS format created from a study assessing UK sickle cell disease (SCD) community social media conversations. Methods: Three written PLS were developed, human-written, AI-generated, and hybrid AI-human (person with SCD edited AI version for understandability). Videos were developed of each written PLS using the AI tool Synthesia. Adults (n = 93) with SCD and carers completed a survey assessing understandability of each written PLS and preference for written versus video. Participants were blinded to PLS source. …

Care Experiences Of People With Copd During The Covid-19 Pandemic, Judith Kecskemeti, Mausam Vadakkayil, Benson Law, Hengliang Wu, Caitlin Carrigan, Rosa Nguyen, Shannon L Sibbald

Patient Experience Journal

Although there is a substantial body of literature focused on the pathophysiology regarding chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and COVID-19, there remains limited exploration of the healthcare experiences of patients with COPD during the pandemic. This study explores the challenges patients with COPD (PWC) experienced during the pandemic, including access to care, the efficacy of virtual COPD care, and mental health impacts. We performed a cross-sectional survey of 200 individuals with COPD recruited through respirologists' offices and local lung health groups on social media from Southwestern Ontario, Canada, who accessed care since the COVID-19 pandemic. The study included 200 participants, …

Patient Experience With Insulin Pump Therapy And Health-Related Quality Of Life In Adults With Type 1 Diabetes: A Cross-Sectional Survey, Miriam Cruz-Andina, Juan Pablo Hervás-Pérez, Raquel Moreno-Sánchez, Raquel Caballero De La Calle, Eduardo Cimadevilla Fernández-De Pola, Clara Lucas-Guerra, Carlos Ruíz-Núñez, Ivan Herrera-Peco

Patient Experience Journal

Objective: To examine patient experience with continuous subcutaneous insulin infusion (CSII) and its association with health-related quality of life (HRQoL) in adults with type 1 diabetes (T1D), incorporating experiential and equity-related dimensions. Methods: We conducted a cross-sectional online survey in Spain (February-March 2025) among adults with T1D using CSII (n = 107). An ad hoc 26-item patient-reported experience measure assessed daily-life domains using 0–10 scales, from which a Global Quality of Life index (G-QoL) was computed. Additional items examined access to CSII, education, and ongoing professional support. Group differences were analyzed using non-parametric tests, and experience-based predictors of HRQoL were …

The Patient Experience Across The Care Continuum: Inpatient Rehabilitation, Discharge Preparedness, And Community Reintegration After Spinal Cord Injuries/Disorders, Sherri L. Lavela, Myrissa Le, Ibuola O. Kale, Ashley Craig, Jane Duff, Marcel Post, Sara Ahmed, Allen W. Heinemann

Patient Experience Journal

The objective was to describe patient experiences, barriers, and facilitators of inpatient rehabilitation, discharge preparedness, and community reintegration after spinal cord injury and disorders (SCI/D) from the perspectives of Veterans with SCI/D. Methods included a descriptive qualitative design using a virtual focus group analyzed via reflexive thematic analysis. Focus group participants (n = 7) were mostly male, white, injured for 1-10 years, with mean age of 52 years. Two domains were identified. The first domain, Barriers and ways rehabilitation could have improved patient experience, included five themes: (1) insufficient preparation for psychological impacts; (2) inadequate preparation for relationship changes; (3) …

The Patient Voice In Rehabilitation: Experiences With High-Intensity Gait Training In A Student-Run Pro Bono Clinic, Amy M. Yorke, Emma Cleason, Drew Uhlmeyer, Sidney Kulhanek, Brookelyn Stafford, Tracy Koepplin, Leslie M. Smith, Suzanne Trojanowski, Beverly Dabney

Patient Experience Journal

Improved walking ability is a common goal for people with chronic stroke; however, access to skilled physical therapy is often limited. Student-run pro bono clinics (SRPBCs) address this care gap. Despite evidence supporting high aerobic intensity walking training for chronic stroke, the patient perspective on its delivery within SRPBCs remains underexplored. This qualitative study explored the experiences of persons with chronic stroke participating in MoveMore, an intensive walking program delivered by physical therapy students in a SRPBC. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with five individuals with chronic stroke (4–7 years post-stroke, ages 53–70) and four caregivers, all of whom contributed perspectives …