Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Momentary Energy Levels In Healthcare Professionals Working With Facility Dogs, Shania Sinha, Clare Jensen, Marguerite O'Haire

Discovery Undergraduate Interdisciplinary Research Internship

Past research has shown that pediatric healthcare professionals working with full-time therapy dogs (facility dogs) reported less work-related burnout and better mental health overall. However, specific in-the-moment effects of facility dogs on healthcare professionals have yet to be examined. The purpose of this study was to use Ecological Momentary Assessment (EMA) to assess the effects of facility dog presence on momentary energy levels of pediatric healthcare professionals. EMA data for the present study were collected from 122 healthcare professionals working in pediatric hospitals. Within the sample, participants working with a facility dog (handlers; n=61) were …

Fair Resource Allocation To Reduce Inequalities In Criminal Justice & Healthcare, Alex Liu, Alexia Rodrigues

Discovery Undergraduate Interdisciplinary Research Internship

Together, we are working to identify discrepancies in the criminal justice system that put substance users at an unfair advantage for possible treatment and success in the future. This is done by modeling regressions involving the arrest-rates, developing charts to show the patterns of past arrests, and tracking the resources available for substance users. By doing this, we provide models to the local sheriff office that forecasts incoming inmates which allows the office to prepare accordingly. On the flip side, we are working to create a prediction model that exemplifies the risk of relapse for substance users. Ultimately, our goal …

Diversity, Equity And Inclusion In Human-Animal Interaction, Nira Grynheim

Discovery Undergraduate Interdisciplinary Research Internship

No abstract provided.

Diversity, Equity And Inclusion In Human-Animal Interaction, Nira N. Grynheim, Clare E. Jensen, Marguerite L. O'Haire

Discovery Undergraduate Interdisciplinary Research Internship

Human-Animal Interaction (HAI) is a growing field investigating the complex relationships humans have with animals. Human diversity in HAI, or lack thereof, may have a direct influence on the way HAI data is interpreted and presented. Previous research has studied how apparent disability, racial, sexual or other diversifying identities might affect how humans interact with the world and their pets. However, thus far, there has been little research published on how inequitable barriers towards underrepresented minorities (URM) might play a role in how HAI is studied, interpreted and presented. The present study investigated human diversity among leaders in the HAI …

Data Analytics For Humanities And Historical Analysis, Henry Wu

Discovery Undergraduate Interdisciplinary Research Internship

Historical text and images feed the complex narrative we view history with today. In some cases, references to recurring situations in the form of a diary or a series of maps can become quantifiable data in the form of a visual record. Analytics can be performed on maps of military campaigns tracking the movement of troops over time, a form of time series data, and on casualty lists recording the when, where and from which individual soldiers fell in battle. Our project utilizes primary data from maps and casualty reports concerning World War II battles, specifically from the Eastern Front, …

Blessing Or Burden? The Impact Of Ptsd Service Dogs On Military Families, Elise A. Miller, Leanne O. Nieforth, Shelley M. Macdermid Wadsworth, Marguerite E. O'Haire

Discovery Undergraduate Interdisciplinary Research Internship

While PTSD service dogs are specifically trained to interact with their veterans, emerging evidence suggests that service dogs may also have an impact on other members of veteran households. To our knowledge, only one study quantifies these effects focused on veteran spouses (McCall et al., 2020). Our study aimed to quantitatively measure the impact of PTSD service dogs on military family wellbeing. Data was collected from survey responses of 88 veteran spouses who rated their experiences on standardized outcome measures. Each spouse answered the surveys at two time points: (1) baseline, and (2) three months post-baseline (follow-up). Spouses in the …

Effects Of Facility Dogs On Emotional Wellbeing Of Pediatric Hospital Personnel, Abhinav Ramesh

Discovery Undergraduate Interdisciplinary Research Internship

Healthcare is one of the most demanding professions, and approximately 45% of physicians experience job-related burnout (Dyrbye et al., 2018). While previous research has shown that working with facility dogs in hospitals may improve job satisfaction (Jensen et al., 2021), little research has been done on specific observed factors related to emotional wellbeing. The purpose of this study was to examine effects of working with facility dogs on emotions using ecological momentary assessment (EMA). One advantage of EMA over traditional assessments is the elimination of temporal bias, by asking participants about their current state rather than asking them to recollect …

Exploring Language Use Within A Parent-Mediated Intervention For Children Exhibiting Social Communication Difficulties, Emily Garza, Ashleigh Kellerman, Christi Masters, A.J. Schwichtenberg

Discovery Undergraduate Interdisciplinary Research Internship

For infants/toddlers experiencing social communication difficulties, parent-mediated interventions (PMI) are the current field standard to promote development within a natural context. Previous research highlights the importance for parents to scaffold language learning opportunities beyond clinical settings to maximize children’s potential. However, for infants/toddlers exhibiting social communication-based difficulties currently enrolled in a family routines-based PMI, less is known about the individual contributions of communication between child and parent in order to promote optimal language development.

The present study expands our understanding of children’s communication by examining whether (1)children exhibit language impairments at enrollment; (2)whether observed mother-child communication during play increases following …