Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Triple-Negative Breast Cancer Survivors: Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, Post-Traumatic Growth, Quality Of Life, And Unmet Mental Health Needs, Carla Horton Gray

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The purpose of this mixed-method study was to investigate levels of PTSD, PTG, QOL, their relationships, and unmet mental health needs of triple-negative breast cancer survivors diagnosed between stages 2b-4 and 2-5 years post-treatment. Participants were recruited through two cancer organizations, breast health navigators, TNBC support groups, and online breast cancer support groups. Sixty-one participants completed the PTSD Checklist-Civilian Version (PCL-C), Post-Traumatic Growth Inventory, and the Functional Assessment of Cancer Therapy-Breast (FACT-B). Thirty participants completed the optional short answer questions about unmet mental health needs. Participants’ mean score of 48 (SD=12.22) on the PCL-C was higher than 44, PTSD scores …

Establishing A Christ-Centered Understanding Of The Minor Prophets At First Baptist Church, Greenville, Ky, John Michael Galyen

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The purpose of this action research project is to help members of First Baptist Church Greenville, KY, interpret and apply the Minor Prophets from a Christ-centered perspective. This project measured church members’ understanding of the Minor Prophets as they pertain to Christians today. It also measured attitudes and affections toward the Minor Prophets. A total of eleven people participated in the study. Eight were female; the other three were male. Each participant completed a pre-intervention survey, along with three instructional workshops that focused on biblical exposition, biblical theology, and hermeneutics. An eight-part sermon series was implemented to model the kind …

Questioning Reality: The Progressive Development Of Modern Physics, Joshua Lancman

STEM Month

Humanity has a tendency to divide time. The past is distinct from the present which is entirely separate from the future. In supposedly 20-20 vision history is neatly divided into different sections, distinct eras with sharp lines between them. What is present and in the future is always modern. What is past is something else with another name.

Yet time is not divided so neatly. We know this living through it: years and decades blend into one another in a non-uniform progression. To divide human history into separate eras is a necessary simplification, as it helps to ascribe order onto …

Coffee In Brasil: Sustainability And The Role Of Intermediaries, Livia Petzinger

Capstone Collection

ABSTRACT

Coffee is traded in a highly complex global value chain where countless sustainability initiatives have emerged to address social, economic, and environmental issues, challenges which persist due to dominance of the market structure by largescale traders and roasters. Specialty coffee and direct trade have emerged as alternative trade arrangements that promote high-quality coffee through the use of sustainable practices, transparency, and a shortened supply chain. This research analyzes the role that intermediaries in the Brazilian specialty coffee supply chain play in the implementation of sustainability initiatives asking what kinds of sustainability practices they implement and why, and how this …

Solar Photovoltaics As Climate Change Adaptations For Farmers In West Bengal, India: Barriers Within A Food-Water-Energy Nexus Approach, Emily Rochford

Capstone Collection

This capstone research project seeks to identify and address barriers to the use of solar photovoltaics (PV) as an adaptation method to climate change for farmers in West Bengal, India. These barriers are examined within the context of the food-water-energy nexus, particularly concerning the ability of many small holder farmers to produce their own food and sustain their livelihoods. Previous studies have examined both energy access and renewable energy development in West Bengal, and also the food-water-energy nexus in its application to climate change. However, there is minimal literature on how renewable energy development should be applied within the nexus …

Improving Patient Care: Expansion Of Access To Free Clinics, Anahis H. Davidian, Gail M. Bloom

Patient Experience Journal

Free clinics provide free or reduced-fee healthcare services for uninsured, underserved, and marginalized populations. Free clinics may be the only source of primary care for socioeconomically disadvantaged individuals lacking health insurance. However, consistently understaffed and underfunded free clinics are struggling to meet growing needs. The demand for services results in long waitlists with long wait times. Most free clinics rely on volunteer providers and staff due to limited financial resources. This case study proposes recommendations that can address the challenges of funding limitations while improving free clinics' ability to offer more accessible and equitable care to serve a greater proportion …

Foundational Patient Experience: Analyzing 10 Years Of Patient Experience Research, Geoffrey A. Silvera Phd, Mha, Courtney Haun Phd, Mph, Varun Natarajan

Patient Experience Journal

In this study, we seek to provide a critical examination of the field of Patient Experience (PX) by using citation analysis to determine the foundational keystones of the PX knowledge base. This study will employ a systematic citation analysis to evaluate the articles published in the Patient Experience Journal (PXJ), focusing on citation frequency as evidence of impact on the field. To achieve this, we examine the entire corpus of article citations published in the PXJ from 2014–2023 (Volumes 1–10). By examining a corpus consisting of 515 independent articles (N=515) that include over 12,000 references (n=12,712) over the course of …

Patient Experience And Virtual Reality: The Use Of An Mri Exam Simulator, Jaqueline Maria Da Silva Jms, Marcus Antonio Medeiros De Souza Mams, Mônica Augusta Reis Dos Santos Mars, Milena Loureiro De Melo Mlm, Lorena De Fátima Lucena Almeida Lfla, Alayde Ricardo Da Silva Ars, Êmilly Vitória Dos Santos Vieira Evsv, Alessandra Nascimento Pontes Anp, Jandson De Oliveira Soares Jos

Patient Experience Journal

Magnetic resonance (MR) imaging is a safe diagnostic method of high accuracy detection and characterization of various pathological conditions. However, due to the very closed aspect of the apparatus, the high sound amplitude emitted and the need to remain motionless for a significant time, some patients experience discomfort and high levels of anxiety, compromising time and image quality management that can impair the clinical outcome of the patient or even give up the performance of this procedure. Therefore, this study aimed to validate, with patients, the use of Virtual Reality (VR) as a humanized practice of exposure to magnetic resonance …

Accompanying People Affected By Cancer In Their Return To Life After Treatment: A Report On An Experiment Conducted In Canada, Christine Arsenault, Saskia Hazout, John Calogerinis, Françoise Poirier, Louise Normandin, Cécile Vialaron, Monica Iliescu Nelea, Marie-Pascale Pomey

Patient Experience Journal

This study aims to assess family doctors' perceived needs for improved patient follow-up post-acute treatment in oncology departments, specifically focusing on the Patient Oriented Discharge Summary (PODS) for individuals living with cancer. A cross-sectional quantitative survey targeted family doctors, and a before/after exploratory study was conducted with patients to measure their needs pre- and post-PODS implementation. Twenty-one out of 42 family doctors participated in the survey (50%). Patient data was collected at three points in time: prior to PODS implementation (T1, n = 20/30; 77%), one month later (T2, n = 20/26; 77%), and six months later (T3, n = …

Investigating The Perceived Impact Of Surgeons' Burnout On Surgical Physician Associates' Wellness In United States Ambulatory Surgery Centers, Rhionna J. Smith, Lihua Dishman, John W. Fick, Kathleen M. Thomas

Patient Experience Journal

Surgeons are the de facto leaders of surgical teams with surgical physician associates (SPAs) as integral members who function in all areas of the peri-operative environment. Surgeons often supervise SPAs. Ambulatory surgery centers (ASCs) provide patients with same-day diagnostic and preventive procedures as more convenient alternatives to hospital-based outpatient procedures. This qualitative, national, and cross-sectional study explored the perceived impact of surgeons' burnout on SPAs' wellness in U.S. ASCs during global health crises. Primary demographic and qualitative data were collected using a self-developed, three-section survey instrument: (1) information regarding informed consent; (2) 10 short demographic questions; and (3) two open-ended …

Primary Care Productivity And Patient Satisfaction Community Practice: What Is The Relationship?, Thomas G. Howell Jr.

Patient Experience Journal

Research has shown a consistent positive association between patient and provider experience and improved patient outcomes and safety. There is a belief that patient satisfaction and physician productivity are competing interests. The relationship for primary care physicians, in a Midwest Health system was evaluated as part of this project. Data from Press Ganey patient satisfaction surveys on likelihood of recommending the practice and the physician were compared between primary care physicians in the top quartile of average monthly patient visits and those that were in the three lower quartiles. A secondary analysis of patient satisfaction scores related to continuous years …

The Perceived Usefulness Of Patient Narrative Feedback In Primary Care Settings, Sasmira Matta, Yuna S.H. Lee, Rachel Grob, Mark Schlesinger, Ingrid Nembhard

Patient Experience Journal

Research suggests that insights from patient narratives – stories about care experiences in patients' own words – contain information that can be used to improve care. However, assessments of narratives reported by clinical personnel have been mixed. This is the first study, to our knowledge, to systematically measure how useful personnel in primary care perceive patient narratives to be. We surveyed 276 clinical and administrative personnel in nine primary care clinics in a large health system in the United States. We found that perceived usefulness of patient narratives is generally high, but varies by individual characteristics such as level of …

Listening To The Unsaid: Utilizing Patient-Reported Outcome Measures (Proms) To Manage The Dental Anxiety Of A Special Child, Asiya Attar, Kasturi Shukla

Patient Experience Journal

This article is the journey of a dentist who adopted the additional role of a healthcare manager and embarked on a transformative journey to enhance the realm of pedodontics. The story describes how the care process and related experiences were improved for a special child who came anxious and worried to a dental office for treatment and returned with better outcomes. Dental anxiety is a known barrier to smooth dental care which is further amplified in children and more so for the special children. In addition to providing the best treatment, we ensured a worry-free environment to release the anxiety …

Research Imitates Life: Researching Within Your Lived Experience, Bethany Donaghy, Delane Linkiewich

Patient Experience Journal

This personal narrative article seeks to bring awareness to and provide an overview of the various aspects that come with being a lived experience researcher including the host of benefits and challenges that come with conducting research within one's own area of lived experience. Throughout this narrative, we (Bethany Donaghy, an autistic person, and Delane Linkiewich a person living with chronic pain) share our perspectives on what it is like to be lived experience researchers. Our narratives discuss how the many identities we hold both improve the impact and relevance of our research while also posing challenges for us like …

A Commitment To Experience Must Reach Across The Continuum Of Care, Jason A. Wolf Phd

Patient Experience Journal

A conversation on patient experience is not restricted to one care setting, nor should it be. People's healthcare journeys are not singular instances, but most often a series of encounters that while perhaps separate operationally from the delivery side of care, all weave together to frame one experience for a patient, their family members and care partners. This special issue purposefully takes us outside the traditional conversation space for experience, looking at segments of the care continuum including primary care, ambulatory care, free clinics and even dental care and the use of non-traditional care methods such as telehealth and app-based …

Building Resilience: Food And Nutritional Insecurity Among University Students In Buenos Aires, Argentina Amidst Inflation And Escalating Poverty, Kyoka Miura

Capstone Collection

This paper examines how university students (aged 18 and older) in Buenos Aires, Argentina, navigate the challenges of escalating food insecurity amidst food price inflation and poverty. Utilizing a resilience framework, the research explores the coping strategies of these students. The study integrates semi-structured qualitative interviews and questionnaires. The findings reveal that university students in Buenos Aires are affected by food and nutritional insecurity, impacting their ability to manage their academic responsibilities, and leading some students to question their ability to complete their education. To cope, students adopt various strategies: price comparison, reducing out-of-home expenses, altering food purchasing habits, compromising …

A Lifetime Of Climate Changes: Female Farmers' Perceptions Of Climate Change Impacts To Well-Being And Livelihood In Antigua And Barbuda, Jamie Matthews

Capstone Collection

This capstone project emphasizes the value of smallholder farmers working on small island developing states (SIDS) in an era of climate change—with a particular focus on female farmers in light of the global feminization of agriculture. This research study engaged female farmers living in Antigua and Barbuda, a SIDS in the Caribbean, to capture their perceptions of climate risks and the impacts climate change has had on their well-being and livelihood. Qualitative data was collected via life history interviews (LHI), as well as focus group discussions (FGD). These methodologies addressed the primary questions of this research: (i) How do female …

A Social Ecology Model For Social Determinants Of Health As Psychosis Risk Factors, Katie Beck-Felts

Theses and Dissertations

Social determinants of health (SDOHs) significantly impact psychosis risk beyond heritability. However, there is a need for an organizing framework to observe how these diverse elements concurrently predict psychosis risk. This study examines SDOHs as psychosis risk factors using a four-level model, aligned with Bronfenbrenner's social ecology theory. The study aims to assess the proposed model’s ability to predict psychosis risk. Specifically, it is hypothesized that each socioecological level of the model would predict psychosis risk with more proximal SDOHs (e.g., individual level vs community) exhibiting stronger predictive power, aligning with Social Ecology theory. College students (N = 210) completed …

Defensiveness And Accountability In Couple Relationships: A Constructivist Grounded Theory Analysis, Collin Joshua Wright

Theses and Dissertations

Defensiveness is empirically well documented as a factor in breakup and divorce which have wide ranging consequences for adults and affected children, however, little research exists on what Gottman has called the antidote to defensiveness which is taking an accurate amount of accountability. The purpose of this study was to use qualitative methods to illuminate the microprocesses which take place between partners in interactions regarding accountability and defensiveness. The data was taken from part of a larger project on healthy and unhealthy relationships where semi-structured interviews were conducted from a diverse sample recruited through convenience and theoretical sampling. Constructivist grounded …

Case Study On Sasha Skochilenko: Anti-War Russian Political Prisoner, Sofia Semenova

GHEA21 Open Educational Resources

Sasha Skochilenko was incarcerated in a Russian prison for more than two years for the act of placing anti-war leaflets, disguised as price tags, on goods in a grocery store in St. Petersburg, Russia. This case study, prepared by Sofia Semenova, documents the harsh conditions of Skochilenko’s imprisonment and its effects on her physical and mental health. It also examines the questionable evidence and processes used to prosecute her case, arguing that during Skochilenko’s trial, the principles of adversarial process and equality between the prosecution and the defense were constantly violated.

Five A Day, The Rainbow Way: A Nutrition Education Toolkit For Elementary School Aged Children, Sasha Menard

Department of Nutrition Student Projects

Learning Outcome: Develop a nutrition educational toolkit based on Social Cognitive Theory (SCT) for obesity prevention among elementary school-aged children by improving determinants of fruit and vegetable intake.

Background: Poor consumption of fruits and vegetables is a major contributing factor to childhood obesity, increasing the risk for chronic diseases later in life. There is a need for multicomponent nutrition educational tools to influence children to improve their eating behavior by increasing their awareness and self-efficacy. The current project describes the development of a 3-component toolkit for improving participants’ knowledge and values related to fruit and vegetable intake among 6-11-year-olds.

Methods: …

Study Protocol: A Mixed-Methods Study Of The Implementation Of Doula Care To Address Racial Health Equity In Six State Medicaid Programs, Marian Jarlenski, Susan Kennedy, Annaliese Johnson, Caroline Hale, Zoe D'Angelo, Aza Nedhari, Gerria Coffee, Molly Chappell-Mcphail, Kiddada Green, Dara D. Méndez, Leigh G. Goetschius, Sarah Gareau, Kristin Ashford, Andrew J. Barnes, Katherine A. Ahrens, Kara Zivin, Elizabeth Mosley, Lu Tang, Writing Committee For Medicaid Outcomes Distributed Research Network

Publications

Background

Racial inequities in severe maternal morbidity (SMM) and mortality constitute a public health crisis in the United States. Doula care, defined as care from birth workers who provide culturally appropriate, non-clinical support during pregnancy and postpartum, has been proposed as an intervention to help disrupt obstetric racism as a driver of adverse pregnancy outcomes in Black and other birthing persons of colour. Many state Medicaid programs are implementing doula programs to address the continued increase in SMM and mortality. Medicaid programs are poised to play a major role in addressing the needs of these populations with the goal of …

How Clientelism Works: Evidence From The Barinas Special Election, Francisco Rodríguez

Global and Public Affairs: Faculty Scholarship

Do politicians target the benefits of social programs to party loyalists or to swing voters? Traditional tests of this question are clouded by an identification problem caused by the simultaneity of politician and voter choices to participate in the exchange of assistance for votes. I use the holding of an unanticipated repeat gubernatorial election in the Venezuelan state of Barinas in 2022 as a natural experiment to identify the effects of elections on the distribution of government assistance. I estimate that the holding of the election led to an increase in the probability of voters in Barinas receiving food packages …

Chronic Stress And Well-Being: Testing Mindfulness As A Proposed Method To Decrease Stress In Parents Of Children With Autism Spectrum Disorder, Madeline M. Gillies

Theses and Dissertations

Parenting is a demanding role that encompasses many responsibilities and challenges. When a child is diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder, there are additional demands on the parent's time, energy, and financial resources, which likely leads to increased levels of chronic stress for parents. This dissertation examines the differences in chronic stress levels between parents who have children with autism and parents who do not, using hair cortisol concentration (HCC) as a benchmark. This dissertation also explores reducing parental stress by introducing a mindfulness intervention. Participants (n = 68) were recruited and divided into two groups: Parents of children who have …

Thinking Blue / Writing Red: Marxism And The (Post)Human, Stephen C. Tumino

Publications and Research

Thinking Blue/Writing Red interrogates contemporary culture across a range of texts, from the pandemic (‘Covid’ and ‘Trump Speak’) to high theory (Melville's narratives) and popular culture (Beyoncé's ‘Formation’ and Super Bowl performance, Twin Peaks , metamodern ‘cli-fi’ films). Inspired by Derrida’s idea of the secret, Tumino examines the significance of social movements (Black Lives Matter, Occupy, alter-globalization) and naïve art (Darger, Ryden) to argue that these texts speak of the secrets that capitalism cannot speak. Contending that the cultural surfaces narrate only the ‘nonsecret,’ that to see the social logic of the culture one must dig into what Bruno Latour …

Binary Gendered Language: A Qualitative Study Of Psu Students, Dakota Abercrombie

University Honors Theses

This study explores experiences of gendered language in use in academia among two marginalized groups: women and those identifying beyond the gender binary. Guided by the theory of linguistic relativity this study attempts to understand specific ways in which gendered language, including generic language may show up and contrasted within these groups. While this data is not generalizable, the findings indicate that both women and nonbinary students experience binary pronoun use in written formats such as syllabi. However, nonbinary students describe more negative feelings associated with this experience. We also noted participants' gender identities intersecting with other identities, leading to …

Recidivism: Putting A Stop To The Revolving Door, Kathy Crowder Green

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Recidivism is a powerfully adverse factor in the lives of individuals who seek to reintegrate into society and the community at large. In this qualitative research, former inmates who were successfully released and had never been convicted within one year of their release were interviewed to discover the rationale. The research focused on understanding the skills and traits obtained through the Alternative Custody Program that can effectively reduce recidivism. Utilizing a phenomenological design, the purpose of this study was to understand the effects of program participation on the lives of former inmates concerning recidivism. Interviews lasting approximately an hour were …

Job Task Analysis: Exploring A Nonprofit Mental Health Administrative Staff’S Perceptions Of Their Job Duties And Priorities, Ella Faye Warren

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Due to a recent expansion, Organization A encountered challenges in aligning its administrative staff duties and responsibilities with the strategic objectives of the organization. This difficulty was driven by the need to accommodate new services and the increasing demand for mental health services within the region. The purpose of this qualitative research study was to explore the job duties the administrative staff at Organization A currently perform, and what were their perceptions concerning the priorities to be fulfilled in the future. The conceptual frameworks of job task analysis and job task inventory guided the data collection process, which involved conducting …

Changing Landscape Of Liver Transplant In The United States—Time For A New Innovative Way To Define And Utilize The “Non-Standard Liver Allograft”—A Proposal, Rashmi Seth, Kenneth Andreoni

Department of Surgery Faculty Papers

Since the first liver transplant was performed over six decades ago, the landscape of liver transplantation in the US has seen dramatic evolution. Numerous advancements in perioperative and operative techniques have resulted in major improvements in graft and patient survival rates. Despite the increase in transplants performed over the years, the waitlist mortality rate continues to remain high. The obesity epidemic and the resultant metabolic sequelae continue to result in more marginal donors and challenging recipients. In this review, we aim to highlight the changing characteristics of liver transplant recipients and liver allograft donors. We focus on issues relevant in …

The Influence Of Socio-Economic Constraints On Women's Economic Empowerment In Kenya: Evidence Of Wage Disparities?, Wairimu Kimani

McNair Summer Research Program

This study presents an econometric analysis of socio-economic factors which influence wage inequalities in Kenya. This study tests the hypothesis that women experience cross sectoral gender wage disparities which are influenced by cultural and social expectations. Linear, logistic, factorial regressions models and the Mann-Whitney test were utilized to identify statistical determinants of the gender-wage gap through disproportionate educational outcomes, labor outcomes, and social outcomes. The outcomes reflect that education and other demographic factors play a pivotal role in the wage and employment outcomes for women in Kenya. The results suggest that cultural implications are the main influence to the socio-economic …