Bioethics and Medical Ethics Commons^™

Hospital Organizations’ Obligation To Promote Spiritual Well-Being Among Nurses: Development Of A Normative Ethical Argument, Michael Jordan

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation presents an innovative strategy to promote the support of nurses' spirituality within hospital organizations. By focusing on the spiritual well-being of nurses by hospital organizations, with a natural extension into nursing schools, the approach aims to enhance nurse’s ability to protect their own spirituality, provide comprehensive spiritual care to patients, and increase nurse moral resilience. By investing in nurses' spirituality and spiritual growth, hospitals can potentially increase job satisfaction among nursing staff, improve patient care outcomes, and create a more holistic healing environment for both nurses and patients. As the nursing shortage continues and the number of nurses …

Achieving Health Equity For Minorities, Marginalized And Vulnerable Populations: The Ethical Challenge For Improving Addiction Health Services And Policies In The Health Care System, Jasia A. Baig

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

During the past few decades, health disparities and substance misuse have transformed into unprecedented healthcare crises facing contemporary society. Although enormous contributions through policies and interventions have been made to promote health equity, substantial health inequalities and disparities persist, particularly in addiction health services and policies at multiple healthcare system levels for the marginalized, minoritized, and vulnerable populations.

The thesis of this dissertation asserts that a biopsychosocial ‘systems’ thinking towards treating addictive disorders along with systematic interventions and coordinated improvements specifically focused on minorities, marginalized and vulnerable populations at research, clinical, public health and global levels will significantly reduce health …

The Ethical Imperative Of The Renewal Of Virtue Within The Moral Community Of Catholic Healthcare, Amanda Altobell

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Catholic healthcare is one of the largest nonprofit organizations and providers in the United States, offering medical care to many diverse communities. The fundamental mission of Catholic healthcare is to bring about Christ’s healing ministry and live out the fundamental principle of caring for the vulnerable in pursuit of the common good. However, there have been many missteps, not only due to a more polarized and secular community but also to scandals and conflict due to previous hierarchical and rules-based anthropology that often misses the person's lived experience. Therefore, this dissertation will argue that for Catholic healthcare to survive the …

Tackling Social Stigma: An Ethical Obligation In Healthcare Intervention To Involuntary Childlessness, Persis Naumann

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The stigma associated with involuntary childlessness has negatively affected health and well-being for several decades. This situation is particularly exacerbated for women within the Tamil socio-cultural context, resulting in feelings of shame, neglect, denial, isolation, and constituting a significant barrier to long-term access to healthcare services. Although advancements have been made in the provision of biomedical care, the psychosocial support remains inadequately addressed. Moreover, there are currently no healthcare interventions that specifically target the stigma associated with this issue, which hinders open communication with healthcare providers, delays necessary treatments, and adversely impacts overall health outcomes. The central thesis of this …

Survey Of Medical Student Attitudes Regarding Uterine Transplant For Cisgender And Transgender Women: An Observational Study, Brandon Kim, Deidre Hurse, Abram Brummett

Conference Presentation Abstracts

Purpose: This study wishes to survey medical students’ attitudes regarding legality of, funding for, and conscientious objection to uterine transplant (UTx) in cisgender and transgender women. Methods: Medical students were invited to complete an online anonymous survey from March 18, 2024 to April 1, 2024. Baseline demographics collected, and four-point Likert scales were used on four pairs of questions to evaluate attitudes regarding UTx for cisgender and transgender women. Subject responses to paired questions were analyzed using Fisher’s Exact Test. Strength of correlation between the paired questions were analyzed with Spearman’s Correlation. Results: A total of 96 responses were collected …

Exploring Sexual Consent Capacity And Sexual Expression In Older Adults Living With Dementia, Renee J Flores, Carlos A Reyes-Ortiz

Faculty and Staff Publications

No abstract provided.

A Survey Of Factors Affecting Students Ethical Attitude Toward Medical Disobedience, Quinn Simpson, Jason Adam Wasserman

Posters

• Government regulations, particularly post-Roe v. Wade, create ethical conflicts for physicians between patient care and legal constraints.¹
• Decisions influenced by external pressures can negatively affect patient health.¹

Examining The Spiritual Care Needs Of Patients Preceding In-Hospital Death, Kevin A. Van, Kevin Hickey

Posters

- Evaluating the spiritual care needs of dying patients within the hospital setting is not a well-developed area of research

- Patients who die within the hospital present varied spiritual and emotional needs that require an array of support strategies from a spiritual care (SC) standpoint

- There is insufficient quantifiable data on specific patient needs and interventions provided through SC, especially among end-of-life (EOL) patients

Changes In Medical Student’S Knowledge And Attitudes Toward Clinical Death After Teaching The Philosophy Of Death, Nicholas Ludka, Abram Brummett, Jason Adam Wasserman

Posters

The pluralism of views that surround death, both within the bioethics community and society as a whole, can be a source of frustration for medical students and physicians who encounter surrogate decision makers who deny the standard medicolegal view of death. There are large gaps in knowledge regarding brain death among medical students, likely due to the lack of educational initiatives and the reliance of media for information, which often portrays inaccurate descriptions of brain death. 1 Despite the growing literature on the inadequacy of medical students’ knowledge of brain death, there has yet to be investigation into students’ attitudes …

Exploring Spirituality Rounds: A Reflective Inquiry Among Chaplains And Medical Students, Jessica Krone, Kevin Hickey

Posters

• Medical schools aim to educate their students on about social factors that impact patient health, including spirituality.
• Medical school curriculums have various approaches to spiritual care education, with some using modules and others using inperson experiences. 1,2.
• “Spirituality Rounds”, a half-day experience for third year medical students, is a component of OUWB’s curriculum that allows students to shadow and learn from hospital chaplains.
• This experience has not yet been evaluated; therefore, this research will gather student and chaplain reflections to help determine if this is a beneficial experience, and if it should be recommended to be included in medical education …

Veracity Enhancement Using Non-Invasive Brain Stimulation: A Systematic Review, Alice Hou, Shahrukh Naseer, Abram Brummett

Posters

For decades, non-invasive brain stimulation (NIBS) techniques like Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (TMS) and Transcranial directcurrent stimulation (tDCS) have been used in clinical settings as forms of neuromodulatory treatment for depression and other neurodivergent disorders. In recent years, there has been increased research in utilizing the non-invasive techniques to enhance cognition beyond one’s baseline, including language, memory, moral, and veracity enhancements. Due to the lack of systematic reviews in the growing field of veracity enhancement, we aim to provide a concise, summative overview of current research studying the impacts of NIBS on truthfulness, as well as its ethical dilemmas and future …

The State Of Abortion Training In Medical School And Family Medicine Residency Curricula: A Scoping Literature Review, Eric James Reece

Capstone Experience: Master of Public Health

This project aims to assess how abortion education has been integrated into medical training over the past decade, with a particular focus on understanding its current state in medical schools and family medicine residencies, including those offering specialized programs affiliated with RHEDI (Reproductive Health Education in Family Medicine) and TEACH (Training in Early Abortion for Comprehensive Healthcare). Given the ever-evolving legal landscape following the June 4^th, 2022 Supreme Court case of Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, this review explores how both federal- and state-level legal restrictions impact access to abortion training and attempts to identify gaps …

Exploring Anticoagulant Prescription Disparities: A Focus On Hispanic Patient Care, Michael Acevedo, Vanessa Veltre

Rowan-Virtua Research Day

Anticoagulants play a critical role in preventing thromboembolic events, yet disparities persist in their prescription among minority populations. This presentation explores inequities in anticoagulant prescribing patterns, with a specific focus on Hispanic patient care. Using retrospective electronic health record data, we analyzed the prescription rates of warfarin versus direct oral anticoagulants (DOACs) among adults with clinical indications for anticoagulation. Our findings reveal that Hispanic patients are significantly less likely to receive DOACs compared to non-Hispanic White patients, even after adjusting for demographics, comorbidities, and insurance status. Contributing factors include language barriers, lack of insurance, and potential implicit bias in provider …

Heterotopias Of Confinement: Zoo Architecture And The Loss Of Elephant Agency, Clayton Gill Beasley

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Zoos functions as a site where human-animal relationships are structured through built environments that mediate control and representation. This study examines zoos as heterotopias—spaces where power and surveillance are negotiated between human observers and captive nonhuman animals. While zoos are often framed as spaces of conservation and education, their architectural design reinforces hierarchies of observation and confinement, shaping both human perceptions of nature and the lived experiences of nonhuman animals. This research focuses on Asian elephants as a critical species within this framework, exploring how their captivity illuminates tensions between human-imposed structures and nonhuman autonomy. Drawing from theories of heterotopia, …

I Am (Me)Dicine: An Analysis On The Influence Of Humanities Courses Within The Construction Of Internal And External Identities Within Pre-Med Students At Uno, Alix Barnes

Theses/Capstones/Creative Projects

The purpose of this project is to investigate how arts and humanities coursework may enhance the development of internal and external identities for premedical students beyond their traditional scientific coursework. A literature review shows positive findings on identity development and the influence of arts and humanities coursework on medical education. This investigation will take place through a mixed-method survey distributed to UNO premedical students and will explore themes of self-reflection, personal and professional growth, and understanding of external perspectives. An optional question prompts respondents to reflect further on their work within arts and humanities courses and their impact on these …

On Death And Disease: How Physicians’ Perspectives Compare Across Specialties Through Written Work, Stephanie Anne C. Alkonga

Honors Capstones

Narrative medicine is a tool that the medical field is increasingly utilizing to cultivate patient-centered and culturally competent doctors and to reflect on lived experiences through texts that focus on psychosocial best practices. This study aims to examine the language used in physician-written works that address how physicians in different medical specialties treat the aging and the terminally ill, and how they view the deceased. Qualitative data guided by thematic questions will primarily be used in the analysis and comparison of these texts’ tone, rhetoric, diction, and similar literary devices to uncover if certain patterns arise across such specialties. Findings …

End-Of-Life Volunteerism: An Analysis Of No One Dies Alone (Noda) Program Volunteers, Kristin Sarsfield, Kevin Hickey

Posters

The inception of hospice in the United Kingdom during the mid 20th century marked a focal point in medical care for dying individuals. Hospice founder Cicely Saunders wanted to maintain a balance of “the sophisticated science of our treatments with the art of our caring, bringing competence alongside compassion”.1 Since then, hospice has grown into a household term for end of-life medical care.

Organized care for terminally ill and dying individuals was further developed in 2001 by Sandra Clarke, CCRN. Clarke founded the No One Dies Alone (NODA) Program after being unable to fulfill a dying patient’s wish of end-of-life …

Characteristics, Policies, And Practices Of Clinical Ethics Fellowship Programs, Amanda Bachand, Ellen Fox, Jason Adam Wasserman

Posters

• While clinical ethics fellowship programs are now commonplace in U.S. hospitals, recent research has revealed significant problems including a shortage of personnel who are appropriately trained to perform ethics consultation, lack of access to high quality training for ethics consultants, and lack of funding for clinical ethics training.1

• Our goal was to accurately describe the characteristics, policies, and practices of existing clinical ethics fellowship programs in the U.S. and Canada as well as the opinions of clinical ethics fellowship program directors regarding program standards, accreditation, and funding through a robust questionnaire.

• This project focused specifically on the …

Am I Woke Enough To Serve In Healthcare: A Secondary Analysis Of Pre-Health Students’ Personal And Professional Growth By Engaging In Cultural Competency Assessments, Harolynn Williams

All Dissertations

Healthcare providers must be equipped to serve an increasingly diverse population, yet cultural competence remains underemphasized in undergraduate pre-health education. This study explored how embedded cultural competency training influences undergraduate pre-health students’ perceptions of personal and professional growth. Using a qualitative descriptive design, the research incorporated intercultural assessments, the Intercultural Development Inventory (IDI), and the Global Competence Certificate (GCC), along with qualitative reflections from students enrolled in three versions of a cultural competence course: a year-long course, a semester-long course, and a short-term study abroad immersion six-week course. Findings revealed that students demonstrated measurable growth in cultural awareness, knowledge, communication, …

Experiences Of Women In The Labour Room: The Untold Story, Emmanuel Dziwornu, Belinda Kpodo, Ophelia Anarfi, Enyonam Afi Adzato, Anita Fafa Dartey

Patient Experience Journal

Background: Childbirth experiences are some of the most sensitive indicators of the utilisation of health facilities. Women who go through the child-birthing process are reported to be faced with a range of experiences. Aim: This study described women's experiences in the labour room. Methods: The study employed a qualitative research approach with a descriptive design. Purposive sampling was used in this study and data saturation was reached after the 18^th participant. In-depth interviews were used to obtain information from recently delivered women. Interviews were audio recorded and transcribed verbatim. Thematic content analysis (TCA) was done and the results were …