Community Health Commons^™

Burnout: An Examination Of How Human Services’ Cultures Impact Person-Centered Care And Job Satisfaction, Ebony Webb

Master's Projects and Capstones

In a world that demands the constant requirement of adaptability and technology, the need for ‘hands on the ground’ continues to persist, and perhaps even grow. This research project explores burnout in the healthcare and nonprofit settings, as a pre-existing and ongoing issue, that was brought to centre-stage during the Covid-19 pandemic. The researcher explores the intersections of burnout with workplace culture, person-centered care (PCC), sweat equity and duty-of-care, through expert interviews and literature reviews. Data collected provides an immediate understanding of current workplace cultures and environments for human service providers, in both healthcare and nonprofit sectors. While the data …

Therapeutic Gardening For Mental Health In Substance Use Recovery, Stephanie E. Schafer

Master's Projects and Capstones

Abstract

As the clinical nurse leader (CNL) in this project, I used the “[CNL]

Essential 1: Background for Practice from Sciences and Humanities” (Competencies and Curricular Expectations for Clinical Nurse Leader Education and Practice, 2013) and its competencies to focus on designing nursing care for a clinical or community-focused population based on biopsychosocial, public health, nursing, and organizational sciences and to synthesize evidence for practice to determine appropriate application of interventions across diverse populations. With the help of the CNL competencies and collaboration with the healthcare team, we created and implemented a therapeutic garden for residents in a substance use …

Experiences Of People With Serious Mental Illness Seeking Services At Community Mental Health Centers During The Covid-19 Pandemic, Emily Leickly

Dissertations and Theses

Community mental health centers (CMHCs) have been underfunded and overburdened since Reagan-era disinvestment and the United States' move toward neoliberalism. Rates of mental illness have been rising consistently, particularly in Oregon, as CMHCs face continuing financial pressures and staff retention issues. This was before the COVID-19 pandemic. Today, we are still trying to understand the ongoing pandemic's impact on people with serious mental illnesses (SMI). Most of the studies in this area thus far are quantitative, and first-hand accounts of the pandemic from people with SMI are largely absent. Additionally, research in this area fails to draw on critical alternative …

Eco-Interoception: What Plants, Fungi And Protista Have Taught My Body, Sara Riley Dotterer

Art Theses and Dissertations

To me, ecology is the relational, full-body awareness that I am made up of and deeply connected to everything around me; and for better or worse, this is reciprocal. I form ecotones, an ecological transitional zone between two ecosystems, with the world around me. I use this ecotonal lens to blur binaries and dissolve boundaries between me and the world “outside my body.” During my Masters of Fine Arts at Southern Methodist University, I have continuously explored and represented the lives of various more-than-human species outside of my body, including plants, fungi and protista through an ecotonal lens. Although these …

Mental Health Navigators Bridging The Gap Of Care, Valentina Loreto-Ashley

DNP Qualifying Manuscripts

Individuals with schizophrenia are most vulnerable at time of discharge due to risk factors that lead to relapse, re-admission, suicide and/or danger to others. A successful discharge process can decrease overall care costs, promotes team collaboration, supports the therapeutic relationship between client and care provider, and helps the client to reach autonomy and self-efficacy. This DNP is a quality improvement project that aims at educating Mental Health Navigators about symptoms of schizophrenia, medications management, and community resources. Effectiveness of the educational intervention will be assessed as the differences between the pre- and post-test assessment score on insight or lack of …

The Breath As A Holistic Regulator: An Expressive Arts Therapy Community Project, Jacobita Munoz

Expressive Therapies Capstone Theses

This capstone offers the idea that evolution has challenged appropriate breathing and led humans to breathe incorrectly, thus negatively affecting their physical and mental health. As breath can damage the body, it can also serve as a regulator of the mind and body. This thesis points out the multiple effects when uniting controlled respiration, drumming and nature sounds. Breathing, music and nature have many things in common. These include repetition, pattern, awareness of the present moment and relaxation. They all contain a rhythm, and they offer self-regulatory skills. Music-based expressive arts therapies intervention is postulated to provide breathing techniques, united …

Prescribing Music To Forensic Settings: A Literature Review, Sydney A. Bouchard

Expressive Therapies Capstone Theses

Though prison is inherently musical, evidence-based forensic music therapy is rather understudied. This thesis critically reviews musical experiences in forensic environments and synthesizes its intersection with inmates' psychological distress. Additionally, the literature explores how forensic music therapy can act as a health and social resource for the incarcerated and their communities. Engaging in this work is vital because healthier correctional systems mean healthier communities (Hopwood, 2021). This review synthesizes relevant literature to inform better practices in music therapy, counseling, and healthcare and seeks to popularize discussion around an otherwise unpopular population, incarcerated folx. Emerging themes include (1) incarceration breeds negative …

Biopsychosocial Impacts Of Social Distancing Due To Covid-19 In People Over 65: A Literature Review, Nicole Lacap

Rowan-Virtua Research Day

Background: Since the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic in January 2020, elderly populations aged 65+ have been deemed at-risk for severe symptoms and poor prognosis. Because it is important to protect this vulnerable population, policies such as social distancing and shelter-in-place orders have been implemented in the United States in order to prevent the spread of Covid-19. However, many older citizens may live alone or may not have access to technology, and therefore may be limited in their ability to maintain important relationships and social interactions throughout shelter-in-place orders and social distancing. Therefore, it is important to understand the cost …

Language Barrier Contributions To Food Insecurity In Spanish-Speaking Populations, Amin Khan, Leeza Kumar, Edanur Kilic, Stephen Acheampong

Rowan-Virtua Research Day

Food insecurity refers to a household or individual’s inability to access adequate food to obtain a healthy lifestyle. This contributes to health concerns such as birth defects, low nutritional intake, anemia, cognitive problems, mental health disorders, diabetes, obesity, and heart disease. Low-income rural community members lack access to full grocery stores and often turn to convenience stores with unhealthy, expensive, and fewer food options. The aim of this study was to determine how language barriers affect Spanish-speaking populations with limited English proficiency. The research for this project was obtained from Google, Google Scholar, and PubMed. Keywords included “health disparities,” “Spanish-speaking,” …

Effect Of The Covid-19 Pandemic On Hpv Vaccination Rates, Jennifer Sepede, Kathy Chen

Rowan-Virtua Research Day

Human papillomavirus (HPV) is a common sexually transmitted infection that potentiates cancer in both males and females. There are over 200 different types of HPV and while some strains, specifically HPV 6 and 11, may result in genital and skin warts, others remain clinically silent. High risk strains, HPV 16 and 18, are most associated with cervical cancer in women. During the COVID-19 pandemic, there was widespread hesitancy and rejection towards vaccination. Similarly, the Human Papilloma Virus (HPV) vaccine has also been met with distrust since it’s release. Studies have shown that there is a low vaccination rate due to …

The Correlation Between Traumatic Brain Injury And Incarceration Among Adult Males In The United States, Shadi Shams

Rowan-Virtua Research Day

The United States has one of the largest growing prison populations in the world. A large amount of social and economic resources go towards the cost and maintenance of correctional facilities each year. Additionally, the current correctional programs are insufficient in assisting inmates with getting back to society; especially those with traumatic brain injury (TBI) who often remain undiagnosed and are usually treated unfairly in the prison system instead of receiving the appropriate help. Prior scholarly work has shown that patients in the post-TBI stage are more likely to enter the judicial system. In the recent population-based cohort study, the …

Examining The Utility Of The Canadian Occupational Performance Measure (Copm) Vs. Cognitive Mapping And Motivational Interviewing (Cm/Mi) To Provide Person-Centered Care (Pcc) For People With Parkinson’S Disease (Pwpd), Mary Lagasca, Karen Aranha

Spring 2023 Virtual OTD Capstone Symposium

Background: Parkinson’s disease (PD) limits occupational engagement and quality of life. Clinicians need tools to help understand the lived experiences of people with PD to provide more person-centered care (PCC). The Canadian Occupational Performance Model (COPM) is one tool used with this population, but its predetermined categories may be limiting. In contrast, Cognitive Mapping and Motivational Interviewing (CM/MI) is a non-standardized method that may provide more insight. Objective: To identify the benefits of the COPM to CM/MI in delivering more person-centered care (PCC). Methodology: A qualitative phenomenological self-study was used. Data collection compared the assessments and reflected on determining if …

Quantifying The Effect Of Socio-Economic Predictors And The Built Environment On Mental Health Events In Little Rock, Ar, Alfieri Ek, Grant Drawve, Samantha Robinson, Jyotishka Datta

Sociology and Criminology Faculty Publications and Presentations

Law enforcement agencies continue to grow in the use of spatial analysis to assist in identifying patterns of outcomes. Despite the critical nature of proper resource allocation for mental health incidents, there has been little progress in statistical modeling of the geo-spatial nature of mental health events in Little Rock, Arkansas. In this article, we provide insights into the spatial nature of mental health data from Little Rock, Arkansas between 2015 and 2018, under a supervised spatial modeling framework. We provide evidence of spatial clustering and identify the important features influencing such heterogeneity via a spatially informed hierarchy of generalized …

Psychometric Evaluation Of Phq–9 And Gad–7 Among Community Health Volunteers And Nurses/Midwives In Kenya Following A Nation-Wide Telephonic Survey, Sabina Odero, Paul Mwangi, Rachel Odhiambo, Brenda Nzioka, Constance Shumba, Eunice Ndirangu, Amina Abubakar

Institute for Human Development, East Africa

Background: Nurses/midwives and Community Health Volunteers (CHVs) are exposed to chronic stressors putting them at risk of developing mental health problems. This has been exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic. There is limited empirical evidence of the burden of mental health problems among health care workers partly due to the lack of adequately standardized and validated measures for use among health care workers in Sub-Saharan Africa. This study aimed to perform the psychometric evaluation of the PHQ-9 and GAD-7 administered to nurses/midwives and CHVs across 47 counties in Kenya.

Methods: Between June and November 2021, a national survey on mental well-being …

Does Family Size Moderate The Relation Between Resource Transfers And Intimate Partner Violence Rates?, Paul Gramling

Psychological Science Undergraduate Honors Theses

Intimate partner violence (IPV) refers to physical, sexual, or psychological abuse within an intimate relationship. It is a global issue, particularly for women in developing countries where data show higher rates of IPV for these women than in developed countries. IPV can lead to physical harm, chronic health problems, and even death. It also has negative effects on mental health, economic stability, and the overall well-being of the woman and their children. Family size has been shown to be a predictor of IPV risk; women from larger families face a higher risk. Cash transfer programs in developing countries have been …

Tiny Tusk Internship: Barriers To Effective Breastfeeding Within Low Socioeconomic Populations, Catherine Johnson

The Eleanor Mann School of Nursing Undergraduate Honors Theses

Tiny Tusk Breastfeeding and Infant Support is a program created to facilitate safe and quiet places for mothers to breastfeed at various events at the University of Arkansas. It serves as a platform to spread important and essential information about breastfeeding to mothers and reach various women all from different backgrounds and populations. The purpose of this review of literature is to identify barriers that women within low socioeconomic populations face that influence their decision to breastfeed. These barriers included lack of social support from family, friends, and healthcare providers; latch difficulty; and concerns of milk supply. Altogether, low-income women …

On Versus Off-Campus Living: An Exploration Of College Students' Mental Well-Being, Sameer Siddiqui

Theses/Capstones/Creative Projects

The World Health Organization defines mental health as “a state of mental well-being that enables people to cope with the stresses of life, realize their abilities, learn well and work well, and contribute to their community” (“Mental Health,” 2022). Risk and protective factors can be used to predict mental health outcomes. Both positive and negative outcomes can be predicted, respectively. The categories of these include individual, relationship, community, and societal. When examining college students, it is most reasonable to study the relationship and community factors. This study examined whether living on or off campus impacts predicted mental health outcomes in …

Pathways To Care Of Maine Youth With Psychosis, Elizabeth M. Mutina, Rebecca Jaynes, Dave Weiss, Elizabeth Bernier, Kristen A. Woodberry

Costas T. Lambrew Research Retreat 2023

Study clinicians conducted semi-structured interviews to identify the timing and steps of each person’s Pathway to Care (PtC).

The Past, Present, And Future Of Distress Screening: Launching A Robust Distress Screening Program At A Large Outpatient Medical Oncology Practice Serving Rural/Underserved Communities, Kevin Stein, Trisha Warren-Vanhorn, Meredith Curtis, Amy Litterini, Amit Sanyal

Costas T. Lambrew Research Retreat 2023

After redesign, administration of the DT at initial chemotherapy teaching sessions and robust searchable databases integrated with EHR systems, allowing providers/researchers to create reports filtered by date ranges, encounter type, clinical site/facility, scores of ≥4, domain (physical, emotional, practical), and outcome (referral to specialist)

“I Know My Body Better Than Anyone Else” Perspectives Of People Who Inject Drugs On Antimicrobial Treatment Decision Making For Serious Infections, Amy Eckland, Michael Kohut Phd, Henry Stoddard, Debra Burris, Frank Chessa, Monica Sikka, Daniel Solomon, Colleen Kershaw, Ellen Eaton, Rebecca N. Hutchinson, Peter Friedmann, Thomas Stopka, Kathleen Fairfield, Kinna Thakarar

Costas T. Lambrew Research Retreat 2023

Introduction:

• Few studies have examined the perspectives of patients with lived experience regarding outpatient treatment options for injection drug use (IDU) associated infections.

• We sought to better understand the perspectives of both community partners with lived experience who work with people who inject drugs (PWID) and hospitalized patients with IDU-associated infections on shared treatment decision making.