Psychiatric and Mental Health Nursing Commons^™

Predicting Burnout Among Psychiatric Technicians, Sarah E. Hernandez

Electronic Theses, Projects, and Dissertations

This thesis attempted to examine stressors associated with the psychiatric technician profession and levels of burnout amongst them. This was accomplished through the use of a survey which included demographic data, the Maslach Burnout Inventory Human Services Survey (MBI‑HSS), an adaptation of the Nursing Stress Scale (NSS) and a self‑care assessment tool. A total of three research questions were examined statistically including levels of burnout on subcategories (personal accomplishment, emotional exhaustion and depersonalization), most common stressors identified by psychiatric technicians and percentage of participants who utilized therapy to cope with work related stress. The survey was made available via survey …

Improving Suicide Risk Management In Military Primary Care, John A. Hoyos

Doctor of Nursing Practice Final Manuscripts

Background: In the military, completed suicides and attempt rates have risen across the services since 2001 by 82% per 100,000 in spite of various intervention programs. The literature suggests that absent and inadequate suicide assessments may be part of the problem. Primary care providers are often not prepared for risk assessment and management of suicidal patients.

Aim/Purpose of Project: The project sought to improve the consistency of providers in conducting adequate risk assessments and providing crisis hotline information to patients who were cleared to return home after an encounter, as required by NPSG 15.01.01.

Project Plan Process: This evidenced-based project …

Increasing The Awareness Of Trauma Informed Care In The School Setting: Giving Practitioners The Tools To Actively Participate In Trauma Related Care, Rebekah L. Sypniewski

Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) Projects

Of the approximately 15 million children and adolescents who have a mental health disorders that are interfering with their functioning, a mere 25% seek medical advice or treatment (Melnyk, Kelly, & Lusk, 2014). Furthermore, two thirds of youth report experience at least one traumatic event by age 16 (Suarez, Belcher, Briggs, & Titus, 2012). School health practitioners have regular contact with children and adolescents as they typically attend school five days a week, nine months out of the year. The consistent presence of the relationship between the practitioner and student creates an ideal environment for discussing the sensitive topics necessary …

Adolescent Grief: The Nurse's Role In Promoting Healthy Coping Mechanisms And Preventing Future Hospitalizations, Erica C. Reighard

Senior Honors Projects, 2010-2019

Age and developmental stage directly influence the grieving individual's ability to understand and process death. Adolescents are especially vulnerable to developing negative coping skills such as substance abuse, self-destructive behaviors, and eating disorders. After a loss occurs, nurses can use their role as a caregiver who is neither a parent nor a peer to provide adolescents with an opportunity to express their grief. Nurses can educate grieving adolescents on the differences between positive and negative coping skills and can therefore reduce the number of future hospitalizations related to ineffective coping mechanisms.

Rural Nebraska Women's Explanatory Models Of Postpartum Depressive Symptomatology, Elizabeth Mollard

Theses & Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to construct the explanatory models of postpartum depressive symptomatology (PPDS) from the perspective of rural Nebraska women and to compare these models with the medical model of PPDS. A sample of 20 rural Nebraska women were interviewed in a one-on-one qualitative descriptive telephone interview using questions based on Kleinman’s (1980) explanatory model of illness. This study used feminist pragmatism as a guiding philosophical paradigm. Qualitative data were analyzed using content analysis, and results were compared and contrasted with the medical model of PPDS, which included the onset, symptoms, and duration listed in the DSM-5 …

Post-Concussion Policy Change For The Student-Athlete, Heather Porter

Nursing Theses and Capstone Projects

The intent of the evidence-based practice project was to implement a policy change for the development and implementation of a policy and related procedures to ensure equity and continuity in practices for successful reintegration of student-athletes who had sustained a concussion back into their classrooms. The lack of attention on cognitive effects of concussion and the “ripple effect” in the classroom needed to be addressed by the nursing profession from an education-intervention focus. A corrective action plan was developed by a doctoral student including an educational teaching session and PowerPoint Presentation and pilot policy. The end result of the project …

Mindfulness Education For Stress Reduction In Nursing Students, Kathryn Kekenes Peterson

Nursing Theses and Capstone Projects

Problem. The level of stress experienced by college students can be significant. It can be even more pronounced in nursing students as a result of the intense curriculum and clinical experiences. Stress can be the result of academic, personal, or interpersonal causes. It can affect physical, psychological, spiritual, and social well-being. Stress is not always avoidable but learning techniques to manage stress can improve overall well-being by decreasing the physical, psychological, spiritual, and social effects of stress. Learning to manage stress through holistic self-care with mindfulness stress reduction techniques could help alleviate the negative effects of stress, enabling the student …

Orientation Program For Psychiatric Clinical Experience, Kathy C. Williams

Nursing Theses and Capstone Projects

Student nurses often experience anxiety prior to their psychiatric clinical experience and this anxiety can adversely affect their learning experience and ability to provide optimal nursing care to clients who have psychiatric illnesses. A formal Orientation Program for the Psychiatric Clinical Experience (OP-PCE) was developed to reduce student nurses’ anxiety prior to their psychiatric clinical experience. The OP-PCE was implemented as a component of the routine psychiatric curriculum in a pre-licensure registered nursing program at a university in Southeastern United States of America. Thirty-four student nurses participated in the OP-PCE. The content of the OP-PCE included general orientation information such …

Sleep Hygiene Program For Night Shift Workers, Dale Wicker

Nursing Theses and Capstone Projects

Sleep is vital to health and wellbeing. Service professionals such as nurses, firefighters, and police officers, historically have worked in shifts requiring around the clock coverage. Now, many companies are following similar strategies with working employees in 12 hour or 8 hour shifts including night shift. Night shift workers must adjust to sleeping during the daytime by combating their normal circadian regulatory system. Maladaptation to daytime sleep can affect overall sleep time and poorer sleep quality. Shift Work Disorder is a medical condition where employees struggle with chronic sleep deprivation that can lead to other health problems. Employee health clinics …

School Mental Health Guide For Educators, Yvonne Smith

Nursing Theses and Capstone Projects

This Capstone Project explored the impact of providing a staff development program to educators in a public school setting to address rising concerns over unmet student mental health needs in this school setting. Student mental health response and referral had become prominent concerns in the project school. The project leader developed two separate sessions addressing adolescent depression and mental health. The sessions, facilitated by the project leader and the project implementation team, represented the interprofessional disciplines of nursing, counseling, and social work. Each session addressed issues of confidentiality, definition and signs/symptoms of each conditions, common treatments, evidenced-based classroom strategies and …

Impact Of Nursing Interventions On Positive Confusion Assessment Method (Cam) Scores, Katie Halsell

The Eleanor Mann School of Nursing Undergraduate Honors Theses

Delirium occurs in patients of all ages, especially in the older adult population. Symptoms vary from patient to patient, and delirium is often misdiagnosed. Patients with delirium have a higher cost of care and a longer length of stay in the hospital. Delirium is a stressful event for both the nurse and the patient, resulting in poor patient outcomes. The Confusion Assessment Method (CAM) tool is used to diagnose delirium in confused patients; a positive CAM score indicates delirium. Nursing interventions are used to treat delirium. Interventions used range from non-pharmacologic measures to use of pharmacological measures and restraints. This …

Relationship Between Parental Alcoholism And Family Unpredictability, Kamie L. Stephens

Honors Theses

This research is a retrospective study on adult children of alcoholics using a previous researcher’s, Dr. Ross, unpredictability scale. Family Unpredictability is defined as “a lack of consistency in family behaviors and regulatory systems,” (Ross and Hill, 2000). There is currently a lack of research related to parental alcoholism and its effect on family structure. The researcher hopes to gain insight on the relationship between parental alcoholism and family unpredictability. Previous research suggests children growing up with a caregiver who is an alcoholic experience a higher level of unpredictability in the home. Examples of this unpredictability are: a decreased amount …

Undiagnosed Depression In The Elderly And Healthcare Education, Nancy J. Wynn-Grundy

Doctoral Projects

This descriptive study examined undiagnosed depression in the elderly and how it affects the elderly from retaining healthcare education. It is estimated by 2029, 20% of the United States population will be age 65 and older (Colby & Ortman, 2014). Depression in the elderly who have chronic diseases, is estimated to be undiagnosed up to 40% (Chaoyang et al., 2009). A hallmark symptom of depression is the inability to concentrate. It is unknown if undiagnosed depression will affect the older adult from retaining pertinent healthcare education. The 30 point Geriatric Depression Scale (GDS) was administered to a class of elderly …

Teaching And Evaluation Of Suicidal Assessment, Five-Step Evaluation And Triage (Safe-T) In The Emergency Department, Evangeline Rico

Doctoral Projects

Suicide remains to be a global and a national problem, and it continues to be one of the leading causes of death in the United States (U.S.) The Emergency Department (ED), being the gateway to the hospital can provide a great opportunity to assess each patient for suicidal ideation, and evaluate if patients present with risk factors for suicide. The competency of the ED staff plays a critical role in early recognition of patients who are at risk, and in implementing a plan of care for those with positive screens. However, researchers showed that knowledge deficit and lack of education …

Nursing Perception Of Psychogenic Nonepileptic Spells: Improving Patient Outcomes, Amanda J. Cramer

Doctor of Nursing Practice Scholarly Projects

Patients with psychogenic nonepileptic spells (PNES) have generally poor outcomes and many fail to engage in evidence-based treatments (Thompson et al., 2013). Negative healthcare provider perceptions have been implicated as a barrier to patient engagement in treatment recommendations for PNES (Whitehead, Kandler, & Reuber, 2013; Worsely et al., 2011). Illness perception of these patients has been evaluated from the perspective of physicians in multiple settings but perceptions by nurses are not well studied despite the close interactions that nurses have with these patients.

This project used Pender’s health promotion model to collect information about the nursing experience with patients with …

Challenges Of Mass Media Interventions Regarding Mental Health: A Community Exemplar In Kampala Uganda, Moses Wankiiri, P. Petrucka

School of Nursing & Midwifery, East Africa

The Community Psychiatric Support Organization is a registered voluntary not for profit NGO in Uganda working to promote mental health by empowering the community to care for the mentally ill. Mental illness occurring in Uganda is often ‘explored’ or ‘explained’ from non-medical perspectives, including social, cultural, and/or religious belief systems. Over the last two years, the organization has conducted sixty six (66) live radio mental health education talks and twenty six (26) live television talk shows in an effort to reduce stigma towards mental illness. Such campaigns within developing contexts have not be examined extensively, although, in other sectors such …

Animal-Assisted Therapy For Military Veterans With Posttraumatic Stress Disorder: An Investigation On The Positive Effects Of Attachment And Affiliation Behaviors, Sara Miele

Scholarly and Creative Works Conference (2015 - 2021)

Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) develops in people who have experienced a traumatic event (nimh.nih.gov, 2016). Because PTSD is a chronic disorder, it is associated with impaired quality of life (Stern et al., 2013). A specific population at high risk for developing PTSD is military veterans. It is estimated over half a million military veterans suffer from PTSD (Stern et al., 2013). Although there are psychological services and treatments for veterans, many do not seek help because fear of the negative stigma associated with mental illness (Lanning & Krenek, 2013). Recently, efforts have been made to implement veteran friendly treatment in …

Factors Affecting Depression Among Married Women Living In Urban Squatter Settlements Of Karachi, Pakistan, Shireen Shehzad, Salima Farooq, Yasmin Parpio, Rozina Karmaliani Professor, Nargis Asad, Iqbal Azam Syed, Omrana Pasha

School of Nursing & Midwifery

Background: Depression is one of the growing public health concerns among women worldwide. This is one of the most under-recognized and under-treated mental illnesses worldwide. Women of developing countries are inexplicably affecting with depression. Purpose: The purpose of study is to assess the prevalence and associative factors of depression among women of aged 20 to 40 years living in urban squatter settlements of Karachi, Pakistan. The identification of all the potential determinants will potentially help in formulating preventive strategies in order to decline the prevalence of depression among women and improve the well being of women.
Methods: An analytical cross-sectional …

The Effect Of Personal Portable Alarms On Clinical Staff’S Perception Of Safety At An Adult Psychiatric Hospital Unit, Kornelia A. Kopec

Doctor of Nursing Practice Final Manuscripts

The aim of this evidence-based project was to introduce portable personal alarms to all clinical staff on an acute adult psychiatric locked unit at the Mesa Vista Behavioral Health Hospital, San Diego. The purpose was to increase staff’s perceived and actual safety. The project resulted in an increase of staff’s perception of safety in areas such patient safety as perceived by staff, improved perception of addressing medical errors, and improved perception of learning culture at the facility. While 80% of responding staff found the concept of portable personal alarms beneficial, most agreed alternative models of alarms should be investigated, due …

Inefficient Dmn Suppression In Schizophrenia Patients With Impaired Cognitive Function But Not Patients With Preserved Cognitive Function, Li Zhou, Weidan Pu, Jingjuan Wang, Haihong Liu, Guowei Wu, Chang Liu, Tumbwene Mwansisya, Haojuan Tao, Xudong Chen, Dongsheng Lv

School of Nursing & Midwifery, East Africa

Previous studies have observed reduced suppression of the default mode network (DMN) during cognitive tasks in schizophrenia, suggesting inefficient DMN suppression is critical for the cognitive deficits of schizophrenia. Cognitive function in schizophrenia patients, however, varies from relatively intact to severely impaired. This study, which compared the DMN suppression patterns between first-episode schizophrenia patients with (SZ-Imp) and without (SZ-Pre) impaired cognitive function, may provide further insight into the role of DMN dysfunction in cognitive deficits of schizophrenia. Independent component analysis (ICA) was applied to resting-state fMRI data to identify the DMN in each subject, and then general linear modeling based …