Psychiatric and Mental Health Nursing Commons^™

Quality Of Life In Adolescents With Cancer, Alexis Guastella

Honors Theses

There is no current universally accepted definition for quality of life (QOL). One source defined the concept of QOL as how an individual measures the goodness of different aspects of their life. These assessments include one’s emotional reactions to life events, disposition, sense of fulfillment, and satisfaction with personal relationships and work (Theofilou, 2013). Another definition encompasses the person’s level of functioning and overall satisfaction and well-being of their life (Lavdaniti & Tsitsis, 2015). QOL can be influenced by many factors, including physical health and certain disease processes. One disease in particular that can significantly affect one’s QOL is cancer. …

Neurobiology Of Trauma, Julie L. Valentine, Linda Mabey, Leslie Miles

Faculty Publications

• The neurobiology of trauma can affect the functioning of the brain with lasting consequences.
• The body's hormonal response to trauma affects the encoding of memory.
• Acute stress disorder (ASD) can result following trauma and can develop into post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) if symptoms last for more than 1 month.
• Trauma can cause immediate symptoms, such as tonic immobility and dissociation, and may lead to chronic symptoms oof depression and anxiety.
• Exposure to trauma can cause physical health problems.
• Evidence-based psychotherapy treatment options following traumatic exposure are available.
• Providing compassionate, nonjudgmental care to victims of trauma helps their healing process.

Nurses …

Practice Matters: Screening And Referring Congregants With Major Depression, Kim Link, Dawn M. Garrett Wright, Mary Branstetter Dnp

International Journal of Faith Community Nursing

The purpose of this article is to provide Faith Community Nurses with current recommendations regarding screening and caring for individuals with major depression. Epidemiological data on major depression will be presented, along with recommended screening tools to assist in detecting major depression. Recommendations for the management of major depression will be presented, including the role that the Faith Community Nurse can play when providing care and education to individuals with major depression.

The Role Of The Faith Community Nurse In Fostering Spirituality In Those With Alzheimer's Disease, Verna Carson Phd, Pmh/Cns-Bc

International Journal of Faith Community Nursing

Alzheimer ’s disease (AD) strips individuals of memories and abilities that have defined them as productive adults throughout their life. While the decline in memory is real and results in a ‘loss of self’ this does not equate to a ‘loss of soul.’ AD patients continue to have spiritual needs throughout their life as do the family, and/or caregivers. This article explores the spiritual needs and care of AD patients and families and the unique opportunity faith community nurses have to help the AD patient and their support system. The Reisberg Functional Assessment Staging System is used to explain the …

Effects Of Spiritual Care Education On Pediatric Nurses' Knowledge, Attitudes, And Competence, Cheryl Lynn Petersen

Dissertations (1934 -)

Holistic nursing care embraces the physical, psychological, and spiritual needs of the patient and family, thereby providing support and reducing suffering. Nurses’ spiritual care can improve the well-being and quality of life of children with cancer by assisting them to find meaning in their lives. At the end of life, spiritual care assists children in coping with their diagnosis, suffering, and losses. There are distinct deficiencies in education that lead nurses to feel unprepared to provide spiritual care to children. This study employed a prospective, longitudinal design to evaluate the potential effects of an online spiritual care educational program on …

Association Between Socioeconomic Status And Bmi Among People With Schizophrenia And Bipolar Disorder, Nicholas Guenzel

Theses & Dissertations

Background: Many health disparities among individuals with schizophrenia and bipolar disorder are due to obesity-associated diseases. Several causes of obesity have been discovered, but few risk factors are known. In the general public, low socioeconomic status (SES) is associated with obesity.

Objective: Examine the relationship between SES and body mass index (BMI) among people with schizophrenia and bipolar disorder.

Design: A secondary analysis of the Collaborative Psychiatric Epidemiology Surveys dataset. The psychiatric group (N=480) included individuals with symptoms of schizophrenia or bipolar disorder. Those reporting no symptoms were controls (N=5,161). Childhood SES variables included mother and father education and profession, …

Association Between Adverse Events In Childhood And Bmi Among People With Schizophrenia And Bipolar Disorder, Nicholas Guenzel

Theses & Dissertations

Background: People with schizophrenia and bipolar disorder die significantly earlier than members of the general public (16-18 years and 12-13 years, respectively). Diseases associated with obesity such as diabetes, heart disease, and stroke account for much of this discrepancy. People with mental illness often have difficulty losing weight despite intensive interventions. As a result, nurses caring for patients with mental illness need to monitor their weight diligently and implement individualized interventions to promote achieving or maintaining a healthy weight. Because intensive interventions come with some risk and expense, programs must target individuals with the most potential to develop obesity. In …

Psychiatric Comorbidities And Bmi: An Exploratory Analysis, Nicholas Guenzel

Theses & Dissertations

Background: Individuals with most forms of mental illness have higher rates of obesity than members of the general public putting them at an increased risk for many physical health problems that reduce both quality of life and life expectancy. The presence of multiple comorbid psychiatric disorders has been associated with poorer clinical outcomes in other mental health measures such as disability and sobriety and is proposed as a risk factor for elevated BMI (body mass index) in this study.

Objective: Determine if multiple psychiatric comorbidities are associated with elevated BMI and, if so, which combinations are linked with the greatest …

Health-Related Beliefs, Practices, And Experiences Of Migrant Dominicans In The Northeastern United States, Constance Sobon Sensor

Seton Hall University Dissertations and Theses (ETDs)

Purpose: This study aimed to discover and describe migrant Dominican cultural beliefs and practices related to health, the ways that migrant Dominicans take care of their health in their new environment, and their experience with professional health care in the Northeastern United States.

Design: This descriptive qualitative study was guided by Leininger’s Theory of Culture Care Diversity and Universality and four-phase analysis method. The health-related beliefs, practices and experiences of a convenience sample of 15 self-identified adult Dominicans living in the United States for six months or more were explored in three focus groups, assisted by trained culturally appropriate interpreters. …

Assessing Quality Of Life, Psychological Well-Being And Depression In Hispanic American Women: Does Cultural Competence Matter?, Elizabeth T. Alvarez

The Eleanor Mann School of Nursing Undergraduate Honors Theses

Thesis Title: Assessing Quality of Life, Psychological Well-Being and Depression in Hispanic American Women: Does Cultural Competence Matter? ABSTRACT BACKGROUND: Hispanic people are at an elevated risk of developing depression as compared to any other racial and ethnic groups in the United States. Hispanic women, in particular, experience depression at roughly twice the rate of Hispanic men. The projected growth of the Hispanic population coupled with the high prevalence of depression among Hispanic women will exacerbate this already serious public health conundrum if targeted and culturally competent interventions are not tailored to better tackle this illness. OBJECTIVE: The purpose of …

Evidence-Based Strategies To Minimize Risk For Opioid Pain Medication Misuse Among Patients With Chronic Pain In A Primary Care Setting, Carolyn Diane Coleman

Doctoral Projects

Background: Prescription opioid pain medication misuse has become a nationwide epidemic. Many states have implemented prescription drug monitoring programs (PDMP) to assist in combating the problem of prescription opioid pain medication misuse. Evidence-based clinical practice guidelines as well as the PMDP should be utilized by healthcare providers to guide treatment of chronic pain with opioid pain medications. Purpose: The purpose of this doctoral capstone project was to determine if providers are accessing the Prescription Drug Monitoring Program (PDMP) and utilizing evidence-based guidelines to minimize opioid pain medications misuse among patients with chronic pain in a primary care setting. …

Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder And Mindfulness Practice In Children And Adolescents: A Comprehensive Review Of Evidence-Based Research, Donna Nikander

Doctoral Projects

Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) is the most common mental illness in the United States among male and female children and adolescents between the ages of 3 and 17. The emerging fields of neurobiology and neuroimaging have proposed a relationship between mindfulness meditation therapies—initially referred to as mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR) and now simply known as mindfulness—and improvements in attention and self-regulation, two major problem areas for ADHD sufferers. Furthermore, recent studies suggest that mindfulness therapies may be effective in reducing symptoms of ADHD in children and adolescents. The purpose of this paper is to review, analyze and synthesize the …

Developing A Patient Care Standard For Adolescents Based On A Nursing Needs Assessment, Kathryn Blake

Doctoral Projects

Mental health patients often suffer from chronic medical conditions and psychiatric comorbidities requiring frequent emergency, primary care, and acute care visits (Douzenis et al., 2012). Caring for psychiatric patients in acute care hospitals has become an increasing burden on healthcare systems with processes in place to care for acute and critical care patients. Healthcare leaders, providers, emergency departments, and medical/surgical hospitals are straining to provide care for complex patients with acute medical conditions and complex mental health needs (Reiss-Brennan, Briot, Savitz, Cannon, & Staheli, 2010). Caring for children and adolescents with medical and psychiatric problems creates the need for a …

Exploring College Students' Perceptions Of College Gun Violence: A Meta-Analysis, Julia Chaw Chih Lee

Doctoral Projects

College gun violence has been one of our nation’s most forefront issues in recent years. The present meta-analysis reviewed studies reporting college students’ perceptions about school/college gun violence in order to summarize the total effect and direction of these research findings. There were only two studies identified for this research topic: Study A and Study B. Combining the effect sizes from both studies could not be accomplished because there was not enough data from Study A to calculate the correlation coefficient(r) or standardized mean difference (SMD). The summary of the results of the two studies as a metaanalysis was more …

Circle Of Care And Hope: An Adaptation And Empowerment Mental Health Healing Model For Blacks, Judy Edvaline Vansiea

Theses and Graduate Projects

PURPOSE- To engage and empower Black people with a "Circle of Care and Hope" that helps them to overcome their unequal access to effective mental health treatment. PROJECT DESCRIPTION- Black people in the United States have experienced unequal access to effective mental health care treatment due to centuries of oppression by the dominant Caucasian culture in the United States. This history has caused many Black people to distrust the purely Western and Caucasian-dominated model of mental health treatment. In response to this problem the author has adapted and integrated three healing modalities: multiple Western, theoretically-based therapies; culturally appropriate practices for …

Diabetes Self-Management Education For Adolescent Patients: The Importance Of A Developmentally Sensitive Approach, Laura Mumme

Senior Honors Theses

The attention of healthcare providers to the developmental level of adolescent patients with type one diabetes (T1D) maximizes effective patient education and glycemic control. Due to the dynamic changes that occur in the mind and body during adolescence, self-care for adolescent T1D patients is overwhelming as it envelopes activities of everyday life. The disease process and the unique aspects of adolescence in relation to T1D are important for caregivers to consider. Developmentally appropriate teaching during the initial onset of the disease must inform the patient and the patient’s family of the basics of the disease process and the daily care …

Attitudes Towards An Evidence-Based Clinical Decision Support Tool To Reduce Exposure To Ionizing Radiation, Raymond Zakhari

Faculty Publications and Presentations

Patients who suffer minor brain injuries experience unnecessary ionizing radiation in the form of a non-contrast head CT scan despite the dearth of evidence supporting standard CT scans for all brain injuries. Exposure to ionizing radiation increases the incidence of certain types of cancer. This evidence-based practice change project assesses the attitude of clinicians towards evidence-based clinical decision support tools, specifically the Canadian CT head rule. The use of highly sensitive clinical decision support tools is supported in the literature to help healthcare providers mitigate the risk associated with unnecessary use of CT scan imaging studies. The project was conducted …

A Grounded Theory Study Of How Parents Made The Decision About Residential Group Home Placement For Their Adult Child With Intellectual/Developmental Disabilities, Laura A. Prager Phd, Msn, Rn, Cddn, Cdcp

Faculty of Nursing Publications

Abstract Background: The parent caregivers of a child with an Intellectual Disability/Developmental Disability (ID/DD) face lifelong challenges that may at some point involve the decision about residential group home placement of the adult child. In the course of the child’s lifetime, the parents who have provided care may need to consider a safe alternative. The decision about residential group home placement of the adult child can be the result of numerous factors. Objective: The purpose of this qualitative inquiry was to investigate the phenomenon of how the parent caregivers made the decision for residential group home placement for their adult …

Intricate Conversations: Caring For Clients With Severe Mental Illness, John D. Chovan

Nursing Faculty Scholarship

This presentation describes the characteristics of persons living with severe mental illness who intersect with hospice, and palliative care, and their communication challenges.

Factors Influencing Depression In Men: A Qualitative Investigation, Lori A. Mutiso

Theses and Dissertations--Nursing

The purpose of this qualitative descriptive study is to describe men’s experiences of depression in order to provide direction for future research of the screening, diagnosing, and treatment of men's depression. Previous research indicates that men experience different depressive symptoms than women, and there is a possibility that men's depression is not being adequately captured by current screening standards, which would theoretically lead to a large number of men with unrecognized, undiagnosed, and untreated depression. If this is the case, this may explain the disproportionately low number of men diagnosed with depression compared to women, in contrast to the disproportionately …