Barrett, The Honors College Thesis/Creative Project Collection
Barrett, The Honors College at Arizona State University proudly showcases the work of undergraduate honors students by sharing this collection exclusively with the ASU community.
Barrett accepts high performing, academically engaged undergraduate students and works with them in collaboration with all of the other academic units at Arizona State University. All Barrett students complete a thesis or creative project which is an opportunity to explore an intellectual interest and produce an original piece of scholarly research. The thesis or creative project is supervised and defended in front of a faculty committee. Students are able to engage with professors who are nationally recognized in their fields and committed to working with honors students. Completing a Barrett thesis or creative project is an opportunity for undergraduate honors students to contribute to the ASU academic community in a meaningful way.
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- All Subjects: Dementia
- Creators: Edson College of Nursing and Health Innovation
- Creators: School of Geographical Sciences and Urban Planning
Description
For those living lives devoted to taking care of others, it can be difficult to remember to take care of themselves. This thesis project is a review of quantitative and qualitative literature pertaining to self-care for the caregivers of Alzheimer's and dementia patients. Three nursing diagnoses and related nursing interventions were created using data from the evidence-based literature. With the proper knowledge and assistance, caregivers can better prepare for the future and participate in health-promoting self-care activities which may improve their quality of life.
ContributorsSchmidt, Anna Claire (Author) / Fries, Kathleen (Thesis director) / Barnum, Leslie (Committee member) / Edson College of Nursing and Health Innovation (Contributor) / Watts College of Public Service & Community Solut (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2021-05
Description
Changing Caregivers Attitudes toward dementia study was conducted to assess changes in attitudes of formal caregivers caring for persons with dementia in a palliative care setting. An eight-minute virtual experience activity was delivered to 40 para-professional caregivers of those diagnosed with mild, moderate or severe dementia. The virtual experience consisting of a set of instructions, headphones and different materials, is a quick, effective and efficient way to mimic having some of the stressors those living with Alzheimer's, or other types of dementia, may experience in their day-to-day lives. The purpose of this study was to analyze the effect on caregivers’ emotions and attitudes toward dementia, before and after the virtual experience using a qualitative approach. It is hypothesized that the intervention will educate and instill empathy in the caregivers, overall, improving the delivery of their care in the future. Participants were asked open ended questions before and after the intervention using the virtual experience and four themes emerged: (1) Being more patient, (2) Slowing down, (3) Empathy and (4) Being positive. The findings suggest further education about the disease process is needed to help caregivers understand the actions of dementia related behaviors. Also, education about different strategies to handle some negative behaviors associated with Alzheimer’s or other types of dementia can be done to improve the situation. Overall, the findings showed an increase in empathy and positive words or phrases from the participants, suggesting the simulation experience was an applicable and ethical intervention.
ContributorsPfohl, Marin Elizabeth (Co-author) / Latini, Abigail (Co-author) / Hamilton, Gillian (Thesis director) / Gallagher, Maribeth (Committee member) / Uriri-Glover, Johannah (Committee member) / Edson College of Nursing and Health Innovation (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2020-05
Description
Changing Caregivers Attitudes toward dementia study was conducted to assess changes in attitudes of formal caregivers caring for persons with dementia in a palliative care setting. An eight-minute virtual experience activity was delivered to 40 para-professional caregivers of those diagnosed with mild, moderate or severe dementia. The virtual experience consisting of a set of instructions, headphones and different materials, is a quick, effective and efficient way to mimic having some of the stressors those living with Alzheimer's, or other types of dementia, may experience in their day-to-day lives. The purpose of this study was to analyze the effect on caregivers’ emotions and attitudes toward dementia, before and after the virtual experience using a qualitative approach. It is hypothesized that the intervention will educate and instill empathy in the caregivers, overall, improving the delivery of their care in the future. Participants were asked open ended questions before and after the intervention using the virtual experience and four themes emerged: (1) Being more patient, (2) Slowing down, (3) Empathy and (4) Being positive. The findings suggest further education about the disease process is needed to help caregivers understand the actions of dementia related behaviors. Also, education about different strategies to handle some negative behaviors associated with Alzheimer’s or other types of dementia can be done to improve the situation. Overall, the findings showed an increase in empathy and positive words or phrases from the participants, suggesting the simulation experience was an applicable and ethical intervention.
ContributorsLatini, Abigail Louise (Co-author) / Pfohl, Marin (Co-author) / Hamilton, Gillian (Thesis director) / Gallagher, Maribeth (Committee member) / Uriri-Glover, Johannah (Committee member) / Edson College of Nursing and Health Innovation (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2020-05
Description
Dementia is a collective term used to describe symptoms of cognitive impairment in learning and memory. The most prevalent form of dementia is Alzheimer’s disease (AD). In order to understand the pathological mechanisms associated with AD, animal models have been created. These various mouse models replicate the pathology found in humans with AD. As a consequence of the fact that this disease impairs cognitive abilities in humans, testing apparatuses have been developed to measure impaired cognition in animal models. One of the most common behavioral apparatuses that has been in use for nearly 40 years is the Morris water maze (MWM). In the MWM, animals are tasked to find a hidden platform in a pool of water and thereby are subjected to stress that can unpredictably influence cognitive performance. In an attempt to circumvent such issues, the IntelliCage was designed to remove the external stress of the human experimenter and provide a social environment during task assessment which is fully automated and programable. Additionally, the motivation is water consumption, which is less stressful than escaping a pool. This study examined the difference in performance of male and female cohorts of APP/PS1 and non-transgenic (NonTg) mice in both the MWM and the IntelliCage. Initially, 12-month-old male and female APP/PS1 and NonTg mice were tested in the hippocampal-dependent MWM maze for five days. Next, animals were moved to the IntelliCage and underwent 39 days of testing to assess prefrontal cortical and hippocampal function. The results of this experiment showed significant sex differences in task performance, but inconsistency between the two testing paradigms. Notably, males performed significantly better in the MWM, which is consistent with prior research. Interestingly however, APP/PS1 females showed higher Amyloid-β plaque load and performed significantly better in the more complex tasks of the IntelliCage. This suggests that Aβ plaque load may not directly contribute to cognitive deficits, which is consistent with recent reports in humans with AD. Collectively, these results should inform scientists about the caveats of behavioral paradigms and will aid in determining translation to the human condition.
ContributorsMifflin, Marc Anthony (Author) / Velazquez, Ramon (Thesis director) / Mastroeni, Diego (Committee member) / School of Geographical Sciences and Urban Planning (Contributor) / School of Life Sciences (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2020-05