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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Significance Background: Human papilloma virus (HPV) is the most common sexually transmitted infection, affecting 79 million Americans today and an additional 14 million Americans becoming infected with HPV each year. HPV infection may lead to the development of genital warts and several types of cancers including both cervical and oropharyngeal cancers. The promotion of currently available HPV vaccines is important to prevent HPV transmission and reduce the prevalence of the comorbidities associated with infection. Promotion to Vietnamese-Americans in particular is important because of the increased rates of cervical cancers seen in this population. As Vietnamese-American mothers often act as the primary healthcare decision maker for their children, they were chosen as the target population for this intervention. Purpose: This study aims to (1) develop personal digital stories about HPV and HPV vaccination among Vietnamese women with adolescent children who are vaccinated against HPV; and (2) share these stories with a group of Vietnamese American mothers and assess the effect of the stories in changing the attitudes, beliefs, and intention to vaccinate for HPV. Methods: This study used a two-step process to design, implement, and evaluate digital stories to improve Vietnamese mothers' attitudes, beliefs, and intention to vaccinate their adolescent children against HPV. The first step was a formative research design to develop the digital stories. The second step was quasi-experimental with a pre and posttest design to evaluate the effect of the stories. Results: The first phase has produced two digital stories which will be screened recruitment has been completed for phase two. Content analysis showed the importance of community resources, the desire to protect children, a history of familial and/or personal cancer, concerns about side effects, and the influence of healthcare providers as themes in both stories. Recruitment efforts are underway to recruit eligible Vietnamese mothers to assess the effect of these stories. Data collection is ongoing. Conclusions and lessons learned: The project has yielded two digital stories and recruitment for phase two is underway. This project has been successful in obtaining IRB approval, recruiting phase one participants, holding a digital storytelling workshop, designing the phase two survey, and beginning data collection efforts. The phase two recruitment has been challenging and will necessitate a change in strategy to find participants.
ContributorsMartin, Kieran John Patrick (Author) / Chen, Angela Chia-Chen (Thesis director) / Larkey, Linda (Committee member) / Arizona State University. College of Nursing & Healthcare Innovation (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2017-05
Description
As the complexity and severity of hospitalized patients increase, nurses working in an acute care setting will experience patient deaths. From novice to expert, nurses may utilize a range of coping strategies. When the patient is a pediatric patient, the coping strategies become critical. The purpose of this study is to explore the coping strategies used by novice and expert nurses when a pediatric patient dies. The second objective is to compare the coping strategies used by novice and expert nurses. The final objective is to determine if nurses feel nursing school and employee training prepared them for the death of a pediatric patient. Research has shown that nurses use many different coping strategies when faced with a patient's death (Abdullah, 2015; Kellogg, Baker, & McCune, 2014; Plante & Cry, 2011). Expert nurses who have years of experience should have more options for coping strategies than novice nurses, yet there is little evidence to support this. This qualitative descriptive study used structured in-depth interviews to explore the coping strategies of pediatric nurses when experiencing a patient's death. Using thematic analysis, transcripts of the interviews were coded such that themes emerged. Themes for novice nurses were compared to expert nurses. These themes were also placed into concepts that encompassed many similar themes. The findings help determine that there is a difference in the coping mechanisms used by novice and expert nurses, and there is a need for more education on coping strategies after the death of a pediatric patient.
ContributorsSummers, Amanda Justina (Author) / Stevens, Carol (Thesis director) / Beals, Jacquelin (Committee member) / Arizona State University. College of Nursing & Healthcare Innovation (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2017-05
Description
Objectives: The goal of this study was to compare older adults (ages 60 to 80) with a fixed sleep schedule compared to a restricted sleep schedule. The purpose was to determine if reducing one's sleep by an hour each night for 12 weeks, led to worse cognition and mood over time. Study Design: The study contained two groups: older adults with their sleep restricted and older adults with their sleep un-restricted. Participants were recruited by researchers at Arizona State University and The University of Arizona by advertising in newspapers, on flyers in senior centers, and on radio stations. After rigorous screening for health conditions, current sleep patterns and depression, individuals entered the study. Participants completed the Geriatric Depression Scale after two weeks of baseline, and again after treatment week 14 of the study. Likewise, males and females performed three cognitive tests after two weeks of baseline, and again after treatment week 14 of the study. These cognitive tests included Stroop Color and Word Test, Trail making and PVT. Results: The depression scale and three cognitive tests showed that there was no significant difference with cognition and mood over 14 weeks between individuals with a fixed sleep schedule compared to a restricted sleep schedule. Conclusions: Reducing older adult's sleep duration by an hour each night for 14 weeks does not produce negative effects, and does not provoke signs of depression or weakened cognition.
ContributorsSchneck, Morgan Gail (Author) / Youngstedt, Shawn (Thesis director) / Petrov, Megan (Committee member) / Sanford School of Social and Family Dynamics (Contributor) / Arizona State University. College of Nursing & Healthcare Innovation (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2017-05
Description
College students experience a significant weight gain that is much greater than an age matched population. The rate of gain is 5.5 times greater than the average population, leading to the popularization of the term "Freshman 15". The etiology of weight gain among college students is multifactorial, and it includes stress, time management, GPA pressures, extracurricular activities, financial obligations, transportation challenges, and often a new living situation. Other factors include bring unhealthy habits from their family of origin to their new university, and they are introduced to an environment that is unfamiliar, and they are expected to be independent and make their own decisions about a variety of lifestyle habits. Understanding the factors that influence food literacy, food choices, and lifestyle habits are integral to understanding which stage of change within the Transtheoretical Model an individual is in is ey to developing strategies for combating weight related health issues. The purpose of presenting a food demonstration to a group of freshman dorm dwelling students was to determine what stage of change in the Transtheoretical Model the average college freshman is in. The study found that exposing this group to the food demonstration pushed the students into either the contemplative stage or preparation stage for adopting healthy behavior changes regarding eating habits.
ContributorsMelikian, Alexandra Julia (Author) / Schmidt, Cheryl (Thesis director) / Lehmann, Jessica (Committee member) / Grgich, Traci (Committee member) / Arizona State University. College of Nursing & Healthcare Innovation (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2017-05
Description
This research addresses the importance of factors such as gestational weight gain (GWG) and postpartum weight of mothers, as well as obesity rates in infants born to these mothers who are included in the population of low-income Mexican-American mothers and infants enrolled in the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC). Evaluating these factors will contribute to finding recommendations to help solve the obesity epidemic in this specific population. Breastfeeding duration, mother BMI, infant birth weight, and infant weight z-scores were statistically analyzed from a WIC population in Houston. The study participants are involved in a five year intervention study where the home environment and education on feeding practices, breastfeeding duration and obesity are evaluated. The results found that: (1) breastfeeding initially indicates a further continuation of breastfeeding; (2) mothers who breastfed for six months were likely to have a lower BMI at twelve to eighteen months than those who did not; (3) the birth weight of the infant is associated with the weight pattern of the child later; (4) the weight/height percentiles of a newborn are somewhat likely to stay the same until age three; (5) the prenatal weight of the mother impacts the weight of the newborn infant; and (6) the mother's postpartum BMI at one week is associated with a similar BMI at 12 months postpartum. In conclusion, women in this population tend to not breastfeed for 6 months and are not losing gestational weight postpartum, leading to increased wright retention after pregnancy, as well as heavier babies that will maintain this weight in early childhood. Further breastfeeding, nutrition, exercise, obesity, and proper infant feeding education are needed to reduce the rate of obesity in low-income Mexican-American WIC populations.
ContributorsSchmid, Emily Grace (Author) / Reifsnider, Elizabeth (Thesis director) / Danielson, Kim (Committee member) / Sanford School of Social and Family Dynamics (Contributor) / Arizona State University. College of Nursing & Healthcare Innovation (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2016-12
Description
Complementary and alternative medicine (CAM), also known as integrative medicine, is an important intervention used for holistic care of patients. It is patient-centered care, addressing multiple aspects of one's health ranging from physical and psychosocial to spiritual influences. CAM has been successful in patients' symptom and stress management, and has grown substantially in recent decades, especially in oncology nursing. Despite widespread use and their support for CAM therapies, nurses' lack of CAM knowledge and vocabulary are barriers to communication with patients. Also, little is known about the student nurses' awareness of CAM and the college instructors' opinions on the intervention, which are crucial in developing the college nursing education on integrative medicine. The purpose of this study was to describe the college nursing students' knowledge and their instructors' perspectives on integrative medicine and oncology care, and compared the data of the two populations. Convenience and snowball sampling were used to recruit participants from the community in College of Nursing and Health Innovation (CONHI) at Arizona State University (ASU). Five students (M age = 20.6 years; 80% female) and five nursing instructors (M age = 56.8 years; 100% female) were invited to 60-90 minute in-depth interviews on perceptions and knowledge of CAM. Four major themes emerged from the interviews: (1) Insufficient awareness and knowledge of CAM; (2) education and information needs on CAM; (3) positive attitudes toward CAM; and (4) importance of nurses' roles in CAM. Implications for nursing included need for more structured and efficient CAM in nursing programs; early exposure and education of college nursing students on CAM; and academic relationships between nursing instructors and students.
ContributorsKim, Jiwon (Author) / Kim, Sunny (Thesis director) / Langer, Shelby (Committee member) / Department of Psychology (Contributor) / Arizona State University. College of Nursing & Healthcare Innovation (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2016-12
Description
I conducted a research study with the intent to test an educational tool (a PowerPoint presentation) to evaluate its effectiveness at educating a group of nursing students (ASU college juniors) about Parkinson's disease (PD), Parkinson's medication and medication administration guidelines, and the necessity of getting patients with PD their medication on time. This research was based on the fact that a majority of patients with PD do not get their medication on time in a healthcare environment, and that structured interventions will increase awareness and knowledge of the specific needs of the PD patient. Upon analyzing the results of a survey given before and after the presentation, this educational tool was effective, but more research is needed to justify its implementation into education.
ContributorsHodges, Marie Bernadette (Author) / LuPone, Kathy (Thesis director) / Ash, Deborah (Committee member) / Arizona State University. College of Nursing & Healthcare Innovation (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2016-12
Description
The purpose of the study was to determine the impact of social interaction with children on the symptoms of depression in elderly participants at the John C. Lincoln Adult Day Healthcare center when compared to depressive symptoms in the elderly who do not regularly interact with children. This organization provides care to elderly members of the community in a dignified and stimulating manner. It allows caregivers of participants to take a break from day to day responsibilities while providing the participants with a safe and active environment. It shares premises with the Lincoln Learning Center, which is a care/educational facility for children ages 6 weeks to 12 years of age. The children and the elderly interact one day a week for half an hour in a planned activity in the Adult Day Healthcare Center. The Geriatric Depression Scale- Short Form was used to assess for presence of depressive symptoms in both the control group (those who did not regularly interact with children) and the experimental group (those who did regularly interact with the children). The scale consisted of 15 yes-or-no questions regarding the average emotions the participants experienced in a week. A total of 15 people participated in the study, eight in the control group and seven in the experimental group. Eight of the participants were male, seven were female and they ranged in age from 58 to 96 years old. An independent sample t-test was performed to assess the data for statistical significance.
ContributorsHorneman, Kaitlyn Noelle (Author) / Speer, Therese (Thesis director) / O'Brien, Janet (Committee member) / Arizona State University. College of Nursing & Healthcare Innovation (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2016-12
Description
For this creative project, an instructional video on relaxation techniques was created. The relaxation techniques demonstrated were intended to help patients with comorbid cancer and sleep disturbance fall asleep with greater ease. Based on a literature review, autogenic training and tai chi were chosen as the relaxation techniques to demonstrate in the video project. The literature review informed what components of autogenic training and tai chi should be included in the video. A patient with cancer was asked to participate in the making of the video. The patient was guided through autogenic training and tai chi. The patient provided feedback on her experience after completing each technique. The video also included background information on the two relaxation techniques. The completed video was presented to the director of Natural Medicine and Detox in Phoenix, AZ, a naturopathic physician, and a cancer survivor. These individuals provided feedback on what they liked about the video and what they thought needed improvement. The video was posted on YouTube as a resource for patients with cancer. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=04kYz1kSCaU
ContributorsIliescu, Michelle Kathleen (Author) / Petrov, Megan (Thesis director) / Larkey, Linda (Committee member) / Arizona State University. College of Nursing & Healthcare Innovation (Contributor) / School of Nutrition and Health Promotion (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2016-12
Description
This study confirms that there is stigma attached to how Somali-Americans perceive mental and emotional impairments compared to the perception of physical disabilities and impairments. More Somali-Americans are willing to seek help regarding their mental and physical health which is a positive step in improving the perceptions of Somali-Americans towards mental or emotional impairments and physical disabilities. Findings can contribute to the knowledge of health care professionals (i.e. nurses) in caring for patients identifying as Somali to promote culturally competent care.
ContributorsAden, Amina (Author) / Hosley, Brenda (Thesis director) / Lee, Rebecca (Committee member) / Lyles, Annmarie (Committee member) / Arizona State University. College of Nursing & Healthcare Innovation (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2016-12