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- All Subjects: Emergency Department
- Creators: Bernardi, Jose
- Creators: Helman, Jonathan
Description
Research has shown that the ability to smell is the most direct sense an individual can experience. With every breath a person takes, the brain recognizes thousands of molecules and makes connections with our memories to determine their composition. With the amount of research looking into how and why we smell, researchers still have little understanding of how the nose and brain process an aroma, and how emotional and physical behavior is impacted. This research focused on the affects smell has on a caregiver in a simulated Emergency Department setting located in the SimET of Banner Good Samaritan Medical Center in Phoenix, Arizona. The study asked each participant to care for a programmed mannequin, or "patient", while performing simple computer-based tasks, including memory and recall, multi-tasking, and mood-mapping to gauge physical and mental performance. Three different aromatic environments were then introduced through diffusion and indirect inhalation near the participants' task space: 1) a control (no smell), 2) an odor (simulated dirty feet), and 3) an aroma (one of four true essential oils plus a current odor-eliminating compound used in many U.S. Emergency Departments). This study was meant to produce a stressful environment by leading the caregiver to stay in constant movement throughout the study through timed tasks, uncooperative equipment, and a needy "patient". The goal of this research was to determine if smells, and of what form of pleasantness and repulsiveness, can have an effect on the physical and mental performance of emergency caregivers. Findings from this study indicated that the "odor eliminating" method currently used in typical Emergency Departments, coffee grounds, is more problematic than helpful, and the introduction of true essential oils may not only reduce stress, but increase efficiency and, in turn, job satisfaction.
ContributorsClark, Carina M (Author) / Bernardi, Jose (Thesis advisor) / Heywood, William (Committee member) / Watts, Richard (Committee member) / Rosso, Rachel (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2013
Description
Objective: Nearly 90% of sex trafficking victims will come into contact with an emergency department healthcare provider during his or her period of exploitation. Yet, victim identification by healthcare providers remains inadequate. The purpose of this quality improvement project is to improve emergency department healthcare providers’ confidence and ability to identify sex trafficking victims through staff education centered around sex trafficking. Method: A quality improvement project, guided by the Social Cognitive Theory, was implemented in an Arizona emergency department. ED staff were provided with a 40-minute education video about sex trafficking, including victim identification and appropriate responses. Participation in this project was open to all current healthcare workers employed at this emergency department. Stakeholders within the facility assisted with recruitment via weekly staff emails over a three-week period. A pre- and post-survey, consisting of a self-evaluation Likert scale, was used to assess confidence in identifying victims. Case studies were included to measure the participants’ ability to identify victims of trafficking. All aspects of this project were approved by Arizona State University’s and the organization’s Institutional Review Board. Results: One hundred percent of staff agreed to feeling confident in their ability to identify sex trafficking victims post intervention. However, there was no improvement in staff’s actual ability to identify victims through case studies post intervention. Conclusions: Education can be a valuable tool to improve confidence in identifying victims of sex trafficking in an emergency setting.
ContributorsKieser, Reynaldo (Author) / Helman, Jonathan (Thesis advisor) / Arizona State University. College of Nursing & Healthcare Innovation (Contributor)
Created2021-04-28