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Student misbehaving at a K-8 school in the Southern United States stresses out teachers and hinders other students from their work. The lack of effective misbehavior management strategies was disturbing the teachers. Guided by the balancing theory of relationships, this project aimed to inform elementary teachers about the "5:1 positive

Student misbehaving at a K-8 school in the Southern United States stresses out teachers and hinders other students from their work. The lack of effective misbehavior management strategies was disturbing the teachers. Guided by the balancing theory of relationships, this project aimed to inform elementary teachers about the "5:1 positive to negative interaction ratio with their students" and to evaluate their sense of efficacy in managing student misbehavior after education. Methods: Nine teachers (44% of teachers have age 40-49 years, 78% are non-Hispanic white, and 56% have 10-19 years of teaching experience) provided consent to participate in the project voluntarily. They filled out a pre-test survey and attended an evidence-based presentation at a staff training section on a 5:1 positive-to-negative interaction ratio with the students. An email with a link was sent to them for an online post-test survey two weeks following the presentation. Descriptive and non-parametric statistics were conducted to describe the variable distribution and compare scores of the "Teachers' Sense of Efficacy" short-form scale over time. Results: The findings showed increased teachers' sense of efficacy after the education although the difference was not statistically significant. The efficacy of student engagement had a small effect size (Cohen's d= .37), and the efficacy of instructional strategies had a medium effect size (Cohen's d= .66). Discussion/Conclusion: This evidence-based education may have a larger impact on elementary school teachers' sense of efficacy if implemented within a larger sample and over a longer time.
ContributorsFrancis, Reeni (Author) / Chen, Angela (Thesis advisor)
Created2023-05-10
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Description
False accusations concerning the development of autism and other hazardous side effects have triggered parental vaccine hesitancy, leading to outbreaks of vaccine-preventable diseases. This opposition to vaccination risks the health of both individuals and entire communities. The purpose of this project was to determine the effectiveness of prenatal education on

False accusations concerning the development of autism and other hazardous side effects have triggered parental vaccine hesitancy, leading to outbreaks of vaccine-preventable diseases. This opposition to vaccination risks the health of both individuals and entire communities. The purpose of this project was to determine the effectiveness of prenatal education on maternal vaccine hesitancy and infant immunization rates. In a pretest posttest design, pregnant mothers greater than or equal to 30 weeks gestation were recruited by The Arizona Partnership for Immunization (TAPI) and virtually educated about infant immunization. A voice-over PowerPoint presentation was delivered to the participants virtually and focused on vaccine knowledge, intention to vaccinate, and vaccine hesitancy. These outcomes were evaluated virtually pre- and post-intervention with the Parent Attitudes about Childhood Vaccines (PACV) survey (⍺ = 0.84), and the infants’ vaccination records were compared against the recommended immunization schedule at two months of age. Using the Wilcoxon Signed-Ranks test, data analysis revealed vaccine hesitancy was significantly reduced between pre- and post-intervention (Z = 27.70, p = .000), and 100% of the 2-month-old infants were fully immunized with the recommended vaccines. The effect size (d = 12.807) also indicated a strong relationship between pre- and post-intervention vaccine hesitancy. Vaccine hesitancy remains a threat to public health. With prenatal education, pregnant mothers will likely become more knowledgeable of vaccine benefits and better prepared to make informed decisions. Confident vaccination will decrease vaccine hesitancy and improve immunization rates, while promoting individual and societal health.
Created2021-04-27
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Description
Secondary traumatic stress (STS) is the natural, consequent behaviors and emotions that result from the individual’s knowledge about traumatizing events experienced by another. Psychiatric registered nurses (RN), due to the nature of their jobs, are frequently exposed to significant amount of secondary trauma during nurse-patient interactions. Secondary traumatic stress impacts

Secondary traumatic stress (STS) is the natural, consequent behaviors and emotions that result from the individual’s knowledge about traumatizing events experienced by another. Psychiatric registered nurses (RN), due to the nature of their jobs, are frequently exposed to significant amount of secondary trauma during nurse-patient interactions. Secondary traumatic stress impacts the physical and emotional health of the nurse, compromises patient outcomes and organizational success. Evidence acknowledges the significant extent of secondary traumatic stress among nurses and is insistent on the necessity for effective interventions to mitigate the impacts of secondary trauma on healthcare professionals. A review of literature suggests that knowledge is a protective factor against secondary traumatic stress, and that nurse resilience also moderates the effects of secondary trauma and other work related stressors. These findings have led to the initiation of an evidence-based project that seeks to assess the efficacy of a resilience-oriented educational intervention in decreasing secondary traumatic stress scores and improving resilience among hospital-based psychiatric registered nurses. This project was guided by the Theory of Cognitive Appraisal and Rosswurm and Larabee’s model for evidence-based practice. Results from this project, despite being non-statistically significant, showed a decrease in STS scores from time-point zero (T0) to time-point one (T1) and increased resilience scores from time-point one (T1) to time-point two (T2), and from time-point zero (T0) to time-point two (T2). This project highlighted a deficit in knowledge of concepts of ST, STS and resilience among psychiatry RNs and inspired an open discussion on STS and other types of work-related stress among psychiatry RNs.
Created2021-04-28
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Description
Background: It is estimated that 50% of all mental illness arises prior to age 14, an incident attributed in part to disruptions and imbalances within the family system. Equine assisted learning is a complementary and alternative approach to family therapy which is being used increasingly to promote mental health in

Background: It is estimated that 50% of all mental illness arises prior to age 14, an incident attributed in part to disruptions and imbalances within the family system. Equine assisted learning is a complementary and alternative approach to family therapy which is being used increasingly to promote mental health in both adults and children. This study sought to build and deliver an evidence-based, family-centered equine assisted learning program aimed at promoting family function, family satisfaction and child social-emotional competence, and to measure its acceptability and preliminary effect.

Method: Twenty families with children 10 years and older were recruited to participate in a 3-week equine assisted learning program at a therapeutic riding center in Phoenix, Arizona. Sessions included groundwork activities with horses used to promote life skills using experiential learning theory. The study design included a mixed-method quasi-experimental one-group pretest posttest design using the following mental health instruments: Devereaux Student Strengths Assessment, Brief Family Assessment Measure (3 dimensions), and Family Satisfaction Scale to measure child social-emotional competence, family function, and family satisfaction, respectively. Acceptability was determined using a Likert-type questionnaire with open-ended questions to gain a qualitative thematic perspective of the experience.

Results: Preliminary pretest and posttest comparisons were statistically significant for improvements in family satisfaction (p = 0.001, M = -5.84, SD = 5.63), all three domains of family function (General Scale: p = 0.005, M = 6.84, SD = 9.20; Self-Rating Scale: p = 0.050, M = 6.53, SD = 12.89; and Dyadic Relationship Scale: p = 0.028, M = 3.47, SD = 7.18), and child social-emotional competence (p = 0.015, M = -4.05, SD 5.95). Effect sizes were moderate to large (d > 0.5) for all but one instrument (Self-Rating Scale), suggesting a considerable magnitude of change over the three-week period. The intervention was highly accepted among both children and adults. Themes of proximity, self-discovery, and regard for others emerged during evaluation of qualitative findings. Longitudinal comparisons of baseline and 3-month follow-up remain in-progress, a topic available for future discussion.

Discussion: Results help to validate equine assisted learning as a valuable tool in the promotion of child social-emotional intelligence strengthened in part by the promotion of family function and family satisfaction. For mental health professionals, these results serve as a reminder of the alternatives that are available, as well as the importance of partnerships within the community. For therapeutic riding centers, these results help equine professionals validate their programs and gain a foothold within the scientific community. Additionally, they invite future riding centers to follow course in incorporating evidence into their programs and examining new directions for growth within the mental health community.
ContributorsSolarz, Allison (Author) / Chen, Angela (Thesis advisor)
Created2019-05-02