This thesis aimed to create a curriculum for college students to increase their health insurance literacy and to evaluate the impact of the curriculum on participants' confidence. The curriculum for college students consisted of pre-recorded presentation slides covering six health insurance topics, pre- and post-tests, and evaluation questions. Canvas was used to house the curriculum. At the time of evaluation, a total of 12 participants had completed all aspects of the curriculum. The curriculum was evaluated through questions provided at the end of each module. It was found that participants felt the curriculum to be clear and helpful. Moreover, participants reported an increase in confidence, decreased confusion, and were interested in learning more about health insurance such as enrollment. Both the creation of a curriculum and the impact on participants' confidence was successful. At a later point in time, an analysis of the pre- and post-tests will be assessed to determine if the curriculum was effective at increasing health insurance literacy.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, increased burdens have been placed on the Arizona healthcare system, and its healthcare providers. Using a survey with a sample of N=308 prescribing providers and nurses in the Arizona healthcare system, the impact of COVID-19 on the wellbeing of healthcare providers was assessed. The survey used measures to evaluate for physical and emotional wellbeing, burnout, stressors associated with COVID-19, and work-life experiences, and found an overall negative impact on the wellbeing of healthcare workers during the COVID-19 pandemic with increased levels of reported stress and tiredness, concern for the health of family and loved ones, concern for the hardships of patients, lack of alignment between organizational priorities and personal values, and low levels of support and appreciation from socially and from leadership at work.

The COVID-19 pandemic places significant strain on the U.S. healthcare system due to the high number of coronavirus cases. During the pandemic, there was much unknown about the virus, its course of the disease, COVID-19 diagnosis, treatments, or other imperative information needed to contain the virus. Resources within the healthcare system, such as PPE and healthcare workers, were in short supply and exacerbated the difficulty of managing the viral outbreak. Peer-reviewed articles suggest that telehealth, the application of electronic information and telecommunication technologies in healthcare, proved useful in public health and clinical care during the 2020 public health emergency due to a novel virus. The scoping review broadly assessed themes of telehealth’s strengths and weaknesses during the COVID-19 pandemic. These findings could suggest how virtual medicine may be a helpful tool to improve access in addition to the quality of care in the future of medicine. Assessments of case studies suggest that telehealth helped provide care to large patient volumes by aiding with communication, data collection, triage, remote patient monitoring, and critical care. Limitations of expanding telehealth subsequent to the pandemic include, but not limited to, a lack of national standards for practice and restrictions of utility for certain populations. Populations may include those with low socioeconomic status, specific cultural practices, and beliefs, or physical and cognitive ability barriers. Outlining the benefits and limitations of telehealth may suggest how virtual medicine can provide valuable in day-to-day medical practices and other pathogenic outbreaks.

With the passage of the Affordable Care Act, the health system in the United States is now being further challenged. There is bipartisan debate on how it can be reconstructed: one party states that the government plays too big of a role, while the other believes it plays too little. Regardless, Americans want change. Reconstruction is not a new topic by any means, and other countries have been forced to do so due to political violence. This paper explores the history and current healthcare organizations of Japan, Iraq, and Afghanistan. These countries have all encountered major political turmoil, which has led to the rebuilding of their respective healthcare systems. Though the United States is not facing political violence that will necessitate reorganization, the examination of nations that have been forced to do so offers lessons applicable to the healthcare system in the US.

Trauma is increasingly experienced by people in transit as border militarization increases migrants’ exposure to violence and forces them into more precarious situations. For queer migrants, this includes situations where they are more likely to experience persecution and sexual violence. This paper explores the availability of care for queer undocumented migrants in the United States after surviving a precarious and potentially deadly journey from their country of origin to the US, as well as forms of alternative care developed by the undocuqueer community. In particular, it focuses on access to care for LGBT migrants, who face stigmatization on multiple levels and as a result are more likely than their straight counterparts to experience extreme mental health consequences pre-, in-, and post-transit. Faced with a number of obstacles that prevent them from receiving appropriate mental health care, the undocuqueer community utilizes various strategies to ensure that the health and needs of the community are supported. I argue that in spite of facing traumatic experiences and being unable to fully access healthcare to alleviate these problems in the US, LGBT migrants demonstrate extreme resilience and resist the mechanisms that otherwise threaten their mental well-being.

With the passage of the Affordable Care Act, the health system in the United States is now being further challenged. There is bipartisan debate on how it can be reconstructed: one party states that the government plays too big of a role, while the other believes it plays too little. Regardless, Americans want change. Reconstruction is not a new topic by any means, and other countries have been forced to do so due to political violence. This paper explores the history and current healthcare organizations of Japan, Iraq, and Afghanistan. These countries have all encountered major political turmoil, which has led to the rebuilding of their respective healthcare systems. Though the United States is not facing political violence that will necessitate reorganization, the examination of nations that have been forced to do so offers lessons applicable to the healthcare system in the US.

Visual presentation of information is one method of learning that has the ability to enhance STEM learning compared to learning solely through text. Educational psychology research is ongoing in the STEM field for how students can learn better through visual representations in their course material. The goal of this study was to assess student responses to visual mini-lessons related to course content in the cardiovascular unit in Animal Physiology (BIO360) at Arizona State University. Study participants completed a series of eight mini-lessons and a survey on their experience with the visual lessons. The results of the survey identify increased desire for visual learning materials in STEM courses. The study participants reported that they felt more visual aids in their STEM courses would increase their understanding of course content and that their classroom performance would improve.