In a healthcare system already struggling with burnout among its professionals, the COVID-19 pandemic presented a barrage of personal and occupational strife to US healthcare workers. Structural and everyday discrimination contributed to the health inequities of people of color in the US, exacerbated by COVID-19-related racism and xenophobia. There is little research regarding the effects of COVID-19 and related and/or concurring discrimination upon minority nursing staff, despite their importance in supporting the diverse American patient population with culturally competent, tireless care amid the pandemic. This cross-sectional survey study aimed to examine 1) the relationships between discrimination, social support, resilience, and quality of life among minority nursing staff in the US during COVID-19, and 2) the differences of discrimination, social support resilience, and quality of life among minority nursing staff between different racial/ethnic groups during COVID-19. The sample (n = 514) included Black/African American (n = 161, 31.4%), Latinx/Hispanic (n = 131, 25.5%), Asian (n = 87, 17%), Native American/Alaskan Native (n = 69, 13.5%), and Pacific Islander (n = 65, 12.7%) nursing staff from 47 US states. The multiple regression results showed that witnessing discrimination was associated with a lower quality of life score, while higher social support and resilience scores were associated with higher quality of life scores across all racial groups. Furthermore, while participants from all racial groups witnessed and experienced discrimination, Hispanic/Latinx nursing staff experienced discrimination most commonly, alongside having lowest quality of life and highest resilience scores. Native American/Alaskan Native nursing staff had similarly high discrimination and low quality of life, although low resilience scores. Our findings suggest that minority nursing staff who have higher COVID-19 morbidity and mortality rates (Hispanic/Latinx, Native American/Alaskan Native) were left more vulnerable to negative effects from discrimination. Hispanic/Latinx nursing staff reported a relatively higher resilience score than all other groups, potentially attributed to the positive effects of biculturality in the workplace, however, the low average quality of life score suggests a simultaneous erosion of well-being. Compared to all other groups, Native American and Alaskan Native nursing staff’s low resilience and quality of life scores suggest a potential compounding effect of historical trauma affecting their well-being, especially in contrast to Hispanic/Latinx nursing staff. This study has broader implications for research on the lasting effects of COVID-19 on minority healthcare workers’ and communities’ well-being, especially regarding Hispanic/Latinx and Native American/Alaskan Native nursing staff.

Purpose: This qualitative research aimed to create a developmentally and gender-appropriate game-based intervention to promote Human Papillomavirus (HPV) vaccination in adolescents. <br/>Background: Ranking as the most common sexually transmitted infection, about 80 million Americans are currently infected by HPV, and it continues to increase with an estimated 14 million new cases yearly. Certain types of HPV have been significantly associated with cervical, vaginal, and vulvar cancers in women; penile cancers in men; and oropharyngeal and anal cancers in both men and women. Despite HPV vaccination being one of the most effective methods in preventing HPV-associated cancers, vaccination rates remain suboptimal in adolescents. Game-based intervention, a novel medium that is popular with adolescents, has been shown to be effective in promoting health behaviors. <br/>Methods: Sample/Sampling. We used purposeful sampling to recruit eight adolescent-parent dyads (N = 16) which represented both sexes (4 boys, 4 girls) and different racial/ethnic groups (White, Black, Latino, Asian American) in the United States. The inclusion criteria for the dyads were: (1) a child aged 11-14 years and his/her parent, and (2) ability to speak, read, write, and understand English. Procedure. After eligible families consented to their participation, semi-structured interviews (each 60-90 minutes long) were conducted with each adolescent-parent dyad in a quiet and private room. Each dyad received $50 to acknowledge their time and effort. Measure. The interview questions consisted of two parts: (a) those related to game design, functioning, and feasibility of implementation; (b) those related to theoretical constructs of the Health Belief Model (HBM) and the Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB). Data analysis. The interviews were audio-recorded with permission and manually transcribed into textual data. Two researchers confirmed the verbatim transcription. We use pre-developed codes to identify each participant’s responses and organize data and develop themes based on the HBM and TPB constructs. After the analysis was completed, three researchers in the team reviewed the results and discussed the discrepancies until a consensus is reached.<br/>Results: The findings suggested that the most common motivating factors for adolescents’ HPV vaccination were its effectiveness, benefits, convenience, affordable cost, reminders via text, and recommendation by a health care provider. Regarding the content included in the HPV game, participants suggested including information about who and when should receive the vaccine, what is HPV and the vaccination, what are the consequences if infected, the side effects of the vaccine, and where to receive the vaccine. The preferred game design elements were: 15 minutes long, stories about fighting or action, option to choose characters/avatars, motivating factors (i.e., rewards such as allowing users to advance levels and receive coins when correctly answering questions), use of a portable electronic device (e.g., tablet) to deliver the education. Participants were open to multiplayer function which assists in a facilitated conversation about HPV and the HPV vaccine. Overall, the participants concluded enthusiasm for an interactive yet engaging game-based intervention to learn about the HPV vaccine with the goal to increase HPV vaccination in adolescents. <br/>Implications: Tailored educational games have the potential to decrease the stigma of HPV and HPV vaccination, increasing communication between the adolescent, parent, and healthcare provider, as well as increase the overall HPV vaccination rate.

This scoping review provides a synthesis of research which maps the literature on the topic of COVID-19 related impact on Undergraduate Student Mental Health and Baccalaureate Success. The purpose of this review was to identify existing literature pertaining to the psychological repercussions of COVID-19 on the undergraduate population, describe the range of successful interventions used to reduce stress and demand on the U.S. undergraduate population during a pandemic, and identify implications for future research. Due to the novelty of coronavirus and limited research on the given topic, this review provides a framework of available research by identifying types of available research, identifying how research is conducted on the topic, identifying and analyzing knowledge gaps, and clarifies key concepts in literature.

When the COVID-19 pandemic emerged on an international scale, the disruption of routine and social interactions caused challenges in mental health, as people began to self-isolate and confine themselves from the world. Although the sudden interruption of social interaction led to stress and anxiety, human-animal interactions have shown a decrease in stress, anxiety, depression, and feelings of loneliness and social isolation. The purpose of this thesis is to determine whether companion animals influence mental health, specifically depression and anxiety, in college-aged students who attended the Arizona State University Downtown Campus during the 2020-2021 academic school year.

This scoping review provides a synthesis of research which maps the literature on the topic of COVID-19 related impact on Undergraduate Student Mental Health and Baccalaureate Success. The purpose of this review was to identify existing literature pertaining to the psychological repercussions of COVID-19 on the undergraduate population, describe the range of successful interventions used to reduce stress and demand on the U.S. undergraduate population during a pandemic, and identify implications for future research. Due to the novelty of coronavirus and limited research on the given topic, this review provides a framework of available research by identifying types of available research, identifying how research is conducted on the topic, identifying and analyzing knowledge gaps, and clarifies key concepts in literature.

The goal of the descriptive, cross-sectional study was to collect and analyze data among minority nursing staff including 1) the relationships between quality of life, social support, discrimination, and coping during the COVID-19 pandemic, and 2) the differences between quality of life, social support, discrimination, and coping among different racial/ethnic groups during the COVID-19 pandemic. This paper is based on a secondary data analysis of the T1 data from a longitudinal study mentioned above and was performed by myself, while mentored by my committee, for completion of my thesis.