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 study utilized a Convergent Mixed Methods design to identify different expressions of resilience in response to a health/familial problem. The research aimed to determine which specific expressions of resilience were significantly associated with higher levels of resilience. The findings revealed two significant effects related to social support and persistence as expressions of resilience. The High Resilience group exhibited a higher proportion of individuals mentioning persistence and social support in their coping strategies. The study concluded that social support seeking is a major coping strategy among individuals with high resilience and suggested that healthcare providers, particularly nurses, should recommend and provide resources for clients to seek social support. Furthermore, the role of persistence highlights the importance of encouraging clients to set achievable goals, develop a plan, and monitor their progress to remain motivated in resolving their difficult health-related problem.

The aim of this thesis is to provide prelicensure nursing faculty at Arizona State University with a supplemental resource and presentation on inclusivity, with specific respect to the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transexual, Queer (LGBTQ+) demographic. Background research posits that prelicensure nursing faculty possess limited information about how to teach students to provide inclusive care and communicate respectfully with patients in the LGBTQ+ population group. This project synthesizes current research pertaining to health inequities within this demographic, and summarizes reported patient care experiences to illustrate a need for prelicensure faculty education in this area. Information from this research was extrapolated, and a supplemental resource regarding inclusivity created, which was presented to prelicensure nursing faculty at a staff meeting using an in-person modality. A survey was conducted at the conclusion of this educational presentation, gathering anonymous demographic data, as well as opinions as to the usefulness of the presentation in the setting of prelicensure nursing education. Results were then analyzed thematically, with 70% of those surveyed currently incorporating some form of LGBTQ+ education within their curriculum. These results suggest the majority of surveyed prelicensure faculty found the educational presentation and accompanying resource both useful and informative, and intend to apply information learned to their future practice as a nursing educator. These findings provide justification for continuing education and additional learning experiences in this area.

It is often a passion for caring for others that drives people towards the profession of nursing in the first place. At some point, however, this desire to care for other people takes over, and nurses soon forget how to properly care for themselves. It was asked: If students are better prepared with and more encouraged to use healthy coping mechanisms and integrative modalities to deal with their daily lives, are they more likely to continue to care for themselves properly as time goes on? Ample research was conducted illuminating the prevalence of this worldwide problem and highlighting potential solutions noted by credible sources. An initiative was formed with the goal of improving the self care practices of nursing students at Arizona State University (ASU) with the greater intent of promoting a healthier work environment as these students advance into their future careers. The Arizona Student Chapter of the American Holistic Nurses Association (AHNA) at ASU was formed, and it serves as the vessel for this self-care health-care mission.