Matching Items (3)
Description
Community Action Research Experiences (CARE) partnered with Mission of Mercy, a faith-based nonprofit organization that provides free medical care services to uninsured and underinsured individuals throughout the Phoenix valley. A needs assessment was conducted on Mission of Mercy's patient population and data collected over a two month long period, in which 91 completed surveys were collected. Participants were between the ages of 18 to over 65 and were largely Hispanic/Latino, followed by White/Anglo and Black/African American. The results indicate that there is need for increased patient education which could be satisfied by implement an incentive program. A need for a program specific to high blood pressure was also found. Participants were interested in dental services being offered, a service that is currently not offered through the Arizona chapter of Mission of Mercy. The study also showed that respondents were satisfied with the level of care received at Mission of Mercy.
ContributorsMack, Ashley Marie (Author) / Bradley, Robert (Thesis director) / Dumka, Larry (Committee member) / School of Sustainability (Contributor) / School of Life Sciences (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / T. Denny Sanford School of Social and Family Dynamics (Contributor)
Created2016-05
Description
The Community Action Research Experiences (CARE) program collaborated with Singleton Moms, a local non-profit organization that provides financial, psychological, and social support services to single parents with cancer. The purpose of this action research project was to assess the volunteer program at Singleton Moms. Both past and present Singleton Moms' volunteers (N = 123; 87.0% female) completed an online survey assessing their motivation for volunteering and their satisfaction with the organization. A mixed ANOVA was conducted to identify the most important motivation and satisfaction domains and to see if the findings depended on whether the volunteers were current or past volunteers. For the motivation assessment, results indicated that the volunteers rate the cancer specific and moral/human kindness domains as the strongest reasons for motivating them to volunteer at Singleton Moms. In addition, results revealed that the social connection motivation domain was the only domain with differences between the ratings of the past and present volunteers. For the satisfaction assessment, results indicated that the volunteers rate the organizational climate domain as the most fulfilled area of satisfaction within the Singleton Moms' volunteer program. It was also revealed that there were no significant differences between the ratings of the past and present volunteers among all satisfaction domains. Both the quantitative and qualitative findings suggest that Singleton Moms' implications for action may include: 1) a volunteer database audit, 2) streamlining communications, 3) variability in volunteer times, and 4) bolstering volunteer motivation. Implementing some of these actions may help Singleton Moms increase volunteer motivation and satisfaction and thus create a more effective volunteer program. Ultimately, this may encourage volunteers to continue their services at Singleton Moms and thus help Singleton Moms expand their support programs and assist additional families.
ContributorsDubois, Courtney Michelle (Author) / Miller, Cindy (Thesis director) / Dumka, Larry (Committee member) / Harrington Bioengineering Program (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / T. Denny Sanford School of Social and Family Dynamics (Contributor)
Created2016-05
Description
Traumatic brain injury (TBI) is a leading cause of injury related death in the United States. The complexity of the injury environment that follows TBI creates an incomplete understanding of all the mechanisms in place to regulate chemotactic responses to TBI. The goal of this project was to develop a predictive in silco model using diffusion and autocrine/paracrine signaling specific to stromal cell derived factor-1α (SDF-1α) gradient formation after TBI and compare this model with in vivo experimental data. A COMSOL model using Fickian diffusion and autocrine/paracrine reaction terms was generated to predict the gradient formation observed in vivo at three physiologically relevant time points (1, 3, and 7 days). In vivo data was gathered and analyzed via immunohistochemistry and MATLAB. The spatial distribution of SDF-1α concentration in vivo more consistently demonstrated patterns similar to the in silico model dependent on both diffusion and autocrine/paracrine reaction terms rather than diffusion alone. The temporal distribution of these same results demonstrated degradation of SDF-1α at too rapid a rate, compared to the in vivo results. To account for differences in behavior observed in vivo, reaction terms and constants of 1st-order reaction rates must be modulated to better reflect the results observed in vivo. These results from both the in silico model and in vivo data support the hypothesis that SDF-1α gradient formation after TBI depends on more than diffusion alone. Future work will focus on improving the model with constants that are specific to SDF-1α as well as testing methods to better control the degradation of SDF-1α.
ContributorsFreeman, Sabrina Louise (Author) / Stabenfeldt, Sarah (Thesis director) / Caplan, Michael (Committee member) / Harrington Bioengineering Program (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2016-05