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ASSESSMENTS OF THICKENERS FOR HOME COOKED PUREED DIETS MEALS FOR PATIENTS WITH DYSPHAGIA ON PUREED DIETS
Get PDFManaging dysphagia can help prevent adverse outcomes for patients with swallowing issues. This project aims to identify the best thickener that holds food texture and to identify which thickener is most palatable and acceptable by evaluators. A Spoon Tilt test was used to as one of the objective tests to determine the best thickener that holds food texture. The three thickening agents used were: apple pectin powder, tapioca starch, and a commercial thickener. The three pureed food items used to test the thickening agents were baked chicken, broccoli, and rice. An audit tool by the International Dysphagia Diet Standardization Initiative (IDDSI), was used as an objective test due to its combination of testing methods and to determine if a modified diet or fluid meets the required properties of a food or beverage to be swallowed safely. This tool was used to determine the results of a Spoon Tilt Test to objectively measure the consistency of the products. To perform this spoon test, the process involved holding the spoon in a level plane with the desired pureed food e.g. (chicken , broccoli, rice) with added thickener and then tilting it to a 90 degree angle to observe how the sample behaves when the spoon is tilted (IDDSI.org). According to the IDDSI assessment criteria Level 4 (for pureed food) the samples should stay on the spoon, holding its shape, with minimal or no flow. The participants involved in the subjective taste test were ten hospital employees from the Food and Nutrition Department. They are cooks, diet aides, and dietitians at the hospital and all of the individuals have some knowledge of dysphagia diets. Participants included were both males and females, with an age range from 25 to over 64 years. Of the 10 participants only one person reported difficulty swallowing and chewing.
An online Google survey form was used to evaluate the three thickened products to assess which is the most palatable and acceptable; and the evaluation included four categories of assessment (Appearance, Taste, Texture, and Overall quality). A Likerts rating scale of one to five (1=Terrible; 5= Tasty) was used to evaluate each product. All ten participants completed all of the surveys for each food product. Based on their evaluation of appearance, taste, texture, and overall quality, the majority of the participants preferred the products thickened with apple pectin. Additionally, the objective Spoon Tilt Test part of the study showed that the commercial thickener demonstrated superior performance in maintaining spoon shape and preventing food from becoming sticky or spreading throughout the plate.
Individuals with dysphagia are at a higher risk of malnutrition due to difficulties in swallowing, which can impact their ability to consume adequate nutrition. The study’s findings suggest that alternative thickening agents can maintain texture stability in home-made pureed foods while enhancing their nutritional content and cost saving.
Word Count: 439
Keywords: Dysphagia, Swallowing Difficulty, Thickener, Acceptability, Palatability
Abbreviations: IDDS, International Dysphagia Diet Standardization Initiative; SLP, Speech-Language Pathologist
Equity Requires Action: Principals’ Use and Value of Culturally Proficient Educational Practice
Get PDFThis quantitative, descriptive study investigated K-12 public school principals\u27 perceptions regarding the degree to which they use and value practices related to cultural competence in their roles as school leaders. While an abundance of literature regarding leadership in education, disparities in educational outcomes, and school change exists, inequities in policy and practice perpetuate academic and social setbacks for some of our nation\u27s youth Using the lens of the Cultural Proficiency Framework, specifically the Essential Elements, this study aimed to address the research questions and add to the literature by examining (1) the school principals\u27 value in using culturally competent practices; (2) the school principals\u27 use of culturally competent practices; and (3) the differences in principals’ perceptions across urban, suburban, and rural locale. The study\u27s findings revealed the most important and most frequently used culturally competent practices to school principals were associated with valuing diversity. Conversely, the least important and least frequently used culturally competent practices to school principals were associated with assessing cultural knowledge. Conclusions suggest that applying the Essential Elements of Cultural Proficiency allows for paradigms shifts to praxis, where theory becomes practice through action towards equity and inclusion
Jerome R. Collins and children
No full textView of Jerome R. Collins seated in the lawn of a house with two children. (black-and-white photograph).https://scholarworks.lib.csusb.edu/bridges-photographs/1199/thumbnail.jp
Reuben Burton and others on a stage
No full textGroup portrait of Reuben Burton, James Burton, Arthur Beal, and others on a stage wearing sombreros (black-and-white photograph).https://scholarworks.lib.csusb.edu/bridges-photographs/1217/thumbnail.jp
ACCESSIBILITY OF SERVICES FOR TRANSGENDER ADOLESCENTS FROM A CHILD WELFARE PERSPECTIVE
Get PDFThe following is a quantitative study with an explorative element conducted at Southern California University with a convenience sample of 23 social worker participants with experience in child welfare. A Qualtrics questionnaire was administered during the Fall 2023 semester and was used to assess the social workers perception, preparedness, and knowledge in providing services to transgender youth in foster care. The study aimed to gain an understanding of the overall perception of the effect in available transgender resources and training within the child welfare system
THE MOST IMPORTANT VOICES IN THE ROOM: UNDERSTANDING THE ACADEMIC NEEDS OF US-EDUCATED LATINO ENGLISH LEARNERS IN HIGHER EDUCATION
Get PDFUS-educated English learners (US-ELs) immigrated to the United States as children and enrolled in school where they began learning English. Ultimately, they graduate from high school, and the majority of those wishing to continue in higher education begin in community college. These students face tremendous barriers and have lower rates of access to and completion of higher education than English monolingual students.
The study examines the transitions of US-ELs from high school to community college in the years since the implementation of California Assembly Bills 705 and 1705 and the COVID-19 pandemic. The researcher used three theoretical frameworks – LatCrit, Intersectionality, and Community Cultural Wealth – to analyze the institutional structures, provide a holistic view of the students’ lived experiences, and inform the data analysis and recommendations.
The study provides recommendations from the student participants on best practices to support US-ELs in community college. It also provides recommendations for policy changes at the state level. The researcher also introduces the Cultural Wealth Framework for educational leaders to guide the development of programs and structures within schools to support US-ELs in community college. The framework shifts the deficit mindset that permeates educational institutions by developing programs that protect the cultural capital that US-ELs bring to education and building trust and linguistic security in students. Most importantly, the study elevates the voices of US-educated English learners and provides insight into an important and highly motivated population of multilingual students
Bonnie Johnson and others
No full textGroup portrait of Bonnie Johnson (far left), Willie Garret (center left), Frances Grice (far right), and unidentified people (black-and-white photograph).https://scholarworks.lib.csusb.edu/bridges-photographs/1228/thumbnail.jp
HOW DID THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC IMPACT EXTENDED FOSTER CARE SOCIAL WORKERS WHILE PROVIDING SOCIAL SERVICES
Get PDFThis study used ten interviews with Extended Foster Care (EFC) workers about their experiences with EFC youth from a county agency before, during, and after COVID-19 pandemic using a qualitative research design. The purpose of the research was to learn from EFC social workers how the COVID-19 pandemic impacted their ability to provide services to the EFC youth, negatively or positively, and how supported they felt in delivering these services. Data was collected by interviewing the ten participants via Zoom. Data was analyzed by categorizing the responses with different colors based on the responses. Significant findings were identified regarding agency policies on contacts with EFC youth prior to and during COVID-19, effectiveness of COVID-19 policy on worker safety, COVID-19 restrictions impact social services, and challenges of working with EFC youth during COVID-19 restrictions. Also, challenges in delivering mental health services and in building rapport with EFC youth during COVID-19 restrictions and obtaining employment and exceptions during COVID-19 restrictions were identified. Recommendations include strengthening the communication strategies to ensure effective communication with EFC youth and social workers which can involve utilizing multiple communication channels and having the social workers provide regular updates and guidance to the new youth since they might need additional support to establish rapport to allow them to connect with the social worker
ASSOCIATION BETWEEN FOOD INSECURITY AND CHRONIC HEALTH CONDITION AMONG ADULTS (18 TO 48)
Get PDFUncertainty or limited access to safe food, known as food insecurity, can affect the health and healthcare needs of individuals with several chronic conditions. During 2022, 12.8 percentage (around 17.0 million) of households in the United States experienced food insecurity. The main objective of this study was to examine the Association between food insecurity and chronic health conditions adults. We collected data from NHIS 2022 sample Adults’ Interview (The National Health Interview Survey). The research question asked are: (Q1) Are there certain long term health issues that are more common among adults facing food insecurity age in between the ages of 18 to 48? (Q2) What are the possible connections between food insecurity and chronic health conditions within the age group of 18 to 48? (Q3) Is there a difference between younger adults and older adults’ health issues because of food insecurity?
The research questions were analyzed in the Chi-Square test and survey-Weighted logistic regression model and interpreted the results in odds ratios. The findings and conclusion for each question are: (Q1) Asthma among adults facing food insecurity (22.16%) compared to their food secure counterparts (15.96%). Similarly, Hypertension (23.2 %), Cardiovascular conditions (1.44%), COPD (4.82 %), and Diabetes (4.82 %) also show significantly higher frequencies among food insecure individuals compared to food secure individuals (13.45%, 0.49%, 1.31%, 2.72%). These findings imply that adults facing food insecurity aged 18 to 48 are more likely to suffer from these chronic health conditions compared to their food secure counterparts. (Q2) Asthma, Cancer, Hypertension, Heart Disease, COPD, Diabetes, not having these health conditions are associated with lower odds of food insecurity, with reductions in odds ranging from 21% to 76%. (Q3) hypertension was 77% in older adults compared to young adults’ (66%) and COPD was 47% in older adults compared to younger adults (41%). Furthermore, other areas for future studies that appeared from this study includes longitudinal studies and interventions among both young adults and older adults. In addition, Future research could look at medical records or clinical biomarkers to expand on the current study\u27s findings
ELECTRICITY THEFT DETECTION IN POWER GRIDS
No full textElectricity theft detection in power grids refers to the process of identifying and mitigating instances where electricity consumers illegally tamper with meters or infrastructure to bypass billing mechanisms and obtain electricity without paying for it. This project aims to receive a Gmail notification anytime theft is detected using the CNN-RF model, which provides higher accuracy. The research questions are: (Q1) What measures can be implemented to ensure consumer privacy protection while maintaining the effectiveness of electricity theft detection strategies? (Q2) How can the time to detect energy theft be reduced by using a hybrid machine learning approach for anomaly detection in smart meter data, without sacrificing accuracy? (Q3) What factors, including grid sources, network topology, customer class, and geographic information, can be exploited to monitor abnormalities in energy consumption patterns? The findings for each question are: (Q1) To protect the privacy of customers, a customized email alert is sent out once theft is confirmed. (Q2) By implementing feature selection and data preprocessing, different hybrid models with varying interpretability and accuracy are tested to find a method which detects theft in a short time. (Q3) A Gmail notification including the geographic location and customer class is sent to a particular organization. The conclusions for each question are: (Q1) To protect the privacy of consumers while ensuring efficient detection of electricity, an email notification system could be put in place to inform the organization, once theft is detected. (Q2) By utilizing feature selection and data preparation, advanced machine learning techniques can speed up the identification of energy theft without sacrificing accuracy. (Q3) By using information from power sources, network structure, customer categories and geographic data, irregularities in energy usage patterns can be effectively monitored