Athena Commons - Digital Repository of Mississippi University for Women
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Reducing Recidivism Through Rehabilitation: An Observational Study on Rehabilitative Programming During and After Incarceration to Determine Best Practices for Successful Reintegration into Society
Full text linkScreening for Caregiver Role Strain Among Primary Care Providers
Full text linkFollowing a diagnosis of terminal illness, more people are electing to remain home for care. The role of the caregiver falls to other family members or paid assistance from outside the home, which can become expensive. As the disease progresses and functional and mental deficits develop, the physical and emotional stressors of providing care can, over time, manifest in changes to the overall health of the caregiver. Even with paid assistance, the financial burden can worsen these stressors further. Early identification of caregiver role strain could allow providers to aid in linking available and appropriate resources that may be of benefit. The purpose of this study is to screen for provider knowledge and screening practices regarding caregiver role strain. The research integrates a descriptive, non-experimental, quantitative design using a convenience sampling of healthcare providers in the southern United States. Data was collected via Google Forms and distributed via social media platforms and provider databases. The researchers concluded that while healthcare providers are knowledgeable regarding caregiver role strain, they are not screening for role strain nor utilizing any screening tools
Increasing Healthcare Provider Engagement with Adult Patients Regarding Organ Donation in the Primary Healthcare Setting
Full text linkThough 90% of the United States population supports organ donation, only 60% actually sign up as registered donors (Health Resources & Services Administration [HRSA], 2021). This 60% makes up approximately 169 million Americans, but the chances of actually becoming an organ donor are only 3 in 1,000 (Health Resources & Services Administration [HRSA], 2021). Simply put, the need for organs far outweighs the availability of those organs for transplant. Literature reviewed supports that a lack of knowledge regarding organ donation may contribute to the decreased number of registered organ donors and that Primary Care Providers (PCP) have been successful at increasing patient’s knowledge level. Increasing a patient’s knowledge level ensures that informed decisions can be made based on facts rather than myths. The purpose of this doctor of nursing practice (DNP) project was to initially determine PCP knowledge regarding organ donation and analyze the level of engagement between the healthcare provider and patient regarding organ donation. Prior to participating in an educational session and receiving educational materials, PCPs in the Southern United States completed Questionnaire 1. After being given two to three months to implement changes in their clinical practice, Questionnaire 2 was then given. An anticipated practice change with hopes of increasing provider knowledge, confidence, and engagement with patients was the goal at the time of reassessment. To compare the two independent samples, descriptive and inferential statistics were utilized. It was determined that provider knowledge was not statistically increased from the educational session, but providers did report an increase in confidence when speaking to patients regarding organ donation. Respondents also reported a clinical practice change as a result of the educational session. In order to ensure informed decision capabilities and improve the knowledge of patients 7 and community members regarding organ donation, this project supports the need for continued organ donation awareness campaigning and education for healthcare providers and patients
Improving Healthcare Provider Knowledge of Hospice and Palliative Medicine
Full text linkBy addressing the diseases symptoms directly, palliative care improves patients feel and can participate in their life by providing indispensable holistic health management and support for patients and families. Hospice is the focused service of palliative care, provided by specially trained healthcare professionals. Evidence suggests that patients are poorly educated on chronic illnesses, providers are failing to have end of life discussions with patients, and providers are poorly educated as to services available to patients at end of life. This quality improvement project was designed to assess provider knowledge of hospice and palliative care utilization. Convenience sampling was used to obtain participants. A pre-recorded educational session was conducted online, during which hospice admission criteria, hospice services, and benefits were reviewed. A pre-test and post-test were administered digitally at the time of the session. One month following the completion of session, another digital questionnaire was administered to reassess the same information along with self-reported practice change. A total of twelve participants completed the pre-test, six completed the post-test, and four completed the follow-up surveys. Although the three questionnaires were evaluated as independent samples and responses were not matched, all providers who completed Questionnaire 2 were participants who had attended sessions and previously completed Questionnaire 1. The nurse practitioners that participated cited lack of knowledge and their own desire to treat patients and preserve life as barriers to referring to hospice. Overall, the statistics indicated that increasing provider education only increased hospice referrals in 25% of respondents. Likewise, only 50% of respondents admitted to having made a practice change, despite 100% reporting that they felt more knowledgeable and believed they would refer more to hospice. It is likely that the limitations of the study had a large impact on the outcome of practice change
Endogenous CFTR Expression in Human Epithelial Cell Lines
No full textCFTR (Cystic Fibrosis Transmembrane-conductance Regulator) is a plasma membrane protein that functions as a chloride ion channel on many epithelial cells. There are over 1000 mutations that affect the function of this protein; however, the most common mutation is DF508. CFTR mutations target many secretory organs like pancreas and lungs causing the genetic disease cystic fibrosis (CF), common among Caucasians of northern European origin. Detection of endogenous CFTR expression is possible by a difficult and costly immunoprecipitation method but not by the most used western blotting method. Therefore, the goal of this project was to detect the endogenous CFTR expression in pancreatic cell lines CFPAC (expressing DF508-CFTR) and Capan-1 (expressing wildtype-CFTR) by the western blotting. With the help of a newly developed western blotting method [Heda et al, BioTechniques, 68(6), 319-325, 2020] and modern sensitive detection tools, I am able to detect the endogenous expression of DF508 and wild-type CFTR. Endogenous CFTR detection by this improved western blotting method, however, required a large amount of protein samples. Specificity of the CFTR expression was confirmed by the peptide inhibition experiment. This new detection method may serve as a diagnostic tool for the detection of CFTR in CF specimen
Educating Healthcare Providers on the Impacts Electronic Device Overuse has on Health
Full text linkHealthcare concerns develop from various external mechanisms that impact health. Overtime it has been witness that such mechanisms can include the food we consume, environmental hazards, lack of activity, chronic exposure to carcinogens, and even natural parts of the eco system such as bacteria or virus. Electronic devices have evolved over the past century and can be contaminates of health. They decrease physical activity times, limit face-to-face communication, and may interfere with mental health. As technology continues to evolve limitations and safe use should be well understood to decrease the negative impact electronic devices may have on health. Electronic device overuse associated health risks have been overlooked and understudied in the medical community (Poznyak, 2018). Gaps have been identified in the knowledge of providers with the associations of electronic device overuse, screenings for overuse, and ways to reduce exposure (Hill et al., 2019). Once providers are educated and made aware of the impacts, only then can they begin to understand the impact electronic overuse may have on their health
Improving Health Care Provider Knowledge and Compliance of Breast Cancer Screenings
Full text linkBreast cancer is the leading cause of cancer death in women worldwide. Different tests are used to detect breast cancer including mammograms, breast ultrasound, and breast MRI. Using screening mammography for breast cancer continues to be the most effective way to detect breast cancer in its early stages for better treatment outcomes. This Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) project aimed to determine if healthcare providers find that education regarding evidence-based guidelines for breast cancer screenings, increased knowledge, and compliance, and prompt a self-reported practice change. Participants were emailed a description of the project along with a pretest. The educational session was recorded via Zoom and uploaded to YouTube for participants to view due to the restrictions and limitations on hosting in-person sessions because of COVID-19. Immediately following the session, participants completed the posttest. Participants were given one to two months to implement changes in their clinical practice before the administration of a self-report practice change questionnaire
Opening Plenary
Full text linkOpening Plenary
Welcome Remarks
Nora Robers Miller, President, Mississippi University for Women
Making Connections Across Disciplinary Lines
Hillary Richardson, Coordinator of Undergraduate Research, MUW,
Roll Call of Schools
Will Balestrino, President, Honors Student Council, Mississippi University for Wome
Attempted Name Changes of MUW after Coeducation
No full textIn 1982, the Mississippi University for Women made the transition to coeducation, which was a controversial decision, and was quickly followed by the issue of should the name of the university be changed in order to accommodate the changing gender standards and norms throughout society. MUW is one of only two public universities that has opened its doors to men without changing its name. This research looks at the attempted name changes through the lens of archival documents within the Beulah Culbertson Archives as well as comparing these events to fellow women-only universities\u27 path to coeducation and name changes. The research looks at the motivations for the proposed name changes as well as the reactions of university officials, students, and alumni. This study reveals that establishing trust between university officials, students, and alumni will be critically important if a name change is desired, and proponents would be wise to focus careful attention to the preservation of the university’s women-focused history and mission