6810 research outputs found
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The LOTUS Project: A Resilience Program for Dominican University of California Occupational Therapy Graduate Students
No full textOccupational therapy graduate students and occupational therapy practitioners experience chronic stress, adversity, and are at risk for burnout (de Witt, Monareng, Abraham, Koor, & Saber, 2019). Building a resilience practice early in the OT career has the potential to assist students in overcoming adversity from chronic stressors that could lead to burnout. We developed the L(OT)US project, a resilience program for occupational therapy students at Dominican University of California that consisted of three components: indoor resilience rest and recovery space, outdoor resilience resources box, and social media resources. e gathered feedback from current occupational therapy students who participated in our program through Google Form Surveys. 38.5% of respondents expressed that the Indoor Resilience, Rest, & Recover resources were “highly effective” in supporting resilience and 61.5% expressed that the resources were “effective” in supporting resilience. After using the ‘Outdoor Resilience Box’, 42.9% of students rated it as “highly effective” in supporting resilience and 57.1% rated it as “effective.” Developing a resilience program for OT graduate students provides opportunities for students to access research-backed tools shown to build skills of resilience prior to their transition into practice
Using family focused-care solutions to improve child’s quality of life
Get PDFChronic illness in children impacts not only themselves but their families too. Everyone in the family supports each other and provides each other with pretty much all our physiological needs including our emotional needs. Parents/caregivers are the role models for their young children and really shape the person they become because basic values and their early relationships are formed. A family provides that consistent balance in our life that is the center of our life at a young age. When children are diagnosed with a chronic illness, parents may feel responsible, ashamed, guilty, or angry. Families may turn on each other and that consistent balance is lost which causes a huge change for the family. Each family member reacts differently to their child’s illness. Every family member is important so it is very important as nurses to provide our full support to each individual family member. As nurses it is our job to provide any education they may need, be a person they can talk to and provide the necessary resources they may need to help them cope. This thesis will provide a review of the recent research literature and offer a study proposal for further investigation of this important topic
Systematic Review Brief: Virtual Interventions that Address Motor and Balance Impairments and Skills for Adults with Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) (12-21)
Get PDFSystematic Review Briefs provide a summary of the findings from systematic reviews developed in conjunction with the American Occupational Therapy Association’s (AOTA’s) Evidence-Based Practice Program. Each Systematic Review Brief summarizes the evidence on a theme related to a systematic review topic. This Systematic Review Brief presents findings from the theme of virtual interventions that address motor and balance impairments and skills for adults with traumatic brain injury (TBI)
Persuasive Communication: Source, Message, Audience
No full textPersuasive communication, defined as any message designed to influence people’s attitudes or behaviors, is a core concept in social psychology. It is possible that persuasive communication scholarship would not exist if not for Carl I. Hovland, Irving L. Janis, and Harold H. Kelley’s seminal text Communication and Persuasion, and its theoretical propositions are still being examined today. The approach outlined in that text, which has since informed multiple theories and research programs, suggests a tripartite model, where source, message, and audience features dictate persuasive impact.https://scholar.dominican.edu/faculty-authored-book-contributions/1004/thumbnail.jp
Substance Use Among Nurses as a result of COVID-19, and the Impact of Rehabilitative Programs on Nurses
Get PDFBackground: The incidence of substance use among nurses has been a persistent issue for decades. The effects associated with substance misuse depend on what is used, the amount, how often, and how they are taken. Regardless of the substance used, any nurse who enters the workplace using substances puts the lives of others at risk. Due to the widespread effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, there is a risk that the number of nurses resorting to the use of substances may have increased. Therefore, an investigation into drug use among nurses during the pandemic is particularly important.
Objective: To explore the incidence of substance use among nurses prior to the pandemic versus today, to examine obstacles nurses face in seeking help, and to compare the effectiveness of different rehabilitative programs in reducing the incidence of substance use among registered nurses.
Methods: A review of the research literature has been performed and a proposal for further research is proposed.
Findings: Factors that contribute to nurses resorting to substance use include stress, trauma, and financial issues. Disciplinary measures were found to be unsupportive for nurses dealing with substance use issues and ineffective in minimizing patient safety risks. Many nurses are afraid to get help for their substance use and are too embarrassed to discuss their problem with anyone. During the pandemic, alcohol was the most prevalent substance used by nurses, however, marijuana and tobacco were other drugs used as well. Those who spent approximately five years in a rehabilitation program were the least likely to relapse in comparison to others.
Proposal: A mixed methods study will quantify the number of nurses in California resorting to substance use during the pandemic, identify risk factors for substance use by nurses, and explore how nurses have been affected by the COVID-19 pandemic
Investigating Transcriptomic and Embryonic Differences Between Cave and Surface Populations of Asellus aquaticus
No full textThe use of model organisms in genetic research is a well-established and effective method to further understand genetic disease and phenotypic variation in humans. One example of a group of model organisms that can help to understand human disease is cave animals. Cave animals are organisms that have evolved in a subterranean environment and have predictable variation in their phenotypes when compared to their corresponding surface populations. The phenotypic variations can include, but are not limited to: elongated limbs, pigment loss, and loss or reduction of eyes. One particular cave organism with the potential to be an excellent model for human disease is Asellus aquaticus. A. aquaticus is an aquatic crustacean found in Europe, that has cave and surface populations which can interbreed. There are a variety of phenotypic differences between the cave and surface populations, including elongated second antennae, reduction or loss of eyes, and reduced or absent pigment. For this study, our goal was to determine the genetic and transcriptomic basis of eye loss in A. aquaticus. We compared transcriptomes generated from RNA sequencing of Slovenian cave and surface populations and Romanian cave and surface populations to look for differences in gene expression between cave and surface samples. Gene ontology enrichment analysis showed an enrichment of differentially expressed genes between cave and surface samples belonging to the TCA cycle, amino sugar and nucleotide sugar metabolism, and the biosynthesis of amino acids pathways, among others. We also analyzed whether a subset of genes known as Light Interacting Genes showed differential expression between cave and surface individuals. Genes within the categories of crystallins, diurnal clock, heme synthesis, melanin synthesis, ommochrome synthesis, photoreceptor specification, phototransduction, pterin synthesis, 4 retinal determination network, and retinoid pathway showed differential expression between the cave and surface populations. Coding sequences of the light interacting genes that were differentially expressed between cave and surface samples were compared and amino acid substitutions were found though no drastic changes to the size of the coding region were seen. Candidate genes of particular interest were those that were differentially expressed between cave and surface samples and involved in phototransduction including retinal rod rhodopsin- sensitive cGMP 3’,5’-cyclic, rhodopsin, and arrestin 2. Next, we tracked embryonic development through mounting and morphometric measuring of hatchlings from both the Romanian cave and surface populations. We investigated hatchlings from wild caught individuals and found that the cave hatchlings were significantly larger and had longer relative antennae II length (longest antennae) compared to their surface counterparts. In addition, we found that the Romanian cave hatchlings were unpigmented and did not appear to have ommatidia. Finally, we worked on establishing the use of CRISPR technology for studying A. aquaticus, with the goal of functionally investigating candidate genes responsible for the eye loss phenotype. Though we have not successfully established a pipeline to silence genes using CRISPR in A. aquaticus, we have been able to harvest, inject, and electroporate embryos with some embryo survival. We have also designed targets for two genes, scarlet and dll, that when mutated have predictable phenotypes, and developed PCR assays that could be used to detect CRISPR- induced excisions. Establishing a functional technique, such as CRISPR, will potentially allow us to identify the genes or genetic pathways responsible for eye variation between the cave and the surface form
Exploring the Diet Dependent Role of Oxidation Resistance 1 in regulating Retromer function
No full textAging has been identified as a significant risk factor to the development of several diseases, such as neurodegeneration1. One of the most common age-related neurodegenerative diseases is Alzheimer’s Disease (AD)2, which causes cognitive decline. Current treatments for AD attempt to mitigate its symptoms or delay its onset3–5. One method that has shown promise not only for the treatment of AD, but also for increasing lifespan and healthspan overall is dietary restriction (DR)6, but the mechanisms by which DR mediates these effects remains unclear7,8. We have identified the human gene Oxidation Resistance 1 (OXR1) as an effector of DR for extended lifespan. We have found that D. melanogaster flies overexpressing OXR1 leads to a significant extension of both lifespan and healthspan on DR. In addition, it was shown that OXR1 confers neuroprotective benefits, but the mechanism by which it achieves these effects remains unclear.
We have identified that OXR1 mediates this extension through its interactions with the retromer complex, a complex tied to AD due to its involvement in trafficking receptors that bind the pathological proteins of AD9–12. We observed that OXR1 co-localizes with retromer subunits, loss of OXR1 reduces retromer protein levels, and the loss of OXR1-retromer interaction with age is mitigated by DR. Supplementation with retromer therapeutics is able to restore both retromer protein levels and lifespan deficits caused by loss of OXR1. We also find knockdown or overexpression of each retromer subunit has different effects on lifespan. Lastly, we show loss of OXR1 is involved in numerous neurodegeneration pathways, correlates with AD diagnosis, and exacerbates AD pathology. These findings suggest that DR promotes prevention of neurodegeneration through OXR1-retromer interactions and OXR1 is a potential target that can be used to mitigate AD pathogenesis
Identifying Cultural Biases and Understanding Health Care Disparities For LGTBQ+ Patients
Get PDFUnderstanding the health disparities within the LGBTQ+ population, will consist of educating Nurses and other healthcare providers cultural competence for this population, along with proposing certain educational training programs for all the medical professionals. There’s not only an implicit bias but also lack in quality of healthcare due to the personal reasons that healthcare providers may have, along with certain stigmas that creates an infringement on healthcare for this specific population. Members of the LGBTQ+ community will continue to have one of the highest amounts of health care disparities due to the lack of cultural incompetence if nothing is done
Supporting English Learners in Elementary Classrooms: How Teacher Preparation Affects EL Achievement
Get PDFDue to an increasing number of English learning children entering the U.S. public school system (Tinkler., Tinkler, Reyes, & Elkin, 2019), there is a need for teachers to be prepared and feel confident in providing adequate English language instruction and academic content to support these young learners. There is also limited research on the effectiveness of instructional strategies that elementary teachers use to engage and instruct English learning students, including technology as a strategy (Chang & Hung, 2019). This study uses qualitative data analysis to examine instructional strategies and practices, as well as teacher’]s’ own perceptions and experiences that support English learners in a Northern California public school. Six teacher participants, instructing grades kindergarten through fifth grade, were interviewed about their experiences in working with a high demographic of English learning students. Findings from this research indicate that both pre-service training and in-service professional development, in regards to English learners, is imperative for proper instruction in both second language acquisition and grade-level academic content. Findings also suggest that teachers rely on certain strategies and programs that help support EL students. By implementing change within credentialing programs and school district professional development opportunities, teachers can be better prepared to support English learning students
Implementing Neurophysiological Research into the Lives of Linguistically and Culturally Diverse High School Students
Get PDFImplementing neurophysiological research-based strategies into the lives of culturally-linguistically diverse high school students can better help them strengthen essential neural learning and memory connection in their brain (Griffin, 2017; Choudhury et al., 2008). However, a research-to-practice gap, results in the lack of implementation of university-level research among high school students and families that may aid in their academic success and emotional wellbeing (King et al., 2018; Moir 2018). This study aimed to explore the strategies and challenges of implementing neurophysiological strategies by analyzing a group of twenty-one students of diverse linguistic and cultural backgrounds and three parents in Northern California. A mixed-methods design analyzed qualitative data from student focus groups and parent interviews as well as quantitative data from Likert scale surveys. The data showed that both high school students and parents understand the importance of implementing neurophysiological strategies despite any linguistic or cultural differences. However, barriers to implementation were presented, such as a presumed influential “ghost majority” composed of disinterested individuals as well as a need for increased access and education regarding these strategies. By allowing students to develop personal responsibility over the research topics and strategies as well as encouraging peer-to-peer communication between the students and their families during the implementation and presentation of information, students and parents were enabled to provide solutions to these barriers. With the school fueling connections between students, parents, school staff, and the neurophysiological research, educational institutions can become houses of learning and research implementation for entire communities, despite cultural or linguistic differences