8224 research outputs found
Sort by
Managing the Environmental and Socio-economic Impacts of Rohingya Refugees in Bangladesh
Get PDFIn August 2017, nearly 1 million Rohingya people fled to Bangladesh to save their lives from the genocide inflicted by the military of Myanmar. At present, over 1.3 million Rohingyas are staying at Cox’s Bazar, Bangladesh, in 34 overcrowded refugee camps. This research examined the environmental impacts especially the change in vegetation cover and land surface temperature as well as the socioeconomic alteration of the host country after the refugee influx. The research found a 5488 ha or 9.58% decrease in forest area, accompanied by an 8.25% increase in refugee settlement areas, an increase in average land surface temperature within the camp area from 22.43°C to 34.22°C from 2015 to 2021, and a severe degradation in ecological quality overall. The socio-economic assessment in this research disclosed an ongoing decline of revenue in the tourism industry along with increase in food prices nearly 50%. Comparative case study analysis of the Zaatari refugee camp in Jordan and the Bekaa refugee camp in Lebanon revealed that these camps have better sustainability management strategies. Additionally, gap analysis indicated that delay in repatriation, effects of environmental disasters, and insufficient funding are the main challenges to sustainable management of the camps. To bridge the gap, this paper recommends several environmental management and social strategies including using sustainable building materials, protecting and restoring forest and watershed ecosystems, supplying power within the camp area using renewable energy, strengthening social security, and monitoring the local economy to reduce the negative impacts and increase future well-being for both host and refugee communities
The Impact of Index Based Livestock Insurance (IBLI) on Child Nutrition in Marsabit County, Kenya
Get PDFThe study uses six rounds of Index-Based Livestock Insurance (IBLI) panel surveys (2009 – 2015) for Northern Kenya’s Marsabit county to investigate the impact of IBLI on child nutrition and household food security. We employ Ordinary Least Squares (OLS) and Instrumental Variable (IV) regressions to account for potential endogeneity in IBLI uptake. The results indicate that while IBLI uptake significantly improves the intake of key nutrients such as Vitamin A, protein, iron, and fruits and vegetables, it does not translate into significant improvements in child nutrition status, as measured by Mid-Upper Arm Circumference (MUAC) z-scores. Significant negative effects of age and supplementary feeding on child nutrition, highlight the ongoing nutritional challenges faced by older children and those receiving supplementary food. These results suggest that while IBLI can enhance household food security, it alone is insufficient to address child malnutrition. Comprehensive approaches that integrate financial instruments like IBLI with targeted nutritional interventions and support systems are essential for achieving sustainable improvements in child health outcomes
Crafting Community Solar Programs to Alleviate Energy Burdens and Empower Communities in Virginia
Get PDFLow to moderate-income (LMI) groups usually suffer from high energy burdens and community solar is a renewable energy strategy that can save LMI groups on their monthly electricity bills. This research explores the intersection of renewable energy and energy justice, specifically the potential for community solar, energy efficiency, and home weatherization to alleviate Virginia\u27s energy burdens. Included is an analysis of incentives, programs, and Greenhouse gas emission goals for the state, investigations on how low-income groups are receiving aid and what is available to them from programs and utilities, suitable sites for solar based on groups in need, and comparisons are made between active community solar programs in other states to what Virginia offers. These analyses reveal that Virginia has solar incentives and programs however not enough for LMI groups to benefit. This confirms that there is not enough funding to tackle the everyday needs of all burdened people to benefit from renewably sourced electricity. Recommendations for the state to improve Community Solar for disadvantaged groups include 1) empowering and providing funding for smaller communities to facilitate community solar, electric bill assistance, and weatherization relief, 2) Optimizing the location of community solar and new infrastructure with low-income communities in mind, 3) improving education towards the availability of energy assistance and the benefits renewable energy provides for smaller communities, 4) emphasize the importance of collaboration between utilities, governments, non-profits, and communities to create a cohesive and well run community solar program. These recommendations stress that small LMI communities need to gain more support and financial benefits to be included in the renewable energy revolution
Implementing Diabetic Eye Care Education for Healthcare Professionals
Get PDFBackground: Diabetic retinopathy (DR) is the most common cause of diabetic eye complications and a leading cause of preventable vision loss in American adults. Skaggs et al. (2017) reported that DR screening prevents vision loss by 95%. The evidence reports that only 60% of people with diabetes have attended the recommended DR screenings (Flaxel et al., 2020). Emerging evidence supports patient education about diabetic eye care and its guidelines by health care professionals (HCPs) as the main facilitator to accomplish this goal (Khair et al., 2020; Moinul et al., 2020). Healthcare professionals are pivotal in encouraging or discouraging DR screening attendance.
Local Problem: The U.S. Census data 2010 reports that Maine has 60% of the rural state population (World Population Review, 2023). The rural areas have a higher disparity between the number of practicing ophthalmologists and patients with diabetes (AAO, 2020). The number of people with diabetes in Maine is 1.7% higher than the average national rate (CDC - BRFSS 2013 Survey Data and Documentation, 2022). It suggests that rural healthcare challenges in receiving timely care are due to the distance.
Methods: Diabetes and Healthy Eyes Toolkit, developed by the National Eye Health Education Program (NEHEP) for health educators, was used to implement a Doctor of Nursing Practice student-led quality improvement change of practice project. It included a PowerPoint and pre-and post-assessment questionnaires distributed to the clinical staff before and after the education presentation to measure the knowledge changes and willingness to change in participants\u27 practice after the presentation. The data collection of both assessment outcomes was entered into Qualtrics with Excel for statistical analysis.
Interventions: This DNP student presented the 60-minute educational session on diabetes eye care and its guidelines to ensure early detection and timely treatment to prevent diabetic eye complications. The specific aim was a 10 % increase in knowledge and clinicians\u27 willingness to change practice from the baseline.
Results: The knowledge level of the HCPs was 84% (N=27) before and 92% (N=21) after the educational intervention. The HCPs willing to change their practice to educate patients after the presentation were 81%.
Conclusions: The education session on diabetic eye complications and its guidelines for clinicians at the project site improved their knowledge and willingness to educate the patients
Buddhist Leadership in the Pa-O Region: A Case Study of Venerable Razeinda Thiri
Get PDFAbstract This field project explored and documented the leadership practices of Venerable Razeinda Thiri, a prominent Buddhist abbot and principal of Naung Taung Philanthropic Monastic School in Pa-O Self-Administered Zone, Myanmar. Through in-depth interviews with a senior monk, a teacher, a student, and a community member, the project investigated the servant and transformational leadership characteristics exhibited by the principal and sought recommendations for developing effective leadership skills among local leaders. The findings discovered that Venerable Razeinda Thiri demonstrated key servant and transformational leadership behaviors, including helping followers grow and succeed, embodying healing and empathy, fostering personalized communication, modeling exemplary conduct, empowering others, and providing inspirational motivation. Participants recommended that local leaders prioritize self-care and ensure honesty about agreements. The challenges encountered during the implementation of the project, such as civil war, technological constraints, personal concerns, and time zone differences, were navigated through adaptability, resilience, and effective communication. The project‘s implications extend beyond the Pa-O region, informing leadership practices in various educational and community-based settings and contributing to the broader discourse on effective leadership for social justice. The outcome was a practical leadership guide for abbots, monks, village leaders, and emerging community leaders in the region
Fleeing Towards Healing: How CAM Can Heal Refugee Communities
Get PDFAlternative methods of healing can be found across the globe and are used by all kinds of people including refugees. This thesis will explore the potential benefits of Complementary and Alternative Medicine otherwise known as “CAM” as a supplementary strategy for helping refugees to deal with stress, Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) and other harmful effects sustained on their journey and lives as displaced peoples. I will do so by first situating my project in the literature on Eurocentrism in healing practices and the emergence of CAM as an alternative. Then, using extensive primary and secondary sources, supplemented by an expert interview, I will show that techniques like movement therapy, theater healing, and yoga, have been used with considerable benefits including: reduced Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, better integration into one’s community, and the increased ability to tell one’s story as giving power to the refugee, i.e., agency in the representation of their own experiences
Reducing HAPI on a Medical Surgical Telemetry Unit
Get PDFAbstract
Problem: Hospital-acquired pressure injuries (HAPI) are a global issue that harms patients, prolongs lengths of stay, and increases hospital costs and financial burdens. Because HAPIs are preventable, hospital organizations worldwide are implementing prevention strategies to improve the quality of care and quality of life and decrease costs associated with them.
Context: The 24-bed medical-surgical telemetry unit is one of five adult inpatient units within a Northern California hospital. The patient population includes an increased number of patients who are at risk of HAPI. The unit struggles with HAPI prevention, and the staff is challenged with implementing proper HAPI prevention strategies.
Interventions: A HAPI committee was formulated and tasked with developing a quality improvement project to address the increased number of HAPIs. The project’s interventions aim to implement a static overlay mattress for all patients at high risk of HAPI. Other interventions include staff education and training, continued use of current HAPI prevention strategies, and early identification and escalation of at-risk patients.
Measures: The measures for this project were the implementation of the static overlay mattress for patients with a Braden Score of 18 and less, documentation of PLOF and CLOF within 8 hours of admission, and documentation of a Braden assessment within 8 hours of admission.
Results: Implementing the waffle overlay mattress for patients at high risk for skin injury led to decreased HAPI occurrences.
Conclusions: Standardizing the waffle overlay mattress as part of the HAPI bundle led to a 34% decrease in HAPI occurrences from a baseline of 0.58 per month to 0.33 per month
Beat the Clock: Improving First Case On-Time Starts (FCOTS) in the Ambulatory Surgery Unit (ASU)
Get PDFAbstract
Problem: A local Bay Area hospital Ambulatory Surgery Unit (ASU) strives to maintain the first case on-time starts (FCOTS) at 90%. Optimal FCOTS compliance enhances operating room (OR) efficiency, resource utilization, and patient outcomes. Data from January 2022 to December 2023 shows that ASU’s FCOTS remains at a monthly average rate of 67%. This project focuses on closing the 23% gap by achieving 73% FCOTS compliance in the first quarter to progressively achieve the unit 90% goal or higher.
Context: The five ASU ORs handle a daily volume of 25-35 cases. An interdisciplinary team conducted a root cause analysis to determine the causes of delays and explore potential solutions to promote punctuality.
Interventions: The main barriers identified were effective communication, interprofessional accountability, and unclear shift workflow. These findings drove the implementation of daily morning and afternoon huddles to streamline communication, identify interdisciplinary champions to co-lead this project and revisit the staff roles and responsibilities within the process.
Measures: Success was measured by the percentage of surgeries starting at 0745. Delays in minutes were calculated, and the causes of delay were documented.
Results: FCOTS gradually increased from 67% to 73% over four months, reducing delays by an average of 11.3 to 9 minutes each month.
Conclusions: Effective team communication, streamlined workflows, clearly defined staff roles and responsibilities, and behavioral accountability effectively achieve operational efficiency in the OR. These interventions foster a culture of safety, process ownership, and interprofessional teamwork.
Keywords: operating room, delays, first case on-time start (FCOTS), improvement, efficienc
Secondary Trauma amongst Emergency Shelter Volunteers: An Intervention to Identify, Assess, and Respond to Secondary Trauma Exposure
Get PDFPurpose: Emergency shelter volunteers are experiencing secondary traumatic stress (STS) symptoms during their deployments. The purpose of this paper is to create an intervention that protects the volunteers from developing STS.
Design: Questionnaires were distributed to current and previous emergency shelter volunteers along with conducting interviews. This design allowed important information to be collected that was used to determine the level of STS symptoms experienced by the volunteers.
Trends: Three STS symptoms were focused upon, intrusion, avoidance, and arousal. It was determined that intrusion symptoms were experienced more frequently than avoidance and arousal symptoms.
Summary: It was determined that emergency shelter volunteers lack resources to prevent STS from developing. This paper identifies the resources needed, assesses the problem, and provides realistic interventions to protect and prevent our emergency shelter volunteers from suffering STS symptoms
Buddhism in Thailand: Why don’t the youth believe in Buddhism?
No full textIn Thailand, Buddhism is now known as a Buddhist country. Almost 96% of people in Thailand believe in Buddhism but it is declining every single day. Technology has made many people change their minds and not believe in Buddhism. Surprisingly, people who have been involved in Buddhism since they were born don’t believe, especially the young generation. The number of believers is declining every single day and many people have changed their minds and don’t believe in Buddhism. Surprisingly, people who have been involved in Buddhism since they were born don’t believe anymore. This might be because of Thai monks’ bad behavior as reported in the news or general skepticism. Because of this, the younger Thai generation doesn’t seem to follow previous generations’ religious paths. This study will analyze and explore the reason for the decline of Buddhism in Thailand and do research and interviews with 5 Thai young people. This research will help improve Buddhism in Thailand by providing suggestions for best institutional practices and offer prospects for the future