Culturally-Relevant End of Life Care in Humboldt County

Chandler Macik, Social Work Graduate Student

College of Professional Studies

The purpose of our community project is to explore and assess whether any formalized local Indigenous palliative & hospice care services and resources exist in Humboldt County. Research was conducted to gauge the availability and accessibility of culturally-relevant end of life care services.

Curating an Art Gallery “For The Sake of Leisure”

Mila Turner-Morgan, School of Applied Health Undergraduate Student

College of Professional Studies

I was interested in exploring the connection between art and leisure. To explore this topic, I showcased the work of many students from a variety of majors in an art exhibition in the Student Access Gallery. I designed the space with the artwork, and the Student Access Gallery coordinators installed the artwork. The gallery was open to the public for 2 weeks.

Cut It Out: Reducing Cesarean Section Rates in Low - Risk First - Time Mothers

College of Professional Studies

Cesarean section rates have increased 7-fold from 1965 (4.5%) and are now the nation’s most common operating – room procedure. One in five deliveries is by C – section according to the World Health Organization. A Healthy People 2030 goal, is to reduce this number to 23.6% or less, in low risk, first - time mothers. On my local unit, C - sections hit an all time high and a change is needed to better maternal child outcomes. This projects examines causes for the increase and strategies aimed at reducing the rate, using evidence based practice interventions. The proposed interventions will be targeted at the patient, nursing, and policy level.

Deconstructing political morale: The development of the political demoralization scale (PDS)

College of Professional Studies

Minimal research combines the dimensions of political morale to develop a scale that broadly measures political demoralization. Political demoralization can be described as experienced discontentment and distress within the current political system, wherein some people may feel powerless to enact change. (Clark & Kissane, 2002). The current study is the development of a scale of political demoralization, which tests its relationship between political hopelessness, political efficacy and social desirability. Analyses of the PDS demonstrate the scale's reliability and validity.

Decreasing Non-Ventilator Hospital Acquired Pneumonia

College of Professional Studies

Evidence shows that patients who receive oral care two to four times daily, have their chances of acquiring non-ventilator hospital acquired pneumonia (NV-HAP) decreased by thirty-seven percent. To make this a successful program at our hospital, it would be prudent to create a policy for oral care, train nursing staff and patients of proper oral care and be sure to document in the electronic medical records that oral care has been done. Pneumonia is the number one hospital acquired infection. This information points to a greater need for nurses to perform oral care with patients.

Decreasing patient readmission rates.

College of Professional Studies

Patient readmissions within 30 days of discharge not only cost hospitals around 15,000 dollars per incident but also indicate increased mortality rates and worse patient outcomes. Readmissions occur for multiple reasons such as, lack of clear discharge instruction, delayed primary care follow-up, medication issues, or worsening symptoms. Hospitals must take a multidisciplinary approach to addressing this issue. Interventions can be implemented to improve readmission rates, like discharge calls within 48 hours, creation of hospital policy to guide the call, and primary care follow-up within 10 days. With better transition from hospital to primary care, patient readmissions will decrease.

Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness (DOMS) and Different Recovery Methods for Decreasing DOMS

College of Professional Studies

In this fictional study, Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness (DOMS) is explained, and different recovery methods are investigated in order to research the decreasing effects of DOMS. Methods that are explored include different types of cool down recoveries such as a cool down with static stretching, a cool down with a combination of static stretching and foam rolling (a type of massage), or no cooldown performed at all. This study demonstrates how a combination of static stretching and foam rolling could be major factors in decreasing the effects of DOMS and perceived effects of DOMS. This presentation is in regards to the KINS 379 class assignment.

Delirium at end of life: Improving outcomes

College of Professional Studies

Terminal delirium is a common condition seen in the hospice setting. Unlike delirium, terminal delirium is usually not reversible. It manifests in the final days or weeks of life and typically causes distress and safety issues for caregivers and patients. Caregivers depend on nurses to educate them on what to expect as their loved one declines. Since terminal delirium is a common occurrence, preparing these caregivers ahead of time is essential. Since terminal agitation can be difficult to assess, organizations may adopt an assessment tool, training nurses on its use. Organizations may also create a nurse-driven protocol that utilizes evidence-based interventions.

Depressive Symptomology Mediates the Relationship Between Self-stigma and Mental Health Help-seeking Intention

Carrie Aigner, Psychology Faculty

College of Professional Studies

Undergraduate students (N=712) completed an online survey about help-seeking, stigma, and depression symptomatology. Mental health self-stigma was found to partially mediate the relationship between depression and help-seeking intentions, controlling for gender. This study suggests that the nature of depression itself may present a barrier to help-seeking, adding important context to outreach efforts on campuses.

Designing a Measure of Academic Help Seeking

College of Professional Studies

Existing studies on academic help seeking suggest that students only seek help if they are already academically confident. To examine these findings, The Humboldt Academic Help Seeking Scale (HAHSS) was developed in order to assess student's academic help seeking motivations and behaviors. The HAHSS was found to be reliable, and provided evidence for validity with criterion, convergent, and discriminant measures. It was also found that high scores on the HAHSS were significantly correlated with higher grade point averages. Real-world applications are discussed, such as implementing more effective online help programs in order to aid students intimidated by seeking in-person help.