Addressing Burnout in Registered Nurses

Kacey Meyer, School of Applied Health Undergraduate Student

College of Professional Studies

Burnout is a chronic condition occurring at high rates in Registered Nurses due to working in high stress work environments, often while understaffed and with demanding workloads. The effects of burnout impact the health of not only RNs but can have negative consequences for their patients. This issue should be addressed for the mental and physical health of this critical workforce and for the patients under their care. Mindful practice, self-care, improving resiliency, and organizational culture change can decrease stress and in turn may reduce incidence of burnout for RNs.

Addressing the Full Spectrum of ACL Injury

Delilah Kimble-Gray, School of Applied Health Undergraduate Student

College of Professional Studies

Having torn my own ACL, I understand firsthand the physical, emotional, and psychological challenges athletes face in recovery. Through this research, I aim to shed light on the often-overlooked aspects of ACL treatment. This includes the need for gender-specific prevention programs and the mental resilience required for healing. While advances in surgery and rehabilitation offer hope, there is still much to be done, particularly in supporting non-elite athletes and integrating innovative technologies. In conclusion, my goal is to create a more holistic approach to ACL injury prevention and recovery, addressing both the body and the mind.

Alcohol and Drug Resource List

College of Professional Studies

Social Workers commonly share that there is a lack of resources related to alcohol and drug treatment programs to refer clients to. Based on a review of alcohol and drug services available in the Northern CA region, I created a resource list on how to refer clients to a variety of alcohol and drug services including substance testing, assessment, and treatment in the region for Child Welfare Services. This resource list was developed to improve service delivery, identify services in the region, and to assist social workers in referring people who have court mandated alcohol and drug service requirements.

Alcohol Use Disorder Humboldt County

Emily Monahan, School of Applied Health Undergraduate Student

College of Professional Studies

Residents of Humboldt County have a higher-than-average incidence of Alcohol Use Disorder (AUD) when compared to the rest of California and the US. Local youth report drinking alcohol at a younger age, and more frequently than average. Alcohol related hospital admissions are frequent for those who have AUD. Addressing the problem starts at early intervention in adolescents and continues through adulthood. Humboldt county lacks resources for those suffering from AUD and a specialized detox facility would decrease the amount of hospital admissions for alcohol related diagnoses. Making these resources and facilities available to Humboldt County residents could help reduce Alcohol Use Disorder.

Ambivalent Sexism Predicting Attitudes Toward Affirmative Action for Women

College of Professional Studies

Affirmative action policies have been put into place to help women make the steps towards equality and hopefully amend prejudiced attitudes.The current study focuses on types of sexism and their relationship towards affirmative action support. It is hypothesized that higher scores on hostile and benevolent sexism will be associated with decreased support for affirmative action directed towards women. Community members in Northern California (N = 110) were measured. Measures include that of hostile, benevolent, and ambivalent sexism. Results indicate that only hostile sexism is potentially a key factor in determining whether individuals oppose affirmative action directed towards women.

An Evaluation of the Blue Lake Biomass Plant Emissions: Air Quality and Health Impact on the Blue Lake Rancheria

College of Professional Studies

The Blue Lake Rancheria community has had visibly polluted air and matter emitted from the local biomass plant over the recent past. The Rancheria is concerned about the negative health impact the biomass plant could be having on the environment and community. This literary review hopes to establish an understanding of the impact of the Blue Lake biomass energy plant’s impact on air quality, determine standards of emissions which it operates and examine the gaps between current healthy standards of emission and that of the Blue Lake biomass plant. The findings will inform the Blue Lake Rancheria and will raise public awareness of the air quality and health impact of the biomass energy plant.

An Investigation into the Copper Toxicity of Anti-Fouling Paint

College of Professional Studies

The goal of our research is to analyze the effect of copper toxicity in anti-fouling paint on invasive bryozoan specie. The goal of this project is to determine the ideal concentration of copper in anti-fouling paint to prevent the ability of these invasive specie to attach themselves to ship hulls and be transported around the oceans.

Analysis of Language Surrounding Sexual Consent in College Human Sexuality Textbooks

College of Professional Studies

Using corpus linguistics, we created an initial analysis on how consent is presented in undergraduate human sexuality textbooks. We investigated how consent was represented semantically, descriptively and contextually. These initial findings will inform future steps and provide us with a baseline to compare to grassroots initiatives.

Analyzing Food Insecurity at Cal Poly Humboldt: Prevalence, Barriers, and Institutional Neglect

Alex Neel, Social Work Undergraduate Student

College of Professional Studies

An analysis into the different aspects of food insecurity we face on campus, from privatization of our food systems, administrative apathy, and consequences of food insecurity for students.

Application of the Predicted Repetitions-to-Failure Rating of Perceived Exertion Scale for the NFL 225-lb Bench Press Test

College of Professional Studies

A rating of perceived exertion (RPE) scale is a numerical representation of an individual’s perceptual response to training and is a viable method of measuring exertion during training (Borg 1982). Recently, versions of previously used RPE scales have been developed and are being used specifically for measuring repetitions-in-reserve (RIR), or repetitions-to-failure (RTF) in resistance exercise. The purpose of this study was to assess how accurately division II NCAA football players could predict repetitions-to-failure during the bench press exercise using an absolute load of 225-lbs by comparing predicted repetitions-to-failure (RTF) with actual repetitions-to-failure.