Balance, Mobility, and Fall Risk in Indigenous Rural-Dwelling Older Adults and Urban Dwelling Older Adults in Humboldt and Del Norte County

College of Professional Studies

By 2030, 20% of the U.S. population will be over the age of 65. Among this age group, falls are the leading cause of injuries, hospitalizations, and fatalities in the United States. Within California, rural community dwelling communities have higher rates of falls than urban. Indigenous populations fall more than the national average (34-40.3% vs. 30%), suggesting the rates of falls, and thus physiological declines, may be greatest among Indigenous rural community-dwelling populations. The purpose of this study is to examine intrinsic, extrinsic, and the incidence of falls among rural dwelling Indigenous older adults and urban dwelling older adults in Humboldt and Del Norte Counties.

Barriers to LGBTQ+ Transition Age Youth in Humboldt County

College of Professional Studies

My community partner is the Humboldt County Transition Age Youth Collaboration (HCTAYC). The project is a preliminary research project that looks at the barriers in systems serving the LGBTQ+ transition age youth (16-26) population in Humboldt County. The outcomes from the research are the base for policy recommendations that will be used at HCTAYC. The results from the research done will address the specific question: “How are systems serving the LGBTQ+ transition age youth community in Humboldt County?”

Beau Pre Golf Club presents: College Night

Brenden Barry, Kinesiology & Recreation Administration Undergraduate Student

College of Professional Studies

The event was referred to as College Night or College Golf Night, but all the flyers said Beau Pre Golf Club presents: College Night. The goal for the event was to get students out recreating at a local recreation facility and to introduce my fellow students to the great game of golf in the cheapest way possible, FREE!

Behavioral Health Resource Booklet For Youth in the Juvenile Justice System

Sally Stewart, Social Work Graduate Student

College of Professional Studies

My community project proposal mirrors what the youth in Humboldt County supervision, emergency monitoring, juvenile custody, ward, and non-ward probation, and their guardian(s) wish they knew, or want to reflect on. Resources for support and relevant information to navigate our legal system and improve our clients’ probabilities for success on the outside.

Best Practices in Adolecent Alcohol and Other Drug Interventions

College of Professional Studies

This project explored alcohol and other drug interventions that could be successfully implemented in our rural community, while also focusing on the special needs of foster and homeless youth. My goal was to focus on interventions for youth that are actively using alcohol and drugs, and to pay particular attention to interventions that focused on rural and indigenous youth. Interventions were screened using 6 key criteria. A total of 17 interventions met criteria to be included. Effective interventions were found to be school-based, peer-driven, built community within the school, and focused on developing positive coping skills among youth who participated.

Beyond Surviving—Thriving: A Study of Resilience Protective Factors in Child Welfare Social Workers

College of Professional Studies

The nature of the child welfare social work exposes workers to various forms of trauma impacting the sustainability of this workforce. The retention of social workers has a direct impact on the success or failure of families and children engaged with the child welfare system. Examining protective factors for these workers will increase information about where to focus agency and personal efforts. This is a quantitative study of resilience protective factors measuring resilience, personal meaning, quality of life and post traumatic growth. Findings will help us explore ways to support this workforce and how these factors may impact child welfare worker’s intention to continue in this field.

Bicycling for Exercise Helps Maintain a Youthful Metabolic Cost of Walking in Older Adults

College of Professional Studies

Healthy older adults have been shown to have a 15-20% greater metabolic cost of walking compared to young adults. However, a recent study suggests that older adults who routinely run for exercise have a lower metabolic cost of walking compared to older adults who walk for exercise. It remains unclear if bicycling elicits similar improvements among older adults. PURPOSE: To determine if regular bicycling exercise affects metabolic cost of walking in older adults. RESULTS: Across the range of walking speeds, older bicyclists had a 9-17% lower metabolic cost of walking compared to older walkers. CONCLUSION: Bicycling exercise mitigates the age-related deterioration of walking metabolic cost.

Billing Medi-Cal for Indigenous Cultural Practices

College of Professional Studies

Two Feathers Native American Family Services is becoming a Medi-Cal provider through Humboldt County Mental Health. This will provide new revenue streams for their services but also requires navigating the Medi-Cal billing system. For my masters project, I helped research and compile best billing practices so Two Feathers can effectively bill for their many culturally-based interventions. My poster will highlight the important work Two Feathers is doing and will explain the importance of culturally-based interventions.

Blue Lake Roller Rink Practicum

College of Professional Studies

This project showcases the practicum I completed this semester at Blue Lake Roller Rink and what I gained from this experience.

Boobs and Beakers: Gender-Science Stereotypes Predict Implicit Attitudes Toward Women in Science

College of Professional Studies

Women have always faced discrimination , but have made great strides, particularly in the workforce. Though more women are entering male dominated fields, these jobs are still seen as inherently male. Specifically, STEM fields have been slow to integrate women into its elite ranks. The field of sciences are traditionally male dominated and associated with masculinity. This is mostly attributable to sociocultural influences rather than biological differences or ability. Stronger implicit association of men with science promotes differences in academic and career outcomes. The current study aims to investigate gender differences in the masculine association with science.