College students experience negative sexual health outcomes such as sexually transmitted infections (STI) and unintended pregnancies. Increasing their use of clinical sexual health services may help reduce these poor outcomes. Currently, little is known about the sexual health service utilization of college students in Alabama or the factors that…

Low levels of health literacy have been linked statistically with decreased health and quality of life, increased mortality, and financial and economic impoverishment at the individual and community levels of analysis. The problem space for this dissertation research was comprised of the problem of low levels of health literacy, problems that are…

Patient outcomes are influenced by the social determinants of health (SDOH), which influence differing exposures to opportunities or health risks. Holistic care of geriatric patients includes considering SDOH in patient assessment, diagnosis, and care delivery. Understanding how NP students care for geriatric patients using a SDOH lens provides…

Worldwide health literacy levels are low. Nurses should be able to lead the improvement of the health literacy of the populations they serve. During a comprehensive review of the literature, it became apparent that previous research regarding the provision of health literacy education within Associate Degree Nursing programs was not available. The…

A qualitative study was performed to evaluate the experiences and perceptions of Hispanic senior adults with health literacy while accessing the healthcare system. Research has shown that Hispanic Americans experience health inequalities due to low health literacy. Patients with low health literacy have trouble following medical directions and…

The purpose of this phenomenological case study was to explore the implementation of Nebraska Rule 52 Primary Service Provider model from the perspectives of the Primary Service Providers as well as the Services Coordinator. This study explored how the Primary Service Provider model is effectively meeting the needs of the child and family in the…

Research examining how these athletes, specifically football players, are racially mistreated in revenue sports in Power Five conferences, as well as the effect of this mistreatment on their health and well-being, has been sparse. Thus, the purpose of my study was to examine current Black male college football players' experiences of racial…

This qualitative exploratory case study explored first-generation community college students' perceptions of mental health knowledge and the use of technology to practice mindfulness and mitigate stress. Data from Likert-type surveys, semi-structured interviews, and an open-ended questionnaire were analyzed to uncover emerging themes to understand…

This study explored doctor of physical therapy (DPT) students' attitudes, perceived knowledge, and perceived competence specific to social and structural determinants of health (SDOH). Current students in a DPT program housed within a college of public health in an urban research institution served as the participants for this research. The…

The purpose of this qualitative research was to understand how the COVID-19 pandemic shaped the lived experiences and stress of high school graduates who were enrolled in advanced academic courses during the 2020-2021 school year. This multiple case study explored how the COVID-19 pandemic affected the experiences of AP/IB high school graduates…

An increasing number of adolescents are struggling with mental health related disorders including anxiety, depression, substance abuse, or suicide. While positive psychologists and researchers continue to search for possible solutions, an increasing number of studies point to the impact that exploring and eventually finding purpose has on an…

Scheduled Castes (SC) and Scheduled Tribes (ST) are historically disadvantaged communities that face discrimination on the grounds of their lower social positioning in society. This dissertation comprises 5 Chapters. Chapter 1 provides a brief outline regarding the stratification in India based on Caste and illustrates the importance of studying…

This qualitative descriptive study explored how health informatics employers and practitioners perceive the skill needed by the health informatics workforce to increase employability in the U.S. The study also addresses how master's degree competencies align with employer perception of health informatics skills and curricula development…

This study aimed to understand the relationship between School Counseling Site Supervisors' (SCSS) characteristics, Social Determinants of Health (SDOH) training, cultural humility, advocacy competency, and SDOH competency (n = 69). SDOH refers to the factors that inform an individual's physical and mental health. Cultural humility refers to an…

Screen media has become increasingly pervasive in our everyday lives and has profoundly changed the way people communicate and interact with each other. However, we are still unclear about the long-term influence of screen media use on our physical health, mental health, and social wellbeing. Children and adolescents are in an important stage of…