A Disparities Analysis of Cancer Patients’ Access to Depression Treatment by Health Insurance Status and Type

Research has demonstrated that comorbid conditions like depression in cancer patients reduce quality of life, prolong recovery, and reduce survival time of the cancer patient. Although other studies have investigated the issue of depression among cancer patients, there is a dearth of studies looking at differences in taking depression medication with health insurance as a source of disparity. Using survey data from the National Health Interview Survey (NHIS), and the health belief model as the theoretical framework, this study had two purposes. The first was to determine if there were differences in the likelihood of taking medication for depression based on health insurance status (not having vs. having health insurance) among adult breast, colorectal, skin, prostate, and/or lung cancer patients. The second was to determine whether there were differences in the likelihood of taking medication for depression based on type of health insurance (public vs. private) among those same patients who had health insurance. Although bivariate logistic regression analyses found no statistically significant differences, multivariate logistic regression analyses controlling for gender, race, and age found that those with health insurance were 2.128 times as likely to take depression medication as those without health insurance, and that among those with health insurance, those with public insurance were 2.168 times as likely to take depression medication as those with private insurance. The study\u27s findings underscore the need for targeted interventions, culturally competent care, and enhanced screening to ensure equitable access to depression treatment for all cancer patients, regardless of insurance status, particularly for underserved racial populations, in oncology practices

Strategies U.S. Hospital Leaders Use to Recruit, Hire, and Retain Physicians to Sustain Profitability

Poor physician retention negatively impacts the quality of community healthcare, leading to financial losses and increased operational costs for hospitals. Hospital administrators and the governing boards are particularly concerned with addressing this issue to ensure sustainable healthcare delivery. Grounded in the Hertzberg’s two factor theory, the purpose of this qualitative pragmatic inquiry was to explore strategies that hospital administrators can utilize to improve physician retention. The participants included eight high-ranking hospital administrators within the geographic region of North Carolina who had an active role in provider retention. Data was collected using semistructured interviews, identify five critical themes: (a) implement mentorship, (b) promote competitive salaries, (c) ensure clear communication, (d) foster work life balance, and (e) apply progressive leadership. A key recommendation that emerged from this study is for hospital administrators to implement mentorship programs throughout the organization. The potential implications for positive social change include improved public health outcomes and increased health equity by ensuring consistent access to well-trained physicians. Additionally, enhancing physician education on emerging disease states and preventive care strategies can optimize community health, ultimately reducing hospitalizations and lowering healthcare costs for individuals and society

Relationship Between Years of Experience, Age, Teamwork, and Medical-Surgical Nurses’ Intentions to Stay

The United States is currently experiencing a nurse staffing crisis that is significantly impacting the medical-surgical (MS) nursing workforce. With MS nurses providing the most care for inpatient beds, hospital administrators must identify strategies that support MS nurse retention to preserve access to care for patients and support patient safety. The purpose of this study, guided by the complex adaptive systems theory, was to understand the relationship between teamwork, age, years of experience, and MS nurses’ intentions to stay in their roles in acute care hospitals. MS nurses were recruited via invitations from the chief nursing officer of a system or social media recruitment flyer. The final sample consisted of 82 MS nurses with at least 6 months of experience who responded to questions from the Nursing Teamwork Survey and the Organizational Commitment Questionnaire. Likert scale responses were analyzed quantitatively using linear and multiple regression analyses. The findings of this cross-sectional survey revealed a statistically significant relationship, with a medium effect, between teamwork (R2 = 0.22, p \u3c 0.001), mature age (R2 = 0.32, p = 0.003), and MS nurses’ intentions to stay in their acute care roles in a hospital. Future research using a longitudinal design and a larger sample size is recommended. The findings of this study may raise awareness among MS administrators and nurse leaders to develop strategies that promote teamwork in acute care hospital MS nursing staff and promote research on the impact of teamwork and age on MS nurses’ intentions to stay in their roles in acute care hospitals, which results in increase in nursing staffing and impacts positive social change

Effective Health Care Management Strategies for Increasing Employee Engagement and Productivity

Ineffective strategies to increase employee engagement and productivity can negatively impact business operations. Human resources (HR) and business leaders in the health care industry who lack effective strategies to increase employee engagement and productivity risk business stability. Grounded in self-determination theory, the purpose of this qualitative pragmatic inquiry project was to identify and explore effective strategies HR and business leaders in health care use to increase employee engagement and productivity. The participants were six health care HR and business leaders who had effectively implemented strategies to increase employee engagement and productivity. Data were collected by conducting semistructured interviews. Thematic analysis yielded five themes: (a) communication and meetings, (b) performance management, (c) learning and development, (d) recognition and rewards, and (e) job satisfaction surveys. A key recommendation is for HR and business leaders to be fully engaged to recognize and respond in an appropriate and timely manner to the needs of their employees. This project has implications for positive social change in that a fully engaged workforce that brings their entire selves to work and has meaningful work they are proud of can potentially encourage other community members to achieve similar results for themselves. Having meaningful work may promote strong communities where employees are actively employed, contributing to society, and serving as upstanding pillars of their communities

Information Technology Management and Emotional Intelligence

Information technology (IT) employees often face high stress, burnout, and turnover, indicating a potential gap in IT leaders’ emotional intelligence (EI), which may hinder their ability to support and retain their teams effectively. Since IT plays a critical role in organizational performance and achieving strategic goals, addressing this gap is crucial for improving team well-being and organizational success. Grounded in EI theory, the purpose of this quantitative correlational study was to examine the relationship between IT managers’ EI subscales—assertiveness and interpersonal relationships—and their influence on the EI subscale, happiness/well–being indicator. The participants were 38 IT managers from U.S. organizations who completed a 133-item EQ-i 2.0 self-assessment. The results of the multiple linear regression were statistically significant between the EI subscales, assertiveness, interpersonal relationships, and the happiness/well–being indicator, F(2, 35) = 13.40, p \u3c .001, R2 = .43. The final model showed that the interpersonal relationships predictor (B = 0.65, t = 4.22, p \u3c .001) had a highly positive correlation and was statistically significant. In contrast, the assertiveness predictor (B = 0.22, t = 1.22, p = .23) had a slight positive correlation but was not statistically significant. A key recommendation is for organizational leaders to incorporate EI assessments and training into leadership development, hiring, and onboarding processes, focusing on EI traits to improve team morale, productivity, and retention and foster a supportive workplace culture. The implications for positive social change include the potential for promoting EI development among IT managers, thereby supporting work environments that enhance productivity, morale, and work–life balance

Perceptions of Law Enforcement Spouses Regarding Officer Safety and Danger

Policing is a stressful and dangerous occupation that is imperative to a functioning society, and stress should be limited to ensure a healthy mind and body. The purpose of this study was to examine the perceptions of law enforcement spouses regarding officer safety and danger, which was lacking in the research. Law enforcement spouses have a significant impact over the stress levels of their loved ones. The work–life balance and work–family conflict theories were the theoretical framework used to relate to the study and support the research. The generic qualitative design was used with semistructured interviews to gather research data to determine the perceptions of law enforcement spouses regarding officer safety and danger. The research sample included 12 participants who were at least 18 years or older, legally married to police officers in large urban Texas community, and able to read, write, and understand English. Thematic analysis with an inductive process was used to develop themes and analyze the data. The results of this study disclosed the participants felt a heightened state of fear when police officers were injured, had to deal with the public, or during periods of negative sentiment portrayed in the media. Understanding the stressors of law enforcement officers may benefit criminal justice agencies and society by developing opportunities for growth of professionalism in policing. Stress can be compounded by a lack of work–life balance and higher levels of work–family conflict, which demonstrates the importance of understanding the perceptions of law enforcement spouses. Positive social change implications included higher levels of professionalism to assist in positive community interactions and repairing the relationship between citizens and law enforcement

Clinical Practice Guideline for Nurse Practitioners: Diabetes Type Two Self-Care Management

This project was a clinical practice guideline (CPG) for nurse practitioners regarding evidence-based guidelines for type 2 diabetes (T2DM) self-care management at a primary care practice in Ohio. The practice problem of T2DM is a prevalent disease affecting approximately 37.3 million people. T2DM can lead to complications of kidney disease, heart disease, diabetic neuropathy, eye damage, foot damage, and infections. Self-care in T2DM can improve outcomes and decrease complications. However, evidence-based guidelines are lacking to guide practitioners in self-care management of T2DM at this site. The practice-focused question was, “Does the evidence support development of a self-care, T2DM, CPG for primary care providers, that receives a quality score of 70% or greater by an expert panel using the Appraisal of Guidelines for Research & Evaluation II (AGREE II) Instrument and receives approval for use in practice by end users?” A comprehensive literature review and synthesis of 20 current articles on T2DM management using the Johns Hopkins Model supports the project. A panel of three experts assessed the CPG via the AGREE II Instrument. Domain scores ranged from 100% to 92%. Two global domain scores were 100% each, resulting in end users\u27 approval for the use of this CPG in practice. The results indicate a quality CPG. This self-management, T2DM CPG may help reduce inequalities in healthcare by ensuring that all patients, regardless of their social or ethnic background, have access to the same high level of care. An important aspect of this project is the integration of principles of positive social change, diversity, equity, and inclusion into the approach to treatment

Examining Nationality, First Generation Status and Academic Identity Status as a Lens into Student Achievement

This study investigates the relationship between academic identity statuses and academic achievement at a U.S. northeastern college where 55% of the population is first-generation students. Using Was and Isaacson’s (2008) Academic Identity Measure, I assessed four identity statuses (achieved, foreclosed, diffused, and moratorium) among 424 students. Multiple linear regression analysis revealed that achieved identity status had the strongest positive effect on grade-point average (GPA), while diffused identity status showed the most significant negative impact. Additionally, birthplace and mother’s educational status emerged as significant demographic predictors of academic achievement. The findings suggest that students with foreclosed or diffused identities struggle with decision-making and often employ ineffective academic strategies. These results underscore the need for targeted interventions to help students develop an achieved academic identity while considering their social identity intersections

Depictions of United States Military Domestic Violence Found on the Internet

Military domestic violence (MDV) is an issue in the United States. The purpose of this generic qualitative study was to explore how the mainstream media and published government content depicts MDV on the internet, and whether those narratives/video transcripts contained any agenda to generate influence. Ragas’ agenda-setting theory was used as a framework for this study. Agenda-setting is a communication specific phenomenon directed to influence individuals or organizations, based on what public relations practitioners present to the public. There are two research questions in this study. The first is: How do mainstream media narratives, and government documents depict survivors and support related to U.S. MDV? The second is: Does journalistic language or other jargon in documents/video transcripts involving U.S. MDV suggest any agenda? A group of 193 samples of extant data from online media and government sources were collected, uploaded to NVivo, and analyzed using thematic content analysis. The findings indicated that systemic, institutional, and cultural barriers to U.S. MDV victim-survivor support were present. In addition, media presenters and U.S. government representatives conveyed multiple conflicting agendas, including partisan marginalization of MDV victim-survivors, and agendas focused on individual influence and the need for organization-wide change in education, action, and awareness of MDV. This study contributes to social change and enhancing the social determinants of health at the individual, community, organizational, and societal levels by further defining the context within which U.S. MDV victim-survivors continue to live

Female Runners’ Perspectives of Coping With Relative Energy Deficiency in Sports (RED-S) Symptoms Through Instructor-Led Yoga

Relative energy deficiency in sports (RED-S) impacts the physical, emotional, and psychological health of adult female runners. Previous RED-S inquiry has focused on identification and evaluation of symptoms, and although researchers have investigated ways in which yoga affects adult female runner’s physical and mental health, understanding about the potential impact of instructor-led yoga practice in the treatment and management of RED-S symptoms is limited. The purpose of this basic qualitative inquiry was to investigate the lived experiences of adult female runners practicing instructor-led yoga to cope with RED-S symptoms, using the health belief model as a framework. Eight volunteers shared their experiences by participating in a semi structured, one-on-one interview. Participants provided detailed, personalized accounts of their running and instructor-led yoga experience, interventions, and the strategies used to cope with RED-S symptoms. Participants also outlined the benefits and barriers encountered with instructor-led yoga and the factors involved in their decision to practice. Based on the interviews, instructor-led yoga was applied by all participants as an integrative coping strategy that included physical, mental, social, and emotional elements which exemplified how and why the women felt it impacted their symptoms. Findings indicate that instructor-led yoga may be an effective strategy to cope with RED S symptoms. This research has potential implications for positive social change because it adds to the limited data about female health issues from a woman’s perspective. Health education and promotion professionals may use the findings of this study to advance practice and policy to better support women experiencing RED-S symptoms