Expanding the Net: Building Mental Health Care Capacity for Veterans

In this brief, Senior Fellow Phillip Carter calls upon the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to expand its mental health care resources to meet the growing needs of veterans across the country. Although the VA will spend nearly $7 billion this year on mental health care for veterans, Mr. Carter argues that this is not likely to be enough. The report urges the VA to rely more on the private sector and work more closely with local community and private philanthropic organizations

LYNN - 2019 Annual Edition

Main Stories: A winning dynasty: Fighting Knights rise to the challenge iPad-powered Fighting Knights Wellness for the mind and body Passing the torchhttps://spiral.lynn.edu/lynnmag/1019/thumbnail.jp

Doctor of Philosophy

dissertationWith the health care focus shifting from chronic disease management to efforts around preventative care, worksites may be a key population for interventions to improve health. Because walking is commonly utilized in worksite wellness programs (WWP) and self-efficacy is a strong predictor of exercise adherence, the purpose of this study is to determine the value of incorporating the self-efficacy theory with technology to increase and sustain walking for exercise behavior in a healthcare worksite population. This study, consisting of two parts, seeks to answer the following research questions: Will messages based upon the self-efficacy theory delivered during a 1-mile walk significantly increase beliefs around walking for exercise? Will a smartphone application plus self-efficacy messages delivered via text message increase self-efficacy beliefs as well as sustain walking behavior? Do self-efficacy beliefs associated with walking transfer to other forms of physical activity? A pilot study consisting of a one-group, mixed methods, pre-post test nonexperimental design (N=16) tested the delivery of self-efficacy messages as well as a tool to measure walking self-efficacy beliefs. These beliefs were measured before and after a 1-mile walking session during which verbal self-efficacy messages were delivered. Paired t-test analysis confirmed that self-efficacy beliefs significantly improved. The sustainability study, a two-group randomized control true experimental design, incorporated smartphone technology for tracking walking behavior over 6 weeks and delivery of text messages (N=73). Both groups used a smartphone application to track their walks and the intervention group received weekly text messages based upon the self-efficacy theory. Self-efficacy beliefs increased significantly within each group, but there was not a significant difference between groups at posttest, which means that the smartphone application and monitoring of behavior may have increased beliefs, but the text messages did not have a significant effect. There was value in the text messages for behavior change as the intervention group sustained the walking behavior one week longer than the control group. While this study design is a novel approach to improving the walking for exercise behavior of worksite population, it should not be used as a sole intervention and instead be combined with other modalities to create a multifaceted WWP

2017 Fall Convocation Program

Fall convocation program held on August 9, 2017

Healthy PSU: PSU Summit Day

PSU Summit Day is a collaborative project between Healthy PSU and our Adventure Education Dept./Outdoor Center. The goal is to engage leaders/participants in a meaningful group physical activity, hiking outdoors with a purposeful intention while promoting personal growth and leadership. This experience will provide an opportunity for individuals to strive towards the summit of a given mountain while connecting with others to build social support, health & well-being. The participants will be introduced to trail hiking techniques, safety and equipment needs, physical activity assessments, proper nutrition and hydration, medical questionnaires, journal reflection and access to the Wellness Council of America\u27s On the Move University on-line/mobile platform. All of which will prepare them for a safe, guided hiking experience in the beautiful mountains of New Hampshire

A Healthier Bottom Line: Distilling Best Practices in Corporate Wellness

The Massachusetts Business Roundtable (MBR) collaborated with a team from the Emerging Leaders Program (ELP) from the University of Massachusetts Boston to explore ways to control health care costs. One strategy being implemented by employers to control health care costs is through “wellness programs,” employer-sponsored efforts to improve the health of employees. Members of the Massachusetts Business Roundtable (MBR) and other large employers have had success in reducing their health care costs through the implementation of corporate wellness initiatives. The purpose of this paper is to define what is working in private sector wellness programs to determine whether there is a broader application that would help the state meet its cost containment goals

A Systems Approach to Increasing Awareness and Coordination of Student Retention and Completion at a Canadian College

As competition for students and scarce resources increases due to political and economic pressures, awareness and coordination of student retention and completion become a critical priority for post-secondary institutions. However, despite increased attention on Strategic Enrolment Management (SEM) (Black, 2010; Gottheil & Smith, 2011; Hossler & Bontrager, 2015; Wilkinson et al., 2007) and the growth of retention-focused student services in recent years, retention rates remain unchanged (Habley, Bloom, & Robbins, 2012). Post-secondary students are in the midst of a significant transition period (Tinto, 1993) and face challenges related to mental health and wellness, relationships, rigors of academic life, and personal finances (Braxton, Hirschy, & McClendon, 2006; Tinto, 1993). Furthermore, complex institutional structures are increasingly difficult for students to navigate (Karp, 2011) and are not designed around the needs of Generation Z learners (Seemiller & Grace, 2016). This Organizational Improvement Plan (OIP) describes a “whole-system” solution to the problem that sorts, connects, supports, and transforms students while also transforming the institution (Beatty-Guenter, 1994). This plan describes how the higher education registrar is uniquely positioned within the organization to lead change (Duklas, 2014; Waters & Hightower, 2016) and identifies a compatible systems approach to leadership (Coffey, 2010; Senge, Hamilton, & Kania, 2015) that may be employed. To accelerate and sustain change so that it becomes embedded within organizational culture (Kotter, 2014), key stakeholders representing multiple campus subsystems (Kalsbeek, 2006a, 2006b, 2007) are engaged throughout the process

15 Years: 15 Points of Progress, Transformational Leadership, 1997-2010 [Western Kentucky University]

This report, 15 Years: 15 Points of Progress, documents the most significant changes at WKU since our transformation began in late Fall, 1997. Our success is measurable. Our achievements are significant. Most importantly, our transformation is a lasting one