A VISION TO SERVE THE COMMUNITY: A GROUNDED THEORY APPROACH EXAMINING EDUCATIONAL PERSISTENCE AMONG AMERICAN INDIAN GRADUATE STUDENTS

The purpose of this qualitative research study was to examine the process of educational persistence among American Indian graduate students attending non-Native colleges and universities in Montana. Specifically, a grounded theory approach was used to generate a theory to describe persistence, using the concepts derived from participant interviews. Participants were American Indian graduate students currently enrolled at the following Montana institutions: University of Montana-Missoula, Montana State University-Bozeman, Montana Tech-Butte, Montana State University-Billings, and Montana State Northern-Havre. This study explored the following central research questions: What is persistence in the context of the American Indian graduate student experience? Why and how do American Indian graduate students persist while attending non-Native colleges and universities in the state of Montana? Data analysis was structured to select one core category as the focus of the theory, with additional detailed categories to form a theoretical model (Strauss & Corbin, 2015; Creswell, 2013). The core category of persistence in this study was a “Vision to serve the community,” with the following supporting categories: identity, skills, and support. It is recommended that Tribal Community Colleges and Universities (TCU’s) expand to include higher leveled degrees, non-Native Colleges and Universities (NNCU’s) reduce institutional barriers for American Indian students, and that the research paradigms become more inclusive of Indigenous research methodologies

Solution-focused brief therapy as an alternative to clinical social work in Chile

This manuscript consists in a three-paper dissertation that compiles relevant research and practice regarding solution-focused brief therapy (SFBT) with Latinos and Latin Americans who present alcohol use disorders. In this sense, the first paper is a systematic review on all the empirical studies of SFBT with Latinos that have been published and not published from January 1990 to December 2014 and uncovers the scarcity of empirical studies on SFBT in Latin American countries. Findings suggest that this approach is a promissory alternative to intervene with Latinos and Latin American people who present varied psychosocial problems. More empirical studies examining different conditions will inform regarding its effectiveness. The second article corresponds to the description of an exploratory linguistic adaptation of the SFBT approach for Chilean, clinical, and vulnerable population who are alcohol users, following a qualitative approach. Findings suggest that this population understood main SFBT techniques after changing phrasing to make them clearer and simpler. In addition, practitioners should consider issues such as stigma of alcohol use in women, inclusion of family members in the treatment process, and being attentive to what client wants; all of these considerations are consistent with SFBT. The third article presents a pilot implementation of the approach with the population to which the approach was culturally adapted, four social workers were trained in SFBT and eight individuals with alcohol problems received a three-session SFBT. Data were analyzed using visual analysis, percentage of non-overlapping data, linear regression, and hierarchical linear modeling. Main findings suggest that individuals receiving SFBT trended to increase their abstinent days, decrease their depression scores, consequences of alcohol use, and improve their self-reported wellbeing. These three papers build on the small literature available until now regarding SFBT with Latin Americans, and sit the basis for continue to build more empirical research that provides Latin American practitioners with an evidence-based intervention to implement with their clients.Social Wor

HAPI Prevention Bundle: An Initiative to Prevent Hospital-Acquired Pressure Injuries

Problem: Hospital-Acquired Pressure Injuries (HAPI) are a serious health problem as they increase patient morbidity and mortality. They are detrimental to patients, families, and healthcare systems. Context: Research supports HAPI prevention bundles are a way to standardize care processes and reduce the incidence of pressure injuries. This evidence-based practice intervention was initiated to develop a HAPI prevention bundle in an adult Medical-Surgical Telemetry unit. A literature review was conducted to identify the best HAPI prevention practices. Intervention: The evidence-based pressure injury preventive bundle includes interventions consistent with proper skin assessments and documentation, patient risk identification, development of Wound Care Champions, routine huddle attendance, proper education, and continuous training. Measures: Wound, ostomy, and continence nurses, bedside nurses, nurse leaders, and Quality Improvement (QI) specialists participated in the development of the bundle. Nursing questionnaires, chart audits, and interviews were conducted. Pre-implementation HAPI incidences and sentinel events were reviewed. Results: Post-implementation findings will be conducted at 12 months after bundle implementation to determine a significant reduction of HAPI incidence. Conclusion: An evidence-based bundle initiative was developed in an adult Medical-Surgical Telemetry unit to reduce the incidence of HAPIs and standardize the process for pressure injury prevention. Staff engagement and leadership involvement are essential to the success of this EBP intervention. The goal is to integrate the bundle and decrease the number of HAPIs in the unit

The Lived Experience of Late-Stage Doctoral Student Attrition in Counselor Education

Doctoral student attrition occurs across academic disciplines and presents problems for noncompleting students and the programs from which they withdraw. The following research question guided the present study, What is the experience of doctoral attrition in counselor education? Six late-stage doctoral noncompleters from counselor education programs participated in research interviews that were analyzed using a grounded theory approach. Results showed two distinct types of attrition. Five participants reported a negative experience of encountering barriers that acted against the internal desire of the participants to obtain the doctorate. One participant reported a positive experience of an internal change that altered the priority of continuing in doctoral study. Results of the present study have implications for prospective and current doctoral students

Draft Genome Sequences of Two Vibrio parahaemolyticus Strains Associated with Gastroenteritis after Raw Seafood Ingestion in Colorado.

Vibrio parahaemolyticus is a Gram-negative pathogen associated with gastrointestinal and wound infections after exposure to raw seafood or contaminated waters. We report here the whole-genome sequences of two stool isolates (CDC-AM50933 and CDC-AM43539) from patients in Colorado presenting with gastroenteritis after ingesting raw seafood

Remittances, Institutions, and Inequality in Developing Countries

The private transfers sent by immigrant workers back to their home countries, or remittances, can improve the development of recipient countries through poverty reduction, higher education, and new business formation. However, the effect of remittances on income inequality is still debatable. While some studies suggest that these transfers are sent to the poor, other investigations find that remittances are directed toward higher-income cohorts, widening the gap between rich and poor. This study provides new evidence about potential income inequality reduction driven by remittances and quality of institutions. For instance, weak institutions discourage the usage of remittances toward productive ventures, more so among poor families. Middle- and high-income groups tend to be better prepared to reduce their exposure to the damages of weak institutions. We constructed instrumental variables and completed two-stage least square (2SLS) analysis to address possible causality bias, a problem so pervasive in this type of empirical studies. Using a set of 25 institutional indicators, we find that remittance recipient countries with better institutions have more meaningful reduction in income inequality. This effect is stronger among heavy remittance-recipient countries