Oral health beliefs and behaviors of nurse and nurse practitioner students using the HU-DBI inventory: An opportunity for oral health vicarious learning

Background: Oral health access to care issues are resulting in curricular changes to train nursing students as oral health educators and providers. However, little data are available concerning their personal oral health beliefs/behaviors. The study purpose was to gather information from nurse and nurse practitioner students regarding their oral health beliefs and behaviors. Methods: Using the Hiroshima University Dental Behavioural Inventory (HU-DBI), survey data were gathered from nurse and nurse practitioner students as well as dental hygiene students as controls concerning their oral health beliefs and behaviors. Results: Mean HU-DBI scores were higher among nurse practitioner than nursing students, indicating more positive beliefs/behaviors, but both were lower than dental hygiene students. Both nurse and nurse practitioner students reported significantly fewer dental visits and some poorer hygiene practices than controls. Additionally, nursing students were more likely to believe that their teeth were worsening despite brushing. Conclusions: Assessment of personal oral health beliefs/behaviors should occur early in nursing education with mentoring so that optimal modeling can positively impact patients’ oral health. Oral health education opportunities within and among disciplines are discussed

The Effect of Transition Readiness Interventions on Adolescents with Diabetes when Transitioning from Pediatric to Adult Clinic

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to initiate a transition readiness program which uses motivational interviewing at the Pediatric Endocrinology Clinic located within the UK HealthCare Kentucky Clinic. An evaluation of this program was conducted by assessing participant outcomes related to readiness for transitioning. METHODS: This study was a quasi-experimental one group pretest posttest design to assess the effectiveness of transition readiness interventions on adolescent readiness and confidence in transition of care at the Pediatric Endocrinology Clinic located at the Kentucky Clinic. The sample consisted of 14 patients. RESULTS: No statistical significance was found in the TRAQ tool and the Transition Readiness Assessment Questionnaire pre-/post-intervention due to the small sample size and the number of study subjects who were lost to follow up. The intervention of motivational interviewing and the establishment of a plan of care was completed for 64% of the study subjects. The Transition Registry was utilized to track study subjects for each stage of the study. CONCLUSION: Statistical significance was not found due to a small sample size; however, there is clinical importance in the fact that establishing formal policies within clinics to guide and assist with training, and creating a standardized transition process, will guide healthcare providers and allow for more successful transitions. Therefore, formal practices and programs that address when to identify and assess the knowledge of a transitioning youth will allow for a well-prepared, well-thought out, time invested transition period. More research is needed to further understand the factors surrounding transition of care, and future researchers should develop controlled, large sample size studies to help providers understand how to utilize these factors

Teaching grammar and testing grammar in the English primary school: The impact on teachers and teaching of the grammar element of the statutory test in Spelling, Punctuation and Grammar (SPaG) in England

In the academic year 2012-2013, Year 6 primary school pupils in England sat the first of a new statutory test in Spelling, Punctuation and Grammar (‘SPaG’) as part of their end of primary school assessments in English. This UKLA funded research examines the impact on teachers and their teaching of the grammar element of the statutory SPaG test. The aim of the research has been to evaluate the nature and the extent of changes to the teaching of grammar and to wider literacy teaching since the introduction of SPaG. The research explores teachers’ responses to teaching grammar to a statutory test format, and how teachers have implemented rapid curriculum change in their classrooms. The research explores issues of teacher knowledge, understanding, skill and enjoyment in relation to grammar, at their own level and for teaching pupils. In this research, teachers also discuss their observations of how pupils have responded to explicit grammar teaching and the grammar test. As part of this research we accessed Department for Education data on pupils by gender, ethnicity, language and deprivation in relation to SPaG attainment in 2014, to examine SPaG attainment patterns nationally. The research also analysed SPaG attainment for groups of pupils in four Local Authorities (anonymised as Castlehaven, Longcliffe, Narrowgate and Norchester), specifically in relation to pupils’ ethnicity, languages, deprivation and special educational needs. Main findings: In English primary schools, since the introduction of the statutory SPaG test: • Time spent teaching decontextualized and contextualised grammar has increased significantly; • Grammar is now taught explicitly and formally as a classroom literacy routine; • The grammar test format influences teaching content and approaches; • Teachers observe that pupils enjoy learning grammar and taking the test; • Teachers disagree about the extent to which explicit grammar teaching and testing have a positive impact on pupils’ language and literacy skills; • Teachers feel more confident about teaching grammar. Additional desk-based research indicates: • Ethnic and linguistic minority pupils perform as well as, or better than, white and native English speaking pupils on the SPaG test; • Pupil socioeconomic deprivation is the strongest indicator of low performance on SPaG; • Socioeconomically disadvantaged pupils perform better on SPaG when they are learning in classrooms that are linguistically and ethnically diverse

The Construction and Impact of Power in Cross-Sector Partnerships: An Interpretive Phenomenological Study

In the United States, cross-sector partnerships, a form of collaboration, are becoming increasingly common in practice (Gray & Purdy, 2018). However, questions remain regarding the effectiveness of these partnerships and if the many challenges of using them can be overcome. In particular, the intersection of cross-sector partnerships and power, which can deeply impact these partnerships, needs more attention. This study used interpretive phenomenology to understand, from the participant perspective, (a) the experience and construction of power, (b) the impact of power on participants, and (c) how power dynamics in these initiatives compare to dynamics in organizations. Seventeen participants from four homelessness-focused Collective Impact (CI) initiatives, a popular cross-sector partnership model, were interviewed about their experiences. In addition, I reviewed key documents about each initiative. Data was interpreted using a variety of theoretical lenses, including critical theory, as well as my own work experience in this area, and carefully analyzed through iterative re-engagement, reflexivity, and thematic analysis. The findings revealed that power presented in six different ways: resources, structures and processes, identity, resistance, formal leadership, and framing and communication. When examining the differences between collaborations, differences in these six areas, as well as the identity and ways of operating of the partner who began the partnership, seemed to influence the experience of power. Financial resources were a dominant form of power and provided some partners with disproportionate influence. Dominant partners were also able to stack power across these six areas. The impacts of power dynamics were largely negative. Other significant findings included that some partners did not experience power at all. Critical theory and positive framing may explain this outcome. I call for an expanded CI model with a sixth condition related to power. As part of this sixth condition, I suggest communities make structural changes, such as, to honor discursive power more effectively, putting consumers in positions of power and rotating facilitation responsibilities. This dissertation is available in open access at AURA: Antioch University Repository and Archive, http://aura.antioch.edu/ and Ohiolink ETD Center, https://etd.ohiolink.edu

The Alabama Advanced Placement Initiative: The Roles of the Principal, Teacher, and Student in Bridging the Racial and Socio-economic Gap in College Preparatory Curricula

This research study was designed to determine leadership and instructional behaviors of administrators and teachers who are participants in the Alabama AP Initiative, as well as evaluate the perceptions of the AAPI with regard to student performance. The importance of this research was three-fold. First, this study provided principals, as well as aspiring principals, with statistical research for developing a new AP Program or other advanced curricula. Second, the results of this research provided statistical research for teachers, both experienced and those new to the AP Program, who are developing and/or improving instructional strategies that will become an effective means of teaching the skills outlined by the AP curriculum, while attracting a larger and more diverse group of students into the AP Program. Third, this study provided data that indicates whether the Alabama AP Initiative serves as a means of increasing participation and performance of minority students in inner city and rural school areas. The researcher developed three instruments to survey administrators, teachers, and students within the state of Alabama. The survey was used to determine leadership behaviors and instructional strategies used to implement the AAPI into high school curricula and to determine student perceptions of the AAPI. The researcher also examined four hypotheses centered around the comparison of AP exam scores, AP participation rates, and AP course enrollment over a three year period. A quantitative analysis of archival AP exam scores showed no significant difference in the AP participation rates of minority students, nor in the rates of minority students enrolling in AP courses over the three-year existence of the AAPI. In comparing AP exam scores of minority and non-minority students, data analyses showed a significant difference in only three of the ten subject areas tested. A descriptive analysis was used to examine the survey results. Administrators reported the following behaviors as useful in implementing the AAPI into their schools curriculum: soliciting teacher input in curriculum changes, recognizing the need for more minorities to enroll in advanced courses, communicating with parents and community leaders, and scheduling professional development workshops for adequate teacher training. Teachers reported maintaining regular communication with parents, incorporating strategies learned at AP training institutes, and encouraging students to take advanced courses as instructional strategies that have were useful in enhancing their AP courses. Students perceived the AAPI as beneficial in providing exposure to a college preparatory curriculum, as well as improving higher order thinking skills and standardized testing scores

Black American Men\u27s Resiliency and Persistence to Grow Old: A Midwest Qualitative Study

AbstractAs Black American men continue to experience the highest premature morbidity and mortality, few studies have centered on the intersection of class (low-income) and race (middle-aged and older Black men) with multiple morbidity from a critical race approach in the Midwest region of the U.S. Middle-aged Black men have 31% higher death rate than their White counterparts. A qualitative study was conducted by a community health nurse in the spring of 2021 in a metropolitan city. Thirty-one, low-income Black American men were interviewed focusing on their understanding and perceptions of their complex comorbidities, symptom management for quality of life, short and long-term health planning using critical race theory. Thematic analysis and reflexivity were utilized for the dissemination of the men’s narrative as they shared their journeys with their resiliency to resist racism and persist to grow old. Two major themes were identified, 1) resiliency to resist oppression and racism, and 2) persistence for quality of life through analyzing the narratives of the participants. The themes were chosen after analyzing the narratives of the participants who identified as low-income Black men with complex co-morbidities and how they understand their health, manage their symptoms for quality of life, and short and long-term health planning. Community health nursing has an important role, with a multidisciplinary approach, to build relationships and trust among this population for higher quality of life and to support this population toward the opportunity to age and grow old. Through further community participative research, advocacy through a collaborative disciplinary approach and policy action, addressing and acting against racism as the root of Black men’s health disparities can be eliminated. Keywords: Racial disparities, resistance, resiliency, symptom management, quality of life, short- and long-term health plan, critical race theor