<p> The purpose of this qualitative study was to discover strategies that hospital administrators can use to obtain support from physicians as they pertain to corporate compliance, while still remaining accountable and loyal to healthcare organizations. By interviewing eight physicians and eight hospital administrators, the study sample was used to gather information on behaviors that influence and affect physician participation in corporate compliance programs. Using the grounded theory design of qualitative research was most appropriate for this study. The use of purposive sampling was most appropriate for this study and produced data for a comparative analysis. The comparative analysis allowed for the generation of a grounded theory by first extracting primary themes for the collected data. Twelve primary themes emerged from the content analysis, which produced four categories, producing a grounded theory, The Hospital Compliance Leader Theory. The hospital compliance leader theory indicates that hospital administrators can engage physicians in corporate compliance programs, while maintaining physician loyalty. To accomplish this, the healthcare leaders must incorporate each of the following: (a) use appropriate training programs while understanding the challenges the physicians face; (b) bridge the artificial gap between hospitals and physicians by educating physicians on the potential consequences the hospital faces because of noncompliance; (c) training physicians on corporate compliance, emphasizing the benefits to patient care with full support from the administrative leadership team; and (d) mandating physician compliance training and focusing the training on the greatest compliance risk areas.</p>

<p> The problem addressed was the low job satisfaction levels of nurses and subsequent nurses' decision to leave the organization. The quantitative correlational survey study involved determining whether a relationship exists between nurses&rsquo; perceptions of nurse managers&rsquo; leadership style and nurses&rsquo; job satisfaction. Eighty-three fulltime medical surgical intensive care nurses in two hospitals in Phoenix, Arizona, completed the Job Description Index for Jobs in General (JID/JIG) and the Multifactor Leadership Questionnaire (MLQ, Form 5X). The results suggest a significant, positive correlation between job satisfaction and perceptions of nurse managers' leadership style by nurses. Nurses with the highest satisfaction scores in three of the six subscales perceived their managers used the transformational leadership style. The mean score for nurses whose managers were rated as transactional was higher than the mean score for nurses whose managers were rated as passive-avoidant. The promotion and supervision subscales and the job in general scale showed a significant relationship with transformational leadership. Implications for healthcare administrative leaders include hiring transformational managers to increase job satisfaction in nurses and offer nurses opportunities for promotion and training.</p>

<p> The purpose of this grounded theory study was to develop a construct that describes the motivations of physicians to lead multidisciplinary prostate cancer clinics (MPCCs). Medical leaders play a key role in increasing the number of MPCCs, which are not yet widely available to patients in the United States. Understanding what motivates these physicians to lead is an important dimension of developing, recruiting, and retaining MPCC leaders. </p><p> This study collected qualitative, empirical data from 12 MPCC medical leaders located throughout the United States. Utilizing theoretical sampling and constant comparison, the data derived from face-to-face interviews were used to create a new construct of MPCC medical leaders' motives called <i> Leader-Stage Motivation</i> (LSM). </p><p> In the LSM construct a physician experiences 11 motivational factors while leading a multidisciplinary prostate cancer clinic. These 11 factors are grouped into 5 motivational patterns: mentored self-efficacy, purpose-driven goal, multidisciplinary relatedness, time-moderated challenge, and achievement-driven goal. Each of these 5 patterns is directly related to the leader's role during 3 stages of MPCC development: leader-creator, leader-sustainer, and leader-renewer. </p><p> The LSM construct is distinct from other leadership motivation theories such as leadership motive pattern (McClelland, 1975), role motivation theory (Miner, 1978) and motivation to lead (Chan &amp; Drasgow, 2001). Unlike these previous theories LSM establishes a relationship between the leader's motivations and changing leadership roles during the life cycle of an organization. The LSM construct also provides a new model of leadership motivation that is specific to medical leaders. </p><p> This study contributes to leadership motivation research by modeling physicians' motivations to lead in one type of multidisciplinary, patient-centered environment. The LSM construct gives health care providers a development, recruitment, and retention framework for future multidisciplinary prostate cancer clinic medical leaders. Results of this study may also contribute more broadly to an understanding of what motivates physicians to lead their peers. </p>

<p> The current study served to provide new knowledge that may benefit future researchers, policy makers, health care leaders, and health care professionals who aspire to improve the delivery status for quality end of life care. A missing link in the hospice care continuum was identified as the need for the use of music listening by patients and caregivers as a low cost viable non-invasive alternative intervention that can be effectively utilized in real life situations. The researcher chose the current study's generic qualitative design to enhance understanding of how informal hospice patients' caregivers perceived music listening as a means for the patients to accept the state of a good death. Generic qualitative research design offered the researcher with an opportunity to hear and inductively analyze the hospice patients' vulnerable voices per their caregivers. Data was collected during a semi-structured face-to-face interview process and was reflective of the perceptions of hospice caregivers (<i>N</i> = 4). The researcher incorporated an axial coding process with the use of NVivo 9 software to analyze the data. A <i> priori coding</i> method incorporated the use of four predetermined themes: three domains for the concept of a good death and one for music and a good death. Overall, the findings indicated that music listening had a positive effect on the hospice patients, according to their caregivers' perceptions. The study limitations reflected the use of a small sample size from one Southwestern city that consisted of four female caregivers and the study results were dependent upon the perceptions of these caregivers. Consequently, due to the study's limitations, health care researchers and health care administrators should cautiously generalize the study's findings and decide for themselves if the study benefits outweigh its limitations. Further studies are indicated to enhance and supplement the knowledge presented in this study. One suggestion to further research is to broaden the scope of recruitment to include younger hospice patients, including children, who receive care either in their own home or in a medical facility. Another suggestion to further research would be to compare the effects of different types of music preferred by hospice patients.</p>

<p> The qualitative phenomenological study described herein examined the meaning and essence of the lived psychospiritual and felt-sense experiences arising in individuals who are living with a life-threatening illness. The purpose of the study and the research question are described in this dissertation along with definitions of important terms, the theoretical lenses through which the research was conducted, and an autobiographical reflection describing the motivation behind the research. A historical background of early medical and spiritual practices and beliefs provides context for the study and precedes a review of pertinent literature. The literature review discusses existing germane research studies that support the need for the study. Research methods used to conduct this study are described, along with participant qualifications, recruitment processes used, and ethical considerations undergirding this study. This document includes references for the many citations appearing throughout this research, a chapter that discusses the results that arose from an examination of the data, along with a discussion of findings. It is my sincere hope that my words inspire greater interest in this topic and open a sacred space for the study to have deep and lasting meaning within the wider transpersonal and scientific community.</p>

<p> Universal developmental screening during pediatric well child care detects early delays in development and is a critical gateway to early intervention for young children at risk for Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD). Developmental screening practices are highly variable, and few studies have examined screening utilization for children at risk for ASD. Currently, a two to four year gap exists between first recognition of concern and referral for diagnostic evaluation of ASD. The purpose of the current study was to examine the influence of developmental screening practices on timing of ASD diagnoses in the state of New Hampshire through health care administrative claims data from the New Hampshire Comprehensive Health Care Information System. The study examined differences in mean age of ASD diagnosis for a sample of 144 children who were born between January 2007 and December 2010 who received or did not receive universal screening during well child care, as well as those who received screening at multiple time points and those who received screening at one time point. Further, the study examined the association between gender, geographic region and provider type on age at diagnosis of ASD. The data suggested no significant differences in mean age of ASD diagnosis for children who received a standardized developmental screening during well-child care and those who did not. Statistically significant differences in mean age of diagnosis were found between children who were screened at one time point and children who were screened at more than one time point. Children screened at more than one time point were diagnosed later than those screened at one time point. Geographic region was a significant predictor on age of ASD diagnosis accounting for approximately 31% of the variance. Continued efforts to measure screening practices through use of administrative claims data may increase utilization and improve access to intervention for young children at risk for ASD.</p>

<p> Problem: Servant leadership scholars have claimed that servant-led business organizations are more financially viable, but these claims are based on anecdotal evidence. This quantitative study examines the relationship of servant leadership to revenue generation in business organizations by analyzing the predictability of servant leadership attributes on sales performance. This was accomplished by studying salespersons in the healthcare industry. </p><p> Method: One hundred ninety-four study participants completed questionnaires providing quantitative measurements of the seven factors of servant leadership: (a) developing and empowering others, (b) humility, (c) authentic leadership, (d) open participatory leadership, (e) inspiring leadership, (f) visionary leadership, and (g) courageous leadership, utilizing the Servant Leadership Profile&mdash;Revised (SLPR). Sales performance was measured by sales ranking within each respective salesperson's company, and broken down into three categories; (a) Top 20%, (b) 21%&ndash;40% and (c) 41% and below. </p><p> Results: Discriminant function analysis generated two discriminant functions that were significant. The first discriminant function was labeled <i> Voice</i> and had the strongest relationship with the following factors of servant leadership: developing and empowering others, authentic leadership, and visionary leadership. The first discriminant function was a good predictor of sales performance. The second discriminant function was labeled <i> Human Resource Management</i> and had the strongest relationship with the following factors of servant leadership: open participatory leadership, courageous leadership, and inspiring leadership. The second discriminant function predicted membership in the 21%&ndash;40% sales-ranking group, mediocre sales performance. One factor of servant leadership, humility, was eliminated as a predictor of sales performance. </p><p> Conclusions: Developing and empowering others, authentic leadership, and visionary leadership are good predictors of sales performance. Open participatory leadership, courageous leadership, and inspiring leadership predict mediocre sales performance. Humility was eliminated as a predictor of sales performance. Business leaders with high mean scores for developing and empowering others, authentic leadership, and visionary leadership are likely to have a positive impact on the financial viability of a business organization.</p>

<p> The objective is to identify factors associated with patients' decisions to sign advance directives (ADs). Retrospective database analysis was performed on 9,416 current home health patients and hospice discharges patients from the 2007 National Home and Hospice Care Survey (NHHCS). Documentation of ADs continues to rise in America, specifically in home and hospice settings. Do-not-resuscitate order (DNR) and durable power of attorney were the most common types of ADs. Self-pay patients were the population having the highest rate of having an AD. Older age, race (White), sex (male), mental illness and life expectancy were factors influencing the likelihood of choosing an AD. Efforts to improve ADs documentation rates call for consideration of the decision-making associated factors analyzed in this study as well as others such as healthcare professionals or family members.</p>

<p> Asthma is one of the most prevalent chronic diseases in the United States. If diagnosed asthma is highly treatable. However, diagnoses of asthma can be the hardest part of treatment. This study was conducted to examine the characteristics of asthma patients in the emergency room (ER). The dependent variable used use of ER in the past 12 months among was individuals who are currently diagnosed with asthma. I used the following independent variables to determine any characteristics that these individuals might share; age, race, insurance status/type, number of doctors' visits per year, geographic location and whether these particular patients use daily medication to control their asthma.</p><p> Data from the California Health Interview Survey (CHIS) 2009 was used. An association was found between the dependent variables; age, race, insurance status and number of doctors' visits per year. However, no association was found between geographic location and ER usage for individuals who have asthma. </p>

<p> People who commit suicide are often more likely to be suffering from depression and feelings of worthlessness. Different ethnicities have different rates of suicide. There are various reasons for this, including family support or lack thereof, individualistic versus collectivist cultural norms, and stress. This study looks at the relationship between feelings of depression among various ethnic groups, and whether one ethnic group has a higher prevalence of depression and feelings of worthlessness than the others. Results of this study can be used to help determine the populations that are in need of suicide prevention programs the most, and ways to customize the programs for those high-risk ethnicities.</p>