This dissertation delineates research in PTSD, and other anxieties in the military, firefighters, medical caregivers, and law enforcement domains. It is a comprehensive review of PTSD symptoms, training, treatments, and psychological, physiological, biological, neurological, diet, sleep, and environmental impact on people suffering from anxiety. It presents a new way to detect anxiety and control it without medicinal drugs, treatments, or training. It empowers people to control their anxiety on their own and improve their quality of life. It proposes a Detect, Alert, Distract Anxiety (DADA) model, which detects user's anxiety, alerts the user of their symptoms in real-time, and encourages the use of distraction strategies to help distract user's negative thoughts and emotions. The engine of the DADA model is the Anxiety Detection (AD) algorithm, which facilitates continuous detection and monitoring of anxiety symptoms. It presents a prototype engineering solution that facilitates real-time monitoring and feedback of anxiety symptoms automatically. It has the potential to save people from committing suicide by alerting them every time they are experiencing anxiety to distract their negative thoughts and emotions. There are a total of three studies conducted in support of this dissertation. The study one encourages the need for creating an engineering solution to help combat anxiety by showing that taking a healthy diet, having enough sleep, and consuming less harmful chemicals found in food and environment does not equate to an anxiety-free life. Study two collects data on brainwaves and R-R interval from people suffering from speech anxiety to generate an anxiety detection (AD) algorithm. Study three promises the usefulness of the DADA model in potentially reducing anxiety and the effectiveness of the AD algorithm.

Given the growing population of aging adults, there is a need for research examining factors that enhance quality of life for older adults (QoL; Colby & Ortman, 2014). Changes in health, relationships, support systems, and social identity are inevitable throughout the lifespan. Therefore, research focused on lessening the negative effects of changes due to aging while also improving QoL is warranted. As such, the aim of the current research study was to examine the extent to which subjective age (SA; how old or young an individual feels), playfulness (PF; "the ability to frame or reframe everyday situations to experience them as entertaining, intellectually stimulating, and/or personally interesting" [Proyer, 2015, p. 93-94]), and depression (an emotional state ranging from mild discouragement to feelings of extreme despair [CDC, 2017; Corsini, 2002]) predict QoL ("a person's sense of well-being that stems from satisfaction or dissatisfaction with the areas of life that are important to him or her" [Ferrans, 1985, p. 15]) among adults over the age of 55. Using convenience sampling with eligibility requirements, adults (N = 1,315) 55 and older and who spoke and read English were surveyed both face-to-face (F2F) and online (e.g., Amazon Mechanical Turk and a senior educational program). Standard multiple regression was utilized, and results identified a statistically significant model with the variable of depression predicting the largest unique contribution to the model, while PF predicted a small, statistically significant contribution. Subjective age did not statistically contribute to the prediction. Implications from the findings that relate to counselors, counselor educators, and researchers are provided. In addition, the findings provide guidance and a new perspective on variables associated with QoL and aging adults.

Introduction: Health professionals performing their social health service (SHS) in rural communities could be at risk of developing depression. Moreover, those who migrate from farther places to perform their SHS could have an increased risk. The objective of this study was to evaluate the association between place of origin and the presence of depressive symptoms, in health professionals performing rural social health service (SHS) in Ancash, Peru. Methods: This was a cross-sectional study. During April 2015, a survey was applied to health professionals performing SHS in the Peruvian Ministry of Health (MINSA) facilities in Ancash. The main outcome was the presence of depressive symptoms, defined as a score =2 points in the Patient Health Questionnaire-2. The main exposure was the place of origin, defined as the place where the subjects completed their undergraduate professional studies (Ancash, Lima city or others). Poisson regressions with robust variance were performed to calculate crude and adjusted prevalence ratios (PR and aPR) and their 95% confidence interval (95%CI). Results: From 573 health professionals performing their SHS in MINSA in Ancash, 347 were included in the study. The mean age was 27.2±4.5 years, 78.7% were women, and 14.7% scored positive for depressive symptoms. Those who had completed their undergraduate professional studies in Lima city had a higher prevalence of presence of depressive symptoms compared to those who did in Ancash (aPR=2.59, 95%CI=1.23-5.45). Conclusions: Those who completed their undergraduate professional studies in Lima had a higher prevalence of depressive symptoms than those who did in Ancash. Possible explanations include the difficulty in visiting family and friends, acculturation, and lack of Quechua language proficiency. / Revisión por pares

Sustaining splendid health has always been a wish for every employee of any formal organisation. If health is not excellent, employees are likely not to function as expected hence it is imperative to have social health insurance. This article reports on the findings derived from a research conducted in Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of Congo. The researcher personally distributed structured questionnaires among employees in 15 organisations. Findings show that the majority of the respondents experience problems in organizing their health care where it emerged that, 1) the majority of the employees from public sector are not assisted in organizing their health care, 2) they use out-out-pocket financing means for their health care, 3) in general, employees from public sector are not aware of health insurance and interestingly employees from mix companies and private sector are knowledgeable on health insurance, 4) respondents with post matric qualifications prefer to use private hospital when they are sick, 5) employees choose health facility based on good quality service provided. In general, it emerged from the findings that there is willingness to pay contribution should the social health insurance be introduced.

<p>The social environment is hypothesized to broadly influence health by facilitating the distribution of health-promoting resources (e.g., health knowledge; Berkman, Glass, Brissette, &amp; Seeman, 2000). One important health-related resource, knowledge of acute myocardial infarction (MI) symptoms, is theoretically expected to be stratified by social relationships. Like the social environment, socioeconomic status is also associated with multiple health outcomes and is involved in the stratification of health resources (SES; Marmot et al., 1991; Pappas, Queen, Hadden, &amp; Fisher, 1993; Berkman et al., 2000; Oakes &amp; Rossi, 2003), and in turn markers of SES (i.e., income and education) are related to MI symptom knowledge (Dubard, Garrett, &amp; Gizlice, 2006; Lutfiyya, Lipsky, Bales, Cha, &amp; McGrath, 2008). The present study examined the relationship between MI symptom knowledge and <i>functional</i> and <i>structural</i> measures of the social environment in a large U.S. representative sample (<i>N</i> = 33,326). In addition, this study examined the relative contribution of social environment measures in the relationship between SES (income and education) and MI symptom knowledge. A <i>functional</i> measure was defined using a single item assessing <i> perceived emotional support</i> with answers ranging from <i>never </i> to <i>always</i>. <i>Structural</i> measures were obtained by summing responses to 7 items assessing number of <i> frequent social contacts</i> within past two weeks. MI symptom knowledge was defined by the summation of correct answers to 6 questions assessing knowledge of MI symptom categories and the appropriate emergency response. Continuous MI symptom knowledge scores ranged from 0 to 6 with higher values indicating higher knowledge. In the primary multivariate analysis, both dummy-coded social environment measures were associated higher MI symptom knowledge scores after controlling for sociodemographic, health status and SES covariates. Having emotional support <i>usually</i> and <i>always</i> was associated with a .27 and .22 (SE = .05, <i>p</i> &lt; .001; SE = .05, <i>p</i> &lt; .001) increase in MI symptom knowledge scores compared to those reporting <i>never/rarely</i> having emotional support respectively. Also, having 7 social contacts within the past two weeks was associated with a .47 (SE = .08, p<i></i> &lt; .001) increase in MI symptom knowledge scores compared to having 0/1 social contacts. Emotional support and social contacts explained 5% to 24% (SE = .01, <i>p</i> &lt; .001; SE = .02 <i>p</i> &lt; .001) and 9% to 19% (SE = .02, <i> p</i> &lt; .001; SE = .03, <i>p</i> &lt; .001) of the relationship between MI symptom knowledge and the two SES measures (education and income) respectively. By demonstrating a social environment stratification of a health resource, these findings demonstrate the broad health influence of social ties in a large nationally representative sample (Berkman et al., 2000; House, 2001). </p>

<p> The current study examined how parental underestimations of child&rsquo;s weight status, parental worry, and the Theory of Planned Behavior variables (attitudes, subjective norms, and perceived behavioral control) predict intentions to adhere to the American Academy of Pediatrics&rsquo; (AAP) recommendations of four childhood health behaviors. These behaviors include: 1) eating five fruits and/or vegetables per day; 2) spending two hours or less on screen time (television, computer, and video games) per day; 3) engaging in at least one hour of physical activity per day; and 4) limiting (having zero) sugarsweetened beverages. Parents (N = 78) of overweight and obese children, ages six to 13 years old, were recruited from pediatric medical clinics and participated in an online study, where they were exposed to these AAP behavioral recommendations for children and completed online measures. Attitudes predicted of behavioral intentions for all recommendations except fruit and vegetable consumption. Subjective norms marginally predicted behavioral intentions for physical activity and sugar-sweetened beverage consumption. Perceived behavioral control predicted behavioral intentions for the four recommendations. Parental worry predicted behavioral intentions for fruit and vegetable consumption. Additional theoretical and practical implications of this research are also discussed.</p>

<p> This dissertation focused on how the affiliation and engagement practices that contribute to social cohesiveness result in changes to conversation for three individuals with aphasia that were part of group therapy that targeted improved communication through conversation. It revealed how those changes were made manifest by employing a qualitative research design which allowed the researcher to discover how social cohesiveness is demonstrated in conversation. This design included the administration of aphasia batteries that are widely used in the area of aphasiology and were administered prior to and subsequent to the period of conversation treatment. The design further included medical and clinic records that informed the researcher of the participant's physical and communicative abilities. The primary research tool was Conversation Analysis which by virtue of its dual characteristics of being context-sensitive yet context-free allowed the researcher to examine behaviors in an authentic context and observe patterns within and across participants. Additionally, post-semester interviews served as a lamination tool that, along with the primary and other secondary data sources, would verify or refute the patterns of conversation changes. </p><p> The resulting data were then analyzed for patterns of conversation change and formed three areas of interest; patterns of conversation changes that revealed the member's growing orientation toward group cohesiveness, patterns of changing compensatory strategy use, and changing patterns of turn-taking. The results of this study demonstrate the importance of social cohesiveness as an integral part of group conversation treatment and its effect, as a catalyst, upon improving conversation ability. Additionally, it illustrates group cohesiveness as a multi-dimensional construct that involves an orientation to task and interpersonal cohesiveness. Further, it explicates the relationship between an individual's functioning, personal factors, and context as influencers of the aphasic's demonstration of social cohesiveness. This study proffers important implications concerning the value of a qualitative research design for studying communication changes in aphasia and the essential employment of constructivist approaches to communication therapy for individuals with aphasia. These clinical implications shape the assessment and intervention practices of clinicians who recognize the transformative power of a constructivist approach that requires the situation of treatment in an authentic context. </p>

<p> Several demographers and scholars have dubbed the baby boomers&rsquo; transition to retirement as the <i>graying society</i>. Therefore, and recognizing its importance, the main objectives of this study were to learn about the transition to retirement process and its related meanings for baby boomers in the public sector. Using a mixed methodology, 382 retirees shared their perceptions on the subjects via questionnaire and 6 via interviews. This study concluded with a validation of previous authors on the importance of being prepared prior to retirement especially in the case of those with disability retirement.</p>

<p> Understanding the processes involved in retaining nurses in the Emergency Department is essential for future hiring and retention; turnover rates are currently at approximately 16% in the emergency department. Using Grounded Theory Methods (Glaser &amp; Strauss, 1967) and the conceptual framework of symbolic interaction, the process of becoming and remaining as an ED nurse was explored.</p><p> Data were collected through semi-structured, open ended interviews until data saturation occurred. The seven participants' ages ranged from 29-56 with ED nursing experience ranging from 1-17 years and nursing experience from 2-18 years. Five phases emerged from data analysis using constant comparative analysis of 183 pages of transcripts, through coding phrases, categorizing, and conceptualizing them. These phases, each with sub-categories, explained a process identified as <i>Seeking Status.</i> The five phases were: <i> joining the troops, working in the trenches, passing muster, earning stripes, </i> and <i>looking ahead.</i> <i>Passing Muster</i> emerged as the core category, the one that best explained the process and connected the other conceptual categories in this process.</p><p> The theory, <i>Seeking Status</i>, was compared to and contrasted with theories from nursing, sociology and anthropology such as socialization, rites of passage, adaptation, role identity, and reality shock. The theory overlapped with some of the theories explored; however it was unique in the finding regarding the significance of a two-tiered hierarchy of roles in the ED.</p><p> Implications for recruitment strategies, longer orientations and the need for preceptors for new nurses were described. Senior nurses, on the other hand, would benefit from increasing knowledge and skills regarding leadership and management strategies in their role.</p>

Thesis (Ph.D.)--Pacific Graduate School of Psychology, 1991. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 65-10, Section: B, page: 5460.