Due to an increasingly aging population and long-term care available, the number of older adults seeking long-term care facilities is growing. Resident satisfaction indicators have become essential measurements of service quality. However, few studies have investigated the evidence on prevalent resident satisfaction indicators and associated factors. In order to understand what are the types of resident satisfaction measurements utilized in long-term care facilities in the United States and how these types of care services influence resident satisfaction, the researcher conducted the first study, which consists of a systematic scoping review by summarizing the evidence on the types of resident satisfaction indicators utilized in long-term care settings in the United States. The second study completed a further systematic review to summarize how nursing assistants impact resident satisfaction in long-term care settings.The third study aims to translate and validate a Chinese version of the resident satisfaction assessment based on the Ohio Long-term Care Resident Satisfaction Survey (OLCRSS). The fourth study will apply hierarchical regression to predict older adults' satisfaction with individual factors and care services factors in long-term care settings. The dissertation provided a holistic solution to measure resident satisfaction in long-term care settings, assist health providers in meeting the resident`s needs and improve the quality of the care. These studies are significant because they provide fundamental data for using evidence-based indicators of resident satisfaction to enhance the residents' quality of life. Findings could also add to the existing literature regarding resident satisfaction indicators.

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The purpose of this study was to examine self-reported health behaviors (health responsibility, physical activity, nutrition, spiritual growth, interpersonal relations and stress management) of Resident Directors who self-reported being affiliated with ACUHO-I. The second purpose of the study was to examine which areas of health behaviors, do Resident Directors believe, their participation influences the health behaviors of their students. This was completed by inviting Resident Directors to complete the Health Promoting Lifestyle Profile II (HPLPII). A total of (n=308) Resident Directors completed the HPLPII. The results of this study are ground breaking because it is the first study examining the health behaviors of Resident Directors. Results show that Resident Directors are minimally practicing health behaviors especially in the area of health responsibility.

There is a great deal of literature written on conflict mediation and Resident Assistant (RA) training. This literature not only helps to define what each area is, but it provides readers with the knowledge necessary to become skilled in mediation or to effectively design training programs to educate students employed to work in residence halls. However, there is little literature regarding how RAs are trained in conflict mediation. This study attempts to address this gap. The purpose of this study was to determine how RAs and professional staff at three public institutions perceive conflict mediation training provided to RAs. To answer the research questions posed in this study the researcher used a self-designed questionnaire. The design of this questionnaire specifically asked questions focusing on the conflict mediation training RAs receive, how often these skills are used, and how important these skills are as perceived by professional and student employees as well as by gender. One hundred seventy-nine responses representing a 31 percent response rate were used in this study. Twenty percent of the participants were professional residence life staff members. The other 80 percent were RAs. In addition, 34 percent of the participants were male and 67 percent of the participants were female. This study's findings illustrated five significant differences in perception among professionals and RAs as well as differences among male and female RAs. Professionals responsible for training RAs may wish to consider these differences as they design future training workshops. However, the study's findings also illustrated that there is an overwhelming, positive consensus in perception regarding RA training in conflict mediation. Not only are RAs trained in conflict mediation but they use and value these skills as well. In addition, these findings indicate that paraprofessional staffing models are successful. / Master of Arts

Levels of non-resident parenthood in Scotland are substantial. The 2011 Scottish Census indicated 28 per cent of all families with dependent children to be lone parent households. Whilst non-resident parenthood is not synonymous with non-resident fatherhood, 92 per cent of such households were headed by the mother (ONS, 2014). Child well-being in non-resident father households is an issue of concern amongst policy makers and practitioners and both law and policy appear to operate on the principle that the maintenance of non-resident father-child relationships is generally conducive to child well-being. Whilst there is evidence to suggest the well-being of children in non-resident father households is typically poorer than their contemporaries in two natural parent households (Amato and Keith, 1991; Amato, 2005), and indeed evidence to suggest non-resident father involvement may benefit child well-being (Amato and Gilbreth, 1999; Adamsons and Johnson, 2013), the existing research has a number of limitations. Firstly, studies have typically adopted narrow conceptualisations of child well-being. Secondly, few studies have sought to disaggregate the total effects of non-resident fatherhood to consider both those transmitted directly and indirectly via mediating variables. Finally, increasing numbers of non-marital births coupled with evidence suggesting cohabiting relationships to be at an increased risk of breakdown in children’s early years compared to marriages (Greaves and Goodman, 2010), has culminated in increasing levels of early years non-resident fatherhood, an issue which has received less attention in the literature. Using data from the Growing Up in Scotland study this research explores associations between non-resident fatherhood and child well-being and the potential pathways through which such associations may operate. The research conceptualises child well-being as a multi-dimensional construct comprising four key domains: social, emotional and behavioural development, cognitive development, general health and material resources and uses structural equation modelling to consider the extent to which firstly, living in a non-resident father household, and secondly, non-resident father involvement is associated with child well-being directly, or indirectly, via household income, maternal mental health and parenting behaviours. The results show that, relative to two natural parent households, child well-being across each of the four domains is poorer in non-resident father households headed by a lone mother but not in those where the mother has re-partnered. Only one statistically significant direct association was found in the domain of material resources with the results suggesting much of the negative association to be transmitted indirectly via household income and maternal mental health. For those children who were reported as having some form of contact with their father, the results indicate paternal involvement to be indirectly associated with fewer social, emotional and behavioural difficulties via maternal mental health. Finally, consideration of the circumstances and characteristics associated with the maintenance of contact and levels of paternal involvement revealed maternal relationship status to be an important correlate of both contact and involvement whilst parental relationship history and circumstances surrounding the pregnancy were additionally found to be important correlates of contact. This thesis argues that simple dichotomies of father presence / absence can serve to mask the complex network of relationships underlying associations between non-resident fatherhood and child well-being. It also argues that child well-being in non-resident father households would benefit from policies which seek to alleviate financial hardship and support maternal mental health. It suggests that the maintenance of non-resident father-child relationships is potentially beneficial for child well-being and argues that promotion and support of contact and involvement in children’s early years likely requires a targeted approach. It further argues that the role of the non-resident father should be construed broadly to include consideration of support for the wider household in which the child lives.

This dissertation compares the levels of housing satisfaction between the site and services and informal settlement upgrading projects. In South Africa, the government embarked on the incremental approach to housing as a way of addressing housing challenges such as slow delivery rate, poverty and budgetary constraints. Within incremental housing polices, site and services and informal settlement upgrading housing projects are two housing delivery methods that are being used to provide housing to low income households. One of the challenges with the implementation of incremental housing delivery method in South Africa has been over-emphasis on the implementation of site and services at the expense of informal settlement upgrading housing projects. The broad aim of this dissertation is to compare which of the two delivery approaches yields higher levels of satisfaction. The research method employed in the study was Normative Style of comparism which is used to compare the levels of satisfaction and usefulness of housing to the user. To evaluate the levels of housing satisfaction between the site and services and informal settlement upgrading, the researcher set indicators of housing satisfaction, specifically location, the size of the dwelling unit, the quality of building materials, residential quality, security of tenure and the ability to use a house for income generating opportunities. Polices such as Chapter 13 of the National Housing Code (2009) and the Breaking New Ground (2004) indicate a significant shift in respect of informal settlement upgrading. The study’s findings showed that there are higher levels of housing satisfaction in the informal settlement upgrading housing projects than in the site and services because, beneficiaries make conscious choices about where to locate their housing. It emerged that beneficiaries satisfaction with the choice of specific settlements was usually linked to their livelihood strategies for example, proximity to jobs, cost of transport and cost of living. Such satisfaction was not forthcoming in poorly located sites and services schemes, whose strength was therefore only on their formality, secure tenure and basic services. The contribution of this study is not only to highlight circumstances that make housing satisfactory but also to ensure that informal settlements upgrading becomes entirely practiced on an equal basis as site and services. / Thesis (M.Housing)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, 2011.

Thesis (M.S.)--University of Tennessee, Knoxville, 2004. / Title from PDF t.p. (viewed Jan. 13, 2005). Thesis advisor: E. Grady Bogue. Vita. Includes bibliographical references (p. 81-85).