Maguire Meservey College of Health and Human Services: Recent submissions
Now showing items 1-20 of 207
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PingTRACKS: Black Maternal HealthIn this poster, I will explain how black maternal women have been affected by the healthcare system in the US. Black women are three times more likely to die due to childbirth than white women. Many causes of death are preventable if doctors adequately care for their patients of color. Some leading causes of black maternal mortality are cardiomyopathy and blood pressure-related disorders. The US healthcare system is rooted in racism directly related to black women's mortality rates.
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Creating Ecobricks To Reduce Platic WasteEcobricks is a productive and engaging product that is suitable for all individuals, regardless of ability and needs. The purpose of the project is to help reduce plastic waste in our oceans and our land, that contribute to harming our ecosystem. Ecobricks are essentially an alternative to the traditional red bricks that are used to create different building structures. They are called "Ecobricks" because they consists of PET bottles that are reusuable and are filled with non-biodegradable and non-recycable plastic. The bottles do not contain any metals, glass, sharp objects, or bio-degradable items. They also contain only clean and dry plastics. These bottles are then used to make different building projects (there are some photos of building projects done, using the Ecobricks).
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Long Term Benefits Of Holistic Treatment: Massage Therapy As Part Of A Wellness PlanThe objective of this senior project was to raise awareness about the significance and advantages of holistic therapy. During the internship at Body & Soul Massage, various newsletters, social media content, and blog posts were developed to educate individuals about the benefits of holistic treatments. Some clients were interviewed, and others provided their testimonies were collected from the previous year to the present. Massage sessions from the past week were reviewed and recorded for the monthly session total. By comparing the total sessions from this year, last year, the month, and the week prior, insights into the business's growth and areas for improvement were gained. This also identified areas requiring more promotion or additional availability time to ensure clients received the best possible service.
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Implementation Of Initiatives To Improve The Quality Of Nutrition And Food Service For Patients At BIDMCBIDMC required an individual that could assist in the improvement of operations in the department of Food Service and Nutrition. With the proper resources, completing weekly tasks such as patient rounds, and reporting the necessary feedback from patients to the kitchen staff and general supervisor was easily achieved. A high volume of negative feedback,prompted initiatives to improve; kitchen workflow, timeliness of food delivery, and creation of accommodations. Although the data for the increase in positive feedback is not available at this time, comments about improvements in food quality, and service have been provided and emphasized.
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Pathways To Success: Guidelines For New And Established EmployeesThis project focused on new and established Patient Service Representative (PSR) employees, with the intent to improve the necessary resources for them to succeed in their roles. Through a survey, we were able to determine the concerns and needs of the PSRs. By collecting this information, new guidelines were established, and the needs of the office were refocused while still concentrating on the areas in which more help and assistance was needed. The resource binder that was developed as a result of this project will help PSR employees become more independent, successful, and self-driven to handle the daily workload of the office.
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Salem Board Of Health, Narcan Distribution & Awareness In The CommunityThe goal of this project was to teach and spread awareness on effective ways to use narcan to keep people in the community safe.
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COVID's Impact On Hospice: Strategies To Combat And Maintain Quality CareThis project aimed to dive deeper into the protocols utilized by Beacon Hospice to combat the coronavirus while maintaining a high quality of care for the patients and their volunteers. Client interactions and internal operations were also investigated during this internship. Which demonstrated how behind-the-scenes work is equally essential as hands-on care. Suggestions to modify and help improve the data collection sheets were proposed. This resulted in enhanced record-keeping to ensure the best patient care and communication among the staff.
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Overcoming Language Barriers: Transvaginal Ultrasound Translation Sheets For Radiology PatientsSouth Shore Hospital is a nonprofit health organization that provides community care, home health, specialty care, primary care, emergency and urgent care, and wellness services. This senior internship aimed to create a resource about Transvaginal Ultrasound for staff to provide their non-English speaking patients. Ten staff members of the Ultrasound Department were interviewed about specific language barriers when working with their patients. As a result, the existing English version was translated into five documents to assist patients who spoke Cantonese, Vietnamese, Spanish, Haitian Creole, and Portuguese. According to staff, the translation sheets will improve communication with non-English speaking patients (especially understanding the exam) and overall patient satisfaction. After this internship, the department will continue to use the translation sheets to prevent future language barriers.
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Factors Impacting Dental Health Disparities In Children In U.S.A.One of the most chronic preventable childhood diseases is Dental caries; a major serious public health concern from infancy to age 18 in the USA. The two most common socio-economic factors cited for lack of dental caries treatment are lifetime poverty and low health literacy. Other factors include food insecurity, lack of nutritious foods, increased consumption of processed sugars, obesity, chronic health conditions, low-income status, lack of health and dental insurance, lack of affordable housing, lack of access to care, racial discrimination, decreased exposure to fluorides, and language barriers. Caries prevention and treatment programs in schools could help reduce the gap of untreated children. Private dental practices could attempt to improve this situation with free screening and referral programs.
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The Price To SurviveThis capstone project describes a personal healthcare journey with Type I Diabetes in the United States and the fluctuating price of insulin necessary to treat this disease. This paper emphasizes the dangerous toll on a person’s health and quality of life that results from the choices and sacrifices one must make to purchase and have on hand the supply of insulin needed on a daily basis. The "Cost To Survive" is explained through a narrative of personal experience, the diabetic literature, online news reports, and a President’s stand on the issue. A vivid diagram illustrates the complex and convoluted insulin supply chain that master-minds extreme price-fixing of insulin in the United States. Rationing of insulin supply is a dangerous but necessary technique for some persons-that leads to health disparity and fast forwarding of dangerous side effects that may be fatal as a result of untreated diabetes.
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Spanish Club Pilot ProjectThe Spanish Club Pilot Project was to increase the exposure to Spanish language for both native and non native speakers. Created to increase basic terminology, comfort with learning, and for opportunities for communication.
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The Impact of Childhood Cancer Beyond the Afflicted: A Literature ReviewThe sudden diagnosis of childhood cancer can be life-threatening and pose a substantial challenge to families. When a child is diagnosed, the family is expected to take on new responsibilities and learn new skills. The family's functioning may alter for long periods of time, which is not always simple, and for many families, it can result in severe emotional stress that lasts for a very long time. In this literature review, seven articles in the PubMed database met the common themes identified (a) the needs and impacts of the family experiencing childhood cancer, (b) social support and siblings of children with cancer, and (c) parental distress related to the diagnosis of childhood cancer. These themes underline the need to increase awareness of the potential emotional harm that these patients and their families might experience. Families are often forced to rearrange their current lifestyles by altering routines and family responsibilities. The importance of illness management regimens combined with physical symptoms like pain and exhaustion are likely to interfere with many aspects of everyday life for not only the children but also for their parents and siblings. It is important to properly assess the family involved to provide sufficient care, as they are also affected. Without proper interventions, family members and children can experience a sufficient amount of emotional, psychosocial, and physical distress that can last for many years.
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Sub-Saharan African Immigrants’ work culture and remittance: Do social workers know enough to care for this population?Learning objectives of presentation: Deepen knowledge and ability in working with sub-Sahara African Immigrants. Understand the significance of remittance as a stressor for many Sub-Saharan African immigrants. Analyzing the impact of immigration on the mental health of sub-Saharan African immigrants. Demonstrate awareness and incorporate the concept of cultural humility as it relates to social work practice with sub-Saharan African immigrants.
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Overstimulation After a Traumatic Brain Injury: How Exercises and Music have Proven to be an Effective ToolThe purpose of this case study was to analyze a participant who was evaluated over a 12-week period in an exercise environment dealing with overstimulation after suffering a Traumatic Brain Injury. This project was intended to learn what triggers the participant, develop strategies to reduce distractions, and observe how exercise and music can be effective tools while exercising. A behavioral log was created in order to monitor the participant's behavior twice a week for 12 weeks while observing his environment when exercising with music versus without music. In the course of his exercise program, music therapy proved effective in reducing overstimulation triggered by loud noises.
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Transition to Electronic Requisition and Vacancy ReportThe goal of my project was to create a more efficient way of creating a notification of vacancy report. Prior to this project, notification vacancy reports were being completed manually and sent via email to the Human Resource manager and recruiter for review. This project will eliminate the need for making a job requisition manually. Through the applicant tracking system “iSolved Hire,” the hiring managers will be able to create their own job requisition when a job becomes vacant. Notification of vacancy was a process that was time consuming, the new system will be more efficient and effective and take about three to five minutes to complete. The recruiters will be notified immediately after the requisition is attained.
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Supportive Living Inc. : Creating and Implementing Dynamic Stretching Plan for Individuals with Limited Range of MotionThe purpose of this project was to track and record the progress of dynamic exercises and the impact they had on individuals’ exercise plans who have limited range of motion. All participants had preexisting goals of improving mobility in their lower body and strengthening weaker areas in their bodies, which overall helped them with their daily living activities. The exercise plans for each participant were constructed by professionals in the field of exercise science using evidence-based approaches that focused on the lower body, upper body, core strengthening, and full body. Implementing these dynamic exercise plans to increase mobility and strengthen weaker areas over five weeks also resulted in increasing muscle preparedness before exercising and increasing independence and confidence within the individuals.
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Substance Abuse Stigma: Identifying and Eliminating Barriers in RecoveryRecovery Centers of America in Danvers is an alcohol and drug rehabilitation center that offers different levels of care and treatment to those with a substance abuse disorder. Stigma surrounding substance abuse presents barriers to individuals seeking treatment and individuals in different stages of recovery. The purpose of this internship was to identify how patients perceived and experienced stigma. A group was run regarding stigma and at the end participants were asked to complete two surveys. Analysis was conducted on the information recorded, and the findings were presented to the clinical team on Unit 1. Clinicians reported that a deeper understanding of how stigma is perceived and experienced by their patients will allow them to better care for and support them in their recovery.
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Pet Obesity: Challenges and SolutionsThis undergraduate internship project was designed to communicate to pet owners the health and welfare implications of pet obesity and to provide information on how to achieve weight loss. Being overweight and obese contributes to a variety of disease processes and negatively affects the quality of life in pets. A survey was created and distributed to determine how owners view their pet's weight whether it is obese, overweight, normal weight, or underweight. The results revealed that the pet owners see their pets as a normal weight until they examine the Body Conditioning Score chart where they gain a better perspective of their pets' weight.
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LifeConnectionsUsa: New Hire Orientation OutcomesThe purpose of this project was to gauge how employees felt on the effectiveness of their New Hire Orientation. By utilizing a survey, I was able to get the input of 30 employees who underwent two different lengths of orientation. 20 employees took part in a four-day orientation, and 10 employees were part of the two-week orientation. Both groups of employees agreed that additional employee training had an impact on employee retention and that a longer more in-depth orientation was more beneficial for employee readiness.
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Improving Hiring Practices: The Implementation of a Phone Screening ProgramThe Northeast Arc is a nonprofit organization with a goal to help individuals with disabilities reach their full potential. The agency aims to integrate these individuals into the community through engagement in school, work, and social events. The objective of this senior internship was to hire the right candidates to better serve this population. The talent acquisition team in human resources was asked to post three open positions for skills trainers in three different areas of Massachusetts. The candidates that applied were evaluated during the phone screening program and then forwarded onto the hiring manager for a formal interview. The program was proven to be successful, the positions were filled and removed from the applications managing system.