The college mental health crisis continues to worsen across American campuses. According to the Healthy Minds Network (2020) Fall 2020 survey, 50% of undergraduate college students screened positive for two mental disorders; anxiety and/or depression. Due to this increased prevalence, many institutions of higher education (IHE) have not been able…

The paradigm shift in healthcare from "sick care" to a disease prevention model is driven by the need to address health inequities. The new paradigm requires a change from the current "distant yet concerned" attitude to patient-relationship-centered approaches. Two questions drive this study: (a) How we can prepare physicians…

College students' positive mental health is integral to academic success, the college experience, overall health, and success after graduation. The emerging adulthood developmental period is marked by identity exploration and transitional stress, creating a peak time for the onset of mental health disorders. The COVID-19 pandemic has exacerbated…

The current study aimed to increase the efficacy of the implementation of a large-scale school-based mental health service model in a public school district in collaboration with a university-led community mental health coalition. Specifically, the study evaluated the effectiveness of a web-based social intervention targeted for teachers designed…

Mental health professionals working in community mental health agencies are at high risk for burnout. The impact of this may lead to poor health and wellbeing of the employee, costly resources for the agency that continues to struggle with staff turnover, inconsistent service delivery and potentially poorer patient outcomes. The purpose of this…

Suicide is a complex phenomenon that deeply impacts the lives of those it touches. Approximately one million people die by suicide globally every year. One group that is increasingly susceptible to suicidal thoughts and behaviors are youth and adolescents. Although there are plenty of statistics regarding suicide rates and trends, there is a…

This study explored the various types of suicide prevention gatekeeper training programs implemented on college campuses through a meta-analytic review. One hundred eighty-four effect sizes were calculated from 53 studies to explore seven outcomes of interest: (1) Knowledge of Suicide, (2) Knowledge of Gatekeeper Skills (GK), (3) Appropriateness,…

The COVID-19 pandemic has negative effects on children, adolescents, and adults. Despite these effects, information about the nature of mental health concerns and services provided to address these concerns by elementary school counselors is unknown. The purpose of this generic qualitative study was to examine mental health concerns elementary…

Females between the ages of 18 and 24 consistently experience higher rates of sexual violence compared to females in any other age group (Sinozich & Langton, 2014). Approximately one in five college women experience sexual violence victimization (SVV; Krebs, Lindquist, Berzofsky, Shook-Sa & Peterson, 2016) during the academic year. Among…

Untreated perinatal mood and anxiety disorders have short- and long-term consequences for mental, physical, developmental, social, and economic outcomes affecting the mother, infant, family, and community. Online Health interventions are known to be effective in treating mental health disorders and increasing access to care. Successful perinatal…

The present qualitative narrative inquiry explored Black women's experiences with sexual assault in higher education, focusing specifically on where they found support and their perceptions of campus and community connectedness. The theoretical frameworks used in this study include Black feminist theory, campus connectedness, and community…

Complaining is a fundamental human characteristic that has prevailed throughout the ages. We normally complain about something that went wrong. Patient complaints are no exception; they focus on problems that occurred during the episode of care. The Institute of Medicine estimated that each year thousands of patients die due to medical errors. The…

Hispanics have a disproportionate burden of poorer cancer outcomes. "Promotores" (community health workers) have been shown to be effective in delivering interventions to this population. However, little is known about what aspects of the "promotores" influence the delivery of a cancer education intervention as well what…

Defining fall risk factors and predicting fall risk status among patients in acute care has been a topic of research for decades. With increasing pressure on hospitals to provide quality care and prevent hospital-acquired conditions, the search for effective fall prevention interventions continues. Hundreds of risk factors for falls in acute care…

The prediction and prevention of the initial lapse--which is defined as the first lapse after a period of abstinence--is important because the initial lapse often leads to subsequent lapses (within the same lapse episode) or relapse. The prediction of the initial lapse may allow preemptive intervention to be possible. This dissertation reports on…