Trident University International

Objectives For the dental hygiene profession, a need exists to engage students in research experiences as undergraduate students to foster interest in research and improve the implementation of evidence‐based practice. The purpose was to explore the relationships between original research experiences and evidence‐based practice among undergraduate dental hygiene students. Methods This quantitative survey research study of undergraduate dental hygiene students in the USA was conducted in 2021. Original research experience was measured using the Wessex Research Network ( WReN ) spider instrument and evidence‐based practice was measured using the Knowledge, Attitudes, Access and Confidence Evaluation ( KACE ) instrument. Invitation e‐mails were sent to the directors of US entry‐level dental hygiene programs to forward the survey e‐mail message to students in the last semester of their dental hygiene programs. The data were analysed using descriptive statistics, bivariate analysis and multiple linear regression analysis. Results A total of 128 responses were analysed. The foundational knowledge domain of research experience was found to be a significant predictor of evidence‐based practice and the mediators of evidence‐based knowledge, evidence‐based attitudes, evidence‐based access and evidence‐based confidence. Conclusion Research experience was found to be a significant predictor of Evidence‐Based Practice. Engaging undergraduate dental hygiene students in research opportunities may prepare students for the clinical application of evidence‐based practice and original research projects.

Objective This study examines how Long COVID, chronic conditions, and work outcomes affect the general workforce. Methods It examines the prevalence of Long COVID and its associations with chronic conditions, and other sociodemographic characteristics using 2022 National Health Interview Survey data. Results Long COVID affected work attendance and disability risk, especially in those with mental health issues, angina, stroke, cancer, diabetes, chronic lung conditions, and musculoskeletal conditions. Conclusion This study reveals the relationships between Long COVID, chronic conditions, and work outcomes.

Graves' disease is an autoimmune disorder characterized by thyroid-stimulating antibodies that can potentially lead to thyrotoxicosis, goiter, skin disease, and eye disease. Available treatment options for Graves' disease include management with antithyroid drugs (ATDs), thyroid ablation with radioactive iodine (RAI), and surgical thyroid gland removal. For individuals unable to reach a normal thyroid hormone level, promptly considering a thyroidectomy is essential. Preoperative strategies to achieve a euthyroid state prevent thyroid storms and minimize postoperative complications and are therefore crucial. While variations in professional guidance exist, this review focuses on standard medical interventions as well as compares respective guidelines set forth by the American Thyroid Association, the European Thyroid Association, the American Association of Clinical Endocrinology, and the American Association of Endocrine Surgeons. There is consensus among these organizations underscoring the importance of rendering patients euthyroid prior to surgery and the use of ATDs. Most guidelines recommend screening for vitamin D deficiency as well as endorse thyroidectomy as the preferred treatment option for hyperthyroidism with skilled surgeons. Nevertheless, discrepancies do become apparent in aspects such as potassium iodide (SSKI) course duration and preoperative dexamethasone administration. By understanding these differing approaches, healthcare professionals can more effectively manage Graves' disease prior to surgery, resulting in improved patient outcomes and enhanced surgical success.

Demand for acceptance-based performance enhancement in the military has increased. This demand has created a need for effective measurement of mental skills training interventions. There is evidence for measuring performance enhancement interventions with the Acceptance and Action Questionnaire-II (AAQ-II), a measure of psychological inflexibility (PI). The existence of multiple versions of the AAQ-II has caused confusion, and practitioners and researchers currently use both the 7- and 10-item versions. To address this need, responses from Special Operations Forces personnel were used to assess the psychometric properties of two versions of the AAQ-II, and to make a recommendation for the preferred model of the AAQ-II. In Study 1 (n = 416), the factor structure was examined using confirmatory factor analysis and alternative model testing. The AAQ-II was determined to be a unidimensional structure and analyses supported removal of the three reverse-scored items from the 10-item version of the scale. Removal of these items decreases cognitive load for participants and improves direct measurement of PI. Two problematic items were also removed, resulting in a 5-item model of PI. The recommended 5-item model demonstrated convergent and criterion validity, similar in magnitude and direction to the 10- and 7-item versions of the model. In Study 2 (n = 284), the retained 5-item model of PI fit a more diverse sample of Special Operations Forces personnel. The 5-item model demonstrated good internal reliability and demonstrated significant moderate relationships with convergent mindfulness factors. Future research should focus on creating response options which are more sensitive to differences in low levels of PI.

The impact of acculturation on leadership style is an important topic for the global community, especially during stressful years of the Covid-19 pandemic. A quantitative, non-experimental, descriptive-correlational design using primary retrospective data was employed in this study. We used established instruments such as the Acculturation Rating Scale Questionnaire and the Leadership Style Questionnaire (LSQ) with 172 working adult respondents in the U.S. Health System as registered nurses. The results showed that Afghan male and female nurses tended to identify with the Afghan culture or the American culture, not both. Afghan male nurses’ relationship-oriented leadership was related to both Afghan and (more weakly) American acculturation (the more acculturation, the more relationship orientation).

This chapter outlines the integrated approach to support children and young adults diagnosed with learning disabilities and autism spectrum disorders (ASD). In this context, the authors, first, discuss the legislative background providing legal basis for the disability support in educational environments. They, further, address psychological and neurological aspects of learning disabilities and ASD diagnostics and consider how legislative and neurological issues influence special education methods, counseling, and instructional technology support. The educational tools addressed include mobile devices and applications, virtual reality, and robotics. The chapter concludes with a report on the development of college-level course in instructional technology, intended for technology facilitators and teachers working with the ASD students. The case study focuses primarily on the use of the affordable and popular LEGO robots. The holistic approach to support of those with disabilities, outlined in the chapter, combines educational leadership issues, psychological and job counseling, special education methods, and instructional technology.

To efficiently market, sell and offer support to customers, there is a need to have a deep understanding of the customers and get to know them better. In accomplishing this, organizations or even individuals create customer profiles and maintain them. Therefore, a customer profile aims to describe the specific demographics, psychographics, and other associated factors like buying trends. It is essentially analyzing the characteristics of people who have a high chance of purchasing a product, service of a certain company. Since, different target customers’ different qualities, it is easy to create a customer base using different customer profiles. This manuscript will outline a customer profile for a nursing home where customers are mainly patients.

In today’s increasingly volatile world, organisations including healthcare providers need interfirm dynamic capabilities to make timely responses to supply chains changes. There has been a wealth of literature on dynamic capabilities; however, very few are at interfirm level and even fewer are conducted in the healthcare industry. Grounded in information processing view, this study contributes to the literature by examining interfirm dynamic capabilities in the context of healthcare delivery networks. It proposes the interfirm dynamic capabilities as a form of information processing capability with five dimensions: sensing, learning, coordination, collective mind and partner development. Using data collected from healthcare delivery networks, this study explores the impact of interfirm dynamic capabilities on hospitals’ performance. The findings suggest that the fit between a healthcare delivery network's interfirm dynamic capabilities and information processing requirements will improve its operational capabilities, which will lead to better performance.

This chapter outlines the integrated approach to support children and young adults diagnosed with learning disabilities and autism spectrum disorders (ASD). In this context, the authors, first, discuss the legislative background providing legal basis for the disability support in educational environments. They, further, address psychological and neurological aspects of learning disabilities and ASD diagnostics and consider how legislative and neurological issues influence special education methods, counseling, and instructional technology support. The educational tools addressed include mobile devices and applications, virtual reality, and robotics. The chapter concludes with a report on the development of college-level course in instructional technology, intended for technology facilitators and teachers working with the ASD students. The case study focuses primarily on the use of the affordable and popular LEGO robots. The holistic approach to support of those with disabilities, outlined in the chapter, combines educational leadership issues, psychological and job counseling, special education methods, and instructional technology.

The world is aging. This paper focuses on the home health care sector. The authors have examined the patient experience aspects of the elderly population. The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) designed a Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems (CAHPS) survey specifically for the home healthcare population (HHCAHPS). This paper has identified super-performers within the U.S. home healthcare agencies. By super-performers, this research implies agencies that received superior consumer experience ratings among the U.S. home healthcare segment. The authors applied machine learning techniques to compose a predictive model and identify the predictors of super-performer agencies. The study signals the need for clinically oriented variables for a better model. This paper intends to continue this research with the additional clinically-driven care measures for the patients at home.

Introduction Currently, there is a disconnection between veteran military medics and the civilian Emergency Medical Services (EMS) workforce. This project aimed to characterize the rate of civilian certification among military medics, both active duty and retired, and identify perceived barriers to continuing a career in EMS after military separation. Materials and Methods The National Association of Emergency Medical Technicians (EMTs) administered a 21-question online survey to participants. Individuals were recruited through the National Association of EMTs membership communications, Military Relations Committee members, and social media. All responses were anonymous and no identifiable information was collected. Survey questions were compiled and reported as a percentage of respondents. Free-text responses were categorized based on broad themes identified by the authors and are reported as a percentage of respondents. Results Results included 456 veteran and active duty respondents, of whom 304 (70.7%) had prehospital experience while in the military and 250 (58.1%) had emergency department experience. Over 60% of respondents participated in combat-related duty with 37% having at least 18 months of overseas deployment. Civilian EMT certification was held by 164 (36.7%) survey participants and 170 held paramedic certification (38.1%), while 65 (14.6%) held no EMS certification. There were 119 (28.1%) respondents who stated that they did not plan to work in civilian EMS. Top selected reasons for not pursuing civilian EMS careers included: pursuing a medical career that was not prehospital (28.5%), pay disparity (18.1%), and no interest in civilian prehospital medicine (16.4%). Write in responses indicated general frustration with maintaining certification and a desire for advanced certification (AEMT, paramedic) to be supplied by the military prior to transitioning to a civilian workforce as many respondents felt their military-endowed skills and experiences were better aligned with these advanced EMS licenses. Conclusion The majority of survey respondents held an EMS certification of some kind and suggests that recent efforts to supply military medics with civilian certifications have been largely successful. However, there is still a large portion that remains noncertified or expresses disinterest with entering the civilian workforce. Generally, many of those certified feel their military scope of practice exceeded civilian EMT certification and requested AEMT or paramedic licensure opportunities while still active duty military.

Purpose In light of the increasing popularity of telecommuting, this study investigates how telecommuters' organizational commitment may be linked to psychological and physical isolation. Psychological isolation refers to feelings of emotional unfulfillment when one lacks meaningful connections, support, and interactions with others, while physical isolation refers to physical separation from others. Design/methodology/approach An online survey was used to collect data from 446 employees who telecommute one or more days per week. Findings The results of this study indicate that telecommuters' affective commitment is negatively associated with psychological isolation, whereas their continuance commitment is positively correlated with both psychological and physical isolation. These findings imply that telecommuters may remain with their employers due to perceived benefits, a desire to conserve resources such as time and emotional energy, or weakened marketability, rather than emotional connections to their colleagues or organizations. Practical implications Organizations wishing to retain and maximize the contributions of telecommuters should pursue measures that address collocated employees' negative assumptions toward telecommuters, preserve the benefits of remote work, and cultivate telecommuters' emotional connections (affective commitment) and felt obligation (normative commitment) to their organizations. Originality/value Through the creative integration of the need-to-belong and relational cohesion theories, this study contributes to the telecommuting and organizational commitment literature by investigating the dynamics between both psychological and physical isolation and telecommuters' organizational commitment.

Cancer patients display systemic inflammation which leads to an increase in protein catabolism, thus promoting the release of free amino acids to further support metabolism and remodelling of muscle proteins. Inflammation associated with tumor growth leads to malnutrition, a factor that increases the risk of developing cachexia. With cancer-induced cachexia, nutritional interventions have gained traction as a preventative method to manage this condition. Currently, cancer consensus recommendations suggest a protein intake above 1.0 g/kg.day-1 up to 2.0 g/k.day-1 for cancer patients although an ideal amount for some amino acids in isolation has yet to be determined. Due to controversy in the literature regarding the benefits of the biochemical mechanisms of various muscle mass supplements, such as L-leucine (including whey protein and BCAA), β-hydroxy-beta-methyl butyrate (HMβ), arginine, glutamine and creatine, several studies have carefully examined their effects. L-leucine and its derivatives appear to regulate protein synthesis by direct or indirect activation of the mTORC1 pool of kinases, further promoting muscle protein balance. Arginine and glutamine may act by reducing inflammation and infection progression, thus promoting improvements in food intake. Creatine exerts anabolic activity, acting as an immediate energy substrate to support muscle contraction further increasing lean mass, mainly due to a greater water uptake by the muscle. In this narrative review, we highlight the main findings regarding protein consumption and amino acids to mitigate cancer-induced skeletal muscle depletion.

The purpose of this book chapter is to elucidate the process of assessment in higher education with a focus on distance learning and information technology programs. Its mission is to bring awareness of academic assessment concepts and best practices in the use of standard assessment tools and direct measures to evaluate student learning. The chapter provides definitions of academic assessment and presents the application of signature assignments and rubrics in the Computer Science and Information Technology Management programs to demonstrate student learning results.

Objectives: To provide a concise review of the literature and data pertaining to the use of nurse practitioners and physician assistants, collectively called advanced practice providers, in ICU and acute care settings. Data sources: Detailed search strategy using the databases PubMed, Ovid MEDLINE, and the Cumulative Index of Nursing and Allied Health Literature for the time period from January 2008 to December 2018. Study selection: Studies addressing nurse practitioner, physician assistant, or advanced practice provider care in the ICU or acute care setting. Data extraction: Relevant studies were reviewed, and the following aspects of each study were identified, abstracted, and analyzed: study population, study design, study aims, methods, results, and relevant implications for critical care practice. Data synthesis: Five systematic reviews, four literature reviews, and 44 individual studies were identified, reviewed, and critiqued. Of the research studies, the majority were retrospective with others being observational, quasi-experimental, or quality improvement, along with two randomized control trials. Overall, the studies assessed a variety of effects of advanced practice provider care, including on length of stay, mortality, and quality-related metrics, with a majority demonstrating similar or improved patient care outcomes. Conclusions: Over the past 10 years, the number of studies assessing the impact of advanced practice providers in acute and critical care settings continue to increase. Collectively, these studies identify the value of advanced practice providers in patient care management, continuity of care, improved quality and safety metrics, patient and staff satisfaction, and on new areas of focus including enhanced educational experience of residents and fellows.

This paper explores the current gap that exists in the relationships with IT specialists and ethics training concerning their decision-making and moral reasoning. The theoretical basis for this study is grounded on Kohlberg's moral development model. The methodology used in the study was a qualitative method with the use of two surveys as a means of data collections. A group of IT specialists from a variety of occupational field utilizing IT systems participated by completing the Defining Issues Test 2 and the Ethics in IT Survey. Structural equation modeling and multiple regression testing was used to compare the relationships between all variables in the study.

With the increase of online sales, the understanding of online purchase intention formation is of direct economic interest in a global economy. Identifying and predicting ecommerce diagnostic criteria gives further insight into consumer behavior. Information Diagnosticity accounts for the utilization of criteria differentiation within the decision formation process [1, 4]. In a cross-sectional study of 218 English-speaking Amazon.com customers, recruited on Amazon's MTurk, who were exposed to five online consumer reviews survey stimuli, this research explored the impact of information diagnosticity on consumer purchase intentions. The findings of this study reveal that constructs representing trust and valence in the new model improve fit in ecommerce applications and offer increased power in predicting factors influencing purchase intention behaviors, while taking into account exiting ecommerce use acceptance. The results from 218 survey participants examine the research model identifying diagnostic aspects in ecommerce influencing purchase intentions.