Neisseria meningitides serogroup B, commonly referred to as Meningococcal B or Meningitis B, is a highly contagious bacterial infection primarily afflicting the college-aged population with disease contraction resulting in death or severe debilitation if not expediently diagnosed and treated. Currently, there are two vaccines, Bexsero and…

The purpose of this qualitative study was to explore the lived experience of individuals' self-management of celiac disease, and the role experiential learning played in that lived experience. The study was guided by the research question: What was the lived experience of individuals' self-management of celiac disease and what role did…

Autoimmune diseases affect millions of individuals within the United States and some autoimmune diseases tend to disproportionately impact women of color. While research on autoimmune diseases is expanding within the medical and mental health field, there is little know about the experience women of color with autoimmune disease have when…

Human search for information is a constant and instinctual act Search is a problem-solving. goal-oriented behavior. With the rise of the computer, searching has quickly manifested itself into a digital activity. Searching the internet for information is a ubiquitous act. In some situations, there are information seeking circumstances where a…

This hermeneutic phenomenological research project involved nonprofit board members' insights into their leadership role in dealing with children with rare illnesses. The organization studied was a charitable 501(3)(C) nonprofit foundation in Indiana and utilized interviews with 13 nonprofit board members to gain information attained from these…

Children in medical facilities encounter systemic barriers to education despite legal mandates. This study aimed to enhance educational opportunities by addressing inconsistencies through research-based strategies. The study adopted a dual strategy, positing that proactive organizational readiness measures alongside the implementation of an…

Hope has a powerful influence on individuals, especially those battling critical illness. The problem is the Make-A-Wish wish-granting experience was never designed to improve the health care of children being granted a wish; thus, hope was a mere by-product of the wish experience. The purpose of this qualitative phenomenological study was to…

Word finding difficulty is a frequently reported subjective cognitive concern among persons with Multiple Sclerosis (pwMS). Word-finding relies on several information retrieval processes, including search and retrieval from the conceptual store, the phonological store, the syllabary, as well as other stores of information. Neuropsychological…

This study addressed gaps in research on understanding the preparedness status of emergency management programs within Florida College System (FCS) and State University System (SUS) institutions. The quantitative assessment involved 21 institutions (51% response rate). A survey instrument was developed from prior studies and measured programmatic…

This cross-sectional mixed-method study with a small sample of 62 mothers of children with asthma is a pilot evaluating a new brief online e-health intervention: The Asthma Knowledge Test for Parents (TAKT-40), "with all true answers." The TAKT-40 was highly recommended (77.4%) by mothers to others parents with children with asthma. The…

This paper investigates the educational experiences of children and adolescents diagnosed with RYR1-related diseases, a spectrum of congenital myopathies affecting muscle function. Despite these conditions typically sparing cognitive abilities, they profoundly impact physical capabilities, presenting challenges in school environments such as…

In the United States, death certificates document pre-existing conditions only when they directly contribute to a death. This precludes generating data in the event of a suicide involving a blind or visually impaired individual and for that reason existing suicide data is scarce for this population. This Grounded Theory study, with the…

Metabolic Syndrome (MetS), a cluster of cardiometabolic abnormalities including elevated waist circumference, low high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol, high triglycerides, high blood pressure, and elevated fasting glucose, affects nearly 35% of American adults. The presence of MetS both predicts and contributes to the development of…

This dissertation investigated the development of stereotypes surrounding public school children in Brazil, primarily focusing on poor students of Afro descent. It explored how these stereotypes have influenced education policymaking and examined the efforts of Darcy Ribeiro and Paulo Freire to challenge these prevailing notions. Employing…

Since the 1940s, researchers have envisioned lifelogging as the systematic capture and utilization of lived experiences for augmenting learning, performance, and community. Unfortunately, this vision was never actualized since few, if any, systems support lifelogging in the term's original sense. Technologies that emerged through the…