This study focused on the impact of socioeconomic status through the experiences of telecommute workers from a healthcare insurance provider. The aim of the study is to analyze the influence these factors impose on personal growth in the job role of a telecommuting worker through the eyes of Texas telecommute workers in the healthcare industry.…

This qualitative critical ethnographic study aimed to investigate the role of health literacy access among adult Hispanic Americans and how it affects self-care attitudes. The goal of this qualitative critical ethnographic study design was to see if previous healthcare service experiences influenced Hispanic American adults' attitudes toward…

Background: Before the COVID-19 pandemic, telemedicine for healthcare delivery was uncommon. Medicare restricted routine fee-for-service reimbursements for rural patients, with payments made under restricted circumstances. In response to the pandemic, the Department of HHS amended the Coronavirus Preparedness and Response Supplemental…

Nationally, there is a mounting interest in better understanding students identified as having an emotional disturbance. Since 2005, clinical diagnosis and treatment of mental health issues in children has trended upward. Nationally, over that same timeframe, the number of students who qualify for special education due to an emotional disturbance…

Employed cancer survivors commonly experience stigmatization, work-related changes that create barriers to maintaining or returning to work, and high unemployment. Vocational rehabilitation (VR) services can be an important resource in job retention among cancer survivors, however the specific VR needs and most effective services for this…

Adjunct faculty have become the new majority faculty on campuses across the country. There are two theories why adjunct faculty are so relied upon: cost or contingency. Some institutions may employ adjunct faculty for cost-savings reasons. In contrast, other institutions may depend on the contingent, temporary nature of the employment contracts to…

Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) is a lifelong neurodevelopmental disorder with hallmark symptoms that can be severely impairing to both the individual and the overall family dynamic. The path to diagnostic and therapy services is often lengthy and complex. Despite various state and federal efforts to improve service access, disparities remain…

The use of health information and health information technology by consumers is a major factor in the current healthcare systems' effort to address issues related to quality, cost, and access. Patient engagement in the healthcare process through access to information related to diagnoses, procedures, and treatment has the potential to improve…

This dissertation consists of three independent chapters in applied microeconomics. In the first chapter, I study the causal effect impact of early life circumstances on adult psychological well-being using the property reform in China as a positive and policy driven change in economic resources in early life. Exploiting the staggered adoption of…

This dissertation is an exploratory case study of senior women who work at an unnamed State Legislature at all levels from clerical to elected legislator. The senior women explained why they remain in the workforce and how education impacts that decision. The older women in this study explain remaining in the workforce for one of two reasons:…

The concept of health insurance literacy, which can be defined as "the extent to which consumers can make informed purchase and use decisions" (Kim, Braun, & Williams, 2013, p. 3), has only recently become a focus of health literacy research. Though employees have been making health insurance decisions for many years, the Affordable…

Most of international students who migrate to the U.S. or to other parts of the world to pursue their education go through many challenges that hinder their academic performance. U.S. HEIs might not achieve international student access and completion goals without identifying the "challenges that face minority and international students"…

Information technology has become increasingly necessary for competition in the 21st century. The medical industry has taken on a more comprehensive approach by creating and adopting different types of electronic medical records (EMR). Laws and regulations, such as the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) or the Meaningful…

Introduction: Early Intensive Behavioral Interventions (EIBI) is an applied behavior analysis approach that can be effective for remediating autism spectrum disorder (ASD) symptoms for some individuals (Reichow, 2012). From a population perspective, timely access to early intervention services is assumed to be important for facilitating long term…

The intent of the security standards adopted by the Department of Health and Human Services (DHS) implementing some of the requirements of the Administrative Simplification (AS) subtitle of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA) was to improve Federal and private health care programs and to improve the…