Dissertation Completion Grants

Long-haul truck drivers face unique healthcare challenges due to the demanding nature of their work, which often involves long hours of driving, irregular schedules, and limited access to healthcare services. These challenges contribute to a range of health issues, including obesity, sleep disorders, mental health issues, and chronic conditions. There is a need for innovative interventions that can be delivered remotely and accommodate their lifestyle on the road. Telephone health coaching has emerged as a promising approach to provide personalized support, education, and motivation to individuals remotely. This project aims to investigate the impact of telephone health coaching on the weight change and overall health-related quality of life of long-haul truck drivers. By exploring the effectiveness of telephone health coaching in this specific population, the project seeks to contribute to the development of tailored interventions addressing the unique healthcare needs of long-haul truck drivers and ultimately enhance their overall health and quality of life.

Racial microaggressions, often unintentional discriminatory behaviors or comments (Sue et al., 2007), have profound consequences on the sense of belonging of those who experience them (Sue, 2010). The link between campus climate and racial microaggressions underscores the role of the college environment (Sanchez, 2019). For Black Latiné college students, ethnic identity development can be particularly challenging due to the intersectionality of identities and the influence of colorism—a preference for lighter skin tones within racial or ethnic groups (Hunter, 2007). Research has shown that skin tone influences various life outcomes, including education (Hunter, 2013). In higher education, there is a notable gap in understanding the experiences of Black Latiné students (Sanchez, 2019). Using survey-based methods, I will examine the relations between racial microaggressions, campus climate, and sense of belonging among Black Latiné college students. I hypothesize that greater exposure to racial microaggressions will be associated with lower perceptions of school climate and a lower sense of belonging. Additionally, I predict that racial centrality and colorism will moderate these relations, making the impact more significant for those who endorse higher racial centrality or lower colorism ratings.

Ableist microaggressions perpetuate and normalize everyday forms of discrimination enacted towards individuals holding dis/abilities (Annamma et al., 2013). Graduate students with dis/abilities have expressed experiencing frequent and harmful discriminatory practices in fieldwork settings (Lund et al., 2014; Lund et al., 2016). Experiences of microaggressions in supervision have a negative impact on the supervisory relationship (Constantine & Sue, 2007), which contributes to supervisee outcomes such as perceptions of stress, burnout, self-efficacy, disclosure, and client outcomes (Hiebler-Ragger et al., 2021). Furthermore, perceptions of burnout and counseling self-efficacy also contribute to client outcomes and clinical competency development (Hiebler-Ragger et al., 2021). Using survey-based methods, I will assess the impact of ableist microaggressions on the supervisory relationship and perceptions of burnout and self-efficacy among mental health service graduate students who are engaged in supervision for practicum, internship, or postdoctoral work. I hypothesize that exposure to ableist microaggressions will contribute to perceptions of burnout and counseling self-efficacy and that the supervisory relationship will moderate these relations.

Pediatric obesity has been identified as a priority health issue both nationally and locally (Centers for Disease Prevention and Control, 2021; McLean, 2023). “Partnering with After-school Programs for Physical Activity and Nutrition Promotion” is a quality improvement scholarly project aimed at addressing pediatric obesity through after-school programming that promotes physical activity and nutrition. The “Healthy Kids Out of School” curriculum will be implemented for elementary-aged students at a Boys and Girls Club (BGC) of Bloomington-Normal. The curriculum consists of seven weekly sessions which include tasting fruits and vegetables, understanding the difference between treat foods and fuel foods, learning the difference between light, moderate, and vigorous activity, creating activity plans, and understanding the importance of water and reduction of sugary beverages (“Healthy Kids,” 2017). The use of this curriculum during the already established, targeted programming time of Boys and Girls Club, is intended to increase students’ physical activity during the after-school time and prepare them to make healthy dietary choices. The effectiveness of this programming change will be evaluated by measuring students’ readiness to eat fruit and vegetables, perceived benefit of eating fruit and vegetables, vital signs, and body mass index (BMI) before and after curriculum implementation.

Math anxiety presents an obstacle to reversing the declining trend in the number of students in the United States entering STEM fields. However, no research to date has attempted to help college students simultaneously alleviate both Learning Math Anxiety (LMA) and Math Evaluation Anxiety (MEA), the two correlated components of math anxiety that appear to require different approaches to address them. In this study entitled Math Anxiety and College Students, I will use a survey to measure math anxiety and growth mindset and to explore patterns in student experiences with math anxiety. I will offer a workshop with tools to help empower students to manage their math anxiety and improve their mathematical experiences. I will also interview select workshop participants to gain deeper understanding of their experiences with math anxiety and how the workshop changed their experiences.

Microaggressions are subtle, often unintentional acts or comments that convey prejudice or discrimination based on a person’s identity. Individuals with a minoritized identity are often the victims of racial-ethnic microaggressions, a form of everyday racism and discrimination. Take for example, the growth of immigration which has generated anti-immigrant sentiments and microaggressions (Sissoko and Nadal, 2021). When Latiné adolescents experience microaggressions, they may be left with an increased awareness of discrimination, a negative impact on emotional well-being and academic performance, and feeling socially excluded or isolated (Ayón & Philbin, 2018; Cervantes, Ullrich, & Matthews, 2018; Gándara & Ee, 2018). Using survey-based methods, I will examine the impact of racial-ethnic microaggressions on Latiné adolescents. I predict that exposure to racial-ethnic microaggressions will be associated with negative outcomes to mental health and academics. I also hypothesize that the significance of these relations will be moderated by ethnic-racial centrality.