Master of Science in Engineering, University of Akron, 2021, Civil Engineering

Traffic safety is a continued concern among numerous agencies in the United States. Traffic safety agencies at the national and state level have made it their priority to decrease the number of traffic related fatalities and injuries each year. In order to see a decrease in the number of traffic related fatalities and injuries each year, grant money is applied to programs that are developed around traffic education, enforcement, engineering, and emergency medical services. These traffic safety agencies coordinate with one another to identify the key traffic related problem areas for which to apply the grant money. After reviewing the applicable criteria for developing the Highway Safety Plan, it was determined that the traffic safety problem identification procedure used to allocated traffic safety resources could be enhanced. Multiple methods were reviewed to analyze the accuracy and efficiency of traffic safety problem identification. These methods were applied to a case study to test the transferability of these problem identification methods. The research team found that the newly developed problem identification methodology may be used at a state level as well as a county level to identify traffic safety problems and problem areas for which resources should be allocated to improve traffic safety.

Doctor of Healthcare Administration (D.H.A.), Franklin University, 2020, Health Programs

Purpose: Preventable medical errors resulted in about 400,000 annual deaths in U.S. hospitals (Thornton et al., 2017) and cost the U.S. economy about $20 billion annually (Rodziewicz & Hipskind, 2020). Meanwhile, nurses continued embracing patient care and safety. However, limited research existed associating nurses' perceptions of safety culture with error reporting and patient safety outcomes (Han, Kim, & Seo, 2020). This study aimed to fill that literature gap, advance nurses' roles, and improve care quality. Framework: Self-determination theory (SDT) and Donabedian's Model guided this research. Method: This was a quantitative, cross-sectional correlation design study using bivariate, multivariate, and logistic regression analysis for multi-level modeling with 90,016 nurse participants. Ethical approval came from Franklin University Institutional Review Board. Data: Secondary, de-identified SOPS® data for the analysis was provided by the SOPS Database, funded by U.S. Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) and administered by Westat under Contract Number HHSP233201500026I / HHSP23337004T. This study analyzed collected data (i.e., 2015 to 2017) from 565 U.S. hospitals that voluntarily submitted their HSOPSC data to the 2018 comparative dataset. Findings: Data findings for unit-level aggregation identified PSC composite Feedback and communication about errors with the most statistically significant positive association with Overall frequency of events reported. PSC composite Teamwork within unit had the greater odds for an increase in Number of events reported. PSC composite Staffing produced a higher, statistically significant positive association with Overall perceptions of patient safety. Furthermore, Organizational learning – continuous improvement produced the higher odds of increasing Patient safety grade. Hospital-level aggregation revealed that Management support for patient safety had the most positive, significant effect acro (open full item for complete abstract)

Master of Science (MS), Ohio University, 2019, Industrial and Systems Engineering (Engineering and Technology)

A rise in sexual violent crime at Ohio University led to this study. The purpose of this study is to analyze and determine potential associations between Ohio University students' perception of risk based on crime and lighting levels on campus, so that recommendations can be made to improve campus safety. Results from the analysis indicated that individuals related lighting levels to perceived safety but were unable to specify a crime area according to perceived risk. Recommendations include investigating lighting levels for pathways that are well traveled as well as considering other solutions preferred by students. These solutions could include a safety app that would document crime areas on campus, a nightly chaperon service, and self-defense classes for students are also recommended.

PhD, University of Cincinnati, 2017, Arts and Sciences: Psychology

Annually, over 3 million reports of child maltreatment are made to state agencies in the United States (HHS, 2013). Between four and seven child deaths occur daily in the U.S. due to child abuse and neglect (USGAO, 2011; HHS, 2013). Adult survivors of child sexual abuse report poorer interpersonal relationship functioning, high-risk sexual behavior, and a tendency toward revictimization. (Polusny & Follette, 1995). Safety and risk assessments play a critical role in keeping children safe and preventing maltreatment recurrence (Fluke et al, 2001; DePanfilis & Scannapieco, 1994). A study by Dorsey et al (2008) revealed low correspondence between caseworkers' assessments and subsequent reports of maltreatment, indicating that considerable work is needed to improve accuracy and identification of children who are unsafe or at risk. There have been few studies on the predictive utility of safety assessments. Additional research is needed to examine how caseworkers utilize the existing knowledge about safety factors and correlates of safety to make safety decisions The first objective was to examine the association between safety factors and the safety decision. The second objective was to investigate the effect of adult protective capacity and child vulnerability on caseworker safety decisions. Finally, the predictive utility of caseworker safety decisions was evaluated by considering their relationships with risk, case disposition, and case decision. The study sample was drawn from Ohio's Statewide Automated Child Welfare Information System (SACWIS) database. Safety assessment items were 15 dichotomous indicators. Each safety assessment item was assigned to one of three categories: 1) safety factors (SF); 2) indicators of a lack of adult protective capacity (APC), and; 3) indicators of child vulnerability (CV). Odds ratios were computed between individual safety factors and between each safety factor and the safety response. Two logistic regression models predi (open full item for complete abstract)

Doctor of Philosophy, The Ohio State University, 2015, Nursing

More than 400,000 premature deaths per year occur due to preventable harm in U.S. hospitals, costing over $20 billion per year in healthcare expenses, lost worker productivity, and disability. Conceptual frameworks, such as the Generic Reference Model, contribute to a greater understanding of patient safety because they explain the context of patient harm. The healthcare context, including organizational factors such as strong safety culture and human factors like teamwork, may improve patient outcomes. Patient outcomes, such as adverse events, are more readily detected using instruments such as the Institute for Healthcare Improvement (IHI) Global Trigger Tool (GTT), which may detect up to ten times more adverse events than existing methods. The GTT uses keywords or triggers to guide chart reviews. Currently, relationships between safety culture and teamwork and adverse event detection using trigger-tools remain underexplored. The purpose of this study was to explore relationships between organizational and human factors with adverse events that result in patient harm detected using a modified trigger-tool methodology. The descriptive, cross-sectional design used the Safety Attitudes Questionnaire (SAQ) to measure interprofessional staff perceptions of safety culture using safety climate and teamwork climate subscales, and a retrospective, modified IHI GTT chart review methodology to measure patient outcomes at the unit level. The convenience sample was comprised of 32 nursing units/departments from one 750+-bed Midwestern U.S. regional acute care hospital that employed over 1000 nurses. Safety and teamwork climate percentage agreement averages were 75.61% and 70.07%, respectively. Medical surgical units reported the strongest safety climate whereas critical care units reported the strongest teamwork. An average of 69 adverse events occurred per 1,000 patient days, 21.83 adverse events per 100 admissions, and approximately 20% of admissions experienced a (open full item for complete abstract)

PhD, University of Cincinnati, 2013, Engineering and Applied Science: Industrial Engineering

The field of Occupational Health and Safety (OHS) is currently facing two main challenges: 1) Increasing awareness and buy-in among stakeholders and 2) Considering differences (cultural, behavioral and anthropometric) in an increasingly diverse and global workforce; work environments and practices designed for one group of workers may not be appropriate for other groups. These challenges are most relevant in the context of worker health and safety in emerging economies; a large and comparatively cheaper workforce is a mainstay of these countries and OHS is an imperative to make their economic growth sustainable. This study addresses needs on two fronts: From a research perspective, there is a dearth of data on contextual and cultural variables in a developing country work environment that impact safety performance; most existing safety research on this topic is Western or developed country centric. From a practitioner perspective, worker health and safety is a relatively nascent field in developing countries; practitioners are struggling to understand safety perceptions and attitudes that can help localize safety practices and enable more effective implementation of safety programs. This empirical study has 3 objectives: 1) Determine if a safety culture is present in a developing country, 2) Understand contextual influences (perceptions, behaviors and cultural context) that affect safety culture, and 3) Demonstrate a positive correlation between improved worker health and safety and key business outcomes; a "business case" for worker health and safety will especially help gain support from management teams in the highly cost competitive business climate in developing countries. For the first two objectives, an empirical study was conducted in India using a sample set of 500 individuals (senior managers/executives, supervisors and workers) derived from 22 organizations across 5 sectors (Infrastructure/Energy, Mining, Biotech, Services/IT and Manufacturing) and (open full item for complete abstract)

Doctor of Philosophy, The Ohio State University, 2004, Agricultural, Environmental and Development Economics

In the first essay, experience and credence food safety attributes are compared using a game theory model. In order to convert an asymmetric information problem into one of cost, a verification process is explicitly introduced in the credence attribute case. With this refinement market solutions other than information-based policies such as labeling are appropriate. For many food safety applications experience and credence attributes can be combined leading to market-based solutions to the under provision of food safety. The second essay measures the cost impact of food safety regulation using an output directional distance function. Food safety regulation results in the restriction of the disposability of food safety hazards (internalization of social costs) leading to potential output loss through the reallocation of productive inputs to reduce food safety hazards. Using 1997 US Census and food safety recall data, the value of potential output loss due to regulation in the meat and poultry industry is suggested to be $2.5 billion. This value should be considered in future cost analyses of food safety regulation in addition to traditional compliance cost estimates. The third essay deals with two related topics on food safety regulation. In the first half, accounting for heterogeneous firms with varying effectiveness in risk control, the voluntary approach to food safety programs is questioned. Applying robust comparative statics to a game-theoretic model to characterize the strategies of a regulator and firms, it is shown that less efficient firms are less likely to participate in a voluntary food safety program. Such an adverse selection problem leads to lower overall risk control, suggesting the need for a separating equilibrium providing varying incentives based upon firm type instead of a pooling equilibrium via lump-sum incentives. The second half compares performance and process standards modeling the variability of industry-level compliance and therefore the (open full item for complete abstract)

Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.), University of Dayton, 2023, Educational Administration

Exposure to school violence has adverse effects on student academic performance and behavior. A safe school environment is essential for student and staff safety and achievement. Safety approaches include authoritative measures, which use security cameras, metal detectors, and controlled building access; and educational measures that include specially designed curricula, mental health services, and the development of social skills. It is unknown whether school administrators perceive authoritarian or educational approaches to safety as more effective in creating a safe and positive school climate. This study explored the perceptions of school administrators about the effectiveness of each approach in establishing and maintaining a safe school climate. The National Institute of Justice Comprehensive School Safety Framework served as the theoretical framework. Research questions explored the perceptions of 7-12 building principals and district superintendents regarding how organizational climate is affected and improved based on the type of safety practices used by the district. Data were collected from surveys and interviews with administrators from 10 rural school districts in southwest Ohio. The approach was qualitative with a basic interpretative design. The study contributes to school safety research by helping school leaders make informed decisions about school safety approaches and strategies.

Doctor of Education , University of Dayton, 2023, Educational Administration

Organizations in the motor vehicle body manufacturing industry continue to see workplace injury persistence. Evidently, the current execution of industry accepted proactive safety models are ineffective, driven by the lack of applied leadership concepts. A mixed-methods insider participatory action research approach was taken utilizing a synthesized Leadership Questionnaire (LQ) and semi-structured interviews. A total of 177 participants completed the LQ and 9 participants were interviewed. The data indicated relationships between leadership concepts, safety performance and an understanding of proactive safety, organizational prioritization, and leadership safety influence. These results informed a detailed action plan framework, the Sustainable Safety Leadership Plan (SSLP), for organizational deployment. The objectives of the SSLP framework are a precise SSLP training workshop, community proactive safety feedback loop establishment and launch of a single proactive safety key performance indicator (KPI).

Master of Science (MS), Ohio University, 2021, Industrial and Systems Engineering (Engineering and Technology)

This thesis will investigate how personal, perceived, and external factors affect safety procedure compliance of a high-risk industry composed of lone workers. This experiment tests factors that influence non-compliance from literature of other high-risk industries composed primarily of lone workers. The factors were tested using a survey distributed to field workers in the tree care industry of a single company. Calculating correlations using most commonly an Order Chi-Squared Analysis Independence analysis, Pearson's, Spearman's, and Kendall Tau's Correlation tests. Resulting correlations then aided in developing a relationship diagram to illustrate how factors influence safety compliance in relation to other factors that influence safety procedure compliance. Second, this study questions the shared perspectives of safety procedure compliance in the tree care industry among lone workers. Responses to these questions then enable for developing a road map for management on steps to improve safety procedures. This development of key approaches is to improve the safety compliance of a high-risk organization through effective leadership of lone workers in an attempt to keep lone workers in the tree care industry safe.

Master of Science (MS), Ohio University, 2020, Industrial and Systems Engineering (Engineering and Technology)

This study surveyed 114 registered nurses throughout Ohio to determine if there was a relationship between patient acuity and perceived fatigue. Also examined for a potential relationship to perceived fatigue were nurse-patient ratios (NPRs) and the method by which nurse-patient assignments (NPAs) were created. In addition, participants were asked to rate 15 nursing tasks to identify which imposed the most fatigue. Two validated fatigue scales, the Fatigue Assessment Scale (FAS) and the Occupational Fatigue Exhaustion Recovery (OFER) scale were used to capture participants perception of fatigue at their workplace. Results indicated that the interaction between patient acuity and NPR was significantly related to FAS ratings while NPR had a significant relationship to acute fatigue on the OFER scale. It was concluded that most nurses experience substantial fatigue, with high acuity patients having an overall greater impact, according to FAS ratings. OFER scale ratings suggest nurses only exhibit higher levels of acute fatigue for assignments containing more than five patients. For scheduling practices, it was recommended that NPAs shall contain fewer high acuity patients than lower acuity patients to minimize FAS ratings. Additionally, OFER-AF suggests that assignments should contain no more than five patients to mitigate the absence of lower acute fatigue levels.

Doctor of Nursing Practice , Case Western Reserve University, 2020, School of Nursing

Patient medication administration is one of the major responsibilities of the professional nurse. Pre-licensure nursing students and new nursing graduates often lack competency to safely administer medications. Nursing educators teach and evaluate safe medication administration by undergraduate bachelor of science nursing (BSN) students during sophomore year. These students are expected to demonstrate safe medication competence through senior year and post-licensure. The purpose of this study was to determine the medication safety competence of undergraduate junior and senior BSN students. A descriptive comparison design of undergraduate BSN students from two cohorts was used to collect data at an urban, public university in Northeast Ohio. The convenience sample included 188 BSN students who agreed to participate in the simulation study, comprised of 98 juniors and 90 seniors. Data was collected over two weeks via observation and focused on the six rights of medication administration using the Medication Administration Safety Assessment Tool (MASAT). Analyses included descriptive statistics and independent samples t-tests to compare the medication competency of juniors and seniors. Results revealed 29.6% of juniors and 14.4% of seniors demonstrated competence on all eight medication checklist items on the MASAT. The difference between the medication safety competence of juniors and seniors on total MASAT scores did not show statistical significance (p > .05). On individual MASAT scores, there was no statistical significance (p > .05) between juniors and seniors on checklist items one through seven corresponding to right patient, right drug, right dose, right route, and right time. Results showed statistical significance (p < .01) on checklist item eight, indicating juniors performed right documentation more frequently than seniors. Two additional analyses revealed (1) no statistical significance (p > .05) between juniors and seniors asking about medication (open full item for complete abstract)

Doctor of Education (Ed.D.), Bowling Green State University, 2019, Leadership Studies

Researchers at the University of Georgia, Kunadharaju, Smith, and DeJoy (2010), completed a study looking for patterns in firefighter fatalities and have identified four common factors which included under-resourcing, inadequate preparation for and anticipation of adverse events during operations, incomplete adoption of the incident command system or sub-optimal personnel readiness. The purpose of this study is to analyze 149 NIOSH volunteer firefighter fatality reports to determine if those fatalities could be linked to under-resourcing, inadequate preparation for adverse events during operations, incomplete adoption of the incident command system, or sub-optimal personnel readiness. Kunadharaju et al. (p. 1180, 2010) said in their article, Line-of-duty deaths among U.S. firefighters: An analysis of fatality investigations, “the underrepresentation of investigations involving volunteer firefighters deaths is a potentially significant issue, in that, the majority of firefighters in the U.S. are volunteers and the majority of line of duty deaths involve volunteer firefighters.” This research is meant to determine if Kunadharaju et al. were correct in their identification of four major factors: under-resourcing, inadequate preparation for and anticipation of adverse events during operations, incomplete adoption of the incident command system and sub-optimal personnel readiness. The focus of this study is to determine if volunteer firefighters were experiencing deaths within the areas of under-resourcing, inadequate preparation for adverse events during operations, incomplete adoption of the incident command procedures and sub-optimal personnel readiness but also what additional factors were contributing to volunteer firefighter deaths not specifically addressed in the initial study.

Master of City and Regional Planning, The Ohio State University, 2019, City and Regional Planning

The built environment has been known to effect perceptions of safety, and many tools and theories have been created to measure and address the characteristics of the built environment that effect these perceptions of safety the most. A new movement in city planning, Gender Mainstreaming, has emerged out of the need to create cities that are more inclusive to women and people of all genders. This study aims to analyze the gendered perceptions of safety around the Ohio State University's Columbus Campus through a safety audit and subsequent narrative and photo reflections. This multi-faceted study produced findings including significant differences in perceptions of safety between men and women, especially in unsafe areas, and differences in the ways that men and women interact and internalize characteristics of the built environment as they relate to their perceived safety. Further, the stress of constant surveillance and fear of their surroundings limits women's access to opportunities in their college carrier.

MS, Kent State University, 2017, College of Education, Health and Human Services / School of Health Sciences

The purpose of this study was to compare food safety knowledge among undergraduate hospitality majors versus nutrition majors. The four hypotheses included there being a difference in food safety knowledge between hospitality management majors and nutrition majors, between freshmen, sophomores, juniors and seniors within each major, between participants who are ServSafe certified and those who are not, and participants with food service experience and those without. This was a non- experimental, two-way factorial design, with independent variables including major and education level of student. Dependent variables included food safety knowledge on five subsections of food safety and total food safety knowledge. Undergraduate nutrition majors and hospitality majors completed the statistically validated Food Safety Knowledge Questionnaire, FSKQ. The scores for each scale, which corresponded to a section in the test, were calculated by adding the total points earned within each section. Means and standard deviations for knowledge scores from each section were reported along with the total. Data was analyzed using SPSS software with significant data required to have a p value of =0.05. A 2x4 factorial ANOVA was performed on each subscale knowledge section and overall. Results suggested that food safety knowledge does not appear to be any different among hospitality management and nutrition students, or students who are ServSafe certified or not. However, there appears to be a significant differences educational level, which may be due to class order.

Master of Environmental Science, Miami University, 2015, Environmental Sciences

This report summarizes my activities as Planning Intern for the Miami Valley Regional Planning Commission (MVRPC) from May 2014 through May 2015. The following report is organized by a history of Metropolitan Planning Organizations, MVRPC, and common aspects involved in transportation planning. This is followed by the role that MVRPC plays in environmental planning, transportation safety planning and the work that I contributed to the programs in that area. Major work that I contributed includes a preliminary analysis of traffic safety data in the Miami Valley Region for the years 2011 to 2013. Finally, I discuss how MVRPC may enhance safety planning as well as how the Institute for the Environment and Sustainability (IES) program at Miami University has impacted my education and career goals.

Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.), Bowling Green State University, 2014, Psychology/Industrial-Organizational

The concept of Person-Environment (PE) fit has gained strong theoretical and empirical support, demonstrating how the degree to which an individual is congruent with his or her environment is predictive of important individual and organizational outcomes, such as job satisfaction, performance, stress, and turnover (Kristof-Brown, Zimmerman, & Johnson, 2005). The current study expands upon the PE fit literature by examining how similarity between individual safety motivation and organizational safety climate influence safety behaviors. In addition, job attitudes and strain were investigated as outcomes, which have received very little attention in the area of occupational safety research. The current study examined Safety-Specific Person-Environment (SSPE) fit's relation with outcomes using both linear regression and polynomial regression approaches, allowing for a more in depth analysis of the 3-dimenisonal relationships between safety climate, safety motivation, and the outcomes (Edwards & Parr, 1993). Results revealed that SSPE fit was predictive of safety behaviors, job attitudes, and strain. More specifically, when safety climate and safety motivation are congruent, higher levels are associated with more safety behaviors and positive job attitudes and reduced strain, as expected. In addition, when there was discrepancy between the predictors, it was found that safety behaviors and job attitudes were highest and strain was lowest when safety climate exceeded safety motivation. Unexpectedly, results revealed that safety behaviors increased as the amount of discrepancy between safety climate and safety motivation increased. Theoretical and practical implications, as well as suggestions for future research, are discussed.

Master of Science (MS), Ohio University, 2014, Industrial and Systems Engineering (Engineering and Technology)

As regional university campuses continue to increase in enrollment, centralized safety and health management structures may not be able to meet all of the demands. Currently Ohio University institutes safety in a centralized location in the Environmental Health and Safety Department at the main campus in Athens, where they help the regional campuses on an as needed basis. The primary objective of this study was to gain insight into managerial perceptions from the Environmental Health and Safety Department and from the regional campuses with regard to safety and health services and training received and/or needed. The goal was to identify the gaps between what is currently being done and what management perceives is needed. Results suggest that there are misperceptions within management at the regional campuses and between the regional campuses and the main campus at Ohio University. A lack of acknowledgement of formalized safety and health programs and appropriate incident recording indicate a need for process improvements. It is recommended that Ohio University should consider the development of a regional safety coordinator and the implementation of an established safety and health program for all campuses.

Ph.D., Antioch University, 2014, Leadership and Change

How can the public be assured of competency in those professing to protect its occupational health and safety (OSH)? Currently, in the U.S. there are 193 higher education OSH programs, 186 with baccalaureate degrees with over 55 different degree titles. This research seeks to define minimum OSH baccalaureate graduate core competencies across all programs by asking: What would employers look for in a portfolio to demonstrate competence in a new OSH graduate? Professional members of the American Society of Safety Engineers (ASSE) participated as subject matter experts in an anonymous online survey to provide framing data. The ASSE Educational Standards Committee and Framing the Profession Task Force engaged in an action research method of facilitated discussion and consensus building, (Modified Nominal Group Technique), distilling 741 portfolio examples to 22 competency themes, and 11 learning outcomes. Recommendations include: establish a standardized set of core competencies of evidence based learning outcomes across all OSH and related programs; look to the Nursing and Education professions' processes of shifting from prescribed courses to a learning outcomes model; shift pedagogy to student-centered, highly engaged, outcomes-based approach; enhance educational content for 21st-century knowledge and skills, including: teamwork, internship experience, organizational skills, ethics, critical thinking, scientific method, continuous improvement, systems thinking, sustainable applications, and strategic planning; enhance partnerships between professional safety associations and higher education for collaboration and consensus building; and collaborate with global OSH associations. The electronic version of this Dissertation is at the Ohio Link ETD Center at http://ohiolink.edu/etd.

Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.), Bowling Green State University, 2006, Psychology/Industrial-Organizational

Accidental exposure to bloodborne infections is a serious occupational hazard affecting thousands of health care workers. According to surveillance evidence, the level of compliance with safety regulations among health care workers is often low. This cross-sectional, correlational research investigated psychological processes involved in safety compliance. Occupational safety and industrial/organizational psychology theories were integrated to identify organizational and psychological factors that are associated with safety compliance among hospital nurses. The work-systems model of occupational safety proposed by DeJoy, Gershon, and Murphy (1998) was expanded for this study by incorporating the construct of role definition (Hofmann, Morgeson, & Gerras, 2003; Morrison, 1994). 170 nursing professionals and their 103 coworkers employed at two Mid-Western medical centers completed self-administered surveys. The final sample of 95 matched nurse-coworker dyads was analyzed. Safety compliance ratings provided by a coworker were positively correlated with self-reported compliance-specific role definitions, overall job satisfaction, conscientiousness, positive mood at work, and individually-perceived safety climate within one's hospital unit. Safety compliance was inversely correlated with negative mood at work. Men were less likely to comply with safety, compared to women. Compliance-specific role definitions moderated the conscientiousness-compliance relationship such that, when role definitions were broad, the conscientiousness-compliance relationship was weak. Role definitions mediated the relationship between negative mood and compliance. Practical and theoretical implications of these findings are discussed.