Master of Science in Healthcare Management and Informatics
Collaborative Research Engagements - Cohort 6
Assessing the Relationship Between Preventive Care Practices and Suicidal Ideation Among High School Students: An Analysis Using the 2019 Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance System
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), death by suicide has been persistently one of the top causes of death for teenagers in the United States. This, coupled with a worsening mental health crisis among teenagers in recent years, is cause for alarm for parents, school administrators, public health officials, and society in general. Because of the hidden nature of mental health disorders and suicidal ideation, in addition to lingering taboos surrounding both, it may be challenging to adequately address these problems using traditional approaches. Interestingly, prior research has shown that healthy, preventive care behaviors, such as adequate sleep, physical activity, and healthy eating are associated with improved mental health and well-being. However, most of the research in this area explores the relationship between preventive care behaviors and a specific mental health condition, such as depression or anxiety. Fewer have explored the relationship between these behaviors and suicidal ideation specifically, and thus, the present study aims to fill this apparent gap. Results indicate that students who regularly meet sleep recommendations, regularly eat breakfast, and avoid cigarette and marijuana smoking may be less likely to experience suicidal ideation compared to their peers. These results demonstrate potential opportunities for programming, including food programs as well as improved health curriculum, which could be implemented in schools to indirectly begin to address the national crisis currently being experienced by teenagers.
Students: Jazmyne Lane, Anas Alhasan Almashhour
Faculty Advisors: Austin Brown, Sweta Sneha
Industry Sponsor: CDC
*Won FIRST by a panel of industry leaders in digital health tech
Barcode Medication Administration – Process Mapping and Assessing in a Military Hospital
Objective: To assess and map the barcode assisted medication administration (BCMA) process in medical-surgical units at a military hospital and develop a dashboard to ease viewing metrics and variables associated with barcode scanning. 
Materials and Methods: A retrospective study in a tertiary care military medical center data analysis covered a six-month period (September 2022 - February 2023) across four inpatient medical-surgical units. The data was de-identified of patient or staff details, but included variables surrounding instances where medication barcode scanning was not used. 
Results: The analysis revealed nearly 10% of non-compliant meds have no bypass reason documented. Where documented, medication bypass was more prevalent than patient ID bypass. 54.78% of the medication bypass reasons were due to damaged or unable to scan barcodes, followed by 10.87% due to non-barcoded medication. Damaged or unable to scan barcodes accounted for 38.40% (n=1,038) of patient ID override reasons. 
Discussion: Most bypass reasons were documented as damaged or unreadable barcodes, indicating a need for further investigation. The volume of non-barcoded medications also warrants standardized medication labeling consideration. Furthermore, the study provides specific information about the medications that generated the greatest number of override alerts.
Conclusions: The majority of bypass reasons were associated with medication bypasses and were heavily linked to barcode-related factors. Documentation via a pathway that doesn’t require BCMA use or override documentation still remains. Ongoing dashboard management and monitoring along with deeper investigation in key areas will offer greater insight into opportunities to improve overall BCMA compliance and process adoption. 
Students: Joli Miracle, Farah Muttardy, Richard Ogniewski, Elie Tannouri
Faculty Advisor: Sweta Sneha
Industry Sponsors: MAJ Maria-Cristina Caruso, Tripler Army Medical Center, a Defense Health Agency (DHA) Facility V/R
*Won THIRD by a panel of industry leaders in digital health tech
The Evolving Landscape of Health Information Exchange: Preparing MEDITECH for TEFCA
Onboarding
Adopting standards and procedures that support nationwide interoperability are critical for healthcare organizations transitioning into the Trusted Exchange Framework and Common Agreement (TEFCA). The EHR companies like MEDITECH, are one of the first Participants to be adopted under TEFCA and will be required to make changes to their current policies and procedures.  MEDITECH’s current practices and procedures that involve health information exchange are being analyzed to assist with what the future state will be under TEFCA. Research, workflow analysis and customer survey responses have led to recommendations and optimized workflow designs that will support nationwide interoperability. This analysis is a steppingstone in what the healthcare industry will look like as TEFCA becomes the precedent for health information exchange. EHR companies should be evaluating their current workflows and procedures to identify areas of change that will allow a smooth transition to this new agreement.
Students: Cameron Broadnax, Chris Burgess, Clarette Epps
Faculty Advisor: Sweta Sneha
Industry Sponsor: Adama Blaha, Director of Interoperability, MEDITECH
An Exploratory Analysis of Return on Investment of Employee Wellness Programs
Purpose: Employee wellness programs are becoming increasingly popular in corporate America. The prevalence of risk factors such as high cholesterol, obesity, and high blood pressure in the workplace is on the rise. In order to keep costs low on health insurance and improve employee wellness, employers are turning to wellness programs in order to mitigate the issue. However, many employers want to know the return on investment (ROI) of these programs and if they are profitable and effective. The goal of this paper is to analyze the trends of data collected from multiple companies and attempt to calculate an accurate ROI.
Methods: This project consists of creating a dashboard in Power BI that follows data generated from 6,000+ employees from over 10 different employers from the years 2022 to 2023 collected from a southern United States based wellness corporation. The dashboard was broken up into 9 different tabs that allow the user to focus on one specific theme of the data such as habits, basic statistics, screening, age, gender, ROI, and more.
Findings: After completing the dashboard, the variables that can be used to calculate an accurate ROI are the number of sessions completed and the number of participants that are considered high, low, and moderate risk from year to year. By looking at the number of coaching sessions attended and the level of risk, one can conclude that the increased participation in coaching sessions leads to a decrease in the level of risk, or otherwise, a positive ROI. Therefore, a negative ROI is the result of a decrease in participation of coaching sessions and an increase in the level of risk year to year.
Students: Mikaela Keith, Tyler Simon, Lisero Mugula
Faculty Advisors: Soo Shin, Sweta Sneha
Industry Sponsor: Engagement Health Group
Gen Z Learning and Communication Styles
Using a literature review approach, we synthesized the existing research on Gen Z nurses and their impact on the healthcare industry. The literature review revealed that Gen Z nurses bring several unique attributes to the profession, such as being digital natives, having a strong desire for work-life balance, and valuing diversity and inclusion. Additionally, they have a strong sense of purpose and are driven by a desire to make a difference in the world. These characteristics are becoming increasingly important in the healthcare industry, as it faces new challenges such as the aging population, the increasing demand for healthcare services, and the need for innovative solutions. Gen Z nurses are well-positioned to address these challenges, using their technological skills, their commitment to work-life balance, and their desire to make a positive impact. 
Students: Ziyah Anderson
Faculty Advisors: Margot Hendenstrom, Sweta Sneha
Industry Sponsor: Piedmont Healthcare
PMMA, PEEK, and Porous Polyethylene: A Review of Implant Materials When Used in Cranioplasty
The purpose of this systematic study is to evaluate evidence-based data on Polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA), Porous Polyethylene, and Polyetheretherketone (PEEK) and examine the capabilities along with the potential for complications of these three materials when used as implants in a cranioplasty procedure. Methods: A search of articles was conducted on the PubMed and National Library of Medicine databases. Only articles from the last five years were reviewed. The following keywords and phrases were used to uncover relevant data: “Cranioplasty Implant Material,” “PEEK versus PMMA versus Porous Polyethylene,” “Complications with PEEK in Cranioplasties,” “Complications with Porous Polyethylene in Cranioplasties,” “Complications with PMMA in Cranioplasties,” “Prothesis Implantation,” and “Cranial Implant Infection.” Results: PMMA, PEEK, and Porous Polyethylene all had similar capabilities when used in cranioplasty procedures. The porous polyethylene allowed for fibrovascular in-growth, resulting in the reduced risk of infection. PMMA and PEEK offered great durability and strength when used in cranioplasties. Value: With cranioplasty procedures having such a large complication rate, it is crucial implant material does not add to this by creating unnecessary complications. It is critical that implant materials be examined thoroughly to determine their capabilities and true risk they play in the likelihood of adverse effects in cranioplasties.
Student: Jaclyn Maney
Faculty Advisor: Sweta Sneha
Industry Partner: Poriferous
Metaverse Growth in Healthcare
Metaverse’s integration with AI, VR, and blockchain will revolutionize healthcare by securely communicating patient data and improve education through immersive training. Metaverse blockchain stores data and connects the virtual with the real world. Metaverse technology can improve medical education by building a medical technology and artificial intelligence ecosystem. VR metaverse training advances healthcare. Simulation-based activities allow students to practice complicated tasks safely, improving their skills and knowledge. Metaverse has a large healthcare market potential, and government and private funding is expected. Metaverse technology will revolutionize healthcare by transforming healthcare delivery and quality. This research will highlight how metaverse can impact healthcare through secure data sharing, educational training, and the challenges of funding it faces.
Students: Ashana Vaudreuil, Marci Sparrow, Mele Kwon, Melissa Rivera
Faculty Advisor: Sweta Sneha
Industry Sponsor: AMIA Fellowship
Optimization of Electronic Health Records (EHR) to Improve Consumer Outcomes and System
Performance
This case study reveals true examples of how a personal injury law firm addresses quality improvement issues and problems within the medical records department. We will address strategies, challenges, barriers, and solutions in the implementation of electronic health records quality improvement interventions. This research has originated from real-world experiences, proposing tools that can improve practices electronic counseling, lab ordering and telehealth capabilities. We will identify key performance indicators that will proliferate system performance and business revenue. Moreover, this research aims to be generalized throughout healthcare organizations, law firms, insurance companies, etc.
Student: Bryana Higginbotham
Faculty Advisor: Sweta Sneha
Industry Sponsor: Kaila & Solomon Law Group
The Effectiveness of Telesitter on Video Monitoring of Patients to Reduce the Fall
Rate
Methods: A pre-implementation and post-implementation study in the video monitoring of patients was observed and conducted. By reviewing the data from October to December of 2022 for the pre-implementation period and from February to April 2023 for the post-implementation period, fall rates were compared and the impact of telesitters through video monitoring was evaluated.
Results: We observed that there were twenty-three falls during the pre-implementation study and twelve falls during the post-implementation study, which showed that there was a significant reduction in the number of falls.
Conclusions: Telesitters were able to continuously watch the patients through video monitoring, which decreased the fall rate, decreased the costs for care and improved patient safety in hospitals.
Students: Brandi Baugh, Poornima Shahitha Katragadda
Faculty Advisor: Sweta Sneha
Industry Sponsor: WellStar
Pre-Mitigation iPhones, Epic, and Applications Cases: Unified Communications at Kennestone Hospital
Student: Arleen Patinga, Hansa Das
Faculty Advisors: Dr. Sherry Ni & Sweta Sneha
Industry Sponsors: WellStar Health System: Cori Kelley, Emmy Sturch, Katrina White
A Comparative Analysis of State Legislation and Nascent Outcomes and Recommendations
in Building State-Level Sickle Cell Disease Programs and a National Sickle Cell Disease
Registry
Student: Mark Greenburg
Faculty Advisors: Sweta Sneha
Industry Sponsors: Georgia Health Policy Center at Georgia State University
Histological Staining
Student: Jasmine Williams
Faculty Advisor: Sweta Sneha
Industry Sponsor: Emory