Browsing by Author "Hildreth, Laura"

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An Alternative to the Carnegie Classifications: Identifying Similar Institutions with Structural Equation Models and Clustering
(2019-01) Harmon, Paul; McKnight, Sarah; Hildreth, Laura; Godwin, Ian; Greenwood, Mark C.
The Carnegie Classification of Institutions of Higher Education is a commonly used framework for institutional classification that classifies doctoral-granting schools into three groups based on research productivity. Despite its wide use, the Carnegie methodology involves several shortcomings, including a lack of thorough documentation, subjectively placed thresholds between institutions, and a methodology that is not completely reproducible. We describe the methodology of the 2015 and 2018 updates to the classification and propose an alternative method of classification using the same data that relies on structural equation modeling (SEM) of latent factors rather than principal component-based indices of productivity. In contrast to the Carnegie methodology, we use SEM to obtain a single factor score for each school based on latent metrics of research productivity. Classifications are then made using a univariate model-based clustering algorithm as opposed to subjective thresholding, as is done in the Carnegie methodology. Finally, we present a Shiny web application that demonstrates sensitivity of both the Carnegie Classification and SEM-based classification of a selected university and generates a table of peer institutions in line with the stated goals of the Carnegie Classification.
Bioenergy and Breast Cancer: A report on tumor growth and metastasis
(2016) Running, Alice; Greenwood, Mark C.; Hildreth, Laura; Schmidt, Jade
As many as 80% of the 296,000 women and 2,240 men diagnosed with breast cancer in the United States will seek out complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) treatments. One such therapy is Healing Touch (HT), recognized by the National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health (NCCIH) as a treatment modality. Using a multiple experimental groups design, fifty-six six- to eight-week-old Balb/c mice were injected with 4T1 breast cancer tumor cells and randomly divided into intervention and positive control groups. Five days after tumor cell injection, mice in the intervention groups received HT either daily or every other day for 10 minutes by one HT practitioner. At 15 days after tumor cell injection, tumor size was measured, and metastasis was evaluated by a medical pathologist after necropsy. Tumor size did not differ significantly among the groups (F(3,52) = 0.75, p value = 0.53). The presence of metastasis did not differ across groups (chi-square(3) = 3.902, p = 0.272) or when compared within an organ (liver: chi-square(3) = 2.507, p = 0.474; lungs: chi-square(3) = 3.804, ; spleen: chi-square(3) = 0.595, p = 0.898). However, these results did indicate a moderate, though insignificant, positive impact of HT and highlight the need for continued research into dose, length of treatment, and measurable outcomes (tumor size, metastasis) to provide evidence to suggest application for nursing care.
The Emotional Dance with Depression: A Longitudinal Investigation of OULA for Depression in Women
(Elsevier, 2020-06) Hellem, Tracy; Sung, Young-Hoon; Ferguson, Hayden; Hildreth, Laura
The primary purpose of this pilot study was to evaluate OULA®, a dance fitness program with a strong emphasis on processing emotions through dance, as an intervention for depression in women diagnosed with major or persistent depressive disorders. 53 women were eligible for participation. Women attended OULA® for 12 weeks and then abstained from OULA® during week 13. For the primary outcome, depression severity was measured using the Hamilton Depression Rating Scale (HAM-D), and secondary outcomes were measured using the Beck Anxiety Index (BAI) and the Subjective Happiness Scale (SHS). After the abstinence week, women were offered 3-months of optional additional OULA®. HAM-D, BAI and SHS scores were collected at weeks 2, 4, 5-14 and at the end of the 3-month optional OULA® phase. Results from linear mixed effects repeated models show that during the 12-week intervention period and at week 26, HAM-D scores significantly decrease each week compared to baseline. Further, BAI scores significantly decrease starting at week 5 and through the end of the intervention period and at week 26. Moreover, SHS scores increased significantly for four of the weeks during the intervention period and at week 26. The results from this study suggest that OULA® may be a useful intervention for decreasing depression and anxiety severity in women with depression but may not be helpful for improving subjective happiness.
Preliminary Psychometric Evaluation of the Hamilton Depression Rating Scale in Methamphetamine Dependence
(2017-08) Hellem, Tracy; Scholl, Lindsay; Ferguson, Hayden; McGlade, Erin; Yurgelun-Todd, Deborah; Renshaw, Perry; Hildreth, Laura
OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study was to test the initial psychometric properties of the 17-item Hamilton Depression Rating Scale (HAM-D) in individuals with and without major depressive disorder who use methamphetamine. We used data from two completed studies and two ongoing clinical trials. The HAM-D has well established reliability and validity in a variety of populations. However, there are no published reports of reliability and validity of the HAM-D in a methamphetamine using population. METHODS: HAM-D and depression status data were extracted from four separate studies for this psychometric assessment. Using these data, we evaluated three measures of construct validity: internal consistency, contrasted groups validity and factorial validity. RESULTS: We found potential concerns with the construct validity of the HAM-D in users of methamphetamine. Intercorrelations between items were primarily less than 0.20 and the Cronbach's alpha value in this sample was 0.58 indicating potential issues with internal consistency. The results of a two sample t-tests suggest concerns with contrasted group validity, as no significant difference in average scores were found for nine items. Consistent with previous studies, a principal component analysis indicates that the HAM-D is multidimensional. CONCLUSIONS: The 17-item HAM-D might not reliably and validly measure depression severity in a methamphetamine using population. Given our small sample, additional research is needed, though, to further test the psychometric properties of the HAM-D in individuals who use methamphetamine.