7^th International Conference on Addictive Disorders, Addiction Medicine and Pharmaceuticals September 19-20, 2018 San Diego, California, USA

Biography:

Theodore Bender is a clinical psychologist with expertise in the area of suicidality and addictive disorders. He is currently the Chief Executive Officer of Turning Point treatment center in Southaven Mississippi which focuses on dual diagnosis clients presenting with severe substance use disorders. He was a member of the Military Suicide Research Consortium for 4 years as a Post- Doc before devoting himself full-time in treating addiction and its related comorbidities. His main focus is to bring community resources together to fight the opioid epidemic on all fronts. He believes that if local and national entities come together as a unified front, the opioid epidemic can be defeated saving hundreds of thousands of lives and bringing families together again.

Abstract:

Statement of the Problem: Drug overdose deaths have reached epic proportions. The Center for Disease Control just released the 2017 epidemiological data showing over 72,000 drug overdose deaths in the United States. This represents nearly a 10% increase in drug overdose deaths over the previous year of 2016 which saw 64,000 overdose deaths. Significant increases in the death rates have been tied to the synthetic opioids, most notably, Fentanyl. While heroin overdoses are seemingly remaining flat, synthetic opioids such as Fentanyl continue to cause significant fatalities nationwide. In 2016, fentanyl and other synthetic opioids overtook prescription opioids regarding involvement in overdose deaths. With over 2 million Americans suffering from opioid dependence, the need for treatment availability and increased resources is vital. Fentanyl is a highly concentrated synthetic that is being used on the street to cut other drugs. For example, it is commonly being used to cut other drugs such as heroin, cocaine, methamphetamine, and benzodiazepines. Often times people will buy drugs off the street expecting to get Percocet or Vicodin, not realizing that they are really purchasing a much more powerful drug that is 50 to 100 times more powerful. Carfentanil, another variation of the synthetics, is another drug that is hitting the street and is 10,000 times more powerful than morphine. This drug was originally created to be an elephant tranquilizer. It is also now being used as a powerful cutting agent for heroin, contributing even further to the drastic rise in overdose deaths. Hope for the future is on the horizon. Despite the CDC data from 2017, there is some evidence to suggest that the death rate started to level off at the end of 2017. Better access to treatment, changes to prescription regulations, and additional government funding may be helping to reduce the problem. Future treatment methods will be discussed.

Biography:

Christy Wise is a most noted for her work as an Expert in the Field of Clinical Psychology, Dr Wise had built an impeccable reputation as a past Certified Child Custody Evaluator with high conflict family’s, Certified Mediator, Forensic Evaluations and Court Ordered Reunification Therapy. Today Dr Wise is most known for her work as a high impact Keynote Speaker & Intensive Goal Directed Coach and Educator. With her rich professional and personal experiences, she has committed herself to help her clients and audiences transform small moments into radical results. She passionately reveals how the unraveling of human dignity, truly can be followed by an unexpected emergence of resilience and rebirth of the human spirit.

Abstract:

Statement of the problem: The United States incarcerates more people than any other country. Many factors contribute to this phenomenon, including a criminal justice system with ongoing race-based injustices, a strong and unchecked prosecutorial system, a failure to rehabilitate those previously incarcerated, unidentified and untreated mental health issues. Underlying it all – there’s a growing lack of empathy in this country. One way to build empathy is to experience something you may never have experienced – and don’t ever intend to engage. Awareness through empathic thought can open minds to the horrors of imprisonment that can, over time, lead to prison reform. Exploring reform issues, as expressed through different artistic lenses, is a psychological field trip into the criminal justice system’s emotional/social impact on men, women, and families. Incarceration inoculates inmates, and their families, with feelings of fear, eroded dignity, humiliation, emotional darkness.

Methodology & Theoretical Orientation: Using the Arts in different media such as poetry, plays, literature, paintings, and the film becomes the vehicle for experiencing something never experience, through alternative means.

Representative works include: Oscar Wilde - The Ballad of Reading Gaol (Poem, 1896, Tennessee Williams -Not About Nightingales (Play,1938), Sister Helen Prejean, Dead Man Walking (Book/Film, 1995), Salvador Dali - Melting clocks, The Persistence of Memory (Painting, 1931), and Franz Kafka, The Trial (Novel, 1925).

Findings: Current research on the experience of understanding another person's thoughts, feelings, and condition from their point of view, rather than from your own will be reviewed. Where a more empathic approach within the criminal justice system, inmate incarceration system, and reentry system can affect important social change will be explored.

Conclusion & Significance: Social change can only come about when people can empathize with the others. Empathy facilitates prosocial behaviors that come from within, rather than being forced, so that we behave in a more compassionate manner with those caught in the jaws of the criminal justice system in the United States.

Biography:

Carol Rose Adkisson is an author, speaker, a teacher and a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist and The Transformational Coach. Carol Adkisson is the owner of a private practice and founder/Chief Executive officer of a group non-profit, The Trauma and Healing Foundation in Fontana. She also is an author of several books including Recovering My Life, a Personal Bariatric Story. She co-developed and participates in a podcast entitled Curious Intentions. She specializes in anxiety, depression, trauma, couples’ therapy, ADHD, substance issues, immigration psychological evaluations, weight loss and bariatric surgery and 12 step recovery and of course HOARDING. She is trained in various treatments including EMDR and Trauma-Focused CBT and numerous other modalities. She also has 34 years of experience working with recovery-based programs. She serves individuals, couples, families, children, and adolescents. She utilizes "discernment theory" to perceive which treatment is most helpful for the individual client's needs. Her group practice employs therapists with many different specialties. She supervises this practice and is the Clinical Director. She has her bachelor’s Degree and master’s Degree in Marriage Family Therapy from Hope International University. Her hobbies include volleyball, spending time with her family and she is a foodie, always ready to try something new.

Abstract:

Stepping into a Hoarders World is not as easy as you may think. A Hoarder has multiple layers that if peeled back, may possibly reveal a Family System that helps to enable their behaviors, traumatic events from their childhood, anxiety, obsessive-compulsive thinking and possibly an addictive personality that is compounded by delusional thinking. Would you like a peek into that world? Let’s help these clients that are more common than you may realize. Let us delve into that world and explore the depths of their secret world. This training will encompass many objectives that are important to understanding the hoarders that may cross your path. As a child of a hoarder, I grew up hoping to understand the underpinnings of my mother. Why were objects so important to her? As my sisters and I grew up and moved on, her hoarding increased, as it often does when there is no one to help stop the hoarding behaviors. She was diagnosed with cancer and thus we as a family helped her to the next stage of her life. Letting go of her things and moving her to an assisted living facility. We took her things away, either discarded, donated and/or sold them. Neither the family or she had no choice at that point. Because of this, I grew up with a heart to help this population to heal. This training will create a picture of the average hoarder and their family system. It’s important to understand the system to help the hoarder heal. It’s also necessary for the family to form an alliance, just as you would with an addict or an alcoholic. We will discuss the five stages of hoarding. The diagnostic criteria as presented in the DSM-5 and various treatment methods to deal with this insidious problem. Many times, as clinicians you are unaware that your clients present with this problem. This is generally a secret condition, they are not hoarders, instead, they are collectors, at least in their mind, however delusional it may be. Let me help you to lead your clients to success and freedom.

Goals/Objectives: To understand the average hoarder and their family system. Current research on brain studies and the circular thought process of the hoarder. To name the five Stages of Hoarding and how they manifest. Describing DSM-5 Diagnostic Criteria and its similarity to the addiction process. Treatment Methods for the hoarder and their dysfunctional family system.

Biography:

Statement of the Problem: The misuse of opioids is resulting in unprecedented death and hardship. Through the CMS-funded Transforming Clinical Practice Initiative, Vizient worked with over 26,000 clinicians to become part of the solution to this epidemic. The purpose of this study is to review best practice to avoid addiction to prescribed opioid medications.

Methodology and Theoretical Orientation: These recommendations were based on observational input from members across the country from their perspective on best practice.

Findings: Using three quick changes in behavior and in standardized sets can have a major impact on reducing risk factors that commonly result in prescribed opioid addiction.

Conclusion & Significance: This project showed that clinicians can make a significant impact in reducing prescriptions of oral opioids by the implementing the following steps: (i) Do not prescribe greater than 3-5 days of medication for non-metastatic pain. Studies tell us that most patients are at a higher risk for opioid addition if given greater than 7 days of medication. (ii) Remove all narcotics from standardized order sets. (iii) Implement shared decision making into your daily care of patients. Discuss the potential risks and benefits of opioids versus other analgesic options with patients.

Abstract:

Tomas Villanueva, DO, is the clinical and operational lead for the Vizient TCPI team and the Vizient PTN. The network has more than 26,000 enrolled clinicians in the CMS-funded TCPI program to prepare for the move to value-based reimbursement. Villanueva previously served as chief of primary care for the Baptist Health Medical Group, part of Baptist Health South Florida. He was responsible for primary care redesign, transforming these practices toward value-based payments, risk sharing, and population health. He has more than 17 years of physician leadership experience, first as a hospitalist, where he created multiple different programs. He also served as corporate medical director of employee health and chief of palliative care for Baptist Health.

Biography:

Ingrid E Blair lives in Hudson, WI with her husband, Tom, and their sons, Jake & Cooper. She is Vice President, Business & Marketing, 3M Drug Delivery Systems Division, a current advisory board member with Rise Together (weallrisetogether.com), a former board member of the Hamline University School of Business, and of Solumed, a medical supplies company. Ingrid has a bachelor’s degree in Chemical Engineering from the University of Minnesota. She is a casual runner, a recent yoga convert, and an avid downhill skier. Ingrid is presently on leave from her position at 3M to honor and mourn the loss of her son and support her husband and living children.

Abstract:

Statement of the Problem: The social stigma associated with opioid addiction is limiting the public engagement to drive government institutions to swiftly, fully and effectively address this epidemic. Embedded in the stigma is the belief of middle-class families that opioid addiction only happens to ‘bad kids’ with ‘bad parents’ which inherently limits their active participation in pushing for funding for public intervention. This presentation is a mother’s story of how the disease of addiction impacted her family and what we as individuals can do to break the stigma and take steps to change the trajectory of this epidemic. We called him our beautiful boy because he was that; strikingly handsome, charismatic, wicked smart with a dry sense of humor and appealing laugh. Our son, Hunter, died on December 4, 2016, at the age of 24 from a heroin overdose.

Biography:

Norris Wise is an adjunct professor of Human Resource Management at Park University – Camp Pendleton Campus, CA. He is a 21 year Marine veteran, who formerly served as Special Staff Directorate and advised as the subject-matter expert on equal opportunity and diversity management across the largest operational force in the U.S. Marine Corps. He earned a B.A. in Communication Studies, MSA in Human Resources Administration and is currently a doctoral student in the Business Psychology program (Organizational Leadership) at The Chicago School of Professional Psychology. He is a member of the Academy of Management and the National Communication Association.

Abstract:

Communication is a process of transmitting information from a designated source to a receiver, and providing feedback to the understanding of that transaction. In human communication, listening is a substantial part of this communicative act. Definitions of the term (listening) are noted by various scholars but most are germane to cognition; listening as a behavior has been overlooked. Poor listening skills hinder productivity in organizations; thus, this study focuses on listening and its impact (behavior) on productivity, which is relative to performance. Flynn, Valikoski & Grau (2008), posited for over five decades that business experts believed that productive listening ranks high on the list of priorities in the workplace. The purpose of this research was to determine what impact listening has on productivity in the workplace. Three specific objectives included: (1) to determine the impact listening skills have on productivity in the workplace, (2) to identify factors that influence listening skills and its impact on productivity in the workplace, and (3) to provide recommendations to improve listening skills to improve productivity in the workplace. A survey was used to solicit responses from participants from two nonprofit organizations, which provided quantitative and qualitative data. The results revealed that listening has a significant impact on productivity, listening skills training was identified as increasing productivity and that listening skills training should be implemented in the workplace.

Biography:

Karina Blancarte Figueroa has completed her MA in Holistic Psychology and is currently a PhD candidate from The International University of Professional Studies. She is the owner of The Holistic Center, which provides psychotherapy, Reiki Treatments, and Yoga Classes. Her extensive yoga, meditation, and scientific research have taken her to the Amazonian jungle to test and explore the ancient traditions, environmental healing medicine's impact and to The Himalayas to learn the ancient yoga practices reviving wisdom of yogis. She has delved into science to decode the power of inner energy and mastered personal and social transformation, successfully taking people from suffering to loving, appreciating and unleashing the potential in life.

Abstract:

According to The Mayo Clinic, Pre-Menstrual Dysphoric Disorder (PMDD) is a severe, sometimes disabling extension of premenstrual syndrome (PMS). Although regular PMS and PMDD both have physical and emotional symptoms, PMDD causes extreme mood shifts that can disrupt your work and damage your relationships. PMDD is considered a mental disorder according to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disease (DSM-5), however, the causes of PMS and PMDD have not been found. As a matter of fact, Premenstrual syndrome (PMS) is a medical condition that affects some women of childbearing age. More than one in three women suffer from PMS. One in 20 suffers so severely that their lives are seriously affected. The lack of understanding and information about what women’s cycle is, is affecting thousands of women causing frustration, discrimination, and self-judgment creating an inner and outer lack of balance that most of the times end up in severe depression affecting women physically, emotionally and mentally. With the speed we live on a daily basis there’s been acceleration on the levels of depression and anxiety and other mood disorders. Many of them have turned to medication for relief. The use of anti-depressants has increased nearly 400% since 1990. The program is designed to cover: A shift in the perception of what women’s cycle is. Understanding the energetic (Energy Psychology) point of view of women’s cycle providing information about the advantages of it, breaking with stigmatized patterns as well as hints to use it as a tool for a balanced and mindful lifestyle.

Biography:

Mireille Ndje Ndje is a Senior Lecturer at the University of Yaounde I in the Department of Psychology. Researcher and practitioner, she is also President of Association pour le Développement et la Promotion de la Psychologie en Afrique (ADPPA), General Secretary of the Association des Psychologues Clinicians du Cameroun and a member of the Réseaux Mondial de Pratique Clinique of the WHO. She is interested in Clinical and pathological Psychology, psychotraumatology, research ethics, the qualitative method. She holds a PhD in Clinical Psychology and Psychopathology.

Abstract:

Statement of the Problem: The birth of a child does not create a split with the pregnancy and desires of the conception of the parents but rather confirms the continuity of the fantasies, the representations which animate these and more still the mother since the desire of the child. These fantasies and daydreams inherent in pregnancy and described by Bydlowsky are relegated to the background, and sometimes even ignored by families, but especially by obstetric care professionals during birth.

Methodology: This article is an intrusion using semi-directive interviews in the psychic dynamics of six Cameroonian primiparous women who gave birth by cesarean section in a specialized hospital, from the preoperative to the postoperative through the operative.

Findings: It emerges from this study that when the normal process of birth is changed, the mother can undergo this event considered natural in her cultural universe. Cesarean section is certainly a birth, but it is anti-physiological, because of the lack of passage that leads to a feeling of foreignness in women. In the Caesarean section, there seems to be a lack of narcissistic investment in the reproductive apparatus. Caesarized parturients feel guilty for not having given life according to the accepted model, both on the religious, social, cultural and psychic level. They feel guilty for not being able to repeat the act that women have been doing in their environment since the beginning of time. For their own family they bring denigration, for the in-laws they are incapable, for the other parturients they are inferior, and for themselves they are guilty.

Conclusion: This birth-related surgery does not give women a leeway to become involved in the process. The physical undergoes invasive gestures that are not felt in a present but are imagined with a shift of time, of reality and resonance on the psyche.

Biography:

Nourah Abdul Kader has completed her degree in Bachelor of Dental Surgery at the age of 23 years from The Tamil Nadu Dr MGR Medical University, Chennai, India. She has also completed a Basic Implantology course. She is a triple gold medalist, holding a GPA of 4.0 and has received the Best Academic Performer Award during the academic period 2012-17. She has presented papers and posters in various National and International conferences for which she has won laurels. She has presented a paper on “The considerations for the administration of General Anesthesia in Children” in the 3rd Annual Meeting on Pediatrics and Geriatric dentistry in New York, USA.

Abstract:

The prescription of opioids in dentistry is a relevant and current issue given that this class of drugs is still widely used in the treatment of pain, and dentists play a major role in knowing how to properly prescribe them. The opioids most commonly used in today’s practice are codeine and oxycodone, they can both be prescribed to manage acute pain when all else fails, and they should be administered in association with paracetamol. The prescription of these drugs is made only when the benefits outweigh the risks and whenever strong analgesia is procured. In children, the use of codeine is compared to morphine and, according to the guidelines, the use of morphine should be considered instead, but in Portugal codeine is still prescribed. In the elderly and during pregnancy, use of opioids should be avoided and needs dose adjustments. This paper focuses on the theme that the pharmacotherapy of opioids in the practice of dentistry is common, breaking the prejudice that can arise from the prescription of this class of drugs.

Biography:

CJ Hornes, published author holds a Doctorate of Divinity from CICA University and Seminary as well as the honor of Ambassador at Large and Chaplaincy. A Certified Alcohol & Drug Counselor, Certified Anger Management Facilitator trained by Anderson & Anderson Psychological Services, Dr Hornes currently studies psychology and addiction with Purdue University Global. Unashamed to use her life experiences as a teaching mechanism, she openly shares her life with anyone that will listen. In 2011, she founded Truth Outreach Center a 501 (c) (3) non-profit organization that provides resources for homeless veterans, survivors of domestic violence and ex-offenders. A passionate goal to inspire and aspires to unlock the hidden potentials in others.

Abstract:

Statement of the Problem: Ex-Offenders that are reentering their communities have five common issues that stand to be addressed: mental health, substance abuse, housing, and homelessness, education, and employment, and children and families.

Methodology & Theoretical Orientation: In order to reach the target population and have an overall success rate we must not only address the current issues but we must address the issues from the past and convert negative thinking in which will potentially lead to a greater level of Emotional Intelligence. Emotional Intelligence allows the individual to adhere to a better decision-making pattern which assists in the building of stronger relationships while incarcerated, at home, school, work, and with friends and family.

Findings: Compulsive behavior involving drugs and alcohol abuse is often thought of as a moral, social or criminal issue. The reality of the situation is that the disease is more complex than most people realize. It is a disease that affects the brain; it is more about the neurology of the disease than it is about the outward behavior exhibited. Addiction is a disease that affects the neurotransmitters in the brain. The compulsive addictive behavior can supersede normal healthy behavior and cause an individual to constantly seek and use drugs (Koob & Volkow, 2016). In research, we see that the prolonged drug usage will lead to cravings that feed the cycle of addiction. Eventually, addiction distorts an individual’s way of thinking, feeling and acting and this can lead to a person’s actions being labeled as being irrational. We conclude that detoxing is the first step in treatment but not just a physical detox but a mental detox. Psychoneuroimmunology, however, has shown that the brain and nervous system, immune system and the hormonal system are all connected and work together. Traditional medicine, however, holds that the brain and the body, work in separation. Due to this connection, a change in one affects the other (Straub, 2014).

Biography:

Janice Burgess is a Stop Smoking Specialist with a degree in Pharmacy, and extensive training in health leadership and tobacco cessation principles. Janice is an innovator in cessation, and her passion is to create a tobacco-free future for all. She has combined best practice and transformational mastery to create a one-of-a-kind quit smoking program called the Breathe Easy Boot Camp, and cessation training for Health Coaches.

Abstract:

Despite declines in smoking prevalence in many western countries, tobacco use continues to grow in global importance as a leading preventable cause of illness, disease, and death. Best-practice in cessation is an effective way to increase abstinence rates, but now, several years later, could we do more to enhance the success, and experience of clients, and create fulfilling careers in cessation using this revised coaching model? Early analysis of a tobacco cessation program offered in a Primary Health Care Site is revealing that infusing transformational mastery and mindfulness into cessation services provides clients with better, more rewarding, and lasting results. Clients are encouraged to be more mindful about their tobacco use. They are taught to visualize and feel what it would be like to be 100% committed to being tobacco free. They are provided a new way of thinking and being so that smoking becomes very unfamiliar and not smoking becomes familiar. It’s all about creating a personalized quit plan specific to each client’s needs, including how to manage self-sabotage. Using just “best practice” in cessation is a disservice to our clients because they are not getting the care they deserve or the freedom from addiction they want. Allow me to introduce you to mindfulness and mastery in cessation work. You’ll love this new coaching method, and you’ll love the results. Let’s collectively make a larger global impact on abstinence, and let’s explore incorporating these methods into recovery from all addictions so our clients will stay the course.

Biography:

The Cleveland VA Medical Center has been at the forefront of responsible opioid prescribing for more than a decade. This facility currently ranks #1 amongst all VA Medical Centers in the United States for having the lowest percentage of its Veteran patients on opioids. This success has been recognized at the highest levels of government, as evidenced by a site visit by the President’s Opioid Commission in September 2017. We studied opioid prescribing practices at the Cleveland VA Medical center during the height of the opioid epidemic to help understand best practices. We also compared data on opioid prescribing at the Cleveland VA to rates of opioid prescribing in the Greater Cleveland area. We found that, in addition to being a leader within the VA, our facility has outpaced gains made in the non-VA healthcare sector as well. We will demonstrate how these studies were conducted so that other large healthcare organizations can assess their own opioid prescribing practices in relation to external standards.

Abstract:

Jason Tuckerman completed an MD-PhD training program at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas, TX and a residency in internal medicine at Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, Ohio. He recently joined the medical staff at the Louis Stokes Cleveland VA Medical Center, where he works as both a clinician and researcher.

Biography:

Sameer Rehman is an Interventional Radiology Physician at Hartford Hospital in Connecticut. He is interested in improving healthcare delivery by developing an efficient healthcare model via research and innovation. Dr Rehman has contributed extensively to the research literature in disciplines of Radiology, Surgery, Health Economics and Policy. He also serves on multiple health policy and legislative committees in the country. His clinical interest lies in Interventional Radiology/ Oncology and improving healthcare patient-related outcomes.

Abstract:

Patient satisfaction, with regards to the procedural experiences in Interventional Radiology, can be defined in a number of ways. Among the metrics used in hospital settings are the subjective pain level and patient satisfaction scores. Hospitals across the nation utilize this data in decision-making platforms affecting clinical practice, employee raises, advertising and funding. Research demonstrates that higher satisfaction scores correlate directly to the patient receiving some form of anxiolytic medication prior to arrival to the patient room. Personal experience has shown that most patients who receive midazolam or valium before entering the procedure room have little to no memory of the experience after initial dosing. Patients report that procedural amnesia was one of the best remedies to experiences that were painful and/or uncomfortable. With the presence of an anxiolytic before departure, ample time for therapeutic effect can occur. Anxiety levels will thus decrease, ensuring a smooth intra-procedural experience. This allows for health trust building between physician and patient, enhancing future cooperation and compliance between the patient and their medical team.

Biography:

Girma Birhanu Nurie holds a Master of Public Health in Epidemiology from Addis Ababa University, Ethiopia. He did his BSc in Environmental Health at University of Gondar, and Diploma in Environmental Health at Jimma University, all in Ethiopia. Currently, he is working as Field Epidemiologist and Researcher at Addis Ababa Regional Health Bureau, Department of Public Health Emergency Management. His passion is taking preventive medicine closer to the rural populations in Ethiopia. Mr Girma Birhanu Nurie is a former basketball player. He enjoys community work and volunteering.

Abstract:

Background: Scabies affects people from all countries. In developing countries, children, in particular, are most susceptible, with an average prevalence of 5–10%. It is very common in Ethiopia, especially during natural or manmade disasters, such as flooding, drought, civil war and conflict, poor water supply and sanitation, and overcrowded living condition.

Methods and materials: We conducted 1:2 unmatched case-control study from August 28-November 2, 2017 in Dembiya District, North Gondar Zone, Amhara Region. 40 Cases and 80 controls were randomly selected from the community. Data were collected using a structured questionnaire. The analysis was made using Epi Info and SPSS software. Odds Ratio, 95% CI and P-value were used to measure the significance of association in the bivariate and multivariate analysis. Variables with a p-value of equal to or less than 0.05 were reported to be significantly associated with the dependent variable.

Results: We identified 141 Scabies cases with an overall attack rate of 2% and Zero case fatality rate. Of reported cases 55% of them were male and the median age of the affected population was 16yrs (IQR= 19yrs). Sex (AOR: 0.4, 95% CI: 0.1-0.7), Handwashing with soap (AOR: 0.6, 95% CI: 0.1--0.6), Body bath more than a week (AOR: 1.5, 95% CI: 1.2-4.1), Cloth exchange with infected person (AOR: 3.1, 95% CI: 2.0-4.0), contact history (AOR: 17.0, 95% CI: 13.4-20.0), and water shortage (AOR: 3.3, 95% CI: 2.4-4.5) were significantly associated with scabies.

Conclusion: We found poor hygienic practices, sharing of clothing materials, sleeping with people that had contracted scabies was associated with higher frequency of scabies disease. Therefore, increasing awareness creation about the transmission, prevention and control methods of scabies disease is recommended.

Biography:

Katie Strong will be graduating from the University of British Columbia – Okanagan with a Bachelor of Arts with Honours in Psychology in May of 2018. She has been awarded multiple awards for academic excellence, and currently holds a Univerisity of British Columbia Deputy Vice Chancellor’s Award. In 2017, she was awarded an Irving K. Barber Undergraduate Research Award to support research exploring gender-specific expressions of psychopathy. She plans to continue this program of research into a clinical psychology graduate program.

Abstract:

The objective of this research was to explore gender differences in the expression of psychopathy. A literature review revealed an absence of gender behavior norms for psychopathy in previous studies. It was hypothesized that some items in commonly used measures of psychopathy may show gender bias and that existing measures may not contain enough items that are relevant to the manifestation of psychopathy in women. An exploratory investigation was conducted on statistical bias in common measures of psychopathy, and novel, relevant, but previously neglected items and measures were included in a new data collection. The participant pool included a sample of 403 university students and 354 participants recruited using Amazon Mechanical Turk. Analyses indicated only occasional and modest levels of item-level bias, and that some additional female-relevant items merit consideration for inclusion in measures of psychopathy. Further iterations of data collection and analysis are planned for this project.

Biography:

Merwin R Masanque is currently taking up his Masters Degree in Industrial/Organizational Psychology at De La Salle University-Manila, Philippines. At the same time, he works at AXA Philippines, a leading insurance company in the Philippines. He has various experiences in HR roles such as recruitment, talent management, employee engagement, and learning and development. His interest is to write more research specifically on employee motivation, leadership, and employee engagement to give meaning to the importance of employees in the workplace.

Abstract:

The purpose of the study was to find out if authentic leadership is a good predictor of employee engagement in the workplace, particularly in the sales field. The participants were Financial Executives, the employed salesforce of a life insurance company. A cross-sectional, predictive design was implemented. Questionnaires were given to the participants, namely, the Authentic Leadership Inventory (ALI), and the Utrecht Work Engagement Scale (UWES). Linear regression was used to analyze the data. The statistical analysis revealed that authentic leadership positively predict employee engagement. Following the social exchange theory, when leaders show authenticity, employees will reciprocate engagement behaviors to value their relationship. Thus, the research recommends that organizations adopt an authentic leadership approach. The research also suggests looking at other leadership styles to find out which best predicts employee engagement.

Biography:

Mathew Bayati and Francisco Buitron are both entering their fourth year as undergraduate students at the University of California, Irvine and University of California, Santa Barbara, respectively. Mathew is pursuing a bachelor’s degree in psychology and Francisco is pursuing a bachelor’s degree in biology. As university students, the two have sought out to investigate their interests within the scientific realm. Although the two originate from different educational backgrounds from one another, this current project struck an interest between the two of them due to the rising prevalence of social media on society, especially within the college demographic.

Abstract:

Every single person possesses different personality traits that are unique to them. There has been much research within the field of psychology investigating whether or not an individual’s personality can be accurately judged simply by examining the individual’s environment or physical appearance. The current study discussed was conducted through an online survey given to undergraduate college students. The goal of this study was to determine if the participants could accurately determine the personality traits and satisfaction with life ratings of two target individuals by examining their Instagram profiles. The Big Five Inventory (BFI) was used to measure personality and the Satisfaction with Life Scale (SWLS) was used to measure satisfaction with life. Using a one sample t-test (p<0.05), we compared the participant ratings and the actual target ratings on these scales to determine the accuracy of the participants observations. We predicted that the participants would accurately be able to rate the personality traits and satisfaction with life of the targets. However, our hypothesis was proven incorrect as the results yielded a statistically significant difference between the observer ratings and the actual ratings provided by the targets.