Center for Nursing Research
NEWSLETTER January 2019
OT! W H AT’ S H
Susan J. Loeb Susan J. Loeb, associate professor and director of the Ph.D. program, was elected to the Council for the Advancement of Nursing Science (CANS) Nominating Committee earlier this year. CANS, which was formed eighteen years ago as the research arm of the American Academy of Nursing, is an open-membership organization. Dr. Loeb brings to the Nominating Committee her previous leadership experiences as president of the Eastern Nursing Research Society (ENRS) and chair of the ENRS Conference Planning, Awards, and Nominating Committees, as well as past service on the CANS Steering and Awards Committees. CANS’ mission is to promote better health through nursing science, and their vision is to be recognized as the collective national voice for nursing science.
Spotlight Britney Wardecker, PhD, joined the College of Nursing as an assistant professor in July 2018. Dr. Wardecker received her Ph.D. in psychology from the University of Michigan in 2016 and subsequently began training as an NIA-funded T32 postdoctoral Fellow in the Center for Healthy Aging at Penn State. Her research program examines aging, health disparities, and well-being among lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) middle and older-aged adults. In addition to her position in the College of Nursing, she is affiliated with the Center for Healthy Aging and the Center of Geriatric Nursing Excellence at Penn State.
Britney Wardecker, Ph.D.
More recently, Dr. Wardecker co-authored a guest editorial for the Journal of Gerontological Nursing, in which she detailed how health care providers can better serve LGBTQ older adults and their caregivers. She also helped to start and coordinate a Sexual and Gender Minority Health Research Group at Penn State. The group’s mission is to facilitate interdisciplinary collaborations, secure external funding, and inform evidence-based change across the University Park campus and local community to reduce social and health disparities among LGBTQ people. A long-term goal of her program is to facilitate interventions for health, such as strengthening employees’ sensitivity training in retirement communities and nursing homes and increasing perceived social- and community-level support to decrease stress and health complications in older LGBTQ populations. Her passion for LGBTQ aging extends beyond the academy and Penn State. She has participated in the Pennsylvania Department of Aging’s Health and Wellness Conference and the LGBTQ Aging Summit, in which researchers, aging advocates, and policy makers came together to discuss how to better serve the needs of LGBTQ older adults who live in Pennsylvania with regard to health care, housing, and long-term care services. Dr. Wardecker is excited to extend the College of Nursing’s commitment to diversity through her research and engagement with historically underserved populations, including those who identify as LGBTQ.
1
2018 NIDUS Delirium Boot Camp 6th Annual Intensive Course in Delirium Research
,2 018
The Nittany Li on Inn – O ct 3
5
The Delirium Boot Camp has evolved to be a major activity of the Network for Investigation of Delirium: Unifying Scientists (NIDUS) Mentorship and Career Development Task Force, under the leadership of Donna Fick, PhD, MSN (Penn State), and Wes Ely, MD, MPH (Vanderbilt University). This year’s Boot Camp was attended by participants from three continents that included countries such as Argentina, Brazil, Scotland, Canada, and the United States. The Delirium Boot Camp was founded in 2013 through a career development award to Sharon Inouye (Harvard University) to establish the Center for Excellence for Delirium in Aging: Research, Training and Educational Enhancement (CEDARTREE). There are now more than 70 alumni of the program, which has expanded to include international participants. The Boot Camp includes didactic sessions on a variety of delirium-specific research topics ranging from biomarkers to qualitative research, as well as mock grant reviews, CAM training, and much more. The 2018 participants were required to complete a peer review of a research proposal in advance as part of the selection process. Videoconferences were held prior to Boot Camp to go over the grant review process in more detail. All mock pilot proposals received written scores and reviews from multiple faculty and peer reviewers using standard NIH criteria for grant review. Additional acceptance criteria included previous training in the fundamentals of clinical research; at least one to two years of previous research experience; an M.D., Ph.D., or other doctoral-level degree; and an interest in and passion for delirium research.
Student Achievements and Activities Ph.D. student Michelle Boakye was first author on a published paper in BMC Public Health titled “Challenges of achieving sustainable community health services for community case management of malaria.” Community case management of malaria (CCMm) using community health workers (CHWs) is an approach to improve access to timely and effective malaria case management in malaria-endemic countries. So far, the program has been shown to be effective in many communities in sub-Saharan Africa. However, questions remain on its sustainability, due to the high dropout cases of CHWs given their modest remuneration. The aim of the study was to identify challenges of achieving sustainable community health services for CCMm. The abstract can be found here.
Ashley Clark, M.S. RN, presented her poster, “Nurse Bedside Shift Report (NBSR): Redesigning the education and implementation process,” at the Nursing Management Congress 2018 Conference: Excellence in Nursing Leadership. The poster presentation, which included communicating with nurse managers about NBSR experiences, challenges, and ideas, was conducted in collaboration with two members of Clark’s NBSR team at her project facility.
2
New Awards Christopher Engeland was awarded an R01 grant from NIH titled “Integrative biobehavioral and psychosocial risk for cognitive decline in the elderly.” This longitudinal study (four annual data waves) examines how inflammation, lipid signaling, and neurodegenerative biomarkers predict cognitive decline, mild cognitive impairment, and ultimately dementia (e.g., Alzheimer’s disease) in 500 participants from 70 to 90 years old in the Bronx, New York.
On Jocelyn Anderson’s first day at Penn State, she was notified of funding for her NIAAA K23 award, “Text message intervention for alcohol use and sexual violence in college students.” This project aims to address two of the most vexing and interconnected public health problems of young adulthood today: hazardous drinking and sexual violence. An iterative, stakeholder-engaged process will be used to develop and pilot test a text message–delivered intervention to decrease binge drinking and increase use of harm reduction strategies to prevent sexual violence among college students. Findings are expected to lead to highly adaptable technology-delivered interventions to reduce negative outcomes associated with alcohol use and sexual violence.
Mock Reviews: A Valuable CNR Benefit Writing and submitting research proposals can be a daunting task, especially for new faculty who have little to no experience writing proposals. Yet turning a proposal into a funded research grant is a necessary part of the faculty tenure process.
research administrators. We sit round-robin style for those attending in person and use teleconferencing technology for others who are not on campus. At the mock review, PIs will listen, note suggestions, and provide feedback to queries. Critiques are discussed, and suggestions are included on how to make the proposal the best product for submission. After the meeting, the PI has a couple of weeks to revise, rewrite, and incorporate suggestions. The result is a high-quality proposal with standards exceeding one written by the PI alone.
One of the many benefits of being part of the CNR team is attending a mock review. Whether you are principal investigator (PI), co-investigator (Co-I), reviewer, or observer, you are instantly absorbed into a research project. The CNR’s mock review is based upon the National Institutes of Health (NIH) review process, including the scoring scale. The PI selects two reviewers who have experience in the proposed project. The PI is responsible for writing a draft proposal, including biosketches and budget justification. The reviewers will read, critique, and score the proposal.
This is only one benefit the CNR provides its faculty. We are very lucky to be included in a college that not only cares about the health, well-being, and success of the faculty and staff, but also takes the initiative to go above and beyond the support necessary for achievement.
Attendance at the mock review meeting includes the PI, Co-Is, reviewers, other faculty, students, and
3
New Faculty Please join us in welcoming our new faculty in the Center for Nursing Research. We wish them success in our college. Rachel Allen, Assistant Research Professor B.S.N., Thomas Jefferson University Master’s degree, University of Pennsylvania Ph.D., Nursing Science and Education, UMass Dartmouth Research interests: Mental health policy, serious and persistent mental illness, nursing history, and nursing education Rachel teaches Nursing 200W (Principles of Nursing Research and Evidence-Based Practice), 420 (Mental Health Nursing), 597 (Writing for the DNP), 841 (Assessment and Evaluation in Nursing Education), and 843 (Synthesis and Application of the Nurse Educator Role). Jocelyn Anderson, Assistant Professor B.S.N., St. Cloud University M.S.N., Johns Hopkins University Ph.D., Nursing, Johns Hopkins University Postdoctoral Scholar, University of Pittsburgh College of Medicine Forensic nurse examiner/Sexual assault nurse examiner Research interest: Sexual violence on college campuses Jocelyn will be teaching NURS 513, Evidence-Based Practice in Professional Nursing. Diane Berish, Assistant Research Professor B.A., Psychology, University of Notre Dame, May 2001 M.A., Psychology, University of Virginia, May 2003 Ph.D., Social Gerontology, Miami University, May 2018 Statistical consultant; works with doctoral students in stats courses and consults on projects and dissertation. Diane will be teaching a nursing stats course in spring 2019.
Shari Hrabrovsky, Assistant Research Professor A.S.N., Harrisburg Area Community College B.S.N., Thomas Jefferson University M.S.N., Villanova University, May 1994 Predoctoral Scholar, Tobacco Center of Regulatory Science D.Ed., Adult Education, Penn State, May 2018 Research interest: Tobacco use and treatment, behavior change, nurse-managed primary care centers Shari teaches courses in the Nurse Practitioner and Nurse Educator programs.
Britney Wardecker, Assistant Professor B.S, Psychology, Penn State M.S., Psychology, University of Michigan—Ann Arbor Ph.D., Psychology, University of Michigan—Ann Arbor Postdoctoral Fellow, Center for Healthy Aging Dissertation: “Cortisol Levels in Lesbian Couples across the Transition to Parenthood” Research interest: Examining the intersections of aging, health disparities, and stress in lesbian, gay, bisexual, and queer (LGBQ) communities Brit will be teaching NURS 513, Evidence-Based Practice in Professional Nursing. Penn State is an equal opportunity, affirmative action employer, and is committed to providing employment opportunities to all qualified applicants without regard to race, color, religion, age, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability or protected veteran status. This publication is available in alternate media upon request. NUR 19-16
4