Current Research Projects and Focus Areas at the Capstone College of Nursing
Students & faculty interested in participating and/or collaborating with a research project should contact the principal investigator.
| Faculty Name | Research Interest Areas | Current Projects and Programs |
| Abby Horton | Mental Health, Resilience, Wellness & Wellbeing of Nursing Student & Rural Health Populations | ALRI Grant “Risk, resilience, and context: Analyzing the social adjustment and wellbeing of adolescents and families in Rural Alabama during COVID”
The Malawi-Alabama Global Rural Nursing Education Project |
| Amanda Nance | Dementia Emergency Medicine Pediatric Oncology |
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| Amy Beasley | Palliative Care, Palliative Care Access, Rural Healthcare | Understanding hospital palliative care access in Alabama |
| Amy Lee | Gynecology, Emergency Gynecology, Family Planning, Intimate Partner Violence, Evidence-Based Practice, Obstetrics, Women’s Health | HRSA OB Fellowship Grant
ALRI Breastfeeding Support Grant
Role Strain in the Male OB Student |
| Ann Graves | primary and secondary prevention of cardiovascular disease,
rural health disparities and geographical access and evidence-based nursing (teaching and practice) geographical information system (GIS) |
2020 Graves, B.A., Key, B., Owings, R., & Ford, C. (Investigator). Innovation and Excellence in Academic Nursing: Advancing Student Evidence-Based Practice Competency. (Investigator) Funded by AACN Faculty Scholars Grant Program. $25,000. Nov. 2020. (In progress).
2020 Hooper, G. (PI), Graves, B.A. (Co-I). Measuring Self Care and Quality of Life in Patients with Heart Failure and Urinary Incontinence: Addressing Minority Aging and Health Disparities, Deep South RCMAR Health Disparities Research Pilot Grant Research Grant Program. $24,000. Grant in preparation for readmission |
| Cheryl Hines | Pharmacology Critical Care Education |
ENTRESTO® (sacubitril/valsartan) for heart failure in ICU
Quality improvement project, assessment of learning in graduate course Opioid toxicity and naloxone education |
| Christina J. Glenn | The Application of advanced statistical methodology to health-related data
Statistical Methodology for analyzing mental health outcomes The Impact of psychiatric comorbidities on health outcomes in people with chronic diseases Patient-reported depression and anxiety in people living with multiple sclerosis Active learning and student engagement in online statistics courses for non-statistics majors |
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| Clara R. Owings | Improving quality and safety in critical care nursing. | Striving for excellence: Advancing Evidence-based Practice in Undergraduate Nursing. In this project we study the benefits of incorporating innovative methods for teaching evidence-based practice to undergraduate nursing students.
In the works: we developed a project that teaches critical care nurses how to use evidence-based practice at the bedside to improve healthcare for patients. |
| Daniel Gibson | Wound Healing, Burns, Ophthalmology, Medical Devices, Tissue Biology, Tissue Fate Determination, Molecular Biology, Diagnostics, Medical Microbiology, Soft Tissue Mechanics, Biochemistry | Testing anti-pressure ulcer devices for the sacrum
Testing anti-inflammatory drug concentrations in the eye
Testing a novel class of anti-biofilm antibiotics in ex vivo infection models
Determining the impact on tissue fate determination of chemical injuries
Developing point-of-care testing of chronic wound fluids |
| Debra Pettit Bruns
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Public Health
International Health Neurological Nursing |
Cuba and maternity care (on hold due to COVID) |
| Felecia Wood | Health literacy, rural dwellers, disparate populations | Advancing Health Literacy in the Alabama Black Belt. Funded by the United States Department of Health and Human Services Office of Minority Health.
Wood, F. (PI), Anderson, B. (Co-PI), Oliver, J. (Co-PI), Payne-Foster, P. (Co-PI), Bui, C. (Co-PI), & |
| Gibran Mancus | Environmental health nursing through community-based restoration, conservation and sustainability interventions that support adaptation to social and built environmental stress | Resilience of Environmental Migrants
Physiological dosage response to time in community green-space
Trees for Transformation |
| Gwen Hooper | urinary incontinence/pelvic floor disorders prostate cancer Social determinants of health in rural aging and minority individuals |
International Rural Nursing Organization grant-(recruiting) Investigating the Real-Life Experiences of Women Living with Urinary Incontinence and Heart Failure in a Rural Community: A Case Study Approach. |
| Haley Townsend | Sexual health, sexually transmitted infections, adolescent risk behaviors, rural population health access | Mobile Clinic Delivered Sexual and Mental Health care in rural Alabama
Menstrual hygiene education for rural adolescents
Project Wellness in Motion |
| Heather Cole | Competency-based education Simulation outcomes Transfer of Knowledge to Practice |
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| Holly Stokley | Simulation Disaster preparedness Triage simulation |
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| Janet Brown | cystic fibrosis, self-efficacy, pediatrics | Self-Efficacy, Utilization of Student Support Services, and Mental Stressors in a Baccalaureate Nursing Program-IRB approval pending
Self-efficacy among adults with CF toward airway clearance therapy, medication compliance, and utilization of sexual and reproductive health care services-IRB approval pending
Development of a sensor for nebulizers to definitively measure compliance to therapy-joint project with School of Engineering to begin January 2022 |
| Jessica Johnson | Pediatrics, Microbiome, Pregnancy, Fetal Development, Obstetrics, Infant and Child Development, Breastfeeding | Currently completing my Ph.D. Dissertation on the gastrointestinal microbiome in infantile colic |
| Jill Hobbs | Teaching and Learning Strategies in Nursing Education Healthcare in underserved and minority populations in Rural Areas Health Promotion and Wellness |
Completing manuscript on recent low fidelity simulation models to teach fundamental nursing students skill acquisition during a pandemic
Participating in wellness in motion project as a provider to assist in treating patients in rural and underserved areas. Applied for ORED grant to develop a virtual simulation for undergraduate nursing students to evaluate communication with patients regarding sexual health. Working on Grant application for development of a rural nursing pathway curriculum to increase healthcare and nurses’ desires to work in rural areas. |
| JoAnn Oliver | Cancer Health Disparities; Social Determinants; Rural African Americans; Community Based Participatory Research; Cancer Survivors. | Resource Center for Minority Aging
Increasing COVID Vaccination Uptake in Rural Alabama Communities
Exploring Risk for Kidney Disease among Alabamians
AC3 IRONMAN International Project
Colorectal Cancer Risk and Screening Uptake among rural African Americans in the Deep South |
| Kate McConathy | Sleep Medicine | Currently enrolled in the nursing joint PhD UA/UAH program |
| Katelyn Repke | Rural health, stress/attrition rates in students, mental health in students (general) | |
| Kay Scott | Stroke, substance abuse | |
| Kim Wilson | Innovative teaching strategies, Obesity/ weight management, Complementary and Alternative Medications, Nurse Practitioner Preceptorship, Maternal-newborn nursing | I am working with Dr. Cheryl Hines and Dr. Becky Owings on “Multimodal Assessment for Online Learning: A Quality Improvement initiative for Graduate Nurse Education”.
I am working with Dr. Amy Lee on a Role Strain Study.
I am working with Dr. Jill Hobbs on “Teaching Clinical Skills to Fundamental Nursing Students During a Pandemic.” |
| Kristen Keen | depression and anxiety psychosis |
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| Kristi Acker | Palliative care, Oncology, Advanced Practice Nursing, Chronic Disease, Gerontology, Symptom Management, Hospice | Sleep in Oncology, Advanced Practice Education |
| Letisha Scott | Cardiovascular health in pediatrics, universal lipid screenings in adolescents, health disparities and socioeconomic barriers, family nurse practitioner, emergency nursing, ICU nursing | |
| Mercy Mumba | Substance use disorders; mental health; behavioral health; health disparities; minority health | Minds and Mentors Program
Minds and Mentors Paraprofessional Training Program: RESTORE Alabama |
| Michele Montgomery | community-based participatory research and community-engaged research, health disparities, cardiovascular risk factors, and health promotion among rural and underserved populations | Health Sciences & Technology Academy-Alabama (HSTA-AL)
Hale County Initiative Assessing Overweight and Obesity and Associated Risk Factors in Low-Income Preschool Children |
| Michelle Cheshire | Strategies for Undergraduate Student Success; Emotional Intelligence in relation to nursing education; Clinical expertise in Community Health with a focus on underserved populations | BAMA Latino which is a HRSA project that is nearing completion. It has targeted Hispanic RN’s to complete a BSN in the online RN to BSN program at the University of Alabama. |
| Monika Wedgeworth | Mental Health, Addiction, Interprofessional Behavioral Health, Nursing Education | Minds and Mentors grant project
TeleEcho Substance Use grant project
Addiction interventions, holistic healthcare |
| Mudasir Andrabi | Cardiovascular health promotion | A Pilot Study on Feasibility and Effectiveness of a Nursing Concept Based Yoga Program on Psychological and cardiac outcomes of First Semester Upper Division Nursing Students
Physical Activity Program for Cardiac Health among Older African American Populations Living in Rural Alabama: Needs Assessment and Initial Development |
| Paige Johnson | health disparities in rural, underserved communities of Alabama, cardiovascular health prevention, childhood obesity, diabetes prevention, STD prevention, increasing the rural healthcare workforce | Health Sciences and Technology Academy-Alabama
Hale County Health Initiative Global Rural Nursing Exchange Tuscaloosa City Schools Health Initiative |
| Patricia Carter | Sleep Across the Lifespan, Behavioral Interventions to Improve Sleep, Quality of Life, Mental Health, and Chronic Illness Management | Cancer Patient and Family Caregiver Functioning and Healthcare Resource Use. |
| Rebecca Martin | Obesity Adolescent healthy lifestyle LGBTQ healthy lifestyles |
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| Richard M Merrill | Nursing leadership models and theories, interdisciplinary mentoring and preceptor training, medical readiness | |
| Robin Bartlett | understanding and prevention of risky behaviors, primarily among minority youth. Broadly interested in health disparities research | Interviews to Inform the HOPE Intervention
The Health Sciences and Technology Academy- Alabama |
| Sara Kaylor | Innovations in teaching, learning and curricula design Role that health and wellness behaviors have on creating and maintaining healthy living, learning, and work environments |
Uniontown Running Club
Reducing Barriers to Sexual and Mental Health Services in Rural Alabama Project Wellness in Motion Health Behaviors of Generation Z |
| Shameka Cody | HIV and sleep health disparities HIV and opioid use in rural Alabama |
Impact of Insomnia on Substance Use in People with HIV
Exploring Racial Disparities in Sleep Health and Neurocognitive Function in Older Adults with HIV Prevention, Treatment, and Recovery Strategies for Individuals with Opioid and Methamphetamine Use Disorder in Rural Alabama |
| Staci Simmons | quality improvement, patient safety, safe sleep, improving healthcare workers’ wellbeing and job satisfaction, nursing education | safe sleep on pediatric cardiac care unit
student poster presentations for educating nurse preceptors |
| Teresa Welch | Leadership science; Leadership competency and competency development with special interest in financial competency development | Currently have four research projects with IRB approval in various stages of completion: Welch, T.D. (PI), data analysis complete, manuscript submitted. 2021 Summer Seed Grant Saxon Endowment. Competency Assessment and Development: A Needs Assessment for Nursing Leadership in Rural Hospitals in the Alabama Black Belt Region. Internal Grant. Saxon EndowmentWelch, T.D. (PI), currently in recruitment. Rural Nursing Organization. A Pilot Study: Competency and Competency Development: A Needs Assessment for Nursing Leadership in Critical Access Hospitals in Alabama. External Grant Rural Nursing Organization.Welch, T.D. (PI) & Graves, B.A. (co-PI), Warshawsky, N. (Consultant). Sigma Theta Tau. Competency Assessment and Development: A Needs Assessment for Nurse Managers in Alabama Rural Hospital. Was not funded. Seeking alternative funding source.2021 Carter, P. (PI), Ayers, K (Co-PI)., & Welch, T. D (CO-PI). In-Progress. (January 1, 2021-2023). ORED SGP. Cancer Patient and Family Caregiver Functioning and Healthcare Resource Use. Funded |
| Todd Smith | rural healthcare; telemedicine; mental health in dental practices (with a focus on telemedicine and rural healthcare); and healthcare/nursing administration (including finance, policy, and leadership). | Technology, Education and Research in Medicine (TERM)
Ambulance-Based Telemedicine Asynchronous Telemedicine Mental Health Screenings in Dental Practices Undergraduate Research Labs Nursing Administration, Finance, and Leadership |