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 | Project Title/Focus Area |
| Research Area: Technology/Informatics | |
| Dr. Heather Carter-Templeton | Diffusing Nursing Research in a Nurse Residency Program via a Twitter Online Journal Club |
| Dr. Todd Smith | My research focuses on Healthcare Outcomes, Healthcare Financing, Telemedicine, Rural Healthcare, Emergency Medical Services, Transportation & Healthcare, Medical Group Practices, and Leadership & Management |
| Dr. Haley Townsend & Dr. Mercy Mumba | Delivering SBIRT Services Using Mobit Technology to Address Substance Abuse Disorders. |
| Chronic Disease Management or Prevention | |
| Dr. Michele Montgomery & Dr. Paige Johnson | Assessing Overweight and Obesity and Associated Risk Factors in Rural Preschool Children |
| Improving Pickens County Residents’ Knowledge of Risk Factors for Cardiovascular Disease and Type 2 Diabetes Through Increased Access to Health Screenings and Health Education: The Pickens Health Promotion Program. | |
| Longitudinal study of the Tuscaloosa Pre-K Initiative | |
| Utilizing Aliceville Public Library as a Community Change Agent: Implementation of Two Health Promotion Programs | |
| The Health Lab: A Student-Staffed Clinic to Improve Health Literacy and Health Outcomes | |
| Dr. Mary Ann Kelley | Women Wellness Workshops for Breast Cancer Awareness |
| Dr. Paige Johnson | The Y on the Wheels project in Tuscaloosa County in collaboration with the YMCA |
| Dr. Keri Barron | Cardiovascular Disease Management and Prevention in African-Americans |
| Cardiovascular Disease Management and Prevention in Educators | |
| Dr. Mercy Mumba | Substance abuse and addiction disorders; mental health and psychosocial wellbeing of individuals, communities, and populations |
| Social Determinants of Health, Health disparities, Minority Aging, Community Based Participatory Research, and Global Health Issues | |
| Dr. Betty Key, Dr. Ann Graves | Community Health Workers and Chronic Disease Management |
| Dr. Monika Wedgeworth, Dr. Josh Eyer | Behavioral Health Integration in a Nurse Practitioner Primary Care Clinic in Rural Alabama |
| Community-Level Strategies to Reduce Opioid-Use Disorders | |
| Dr. Betty Key | Cardiometabolic Risks in Underserved Populations |
| Dr. Keri Barron, Dr. Ann Graves | Heart Failure and Overactive Bladder Prevalence and Experiences (HOPE). |
| Health Promotion and Wellness | |
| Dr. Michael Callihan, Dr. Sara Kaylor | The development of best practice for the lifting of a patient from the floor secured to a rigid spine board, direct patient lift from the floor, and the horizontal transfer of a patient |
| The Impact of Fitness Programming on Employee Health, Safety, and Wellness | |
| Dr. Melondie Carter | The Impact of an Employee Wellness Program on Biometric Screening Data: A Longitudinal Study |
| Dr. Heather Carter-Templeton, Dr. Ann Graves | Clustering of Major Cardiovascular Risk Factors in a Worksite Wellness Program |
| Dr. Michael Callihan | Links Between Gait Abnormalities and Lower Back Pain |
| Health Behaviors of Generation Z | |
| Dr. Ann Graves | Promotion of Evidence-Based Communication Strategies Focused on Health Literacy in the Advanced Nursing Practice Curriculum |
| Dr. Ann Graves, Elena Thompson, Laura Canaday & Grace Liu | Access to diabetic education services in Alabama: A geographical information system analysis. Computer Based Honors Project. |
| Dr. Ann Graves, J. Weber, J. Higginbotham, Dr. Susan Appel & J. Parton | Access to diabetic education services in the Southeastern United States: A geographical information system analysis. |
| Dr. Josh Eyer | LGBTQ+ Health |
| Dr. Sarah Kaylor & Undergraduate Research Team | Health Behaviors of Generation Z College Students |
| Dr. Gibran Mancus | Resilience and Environmental Migrants: What Factors Impact Vulnerable Populations In Long Term Recovery After Natural Disaster Displacement. |
| Urban Parks and Wellbeing: How Are Subjective Wellbeing and Psychological Resilience Impacted. | |
| Environmental Factors Of Rural Substance Use Among Rural Residents. | |
| Nursing Education/ Professional Development | |
| Dr. Alice March & Dr. Monika Wedgeworth | Factors Affecting Undergraduate Progression and Graduation |
| Dr. Felicia Wood | Assessment of Writing Self-Efficacy |
| Dr. Haley Strickland & Dr. Michelle Cheshire | Predicting Nursing Student Success: Exploring New Variables |
| Dr. Cheryl Hines | To promote critical thinking in complex situations through active learning strategies and experiential learning |
| Dr. Haley Strickland, Dr. Michelle Cheshire, Dr. Melondie Carter | Predictors of Baccalaureate Nursing Student Success |
| Dr. Michelle Cheshire, Dr. Haley Strickland, Dr. Peter Harms, Dr. Dustin Wood, and Graham Lowman | Investigating Nursing Job Search Behavior, Perceptions of Organizational Fit, and General Work Outcomes |
| Dr. Michelle Cheshire | Emotional Intelligence a Longitudinal Study in Nursing Education |
| Meredith Rice | Role Modeling in Simulation |
| Dr. Megan Pfitzinger Lippe | End of Life Education within Baccalaureate Programs: A Feasibility Study Assessing Nursing Curricula |
| Withdrawing Care for an Unexpectedly Ill Patient: Interprofessional Simulations | |
| Evaluating the Impact of End-of-Life Simulations on Students’ Emotional Perceptions and Perceived Competence in Caring for Dying Patients | |
| Development of an Instrument to Measure Nursing Students’ Knowledge of Palliative Care | |
| Preparing Students for their First Clinical Day: A Communication Simulation | |
| Connecting the Dots: Nursing Students Perspectives of their First Simulation Experience Connecting Content from Three Courses | |
| Dr. Betty Key | Teaching and Learning Strategies in Nursing Education. |
| Dr. Monika Wedgeworth, Dr. Cassandra Ford | Clinical Journaling in Mental Health Education |
| Dr. Rebecca Owings | My area of research focuses on evaluation of programs and educational interventions which assist pre and post licensure registered nurses during their transition into the clinical work environment |
| Dr. Michael Callihan, Dr. Sarah Kaylor | Engaging Undergraduate Students in Rural Health Nursing and Research |
| Dr. Sarah Kaylor, Dr. Megan Pfitzinger Lippe, | Innovation, Integration, and Active Learning: A Journey into Curricula Redesign |
| Dr. Teresa Welch | A Feasibility Study: Assess Knowledge. Educational Experiences, Attitudes and Practices of Unit Based Nurse Managers in Acute Care Hospital Settings Related to Cost and Cost Management |
| Dr. Keri Barron | Clinical Reasoning in Traditional BSN Students |
| Dr. Betty Key, Dr. Rebecca Owings, Dr. Cassandra Ford & Dr. Ann Graves | Evidenced-based Practice: Undergraduate Nursing Student Readiness To Implement. |
| Dr. Felecia Wood, Dr. Ann Graves | Promotion of Evidence-based Communication Strategies Focused on Health Literacy in the Advanced Nursing Practice Curriculum |
| Dr. Cassandra Ford | Health Disparities in Rural Populations, Particularly Related to Cardiovascular Disease |
| Angela Collins-Yoder | Nursing education with an emphasis on the identification and implementation of strategies, including emotional intelligence, that promote success among undergraduate nursing students. |
| Genetics | |
| Dr. Susan Appel | Polymorphisms, plasma levels of PAI-1 and genetic admixture among African-Americans |
| Ghrelin, PAI-1 and their associations with adipokines and obesity indices, CVD and fat mass distribution in the Jackson Heart Study | |
| Dr. Theresa Wadas | Telomere Length, Cardiometabolic Risk, and Psychosocial Profiles Among African-American Women |
| Telomere Length, Life Simple 7, and Psychosocial Profiles Among African-American Women | |
| Dr. Norma Cuellar | All of Us Research Program in Collaboration with the National Association of Hispanic Nurses |
| Nursing Care/ Palliative Care | |
| Dr. Amy Beasley | Physicians attitudes towards end-of-life |
| Boundaries in Hospice | |
| Disparities in palliative care in rural Alabama communities | |
| Dr. Megan Pfitzinger Lippe | End of Life Education within Baccalaureate Programs: A Feasibility Study Assessing Nursing Curricula |
| Withdrawing Care for an Unexpectedly Ill Patient: Interprofessional Simulations | |
| Evaluating the Impact of End-of-Life Simulations on Students’ Emotional Perceptions and Perceived Competence in Caring for Dying Patients | |
| Development of an Instrument to Measure Nursing Students’ Knowledge of Palliative Care | |
| Preparing Students for their First Clinical Day: A Communication Simulation | |
| Program Grants | |
| Dr. Norma Cuellar & Dr. Michelle Cheshire | Nursing Workforce Diversity Program: BAMA- Latino |
| Dr. Alice March | Scholarship for Disadvantaged Students |
| Nurse Faculty Loan Program | |
| Dr. Robin M. Lawson | Advanced Nursing Education Workforce (ANEW) Bama-Care |
| Clinical Practice | |
| Angela Collins-Yoder | Quality Assurance with Drug Induced Diseases and Neuroscience Patients |
| Women’s Health | |
| Dr. Amy Lee | Telemedicine – Toward Empowering Rural Moms (TERM) Program |
| Violence Against Women, Emergency Gynecology, Gynecologic Care, Family Planning | |