Research
Funded Research
A Group Intervention for Grieving Women in Prison
Ginette Ferszt, PhD, RN, CS, CT, is currently working on this research funded by the Rhode Island Nursing Foundation.
Although the number of women entering prison has continued to soar over the last two decades, there has been little attention paid to them in health care research. Research with grieving incarcerated women is even more absent. Given the high recidivism rate, there is an urgent need to develop cost effective programs that help incarcerated women address their grief while in prison as well as develop a repertoire of coping skills that will impact on their ability to cope with life's issues upon release. This research study will test the impact of a 12-week group intervention program on the psychosocial and spiritual well being of women in prison who have experienced a significant loss. The intervention will be based on the Houses of Healing Program, a group intervention program now being used in prisons throughout the United States.
Translating Best Practice in Non-Drug Interventions for Postoperative Pain Management
Marlene Dufault, PhD, is currently working on this research which is being conducted at the Newport Hospital and funded by The Mayday Foundation.
Further Development and Testing of the Pain Assessment Inventory
Laurie M. Lauzon Clabo, PhD, RN. This project is funded by the University of Rhode Island Council for Research and the Nursing Foundation of Rhode Island.
The purpose of this study is to revise and test a clinical measure, The Pain Assessment Inventory. The Inventory measures specific strategies that nurses use to assess pain in postoperative patients. In this study, 3000 nurses in the region will be surveyed to test a revised version of this instrument in a large sample to continue to develop the psychometric properties of the Inventory. The results will lead to the application of this instrument as both the baseline and outcome measure in a study examining changes in nurses' pain assessment practices. Given the increased national emphasis on pain management, the results of this project will lead to a proposal for submission to the National Institutes of Health, National Institute of Nursing Research. Knowledge gained from this work has the potential to improve pain assessment practices in nursing and pain management in postoperative patients.
Preschool Motor and Functional Performance of Two Cohorts
Mary Sullivan, Ph.D. These studies funded by NIH, National Institute of Child Health and Development and the Nursing Foundation of Rhode Island investigate motor, functional performance and health outcomes in a sample of preterm children at age 4.
The children, born between 1996-2000 are grouped by perinatal risk and birth weight. Due to the heterogeneity of prematurity and outcomes, it is essential we have a better understanding of the factors that place children at risk for sequelae, that we are better able to identify at-risk children for development, and that we understand the ways in which children's development can be compromised in order to design appropriate interventions.
Neuroactivation of Brain Motor Areas in Preterm Children
Mary Sullivan, Ph.D. We have conducted a series of feasibility studies funded by NCRR-NIH Biomedical Research Infrastructure Network and Delta Upsilon Chapter of Sigma Theta Tau using Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) and functional MRI (fMRI) to detect brain structure abnormalities in the motor areas and differences in neuroactivation during motor tasks.
The preterm infant experiences the double jeopardy of incomplete prenatal brain growth and myelination due to the early birth and the compounded effect of perinatal illness on the developing cortex and later myelination after birth. Motor deficits are ubiquitous in these children perhaps due to hypoxic-ischemic events and the proximity to the cortical tracts. We designed an innovative research protocol to acclimate children to the magnet, gather structural scans, and pilot 2 experimental tasks to activate brain motor areas.
Dissemination of Knowledge for Family Outreach Program Nurses
Mary Sullivan, Ph.D. This is a new project funded by the University Outreach Council that is designed to disseminate knowledge and assessment approaches on preterm infants to Family Outreach Program nurses.
The Family Outreach Program (FOP) is a statewide pediatric maternal visiting program that identifies mothers and infants at risk during the hospital stay. Nurses follow the mother-infant pair after discharge in home visits, averaging 25 visits per week per nurse, 50% who are preterm infants. Yet, FOP nurses have little opportunity for in-service education on developmental assessment in key problem areas for preterm infants and on recent research findings on long term outcomes for these children.
Faculty Research Interests
PATRICIA M. BURBANK, DNSc, RN, Professor - Meaning in life; gerontology; health behavior change; fall prevention; long-term care issues; alternative health care strategies.
REBECCA CARLEY, MS, RNC, RNP, Assistant Clinical Professor - Primary care of women; spirituality; graduate nursing education; care for the homeless.
SUZANNE CARR, MS, RN, Lecturer - Emergency nursing; med-surg nursing; simulation learning: the effects on student learning; enhancing clinical practice outcomes.
DENISE A. COPPA, PhD, RNP, Associate Professor, Director, Family Nurse Practitioner Program - Alternative health care therapies; pain; wound healing; health care of vulnerable populations.
WYLIE DASSIE, RN, MSN, Assistant Clinical Professor - Prostate and testicular cancer research; minority health issues; men's health issues; diversity in nursing issues.
NANCY DOYLE-MOSS, MS, RN, Assistant Clinical Professor - Matters concerning disaster preparedness in bioterrorism; simulation in nursing education.
JOAN R. DUGAS, MS, RN, Assistant Clinical Professor - Gerontology and community health nursing.
LYNNE M. DUNPHY, PhD, RN, Professor, Routhier Endowed Chair - Nursing history, technology, workforce issues and nursing shortage, Florence Nightingale.
MARLENE A. DUFAULT, PhD, RN, Professor - Research utilization; evidence-based practice; competency-based evaluation; pain management; evaluation/outcomes research; translation research.
GINETTE G. FERSZT, PhD, RN, CS, Associate Professor, Director, Graduate Psychiatric Mental Health Nursing Program - Loss, grief, and bereavement; the arts in health care; grief of women in prison; pregnant women in prison; hospice.
DIANE GERZEVITZ, MS, RN-C, FNP Assistant Clinical Professor - Nurse practitioner roles; spiritual care; inner-city health care; cross-cultural health issues; palliative care.
CAROLYN C. HAMES, MS, RN, CT, Associate Professor - Thanatology; grief and loss in children and adolescents; death education.
ANNE HECKER, MS, RN, Lecturer - Pediatric nursing; home care.
DAYLE HUNT JOSEPH, EdD, RN, Associate Professor, Dean - Behavior change in clients with diabetes; coaching, an intervention for people struggling with diabetes; nursing work force issues.
LAURIE LAUZON CLABO, PhD, RN, Assistant Professor, Director of Undergraduate Studies and Coordinator, Clinical Nurse Leader - Pain assessment in nursing practice; clinical decision making; unit culture and nursing practice.
MARY LAVIN, MS, RN, Assistant Clinical Professor - Medical Surgical Nursing - educational issues in the clinical area; oncology nursing; pain management; spirituality; mentoring; health-care in the primary care setting.
MARY LEVEILLEE, MS, RN, CS, Assistant Clinical Professor - Psychiatric mental health nursing; eating disorders; women's issues.
JUDITH S. MERCER, DNSc, CNM, FACNM, Clinical Professor - Birth practices (especially umbilical cord clamping), newborn transition, nurse-midwifery and breastfeeding.
KARA MISTO, MS, RN, Lecturer - Emergency nursing; med-surg nursing; lateral violence.
BARBARA S. O'BRIEN, PhD, RN, Assistant Professor - Pain perception, assessment and management; innovative educational strategies.
MARY LOUISE PALM, MS, RN, Assistant Clinical Professor - Pain in children; computers in nursing; pediatric nursing care.
DONNA SCHWARTZ-BARCOTT, PhD, RN, Professor, Pain, anxiety and other central phenomenon experienced by patients across nursing care settings; community health; inductive approaches to theory development; sociocultural influences in health and illness.
PATRICIA STOUT, MS, RNP, RN, Assistant Clinical Professor - Med-surg nursing; pain management; educational issues in clinical areas.
MARY C. SULLIVAN, PhD, RN, Professor - Developmental outcomes of low birthweight infants; neuroimaging (MRI/fMRI) in children w/clinical problems; maternal interaction styles.
HELEN ZAKEWICZ, RN, MS, Lecturer - Maternal postures in labor; urogynecology; perimenopausal care; relationship of birth and death care; gender issues in health care.
JEINY ZAPATA, MS, RN, Lecturer - Medical-surgical nursing.
Community Partnerships
Community partnerships are agencies that serve as clinical sites for student learning. The College of Nursing has excellent placements available throughout the state of Rhode Island and the bordering states. For some perspective of the diversity of our partnerships and the scope of experiences available for our students at all levels, see our information on Community Partnerships.
