Research

Research efforts among faculty include the areas of:

• Health promotion, gerontology, culturally competent care and women’s health
• Health promotion research encompasses a broad range of selected areas, including pediatric HIV, cardiovascular health, violence, breast cancer, exercise and health disparities among health care workers

Faculty are involved as co-directors/researchers with several of the research Centers on campus:

Center for Health Promotion and Research (CHPR)

To assist in the University’s mission of regional sustainable development, the center focuses on Public Health, which is an important component of sustainable development.

The center strives to understand and explain the social determinants of health, and to collaborate with others to develop strategies for preventing illness, injury, and fatalities, and promoting health. We work with other UML centers, institutes, colleges, and departments, along with community-based and advocacy organizations, government, employers, labor unions, environmental and environmental justice organizations, and healthcare provider organizations.

CHPR is based in the UML School of Health and Environment and seeks to strengthen the support available for University faculty, staff and students to pursue innovative research and service activities.

The center has two co-directors: Dr. Barbara Mawn (Nursing) and Dr. Craig Slatin (Clinical Laboratory and Nutritional Sciences).

PHASE Project

Several faculty in the Department of Nursing are co-PIs on the PHASE Project which is sponsored in part by the Center for Public Health Research and Health Promotion:

The PHASE Project is a research team of UML researchers from a variety of disciplines (epidemiology, ergonomics, nursing, healthcare and work environment policy, political science, economics, health education, community psychology) that has received support from the National Institute of Occupational Health and Safety and the National Institutes of Health to conduct a five-year research project to examine how working in the health-care industry affects workers health. The study takes place in different hospital and long-term care settings in the Merrimack Valley. Labor unions that represent health-care workers also participate in the project. These include the Massachusetts Nurses Association and Local 2020 of the Service Employees International Union (SEIU).

Center for Health and Disease Research - Division of Aging

The mission of the Division of Aging is to promote research in aging and to facilitate collaborative relationships that will advance knowledge related to a diverse aging society.

Dr. Susan Houde is the associate director for the Division of Aging of the Center for Health and Disease Research. 

The Division of Aging seeks to:

1. Provide an environment for research related to the prevention and treatment of disease, and the promotion of functional independence of older adults;
2. To provide opportunities for the education of students and faculty related to disease prevention and treatment, and promotion and maintenance of functional independence in older adults;
3. To provide education to members of the Lowell community on disease prevention strategies, as well as strategies to maintain and promote functional independence in older adults;
4. To encourage research related to the health and support of family caregivers providing care to functionally impaired older adults in the community for the purpose of enhancing their quality of life and ability to provide informal care;
5. To provide education to professionals on issues related to the promotion of functional independence, and the prevention of illness in older adults;
6. To foster partnerships between agencies serving the public health and individual health needs of the community of older adults for the purpose of advancing research, service, and education related to aging issues;
7. To foster collaborative relationships within the University for the purpose of conducting research and educational programs and seminars related to aging issues;
8. To promote scholarly discussions related to policy issues in the field of gerontology.

                           NURSING FACULTY AREAS OF RESEARCH 2009

Abdallah, Lisa	Practice activities and outcomes of geriatric nurse practitioners; DRINC Project (Dehydration Reduction in Community Dwelling Older Adults); BDN project (Bring Diversity to Nursing); health promotion in older adults
Aldrich, Joanne	Gerontology, health, exercise and aging
Brewin, Darcie	Racial and ethnic disparities in birth outcomes, adolescent pregnancy, life course models of care, continuity of care, contextual factors and their relationship to birth outcomes.
Carter, Karyn	Maternal child health, post-partum depression perinatal management of mood disorders
Dowling, Jacqueline	Child health, Stress and Coping, and Humor
Futrell, May, Emeritus	Health behaviors among older adults including physical activity; cultural differences in health behaviors of older adults (phenomenological method); Alzheimer’s research; dementia and wandering; nursing historical research including the Lowell Nursing Archives; DRINC project
Houde, Susan	Family care-giving of functionally impaired elders; Interventions to support family caregivers; Family care-giving in the Cambodian community; health promotion in older adults; prevention of age-related macular degeneration; strategies to promote active living in the older adult
King, Valerie	Role of NP in Primary Care
Knight, Peggy	Mental Health problems in older adults (anxiety, dementia, delirium, depression); Impact of Mental Health problems on functional outcomes (IADL’s, ADL’s); Influence of depressive symptoms, low mood and anxiety on health outcomes (pain, respiratory status, illness or surgical recovery etc.); nursing interventions for acute psychiatric in patients
Koren, Ainat	Family planning, men's reproductive health, Health and safety of health care workers, Integration of technology into clinical practice, Childhood obesity
Mawn, Barbara	Health promotion behaviors across the lifespan; occupation health and safety research; chronic illness and adaptation research; pediatric HIV infection; qualiative and quantitative methodology
McDonough, Annette	Cardiac/implanted cardiac defibrillators sudden cardiac arrest in young adults/pediatrics; psycho/social issues in young adult cardiac patients, qualitative and mixed methods
Melillo, Karen	Physical activity and exercise among older adults; Gerontological nurse practitioner intervention outcomes research; promoting healthy and safe employment in healthcare PHASE project case study team co-coordinator and long term care team leader; DRINC project - Dehydration Reduction in Community-dwelling Older Adults; Bring Diversity to Nursing - pre-entry recruitment and retention of minority and economically disadvantaged students; Human Simulation Technology integration in nursing education (Sim-Man)
Morgan, Betty	Substance abuse and pain management - nursing staff interactions; pain prevalence among the chronically mental ill; health behaviors in those with chronic illness, End of life care/psychosocial issues in HIV, Palliative care in HIV and mental illness
Patterson, Miki	Qualitative & quantitative adolescents, external fixation pin care, experience with traumatic injury, DVT's
Phillips McEnany, Geoffry	Behavorial sleep medicine, sleep and women's health.   Sleep dysregulation in psychiatric disease. Sleep and medical comorbidities
Reece, Susan	Health behaviors including self-efficacy and social support during life transitions; perimenopausal health self-efficacy; cultural interpretations of illness using Kleinman's explanatory model; pediatric overweight; parenting
Remington, Ruth	Impact of calming music on agitation in nursing home residents; calming music and agitation in critical care and acute care (in progress); DRINC project. Nutrional supplements to improve mood & cognition.
Rosa, Katherine	Clinical nursing research using Newman's research as praxis model; healing and consiousness; chronic illness; health of women & immigrants
Simons, Shellie	Horizontal (lateral) violence, bullying, breast cancer, health disparities, critical thinking in nursing education
Soroken, Laurie	Role of DNR in ICU settings, health promotion
Tremblay, Celeste	Technology and the effect it has on nursing medication errors. Simulation
Wilber, Jennifer	Health promotion

NOTE: Additional research interests of specific faculty can be found on the faculty webpage.

top