Current Research Projects

• PI: Ruth Anderson

• CRC: Natalie Ammarell

• Funding: NIH 5R01NR00378

 

Outcomes of Nursing Management Practices in Nursing Homes is a 4.75 year study explored relationship patterns among staff and nursing management practices (NMPs) that enable nursing homes to attain high quality resident outcomes. Specific aims were to, in selected nursing homes: 1) describe relationship patterns among staff; 2) explore staff's and managers' understanding of relationship patterns and NMPs in use; 3) compare relationship patterns and NMPs between homes with high-quality and poor-quality resident outcomes; and 4) develop a model of the relationship patterns and NMPs that foster better outcomes.

 

 

• PI: Chip Bailey

• CRC: Linda Folsom

• Funding: P20 Pilot Study
Funding

 

Men Watching and Monitoring PSA Values Following Treatment will explore and describe the psychological health trajectories of older men electing watchful waiting or monitoring their PSA values at six month intervals over a 24-month period.

 

 

• PI: Chip Bailey

• Funding: NIH # 1R15NR008704

 

The specific aims of Uncertainty and Watchful Waiting in Chronic Hepatitis C are to: 1) identify potentially distinct classes of trajectories (e.g., stable, declining, improving) of CHC-related symptoms and quality of life (QOL) among patients who are watching, waiting and monitoring, and to identify the demographic and illness markers associated with particular trajectories of change; 2) examine the associations of these symptom trajectories and QOL with illness uncertainty; and 3) explore the concerns of patients living with chronic hepatitis C that may be unique and unaddressed with quantitative measures.

 

 

• PI: Julie Barroso

• CRC: Naima Salahuddin

• Funding: NIH # 5R01NR008681

 

This Fatigue Study is exploring the natural course of chronic fatigue in HIV-positive people – the people who develop it, the ways in which they differ from those who do not, the circumstances and consequences associated with fatigue, and the predictors of changes in fatigue.

 

Effects of Perinatal Nicotine Exposure on the Development of Autonomic Responses

 

• PI: Jane Blood-Siegfried, DNSc, CPNP

• Funding: National Institute of Nursing Research

 

Infants born to mothers who smoke are 4 times more likely to die of SIDS. Substantial evidence shows that nicotine exposure during pregnancy produces impairment of brainstem and autonomic nervous system function consistent with SIDS. The role of nicotine exposure on the development of autonomic cardiovascular control and the specific actions of autonomic responses will be examined in this model.

 

 

• PI: Margret Bowers, MSN, FNP

• Co-I: Gwen Dodson, MSN, ANP

• Co-I: Karol Harshaw-Ellis, MSN, A/GNP, ACNP

• Co-I: Bradi B. Granger, RN, PhD

• Funding: The American Association of Critical Care Nurses

 

Weigh in CHF will evaluate the effectiveness of teaching a community-based sample of patients with chronic heart failure to monitor daily weights over a 12 month period. We will examine the relationships between patient weights, symptom changes and subsequent hospital readmissions in patients with both systolic and diastolic dysfunction.

 

 

• PI: John Brion, Jr. RN, PhD

• Funding: School of Nursing, Small Grant Funding

 

A Grounded Theory of Successful Adherence to HIV Treatment will use the qualities research method of grounded theory to retrospectively explore the process of becoming and remaining adherent to prescribed antiretroviral therapy (ART) through the lived experiences of HIV-infected individuals who report optimal adherence. This study proposed the following innovative approaches to the well studied but still poorly understood problem of adherence: a) the conceptualization of adherence as a dynamic state that a person works to achieve and maintain, rather than as a dichotomous, static state; b) a focus on highly adherent individuals to study the process of becoming and remaining highly adherent, and; c) the retrospective exploration of the adherence process in relation to the individual’s lived experience beginning with the response to HIV diagnosis and the impact of that response on adherence.

 

Self-Compassion and Adherence to Anti-Retroviral Therapy

 

• Co-PI: John M Brion, RN, PhD

• Co-PI: Mark R Leary, PhD

 

Self-Compassion and Adherence to Anti-Retroviral Therapy will: A) validate an instrument to measure the concept of self-compassion in a clinical population of individuals living with HIV, and B) use that instrument to collect data to examine the relationship between self-compassion and (a) well being and (b) medication adherence in a sample of 120 – 150 HIV patients. This study will provide data to support subsequent applications for funding.

 

Preterm Infants: Light Effects on Health and Development (Cycled Light)

 

• PI: Debra Brandon

• CRC: Donna Ryan

• Funding: NIH Grant # 5R01NR08044

 

Health and developmental outcomes vary even among the healthiest preterm infants. This study evaluates the timing and effects of early versus late cycled light throughout hospitalization on short-and long-term health and developmental outcomes in infants born at < 28 weeks gestation.

 

 

• PI: Kirsten Corazzini

• Funding: University of Iowa via the John A. Hartford Foundation

 

As progress is made in identifying significant systems factors shaping nursing care of the older adult, we are challenged to develop tools and strategies for interventions that successfully translate systems-level findings into changed practice for improved care. The specific aim of the Paying Attention, Asking Questions and Listening through Stories (PALS) intervention is to develop a strategy for translating findings into improved care through the use of narrative.

 

 

• PI: Kirsten Corazzini

• Funding: National Council of State Boards of Nursing

 

Regulating Licensed Nursing Practice In Nursing Homes: RN Delegation, LPN Practice, and Care" has been awarded by the National Council of State Boards of Nursing (NCSBN). The purpose of this project is to measure the relationships between RN delegation, LPN practice, and quality-of-care outcomes in nursing homes to improve the regulation of professional nursing practice in long-term care.

 

 

• PI: Linda Davis

• CRC: Deborah Chestnutt

• Funding: NIH Grant # R01NR008285

 

In brief, Project ASSIST is a randomized, intervention study designed to identify potential (QOL; financial) benefits of educating caregivers in the home who are caring for a loved one with Alzheimer’s or Parkinson’s disease.

 

Health of Latino Infants: Interventions to Assure Care

 

• PI: Susan Denman

• Funding: NIH/NINR Grant # 1R15NR008701

 

Using American Academy of Pediatrics guidelines for the standard schedule of infant well baby examinations (WBE) and immunizations (IMZ), this study will examine the effectiveness of a phone-based intervention (RAAPP) which includes: (1)WBE/IMZ care reminders, (2) problem assessment, (3) and problem assistance delivered at 3 time points (2, 4, and 6 months of infants’ age); delivered largely by RN-supervised Latina lay health advisors to a sample of low-income, foreign born Latino mothers of a new infant.

 

 

Assessing Nonverbal Communication in Well Elders and in Elders with Parkinson Disease

• PI & Postdoctoral Research Fellow: Tess Deshefy-Longhi
• Funding: School Of Nursing, Small Grant Funding

As we age deficits in auditory and visual acuity may hinder our daily communication with family, friends and healthcare providers. The purpose of this 2-phase study is to establish baseline data (Phase I) and further instrument refinement (Phase II) for the Marital Communication Scale for Parkinson disease (MCS-PD). These data will lead to the development and testing of an MCS-PD short-form for use in community and clinical settings and to the eventual development of targeted, family-based communication interventions within the context of aging and living with a chronic, degenerative illness.

 

 

 

• PI : Sharron Docherty

• CRC: Donna Ryan

• Funding: Subcontract with University of Indiana

 

Stem cell transplant (SCT), the curative therapy of choice for many malignancies that require high-dose radiation or chemotherapy, is an intensive, multi-phase procedure with many risks, including death. Recent studies suggest that SCT is a particularly stressful procedure for adolescents and young adults (AYA). This study’s purpose is to test the efficacy of a therapeutic music video (TMV) intervention aimed at increasing resilience and quality of life of AYA undergoing SCT compared to a low dose control group.

 

• PI: Bradi B Granger

• Funding: License to Give Trust Fund Commission

 

The CO-ORGAN program is an educational intervention developed by nurses and the Duke University Health System Transplant Team to increase awareness of organ donation needs and disperse common myths associated with donation among students in North Carolina colleges, and to increase the number of registered organ donors in NC. By expanding on traditional educational intervention the CO-ORGAN program hopes to more effectively address the barriers to registration for organ donation and increase the numbers of registered donors in the community. The CO-ORGAN Program will focus on a challenging age group, students aged 12-25.

 

 

• PI: Cristina Hendrix

• CRC: Linda Folsom

• Funding: NIH/NINR Grant Number 1R15NR009489

 

This cancer care study will examine the effects of experiential symptom management training on self-efficacy and psychological well-being of informal cancer caregivers, and on symptom distress and intensity and emergency care use for cancer-related symptoms of their patients. Training is done at the bedside, and consists of 120 dyads equally assigned in the treatment and attention control groups.

 

Mother-administered interventions for VLBW infants (MAIN)

 

• PI Diane Holditch-Davis

• CRC Donna Ryan

• Funding: NIH Grant # R01NR009418

 

MAIN is examining the short- and long-term effects of two maternally administered interventions-- the auditory-tactile-visual-vestibular (ATVV) intervention (a form of massage) and kangaroo care--for very-low-birthweight (VLBW) preterms on infant health and development, maternal psychological well-being, and the maternal-child relationship, in comparison with a control group and with each other. Administering one of these interventions will allow the mother to assume a specific role in the care of her infant in the hospital. Comparing the interventions will enable us to determine the relative importance of the direct effects of the interventions on the infant and the indirect effects through the mother.

 

Reducing depressive symptoms in low-income mothers (HILDA)

 

• PI Diane Holditch-Davis

• Funding: Subcontract with UNC-Chapel Hill

 

HILDA will test the effectiveness of an intervention for low-income mothers with high levels of depressive symptoms. Outcome expected to be improved by the intervention are maternal depressive symptoms and the quality of mother-infants interactions.

 

A Nursing Support Intervention with Mothers of Preterms (MOMS)

 

• PI Diane Holditch-Davis

• Funding: NIH Grant # R01NR005263

 

MOMS tested the effectiveness of a culturally congruent intervention providing support to rural, African American mothers of premature infants from the time their infants are in intermediate care until they are 18 months of age. During phone calls and home visits, the intervention nurse will help mothers resolve emotional distress, support them in developing relationships with their infants, and help them identify acceptable resources to meet infant health and developmental needs. The

 

 

 

• PI: Constance Johnson

• Funding: HRSA

 

The Factors Associated with Successful Completion of a Master’s of Science in a Nursing Program will compare the association of the Graduate Record Examination (GRE) and the undergraduate grade point average (UGPA) with the successful completion of a Master’s of Science in Nursing Degree (MSN).

 

 

 

• PI: Constance Johnson

• Funding: University of Texas, MD Anderson Cancer Center

 

This study will evaluate a colorectal cancer website prototype to ensure ease of use, comprehension and navigation using usability inspection methods and small-usability studies with representative users.

 

Strategies To Help Inform Colorectal Cancer Risk Magnitudes

 

• PI: Constance Johnson

• Funding: NIH Grant # 1R03CA132562

 

The goal of Strategies To Help Inform Colorectal Cancer Risk Magnitudes is to develop an intervention that addresses different dimensions of risk and assesses how people’s reactions/understandings on various dimensions are related to intentions to screen for colorectal cancer.

 

 

• PI: Robin Knobel
• Funding: AWHONN/ March of Dimes- “Saving Babies, Together®” Grant

 

Extremely premature infants are subject to low body temperatures during their first few days of life due to stabilization procedures in the neonatal unit. This study will examine body temperature and blood perfusion in premature infants less than 29 weeks gestation to determine when their vasomotor tone is mature and allows them to send blood from their periphery to their central body to conserve heat. This study employs infrared thermal imaging and perfusion index as new technologies for measurement of body temperature and perfusion.

 

 

• PI: Ellie McConnell

• Funding: P20 Center

 

This pilot study will develop and test a set of measures representing three domains within the Diffusion Innovation (DOI) framework to assess readiness for adoption of evidence-based practices by RNs in long-term care (LTC) with the assistance of LPNs and CNAs.

 

 

• PI: Dorothy L. Powell, RN, EdD

• Co-I: James McPherson, BS, MBA, JD

• Co-I: Kirsten Corazzini, PhD

• Funding: CDC and Pfizer Inc.

 

The specific aims of facilitated think tank sessions with interdisciplinary Caribbean health care providers and other stakeholders were to identify their perceptions of : (1) the current state of care of the elderly in the Caribbean at-risk or with cardio-vascular disease and its co-morbidities; (2) a preferred future for elderly residents of the Caribbean; and (3) comprehensive strategies for realization of the preferred future.

 

Tailored Intervention Protocol for Oral Chemotherapy Adherence

• PI: Susan M. Schneider
• Funding: Funding: NIH Grant # 1R15-CA-139398-01

While cancer patients express a preference for oral medications, compliance to these medications varies. Patients who successfully adhere to chemotherapy regimens have a greater chance of non-recurrence and long-term quality of life. Thus, helping patients tolerate oral chemotherapy regimens is critical to their survival. The aims of this study are to 1) test the effectiveness of a tailored protocol to promote adherence to oral chemotherapeutic agents in adults receiving treatment for breast or colorectal cancer, 2) examine adherence to oral chemotherapeutic agents over time, and 3) examine the effects of age, gender, caregiver availability, personal involvement in health care, and depression on adherence rates to oral chemotherapeutic agents.

 

 

 

• Co-PI: Denise Snyder (DUSON-recruitment)/Overall PI Kevin Weinfurt

• CRC: Megan Williams

• Funding: DCRI

 

PROMIS is a NIH roadmap, multi-center trial involves a patient quality of life survey that is completed by cancer survivors. Study recruitment of cancer survivors is managed by the School of Nursing under the direction of Denise Snyder. Focus groups, phone surveys, internet surveys, and face-to-face cognitive interviews are conducted in an effort to develop a tool that can be used universally to measure quality of life in many diseases (including cancer) in clinical trials.

 

Daughters And MothErS against breast cancer (DAMES)

 

• PI: Denise Snyder (Duke site)/Demark-Wahnefried (overall PI MDA)

• CRC: Valeda Stull

• subcontract with M.D. Anderson Cancer Center pending

 

DAMES is a feasibility study will develop and test and diet and exercise intervention that focuses on weight loss in 67 overweight post-menopausal breast cancer survivors diagnosed within the past 2 years and their overweight adult daughters. Eligible mother-daughter dyads are randomized to 1) tailored "partner-assisted" arm 2) a tailored independent arm or 3) attention control (standard materials). The primary aim is to test overall accrual, use of study materials and attrition.

 

 

• PI: Denise Snyder (Duke site)/Demark-Wahnefried (overall PI MDA)

• CRC: Valeda Stull

• subcontract with M.D. Anderson Cancer Center pending

 

RENEW is a distance based diet and exercise intervention may lead to improved physical function among 641 older adult breast, prostate or colorectal cancer survivors (5 years or more from diagnosis). Subjects were randomized to tailored intervention (mail + phone counseling) or delayed intervention (intervention delivered after 1 yr after study monitoring).

 

Social-ecologic Perspective of Support and Resources in Black Women Living with Type 2 Diabetes

 

• PI: Allison Vorderstrasse
• Funding: ORA Small Grant Funding Award

 

Type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) occurs in the context of the ongoing lives of those with this chronic disease and patients are responsible for much of the daily management of T2DM, or self-management. Many diabetes self-management interventions and education programs have successfully increased patient levels of diabetes knowledge, health behaviors (diet, exercise), self-efficacy, and improved glycemic control, which led to the recommendation that self-management education should be part of diabetes care standards. However, for many patients, difficulty arises when they leave the supportive environment of the diabetes program and return to the context of daily life. This raises the question of how to support those with diabetes within the context of healthcare systems, families, and communities as they live with and care for their chronic disease. The specific aims of this mixed methods study are: