Faculty Investigator's

Student and Graduate Investigator's

The Office of Nursing Research is pleased to present the Investigator Spotlight. The spotlight features both faculty and students research publications, projects, and presentations. If you would like any information concerning this web page, please contact Dr. Cynthia Connelly at connellyc@sandiego.edu.

Joseph F. Burkard, DNSc, RN, CRNA
Associate Professor
Email: jburkard@sandiego.edu

Dr. Joseph F. Burkard is an associate professor at the University of San Diego working in the Doctoral of Nursing Practice program and an advanced practice clinician / researcher at the University of California San Diego. His focus of research includes post-traumatic stress in the returning veteran, post-operative nausea and vomiting, stress management and crisis management simulation training. Dr. Burkard completed his DNSc degree at the University of Tennessee specializing in Critical Care, Acute Care Nurse Anesthesia. Dissertation: Bispectral Analysis and Motor Activity Assessment Scores in Mechanically Ventilated Patients in the Intensive Care Unit. Dr. Burkard specializes in Critical Care Medicine, Regional Anesthesia. Dr. Burkard focuses his clinical research time on crisis management skills, airway skills, and critical care skills, and simulation skills.




Cynthia D. Connelly, PhD RN FAAN
Professor and Director of Nursing Research
Email: connellyc@sandiego.edu

Dr. Connelly’s NIH funded program of research currently includes a 5 year randomized clinical trial examining the effectiveness of an innovative collaborative model Perinatal Mental Health Model (PMH) designed to improve screening with referral to accessible and sustainable mental health services for perinatal mood disorders. PMH develops screening referral partnerships for use in community obstetric settings in order to specifically address the psychosocial needs of culturally diverse, low income mothers. The study is being conducted in 16 community Ob/Gyn clinics in San Diego County, CA. Connelly’s team includes multidisciplinary experts from the Child and Adolescent Services Research Center (CASRC) Rady Children’s Hospital, San Diego County Health and Human Services, UCSD, USC, and Stanford University. A focus of the project includes breaking down the stigmas about mental health issues that keep some women from seeking treatment and providing culturally competent screening and treatment tailored to various ethnic communities. Approximately 4000 women seeking perinatal services will be screened for depression with 400 who screen positive followed longitudinally for mother and child outcomes at 6 week, 6 and 12 months following the child’s birth. Dr. Connelly is also examining the overlapping incidence of depression, victimization, and substance use and argues for linking these three psychosocial issues for assessment throughout the perinatal period.




Jane M. Georges, PhD, RN
Associate Professor
Email: jgeorges@sandiego.edu

Dr. Jane Georges has focused on a program of research into the phenomenon of human suffering since 2001. Her work has resulted in the development of a contextual model of suffering, which incorporates multiple dimensions of the human suffering experience. She has developed and pilot-tested instrumentation based upon this model in various populations, including persons experiencing catastrophic illnesses and nurses. Her current work is centered on the palliative care population, with a special emphasis on caregiver suffering. She is currently in the pilot testing stages of a Caregiver Suffering Tool (CST), which has the potential to identify those caregivers experiencing severe levels of suffering and allow clinicians to plan appropriate interventions to prevent the long-term psychological and physiological disequilibrium associated with chronic suffering experiences. The ability of palliative care researchers to assess the subscale/type and degree of suffering experienced by caregivers also has the potential to provide a basis for future middle-range theory testing, such as the relationships between and among caregiver suffering, spiritual distress, and compassion fatigue. Dr. Georges is currently engaged in research partnerships with nurse scientists at the San Diego VA Medical Center and San Diego Hospice.




Susan Instone, DNSc, APRN, CPNP
Professor of Nursing and Director, Advanced Practice - Doctor of Nursing Practice Program
Email: sinstone@sandiego.edu

Dr. Susan Instone is a board-certified Pediatric Nurse Practitioner, Professor of Nursing, and Director of the Doctor of Nursing Practice Program. Her program of research is focused on decision-making in the context of life threatening infectious diseases such as HIV/AIDS and Hepatitis C. She has done research on diagnosis disclosure with parents of children with HIV/AIDS and recently completed a 5-year study with Dr. Mary-Rose Mueller that examined the decisions of patients enrolled in HCV clinical trials. She is the lead author on the most recent article from that study, published in Nursing Ethics and titled “Therapeutic discourse among nurses and physicians in placebo controlled clinical trials.” Her research interests are currently focused on women with HIV/AIDS and her next study will examine the reproductive health decisions of HIV+ Latinas on the border. In addition to her own research, she is mentoring PhD students and the first cohort of DNP students who are developing innovative, scholarly projects that will translate research into practice.




Kathy Shadle James, DNSc, CNP
Associate Professor
Email: kjames@sandiego.edu

Dr. James is conducting community based research in collaboration with the Linda Vista Elementary School and Linda Vista Community Clinic. Her multidisciplinary team includes experts from the Child and Adolescent Services Research Center (CASRC) Rady Children’s Hospital, San Diego Obesity Initiative, UCSD, faculty, APN students from USD SON and the school's nurse and promotora. The study -- LINDA VISTA Obesity Prevention Program - Ways to Enhance CHildren's Activity and Nutrition [ WE CAN]. Dr James and her team are recruting 3 groups of mothers who will attend a 6 week program and 9 monthly follow up sessions that focuses on parenting capacities to improve diet and physical activity. Primary aims are to decrease BMI's of parents and children, increase activity of family members, and improve dietary choices. Free screening will be offered to parents and their children including blood pressure, lipids and screening for diabetes. WE CAN is a program designed in collaboration with four Institutes of the National Institutes of Health: the National Heart Lung and Blood Institute (NHLBI), National Institute of Diabetes (NIDDK), National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD) and the National Cnancer Institute (NCI). There are few published studies of the translation of this program into low income settings and physiologic measures have not been documented. Dr James is also collaborating with one of our PhD students and USCD in a feasibility study at Vista Community Clinic called "Vida Saludable". This is a 4 week program for parents of overweight 3-5 year olds with a 9 month follow up program. In addition to her research, Dr. James is on the curriculum development expert panel for "Mobilizing Healthcare Professionals as Community Leaders in the Fight Against Childhood Obesity Program" for the National Initiative for Children's Healthcare Quality. She served as a past regional president for the California Association of Nurse Practitioners, legislative representative for AANP and is was involved in the early organization of San DIego's CHildhood Obesity Coaltion. She has presented her research and obesity traning at national conferences and is a reviewer for Journal of School Nursing, Journal for Specialists in Pediatric Nursing, Evidence Based Nursing and Infant, Children and Adolescent Nutrition.




Ann M. Mayo, DNSc, RN
Professor
Email: amayo@sandiego.edu

Dr. Mayo’s funded program of research currently includes two studies examining functional status in persons with cognitive impairment. One study is designed to examine the difference in decision-making function between persons with mild cognitive impairment and normal controls. Findings from this study will enhance clinician clinical decision-making as they determine if and when persons with mild cognitive impairment would benefit from decision support. In a second study, a data based study using approximately 4,000 cases, Dr. Mayo is examining the relationship between functional status and judgment and problem solving, and moderating variables, in order to predict when clinicians should pursue an assessment of judgment and problem solving in persons with dementia. Dr. Mayo is also preparing to conduct a pilot study that will test the feasibility of brief cognitive screening for memory and thinking problems in a community setting.




Mary-Rose Mueller, PhD, RN
Associate Professor
Email: mmueller@sandiego.edu

Mary-Rose Mueller is collaborating with a multi-disciplinary team of colleagues from UCSD and SDSU on a Robert Wood Johnson Foundation funded research study. This project, Shared Decision Making When an Interpreter is Needed, seeks to understand and improve how Latino men and their providers communicate on prostate cancer screening and PSA tests when they must do so through an interpreter. Limited English proficiency (LEP) is among the most prevalent factors contributing to disparities in health and health care for Latinos. This 2-year project uses qualitative and quantitative research methods to adapt evidence-based methods for shared decision-making and tests them with a small intervention study. The findings from this study may be useful to researchers, nurses, physicians, and public policy experts interested in health disparities, patient centered care, and health promotion.
To date, the findings from this study have been presented at two international conferences (Society of Behavioral Medicine and Qualitative Health Research). Research results have been accepted for presentation at the upcoming meetings of the Society for Medical Decision Making and the American Public Health Association.
Shared Decision Making When an Interpreter is Needed, Robert Woods Johnson Foundation, 2/15/08 - 2/14/10, $200,000. Steve Roussos, PhD, MPH, (P.I., SDSU), Linda Hill, MD, MPH (Co P.I., UCSD), Mary-Rose Mueller, PhD, RN (Co P.I., USD), Mel Hovell, PhD (Co P.I., SDSU), and Nadia Salas, MPH (Project Director, SDSU).




Barbara Sarter, PhD, RN, FNP-C, DIHom
Associate Professor, Advanced Practice Programs
Email: bsarter@sandiego.edu

Dr. Sarter's program of research is in the field of integrative health care and focuses on two major topics: nutritional methods to prevent and treat chronic diseases, and homeopathic treatment of chronic health problems. She collaborates with international colleagues from India in the investigation of clinical outcomes of homeopathic treatment of diseases, with a special focus on cancer, hepatitis C and PTSD outcomes. The high nutrient density diet - a plant-based, whole foods approach - is her focus in the arena of nutrition. Her studies in this area demonstrated a dramatic lowering of weight and other cardiovascular risk factors among patients consuming a high nutrient density diet. She is also investigating the experience of humger in patients who adhere to this diet, comparing it to the hunger experience among people consuming the standard American diet.




Karen Skerrett, PhD, RN
Associate Professor
Email: kskerrett@ameritech.net

Dr. Karen Skerrett is an Associate Professor at the Hahn School of Nursing at USD, teaching in the MEPN, CNS and doctoral programs. Trained as a social psychologist, her primary research is in the area of couple and family resilience, relational models of adaptation to chronic illness and the application of strengths based interventions to improve Quality of Life. Previous research has included couple adjustment to a breast cancer diagnosis and a ten year follow-up that demonstrated areas of continuity in adjustment styles. She is currently conducting a pilot study examining the life stories of mid-life couples and is seeking funding for her "Resilient Partners" group, a four week intervention designed to promote couple coping when one partner has a chronic illness.




Linda D Urden, DNSc, RN, CNS, NE-BC, FAAN
Professor and Coordinator
Executive Nurse Leader Graduate Program
Email: urden@sandiego.edu

Dr Linda D. Urden, Professor of Nursing, and Coordinator of the Executive Nurse Leader (ENL) Graduate Program has held a variety of joint clinical-academia appointments for the majority of her career. She is the immediate past Chairperson of the American Nurses Credentialing (ANCC) Magnet Recognition Program, and also served on the ANCC Research Committee. Dr. Urden's research is in the areas of safety, staff nurse empowerment, care delivery models, and transformational cultures. During her recent tenure at Palomar Pomerado Health, Dr Urden received a Robert Wood Johnson (RWJ)-American Organization of Nurse Executives (AONE) Transforming Care at the Bedside (TCAB) grant in which staff nurses made changes in the work environment to address quality, safety, and practice issues. Her specific research studies have been: The Role of the Clinical Nurse Specialist in Attaining and Maintaining Magnet Status; Staff Nurses' Experiences of a Change in the Care Delivery Model; Themes Surrounding Novice Nurse Near-Miss and Adverse Event Situations; and Work Sampling: A Decision Making Tool for Determining Resources and Work Redesign. Dr Urden's current research study is The Staff Nurse Perceptions of the Magnet Journey, which examines the period of time leading up to Magnet designation in a health setting.