Student Research

Jessica Haynes Barré,  Dissertation Title : The Lived Experience of Nurses in Caring for Patients with COVID-19   

Holly Marie Berry-Price, Dissertation Title: Exploring the Lived Experience of Self-Care in Young Adults with Type 2 Diabetes

Linda Cabage, Dissertation Title:  Psychiatric Mental Health Nurse Practitioner Perceptions of How Providing Patient Care During the COVID-19 Pandemic Affected Their Own Mental Health

Victoria Hood-Wells, Dissertation Title: Telehealth Acceptance and Medical Mistrust Among the Elderly of Rural Appalachia

Dama Cooley, Dissertation Title: A Descriptive Study: Aging in Place in the Rural Southeastern United States 

Sarah Lynn Guimaraes, Dissertation Title: Moral Disengagement and the Tendency to Engage in Academic Dishonesty in Prelicensure Nursing Students

Amy Rine Wake, Dissertation Title: School Nurses and the Sexual Health and Education of Public School Students in Tennessee

Thomas A. Diller, Dissertation Title: Cognitive Preference and Skill Acquisition: The Relationship Between Student Nurse Anesthetists and Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetists Thinking Styles

Sharon E. Bigger, Dissertation Title: Advance Care Planning Protocols and Hospitalization, Rehospitalization, and Emergency Department Use in Home Health  

Dynisha M. Wigginson, Dissertation Title: "I Done Been Through Hell”: An Existential Phenomenological Study of the Lived Experience of Fathers Who Have Lost a Child   

Jessica L. Bechard, Dissertation Title: Missed Nursing Care: Accounting for Education, Experience, and Job Satisfaction in Registered Nurses   

Jessica E. Patrylo, Dissertation Title: Examining Predictors of Attitudes and Knowledge of Registered Nurses and Nursing Students in Tennessee toward Pregnant and Perinatal Women with a Substance Use Disorder

Melinda A. Bogardus, Dissertation Title : The Experiences and Well-Being of Mexican Immigrant Women Living in Traditionally non-Latinx Communities in Western North Carolina 

Amy Holder, Dissertation Title : The Relationship of Self-Efficacy and Clinical Reasoning of Undergraduate Nursing Students   

Andrea S. Poynter, Dissertation Title: The Lived Experience of Obesity, Spirituality, and Health Behaviors in African American Women    

Linda C. Simpson, Dissertation Title: Undergraduate Nursing Students’ Learning Style Preferences and Preferred Faculty Teaching Methods Compared to the Actual Methods Used by Faculty

Evelyn M. Brewer, Dissertation Title: Contemporary Nursing in Rural Appalachia: A Hermeneutic Study

Deborah Henry, Dissertation Title: Rediscovering the Art of Nursing for Nursing Practice

Kristi Miller, Dissertation Title: Effect of Root Cause Analysis on Pre-Licensure, Senior-Level Nursing Students’ Safe Medication Administration Practices

Susan Adams, Dissertation Title: Job Embeddedess of Nurses Working in South Central Appalachia’s North Carolina Counties

Angela Collier, Dissertation Title: Approachability of Nursing Clinical Instructors: Psychometric Assessment of a Scale

Catherine Hebert, Dissertation Title: An Exploration of Dementia Friendly Communities from the Perspective of Persons Living with Dementia

Kristen Hershey, Dissertation Title: Pre-Licensure Nursing Students' Perceptions of Safety Culture in Schools of Nursing

Barbara Jared, Dissertation Title: The Impact of Teach-Back as a Patient Education Tool in Women with Inadequate Maternal Health Literacy Seeking Immunizations for their Children

Barbara Maria Rauscher, Dissertation Title: The Perceptions of Success of Latino Nursing School Graduates In the Appalachian Region of the United States

Rebecca L. Turpin, Dissertation Title: Psychometric testing of the Presence of Nursing Scale: Measurability of patient perceptions of nursing presence capability of nurses in an academic medical center

Jessica M. Altman, Project Title: Improving Completion Rates of Physician Order for Life Sustaining Treatment (POLST) Forms in Skilled Nursing Facilities: A Quality Improvement Project

Mary Ameh, Project Title: Implementation of Routine Screening for Adverse Childhood Experiences in Primary Care

Marie Julie Boudreau-Klymas, Project Title:  Integrating American Heart Association's (AHA)  Self-Check-Plan Clinical Tool in Creating a Standardized Heart Failure (HF) Patient Education Program: A Quality Improvement Project

Jacqlyne W. Bowman, Project Title: Implementation of Evidence-Based Practices to Improve Follow-up Care Following an Inpatient Hospitalization

Courtney Burleson, Project Title: Improving Coordinated Mental Health Care Through an Enhanced Referral Process: A Quality Improvement Project

Heather H. Cathey, Project Title: Implementation of an ADHD Electronic Portal in Pediatric Primary Care: A Quality Improvement Project

Kaitlynn Earls, Project Title: Implementation of a Protocol to Improve Quality and Use of Existing Crisis Safety Plan

Alicia Emery, Project Title: Alternatives to Total Knee Replacement in Non-Surgical Candidates: A Quality Improvement Project

Kayla Ward Foster, Project Title: Improving Cardiovascular Disease Outcomes Through Improved Risk Assessment

Danielle Giles, Project Title: Optimizing  American Society of Clinical Oncology/Oncology Nursing Society (ASCO/ONS) Recommended Safety Standards for Patients Receiving Oral Chemotherapy at an Ambulatory Cancer Center: A Quality Improvement Program

Jacklyn M. Halpin, Project Title: Reducing Adverse Events: Medication Reconciliation in Primary Care

Grace K. Herriman, Project Title: Sexual Health History Screening Implementation for Providing Quality Clinical Services in Primary Care: A Quality Improvement Project

Carmen Jones, Project Title: Enhancing Behavioral/Mental Health Care Integration at a Nurse-Managed Federally Qualified Health Center (FQHC) in Southern Appalachia

Sukesh Jadav, Project Title: Implementing the Confusion Assessment Method (CAM) Screening Protocol in a Skilled Nursing Facility for Delirium in the Inpatient Aging Adult: A Quality Improvement Project

Shawn C. Malugin, Project Title: Implementing Systematic Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity (SOGI data) Collection at a Hospital Located in the Southern Region of the United States: A Quality Improvement Project

Sandra Marshall, Project Title: Best Practices: Antibiotic Stewardship and Evidence-Based Guidelines During Upper Respiratory Infections Among Rural Primary Care Patients

Chloe Meade, Project Title: Evaluation of Mindfulness-Based Interventions to Reduce Stress in Undergraduate Nursing Students

Brittany N. Mendo, Project Title: Caring for the Caregiver: Improving Screening for Caregiver Presence During the Inpatient Stay

Stephanie E. Sossong, Project Title: Improving Diabetes Self-Management Education and Service Referrals in Primary Care

Tessa Woodroof, Project Title: Improving Veteran Behavioral Healthcare Access by Returning Stable Patients to Primary Care

Denise Lynne Davis, Project Title: A Comprehensive Toolkit for Healthcare Professionals Caring for Postpartum Clients with Opioid Use Disorder

Judith Wangari Gichia-Waldrop, Project Title: Religious Leaders and Depression Screening in Unhoused Individuals: A Program Implementation Project

Amanda E. Jones, Project Title: Heart Failure Patient Education Implementation

Lisa Kelley, Project Title: Standardized Process for Patient Safety Indicators

Lorelei Moore, Project Title: Adverse Childhood Experiences in Rural Healthcare

Christina K. Nunnally, Project Title: Electronic Screening for Social Determinants of Health in a Federally Qualified Health Center

Justina A. Okonkwo, Project Title: Evidence-based Initiative to Screen and Refer Nigerian Immigrant Women with Depression Using a Culturally Based Approach: A Quality Improvement Project

Stephanie D. Landes, Project Title: Reducing Negative Behaviors in Dementia Patients with Nonpharmacological Interventions

Valorie D. Marlow, Project Title: Depression Screening in the Urgent Care Setting

Shkendie Papraniku, Project Title: Improving Quality of Care Through the Implementation of Diabetes Self-Management Education: A Quality Improvement Project

Logan Thomas, Project Title: Improved Management of Pediatric Obesity in the Primary Care Setting Through Implementation of the Healthy Care for Healthy Kids Obesity Toolkit

Virginia F. Bradley, Project Title: Abnormal Involuntary Movement Scale (AIMS) Screening for Tardive Dyskinesia: A Program Evaluation

Richard Brewer, Project Title: The Effects of CIWA-Ar Training on Acute Care Nurses’ Ability to Accurately Score the Severity of Alcohol Withdrawal

Jennifer Cooke, Project Title: Implementing a Brief Tobacco Cessation Intervention in Primary Care: A Quality Improvement Project

Hope E. Diaz, Project Title: Improving Nurse-Provider Communication in Acute Care: Clinical Surveillance Algorithm Pilot Intervention

Elizabeth Sparks, Project Title: School Based Telehealth: Can Identification of Facilitators and Barriers to Use Have an Impact on Utilization of Services?

Anaya Baeza, Project Title: Cultivating Clinicians’ Knowledge and Confidence in Identifying PTSD in Primary Care

Shayla Atkins Kilgore, Project Title: Tracking Cervical Cancer Screening Results: Evaluating an Electronic Health Record-Based Tool

Rebecca Clark, Project Title: Monitoring Prediabetes Screening in Two Primary Care Offices in Rural Appalachia: A Quality Improvement Project

Melanie M. Greer, Project Title: Preparing for Caring: A Quality Improvement Initiative to Prepare Caregivers of Older Adults Discharging from a Psychiatric Hospitalization for Their Caregiving Responsibilities

Barbara Hayes, Project Title: Evaluating the Implementation of an Addiction Screening Questionnaire for Opiate Treatment Programs

Georgiana C. Hogan, Project Title: Guideline for the prevention and management of constipation in the long-term care resident

Shenia Johnson, Project Title: Screening for Bipolar Disorder in Primary Care Patients with Depression: An Educational Intervention

Rhonda Morris, Project Title: Advance Care Planning in Primary Care: Evaluation of the Conversation Starter Toolkit Implementation

Vickie Pitman, Project Title: Implementation of an Interprofessional Team Process on Hypertension in Adult African American Men

Nancy Sciara, Project Title: Adherence to Perinatal Depression Screening Guidelines
A Retrospective Review

Adriana Smith, Project Title: Metabolic Syndrome Screening in Patients Taking Second Generation Antipsychotics: Development of Policy Initiative for Outpatient Primary Care Clinics

Leslie Trivett, Project Title: Examination of Evidence-Based Recommendations for the Transferring of Psychiatric Patients from the Emergency Department to a Clinical Decision Unit

Drew Turner, Project Title: Evaluation of a Suicide Prevention Gatekeeper Program and Referral Protocol

Melissa Wells, Project Title: Utilizing the Ask Suicide Screening Questions (ASQ) tool in Adolescents for Suicide Screening

Marah Wise, Project Title: Evaluation of a Urinary Incontinence Management Clinic for Older Adults

Afolake Awolaja, Project Title: Implementation of PHQ-9 in Psychiatric Practice: A Quality Improvement Project

Julia Blocker, Project Title: Tobacco Cessation and Referral to the National Quitline

Rony Boe, Project Title: Connecting Veterans with Smoking Cessation Services in Less than Three Minutes

Karen Burchfield, Project Title: Evaluation of Lean Standard Work Methodology to Improve Medication Administration Record Completion in an Urban Elementary School System

James Chris Coombs, Project Title: Evaluation of a Quality Improvement Initiative to Improve Metabolic Monitoring of Individuals Prescribed Second Generation Antipsychotics on an Assertive Community Treatment Team

Hanna Crawford, Project Title: Bridging the Gap in Care Transitions by Implementing an Electronic Homeless Resource Toolkit for Case Management Personnel: Hospital to Community

Joanna Dymora, Project Title: Implementation of Ask, Advise, Refer for Smoking
Cessation in a Family Practice Office

Rebecca Garrett, Project Title: Evaluation of Evidence-Based Depression Screening Tool in a Rural Southwest Virginia School System

Tonia Hale, Project Title: Impact of a Discharge Intervention on Patient Experience

Joseph Harris, Project Title: Improvements in Addressing Patient Smoking Status on an Assertive Community Treatment Team by Implementing the Five A’s of Smoking Cessation

Bupe Habiyambere, Project Title: Evaluation of the Use of a Side Effect Checklist for Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder Medications by Non-Prescriber Therapists

Ryan Kerrins, Project Title: Screening, Brief Intervention, and Referral to Treatment (SBIRT) Process Improvement in a Nurse-Managed Clinic Serving the Homeless

Ashley Lockhart, Project Title: Mindfulness for Anxiety in the Psychiatric Hospital Setting

Jill Newton, Project Title: Implementation of the Progressively Lowered Stress Threshold Model for Dementia Care Competency

Kendra O'Quinn, Project Title: Identifying Non-Adherence in Hypertensive Patients

Latisha Toney, Project Title: Establishment of Blood Pressure Screening Program for African Americans in a Faith Based Setting

Pamela Trent, Project Title: The Effects of Nurse-Initiated Protocols on Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services Outcome Measures in the Emergency Department

Lisa Waye, Project Title: The Impact of Staff De-escalation on the Number and Length of Violent Restraint Episodes in an Adult Psychiatric Inpatient Population

Matthew Wood, Project Title: Evaluation of Toolkit Based Weight Management Care in an East Tennessee School System​

Jeremy Blanzy, Project Title: Evaluating Low Back Pain Referrals to a Neurosurgery Clinic in South Central Appalachia

Mary Conner, Project Title: Screening, Brief Intervention, Referral to Treatment (SBIRT) Implementation in Rural Health Clinics

Roxanne Gosnell, Project Title: Development of guidelines for improving oral health in individuals with Parkinson’s disease

Hae Won Lee, Project Title: Creating a Supportive Environment for Sexuality:
Sexuality of the Elderly Education (SEE) Project

Earnest Maupin, Project Title: Implementation of a Clozapine Training Seminar at a Community Mental Health Facility

Alexander Moore, Project Title: Educating Providers on Designing and Implementing an Animal Assisted Intervention Program Within a Community Health Clinic

Erin Morgan, Project Title: Implementation of Pulmonary Function Testing in Rural Primary Care

Hannah Jones, Project Title: Evaluating Mental Health Nurses' Knowledge and Perceptions of Psychiatric Advance Directives: An Educational Intervention

Stephanie Glass, Project Title: Improving Survivorship Care Plan Creation and Delivery at a Community Based Comprehensive Cancer Center

Diana M. Oakes Hoffert, Project Title: Implementing Lean to Improve Perinatal Clinic Flow

Micah Sellew, Project Title: Advocates for Deaf Children: A Pediatric Healthcare System Staff Education Intervention

Rachel Siffring, Project Title: Implementation of an Evidence-Based Prediabetes Screening Process in a Medically Underserved Primary Care Clinic System in Rural Southwest Virginia

James Woody, Project Title: Examining the Effect of an Opioid Prescribing Clinical Dashboard on Provider’s Compliance with Centers for Disease Control (2016) Prescribing Guidelines 

Mary Zuber, Project Title: Implementing Screening for Maternal Oral Health (SMOH) at a South-Central Appalachian Community Health Center

Erin Elizabeth Bailey, Project Title: BSN-DNP Perceptions of the DNP Essentials and How They Apply to Future Advance Practice Roles

Mandy Marie Brannen, Project Title: Improving Health Outcomes for Mother and Baby through PCP Education

Holly Dillon Dockery, Project Title: The Development, Implementation, and Evaluation of a Web-Based Learning Module on Advanced Care Planning: Enhancing the Knowledge of Clinical and Advance Practice Nurses in Tennessee

Osahon Kings Enodunmwenben, Project Title: Decreasing Inpatient Readmissions in Homeless Patients

Mary Hoft, Project Title: Educating First Responders to Identify, Provide Care, and Protect Victims of Human Trafficking

Adam Jason Horn, Project Title: Impacting Inpatient Psychiatric Readmission Rates by Focusing on Subset of High Risk Populations: Determining Characteristics of Subset of High Risk Populations and Releasing Recommendations for Practice

Khairunnissa Aziz Jooma, Project Title: Educating the Mental Health Providers to become Cultural Competent to identify and provide care regarding Depression in Muslims

Carissa Nichole Myers, Project Title: Keeping Elderly at Home: Identifying Caregivers’ Health Status and Needs

Denise Ruth Spisso, Project Title: Medication Reconciliation Implementation in a Rural Health Clinic

Ramona Craft Whichello, Project Title: Emotional Intelligence in Nurse Administrators