Training in Health Behavior Research
Current Fellows
- Current Predoctoral Fellows (T32)
- Current Predoctoral Fellows (Individual NRSA)
- Current Postdoctoral Fellows
Current Predoctoral Fellows (T32)
Halima Al-Kattab, BSN
I am a recent BSN graduate from the IUSON in the BSN to PhD Nursing program. Nursing is a second career for me, with my first B.S. degree being in Cytotechnology, a field in which I worked for three years. My ultimate goal is to be an advocate for one of the most vulnerable populations in our society, children with mental health problems. My research interests include examining social and cultural practices among various racial, socioeconomic, and religious groups that influence mental health help-seeking behaviors of adolescents and their families. I want to explore methods of educating or influencing these cultural groups with an approach that addresses their individual needs. I would like to develop and test interventions that are based upon individual client backgrounds and beliefs. I hope that in exploring and examining strategies that take into consideration individual’s unique needs and socio-cultural diversity, I can translate my research into practice so that more adolescents will receive mental health care that will ultimately improve their quality of life. I live in Indianapolis with my husband, Yaseen, and our two sons, Nabeel and Naseem. I enjoy photography, a variety of outdoor activities, playing the violin, and spending time with my family.
Mentor(s): Marion Broome, PhD, RN, FAAN; Bernice Pescosolido, PhD
Dana Cheatem, MSN
I am a community health nurse with experience in HIV/AIDS surveillance and quality improvement. While working as the nurse epidemiologist for an HIV services program I began to notice that African Americans often received an AIDS diagnosis with their first-ever HIV test. Even after testing HIV-positive, many would never access care, or if they did, would not consistently remain in care. Twenty five years after the discovery of HIV/AIDS in the United States, HIV remains a serious health threat to individuals and communities. The epidemic has reached a point of crisis among African Americans, who suffer from rates disproportionate to any other racial or ethnic group. In 2006, African Americans comprised only 12% of the population in the United States, yet represented 45% of all new cases of HIV/AIDS (CDC, 2009). Tireless efforts have been devoted to the research and discovery of prevention and treatment strategies that would decrease HIV incidence, yet in the United States there is an average of 56,300 new cases of HIV infection each year (CDC, 2009). African Americans are less likely to seek HIV testing and treatment and are more likely to be diagnosed at advanced stages of HIV disease. I am interested in studying the psychosocial and behavioral factors that influence the decision to seek HIV testing and treatment in African Americans at high risk for HIV infection.
Mentor(s): Joe Burrage, PhD, RN, FAAN; Greg Zimet, PhD
Esther Smith-Howell, BSN
I earned my BSN from Indiana University School of Nursing through the accelerated bachelor’s program in August 2009. I continued my education by immediately beginning the PhD program in fall 2009. My experiences as a research assistant, along with my aunt’s battle with lung cancer motivated me to return to school to earn a PhD and conduct oncology and end-of-life care research. African Americans are disproportionately affected by high morbidity and mortality rates as a result of cancer, and many will inevitably require palliative and end-of-life care. Despite the fact that palliative and end-of-life care offer a host of invaluable benefits to patients and their families, African Americans underutilize this care even when they have access. My research focus is to improve quality of life at the end-of-life for African Americans with terminal cancer through culturally competent communication. Outside of school, I enjoy attending concerts, poetry readings, and playing racquetball.
Mentor(s): Susan Rawl, PhD, RN, FAAN; Susan Hickman, PhD; Susan E. Morgan, PhD
Current Predoctoral Fellows (Individual NRSA)
Sharron J. Crowder, MSN
I have a diverse nursing background in clinical nursing, administration, and nursing education. I also have been influenced by my role as a military spouse and opportunities to work in a variety of clinical and academic settings in the United States and abroad. My background and goals influenced my return to school and my research focus. Asthma is a significant public health problem for African American adolescents. Early in my career as a nurse coordinator for a chronic lung program, I had the opportunity to work with African American adolescents with asthma and observed their inadequate self-management. My study will enhance understanding of African American adolescents’ illness representations (beliefs) about asthma and their asthma self-management. This understanding will guide the development of more patient-centered interventions for African American adolescents with asthma. I hope that my dissertation will serve as a basis for further funded research in asthma. My husband and I have one son. We enjoy our time together while traveling and playing golf.
Mentor(s): Kathleen Hanna, PhD; Joan Austin, DNS, RN, FAAN; Nancy Swigonski, MD, MPH
Wendy Miller, MSN
I am an Adult Health Clinical Nurse Specialist pursuing a PhD. My research focus is epilepsy self-management in the older adult population, as well as chronic disease management in general. I have been honored to work with Dr. Jan Buelow throughout both my master's and doctoral programs. My clinical background is in ICU nursing, specifically in the neurological ICU. I live in southern Indiana, have a 6 year old daughter, Amelia, and am engaged. I am a competitive long-distance runner and am usually training for some type of goal race year round. I also enjoy cycling, kickboxing, and baking.
Mentor(s): Janice Buelow, PhD; Fred Unverzagt, PhD
Ukamaka Oruche, MSN
After obtaining my master’s degree in child psychiatric-mental health nursing, I practiced for eight years before deciding to return for a PhD. In my work as a clinical nurse specialist with children and adolescents with serious emotional and behavioral disturbance, I was bothered by the fact that the majority remained in treatment for so long. Even those who left returned multiple times. They were not meeting educational milestones, had very poor social skills, and believed that their situation would not improve. I wanted to learn how to help these young people transition successfully into independent and productive young adults. This was my big push to return to school for a doctorate. My dissertation is titled “Predictors of Treatment Response for Adolescents with Serious Emotional disturbance”. I live in Fishers, Indiana with my husband, Ody, and our two sons, Ejimofor and Okenna. We enjoy traveling all over the nation and abroad. We conduct annual medical missions to a rural Hospital abroad as our contribution to making a difference.
Mentor(s): Janis Gerkensmeyer,PhD; Eric Wright, PhD
Current Postdoctoral Fellows
Wendy Kooken, PhD, RN
My research interests are focused on how patients with cancer, their family members, and oncology nurses’ experience and share vigilance. Vigilance is a knowledgeable watchfulness that occurs in healthcare in response to a threat. Being vigilant is especially important in the treatment and monitoring of cancer to detect threats to patients’ well-being, both physiological and psychological. My postdoctoral studies will be concentrated model development which will eventually lead to the design and testing of shared vigilance interventions. I found my passion for research in predoctoral studies at Indiana University and look forward to continuing my studies in an excellent and supportive academic environment. My mentor is Joanne Duffy, PhD, RN, FAAN who developed the Quality-Caring Model,© the Caring Assessment Tool/s and has focused on patient-centered care.
Mentor(s): Joanne Duffy, PhD, RN, FAAN
Hsiao-Lan Wang, PhD
Head and neck cancers have a relatively small population in all kinds of cancers. However, the cancer itself and its treatments always bring huge impacts to a patient’s life, because the head and neck region involves some vital functions (eating, breathing, speaking, facial expression, etc.) and is heavily wired by the nerve system. I observed these patients when I practiced in Taiwan and United States. They encountered multiple symptoms, functional disabilities, and facial disfigurements. All these images have been pushing me to focus on head and neck cancer research. It is an honor for me to be one of T32 Behavior Nursing Research Postdoctoral Fellows at the Indiana University School of Nursing. My goal is to combine a symptom management model and behavior theory to understand and improve symptom management in head and neck cancer patients.
Mentor(s): Susan Rawl, PhD; Kurt Kroenke, MD
