Areas of Research

The UK College of Nursing has several extramurally funded areas of research.

UK College of Nursing Research Groups

• BH WELL (Behavior Health and Wellness Environments for Living and Learning) Team
  The mission of the BH WELL is to promote behavioral health and wellness among individuals facing behavioral health challenges.
   
• BREATHE (Bridging Research Efforts and Advocacy Toward Health Environments) Team
  BREATHE’S mission is to promote lung health and healthy environments with at-risk populations to achieve health equity through research; community outreach and empowerment; advocacy and policy development; and access to health services.
   
• CHANGE (Community Health Advocacy iNterventions Generating Equity) Team
  The CHANGE team is dedicated to the advancement of health equity among racial/ethnic minorities and medically underserved populations through the implementation of service and collaborative community-engaged research interventions and policy changes.
   
• Occupational and Rural Health
  The Occupational and Environmental Health Nursing Program works to create a culture of health and safety in workplaces and among workers and their families. Production agriculture specifically – commonly called farming – is a cradle-to-grave industry and consistently ranks among the top four most hazardous occupations.
   
• Perinatal Research and Wellness Center
  The Center for Perinatal Research and Wellness uses translational research to inform women, providers and policymakers about current perinatal issues while empowering women to optimize maternal and child health through positive behavioral change.
   
• RICH (Research and Interventions for Cardiovascular Health) Heart Research Team/Program
  The RICH Heart program offers a framework for data sharing, collaboration and idea generation for dozens of faculty researchers, collaborators and students whose research interests are centered around cardiovascular and pulmonary health.
   
• Rural and Underserved Health Research Center (RUHRC) 
  The Rural & Underserved Health Research Center (RUHRC) focuses on issues at the intersection of rurality and poverty.  RUHRC research focuses on subjects including but not limited to access to health care, substance use disorder and treatment, mental illness and treatment, and cancer.  RUHRC researchers are multidisciplinary, with faculty from the UK Colleges of Nursing, Medicine, Pharmacy, and Communication and Information as well as the American Board of Family Medicine.
   
• UK Center for Appalachian Research in Environmental Sciences (UK-CARES)
  The University of Kentucky Center for Appalachian Research in Environmental Sciences (UK-CARES) is a multi-disciplinary National Institutes of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS) Core Center to enhance research capacity focused on major environmental health impacts to air & water quality and emerging threats to our environment. The Center provides advanced infrastructure and leading expertise, dedicated career development and mentorship, and community-engaged interactions to facilitate innovative discovery and new understandings of environmental factors in disease initiation, progression, and outcomes and their community impacts.

 

UK College of Nursing Faculty and Areas of Research

 

Name	Email Address	Research Interest	Primary Funding Source
Karen Butler	karen.butler@uky.edu	Occupational Health Nurse Training	NIOSH
Kristin Ashford	Kristin.Ashford@uky.edu	Maternal and Child Health	Ky. Cabinet for Health and Family Services
Misook Chung	Misook.chung@uky.edu	Cardiovascular Health: Chronic Patients and Caregivers	NIH-NINR; CON Pilot
Amanda Fallin-Bennett	amanda.fallin@uky.edu	Tobacco Policy and Substance Abuse	KDPH, CON Pilot, NCI, UK CHET Pilot
Jan Forren	Jan.Forren@uky.edu	PeriAnesthesia Nursing	SNRS/AORN
Ellen Hahn	ejhahn00@email.uky.edu	Tobacco Policy and Environmental Health	NIH–NIEHS (P30 and R01), KDPH, UK CCTS, Interact for Health (Subawards), State Medicaid Grant, Radon
Ana Maria Linares	am.linares@uky.edu	Intervention to Enhance Breastfeeding and Obesity Risk Reduction	UKCCTS; CON Pilot
Debra Moser	debra.moser@uky.edu	Cardiovascular & Cerebrovascular Health – Risk Self-Management	NIH–NINR, Jonas, RWJF
Gia Mudd-Martin	gia.mudd@uky.edu	Cardiovascular Health, Diabetes, and the Family Structure	NINR; NIH OD; OBSSR, CCTS
Tyrone Borders	ty.borders@uky.edu	Rural Health Research	HRSA
Julie Marfell	Julie.Marfell@uky.edu	Nursing Leadership, Rural Health, Farmer Stress, Nursing Workforce Issues	State of Kentucky
Janie Heath	jheath@uky.edu	Nursing Workforce and Rural Health	AARP/RWJF
Elizabeth Salt	elizabeth.salt@uky.edu	Chronic Pain Management	Pfizer; CCTS; CON Pilot
Zim Okoli	ctokol1@uky.edu	Tobacco Policy and Substance Abuse	KDPH, State Medicaid Grant
Jean Edward	jean.edward@uky.edu	Promoting equitable access to healthcare; Healthcare access and disparities research	CON Pilot; ACS IRG, RWJF
Martha Biddle	martha.biddle@uky.edu	CV Health: Secondary Prev of CV Disease	CON Pilot; UK CCTS Pilot
Lovoria Williams	Lovoria.Williams@uky.edu	Interventions to reduce health disparities among underserved populations	NIDDK, UK VPR Pilot
Jennifer Miller	jenn.miller@uky.edu	Palliative Nursing and CV Health	UK CCTS Pilot
Lee Anne Walmsley	lee.walmsley@uky.edu	Adult Learners and Educational Research	UK Women and Philanthropy
Jia-Rong Wu	jiarong.wu2@uky.edu	Medication adherence; Health literacy; Health disparity; Family/social support; Family-focused intervention; Self-care behavior; Heart failure	NIH/NINR

 

Additional information on research faculty, their interests and CVs can be found here or at Scholars@UK.

Other areas of research include:

• Self-management of chronic illness (especially cardiopulmonary health issues/heart failure)
• Injury prevention
• Prevention of preterm birth
• Health disparities and cancer control
• Medication adherence
• Family caregivers
• Promoting health of persons with persons with persistent mental illness
• Post-discharge nausea and vomiting
• Adolescent health care provider communication during cancer treatment
• Reproductive health of Hispanic women
• Faith-based approaches to improving nutrition in Eastern Kentucky