Research Areas

Research Lab

Through programs of interdisciplinary research and scholarship, faculty at the FPB School of Nursing are committed to the development and dissemination of new knowledge to support nursing practice and education.

Focused Programs of Research & Research Training Include

Collaborative relationships with students, clinical agencies and communities support innovative, outcome-based research and the advancement of knowledge.

Quick Link: Show me Faculty Research Studies & Labs.


Symptom Science

The experience of symptoms, both physical and emotional, is a primary determinant of the quality of life of persons in all states of health and illness, including at the end of life.

Understanding the biologic and psychologic bases of symptoms, influence of social determinants, and mechanisms of intervention are central concerns in nursing science. Investigations that identify molecular and genetic pathways, apply innovative measurement approaches, and test symptom management strategies in clinical trials are the foci of symptom research in the School of Nursing.

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Family & Community Care

The family and community research area focuses on mental and physical health of individual family members and diverse family systems across various health care systems and communities.

Emphasis is on the investigation of family characteristics, dynamics, processes, experiences, functioning, health, and caregiving across the lifespan and transitions. Research ranges from exploration through testing of interventions to promote and sustain health in family members and family and community systems. With the changing landscape of health care and increasing demands on family systems, this research is critical for innovative, cost-effective care.

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Aging Across the Lifespan

Aging across the lifespan research focuses on maintaining and improving health, functional status and quality of life. Emphasis is on successful aging, even in the face of morbidity and frailty.

Utilizing an interdisciplinary perspective, our programs of research encompass a range of bio-psychosocial approaches, including psychological, cognitive, behavioral, physiological, genetic, sociological, and emerging, integrated models. Research models include racial, ethnic, gender, socio-demographic, and inter-generational influences. Aging research spans descriptive to intervention work and qualitative and quantitative methods.

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Self-Management of Health and Illness

Self-management of health and illness places the individual/family as the primary provider of care for acute and chronic illness and responsible for maintaining a healthy lifestyle.

Self-management includes treatment adherence and behavior change to promote healthy diet, exercise, sleep, stress management, self-monitoring, and active engagement with the health care team. Our experts study self-management in multiple health conditions, throughout the lifespan, and in populations with significant health disparities. They have described biological, psycho social, and environmental influences on self-management behavior; developed novel ways of measuring self-management behavior and its consequences; and designed and tested interventions to improve self-management outcomes.

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Neuroscience

Acknowledging that the brain controls every aspect of our identity and how we respond to events around us, neuroscience researchers at the School of Nursing focus on brain and nervous system function.

We seek to define and characterize both physiological and behavioral symptoms of health, illness, and how the expression of those symptoms is modified by clinical interventions. Our collective programs of research include the study of disordered sleep, substance abuse, and neurodegenerative disease. Our investigations focus on identifying perturbations within neurochemical pathways that outwardly manifest as symptoms of excessive sleepiness, executive dysfunction, and enhanced propensity, or perhaps vulnerability, to substances of abuse. 

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