Active Grants
The School of Nursing promotes, improves, and sustains human health through evidence-based education and advances in research and practice.
Nursing Faculty are involved in a variety of research projects, publications and presentations. Nursing students work alongside faculty to bring new and innovative ideas into fruition.
Title: Sleep Depth and Circadian Genes as Potential Markers to Reflect Symptom Variation and Early Risk of Alzheimer's Disease in Shift Worker
Principal Investigator: Jinyoung Kim
Funding Agency: National Institutes of Health/National Institute on Aging, R21
Amount Awarded: $226,500
Period: 03/01/2024-02/28/2026
Goals: The purpose of this study is to examine the feasibility of establishing a cohort of active and retired shift workers and generate preliminary data on whether epigenetic alterations in circadian genes and objective sleep quality measurements can be used as potential biomarkers to determine the individual differences in adapting to shift work and predict the risk for future cognitive impairment.
Title: Increasing Resiliency in U.S. Air Force Personnel: A Multi-Site Trial
Principle Investigator: Jacqueline Killian
Funding Agency: Triservice Nursing Research Program
Amount Awarded: $74,000
Period: 10/01/2022 - 08/30-2025
Goals: The purpose of this study is to examine the effectiveness of the Stress Management and Resilience Training (SMART) in increasing resilience in a selected population of U.S. Air Force personnel in real-world settings at Joint Base Andrews (316 Medical Group [MDG], Joint Base San Antonio-Lackland (59 Medical Wing [MDW]), Nellis Air Force Base (99 MDG), and Wright-Patterson Air Force Base (88 MDG, U.S. Air Force School of Aerospace Medicine [USAFSAM], and 711 Human Performance Wing [HPW].
Title: Development and Testing of a Racial-Equity Evidence-Based Nurturing Care Mental Health Strategy for Latina Mothers
Principle Investigator: Clariana Ramos de Oliveira
Funding Agency: NIGMS, U54GM104944 CTR-IN Pilot Grant
Amount Awarded: $65,665
Period: 12/18/2023- 12/18/2024
Goals: This proposal will unpack barriers and facilitators of racial and social aspects of maternal mental health and co-design an evidenced-based mental health strategy for Latina mothers with children under five years of life living in Clark County, Nevada. We hypothesize that a nurturing care mental health strategy built from a community lens can mitigate racial and social disparities and improve maternal and child relationships. We will use a community-based participatory approach to co-design and evaluate the acceptability and feasibility of the strategy using a racial equity lens.
Title: Home-Based and Mobile App-Guided Dual-Task Exercise for Cognition and Functional Capacity after Mild Traumatic Brain Injury
Principle Investigator: Hyunhwa 'Henna' Lee
Funding Agency: NIGMS, U54GM104944 CTR-IN Pilot Grant
Amount Awarded: $65,010
Period: 1/31/24-4/30/25
Goals: People can have long-lasting issues after a mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI). These issues can cost a lot of money to treat and can even lead to serious brain problems like chronic traumatic encephalopathy or Parkinson's disease. We have developed a 14-day exercise program called BraW-Day that may help people with these long-term problems. We will test this program to see if it helps with things like memory and movement in young adults who've had an mTBI.
Title: Dementia Caregivers and A contemplative practice
Principle Investigator: Nirmala Lekhak
Funding Agency: UNLV, School of Nursing
Amount Awarded: $10,000
Period: 07/01/2023 – 12/31/2024
Goals: The proposed study focuses on testing innovative, digitally delivered MSD interventions to increase self-compassion and love, which is hypothesized to reduce feelings of loneliness and associated psychological symptoms among family dementia caregivers at all stages.
Title: The Impact of Violence and Social Injustice on Young Mothers-Children's Mental Health and Development: Building Evidence in Brazil
Principle Investigator: Clariana Ramos de Oliveira
Funding Agency: UNLV, School of Nursing
Amount Awarded: $10,000
Period: 10/01/2022 - 4/30/25
Goals: The objective of this project is a) to identify violence and social injustice experienced by young mothers in their social and community environment, b) to value young mothers' perceptions about their mental health and environment, and c) to describe the impact of these factors on nurturing care and child development outcomes.
Title: Integrating the Multi-Theory Model of Health Behavior Change into the Mindfulness- and Acceptance-Based Smartphone App Intervention for College Students Veterans with Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Symptoms
Principle Investigator: Andrew Thomas Reye
Funding Agency: UNLV, School of Nursing
Amount Awarded: $10,000
Period: 05/02/2023 to 06/30/2025
Goals: The purpose of the study is to refine a mindfulness smartphone app for college student veterans with post-traumatic stress symptoms.
Title: Dual-Task Home Exercise for Walking and Other Functions after Sports-Related Concussion
Principle Investigator: Hyunhwa 'Henna' Lee
Funding Agency: UNLV, School of Nursing
Amount Awarded: $10,000
Period: 09/23/2023 – 12/31/2024
Goals: There is a lack of evidence-based treatments for sport-related concussions, particularly for early detection and intervention of post-injury functional declines. This project aims to evaluate the feasibility and efficacy of the BraW-Day mobile app-based program in improving functional capacities in 20 athletes with recent sports-related mTBI over a 14-day period.
Active Studies
Below, explore the School of Nursing's active studies.
Investigator
Andrew Thomas Reyes, Ph.D., MSN, RN
Goal
To refine a mindfulness smartphone app for college student veterans with post-traumatic stress symptoms.
Participation Details
- Participants must be a UNLV student and a veteran aged 18 years old or older.
About the Study
The objective of the study is to integrate the Multi-Theory Model of Health Behavior Change in order for the mindfulness app to be effective in producing behavior change among college student veterans with post-traumatic stress symptoms. We hope to learn the effective tasks and activities demonstrating the Multi-Theory Model of Health Behavior Change that college student veterans with post perceive to be necessary for a mindfulness app for post-traumatic stress.
Investigator: Hyunhwa 'Henna' Lee, Ph.D., MSN, APRN, PMHNP-BC, FAAN
Goal: To understand how a 14-day-long home-based dual-task exercise can help with walking and other functions after mild traumatic brain injury or concussion.
Participation Details:
- Participants must be adults aged 18-40 years old with a recent concussion between 3-24 months ago.
About the study:
Our Brain & Walk Exercise Every Day (BraW-Day) will be at home with 15 minutes every day for 14 days. After having a mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI), some people may experience a change in walking and/or other functions, such as cognitive or visual functions. We would like to test how the BraW-Day exercise may help these individuals with such changes.
Investigator: Jinyoung Kim, Ph.D., RN, FAAN
Goal: To examine whether epigenetic alterations in circadian genes and objective sleep quality measurements can be used as potential biomarkers to determine individual differences in adapting to shift work and predict the risk for future cognitive impairment.
Participation Details:
- Participants must be night shift workers and/or day shift workers aged 40 years old and up.
About the study:
Shift workers, especially those on night shifts, face an increased risk of cognitive impairment, including Alzheimer’s disease. Unfortunately, we lack a sensitive biomarker to assess adaptation to shift work and predict future cognitive decline. A proposed study aims to establish a cohort of active and retired shift workers, investigating whether sleep quality measures and epigenetic changes in circadian genes correlate with shift work tolerance and cognitive function. The findings could inform personalized strategies to prevent Alzheimer’s disease early in life.
Investigator: Nirmala Lekhak, Ph.D., RN
Goal: To evaluate the feasibility and examine the effectiveness of implementing Loving-Kindness Meditation (LKM) among older adults.
Participation Details:
- Participants must be adults aged 50 years old or older living in Southern Nevada.
About the study:
The study will examine the preliminary effectiveness of the LKM in increasing positive emotions such as compassionate love. It will also examine the preliminary impact of the LKM in reducing loneliness and improvement in cognitive function and mental health.
Investigator: Rebecca Benfield, CNM, Ph.D., FACNM
Goal: To test the Patient Health Engagement Model in end stage renal disease patients who are using hemodialysis as a lifesaving intervention, to examine the association of patient engagement and patient adherence to hemodialysis guidelines, and to examine whether the patient engagement level can predict patient adherence.
Participation Details:
- Participants must be adults aged 18 years old or older; diagnosed with kidney failure; and have been on dialysis for at least 90 days.
About the study:
Patient engagement will be operationalized and measured by the Patient Health Engagement scale (PHE-S) and the Patient Activation Measure (PAM-13). Patient adherence will be operationalized based upon the National Kidney Foundation Kidney Dialysis Outcomes Quality Initiative (NKF-KDOQI) guidelines, specifically focusing on interdialytic weight gain and shortening treatments.
Investigator: Jacqueline Killian, Ph.D., MHR, MSN, NPD-BC
Goal: To examine the effectiveness of the Stress Management and Resilience Training (SMART) in increasing resilience in a selected population of U.S. Air Force personnel in real-world settings.
Participation Details:
- Participants must be Air Force personnel from Nellis Air Force Base.
About the study:
The Stress Management and Resilience Training (SMART) focuses on improving the practices of gratitude, mindful presence, kindness, and developing a resilient mindset. SMART includes practices that focus on six, evidence-based factors (positive coping, positive affect, positive thinking, realism, altruism, and behavioral control) that promote individual-level psychological resilience.
Investigator: Dieu-My Tran, Ph.D., RN, CNE
Contact: dieu-my.tran@unlv.edu or limjucow@unlv.nevada.edu
Goal: To better understand what staff nurses believe is important to teach nursing students about the profession and why, which will ultimately provide evidence of effectiveness in clinical teaching to prepare nursing students for the profession.
Participation Details:
- Participants must be staff nurses.
About the study:
The proposed research identifies the need to dissect the traditional clinical education model to better understand its effectiveness in preparing nursing students for practice. Staff nurses who teach nursing students influence the student’s formation to nursing; therefore, it is important to understand staff nurses’ perceptions of how enculturation prepares nursing students. With this discernment, nursing professionals would acquire insight into the culture of nursing and its effect on clinical teaching.
Investigator: Jennifer Vanderlaan, Ph.D., MPH, CNM
Contact: jennifer.vanderlaan@unlv.edu or foxd3@unlv.nevada.edu
Goal: To determine if nurse submission of an assignment despite objection identifies unsafe staffing; as evidenced by untoward patient outcomes.
Participation Details:
- None.
About the study:
The study focuses on the number of substantiated Assignment Despite Objection forms submitted by clinical nurses working in various clinical cost centers. The hypothesis is that clinical cost centers with more substantiated Assignment Despite Objection submissions will have higher rates of untoward patient quality and safety events and higher direct care costs. The deidentified data will be provided by a UMC data analyst directly accountable for such data sets.