Carolina Nursing doctoral students receive funding for diverse research topics

Congratulations to SON PhD candidates Elisabeth Bernhardt, Cass Dictus and Ratchanok Phonyiam, who have each received funding for their current research projects! These grants will fund studies on three unique topics: the risk phenotype for maternal distress, racial disparities in distressing symptoms for nursing home residents, and self-management in pregnancy and breastfeeding in women with Type 2 Diabetes. See below for more details about their work.  

Elisabeth Bernhardt F31 

Grant number: 1F31NR019928-01A1 
Title: Exploring a Risk Phenotype for Maternal Distress Characterized by Regulatory Focus 
Institute: National Institute of Nursing Research 
Project Dates: January 13, 2022 – May 12, 2024 
Total funding: $36,106 

Personnel: 
Lis Bernhardt, UNC School of Nursing, Principal Investigator 
Linda Beeber, UNC School of Nursing, Sponsor 
Crystal Schiller, UNC Dept of Psychiatry, Co-Sponsor
Eran Dayan, UNC School of Medicine, Committee Member 
Rose Mary Xavier, UNC School of Nursing, Committee Member  
Timothy Strauman, Duke University Department of Psychology and Neurology, Committee Member 
Jessica Williams, UNC School of Nursing, Committee Member 
Bharathi Zvara, UNC Dept of Maternal and Child Health, Committee Member 
Todd Schwartz, UNC Dept of Biostatistics, Committee Member 

Project Narrative 
A more comprehensive understanding of the underlying mechanisms associated with elevated maternal distress and caregiving deficits is necessary for early detection, care management, and effective treatment options during the immediate postpartum period. This study will explore a risk phenotype for maternal distress by analyzing neurological changes in reward responsivity, caregiving behaviors, and the maternal experience of goal pursuit and perceived daily functioning in postpartum mothers. Outcomes of this project will support future work on the bidirectional nature of the maternal-child relationship as it relates to Regulatory Focus Theory, and lead to improvements in postpartum care and intervention development. 

Cass Dictus – F31 

Grant number: 1F31NR019927-01A1 
Title: Racial Disparities in Distressing Symptoms for Nursing Home Residents at EOL with Alzheimer’s Disease and Related Dementias 
Institute: National Institute of Nursing Research 
Project Dates: January 7, 2022- January 6, 2024 
Total funding: $37,160 

Personnel:
Cass Dictus, UNC School of Nursing, Principal Investigator
Anna Beeber, UNC School of Nursing, Sponsor 
Ruth Anderson, UNC School of Nursing, Co-Mentor 
Baiming Zou, UNC School of Nursing, Co-Mentor 
Matthias Hoben, UNC School of Nursing, Co-Mentor 
Thomas Kali, Brown University School of Public Health, Co-Mentor 
Tamara Baker-Thomas, UNC Department of Psychiatry, Co-Mentor 

Project Narrative 
Working with a large database containing nursing home resident information and a diverse group of nursing home stakeholders, we will identify and work to understand differences in distressing symptoms for people with dementia at the end-of-life living in nursing homes. Project outcomes will be an improved understanding of symptom experiences of people with dementia, potential differences related to resident race and cognitive status, and racial segregation of nursing homes. Findings will guide future work on reducing racial disparities and improving end-of-life symptom management for people with dementia living in nursing homes. 

Ratchanok Phonyiam – Sigma Grant 

Title: Understanding the Self-Management in Pregnancy and Breastfeeding in Women with Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus from Thailand 
Institute: Sigma Foundation for Nursing 
Project Dates: 1June 2022 – 31 May 2023 
Total funding: $5,000 

Personnel: 
Ratchanok Phonyiam, UNC School of Nursing, Principal Investigator 
Marianne Baernholdt, UNC School of Nursing, Advisor 
Aunchalee Palmquist, UNC Department of Maternal and Child Health, Committee Member 
Sangthong Terathongkum, Mahidol University School of Nursing, Committee Member 
Jiraporn Lininger, Mahidol University School of Nursing, Committee Member 
Jumpee Granger, Mahidol University School of Nursing, Committee Member 

Project Narrative 
Little is known about how diabetes may affect a woman’s confidence and intention to breastfeed her infant and her breastfeeding experiences. Gaining a better understanding of Thai women’s diabetes management experiences during pregnancy and breastfeeding practices will inform evidence‐based clinical approaches to enhance the health of women with T2DM and their infants in Thailand. The purpose of this study is to describe diabetes self-management in pregnancy and breastfeeding experiences in women with preexisting type 2 diabetes mellitus from Thailand. 

This study aligns with the Sigma Theta Tau International Honor Society of Nursing because it will provide strong preliminary data to develop a culturally tailored intervention to enhance diabetes self-management and breastfeeding behaviors, which, in turn, heightens nursing research related to diabetes and women’s health. The specific aims are 1) to describe attitudes and confidence toward diabetes self-management in Thai pregnant women with preexisting type 2 diabetes mellitus, 2) to describe the barriers and facilitators of diabetes self-management in pregnancy, 3) to describe breastfeeding confidence and intention in pregnancy, and 4) to describe breastfeeding barriers and facilitators in women one-month postpartum.