Carolina Nursing graduate thesis earns recognition at 2025 SNRS conference

Vicky Nerima, a graduate student in the Psychiatric-Mental Health Nurse Practitioner Program at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Nursing, has earned recognition for her master’s thesis research at the 2025 Southern Nursing Research Society (SNRS) Conference. Her research, titled “Mental Health Assessment Tools for Police Force: A Systematic Review,” was selected as one of the top 10 student posters by the conference review committee.

The SNRS conference, taking place February 19-21, 2025, in Memphis, Tennessee, will provide Nerima with the opportunity to present her poster during a session and compete in an oral presentation. She will deliver a five-minute presentation with five slides as part of the competition for one of the top three positions among the student poster winners.

Under the mentorship of Dr. Grace Wu and Dr. Eric Hodges, Nerima conducted a systematic review of 56 published studies that analyzed mental health assessment tools used with 280,487 law enforcement officers. Her review examined 73 tools across ten categories, including stress, burnout, PTSD, anxiety, depression, suicide, alcohol use, panic disorders, quality of life, resilience, and diagnostic tools.

The research revealed significant gaps in existing mental health tools for law enforcement. Many lacked specific content tailored to the unique stressors and working conditions of police officers. Additionally, several tools exhibited Western cultural bias, failing to account for the complexities of mental health challenges within law enforcement populations. Nerima’s work highlights the need for improved resources to support officers’ mental health.

Nerima plans to continue her work as a Psychiatric-Mental Health Nurse Practitioner in rural North Carolina, addressing mental health disparities in underserved communities. She also aspires to pursue a nursing doctoral program to further advocate for mental health care improvements statewide.

For more information about the SNRS conference, visit snrs.org.