Two School of Nursing faculty were recently awarded grants from the North Carolina Translational and Clinical Sciences (NC TraCS) Institute.
Dr. Deborah Mayer, PhD, RN, AOCN, FAAN, received a $50,000 NCTraCS grant to study the care needs of parents diagnosed with advanced cancer. Over 66,000 adults between the ages of 25 and 54, the prime parenting years, die of cancer every year. Dr. Mayer, along with fellow principal investigator Dr. Leeza Park, MD and co-investigators Dr. Laura Hanson, MD, and Dr. Donald Rosenstein, MD, plan to use a mixed-methods approach to investigate the unique care needs of cancer patients who have dependent children.
Dr. Linda Beeber, PhD, RN, CS, was granted $50,000 by NCTraCS to explore approaches for improving behavioral treatments for young children who are suspected to have a disability. In federally funded early-intervention programs for US infants and toddlers, many enrichment activities depend on parent participation. Mothers who have depression symptoms tend to have difficulty maintaining the activity routine. Dr. Beeber and her research team, which includes School of Nursing faculty member Dr. Todd Schwartz, DrPH, will use the grant to study whether incorporating depression treatment into programs could enhance parent participation as well as treatment for their children.