Santacroce & Kneipp awarded $2.35M to provide training in interventions for preventing and managing chronic illness

The National Institute for Nursing Research has renewed T32 funding for Sheila Santacroce, PhD, and Shawn Kneipp, PhD, for the next five years. The project, titled “Interventions for Preventing and Managing Chronic Illness” has been continuously funded since the initial award to Merle Mishel, PhD, in 1996, offering a rich research environment for training predoctoral students and postdoctoral fellows to become the next generation of the best nurse scientists in the nation.

The renewed training grant will provide a total of $2,350,053 to fund enhanced training and mentored research experiences focused on using Intervention Mapping (IM) and Community Engaged Research (CEnR) to develop, test and implement multilevel theory-based interventions to prevent and manage chronic illness in populations at risk for health inequities. Training in using these methodologies provides novice researchers with a structured approach to using theory to develop clinical interventions and implementation strategies, and strategies for engaging stakeholders throughout the process.

The project will involve over 40 faculty members from the School of Nursing and across the UNC campus, and provide support to 30 pre- and 15 postdoctoral trainees. Trainees at both levels will take courses about IM and CEnR and participate in two seminar series aimed at building core research competencies and research collaborations. Faculty will offer mentored and independent research opportunities to assist trainees in meeting their career goals and growing as nurse scientists.

Sponsored by the National Institutes of Health, the Ruth L. Kirschstein Institutional National Research Award — or T32 — is an institutional training grant designed to prepare qualified individuals for scientific careers that have significant impact on the health-related research needs of the nation.