Mentor Areas
In her research, nationally recognized nurse scientist Dr. Nancy A. Hodgson aims to center the person living with dementia, which includes promoting dignity, minimizing symptoms, supporting care partners, creating dementia-friendly environments, educating healthcare workers, improving care coordination, and honoring peoples’ preferences for care at the end of life. Her team incorporates evidence-based findings into advancing dementia care. Dr. Hodgson’s projects involve family-centered initiatives that support both the person living with dementia and their care partner(s) during various stages of dementia and memory impairment. More recently, Dr. Hodgson’s research focuses on implementing and evaluating evidence-based interventions in a variety of real-world healthcare settings (hospitals, clinics, nursing homes, adult day centers, etc.) while working with clinicians involved in dementia care.
Description:
Multiple studies are operating with potential openings for students involving study recruitment, data collection, data analysis, training in various research methods, and dissemination of research findings. Our team is multidisciplinary and collaborative.
A. Alzheimer's Association Dementia Care Coordination (DCC): The study seeks to evaluate the implementation of DCC into health systems partnered with three Alzheimer’s Association chapters. DCC aims to improve dementia care coordination in healthcare settings, educate care partners of persons living with dementia, improve care partner self-efficacy, and reduce care partner and clinician burden. The study uses implementation science frameworks to synthesize and analyze data from care partner surveys, health system employee feedback, implementation team notes, and more.
B. Alzheimer's Association Multiple Care Consultation: This study collaborates with the Alzheimer’s Association to evaluate their 24/7 Helpline service. The telephonic Helpline provides free resources, support, education, care consultations, and more to care partners of persons living with dementia. The study seeks to implement and examine the best support approaches and practices in care partner telesupport.
C. Time Together: The Time Together program is an adaptation of nationally recognized program that trains college students to provide respite for older adults living in the community. The program allows students to gain hands-on care experience and expand their career options by exposing them to working in a geriatric setting. The purpose of this research study is to 1) evaluate the effect of the Time Together program on care partner emotional well-being and social isolation pre- and post- program exposure, and 2) evaluate the effect of Time Together on student attitudes and beliefs about aging and dementia pre- and post- program exposure.
D. Revisiting Teaching Nursing Homes, Phase II: Disseminating Across Pennsylvania: This study willbuild upon the pilot and aims to scale the Teaching Nursing Homes program across Pennsylvania and at least six other states. Current study aims include partnering academic nursing schools and nursing homes across Pennsylvania to improve nursing school curricula, train nursing students in geriatric care, enhance nursing home residents’ quality of care and outcomes, as well as evaluate interventions and disseminate resources and lessons learned.
E. Care of Persons with Dementia in their Environments (COPE) in Programs of All-Inclusive Care of the Elderly (PACE): The COPE program trains occupational therapists and registered nurses to engage with dementia care partners in maximizing the independence and improving the quality of life of their loved ones while reducing care partner burden and stress. The study team is utilizing machine learning and natural language processing to measure clinician fidelity to the program. This is a non-inferiority trial in which the standard instructor-led COPE training will be compared to a new online module training program in fidelity and improving participant outcomes. This project is a partnership with the University of Pennsylvania, Drexel University, Thomas Jefferson University, and a large clinical partner.
Preferred Qualifications
Experience with qualitative and quantitative data collection, study recruitment, and data analysis is preferred but not required. The student will have the opportunity to learn the following skills, dependent upon project: 1) participant recruitment, consent, and screening; 2) data collection and data management using databases such as REDCap and Qualtrics; 3) analyzing data; 4) learning qualitative and quantitative research methods; 5) training in implementation science; 6) conducting literature reviews and contributing to grants, presentations, and publications; and 7) participating in research team meetings and collaborate with researchers and stakeholders across various institutions.
Details:
Preferred Student Year
First-year, Second-Year, Junior, Senior
Academic Term
Fall, Spring, Summer
I prefer to have students start during the above term(s).Volunteer
Yes
Yes indicates that faculty are open to volunteers.Paid
No
Yes indicates that faculty are open to paying students they engage in their research, regardless of their work-study eligibility.Work Study
Yes
Yes indicates that faculty are open to hiring work-study-eligible students.