2022 Research Annual Report
Welcome Message
On behalf of the Texas A&M School of Nursing Research Office, we are pleased to highlight and celebrate the many key milestones achieved during calendar year 2022.
The past year was a transitional one on many levels, including the retirement of Dr. Jane Bolin, associate dean for research from 2018 to 2022, and the selection of Dr. Kelly Wilson as her successor in January 2023. The school expresses its deep gratitude and appreciation to Dr. Bolin for her leadership, vision, commitment and mentoring support—all of which were instrumental in the rapid growth of the research and scholarship enterprise.
The school’s dean, Dr. Nancy Fahrenwald, was appointed to a new university position in fall 2022. The subsequent search during the 2022-23 academic year culminated with the selection of Dr. Leann Horsley, who began her deanship July 1, 2023. Finally, the school rebranded from the College of Nursing to the School of Nursing prior to the start of the 2022-23 academic year. The many changes during CY2022 provide an opportunity to pause and reflect on the hard work and accomplishments to date, express gratitude to the servant leaders who have shaped the school and look ahead with anticipation and excitement.
Research and scholarship continue to thrive and flourish, driven by our creative and innovative nurse scientists; grant support from an array of federal, state and private sponsors; and leadership and investment from the school, Texas A&M Health and the Texas A&M University System. Key metrics in assessing research productivity include annual extramural grant funding, yearly research expenditures and peer-reviewed publications and professional presentations. During FY2022, more than 40 proposals requested more than $36 million in funding, with nearly $9 million in new annual funding received. FY2022 sponsored research, outreach and education funding expenditures exceeded $4 million, a new milestone for the school. As shown in Figure 1, sponsored research, service and outreach have continued to grow significantly over the past six years. Faculty research scholarship included more than 120 journal articles, books, chapters and professional presentations.
Key notable events, firsts and milestones during CY2022 period included the following:
- First mobile units launched. The school is truly “boots on the ground” with the launch of two mobile units, each with a unique mission and purpose:
- The Center of Excellence in Forensic Nursing Mobile Unit (PD: Dr. Stacey Mitchell) was launched in September 2022 to provide forensic nurse training to providers at their facilities, particularly those in remote areas
- Texas A&M Nursing Mobile Care Access through Rural Engagement and Education (TXAN Mobile CARE) is a nurse-led, mobile primary care program delivered to five rural counties and six school districts in Texas using a school-based mobile clinic model. The program is supported by a four-year, $4 million grant from the Heath Resources and Services Administration (PI: Dr. Cynthia Weston).
- Expansion of maternal health initiatives. The Program of Excellence for Mothers, Children and Families (POEMCF), under the direction of associate professor Dr. Robin Page, was approved in fall 2022 for the purpose of improving the well-being and health outcomes of pregnant women, mothers, infants, children, youth and families across Texas communities. The POEMCF is the organizational home to a number of signature programs and initiatives, including:
- Nurse-Family Partnership® (NFP) at Texas A&M (PI: Dr. Robin Page), which celebrated its one-year anniversary serving first-time moms across Brazos and surrounding counties in September 2022.
- Home Instruction for Parents of Pre-School Youngsters (HIPPY) at Texas A&M, which launched in fall 2022 with $2.55 million in funding support from the state. The national evidence-based program embraces a home visitor/educator model to improve outcomes for children ages 2 to 5 and their families. Through weekly meetings with families, HIPPY home educators promote and support parent-child bonding, healthy child development and family engagement.
- Excellence in forensics. The Center of Excellence in Forensic Nursing, under the leadership of Dr. Stacey Mitchell, continues to grow and expand through its many initiatives, including:
- Assault Nurse Examiner (ANE) training program (PD: Dr. Stacey Mitchell), which has trained more than 1,000 nurses to date.
- Tex-TRAC (PDs: Dr. Stacey Mitchell and Dr. Nancy Downing), a telehealth program designed to provide 24/7 expert support to rural hospitals in providing support and exams for survivors of assault using trauma informed care practices.
- Technology advancement, including development and integration of virtual, augmented and mixed reality technologies into assault nurse examiner training and education.
- A forensic mobile unit designed to provide on-site training through innovative learning technologies.
- Safe Mothers in Texas (PI: Dr. Stacey Mitchell). This program is sponsored by DHHS’s Office of the Assistant Secretary of Health (OASH) to train providers of substance use disorder (SUD) treatment on intimate partner violence (IPV) and address the intersections of IPV and SUD during the pregnancy and postpartum period.
- Rural health priorities. A number of faculty serve as lead and co-authors of the soon to be released Rural Healthy People 2030 (RHP2030)—a decades long initiative under the direction of Texas A&M School of Public Health and leadership of Dr. Alva Ferdinand (public health) and Dr. Jane Bolin (nursing). RHP2030 is intended to serve as the rural companion to DHHS’s Healthy People 2030 and is the third in the series beginning with RHP2010, RHP2020 and, most recently, RHP2030.
- Cancer prevention, screening and education. Several initiatives are underway, including nurse-led clinics (Dr. Cynthia Weston) to screen for breast and cervical cancer and a collaborative initiative with a cancer center partner wherein the school serves as the lead of the Community Outreach and Engagement Office (Dr. Jane Bolin and Dr. Arica Brandford) designed to increase access to cancer care services in rural and underserved areas.
- Awards and honors. The work of our exceptional nurse scientists is widely recognized and regarded. A few of the many awards received by faculty include:
- Team Innovation Award from Texas A&M Technology Commercialization. The award recognizes scholarly work exemplifying the spirit of innovation; team members included Dr. Elizabeth Wells-Beede, Dr. Cynthia Weston, Dr. Stacey Mitchell and Dr. Angela Mulcahy.
- Dr. Nancy Fahrenwald was inducted into the Texas A&M Health Delta Omega National Public Health Honor Society for her professional and scientific contributions to our nations’ public health.
- The school’s Dean’s Best Paper Award recognizes a faculty member for an outstanding peer-reviewed publication on a study or topic that was published in the last year in a highly regarded journal. The paper advances knowledge of health, quality of life, nursing science or nursing education and is aligned with the scholarly agenda of the faculty member. The 2022 award recipients were Dr. Sharon Dormire and Dr. Jodie Gary:
- Dormire, S. L., Gary, J.C., Norman, J. M., & Harvey, I. S. (2021). Insights into fear: A phenomenological [Phenomena-logical)study of black mothers. Journal of Advanced Nursing,77, 4490-4499.
- The school’s Dean’s Research Excellence Award recognizes one outstanding faculty member for exemplary accomplishments across their research and scholarship portfolio. Dr. Robin Page received the 2022 award for her portfolio of work in maternal and child health, particulary among underserved populations. Dr. Page, associate professor and a certified nurse midwife, has over 18 peer-reviewed journal publications and more than 50 scholarly presentations at regional, state, national and international events. She serves as PI, Co-PI, and Co-I of multiple multi-million-dollar grants from federal, state and local sponsors.
The school strives to support, recognize and promote outstanding accomplishments in research and scholarship. The many accolades and awards received by our faculty, students and staff during the past year are too many to highlight in a single report. However, this overview demonstrates the many activities completed in service of reimagining health care for the future.