The Latest Nursing Research from Mayo Clinic
Since we last posted, Mayo Clinic’s Department of Nursing, Division of Nursing Research has made many strides in our current research, as well as welcomed a few new Nurse Scientists to our team. Continue reading to learn about what our new colleagues are focused on, and how that will directly impact patients far and wide.
Dr. Robert Bennett: Mental Health Outcomes in Adolescent/Young Adult Cancer Survivors
Nurse Scientist
Exploring health outcomes in adolescent and young adult (AYA) cancer survivors is an area I believe has been insufficiently examined in the past – and requires an understanding of the unmet psychosocial needs of AYAs. As such, my research is focused on discovering digital avenues for AYAs to articulate these unmet needs, such as using digital art as a form of storytelling, designing virtual psychosocial interventions as an accessible adjunctive therapy to accommodate the mobile lifestyle of AYA participants, and addressing cancer survivorship quality disparities. Through this work, we’ll be better able to understand the factors that contribute to disparities in cancer survivorship quality and find solutions to reduce these disparities, resolve psychosocial distress, and advance health equity.
Dr. Melissa Pinto: Chronic Health Conditions & Mental Health
Nurse Scientist
People with chronic conditions are not only highly susceptible to co-occurring mental health problems like depression and anxiety, but they also must manage symptoms to improve their daily functioning and quality of life. Mental health conditions are often overlooked when managing physical health conditions but must be considered when developing effective interventions that optimize health and well-being. Overall, my research lies at the intersection of chronic health conditions and co-occurring depression and anxiety - aiming to reduce symptom burden and improve functioning among these patients, better understand how symptoms co-occur in people with chronic conditions and develop interventions that help patients best manage the symptoms.
Dr. Melissa A. Wilson: Acute Pain Management & Moral Distress
Nurse Scientist
My research addresses developing and testing innovative technology solutions for acute pain management in patients and moral distress in healthcare professionals. The goal for my acute pain research is to empower patients’ involvement in care delivery, offer non-pharmacologic options for pain mitigation, and prevent complications such as chronic pain, substance use disorder and other negative outcomes – all while reducing the administrative burden on providers. From previous research, we know that moral distress can lead to moral injury, post-traumatic stress and burnout, while also resulting in poor outcomes for healthcare professionals, patients, teams, and healthcare organizations. As I continue this research, I’m focused on understanding and lessening the harmful effects experienced when healthcare professionals provide care, or are prevented from providing care, due to external or internal barriers, and testing comprehensive, precision-based interventions delivered on digital platforms.
In addition to our newest team members’ research, our other Nurse Scientists are continuing their important research. Learn more about their projects in our previous post.
To learn more about Mayo Clinic’s Division of Nursing Research, including a video overview of our Nursing Research model, visit our website.
And as always, if you’re interested in exploring a career opportunity with Mayo Clinic, keep an eye on our current jobs listings, or connect with our recruiter, Jennifer Schilbe, at [email protected].
