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BARBARA RITZERT
,
Ph.D., RN
Assistant Professor of Nursing
AND JO NELL WELLS
,
Ph.D., RN
Professor of Nursing
“The Departmental Review Board Process: New
Steps for All Harris College Departments”
The Nursing Review Board (NRB) provides a preliminary review of
all Harris College of Nursing student project protocols to assure the
safety of human subjects in research. In a typical academic year,
the NRB reviews approximately 100 project applications across all
program levels (BSN, MSN, DNP, DNP-A) prior to submission to the
Harris College associate dean of research. Because a majority of the
projects generate translational research and pose no risk to human
subjects, a streamlined protocol was developed to appropriately
categorize the project type (Non-Human Subject versus Human
Subject). The new protocol also established a systematic application
review process by program-level faculty to ensure the completeness
of the application package prior to submission for approval. As a
result of the revised protocol, the review time between student
submission of the project application and project approval for Non-
Human Subject Projects has been reduced from a period of several
weeks to approximately five to 10 days, expediting initiation of
student projects.
DANIELLE BRIMO
Assistant Professor, Department of Communication
Sciences & Disorders
“Evaluating the differences of a Morphological
Awareness Intervention: A Pilot Study”
Brimo’s study investigated whether explicitly teaching morphological
awareness skills to children with poor reading skills would improve
their morphological awareness ability. Ten students (five in the
treatment group and five in the control group) were recruited from
a private school specifically designed for students with reading-
related disorders. Students were administered four morphological
awareness criterion-referenced assessments, a word-level reading
assessment, and a reading comprehension assessment both before
and after treatment. Treatment was implemented across 10 weeks
and included 11 lessons given three days a week for 25 minutes.
Students in the treatment group performed significantly higher at
posttest than students in the control group on two morphological
awareness assessments. Significant differences were not found on all
morphological awareness assessments; however, the study sample
size was small.
JANIE WELLS ROBINSON,
Ph.D., RN
Assistant
Professor of Nursing
GLENDA DANIELS,
Ph.D., RN
Assistant Professor of Nursing
AND CHARLES WALKER,
Ph.D., RN
Professor of Nursing
“Prevalence of Nonadherence and Gastrointestinal
Symptoms in African Americans with End-Stage
Renal Disease”
Cases of end-stage renal disease (ESRD) have increased 25 percent
since 2000, and the incidence in African Americans is three times
higher than that in Caucasians. Gastrointestinal (GI) symptoms are a
frequently reported side effect of ESRD treatment, and failure to adhere
to treatment is reported in 28 to 78 percent of patients. This study
assessed ESRD nonadherence and the association of GI symptoms in
African Americans undergoing hemodialysis. Three instruments were
utilized (demographic form, the GI Symptom Rating Scale, and the
ESRD Adherence Questionnaire). Findings revealed that 90 percent
of the participants experienced GI symptoms and 79.2 percent took
medications as prescribed. Adherence to diet and following fluid
restrictions were the most challenging issues. Continued assessment
and education is important to improve quality of life.
JONATHAN OLIVER,
Ph.D.
Professor of Kinesiology
Assistant Professor, Department of Kinesiology
“As Big As, Faster and Stronger: Evidence For The
Use of Cluster Sets in Resistance Training”
Repetitions are traditionally performed continuously, resulting in a
decline in power output over the course of a set. For athletes involved
in sports where power is an important aspect of performance, this is
counterintuitive to the principle of specificity. Cluster sets are a new
form of training in which a brief rest is inserted between individual
repetitions (or group of repetitions) in a set. Cluster training has
been shown to produce greater power output over the course of a
set when compared to traditional set structures; however, its efficacy
in training athletes has been questioned because long-term use has
produced differing results. Oliver conducted research focusing on
the utilization of cluster sets in training for hypertrophy, or muscle
mass gains. Findings demonstrated that when utilizing cluster sets
for hypertrophic training, greater gains in strength and power can
be achieved with similar gains in muscle mass when compared to
traditional resistance training set structures.
RESEARCH
Harris College Magazine
- 2014 ·
27