Ph.D. alumni

Christy Marie Adams
Dissertation topic: Injury Falls in Community-Dwelling Older Adults After Discharge Home from Acute Care Hospitalization

Dissertation chair: Patrick S. Romano

Emma Jean Marie Blackmon
Dissertation topic: Communication and Teamwork in the ICU: An Interprofessional Approach

Dissertation chair: Kupiri W. Ackerman-Barger

Karen Marie de Sola-Smith
Dissertation topic: Congruent Discussions in Advanced Cancer Care: Agreement between Patient Symptoms and Discussions with Oncologists

Dissertation chair: Janice F. Bell

Charlie Dharmasukrit
Dissertation topic: When Frailty Matters: The Role of Race/Ethnicity in Total Knee and Hip Arthroplasty Surgical Outcomes

Dissertation chair: Jill G. Joseph

Victoria Ngo
Dissertation topic: Exploration of Characteristics and Usefulness of Health Data for Care Decisions in Cancer: a Mixed-Methods Study

Dissertation chair: Katherine Kim

Angela E. Usher
Dissertation topic: Psychosocial Distress and Care Utilization among Rural and Nonrural Cancer Patients

Dissertation chair: Janice F. Bell

Michelle Camicia, Ph.D., M.S.N., R.N.
Dissertation topic: Development and Testing of the Preparedness Assessment for the Transition Home after Stroke (PATH-s) Instrument

Jacqueline DeMellow, Ph.D., R.N.
Dissertation topic: Examining Factors Associated with the Intensive Care Provider Teams' Performance of the ABCDE Bundle and Clinical Outcomes in Mechanically Ventilated Patients

Sarina Fazio, Ph.D., R.N.
Dissertation topic: Validation of Emerging Health Technologies to Quantify Early Mobility in the Intensive Care Unit

Dissertation chair: Jason Adams, M.D., M.S.

Michelle Parish, Ph.D., M.A.
Dissertation topic: Evaluation of Primary Care Behavioral Health Education: A Longitudinal Growth Modeling Approach

Dissertation chair:  Robert McCarron

Ronit Ridberg, Ph.D., M.S.
Dissertation topic: A Pediatric Fruit and Vegetable Prescription Program Increases Household Food Security and Children's Fruit and Vegetable Consumption

Dissertation chair: Janice F. Bell

Claire Valderama-Wallace, Ph.D., M.P.H., R.N.
Dissertation topic: Nurse Educators' Conceptualizations of Pedagogical Approaches to Social Justice

Barbara Abeling, Ph.D., M.S., R.N.
Dissertation topic: The Impact of Organizational Factors on Outcomes for Women with a Prior Cesarean Birth

Dissertation chair: Debra Bakerjian

Sarah Brown Blake, Ph.D., M.S., R.N.
Dissertation topic: Examining a Relationship between Prevalence of Gestational Diabetes and Arsenic Levels in Drinking Water in California's San Joaquin Valley

Dissertation chair: Jeri L. Bigbee

Sujuan Cai, Ph.D., M.S.N., R.N.
Dissertation topic: Health Care Utilization among Veterans with Spinal Cord Injury during the First Year after Acute Rehabilitation

Dissertation chair: Debra Bakerjian

Jacqueline Clavo-Hall, Ph.D., M.S., J.D., R.N.
Dissertation topic: Clinical Nurse Leaders Not Hired into Formal Role: Level of Engagement and Job Titles; Roles Enacted by Clinical Nurse Leaders across the Health Care Spectrum: A Systematic Literature Review

Dissertation chair: Theresa A. Harvath

Ian Koebner, Ph.D., M.Sc., M.A.O.M.
Dissertation topic: Art Rx: A Feasibility Study of Specialized Art Museum Tours to Reduce Social Disconnection and Pain among Individuals with Chronic Pain

Dissertation chair: Jill G. Joseph.

May Ying Ly, Ph.D., M.S.
Dissertation topic: Utilization of the WHO Asia BMI and the Framingham CVD-Risk Algorithm in Assessing Cardiovascular Risks among Hmong Americans

Dissertation chair: Katherine Kim

Sarah Reed, Ph.D., M.S.W., M.P.H.J.
Dissertation topic: Fear of Cancer Recurrence and Health

Behaviors among Cancer Survivors

Dissertation chair: Janice F. Bell

Christy Solorio, Ph.D., M.S., R.N.
Dissertation topic: Drawing My Story: Children's Experiences in the

Hospital

Dissertation chair: Elena O. Siegel.

Jacqueline Stocking, Ph.D., M.S.N., M.B.A., R.N.
Dissertation topic: A Case-Control Study to Identify Potentially Modifiable Risk Factors for the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality Patient Safety Indicator Postoperative Respiratory Failure

Dissertation chair: Patrick Romano.

Samantha Blackburn, Ph.D., R.N.
Dissertation topic: Exploring the Work of School Health Administrators in California

Adviser: Ester Carolina Apesoa-Varano

Dissertation topic: Exploring the Lived Experiences of Patients Who have Participated in an Early Mobility Program

Adviser: Debra Bakerjian

Dissertation topic: Rural Nursing: What Drives Job Choice?

Adviser: Jeri Bigbee

Dissertation topic: How do Sociocultural Factors Influence Physical Activity for Black Caribean Immigrant Women in New York City?

Adviser: Ester Carolina Apesoa-Varano

Dissertation topic: Impact of Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) and Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) Among Patients in Primary Care

Adviser: Sheryl Catz

Dissertation topic: Acute Kidney Injury in California's Agricultural Workers

Adviser: Jill Joseph

Dissertation topic: Using Geographic Information Systems Technology to Augment a Retrospective Case-Control Study of Serious Child Maltreatment in Sacramento County

Adviser: Jill Joseph

Dissertation topic: In-patient Care Use among California Cancer Patients

Adviser: Janice Bell

Barbara Baranishyn-Hanna, Ph.D., R.N.
Dissertation topic: Exploration of Factors Associated with Home-Care Referrals and Does Home-Health Referral Interact with Other Transitional Care Services to Influence Quality of Life and Overall Health Status of Recently Discharged Heart Failure Patients in the BEAT-HF Study?

Adviser: Patrick S. Romano

Rocio Hernandez, Ph.D., M.F.T.
Dissertation topic: Does an Electronic Self-Administered EMDR Application Reduce Test-Taking Anxiety? A Feasibility and Comparative Pilot Study

Adviser: Mary Lou de Leon Siantz

Kristine Himmerick, Ph.D.
Dissertation topic: Distribution of the Physician Assistant and Advanced Practice Registered Nurse Workforce in California’s Community Health Clinics

Adviser: Jill G. Joseph

Satish Mahajan, Ph.D., M.E., R.N. 
Dissertation topic: Predicting 30-Day Readmissions after Hospitalization for Heart Failure

Adviser: Michael Hogarth

Rebecca Lash, Ph.D., M.S.N., M.P.P., R.N.
Dissertation topic: Emergency Department Use Among Cancer Survivors: A Population-Based Perspective

Adviser: Janice F. Bell

Rayne Soriano, Ph.D., M.S.N., R.N.
Dissertation topic: An Examination of How Nurse Managers Access Information for Monitoring Nurse Sensitive Quality Measures

Adviser: Elena O. Siegal

Current work: Manager of Nursing Informatics and Clinical Transformation Program, National Care Delivery Business Information Office and National Patient Care Services, Kaiser Permanente

Perry Gee, Ph.D., M.S.N., R.N. 
Dissertation topic: Electronic Personal Health Records for Disease Self-management Support: Experiences of the Chronically Ill Adult

Dissertation committee: Lisa Miller, M.S., Ph.D., associate professor, Department of Human and Community Development; Debbie Ward, Ph.D., R.N., F.A.A.N., associate dean for academics and clinical professor, Betty Irene Moore School of Nursing; Debora Paterniti, Ph.D., associate adjunct professor, Department of Sociology, Department of Internal Medicine and Center for Healthcare Policy and Research, UC Davis.

How do computer-savvy adult health-care consumers use their personal health records for self-management of their chronic conditions?  What knowledge is needed for effective personal health record use? Gee’s study may be used to inform an adapted model of the Chronic Care Model (CCM). This CCM was originally developed to identify the essential elements of health-care processes that support chronic care; the CCM has been applied across health-care settings around the world. Gee’s study’s findings highlight opportunities for eHealth to expand the CCM model.

Deborah Greenwood, Ph.D., M.Ed., R.N.
Dissertation topic: Evaluation of a Telehealth Intervention Combining Structured Self-Monitoring of Blood Glucose and Nurse Care Coordination among People with Type 2 Diabetes Noninsulin-Treated

Dissertation  Committee: Heather M. Young, Ph.D., R.N., F.A.A.N., dean and professor, Betty Irene Moore School of Nursing; Thomas Nesbitt, M.D., M.P.H., associate vice chancellor for strategic technologies and alliances, UC Davis Health Sysytem; Shelley Blozis, Ph.D., associate professor, Department of Psychology, UC Davis; Charlene Quinn, Ph.D., R.N., assistant professor, Department of Epidemiology and Public Health, University of Maryland School of Medicine.

Greenwood’s study shows promise for engaging individuals in collecting actionable data about their condition, using remote monitoring technology to transmit and analyze data, and provide a means for clinicians to virtually communicate with individuals to support timely behavior and treatment changes.

Katherine Kim, Ph.D., M.P.H., M.B.A.
Dissertation topic: Governance of Electronic Data Sharing Networks for Healthcare and Research: A Mixed Methods, Multi-Stakeholder Study

Dissertation  Committee: Jill Joseph, M.D., Ph.D., associate dean for research and professor, Betty Irene Moore School of Nursing;  Robert Bell, Ph.D., professor, UC Davis; Jyu-Lin Chen, R.N., Ph.D., CNS, associate professor, UC San Francisco School of Nursing.

Kim’s work aimed to address the dearth of knowledge about how governance standards, strategies and organizational structures effectively govern data sharing networks in healthcare and research. She concluded that the need for flexibility in the development and implementation of policies must be balanced with responsibilities of data stewardship. Participants were positive about sharing their health data, but it was clear that network governance must address wider socio-ethical concerns and fully include stakeholders, patients, consumers and health organizations in the process.

Lori Madden, Ph.D., M.S., N.P.
Dissertation topic: Impact of Temperature Profile on Outcome after Traumatic Brain Injury

Dissertation  Committee: Deborah Ward, Ph.D., R.N., F.A.A.N., associate dean of academics, Betty Irene Moore School of Nursing; Shelley Blozis, Ph.D., associate professor, Department of Psychology, UC Davis; Ava Puccio, R.N., Ph.D., assistant professor of Neurological Surgery & Nursing Co-Director, Neurotrauma Clinical Trials Center, Univeristy of Pittsburgh; Holli A. DeVon, Ph.D., R.N., F.A.H.A., F.A.A.N., associate professor, University of Illinois at Chicago, College of Nursing.

Traumatic brain injury (TBI) is a major cause of death and disability in the United States, contributing to one third of all civilian injury deaths. It is a major health problem that lacks sensitive predictive and diagnostic tools and proven, effective treatments. Madden studied the influence of body temperature in the immediate post-injury period on neurologic outcome. She carried out analysis on data from 398 moderately and severely injured patients to produce several predictive models. As nurses monitor, document and treat patient body temperature, Madden's research has the potential to influence rewarming rates in trauma resuscitation, temperature management goals after TBI, and timing of interventions to prevent and minimize fever after TBI. Temperature management following TBI may help to reduce secondary brain injury resulting from abnormal body temperature and ultimately improve neurologic outcomes at a relatively low cost.

Lisa Martinez, Ph.D., R.N.
Dissertation topic: Relationship Between Moderate-to-Vigorous Physical Activity and Academic Achievement in Rural Mexican-Heritage Children

Dissertation  Committee: Mary Lou de Leon Siantz, Ph.D., R.N., professor, Betty Irene Moore School of Nursing; Christiana Drake, Ph.D, chair, biostatistics graduate group, professor, Department of Statistics, UC Davis; Adela de La Torre, Ph.D., UC Davis ADVANCE co-principal investigator, vice chancellor of student affairs and professor of chicana/o studies.

Martinez partnered with the UC Davis Center for Transnational Health at the Ninos Sanos, Familia Sana project, which targets childhood obesity through nutrition, physical activity, economic and community-based interventions in California’s Central Valley. The study’s findings contribute new knowledge regarding the relationship between physical activity and academic achievement in underserved Latino populations using objectively measured physical activity. This information has the potential to influence health and education policy to promote life-long health and well-being in this previously unstudied demographic.

Sheridan Miyamoto, Ph.D., R.N., F.N.P.
Dissertation topic: Risk Factors for Serious Child Maltreatment in Families Investigated by CPS: A Case Control Study

Dissertation  Committee: Jill Joseph, M.D., Ph.D., associate dean for research and professor, Betty Irene Moore School of Nursing; Patrick S. Romano, M.D., M.P.H., professor, Department of Internal Medicine, General Medicine and Pediatrics, UC Davis; Emily Putnam-Hornstein, Ph.D., M.S.W. assistant professor, Univeristy of Southern California.

Miyamoto’s work concluded that Child Protective Service (CPS) workers should be aware of certain factors associated with the risk of serious maltreatment including male child gender, children who have younger caregivers, caregivers with mental health issues, less stable living circumstances, greater numbers of children under age five living in the home, and at least one biologic child not living with a primary caregiver.  Caregiver involvement in intimate partner violence was protective against future serious maltreatment, indicating that actions were taken in the face of those circumstances which mitigated risk of harm. Current risk tools are not adequate to predict serious child maltreatment.

Frances Patmon, Ph.D., R.N.
Dissertation  Topic: Moderate to Severe Pain at Discharge and its Impact on 30 Day Recidivism: Examining Older Adult Utilization of Emergency Department Services

Dissertation  Committee: Jill Joseph, M.D., Ph.D., associate dean for research and professor, Betty Irene Moore School of Nursing; Scott Fishman, M.D., professor and chief of pain medicine, Department of Anesthesiology and Pain Medicine, UC Davis; Christiana Drake, Ph.D, chair, biostatistics graduate group, professor, Department of Statistics, UC Davis.

Pain is the number one complaint reported by patients seeking care in the emergency department (ED) and is a growing concern for the adult population aged 65 and older. When compared to younger age groups, older adults use the ED at a higher rate, utilize a disproportionate amount of resources, and experience significant disparities in pain management. Patmon’s analysis indicates that patients discharged with moderate to severe pain are more likely to return within 30 days than those who report no pain or mild pain. Objectives of her work included being able to describe patient characteristics associated with the different ratings of pain intensity as well as the impact of moderate to severe pain at discharge on return visits within 30 days.

Susan Perez, Ph.D., M.P.H.
Dissertation topic: Characterizing the Process for Navigating Internet Health Information Using Real Time Observations: A Mixed Methods Approach

Dissertation  Committee: Richard Kravitz, M.D., M.S.P.H., professor and co-vice chair of research, Department of Internal Medicine, UC Davis Health; Robert Bell, Ph.D., professor, UC Davis; Debora Paterniti, Ph.D., associate adjunct professor, Department of Sociology, Department of Internal Medicine and Center for Healthcare Policy and Research, UC Davis.

Perez was interested in understanding how individuals seek health information on the internet when confronted with a health decision. She sought to learn more about their search patterns, gathering real-time data from study participants recruited from a variety of public institutions and sites, including public libraries and social service agencies. Results of this study suggest that there are fundamental similarities in the ways individuals go about information seeking, which boiled down to four major search patterns. Her work can lead to further research to explore how Internet users can be encouraged to be systematic about their health information seeking process.