Research

What are we studying?

One of the important aims of CAPEWAYNE is to engage in collaborative, interdisciplinary, and innovative research to develop and extend new knowledge in palliative care. In this article, I would like to give the reader a brief synopsis of the studies currently being conducted by CAPEWAYNE associates. In future columns I will expand the description of the work of one or two investigators.

Susan Eggly, Ph.D., is a prolific scientist at the School of Medicine. Her program of study is about provider-patient communication and she is currently funded by the NCI, HRSA, AHRQ and the Karmanos Cancer Center.

Also from the School of Medicine, Kathleen Meert, M.D., has a program of studies about parental bereavement after the death of a child in the Pediatric ICU. Dr. Meert is funded by NIHCD and the Children’s Research Center of MI. A strength of her research is her collaboration with scientists from Anthropology (Sherylyn Briller) and Nursing (Stephanie Meyers Schim).

Carrie Motyka, Ph.D., RN is our newest investigator having defended her dissertation last year. Dr. Motyka investigated the correlates of quality of life among African-American patient receiving hospice care.

We’ve lost a researcher and colleague to the University of Washington but Ardith Doorenbos, Ph.D., RN maintains her association with CAPEWAYNE from a distance. Dr. Doorenbos is funded by the U.S. Army Medical Research and Material Command to study the advance care planning experiences of women with breast cancer.

From the Department of Emergency Medicine in the School of Medicine, Scott Compton Ph.D., has several studies underway to measure outcomes associated with patient cardiac arrest, including family experiences after witnessing resuscitation. Dr. Compton collaborates with CAPEWAYNE Director Robert Zalenski, M.D., and they have funding from BCBS of Michigan.

Stephanie Myers Schim, PhD, RN, has funding from the DMC/College of Nursing Nurse Scholar Award to investigate the cultural contexts of family experiences with end-of-life communication in the ICU. Dr. Schim is collaborating with colleagues from Anthropology (Sherylyn Briller) and Nursing (Janna Roop and Meg Campbell).

Janet Langlois, Ph.D., from the Department of English is conducting an ethnographic study of personal accounts of mystical experiences of hospice/hospital staff and volunteers and with members of bereavement groups. This work is funded by WSU.

As you can see we are studying a range of important phenomena that may inform the care of patients and their families. Federal funding of health research is becoming more competitive and thus more difficult to achieve. We welcome contributions directed toward research support.