UTA Health Bulletin | July 2022

A $50,000 gift from the Delta Theta Chapter 102 of Sigma will provide a collaborative space in UTA's new Smart Hospital where faculty can engage with students, enhancing the nursing learning environment.

UTA will name the area the Sigma Learning and Engagement Space in recognition of the Delta Theta Chapter’s generous investment in educating the next generation of nurses. The gift qualifies for a match from the Arlington Tomorrow Foundation, doubling its total value to $100,000.

UPDATES FROM CONHI

CONHI students recently presented at the UT Health School of Public Health Research Beyond Boundaries Conference, organized by the UTHSPH Dallas Student Association. Research Beyond Boundaries is held annually to highlight student, faculty, and professional research. It is an opportunity for students to showcase their research and is open to students from public health programs and schools across Texas.

A CONHI Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) graduate is preparing to build on her degree through a year-long fellowship with Harvard Medical School and Massachusetts General Hospital. Jamyl Walker is the first UTA student to be accepted into the Harvard Interprofessional Palliative Care Fellowship Program. With a group of about 10 other fellows, she will go through training focused on palliative and hospice care in inpatient and outpatient settings.

It Is never too late to follow your dreams

Brent Crabtree decided in 2020 to return to school at the age of 53 to complete a Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN) with plans to proceed right into the Master of Science in Nursing Family Practitioner program. Crabtree was inspired to come back to school for many reasons, but one thing made him committed to the journey once he started. “What stands out to me the most is when I saw my name on the Dean’s Honor List for the first time,” shares Crabtree. Afterward, he knew he had to keep pushing.

UTA students received The DFW Great 100 scholarship

Each year, the DFW Great 100 Nurses program awards two exceptional undergraduate students the DFW Great 100 Nurses Baccalaureate Scholarship. This year, both scholarships were awarded to CONHI students, Lori Cloud and Jennie Le.

RESEARCH HIGHLIGHTS

Over the past five years, the number of medical students who pursue a career in pediatrics has declined, while the number of pediatric positions needed has steadily increased. Pediatrics is the only major medical discipline that has experienced this stark shortage, while other medical specialties remain on the rise. Pediatric specialties, such as pulmonology and child abuse aftercare, now have 20 to 40 percent more jobs available than applicants. But why is this happening?

That is what CONHI Assistant Professor Kristin Gigli and her colleagues hope to uncover. Dr. Gigli was recently selected to serve on the National Academy of Medicine (NAM) Committee on The Pediatric Subspecialty Workforce and Its Impact on Child Health and Well-Being.

Learning to care for a growing transgender population

In honor of Pride Month, CONHI is proud to have an array of ongoing critical research focusing on health-related issues impacting the LGBTQ+ community. Researchers across CONHI are working to understand and improve health outcomes for this community.

“I hope this research helps the transgender community by expanding the services provided by the clinic where the research was conducted in Dallas, Texas,” reflects Tiffany Kindratt, assistant professor in CONHI's Public Health Program, and one CONHI researcher whose research efforts have focused on health care-related issues in the transgender community.

Gu recognized for labor of love in physical activity/education

At the 2022 Shape America National Convention & Expo, Xiangli Gu, assistant professor in the Department of Kinesiology at UTA, was named as one of two recipients of the Joy of Effort Award. This award, presented by the Society of Health and Physical Educators, honors those who personify the labor of love that is the effort to enrich the goals and objectives of health and physical education, physical avidity, dance, and sport.

CONHI Research At a Glance

Project Funding

Principal Investigator R. Matthew Brothers, associate professor, received an American Heart Association Award for the project UTA Undergraduate Research Program to Promote Interest in Careers in the Biomedical Research Field. Amount: $164,893

Postdoctoral Fellow Miles Bartlett received an American Heart Association Award for the project Impact of microvascular dysfunction and muscle oxidative capacity on exercise intolerance in peripheral arterial disease. Amount: $140,952

Assistant Professor Ziyad Ben Taleb received an NIH: National Institute on Drug Abuse award for the project Understanding the effect of waterpipe size on smoking behavior, toxicant exposures and subjective experiences. Amount: $77,000

Assistant Professor Daniel Trott received an American Heart Association Award for the project CD8 immunosenescence and age-related hypertension. Amount: $230,998

Chueh-Lung 'Laura' Hwang, assistant professor, received an NIH: National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism award for the project Reducing blood pressure in mid-life adult binge drinkers: the role of microvascular function and sympathetic activity. Amount: $249,000

Recent Presentations

Chueh-Lung 'Laura' Hwang, assistant professor, spoke in April 2022 at the 2022 Alcohol-Induced End Organ Diseases Gordon Research Conference on the topic, Vascular Effects of Binge Drinking in Mid-life Adults.

Kristin Gigli, assistant professor, in April 2022 presented at the National Association of Pediatric Nurse Practitioners 43rd National Conference on Pediatric Health Care Virtual Conference. Her paper presentation was titled, Social Determinants of Health Needs Among Children and Adolescents with Opioid-related Hospitalizations. Gigli also spoke to the TeamPeds Talks podcast in April on Building a More Resilient Pediatric-Focused Nurse Practitioner Workforce. In May 2022, Gigli presented a poster on Building Knowledge Around the Roles of Hospital Based Advanced Practice Providers at the Children's of Alabama Nurse's Week Conference.

R, Matthew Brothers, associate professor, gave an invited talk at the Experimental Biology Conference 2022 in April titled, Skin Pigmentation, Thermoregulation, and Skin Vascular Function.

Several CONHI faculty presented at the 2022 ACSM Annual Meeting and World Conference:

Michael Nelson, associate professor, gave a presentation titled Pathophysiology of exercise intolerance in heart failure with preserved ejection fraction: Beyond peripheral oxygen delivery

Rhonda Prisby, professor, gave a presentation titled Bone Marrow Blood Vessels: The Potential Link Between Age-Related Cardiovascular and Bone Disease?

Xiangli Gu, assistant professor, gave a presentation titled Racial/Ethnic Disparities in 24-Hour Movement Behavior and Social-Emotional Problems in Early Adolescents.

In May, Elisa Stehling, clinical assistant professor, presented at the 2022 American Geriatrics Society, her presentation was titled Perceived Roles of Community Dwelling Multimorbid Older Adults in Medication Safety

Recent Publications

Sleutel, M.R., Newcomb, P., Valdez, E., Coates, D., & Urban R. W. (2022). Exploring birth and home experiences of women with lower extremity nerve injury. Nursing for Women's Health. 26(3), el-ell.

Jarrell, L. & Perryman, K. W. (2022). Topical NSAIDs as first-line treatment for mild to moderate osteoarthritis. Clinical Advisor.

Perryman, K. (2022). Nurse practitioner preceptor education to increase role preparedness. Journal of the American Association of Nurse Practitioners. 34(5), 763-768.

Bowman, A.F., Goreth, M.B., Armstrong, A. B. & Gigli, K.H. (2022). Hospital Regulation of Pediatric- focused Nurse Practitioners: A Multistate Survey. The Journal for Nurse Practitioners. 18(5), 558-563, e1.

Johnson,A.H., Wilson, J., Magner, D., Urban, R.W., Zhang, Y., Martin, S.D. (2022). Exploring meditation profiles and predictors in nursing students. Journal of Holistic Nursing. First Published May 26,2022.

Xiangli Gu, Jean Keller, Tao Zhang, Dana R. Dempsey, Heather Roberts, Kelly A. Jeans, Wilshaw Stevens, Justine Borchard, Jonathan VanPelt, Kirsten Tulchin Francis (2022). Disparity in Built Environment and Its Impacts on Youths’ Physical Activity Behaviors During COVID-19 Pandemic Restrictions. Journal of Racial and Ethnic Health Disparities.

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Erin Carlson, associate professor and director of graduate public health programs in the College of Nursing and Health Innovation, spoke to Al Día Dallas about the increase in COVID-19 vaccination rates among Latinos in North Texas. “We have seen something in relation to the Hispanic community that is rare and exciting. In public health, we rarely see what we call “reversal” of health disparities,” Carlson said.

In a Dallas Morning News story about the national shortage of health care workers, Cynthia Koomey, UT Arlington College of Nursing and Health Innovation clinical assistant professor, said there’s no shortage of students interested in and qualified for nursing school. In their final semester of the two-year program, UT Arlington nursing students complete more than 100 hours of training at a health care facility working one-on-one with an experienced nurse.

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