Seventeen students from the University of Pittsburgh School of Nursing presented their research at the National Conference on Undergraduate Research (NCUR) at the David L. Lawrence Convention Center in Pittsburgh from April 8 – 9.
Students worked with faculty mentors to conduct research that ultimately led to the students delivering either oral or poster presentations at the conference.
Lucia King, a second-year undergraduate nursing student, presented her research on the Social Determinants of Cognitive Function among Women in Menopausal Transition: Scoping Review.
Joined by mentors Myeong-ga Cho, MSN, RN, a doctoral student, and Professor Emeritus Catherine Bender, PhD, RN, FAAN, King analyzed literature on Social Determinants of Health (SDOH), such as obesity, stress, education level, and race, and their impact on cognitive functioning for women during the menopausal transition. She found 27 pieces of literature that indicate a significant relationship between SDOH and an impact on cognitive functioning. Approximately 60% of menopausal women experience a decline in cognitive functioning including domains of memory, verbal fluency, attention and orientation, and more.
“This is important to study because the relationship between these factors and domains of cognitive functioning are not well understood, as they are often seen as covariates,” King said. “Understanding this relationship is vital for improving cognitive functioning outcomes for women during the menopausal transition.”
School of Medicine Assistant Professor Kelly Potter, PhD, RN, became the faculty mentor for Evan Phan, a second-year undergraduate nursing student. He delivered an oral presentation on the Associations Between Recalled Memories of the ICU Stay, Delirium, and Mental Health Outcomes in Critical Illness Survivors at 1-Month Follow-Up in a Critical Illness Recovery Center.
“I have always been interested in understanding patient care and outcomes after their stay in the hospital,” Phan said. “I believe a lot of focus is spent on their time in the hospital, but truly understanding their recovery process after they leave is more pertinent to me.”
Before this presentation, Phan, along with his mentor, had previously worked on evaluating delirium discussion among the interprofessional critical care team during ICU rounds. He qualitatively coded the presence of memories reported by ICU survivors in the Critical Illness Recovery Center at UPMC Mercy and then quantitatively compared demographic, clinical, and mental health outcomes among those who recalled memories of their ICU stay and those who did not recall their ICU stay.
“Evan is working on a manuscript reporting these results, and the goal is for him to have a first-author paper by the end of this year,” said Potter. “This has been a great experience for a sophomore nursing student, and Evan has done a phenomenal job thinking creatively and taking initiative working through the analyses and interpretations of the results.”
“It is important that people understand the associations between these different variables in relation to memory recollection because it allows health care professionals and other researchers to see what is or are the factors that can be utilized to address adverse outcomes after critical illness,” Phan said.
Ashley Yang, another second-year student, teamed up with mentor and Associate Professor Heeyoung Lee, PhD, PMHNP-BC, FAAN, to conduct her research titled Healthy Longevity in Individuals with Serious Mental Illness: A Quality Improvement Approach.
Yang’s poster presentation outlined serious mental illnesses (SMI)—including schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, and major depressive disorder—as mental illness that severely inhibits day-to-day functioning and cognitive ability. She measured the perceptions of individuals with SMI at a community clinic early this year. Yang found that nearly half of participants overestimated their life expectancy and that half demonstrated strong longevity literacy. She found that 82% of participants reported never having discussed their life expectancy or healthy aging with a health care provider. Participants indicated common fears, such as a fear of dying, loss of mobility, financial instability, and cognitive decline including memory loss. This same group also identified key strategies for healthy aging, including staying physically active, eating well, attending regular medical appointments, and taking medications as prescribed. Yang concluded that it is imperative to enhance patients’ awareness and understanding of healthy aging to support and hopefully improve quality of life long-term.
The NCUR is facilitated by the Council on Undergraduate Research (CUR) annually in different locations throughout the country. According to the organization’s website, the NCUR is meant to promote undergraduate research in all fields of study and celebrate student achievement.
Each conference hosts between 3,500 to 4,000 students from across the world. This year, 17 are from the Pitt School of Nursing.
The names of the Pitt Nursing students and their years are listed below:
- Katie Acker (third-year)
- Erisa Baci (third-year)
- Kailey (Beckie) Beckford (fourth-year)
- Maya Berrebbi (fourth-year)
- Michelle Chung (fourth-year)
- Mary Crowley (fourth-year)
- Kelly Isola (fourth-year)
- Lucia King (second-year)
- Alexandra Kwiat (second-year)
- Sophia Lorenski (fourth-year)
- Kaleigh McGlynn (second-year)
- Alexandra McPike (third-year)
- Evan Phan (second-year)
- Samantha Pine (third-year)
- Abby Soskil (fourth-year)
- Meredith Wawrzynski (second-year)
- Ashley Yang (second-year)