Faculty attend State of the Science Congress on Nursing Research

The Council for the Advancement of Science (CANS), a signature initiative of the American Academy of Nursing, held the 2022 State of the Science Congress on Nursing Research mid-September in Washington, DC. The biennial event focused on the complex relationships between social and structural determinants of health, with respect to advancing health equity.

Co-led by Dr. Carolann Risley and Dr. Mary Stewart, the STRIDES & follow-up research team presented a symposium that included five first-author abstracts: Baseline STRIDES (Risley); Building a Biorepository (Sydney Reaves); Peer Patient Navigation (Stewart); Distance to Care (Dr. Katie Hall); and Exploration of Failure to Follow-up (Dr. Tina Ferrell). Multiple contributing authors were acknowledged in the presentation, including Dr. Nicolas Wentzensen and Dr. Megan Clarke, who provide funding for the work through the National Cancer Institute.

Reflecting on the opportunity, Reaves, project manager STRIDES study, commented, “I really took away the thought of not only trying to bring equity into our health care system with custom tools that identify and address inequality, but to strive to bring justice as well.” Ferrell summed the meeting with, “Overall, the conference provided a glimpse into the talents and accomplishments of like-minded researchers utilizing different approaches to contribute to the shared goals of promoting health and mitigating inequities.”

Hall stated, “I appreciated the high level of nursing science highlighted by the conference (ours included) to allow for collaboration and continued promotion of nursing research.” Dr. Lei Zhang, professor and associate dean for research and scholarship, and Dr. Debbie Konkle-Parker, professor and Harriet G. Williamson Chair of Population Health Nursing, also attended the conference.

Established in 2000 to foster Better Health through Nursing Science, the CANS endeavors to be a strong voice for nursing science; disseminate research findings; and facilitate opportunities for nurse scientists. In addition to scholarship, the group also learned that “a block” in D.C. is not like a block in Jackson, MS. The group tracked an average of seven miles per day to appreciate our national history and its gift of a much larger perspective for our present and future.