Serious Illness & End of Life
Our research addresses difficult challenges faced by very ill individuals and their families.
When a person develops a serious or life-limiting illness, it is a life-changing experience for the patient and their family. New dynamics form as the patient's illness progresses and family members occupy new roles and take on new responsibilities. All must confront questions about existence, death, and the future.
Kent State nurse researchers seek to understand and help those affected by a serious illness that leads to the end-of-life or survival.
Participate in Research
Visit: /nursing/building-resiliency-during-serious-illness-crisis
Affiliated Faculty
- Dana M. Hansen, Ph.D., APRN, ACHPN
Focus: Dynamics of family interaction during advanced serious illness to enhance the quality of life for patients, caregivers, and their families through improved communication; how social media illness stories mitigate caregiver burden and create opportunities for difficult conversations. - Amy Petrinec, Ph.D., RN
Focus: Post-intensive care syndrome (PICS) in patients and family members who have experienced an intensive care stay; family member post-traumatic stress symptoms and coping strategies when making decisions for chronically, critically ill patients. - Denice Sheehan, Ph.D., RN
Focus: End-of-life, hospice, and coping skills of adolescents experiencing the life-limiting illness of a parent; what hospice patients know about their prognosis and how they think about their prognosis. - Pamela Stephenson, Ph.D., RN
Focus: Spirituality and spiritual uncertainty at the end of life; development of two instruments for spiritual uncertainty: the State of Spirituality scale (SOS) and the Spirituality Uncertainty-Providers (SU-P).
Recent Publications
Wilk, C., & Petrinec, A. (2024). Psychometric evaluation of the Family Willingness for Caregiving Scale (FWCS). American Journal of Critical Care, 33(3), 192-201.
Stephenson, P., Sheehan, D., Petrinec, A., Hansen, D., & Mayo, M. (2023). Measuring spiritual uncertainty for hospice and palliative care providers. International Journal of Palliative Nursing, 29(4), 180-186.
McPoland, P., Grossoehme, D., Sheehan, D., Stephenson, P., Downing, J., Deshommes, T., Pascale, Y. H., Gassant, M., & Friebert, S. (2023). Children’s understanding of dying and death: A multi-national grounded theory. Palliative & Supportive Care. doi.org/10.1017/S1478951523000287 [online ahead of print]
Hansen, D., Stephenson, P., Lalani, N., & Shanholtzer, J. (2022). Reflective journaling as preparation for spiritual care of patients. Journal of Hospice and Palliative Nursing, 25(1), 45-50. doi .10.1097/NJH.0000000000000922
Marshall, S., Stephenson, P., & Sheehan, D . (2022). Strategies for recruiting dependent children of patients with a life-limiting illness as research participants. Palliative Medicine, 36(10):1570-1574. doi:10.1177/02692163221122302
Stephenson, P., Sheehan, D., & Hansen, D. (2022). The State of Spirituality Scale as a screening tool for spiritual distress. Clinical Journal of Oncology Nursing, 26(6), 593-596. doi.10.1188/22.CJON.593-596
Recent Grants
| Investigator(s) | Grant or Project Title | Funding Agency |
|---|---|---|
| Dana Hansen (Principal Investigator), Tracey Motter, DNP (Co-Investigator), and Jennifer Shanholtzer, | Catalyzing Relationships at the End of Life (CAREol) Program | Josiah Macy Jr. Foundation's President’s Grant Award |
| Denice Sheehan (PI), Pamela Stephenson (Co-I), and Christopher Was (Co-I, Department of Psychological Sciences) | Interactions Among Adolescents with a Parent in Hospice and the Hospice Care Team | National Institute of Nursing Research (NINR) of the NIH |
| Dana Hansen | Health Care Provider Experiences with Patient Social Media Illness Stories | 5XÉçÇø Research Council |
| Amy Petrinec, Yea-Jyh Chen, Joel Hughes (Psychology), and Melissa Zullo (College of Public Health) | Post-intensive Care Syndrome Family: Feasibility of Cognitive Behavioral Therapy Delivery Utilizing a Mobile Health App | 5XÉçÇø Healthy Communities Research Initiative Launch Pad |
| Denice Sheehan, Pam Stephenson, and Murray Mayo (Ursuline College) | Family Members’ Communication with Hospice Physicians and Other Hospice Team Members During the Final Days of the Patient’s Life in Hospice House | 5XÉçÇø Research Council |
| Jennifer Taber (Psychology), Clare Stacey (Sociology), and Denice Sheehan | Translating Knowledge of Risk Perceptions to Improve Prognostic Awareness Measurement among Terminally Ill Patients | 5XÉçÇø Healthy Communities Research Initiative |