UCLA’s Hudson Named Robert Wood Johnson Foundation ‘Nurse Faculty Scholar’

NEWS RELEASE                                                     Contact: Gretchen Wright or Johanna Diaz

September 23, 2009                                                                   202/371-1999

 

 

 

Los Angeles, C.A.—Angela Hudson, Ph.D., an assistant professor at the School of Nursing at the University of California, Los Angeles, has won a competitive grant from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF) to conduct research on HIV and pregnancy prevention strategies among youth in foster care. Hudson is one of just 15 nurse educators from around the country to receive the three-year $350,000 “Nurse Faculty Scholar” award this year. It is given to junior faculty who show outstanding promise as future leaders in academic nursing. The grant period begins this month.

 

“The generous support from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation will enable me to expand on the work I began in clinical practice—giving at-risk kids a better start, and providing them with the knowledge they need to make the best decisions for themselves,” Hudson said.

 

For her research, Hudson is revising an educational program on sexually transmitted disease and pregnancy prevention that was originally designed for homeless and runaway youth. She will modify the program to fit the specific needs of foster children. Her research will include randomly selected females ages 13 to 18 living in group homes throughout Los Angeles, and will examine how to change attitudes and knowledge regarding HIV and pregnancy prevention.

 

“Youth in foster care are a very difficult group to reach out to, and many are uneducated about the risks involved with unprotected sex, including HIV and pregnancy,” said Hudson. “My program will place a heavy emphasis on adult mentor relationships and education, which are elements that adolescents in foster care sorely need to help them become safe, healthy adults.”  

 

Adeline Nyamathi, ANP, Ph.D., FAAN, Associate Dean for International Research and Scholarly Activities at the UCLA School of Nursing, and Michael Rodriguez, MD, MPH, Associate Professor and Vice Chair of Research at the UCLA Department of Family Medicine, will serve as Hudson’s mentors in the “Nurse Faculty Scholars” program.

 

“Too many youth in foster care engage in high risk behavior, without knowing that they have other options,” Nyamathi said. “Angela Hudson’s research on how to best communicate health and safety messages to teens in foster care will be a tremendous benefit to marginalized youth who often have nowhere else to turn.”

 

The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation’s“Nurse Faculty Scholar” award aims to strengthen the academic productivity and overall excellence of nursing schools by developing the next generation of national leaders in academic nursing.

 

Supporting junior nurse faculty will help curb a severe shortage of nurse educators that threatens to undermine the health and health care of all Americans. Many nursing schools lack the resources needed to hire and support enough faculty to train the next generation of nurses. As a result, nursing schools are turning away thousands of qualified applicants—rejecting the very people who can help reverse a serious looming nurse shortage. As the supply of nurses shrinks and the demand for their services grows, patient care will suffer.

 

The Foundation’s “Nurse Faculty Scholars” program aims to curb the effects of the nursing shortage by helping more junior faculty succeed in, and commit to, academic careers. The program provides talented junior faculty with salary and research support as well as the chance to participate in institutional and national mentoring activities, leadership training, and networking events with colleagues in nursing and other fields, while continuing to teach and provide institutional, professional and community service in their universities.

 

The program will also enhance the stature of the scholars’ academic institutions, which will benefit fellow nurse educators seeking professional development opportunities.

 

To receive the award, scholars must be registered nurses who have completed a research doctorate in nursing or a related discipline and who have held a tenure-eligible faculty position at an accredited nursing school for at least two and no more than five years.

 

The program is funded by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and administered through the Johns Hopkins University School of Nursing. It is directed by Jacquelyn Campbell, Ph.D., R.N., F.A.A.N., who is the Anna D. Wolf chair and professor at the Johns Hopkins University School of Nursing.

To learn more about the program, visit www.rwjfnursefacultyscholars.org.

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The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation focuses on the pressing health and health care issues facing our country. As the nation’s largest philanthropy devoted exclusively to improving the health and health care of all Americans, we work with a diverse group of organizations and individuals to identify solutions and achieve comprehensive, meaningful and timely change. For more than 35 years we’ve brought experience, commitment and a rigorous, balanced approach to the problems that affect the health and health care of those we serve. When it comes to helping Americans lead healthier lives and get the care they need, we expect to make a difference in your lifetime.