Tina Bloom, Ph.D., R.N. Selected as Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Nurse Faculty Scholar

NEWS RELEASE                                                     Contact: Gretchen Wright or Johanna Diaz

August 31, 2011                                                                        202/371-1999

 

 

Columbia, Mo.—Tina Bloom, Ph.D., M.P.H., R.N., an assistant professor at the University of Missouri, has won a competitive grant from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF) to study an online intervention to protect pregnant women in rural communities from domestic violence. Bloom is one of just 12 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 next month.

 

“The generous funding from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation will enable me to assess the feasibility of online, individualized safety planning for abused pregnant women in rural communities,” Bloom said. “My ultimate goal is to improve maternal and child health by helping pregnant women experience less violence, prevent and manage depression, navigate abusive relationships and extend intervals between pregnancies.”

 

For her research project, Bloom will recruit 40 pregnant women in rural communities throughout Missouri who are in abusive or unsafe relationships. Twice during pregnancy and twice after delivery, the women will be asked to access an online safety planning resource, which includes a survey about their experiences with violence. Bloom will then interview the participants to learn about their experiences with the online resource. This project will establish the feasibility and acceptability of the online resource for rural pregnant women. It will also lay a foundation for a larger study that will assess whether online safety planning improves the health of pregnant women and babies in rural communities who live in abusive or unsafe relationships.

 

Domestic violence during pregnancy poses significant health risks for mothers and babies. Abused pregnant women are at greater risk of injury, sexually transmitted infections, vaginal bleeding, depression and death. Babies of abused women are more likely to be born prematurely and to have low birth weights—two leading causes of infant mortality.

 

“Domestic violence during pregnancy is more common than placenta previa (an obstetric complication in which the placenta is attached to the uterine wall), gestational diabetes, and high blood pressure during pregnancy, yet risks associated with domestic violence are largely overlooked,” Bloom said. “I hope to change that.”

 

 

Bloom’s selection comes as the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation is embarking on a collaborative campaign to transform the nursing profession to improve health and health care. Based on the recommendations from a groundbreaking Institute of Medicine nursing report released last year—The Future of Nursing: Leading Change, Advancing Health, RWJF is spearheading the Future of Nursing: Campaign for Action to engage nurses and non-nurses in a nationwide effort to overhaul the nursing profession. The campaign is working to implement solutions to the challenges facing the nursing profession and to build upon nurse-based approaches to improving quality and transforming the way Americans receive health care.

 

Her mentors are: Vickie Conn, Ph.D., R.N., F.A.A.N., associate dean for research at the School of Nursing at the University of Missouri; and Kim Anderson, Ph.D., associate professor in the School of Social Work at the University of Missouri.

 

The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Nurse Faculty Scholars program 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 shortage of nurse educators that could undermine the health and health care of all Americans. The Affordable Care Act will vastly increase the number of people who can access health care in the United States. As the number of patients increases, there will be greater demand for skilled nurses and faculty to educate them. Right now, many schools of nursing are turning away qualified applicants because they lack the faculty to teach them.

 

The Nurse Faculty Scholars program is helping to curb the 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 at 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.

 

This is the fourth cohort of Nurse Faculty Scholars. Many members of the first three cohorts have been published and recognized for outstanding work since they were accepted into the program.

The RWJF Nurse Faculty Scholars 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.nursefacultyscholars.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 health and health care, the Foundation works with a diverse group of organizations and individuals to identify solutions and achieve comprehensive, measurable and timely change. For nearly 40 years the Foundation has brought experience, commitment, and a rigorous, balanced approach to the problems that affect the health and health care of those it serves. When it comes to helping Americans lead healthier lives and get the care they need, the Foundation expects to make a difference in your lifetime. For more information, visit www.rwjf.org.