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College of Nursing

  • Mental and Behavioral  Health

Biobehavioral Research

Mental and behavioral health research focuses on operationalizing strategies to improve mental health outcomes and care access in South Carolina. 

Faculty

  • Psychiatric-mental health nursing
  • Crisis intervention
  • Chronic mental illness in adults
    Dr. Baliko's CV
  • Theoretically-based family-targeted intervention development and testing 
  • Mobile health technologies as an intervention delivery modality 
  • Lung cancer survivorship 
  • Lung cancer screening
    Dr. McDonnell's CV
  • Psychiatric-mental health nursing
  • Substance use disorders and recovery management
  • Self-care/self-management for parents in recovery from substance use disorders
    Dr. Raynor's CV
  • Sources of dietary inflammation and chronic disease risk, especially cancer
  • Health disparities
  • Cortisol levels and pattern on health outcomes
  • Effect of meditation on symptoms among cancer survivors
    Dr. Wirth's CV
  • Therapeutic management for women with polycystic ovary syndrome
  • Digital technology for intervention delivery
  • Biological impact of resistance exercise

Data Driven

Dr. Phyllis Raynor received a K23 Career Development Award by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) for her research, Parents Adopting Recovery Management through New Technology for Self-Care and Support (for Mothers) Project (P.A.R.E.N.T.S.S.).

Using a community-based participatory research (CBPR) approach, she will partner with a community advisory board to develop a customized digital intervention and determine its feasibility and preliminary effects in supporting women with Opioid Use Disorders (OUD) during the pregnancy and postpartum period.

This career development award will provide Dr. Raynor the mentoring and training needed to develop knowledge and skills in rural health disparities, CBPR methods, digital intervention development and program evaluation, population health interventions, and advanced research training.

For this vulnerable population, it is hard to retain ongoing treatment and support services, especially once they transition back into their communities. With this research, we hope to understand successful ways to support positive parenting and ongoing recovery efforts. This critical work ultimately facilitates positive health outcomes for the entire family.

Dr. Phyllis Raynor

Challenge the conventional. Create the exceptional. No Limits.

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