PhD Students

A showcase of some of my current students and recent graduate research related to emotional well-being, resilience, and mental health. If you are a student veteran or are military-connected please reach out to our Veteran & Military Student Services.

Suzanne Courtwright PhD PNP NEA-BC

Suzanne's dissertation (May, 2022) focused on adolescent emotional well-being. Suzanne's dissertation was supported by the Doris Smith Faculty-Student Research Award.

Courtwright SE, Jones J, Barton A, Peterson K, Eigen K, Feuerstein J, Pawa A, Pawa A, Northridge J, Pall H. Adolescents with chronic conditions: Engagement with children's mental health systems during the Covid-19 pandemic. J Spec Pediatr Nurs. 2023 Apr;28(2):e12403. doi: 10.1111/jspn.12403.

Courtwright SE, Jones J, Barton A, Peterson K, Eigen K, Feuerstein J, Pawa A, Pawa A, Northridge J, Pall H. Including Voices of Adolescents With Chronic Conditions in the Redesign of Children's Mental Health Systems: Implications for Resource Allocation. J Pediatr Health Care. 2023 Feb 28:S0891-5245(23)00026-3. doi: 10.1016/j.pedhc.2023.01.004.

Courtwright SE, Le Pard A, Jones J. Emotional Wellbeing in Adolescents Living With Chronic Conditions: A Metasynthesis of the Qualitative Literature. J Adolesc Health. 2022 Jun;70(6):864-876. doi: 10.1016/j.jadohealth.2021.12.020.

Charee proposal defense 17 Feb 23 FINAL pdf version[59].jpg

Charee Taccogono PhD, MSN, RN

Charee's dissertation (May, 2024) is looking at nurse well-being within primary care in military treatment facilities. Her research question is “What is the ontology of nurse well-being within U.S. Air Force primary care medical homes?”

Her study aims to explore how or what

health care delivery system factors…
practice (work) environment factors...
individual RN factors…

influence an RN’s perceived ability to experience well-being. How does the PCMH nurse define nurse well-being, and how does this compare and contrast with contemporary well-being models?

Anne Gillespie MSN RN

Anne's Ph.D dissertation (April, 2023) Influences of Animal-Assisted Intervention with Canine and Feline Pen Pals on Experiences of Living with a Life-Threatening Condition in Children and Adolescents explored the Human-Animal Bond and how exchanging letters with a canine or feline penpal with a shared diagnosis influences living with an LTC. It was awarded the College of Nursing Distinguished Dissertation Award. This research was partially funded by the Joann Dukes Hess Nursing PhD Scholarship from the University of Colorado College of Nursing.

Gillespie AI, Neu M. Youth and Pet Survivors: Exploring the Experiences of Pediatric Oncology and Bone Marrow Transplant Patients in a Virtual Animal-Assisted Therapy Pen Pal Program. J Pediatr Oncol Nurs. 2020 Nov/Dec;37(6):368-376. doi: 10.1177/1043454220944122.

Heather Mallon MSN, RN, FNP-BC

Heather's Ph.D. dissertation (April, 2023) was Building Resilience: Nurse Experiences During the COVID-19 Pandemic. She conducted a secondary analysis of existing deidentified qualitative text dataset generated through Mealer's Re-NEW™ intervention delivered nationally online (2021) with nurses during the COVID-19 pandemic. The program was delivered over 5 weeks as intervention to build resiliency in nurses via cognitive flexibility activation and promote well-being. Participants-nurse volunteers n= 1,103 enrolled.

Mealer, M., Jones, J. & Meek, P. (2017). Factors affecting resilience and development of posttraumatic stress disorder in critical care nurses. American Journal of Critical Care, 26(3), 184-192.

Mealer, M., Jones, J. & Moss, M. (2012). A qualitative study of resilience and posttraumatic stress disorder in United States ICU nurses. Intensive Care Med 38, 1445–1451. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00134-012-2600-6

Ask Me About Veteran Military Health Care PhD

We offer a BS-PhD pathway and a post-Masters pathway