WVU School of Nursing Associate Dean selected for WVU Bridge Faculty Fellowship
The WVU School of Nursing Associate Dean of Undergraduate Programs, Dr. Brad Phillips, has been selected as a WVU Bridge Faculty Fellow.
Bridge Faculty Fellows work with the Bridge Initiative to engage with the policy arena, increase the impact of their work for the public good, and stimulate new ideas for research and innovation to help fulfill WVU’s Land Grant Mission.
Phillips, also an assistant professor, started at the university in 2018. Prior to his time at WVU, he worked as a nurse in the pediatric intensive care unit (PICU) in Detroit, Michigan, where he found a passion for family-centered care.
“I work to improve the quality of life and wellbeing of home-based family caregivers of children and youth with special healthcare needs,” Phillips said.
This passion for family-centered care turned into his research focus: children with acute/chronic illnesses and the impact it has on families, communities and caregivers. Through Phillips' career and research, he has learned that the guardians of children with acute/chronic illness are the primary caregiver for the child in their home. They provide complicated care 24/7 to these children.
“This makes it difficult for them to balance their additional responsibilities within the home, whether it be caring for other children, maintaining employment, nurturing relationships,” Phillips said. “They often neglect their own health to maintain the health of their child, leading to decreased physical, mental, and emotional well-being.”
In West Virginia, caregivers struggle to find help. The rural areas people live in and the lack of trained pediatric home health nurses cause parents and guardians to take on all the responsibilities.
During Phillips’ time working in the PICU he saw the toll caregiving can have on families. He saw that the ill child received great care, but the holistic needs of the family caring for the child were not met. He then sought to understand how to help these caregivers.
The Bridge Faculty Fellowship looks to find the real-world implications of research, translating it to policy. The fellowship aims to make a difference in the lives of those living experiences that the public needs a better understanding of. Turning that research into policies that directly help those people.
“The WVU Bridge Faculty Fellowship is an excellent opportunity to fulfill the land-grant mission of the university, while gaining new knowledge and skills as a researcher,” Phillips said.
Phillips' goal for the fellowship is to learn how to conduct policy analysis, propose alternative policy options and learn to translate his research in a way that policymakers understand and acknowledge.
“It has been nice to collaborate with a community of scholars across the university,” Phillips said. “It is common for researchers to be siloed in their specific area of expertise, so there is excellent opportunity to learn from scientists in other disciplines.”
-WVU-
bc/9/4/2024
MEDIA CONTACT: Wendy Holdren
Director of Communications and Marketing
WVU School of Nursing
304-581-1772; wendy.holdren@hsc.wvu.edu