FOUR PROJECTS RECOGNIZED DURING HEALTH SCIENCES RESEARCH DAY
Two faculty members and two students were recognized with awards for outstanding research projects at Old Dominion University's College of Health Sciences Research Day Wednesday.
The Lambert's Point Health Partnership won for best faculty presentation. Stacey B. Plichta, associate professor of community health professions, spoke on behalf of the group, sharing the process that went in to creating the Lambert's Point Health Promotion Center. The project involved creating a community-campus partnership -- the first of its kind between an academic program of the university and the surrounding neighborhood -- which provided health services to more than 90 different area residents. The partnership is less than a year old.
Ph.D. candidate Joni McFelea was awarded the best student presentation award for her research on "Pediatric Health and the Internet: Results of Parent Focus Groups." Working with faculty member Clare Houseman, associate professor of health sciences, she worked with three focus groups -- one each in Alexandria, Norfolk and Roanoke -- to determine use of and attitudes toward the Internet in relation to pediatric health issues. The majority of the participants depend on Web sites for information, yet are concerned about the accuracy of such information.
The top faculty poster award went to George C. Maihafer, chairman of the School of Physical Therapy, for "Relating Gender, Salary and Job Satisfaction of Physical Therapists in Virginia." Other researchers on the project included Ellen Beebe, Cheryl Dunahay and Kristen Kirk. They determined there is no significant difference in mean salaries between male and female physical therapists. Though job satisfaction rates are improving, women remain less satisfied than men.
Carolyn Rinaca, a Ph.D. student in urban health services, was awarded the top student poster honor for her work "Validity and Reliability of a Survey Instrument Measuring Attitudes Toward the EMS Agenda for the Future." She worked on the project with John Echternach, professor of physical therapy.