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Serious Illness & End of Life

Our research addresses difficult challenges faced by very ill individuals and their families.

When a person develops a serious or life-limiting illness, it is a life-changing experience for the patient and their family. New dynamics form as the patient's illness progresses and family members occupy new roles and take on new responsibilities. All must confront questions about existence, death, and the future.

Á½ÐÔÉ«ÎçÒ¹ nurse researchers seek to understand and help those affected by a serious illness that leads to the end-of-life or survival.

Participate in Research 

Visit: /nursing/building-resiliency-during-serious-illness-crisis

Affiliated Faculty

  • Dana M. Hansen, Ph.D., APRN, ACHPN
    Focus: Dynamics of family interaction during advanced serious illness to enhance the quality of life for patients, caregivers, and their families through improved communication; how social media illness stories mitigate caregiver burden and create opportunities for difficult conversations.
  • Amy Petrinec, Ph.D., RN
    Focus: Post-intensive care syndrome (PICS) in patients and family members who have experienced an intensive care stay; family member post-traumatic stress symptoms and coping strategies when making decisions for chronically, critically ill patients.
  • Denice Sheehan, Ph.D., RN
    Focus: End-of-life, hospice, and coping skills of adolescents experiencing the life-limiting illness of a parent; what hospice patients know about their prognosis and how they think about their prognosis.
  • Pamela Stephenson, Ph.D., RN
    Focus: Spirituality and spiritual uncertainty at the end of life; development of two instruments for spiritual uncertainty: the State of Spirituality scale (SOS) and the Spirituality Uncertainty-Providers (SU-P).

Recent Publications 

Wilk, C., & Petrinec, A. (2024). Psychometric evaluation of the Family Willingness for Caregiving Scale (FWCS). American Journal of Critical Care, 33(3), 192-201. 

Stephenson, P., Sheehan, D., Petrinec, A., Hansen, D., & Mayo, M. (2023).  Measuring spiritual uncertainty for hospice and palliative care providers. International Journal of Palliative Nursing, 29(4), 180-186.

McPoland, P., Grossoehme, D., Sheehan, D., Stephenson, P., Downing, J., Deshommes, T., Pascale, Y. H., Gassant, M., & Friebert, S. (2023). Children’s understanding of dying and death: A multi-national grounded theory. Palliative & Supportive Care. doi.org/10.1017/S1478951523000287 [online ahead of print]

Hansen, D., Stephenson, P., Lalani, N., & Shanholtzer, J. (2022). Reflective journaling as preparation for spiritual care of patients. Journal of Hospice and Palliative Nursing, 25(1), 45-50. doi .10.1097/NJH.0000000000000922


Marshall, S., Stephenson, P., & Sheehan, D . (2022). Strategies for recruiting dependent children of patients with a life-limiting illness as research participants. Palliative Medicine, 36(10):1570-1574. doi:10.1177/02692163221122302


Stephenson, P., Sheehan, D., & Hansen, D. (2022). The State of Spirituality Scale as a screening tool for spiritual distress. Clinical Journal of Oncology Nursing, 26(6), 593-596. doi.10.1188/22.CJON.593-596

Recent Grants

Investigator(s)Grant or Project TitleFunding Agency
Dana Hansen (Principal Investigator), Tracey Motter, DNP (Co-Investigator), and Jennifer Shanholtzer,Catalyzing Relationships at the End of Life (CAREol) ProgramJosiah Macy Jr. Foundation's President’s Grant Award
Denice Sheehan (PI), Pamela Stephenson (Co-I), and Christopher Was (Co-I, Department of Psychological Sciences)Interactions Among Adolescents with a Parent in Hospice and the Hospice Care TeamNational Institute of Nursing Research (NINR) of the NIH
Dana HansenHealth Care Provider Experiences with Patient Social Media Illness StoriesÁ½ÐÔÉ«ÎçÒ¹ University Research Council
Amy Petrinec, Yea-Jyh Chen, Joel Hughes (Psychology), and Melissa Zullo (College of Public Health)Post-intensive Care Syndrome Family: Feasibility of Cognitive Behavioral Therapy Delivery Utilizing a Mobile Health AppÁ½ÐÔÉ«ÎçÒ¹ University Healthy Communities Research Initiative Launch Pad 
Denice Sheehan, Pam Stephenson, and Murray Mayo (Ursuline College) Family Members’ Communication with Hospice Physicians and Other Hospice Team Members During the Final Days of the Patient’s Life in Hospice HouseÁ½ÐÔÉ«ÎçÒ¹ University Research Council
Jennifer Taber (Psychology), Clare Stacey (Sociology), and Denice SheehanTranslating Knowledge of Risk Perceptions to Improve Prognostic Awareness Measurement among Terminally Ill PatientsÁ½ÐÔÉ«ÎçÒ¹ University Healthy Communities Research Initiative