Fridays for Caregivers - MUSC Research Review & Update for Caregivers

Dr. Teresa Kelechi was the Principal Investigator of two recent research studies:

1.Partners at Meals     Study: A program to improve mealtimes and quality of life for     Caregivers and people with dementia; and

2.Activate for Life     Study Care: An intervention for Caregivers of people with dementia     involving gentle breathing and exercises for stress reduction).

Both studies included clients from Memory Matters who participated. Dr. Kelechi will also discuss future research and what is going on at MUSC.

About the Speaker:

Dr. Teresa J. Kelechi, PhD,     RN, FAAN, is the Interim Dean, Professor with Tenure, the David and     Margaret Clare Endowed Chair, and the Associate Dean for Research and PhD     Studies. She received her BSN from Kent State University, MSN in     Gerontological Nursing from Case Western Reserve University, and PhD from     the University of South Carolina. She is a certified wound care nurse     and gerontological clinical nurse specialist. Her work as a nurse scientist     focuses on symptom and self-management around chronic conditions,     specifically venous disease, the development of interventions for venous     leg ulcer prevention, and most recently the influence of social     determinants of health such as social isolation on wound healing and the     use of artificial intelligence methods in the diagnosis of inflammation in     non-healing chronic wounds. Her expertise in aging focuses on stress     management interventions for caregivers of persons living with dementia     residing in the community. She has and has had numerous studies funded by     federal agencies such as the National Institute of Nursing Research and     Industry and other organizations such as Marine Polymer Technologies and     the American Nurses Foundation. She is Director of the College’s Symptom     Self-Management Center which provides pilot funding for nurse scientists to     develop technology-based interventions and Director of Recruitment for the     University’s CTSA, the South Carolina Clinical & Translational and     Research Institute.