Dr. Linda R. Phillips, PhD, RN, FAAN, a professor who holds the Audrienne H. Moseley endowed chair in nursing at UCLA, was honored on November 17, 2007, as the recipient of the Doris Schwartz Gerontological Nursing Research Award for her innovative research in the areas of elder and family caregiver abuse and cross-cultural research-contributions that have improved the lives of older people for more than 30 years. The award is given each year by the Gerontological Society of American in collaboration with The Hartford Institute for Geriatric Nursing, part of the New York University College of Nursing. It was presented at the Nursing Care of Older Adults Interest Group of the Gerontological Society of America at the Society’s annual meeting in San Francisco. This national tribute is named for Doris Schwartz, a pioneer in gerontological nursing research, and is given annually in recognition of the recipient’s visionary and exemplary contributions advancing the field of geriatric nursing research.
The award is accompanied by a lectureship; this year Dr. Phillips presented “Reflections on 30 years of Gerontological Nursing Science,” which was attended by more than 260 people.
Dr. Phillips’ research has focused on care-giving to frail elders, particularly the cross-cultural aspects of such care. Her many projects have addressed care of frail elders in institutions, nursing interventions to improve the function of elders with dementia, and elder abuse. She has conducted participatory research with Mexican-American families, testing the impact of utilization of health services and interventions to reduce abuse of caregivers. She has also conducted studies on dilemmas and decision making of end-of-life caregivers and on intervention for abuse of aging caregivers-particularly elderly wives and daughters over 55. Dr. Phillips’ research has received more than 24 federal and 10 state grants from sources including the National Institute for Nursing Research and National Institute on Aging. She has published more than 40 refereed journal articles on care-giving and abuse of caregivers, 15 additional articles, four scholarly books, and 13 book chapters.
In nominating Dr. Phillips for this award, Janice Crist, RN, PhD, assistant professor in the University of Arizona College of Nursing, emphasized Dr. Phillips’ extraordinary commitment to mentoring and role-modeling, for which she has been sought for decades by graduate and post-graduate students. Her mentoring of doctoral students and post-doctoral fellows has attracted numerous nurse researchers to the area of family care for the elderly.
Dr. Phillips received her doctorate degree from the University of Arizona in 1980. She was a professor there from 1982 to 2006 and joined the UCLA College of Nursing in 2006. Dr. Phillips has received numerous awards, including the American Journal of Nursing Book of the Year Award for Confusion: Prevention and Care. She is a fellow of both the American Academy of Nursing and the Gerontological Society of America.
“We are delighted that Linda Phillips was selected as the 2007 recipient,” said Mathy Mezey, EdD, RN, FAAN, director of the Hartford Institute. “With this award, she joins a cadre of previous recipients who are a distinguished group of leaders driving the field of nursing care of older adults.”
The Hartford Institute for Geriatric Nursing seeks to shape the quality of health care that older Americans receive by promoting the highest level of geriatric competency in all nurses who deliver care. By raising the standards of nursing care, the Hartford Institute aims to ensure that people age in comfort and dignity. Its initiatives include education, practice, research, policy, and consumer education.