EWEB Novice Researcher Awards

Elizbeth Bufink, MS, RN – Nurses’ Perspectives of Safe Sleep Education in the Prenatal Appointment: A Descriptive Qualitative Study 

Elizabeth (Beth) Bufink MS in Nursing, RN. Ms. Bufink is a PhD candidate completing her dissertation phase at IU School of Nursing with a minor in Public Health. She has extensive experience as a maternal child healthcare provider with over 22 years experience and over 8 years of teaching. Ms. Bufink is focused on her emerging program of research on ways to decrease infant mortality in the United States, specifically sleep related deaths in infants. Her goal is to use innovative ways to provide safe sleep education in the clinical setting starting in the early pregnancy setting. Ms. Bufink has the long-term career goals include advancing her research, continuing to teach nursing, and eventually becoming a leader in academia.

Lauren E. Hicks, PhD, BSN, RN – Qualitative Content Analysis Exploring Racial Disparities in Prenatal Care through Patient-Provider Communication

Lauren E. Hicks, PhD, RN is a T32 Postdoctoral Fellow at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Nursing. My academic and professional background is informed by my degrees in nursing and psychology with a minor anthropology. After working as a labor and delivery nurse for 8 years, I earned my PhD of Nursing from the University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio. For my dissertation, I focused on childbirth support in hospitals during the COVID-19 pandemic. My career interest is perinatal depression, specifically the impact of exercise, social support, and social determinants of health on the development and prevention of prenatal depressive symptoms. I aspire to improve mental health and well-being for pregnant women through prevention and alleviation of depressive symptoms.

Stacey Iobst, PhD, RNC-OB, C-EFM – Relationships among Autonomy in Decision-Making, Respect, and Perinatal Depression in U.S. Maternity Care

Professor at Towson University in the College of Health Professions Department of Nursing. She received a BSN from the University of Maryland School of Nursing and a Ph.D. from the University of Maryland, Baltimore. Upon graduation, Dr. Iobst received the School of Nursing Alumni Association Award for Outstanding Ph.D. Graduate for exemplifying the integration of achievement in research, teaching, and service. Dr. Iobst completed a postdoctoral fellowship at the Uniformed Services University Graduate School of Nursing, where she conducted a qualitative study on shared decision-making among low-risk women during labor and birth. Following her postdoctoral fellowship, Dr. Iobst was a Junior Fellow at the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, where she analyzed data from the Medical Expenditure Panel Survey to examine disparities in care among rural women diagnosed with postpartum depression. Her program of research is focused on shared decision-making among childbearing people and the relationship between perinatal mental health and quality of intrapartum care. Dr. Iobst is an alumna of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Future of Nursing program. She has been a corresponding member of the AWHONN Research Advisory Panel and is currently chair of the Maryland section of AWHONN.

Gail Elliott, PhD, RN – Nurses’ Attitudes of Patients with Perinatal Substance Use Disorder, A Mixed-Methods Study