Victoria Vaughan Dickson
FAAN FAHA FHFSA PhD RN
Dr. John W. Rowe Professor in Successful Aging
Assistant Dean, Research Innovation
Director, Pless Center for Research
vdickson@nyu.edu
1 215 704 7223
Dr. John W. Rowe Professor in Successful Aging
Assistant Dean, Research Innovation
Director, Pless Center for Research
433 FIRST AVENUE
NEW YORK, NY 10010
United States
Victoria Vaughan Dickson's additional information
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Victoria Vaughan Dickson, PhD, RN, FAHA, FHFSA, FAAN, is the John W. Rowe Professor in Successful Aging, Assistant Dean, Research Innovation, and Director of the Pless Center for Nursing Research at Rory Meyers College of Nursing. With extensive clinical and research experience in cardiovascular and occupational health nursing, her research program focuses on investigating the bio-behavioral influences on self-care in patients with cardiovascular disease risk, coronary heart disease, heart failure, and multiple comorbidities. Her work has led to an improved understanding of the sociocultural influences of self-care among vulnerable populations, including ethnic minority groups, women, and older workers; and the development of innovative theory-based interventions. Dickson is recognized as an international expert in qualitative research techniques, mixed methods research, and has conducted training for interdisciplinary teams locally, nationally, and internationally.
Prof. Dickson is dedicated to building research capacity across disciplines and advancing nursing science that impacts policy and clinical care. Currently, Dickson serves as PI and program director of the NIOSH-funded doctoral training program in occupational and environmental health nursing, PI of the NHLBI- funded Research Education in Cardiovascular Conditions program, co-PI of the NINR-funded NYU Meyers P20 Exploratory Center for Precision Health in Diverse Populations and KL2 co-director and co-investigator of the NCATS-funded NYU CTSI. In addition, she is a co-investigator on numerous team science initiatives focused on multiple chronic conditions.
Prof. Dickson has been recognized with numerous awards for her research and leadership including the STTI Nurse Researcher Hall of Fame (2019), HFSA Nursing Research Leadership award (2021), and ENRS Leadership Award (2020). She is a fellow in the American Academy of Nursing (2014), American Heart Association (2011), Heart Failure Society of America (2016), and New York Academy of Medicine (2018). Dickson is the editor of the Journal of Cardiovascular Nursing.
Prof. Dickson holds a clinical appointment as an advanced practice nurse in the division of cardiology at NYU Langone Health and Bellevue Hospital. She earned her PhD and MSN from the University of Pennsylvania and BSN from Temple University.
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PhD - University of PennsylvaniaMSN - University of PennsylvaniaBSN - Temple University
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Non-communicable diseaseCardiologyGerontology
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American Academy of Nurse PractitionersAmerican Academy of NursingAmerican Association of Occupational Health NursesAmerican Heart AssociationAmerican Nurses AssociationCouncil on the Advancement of NursingEastern Nursing Research SocietyEuropean Society of CardiologyGerontological Society of AmericaHeart Failure Society of AmericaNew York Academy of MedicineNew York Nurse Practitioners AssociationSigma Theta Tau, XI ChapterSigma Theta Tua International Honor Society
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Faculty Honors Awards
Nursing Research Leadership Award, HFSA (2021)Leadership Award, ENRS (2021)Nurse Researcher Hall of Fame, STTI (2019)Associate Editor, Cardiovascular Nursing (2018)Fellow, New York Academy of Medicine (2018)President-Elect, Eastern Nursing Research Society (2018)Spirit of Nursing Award, University of Massachusetts (2017)President-Elect, Eastern Nursing Research Society (2017)President-Elect, Eastern Nursing Research Society (2016)Associate Editor to Circulation, Cardiovascular Quality & Outcomes (2016)Fellow, Heart Failure Society of America (2016)PhD Faculty Excellence Award, NYU (2014)Fellow, American Academy of Nursing (2014)Springer Publishing Company Award (2014)Research Award, ENRS Rising Star (2012)Fellow, American Heart Association Fuchs-Schoeck Research (2012)Fellow, American Heart Association (2011)Minority Aging Research and Community Health Scholar, University of Pennsylvania (2011)Nursing and Allied Health Professional Award, European Society of Cardiology (2011)Fellow, Brookdale Foundation Leadership in Aging (2010)Reviewer of the Year, Journal of Cardiovascular Nursing (2009)Nursing Research Award, Heart Failure Society of America (2007)Martha Hill New Investigator Award, American Heart Association (2007)Student Award, University of Pennsylvania (2007)Research Award, American Association of Occupational Health Nurses (2006) -
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Publications
An update on the self-care of heart failure index
AbstractVaughan Dickson, V., Riegel, B., Lee, C. S., Dickson, V. V., & Carlson, B. (2009). (Vols. 24, Issues 6, pp. 485-497). 10.1097/JCN.0b013e3181b4baa0AbstractBACKGROUND:: The Self-care of Heart Failure Index (SCHFI) is a measure of self-care defined as a naturalistic decision-making process involving the choice of behaviors that maintain physiological stability (maintenance) and the response to symptoms when they occur (management). In the 5 years since the SCHFI was published, we have added items, refined the response format of the maintenance scale and the SCHFI scoring procedure, and modified our advice about how to use the scores. OBJECTIVE:: The objective of this article was to update users on these changes. METHODS:: In this article, we address 8 specific questions about reliability, item difficulty, frequency of administration, learning effects, social desirability, validity, judgments of self-care adequacy, clinically relevant change, and comparability of the various versions. RESULTS:: The addition of items to the self-care maintenance scale did not significantly change the coefficient α, providing evidence that the structure of the instrument is more powerful than the individual items. No learning effect is associated with repeated administration. Social desirability is minimal. More evidence is provided of the validity of the SCHFI. A score of 70 or greater can be used as the cut-point to judge self-care adequacy, although evidence is provided that benefit occurs at even lower levels of self-care. A change in a scale score more than one-half of an SD is considered clinically relevant. Because of the standardized scores, results obtained with prior versions can be compared with those from later versions. CONCLUSION:: The SCHFI v.6 is ready to be used by investigators. By publication in this format, we are putting the instrument in the public domain; permission is not required to use the SCHFI. 2009 Lippincott Williams & Wilkins.Motivational interviewing as case management intervention
AbstractReis, B., Vaughan Dickson, V., & Riegel, B. (2008). (Vols. 6, Issue 1).Abstract~A Situation-Specific Theory of Heart Failure Self-care
AbstractVaughan Dickson, V., Riegel, B., & Dickson, V. V. (2008). (Vols. 23, Issues 3, pp. 190-196). 10.1097/01.JCN.0000305091.35259.85AbstractHeart failure, a common syndrome in developed countries worldwide, is associated with poor quality of life, frequent rehospitalizations, and early death. Self-care is essential to improving outcomes in this patient population. The purpose of this article is to describe a situation-specific theory of heart failure self-care in which self-care is defined as a naturalistic decision-making process involving the choice of behaviors that maintain physiologic stability (maintenance) and the response to symptoms when they occur (management). Self-care maintenance is further defined to encompass routine symptom monitoring and treatment adherence. Self-care management is characterized as a process initiated by symptom recognition and evaluation, which stimulates the use of self-care treatments and treatment evaluation. Confidence in self-care is thought to moderate and/or mediate the effect of self-care on various outcomes. Four propositions were derived from the self-care of heart failure conceptual model: (1) symptom recognition is the key to successful self-care management; (2) self-care is better in patients with more knowledge, skill, experience, and compatible values; (3) confidence moderates the relationship between self-care and outcomes; and (4) confidence mediates the relationship between self-care and outcomes. These propositions were tested and supported using data obtained in previous research. Support of these propositions provides early evidence for this situation-specific theory of heart failure self-care.A typology of heart failure self-care management in non-elders
AbstractVaughan Dickson, V., Dickson, V. V., Deatrick, J. A., & Riegel, B. (2008). (Vols. 7, Issues 3, pp. 171-181). 10.1016/j.ejcnurse.2007.11.005AbstractBackground: Heart failure (HF) self-care is extremely challenging and few people master it. Self-care was defined as an active, cognitive process in which persons engage for the purpose of maintaining their health (maintenance) and managing symptoms (management). Aim: To examine the contribution of attitudes, self-efficacy, and cognition to HF self-care management. Methods: In this mixed methods study, 41 individuals (63.4% male, 68.3% Caucasian, mean age 49.17 (10.51) years, 58.5% NYHA III, median ejection fraction 30%) were interviewed and completed instruments on HF self-care, cognition, and physical functioning. Content analysis of narrative data revealed themes of self-care management practices, attitudes and self-efficacy towards self-care. Non-parametric tests assessed differences based on the types identified in the content analysis. Results: A self-care typology was constructed from the data: experts, novices and inconsistent. There were statistically significant differences (p = 0.001) in self-care practices among types and variance in attitudes, self-efficacy, and cognition. Experts had experience and skill in self-care, which novices lacked, and positive attitudes and self-efficacy that aligned with their behaviors. Most patients (71%) were classified as inconsistent, a self-care type associated with impaired cognition, poor physical functioning, negative attitudes, and poor self-efficacy. Conclusions: This typology provides insight into how expertise in self-care develops and the reasons why it is not always sustained.Work-heart balance : the influence of biobehavioral variables on self-care among employees with heart failure.
AbstractVaughan Dickson, V., Dickson, V. V., McCauley, L. A., & Riegel, B. (2008). (Vols. 56, Issues 2, pp. 63-73; quiz 74). 10.1177/216507990805600203AbstractThe complexities of managing heart failure among employees have not been studied. In this mixed methods study, the authors explored how cognition, physical functioning, attitudes, and self-efficacy influence self-care among employees with heart failure. Forty-one adults (White, 68.3%; male, 63.4%; median age, 51 years; employed, 48.8%) completed in-depth interviews and standardized instruments. Content analysis was used to derive themes from narrative accounts of self-care practices, attitudes, and self-efficacy within the context of employment. Descriptive and nonparametric statistics were used to describe the sample and generate hypotheses about relationships among the variables. Most of the employed participants (N = 13) worked full-time (65%), primarily in sedentary jobs. Cognition and physical functioning were better in those who were employed (p = .02), but self-care practices were lower (p = .03). Those who successfully managed heart failure and work described strategies to incorporate self-care into their workdays, self-efficacy in managing symptoms while at work, and favorable attitudes toward employment.Cognitive influences on self-care decision making in persons with heart failure
AbstractVaughan Dickson, V., Dickson, V. V., Tkacs, N., & Riegel, B. (2007). (Vols. 154, Issues 3, pp. 424-431). 10.1016/j.ahj.2007.04.058AbstractBackground: Despite advances in management, heart failure is associated with high rates of hospitalization, poor quality of life, and early death. Education intended to improve patients' abilities to care for themselves is an integral component of disease management programs. True self-care requires that patients make decisions about symptoms, but the cognitive deficits documented in 30% to 50% of the heart failure population may make daily decision making challenging. After describing heart failure self-care as a naturalistic decision making process, we explore cognitive deficits known to exist in persons with heart failure. Problems in heart failure self-care are analyzed in relation to neural alterations associated with heart failure. As a neural process, decision making has been traced to regions of the prefrontal cortex, the same areas that are affected by ischemia, infarction, and hypoxemia in heart failure. Resulting deficits in memory, attention, and executive function may impair the perception and interpretation of early symptoms and reasoning and, thereby, delay early treatment implementation. Conclusions: There is compelling evidence that the neural processes critical to decision making are located in the same structures that are affected by heart failure. Because self-care requires the cognitive ability to learn, perceive, interpret, and respond, research is needed to discern how neural deficits affects these abilities, decision-making, and self-care behaviors.Factors associated with the development of expertise in heart failure self-care
AbstractRiegel, B., Vaughan Dickson, V., Goldberg, L. R., & Deatrick, J. A. (2007). (Vols. 56, Issues 4, pp. 235-243). 10.1097/01.NNR.0000280615.75447.f7AbstractBackground: Self-care is vital for successful heart failure (HF) management. Mastering self-care is challenging; few patients develop sufficient expertise to avoid repeated hospitalization. OBJECTIVE:: To describe and understand how expertise in HF self-care develops. Methods: Extreme case sampling was used to identify 29 chronic HF patients predominately poor or particularly good in self-care. Using a mixed-methods (qualitative and quantitative) design, participants were interviewed about HF self-care, surveyed to measure factors anticipated to influence self-care, and tested for cognitive functioning. Audiotaped interviews were analyzed using content analysis. Qualitative and quantitative data were combined to produce a multidimensional typology of patients poor, good, or expert in HF self-care. Results: Only 10.3% of the sample was expert in HF self-care. Patients poor in HF self-care had worse cognition, more sleepiness, higher depression, and poorer family functioning. The primary factors distinguishing those good versus expert in self-care were sleepiness and family engagement. Experts had less daytime sleepiness and more support from engaged loved ones who fostered self-care skill development. CONCLUSION:: Engaged supporters can help persons with chronic HF to overcome seemingly insurmountable barriers to self-care. Research is needed to understand the effects of excessive daytime sleepiness on HF self-care.Optimal patient education and counseling
AbstractVaughan Dickson, V., & McMahon, J. (2007). In D. Moser & Riegel (Eds.), Cardiac nursing : A companion to<i> Braunwald's Heart Disease</i> (1st ed.).Abstract~A motivational counseling approach to improving heart failure self-care : Mechanisms of effectiveness
AbstractVaughan Dickson, V., Riegel, B., Dickson, V. V., Hoke, L., McMahon, J. P., Reis, B. F., & Sayers, S. (2006). (Vols. 21, Issues 3, pp. 232-241). 10.1097/00005082-200605000-00012AbstractBACKGROUND: Self-care is an integral component of successful heart failure (HF) management. Engaging patients in self-care can be challenging. METHODS: Fifteen patients with HF enrolled during hospitalization received a motivational intervention designed to improve HF self-care. A mixed method, pretest posttest design was used to evaluate the proportion of patients in whom the intervention was beneficial and the mechanism of effectiveness. Participants received, on average, 3.0 ± 1.5 home visits (median 3, mode 3, range 1-6) over a three-month period from an advanced practice nurse trained in motivational interviewing and family counseling. Quantitative and qualitative data were used to judge individual patients in whom the intervention produced a clinically significant improvement in HF self-care. Audiotaped intervention sessions were analyzed using qualitative methods to assess the mechanism of intervention effectiveness. RESULTS: Congruence between quantitative and qualitative judgments of improved self-care revealed that 71.4% of participants improved in self-care after receiving the intervention. Analysis of transcribed intervention sessions revealed themes of 1) communication (reflective listening, empathy); 2) making it fit (acknowledging cultural beliefs, overcoming barriers and constraints, negotiating an action plan); and, 3) bridging the transition from hospital to home (providing information, building skills, activating support resources). CONCLUSION: An intervention that incorporates the core elements of motivational interviewing may be effective in improving HF self-care, but further research is needed.Breast milk expression in the workplace : A look at frequency and time
AbstractVaughan Dickson, V., Slusser, W. M., Lange, L., Dickson, V., Hawkes, C., & Cohen, R. (2004). (Vols. 20, Issues 2, pp. 164-169). 10.1177/0890334404263731AbstractThe objective of this article is to study a barrier for breastfeeding women working full-time outside the home: breast milk expression in the workplace. Data are from a large corporation that provides employee benefits. Mothers express breast milk about twice a day when infants are 4 months old (x = 2.2 ± 0.8) and 6 months old (x = 1.9 ± 0.6), with a significant decline in frequency (P < .05 comparing the 2 age groups. Most mothers spend 1 hour or less expressing breast milk when infants are 3 (82%) or 6 months old (96%), with a significant difference (P < .05) between the 2 age groups. Mothers of younger infants were no more likely to work fewer days per week than were mothers of older infants. Most women can express breast milk for 3- and 6-month-old infants in less than an hour, distributed in about 2 separate portions, in an employment environment supportive of breastfeeding.