West Virginia University professors Greg Elmes and Julie Hicks Patrick have received one of the Eberly College of Arts and Sciences’Awards for Research Team Scholarship (ARTS).
Dr. Elmes, professor of geology and geography, and Dr. Patrick, assistant professor of psychology, will conduct research onDisability and Person-Environment-Activity (P-E-A) Interactions.Jenessa C. Johnson, a WVU doctoral candidate in psychology and graduate research assistant working in the School of Medicine’s Community Medicine/Prevention Research Center, also will participate.
The researchers will examine P-E-A interactions among 25 adults, with a consideration for disability status and residence in rural metropolitan versus rural non-metropolitan areas. The age of the study group will range from 45 to 65, and participants must report needing assistance with at least one physical instrumental activity of daily living such as using transportation, performing heavy housework and shopping. Participants will be studied using a combination of the two fields of study: psychology and geography. The researcher will beep each participant several times each day and ask that he or she will fill out a questionnaire on a PALM pilot. The researchers will also incorporate Global Positioning System data into Geographic Information Systems in order to visualize human movement along with information about the natural and built environment across different spatial and temporal scales.
In addition to focusing on under-studied populations, the research will address one of the high-priority areas identified by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation in their Active Living Research Program.
The project will also provide senior capstone experiences for undergraduates in both departments.
By combining the two disciplines, researchers say they will be able to secure more accurate findings and better position themselves for applying to the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation for future funding.
“This preliminary research should position the team well to compete successfully for the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation grant,”said Fred King, associate dean of the Eberly College.
The research team plans to conduct further research to study ways in which disability and rurality affect physical activity. They hope to continue the research performed in the initial study to develop larger, more specific studies examining disability and person-environment-activity interactions.
The ARTS program was established five years ago as part of an ongoing initiative to promote the pursuit of interdisciplinary and team-based research in the Eberly College of Arts and Sciences. In order to be considered for this program, teams must involve at least two faculty members, one of whom must be at the rank of assistant or associate professor in the Eberly College of Arts and Sciences. Preference is given to teams involving more than one unit from the Eberly College.