Karen Aroian, a professor in the UCF College of Nursing, was inducted July 25 into the Sigma Theta Tau International’s Nurse Researcher Hall of Fame. She is one of 19 selected nurse researchers worldwide. The induction ceremony was held at the nursing honor society’s 24th International Nursing Research Congress in Prague, Czech Republic.
Established in 2010, the International Researcher Hall of Fame recognizes nurse researchers who have achieved significant and sustained national or international recognition, and whose research has improved the profession and its patients. Aroian, who has more than 30 years of federal and private funding, was selected for her outstanding contributions on immigrant and minority health.
“I am so honored to have been selected for the International Nurse Researcher Hall of Fame,” said Aroian. “It is a wonderful feeling knowing that my research has made such a positive impact in the world of health and health care.”
Aroian, who is a member of an Armenian family that knows the trauma of immigration firsthand, has conducted research and published works about immigrant and minority stress and psychosocial adaptation, health beliefs and health behaviors, and health care accessibility and utilization. Her research includes investigation of the adjustments of immigrants from countries such as Poland, Ireland, China, the former Soviet Union and the Philippines, as well as countries in the Middle East and Latin America. She also developed a widely used measure of immigrant stress, the Demands of Immigration Scale, and is an expert on cross-cultural measurement.
During her time at UCF, Aroian has developed a model of research partnerships with health care organizations that facilitates the advancement of faculty members’ programs of research.
“We are tremendously proud of Dr. Aroian,” said UCF College of Nursing founding Dean Jean D’Meza Leuner.
“Her selection for this international honor indicates that her research has impacted the lives of people far beyond our community. Dr. Aroian’s research, which spans three decades, is now celebrated along with other distinguished international nursing research. We are fortunate to have Dr. Aroian as a member of the College of Nursing faculty, where she readily mentors doctoral students and fellow faculty members to further the discipline of nursing,” Leuner said.
Aroian received her B.S. in nursing from the University of Massachusetts at Amherst, her M.S. in psychiatric mental health nursing from Boston College, and her Ph.D. in nursing science from the University of Washington. She is serving as the director of nursing research and holds the Chatlos Endowed Chair professorship in the College of Nursing. Aroian is an American Academy of Nursing Fellow and a member of STTI, Theta Epsilon Chapter.
STTI, founded in 1922 and incorporated in 1985, is a nonprofit organization committed to supporting the learning, knowledge and professional development of nurses committed to making a difference in health worldwide.