Finding a Home in Nursing

Marie Mugavin embraces nursing research and teaching.

by Lauren Cruse

..........................................................................................................................

Marie Mugavin’s two little boys, one nine and the other ten, were concerned about the size of their mother’s office at the University of New Mexico’s College of Nursing.

“When they first saw it, they asked what I did wrong and then patted me on the back sympathetically,” Mugavin says with a laugh. “We live in the east mountains, so they are used to wide open spaces. I told them it was actually a really great office and that I loved it.”

Good thing, because Mugavin will be calling the College of Nursing her home for quite some time as she was a nursing student recently turned faculty member.

Mugavin was the first PhD student to graduate from the College in January 2007, a historical accomplishment for the nursing school, which is in urgent need of a faculty boost to support the increase in student enrollment. The PhD program, started in 2003, was developed not only to harbor and encourage nursing research, but also to produce professors for the College.

Mugavin is a perfect example of what the College wants to accomplish through its doctoral program. She is currently working on research she developed during her four years as a PhD student and will begin teaching classes this spring.

“I was given one year to concentrate on my research before I started teaching,” Mugavin says. “As far as teaching, I would like to focus on brain and behavioral correlates of health and illness.”

Her teaching interests make sense as her research expands upon her dissertation, a comparative study of women incarcerated for child abuse and child homicide (also known as filicide). This is a sensitive topic, but one Mugavin thinks can be addressed across specialties, including nursing.

“Many nurses come into contact with vulnerable mothers and children every day,” Mugavin says.

The rate of violent crimes against children is staggering. In 2005, more than three million referrals were made to Child Protective Services involving approximately six million children in the United States. Approximately fifteen hundred child fatalities occurred in 2005, a number believed to be underestimated due to inconsistencies in definition and detection.

Mugavin’s research is particularly important to New Mexico because the rate of child abuse and neglect per thousand children is seventeen percent higher, and the child homicide rate is forty percent higher than the national rates.

For her study, Mugavin interviewed women convicted for crimes of abuse and filicide in two New Mexico prisons and is now collecting data from two additional prisons in neighboring states.

The purpose of Mugavin’s study is to explore vulnerabilities and triggers that may contribute to nonfatal and fatal child abuse from the perspective of the mother.

To identify these vulnerabilities and triggers, Mugavin employs a novel method called multi-dimensional scaling, which is an exploratory technique used to identify unrecognized dimensions affecting behavior. The participants generate cognitive maps that reflect links between factors that may predispose them to child abuse.

Mugavin believes that identifying the varying constellation of factors that predispose one to fatal or nonfatal abuse will allow for the development, testing, and dissemination of assessment tools and strategies for healthcare providers.

“Healthcare providers would benefit by having access to a perception-related assessment tool when interacting with potential abusers,” Mugavin says. “Too many of these women slip through the cracks. Increasing provider awareness is so important, especially in the context of nursing. Nurses and mid-level nurse providers are at the frontlines of healthcare. If they are aware of the red flags and have set guidelines and/or tools in place for assessment and prevention, the cases of abuse and filicide may begin to decrease.”