Rebecca Keele has been in nursing education for over 30 years. During that time, her focus has been on community health nursing and research related to health promotion/disease prevention, specifically physical activity and healthy eating.
Before coming to TWU, Dr. Keele was a faculty member within the School of Nursing at New Mexico State University for 20 years. Located in Las Cruces, NM, approximately 30 minutes from Ciudad, Juárez provided her with many opportunities to work with underserved populations. During that time, she worked with community health nursing students supervising clinical experiences in many of the border communities. She has experience working with community health workers called "promotoras" as a researcher and a clinician.
Dr. Keele's research is focused on promoting physical activity and healthy eating with patients that have type 2 diabetes and live in underserved border communities. Most recently, she has been translating this experience to Laredo, TX. Dr. Keele just completed a research project which involved surveying physical activity motives of border residents that use the local community center. She has also been successfully externally funded through the Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute (PCORI).
Education:
- ANCC certified in Public Health Nursing as a Clinical Nurse Specialist
- Ph.D., University of Kansas
- M.S., University of Kansas
- B.S.N, University of Central Arkansas
Interests/Expertise:
Promoting Physical Activity and Healthy Eating for Vulnerable Populations (e.g. the Homeless and Hispanics in Underserved Populations with Diabetes)
Professional Affiliations:
- Phi Kappa Phi
- Sigma Theta Tau
- Southern Nursing Research Society
- Texas Nursing Association
- Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute Ambassador
Latest Articles:
Lewis, A., & Keele, R. (in press, 2019). Development and Validation of an Instrument to Measure Nurses' Beliefs toward Deaf and Hard of Hearing Interaction. Journal of Nursing Measurement.
Keele, R. (2019). To Role Model or Not? Nurses Challenges in Promoting a Healthy Lifestyle. Workplace Health and Safety., doi: 10.1177/2165079919828738.
Minzola, D., & Keele, R. (2017). Relationship of Tympanic and Temporal Temperature
Modalities to Core Temperature in Pediatric Surgical Patients. AANA (86)1, (pp. 19-26). Retrieved from https://pdfs.semanticscholar.org/f4a6/0358d5e12263eafdc429a91f0436cbd96b6a.pdf
Denson, V., & Keele, R. (2016). Cervical Cancer Screening Practices of Volunteer Health Care Providers in Faith-Based Clinics. The Journal for Nurse Practitioners (12) 1, (pp. 27-34). Retrieved from https://doi.org/10.1016/j.nurpra.2015.09.005
Books:
Keele, R. (2012). Nursing Research and Evidence-Based Practice: Ten Steps to Success. Jones & Bartlett Publishers
Current Projects:
2019: Keele, R. Physical Activity Counseling with Mexican American Patients with Diabetes Living Along the US-Mexico Border ($1,567,906.00 Pending), Principal Investigator, Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute (PCORI).
Externally Funded Projects:
2018: Keele, R. & Lewis, A., Development of the Nurses' Attitudes to Deaf/Hard of Hearing (DHH) Interaction Scale., Co-Investigator, National League for Nursing and Southern Nursing Research Society. Total budget $5,000.
2018: Keele, R. The Development of a Tool to Measure Viewing One's Image in a Mirror: The Mirror Image Comfort Acceptance Scale (MICAS), Co-Investigator, 4th Annual Lucille Petry Leone Research Grant supported by Sigma Theta Tau International Beta Beta Houston Chapter. $2,000.
2016: Keele, R. Creating a Health Promotion Effectiveness Research Proposal for Families Living in a Colonia Population ($50,000.00), Principal Investigator, PCORI (Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute) P2P Program.
2015: Keele, R. Promoting Healthy Eating and Physical Activity with Families Living in a Southern New Mexico Border Region Colonia ($25,000.00), Principal Investigator, PCORI (Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute) P2P Program.
2014: Keele, R. Promoting Physical Activity in Preschool-Age Children with Family Caregivers ($36,000.00), Principal Investigator, New Mexico IDeA Networks of Biomedical Research Excellence.
2014: Keele, R. Mobilizing Community Engagement for Health in a Southern NM Border Region Colonia ($15,000.00), Principal Investigator, PCORI (Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute) P2P Program.
Internally Funded Projects:
2019: Keele, R. Construct Validation and Refinement of the Exercise Motivation Questionnaire for Mexican American Adults ($700.00), Principal Investigator, TWU Small Grants Award.
2018: Keele, R. The Development of a Tool to Measure Viewing One's Image in a Mirror: The Mirror Image Comfort Acceptance Scale (MICAS), Co-Investigator, Texas Woman's University. Total budget was $9995.
