Christina Bricker

Background

About Christina Bricker

I earned my Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN) from Harding University, Summa Cum Laude in 1995, my Master of Nursing Science (MNSc), Family Nurse Practitioner specialty, in and my Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) in Nursing Science from the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences in 2013. I have over twenty years of experience as a family nurse practitioner and have practiced in numerous areas including rural, college, urban, and free health clinics. I still practice one day per week while working full-time as an academician. My teaching experience spans over fifteen years at the graduate level. I have over 35 professional presentations and 21 peer-reviewed publications including co-authorship on an American Heart Association scientific statement published in Circulation. Previous leadership experience includes Associate Dean of Graduate Clinical Programs, Family Nurse Practitioner Concentration Director and interim PhD Program Director. I am a Fellow in the American Heart Association and have received several awards including Graduate Faculty of the Year Award, Great 100 Nurses of Arkansas, Dissertation of the Year Award, and Outstanding Future Nurse Leader Award. I am a past chair of the American Heart Association Early Career Committee, Cardiovascular and Stroke Nursing Council and have served in several leadership positions for the Southern Nursing Research Society. My research has focused on examining the causes of cardiovascular health disparities and identifying ways to eliminate them. My research studies include my dissertation and NIH-funded NRSA entitled: Factors Affecting Hypertension Treatment Adherence among African Americans (1-F31-NR012347) and a University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences College of Nursing-funded study entitled: The Relationship of Sleep Disturbance, Depression, and Inflammation with Coronary Heart Disease in Women. I was selected to attend three national training programs: the NIH Summer Genetics Institute, the NIH National Center on Minority Health and Health Disparities Translational Health Disparities course, and the AHA 2014 10-Day Seminar on the Epidemiology and Prevention of Cardiovascular Disease. I have been a volunteer family nurse practitioner in a free, faith-based, primary care clinic. My interest in health care disparities has grown out of my clinical experience in providing care to uninsured, indigent populations and I am interested in the factors influencing health care disparities, including culture, genetics, and environment.