Mary A. Nies, PhD, RN, FAAN, FAAHB

Research Interests

• Physical Activity Interventions for Vulnerable Populations
• Health Promotion and Obesity Prevention
• Influence of Neighborhood and Environment on Health Outcomes
• Community Based Participatory Research
• Geographic Information System (GIS) and Health

Profile

Dr. Nies is a Professor in the Division of Health Sciences at Idaho State University. Dr. Nies is the former Project Director on the Idaho Senior Refugee Interprofessional Holistic Health Project funded by Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) for $1.5 Million. In addition, Dr. Nies serves as Research Mentor for tenure track faculty on externally funded research grants and was PI on the Jonas Leaders Scholars Program for doctoral students, ISU Liaison for the RWJ Foundation SIP grant, and PI on a university and medical center contract for faculty and staff nurse mentoring. Dr. Nies is the former Dean of the School of Nursing. Dr. Nies is a behavioral nurse scientist with a research focus on community interventions promoting health in vulnerable populations. Her scientific expertise lies in health promotion and intervention research. In addition to being an invited speaker, she has presented her research at regional, national, and international conferences. She has received extensive federal and foundation funding to support her research. Dr. Nies has numerous publications in well-recognized peer review journals. She is the co-author of the textbook Community/Public Health Nursing: Promoting the Health of Populations now in its 6th edition. Dr. Nies has experience working with interdisciplinary research teams and has served on several NIH and CDC grant review study sections. She is a Fellow in the American Academy of Nursing and a Fellow in the American Academy of Health Behavior. Dr. Nies was inducted into the International Nurse Researcher Hall of Fame, Sigma Theta Tau International Honor Society in 2011 in Mexico. She received the Distinguished Alumnus Award from the University of Wisconsin, Madison School of Nursing, the Loyola University Chicago School of Nursing, and the University of Illinois at Chicago College of Nursing. Her BSN is from the University of Wisconsin, Madison, her MSN from Loyola University Chicago, and her PhD in Nursing Science is from the University of Illinois at Chicago. She completed a post-doctoral fellowship at the School of Nursing, University of Michigan working with Dr. Jean Goeppinger and Dr. Nola Pender. Dr. Nies is an alumna of the AACN-Wharton Executive Leadership Program at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania.

Featured Scholarship and Publications

Woods, T. Nies, M.A., and Shirley, A. (2022) Social Networks in Retirement and Assisted Living Communities: A Literature Review. Journal of Gerontological Nursing 48 (1): 42-46.

Woods, T. and Nies, M.A. (2021) Health Belief Model Factors as Predictors of Parental Misclassification of the Weight of the Preschool Child. PLoS ONE 16(9): e0252981.

Woods, T. and Nies, M.A. (2020) Examination of Parental Knowledge of Child Weight Status and Associated Potential Health Risks. Journal of Education and Health Promotion, 9 (1) 76

Anderson, A. and Nies, M.A. (2019) Demographic Factors Associated With Health in a Senior Refugee Population in Idaho. Annals of Nursing Research and Practice, 4, (1): 1034

Woods, T. and Nies, M.A. (2019) Review of the Literature on Parental Efficacy and Child Nutrition, Activity, and Weight.  Research in Health Sciences, 4, (3), 201-211

Woods, T. and Nies, M.A. (2019) Most Appropriate Mechanism to Understand the Parental Classification of Child’s Weight Status. Annals of Nursing Research and Practice, 4, (1): 1033.

Woods, T. and Nies, M.A. (2019) Pre-diabetes in the Hispanic population: Adolescents to Adulthood. Annals of Nursing Research and Practice, 4, (1): 1032.

Nies, M.A., Weaver, M., Damstrom, E. (2018) Development of a Department of Nursing Research in a Rural University College of Nursing. Journal of Comprehensive Nursing Research and Care 3: 130 http://dx.doi.org/jcnrc/2018/130.

Woods, T. and Nies, M.A. (2018) Conceptual Application of the Adapted Health Belief Model to Parental Understanding of Child Weight. Journal of Health Science and Education, 2, (4), 146-151

Nies, M.A., Febles, C.G. Fanning, K.C., Tavernier, S.S. (2018). A Conceptual Model for Home Based Primary Care of Older Refugees. Journal of Immigrant and Minority Health, 20, (2), 485-491

Stevens, K.P. and Nies, M.A. (2018) Factors Related to Nurses’ Attitudes Towards the Suicidal Patient: An Integrative Review. Clinical Research and Trials 4, (2), 1-6

Rose, T., Nies, M.A., Reid, J. (2018) The Internalization of Nursing Professional Values in Baccalaureate Nursing Students. Journal of Professional Nursing 34, (1), 25-30.

Stevens, K.P. and Nies, M.A. (2018) Transforming Nursing Education in a 140-Character World: The Efficacy of Becoming Social. Journal of Professional Nursing 34, (1), 31-34.

Jones. L and Nies, M.A. (2017). The Effect of a Small Group Nursing Intervention with Rural Dwelling Older Adults. International Journal of Research in Nursing 8 (2), 10-16.

Findlay, A. and Nies, M.A. (2017). Understanding Social Networking Use for Social Connectedness among Rural Older Adults. Healthy Aging Research 6 (4), 12-20.

Febles, C.G., Nies, M.A., Fanning, K., Tavernier, S. (2017). Challenges and strategies in providing home based primary care for refugees in the US. Journal of Immigrant and Minority Health, 19 (6), 1498-1505.

Rosin, K., Fitchett, B., Febles, C., Nies, M.A. (2017). DNP Student Perceptions of Providing Care to Refugees: Implications for Doctoral Nursing Practice. Journal of Doctoral Nursing Practice. 10 (2), 140-143.

Tasseff, T.L. and Nies, M.A. (2017) Alzheimer’s and Dementia: The Next War for Rural Veterans and Their Families? American Journal of Nursing. 117 (11), 11.

Woods, T. and Nies, M.A. (2017) Understanding Parental Misclassification of Child Weight Status. Journal of Health Sciences and Education. 1 (2), 114-119