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Throughout her career, Dr. Melkus has cared for persons with type 2 diabetes, taught others to provide excellent care and directed programs of research aimed at helping persons with diabetes, particularly women of color, to participate in their own self-management of the disease. As an adult nurse practitioner and certified diabetes educator, caring for persons with diabetes, Dr. Melkus recognized that care providers need specialized knowledge to care for these patients. She developed a program of study at Yale's School of Nursing called the Diabetes Concentration, which provides clinical and research-based experiences for master's students across all specialty areas at Yale. This was the first program of this type in the United States.
Through her scientific work, Dr. Melkus has implemented intervention studies aimed at improving control and decreasing the complications associated with type 2 diabetes in culturally diverse populations. Her program of research continues to have a positive impact on the care of the underserved.
Dr Melkus has published extensively in the area of diabetes care, specifically on culturally sensitive interventions. The body of her scientific work has informed the field and drawn students from all over the United States and internationally to Yale to study with her for a doctorate at Yale. Dr. Melkus is now funded by the National Institutes of Health/National Institute of Nursing Research to test an intervention aimed at improving the care provided to community-based African American women, by supporting their efforts at self-management.
Most recently, Dr. Melkus assumed the role of Director of the Pilot Development
Core in the federally funded Yale-Howard Exploratory Center to Eliminate Health
Disparities. Her responsibilities include working with young investigators to
develop successful pilot studies to be funded by the Center. She was selected for
this responsibility because of her expertise in research design and implementation and her acknowledged expertise in research with diverse populations.
Diabetes Care and Education: systems of care, practice patterns, obesity and weight management interventions.
RO1 Self-Care Interventions for Black Women with T2 Diabetes
CT Nurses Association Diamond Jubilee Virginia Henderson Excellence in Nursing Research Award 2003
Fellow, American Academy of Nursing 2003
Chair, National Certification Board for Diabetes Educators, 1995.
Robert Wood Johnson Scholar in Residence, Robert Wood Johnson Hospital, 1992 -1993.
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