Other Titles

International Nurse Researcher Hall of Fame Recipient Presentation

Other Titles

Special Session/Plenary Session

Abstract

This special session will focus on Dr. Karen J. Foli’s two decades of research, based on her mental health-focused nursing theories. A brief overview of her theories, the middle-range theory of parental postadoption depression and the middle-range theory of nurses’ psychological trauma, will be offered. Select studies from her research trajectories as well as the link between theory and empirical studies will be emphasized. Last, the international impact of her work will be illustrated.

Notes

Extensive reference list included in attached slide deck.

Description

Sigma celebrates 2026 International Nurse Researcher Hall of Fame Inductees

Twenty-six nurse researchers join the ranks of the profession's most transformative voices

This year marks the 17th presentation of this prestigious honor. The 2026 inductees join more than 300 of the most distinguished nurse researchers globally, whose work has left a lasting mark on the science, practice, and policy of nursing for generations to come.

This slide deck represents the presentation of a current inductee. 

Author Details

Karen J. Foli, PhD, RN, ANEF, FAAN

Dr. Karen J. Foli is Professor and the Louise Herrington Endowed Chair for Mental Health Nursing, and the creator of two broadly disseminated middle-range nursing theories. As a researcher, Dr. Foli integrates theoretical concepts and statements into her empirical work, from data collection to discussion, for the ultimate purposes of theory testing and refinement. Dr. Foli has served as principal investigator on four, highly competitive, continuous, National Council of State Boards of Nursing (NCSBN) Center for Regulatory Excellence grants that focused on nurses' substance use risk and substance use disorders.Dr. Foli is a fellow in the American Academy of Nursing (FAAN) and a fellow in the National League for Nursing: Academy of Nursing Education (ANEF).

Sigma Membership

Eta Gamma

Lead Author Affiliation

Baylor University, Waco Texas, USA

Type

Presentation

Format Type

Text-based Document

Study Design/Type

Expert Opinion (nationally/internationally recognized)

Research Approach

Other

Keywords:

Mental Health, Mental Health Services, Theory, Theory-Practice Relationship, Nursing Theory, Emotional Trauma

Conference Name

37th International Nursing Research Congress

Conference Host

Sigma Theta Tau International

Conference Location

Toronto, Ontario, Canada

Conference Year

2026

Rights Holder

All rights reserved by the author(s) and/or publisher(s) listed in this item record unless relinquished in whole or part by a rights notation or a Creative Commons License present in this item record. All permission requests should be directed accordingly and not to the Sigma Repository. All submitting authors or publishers have affirmed that when using material in their work where they do not own copyright, they have obtained permission of the copyright holder prior to submission and the rights holder has been acknowledged as necessary.

Review Type

Invited Presentation

Acquisition

Proxy-submission

Date of Issue

2026-10-05

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Theory Generation and Research: The International Impact on Families’ and Nurses’ Mental Health

Toronto, Ontario, Canada

This special session will focus on Dr. Karen J. Foli’s two decades of research, based on her mental health-focused nursing theories. A brief overview of her theories, the middle-range theory of parental postadoption depression and the middle-range theory of nurses’ psychological trauma, will be offered. Select studies from her research trajectories as well as the link between theory and empirical studies will be emphasized. Last, the international impact of her work will be illustrated.