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University of Colorado College of Nursing

College of Nursing
 

Faculty Profile

Karen Sousa, PhD, RN, FAAN

Professor
Associate Dean for Research and Extramural Affairs

Karen.Sousa@ucdenver.edu

Dr. Sousa is a Professor and Associate Dean for Research and Extramural Affairs. Her main career goal is to improve patient care through research that focuses on developing and testing conceptual models of quality of life as a nursing practice outcome. She has expertise in developing and applying advanced statistical methods, including structural equation modeling, as appropriate analytical strategies to yield a greater understanding of complex nursing outcomes. Dr. Sousa’s teaching interests include Nursing Theory and Conceptualization, and psychometrics.

Dr. Sousa has made outstanding contributions to nursing science in two important areas. The first is discovering the utility of a unique methodology, Structural Equation Modeling (SEM), for analyzing nursing-related phenomena. The second contribution is triggering a fresh examination of and advancing the consideration of health-related quality of life (HRQOL), a supremely relevant patient outcome. As a nursing pioneer in the application of SEM, she has demonstrated its uses in the areas of cluster analysis, instrument development, theory confirmation, construct validation, and establishment of conceptual equivalence in multi-group analyses (e. g., comparing English- and Spanish-speaking groups). There had been a methodological void in nursing’s analysis of complex patient outcomes. Her work has addressed that void, leading to numerous publications in highly ranked, peer-reviewed scientific journals and numerous consultations at academic institutions. In addition, until recently, nursing had not thoroughly tested conceptual models that capture HRQOL; this despite the fact that improving HRQOL should be nurses’ primary focus. Dr. Sousa’s program of research has taken the previously untested, non-uniform, nebulous notion of HRQOL and validated an elegant conceptual model that captures HRQOL across and over time. This work opens a broad avenue for exploring the processes of care and identifying nursing best practices. Dr. Sousa’s expertise has opened up many doors on the national and international level. She was appointed to the Research and Scholarship Advisory Council by the President of Sigma Theta Tau International as well as recruited to be the co-director of the International Society of Quality of Life Research Annual Conference.

Dr. Sousa has been a member of the Academy of Nursing since 2009 and is a member of the American Nurses Association, Sigma Theta Tau International, and the International Society for Quality of Life Research. Dr. Sousa was also recognized as an Emerging Leader at the University of Colorado in 2009.

Degree Awarding Institution Field of Study Graduation Date
BS University of California, San Francisco, California Nursing 1978
MS University of California, San Francisco, California Perinatal Nursing 1983
PhD University of California, San Francisco, California Nursing 1996
  1. Matthews, E. E., Schmiege, S. J., Cook, P., & Sousa, K. H. (On-line, 9/22/11). Breast cancer and symptom clusters during radiotherapy. Cancer Nursing.
  2. Sousa, K. H. , McDermott, C. M.,(student) & Weiss, J. (student) (2011). The importance of assessing symptoms and symptom clusters in critical care units. Advanced Critical Care Journal, 22(3), 275-282.
  3. Cook, P. F., Sousa, K. H. , Matthews, E., Meek, P., & Kwong, J. (2011). Patterns of change in symptom clusters with HIV disease progression. Journal of Pain & Symptom Management, 42(1), 12-23.
  4. Ryu, E., (student) West, S. G., & Sousa, K. H. (2009). Combining mediation and moderation: Testing relationships between symptom status, functional health, and quality of life in HIV patients, Multivariate Behavioral Research, 44(2), 213-232.
  5. Sousa, K. H., Kwok, O., (student) Ryu, E., (student) & Cook, S. W. (2008) Confirmation of the Validity of the HAQ-DI in Two Populations Living with Chronic Illnesses The Journal of Nursing Measurement. 16(1), 31-42.
  6. Sousa, K. H., Ryu, E., (student) Kwok, O, (student) Cook, S. W., & West, S. G. (2007) Development of a model to measure symptom status in persons living with rheumatoid arthritis Nursing Research, 56(6). 434-440.
  7. Lucero, R., (student) & Sousa, K. H. (2006) Participation and change in the nurse work environment Visions: The Journal of Rogerian Nursing Science, 14(2), 48-59.
  8. Sousa, K. H., & Kwok, O. (student) (2006) Putting Wilson and Cleary to the Test: Analysis of a HRQOL Conceptual Model using Structural Equation Modeling Journal of Quality of Life Research, 15, 725-737.
  9. Sousa, K. H., Tann, S., & Kwok, O. (student) (2006) Reconsidering the Assessment of Symptom Status in HIV-AIDS Care Journal of the Association of Nurses in AIDS Care, 17(2), 36-46.
  10. Chen, F. F., (student) West, S. G., & Sousa, K. H. (2006) A Comparison of Bifactor and Second-Order Models of Quality of Life Multivariate Behavioral Research, 41(2), 189-224.
  11. Tann, S., Sousa, K. H., & Kwok, O. (student) (2005) Cross-Cultural Model Testing: Quality of Life in a Latino Population Living with HIV Hispanic Health Care International, 3(2), 103-115.
  12. Chen, F. F., (student) Sousa, K. H., & West, S. G. (2005) Testing Measurement Invariance of Second-order Factor Models Journal of Structural Equation Modeling, 12(3). 471-492.
  13. Velayos, F. S., Williamson, A., Sousa, K. H., Lung, E., Bostrom, A., Weber, E. J., Ostroff, J. W., & Terdiman, J. P. (2004) Early Predictors of Severe Lower Gastrointestinal Bleeding and Adverse Outcomes: A Prospective Study Clinical Gastroenterology and Hepatology, 2, 485-490.
  14. Sousa, K. H., & Chen, F. F. (student) (2003) Latent Mean Structure Analysis: A Technique to Compare Group Differences in a Second-Order Quality of Life Model The Journal of Nursing Measurement, 11(3), 253-66.
  15. Sousa, K. H., Zunkel, G. M., & Holman, E. J. (2003) Optimizing Mental Health in an Academic Nurse-Managed Clinic The Journal of American Academy of Nurse Practitioners, 15(7), 313-318.
  16. Sousa, K. H., & Williamson, A. (2003) Symptom Status and Health-Related Quality of Life: Clinical Relevance Journal of Advanced Nursing, 42(6), 571-577.
  • 2011 Consultant, Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, Submitted November 2011, The Seamless Integrated Pathway to Baccalaureate Education: A Collaborative Model with a Community College and a University College of Nursing, (Round 2, pending).
  • 2011 Principal Investigator, PCORI, Submitted November 2011, Symptoms: A reflection of quality patient care, (pending).
  • 2011 Principal Investigator, Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, Submitted November
    of 2011, Evaluating the effectiveness of the UHC/AACN Nurse Residency Program from a patient outcome perspective, (Round 2, pending).
  • 2011 Principal Investigator, National Institutes of Health, R13 CA162880-01, Pushing the Boundaries: Frontiers of Health-Related Quality of Life Research, (funded).
  • 2010 Co-Sponsor, National Institutes of Health (NRSA), Improve Sleep in Rural Breast Cancer Survivors, (funded).
  • 2008 Principal Investigator, National Institutes of Health, R15NR010632, Pediatric Quality of Life: Is it lost in traducción?
  • 2002-04 Principal Investigator, National Institutes of Health, R01 NR04817-03S1, supplement to Health-Related Quality of Life in Arthritis and AIDS.
  • 2001-02 Principal Investigator, Agency for Healthcare Research and Policy, R13 HS12061-01 Program Grant, Optimizing Outcome Research for Nursing Practice.
  • 2000-04 Principal Investigator, National Institutes of Health, R01 NR04817-01A2, Health-Related Quality of Life in Arthritis and AIDS.