Carmen Rodriguez

Research

Technology-Enhanced Interventions for Symptom Management in Cancer Patients

Dr. Rodríguez serves as an Associate Professor at the University of South Florida College of Nursing. As an experienced clinician and researcher, her primary areas of impact are associated with symptom science, the improvement of health, and achieving health equity for cancer patients across the continuum of care. Her program of research is recognized for her expertise in behavioral oncology, and clinical trial intervention research for improving the quality of life and health equity of “suddenly speechless” critical care and advanced stage head and neck cancer survivors. Over the course of her career, Dr. Rodríguez has actively contributed to advances in oncology nursing science, with major practice and service contributions to integrate evidence and advance the quality of care for cancer patients, including the Hispanic/Latino populations and disadvantaged immigrants. She has led her interdisciplinary team to design, build and evaluate an innovative Technology-Enhanced Communication Intervention (TECI) program, to assist patient “communication” for improvement of clinical outcomes.

Meet Our Team

Our multidisciplinary team is committed to conducting research that focuses on improving the quality of life and health equity of “suddenly speechless” cancer patients. Our team utilizes innovative technology-enhanced interventions to improve the communication of needs and symptoms during periods of a sudden inability to verbalize resulting from cancer or cancer treatment. Our research investigates the integration of communication interventions in the acute care setting and across the continuum of care for head and neck cancer survivors with the inability to verbalize needs, and its impact on nurses, healthcare staff, and informal caregivers. Our team is also involved in the development of smart healthcare systems to remotely monitor and assess cancer patients’ progress at home with medical sensors.

Our multidisciplinary team includes the following disciplines: Nursing, Medicine, Engineering, Communication Disorders, Statistician, Intervention Design, and Caregiver Expertise.

M. Mifsud, MD
S. Watts, PhD, SLP
S. Katkoori, PhD
C.Lengacher, PhD, RN
M.Ji, PhD

Active project: Intervention to Facilitate Communication Between Suddenly Speechless

Patients and Healthcare Providers-Pilot study. This study will facilitate testing revisions associated with a Technology-Enhanced Communication Intervention (TECI) application to facilitate access as a web-based application and transfer of data generated to an external HIPAA-compliant server during use in the acute care setting.
Chinthala, R., Katkoori, S., Rodriguez, C.S. & Mifsud, M. An Internet of Medical Things (IoMT) (2022). Approach for Remote Assessment of Head and Neck Cancer Patients. 2022 IEEE International Symposium on Smart Electronic Systems. DOI 10.1109/iSES54909.2022.00035

Caputo MP, Rodriguez CS, Padhya TA, Mifsud MJ. Telehealth Interventions in Head and Neck Cancer Patients: A Systematic Review. Cancer Nurs. 2022 Dec 1. doi: 10.1097/NCC.0000000000001130. Epub ahead of print. PMID: 35816033

Rodríguez, C.S., Spring, H., & Rowe, M. (2018). Effectiveness of a technology-based communication intervention for suddenly speechless patients in critical care units: Nurses perceptions and experiences. Journal Cogent Social Sciences, 4(1); 1-14.

Rodríguez, C., Spring, H., Rowe, M. & Wittenberg, T. Use of a Technology-Based Communication Intervention in the Critical Care Setting: Nurses' Perceptions. (2017). Psycho-Oncology, 26 (Issue S1), 47-103. DOI:110.1002/pon.4354.

McMillan, S.C., Rodríguez, C.S., Wang, H.L., & Elliott, A. (2015). Issues faced by family caregivers of hospice patients with head and neck cancers. ORL-Head and Neck Nursing, 33; 8-13. Rodríguez, C.S., Spring, H., & Rowe, M. Communication with hospitalized suddenly speechless patients. APOS 11th Annual Conference, February 15, 2015; Tampa, FL. Psycho-Oncology, 23, 138-139.

Rodríguez, C.S., Spring, H.J., & Rowe, M. (2014). Nurses’ experiences with communicating with hospitalized suddenly speechless patients. (Electronic format, 2014). Qualitative Health Research, 25; 168–178.
Evaluate the acceptability of the TECI for head and neck cancer patients and informal caregivers and examine if home delivery improves the quality of life, communication, and psychological and physical symptoms for patients and caregivers.
Carmen Rodriguez, PhD, APRN, ANP-BC, AOCN, FAAN
csrodriguez@usf.edu
813-974-4686