Background

Dr. McDonnell received her PhD in Nursing Science from the University of Virginia in 2013, her MSN with a specialization in oncology medical/surgical nursing from Yale University in 1983, a BSN from Cornell University-New York Hospital School of Nursing and a BS in Biology from St. Francis College in New York City. 

Teaching

Dr. McDonnell  teaches in the graduate nursing program. Dr. McDonnell is enthusiastic about teaching students about philosophic and theoretical foundations of nursing research. research methods, and the basics of evidence-based practice and proposal writing.  She especially enjoys mentoring students from all educational programs about the research process.

Research

Dr. McDonnell is the Principal investigator of the Lung Cancer Survivorship Research Program. The program's primary research interest involves developing and testing behavioral and supportive care interventions for family dyads to promote cancer risk-reducing behavior modification and symptom management. Concept areas include symptom management, self-management, mindfulness-based stress reduction, physical activity,  health-related quality of life, dyadic interventions and analysis and mobile health. 

A second research area of interest includes exploring theoretical models of shared decision making in regards to facilitating decision making between high-risk patients and their professional caregivers in relation to lung cancer screening. Concept areas include shared and individual decision making, development and testing of decision aids, and lung cancer screening.

Dissemination

Dr. McDonnell publishes in peer-review journals and presents abstracts at international/national conferences. Most recent ones are listed below: 

McDonnell, K.K. (2020, April). The INTENT Study. Paper, International Conference on Cancer Nursing (ICCN), London, England.

Webb, L.A., McDonnell, K.K., Adams S.A., Davis, R.E., & Felder, T.M. (April 2020). Evaluation of Lung Cancer Stigma Among Survivors of Lung Cancer. The International Conference of Cancer Nursing (ICCN), London, England.

Webb, L.A., McDonnell, K.K., Adams S.A., Davis, R.E., Donevant, S.B., & Felder, T.M. (May 2020). Evaluation of Lung Cancer Stigma with The Cataldo Lung Cancer Stigma Scale Among African American Survivors of Lung Cancer in South Carolina. Oncology Nursing Society 45th Annual Congress, San Antonio, TX.

Myhren-Bennett, A. R., McDonnell, K.K., Davis, J., Wirth, M.D., Hardin, J.W., & Gallerani, D.G. (2020, May) Evaluating Sleep Quality as a Preliminary Outcome of Breathe Easier: A Mindfulness-based Intervention for Survivors of Lung Cancer and Family Members (Dyads). Oncology Nursing Society 45th Annual Congress, San Antonio, TX.

McDonnell K.K., Gallerani D.G., Newsome, B.R., Owens O.L., Beer, J, Webb, L, Bennett, A., Hardin, J.W. (2019, September). A Dyad-based Mindfulness Cancer Recovery Program to Reduce Lung Cancer Symptoms – A Mixed Methods Study, IASLC 19th World Conference on Lung Cancer, (IALCS), Barcelona, Spain.

McDonnell K.K., Gallerani, D.G., Owens O. L, Beer J., Hardin, J. W. (2019, June). A Dyad-based Mindfulness Cancer Recovery Program to Reduce Lung Cancer Symptoms for Survivors and Family Members, Multinational Association for Supportive Care in Cancer (MASCC), San Francisco, CA. 

Owens, O.L., Beer, J.M., Smith, K., Kennedy, T., Acena, D., Gallerani, D., McDonnell, K.K. (2019, June). Empowering Lung Cancer Survivors and Caregivers to “Breathe Easier”: Development and Evaluation of a M-Health Intervention. Abstract submitted to American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO), Chicago, IL.

Webb, L. A., McDonnell, K.K., Adams, S. A., Felder, T. M., & Davis, R. (2019). Exploring Lung Cancer Stigma Among African American Survivors of Lung Cancer in South Carolina. Sigma Theta Tau International, New Orleans, LA. (November 2018) [Rising Star of Research and Scholarship Invited Student Poster].

Beer, J., Owens, O., Smith, K., Kennedy, T., Acena, D., Gallerani, D., & McDonnell, K.K. (2018, November). Development and evaluation of Breathe Easier mHealth app for survivors of lung cancer and family members. Abstract submitted and accepted to the annual meeting of the American Public Health Association, San Diego, CA.

McDonnell, K.K., Gallerani, D. G., Khan, S., Hardin, J., & Bennett, A. M. (2018, September). A dyad-based mindfulness cancer recovery program to reduce lung cancer symptoms for survivors and family members. Submitted and accepted to the International Conference on Cancer Nursing, Auckland, New Zealand.

Beer, J., Smith, K., Kennedy, T., Acena, D., Mios, G., Gallerani, D., Owens, O. L., & McDonnell, K.K. (2018, October). Focus group evaluation and design recommendations for Breathe Easier: A mindfulness mobile app for lung cancer survivors and caregivers. Abstract submitted and accepted to the State of the Public Health Conference at the University of Georgia, Athens, GA.

Smith, K., Kennedy, T., Acena, D., Gallerani, D.G., Owens, O.L., McDonnell, K.K., & Beer, J.M. (2018, April). Breathe Easier: The design, development, and evaluation of a mindfulness mobile app for survivors of lung cancer and their family members. Poster presented at the Southeastern Student Mentoring Conference in Gerontology and Geriatrics (submitted in collaboration with the University of Georgia, Institute of Gerontology), Orlando, FL.

Gallerani, D.G., Bennett, A.R., Newsome, B.R., & McDonnell, K.K. (2018, March). A mindfulness-based cancer recovery program for African American survivors of lung cancer and their family members (dyads): A feasibility study. Poster presented at the annual meeting of the American Society of Preventive Oncology, New York, NY.

McDonnell, K.K., Estrada, R., Dievendorf, A.C., Blew, L., Warden, D., Sercy, E., & Eberth, J.M. (2018, March). Nurse practitioner knowledge, attitudes, and practices regarding lung cancer screening in the United States—Practice guidelines and insurance reimbursement are not enough. Poster presented at the annual meeting of the American Society of Preventive Oncology, New York, NY.

Eberth, J.M., McDonnell, K.K., Strayer, S.M., Sercy, E., Khan, S., Dievendorf, A.C., Munden, R.F., & Vernon, S. (2018, March). A national survey of primary care physicians: perceptions and practices of low-dose CT lung cancer screening. Poster presented at the annual meeting of the American Society of Preventive Oncology, New York, NY.     

Bennett, A.R., McDonnell, K.K., Gallerani, D., & Tavakoli, A.A. (2018, March). Baseline profile of sleep quality in African American survivors of lung cancer and their family members (dyads). Paper and poster presented at the annual conference of the Southern Nursing Research Society, Atlanta, GA.  

Professional Service

Dr. McDonnell is an active long-time member of the Oncology Nursing Society (ONS) and Sigma, formerly known at Sigma Theta Tau International. Over the years, she has enjoyed a variety of leadership roles in local and national ONS activities and local Sigma activities. She is a delegate and global citizen of International Society of Nurses in Cancer Care and currently serves as a Communications Committee member. Most recently, she was appointed as a peer review member to the national Oncology Nursing Committee of the American Cancer Society. Other memberships include American Society of Clinical Oncology, International Association for the Study of Lung Cancer, Society of Behavioral Medicine, Council for the Advancement of Nursing Science, and Southern Nurses Research Society.

Professional Practice

Dr. McDonnell is an oncology clinical nurse specialist with a strong background in a variety of cancer care clinical settings in several administrative, practice, and research roles.

Research Studies (Most recent)

Advancing Quality Lung Cancer Survivorship in South Carolina 2.0. Bristol Myers Squibb Foundation - $286,000. 2019-2020. Co-Principal Investigator. Funded. 

Dyad-based Multiple Behavior Intervention for Reducing Lung Cancer Symptoms. American Cancer Society Mentored Research Grant - $750,000. 2018-2023. Principal Investigator. Funded. 

Advancing Quality Lung Cancer Survivorship in South Carolina 1.0. Bristol Myers Squibb Foundation - $750,000. 2017-2019. Principal Investigator. Funded.

Publications (Most recent)

Beer, J. M., Smith, K. N., Kennedy, T., Mois, G., Acena, D., Gallerani, D. G., McDonnell, K. K., Owens, O. L. (2020). Designing Breathe Easier: Focus Group Evaluation of a Mindfulness mHealth App for Survivors of Lung Cancer and their Family Members. American Journal of Health Promotion,

McDonnell, K. K., Owens, O. L., Messias, D. K., Friedman, D. B., Newsome, B. R., King, C.C., Jenerette, C., & Webb, L. A. (2020). After ringing the bell: Survivors and family members’ (dyads) perspectives on receptivity and preferences to lifestyle behavior change when facing lung cancer. Oncology Nursing Forum, 47(3), 281-291, DOI: 10.1188/20.ONF.281-2911.

Owens, O. L., Smith, K. N., Beer, J. M., Gallerani, D. & McDonnell, K. K. (2020). Cultural sensitivity of “Breathe Easier,” A mobile intervention for lung cancer survivors and families. Oncology Nursing Forum, 47(3), 331-341. DOI: 10.1188/20.ONF.331-341.

McDonnell, K. K., Owens, O., Messias, D. K. H., Heiney, S. P., Friedman, D. B., Campbell, C., & Webb, L.A. (2019). Health Behavior Changes in African American Family Members Facing Lung Cancer: Tensions and Compromises. European Journal of Oncology Nursing. 38, 57-64.

Dawson, R.M., Felder, T.M., Donevant, S.B., McDonnell, K. K., Card, E., Campbell, C., & Heiney, S.P. (2019). What makes a good health “app”? Identifying the strengths and limitations of existing mobile application evaluation tools. Nursing Inquiry, 27(2), e12333.

Webb, L. A., McDonnell, K. K., Adams, S. A., Felder, T. M., & Davis, R. (2019). Exploring stigma among lung cancer survivors: A scoping literature review. Oncology Nursing Forum, 46, 4, 402-418.

McDonnell, K. K., Estrada, R. D., Dievendorf, A. C., Blew, L., Warden, D., Sercy, E., Khan, S., Hardin, J. W., & Eberth, J. M. (2019). Nurse practitioner knowledge, attitudes, and practices regarding lung cancer screening in the United States: Practice guidelines and insurance reimbursement are not enough. Journal of the American Academy of Nurse Practitioners. doi: 10.1097/JXX.00000000000000960.1097/JXX.0000000000000096

McDonnell, K. K., Owens, O., Messias, D. K. H., Heiney, S. P., Friedman, D. B., Campbell, C., & Webb, L.A. (2018). Health Behavior Changes in African American Family Members Facing Lung Cancer: Tensions and Compromises. European Journal of Oncology Nursing, 38, 57-64.

Eberth, J. M., McDonnell, K. K., Sercy, E., Khan, S., Strayer, S. M., Dievendorf, A. C., Munden, R. F., & Vernon, S. W. (2018). A national survey of primary care physicians: Perceptions and practices of low-dose CT lung cancer screening. Preventive Medical Reports, 11, 93–99. doi:10.1016/j.pmedr.2018.05.013. 

Owens, O. L., Beer, J. M., Reyes, L. I., Gallerani, D. G., Myhren-Bennett, A. R., & McDonnell, K. K. (2018). Mindfulness-based symptom and stress management apps for adults with chronic lung disease: Systematic search in app stores. JMIR mHealth and uHealth, 6(5), e124. doi:10.2196/mhealth.9831.

McDonnell, K. K., Strayer, S. M., Sercy, E., Campbell, C., Friedman, D. B., Cartmell, K. B., & Eberth, J. M. (2018). Developing and testing a brief clinic-based lung cancer screening decision aid for primary care settings. Health Expectations. doi:10.1111/hex.12675.

Newsome, B. R., McDonnell, K. K., Hucks, J., & Dawson Estrada, R. (2018). Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease: Clinical implications for patients with lung cancer. Clinical Journal of Oncology Nursing, 22(2), 184–192. doi:10.1188/18.CJON.184-192.