Dr. Laura Ford is a Nurse Practitioner with LakeView Family Care in Mattawan and a faculty member of the School of Nursing at the University of Michigan. A recent recipient of the Patricia Lee Thompson Dissertation Award, she is the proud mother of two exceptional children, and has lived in the Kalamazoo area for over 45 years. Her goal with achievement of a PhD from Western Michigan University’s Interdisciplinary Health Studies program out of the College of Health and Human Services is to continue to advocate for the role of advanced practice nurses in Southwest Michigan, and for her professional development as a faculty member with one of the top nursing programs in the United States.

The following is a description of her research in the monograph entitled A Mixed Methods Analysis of the Concept of Female Sexual Health: The meaning of the concept female sexual health was discovered in this study through a dimensional analysis and grounded theory development. Focus groups were utilized to obtain information on the concept of interest, the transcripts were analyzed using classic techniques of grounded theory development and dimensional analysis occurred. The nine dimensions to emerge from the qualitative study were emotive and physiologic. A pilot then draft instrument was created and tested using a mail survey instrument. Frequencies and correlations as statistical methods further tested the grounded theory to emerge from the qualitative segment of the study. The concept of female sexual health stems from the expressed sentiment that women valued relationship with their partner, and correlation analysis of the data indicated that women with the highest degree of self reported sexual health were those with a strong sense of their authentic self. Dr. Ford continues to disseminate her research in peer-reviewed journals and at professional conferences.

Dr. Amy Curtis, biostatistician with the Interdisciplinary Health Studies doctoral program, served as Dr. Ford’s dissertation advisor. Dr. Angela Moe, assistant professor with the Department of Sociology, and Dr. Barbara Barton, assistant professor with the Department of Social Work, served as dissertation committee members.

TOP