About

Dr. Jane Dimmitt Champion is an internationally renowned researcher and scholar specializing in health promotion and risk reduction among urban and rural ethnic minority women and adolescents. Her clinical research focuses on sexually transmitted infections (STI)/HIV, substance use, adolescent and women’s health, unintended pregnancy, and interpersonal violence. She merges her clinical practice with her research, developing and testing multilevel, multi-component primary care-based interventions aimed at improving sexual and general health in underserved populations. Her early work concentrated on sexual health promotion and reducing sexual-related risk behaviors, exemplified by her intervention Project Image, which demonstrated effectiveness in promoting healthy sexual behaviors and reducing risk behaviors among ethnic minority adolescent women. This intervention was recognized by the CDC and the DHHS Office of Adolescent Health as an effective intervention in 2014. Dr. Champion holds a diverse educational background with degrees from the University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio, the University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston, the University of Texas at San Antonio, the University of Tennessee Health Science Center at Memphis, and post-graduate certifications from Texas Tech University and the University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio. She completed a NIH post-doctoral fellowship in Minority Women’s Health, STI, and Violence, as well as a CDC/ATPM fellowship in STI/HIV Research. Her research has been funded by over 35 grants, including 26 NIH-funded projects, where she served as Principal Investigator or Co-Investigator. She has authored over 150 peer-reviewed publications and presented her work over 350 times at various conferences. Recognized for her contributions, she was inducted into the Sigma Theta Tau International Nurse Researcher Hall of Fame in 2018, received the SNRS Award for Research in Minority Health in 2015, and is a Fellow of the American Academy of Nursing and the American Academy of Nurse Practitioners. Dr. Champion has also contributed to building academic programs internationally as a visiting scholar in Iceland, Mexico, and Vietnam.

Research topics

• Medicine
• Psychiatry
• Nursing
• Virology
• Psychology
• Social psychology
• Clinical psychology
• Family medicine
• Developmental psychology

Selected publications

• An evaluation of nutrition education in baccalaureate nursing programs across the county

  Journal of Nursing Education and Practice · 2025-08-13

  articleOpen accessSenior author

  Background: Obesity in the United States plagues 70% of adults and over 30 million are diagnosed with diabetes. Research confirms diet as the most significant risk factor, yet this is not being disseminated to providers. Extensive research exists confirming the lack of nutrition education in medical programs, while little exists within nursing programs. Methods: Eighty United States baccalaureate nursing programs were evaluated for nutrition content along with a survey of the faculty regarding their opinions of the nutrition curriculum. Program evaluation and survey data were analyzed using descriptive statistics.  Results: Among baccalaureate nursing programs, 66% of programs required a nutrition course, averaging 2 hours while 34% of programs had no nutrition requirement, and only 16% had evidence-based nutrition content.  Conclusions: Medical school curricula are moving to include evidence-based nutrition content. Nursing is compelled to address this curriculum deficit thereby facilitating appropriate dissemination of evidence-based nutrition education. 

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• Assessing the effectiveness of nursing virtual reality simulation for English as second language students to decrease anxiety in clinical courses

  Journal of Nursing Education and Practice · 2024-10-24 · 1 citations

  articleOpen accessSenior author

  This study aimed to assess the effectiveness of Nursing Virtual Reality Simulation (NVRS) in increasing confidence and reducing anxiety among English as a Second Language (ESL) students enrolled in undergraduate nursing clinical courses. ESL nursing students often face unique challenges in clinical settings, where effective communication and critical thinking are crucial. With the growing use of NVRS as an innovative component of nursing education, this study employed a mixed-methods approach, including a pre-intervention survey and a post-intervention Likert-scale questionnaire, along with individual interviews, to evaluate the outcomes of two NVRS sessions. Preliminary findings suggest that NVRS significantly reduces anxiety related to language barriers, enabling ESL students to practice and improve their communication skills in a supportive, immersive environment. The positive feedback from participants underscores the potential of NVRS to enhance clinical learning experiences. The study concludes that NVRS could be an effective supplementary tool in reducing anxiety among ESL nursing students, and further research is recommended to explore the long-term impacts of NVRS on clinical performance and confidence.

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• The lived experiences of nurse practitioners during a nursing strike

  Applied Nursing Research · 2024-12-17

  articleSenior authorCorresponding
  PublisherDOI

• Characteristics of late preterm infant readmissions: A systematic review

  Journal of the American Association of Nurse Practitioners · 2024-01-16 · 3 citations

  reviewSenior authorCorresponding

  BACKGROUND: Prematurity represents a critical health disparity. It is important to note that late preterm (LPT) infants comprise the majority of preterm births, yet they are the least studied within the premature population. Evidence-based practice guidelines are now a decade old, indicating the potential need for review and revision. OBJECTIVES: This systematic review proposed the assessment of sociodemographic characteristics of LPT infants, clinical practice standards, and associated hospital readmission rates, mortality, and morbidity to determine the need for revision of evidence-based practice guidelines for these infants. DATA SOURCES: The Preferred Reporting System Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta Analysis methodology provided the framework for the completion of this review. Literature searches of PubMed/Medline (Ovid), Web of Science, Cumulative Index of Nursing, and Allied Health Literature Plus databases and citation searches included articles published after 2012 using the search terms "late preterm infants," "readmissions," and "readmission rates." CONCLUSIONS: The literature search identified 11 studies meeting search criteria. These studies included quasi experimental, retrospective, and prospective cohort studies. These studies highlighted the characteristics of LPT infants that potentially contribute to increased readmission rates, morbidity and mortality rates, health care costs, and long-term health inequities. Overall findings indicate the need for review and revision of evidence-based practice guidelines for these infants. IMPLICATIONS FOR PRACTICE: This systematic review manifests the vulnerability of LPT infants and the accompanying need for up-to-date clinical practice guidelines to effectively reduce their morbidity and mortality rates, hospital readmissions rates, and burden of health care costs.

  PublisherDOI

• Personal, Interpersonal, and Sociocultural Factors of Condom Use in Rural Indigenous Nahuas Adolescents in Mexico

  Preprints.org · 2023-04-25 · 1 citations

  preprintOpen accessSenior author

  The goal was to determine the personal, interpersonal, and sociocultural predictors of condom use among rural indigenous adolescents. Predictor variables were selected from Bandura's Social Cognitive Theory and Leininger's Transcultural Theory. The sample consisted of 419 Nahuas adolescents randomly selected from the total number of neighborhood blocks in a rural community in Puebla, Mexico. The instruments had acceptable psychometric characteristics (Cronbach alpha and validity scores). Multiple linear regression models were used. Results: 56.8% of participants were female, and 50.40 % were students. The mean age was M = 17.5 (SD = 0.97), and the majority (63%) identified as Catholic. Age at menarche/first ejaculation (β = -1.2, p = .038), attitude toward condom use (β = .13, p < .001), ethnic identity (β = .21, p < .001), and ability to negotiate condom use (β = .13, p < .003), predicted (R2 = 22.3) condom use. This study provides a basis for the integration of the cultural values of indigenous adolescents within interventions for sexual health promotion.

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• The Impact of COVID-19 on Body Mass Index Among Hispanic Children Accessing a Primary Care Clinic in Central Texas: An Epidemic Amidst a Pandemic

  Journal of Pediatric Health Care · 2023-08-16 · 1 citations

  articleSenior author
  PublisherDOI

• Table of Contents

  Journal of Pediatric Health Care · 2023-10-30

  articleOpen access
  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• Personal, Interpersonal, and Sociocultural Factors of Condom Use in Rural Indigenous Nahuas Adolescents in Mexico

  Children · 2023-05-24 · 1 citations

  articleOpen accessSenior author

  The goal of this research was to determine the personal, interpersonal, and sociocultural predictors of condom use among rural Indigenous adolescents. Predictor variables were selected from Bandura’s Social Cognitive Theory and Leininger’s Transcultural Theory. The sample consisted of 419 Nahuas adolescents randomly selected from the total number of neighborhood blocks in a rural community in Puebla, Mexico. The instruments had acceptable psychometric characteristics (Cronbach alpha and validity scores). Multiple linear regression models were used. Results: 56.8% of participants were female, and 50.40% were students. Mean age was M = 17.5 (SD = 0.97), and the majority (63%) identified as Catholic. Age at menarche/first ejaculation (β = −1.2, p = 0.038), attitude toward condom use (β = 0.13, p < 0.001), ethnic identity (β = 0.21, p < 0.001), and ability to negotiate condom use (β = 0.13, p = 0.003) predicted (R2 = 22.3) condom use. This study provided a basis for integration of the cultural values of Indigenous adolescents within interventions for sexual health promotion.

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• Development, Pre-Testing and Feasibility Testing of Multi-Component Interventions, Critical for Mental Health Promotion in Primary Care among Mexican-American Adolescents Living in Rural America

  Children · 2023-02-26 · 1 citations

  articleOpen access1st authorCorresponding

  Rural America is often viewed as bereft of social problems facing urban America. Rural families, however, experience stressors due to low employment rates, fewer educational opportunities, a relatively increased incidence of poverty and limited access to mental health care. These families are at increased risk for substance use, violence and associated psychological distress that occurs when failing to cope with stress. Rural children, experiencing these stressors and affected by barriers of culture, poverty and remote access to mental health care, are at higher risk for these negative health outcomes. The need for culturally appropriate intervention tailored to the target population, rural Mexican-American adolescent women, is consistently supported by evidence. A one-size-fits-all approach most likely will not effectively impact behavior and health outcomes. The fact that few studies evaluated effects of mental health interventions on multiple outcomes including substance use, violence, unintended pregnancy and STI is problematic given previously noted associations. Evidence is needed to evaluate associations between mental health interventions and these outcomes. This manuscript presents results of preliminary studies, conducted using a multi-method research approach for development, pre-testing and feasibility testing of interventions for rural primary care settings. This methodology is appropriate when dealing with the complexity of social phenomena. It provides a look at an issue from all angles and thereby the cultural context and perspective informing intervention development. These multi-component interventions are critical for mental health promotion among Mexican-American adolescent women living in rural America.

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• The effects and challenges of alcohol use disorder peer support service in South Korea: A focus group study

  International Journal of Mental Health Nursing · 2023-09-24 · 1 citations

  articleOpen accessSenior authorCorresponding

  Although alcohol use disorder (AUD) is associated with a high disease burden due to medical consequences, people with AUD often do not receive appropriate treatment or community health service support. Peer-support services, intended to bridge the gap between patients with AUD and mental health providers have produced successful results. However, the number of studies on peer supporters in South Korea, especially those with AUD, is limited. Therefore, research on the effectiveness or challenges faced by AUD peer supporters in Korea is required to meet the challenges posed by increases in the numbers and capabilities of peer supporters in the mental health field. This qualitative study (N = 13), included focus group interviews of AUD peer supporters (n = 7), and supervisors of peer supporters (n = 6). Focus group data were analysed using thematic analysis methods. These analyses identified themes including 'Life before AUD peer supporters: The moment of change', 'Effects of peer support services: Working as peer supporters changed our lives', 'Challenges of peer supporter services: Things experienced as a team' and 'Future directions: How we can improve peer support services'? Findings indicate that healthcare professionals, educated to maintain clear boundaries, are discouraged from disclosing personal information or developing personal relationships with patients. On the other hand, peer supporters discuss personal histories and prioritize personal connections. By acting as comrades, peer supporters have positive effects. By sharing their experiences, peer supporters formed appropriate relationships with AUD patients and families resulting in more active engagement in treatment programmes and increased numbers of patients receiving outpatient treatment.

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

Recent grants

• NIH Grant R01DA026776

  NIH · $1.2M · 2013

• NIH Grant R01DA019180

  NIH · $1.5M · 2009

Frequent coauthors

• Jennifer L. Collins

  Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center

  48 shared

• Rochelle N. Shain

  27 shared

• Jeanna Piper

  National Institutes of Health

  24 shared

• Alan E.C. Holden

  18 shared

• Kasey Claborn

  The University of Texas at Austin

  17 shared

• Kate M. Guthrie

  Providence College

  16 shared

• Elizabeth R. Aston

  Providence College

  16 shared

• Sondra T. Perdue

  University of Washington

  15 shared

Education

• DNP, School of Nursing

  University of Tennessee Health Science Center

  2011

• FNP, School of Nursing

  Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center School of Health Professions

  1995

• MA, Bilingual Bicultural Studies

  University of Texas at San Antonio

  1994

• PhD, School of Nursing

  University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio

  1994

• PMH-CNS, School of Nursing

  University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio

  1993

• AH-CNS, School of Nursing

  University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston

  1980

• MSN, School of Nursing

  University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston

  1979

• BSN, School of Nursing

  University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio

  1977

Awards & honors

• Fellow in the American Academy of Nursing in 2006
• Fellow in the American Academy of Nurse Practitioners in 201…
• SNRS Award for Research in Minority Health in 2015
• Inducted into the Sigma Theta Tau International Nurse Resear…