Mariya Kovaleva, RN, PhD, MS, AGPCNP-BC
Dr. Kovaleva is a tenure-track assistant professor and a geriatric nurse scientist with research interests focused on acute, perioperative, transitional, and primary care for persons living with Alzheimer’s disease and other dementias, as well as interventions to support unpaid caregivers of persons living with dementia. To date, Dr. Kovaleva received $62,000 in research funding as a principal investigator ($44,500 extramural). She has 18 peer-reviewed publications, 2 book chapters, and 4 not peer-reviewed publications.
Dr. Kovaleva’s goal is to develop and implement an efficacious, scalable, and interprofessional transitional care program for older adults living with cognitive impairment, as they transition from hospital to institutional or home settings. The goal of this program is to provide education and support to persons living with dementia and their caregivers throughout the continuum of healthcare transition, thereby making these transitions as seamless and humane as possible, while helping caregivers prepare for long-term care provision and save unnecessary expenditure.
Dr. Kovaleva’s second area of research focus is on perianesthesia and perioperative care for persons living with dementia. Dr. Kovaleva’s goal is to develop a nurse-led transitional care program that may begin prior to surgery, prepare person-caregiver dyads for surgery, and provide post-hospitalization follow-up to ensure persons’ and caregivers’ healthcare, information, and social support needs are met. Likewise, Dr. Kovaleva is interested in geriatrics in rural settings and developing innovative respite interventions for caregivers, including with the integration of health sciences students as respite providers. Dr. Kovaleva’s methodological areas of research interests include longitudinal, interventional, health outcomes, and multi-method research.
While completing her dissertation at Emory University on a full scholarship and as a Laney graduate fellow, Dr. Kovaleva received a post-master’s certificate as an adult-gerontological primary care nurse practitioner. She is certified by the American Nurses Credentialing Center and currently maintains part-time faculty practice as a nurse practitioner at Home Instead Center for Successful Aging at Nebraska Medicine.
Dr. Kovaleva is strongly interested in nursing education and she received a Certificate in College Teaching at Vanderbilt University Center for Teaching in 2021 while completing her post-doctoral fellowship at Vanderbilt University School of Nursing She has been co-teaching NRSG 602 Nursing Scholarship course for Masters of Science in Nursing students since 2022 (over 70 students to date). She has also worked as a teaching assistant and teaching associate at Nell Hodgson Woodruff School of Nursing at Emory University and delivered 6 invited lectures.
Education
- 2014, BSN, summa cum laude, Bethel University, St. Paul, MN
- 2018, Post-Master’s certificate, Adult-Gerontological Primary Care Nurse Practitioner, Nell Hodgson Woodruff School of Nursing, Emory University
- 2018, PhD, James T. Laney School of Graduate Studies, Emory University
- 2021, post-doctoral fellowship, Vanderbilt University School of Nursing
Research Interests
- Geriatrics
- Acute, perioperative, perianesthesia, transitional, and primary care for persons living with Alzheimer’s disease and other dementias
- Health services research
- Support, education, and respite interventions for caregivers of persons living with dementia
- Geriatrics in nursing education
- Rural health
- Telehealth
- Longitudinal, interventional, health outcomes, and multi-method research
Grant Support
- July 2023 – June 2025 Title: Remote Assessment of Social Connectedness Between Rural Dementia Patients and Family Caregivers Using Laboratory in a Suitcase Assessment (LISA). Award Amount: $100,000. Chen, K.-H. (PI). Role: Co-I.
- September 2022-August 2024 Title: Telehealth Transitional Care for Persons Living with Dementia: A Feasibility Study, Award Amount: $2,000. Role: Kovaleva, M. (PI)
- March 2022-February 2025 Title: Informing the Perianesthesia Period for Persons Living with Dementia: A Multi-Method Study of Nurses, Persons Living with Dementia, and their Caregivers, Award Amount: $10,000. Role: Kovaleva, M. (PI)
- January 2022 – January 2024 Title: Faculty Practice Program. University of Nebraska Medical Center College of Nursing. Award Amount: $5,000. Role: Kovaleva, M. (PI).
- November 2019-April 2021 Title: Addressing Caregiver Burden during Persons’ Living with Dementia Hospital-to-Home Transitions. Southern Nursing Research Society. Award Amount: $7,500. Role: Kovaleva, M. (PI)
- October 2019-April 2021 Title: Perioperative Settings: Nurses, Persons Living with Dementia, and their Caregivers. Association of periOperative Registered Nurses – Sigma Theta Tau International. Award Amount: $5,000. Role: Kovaleva, M. (PI)
- October 2019-April 2021 Title: Addressing Caregiver Burden during Persons’ Living with Dementia Hospital-to-Home Transitions. Academy of Medical-Surgical Nurses. Award Amount: $10,000. Role: Kovaleva, M. (PI)
- June 2019-April 2021 Title: Tele-Savvy during Hospital to Home Transition. Center for Clinician Advancement: UnitedHealth Group Award, Gerontological Advanced Practice Nurses Association. Academy of Medical-Surgical Nurses. Award Amount: $5,000. Role: Kovaleva, M. (PI)
- May 2019-April 2021 Title: Telehealth-Enhanced Patient-Oriented Recovery Trajectory after ICU: TelePORT ICU. Vanderbilt Discovery Grant. Award Amount: $100,000. Boehm, L. (PI). Role: Co-I.
- May 2019-April 2021 Title: Improving ICU Recovery in Survivors of Critical Illness. American Association of Critical Care Nurses. Award Amount: $49,999. Boehm, L. (PI). Role: Co-I.
Publications
- Shade, M. Y., Kovaleva, M., Harp, K., & Martin-Hammond, A. (2023). Older adults’ pain outcomes after mHealth interventions: A scoping review. JMIR Aging. e46976. doi: 10.2196/46976.
- * Kovaleva, M. A., Kleinpell, R., Dietrich, M.S., Jones, A., Boon, J., Duggan, M., Dennis, B., Lauderdale, J., & Maxwell, Caregivers’ experience with Tele-Savvy Caregiver Program post-hospitalization. (2023). Geriatric Nursing, 51, 156- https://doi.org/10.1016/j.gerinurse.2023.03.002
- *Kovaleva, M. A., Jones, A. C., Kimpel, C. C., Lauderdale, J., Sevin, C. M., Stollings, J. L., Jackson, J. C., & Boehm, L. M. (2023). Patient and caregiver experiences with a telehealth intensive care unit recovery clinic. Heart & Lung , 58, 47-53. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.hrtlng.2022.11.002
- *Kovaleva, M. A., Kleinpell, R., Dietrich, M.S, Jones, A., Boon, J., Duggan, M., Lauderdale, J., & Maxwell, C. (2023). Addressing caregiver burden during persons’ living with dementia post-hospitalization period. MedSurg Nursing, 32(6), 386-394.
- *Kovaleva, M. A., Jones, A., Kimpel, C. C., Lauderdale, J., Sevin, C., & Boehm, L. (2022). Patients’ and caregivers’ perception of intensive care unit hospitalization and recovery. American Journal of Critical Care, 31(4), 319-323. https://doi.org/10.4037/ajcc2022945 This article was selected by the American Journal of Critical Care for a video presentation on the journal’s web-site (July 2022).
- Kovaleva, M. A. (2022). [Review of the book Disability and Aging: Towards a Critical Perspective, by A. Leahy]. Journal of Applied Gerontology. https://doi.org/10.1177/0733464822108475
- *Kovaleva, M. A., Nocera, J. R., Hepburn, K., Higgins, M., Nash, R., Epps, F., Brewster, G., Bilsborough, E., Blumling, A., & Griffiths, P. C. (2022). Attention control in a trial of an online psychoeducational intervention for caregivers. Research in Nursing & Health, 45(3), 337-349. https://doi.org/10.1002/nur.22208
- *Kovaleva, M. A., Higgins, M., Dietrich, M., Jennings, B. M., Song, M.-K., Clevenger, C., Griffiths, P., & Hepburn, K. (2022). Characteristics associated with persons’ living with dementia neuropsychiatric symptoms and their caregivers’ distress and diminished well-being. Journal of the American Association of Nurse Practitioners, 34(4),656-665. doi: 10.1097/JXX.0000000000000681
- Kovaleva, M. A., Jones, A., & Maxwell, C. A. (2021, invited manuscript). Immigrants and dementia: Literature update. Geriatric Nursing. Advance online publication. doi: 10.1016/j.gerinurse.2021.04.019
- *Kovaleva, M. A., Jennings, B. M., Song, M.-K., Clevenger, C., Griffiths, P. C., & Hepburn, K. (2021). Caregivers’ experience at a multidisciplinary nurse-led dementia medical home. Research in Gerontological Nursing, 14(2), 69-78. doi: 10.3928/19404921-20210115-01
- *Kovaleva, M. A., Higgins, M. K., Jennings, B. M., Song, M.-K., Clevenger, C., Griffiths, P. C., & Hepburn. K. (2020). Patient and caregiver outcomes at the Integrated Memory Care Clinic. Geriatric Nursing, 41(6), 761-768. doi: 10.1016/j.gerinurse.2020.05.006
- *Wharton, W., Epps, F., Kovaleva, M.A., Bridwell, L., Tate, R. C., Dorbin, C. D., & Hepburn, K. (2019). Photojournalism-based intervention reduces caregiver burden and depression in Alzheimer’s disease family caregivers. Journal of Holistic Nursing, 37(3), 214-224. doi: 10.1177/0898010118801636
- *Clevenger, C., Cellar, J., Kovaleva, M.A., Medders, L., & Hepburn, K. (2018). Integrated Memory Care Clinic at Emory University: Design, implementation, and initial results. Journal of the American Geriatrics Society, 66(12), 2401-2407. doi: 10.1111/jgs.15528
- Kovaleva, M. A., Clevenger, C., Svensson, B., Wright, P., Davis, P., & Hepburn, K. (2018). A nursing home resident with somatic and psychiatric multimorbidity. The Journal for Nurse Practitioners, 14(8), e169-170, e173-e175. doi: 10.1016/j.nurpra.2018.04.008
- Kovaleva, M. A., Spangler, S. A., Clevenger, C., & Hepburn, K. (2018). Chronic stress, social isolation, and perceived loneliness among dementia caregivers. Journal of Psychosocial Nursing and Mental Health Services, 56(10), 36-43. doi: 10.3928/02793695-20180329-04
- *Griffiths, P. C., Kovaleva, M., Higgins, M., Langston, A. H., & Hepburn, K. (2018). Tele-Savvy: An on-line program for dementia caregivers. American Journal of Alzheimer’s Disease and Other Dementias, 33(5), 269-276. doi: 10.1177/1533317518755331
- Kovaleva, M. A., Bilsborough, E., Griffiths, P. C., Nocera, J., Higgins, M., Epps, F., Kilgore, K., Lindauer, A., Morhardt, D., Shah, R. C., & Hepburn, K. (2018). Testing Tele-Savvy: Protocol for a randomized controlled trial . Research in Nursing & Health, 41(2), 107-120. doi: 10.1002/nur.21859
- *Kovaleva, M. A., Blevins, L., Griffiths, P. C., & Hepburn, K. (2019). An on-line program for caregivers of persons living with dementia: Lessons learned. Journal of Applied Gerontology, 38(2), 159-182. doi: 10.1177/0733464817705958
- *Griffiths, P. C., Whitney, M. K., Kovaleva, M. A., & Hepburn, K. (2016). Development and implementation of Tele-Savvy for dementia caregivers: A department of Veterans Affairs clinical demonstration project. The Gerontologist, 56(1), 145-154. doi: 10.1093/geront/gnv123
- *Missal, B., Clark, C., & Kovaleva, M. A. (2016). Somali immigrant new mothers’ childbirth experiences in Minnesota. Journal of Transcultural Nursing, 27(4), 359-367. doi: 10.1177/1043659614565248
- Articles submitted for publication in scholarly journals
- *Kovaleva, M. A., Nocera, J. R., Hepburn, K., Higgins, M., Nash, R., Epps, F., Brewster, G., Bilsborough, E., Blumling, A., & Griffiths, P. C. Attention control in a trial of an online psychoeducational intervention for caregivers. Research in Nursing & Health. Manuscript under review.
- *Kovaleva, M. A., Higgins, M., Dietrich, M., Jennings, B. M., Song, M.-K., Clevenger, C., Griffiths, P. & Hepburn, K. Characteristics associated with persons’ living with dementia neuropsychiatric symptoms and their caregivers’ distress and diminished well-being. Journal of the American Association of Nurse Practitioners. Manuscript under review.
- *Kovaleva, M. A., Jones, A., Kimpel, C. C., Lauderdale, J., Sevin, C., & Boehm, L. Patients’ and caregivers’ perception of intensive care unit hospitalization and recovery. American Journal of Critical Care. Manuscript under review.
- Clevenger, C., & Kovaleva, M. A. (2022). Special populations: Older women’s issues. In S. M. Kendig, & S. Freeman (Eds.). Women’s Health in Primary Care: An Integrated Approach. Elsevier. Chapter manuscript under review, scheduled for publication in 2020.
- Hepburn, K., Kovaleva, M. A., & Clevenger, C. (2018). Educational programs for informal dementia caregivers. In G.E. Smith & S. T. Farias (Eds.). APA Handbook of Dementia (chapter 31) . American Psychological Association: Washington, D. C. https://doi.org/10.1037/0000076-000
Service
- 11/2023 – Present, Midwest Nursing Research Society annual conference planning committee for the UNMC CON
- 10/2023 – Present, LiveGreen Ambassador, UNMC
- 07/2023 – Present, Co-chair, Mentorship and Post-Doctoral Fellowship Committee, Center for Patient, Family, and Community Engagement in Chronic Care Management (CENTRIC)
- 2023, Application judge to attend 2023 nursing student academy conference, UNMC CON
- 2023, Volunteer, Annual Black Family Health and Wellness Fair, Omaha, NE
- 2022, 2023, Honors Program interviewer, UNMC CON
- 2022 -2023, Volunteer, OneWorld Community Health Centers, Inc., Omaha, NE
- 2021, 2022, Midwest Nursing Research Society PhD student poster competition reviewer, UNMC CON
- 09/2022 – Present, Member, PhD Affairs Committee, UNMC CON
- 09/2022 – 05/2023, Member, Global Health Committee, UNMC CON
- 2023 – Present, Reviewer, Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry and Neurology
- 2022 – Present, Reviewer, Clinical Nursing Research
- 2021-Present, Editorial board member, Journal of Applied Gerontology
- 2021, Reviewer, INQUIRY
- 2021, Reviewer, Journal of the American Medical Directors Association
- 2021, Reviewer, Canadian Geriatrics Journal
- 2020, Reviewer, BMC Geriatrics
- 2020-2021, Reviewer, International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health.
- 2020-Present, Reviewer, Geriatric Nursing.
- 2019, Reviewer, Clinical Gerontologist.
- 2017-Present, Reviewer, Journal of Applied Gerontology.
- 2021-2022, Member, Educational Research Interest Group.
- 10/2019-10/2020, Chair of the Vanderbilt Post-Doctoral Association Symposium, Vanderbilt Post-Doctoral Association.
- 10/2019-04/2021, Scholarly Learning sub-committee chair, Vanderbilt Post-Doctoral Association.
- 07/2019-09/2020, Junior Co-Chair, Vanderbilt Post-Doctoral Association.
- 05/2020-12/2020, Member, Zoom informal working group, Vanderbilt University
- 07/2019-07/2020, Member, Vanderbilt Center for Gerontological Nursing Excellence, Vanderbilt University School of Nursing.
- 07/2019-11/2019, Member, Learning Healthcare Platform Committee, Vanderbilt University.
- 05/2019-03/2021, Member, Age-Friendly Health Systems/4Ms.
- 05/2019 Poster, judge, Sigma Theta Tau International Iota Chapter conference.
- 2021 – Present, Member, Midwest Nursing Research Society
- 2019 – 2021, Member, Association of periOperative Registered Nurses
- 2019 – 2023, Member, American Society of PeriAnesthesia Nurses
- 2019 – 2022, Member, Academy of Medical-Surgical Nurses
- 2017-2018, Student Network Chair, Southern Nursing Research Society
- 2016-2018, Program Committee member, Southern Nursing Research Society
- 2015 – 2022, Member, Southern Nursing Research Society
- 2017-2018, Member, American Nurses Association/Georgia Nurses Association
- 2016-2017, 2019-2022, Member, Research Committee Member Gerontological Advanced Practice Nurses Association
- 2015-2021, 2022, Member, The Gerontological Society of America
- 2015-2016, Member, Georgia Gerontology Society
- 2022 –2023, Philanthropy Co-chair, Gamma Pi-at large chapter of Sigma Nursing Honor Society at the University of Nebraska Medical Center College of Nursing, Omaha, NE
- 2016-2018, Assistant Treasurer, Alpha Epsilon Chapter of Sigma Theta Tau International at Nell Hodgson Woodruff School of Nursing, Emory University, Atlanta, GA
- 2013 – 2022, Member, Sigma Theta Tau International Nursing Honor Society
Recognition
- 2023 Dr. Nancy Bergstrom Early Career Research Award, University of Nebraska Medical Center College of Nursing, Omaha, NE
- 2018 Alpha Epsilon Chapter of Sigma Theta Tau International, Nell Hodgson Woodruff School of Nursing, Emory University, Atlanta, GA, Conference Travel Scholarship.
- 2016 Georgia Nursing Leadership Coalition, Research Doctorate Award.
- 2016 Alpha Epsilon Chapter of Sigma Theta Tau International, Nell Hodgson Woodruff School of Nursing, Emory University, Atlanta, GA, Conference Travel Scholarship.
- 2015 Georgia Gerontology Society, Virginia M. Smyth Graduate Scholarship
- 2015 Nell Hodgson Woodruff School of Nursing, Emory University, Atlanta, GA, Rising Start of Scholarship and Research for poster presentation at Sigma Theta Tau International Biennial Convention, Las Vegas, NV.
- 2014-2018 James T. Laney School of Graduate Studies, Emory University, Atlanta, GA, Laney Graduate Fellowship
- 2014-2018 James T. Laney School of Graduate Studies, Emory University, Atlanta, GA, Full scholarship for the PhD program and Adult-Gerontological Primary Care Nurse Practitioner Post-Master’s certificate