Rachel McPherson, PhD, MA

HomeDirectoryRachel McPherson, PhD, MA
Rachel McPherson, PhD, MA
  • Assistant Professor
    Organizational Systems and Adult Health
Location:
Room 390B, School of Nursing Building
Phone:
410-706-3689
Email:

Education

  • PhD, Gerontology, University of Maryland Baltimore
  • MA, Applied Sociology, University of Maryland Baltimore County
  • BS, Psychology, University of Central Florida

Contracts, Fellowships, Grants, and Sponsored Research

  • Date:
    2025 - 2028
    Title:
    Fostering Positive Care Interactions in Assisted Living
    Sponsoring Organization:
    Alzheimer's Assocation
    Role:
    Principal
  • Date:
    2025 - 2025
    Title:
    Pilot Testing the Fostering Positive Care Interactions (FPCI-AL)
    Sponsoring Organization:
    The Foundation for Post-Acute and Long-Term Care Medicine
    Role:
    Principal

Research Interests

  • quality of care; long-term care; Alzheimer's disease and related dementias; staff-resident interactions

Publications

  • McPherson, R., Resnick, B. M., Galik, E., Gruber-Baldini, A. L., Holmes, S. & Kusmaul, N. (2025, February 26). Considerations for Use of the Cornell Scale for Depression in Dementia Among Assisted Living Residents: Factor Analysis Results.. Journal of applied gerontology : the official journal of the Southern Gerontological Society, 7334648251318783. doi:10.1177/07334648251318783
  • McPherson, R., Resnick, B. M., Holmes, S., Galik, E., Paudel, A. & Levy, S. (2024, September 9). Reliability and Validity Testing of the Modified Quality of Interaction Scale. Journal of Nursing Measurement. doi:10.1891/JNM-2024-0058
  • McPherson, R., Resnick, B. M., Galik, E., Gruber-Baldini, A. L., Holmes, S. & Kusmaul, N. (2024, October (4th Quarter/Autumn)). Racial differences in the quality of care interactions among nursing home residents with dementia. Ethnicity & Health, 1-12. doi:10.1080/13557858.2024.2417392
  • McPherson, R. (2023, June). Differences in Staff-Resident Care Interactions by Nursing Home Racial Composition: a Preliminary Analysis. . Journal of Racial and Ethnic Health Disparities.
  • McPherson, R. (2023, September). Model testing of the factors that are associated with care interactions among nursing home residents with dementia. Journal of the American Medical Directors Association, 24 (9), 1389-1395. doi:https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jamda.2023.06.014
  • McPherson, R., Resnick, B. M., Galik, E., Gruber-Baldini, A. L., Holmes, S. & Kusmaul, N. (2023, April (2nd Quarter/Spring) 1). The Association Between Engagement in Activities of Daily Living and Care Interactions for Residents Living With Dementia.. Journal of nursing care quality, 38 (2), E18-E24. doi:10.1097/NCQ.0000000000000675

See a full list of published work.

Primary Teaching Areas

  • Professional Writing

Honors/Awards

  • Name:
    Derek Gill Memorial Fund Award
    Sponsoring organization:
    University of Maryland Baltimore County Applied Sociology Program
    Date:
    2022

Academic and Professional Activities

Professional

  • Date:
    2023 - Current
    Organization:
    BMC Nursing
    Role:
    Editorial Review Board Member

Public

  • Organization:
    Center for Excellence in Assisted Living (CEAL)
    Role:
    Member