Cheryl Riley-Doucet
Assistant Professor
School of Nursing

Cheryl Riley-Doucet’s primary research interests include geriatric and family nursing, environmental interventions for patients with Alzheimer’s disease and other dementias, and education for nurse preceptors. Last summer she received an OU Faculty Research Fellowship Award for her study on the use of multi-sensory stimulation devices with Alzheimer's patients in the home. She collaborated with faculty from the School of Engineering to develop a plush, stuffed whale that senses agitation in elders and activates stimuli such as music or lights. This research was conducted during her participation in a School of Engineering Summer Institute for Bioengineering and Health Informatics. Riley-Doucet mentored several undergraduate students who collected data for her study.

She presented findings from this work at a prestigious Gerontological Society of America symposium. Riley-Doucet and members of the engineering faculty submitted a grant proposal to fund additional research related to the effectiveness of this intervention. She also submitted one other grant proposal related to technology for elder care and two proposals for studies related to education and preparation of nurse preceptors.

Riley-Doucet has published an article in the "Journal of Family Nursing" and has another in press in the "Journal for Nurses in Staff Development." She co-authored an article with Karen Dunn that was accepted for publication in the "Journal of Holistic Nursing."

Riley-Doucet developed and implemented a yearly Research Day for the School of Nursing. The event initially began with poster presentations from undergraduate and graduate student research projects. Certificates and small cash prizes were awarded for the best posters. She has increased participation and attendance at this event over the past three years that will now reach out beyond Oakland University.