Nursing Research Using Participatory Action Research: Qualitative Designs and Methods in Nursing

Mary De Chesnay , PhD, RN, PMHCNS-BC, FAAN, is Professor and immediate Past-Director of WellStar School of Nursing, Kennesaw State University, GA, USA. She is also a licensed psychotherapist and a nurse-anthropologist researcher. Dr. de Chesnay has specialised in treating children of sexual abuse and trafficking in her private psychotherapy practice, has developed culturally based interventions, and has taught content about vulnerable populations for many years. She is the author of the third edition of Caring for the Vulnerable (2012) and has authored six book chapters and 19 journal articles. Dr. de Chesnay has been a PI or co-PI on numerous grants and has served as a consultant on research, academic, continuing education, and law enforcement projects. She served as Secretary of the Council on Nursing and Anthropology (CONAA) of the Society for Applied Anthropology (SFAA). Recently, Dr. De Chesnay was invited to serve on the Georgia State Governor's Task Force called CSEC (Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Children). She has presented nationally and internationally in nursing and anthropology, and has published on incest and sex tourism and about applying various qualitative approaches to clinical research. She was a keynote speaker at numerous conferences including Sigma Theta Tau and International Society of Psychiatric Nurses. Additionally, Dr. De Chesnay has conducted ethnographic fieldwork and participatory action research in Latin America and the Caribbean.