Congratulations to National University of Health Sciences’ (NUHS’) faculty member Jocelyn Faydenko, ND, DC, whose commitment to research continues the institution’s legacy of excellence. Dr. Faydenko was spotlighted in the October 2024 newsletter of the RAND Research Across Complementary and Integrative Health Institutions (REACH) Center.

“My goals are to deepen my research skills to advance as an independent clinician-scientist, collaborate with CIH experts, and strengthen NUHS’ research presence,” she said.

Through RAND, Dr. Faydenko is currently involved with three projects, one of which is nearing completion. The abstract, Working Conditions in Chiropractic and Other complementary and Integrative Healthcare Occupations, may be viewed here.

“We also recently received word that our manuscript has been accepted for publication in the Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine (JOEM),” Dr. Faydenko said.

The second study Dr. Faydenko is engaged in is Implementation of Clinical Practice Guidelines for the Management of Chronic Low Back Pain Within the VAQ North Teas Health Care System: A Pilot Study, which is still in the Institutional Review Board (IRB) and data collection phases, and the third is Whole Health Promotion by Complementary and Integrative Healthcare Providers within federally Funded Community Health Centers.

“For the RAND REACH Scholars Program, I’m hoping to build at least the skeleton of a potential project related to assessing a gamified approach to physical activity,” she said. This would be a two-phase project, with the first part being information gathering about exercise (e.g., enjoyment of, adherence to, form currently engaged in, etc.) and stress levels. The second part is anticipated to be a pilot study comparing a more general form of exercise to a gamified approach.

Gamification is the integration of game elements like point systems, leaderboards, badges, or other elements related to games into “conventional” activities (as for learning or enrichment) in order to increase engagement and motivation.

“If someone finds and uses a gamified approach to exercise, mindfulness practices, drinking more water, preparing meals, etc., that increases their enjoyment of that activity, then the approach would likely be useful longer term,” said Dr. Faydenko.

Included in Dr. Faydenko’s longer-range research agenda is a plan to assess family-based approaches to health, including physical activity and nutrition. She is also exploring a hydrotherapy project within the NUHS Whole Health Center-Lombard, and possibly another gamified study researching mental health, and creating and sustaining behavior change.

“The RAND REACH Center is an extremely important initiative dedicated to further developing research related to complimentary and integrative health care (CIH). Dr. Faydenko has been very active in this initiative and their acknowledgement of her success is a significant honor and an indication that Dr. Faydenko is on a path to becoming a leader in CIH research,” said Dr. Gregory Cramer, NUHS Dean of Research.

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