KU School of Nursing faculty inducted into International Nurse Researcher Hall of Fame

Kristine Williams, Ph.D., FAAN, a nurse gerontologist and professor at the University of Kansas School of Nursing, was among 15 world-renowned nurse researchers inducted into the 2025 International Nurse Researcher Hall of Fame by the Sigma Theta Tau International Honor Society of Nursing (Sigma). The induction ceremony took place at Sigma’s 36th International Nursing Research Congress, held in Seattle on July 19.

“Being selected for the Nurse Researcher Hall of Fame is truly one of the greatest achievements for nurse scientists worldwide,” said Jean Foret Giddens, Ph.D., FAAN, dean of the KU School of Nursing. “Dr. Williams’ selection is a testament to the significance of her work, and it highlights the quality nursing research conducted at the KU School of Nursing."

The award, now in its 16th year, recognizes nurse researchers who have achieved significant and sustained national or international recognition and whose research has improved the profession of nursing and the people it serves. The 2025 inductees join more than 300 previously inducted nurse researchers from around the world.

“It’s really an honor to be part of this elite group,” said Williams, noting that this is the first international award she has received.

Williams is a prolific researcher whose work focuses on the care of older adults, particularly in the area of improving nurse-patient communication and supporting caregivers of people with dementia. Her research on “elderspeak,” a form of communication similar to babytalk sometimes used by nurses and other providers to address older adults, has demonstrated how this infantilizing communication style negatively affects patient outcomes and behavior. The training program she developed, a program known as CHAT (Changing Talk), also available in an online version known as CHATO, teaches staff at nursing homes and other health care settings how to use person-centered communication instead.

“Her program of research has had a significant and long-term impact on gerontological nursing research and practice,” wrote Barbara Polivka, Ph.D., FAAN, associate dean of research at KU School of Nursing in her letter nominating Williams for the award, noting that “Williams’ research linking nursing communication with behaviors of persons with dementia has exerted a global impact on clinical dementia care.”

For Williams, the high point of her career has been “finding out that we could educate people to communicate better and kind of build up the art of nursing, and that this could really make a difference in care and in how people reacted and received care — even to the point that we could reduce psychoactive medication needs for people with dementia just through communication,” she said.

Williams’ work has been funded by the National Institutes of Health for more than 20 years. The CHAT intervention has been delivered to more than 200 nursing homes and her findings have been included in staff education programs provided by the Alzheimer’s Association and in publications produced by the Gerontological Association of America. Additionally, her research has highlighted at the Alzheimer’s Association International Conference and been featured on the front page of The New York Times.

Williams also cites as a career highlight a particular study she was a co-investigator on with the KU Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center (KU ADRC). That study used a text messaging program that allowed family caregivers of people with dementia to upload challenging situations they were experiencing. A group of experts would then provide feedback and suggestions to the caregivers. Known as CareText, the program was a gamechanger in terms of providing assistance to families. “That was an advance, using technology that could really help caregivers,” Williams said.

The principal investigator on that NIH study, Jaime Perales Puchalt, Ph.D., MPH, assistant professor of neurology in KU School of Medicine and director of the KU ADRC’s Outreach, Engagement and Recruitment Core, notes that Williams’ research contributions have had tremendous impact on the work of her colleagues as well.

“Dr. Williams has always been there when I needed her expertise in supporting caregivers of people with dementia,” Perales said. “Her mentorship and participation in my projects have allowed me to support hundreds of caregivers through my research and service programs.”