Hannigan, a Corrigan Scholar at Fairfield University’s Marion Peckham Egan School of Nursing and Health Studies, presented the research at the 36th Annual Scientific Sessions of the Eastern Nursing Research Society.
As part of the Corrigan Scholars program, Hannigan was given the opportunity to participate in a faculty-mentored research project. After consulting with her mentor at the Egan School, Hannigan chose to team up with assistant professor of public health Bridget Hussain, PhD, RDN, CDCES, CDN. An expert on disordered eating patterns among adolescents and young adults, Dr. Hussain was starting a new project on food insecurity in higher education.
“I was interested in joining the research project on food insecurity because it’s such a hot topic right now, especially since the pandemic,” said Hannigan. “College students juggle a lot of different things, and their schedules can lead to long periods without eating. Food insecurity complicates this and other related behaviors.”
In their review of 12 published articles across seven databases, Hannigan and Dr. Hussain found that undergraduate students who reported food insecurity were more likely to also report disordered eating, particularly binge eating disorder. They also found that high stress levels predisposed students to disordered eating behaviors.
Ultimately, Hannigan’s presentation called for University personnel to be mindful of the relationship between stress, food insecurity, and disordered eating, because it affects how students adjust to new academic and social environments.
Hannigan co-presented with her Corrigan Scholar mentor, Audrey Beauvais, DNP, MSN, MBA, RN, professor of nursing. Dr. Beauvais, also a contributor to the systematic review, worked with Hannigan to get the poster accepted at the event.
The Corrigan Scholars program provides funding to support students like Hannigan who are involved in research and special projects with faculty. It was made possible by an endowment gift from E. Gerald Corrigan ’63, PhD, and Cathy Minehan in recognition of the faculty mentoring that Dr. Corrigan received during his time at Fairfield.
The conference was Hannigan’s first professional conference, and she was amazed at the number of presentations on the topics of food insecurity, mental health, and even robotics in healthcare. “It was interesting to see all of the brain-related topics being presented,” she said. “But what most surprised me were discussions about robots taking vital signs and performing chest compressions.”
After Commencement, Hannigan plans to return to her home state of Pennsylvania to begin her nursing career in the telemetry and trauma step-down unit at Main Line Health.
