Dr. Louise Sullivan

Areas of Expertise

• Quality of life of older adults living in long-term care, pet therapy/human-animal interactions and the impact on stress

Education

• B.S. in nursing, University of Massachusetts Dartmouth (2003)
• M.S. in nursing, University of Massachusetts Dartmouth (2006)
• Ph.D. in nursing, University of Massachusetts Dartmouth (2014)

View My CV

What's My Why?

As a child, I spent weekends with my great-grandmother, a caretaker for the historic Sherwood Mansion on Bellevue Avenue. Going home, we’d pass the Salve campus, not knowing it would later play a big role in my life. In 2015, I found myself retracing that route, now a faculty member in the nursing department at Salve. Teaching future nurses felt like both an honor and a responsibility. My goal as an educator is to guide students through the challenges of patient care, helping them develop critical thinking and curiosity. I’m also fascinated by the role of pets - especially dogs - in enhancing well-being. Since 2019, I’ve involved students in pet therapy and stress response research, encouraging them to explore careers as nurse scientists. We’ve completed eight projects so far, and in 2024, we became an official organization, Building Animal Research Connections (BARC), where I am proud to serve as advisor. 

Selected Publications

Sullivan, L., MCarty, E., Wood, E., & Cabral, E. (student) (2024). Engaging Undergraduate Nursing Students in Collaborative Research. Journal of Nursing Education, 63(10): 713-715. Doi: 10.3928/01484834-20240318-01.

Kistler, C., Scott, J., Ward, K., Zeigler, R., Sullivan, L., Tomlinson, S., Wretman, C., & Zimmerman, S., (2021). Mouth Care in Assisted Living: Potential Areas for Improvement. J Am Med Dir Assoc, 22(6):1190-1193. DOI:10.1016/j.jamda.2020.11.038

Sullivan, L., & Willis, D., (2018). Towards changing the long-term care (LTC) paradigm: Explicating the concept of thriving in older adults living in LTC. Issues in Mental Health Nursing. 39(5), 388-397. Doi:.org/10.1080/01612840.2017.1390021

Sullivan, L., & Asselin, M., (2013). Revisiting quality of life for elders in long term care: An integrative review. Nursing Forum, 48(3), 191-204. doi: 10.1111/nuf.12030