Professor Susan Riesch: Researching ways to strengthen families through communication

Graduate students Lori Anderson and Jean Muckian with Prof. Riesch

When Professor Susan Riesch, DNSc, RN, FAAN, finished her tenure as associate dean for research at the School of Nursing (SoN), Dean Katharyn May asked her how she would like to celebrate 12 years of invaluable service as administrative head of research. Riesch’s response was characteristic of someone immersed in research right from the start of an academic career—present a research symposium.

On October 14, 2004, family, friends, and colleagues joined Riesch in the Puestow Lecture Hall of the Health Sciences Learning Center to celebrate her passion for discovery. Following a keynote address by Bonnie Holaday, DNS, RN, FAAN, provost of Clemson University, Riesch and her doctoral students shared their research, laying the scientific bases for strengthening ties between parents, children and communities.

Communication is fulcrum of Riesch research

Riesch characterizes her research as “finding ways to give parents and children the skills to ‘have talks like that.’” “Talks like that” convey the essence of Riesch’s work. Recalling an interview with a fifth-grade Madison boy, she illustrates the goals of her research:

My brother stole my hat and wore it to school; … I saw him with his friends and he wouldn’t give it back. It was cold.  When I got home I asked for the hat back, he said he lost it.  I was pretty mad.  The next day, I took a knife from the kitchen drawer to school. I thought I’d get the hat back from my brother after school.  A teacher saw the knife and took me to the principal’s office.  I was suspended that moment.  My mom had to come from work and get me. …She made me see a shrink that day. No one, except the shrink, ever wanted to know why I had the knife in the first place. … If I could have talked to her about the hat, maybe it would have made the situation better. … She doesn’t know he has a cold heart.  We never have talks like that. 

Riesch’s NIH funded work demonstrates the necessity for open communication between child and parent—one devoid of conflict, extreme emotion, and bias. To achieve this, family members are assisted through skill training on how to achieve satisfaction with the family system and improve problem-solving ability.

Graduation ceremony at Indiana University for Strengthening Families Program

With parents, young adolescents, and school personnel, Riesch and research team designed “Mission Possible: Parents and Kids Who Listen”: a six-week intervention to equip youth and adults with the skills necessary to express feelings, expectations, opinions, and values; approach difficult topics such as sexuality; and manage conflicts.  Communication skill building should increase discussion about situations and factors that lead to health-risk behaviors.

Riesch is completing a project that extended her research beyond communication and toward broader family dynamics that may shape health risk behaviors participation in youth. In her SAMHSA-funded project, “SUP?: Kids united with parents,” the team is examining the familial and community origins of youth participation in activities that may result in injury, addiction, or disease (e.g., alcohol or tobacco use, sexual activity, carrying a weapon or riding a bicycle or skateboard without a helmet). 

“Our research findings,” says Riesch, “potentially could provide the thrust to build familial and community relationships with youth that withstand or avert risk behaviors so prevalent in our society.”

Her vision was to restructure

Riesch came to UW-Madison in 1991 from UW-Milwaukee as associate dean for graduate programs. About a year later, the research component was added to her responsibilities, an addition she embraced. Her vision was to renovate the PhD program, clarify the MS program, and restructure the research unit consistent with a school within a research-intensive university.

With academic affairs staff and faculty colleagues, she provided leadership guiding the PhD joint-degree program in nursing and psychology to a PhD in Nursing with a secondary concentration. This change enabled students to work with the entire cadre of talented nurse faculty researchers at the SoN.

In the research area, Riesch’s development of a vision for the Office of Nursing Research was landmark. “Our vision is to advance the science and practice of nursing through developing nursing knowledge, improving conditions for persons with complex health problems and transforming health care through systems improvement,” says Riesch. 

With the help of a team skilled in research methods, data management, and statistical analysis, Riesch established the Office for Nursing Research—a partnership of the Nursing Research and Sponsored Programs (NRSP) Office and the Research Design and Statistics Unit (RDSU) to assist the SoN researcher from design through post-award stages. Research funding increased a dramatic 222%.

The motor never stops running

Riesch’s next challenge is her new role as Waisman Center investigator, which, she believes, will open many areas for collaboration.

“I have the opportunity to collaborate with persons whose research is close to mine … working on health risk behavior prevalence on a large, longitudinal sample and accessing new samples for research such as ethnic/minority communities," she explains.

She was recently appointed by the UW System Board of Regents to the Oversight Advisory Committee responsible for Blue Cross/Blue Shield funds to support the Wisconsin Partnership Fund for a Healthy Future.

Riesch states, “I am the first health sciences faculty member who is not a physician. It was a risk for them to appoint me, but my experience as a bag-carrying public health nurse in inner city Milwaukee, and the fact I’ve been around a while, was important.” 

Her focus beyond research

With Riesch’s professional life steeped in research, it is not surprising that her approach to tennis—her avocation—is done with a hint of analysis.

“I love tennis,” admits Riesch. “It is my way to make friends and get exercise. I would like to be more aggressive, but I think I play like my personality—pretty tolerant, relaxed and friendly.”