Scholars@Duke
Cassandra Dictus

Cassandra Dictus

Clinical Associate in the School of Nursing
School of Nursing

Selected Publications

Acceptability of the Veterans Health Administration's Caregiver Health and Wellbeing Coaching Program: Evidence From a Mixed-Methods Evaluation.

Journal Article J Appl Gerontol · December 15, 2025 This explanatory, sequential mixed-methods evaluation assessed the acceptability of the Veterans Health Administration's Caregiver Health and Wellbeing Coaching (CHWC) program from the perspectives of caregivers and staff. Guided by the Theoretical Framewo ... Full text Link to item Cite

Exploring Safety Concerns in Assisted Living Communities: A Qualitative Comparison of Resident, Family, and Staff Perspectives.

Journal Article Journal of the American Medical Directors Association · December 2025 ObjectivesSafety concerns in assisted living (AL) communities are critical, yet understudied from the perspectives of residents, family caregivers, and staff. This study aimed to explore and compare safety concerns across these 3 groups.Design ... Full text Cite

Quality-of-life factors at home and in health care settings for people living with dementia.

Journal Article Gerontologist · October 22, 2025 BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Person-centered "home time" measures track time spent in health care versus home using claims data. These measures can indicate patient preferences, quality of care, or quality of life. However, for people living with dementia, t ... Full text Link to item Cite

Preparing PhD Students for Tenure-Track Faculty Positions.

Journal Article Nursing research · March 2025 BackgroundWith an increasing number of nursing faculty approaching retirement, it is critical to prepare PhD students to take on tenure-track faculty roles. There are a multitude of competing time demands for nursing faculty, and one way that PhD ... Full text Cite

Comparing the Experiences of Participants With Mild Cognitive Impairment and Mild Dementia During an Oral Health Intervention.

Journal Article Innov Aging · 2023 BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Cognitive impairment is associated with poor oral health outcomes. Oral hygiene tasks are an essential target of interventions aiming to improve oral health for older adults with cognitive impairment. We aimed to examine whether ... Full text Link to item Cite

Younger Nursing Home Residents: A Scoping Review of Their Lived Experiences, Needs, and Quality of Life.

Journal Article Journal of the American Medical Directors Association · November 2021 ObjectivesThe percentage of younger nursing home (NH) residents (ages 18-64 years) in some countries such as the United States and Canada has been increasing over the years. In fact, it is generally held that younger NH residents are considerably ... Full text Cite

Nurse Decision-making for Suspected Urinary Tract Infections in Nursing Homes: Potential Targets to Reduce Antibiotic Overuse.

Journal Article Journal of the American Medical Directors Association · January 2021 ObjectivesTo determine what information is most important to registered nurses' (RNs) decisions to call clinicians about suspected urinary tract infections (UTIs) in nursing home residents.DesignWeb-based discrete choice experiment with 1 ... Full text Cite