Attilio Provedel, an associate professor from Brazil, has come to UCF’s College of Nursing as a visiting scholar in hopes of expanding his research beyond Brazil and South America to the U.S.
For the next year, Provedel will study concept development of spirituality and palliative care in nursing under the direction of assistant professor Norma Conner.
“I hope to bring to UCF new knowledge, methodologies, and perspectives,” says Provedel. “We expect to enhance research synergies and publication opportunities.”
Prior to UCF, Provedel attended the Federal University of Espírito Santo in Brazil where he has also been a professor since 2002. He earned his master’s as well as his doctoral degree in electrical engineering, and is also interested in the communication sciences and nursing care.
“Currently I have dedicated myself fully to the analysis of scientific production in the health area with special interest in those dealing with studies on the relationship among religiosity, spirituality, suicide and health,” says Provedel.
His dedicated interest in this area of research led Provedel to create a virtual library called SAUESP (Scientific Production in Health and Spirituality) in 2009 that provides access to Brazilian journals which focus on spirituality and health. He also established a Center for Studies in Science and Spirituality in 2011 at his university.
Above all, Provedel says the opportunity to come to UCF as a visiting scholar has been one of the most important accomplishments of his career.
“I consider UCF to be a great university that is well known for its research and partnership initiatives. I chose UCF because of its resources and the opportunity to conduct our studies under the supervision of Dr. Norma Conner, with whom our research interests complement one another.”