Rita Frantz joined the University of Iowa College of Nursing in 1972, has served several years as Professor and Chair of the Systems and Practice Area of Study, and was appointed Dean effective July 1, 2007. Dr. Frantz's professional career spans over three decades of experience in university professorships and wound healing research. She is recognized nationally and internationally for her work in pressure ulcer prevention and treatment. For the past twenty-five years she has conducted a funded program of research focusing on pressure ulcers and chronic wound healing, including studies on development of valid methods of measuring wound healing, the efficacy of electrical stimulation on pressure ulcer healing, and management of infection in diabetic foot ulcers. As an extension of this work, she served as a member of multiple government and professional expert panels that have developed guidelines for prevention and treatment of pressure ulcers. She has collaborated extensively with practitioners across the state of Iowa and nationally to promote the transfer of research-based practice to care of elderly populations at risk for pressure ulcers. Education : PhD in Educational Psychology, The University of Iowa MA in Medical/Surgical Nursing, The University of Iowa BSN, Marycrest College
Articles
Clinical signs of infection in diabetic foot ulcers with high microbial load (with Sue E. Gardner and S. L. Hillis), Biological Research for Nursing (2009)
One proposed method to diagnose diabetic foot ulcers (DFUs) for infection is clinical examination. Twelve...
Wound bioburden and infection-related complications in diabetic foot ulcers (with Sue E. Gardner), Biological Research for Nursing (2008)
The identification and diagnosis of diabetic foot ulcer (DFU) infections remains a complex problem. Because...
Diagnostic validity of semiquantitative swab cultures (with Sue E. Gardner, S. L. Hillis, H. Park, and M. Scherubel), Wounds-a Compendium of Clinical Research and Practice (2007)
Swab cultures of wounds are noninvasive and most laboratories are capable of semiquantitatively processing these...
The inter-rater reliability of the. clinical signs and symptoms checklist in diabetic foot ulcers (with Sue E. Gardner, H. Park, and M. Scherubel), Ostomy Wound Management (2007)
The Clinical Signs and Symptoms Checklist is a tool designed to measure 12 clinical signs...
Diagnostic validity of three swab techniques for identifying chronic wound infection (with Sue E. Gardner, Charles L. Saltzman, S. L. Hillis, H. Park, and M. Scherubel), Wound Repair and Regeneration (2006)
This study examined the diagnostic validity of three different swab techniques in identifying chronic wound...