Chris Fortney

Image
Chris Fortney
First Name
Chris
Last Name
Fortney
Credentials
PhD, RN, FPCN, FAAN
Associate Professor
Director, Undergraduate Honors Program
she/her/hers
Address
200E Heminger Hall
Address (Line 2)
1577 Neil Avenue
City
Columbus
State
OH
Zip Code
43210

 

Research Interests

Dr. Chris Fortney's research focuses on the experiences of critically ill infants in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) and their families. Dr. Fortney uses descriptive data, behavioral observations, qualitative interviews, and prospective, longitudinal designs to investigate infant symptoms and suffering trajectories, and their effect on parent satisfaction, decision-making, distress and coping, and changes in care goals. Notably, she uncovered challenges in assessing and managing symptoms for NICU infants with life-threatening or life-limiting conditions. She developed a framework to assess the quality of the neonatal death experience and published pioneering patient-reported symptom data in this population. She has also explored nurse distress when caring for critically ill infants and collaborated with a bilingual community advisory board to transcreate research materials from English to Spanish. Currently, Dr. Fortney is investigating the impact of social determinants of health on nurse-parent communication regarding infant symptom assessment and management. She received her master’s and doctorate in Nursing from The Ohio State University and completed the Pediatric Patient-Centered Outcomes (PC-Prep) postdoctoral fellowship in the Center for Biobehavioral Health at Nationwide Children’s Hospital.

View publications

Podcasts

Fortney CA. (Advances in Neonatal Care Guest Editor and Assistant Professor). (2020, March 2) NANNcast – Understanding Palliative Care. [Audio podcast]. https://nannast/podbean.com

Chapters
Recent Research Activities
Editorial Activities
Honors
Professional Activities
Professional Society Memberships

News

August 22, 2025

Jen Huynh, RN, didn’t know exactly what she wanted to do for a career when she entered college, so she took a meandering path through various healthcare and science majors instead of settling on one thing right away. For Huynh, that turned out to be an excellent move. Now she’s in the Graduate Entry Master of Science in Nursing program at The Ohio State University and excited about her future in nursing.

July 22, 2025

New national and international recognition for our faculty, alumni and students highlight impact in research and healthcare

Over the past three months, several members of The Ohio State University College of Nursing community have received honors that spotlight their achievements and impact across nursing and healthcare, including:

Calendar

September 11, 4:00 p.m.