The September roundup includes five publications.

Publications
Associate Dean for Research and Faculty Development Sheryl Zimmerman, Philip D. Sloane (UNC Cecil G. Sheps Center for Health Services Research), John S. Preisser (UNC Gillings School of Global Public Health), Kimberly Ward (Duke Clinical Research Institute), Christopher J. Wretman (University of Edinburgh), Scott A. Davis (UNC Cecil G. Sheps Center for Health Services Research) and Mariana G. Figueiro (Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai) co-authored “Feasibility of a Novel Lighting System to Reduce Nighttime Falls in Assisted Living Residents With Dementia” for Journal of the American Medical Directors Association. The authors conducted a randomized crossover trial to test the feasibility of a night-time lighting system to support stability and prevent falls for assisted living residents. Their trial compared the number of night-time falls while using the novel lighting system to a controlled condition with a standard nightlight. They concluded that “This low-cost intervention was feasible with high satisfaction. Building on these results, the intervention is being evaluated in a larger clinical trial. A novel lighting system to reduce falls could ultimately benefit millions of older adults across all settings.”
Assistant Professor Rebecca Rebbe, John A. Tate Distinguished Professor for Children in Need Emily Putnam-Hornstein, Julia Reddy (UNC Gillings School of Global Public Health), Eunhye Ahn (Washington University in St. Louis) and Lindsey Palmer (University of Utah) co-authored “Maternal Reports to the Child Protection System: A Longitudinal Analysis of Multiple Children” for Child Maltreatment. The authors used 20 years of data from linked birth and child protection system records from California to document the timing, chronicity and prevalence of maternal CPS reporting across multiple children for first-time mothers. They found that 33% of mothers were reported to CPS, ranging from 18.5% for mothers of one child to 63.1% for mothers with four or more children. “For mothers with two or more children, more than 70% experienced an initial CPS report only after the second child’s birth. Our findings have implications for understanding the dynamics of maternal reports to CPS, emphasizing the need for lasting and family-focused interventions.”
Assistant Professor Bridgette Thom, Sara P. Myers (Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center), Emeline Aviki (NYU Langone Health), Varadan Sevilimedu (Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center) and Mary L. Gemignani (Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center) co-authored “ASO Author Reflections: Young Adults and Racial Minorities May Be at High Risk for Financial Toxicity After Breast Cancer Treatment” for Annals of Surgical Oncology. The authors conducted a study to identify the race- and age-based differences in financial toxicity for women with stage 0-IV breast cancer who were treated between June 2022 and May 2023 at the Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center. The authors sampled 8,512 women, finding that women younger than 45 years of age experienced higher financial toxicity than women 45 years or older. They also found that Black and Asian women were more likely to report higher financial toxicity than White women, and found that “Young and Asian women more often paid for treatment with savings than older or Black and White women.” The authors concluded that, “Our institutional experience highlights that financial ramifications of oncology care may factor into health-related disparities, especially as they pertain to the ability to afford follow-up treatment. Inconsistencies in existing literature related to financial toxicity among minorities highlight the need for longitudinal studies to accurately characterize the role of sociodemographic factors on financial toxicity, and how this relationship impacts quality of life and clinical outcomes. These considerations will become increasingly salient as advancements in oncology care lengthen life expectancy, and as an expanded population of patients find themselves contending with issues of survivorship.”
Associate Dean for Research and Faculty Development Sheryl Zimmerman published “Toward a common definition of assisted living” for McKnight’s Senior Living.
Doctoral student Kenny Harris, Dean Emeritus Gary Bowen and Todd Jensen (UNC School of Education) co-authored “Resiliency among United States Air Force personnel: The direct and interactive influence of cognitive fitness and confidence in social connections” for Military Psychology. The authors utilized a U.S. Air Force active-duty dataset to examine for a positive relationship between formal and informal social connections and cognitive fitness, as well as the impact on successful role performance. They also “tested for potential moderating influences of formal and informal social connections on role performance among SMs with low vs. high cognitive fitness.” Their dataset included 59,094 Air Force service members and civilians who completed the Support and Resiliency Inventory from Nov. 4, 2011 to Jan. 7, 2014. The authors, who focused on married active duty members, found “a positive linear relationship between cognitive fitness and resiliency and between informal and formal support and resiliency. Informal social support moderated the association between cognitive fitness and resiliency, compensating for resiliency among SMs with lower cognitive fitness. Study findings support current military resilience-building initiatives and underline the importance of prioritizing informal social support in U.S. military settings.”
Presentations & Trainings
Associate Professor Hsun-Ta Hsu was the keynote speaker at UNC School of Data Science and Society’s Data Science Day 2024 on Sept. 26.

Smith P. Theimann Jr. Distinguished Professor of Ethics and Professional Practice Kim Strom participated in the third annual International Summer School for the Southeast Europe Academic Women’s Leadership Network in Sofia, Bulgaria, and presented on “The Courage to be Disliked.”
Associate Professor Lisa de Saxe Zerden was invited to present at the Harm Reduction Summit, hosted by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) on workforce development and harm reduction. The Summit was held Sept. 17-19. Organized with SAMHSA’s external Harm Reduction Steering Committee (HRSC), this event is a follow-up to the inaugural Harm Reduction Summit, held in 2021.
Assistant Professor Sonyia Richardson was an invited speaker at the national “SAMHSA: Answering the Call: Empowering Communities to Prevent Suicide Among Black Youth” webinar on Sept. 25. With more than 1,700 attendees registered, she focused on suicide prevention interventions for Black youth populations.
Assistant Professor Sonyia Richardson was an invited speaker for the UNC Psychiatry Grand Rounds Child and Adolescent Mental Health Mini-Conference on Sept. 25. Her presentation focused on Black youth suicide prevention interventions and research.
Assistant Professor Rebecca Rebbe gave a research presentation to the Racial Justice Committee (RJC) of The LA County Commission for Children and Families on Sept. 16. The title was, “Child protection responses to domestic violence exposure: Co-occurring safety concerns and investigation outcomes.”
Behavioral Health Springboard is hosting a children’s behavioral health conference in October, with seats still available.
Over the course of three days, behavioral service teams will engage in learning activities, group discussions and team building exercises focused on the social, emotional and relational factors that negatively affect organizational dynamics. At the end of the session, each team will develop an “organizational resilience and well-being” implementation plan to take back to their organization. The title of the conference is “Micro to Macro: Children’s Behavioral Health Conference – Navigating NC’s Systems of Care.”
Date: Oct. 30—Nov. 1, 2024.
Location: Wilmington, N.C.
Fee: $350
Learn more and register online.
News from the National Initiative for Trauma Education and Workforce Development
Research Professor Virginia Strand and Associate Professor Sarah E. “Betsy” Bledsoe presented at the National Children’s Alliance third annual Seamless Conference on Sept. 26. Their presentation was entitled, “Training in Common Trauma Informed Practice Elements: Incorporating an Anti-Racist Lens.” Bledsoe conducted the following presentation, “September Consultation Call on Cognitive Restructuring Common Trauma Informed Practice Element.”
National Initiative for Trauma Education and Workforce Development
The National Initiative for Trauma Education and Workforce Development has successfully provided and evaluated eight synchronous, facilitated advanced trainings in trauma practice through an anti-racist framework over the past six months, reaching approximately 250 participants. Results of the data analysis showed that participants increased their knowledge, confidence and skills in trauma interventions. For more information, please visit our website.
Awards, News & Recognition
Associate Dean for Advancement Kandace Farrar was announced as the UNC School of Law’s 2024 Emerging Leader Award recipient by the School’s alumni association. The award honors graduates within the last 15 years for achievements that have brought credit to the school, the legal profession or society. Farrar will be recognized during the School of Law’s Alumni Weekend on Nov. 15.
In September 2024, Assistant Professor Sonyia Richardson completed her four-year term on the Andrea Harris Equity Task Force. She was appointed to the task force for two terms by North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper. She was the chair of the wellness sub-committee during this last term. More information about the task force and their accomplishments are located here.
Assistant Professor Sonyia Richardson is a fellow with the UC Santa Barbara Immerse Training Fellowship. The fellowship focuses on training for mixture modeling for equity-oriented researchers, scholars, and educators. Richardson is conducting research on mixture modeling with Black youth suicide data.
The School of Social Work HR team is pleased to announce a new initiative to improve onboarding structures for the School. In an HR@SSW Orientation, we invite new EHRA NF, SHRA, and fixed-term faculty to join us to highlight some important aspects of being an employee in the School. The HR team — Human Resources Specialist Drew Lasater, Human Resources Specialist Jennifer Jean-Baptiste, Human Resources Specialist Heather James and Director of Human Resources Tamsen Foote — present on topics, including professional development, performance management, benefits and leave, mental health and well-being, additional compensation, resources and perks, & the HR Intranet — which is also new and expanded!
The HR team is also glad to share that orientation features presentations from key members of our community, including Facilities Manager Sam Deal and IT Manager Phil Kaufman, to share critical information on safety preparedness and technology security/support. HR@SSW launched this initiative to provide more support to new employees — we want to ensure they have positive experiences with us from Day 1, and we recognize that joining a large, public R01 institution can be confusing and overwhelming. We hope that by offering orientation, we provide more structure and guidance, as well as an opportunity to meet key members of HR, facilities, and CITU and build/set expectations of a values-based culture of community.
Advanced Research Scientist Allison De Marco was accepted as a SLATE (Student Learning to Advance Truth and Education) Teaching Fellow for the spring of 2025 by the UNC Sonja Haynes Stone Center for Research in Black Culture and History.