The October roundup includes five publications.
Publications
Associate Professor Lisa de Saxe Zerden authored “Voting: The New Social Determinant of Health and a Long-Standing Concept for Social Work” for Social Work.
Associate Professor Lisa de Saxe Zerden, Meg Zomorodi (UNC School of Nursing), Katharine Ciarrocca (Duke University), Madeline Neal (UNC Office of Interprofessional Education and Practice) and Philip Rodgers (UNC Eshelman School of Pharmacy) co-authored “Step by Step: Utilizing Kotter’s Model to Design and Implement a Strategic Plan for Institutionalizing Interprofessional Education and Practice” for Journal of Interprofessional Education & Practice. The authors described the steps taken as part of a strategic planning process to make and support a pan-university interprofessional education and practice to bolster interprofessional education among “emerging health professionals/schools-departments at a public flagship university in the southeastern U.S. Additionally, Kotter’s model for institutional change highlights strategies to gain buy-in, and lessons learned. This paper provides a guide to help grow, sustain, and invest in formal IPEP programs for other academic institutions.”
Associate Professor Lisa de Saxe Zerden, Todd I. Herrenkohl (University of Michigan) and Bowen McBeath (Portland State University) co-authored “Guest Editorial: Centering Professional Relationships and Protecting Diversity of Thought in Academic Publishing” for Journal of the Society for Social Work and Research.
Associate Professor Rainier Masa, Lucas R. Prieto (George Mason University), Megumi Inoue (George Mason University), Kaitlyn R. Kellermeyer (George Mason University) and Emma Booker (George Mason University) co-authored “Food Insecurity and Diabetes Insulin Adherence Among Older Adults” for Journal of Nutrition in Gerontology and Geriatrics. The authors studied the relationship between insulin adherence and food insecurity for adults aged 55 and older living with diabetes based off data from the 2021 National Health Interview Survey. They found that adults experiencing food insecurity were both more likely to take less insulin than required and put off buying insulin in a 12-month period compared to food secure adults 55 and older. They found that “other racialized/ethnic groups (i.e., American Indian, Alaskan Native, Asian, biracial, and multiracial persons) compared to White were less likely to skip an insulin dose and take less insulin than needed.” They recommended that food insecurity should be factored in for providers recommending insulin therapy for older adults with diabetes.
Assistant Professor Bridgette Thom, Emeline Aviki (New York University Langone Health), Amy Caramore (Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center), Fumiko Chino (Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center), Stefania Sokolowski (Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center) and Amy Tin co-authored “Implementing a financial toxicity screening program” for the 2024 ASCO Quality Care Symposium. The authors examined the implementation of a financial toxicity screening quality improvement program for those undergoing cancer treatment. They found that “Routine FT screening is feasible during active treatment, although attention is needed to clinical workflows to ensure patients have access to the screening, nurses and other clinical staff are involved in the implementation, and referrals to resources are available for patients who screen positive. Future work will address cadence of delivery and outcomes of interventions.”
Presentations & Trainings
The Clinical Lecture Series held the first lecture for the new Macro Lecture Series. The title was “Voting as a Social Determinant of Health,” presented by Associate Professor Lisa de Saxe Zerden and MSW students Sofia Lawrence and Carson Hash. Macro Caucus students took on leadership in the event by announcing the presenters, helping at the registration desk and monitoring the Zoom chat.
On Oct. 11, 2024, Clinical Associate Professor and School of Social Work License Coordinator Tauchiana Williams presented “Advancing the School Social Work National Practice Model: Domains and Demands from a Micro, Mezzi to Macro Perspective” at the Durham Public Schools’ School Social Workers Professional Development event.
Assistant Professor Orrin Ware was part of a team that presented “State-by-state patterns of mental health diagnoses among Latinx across state funded mental health centers in the U.S,” at the 2024 National Latinx Psychological Association Annual Conference in San Juan, Puerto Rico.
Assistant Professor Orrin Ware was part of a team that presented “Mental health multimorbidity clusters among the U.S. Latinx population” at the 2024 National Latinx Psychological Association Annual Conference in San Juan, Puerto Rico.
Assistant Professor Orrin Ware was part of a team that presented “A national profile of access to substance use treatment in Spanish: Differences by community-level demographics and rurality,” at the National Hispanic Science Network in New Orleans, La.
Assistant Professor Orrin Ware was part of a team that presented “Residential treatment outcomes for opioid use disorder among Latinos,” at the National Hispanic Science Network in New Orleans, La.
Assistant Professor Sonyia Richardson delivered an oral presentation at the American Public Health Association Annual Meeting on Wednesday, Oct. 30, 2024. The paper session was titled “Making Deep-Structure Adaptations: A Community-Engaged Mixed Methods Study for Culturally Adapting a Black Youth Suicide Intervention.”
Associate Professor Lisa de Saxe Zerden was invited by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) to speak at its second Harm Reduction Summit from Sept. 17-19, 2024.
Clinical Associate Professor Tauchiana Williams and Carey Evans (INSPIRED Lab) presented at the Global Social Development Innovations Symposium hosted by GSDI at the Friday Conference Center. They presented an overview of SUPER with a community social worker from Durham Nativity School, and discussed SUPER’s research, implementation, recruitment, engagement, and collaboration with schools.
Ph.D. student David French will present a poster at the 2025 Society for Social Work and Research Conference based on findings from the INSPIRED Lab.
The Clinical Lecture Series is hosting “Essential Skills for Disaster Mental Health and Crisis Response w/ Tab Ballis, LCSW, LCAS, CCS,” on Nov. 8, from 12—2 p.m.
“Whether you’re on the frontlines of a disaster or supporting individuals through its aftermath, this training highlights how disaster response is both doable and rewarding. Serving as an entry point, it seeks to makes disaster response work more accessible, helping participants apply existing skills and assess needs across different phases of a crisis. The training covers psychological first aid–serving as a roving triage to address the needs of those affected. It also emphasizes resilience and strengths-based strategies to support individuals with overlapping vulnerabilities and visible distress. By training mental health professionals, we strengthen the resilience of our communities during crises and disasters. We hope you can join either in person, via Zoom, or stay tuned for a recorded version.” You can register here.
News from the National Initiative for Trauma Education and Workforce Development
Advanced Training
The National Initiative for Trauma Education and Workforce Development will sponsor an Advanced Training in Trauma Practice Through a Racial Equity Lens on Nov. 7, 2024. It will focus on the implementation of four practice elements: cognitive restructuring, behavioral regulation, trauma processing, and termination. This is an extension of the Case of Diego from the online course, Core Components and Skills for Trauma Informed Practice. The training will be offered from 12—4:15 p.m. with four free hours of continuing education credit available for ASWB, APA, and NBCC. For more information, please visit our website.
Faculty Learning Collaboratives
During the week of Oct. 14, 2024, The National Initiative for Trauma Education and Workforce Development (NITEWD) provided its fourth session of consultation to faculty members of schools of social work from around the country teaching the Core Components and Skill for Trauma Informed Practice MSW course. These sessions, termed faculty learning collaboratives, provide ongoing support to faculty who are currently teaching. Faculty receive assistance with preparing for the class, have the opportunity to review course materials, share ideas and teaching strategies with other faculty, and discuss any questions or concerns. NITEWD offers six faculty learning collaboratives throughout the semester.
Advisory Board Meeting
The National Initiative for Trauma Education and Workforce Development hosted a meeting for its national Advisory Board on Oct. 21, 2024. During this meeting, faculty and staff provided program updates, discussed progress in the effort to reach BILPOC staff, and held an open discussion with advisory board members to obtain feedback and recommendations for priorities for the coming year.
Awards, News & Recognition
Clinical Assistant Professor Karon Johnson was appointed by Gov. Roy Cooper to the North Carolina Commission for Mental Health, Developmental Disabilities and Substance Abuse Services. Johnson’s term begins July 1, 2024, and will end on June 30, 2027.
School Behavioral Health Program Lead Nina Muller has published a children’s book, “Fuego’s Feelings,” to help children ages 2-10 understand dog body language.
Muller said, “I created this book as an animal-assisted social worker to fill a need I saw in dog-related educational materials—and have gotten feedback that it is a helpful book for animal-assisted therapists, parents of kids and dogs, and anyone else who is responsible for facilitating positive human-dog interactions.”
The book can be found online here, or in-person at Flyleaf Books.
