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Amanda M. Emerson, PhD, RN

Amanda Emerson portrait
Assistant Professor, School Of Nursing
aemerson2@kumc.edu

Professional Background

Amanda Emerson, PhD, RN, is an assistant professor in the School of Nursing and teaches courses in philosophy of science, theory, and qualitative research methods. Dr. Emerson has supervised student doctoral work on historical trauma, moral distress in critical care nursing, spiritual coping in heart failure patients, and spiritual coping in parents of adult children with schizophrenia. Emerson holds a second PhD in English and formerly taught early American literature and women’s studies. Her clinical practice as an RN was in intermediate post-surgical cardiac care.


Research

Overview

As a researcher, Dr. Emerson seeks to improve health and health services access in populations affected by criminal legal system involvement. She worked for eight years with the Sexual Health Empowerment ([S]HE) team in the KUMC Department of Population Health on NIH-funded studies to prevent cervical cancer by increasing up-to-date screening and HPV vaccination in people who have criminal-legal system involvement. Emerson’s current research centers on accelerated aging and leveraging its lessons to bolster functional health and resilience in older adults post-incarceration. Emerson's Older Women Leading Healthy Aging Research Together (OWLHART) project seeks to increase capacity for engagement in patient-centered outcomes research to address early frailty in older women after incarceration. Funding for OWLHART comes from a Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute (PCORI) Eugene Washington PCORI Engagement Award (EACB-34382) (2024-2026). Emerson is also leading a community-engagement project to develop and test a facilitated-reentry tool to assist older women in connecting with health information, resources, and social support following release from incarceration. The project is funded through Emerson's fellowship with the Betty Irene Moore Nurse Leaders and Innovators program (2024-2027) Emerson has also been the recipient of funding from a KL2 mentored career development award, 2022-2024 (CTSA grant from NCATS awarded to Frontiers Clinical and Translational Science Institute [KL2TR002367]); an International Association of Forensic Nursing Research Grant; and an Aging Research in Criminal Justice and Health (ARCH) Network pilot award. Emerson’s publications appear in Advances in Nursing Science, Health and Justice; Journal of Aging and Health; Journal of Women and Aging; Prevention Science; Vaccine; Qualitative Health Research; Nursing Inquiry; and elsewhere.

Publications