Postdoctoral Research Fellowship, Massachusetts General Hospital
PhD, RUSH College of Nursing
MSN, Saint Xavier University
RN, Yale University
AM, The University of Chicago
BA, DePaul University
Health equity, community engaged research, psychological trauma, women’s health, homelessness, correctional settings
Kirsten A. Dickins, PhD, AM, APRN, FNP-C, completed her PhD in Nursing Science at the Rush University College of Nursing and Postdoctoral Research Fellowship at Massachusetts General Hospital, Yvonne L. Munn Center for Nursing Research. Her program of research utilizes community engaged approaches to trauma-focused intervention development with and for populations experiencing homelessness and in correctional settings. She utilizes varied analytic approaches to her work in intervention adaptation and implementation, with a focus on centralizing the voices and perspectives of key stakeholders.
Recently, Dickins was the recipient of a DAISY Health Equity Research Grant to advance her trauma-focused work in the community. In 2020, Dickins was named a STAT Wunderkind award, recognizing early career researchers “blazing new trails as they attempt to answer some of the biggest questions in science and medicine”. She has published her research in peer-reviewed outlets including the Journal of Women’s Health, Journal of Healthcare for the Poor and Underserved, Journal of the American Academy of Nurse Practitioners, Social Work in Public Health, and Geriatric Nursing. She is the co-author of a textbook, Literature Review and Synthesis: A Guide for Nurses and Other Healthcare Professionals, published by Springer in 2022.
1st Place Emerging Clinical Nurse Researcher/Scholar Poster Award, Eastern Nursing Research Society (2022)
STAT Wunderkind, STAT News (2020)
Luther Christman Unification Model Award, Rush University (2019)
Jonas Nurse Leaders Scholars Program, Jonas Philanthropies (2016)
NurseCorps Scholar, U.S. Department of Health & Human Services, HRSA (2013)
Dickins KA, Fine DR, Adams LD, et al. Mortality Trends Among Adults Experiencing Homelessness in Boston, Massachusetts From 2003 to 2018. JAMA Intern Med. Published online March 13, 2023. doi:10.1001/jamainternmed.2022.7011
Dickins Aryee, K., Malley, A., Bartels, S.J., Baggett, T.P., & Looby, S.E. (2022). Exploring Opportunities to Optimize Stress and Trauma-Focused Primary Care with Low-Income Midlife and Older Women. Journal of Health Care for the Poor and Underserved. In-Press.
Kileel, E., Dickins, K.A., Blossom, J., Looby, S., & Fitch, K. (2022). Regional differences in added sweetener knowledge, consumption and body mass index in people living with HIV in the United States. AIDS and Behavior. In press.
Moss, A., Rousseau, J., Swartwout, K., Kalensky, M., Gallagher, T., Gorenz, A., & Dickins, K. (2022). Leveraging a Successful Faculty Practice Model to Recruit and Retain Early-Career Nurse Faculty. Nurse Educator. https://doi.org/10.1097/NNE.0000000000001177
Fine, D. R., Dickins, K. A., Adams, L. D., De Las Nueces, D., Weinstock, K., Wright, J., Gaeta, J. M., & Baggett, T. P. (2022). Drug Overdose Mortality Among People Experiencing Homelessness, 2003 to 2018. JAMA Network Open, 5(1), e2142676. https://doi.org/10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2021.42676
Banister, G., Carroll, D., Dickins, K., Flanagan, J., Jones, D., Looby, S., Cahill, J. (2022). A pilot study exploring documentation of nurse sensitive indicators during COVID-19. International Journal of Nursing Knowledge. DOI: 10.1111/2047-3095.12372
Kileel, E. M., Dickins, K. A., Zheng, H., Fitch, K. V., & Looby, S. E. (2021). The Association of Distinct Social Determinants of Health with Added Sweetener Knowledge and Consumption in a U.S. Sample of People Living with HIV. AIDS and Behavior. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10461-021-03508-1
Dickins, K. A., Malley, A., Bartels, S. J., Baggett, T. P., & Looby, S. E. (2021). Barriers, facilitators, and opportunities to optimize care engagement in a diverse sample of older low-income women: A qualitative study. Geriatric Nursing, 42(5), 965–976. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.gerinurse.2021.06.015
Dickins, K. A., Philpotts, L. L., Flanagan, J., Bartels, S. J., Baggett, T. P., & Looby, S. E. (2021). Physical and Behavioral Health Characteristics of Aging Homeless Women in the United States: An Integrative Review. Journal of Women’s Health, 30(10), 1493–1507. https://doi.org/10.1089/jwh.2020.8557
Dickins, K. A., & Looby, S. E. (2020). Behavioral and psychological health inequities in income disparate perimenopausal women: a brief report. Menopause, 28(1), 86–92. https://doi.org/10.1097/GME.0000000000001650
Dickins, K. A., Buchholz, S. W., Ingram, D., Braun, L. T., Hamilton, R. J., Earle, M., & Karnik, N. S. (2020). Supporting Primary Care Access and Use among Homeless Persons. Social Work in Public Health, 35(6), 335–357. https://doi.org/10.1080/19371918.2020.1809589
Dickins, K., Buchholz, S. W., Ingram, D., Hamilton, R. J., Braun, L. T., Karnik, N. S., & Earle, M. (2019). “Now that you’ve got that coverage”: Promoting use of a regular source of primary care among homeless persons. Journal of the American Association of Nurse Practitioners, 33(2), 158–166. https://doi.org/10.1097/JXX.0000000000000319
Dickins, K. A., Buchholz, S. W., Rivero, T., & Miller, C. (2018). A review of reviews: Sedentary behaviour and cardiovascular disease specific to older people. International Journal of Older People Nursing, 13(4), e12211. https://doi.org/10.1111/opn.12211
Kostas-Polston, E. A., Rawlett, K., Miedema, J., & Dickins, K. (2018). An integrative review of nurse practitioner education models: Part three of a four-part series on critical topics identified by the 2015 Nurse Practitioner Research Agenda. Journal of the American Association of Nurse Practitioners, 30(12), 696–709. https://doi.org/10.1097/JXX.0000000000000150
Buchholz, S. W., Klein, T., Cooke, C., Cook, M. L., Knestrick, J., & Dickins, K. (2018). Introduction to four reviews addressing critical topics identified by the 2015 Nurse Practitioner Research Agenda Roundtable: Priorities for policy, workforce, education, and practice. Journal of the American Association of Nurse Practitioners, 30(12), 667–672. https://doi.org/10.1097/JXX.0000000000000035
Wolfson, R. K., Alberson, K., McGinty, M., Schwanz, K., Dickins, K., & Arora, V. M. (2017). The Impact of a Scholarly Concentration Program on Student Interest in Career-Long Research: A Longitudinal Study. Academic Medicine, 92(8), 1196–1203. https://doi.org/10.1097/ACM.0000000000001486
Fitzpatrick, S. L., Dickins, K., Avery, E., Ventrelle, J., Shultz, A., Kishen, E., & Rothschild, S. (2017). Effect of an obesity best practice alert on physician documentation and referral practices. Translational Behavioral Medicine, 7(4), 881–890. https://doi.org/10.1007/s13142-017-0514-0
Siomos MZ, Andreoni M, Buchholz SW, Dickins K. (2017). A guide to physical activity recommendations for individuals with diabetes. The Journal for Nurse Practitioners, 13(1), 82-88. doi: dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.nurpra.2016.10.025
Dickins K.A., Braun L. (2017). Promotion of physical activity and cardiac rehabilitation for the management of cardiovascular disease. The Journal for Nurse Practitioners, 13(1), 47-53. doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.nurpra.2016.10.02682-88.
Powell, C., Dickins, K., & Stoklosa, H. (2017). Training US health care professionals on human trafficking: where do we go from here? Medical Education Online, 22(1), 1267980. https://doi.org/10.1080/10872981.2017.1267980
Dickins, K., Levinson, D., Smith, S. G., & Humphrey, H. J. (2013). The minority student voice at one medical school: lessons for all? Academic Medicine, 88(1), 73–79. https://doi.org/10.1097/ACM.0b013e3182769513
DAISY Foundation Health Equity Research Grant (2022)
Golden Lamp Society Dissertation Award (2018)
Golden Lamp Society Kellogg Award (2017)