Dr. Jean Edward awarded nearly $400,000 for health, social services research
College of Nursing assistant professor Dr. Jean Edward has received a $399,268 award for “Leveraging Medical-Legal Partnerships to Enhance Interdisciplinary, Team-Based Approaches to Facilitate Effective Cost of Care Conversations” from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.
This two-year award will integrate health and social services at the point of care to assist patients with physical and psychosocial needs. Dr. Edward and her interdisciplinary team will develop and test the impact of FINassist (Financial & Insurance Navigation Assistance) to enhance cost of care conversations and promote equitable access to financial resources, address unmet social needs and improve patient outcomes.
Jean Edward, PhD, RN, CHPE, is an Assistant Professor at the College of Nursing and Nurse Scientist for UK HealthCare’s Markey Cancer Center. Prior to her appointment, she held a joint appointment with the College of Nursing and the Center for Health Services Research in the College of Medicine and previously was an Assistant Professor at the College of Nursing and Health Sciences at the University of Massachusetts Boston.
Dr. Edward's program of research is focused on promoting equitable access to healthcare for underserved communities by examining the influence of social determinants of health on disparities in access to care. The foundation to her program of research was a study funded by the Kentucky Nurses Association and Sigma Theta Tau International that used a mixed-method approach to examine the social determinants of healthcare access among underserved Hispanic/Latino immigrants in Louisville, KY. Her work at the University of Massachusetts Boston, examined the impact of health insurance literacy on access to care for underserved Hispanic/Latino communities in Massachusetts. Her current research focuses on developing linguistically and culturally tailored programs to improve cost-related health literacy, promote health-seeking behaviors and support healthcare decision-making in underserved communities across Kentucky. Dr. Edward's areas of research expertise include health literacy, health insurance literacy, healthcare access disparities, social determinants of health and healthcare reform/policy. She has taught doctoral courses on social and behavioral determinants of health, health disparities, global health and health policy.
