Dr. Jean Edward Selected in Inaugural Fellowship Program of SONSIEL
Jean Edward, PhD, RN, CHPE, assistant professor, was selected to be in the inaugural fellowship program of the Society of Nurse Scientists, Innovators, Entrepreneurs & Leaders (SONSIEL). She will be joining a very distinguished group of nurses who share the mission to magnify, network and elevate the expertise of nurse innovators as transformation agents that contribute to the reform of health care.
Dr. Edward 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.
