Lisa Werkmeister Rozas, Associate Professor and faculty of the SSW Puerto Rican and Latino Studies Project has been appointed to the Executive Committee of the UConn Center for Health, Intervention and Prevention (CHIP).

The Center for Health, Intervention, and Prevention is a multidisciplinary research center dedicated to the study of the dynamics of health risk behavior and processes of health behavioral change in individuals and targeted at-risk populations. Since its founding, CHIP researchers have launched major new health behavior change initiatives at the University of Connecticut, including new work in the areas of HIV prevention, medical adherence, diabetes management, cancer prevention, nutrition, pharmacology, substance abuse, obesity, autism, health information technology and other health domains. CHIP’s work is increasingly international in scope, with projects underway, or planned, in China, Ethiopia, India, Malaysia, Mozambique, New Zealand, Russia, South Africa, Thailand, Uganda, Ukraine and Vietnam.

A full list of CHIP Executive Committee members can be found at: http://www.chip.uconn.edu/about/
Through CHIP, Professor Werkmeister Rozas is undertaking research on how cultural competence can be used as a tool to help eliminate health disparities within an HIV/AIDS infected population. Her other research focuses on issues of race, racism, discrimination, power, privilege, issues of identity, and their effects on individuals and society. Within this area she explores such things as health disparities and the social and environmental factors that contribute to them as well as cultural competence, what it entails and how it is established. Dr. Werkmeister Rozas is also interested in how race and other social identities are operationalized and used in research studies.

Currently. Professor Werkmeister Rozas has a grant from the American Cancer Society where she is examining breast and cervical cancer screening behaviors of women from diverse racial backgrounds. Her aim is to find similarities and differences in screening behaviors and determine what factors may contribute to better screening practices among the different groups.

Dean Salome Raheim has been appointed to the NASW Social Work Editorial Board and accepted into the 2011-2012 Leadership Academy in Aging.

The editorial board is composed of eight members who are responsible for encouraging authors to submit articles to the journal; promote the journal among colleagues and students; analyze trends and needs within the profession and seek out article submissions to meet the needs; and read and rate manuscript submissions. The editorial board of Social Work, the official journal of the National Association of Social Workers, has been in existence since 1955.

The Leadership Academy in Aging is a partnership between the New York Academy of Medicine, the National Association of Deans and Directors of Schools of Social Work (NADD), and the John A. Hartford Foundation. The goal of the Leadership Academy in Aging is to assist Social Work Deans and Directors to become leaders in the field of aging education and policy. “I look forward to using this opportunity to support the School in maintaining our work with older adults as an area of excellence,” said Dean Raheim.

 

Dr. Joan Letendre is always looking for innovative ways to engage her Group Work students.  She discovered more than convenience when she utilized the discussion tool in Husky CT, UConn’s learning management system.  Meet Professor Letendre and hear how she’s using technology in her Group Processes class.