Research Areas
- Alcohol and substance use
- Behavioral interventions
- Stress reduction
- Coping
Scientific Achievements
- Developed interventions to improve health for migrant farmworkers exposed to pesticides, sleep disruption, and social stressors
- Developed a community tailored mindfulness-based intervention for alcohol use disorder in Latina mothers
- Collaboration with MPI at Florida International University
- NIH/OBSSR Matilda White Riley Paper Award: Front Psychol. 2024 doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2024.1359174. PMID: 38939226; PMCID: PMC11210173.
Funding
RCMI Funding:
- NIH/NIMHD U24MD015970
- NIH/NIMHD U54MD012388: Pilot Project “Mindfulness-Based Intervention for Latina Mothers who Drink Alcohol to Cope”
Other funding obtained with RCMI support:
- Flinn Foundation Early-Career Faculty Fellow
- OT20D028395 NIH/Division of Engagement and Outreach, Research Triangle International - All of Us Researcher Academy Institutional Champions
Scientific Advance
Mixed methods analysis of satisfaction during a 12 session mindfulness based intervention for women with a substance use disorder and trauma symptomatology.
Published in Frontiers in Psychology, Volume 15, 2024, PMCID: PMC11210173.
Published in Frontiers in Psychology, Volume 15, 2024, PMCID: PMC11210173.
This study examined satisfaction with a mindfulness intervention among 54 women in residential treatment for substance use disorders, comparing those with high versus low trauma backgrounds. Initially, women with low trauma were more satisfied than those with high trauma, but satisfaction levels became equal by the program's end. The high trauma group experienced more "trouble focusing" early in the intervention, which resolved over time. The findings suggest that participants with high trauma need tailored support during early sessions to help them adjust to mindfulness practices and improve program retention.
NIH/NIMHD #U54MD012388, NIH/NIDA #5R01DA038648, #5R25DA026401, #5R25AT010664
