Nancy Kusmaul

Nancy Kusmaul

Associate Professor of Social Work, University of Maryland-Baltimore County
Chapter Member: Maryland-Washington, D.C. SSN
Areas of Expertise:

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(410) 455-1144

About Nancy

Kusmaul's research focuses on organizational culture, trauma informed care, and the impact of trauma experiences on workers and care recipients. Kusmaul is particularly interested in the experience of direct care workers in organizations, such as Certified Nursing Assistants in nursing homes and home health care workers employed by agencies. Overarching themes in Kusmaul's writing include the effects of policy on service delivery, the impacts of trauma on interfaces with health and social service settings, and possible approaches for agencies to consider.

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Contributions

How to Integrate Trauma-Informed Care into Nursing Homes

Memo,

Publications

"Hypothesis Testing of CNA Perceptions of Organizational Culture in Long Term Care" (with Shalini Sahoo). Journal of Gerontological Social Work 62, no. 4 (2019): 405-414.

Examines nursing assistants perceptions of patient safety culture and looked for ways that facilities could change practices to impact the experiences of their workers. Fails to find the variation expected, this remains an important question for improving care in nursing homes.

"Client Experiences of Trauma-Informed Care in Social Service Agencies" (with Molly R. Wolf, Shalini Sahoo, Susan A. Green, and Thomas H. Nochajski). Journal of Social Service Research 45, no. 4 (2019): 589-599.

Reports on the experiences of clients in human service agencies and their perceptions of the trauma-informed practices provided during their care.

"Applying a Trauma-Informed Perspective to Loss and Change in the Lives of Older Adults" (with Keith Anderson). Social Work in Health Care 57, no. 5 (2018): 355-375.

Explores the risk factors for trauma experienced by older adults in nursing homes and outlines the importance of trauma-informed approaches in such a setting. Illustrates several important implications for social work practice in long-term care and the use of person-centered care practices in the care of older adults in general.

"Ethical Issues in Long Term Care: A Human Rights Perspective" (with Mercedes Bern-Klug and Robin Bonifas). Journal of Human Rights & Social Work 2 (2017): 86-97.

Explores ethical issues encountered in the care of nursing home residents through the lens of the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the National Association of Social Workers Code of Ethics.

"Responding to the 2015 CMS Proposed Rule Changes for LTC Facilities: A Call to Redouble Efforts to Prepare Students and Practitioners for Nursing Homes" (with Mercedes Bern-Klug, Robert Connolly, Deirdre Downs, Colleen Galambos, Rosaline Kane, Paige Hector, and Elise Beaulieu). Journal of Gerontological Social Work 59, no. 2 (2016): 98-127.

Reports on the experience of a nursing home researcher's group that crafted comments in response to proposed federal regulations on nursing homes and contains those comments.

"The Infusion of Trauma-Informed Care in Organizations: Experience of Agency Staff" (with Bincy Wilson and Thomas Nochajski). Human Service Organizations: Management, Leadership & Governance 39, no. 1 (2015): 25-37.

Explores the experiences of workers in agencies that have implemented trauma-informed care.