National Initiative to Transform Psychosocial and Palliative Oncology Care

May 2026 — Fellow and AASWSW Board Member Barbara Jones, PhD, MSW, Dean of the Boston University School of Social Work, will serve as co-investigator on a newly-awarded $1.6 million National Cancer Institute grant supporting ESPEC Oncology: Transforming Psychosocial and Palliative Cancer Care. The five-year initiative, led by Principal Investigator Tara Schapmire of the University of Louisville School of Medicine, will train 240 oncology social workers nationwide to lead palliative care education and drive systemic change within healthcare organizations.

Read more from Boston University School of Social Work.

Older Homeless Women, in Their Own Words

May 4, 2026 — Fellow Judith G. Gonyea, PhD, Professor at the Boston University School of Social Work, co-authored a new study in Frontiers in Global Women's Health with Kelly Melekis of the University of Vermont, putting older homeless women's experiences at the center of the research. Based on interviews with women in their 50s — most of them women of color — the qualitative study finds that shelter environments often intensify trauma, isolation, and health vulnerabilities, calling for shelter systems redesigned with intersectional, life-course understanding.

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Sleep, Stress, and Mental Health Among Older Korean Americans

May 2026 — Fellow Yuri Jang, PhD, Professor at the USC Suzanne Dworak-Peck School of Social Work and the Edward R. Roybal Institute on Aging, co-authored a new PLOS ONE study finding that feeling unsafe in one's neighborhood can contribute to insomnia, which in turn raises the risk of depressive symptoms in later life. Drawing on data from 2,240 adults aged 65 or older in the National Social Life, Health, and Aging Project, the study identifies insomnia as one important pathway through which perceived neighborhood danger undermines mental health.

Read more from PLOS ONE.