The College of Social Work welcomes a bright, new faculty member to its social work family Dr. Shamra Boel-Studt. Dr. Boel-Studt prior to joining the College was finishing her doctoral dissertation in social work at University of Iowa. Learn more about Dr. Boel-Studt’s research and experience by reading the interview below.

What are your previous experiences in social work, research and education?
DR. BOEL-STUDT: I earned my MSW and PhD from the University of Iowa’s School of Social Work. My social work practice experience is primarily in the area of child welfare. Prior to graduate school I worked with adolescents placed in residential treatment for about five years. Shortly after I enrolled in the MSW program I took a position at the National Resource Center for Family Center Practice (NRC) at the University of Iowa’s School of Social Work where I was a research assistant/associate for about six and half years. My work at the NRC included research, evaluation, and providing training and technical assistance related to the delivery of evidence-based child welfare services. My practice experiences inspired my research focused on increasing the effectiveness of services for youth in residential treatment programs. Courses I have taught include Introduction to Social Work Research Methods and SPSS Computer Laboratory. I have also provided practicum supervision and coordination for BSW and MSW students.

What drew you to your interest in the field of social work research?
DR. BOEL-STUDT: My interest in pursuing social work research was sparked while I was working in residential treatment. Residential treatment is an intervention often reserved for youth with the greatest psychosocial needs and who are at particularly high risk for experiencing poor developmental outcomes. Yet, I observed that the approach to providing treatment was not very systematic or clearly based on theory or research and, at the time, this was pretty standard practice in residential programs across the board. It wasn’t clear to me that overall youth were getting better as a result of treatment and I felt we weren’t doing enough to monitor the treatment process and youth outcomes. I wanted to learn more about evidence based practice and, in particular, how to improve outcomes of youth in residential programs. I felt I could have more impact by first educating myself and then using that education to conduct research and provide knowledge to support the development of theoretically grounded and evidence-supported interventions.

What are your primary research interests?
DR. BOEL-STUDT: My research agenda is focused on producing scholarship that informs policy and practice targeting vulnerable, trauma-affected youth populations and, those in the child welfare and juvenile justice systems that are placed in residential and group care facilities. In addition to evaluation of child welfare interventions, I have pursued research in two primary areas 1) the study of youth in residential treatment and treatment effectiveness and; 2) social-ecological risk and protective factors related to youth victimization and trauma.  The goals of my research focused on youth in residential treatment are to cultivate a holistic understanding of the kinds of youth who are served in such programs and to gain a more nuanced understanding of the treatment process and effects on youth with distinct psychosocial characteristics and behavioral health needs.In the area of youth victimization, I plan to expand my inquiry by examining social-ecological factors that contribute to continuity and change in victim-status of youth over time with a focus on understanding cultural differences.My goal is to develop and test a culturally informed process model(s) of youth victimization that can serve as a theoretical framework for prevention and/or intervention strategies. I am currently conducting a study where I have combined my interest areas to examine the effectiveness of a trauma-informed model of residential treatment for youth. Given that youth in residential treatment often have complex trauma histories including high levels of exposure to family and community violence and maltreatment, such an approach is warranted and may help to reduce subsequent re-traumatization of youth while in they are in placement.

What do you think is the most important contribution of this research to the general public?
DR. BOEL-STUDT: My research in residential treatment has been largely informed by my experience working with youth and families involved in the child welfare and juvenile justice systems. I have presented my research to audiences of state and local child welfare service providers.  My research is also being used to help monitor program implementation and to train residential treatment staff in one agency. Maintaining a close connection with service providers and the children and families who receive services is critical to ensuring my research is accessible and relevant to real-world practice and policy related issues.

In what ways can you engage students in research?
DR. BOEL-STUDT: It’s great to be involved in helping student gain an appreciation for research and the ways it can strengthen social work. I think it provides a unique learning opportunity that can be of incredible value to students’ skill development and that can help them to cultivate their own areas of interest they want to pursue. Some of the ways I have involved students in research in the past have included data collection and analysis, instrument development, and in writing research summaries. As a student I benefitted substantially from being involved in faculty research and in particular, from opportunities to disseminate research through co-authoring publications and presenting at conferences. These are all examples of ways that I intend to involve students in my research.

How do we relate research to education and service?
DR. BOEL-STUDT: I frequently discuss my research and that of others as a way to supplement my teaching. Teaching methods can also be informed by research. For example, there is a whole literature on effective methods of teaching social work courses including research methods and various other practice classes. In term of service I have used my research experience to provide consultation and training to local and state child welfare agencys. I have also served on grant review committees and reviewed articles submitted for publications related to my areas of research.