The Georgia Clinical & Translational Science Alliance (GA CTSA) has awarded its pilot grant for Identifying Gaps in Data regarding Suicide by Registered Nurses in Georgia to Ursula Kelly, PhD, MSN, and an Associate Professor with Emory University's Nell Hodgson Woodruff School of Nursing. The GA CTSA pilot grant provides funding for one year of $40,000 to describe the demographics, risks and contextual factors among registered nurses (RN) suicide deaths.

The GA CTSA pilot grant program gives Dr. Kelly, Co-Investigator Rana Bayakly of the Georgia Department of Public Health, and their team the opportunity to examine state-level data from 2015-2021 of suicide and unintentional drug overdose deaths of registered nurses (RNs). They will also conduct primary data collection with coroners and medical examiners (CMEs) using a CBPR approach. Participants will be CMEs in Georgia. 

Dr. Ursula Kelly is an Associate Professor, tenured, and her research and clinical expertise are the impact of interpersonal violence on women’s mental and physical health. The central focuses of her research have been on posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and depression in women who experienced intimate partner violence and military sexual trauma (MST), particularly exploring barriers to care and developing and evaluating innovative treatment models. She has conducted research with immigrant Latino women and women Veterans utilizing both qualitative and quantitative methods and integrating intersectionality and biomedical frameworks. Dr. Kelly's research with Veterans with PTSD lead to her inquiry into suicidality in various populations. 

For more information on Dr. Ursula Kelly, visit her faculty profile. To learn more about the GA CTSA Pilot Grant Program, visit the GA CTSA website.