Sudha Shreeniwas

Bio& Education

Ph.D., University of Michigan

Recipient of the 2023 Mary Settle Sharp teaching award.

Research

My research interests focus on adults and older persons. I examine how familial and societal contexts influence health and well being over the life course, especially among ethnic minority immigrants and refugees in the US. I am also interested in how participatory arts affects wellbeing among seniors with cognitive symptoms.

I look at gender differences in health care use and health outcomes in India. Most of my work is interdisciplinary, and is based on Community Engaged Participatory Action Research methodology. For more information about my work, please click on the appropriate part of the image below.

I welcome graduate and undergraduate students interested in the associations between Family Relationships and Health, and those who want to gain exposure to community-engaged approaches and mixed research methods. Please contact me if you are interested in my ongoing projects or in my research group.

ARTS ON PRESCRIPTION FOR OLDER ADULTS

Arts on Prescription is a type of social prescribing where healthcare and other practitioners write prescriptions for patients or clients to participate in non-medical activities and programs (arts in this case). Arts participation at any level of ability has documented benefits for people of all ages. Social prescribing programs might promote arts participation and reduce health care costs.

REFUGEE OLDER ADULTS NEEDS ASSESSMENTS

These community-engaged, multi-disciplinary, participatory projects examine the needs of refugee older adults in the Greensboro area. Although there are needs assessments for the general older population in adjacent counties, no such assessments have been conducted for refugee older adults. The Greensboro and Piedmont Triad areas have substantial numbers of diverse refugees resettled in the area. However, the needs of older refugees are often ignored, gaps that we address.

Selected Publications

Note: As of 1996 I publish under the name S. Sudha
My Scholarly Profile

Edited Volumes

• Mutran, E. J. and Sudha S. (2001). Research on Aging [Special Issue: Aging and Health in a Multiethnic Society].

Recent Peer Reviewed Journal Articles

*Undergraduate student co-authors; **Graduate student co-authors; #Community partner co-authors

• S. Sudha, #N. Khadka, (2022). A community engaged exploratory study investigating the risk of elder abuse and neglect in two refugee communities in Greensboro, North Carolina Journal of Elder Abuse and Neglect 34(4) https://doi.org/10.1080/08946566.2022.2114970. Involves community engagement
• ** G. Bani Melhem, D. Wallace, J. Adams, R. Ross, S. Sudha, (2022). Predictors of Advance Care Planning Engagement among Muslim Community-Dwelling Adults Living in the United States the Journal of Hospice and Palliative Nursing 24(3) June 2022 DOI: 10.1097/NJH.0000000000000690
• S. D. Morrison, S. Sudha, **K. Denzongpa, #H. Adrong, K. Bernot, M Malotky, M. Nsonwu, (2021). Using Community-Based Participatory Research to Characterize Health and Lifestyle Behaviors of Montagnards, a Refugee-Origin Asian-American Subgroup Journal of Immigrant and Minority Health. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10903-021-01272-x
• ** Bailey, S., and Sudha, S. (2021). Too Little, Too Late? Can an Integrated Empathy-Building Intervention Shift Gero-Attitudes for Undergraduates in an Online Course? accepted in Gerontology and Geriatrics Education https://doi.org/10.1080/02701960.2021.1913412
• Al Amin, S., Morrison, S. D., & Sudha, S. (2020). Small and Invisible, Yet Strong and Impactful: North Carolina’s Montagnard Community Responds to COVID-19. North Carolina Medical Journal, 81(6), 408-408. DOI: https://doi.org/10.18043/ncm.81.6.408
• ** G. Bani Melhem, D. Wallace, J. Adams, R. Ross, S. Sudha (2020) Advance Care Planning Engagement Among Muslim Community-Dwelling Adults Living in The United States of America The Journal of Hospice and Palliative Nursing 22(6). doi: 10.1097/NJH.0000000000000690
• MM Malotky, *K Mayes, *K Price, *G Smith, *S Mann, *M Guinyard, S Veale, #*H’L Mlo, #*L Siuh, #*V Ksor, #A J Young, M B Nsonwu, S D Morrison, S Sudha, KM Bernot (2020) Fostering Inclusion through an Inter-institutional, Community-engaged, Course-based Undergraduate Research Experience Journal of Microbiology and Biology Education April 2020 21(1) pp 1-13 doi:10.1128/jmbe.v21i1.1939
• *E. H. Eckemoff, S. Sudha, **D. Wang. (2018) Attitudes toward end of life care among older Russian immigrants Journal of Cross Cultural Gerontology 33(3), 229-245 DOI 10.1007/s10823-018-9353-9 Online First: http://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10823-018-9353-9
• D. Morrison, S. Sudha, Andrew Young, #Y Bhim Nie, #H Wier Siu, #*H’Yua Adrong, and **Janet Sayers. (2018) When community calls, we collaborate! Implementing a Community-based participatory research project with the multi-language Montagnard refugee community Progress in Community Health Partnerships: Research, Education, and Action 2(12) 179-186 doi:10.1353/cpr.2018.0038
• Sudha, Sharon D. Morrison, Kenneth J. Gruber. (2017). ‘Beneficioso y Una Prioridad’: Latina Women’s Perceptions About HIV Testing American Journal of Health Behavior2017;41(1):3-15 DOI: https://doi.org/10.5993/AJHB.41.1.1
• **K. E. Massengale, S. D. Morrison, S. Sudha. (2016).Community Health Advocate Identified Enablers of HIV Testing for Latina Immigrant Women. AIDS Education and Prevention 28(4):312-327
• Sudha and S. D. Morrison. (2016). Enhancing gerontology interest among MPH students: Is adding aging to international service learning effective? (2016). Pedagogy in Health Promotion 2(2):137-143DOI: 10.1177/2373379915625073
• Sudha, SD Morrison, *Emma H. Thomas, *Samantha Herrera, *Carolina Ruiz. (2015) ¿Qué te parece?: Pre-testing an HIV Testing Enablers Diagnostic Tool among Hispanic/ Latino Immigrant Women. Hispanic Health Care International 13(3) 131-139 http://dx.doi.org/10.1891/1540-4153.13.3.131
• Sharon D. Morrison, S. Sudha, *Samantha Herrera, *Carolina Ruiz, *Emma H. Thomas. (2014). En sus proprias palabras (in their own words): Eliciting Latina women’s perspectives on enablers of HIV testing using freelisting Health Education Journal November 2014 DOI: 10.1177/0017896914559786
• Sudha. (2014) Immigrant adaptation, family relations, and elder care use of older Asian Indians in North Carolina. Journal of Cross Cultural Gerontology,29:97-107DOI 10.1007/s10823-013-9220-7
• Sudha, S., and Morrison, S.D. (2011). Marital violence and women’s reproductive health care in Uttar Pradesh, India. Women’s Health Issues May-June 2011. Volume 21, Issue 3, May–June 2011, Pages 214–221

Book Chapters and Encyclopedia Entries

*Undergraduate student co-authors; **Graduate student co-authors; #Community partner co-authors

• S. Sudha and S. D. Morrison (2022). We are not all “Model”: Health of older Asian Refugees in the United States forthcoming in Springer Handbook of Aging, Health, and Public Policy: Springer Singapore https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-16-1914-4
• S. Sudha, #Lia Miller, *Emma H. Thomas and **Edward Chia (2013) A Picture is Worth a Thousand Words: Evaluation of the ARTmail Senior Art Project among Seniors with Cognitive Limitations in North Carolina in Building Community Capacity: Case Examples from Around the World Chapter 13 pp. 151-164 Editors Rosemary M. Caron and Joav Merrick New York: Nova Publishers.
• S. Sudha and S. Irudaya Rajan. (2007). Is Son Preference Emerging Among the Nayars of Kerala in Southern India Chapter pp 267-294 in WATERING THE NEIGHBOUR’S GARDEN: THE GROWING DEMOGRAPHIC FEMALE DEFICIT IN ASIA eds. Isabelle Attane and Christophe Guilmoto Paris: CICRED Committee for International Cooperation in National Research in Demography Paris 2007
• S. Sudha, S. Khanna, S. Irudaya Rajan. (2009). Traditions in Transformation: Emerging Son Preference Attitudes Among Nairs of Kerala in Unwanted Daughters: Gender Discrimination in Modern India Eds.: T.V. Sekher and N. Hatti, Jaipur and New Delhi: Rawat Publications, India.

Research Reports

• Sudha S., Morrison S.D., **Adegbesan I., **Al-Amin S., **Birabwa J., *Baity A. (2021) Needs Assessment of older adults in two refugee communities in Greensboro: A detailed report Department of Human Development and Family Studies and Department of Public Health Education, University of North Carolina at Greensboro. Submitted to CNNC, UNCG-ICEE, and PTRC-AAA.
• Sudha and #N. Khadka (2020)Knowledge of and resources for elder abuse and neglect in diverse language refugee communities in Greensboro, NC,Technical Report submitted to CDLC UNCG, and to Institute for Peace and Harmony, Greensboro NC
• Sudha, L. Miller, J. D. Labban (2018)“From pain to paint”: a systematic evaluation of ARTmail for Alzheimer’s, a structured participatory visual arts program for seniors with cognitive symptoms”Final Research Product Report for the NEA grant 15-3800-7013 submitted to the National Endowment for the Arts
• Sudha, S. Morrison, A. Young,H Adrong (2016)“This is health for all!”Technical report of the 2016 Montagnard Health Fair planned and conducted by the Montagnard Health Disparities Network submitted to the CDLC, UNCG.
• Sudha. (2014).Report on event titled “How Far Is Too Far? Raising Awareness On Sexual Assault Among South Asian Immigrants in North Carolina”North Carolina: Kiran Inc. organized by Kiran Inc, March 2014.
• Sudha, #Miller L, *Thomas EH, and **Chia E. (2013) A Picture is Worth a Thousand Words: Evaluation of the ARTmail Senior Art Project among Seniors with Cognitive Limitations in North Carolina International Public Health Journal 2013;5(3).