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Kelly Bower: Faculty Directory

Kelly M. Bower, PhD, MSN/MPH, RN

FAAN
Associate Professor
Associate Director, Johns Hopkins Urban Health Institute
Kelly Bower
410-502-0654
View Full CV

Specialties and Expertise

  • Cardiovascular
  • Community
  • Disparities
  • Diversity
  • Equity
  • Health Behavior
  • Maternal Health
  • Obesity
  • Public Health
  • Social Determinants of Health
  • Substance Use/Addiction
  • Trauma
  • Women's Health

Overview

Kelly Bower’s research and her public health nursing practice focus on the elimination of racial disparities in women’s, maternal, and infant health. She aims to understand the structural and social determinants that underlie disparities and develop interventions to reverse them. In particular, her work leverages existing health care and public health services, such as maternal, infant, and early childhood home visiting, to implement interventions that promote health equity. Dr. Bower applies a community-engaged approach to her research that comes from her 20 years of experience practicing as a public health nurse working with government and non-profit organizations in Baltimore City, birthing hospitals throughout Maryland, and home visiting programs across the country. She has received funding from the Health Resources & Services Administration and the National Institutes of Health. She earned her PhD from Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, where her dissertation focused on the relationship between residential segregation, food store availability, and racial disparities in obesity among women.

Additional Resources

Below are selected resources. For more information, please see full CV.

  • Publications/Research

    Bower, K.M., Kramer, B., Warren, N., Ahmed, S., Callaghan-Koru, J., Stierman, E., Wilson, C., Lawson, S., Creanga, A. (2023). Development of an instrument to measure awareness and mitigation of bias in maternal health care. American Journal of Obstetrics & Gynecology Maternal-Fetal Medicine, epub ahead of print.

    Bower, K.M., Geller, R.J., Jeffers, N., McDonald, M., Alhusen, J. (2023). Experiences of Racism and Perinatal Depression: Findings from the Pregnancy Risk Assessment Monitoring System, 2018. Journal of Advanced Nursing, epub ahead of print.

    Duggan, A.K., Bower, K.M., Zagaja, C., O’Neill, K., Daro, D., Harding, K., Ingalls, A., Kemner, A., Marchesseault, C., Thorland, W. (2022). Changing the home visiting research paradigm: Models’ perspectives on behavioral pathways and intervention techniques to promote good birth outcomes. BMC Public Health, 22.

    Bower, K.M., Nimer, M., West, A., & Gross, D. (2020). Parent involvement in maternal, infant, and early childhood home visitation programs: An integrative review. Prevention Science, 21(5), 728-747.

    Bower, K.M., Geller, R.J., Perrin, N.A., & Alhusen, J. (2018). Experiences of Racism and Preterm Birth: Findings from Pregnancy Risk Assessment Monitoring System, 2004-2012. Women’s Health Issues, 28(6), 495-501.

  • Awards/Honors

    2018  Honorable Mention for the Charles E. Gibbs Leadership Prize for the Best Paper Published in Women’s Health Issues in 2018

    2015-2016  SOURCE Service-Learning Faculty Fellow, Johns Hopkins University

    2014  Excellence in Teaching Award, Johns Hopkins University School of Nursing Alumni Association

    2014  School of Nursing Informer and Educator (SONIE) Award, Johns Hopkins University School of Nursing Office of Marketing and Communications

    2013-2014  Discovering Leadership for the Future, Academic Leadership Academy, Maryland Nurse Support Program

    2013-2014  Leadership Program for Women Faculty, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Office of Women in Science and Medicine

    2013  New Nursing Faculty Fellowship, Maryland Higher Education Commission

    2012  Student Abstract Award, Epidemiology Section of the American Public Health Association

    2007  Departmental Qualifying Exam, Honors Pass, Department of Health Behavior and Society, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health

    2000  Sigma Theta Tau National Nursing Honor Society, Nu Beta Chapter

    1999-2001  Dean’s List, Johns Hopkins University School of Nursing

    1998  Eta Sigma Gamma Honor Society for Health Science Scholars, University of

    Richmond

    1998  Pi Beta Gamma Honor Society for International Scholars, University of Richmond