Dr. Dora Clayton-Jones, assistant professor of nursing in the College of Nursing, was named one of 10 recipients of a Betty Irene Moore Fellowship for Nurse Leaders and Innovators from the University of California, Davis nursing school.
In the three-year fellowship program, Clayton-Jones will receive $450,000 to conduct an innovative community engaged research project titled, “Eliminating Sickle Cell Disparities among Youth: The POSSE Intervention.”
The POSSE intervention will support engagement with youth who are living with sickle cell disease and other stakeholders to build community and to develop interventions that prepare youth for managing their health and lives as adults.
“This is such an exciting opportunity for Dora and the tremendous work she has done around sickle cell advocacy and treatment,” said Dr. Janet Krejci, dean of the College of Nursing. “The resources this fellowship offers will be put to good use as she looks to reframe the conversation and care surrounding sickle cell. It will also allow her to build on the strong leadership she already demonstrates within our college and with the International Association of Sickle Cell Nurses and Professional Associates (IASCNAPA.)”
In addition to the project, the fellowship program features a hybrid online and classroom curriculum designed and taught in partnership with the UC Davis Graduate School of Management to enhance leadership and innovation capacity, strengthen strategic thinking and collaborative skills, expand professional networks, develop entrepreneurial skills, and propel innovative ideas to fruition. A mentor selected by the fellow and an additional mentor provided by the national program office round out the educational experience.
“I am appreciative of UC Davis for this opportunity and the resources to address the negative discourse around sickle cell,” Clayton-Jones said. “My goal with this project is to optimize self-management and peer support for youth living with sickle cell disease. By targeting this population, we can potentially intervene during the critical transition period from pediatric to adult health care.”
Clayton-Jones is the president of the IASCNAPA and is committed to advancing health and health care equity for adolescents and young adults living with chronic illnesses. Using community-based participatory research and qualitative research methods, she partners with the community and recipients of interventions to advance health and health care equity for adolescents and young adults living with sickle cell disease. She is also an Arthur J. Schmitt Leadership Fellow.
The Betty Irene Moore Fellowship program is made possible by Betty Irene Moore’s passion to advance nursing with the goal of better outcomes for individuals, families and communities. The foundation seeks to prepare nurses as collaborative leaders with the skills and confidence to inspire others, enact change and challenge the status quo. With the creation of the Betty Irene Moore Fellowship for Nurse Leaders and Innovators, the foundation supports nurse leaders who take ideas to scale that advance high-quality, high-value care and optimal health outcomes.