Therese S. Richmond, PhD, CRNP, FAAN
Whether they are shot, hit by a car, or suffer multiple stab wounds, some injured patients heal well, physically and mentally. Others may heal physically, but suffer depression or post-traumatic stress disorder. Therese Richmond’s work on injured patients demonstrates that the psychological effects of trauma, rather than physical injury alone, drive the quality of recovery. Today, she has an NIH-funded grant to study psychological outcomes of trauma in urban black men, identifying patients at high risk for poor recovery in order to precisely target interventions to those who need them most.
Dr. Richmond is passionate about using nursing science to prevent injury and violence and improve outcomes, particularly in patients from vulnerable urban populations worldwide – those who live on the margins of society, have limited resources, or live in pervasively violent communities. An early clinical position in a Washington, DC, trauma ICU and resuscitation unit sparked Dr. Richmond’s interest in preventing injuries, and her curiosity about survivors’ quality of life. This experience led to specialization in nursing care for victims of injury and violence, including co-founding the Firearm & Injury Center at Penn two decades ago and which now is a vibrant interdisciplinary research center: the Penn Injury Science Center.
“It’s a privilege to work with vulnerable populations to prevent injury and violence and improve recovery from serious injury.”
Education
- PhD, University of Pennsylvania, 1995
- MSN, Catholic University of America, 1982
- BSN, University of Delaware,, 1978
- Diploma, Thomas Jefferson University School of Nursing, 1975
Teaching
In her role as Associate Dean for Research and Innovation, Dr. Richmond helps shape the research-focused environment that is Penn Nursing, facilitating systems to help faculty increase their scholarship and productivity. Along with geographers, criminologists, attorneys, nurses, psychologists and other experts, Dr. Richmond’s research involves all levels of students, including undergraduate research assistants who work with her research staff and doctoral and post-doctoral members of her research teams. She has received many awards for teaching and mentoring at Penn, including the Lindback Award for Distinguished Teaching. Dr. Richmond teaches and mentors undergraduates and doctoral students.
Research
A collaboration between nursing, medicine, and criminology, the Penn Injury Science Center brings together university, community, and government partners around injury and violence intervention programs with the greatest potential for impact. The center promotes and performs research, provides training, and translates scientific discoveries into practice and policy.
Dr. Richmond is working closely with interdisciplinary teams funded by a US Department of Justice study of youth and school violence in Philadelphia. Like the problems of trauma and injury, Dr. Richmond’s work is global. She has a grant to study trauma recovery from the Australian state of Queensland, and co-directs an NIH Fogarty Training Grant to train injury and violence scientists in Guatemala. She also developed a scale to predict patients at greatest risk for post-injury depression and post-traumatic stress disorder.
Selected Career Highlights
- Sigma Theta Tau International Nurse Researcher Hall of Fame
- American Association of Critical Care Nursing, GE Healthcare Pioneering Spirit Award for pioneering work in firearm injuries and violence
- Presidential Citation, Society of Critical Care Medicine
- Eastern Nursing Research Society Distinguished Contributions to Nursing Research Award
Selected Publications
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Richmond, T.S., & Foman, M. (In Press). Firearm violence: A global priority for nursing science. Journal of Nursing Science
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Culyba, A.J., Miller, E., Ginsburg, K.R., Branas, C.C., Guo, W., Fein, J.A., … Wiebe, D.J. (2018). Adult connection in assault injury prevention among male adolescents in low-resource urban environments. Journal of Urban Health, 95, 361-371.
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Jacoby, S.F., Rich, J., Webster, J., & Richmond, T.S. (2018). ‘Sharing things with people that I don’t even know’: Help-seeking for psychological symptoms in injured Black men in Philadelphia. Ethnicity & Health, Published online 4/1/2018.
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Ulrich, C.M., Zhou, Q., Ratcliffe, S.J., Knafl, K., Wallen, G.R., Richmond T.S., & Grady C. (2018). Development and preliminary testing of the perceived benefit and burden scales for cancer clinical trial participation. Journal of Empirical Research on Human Research Ethics, 13, 230-238.
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Giordano, N.A., Bader, C., Richmond, T.S., & Polomano, R.C. (2018). Complexity of the relationships of pain, post-traumatic stress & depression in combat-injured populations: An integrative review to inform evidence-based practice. Worldviews on Evidence-Based Nursing, 15, 113-126.
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Bruce, M.M., Kassam-Adams, N., Rogers, M., Anderson, K.M., Sluys, K.P., & Richmond, T.S. (2018). Trauma providers’ knowledge, views and practice of trauma-informed care. Journal of Trauma Nursing, 25, 131-138.
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Jiang, T., Webster, J.L., Robinson, A., Kassam-Adams, N., Richmond, T.S. (2018). Emotional responses to unintentional and intentional traumatic injuries among urban Black men: A qualitative study. Injury, 49, 983-989.
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Smith, R., Seamon, M.J., Kumar, V., Robinson, A., Shults, J., Reilly, P.M., & Richmond, T.S. (2018). Lasting impression of violence: Retained bullets and depressive symptoms. Injury, 49, 135-140.
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Jacoby, S.F., Richmond, T.S., Holena, D.N., & Kaufman E.J. (2018). A safe haven for the injured? Urban trauma care at the intersection of healthcare, law enforcement, and race. Social Science & Medicine, 199, 115-122.
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Flynn, K., Richmond, T.S., Branas, C., Wiebe, D.J. (2017). Neighborhood social trust and youth perceptions of safety during daily activities. Injury Prevention, Published online 10/7/2017.
Related News
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Therese S. Richmond, PhD, FAAN, CRNP, Appointed to Department of Health & Human Services National Health Committee
The Andrea B. Laporte Professor of Nursing and Associate Dean for Research & Innovation has been appointed as a member of the Department of Health & Human Services’ Advisory Committee on National Health Promotion and Disease Prevention Objectives for 2030.
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Sigma Theta Tau International Names Therese Richmond its 2017 Episteme Award Recipient
Supported by the Baxter International Foundation, the Prestigious Award Recognizes Richmond’s Research on the Psychological Effects of Violence and Injury
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Penn/CHOP Study Helps Inform Interventions for Global Road Traffic Injury Crisis
A research team led by the University of Pennsylvania School of Nursing (Penn Nursing) and Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia’s Center for Injury Research and Prevention (CIRP) worked with a major United States multinational corporation to investigate employee perceptions of road risks and strategies to reduce road traffic injuries.