Trina Salm Ward, PhD, APSW

Dr. Trina Salm Ward joined the faculty of the Helen Bader School of Social Welfare at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee in August 2017. Dr. Salm Ward's primary teaching responsibility is social work methods: groups, organizations, and communities at the graduate level. She is also a center scientist at the Center for Urban Population Health.

Dr. Salm Ward’s research focuses on infant and maternal health, specifically, reducing risk of sleep-related infant deaths such as Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS) and suffocation. She is currently studying the context of infant sleep and parental decision-making about infant sleep practices. She is studying approaches to educate families on safe infant sleep such as group education and home visiting models, as well as hospital-based interventions.

Prior to her current position, Dr. Salm Ward was an assistant professor at the University of Georgia. This position was a joint appointment in the School of Social Work and the Department of Health Promotion and Behavior (College of Public Health) where she coordinated the MSW MPH program. Prior to earning her Ph.D., Dr. Salm Ward worked as a researcher at the Center for Urban Population Health, the Center for Applied Behavioral Health Research, and as a family therapist at Wheaton Franciscan Services.

Education:

• Ph.D., Health Sciences, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, 2012
• M.S.W., Social Welfare, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, 1998
• B.A., Psychology, St. Norbert College, 1996

Research and Professional Interests:

• Infant sleep practices
• Infant and family health
• Racial disparities in maternal and infant health
• Community-based research
• Public health social work

 Recent Grants:

• 2017-2019: Sleep Baby Safe: An ecologically tailored safe sleep coaching intervention for African American infant caregivers. American SIDS Institute. Role: Principal Investigator.
• 2016-2017: Contract to evaluate the statewide Safe to Sleep Hospital Initiative. Georgia Department of Public Health. Role: Co-Investigator (Principal Investigator: Phaedra Corso).
• 2015-2017: Contract to evaluate a crib distribution and safe sleep education program in Fulton County. Georgia Department of Public Health. Role: Principal Investigator.
• 2014-2016: Reducing racial disparities in sleep-related infant deaths. National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities Loan Repayment Program.
• 2015: National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities Health Disparities Course. National Institutes of Health. Competitive award for NIH-funded training course.

Select Publications:

• Salm Ward, T. C., McPherson, J., Kogan, S. M. (2021). Feasibility and acceptability of a tailored infant safe sleep coaching intervention for African American families. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 18(8), 4133.
• Salm Ward., T. C., Miller, T. J., Naim, I. (2021). Evaluation of a multisite safe infant sleep education and crib distribution program. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 18(13), 6956.
• Neuharth-Pritchett, S., Salm Ward, T., McLaughlin, K. C., Jackson, V. M. (2021). A comparison of safe sleep violations in child care and family child care learning homes in Georgia. Child: Care, Health, & Development, 47(2), 184-190.
• Salm Ward, T. C. (2020). Safe sleep recommendations. In R.Y. Moon (Ed.), Infant safe sleep: A pocket guide for clinicians (pp. 49-66). Springer Publishing.
• Salm Ward, T. C. & Moon, R. Y. (2020). Parent decision-making and how to influence decisions. In R.Y. Moon (Ed.), Infant safe sleep: A pocket guide for clinicians (pp. 67-91). Springer Publishing.
• Reeves, P. M. & Salm Ward, T. C. (2019). Dual Master of Social Work – Master of Public Health (MSW-MPH): Lessons learned from program development and implementation in a southeastern university. Advances in Social Work, 19(2), 478-492.
• Gehlert, S. & Salm Ward, T. C. (2019). Theories of health behavior. In S. Gehlert & T. Browne (Eds.), Handbook of health social work, 3rd edition. Hoboken, NJ: Wiley. ISBN: 978-1-119-42072-9
• Doering, J.J., Lim, P.S., Salm Ward, T.C. & Davies W.H. (2019). Prevalence of unintentional infant bedsharing. Applied Nursing Research, 46, 28-30.
• Doering, J. J., Salm Ward, T. C., Strook, S., & Campbell, J. K. (2019). A comparison of infant sleep safety guidelines in nine industrialized countries. Journal of Community Health, 44(1), 81-87.
• Salm Ward, T. C., McClellan, M. M., Miller, T. J., & Brown, S. (2018). Evaluation of a crib distribution and safe sleep educational program to reduce risk of sleep-related infant death. Journal of Community Health, 43(5), 848-855.
• Salm Ward, T. C., Kanu, F. A., & Anderson, A. K. (2018). Trends and factors associated with breastfeeding and infant sleep practices in Georgia. Journal of Community Health, 43(4), 496-507.
• Haslam, A., Salm Ward, T. C., & Robb, S. W. (2018). Survey to assess interest in a mindfulness intervention at a midwifery and women’s health clinic. Holistic Nursing Practice, 32(5), 261-267.
• Miller, T. J., Salm Ward, T. C., McClellan, M. M., Dawson, L., Ford, K., Polatty, L., Walcott, R., & Corso, P. S. (2018). Implementing a statewide safe sleep hospital initiative: Lessons learned. Journal of Community Health, 43(4), 768-774.
• Walcott, R. L., Salm Ward, T. C., Ingels, J. B., Llewellyn, N. A., Miller, T. J., & Corso, P. S. (2018). A statewide hospital-based safe infant sleep initiative: Measurement of parental knowledge and behavior. Journal of Community Health, 43(3), 534-542.
• Salm Ward, T. C. & Reeves, P. M. (2017). Dual Master of Social Work/Master of Public Health degree: Perceptions of graduates and field instructors. Advances in Social Work, 18(2), 507-521.
• Salm Ward, T. C., Mazul, M. C., Barry, M. L., & Harley, A. E. (2017). Be careful what you wish for: A community-academic student partnership story. Narrative Inquiry in Bioethics, 7(1), 24-27.
• Salm Ward, T. C., Robb, S. W., & Kanu, F. A. (2017). Prevalence of stressful life events during pregnancy and association with postpartum depressive symptoms. Archives of Women’s Mental Health, 20(1), 161-171.
• Washington, T. R., Salm Ward, T. C., Young, H. N., Orpinas, P., & Cornelius, L. J. (2017). Implementing a minority health conference for interprofessional education among social work and healthcare professionals: Lessons learned. Journal of Interprofessional Care, 31(6), 785-788.
• Doering, J. J. & Salm Ward, T. C. (2017). The interface among poverty, air mattress industry trends, policy, and infant safety. American Journal of Public Health, 107(6), 945-949.
• Mazul, M. C., Salm Ward, T. C., & Ngui, E. M. (2017). Anatomy of good prenatal care: Perspectives of low income African-American women on barriers and facilitators to prenatal care. Journal of Racial & Ethnic Health Disparities, 4(1), 79-86.
• Flanigan, A. & Salm Ward, T. C. (2017). Evidence and feasibility of implementing an integrated wellness program in Northeast Georgia. Health & Social Work, 42(3), 143-150.
• Salm Ward, T. C., Robb, S. W., & Kanu, F. A. (2016). Prevalence and characteristics of bed-sharing among Black and White infants in Georgia. Maternal & Child Health Journal, 20(2), 347-362.
• Salm Ward, T. C. & Balfour, G. (2016). Infant safe sleep interventions, 1990-2015: A review. Journal of Community Health, 41(1), 180-196. https://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s10900-015-0060-y
• Salm Ward, T. C. (2015). Reasons for mother-infant bed-sharing: A systematic narrative synthesis of the literature and implications for future research. Maternal & Child Health Journal, 19(3), 675-690.
• Salm Ward, T. C. & Ngui, E. M. (2015). Factors associated with bed-sharing for African American and White mothers in Wisconsin. Maternal & Child Health Journal, 19(4), 720-732.
• Salm Ward, T. C. & Doering, J. J. (2014). Application of a socio-ecological model to maternal-infant bed-sharing. Health Education & Behavior, 41(6), 577-589.
• Salm Ward, T. C., Mazul, M. C., Ngui, E. M., Bridgewater, F. D. & Harley, A. E. (2013). “You learn to go last”: Prenatal care experiences in a sample of low-income African-American women in Milwaukee. Maternal & Child Health Journal, 17(10), 1753-1759.

PubMed bibliography

Curriculum Vitae