Dr. Kim Link, an Assistant Professor in the WKU School of Nursing and Allied Health, was selected to attend the Research Capacity Building Workshop at the University of Cincinnati, Education and Research Center (UC ERC), March 14-15, 2022. The UC ERC is a regional center that provides interdisciplinary research training. This workshop will provide training for the creation of a research proposal for the upcoming National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) Pilot Grant Program, as well as for federal funding through the Center for Disease Control and Prevention. The UC ERC Research Capacity Building Workshops will provide Dr. Link with further opportunities to expand her research in workforce wellness with various populations of healthcare providers.

When asked about the workshop, Dr. Link said, “I feel very honored to be chosen to attend the Research Capacity Building Workshop. This workshop will greatly enhance my grant writing skills and will assist me with pursing funding opportunities to improve the wellness of healthcare workers in our local community.”

Dr. Link’s current research is focused on workforce wellness. Dr. Link’s work will develop protocols and interventions that must be in place to keep healthcare workers healthy, as well as prevent burnout, exhaustion, and employee turnover. Workforce wellness initiatives are timely due to the COVID-19 pandemic, which has changed the landscape of healthcare while placing incredible demands on the healthcare and wellness professionals that fulfill vital healthcare needs in our community.

Dr. Link is a Scholar with the WKU LifeSkills Center for Child Welfare Education and Research. Dr. Link’s work with workforce wellness will include a collaboration with the WKU Center of Environmental and Workplace Health. As part of an inter-disciplinary team, Dr. Link and colleagues are examining the impact of stress on frontline healthcare workers and how interventions may improve employee health and wellness. Collaboration between these two centers in the WKU College of Health and Human Services (CHHS) will establish a clear focus of workforce wellness research in rural communities of Kentucky. Transitioning research to practice through community-engaged research is a hallmark of WKU’s College of Health and Human Services.

For more information on the School of Nursing and Allied Health, visit www.wku.edu/nursing.

For more information on the College of Health and Human Services’ applied research centers, visit www.wku.edu/chhsresearch.