Kelly McGlothen-Bell, PhD, RN, IBCLC is an Assistant Professor at UT Health San Antonio, School of Nursing. Her program of science focuses on leveraging parent-engaged research strategies to promote parent-infant mental health-related policy and eliminate health inequities.
Dr. McGlothen-Bell ‘s research examines questions such as how intersectional stigma and individual and structural bias and discrimination impact parent engagement and early life stress for mother-infant dyads affected by mental health and substance use disorders. Using integrated approaches to dissemination and implementation science, as well as community-based participatory research (CBPR) methodologies, her work crosses health, justice, and social service sectors to ensure that family-centered interventions and policy reach mother-infant dyads in both clinical and community settings.
Currently, Dr. McGlothen-Bell co-leads an interdisciplinary team in the implementation of the Bexar County Neonatal Abstinence Syndrome Collaborative (BCNC), a partnership between researchers, providers, and community members affected by mental health and substance use disorders. Her expertise and leadership contribute to the development of the Collaborative’s multiple funded projects. These projects are aimed at addressing service-based needs and developing resources for residential environments for pregnant and parenting women and their infants, a significant gap in practice.
Dr. McGlothen-Bell has published over 20 peer-reviewed articles related to the care of maternal-infant dyads from historically and systematically underserved populations. She has also presented at regional, national, and international conferences. Dr. McGlothen-Bell was previously selected as a 2017 Emerging Nurse Leader for the Association of Women’s Health, Obstetrics, and Neonatal Nursing and was a 2019-2021 Academy/Jonas Nurse Policy Scholar.
