Katherine Kitchens, L.M.S.W., Ph.D. Titles and Appointments Assistant Instructor School School of Public Health Department Public Health Biography Download Curriculum Vitae Dr. Katherine Kitchens is a licensed social worker and early-stage investigator at the Peter O'Donnell Jr. School of Public Health at UT Southwestern Medical Center. As an Early Impact Faculty Scholar, she leads a program of research focused on cognitive impairment in rural populations, with an emphasis on biologically informed, exposure-specific mechanisms sustained across the life course. Dr. Kitchens brings three years of experience leading cognitive screening at the Agape Clinic in Dallas, where she now serves as a program director. Her research applies gene–environment (G×E) frameworks to examine how biologic susceptibility modifies cognitive outcomes in environmentally exposed populations. Dr. Kitchens integrates symptom-based case definition, cognitive screening, and population-based epidemiologic methods to advance mechanistic inference and clarify patterns of risk. Her approach is explicitly translational: data collection activities are embedded within cognitive screening and brain health education sessions that address immediate community needs while generating high-quality research data In her field work, she trains student volunteers from participant communities, helping to build local capacity while ensuring study activities remain grounded in community context. She uses a community-engaged model to build infrastructure for rural cohort studies, incorporating local input into study design, implementation, and dissemination. Her dual roles in academic research and community-based implementation inform a research agenda focused on scalable, field-ready strategies to improve cognitive health in rural settings. Education Graduate School University of Texas-Arlington (2022), Social Work Graduate School University of Texas-Arlington (2022), Social Work Graduate School University of Texas-Arlington (2024), Social Work Research Interest Cognitive screening tool development Community-based research methods Forced displacement and health Refugee resettlement and health outcomes Risk factors for cognitive decline in rural agricultural communities Social determinants of health Publications Featured Publications What is the state of the literature about refugees aged 45 and older from Burma in third-country resettlement contexts?: A scoping review Kitchens, K., Sesay, B. J., Fields, N. L., Stringfellow, M. K., Mitschke, D. B. The Gerontologist 2025 Group-Based Intervention Models in Treating Refugee Mental Health in High-Income Countries: A Systematic Review. Kirsch J, Kitchens K, Kerr K, Sivakumaran S, Trauma Violence Abuse 2024 Dec 25 5 4173-4187 Unincorporation in counties as a political determinant of health: An exploration of five states. Gomez-Vidal C, Palmer AN, Kitchens K, Ratliff GA, Graaf G, SSM Popul Health 2024 Dec 28 101728 The Role of Education and English Proficiency in Cognitive Health Among Older Refugee Populations in the United States. Kitchens K, Kim Y, J Gerontol Soc Work 2024 Oct 1-16 The Correlates of Collective and Individual Trauma on Mental Health Outcomes Among Afghan Refugees: A Study of Sociodemographic Differences. Kirsch J, Maleku A, Kim YK, Aziz T, Dada S, Haran H, Kitchens K, Community Ment Health J 2024 Oct 60 7 1255-1270 Outcomes that Matter to Youth and Families in Behavioral Health Services. Graaf G, Kitchens K, Sweeney M, Thomas KC, Adm Policy Ment Health 2024 Sep Piloting a Measure of Segregation at the Census Tract Level: Associations with Place and Racial/Ethnic Disparities in Life Expectancy. Kitchens K, Graaf G, Int J Environ Res Public Health 2024 May 21 5 Behavioral Health Services Outcomes That Matter Most to Caregivers of Children, Youth, and Young Adults with Mental Health Needs. Graaf G, Kitchens K, Sweeney M, Thomas KC, Int J Environ Res Public Health 2024 Feb 21 2 Did Medicaid expansion close African American-white health care disparities nationwide? A scoping review. Snowden LR, Graaf G, Keyes L, Kitchens K, Ryan A, Wallace N, BMC Public Health 2022 Aug 22 1 1638 Results 1-9 of 9 1 Professional Associations/Affiliations American Public Health Association (APHA) (2025) Association for Gerontology Education in Social Work (AGESW) (2023) Gerontological Society of America (2024) Immigrant and Refugee Research Network (2023) National Association of Social Workers (NASW) (2021) Phi Alpha (2020) Phi Kappa Phi (2020) Society of Social Work Research (SSWR) (2022)
