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Kathleen McPhaul

Associate Research Professor, Global, Environmental, and Occupational Health

Dr. McPhaul is an occupational and public health researcher, educator and practitioner with demonstrated COVID-19 experience protecting workers, setting up COVID-19 contact tracing and return-to-work systems. She was on the faculty of the University of Maryland School of Nursing, the Chief Consultant for Occupational Health at the Veterans Health Administration, editor-in-chief of the Workplace Health and Safety Journal and currently principal investigator of the Indoor Air, Human Health and Germicidal UV (GUV) study. She is a co-investigator of the EMIT-2 and CRIPT (GOT FLU TOO? study) and teaches occupational health to undergraduate and graduate students.

Areas of Interest

Core Faculty

Occupational health; Workplace violence; COVID-19; Occupational infections; Essential workers; Total Worker Health/Integrating Wellness and Health Protection; Integration of occupational and public health for pandemic preparedness; Contact tracing in the occupational health setting

Other Positions: 

2004-2012 - Assistant Professor, University of Maryland School of Nursing

2012- 2017 - Chief Consultant, Occupational Health/Office of Public Health, Veterans Health Administration

2017-2021 - Chief Nurse and Acting Associate Director for Occupational Health Services, Smithsonian Institution

2005 - PhD Occupational Health Nursing, University of Maryland Baltimore;

1987 - Masters of Public Health, Focus on Occupational/Environmental Health, Johns Hopkins School of Public Health and Hygiene,

1979 - Bachelors Nursing, BSN, University of Virginia

MIEH 480 Introduction to Occupational Health

Special Commendation from Secretary COVID-19 Leadership Team, Smithsonian Institution (2020)

University of Maryland, Baltimore Student Research Poster Day Second Place “Workplace Violence in the Home Visiting Workplace: Development of Measures” (2004)

Quality and Safety in Nursing Education (QSEN) University of Maryland School of Nursing selected representative (2011)

Fellow “Leadership in Academic Nursing Program” American Association of Colleges of Nursing. (2011)

Best Paper “Workplace Violence in Health Care Conference” Amsterdam, Netherlands, 2010. London, M., Lipscomb, J., and McPhaul, K. (2010)

Development and Validation of the Work-Related Well-Being Index: Analysis of the Federal Employee Viewpoint Survey (FEVS). Eaton JL, Mohr DC, Hodgson MJ, McPhaul KM. J Occup Environ Med. 2017 Oct 11. doi: 10.1097/JOM.0000000000001196. [Epub ahead of print] PMID: 29023341

Access, Education and Policy Awareness: Predictors of Influenza Vaccine Acceptance Among VHA Healthcare Workers. Eaton JL, Mohr DC, McPhaul KM, Kaslow RA, Martinello RA. Infect Control Hosp Epidemiol. 2017 Aug;38(8):970-975. doi: 10.1017/ice.2017.113. Epub 2017 Jun 23. PMID: 28641586

Organizational factors associated with Health Care Provider (HCP) influenza campaigns in the Veterans health care system: a qualitative study. Razouki Z, Knighton T, Martinello RA, Hirsch PR, McPhaul KM, Rose AJ, McCullough M. BMC Health Serv Res. 2016 Jul 4;16:211. doi: 10.1186/s12913-016-1462-y. PMID: 27378468

Integrated Employee Occupational Health and Organizational-Level Registered Nurse Outcomes. Mohr DC, Schult T, Eaton JL, Awosika E, McPhaul KM. J Occup Environ Med. 2016 May;58(5):466-70. doi: 10.1097/JOM.0000000000000696.PMID: 27158954

The Prevalence of Coworker Conflict Including Bullying in a Unionized U.S. Public Sector Workforce. Lipscomb J, London M, McPhaul KM, Ghaziri ME, Lydecker A, Geiger-Brown J, Johnson JV. Violence Vict. 2015;30(5):813-29. doi: 10.1891/0886-6708.VV-D-14-00031. Epub 2015 Aug 21. PMID: 26299698

Does Employee Safety Matter for Patients Too? Employee Safety Climate and Patient Safety Culture in Health Care. Mohr DC, Eaton JL, McPhaul KM, Hodgson MJ. J Patient Saf. 2018 Sep;14(3):181-185. doi: 10.1097/PTS.0000000000000186.PMID: 25906403

Quality management and federal workers' compensation: the Veterans Health Administration workers' compensation program model. Hodgson MJ, Mohr DC, Lipkowitz-Eaton J, Rodrigues D, Moreau S, McPhaul K. J Occup Environ Med. 2015. Mar;57 Suppl 3:S36-42. doi: 10.1097/JOM.0000000000000375. PMID: 25741613

Implementation of a novel occupational and environmental medicine specialty teleconsultation service: the VHA experience. Eaton JL, Mohr DC, Mohammad A, Kirkhorn S, Gerstel-Santucci C, McPhaul K, Hodgson MJ. J Occup Environ Med. 2015 Feb;57(2):173-7. doi: 10.1097/JOM.0000000000000330.

Reducing occupational risk for blood and body fluid exposure among home care aides: an intervention effectiveness study. Amuwo S, Lipscomb J, McPhaul K, Sokas RK. Home Health Care Serv Q. 2013;32(4):234-48. doi: 10.1080/01621424.2013.851050. 

A framework for translating workplace violence intervention research into evidence-based programs. McPhaul KM, London M, Lipscomb JA.Online J Issues Nurs. 2013 Jan 31;18(1): 4PMID: 23452200