Jodi Ford

Image

First Name

Jodi

Last Name

Ford

Credentials

PhD, RN, FAAN

Professor

Assistant Director, Martha S. Pitzer Center for Women, Children and Youth

Director, Stress Science Lab

ford.553@osu.edu

614-292-6862

she/her/hers

Address

200S Heminger Hall

Address (Line 2)

1577 Neil Avenue

City

Columbus

State

Zip Code

43210

Research Interests

Jodi Ford’s research focuses on the effects of adverse childhood experiences (e.g., violence, poverty, racism) on physiological stress, their linkages to youth mental health and potential social and structural avenues for intervention and prevention. Her professional life has centered on addressing inequities in health, particularly among children, adolescents and young adults. Through her program of research, she strives to promote optimal youth health and development. Ford has received external funding from the National Institutes of Health and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation to conduct her research. As a faculty member in the College of Nursing, she teaches graduate level courses on the biopsychosocial determinants of health and secondary data analysis, and mentors students at all levels.

Ford started her career as a nurse in the neonatal intensive care unit, then worked as a pediatric nurse practitioner in primary care after completing her master’s degree. Her clinical experiences informed her program of research as she observed firsthand how exposure to adversity, including poverty, violence, racism and discrimination, negatively affected the health and well-being of children and their families. Ford earned her PhD in public health from the University of South Florida and her MS and BSN from the University of Florida.

View publications

Media Reports:

HEAL Prevention Cooperative Podcast Series: Women Leading Prevention Science: Engaging Youth Experiencing Homelessness.
heal.nih.gov/news/events/podcast-women-leading-prevention-science#youth

Publications

Chavez, L.J., Kelleher, K., Slesnick, N., Holowacz, E., Luthy, E., Weigel, L., & Ford, J.L. (Forthcoming). Virtual reality meditation: Pilot study of feasibility among youth experiencing homelessness. Journal of Medical Internet Research – Mental Health.
Ford, J.L., Boch, S.J, & Browning, C.R. (Forthcoming). Hair cortisol and depressive symptoms in youth: An investigation of curvilinear relationships. Psychoneuroendocrinology. PMCID: PMC6986562.
Blair, L., Ford, J., Gugiu, P.C., Pickler, R.H., Munro, C. & Anderson, C.M. (Forthcoming). Prediction of cognitive ability with social determinants in children of low birthweight. Nursing Research.
Blair, L.M., Pickler, R.H., Gugiu, P.C., Ford, J.L., Munro, C. & Anderson, C.M. (2020). Genetic risk factors for poor cognitive development in low birthweight children. Biological Research for Nursing, 22, 5-12.
Gebrie, M.H., & Ford, J. (2019). Depressive symptoms and dietary non-adherence among end stage renal disease patients undergoing hemodialysis therapy: systematic review. BMC Nephrology 20, 429.
Blair, L.M. & Ford, J.L. (2019). Neighborhood context and the risk for developmental disorder in early childhood. Maternal and Child Health Journal, 23, 1213-1219.
Boch, S.J.*, Warren, B., & Ford, J.L. (2019). Attention, externalizing, and internalizing problems of youth exposed to parental incarceration. Issues in Mental Health Nursing.
Giurgescu, C., Nowak, A.*, Gillespie, S., Nolan, T., Anderson, C.M., Ford, J.L., Hood, D.B., & Williams, K.P. (2019). Neighborhood Environment and DNA Methylation: Implications for Cardiovascular Disease Risk. Journal of Urban Health.
Ford, J.L., Anderson, C., Gillespie, S. Giurgescu, C., Nolan, T., Nowak, A.*, & Williams, K.P. (2019). Social integration and quality of social relationships as protective factors for inflammation in a nationally representative sample of Black women. Journal of Urban Health.
Schmeer, K., Ford, J.L., & Browning, C.R. (2018). Early childhood family instability and immune system dysregulation in adolescence. Psychoneuroendocrinology, 102, 189-195.
Knupp, A.*, Patterson, E., Ford, J.L., Zurmehly, J., & Patrick, T. (2018). Associations among aspects of the neonatal intensive care unit nursing practice environment, individual nurse characteristics, and nurse fatigue. Journal of Nursing Administration, 48, 642-648.
Boch, S.J.* & Ford, J.L. (2018). The physical and mental health effects of parental incarceration on children and adolescents: An integrative review. Forensic Nursing, 14, 61-71.
Wright, K.D., Ford, J.L. Perrazol, J., Jones, L.M., Mahari, S., & Laudenslager. (2018). Collecting hair samples for hair cortisol concentration analysis in African Americans. Journal of Visualized Experiments (JOVE), 136.
Ogbolu, Y., Ford, J.L., Cohn, E., Gillespie, G. (2017). Nurses on the move: Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Nurse Faculty Scholars and their action on the social determinants of health. Ethnicity and Health, 1-11.
Ford, J.L. & Stowe, R. (2017) Depressive symptoms are associated with salivary shedding of Epstein-Barr virus in female adolescents: The role of sex differences. Psychoneuroendocrinology, 86, 128-133.
Bates, R.*, Salsberry, P., & Ford, J.L. (2017). Measuring stress in young children using hair cortisol: The state of the science. Biological Research for Nursing, 19, 499-510.
Browning, C.R., Calder, K., Ford, J.L., Smith, A., & Haynie, D. (2017). Understanding racial differences in exposure to violent locations: Integrating survey, smartphone, and administrative data resources. Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, 669, 41-62.
Ford, J.L., Boch, S.J.,* & McCarthy, D. (2016). Feasibility of hair collection for cortisol measurement in population research on adolescent health. Nursing Research, 65, 249-55.
Boch, S.* & Ford, J.L. (2015). C-reactive protein levels among U.S. adults affected by parental incarceration. Biological Research for Nursing, 17, 574-84.
Ford, J.L. & Browning, C.R. (2015). Exposure to neighborhood immigrant concentration from adolescence to young adulthood and immune function among Latino young adults. Health & Place, 32, 59-64.
Ford, J.L. & Browning, C.R. (2014). Effects of exposure to violence with a weapon during adolescence on adult hypertension. Annals of Epidemiology, 24, 193-8.
Ford, J.L. & Browning, C.R. (2014). Neighborhoods and infectious disease risk: Acquisition of chlamydia during the transition to young adulthood. Journal of Urban Health, 91, 136-50.
Ford J.L. & Stowe, RP. (2013). Racial/ethnic differences in Epstein-Barr virus antibody titers among U.S. children and adolescents. Annals of Epidemiology, 23, 275-80.
Ford, J.L & Rechel, M. (2012). Parental perceptions of the neighborhood context and adolescent depression. Public Health Nursing, 29, 390-402.
Ford, J.L. & Browning, C.R. (2011). Neighborhood social disorganization and the acquisition of trichomoniasis among young adults in the United States. American Journal of Public Health, 101, 1696-703.
Ford, J.L. (2011). Racial and ethnic disparities in HPV awareness and vaccination among young adult women: Findings from the 2007-2008 National Survey of Family Growth. Public Health Nursing, 28, 485-493.
Ahijevych, K, & Ford J.L. (2010). The relationships between menthol cigarette preference and state tobacco control policies on smoking behaviors of young adult smokers in the 2006-2007 Tobacco Use Supplements to the Current Population Surveys. Addiction, 105 (s1), 46-54.
Smith, L. & Ford, J. (2010). History of forced sex and young adult males' engagement in sexual risk behaviors. Perspectives on Sexual and Reproductive Health, 2, 87-92.
Ford, J. & Forthofer, M. (2010). Social disparities in the receipt of contraceptive services among sexually experienced adolescent females. Social Work in Public Health, 25, 352-367.
Nearns, J. (2009). Health insurance and prescription contraceptive use among yourng adult women at risk for unintended pregnancy. Contraception, 79, 105-110.
Nearns, J., Baldwin, J., & Clayton, H. (2009). Social, behavioral and health care factors associated with recent HIV testing among sexually active non-Hispanic Black women in the U.S. Women's Health Issues, 19, 52-60.

Funded Research Grants

2029043 (Browning, PI)
5/15/20 - 4/30/21
National Science Foundation
Collaborative Research: RAPID: Socioeconomic Determinants of Social Distancing Behaviors in Response to the COVID-19 Pandemic
Role: Co-I
The purpose of this study is to examine socioeconomic differences in social distancing practice during the COVID-19 practices.
UG3DA050174-01 (Slesnick, N. & Kelleher, K. – MPI)
09/30/19 – 08/31/20
NIH, NIDA
Prevention of OUD: The HOME (Housing, Opportunities, Motivation and Engagement) Randomized Trial
The UG3 study will pilot test a Housing First intervention linked with opioid and related risk prevention services with youth experiencing homelessness to determine its initial efficacy, feasibility and acceptability, and to refine the housing strategy, as needed, for a larger Phase II trial (UH3) to start in Fall 2020. In addition, the study will examine psychological and biological (hair cortisol) stress pathways through which housing effects substance use and mental health of youth experiencing homelessness.
Role: Co-I
UL1TR002733 (Jackson – PI CCTS Grant, Ford- PI Pilot)
09/16/19 – 09/17/20
OSU Center for Clinical and Translational Science Pilot Grant
Feasibility of Collecting Stress Biomarkers among Homeless Youth
This pilot study will examine the feasibility of collecting stress biomarkers (hair for cortisol, saliva for telomeres) longitudinally in a diverse sample of youth experiencing homelessness, and to explore the relationships between the stress biomarkers and violence exposures.
Role: PI
1R21HD099596 (Hackman – PI)
08/16/19 – 07/31/21
NIH, NICHD
Adolescent Responses to Varying Environments in Virtual Reality Simulations
This R21 study will examine the effect of adverse neighborhood environments on chronic stress (hair cortisol) using a virtual reality platform, and habituation or sensitization to different neighborhood characteristics.
Role: Consultant
Ohio League for Nursing Sub-award (Bechtel and Jones – MPI) 08/21/18 – 07/31/20
Evaluation of the Core Determinants of Health
The purpose of this study is to evaluate the feasibility and effectiveness of a nurse-led screening process related to the core social determinants of health.
Role: PI
R21TW011131 (Schmeer – PI)
08/15/18 – 04/30/20
NIH, John E Fogarty International Center
Social Contexts, Stress and Non-Communicable Disease Risk Factors across the Life Course: A Pilot Study in Nicaragua
The purpose of this study is to conduct biosocial and longitudinal research in collaboration with the Center for Demographic and Health Research (CIDS) at the Nicaraguan National Autonomous University in Leon on the relationships between social contexts, stress and health behaviors in adolescents from Leon, Nicaragua.
Role: Co-I
R03HD096182 (Boettner – PI)
04/01/18 – 03/31/20
NIH, NICHD
Documenting and Archiving the Adolescent Health and Development in Context Study
The purpose of this project is to prepare the data from the Adolescent Health and Development in Context study and the Linking Biological and Social Pathways to Adolescent Health and Wellbeing for restricted and public use distribution.
Role: Co-I

Degree Certifications

PhD in Public Health - Social and Behavioral Science Concentration, University of South Florida (Department of Community and Family Health)
MS in Nursing - Pediatric Nurse Practitioner, University of Florida
BS in Nursing, University of Florida