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Emily Nicklett, Ph.D., M.S.W.

Associate Professor, Social Work, Public Health (by courtesy)

Emily Nicklett, Ph.D.

Contact

Research Interests

  • Aging
  • Chronic disease self-management, type 2 diabetes
  • Disability
  • Community-based participatory research and evaluation
  • Environmental determinants of health
  • Food access
  • Social determinants of health, health equity, health disparities
  • Immigrant, native and minority health
  • Social mobility and support

Degrees

  • Postdoctoral Fellowship in Epidemiology and Biostatistics of Aging, Center on Aging and Health, Johns Hopkins University
  • Ph.D., Health Services Organization and Policy, University of Michigan
  • M.A., Sociology, University of Michigan
  • MSW, Columbia University
  • B.A., International Studies, University of Washington
  • A.A., Clark Community College

Honors and Awards

Nomination for UTSA Excellence Award in Faculty Mentoring

  • Governing Organization: College for Health, Community and Policy
  • Year Awarded: 2024

Faculty Fellow in Community Engaged Research

  • Governing Organization: College for Health, Community and Policy, The University of Texas at San Antonio
  • Year Awarded: 2021-2022

Philip G. Weiler Award for Leadership in Aging and Public Health

  • Governing Organization: Aging and Public Health Section, American Public Health Association
  • Year Awarded: 2020

Fellow, Gerontological Society of America

  • Governing Organization: Gerontological Society of America
  • Year Awarded: 2018

Fellow, Butler-Williams Scholars Program

  • Governing Organization: Office of Special Populations National Institute on Aging, National Institutes of Health
  • Year Awarded: 2015

Fellow, Resource Center for Minority Aging Research (RCMAR)

  • Governing Organization: Native Elder Research Center, National Institute on Aging
  • Year Awarded: 2013

Fellow, Health & Aging Policy Fellows Program

  • Governing Organization: American Political Science Congressional Fellowship Program, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
  • Year Awarded: 2012-2013

Fellow, Research Career Development Core (RCDC)

  • Governing Organization: University of Michigan Claude D. Pepper Older Americans Independence Center
  • Year Awarded: 2012-2014

Pre-doctoral Fellow, Interdisciplinary Research Training Grant in Public Health & Aging

  • Governing Organization: University of Michigan School of Public Health, National Institute on Aging
  • Year Awarded: 2009-2010

Pre-doctoral Fellow, Hartford Doctoral Fellowship in Geriatric Social Work

  • Governing Organization: Gerontological Society of America
  • Year Awarded: 2008-2010

Pre-candidate Fellow, National Research Service Award

  • Governing Organization: Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality
  • Year Awarded: 2005-2007

Presentations

Selected presentations (student/mentee coauthors are underlined).

Nicklett, E., Crowley, J., Walker, T., He, M., Castille, M., Cantu, A. (November 2023). Barriers and Facilitators to Diabetes Self-Management among Adults with Blindness or Vision Impairment: Preliminary Findings on Access and Accessibility. Presented at the “Joint Session on Disability and Aging & Public Health” at the annual meeting of the American Public Health Association (APHA), Atlanta, GA.

Nicklett, E., Crowley, J., Zepeda, F., Gelfond, J., Cantu, A., Salinas, L., & He, M. (November 2022). Identifying barriers and facilitators to diabetes self-management among blind and vision impaired adults with type 2 diabetes. Presented at the “Nutrition-Related Issues Facing Populations with Disabilities” session at the annual meeting of the American Public Health Association (APHA), Boston, MA.

Cheng, J., Nicklett, E. (November 2021). Predictors of food insecurity before and during COVID-19 among middle-aged and older adults. Presented at the “Late Breaking Poster Session” at the Gerontological Society of America (GSA) Annual Scientific Meeting.

Johnson, K. E., Nicklett, E. J., Troy, L. M., Vartak, M., & Reiter, A. (November 2021). Food access, diet quality, and nutritional status of older adults during COVID-19: A scoping review. Presented at the “Late Breaking Poster Session” at the Gerontological Society of America (GSA) Annual Scientific Meeting.

Nicklett, E. J., Ory, M., Johnson, K., Levy-Storms, L., Alt, P., Morrissey, M., & Dwolatzky (October 2021). Chair for Social Isolation, Social Connectedness and COVID-19 among Older Adult Populations. Roundtable discussion at the annual meeting of the American Public Health Association (APHA), Denver, CO.

Cheng, J., & Nicklett, E. (October 2021). Racial/ethnic differences in trajectories of physical activity among community-dwelling older adults. Presented at the session, “Physical Activity among Older Adults” at the American Public Health Association (APHA) Annual Meeting.

Cheng, J., & Nicklett, E. (November 2020). Associations between physical activity and living alone: Are there differences by gender? Presented at the session, “Physical Activity and Health” at the Gerontological Society of America (GSA) Annual Meeting.

Stauber, D., Child, S. Ward, D., & Nicklett, E. (October 2020). Social Support and Aging at the American Public Health Association (APHA) Annual Meeting.

Nicklett, E. J., Chen, J., Xiang, X., Sonnega, A., Abrams, L., Johnson, K., & Assari, S. (November 2018). Diagnosis with type 2 diabetes and changes in physical activity among middle-aged and older adults in the U.S. Presented at the session: “Health-Related Behaviors, Wellness, and Physical Activity” at the Gerontological Society of America (GSA) Annual Meeting, Boston, MA.

Perry, R., Nicklett, E. J., Thorpe, R. (November 2018). Risk and protective factors of fall events among older men: An analysis using the Health and Retirement Study. Presented at the session, “Health-Related Behaviors, Wellness, and Physical Activity” at the Gerontological Society of America (GSA) Annual Meeting, Boston, MA.

Banaszak-Holl, J., Kennedy, S., Nicklett, E. J., Wels, J., West, E., Zwakhalen, S. (August 2017). Aging in place: Living arrangement transitions in the United States, England and Europe. Presented at the session “Life Course Processes in a Global Context” at the American Sociological Association (ASA) Annual Meeting, Montreal, Canada.

Nicklett, E. J., & Thorpe, R. (July 2017). Fall events among older, community-dwelling men: An examination of risk and protective factors. Presented at the session “Older Adult Mobility and Rehabilitative Care” at the International Association of Gerontology and Geriatrics (IAGG) Conference, San Francisco, CA.

Chen, J., Lou, V., Nicklett, E. J., He, Y. (July 2017). Various intensities of physical activity in Chinese older adults with chronic kidney disease. Presented at International Association of Gerontology and Geriatrics (IAGG) Conference, San Francisco, CA.

Grants, Patents and Clinical Trials

Selected Grants, Patents and Clinical Trials

Grant: Empowering Communities to Deliver and Sustain Evidence-Based Falls Prevention Programs

  • Funding Organization: Administration on Community Living (Role: Consultant; Sponsoring Agency: San Antonio Lighthouse for the Blind, TX)
  • Duration: 2024-2028

Grant: The Texas Resource Center on Minority Aging Research (RCMAR)

  • Funding Organization: National Institutes of Health (Grant # P30 AG059301; PI: K. Markides; Subaward PI: F. Riosmena; Co-Is: R. Saenz, T. Hill, E. Nicklett)
  • Duration: 2023-2028

Grant: Strategies to Increase Inclusion in Fall Prevention for Older Adults who are Blind or Vision Impaired in San Antonio, TX: A Needs Assessment

  • Funding Organization: The University of Texas at San Antonio, Grant for Research Advancement and Transformation (GREAT). Role: PI
  • Duration: 2023-2025

Grant: Identifying Barriers and Facilitators to Health-Promoting Behavior among Blind and Visually Impaired Middle-Age and Older Adults in Bexar County: A Needs Assessment

  • Funding Organization: IIMS Community Engagement Small Project Grant, The University of Texas Health Sciences Center at San Antonio (PI: E. Nicklett)
  • Duration: 2022-2023

Grant: Constrained Choices: Examining the Disparate Impacts of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Health-Promoting Behavior for Older Adults of Color

  • Funding Organization: Health, Community and Policy (HCAP) Faculty Seed Funding Award, The University of Texas at San Antonio (PI: E. Nicklett)
  • Duration: 2021

Grant: Partnership Formation in Community-Engaged Work: The Detroit Food Academy Planning Grant to Promote Community-Academic Partnerships

  • Funding Organization: Detroit Community-Academic Urban Research Center (PI: E. Nicklett)
  • Duration: 2018-2019

Grant: Determinants of Physical Activity Participation among Older Adults Diagnosed with Type 2 Diabetes

  • Funding Organization: Center for Diabetes Translation Research, George Warren Brown School of Social Work, Washington University, St. Louis, Missouri, National Congress of American Indians (NCAI). (Grant # P30DK092950; Project PI: E. Nicklett, Program PI: D. Haire-Joshu)
  • Duration: 2015-2016

Grant: Community Characteristics and Long-Term Nutritional Outcomes for Older Adults at Risk of Chronic Illness

  • Funding Organization: Extramural Loan Repayment Program for Health Disparities Research, National Institutes of Health (Grant # 2 L60 MD006253-02; PI: E. Nicklett)
  • Duration: 2011-2013

Grant: Diabetic Health Disparities Over the Life Course: Race, Class and Gender

  • Funding Organization: Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (Grant # 1 R36 HS018276-01; PI: E. Nicklett)
  • Duration: 2009-2010

Publications

Selected publications (student/mentee coauthors are underlined).

Nicklett, E. J., Sharma, B. B., Testa, A. (2024). Physical activity and local blue/green space access during the COVID-19 pandemic. American Journal of Health Promotion (Accepted for publication).

Nicklett, E. J., Cheng, J., Morris, Z. (2023). Predictors of food insecurity among older adults before and during COVID-19 in the United States. Frontiers in Public Health, 11: 1112575.

Cheng, J., Nicklett, E. J. (2022). Racial and ethnic differences in the relationship between neighborhood environment and physical activity among middle-aged and older adults. Journal of Aging and Health, 34(9-10), 1163-1177.

Nicklett, E. J., Ory, M. G., Johnson, K. E., & Dwolatzky, T. (2022). Editorial: COVID-19, Aging, and Public Health. Frontiers in Public Health, 10: 924591.

LeBrón, A., Espitia, N. R., Kieffer, E. C., Sinco, B. R., Hawkins, J. M. Nicklett, E. J., Palmisano, G., Heisler, M., & Spencer, M. S. (2022). Using path analysis to model the process of change in HbA1c among African Americans and Latinos in a community health worker diabetes intervention. Patient Education and Counseling, 105(7):2166-2173.

Nicklett, E. J., Johnson, K. E., Troy, L. M., Vartak, M., & Reiter, A (2021). Food access, diet quality, and nutritional status of older adults during COVID-19: A scoping review. Frontiers in Public Health, 9.

Child, S., Nicklett, E., Stauber, D., & Ward, D. (2021). Social Support and Aging. In E. Jurkowski & A. Guest (Eds.), Healthy Aging Through the Social Determinants of Health.

Nicklett, E. J., Chen, J., Xiang, X., Abrams, L., Sonnega, A., Johnson, K. E., Cheng, J., & Assari, S. (2020). Associations between diagnosis with type 2 diabetes and changes in physical activity among middle-aged and older adults in the United States. Innovation in Aging, 4(1).

Tropman, J. & Nicklett, E. (2019). Status Crystallization and Mobility Lock: The Poverty Production Process. Advances in Applied Sociology, 9(10), 478-490.

Chen, J., Nicklett, E. J., He, Y., Lou, V. (2019). Physical activity intensity and biopsychosocial correlates in Chinese middle-aged and older adults with chronic kidney disease. Journal of Aging and Physical Activity, 27(6), 871-878.

Lohman, M. C., Sonnega, A. J., Nicklett, E. J., Estenson, L., & Leggett, A. N. (2019). Comparing estimates of fall-related mortality among older adults in the United States. The Journals of Gerontology: Series A, 74(9), 1468-1474.

Chatters, L. M., Taylor, H. O., Nicklett, E. J., & Taylor, R. J. (2018). Correlates of objective social isolation from family and friends among older adults. Healthcare, 6(1), 24.

Lehning, A. J., Nicklett, E. J., Davitt, J., Wiseman, H. (2017). Social work and aging in place: A scoping review of the literature. Social Work Research, 41(4), 235-248.

Towne, S. D. Jr, Bolin, J., Ferdinand, A., Nicklett, E. J., Smith, M. L., & Ory, M. G. (2017). Assessing diabetes and factors associated with foregoing medical care among persons with diabetes: Disparities facing American Indian/Alaska Native, Black, Hispanic, low income, and southern adults in the US (2011-2015). International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 14(5), 464.

Assari, S., Lee, D., Nicklett, E. J., Lankarani, M. M., Piette, J., & Aikens, J. Gender, racial discrimination in health care is associated with worse glycemic control among Black men but not Black women with type 2 diabetes. (2017). Frontiers in Public Health, 12(5), 235.

Lohman, M. C., Crow, R. S., DiMilia, P. R., Nicklett, E. J., Bruce, M. L., & Batsis, J. A. (2017). Operationalisation and validation of the Stopping Elderly Accidents, Deaths, and Injuries (STEADI) fall risk algorithm in a nationally representative sample. Journal of Epidemiology & Community Health, 71(12), 1191-1197.

Nicklett, E. J., Taylor, R. J., Rostant, O., Johnson, K. E., & Evans, L. (2017). Biopsychosocial predictors of fall events among older African Americans. Research on Aging, 39(4), 501-525.

Tropman, J., & Nicklett, E. J. (2017). Talcott Parsons: A voice from the past, an opportunity missed, and a road not taken. Reflections: Narratives of Professional Helping, 22(1), 79-95.

Nicklett, E. J., Lohman, M., Smith, M. L. (2017). Neighborhood environment and falls community-dwelling older adults. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 14(2), 175.

Mouzon, D. M., Taylor, R. J., Keith, V. M., Nicklett, E. J., & Chatters, L. M. (2017). Discrimination and psychiatric disorders among older African Americans. International Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry, 32(2), 175-182.

Nicklett, E. J., Omidpanah, A., Whitener, R., Howard, B. V., Manson, S. M. (2017). Access to care and diabetes management among older American Indians with type 2 diabetes. Journal of Aging and Health, 29(2), 206-221.

Hawkins, J., Watkins, D. C., Kieffer, E., Spencer, M., Nicklett, E. J., Piatt, G., Espitia, N. R., Lebrón, A., & Palmisano, G. (2017). An exploratory study of the impact of gender on health behavior among African American and Latino Men with type 2 diabetes. American Journal of Men’s Health, 11(2), 344-356.

Nicklett, E. J., Anderson, L., & Yen, I. (2016). Gardening activities and physical health among older adults: A review of the evidence. Journal of Applied Gerontology, 35(6), 667-690.

Rosland, A. M., Kieffer, E., Spencer, M., Sinco, B., Palmisano, G. Valerio, M., Nicklett, E. J., & Heisler, M. (2015). Do pre-existing diabetes social support or depressive symptoms influence the effectiveness of a diabetes management intervention? Patient Education and Counseling, 98(11), 1402-1409.

Chatters, L., Taylor, R. J., Woodward, A., & Nicklett, E. J. (2015). Social support from church and family members and depressive symptoms among older African Americans. The American Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry, 23(6), 559-567.

Nicklett, E. J., & Taylor, R. J. (2014). Racial/ethnic predictors of falls among older adults: The Health and Retirement Study. Journal of Aging and Health, 26(6), 1060-1075.

Nicklett, E. J., & Damiano, S. K. (2014). Too little, too late: Socioeconomic disparities in the experience of older adults living with diabetes. Qualitative Social Work, 13(3), 370-386.

Nicklett, E. J., Heisler, M., Spencer, M. S., & Rosland, A. M. (2013). Direct social support and long-term health among middle-aged and older adults with type 2 diabetes mellitus. Journal of Gerontology: Social Sciences, 68(6), 933-943.

Taylor, R. J., Hernadez, E., Nicklett, E. J., Taylor, H. O., Chatters, L. M. (2013). Informal Social Support Networks of African Americans Hispanic, Asian American and Native American Older Adults. In K. E. Whitfield & T. A. Baker (Eds.), Handbook of Minority Aging (pp. 417-434). New York: Springer.

Nicklett, E. J., & Kadell, A. (2013). Fruit and vegetable intake among older adults: A scoping review. Maturitas, 75(4), 305-312.

Nicklett, E. J., Semba, R. D., Xue, Q. L., Tian, J., Cappola, A. R., Simonsick, E. M., Ferrucci, L., & Fried, L. P. (2012). Fruit and vegetable intake, physical activity and mortality among older community-dwelling women. Journal of the American Geriatrics Society, 60(5), 862-868.

Tropman, J. E., & Nicklett, E. J. Organizational Theory. (2012). In K. M. Sowers & C. N. Dulmus (Eds.), The Comprehensive Handbook of Social Work and Social Welfare (pp. 411-458). Hoboken: John Wiley & Sons.

Nicklett, E. J. (2012). Sex, health behaviors and social support: Functional decline among older diabetics. American Medical Journal, 3(2), 82-92.

Tropman, J. E., & Nicklett, E. J. (2012). Balancing the budget through social exploitation: Why hard times are even harder for some. Advances in Applied Sociology, 2(2), 111-119.

Nicklett, E. J., Semba, R. D., Simonsick, E. M., Szanton, S., Bandeen-Roche, K., Ferrucci, L., Guralnik, J. M., & Fried, L. P. (2012). Diet quality and social support: Factors associated with serum carotenoid concentrations among older disabled women (The Women’s Health and Aging Study). The Journal of Nutrition, Health and Aging, 16(6), 511-518.

Nicklett, E. J., Szanton, S., Sun, K., Ferrucci, L., Fried, L. P., Guralnik, J. M., & Semba, R. D. (2011). Neighborhood socioeconomic status is associated with serum carotenoid concentrations in older, community-dwelling women. Journal of Nutrition, 141(2), 284-289.

Semba, R. D., Arab, L., Nicklett, E. J., Ferrucci, L. (2011). Fat mass is inversely associated with serum carboxymethyl-lysine, an Advanced Glycation End Product, in adults. Journal of Nutrition, 141(9), 1726-1730.

Nicklett, E. J. (2011). Socioeconomic status and race/ethnicity independently predict health decline among older diabetics. BMC Public Health, 11, 684.

Eisenberg, D., Nicklett, E. J., Roeder, K., & Kirz, N. (2011). Eating disorder symptoms among college students: Prevalence, correlates, and treatment-seeking. Journal of American College Health, 59(8), 700-707.

Semba, R. D., Nicklett, E. J., & Ferrucci, L. (2010). Does accumulation of Advanced Glycation End Products contribute to the aging phenotype? Journal of Gerontology: Medical Sciences, 65(9), 963-75.

Nicklett, E. J., & Liang, J. (2010). Diabetes-related support, regimen adherence, and health decline among older adults. Journal of Gerontology: Social Sciences 65B(3), 390-399.

Nicklett, E. J., & Burgard, S. A. (2009). Downward social mobility and major depressive episodes among Latino and Asian American immigrants to the United States. American Journal of Epidemiology, 170(6), 793-801.        

Nicklett, E. J., & Perron, B. (2009). Laws and policies to support well being of children: An international comparative analysis. International Journal of Social Welfare 19(1), 3-7.