Diane C. Martins, PhD, RN
Assistant Professor
University of Rhode Island
p. 401.874.5328
dcmartins@uri.edu
PhD - University of Connecticut, Storrs, CT
M.A. - Medical Sociology, University of Connecticut
M.Ed.-Teachers College, Columbia University
Dr. Martins' teaching, research, and service commitments are to community health nursing and vulnerable populations. She teaches courses in community health nursing theory, community health clinical practice, practice theory and lectures on vulnerable older adults and on quantitative methods at the undergraduate and graduate levels. She is also a faculty member in the HRSA funded interdisciplinary RI Geriatric Education Center where she coordinates the Vulnerable Older Adult group.
Dr. Martins' research and scholarly work is with vulnerable populations in the community and includes a descriptive phenomenological study of the homeless person's health care experiences, analysis of food insufficiency and hunger with homeless families, strategies used to survive in the lives of woman facing adversity, and methods to increase nursing students' knowledge and appreciation with older adults in the community. Dr. Martins has co-authored articles on risk and vulnerability, elder abuse, and using literature to teach nursing. She is also a co-author of five chapters in three books; Promoting Exercise among Older Adults: Interventions with the Transtheoretical Model (P. Burbank & D. Riebe), Vulnerable Older Adults: Issues and Strategies (P.Burbank), and Teaching Nursing in the Neighborhood: Innovative Responses (P. Matteson).
At the University of Rhode Island, Dr. Martins has been a multicultural faculty fellow, an interdisciplinary faculty fellow in geriatrics and gerontology, and faculty in the President's Partnership for Food, Hunger and Nutrition. She received an award for outstanding outreach from the University of Rhode Island for her work on behalf of people who are homeless. In the community, Dr. Martins works collaboratively with Progreso Latino, is a member of the Health Advisory Board for Crossroads Rhode Island, is on the Nominating Committee for the Association of Community Health Educators, and is currently in a planning group with the Feinstein Hunger Center, Department of Human Service, Johnson and Wales, Crossroads and RI Coalition for the Homeless working to make policy changes in the state's food stamp program.
Community Partnerships
Community partnerships are agencies that serve as clinical sites for student learning. The College of Nursing has excellent placements available throughout the state of Rhode Island and the bordering states. For some perspective of the diversity of our partnerships and the scope of experiences available for our students at all levels, see our information on Community Partnerships.
