Sarah Hoffman, PhD, MPH, MSN, RN

Sarah Hoffman, PhD, MPH, MSN, RN is an assistant professor at the University of Minnesota School of Nursing. Dr. Hoffman’s program of research considers the longitudinal health of refugees post-resettlement and the intergenerational effects of trauma and torture. Prior to her appointment at the University, Dr. Hoffman served as a Peace Corps Volunteer in Africa, a human rights intern in Colombia, and worked clinically as a nurse on the inpatient unit of the Johns Hopkins Hospital AIDS service. In conjunction with her faculty position at the University, Dr. Hoffman is a sexual assault nurse examiner, serving survivors of sexual assault. Dr. Hoffman teaches in the undergraduate and graduate nursing programs at the UMN School of Nursing and serves as an affiliate faculty member to the Master of Human Rights program.

Research Summary/Interests: The longitudinal health of refugees post-resttlement; intergenerational effects of trauma and torture; designing interventions to support individuals through their transitional migratory status.

Clinical Interests: public health nursing, sexual assault, HIV/AIDS

Human Rights Lab Faculty-Led Human Rights Project, Human Rights Lab, 2019

School of Nursing Commitment to the Understanding of Social Determinants of Health DAISY award, 2019

UMN Global Programs and Strategy Alliance Faculty Travel Grant, UMN Global Programs and Strategy Alliance, 2019

Josten Award, 2018

Josten Award, 2018

Bridging Interdisciplinary Careers in Women's Health (BIRCWH) Scholar, Bridging Interdisciplinary Careers in Women’s Health (BIRCWH), 2018

School of Nursing Foundation Award, School of Nursing, 2018

School of Nursing Faculty LEADS Cohort , School of Nursing, 2017

School of Nursing Foundation Award, School of Nursing, 2017

Powell Center Women's Health Scholar, Powell Center Women's Health, 2017

Graduate School Thesis Research Travel Grant Award, 2016

Interdisciplinary Doctoral Fellowship, University of Minnesota, 2015

P.E.O. Scholar Award, 2015

Human Rights Fellow, University of Minnesota Human Rights Program, 2014

Clinical and Translational Science Institute Fellow, University of Minnesota Summer Advanced Research Program, 2013

Appointment to Graduate Nursing Student Academy Leadership Council, , American Association of Colleges of Nursing, 2013

Appointment to Graduate Nursing Academy Leadership Council, American Association of Colleges of Nursing, 2013

Phi Kappa Phi Honors Society Inductee, Phi Kappa Phi Honors Society, 2013

Delta Omega Public Health Honors Society Inductee, John Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, 2009

Ruth Dale Ogilby Academic Excellence Award, Johns Hopkins University School of Nursing, 2009

Merit Scholarship Award, Johns Hopkins University School of Nursing, 2006

Sigma Theta Tau Nursing Honors Society Inductee, Sigma Theta Tau Nursing Honors Society, 2005

Nurse Reinvestment Act Grant, Johns Hopkins University School of Nursing, 2003

Peace Corps Fellowship Grant, Johns Hopkins University School of Nursing, 2003

Dean's List, Southwestern University, 1996

Hoffman, S., Walstad, A., Loo, J., Moe, M., Thao, J., Albert, A., Mathiason, M., Porta, C., 2020. Evaluating the Feasibility and Acceptability of a Community-Based Parenting Support Intervention for Refugee Parents From Burma. Family & community health, 43 46-58.
doi: https://doi.org/10.1097/FCH.0000000000000244

Hoffman, S. J., Stich, J., Musani, S., Robertson, C. L., 2019. “Sleeping in a boundary” constructing the meaning of health in a refugee camp. Health Care for Women International, 40 (7-9): 744-760.
doi: https://doi.org/10.1080/07399332.2019.1568439

Robertson, C., Halcon, L., Hoffman, S., Osman, N., Mohamed, A., Areba, E., Savik, K., Mathiason, M., 2019. Health Realization Community Coping Intervention for Somali Refugee Women. Journal of Immigrant and Minority Health, 21 (5): 1077-1084.
doi: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10903-018-0804-8

Hoffman, S. J., Vukovich, M., Gewirtz, A., Gaugler, J., Robertson, C. L., 2019. Intergenerational effects of trauma resulting from torture and war: Associations between maternal caregivers' mental health and youth psychosocial adjustment. Journal of Women’s Health, 28 (11): 1586.

Hoffman, S. J., Vukovich, M., Gewirtz, A., Gaugler, J., Robertson, C., 2018. Intergenerational effects of torture and war trauma: Maternal caregivers' perspectives on family functioning and youth adjustment. Journal of Women’s Health, 27 (11): 1423-1424.

Areba, E. M., Hoffman, S. J., Macy, K., 2018. Addressing the unique aspects of the health experiences of the LGBTQI community: An Introduction. University of Minnesota Digital Conservancy,

Waila, J. M., Mahero, M. W., Namusisi, S., Hoffman, S. J., Robertson, C., 2018. Outcomes of Climate Change in a Marginalized Population: An Ethnography on the Turkana Pastoralists in Kenya. American Journal of Public Health, 108 (S2): S70-S71.
doi: https://doi.org/10.2105/AJPH.2017.304063

Hoffman, S. J., Robertson, C. L., Shannon, P. J., Cook, T. L., Letts, J., Mathiason, M. A., 2017. Physical Correlates of Torture Exposure in Karen Refugees. Journal of Loss and Trauma, 22 (2): 135-149.
doi: https://doi.org/10.1080/15325024.2016.1212609

Hoffman, S. J., Tierney, J. D., Robertson, C. L., 2017. Counter-narratives of coping and becoming: Karen refugee women’s inside/outside figured worlds. Gender, Place \& Culture, 24 (9): 1346-1364.
doi: https://doi.org/10.1080/0966369X.2017.1379473

Hoffman, S., 2017. "What About the Next Generation That's Coming?": The Recontextualization of Mothering Post-Refugee Resettlement.. Advances in nursing science., 40 (2): 122-153. [Frederick, Md.] :,

Hoffman, S., Tierney, J., 2017. Letter to the Editor [1]. Advances in Nursing Science, 40 (4): 314-315.
doi: https://doi.org/10.1097/ANS.0000000000000181

Hoffman, S., Robertson, C., 2016. A systematic review of Karen refugee health. International Journal of Migration, Health and Social Care, 12 (1): 1-15.
doi: https://doi.org/10.1108/IJMHSC-04-2015-0010

Robertson, C. L., Savik, K., Mathiason-Moore, M., Mohamed, A., Hoffman, S., 2016. Modeling Psychological Functioning in Refugees. Journal of the American Psychiatric Nurses Association, 22 (3): 225-232.
doi: https://doi.org/10.1177/1078390316641489

Hoffman, S., 2014. Conflict and Forced Displacement: Human Migration, Human Rights, and the Science of Health.. Nursing research., 63 (5): 307. New York :,

Lenderts, J., Hoffman, S. J., Stich, J., The role of culture in shaping health perceptions and behaviors of resettled refugees. Journal of Transcultural Nursing

Hoffman, S. J., Vukovich, M. M., Peden-McAlpine, C., Wilk, K., Gaugler, J. E., Physical narratives of trauma. Qualitative Health Research

Bampoh, V., Thongkhamkitcharoen, M., Dicker, S., Dalal, W., Frerich, E., Mann, E., Porta, C., Siddons, N., Stauffer, W., Hoffman, S. J., Nursing practice and global refugee migration: Initial impressions from an Intergovernmental-Academic Partnership. International Nursing Review

Mann, E., Klosovsky, A., Yen, C., Olsen, A., Hoffman, S. J., Mamo, B., Frerich, E., Mayali, H., Weinberg, M., McCoy, M., Prasad, S., Dunlop, S., Stauffer, W., Health challenges in refugee resettlement: An innovative multi-sector partnership to improve the continuum of care for resettled refugees. PLoS

Hoffman, S. J., Vukovich, M. M., Gerwitz, A. M., Fulkerson, J. A., Robertson, C. L., Gaugler, J. E., Mechanisms explaining the relationship between maternal torture exposure and youth adjustment in resettled refugees: A pilot examination of generational trauma through moderated mediation. Journal of Immigrant and Minority Health

Hoffman, S. J., Vukovich, M. M., Gerwitz, A. M., Gaugler, J. E., Robertson, C. L. "Intergenerational Effects of Trauma Resulting from Torture and War: Associations between Maternal Caregivers’ Mental Health and Youth Adjustment", BIRCWH Annual Meeting, Bethseda, Maryland, December 11, 2019.

Wiebe, G., Hoffman, S. J. "Engaging youth with refugee status in field-based community-engaged research", Clinical and Translational Science Institute Annual Poster Session, Minneapolis, Minnesota, September 16, 2019.

Rider, N., Hoffman, S. J., Areba, E. M. "Forced migration and SOGIE (sexual orientation, gender identity & expression): An initial field assessment focused on the health experiences of LGBTQ+ urban refugees in Kenya", Workshop, Human Rights Lab, Human Rights Lab, Minneapolis, Minnesota, May 02, 2019.

Hoffman, S. J. "Gender, Health, and War", Center for Global Health and Social Responsibility Global Health Day Faculty Showcase, Center for Global Health and Social Responsibility, Minneapolis, Minnesota, April 13, 2019.

Thao, J., Hoffman, S. J., Mathiason, M. A. "Five-year retrospective analysis of physical and mental health correlates of war trauma and torture in a sample of resettled refugees from Burma", Center for Global Health and Social Responsibility Global Health Day, Minneapolis, Minnesota, April 13, 2019.

Wilk, K., Hoffman, S. J. "What happened in Burma, I carry with me. It’s still here. Karen women’s physical narratives of trauma", University of Minnesota School of Nursing Research Day, Minneapolis, Minnesota, April 12, 2019.

Albert, A., Hoffman, S. J., Mathiason, M. A. "Parenting adolescent refugees: Family satisfaction and communication in Karen families", Midwest Nursing Research Society, Kansas City, Missouri, March 27, 2019.

Hoffman, S. J. "Gender and Migration: The unique intersections between gender, health, and war", Migrant and Minority Health: Someone still left behind, iCOMOS, Chiang Mai, Thailand. February 13, 2019.

Hoffman, S. J., Gerwitz, A., Gaugler, J., Robertson, C. L., Vukovich, M. "Interrupting Trauma: Addressing the intergenerational transmission of trauma between women who have survived torture and their adolescent children", BIRCWH Annual Meeting, Bethseda, Maryland, November 28, 2018.

Hoffman, S. J. "Refugee narratives - beyond a single story. Researching the intergenerational transmission of trauma and longitudinal health of refugee women and families in migration", Office for Equity and Diversity, Minneapolis, Minnesota, November 15, 2018.

Hoffman, S. J., Gerwitz, A., Gaugler, J., Robertson, C. L., Vukovich, M. "Physical narratives of trauma: Embedded convergent parallel data and the utility of narrative inquiry in bringing deeper meaning to light", Women’s Health Research Conference, Minneapolis, Minnesota, October 01, 2018.

Hoffman, S. J., Walstad, A., Loo, J., Moe, M., Mathiason, M. A. "Outcomes of the Karen Family Cohesion Program", North American Refugee Health Conference, Portland, Oregon, June 08, 2018.

Wilk, K., Hoffman, S. J. "Critical review of the Family Adaptability & Cohesion Scale: Gender, culture, & migration status", January 01, 2018.

Hoffman, S. J. "Research on Coping and Adjustment in Refugees", International Organization for Migration (IOM) Nurses’ Forum for Africa, Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, United Republic of. November 17, 2017.

Hoffman, S. J., Walstad, A., Loo, J., Thao, J. "Parenting adolescent refugees post- resettlement: Development of the Karen Family Cohesion Program", North American Refugee Health Conference, Toronto, Canada. June 17, 2017.

Hoffman, S. J. "Physical Correlates of Torture Exposure in Karen Refugees", North American Refugee Health Conference, Niagara Falls, New York, June 14, 2016.

Vanek, J., Cushing-Luebner, J., Engman, M., Hoffman, S. J., Kaiber, A. "Exposing vacant core policies: Tracing authorization and legitimation claims regarding use of first language in adult basic education for English language learners", University of Minnesota College of Education and Human Development Research Day, Minneapolis, Minnesota, March 25, 2015.

Hoffman, S. J. "United States Health Policy and Refugee Resettlement: Opportunities and Challenges in Support of a Durable Solution to Displacement", International Association of the Study of Forced Migration Conference, Bogota, Colombia. July 16, 2014.

Hoffman, S. J. "Karen refugees: Physical and psychological health correlates of trauma exposure", Clinical and Translational Science Institute Research Conference: Discovery Through the Lens of Innovation, Minneapolis, Minnesota, October 01, 2013.

Hoffman, S. J. "Cultivating clinical experts into effective educators", Versant Client Conference, New Orleans, Louisiana, November 08, 2011.

Hoffman, S. J. "Nurses use of hand-held computing devices to enhance client and systems Outcomes", Sigma Theta Tau International Biennial Convention, Grapevine, Texas, October 30, 2011.
 

Award: Strengthening Support of Survivors with an Expanded SANE
Principal Investigator: Porta, Carolyn Marie
Sponsoring Organization: US Dept. of Health & Human Services HRSA
Award Dates: 2021 - 2024

Award: National Resource Center for COVID-19 Contact Tracing, P
Principal Investigator: Stauffer, William M
Sponsoring Organization: International Organization for Migration
Award Dates: 2020 - 2022
 

• Health disparities: Forced migration
• Health disparities: Intergenerational trauma
• Health disparities: Sexual assault and gender based violence