Departmental Affiliations
Allison West, PhD, MSW, focuses on applied and interdisciplinary research across multiple sectors within early childhood systems – health, education, and social services.
Contact Info
Research Interests
Maternal and child health; Maternal; infant and early childhood home visiting; Early childhood services research; Service coordination; Early childhood systems; Workforce development
Experiences & Accomplishments
Dr. West’s research interests focus on the health and wellbeing of expectant families and families with young children facing multiple, complex adversities. Her work focuses on dual generation home-based service delivery strategies. Her work incorporates quantitative, qualitative, and participatory research methods to assess program implementation, test effects of programs and program enhancements on outcomes, and deepen understanding of causal pathways. A related line of research focuses on workforce development to strengthen implementation of interventions. Her work is highly applied and interdisciplinary and crosses multiple sectors within early childhood systems – health, education, and social services.
Current project foci:
Maternal, Infant, and Early Childhood Home Visiting
Early childhood systems and service coordination
Reflective supervision
Workforce wellbeing
Research to strengthen home visitor-family communication
Research to strengthen home visiting for parents with intellectual disabilities and other learning differences
Research to understand strategies home visiting models use to prevent child abuse and neglect
Development of a text messaging intervention to reduce postpartum risky drinking
Evaluation of a group knitting program to reduce tobacco and nicotine use among pregnant women and new mothers in treatment for opioid use
Honors & Awards
2013 Home Visiting Research Network Early Career Scholar Award
2020 Excellence in Teaching Award
2021 Excellence in Teaching Award
Select Publications
Recent Publications
West, A., Duggan, A., Gruss, K., & Minkovitz, C. (2021). Service coordination to address maternal mental health, partner violence, and substance use: findings from a national survey of home visiting programs. Prevention Science, 1-12.
West, A. L., Dauber, S., Gagliardi, L., *Correll, L., Lilli, A. C., & Daniels, J. (2020). Systematic review of community-and home-based interventions to support parenting and reduce risk of child maltreatment among families with substance-exposed newborns. Child Maltreatment, 25(2), 137-151.
West, A., Gagliardi, L., Gatewood, A., Higman, S., Daniels, J., O’Neill, K., & Duggan, A. (2018). Randomized trial of a training program to improve home visitor communication around sensitive topics. Maternal and Child Health Journal, 1-9.
West, A., Duggan, A. K., Gruss, K., & Minkovitz, C. S. (2018). Creating a measurement framework for service coordination in maternal and early childhood home visiting: An evidence-informed, expert process. Children and Youth Services Review, 89, 289-297.
West, A., Duggan, A. K., Gruss, K., & Minkovitz, C. S. (2020). The Role of State Context in Promoting Service Coordination in Maternal, Infant, and Early Childhood Home Visiting Programs. Journal of Public Health Management and Practice, 26(1), E9-E18. West, A. L., Berlin, L. J., & Harden, B. J. (2018). Occupational stress and well-being among Early Head Start home visitors: A mixed methods study. Early Childhood Research Quarterly, 44, 288-303.