Shelia R. Grigsby, PhD, RN, MPH

Since 2011, Dr. Grigsby started her journey at the University of Missouri—St. Louis College of Nursing as an Assistant Teaching Professor. Her primary area for teaching has been Community/Public Health Nursing in the undergraduate program and community-engaged research in the graduate program. In 2017 after receiving her PhD she began the Tenure Track for Assistant Professor. In 2020, she was named as Dean’s Fellow for Community Engagement. In this role she has created partnerships with community-based agencies leading to long-term student placements in community-based agencies through the duration of their nursing school clinical experience. In Fall 2023, Dr. Grigsby received tenure to Associate Professor.

Education

BSN Education: Saint Louis University School of Nursing
MSN Education: Saint Louis University School of Nursing
MPH Education: Saint Louis University School of Public Health
PhD Education: University of Missouri—Kansas City School of Nursing

Teaching Areas

Community Health Nursing

Parish Nursing

Research Interests

Grigsby’s research utilizes community-based participatory research methods to elevate community member voice to help community members learn how to advocate for themselves using methodologies such as narrative analysis, photovoice, and group concept mapping. My areas of interest include health disparities directly impacting Black communities, specifically HIV/AIDS, teenage pregnancy prevention and LGBTQ health. In my role as Dean’s Fellow for Community Engagement, I have created a unique model for community-based clinical education that places students with over 30 different health related community health experiences over a three-semester experience. Sharing this model and evaluating this model has become a focus for dissemination.

Selected Grants

Current Funding:

Co-Investigator, “Community Engagement to Reduce Overdose Deaths Among Black Men in North St. Louis.” Missouri Foundation for Health, (Primary Investigator, Winograd, R.). (December 2021—November 2023). $3,164, 533.00.
Co-Evaluator, “St. Louis CHW’s for Regional COVID Response and Resilient Communities.” Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Innovation—Demonstration Project. St. Louis County Health Department. (Primary Investigator, Udani, A.). May 2021-2023. $589, 483.00 award.

Selected Publications

Grigsby, S. R. (2018). Giving our daughters what we never received: African American mothers discussing sexual health with their pre-adolescent daughters. Journal of School Nursing, 34(2), 128-138. Doi:org/10.1177/1059840517707241.
Grigsby, S. R. (2019). HIV in Faith Communities: Utilizing Clergy as Opinion Leaders to Reduce HIV/AIDS Stigma. Journal of HIV/AIDS and Social Services, 17(4), 263-273. Doi:org/10.1080/15381501.2019.1580236.
Grigsby, S. R. (2020). Community-Academic Partnerships in the Age of COVID-19: How a Missouri college of nursing responds to the needs of the community. The Missouri Nurse: Summer, 6-7.
Poteat, T., Jennings Mayo-Wilson, L., Pereira, N., Wright, B. N., Smout, S. A., Sawyer, A. N., Cathers, L., Zimmerman, R. S., Grigsby, S. R., Benotsch, E. G. (2021). U.S. transgender women’s preferences for microeconomic interventions to address structural determinants of HIV vulnerability: a qualitative assessment. BMC Public Health Journal, 21:1394. http: doi.org(10.1186/S12889-021-11471-8.
Banks, D. E., Duello, A., Paschke, M. E., Grigsby, S. R., & Winograd, R. P. (2023). Identifying drivers of increasing opioid overdose deaths among Black individuals: A qualitative model drawing on experience of peers and community health workers. Harm Reduction Journal, 20(5). https://doi.org/10.1186/s12954-023-00734-9

Selected Presentations

Grigsby, S. R. (2023). Building a model for community-based clinical education. 2023 ACHNE/APHN Joint Conference (Symposium). Presented at ACHNE/APHN Joint Conference, Mission Valley San Diego, CA.
Grigsby, S. R. & Vandermause, R. K. (2022). Building partnerships to better train the nursing workforce to work with underserved inner-city communities while supporting community-based organization goals. (Roundtable). Presented at Coalition of Urban & Metropolitan Universities, San Diego, CA.
Grigsby, S. R., Haynes, T., Finley, A., Hutchings, A., D’Arcy, D., Jupka, K., Murphy, N. (2022). Preparing nursing students to serve diverse populations by integrating members of the LGBTQIA+ communities into course modules. Presented at Missouri League of Nursing, Branson, MO.
Grigsby, S. R. 100 Black Men Barbershop Tour. (October 2021). Academic-Community Partnerships. Presented at 2021 University of Missouri Engagement Week, Columbia, MO (Virtual).
Impacts of Racism on our Patients Heath Care: Building Bridges to Care—Understanding How Cultural Competence Improves Patient Outcomes. (Grigsby, S. R.) (October 2021). Presented at 2021 Missouri Hospital Association, St. Charles, MO (Virtual).

Honors and Awards

UMSL Women’s Trailblazer Award 2022
100 Black Men of Greater St. Louis 2018, 2020

Health Pillar Award for work with the Barbershop Tour

Black Nurses Association—St. Louis Chapter 2017
- Community Service Award in the St. Louis Area
Legacy Management 2017
- Harriet Tubman Award—Outstanding Community Service Award
Community Women Against Hardship 2015
- One of 3 awardees for community service in St. Louis