Justine S Sefcik

Sefcik is a recipient of a 3-year K23 Mentored Patient-Oriented Research Career Development Award from the National Institutes of Health National Institute of Nursing Research. Her project is titled, “A Person-Centered Environmental and Sensory Intervention for Nursing Home Residents with Dementia who Exhibit Persistent Vocalizations”. This project aims to test the acceptability and feasibility of using a person-centered nature-based intervention in the nursing home setting. Working with several interdisciplinary research teams to date, Sefcik has several publications on topics important to the field of gerontology including: behavioral and psychological symptoms of dementia, care of persons living with dementia and their caregivers, innovative interventions to support frail older adults and post-acute care decision-making. Sefcik is a nationally recognized expert, author, presenter and researcher.

Sefcik completed her PhD in Nursing (2017) at the University of Pennsylvania (Penn) School of Nursing where she was a Ruth L. Kirschstein Predoctoral Fellow (F31), a 2012-2014 National Hartford Centers of Gerontological Nursing Excellence Patricia G. Archbold Scholar and a Jonas Hartford Scholar. She also completed a Master of Bioethics degree simultaneously at the Penn School of Medicine. Sefcik’s dissertation topic was informed from her nursing practice in long term care and was titled “A Multi-Methods Observational Study of Persistent Vocalizations in Nursing Home Residents with Advanced Dementia". One of her dissertation papers, titled “Nursing Home Residents with Advanced Dementia and Persistent Vocalisations: Observations of Surrounding Context”, was selected for the 2020 International Journal of Older People Nursing Award for Outstanding Methodological Innovation in Gerontological Nursing Research.