UR Nursing Associate Dean Serves as Journal's Guest Editor

Mitchell J. Wharton, PhD, RN, FNP-BC, CNS, University of Rochester School of Nursing’s associate dean for equity and inclusion, served as a guest editor of a special edition of the Journal of the Association of Nurses in AIDS Care.

The issue focused on racism, discrimination, and health inequities associated with HIV and sexual and gender diversity. Wharton co-authored an editorial for the issue titled, “The More Things Change, the More Things Remain the Same: It’s time to dismantle structural inequalities of racism, discrimination, and health disparities.”

One of four guest editors for the issue, Wharton also hosted a podcast interview with Amelia Knopf of Indiana University, one of the authors of an article examining the position statements offered by nursing schools on racism following the murder of George Floyd and other Black Americans.

“From my perspective, it is a powerful reminder that our words an actions, no matter how local, are being viewed on the world stage,” said Wharton, who has co-authored several UR School of Nursing statements on racism and racial violence.

An associate professor of clinical nursing, Wharton is a 2013 graduate of the UR Nursing PhD program, They have taught undergraduate and graduate courses at the school and are a member of the Interdisciplinary Sexual Health and HIV Research (INSHHR) group. Their research scholarship focuses on identifying asset-based modalities of HIV prevention and health maintenance in marginalized populations by examining the intersectionalities of age, race, sexual identity and behaviors, and human rights.

Wharton is also treasurer of the Association of Nurses in AIDS Care.