Contact Information
Biography
Dr. Colbert is a Full Professor at the Duquesne University School of Nursing. She is a Clinical Nurse Specialist in Public/Community Health with 15 years of experience in settings including jails, drug and alcohol treatment facilities, and community clinics. She also conducts prenatal classes for incarcerated pregnant women. Dr. Colbert received her BA (in Journalism) from the University of Arizona, her MSN from the University of Texas at Austin, and PhD from the University of Pittsburgh. Named a Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Nurse Faculty Scholar in 2010, Dr. Colbert's clinical practice and research centers on health promotion in vulnerable populations. Her current research focuses on the development of an intensive care-management intervention to improve the health and well-being of women recently released from jail or prison. She has also been involved in research studies examining medication adherence for people living with HIV/AIDS, screening by nurses for interpersonal violence, and safe-sleep practices/SIDS prevention in high-risk populations. Colbert was also named the 2011 Junior Investigator by the Public Health Nursing Section of the American Public Health Association. In addition to her commitment to use nursing research and practice to improve care for the underserved, she is also very interested in the public policy issues related to health care for incarcerated women.
Dr. Colbert teaches in the graduate programs in the School of Nursing, including the Graduate Forensic Nursing and PhD programs. She is active in several professional organizations including the International Association of Forensic Nurses (serving on the Education Committee) and APHA. She is a past-president of the Duquesne University School of Nursing's Sigma Theta Tau chapter and co-founder and co-chair of the Criminal Justice, Trauma, and Violence RIG of the Eastern Nurses Research Society. She serves as a reviewer for multiple journals, and an active member of her own community as a volunteer for organizations serving vulnerable women.
Education
- Ph.D., Nursing, University of Pittsburgh
- MSN, Community/Public Health Nursing, University of Texas at Austin
- B.A., Journalism, University of Arizona
Expertise
- Public and community health
- Forensic nursing
- Campus based sexual assault
- Disability in nursing education
Profile Information
School
About
- Cayo, S., & Colbert, A. (2025). The relationship between perceived discrimination and blood pressure in Black adults: A narrative review. American Journal of Nursing, 125(3), 20-29. https://doi.org/10.1097/AJN.0000000000000029
- Ackers, S. M., Colbert, A. M., Fraley, H. E., & Schreiber, J. B. (2024). Exploring screening practices for child sexual abuse in school settings: An integrative review. The Journal of School Nursing: the official publication of the National Association of School Nurses, 40(1), 8–25. https://doi.org/10.1177/10598405221112662
- Ackers, S. M., Colbert, A. M., Sekula, L. K., & Fraley, H. E. (2024). Examining school nurses' knowledge and confidence related to their intention to screen for and report child sexual abuse: A descriptive cross-sectional study. Journal of Forensic Nursing, 20(4), 233-242. https://doi.org/10.1097/JFN.0000000000000507
- Lyons, R., Colbert, A., Browning, M., & Jakub, K. (2023). The relationship between urban greenspace perception and use within the adolescent population: A focused ethnography. Journal of Advanced Nursing, 0(0), 1-11. https://doi.org/10.1111/jan.15905
- Brown, A., Hellem, T., Schreiber, J., Buerhaus, P., & Colbert, A. (2022). Suicide and altitude: A systematic review of global literature. Public Health Nursing, 39(5), 1167–1179. https://doi.org/10.1111/phn.13090
- Colbert, A. M., & Sekula, L. K. (2022). A major investment in the United States sexual assault nurse examiner workforce. Journal of Forensic Nursing, 18(1), 1–3. https://doi.org/10.1097/JFN.0000000000000375
Role: Strategic Advisor
Date: January 15, 2024 - January 14, 2025
Jonas Scholars
Funder: Jonas Scholars
Role: PD
Date: Cohorts 2014-2016, 2016-2018, 2018-2020, 2021-2023
BSN-AID: Supporting Success for Second Degree Students
Funder: Health Resources & Services Administration (HRSA), U.S. Dept. of Health and
Human Services (D19HP45843)
Role: PD
Date: July 1, 2022 - December 31, 2023
Advanced Nursing Education - Sexual Assault Nurse Examiners (ANE-SANE) Program
Funder: Health Resources & Services Administration (HRSA), U.S. Dept. of Health and
Human Services (T96HP32493)
Role: Academic Coordinator
Date: October 1, 2021 - June 30, 2024
Healthcare for People with Disabilities During COVID-19: A Qualitative Study
Funder: Robert Wood Johnson Foundation
Role: PI
Date January 1, 2021 - December 31, 2021
Expanding SANE Services to Victims of Sexual Assault on Campus
Funder: Office for Victims of Crime, Office of Justice Programs, U.S. Dept. of Justice
(2020-V3-GX-0068)
Role: PD
Date: October 1, 2020 - September 30, 2023
Equity Access: Educating and Empowering Healthcare Providers to Make Healthcare More
Accessible
Funder: FISA Foundation
Role: PD
Date: February 13, 2020 - February 12, 2022
Increasing the Number of SANEs via Digital Technologies: Adult/Adolescent and Pediatric
Funder: Health Resources & Services Administration (HRSA), U.S. Dept. of Health and
Human Services (T96HP32493)
Role: Academic Coordinator
Date: September 30, 2018 - September 30, 2021
- Pittsburgh Magazine Excellence in Nursing, Research Awardee - 2021
- Duquesne University President’s Award for Excellence in Scholarship and School of Nursing, Award for Excellence in Scholarship - 2021
- Inducted as a Fellow in the American Academy of Nursing - 2018
- Journal of Forensic Nursing Clinical Article of the Year - 2017
- Duquesne University Creative Teaching Award - 2016
- Fellow, American Association of Colleges of Nursing Leadership for Academic Nursing Program - 2013-2014
- Cribs for Kids Starfish Award (for Safe & Sound) - 2013
- Pennsylvania State Nurses Association, District 6 Community Nurse Leader Award - 2013
- Robert Wood Johnson Nurse Faculty Scholar - 2010-2013
- Junior Investigator Award, American Public Health Association - 2011