Bio Sketch

Dr. Khalil's program of research focuses on immigrant and refugee parents because of the multiple stressors that affect their lives and their children. Understanding mechanisms through which migration-related stressors is imperative for articulating risk and protective factors influencing infant outcomes. Her long-term goal is to guide the development of interventions to prevent the negative effects of family stress (maternal and paternal) on their children. Dr. Khalil's work has focused on the impact of parents’ acculturative stress, depression, and trauma on infants (6-24 months old) as well as older children (7-18 years), and outcomes among refugee and immigrant families, focusing on the impact of trauma on psychobiological development and behavioral outcomes among children of refugees and immigrants. Her research examines symptoms of anxiety, depression and posttraumatic stress disorder, as well as behavioral and telomere length correlates using self-reported measures of anxiety, depression and PTSD, buccal telomere length samples, and children behavioral outcomes. Her recent work compares a group of immigrant children and a group of refugee children along with their parents in both groups, with an aim to enhance our understanding and advance efforts to improve children outcomes and reduce the risk for mental health problems associated with childhood trauma.

Education

• PhD, Wayne State University, 2017

Research Interests

• Parenting and coparenting and its impact on infant mental health depression
• Acculturative stress and trauma among immigrant and refugee families
• Intergenerational transfer of stress and trauma in immigrants and refugees
• Stress and stress biomarkers in mothers, fathers, and their children (including hair cortisol and telomere length) for infants and older children
• Infant developmental assessment using the Bayley Scales 4
• Children's behavioral outcomes.

Selected publications

• Khalil, D., Giurgescu, C., & Misra, D.P., Templin, T., Jenuwine, E., & Drury, S.S. (2022). Psychosocial factors and telomere length among parents and infants of immigrant Arab American families. Biological Research for Nursing, epub August 27, 2022. https://doi.org/10.1177/10998004221124145 13.
• Khalil, D., Giurgescu, C., & Misra, D.P., Templin, T., & Jenuwine, E. (2022). Association of maternal and paternal psychosocial stress and infant hair cortisol among Arab American immigrants: A pilot study. Developmental Psychobiology. 64(7), e22310. http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/dev.22310
• Khalil, D., Giurgescu, C., & Misra, D.P., Templin, T., Javanbakht, A., & Jenuwine, E. (2022). Acculturative stress and postpartum depressive symptoms among immigrant Arab American couples. MCN, The American Journal of Maternal Child Nursing, 47(2), 92-99. https://doi.org/10.1097/NMC.0000000000000804
• Khalil, D., Templin, T., Giurgescu, C., & Misra, D.P. (2021). Psychometric Analysis of the Arabic Translation of the Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support. Journal of Nursing Measurement, 29(3), 408-423. https://doi.org/10.1891/JNM-D-20-00029
• Khalil, H., Shajrawi, A., Momani, A., Khalil, D., & Abdelkader, R. (2021). Effect of epidural versus parenteral opioid analgesia on labor pain and maternal and neonatal outcomes among Jordanian women: A retrospective study. Malaysian Journal of Medicine and Health Sciences, 17(4), 245-250.
• Khalil, D., Giurgescu, C., Misra, D., Templin, T., and Javanbakht, A. (2020). Recruiting Immigrant and Refugee Arab American Mother-Father-Infant Triads Resettling in the United States: A Feasibility Study. Canadian Journal of Nursing Research, 52(2), https://doi.org/10.1177/0844562120910856
• Alhasanat- Khalil, D., Giurgescu, C., Benkert, R., Fry-McComish, J., Misra, D., and Yarandi, H. (2019). Acculturation and Postpartum Depression among Immigrant Women of Arabic Descent. Journal of Immigrant and Minority Health. 1-9. Doi:org/10.1007/s10903-018-0837-z
• Alhasanat- Khalil, D., Giurgescu, C., Benkert, R., Fry-McComish, J., Misra, D., and Yarandi, H. (2019). Acculturation and postpartum depression among immigrant women of Arabic descent. Journal of Immigrant and Minority Health,1(9), 1208-1216. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10903-018-0837-z 7.
• Alhasanat- Khalil, D., Fry-McComish, J., Dayton, C., Benkert., R, Yarandi, H., & Giurgescu, C. (2018). Acculturative stress and lack of social support predicts postpartum depression among U.S. immigrant women of Arabic descent. Archives of Psychiatric Nursing, 32(4), 530-535. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.apnu.2018.02.005
• Alhasanat, D., Fry-McComish, J., & Yarandi, H., (2017). Risk for postpartum depression among immigrant Arabic women in U.S.: A feasibility study. Journal of Midwifery & Women’s Health (JMWH), 62(4), 470-476. https://doi.org/10.1111/jmwh.12617
• Alhasanat, D. & Giurgescu, C. (2017). Acculturation and postpartum depressive symptoms among Hispanic women in the United States: A systematic review. MCN, The American Journal of Maternal Child Nursing, 42(1), 21-28. https://doi.org/10.1097/NMC.0000000000000298
• Pieper, B., Monahan, J., Keves-Foster, M. K., Farner, J., Alhasanat, D., & Albdour, M. (2017). A quality improvement project: What first- year nursing students include in their nursing care plans for patients with acute or chronic wounds. Ostomy/Wound Management, 63(10), 42-47. PMID: 29091037
• Timraz, S. M., Alhasanat, D. I., Albdour, M. M., Lewin, L., Giurgescu, C., & Kavanaugh, K. (2017). Challenges and strategies for conducting sensitive research with an Arab American population. Applied Nursing Research, 33, 1-4. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.apnr.2016.09.009
• Pieper, B., Keves-Foster, M. K., Ashare, J., Zugcic, M., Albdour, M., & Alhasanat, D. (2016). A cross-sectional, descriptive, quality improvement project to assess undergraduate nursing students' clinical exposure to patients with wounds in an introductory nursing course. Ostomy/Wound Management, 62(4), 20-29. PMID: 27065216
• Alhasanat, D. & Fry- McComish, J. (2015). Postpartum depression among immigrant and Arabic women: A literature review. Journal of Immigrant and Minority Health, 17(6), 1882-94. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10903-015-0165-5

Honors and Awards

• 2021 Wayne State University College of Nursing Contemporary Issues in Urban Health Conference Diversity and Inclusion Research Award
• 2021 Midwest Nursing Research Society Member in the Spotlight
• 2019 Wayne State University College of Nursing Contemporary Issues in Urban Health Conference Diversity and Inclusion Research Award
• 2017 Wayne State University College of Nursing Certificate for Research Contribution in Addressing Health Disparity for Understudied Populations
• 2016 Wayne State University Graduate and Postdoctoral Research Symposium Award-Second Place
• 2015 Wayne State University Graduate Student Professional Travel Award
• 2015 Wayne State University College of Nursing Student Research Achievement Award

Current Research

• 2020-current: Khalil, D. Principal Investigator – Family stress, coparenting, and infant development among immigrant Arab American families. Co-Investigators: Giurgescu, C., Beeghly, M., Misra,D., & Templin, T. Funded by: Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health & Human Development (NICHD) of the National Institutes of Health Award ($161,451)
• Jan 2022- current: Khalil (PI), Javanbakht (Co-I), and Templin (Co-I). Psychobiological Factors Affecting Mental Health among Immigrant and Refugee Parents and their Children. Funded by the 2021 Brain and Behavior Research Foundation (BBRF) NARSAD Young Investigator Grant ($64,854.00)
• 2021- current: Khalil (PI), Javanbakht (Co-I), and Templin (Co-I). Psychobiological Factors Affecting Mental Health among Refugee Children and their Parents. Funded by the 2021 SBDH Research Stimulus Program, Wayne State Univerity ($20,000)
• 2022-current: Khalil, D., Principal Investigator – Health literacy and postpartum depression among African American women. Co-Principal Investigator: Audritsh, N. Funded by: WSU CON Cross-Area Collaborative PhD/DNP Faculty Award ($3,500)
• 2022-current Khalil, D. Principal Investigator – Family stress, coparenting, and infant development among immigrant Arab American families. Co-Investigators: Giurgescu, C., Beeghly, M., Misra,D., & Templin, T. Funded by: Dr. Judith Fry McComish and Philip A. McComish Endowed Research Award ($1,500)

Courses taught by Dalia Khalil, PhD, RN

Winter Term 2024

• NUR7105 - Theoretical Foundations for Nursing

Fall Term 2023

• NUR7105 - Theoretical Foundations for Nursing
• NUR8014 - Health Interventions

Winter Term 2023

• NUR7105 - Theoretical Foundations for Nursing

Fall Term 2022

• NUR7105 - Theoretical Foundations for Nursing

Winter Term 2022

• NUR7105 - Theoretical Foundations for Nursing

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