Researchers

EASNA is dedicated to improving workplace behavioral health through research and the exchange of information among researchers, evaluators, practitioners, and allied professionals. By translating research into practice, EASNA works to create healthy and productive workplaces.

EASNA members receive the Journal of Workplace Behavioral Health: Employee Assistance Practice and Research, a quarterly refereed journal that profiles research in employee assistance and other related fields.

Eric Goplerud

Eric Goplerud, Ph.D., is a Research Professor, Department of Health Policy at The George Washington University School of Public Health and Health Services. His policy and research interests focus on improving access to alcohol screening and treatment, integration of primary health and behavioral healthcare services, performance measurement in managed behavioral health, and public/private quality improvement initiatives in behavioral healthcare. He presently is principle investigator for contracts and grants with the Pew Charitable Trusts, RWJ Foundation, SAMHSA, US Postal Service, NHTSA, CDC, NIAAA and NIDA. Previously, Goplerud was Associate Administrator for Policy and Planning at the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA). He also managed SAMHSA's public and private sector managed behavioral healthcare activities. While director of the Division of Planning and Policy Implementation at SAMHSA, he served on the Mental Health Workgroup of the White House National Health Care Reform Task Force, where he had lead responsibility for substance abuse prevention. He has also held senior positions at the Center for Substance Abuse Prevention and the Division of Demand Reduction, Office of National Drug Control Policy, Executive Office of the President.

Contact information:

Eric Goplerud, Ph.D.

Director, Ensuring Solutions to Alcohol Problems

George Washington University

2021 K St., N.W. Suite 800

Washington, DC 20006

202-530-2302

goplerud@gwu.edu

www.ensuringsolutions.org

Kirk C. Harlow

Dr. Kirk Harlow is Chair and Associate Professor of Health and Public Administration at Midwestern State University in the College of Health and Human Services where he teaches health care finance, health services administration, and public administration. He served on the faculty of the University of Houston-Clear Lake School of Business and Public Administration for 15 years where he taught human resource management and public administration courses, and chaired the Graduate Human Resource Management Program for several years. Prior to coming to MSU, he was president of DecisionStat, a consulting firm that provides research and evaluation services to public- and private-sector organizations. In addition, Dr. Harlow has been involved in the operation of Alternative Paths, Inc., a regional employee assistance program and consulting firm, for over 20 years.

Dr. Harlow has over 25 years of experience as a researcher, educator, and consultant. He has authored numerous articles and book chapters. His early research was on the patterns and economic costs of illicit and prescription drug overdose mortality. He was Research Director on a Department of Labor contract examining drug testing and employee assistance programs and their effects. He has consulted with numerous public and private organizations including DuPont, Halliburton, Prudential, Kimberly-Clark, City of League City, City of Seabrook, and Jet Blue. He is involved in several research projects including the evaluation of the cost-benefit of patient simulations, assessment of emotional assets as a prevention of high risk behavior among primary and secondary students, and the evaluation of the clinical effect of an employee assistance program. He received his Dr.P.H. from the University of Texas School of Public Health, and his M.E.A.S. in community mental health from the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay.

Kirk Harlow, Dr.P.H.

Chair, Health and Public Administration

Midwestern State University

kirk.harlow@mwsu.edu

940-397-4745

Health Administration Website: http://hs2.mwsu.edu/healthandpublic/healthadmin/index.asp

Public Administration Website: http://hs2.mwsu.edu/healthandpublic/publicadmin/index.asp

Referred Journal Publications

Harlow, K. (2007). The effectiveness of a problem resolution and brief counseling EAP intervention. Journal of Workplace Behavioral Health, 22: (1), pp. 1-12.
Harlow, K and Sportsman, S. (2007). An economic analysis of patient simulators for clinical training in nursing education. Nursing Economic$, 25: (1), pp. 24-29.
Harlow, K. C. (1998). Employee attitudes toward an internal employee assistance program. Journal of Employment Counseling, 35: (3), pp. 141-150.
Morris, D.L., McLean, C.H., Bishop, S.L., and Harlow, K.C. (1998). Colposcopy practice and performance: A comparison between physicians and nurse practitioners. The Nurse Practitioner, 23: (4), pp. 101-114.
Harlow, K. (1997). Perceptions of supervisors and managers of an internal employee assistance program. Employee Assistance Research Supplement, 1: (2), pp. 5-8.
Harlow, K. (1997). A four-year comparison of physical health benefit expenditures of mental and physical health claimants. Community Mental Health Journal, 33: (3), pp. 189-197.
Harlow, K., Johnson, R., and Callen, P. (1993). Comparison of Physical Health Benefits Utilization Among Mental Health and Physical Health Claimants, 1989 and 1990. Journal of Occupational Medicine, Vol. 35, No. 3, pp. 275-281.
Lairson, D., Harlow, K., Cobb, J., Harrist, R., Martin, D., Ramby, R., Rustin, T., and Swint, J. (1992). Screening for patients with alcohol problems: Severity of patients identified by the CAGE. Journal of Drug Education, Vol. 22, No. 4, pp. 339-354.
Harlow, K. and Zettel, C. (1992). Texas community colleges' responses to drug abuse prevention requirements of the higher education act. Journal of Alcohol and Drug Education, Vol. 37, No. 3, pp. 97-106.
Harlow, K. (1991) Patterns of prescription drug mortality in Texas: 1976‑1986. Journal of Drug Issues, Vol. 21, pp. 543-555.
Harlow, K. (1990). Patterns of rates of mortality from narcotics and cocaine overdose in Texas, 1976‑1987. Public Health Reports, Vol. 105, pp. 455-462
Harlow, K. (1989) Effect of knowledge of one correct choice on group performance. Psychological Reports, Vol. 65, pp. 861‑862.
Harlow, K. and Swint, M. (1989) Patterns and Economic Effects of Drug Overdose Mortality in Texas: 1980‑1986. Journal of Drug Education, Vol. 19, pp. 165‑182.
Harlow, K. and Windsor, D. (1988, September/October). Integration of cost‑benefit and financial analysis in project evaluation. Public Administration Review, Vol. 48(5) pp. 918‑928.
Harlow, K. (1987). A comparison of internal and external employee assistance programs. New England Journal of Human Services, Vol. 7 (2), pp. 16‑21.
Shields, J., Allison, R.C., Holtzclaw, G.D., and Harlow, K. (1986). Hazardous waste contingency planning. Environmental Professional, Vol. 8, pp. 334‑341.

Book Chapters

Harlow, K. (1995). Behavioral health cost management. In S. Dacso and C. Dacso (eds.) The Managed Care Answer Book. New York: Panel Publishers.
Harlow, K. and Taylor, J. (1989) Strategic Human Resource Planning. In A.S. Sethi and R.S. Schuler (eds.) Human Resource Management in the Health Care Sector: Guide for Administrators and Professionals. New York: Quorum Books, pp. 15‑40.

Editorially Reviewed Publications

Christie, J. and Harlow, K. (2007). Presenting the business case. Journal of Employee Assistance, 37: (3).
Harlow, K. (2006, April). Relationship of social and psychological support factors to self-reported experience in being bullied. 2006 Southwestern Social Work Association Proceedings.
Harlow, K. (Fall 2005). The effectiveness of a brief-counseling EAP intervention. EAP Digest, pp. 22-26.
Harlow, K. (Spring, 2003). Seven attributes of an effective EAP. EAP Digest, pp. 18-21.
Harlow, K.C. (1998, May/June). Statistical concepts every EA professional should know. EAP Association Exchange, 28: (3) pp. 18-19.
Amaral, T. and Harlow, K. (1996). The future of Employee Assistance: Integrated occupational health systems. 25th Anniversary Commemorative Journal: Many Parts One Purpose, Arlington, VA: Employee Assistance Professionals Association, pp. 42-43.
Harlow, K. (1996). There's more to outcome evaluation than measuring outcome. Employee Assistance. 8: (6), pp. 27,29.
Conlin, P., Amaral, T., and Harlow, K. (1996). The value of EAP case management. EAP Association Exchange 26: (3), pp. 12-15.
Grant, G., Harlow, K., Kemp, T. Maynard, J., Reynolds, D. (1995). The road to accreditation. EAP Association Exchange, 25: (9), pp. 8-11.
Harlow, K. and Christie, J. (1994). Centers of excellence. Employee Assistance, 7(2), pp. 27-29.
Harlow, K. (1994). Time to check the future: Research. EAPA Exchange, 24(6), pp. 11-12.
Harlow, K. (1993, November). Longitudinal analysis of physical health benefits utilization of mental health claimants: initial findings. Proceedings of the Employee Assistance Professional Association 22nd Annual Conference, Anaheim, CA., November, 1993, pp. 81-85.
Christie, J. and Harlow, K. (1993, November). Treatment Excellence Project: Improving cocaine treatment outcome. Proceedings of the Employee Assistance Professional Association 22nd Annual Conference, Anaheim, CA., November, 1993, pp. 193-194.
Rumsey, M. and Harlow, K. (1991). When an employee is in treatment. Employee Assistance, Vol. 4, No. 3, pp. 32-35.
Harlow, K. (1987). A Comparison of an Internal and External Employee Assistance Program in a Large Public Utility. Proceedings of the 16th National Conference of the Association of Labor and Management Administrators and Consultants on Alcoholism, Chicago, IL.
Harlow, Kirk C. (1983, Spring/Summer). Improving group communications. Jones Journal, Jesse H. Jones Graduate School of Administration, Rice University, pp. 18‑19.

Jody M. Jacobson

Jody M. Jacobson, Ph.D., LCSW-C, CEAP, is an assistant professor at The University of Maryland, School of Social Work. She chairs the Employee Assistance Program (EAP) sub-specialization for the graduate social work program. Dr. Jacobson earned both her MSW and PhD degrees from the University of Maryland, School of Social Work. She completed her doctoral dissertation in the area of workplace crisis intervention and compassion fatigue.

In addition to employee assistance, work-life, and occupational social work, Dr. Jacobson’s research focuses on workplace crisis intervention and traumatic stress, including suicide prevention and workplace violence. She has also conducted research on compassion fatigue, secondary trauma, and burnout.

Recent refereed articles have been published in Social Work, Social Work in Mental Health, Journal of Social Work in Teaching, Journal of Workplace Behavioral Health, Research on Social Work Practice, and OMEGA: Journal of Death and Dying. Dr. Jacobson has recently presented her research at the following professional associations’ annual conferences: Employee Assistance Professionals Association, Society for Social Work Research, Council on Social Work Education, and National Council on Family Relations.

Contact information:

Jodi M. Jacobson, PhD, LCSW-C, CEAP

Assistant Professor

Chair, Employee Assistance Program Subspecialization

University of Maryland-Baltimore

School of Social Work

525 West Redwood Street

Baltimore, Maryland 21201

410-706-3607 (Phone)

410-706-6046 (Fax)

jjacobson@ssw.umaryland.edu

Karen Chan Osilla

Karen Chan Osilla, PhD, is an Associate Behavioral Scientist at RAND. She received her clinical psychology degree from the University of Washington. Dr. Osilla has conducted addiction research including analyses of EAP utilization and referral patterns among clients with addictive behaviors (Chan et al., 2004) and adult drinking norms in the general US population (Chan et al., 2007). With funding from the University of Washington Alcohol and Drug Abuse Institute and a National Research Service Award (F31) from NIAAA, Dr. Osilla recently completed a pilot study examining the preliminary efficacy of a brief workplace intervention through the EAP (Osilla et al., 2008). In addition, Dr. Osilla has health services research experience working with minority populations and is currently funded on a research supplement from NIDA to work with RAND's Coordinating Center for the Sexual Acquisition and Transmission of HIV Cooperative Agreement Program (SATH-CAP). This project seeks to better understand the sexual transmission of HIV within and across drug-using population subgroups and to non-drug using populations. Finally, she currently leads the Worksite Health Promotion group at RAND, which consists of over 30 researchers dedicated to worksite health promotion research. Dr. Osilla is a member of EASNA’s Knowledge Transfer and Research Committee.

Contact information:

Karen Chan Osilla, PhD

Associate Behavioral Scientist

RAND Corporation

1776 Main Street

Santa Monica, CA 90401

karenc@rand.org

Tel: 310.393.0411 x6074

Fax: 310.260.8150

Tracy L. McPherson

Tracy L. McPherson is an Assistant Research Professor at the Center on Integrated Behavioral Health Policy/Ensuring Solutions to Alcohol Problems in the Department of Health Policy at The George Washington University. A research psychologist, Dr. McPherson has been involved with workplace-related substance abuse and chronic disease prevention since the mid-1990s.

She joined the SPHHS faculty in 2006 to help build Ensuring Solutions to Alcohol Problems, funded by Pew Charitable Trust. Ensuring Solutions works with business leaders, policymakers, and concerned citizens to close the gap that prevents thousands of Americans from receiving the treatment they need for alcohol-related issues. Dr. McPherson has developed, implemented, and evaluated workplace health promotion and productivity management programs, and supported initiatives of the National Institutes of Health, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. She has special interest in improving worker access to substance abuse and mental health screening, treatment and follow-up care by changing organizational policies and integrating screening and brief intervention practices in a variety of settings. Opportunities include the routine care provided in the workplace and behavioral health and primary care environments. As well, Dr. McPherson is interested in measuring the performance, improving the quality, and assessing the impact of Employee Assistance Programs. Among other research, she has managed projects designed to: reach young adults entering the workforce with alcohol risk reduction strategies; prevent and manage obesity in the workplace; train practitioners in the delivery of evidence-based practices and behavior change programs; and forge public-private partnership to support employers designing health promotion and disease prevention programs. Dr. McPherson’s pursues her scientific activities in workplace health and substance abuse prevention through experimental and quasi-experimental designs, survey development, and statistical analyses. Click here for a list of selected, recent publications. Dr. McPherson is a member of EASNA’s Knowledge Transfer and Research Committee.

Contact information:

Tracy L. McPherson, Ph.D.

Assistant Research Professor

Ensuring Solutions to Alcohol Problems

Center on Integrated Behavioral Health Policy

The George Washington UniversityMedical Center

2021 K St., NW, Suite 800

Washington, DC 20006

202-416-0413 office

202-296-0025 fax

tracym@gwu.edu

www.ensuringsolutions.org

Publications

McPherson TL, Goplerud E. Alcohol screening and brief intervention: 2007 Survey of employer and vendor practices. Ensuring Solutions to Alcohol Problems, 2008. [Executive Summary available].
McPherson TL, Goplerud E. Alcohol screening and brief intervention: Guide and resource manual for workplace practitioners. Washington: Network of Employers for Traffic Safety, National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, and Pew Charitable Trusts; 2008.
Goplerud E, McPherson TL. Alcohol screening and brief intervention in the workplace: Year Two Final Report. Washington: Network of Employers for Traffic Safety as part of Cooperative Agreement with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration; 2008.
Goplerud E, McPherson TL. Alcohol screening and brief intervention in the workplace: Year One Final Report. Washington: Network of Employers for Traffic Safety as part of Cooperative Agreement with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration; 2006. [Executive Summary available].
McPherson TL, Cook RF, Back A, Hersch RK. A field test of a web-based substance abuse prevention training program for health promotion professionals. Am J Health Promot 2006;20 (6):396-400.
Cook, RF, Hersch RK, Back AS, McPherson TL. The prevention of substance abuse among construction workers: A field test of a social cognitive program. J Prim Prev 2004;25 (3):337-58.
Cook RF, McPherson TL, Back AS, Hersch RK. A web-based substance abuse prevention training program for health promotion practitioners. Phase II Final Report. Bethesda (MD): National Institute on Drug Abuse; 2003. Contract No.: N44DA-1-5502.
Cook RF, Back AS, Trudeau JV, McPherson TL. Integrating substance abuse prevention into health promotion programs in the workplace: A social cognitive intervention targeting the mainstream user. In: Bennett JB, Lehman WEK, editors. Preventing workplace substance abuse: Beyond drug testing to wellness. Washington, DC: American Psychological Association; 2003. p. 97-133.

For more information about EAP-related research, click here.