Tamara J. Cadet, PhD, LICSW, MPH
Research Interests
Health social work
Health literacy
Shared-decision-making
Social determinants of health
Evidence-based health promotion interventions in the community
Facilitators and barriers to reducing disparities in preventative health behaviors
Advancing health equity
Health care service utilization among vulnerable populations with a focus on oncology and gerontology
Dr. Cadet has a motto: “if she is not thinking about the underserved or under-represented client or patient, then I have forgotten the most important part of conducting research.” This commitment to social justice permeates every aspect of her research. This translates to her desire to more than ensure that communities will benefit from her innovative and impactful research but that students will learn about evidence-based practices that support underserved and underrepresented populations and recognize all the biases they bring to the work to ensure they are helping not harming. It is ultimately about ensuring that her research, teaching, and service are intertwined to make meaningful social change.
Dr. Cadet brings more than 25 years of practice experience in many capacities and settings to her research and teaching. Dr. Cadet has worked in the fields of substance use, adoption, mental health, health care, schools, and oncology with children, adults, families, and older adults, as both a social worker and as a community organizer. As part of her doctoral training at Simmons College (now Simmons University) School of Social Work, she learned to view her clinical experiences through a scientific lens and developed an interest in conducting qualitative and quantitative research. Her overall research focus is to advance efforts to develop health promotion interventions with underserved and underrepresented populations and communities, and to translate research to practice. Her current work focuses on health disparities of older people, particularly around cancer screening and cancer care. Her work is at the intersection of health and social work, spanning the areas of evidence-based health promotion interventions, facilitators, and barriers to reducing disparities in preventative health behaviors, and health care service utilization among vulnerable populations. Dr. Cadet has received funding or research support from the National Institute of Minority Health and Health Disparities, National Cancer Institute, National Institute on Aging and the Heath Resources Services Administration.
Her work has a continuing focus on issues of health among the under-resourced, underserved, and underrepresented which has earned her a place as a leading scholar in the arena of social work and public health. As such, she was appointed in 2018 to the “Integrating Social Care into Heath Care Delivery System” committee of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine Committee. She is currently co-chairing the Council on Social Work Education’s Health Curricular Guide. Dr. Cadet received her BA from Tufts University and her MSW and MPH from Boston University. In sum, she consistently aims to ensure that she is a change agent at the clinical, macro, policy, and organizational levels using her national reputation and her excellence in teaching to increase the quality of life with underserved and underrepresented populations.
Contact
Phone
office: 215.898.5501
fax: 215.573.2099
Address
3701 Locust Walk, Caster Building
Philadelphia, PA 19104-6214
About
Department(s)
Standing Faculty | Faculty | School Administration | Degree Programs | PhD ProgramProgram(s)
MSW | DSW | PhDResearch Areas(s)
Health Equity, Mental Health, AgingRelated Links
Publications
Journal Articles
Cadet, T., Pinheiro, A., Karamourtopoulos, M., Jacobson, A., Aliberti, G., Kistler, C., Davis, R., Schonberg, M. (2021). Effects by educational attainment of a mammography screening patient decision aid for women aged 75 and older. Cancer, 127(23), 4455–4463.
Moore, M., Davis, C., Cadet, T., Harralson, T., & Dietzen, L. (2021). Understanding the factors related to trauma induced stress in cancerpatients: A national study of 17 cancer centers. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 18(14), 7600.
Cadet, T., Aliberti, G., Karamourtopoulos, M., Jacobson, A., Siska, M., & Schonberg, M. A. (2021). Modifying a Mammography Decision Aid for Older Adult Women with Risk Factors for Low Health Literacy. Health literacy research and practice, 5(2), e78–e90. https://doi.org/10.3928/24748307-20210308-01
Cadet, T., Aliberti, G., Karamourtopoulos, M., Jacobson, A., Gilliam, E. A., Primeau, S., … & Schonberg, M. A. (2021). Evaluation of a mammography decision aid for women 75 and older at risk for lower health literacy in a pretest-posttest trial. Patient Education and Counseling.
Davis, C., Cadet, T., Rune, K., Wilson, P., & Banks, J. (2021). Exploring the challenges in accessing care and support for cancer survivors in Australia during COVID-19. Journal of Psychosocial Oncology, 1-7
Cadet, T., Burke, S., Naseh, M., Grudzien, A., *Kozak, R., Lupardus, J., Bullock, K, & Davis, C. (2021). Examining the family support role of older Hispanics, African Americans, and Non-Hispanic Whites and their breast cancer screening behaviors. Journal of Social Work in Public Health
de Saxe Zerden, L., Cadet, T., Jones, B., & Galambros, C. (2020) Social Work’s Commitment and Leadership to Address Social Determinants of Health and Integrate Social Care into Health Care. Journal of Health and Human Services Administration, 43(3).
Cadet, T., Burke, S., Bakk, L., Nedjat-Haiem, F. & Schroepfer, T. (2020). Attending to the psychosocial factors of older Hispanic, Black and non-Hispanic White women and their breast cancer screening behaviors. Journal of the National Medical Association
Nedjat-Haiem, F. R., Cadet, T. J., Ferral, A. J., Ko, E. J., Thompson, B., & Mishra, S. I. (2020). Moving closer to death: understanding psychosocial distress among older veterans with advanced cancers. Supportive Care in Cancer, 28(12), 5919-5931.
Cadet, T., Burke, S., Nedjat-Haiem, F.. Bakk, L., Naseh, M., Grudzien, A, O’Driscoll, J., & Alcide, A. (2020). Timing of immigration effects asset change among Hispanic caregivers of older family members. To: Journal of Family and Economic Issues DOI: 10.1007/s10834-020-09719-3
Cadet, T., Burke, S. L., Mitchell, J., Conner, K. O., & Nedjat-Haiem, F. (2019). Does Perceived Loneliness Matter for Diverse Older Men and Their Prostate-Specific Antigen Testing Behaviors?. Social Work Research.
Mitchell, J. A., Cadet, T., Burke, S., Williams, E. D., & Alvarez, D. (2017). The paradoxical impact of companionship on the mental health of older African American men. The Journals of Gerontology: Series B, 73(2), 230-239 10.1093/geronb/gbx089