Dr. Josphine Chaumba, VSU Professor and Program Director of Social Work, was recently awarded a grant from the Heath Resources and Services Administration for her proposal “Development of South Georgia RCORP Consortium.”  The goal of the project is to strengthen and expand the capacity of rural communities to engage high-risk populations and provide Substance Use Disorder (SUD) and Opioid Use Disorder (OUD) prevention, treatment, and recovery services.  Due to the cumulative effects of high unemployment and high poverty rates within a five-county area, the project will focus on the comprehensive examination of the opioid misuse patterns as well as available resources for residents of all ages.     

Dr. Chaumba’s research interests have focused on understanding experiences of diverse populations served in social work and improving service delivery. She has worked with service users, providers and other community stakeholders to articulate community problems and identify possible solutions using quantitative, qualitative, and mixed-methods approaches. Her recent research has spanned several topics such as interprofessional collaboration, immigrant integration, transitions for children with special health needs and disabilities, and substance misuse. 

Dr. Chaumba holds a Ph.D. in Social Work from the University of Georgia and joined the VSU faculty in July 2020. 

“This project is/was supported by the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) under grant number HRSA-21-089, Behavioral Health Workforce Education and Training (BHWET) Program for Professionals funding opportunity entitled “Development of South Georgia RCORP Consortium” in the amount of $200,000.  This information or content and conclusions are those of the author and should not be construed as the official position or policy of, nor should any endorsements be inferred by HRSA, HHS or the U.S. Government.”