Directory

Erin Kitt-Lewis
PhD, RN, CNE

Associate Research Professor

University Park

Phone: 814-867-2393

Email: eak114@psu.edu

Kitt-Lewis is an Associate Research Professor at the Ross and Carol Nese College of Nursing and Associate Director of Education, Tressa Nese and Helen Diskevich Center of Geriatric Nursing Excellence. With over 20 years of experience in nursing education, her work centers on improving the care and quality of life for older adults, particularly those who are chronically ill or at the end of life. Kitt-Lewis has collaborated on several NIH-funded research projects focused on developing and implementing innovative educational programs for caregivers working in nursing homes and correctional settings. Her research is dedicated to enhancing geriatrics, dementia, and end-of-life care with the goal of improving patient experiences and outcomes. In her teaching, she infuses Age-Friendly Care principles into both undergraduate and graduate nursing curriculum, ensuring that students are equipped to promote the health, autonomy, and well-being of older adults. She emphasized key values such as person-centered care, effective communication, and the optimization of health outcomes. In addition to her research and teaching, Kitt-Lewis serves as an Academic Success Coach, further demonstrating her commitment to helping students thrive both academically and professionally.

Education

• PhD, The Pennsylvania State University, May 2017
• MSN, The Pennsylvania State University, May 2005
• BSN, The Pennsylvania State University, May 1998

Awards and Honors

• Distinguished Educator in Gerontological, National Hartford Center of Gerontological Nursing Excellence, 2024
• 2023 Top 10 Reviewer, Journal of Gerontological Nursing, 2023
• First Place Poster Winner: Community, Academy of Family Physician Research Day, April 2023
• 2022 Top 10 Reviewer, Journal of Gerontological Nursing, 2022
• First Place Poster Competition, Custody & Caring Biennial International Conference on the Nurse’s Role in the Criminal Justice System, 2021

Teaching

Courses taught over the last five years:

• NURS100: Nursing First-Year Seminar
• NURS325N: Health and Sustainability
• NURS494: Honors Thesis
• NURS408: Clinical Application of Pharmacological Concepts,
• NURS200M: Nursing Research
• NURS200W: Nursing Research
• NURS497D: Special Topics: Climate Change and Storytelling
• NURS602: Supervised Experience College Teaching

Courses developed in the past five years:

• NURS497D: Special Topics: Climate Change and Storytelling
• NURS325N: Health and Sustainability

Clinical Expertise and Areas of Specialization

• Dementia Live® Coach Training Certificate
• Graduate School Teaching Certificate, Schreyer Institute for Teaching Excellence
• The Certificate for Online Teaching, The Pennsylvania State University
• Geriatric Nursing Education Certificate
• American Association for Long Term Care Nursing: Culture Change Nurse Coordinator Certificate
• American Association for Long Term Care Nursing: Staff Development Specialist
• School Nurse Certificate

Mentorship

• Number of Undergraduate Schreyer Honors College students: 3
• Number of MSN, DNP, or PhD students advised (current and graduated): 2

Research

Research & Publications

Research Interests and Areas of Expertise

• Developing and implementing innovative educational programs for caregivers working in nursing homes and correctional settings
• Enhancing geriatrics, dementia, and end-of-life care with the goal of improving patient experiences and outcomes.

Research Funding and Grants

ONGOING

• Revisiting Teaching Nursing Home, John A. Hartford Center and The Jewish Healthcare Foundation.
  Total Award $400,000
  Role: Co-Investigator
• August 2023-Present
  Role: Multiple Principal Investigator: Marie Boltz and Donna Fick

COMPLETED

• Idaho Behavioral Health Transformation Waiver, Center for Medicare and Medicaid, Research Associate.
  Total Award $1,473,024.0
  Principal Investigator: Dennis Scanlon
• DIGNITY (Decision-making in aGing and demeNtia for auTonomY) for Preference-Based care in Nursing Homes, Penn State Clinical and Translational Science Institute.
  Total Award $75,000
  Role: Co-Investigator, Principal Investigator: Liza Behrens
• Computer-based Learning to Enhance ADRD Care in Prison: Just Care for Dementia, National Institutes of Health (R41AG078103).
  Total Award $300,000
  Role: Principal Investigarot
• E-training of Inmate Peer Caregivers for Enhancing Geriatric and End-of-life Care in Prisons – Phase II, National Institutes of Health (R42AG057239).
  Total Award $1,822,434
  Role: Co-Investigator, Co-Principal Investigators: Susan J. Loeb, Valerie Myers [Year 1], and Barbara Walkosz [Year 2+]
• End of Life Care Planning in Corrections, Penn State Ross and Carol Nese College of Nursing, Center for Nursing Research.
  Total Award $2,500
  Role: Principal Investigator
• The Impact of Pittsburgh’s Innovative Mobility Vouchers and Mobility Counseling on Racial and Economic Equity, Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, Research Associate.
  Total Award $243,000
  Role: Co-Principal Investigators: Selena Ortiz and Andrew Fenelon
• Aging Research in Criminal Justice Health Research: End-of-Life Care Planning in Corrections, National Institutes of Health (R24AG065175).
  Total Award $15,000
  Role: Principal Investigator
• Improving COVID-19 Responses and Outcomes in Rural Pennsylvania, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Research Associate.
  Total Award $4,592,179
  Role: Co-Principals: Lisa Davis and Yunfeng Shi
• Formative Evaluation of the Pennsylvania Rural Health Model, Center for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation (CMS-1S1-17-001), The Pennsylvania Department of Health, Research Associate.
  Total Award $3,967,464
  Role: Co-Principal Investigators: Dennis Scanlon and Lisa Davis
• Environmental Scan – Pennsylvania Rural Health Model, Center for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation (CMS-1S1-17-001), The Pennsylvania Department of Health, Research Associate.
  Total Award $3,967,464
  Role: Co-Principal Investigators: Dennis Scanlon and Lisa Davis

Publications and Scholarly Work

ORCiD: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9828-4547

• Kitt-Lewis, E. & Adam, M. (2025). Nurses’ experiences and perspectives caring for people with substance use disorder and their families: A qualitative descriptive study. International Journal of Mental Health Nursing, 34(1), 1-9, doi:10.1111/inm.13435
• Olanrewaju, S., Kitt-Lewis, E., & Phillips, K., (2025). Bridging Cultures in Care: A Narrative Review of Strategies for Internationally Educated Nurses to Navigate End-of-Life Practices in Host Countries. Journal of the Society of Internationally Educated Nurses, 2(1), 1-16. Doi:10.31542/w6dyhj37
• Reaves, C., Kitt-Lewis, E., Mechtel, M. & Logan, P. (2024). The student voice: Perceptions of durable learning. Nurse Educator, 49(6), 333-338. Doi:1097/NNE.0000000000001653
• Kitt-Lewis, E., Olanrewaju, S., & Phillips, K. (2024). Exploring the education of internationally educated nurses in end-of-life care: A narrative review. Journal of the Society of Internationally Educated Nurses, 1(1), 1-17. Doi: 10.31542/xs5ay927
• Behrens, L. L., Kitt-Lewis, E., Boltz, M., Calo, W. A., Lehman, E., Whitaker, J., Osevala, N., Van Haitsma, K., Van Scoy, L. J., & Kraschnewski, J. (2024). Leadership Perspectives on Nursing Home Operations from Crisis to Control: A Mixed Methods Study. Journal of Medical Directors Association, 25(9), 1-9. Doi: 10.1016/j.jamda.2024.105145
• Moss, J., Bernacchi, V., & Kitt-Lewis, E. (2024). Active social engagement and health among older adults: Assessing differences by cancer survivorship status. Health Quality of Life Research, 22(67), 1- Doi 10.1186/s12955-024-02281-8
• Kitt-Lewis, E., Zheng, N. & Loeb, S. J. (2024). Advance care planning: Perspectives of people living in prison. Journal of Hospice and Palliative Nursing, 26(4), E115-E123. Doi: 10.1097/NJH.0000000000001031
• Kitt-Lewis, E., Loeb, S. V., Walkosz, B. Olanrewaju, S., Herbeck, B. Fullmer, (2024). Just Care: Usability Testing of E-learning Modules for Peer Caregivers Living in Prison. Journal of Offender Rehabilitation, 63(6), 387-400. Doi: 10.1080/10509674.2024.2370289
• Kitt-Lewis, E. & Loeb, S. J., (2023). End-of-Life Care Planning: Perspectives of Returning Citizens. Journal of Hospice and Palliative Nursing, 26(2), 82-90. Doi:10.1097/NJH.0000000000000999
• Mechtel, M., Kitt-Lewis, E., Reaves, C., Sinacoir, B., O’Brien, T., Logan, P., Streiff, K., & Phillips, K. (2024). Durable learning strategies for the clinical nursing environment: State-of-the-evidence review. Journal of Nursing Education, 63(1), 24-31. Doi:10.3928/01484834-20231112-05
• Sood, R., Entenman, J., Kitt-Lewis, E., Lennon, R. P., Pinto, C. N., & Moss, J. L. (2024). We are all in this together: Rurality, social cohesion, and COVID-19 prevention behaviors. Journal of Rural Health, 2024(40), 154-161. Doi:10.1111/jrh.12781
• Moss, J. L., Hearn, M., Cuffee, Y. L., Wardecker, B. M., Kitt-Lewis, E., & Pinto, C. N. (2023). The role of social cohesion in explaining rural/urban differences in healthcare access and health status. Preventive Medicine, 173(2023), 1-8. Doi: 10.1016/j.ypmed.2023.107588
• Kitt-Lewis, E., Adam, M. & Berish, D. (2022). The roles and experiences of family members who care for a person with substance or opioid use disorder. Journal of Substance Use. 2022, 1-5. Doi: 10.1080/14659891.2022.2089247
• Myers, V., Loeb, S. J., Kitt-Lewis, E. & Jerrod, T. (2022). Large-scale evaluation of a computer-based learning program to increase prison staff knowledge on geriatric and end-of-life care. International Journal of Prisoners Health, 18(2), 185-199. Doi 10.1108/IJPH-08-2021-0078
• Scanlon, D., Sciegaj, M., Wolf, L. J., Vanderbrink, J., Johannes, B., Shaw, B., Shumaker, K., Farley, D., Kitt-Lewis, E., & Davis, L., (2022). The Pennsylvania rural health model: Hospitals’ early experiences with global payment for rural communities. Journal of Healthcare Management. 67(3), 162-172. Doi: 10.1097/JHM-D-20-00347

Editorial and Peer Review Roles

• Journal of Gerontological Nursing, Review Panel, 2021-2024
• Geriatric Nursing, 2017-2024
• Journal of Correctional Health Care, 2023-2024
• International Journal of Prisoner Health, 2021-2023
• Qualitative Health Research, 2019-2021
• International Journal of Qualitative Methods, 2019-2020
• Nursing Inquiry, 2019-2020
• Nursing and Health Sciences, 2017-2020

Service

Professional Organization Involvement and Fellowships

• American Correctional Nurses Association
  Member. (January 2023-Present)
• Awards Committee Co-Chair, January 2025-Present
• Research and Scholarship Committee Co-Chair, August 2023-Present
• Eastern Nursing Research Society
• Member, August 2010-Present
• Criminal Justice Violence and Trauma Research Interest Group Co-Chair, January 2024-Present
• Aging Research Interest Group Webinar Committee Co-Chair, April 2023-April 2024
• National Consortium for Nursing Academic Coaches (NCNAC)
• Member, August 2022-Present
• Research Coordinator Officer, January 2023-Present
• Abstract Reviewer for Annual Conference, January 2025

Download Kitt-Lewis’s Curriculum Vitae »
Last updated 8/24/2025