Mary Dilworth Student Research

Mary Dilworth Received Second Place in Student Research Competition as UW College of Health Sciences Held First-Ever Virtual Research Day Event

This year’s College of Health Sciences Research Day was held on April 15.

For the first time, this event was held virtually, but this in no way lessened the enthusiasm of both student and faculty presenters in highlighting their health sciences research projects, using prerecorded and live poster displays and oral presentations. As part of the student competition, MSW student Mary Dilworth presented a portion of her thesis research at the event.

For Mary Dilworth, an MSW student from Cheyenne, Wyoming, the excitement in presenting her research titled “Exploratory study of factors related to secondary traumatic stress among child welfare workers in Wyoming” was complemented by receiving second place in the Student Research Presentation Award category.

Dilworth’s research focused on the unique conditions facing child welfare workers in a rural state such as Wyoming – including challenges to patient/provider privacy in small communities and often minimal or non-existent funding available.

“We would cry, vent, and laugh with each other to try to cope with this trauma, but I became frustrated with not being able to do more or prevent it.”

“I worked in child welfare for a total of 9 years, and during that time I experienced and heard of countless traumatic events,” says Dilworth.

“It took a toll. I also watched as my dear friends/coworkers went through similar experiences. We would cry, vent, and laugh with each other to try to cope with this trauma, but I became frustrated with not being able to do more or prevent it,” she says.

“I decided to go to graduate school specifically to research and bring light to the trauma that child welfare workers experience and learn how to better advocate for improved supports and services available to them. I am beyond grateful for the opportunity I had to present during research day and receive this award because it has given me a platform and opportunity to raise awareness of the troubling prevalence of Secondary Traumatic Stress in child welfare workers,” says Dilworth.

“We would cry, vent, and laugh with each other to try to cope with this trauma, but I became frustrated with not being able to do more or prevent it.”