Education

PhD, Indiana University
MSN, Indiana University
BSN, The Ohio State University

Specialties and Expertise

Awards and Honors

American Public Health Association/Public Health Nurse Section Lillian Wald Service Award
Association of Community Health Nursing Educators Outstanding Contribution to Community/Public Health Nursing Education
Global Classroom Fellowship
Sigma Theta Tau International Alpha Chapter Excellence in Education Award
Indiana University Trustee's Teaching Award
Dean's Faculty Award of Partnerships
Dean's Faculty Award for Innovation

Biography

Kim Alexander Decker is a clinical associate professor in the Community & Health Systems department for the IU School of Nursing, Bloomington. Dr. Decker received her BSN from The Ohio State University School of Nursing, her MSN and CNS from the IU School of Nursing (Indianapolis), and her PhD in Education Psychology, Learning, and Developmental Sciences from the Indiana University School of Education. Her research expertise is in the area of community health nursing educational interventions and outcomes. Dr. Decker directs The Dr. Anita Aldrich Community Health Promotion Project, a communication assertiveness intervention and social emotional learning program in regional school districts affecting more than 500 students per semester. The program, offered in multiple school districts in Bloomington and the surrounding area, is supported by a foundation grant and is a collaboration among IU’s health sciences schools, IU Center for Rural Engagement, IU Health, local public health departments, and community health organizations.

Dr. Decker’s teaching focuses on community health nursing in vulnerable populations in relation to social determinants of health.

External Funding

2016-present. (Program Director). Dr. Anita Aldrich Community Health Promotion Project.

Publications

Decker, K. A., & Priest, C. (2023). Utilization of book clubs to enhance a community health SDOH nursing course. The Association of Community Health Nursing Educators Website/Innovative Teaching Strategies at achne.org.

Decker, K. A., Garletts, D. M., Warwick, C. A., Ball, S. L., Watts, P. A., Titzer, J. K., & Hendricks, S. M. (2022). Sharing our journey: Implementing a multi-county substance use prevention program in area schools. NASN School Nurse, (37)2, 70-75. https://doi.org/10.1177/1942602X211067225.

Little, S., Swider, S. M., Andresen, K. M., Arcille, D., Chaudrey, R. V., Cooper, J. L., Decker, K. A., Edwards, L., Graham, J. C., Haushalter, A. R., Hensley, J. L., Koyama, K., Morton, J. L., Ouzts, K. N., Robinson, A. Z., Saltzberg, C. W., Smith, C. M., & Weierbach, F. M. (2022). Public health nursing: Scope and standards of practice (3rd ed.). (C. J. Bickford & E. Walpole, Eds.). American Nurses Association.

Johnson, R. H., Vandenhouten, C., Decker, K. A., Drake, M. A., Hoffman, J., & Charles, M. (2020). Recommendations for revisions to AACN’s Public Health: Recommended baccalaureate competencies and curricular guidelines for public health nursing, a supplement to the baccalaureate education for professional nursing practice. The Association of Community Health Nursing Educators Public Website/Education Advocacy & Policy: https://www.achne.org 

Decker, K. A., Hensel, D., Kuhn, T. M., & Priest, C. (2017). Innovative implementation of social determinants of health in a concept based curriculum. Nurse Educator, 42(3), 115-116.

Moorman, M., Hensel, D., Decker, K. A., & Busby, K. (2017). Learning outcomes with visual thinking strategies in nursing education. Nurse Education Today, 51, 127-129. doi.org/10.1016/j.nedt.2016.08.020