MarySue V. Heilemann, PhD, RN, FAAN
Professor; Chair, Faculty Executive Committee (FEC)
About
MarySue V. Heilemann, PhD, RN, FAAN, a professor at the UCLA School of Nursing and an Associate Director of the UCLA National Clinician Scholars Program, has pioneered the use of transmedia in health interventions related to mental health. Driven by a commitment to interventions informed by lived experiences, she extensively researched what US Latinas find relevant and trustworthy when confronting stigma and barriers to mental health care. Recognizing the power of discreet smartphone access and high demand for story-based media among Latinas, she developed a collaborative methodology for intervention development using transmedia storytelling accessible via multiple digital platforms using the internet. As Principal Investigator of a 5-year NIMH-funded R01 (2024-29), she is currently conducting an RCT to test an interactive, scalable web-based app which her team created in partnership with Latine actors, therapists, and media experts, featuring Hollywood quality, evidence-informed, character-driven transmedia storytelling in English and Spanish. The goal of the intervention is to catalyze shifts in attitudes, stigma, and symptoms while boosting help-seeking and connection to care among Latinas struggling with untreated depression or anxiety. As an expert in Grounded Theory methodology, she mentors graduate students, post-doctoral scholars, and faculty in qualitative research at UCLA and internationally. Historically, her efforts to improve the accuracy of portrayals of nurses in film and television brought her to the National Institute of Nursing Research in 2015 to give a Director’s Lecture entitled, “From the Silver Screen to the Web: Media Portrayals of Nursing.” She led national symposiums in both 2011 and 2012 at UCLA on Media Representations of Nurses, bringing together over 300 filmmakers, nurses, administrators, producers, journalists, screen writers, directors, activists, faculty, and students. She was the Guest Editor for a special volume of the official journal of the American Academy of Nursing (Nursing Outlook) that featured original scholarship created for the 2011 Symposium.
Faculty Research and Clinical Expertise
Fueled by qualitative input from participants, and in collaboration with community partners, Dr. Heilemann integrates issues of motivation, resilience, intergenerational cultural expectations, social justice, and gender issues in her work. Based on her three-fold area of expertise (media-based interventions, methodologically-driven qualitative research, and mental health), Dr. Heilemann is actively refining a new model for nursing science that features transmedia portrayals of nurses as part of powerful and promising interventions with patients, the public, and nursing professionals. Her focus has been on symptom management, motivation to seek help and engage in mental health care, and the enhancement of resilience among Latinas in the U.S.
Education and Degree(s)
University of Wisconsin, Madison, BS, 1982, Nursing
University of California, San Francisco, MS, 1991, Nursing
University of California, San Francisco, PhD, 1996, Nursing
University of California, San Francisco Post Doc, 1998, Nursing
Publications
Selected:
Heilemann, M.V., Lai, J., Cadiz, M.P., Meza, J.I., Flores Romero, D., Wells, K.B. (2024) Community Members’ Perceptions of a Resource-Rich Well-Being Website in California During the COVID-19 Pandemic: Qualitative Thematic Analysis. Journal of Medical Internet Research Formative Research, 8:e55517. doi: 10.2196/55517, PMID: 38526558, PMCID: 11002734
Siddiq, H., Jones, F., Magnes, Z., Booker-Vaughns, J., Young-Brinn, A., Williams, C., Washington, M., Agonafer, E., Solomon, O., Oliva, A., Wells, K., & Heilemann, M. V. (2023). Using community-partnered participatory research to value the “community lens” and promote equity in community–academic partnerships. Health Equity, 7(1), 543–554. PMCID: PMC10507929 PMID: 37731776
Morehead-Gee, A., Üsküp, D. K., Omokaro, U., Shoptaw, S., Harawa, N. T., & Heilemann, M. V. (2023). Relating 'to her Human Side': A Grounded Theory analysis of cosmetologists' and aestheticians' relationships with clients in Black American beauty salons to inform sexual health interventions. Culture, health & sexuality, 25(9), 1180–1197. https://doi.org/10.1080/13691058.2022.2141331
Siddiq, H., Ajrouch, K., Elhaija, A., Kayali, N., & Heilemann, M.V. (2023). Addressing the mental health needs of older adult refugees: Perspectives of multi-sector community key informants. SSM. Qualitative research in health, 3, 100269. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ssmqr.2023.100269
Choi, K. R., Hughesdon, K., Britton, L., Sinko, L., Wells, C., Giordano, N., Sarna, L., & Heilemann, M. V. (2022). Interpersonal Trauma in the Lives of Nurses and Perceptions of Nursing Work. Western Journal of Nursing Research, 44(8), 734–742. https://doi.org/10.1177/01939459211015894
Soderlund, P.D., Martinez Hollingsworth, A.S., & Heilemann, M.V. (2021). Participant Engagement in a Transmedia Storytelling Web-Based App Intervention for Mental Health of Latina Women: Qualitative Analysis. Journal of Medical Internet Research - Mental Health. 2021 Jan 13;8(1):e22575. doi: 10.2196/22575. PMCID: PMC7840278.
Metelski, F. K., Santos, J. L. G. D., Cechinel-Peiter, C., Fabrizzio, G. C., Schmitt, M. D., & Heilemann, M.V. (2021). Constructivist Grounded Theory: characteristics and operational aspects for nursing research. Teoria Fundamentada Construtivista: características e aspectos operacionais para a pesquisa em enfermagem. Revista da Escola de Enfermagem da USP, 55, e03776. https://doi.org/10.1590/S1980-220X2020051103776
Escobar, C. & Heilemann, M. V. (2019). Reimagining nurses on screen: How Marvel’s Claire Temple and BBC’s Call the Midwife get it right. OJIN: The Online Journal of Issues in Nursing, 24(1), manuscript 2. doi:10.3912/OJIN.
Heilemann, M.V., Martinez, A., & Soderlund, P.D. (2018). A mental health storytelling intervention using transmedia to engage Latinas: Grounded Theory analysis of participants' perceptions of the story's main character. Journal of Medical Internet Research, 20(5):e10028. doi: 10.2196/10028. PubMed PMID: 29720357; PMCID: PMC5956154.
Heilemann, M.V., Soderlund, P.D., Kehoe, P., & Brecht, M.L. (2017). A transmedia storytelling intervention with interactive elements to benefit Latinas' mental health: Feasibility, acceptability, and efficacy. Journal of Medical Internet Research-Mental Health, 4(4):e47. doi: 10.2196/mental.8571. PubMed PMID: 29051135; PMCID: PMC5668652.
Book Chapter
Heilemann, M. V. & Albarran, C. (2017). The Grounded Theory Method (book chapter name in Italian: Il metodo della Grounded Theory). In L. Mortati and L. Zannini (Eds.), Metodologia della ricerca qualitativa in ambito sanitario. Rome: Carocci Editore.