RESEARCH
Selected Publications
Derr, A.S. & Schandelmeier, E. (2026). Twilight Grief: Conceptualizing prolonged pre-death grief in serious chronic & long-term illness. OMEGA-Journal of Death & Dying. Advance online publication.
https://doi.org/10.1177/00302228261478337
Derr, A.S., & Bourgerie, S. (2025). Social work education and burnout prevention: A systematic review of published research. Social Work Education, 44, 1503–1518. https://doi.org/10.1080/02615479.2024.2409179
Shapiro, V., Derr, A.S., Eldeeb, N., Lee, J., & Vu, C. (2023). Ensure healthy development for all youth: Expansions and elaborations for equity. In M. Teasley, M. Spencer and M. Bartholomew (Eds.), Racism and the grand challenges for the social work profession, Oxford University Press.
Palattiyil, G., Sidhva, D., Derr, A.S., & Macgowan, M. & (2021). Global trends in forced migration: Policy, practice, and research imperatives for social work. International Social Work, 65, 1111-1129. https://doi.org/10.1177/00208728211022791
Derr, A.S., Lindhorst, T., & Oesterle, S. (2018). Examining heterogeneity of social support among Asian and Latino immigrants in the United States: A latent class analysis. The International Journal of Health, Wellness, & Society, 8, 17-33. https://doi.org/10.18848/2156-8960/CGP/v08i02/17-33
Derr, A.S. (2016). Mental health service utilization among immigrants in the United States: A systematic review of published research. Psychiatric Services, 67, 265-274. https://doi.org/10.1176/appi.ps.201500004
Clevenger, C., Derr, A.S., Cadge, W., & Curran, S. (2014). How do social service providers view recent immigrants? Perspectives from Portland, Maine and Olympia, Washington. Journal of Immigrant and Refugee Studies, 12, 67-86. https://doi.org/10.1080/15562948.2013.823533
My scholarship examines how people navigate loss, uncertainty, and systems of care, with particular attention to experiences that are not adequately recognized or supported by existing institutions and frameworks.
GRIEF & CAREGIVING
My current research examines grief in the context of serious, chronic, and life-limiting illness, particularly when illness and caregiving extend over long periods of time and the possibility of death remains present but uncertain. My recent work introduces the concept of twilight grief, a prolonged form of pre-death grief. Current projects extend this work through research with parents of children with life-limiting conditions, asking how families experience, understand, and make meaning of grief while continuing to care for and live alongside the people they love.
PREPARING & SUSTAINING THE SOCIAL WORK WORKFORCE
This research examines how social workers can be prepared for the emotional and structural demands of practice while sustaining themselves in the work over time. Emerging from my teaching and research on burnout prevention, this work considers resilience as both an individual and collective practice and challenges approaches that place responsibility for burnout solely on individual practitioners.
MIGRATION & SERVICE SYSTEMS
My earlier research examined immigrant and refugee access to mental health, health, and social services, with particular attention to social support, structural barriers, and differences within immigrant communities. This work combined scholarship with long-term community-engaged research and program development in partnership with the City of Seattle Office of Immigrant and Refugee Affairs.