Joanna Maxwell PhD, MSN, RN, FTNSS

Expertise Areas:

My research and scholarship interests focus on child health, family, aging, and community. I apply social determinants of health factors to my scholarship, practice, and teaching. I am an author and professional presenter on transcultural nursing.

Research methodology: Primarily Qualitative study (ethnography); secondarily mixed methods. 

Clinical expertise: Child Health and Community Health.

University Education: To undergraduate and graduate students. In addition, I taught transcultural nursing as an elective and required course, as well as offsite service-learning courses. In addition, I was appointed director of the Multicultural Institute for faculty and staff development that endorsed transcultural education.

Service Experience: I am a committee member of the TCNS Mentoring Program and the JTCN manuscript reviewer. I participate in the ongoing advancement of nursing and health care with the TCNS Scholars group and the Northeast Chapter. In addition, I engage in community outreach services with action research evaluation model to economically vulnerable neighborhoods.

Leadership Experience: Held leadership roles in the regional and national TCNS. Recently, I served as director of the TCNS Scholars Group (2020-2023).

Languages spoken, read/write*:

English,  Urdu, and Hindi

Select Publications:

2026: Co-author of chapter on Ayurveda: Relevance in Culture Care. Editors: Hiba Wehbe-Alamah & Marilyn McFarland. Publisher: McGraw-Hill Education Leininger’s Transcultural Healthcare: Concepts, Theories, Research & Practice.

2023: Co-author (with Pacquiao, et.al) in the March 2023 issue of the Journal of Transcultural Nursing (JTCN) on “Integration of Population Health, Social Determinants, and Social Justice in Transcultural Nursing and Culturally Competent Care: White Paper by the Scholars Education Interest Group”.

2020: Scholars' Corner article in the January 2020 issue of the Journal of Transcultural Nursing (JTCN) on "Caring for the Frail Elderly Refugees in United States". Publisher: SAGE

2018   Authored Case Study: “Health Care for the Poor and Underserved Populations in India.” In a book titled, Global Applications for Culturally Competent Health Care: Guidelines for Practice (Marilyn Douglas, et al. Editors). Publisher: Springer.

2014   Published Textbook as Second edition (2014). Titled: Culture and Health: Concept and Practice. Publisher: Linus, Inc.

Present/Future Directions 

The post-pandemic period offers a huge potential to transform health care through Transcultural Nursing leadership, research, education, and practice. With the evermore presence of rapid application of technology that enables nurses and other healthcare professionals to reach people in need, transcultural nursing care is a globalized phenomenon. Yet, a critical area of focus is the failing health conditions in vulnerable populations. For example, social determinants of health factors impact economic and social development everywhere, especially during natural disasters or man-made crises that displace human populations resulting in global migrations. The cultural care theories and models inform and prepare nurses to provide care to diverse populations.

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Updated 10/2025