Social networks: A hypothesized mediator in the association between incarceration and risk behaviors among women with histories of homelessness | Journal of the Society for Social Work and Research
Interdisciplinary researcher, specializing in the health-related needs of vulnerable populations.
Interdisciplinary researcher, specializing in the health-related needs of vulnerable populations.
Suzanne Wenzel has devoted much of her career to interdisciplinary research that seeks to understand and address health-related needs of vulnerable populations, particularly individuals experiencing homelessness in urban communities. Wenzel has served as the principal investigator on ten grants from the National Institutes of Health. Funding for these projects from the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, the National Institute of Mental Health and the National Institute on Drug Abuse has totaled more than $15 million. Her research involving homeless persons has included an investigation of the social context of risk for substance use and HIV/AIDS among homeless men, women and youth; examination of the relationship of trauma to substance use and HIV/AIDS risk among women; and adaption of evidence-based programs to address HIV risk, victimization by violence, and post-traumatic stress among women. She is investigating the process of transitioning to permanent supportive housing among individuals experiencing chronic homelessness, and associated changes in personal relationships, behavioral health and risks, health service use, and quality of life. She organized a Los Angeles County-wide forum on the topic of integrated care and housing for homeless persons, and has participated in several regional and national efforts to prevent and end homelessness. Wenzel has also conducted research on substance abuse treatment quality, and organizational linkages among treatment courts for drug-involved offenders and community-based providers of behavioral health services. After completing her doctoral studies in community psychology, Wenzel was awarded a National Institute of Mental Health post-doctoral fellowship in the Rutgers/Princeton program in mental health research. Prior to her appointment at USC in 2009, she was a senior behavioral scientist at the RAND Corporation in Santa Monica, Calif., and was responsible for research quality assurance in the RAND Health program. To reference the work of Suzanne Wenzel online, we ask that you directly quote their work where possible and attribute it to "Suzanne Wenzel, a faculty at the USC Suzanne Dworak-Peck School of Social Work” (LINK: https://dworakpeck.usc.edu)
Postdoctoral Fellowship 1993
PhD 1990
BA 1985
Social networks: A hypothesized mediator in the association between incarceration and risk behaviors among women with histories of homelessness | Journal of the Society for Social Work and Research
To use or not to use: A stage-based approach to understanding condom use among homeless youth | AIDS Care
Service integration to reduce homelessness in Los Angeles County: Multiple stakeholder perspectives | Human Services Organization Management, Leadership & Governance,
Systematic review of intimate partner violence prevention programs and applicability to homeless youth | Journal of the Society for Social Work and Research
As local, state, and federal officials continue to invest in permanent supportive housing to address issues of chronic homelessness, mental health, and substance use, research is needed to explore how the transition to housing affects homeless individuals. Using a socioecological model and a longitudinal design, this study will examine HIV risk and prevention behaviors in a sample of chronically homeless, predominately African American men and women as they transition to housing. Evidence from a pilot project has suggested that the transition process may increase rather than decrease certain risk behaviors over time. The specific aims of the study are to examine changes in those risk behaviors, how the social networks of housed individuals change over time, and how the transition to permanent supportive housing affects drug use and mental health symptoms. The research team also plans to assess whether and how housing providers promote HIV prevention and will use findings to inform specific strategies to reduce the risk of HIV transmission. Interviews will be conducted with approximately 405 individuals receiving housing before the transition and at 3, 6, and 12 months after entering housing. Researchers will also interview supervisory employees and conduct focus groups with frontline staff members of housing providers.