University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences Logo University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences
Psychiatric Research Institute

Eva Woodward, Ph.D.

Positions

Associate Professor, Department of Psychiatry, College of Medicine, University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences
Affiliated Faculty, Center for Implementation Research, University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences
Core Research Investigator, Veterans Health Administration, Central Arkansas Veterans Healthcare System

Contact

UAMS e-mail: enwoodward@uams.edu
VA e-mail: eva.woodward2@va.gov

Research Expertise

Dr. Eva Woodward is a clinical health psychologist and implementation scientist. In her research, she uses implementation science and practice, community engaged research, and mixed methods to improve equitable health care delivery for groups experiencing disparities and oppression, such as racially minoritized, sexual minority (lesbian, gay, bisexual, queer), low-income, and rural-dwelling individuals. She implements and studies interventions in hospital and community settings. She complements her research as a mental health clinician in primary care. She is also a trainer for the Implementation Facilitation Learning Hub operated by Behavioral Health Quality Enhancement Research Initiative through the Veterans Health Administration. Dr. Woodward’s development of the Health Equity Implementation Framework and work on enhancing patients’ roles in redesigning healthcare changed the paradigm of implementation toward promoting health equity for all.

Dr. Woodward works at the VA Center for Mental Healthcare and Outcomes Research (Little Rock, Arkansas) and Center for Health Services Research at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences. Originally from rural Oklahoma, she trained at Suffolk University in Boston (PhD) and Brown University in Providence (internship/residency). Dr. Woodward completed the two-year Advanced Fellowship Program at the VA South Central Mental Illness Research, Education and Clinical Center in Little Rock before becoming faculty. She also graduated from the NIH Health Disparities Research Institute, and the Implementation Research Institute fellowship at Washington University in St. Louis. As a trainee, she was awarded the Distinguished Student Contribution from the American Psychological Association’s division on Sexual Orientation and Gender Diversity.

Research interests: implementation science, health equity, primary care mental health integration, health psychology, implementation facilitation

Recent Publications

Current Publications

  1. Painter J, Pyne J, Curran G, & Woodward E.N. (in press). How Leaders Make Decisions about Implementing Health Interventions in the Veterans Health Administration. Health Care Management Review.
  2. Woodward, E.N., Ball, I.A., Kirchner, J.E. et al. Promoting inclusivity and partnership with recipients of health services: short report on redesigning Engaging All Voices (previously Consumer Voice). Implement Sci Commun 7, 204 (2026). https://doi.org/10.1186/s43058-026-01040-8
  3. Woodward E. N., Oliver KA, Drummond, KL, Bartnik MK, 2McCorkindale A, 2Meit SS, Owen RR, & Kirchner JE (2024). Transitioning an Implementation Research Intervention to a Sustained Clinical Service: Telehealth Primary Care Mental Health Integration Implementation in the Veterans Health Administration. Psychological Services. doi: 10.1037/ser0000903.
  4. Woodward, E. N., Lunsford, A, 3Brown, R, 3Downing, D, Ball, I, Gan-Kemp, JM, 3Smith, A, 3Atkinson, O, & Graham, T. (2024). Pre-Implementation adaptation of suicide safety planning intervention using peer support in rural areas. Frontiers in Health Services. doi:10.3389/frhs.2023.1225171
  5. Woodward, E. N., 1Ball, I., Willging, C. E., 1Singh, R. S. S., 3Scanlon, C., 3Cluck, D., Drummond, K. L., Landes, S. J., Hausmann, L. R. M., & Kirchner, J. E. (2023). Increasing Consumer Engagement: Tools to Engage Service Users in Quality Improvement or Implementation Efforts. Frontiers in Health Services, Implementation Science section. 3: 1124290. doi: 10.3389/frhs.2023.1124290
  6. Woodward, E. N., Singh, R. S., Ndebele-Ngwenya, P., Melgar Castillo, A., Dickson, K. S., & Kirchner, J. E. (2021). A More Practical Guide to Incorporating Health Equity Domains in Implementation Determinant Frameworks. Implementation Science Communications. https://doi.org/10.1186/s43058-021-00146-5
  7. Owen, R. R., Woodward, E. N., Drummond, K. L., Deen, T., Oliver, K. A., Petersen, N. J., Meit, S. S., Fortney, J. C., Kirchner, J. E. (20). Using implementation facilitation to implement primary care mental health integration via clinical video telehealth in rural clinics: Protocol for a trial using a stepped wedge design. Implementation Science; 14:33. doi: 1186/s13012-019-0875-5
  8. Chinman, M., Woodward, E. N., Curran, G. M., & Hausmann, L. R. M. (2017) Harnessing implementation science to increase the impact of health equity research. Medical Care, 55, S16-S23. doi: 1097/MLR.0000000000000769
  9. Woodward, E. N., Banks, R. J., Marks, A. K., & Pantalone, D. W. (2017). Identifying resilience resources among sexual minority men for HIV prevention: A systematic review. AIDS & Behavior, 21(10), 2860-2873. doi: 1007/s10461-016-1608-2