Skip to content
AOSW
Sign In

Join Now

Donate

Search
  • My AOSW
    • Renew Membership
    • Logging Into Your AOSW Account
    • My Learning Portal
    • AOSW Member Directory
    • Mentorship
    • Communities
    • SWON
      • SWON Netiquette Guidelines
    • Connect with Colleagues
    • Update Your Profile
    • Membership Certificate
    • Volunteer
    • Career Center
    • Member Resources
    • Log Out
  • Annual Conference
    • 2025 Annual Conference
    • Registration
    • Schedule
    • Conference Objectives and Presentation Types
    • 2025 Continuing Education
    • 2024 Exhibitors
    • Past Conferences
  • Events & Education
    • Calendar
    • Webinars
      • Continuing Education
      • Leadership Series
      • Recordings Library
    • 2024 Conference Recordings
      • Continuing Education
    • 2022 Conference Recordings
      • Continuing Education
    • 2021 Virtual Meeting Recordings
      • Continuing Education
  • Resources
    • Publications
      • AOSW Connections
      • Journal of Psychosocial Oncology (JPO)
      • OSW NewsBrief
      • Advertise in OSW NewsBrief
    • Advocacy
      • COVID & Screenings
      • Post-COVID Telehealth Priorities
    • Scope and Standards of Practice
    • OSW-C Certification
    • Research
    • Student Supervision & Field Instruction Resources
    • Affiliated Organizations
  • Patients & Caregivers
    • Find an OSW Near Me
    • Tips for Care
    • Resources
  • About AOSW
    • Be Part of Our Community
    • Mission, Vision & Goals
    • Volunteer
    • Awards & Scholarships
      • 2023 Award & Scholarship Recipients
      • Quality of Life Award Recipients
      • 2022 Award & Scholarship Recipients
      • LLS 2021 Awards
    • Leadership
      • Board of Directors
      • Committees
      • SIG Leaders
      • AOSW Fellows
      • Nominations & Elections
    • Special Interest Groups
    • State Representatives
    • Find an OSW Near Me
    • Contact Staff
    • Media Room
    • Sponsors & Support
    • Privacy Policy
    • Diversity & Inclusion Statement
    • Statement on Race
    • AOSW Statement of Policy Principles
    • Logging Into Your AOSW Account
AOSW
  • My AOSW
    • Renew Membership
    • Logging Into Your AOSW Account
    • My Learning Portal
    • AOSW Member Directory
    • Mentorship
    • Communities
    • SWON
      • SWON Netiquette Guidelines
    • Connect with Colleagues
    • Update Your Profile
    • Membership Certificate
    • Volunteer
    • Career Center
    • Member Resources
    • Log Out
  • Annual Conference
    • 2025 Annual Conference
    • Registration
    • Schedule
    • Conference Objectives and Presentation Types
    • 2025 Continuing Education
    • 2024 Exhibitors
    • Past Conferences
  • Events & Education
    • Calendar
    • Webinars
      • Continuing Education
      • Leadership Series
      • Recordings Library
    • 2024 Conference Recordings
      • Continuing Education
    • 2022 Conference Recordings
      • Continuing Education
    • 2021 Virtual Meeting Recordings
      • Continuing Education
  • Resources
    • Publications
      • AOSW Connections
      • Journal of Psychosocial Oncology (JPO)
      • OSW NewsBrief
      • Advertise in OSW NewsBrief
    • Advocacy
      • COVID & Screenings
      • Post-COVID Telehealth Priorities
    • Scope and Standards of Practice
    • OSW-C Certification
    • Research
    • Student Supervision & Field Instruction Resources
    • Affiliated Organizations
  • Patients & Caregivers
    • Find an OSW Near Me
    • Tips for Care
    • Resources
  • About AOSW
    • Be Part of Our Community
    • Mission, Vision & Goals
    • Volunteer
    • Awards & Scholarships
      • 2023 Award & Scholarship Recipients
      • Quality of Life Award Recipients
      • 2022 Award & Scholarship Recipients
      • LLS 2021 Awards
    • Leadership
      • Board of Directors
      • Committees
      • SIG Leaders
      • AOSW Fellows
      • Nominations & Elections
    • Special Interest Groups
    • State Representatives
    • Find an OSW Near Me
    • Contact Staff
    • Media Room
    • Sponsors & Support
    • Privacy Policy
    • Diversity & Inclusion Statement
    • Statement on Race
    • AOSW Statement of Policy Principles
    • Logging Into Your AOSW Account

AOSW Connections

Editorial Team

Editor-in-Chief
Amy Colver, MSSA, MA, LISW

Editor
Katherine Easton, MSW, LCSW, OSW-C

AOSW Communications Director
Brittany Hahn, LCSW

Managing Editor
Patricia Sullivan

Contribute Today!

To submit a story or information for inclusion in a future issue of AOSW Newsletter, contact Amy Colver or Katherine Easton on the list above.


2025 Themes

February: Workplace & Culture
May: Therapeutic Techniques

August: Palliative Care

November: Caregivers 

Director’s Report: Research

April 1, 2015

I’d like to introduce myself to the membership as the new Research Director for AOSW, and to begin a dialogue with you on the role of research in oncology social work.

Before I begin, I want to recognize the amazing work that previous Research Director, Brad Zebrack, PhD, accomplished in this position. It was his leadership that contributed to a major advancement in the research activities of AOSW, including the development of a special issue of the JPO: Screening for Psychosocial Distress: A National Survey of Oncology Social Workers on distress screening, a membership survey on distress screening activities of AOSW members, and the development and funding of the Project to Assure Quality Cancer Care (APAQCC). This is a hard act to follow and I hope I can continue the momentum to build the AOSW research program.

My own research story began at the University of Michigan, where I obtained an MSW in social work as a community organizer. In my two field placements I kept asking questions that had no answers. “Which technique works best in this situation?” “What are the needs of the community?” “What are other communities doing about this problem?” I found myself spending my time doing surveys, library research, exploring needs and interviewing community leaders and residents instead of doing active practice. I decided that the field needed more research, and that I was a better fit for research than practice. I simply wanted to answer many questions BEFORE carrying out actions. I greatly admired the practitioners in the field who operate in the face of uncertainty, but realized that my own bent was toward trying to answer the questions.

I entered the PhD program in Social Work and Sociology at U of Michigan, and spent the next eight years (1966-1974) learning statistics, research methods and sociological theory. After graduating, I held a series of teaching positions and began to do my own research. First, this was in the field of aging, specifically evaluating programs to keep frail elderly patients out of nursing homes. Later, I developed a “Health Specialization” at the University of Maryland, and began a study of breast cancer that resulted in a book, published in 1991. This study introduced me to qualitative research, which has been my focus ever since. It also moved the focus of my research from health in general to oncology.

It was in my capacity as a researcher that I first encountered AOSW. I spoke to the first organizing conference on research methods way back in 1984! Since then, I have participated in as many of the AOSW conferences as I could, often giving papers, posters and workshops. I became a part of the Research Committee when Brad was the Research Director and participated in many of the recent activities concerning distress screening.
    
As I start my position as AOSW Research Director, I’d like to ask the membership a few questions that will help me respond to your needs concerning research:

  • Do you do research in your position?  
  • Do you do research in your practice?  
  • Do you participate in research in your practice? If not, why not?
  • What could AOSW do to make it easier for you to participate in research or to use it in your practice?  
    • Would it be helpful if AOSW were to include descriptions of major studies and review articles relevant to social work practice on the website?  
    • How about a virtual “journal club”?

I’d like to hear your ideas. Please email me with your thoughts at joktay@ssw.umaryland.edu

About the Author

Julianne S. Oktay, PhD, MSW, FAOSW


Julianne S. Oktay, PhD, MSW, FAOSW

Articles

AOSW Psychosocial Distress Screening Study Results Highlighted: A Project to Assure Quality Cancer Care (APAQCC)
AOSW Research Institute: White Paper Author – Request for Proposals
Are You Looking at the Latest Data?
Director's Report: Research
Director's Report: Research
Exciting Research Events at the Tucson Conference
New Members of the Newsletter Research Subcommittee
New Research Activities and Events
Research: Building a Patient-Centered Research Collaborative (PCRC) for Psychosocial Oncology
Research Events at the 2019 AOSW Conference
Research Report: A Project to Assure Quality Cancer Care (APAQCC)
Research Report: AOSW 2018 Conference - Focus on Research
Research Report: Highlights From the 2015 Annual Conference
Research Report: Highlights From the IPOS 16th World Congress of Psycho-Oncology and Psychosocial Academy
Research Report: Oncology Social Work Intervention Index - Developing an Instrument
Research Report: Post-Conference Research Institute
Research Report: Psychosocial and Behavioral Interventions After Cancer Treatment
Research Report: Reimagining End-of-Life Care
Research Report: Research Events at the AOSW 2018 Conference
Research Report: Should I Engage in Research? Twelve Questions to Assist Oncology Social Workers
Research: Towards Building a Bridge Between Researchers and Practitioners
Special Interest Group Announcement: New Research SIG (SWORG) Formed
Using Research to Justify Additional Social Work Positions

 

Contact Us

AOSW Headquarters
111 W. Jackson Blvd. Suite 1412
Chicago, IL 60604

Phone: +1-847-686-2233
Email: info@aosw.org

  • My AOSW
  • Annual Conference
  • Events & Education
  • Resources
  • Patients & Caregivers
  • About AOSW

Copyright © 2025 Association of Oncology Social Work

Registered 501(c)(3). EIN: 13­-3736895

Privacy Policy  Terms of Service