Research InterestsMy research interests are generally focused within the rural contact and the unique circumstances and opportunities therein. My initial work examined sexually transmitted infection (STI) epidemiology and intervention - to include the use of Internet-based screening kits to increase screening uptake. I've also engaged in substantial work examining rural cancer disparities - to include aspects of genomic diversity in rural communities and screening outreach. Most recently, I've been engaged in expanding the use of disease screening and harm reduction services among rural people who use drugs.
I strive for my work to be translational in nature, and there are many synergies among the major topic areas. For example, I've performed pilot studies regarding increasing cancer screening and reducing infectious/STI risk among people who use drugs. Such work has highlighted the compounding barriers to health that many populations experience (e.g., people who use drugs; LGBTQ+) and how they might specifically be addressed.
Research Publications[[since 2021]]
1. Mixson LS, Whitney BM, Jenkins WD, et al. Behavioral and Health Outcome Differences by Heroin or Methamphetamine Preference Among People in Rural US Communities Who Use Both Substances. Substance Use: Research and Treatment. 2024;18.
2. Tillewein H, Luckey G, Miller KW, Jenkins WD. Sexual Violence and Revictimization in Rural LGBTQ+ Communities. J Interpers Violence [in press]
3. Prusaczyk B, Tilmon S, Landman J, Seibert D, Colston D, Westergaard R, Cooper H, Feinberg J, Friedmann P, Go V, Khoury D, Korthius T, Mixon S, Moellner A, Nolte K, Smith G, Young A, Pho M, Jenkins WD. Barriers to Healthcare and Social Service Utilization Among Rural Older Adults Who Use Drugs. J Appli Genronto [in press]
4. Rudolph AE, Nance RM, Bobashev G, Brook D, Akhtar W, Cook R, Cooper HL, Friedmann PD, Frost SDW, Go VF, Jenkins WD, Korthuis PT, Miller WC, Pho MT, Ruderman SA, Seal DW, Stopka TJ, Westergaard RP, Young AM, Zule WA, Tsui JI, Crane HI, Whitney BM, Delaney JAC. Evaluation of respondent-driven sampling in seven studies of people who use drugs from rural populations: Findings from the Rural Opioid Initiative. BMC Medical Research Methodology [in press]
5. Sibley AL, Klein E, Cooper HLF, Livingston MD, Baker R, Walters SM, Gicquelais RE, Ruderman SA, Friedmann PD, Jenkins WD, Go VF, Miller WC, Westergaard RP, Crane HM. The relationship between felt stigma and non-fatal overdose among rural people who use drugs. Harm Reduct J. 2024;21 (77).
6. Fadanelli MM, Livingston M, Friedmann P, Go V, Jenkins W, Korthuis T, Miller W, Pho M, Seal D, Stopka T, Westergaard R, Zule W, Young AM, Cooper HLF. Correlates of overdose among 2,711 people who use drugs and live in 7 rural US sites. Drug Alcohol Depend. 2024 Mar 8;258(11126)1
7. Jenkins WD*, Miller KW, Tillewein H, Walters S, Weatherly T, Wickham H, Luckey G, Fenner E. Healthcare experiences and health outcomes among rural LGBTQ+ individuals. Amer J Health Prom [in press]
8. Ballard AM, Falk D, Greenwood H, Gugerty P, Feinberg J, Friedmann PD, Go VF, Jenkins WD, Korthuis PT, Miller WC, Pho MT, Seal DW, Smith GS, Stopka TJ, Westergaard RP, Zule WA, Young AM, Cooper HLF. Houselessness and syringe service program utilization among people who inject drugs in eight rural areas across the USA: a cross-sectional analysis. Harm Reduct J. 2023 Oct 26;20(1):157.
9. Tsui JI, Whitney BM, Korthuis PT, Chan B, Pho MT, Jenkins WD, Young AM, Cooper HLF, Friedmann PD, Stopka TJ, de Gijsel D, Miller WC, Go VF, Westergaard R, Brown R, Seal DW, Zule WA, Feinberg J, Smith GS, Mixson LS, Fredericksen R, Crane HM, Delaney JA; Rural Opioid Initiative Consortium. Methamphetamine use and utilization of medications for opioid use disorder among rural people who use drugs. Drug Alcohol Depend. 2023 Sep 1;250:110911.
10. Ibragimov U, Livingston MD, Young AM, Feinberg J, Korthuis PT, Akhtar WZ, Jenkins WD, Crane HM, Westergaard RP, Nance R, Miller WC, Bresett J, Khoury D, Hurt CB, Go VF, Nolte K, Cooper HL. Correlates of Recent HIV Testing Among People Who Inject Drugs in Rural Areas: A Multi-site Cross-Sectional Study, 2018-2020. AIDS Behav. 2023 Jul 29.
11. Jenkins WD*, Friedman SR, Hurt CB, Korthuis PT, Feinberg J, Del Toro-Mejias LM, Walters S, Seal DW, Fredericksen RJ, Westergaard R, Miller WC, Go VF, Schneider J, Giurcanu M. Variation in HIV Transmission Behaviors Among People Who Use Drugs in Rural US Communities. JAMA Netw Open. 2023 Aug 1;6(8):e2330225.
12. Cantrall J, Summers-Gabr N, Jenkins WD. Reconceptualizing Financial Stability in the Context of Food Insecurity. Amer J Health Prom [in press]
13. Jenkins WD*, Phillips G 2nd, Rodriguez CA, White M, Agosto S, Luckey GS. Behaviors associated with HIV transmission risk among rural sexual and gender minority and majority residents. AIDS Care. 2023 Oct;35(10):1452-1464.
14. Walters SM, Felsher M, Frank D, Jaiswal J, Townsend T, Muncan B, Bennett AS, Friedman SR, Jenkins W, Pho MT, Fletcher S, Ompad DC. I Don't Believe a Person Has to Die When Trying to Get High: Overdose Prevention and Response Strategies in Rural Illinois. Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2023 Jan 16;20(2):1648.
15. Walters SM, Frank D, Felsher M, Jaiswal J, Fletcher S, Bennett AS, Friedman SR, Ouellet LJ, Ompad DC, Jenkins W, Pho MT. How the rural risk environment underpins hepatitis C risk: Qualitative findings from rural southern Illinois, United States. Int J Drug Policy. 2023 Feb;112:103930.
16. Jenkins WD*, Walters S, Phillips G 2nd, Green K, Fenner E, Bolinski R, Spenner A, Luckey G. Stigma, Mental Health, and Health care Use Among Rural Sexual and Gender Minority Individuals. Health Educ Behav. 2024 Jun;51(3):477-489.
17. Ezell J, Pho MT, Walters S, Jenkins WD, Schneider J. "You’re friends until everybody runs out of dope”: Contextualizing the type, purpose, and value of social networks of people who use drugs. Social Networks. 2022;71:115-130.
18. Button D, Levander XA, Cook RR, Miller WC, Salisbury-Afshar EM, Tsui JI, Ibragimov U, Jenkins WD, Westergaard RP, Korthuis PT. Substance use disorder treatment and technology access among people who use drugs in rural areas of the United States: A cross-sectional survey. J Rural Health. 2022 Dec 27:10.1111/jrh.12737.
19. Rains A, York M, Bolinski R, Ezell J, Ouellet LJ, Jenkins WD, Pho MT. Attitudes toward harm reduction and low-threshold healthcare during the COVID-19 pandemic: qualitative interviews with people who use drugs in rural southern Illinois. Harm Reduct J. 2022 Nov 19;19(1):128.
20. Lee M, Mueller-Luckey G, Molina Y, Rose J, Bolinski R, Van Ham B, Adjei Boakye E, Jenkins WD*. Rural cancer and the opioid epidemic: are screening disparities further exacerbated? Health Behavior and Policy Review. 2022 Sep;9(5):1037.
21. Jenkins RA, Whitney BM, Nance RM, Allen TM, Cooper HLF, Feinberg J, Fredericksen R, Friedmann PD, Go VF, Jenkins WD, Korthuis PT, Miller WC, Pho MT, Rudolph AE, Seal DW, Smith GS, Stopka TJ, Westergaard RP, Young AM, Zule WA, Delaney JAC, Tsui JI, Crane HM; Rural Opioid Initiative. The Rural Opioid Initiative Consortium description: providing evidence to Understand the Fourth Wave of the Opioid Crisis. Addict Sci Clin Pract. 2022 Jul 26;17(1):38.
22. Korthuis PT, Cook RR, Foot CA, Leichtling G, Tsui JI, Stopka TJ, Leahy J, Jenkins WD, Baker R, Chan B, Crane HM, Cooper HL, Feinberg J, Zule WA, Go VF, Estadt AT, Nance RM, Smith GS, Westergaard RP, Van Ham B, Brown R, Young AM. Association of Methamphetamine and Opioid Use With Nonfatal Overdose in Rural Communities. JAMA Netw Open. 2022 Aug 1;5(8):e2226544.
23. Jenkins WD*, Rose J, Molina Y, Lee M, Bolinski R, Luckey G, Van Ham B. Cancer Screening among Rural People Who Use Drugs: Colliding Risks and Barriers. Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2022 Apr 10;19(8):4555.
24. Walters SM, Bolinski RS, Almirol E, Grundy S, Fletcher S, Schneider J, Friedman SR, Ouellet LJ, Ompad DC, Jenkins W, Pho MT. Structural and community changes during COVID-19 and their effects on overdose precursors among rural people who use drugs: a mixed-methods analysis. Addict Sci Clin Pract. 2022 Apr 25;17(1):24.
25. Keddie A, Amerson N, Johnson C, Jenkins W, Crumly D, Geiger SD. Leveraging secondary data for evaluation: Planning the expansion of the Illinois asthma partnership to reduce pediatric asthma related emergency department visits. Eval Program Plann. 2022 Mar 16;92:102077.
26. Bolinski RS, Walters S, Salisbury-Afshar E, Ouellet LJ, Jenkins WD, Almirol E, Van Ham B, Fletcher S, Johnson C, Schneider JA, Ompad D, Pho MT. The Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Drug Use Behaviors, Fentanyl Exposure, and Harm Reduction Service Support among People Who Use Drugs in Rural Settings. Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2022 Feb 16;19(4):2230.
27. Pearson WS, Tromble E, Jenkins WD, Solnick R, Gift TL. Choosing the Emergency Department as an Alternative for STD Care: Potential Disparities in Access. J Health Care Poor Underserved. 2022;33(3):1163-1168.
28. Lee M, Salloum RG, Jenkins W, Hales DB, Sharma A. Marijuana use among US adults with cancer: findings from the 2018-2019 Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System [published online ahead of print, 2022 Apr 9]. J Cancer Surviv. 2022;10.1007/s11764-021-01138-z.
29. Jenkins WD*, Williams LD, Pearson WS. Sexually Transmitted Infection Epidemiology and Care in Rural Areas: A Narrative Review. Sex Transm Dis. 2021 Dec 1;48(12):e236-e240.
30. Grundy SA, Brown RC, Jenkins WD. Health and Health Care of Sexual Minority Individuals in the Rural United States: A Systematic Review. J Health Care Poor Underserved. 2021;32(4):1639-1652.
31. Adjei Boakye E, Babatunde OA, Wang M, Osazuwa-Peters N, Jenkins W, Lee M, Kim M. Geographic Variation in Human Papillomavirus Vaccination Initiation and Completion Among Young Adults in the U.S. Am J Prev Med. 2021 Mar;60(3):387-396.
Honors and Awards2023 Frederick P. Li Impact Award from CEBP for substantial influence in rural cancer epidemiology
2012 Elected Member, American Association for Cancer Research (AACR)
2012 Member, Simmons Cancer Institute, Southern Illinois University School of Medicine
2017 Elected Fellow, American College of Epidemiology (FACE)
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