Laura Sinko

Laura Sinko

  • College of Public Health

    Nursing

    Assistant Professor

Office Location

1316 W Ontario Street

Phone

215-926-4657

Biography

Laura Sinko, PhD, MSHP, RN, is an assistant professor in the Department of Nursing at Temple University College of Public Health. She is a former child and adolescent mental health nurse and is currently a practicing sexual assault nurse examiner in Philadelphia. Prior to joining Temple, Dr. Sinko completed a postdoctoral research fellowship and master of science in health policy through the University of Pennsylvania’s National Clinician Scholars Program, an interdisciplinary fellowship focused on healthcare policy and social change. Dr. Sinko received both her bachelor's and doctoral degrees in nursing at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor where she was part of the Hillman Scholars Program in Nursing Innovation, an accelerated BSN-to-PhD program dedicated to making health care more effective, patient-centered and equitable.

Dr. Sinko’s research focuses on promoting healing after gender-based violence (e.g. sexual assault, intimate partner violence, child abuse), with a particular emphasis on social, cultural and structural influences of recovery across the lifespan. Her work has been conducted domestically in both the campus and community setting as well as internationally through a multinational gender-based violence research collaborative called MiStory. Dr. Sinko is also interested in the role of restorative justice as it relates to sexual harm, and has received a certificate in Restorative Justice Implementation and Leadership from the University of San Diego.

Dr. Sinko is passionate about creative research translation as well as research that is trauma-informed and healing-centered. She has expertise in both narrative and photography-based qualitative methods and has organized multiple community exhibitions to share her research findings as well as the healing journeys of the survivors she has interviewed. Ultimately, Dr. Sinko is interested in leveraging creative, survivor-centered research to bridge the gap between survivor lived experience, the scientific community, and policy makers. By amplifying these perspectives, Dr. Sinko’s goal is to create a more supportive healing world for survivors of violence and abuse.

Education

  • PhD, Nursing, University of Michigan
  • MS, Health Policy, University of Pennsylvania
  • BS, Nursing, University of Michigan

Curriculum Vitae 

Labs: Phoenix Gender-based Violence Lab

Courses Taught

Number

Name

Level

NURS 3296

Perspectives on Health, Thinking Globally

Undergraduate

Selected Publications

  • Sinko, L., Dubois, C., & Thorvaldsdottir, K.B. (2024). Measuring Healing and Recovery After Gender-Based Violence: A Scoping Review. Trauma Violence Abuse, 25(4), pp. 2907-2926. United States. doi: 10.1177/15248380241229745

  • Sinko, L., Baehr, L.A., Murray, E.H., Kobulsky, J., Mcloughlin, G.M., Schroeder, K., & Schumacher, L.M. (2024). Fostering Responsible Conduct of Research for Early-Stage Investigators: Challenges and Opportunities. Health Promot Pract, p. 15248399241278966. United States. doi: 10.1177/15248399241278966

  • Sinko, L., Hah, J., Manders, K., Arnault, D.S., & Teitelman, A. (2024). A Feasibility and Acceptability Assessment of Photo-experiencing and Reflective Listening (PEARL): An Intervention to Promote Recovery Engagement After Gender-Based Harm. Violence Against Women, 30(8), pp. 1883-1909. United States. doi: 10.1177/10778012241231775

  • Sinko, L., Heuer, B., Johnson, L., Brown, J., Heron, K., Lehigh, M., Gresko, S., Dickey, S., Teichman, B., & Schroeder, K. (2023). Building a culture of healing to support nurse faculty and staff well-being in the aftermath of COVID-19. Nurs Open, 10(5), pp. 2700-2702. United States. doi: 10.1002/nop2.1584

  • Burns, C.J. & Sinko, L. (2023). Restorative Justice for Survivors of Sexual Violence Experienced in Adulthood: A Scoping Review. Trauma Violence Abuse, 24(2), pp. 340-354. United States. doi: 10.1177/15248380211029408

  • Schroeder, K., Sinko, L., Ibrahim, J., & Sarwer, D.B. (2023). Supporting student learning and development through trauma-informed campuses. J Am Coll Health, pp. 1-9. United States. doi: 10.1080/07448481.2023.2187647

  • Sinko, L., James, R., & Hughesdon, K. (2022). Healing After Gender-Based Violence: A Qualitative Metasynthesis Using Meta-Ethnography. Trauma Violence Abuse, 23(4), pp. 1184-1203. United States. doi: 10.1177/1524838021991305

  • Sinko, L., Montgomery, T., Terhaar, M., & Schroeder, K. (2022). Situating nursing science and public health within a shared context. Public Health Nurs, 39(5), pp. 1065-1069. United States. doi: 10.1111/phn.13093

  • Koutra, K., Burns, C., Sinko, L., Kita, S., Bilgin, H., & Arnault, D.S. (2022). Trauma Recovery Rubric: A Mixed-Method Analysis of Trauma Recovery Pathways in Four Countries. Int J Environ Res Public Health, 19(16). Switzerland. doi: 10.3390/ijerph191610310

  • Choi, K.R., Hughesdon, K., Britton, L., Sinko, L., Wells, C., Giordano, N., Sarna, L., & Heilemann, M.V. (2022). Interpersonal Trauma in the Lives of Nurses and Perceptions of Nursing Work. West J Nurs Res, 44(8), pp. 734-742. United States. doi: 10.1177/01939459211015894

  • Sinko, L., Rajabi, S., Sinko, A., & Merchant, R. (2022). Capturing lifestyle changes and emotional experiences while having a compromised immune system during the COVID-19 pandemic: A photo-elicitation study. J Community Psychol, 50(5), pp. 2411-2430. United States. doi: 10.1002/jcop.22784

  • Sinko, L., Ploutz-Snyder, R., Kramer, M.M., Conley, T., & Arnault, D.S. (2022). Trauma History as a Significant Predictor of Posttraumatic Growth Beyond Mental Health Symptoms in Women-Identifying Survivors of Undergraduate Non-Consensual Sexual Experiences. Violence Vict, 37(3), pp. 396-421. United States. doi: 10.1891/VV-D-20-00082

  • Sinko, L., Hah, J., Harrison, A., Arnault, D.S., & Teitelman, A. (2022). Documenting my recovery: Using Photo-experiencing and Reflective Listening (PEARL) to understand and promote healing after gender-based violence. JOURNAL of ADVANCED NURSING, 78, pp. 66-66. Retrieved from http://gateway.webofknowledge.com/

  • Sinko, L., Ozaslan, Z., Schaitkin, C., & Arnault, D.S. (2022). Creating and evaluating the Healing after Gender-based Violence Scale (GBV-Heal): An instrument to evaluate recovery progress in women-identifying survivors. JOURNAL of ADVANCED NURSING, 78, pp. 65-66. Retrieved from http://gateway.webofknowledge.com/

  • Sinko, L., Hughesdon, K., Grotts, J.H., Giordano, N., & Choi, K.R. (2022). A Systematic Review of Research on Trauma and Women's Health in the Nurses' Health Study II. Nurs Womens Health, 26(2), pp. 116-127. United States. doi: 10.1016/j.nwh.2022.01.005

  • Regier, P.S., Sinko, L., Jagannathan, K., Aryal, S., Teitelman, A.M., & Childress, A.R. (2022). In young women, a link between childhood abuse and subliminal processing of aversive cues is moderated by impulsivity. BMC Psychiatry, 22(1), p. 159. England. doi: 10.1186/s12888-022-03770-0

  • He, Y., Ortiz, R., Kishton, R., Wood, J., Fingerman, M., Jacobs, L., & Sinko, L. (2022). In their own words: Child and adolescent perceptions of caregiver stress during early COVID-19. Child Abuse Negl, 124, p. 105452. England. doi: 10.1016/j.chiabu.2021.105452

  • Boucher, N., Darling-Fisher, C.S., Sinko, L., Beck, D., Granner, J., & Seng, J. (2022). Psychometric Evaluation of the TIC Grade, a Self-Report Measure to Assess Youth Perceptions of the Quality of Trauma-Informed Care They Received. J Am Psychiatr Nurses Assoc, 28(4), pp. 319-325. United States. doi: 10.1177/1078390320953896

  • Sinko, L., Beck, D., & Seng, J. (2022). Developing the TIC Grade: A Youth Self-Report Measure of Perceptions of Trauma-Informed Care. J Am Psychiatr Nurses Assoc, 28(6), pp. 455-463. United States. doi: 10.1177/1078390320970652

  • Sinko, L., Regier, P., Curtin, A., Ayaz, H., Childress, A.R., & Teitelman, A.M. (2022). Neural correlates of cognitive control in women with a history of sexual violence suggest altered prefrontal cortical activity during cognitive processing. Womens Health (Lond), 18, p. 17455057221081326. United States. doi: 10.1177/17455057221081326

  • Sinko, L., Özaslan, Z.Z., Schaitkin, C., & Arnault, D.S. (2022). Psychometric Evaluation of the Healing After Gender-Based Violence Scale: An Instrument for Cross-Sectional and Longitudinal Assessment of Recovery Progress for Women-Identifying Survivors. J Fam Violence, 37(7), pp. 1161-1179. United States. doi: 10.1007/s10896-021-00333-x

  • Kishton, R., Sinko, L., Ortiz, R., Islam, M.d.N., Fredrickson, A., Sheils, N.E., Buresh, J., Cronholm, P.F., & Matone, M. (2022). Describing the Health Status of Women Experiencing Violence or Abuse: An Observational Study Using Claims Data. J Prim Care Community Health, 13, p. 21501319221074121. United States. doi: 10.1177/21501319221074121

  • Sinko, L., He, Y., Kishton, R., Ortiz, R., Jacobs, L., & Fingerman, M. (2022). "The Stay at Home Order is Causing Things to Get Heated Up": Family Conflict Dynamics During COVID-19 From The Perspectives of Youth Calling a National Child Abuse Hotline. J Fam Violence, 37(5), pp. 837-846. United States. doi: 10.1007/s10896-021-00290-5

  • He, Y., Ortiz, R., Kishton, R., Fingerman, M., Jacobs, L., & Sinko, L. (2021). In Their Own Words: Children's Perceptions of Caregiver Stress during COVID-19. HEALTH SERVICES RESEARCH, 56, pp. 19-20. Retrieved from http://gateway.webofknowledge.com/

  • Ortiz, R., Kishton, R., Sinko, L., Fingerman, M., Moreland, D., Wood, J., & Venkataramani, A. (2021). Assessing Child Abuse Hotline Inquiries in the Wake of COVID-19: Answering the Call. JAMA Pediatr, 175(8), pp. 859-861. United States. doi: 10.1001/jamapediatrics.2021.0525

  • (2021). Error in Dates in Figures. JAMA Pediatr, 175(8), p. 871. United States. doi: 10.1001/jamapediatrics.2021.2093

  • Sinko, L. & Arnault, D.S. (2021). Photo-experiencing and reflective listening: A trauma-informed photo-elicitation method to explore day-to-day health experiences. Public Health Nurs, 38(4), pp. 661-670. United States. doi: 10.1111/phn.12904

  • Sinko, L., Burns, C.J., O'Halloran, S., & Arnault, D.S. (2021). Trauma Recovery Is Cultural: Understanding Shared and Different Healing Themes in Irish and American Survivors of Gender-based Violence. J Interpers Violence, 36(13-14), pp. NP7765-NP7790. United States. doi: 10.1177/0886260519829284

  • Sinko, L., Munro-Kramer, M., Conley, T., & Arnault, D.S.t. (2021). Internalized Messages: The Role of Sexual Violence Normalization on Meaning-Making after Campus Sexual Violence (vol 1, pg 565, 2019). JOURNAL of AGGRESSION MALTREATMENT & TRAUMA. doi: 10.1080/10926771.2021.1929247

  • Sinko, L., He, Y., & Tolliver, D. (2021). Recognizing the Role of Health Care Providers in Dismantling the Trauma-to-Prison Pipeline. Pediatrics, 147(5). United States. doi: 10.1542/peds.2020-035915

  • Sorenson, S.B., Sinko, L., & Berk, R.A. (2021). The Endemic Amid the Pandemic: Seeking Help for Violence Against Women in the Initial Phases of COVID-19. J Interpers Violence, 36(9-10), pp. 4899-4915. United States. doi: 10.1177/0886260521997946

  • Jeffers, K.S., Siddiq, H., Martinez-Hollingsworth, A.S., Aronowitz, S.V., Sinko, L., Travers, J.L., Tolentino, D.A., Burns, J., Bell, S.A., Beck, D.C., Gutierrez, J.I., Bulgin, D., Manges, K.A., Mansfield, L.N., Bettencourt, A.P., Jun, J., Fauer, A.J., Lipsky, R.K., Adynski, G.I., & Choi, K.R. (2021). Nurses should oppose police violence and unjust policing in healthcare. Int J Nurs Stud, 117, p. 103735. England. doi: 10.1016/j.ijnurstu.2020.103735

  • Sinko, L. & Arnault, D.S. (2021). CAPTURING HEALING AFTER GENDER AND SEXUAL VIOLENCE USING PHOTO-EXPERIENCING AND REFLECTIVE LISTENING (PEARL). INJURY PREVENTION, 27, pp. A26-A26. doi: 10.1136/injuryprev-2021-SAVIR.66

  • Arnault, D.S. & Sinko, L. (2021). Comparative Ethnographic Narrative Analysis Method: Comparing Culture in Narratives. Glob Qual Nurs Res, 8, p. 23333936211020722. United States. doi: 10.1177/23333936211020722

  • Sinko, L., Schaitkin, C., & Arnault, D.S. (2021). The Healing after Gender-Based Violence Scale (GBV-Heal): An Instrument to Measure Recovery Progress in Women-Identifying Survivors. Glob Qual Nurs Res, 8, p. 2333393621996679. United States. doi: 10.1177/2333393621996679

  • Sinko, L., Munro-Kramer, M., Conley, T., & Arnault, D.S. (2021). Internalized Messages: The Role of Sexual Violence Normalization on Meaning-making after Campus Sexual Violence. Journal of Aggression, Maltreatment and Trauma, 30(5), pp. 565-585. doi: 10.1080/10926771.2020.1796872

  • Fauer, A.J., Manges, K., Stroumsa, D., Sinko, L., Adynski, G.I., Aronowitz, S.V., & Choi, K.R. (2020). Catalyzing a Nursing Response to Healthcare Discrimination Against Transgender and Nonbinary Individuals. J Nurs Scholarsh, 52(6), pp. 599-604. United States. doi: 10.1111/jnu.12597

  • Sinko, L. & Arnault, D.S. (2020). Finding the Strength to Heal: Understanding Recovery After Gender-Based Violence. Violence Against Women, 26(12-13), pp. 1616-1635. United States. doi: 10.1177/1077801219885185

  • Sinko, L., Bulgin, D., Fauer, A.J., & Aronowitz, S.V. (2020). Nursing work is justice work: Rethinking justice and promoting healing in survivors of gender-based violence. Public Health Nurs, 37(5), pp. 631-636. United States. doi: 10.1111/phn.12791

  • Sinko, L. (2020). AMPLIFYING DAY-TO-DAY SEXUAL VIOLENCE HEALING EXPERIENCES THROUGH PHOTOGRAPHY AND STORYTELLING. INJURY PREVENTION, 26, pp. A27-A28. doi: 10.1136/injuryprev-2020-savir.68

  • Sinko, L., Munro-Kramer, M., Conley, T., Burns, C.J., & Arnault, D.M.S. (2020). Healing is not linear: Using photography to describe the day-to-day healing journeys of undergraduate women survivors of sexual violence. J Community Psychol, 48(3), pp. 658-674. United States. doi: 10.1002/jcop.22280

  • Gultekin, L., Kusunoki, Y., Sinko, L., Cannon, L., Abramoski, K., Khan, A.G., & Seng, J. (2019). The Eco-Social Trauma Intervention Model. Public Health Nurs, 36(5), pp. 709-715. United States. doi: 10.1111/phn.12619

  • Arnault, D.S. & Sinko, L. (2019). Hope and Fulfillment After Complex Trauma: Using Mixed Methods to Understand Healing. Front Psychol, 10, p. 2061. Switzerland. doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2019.02061