Jill Chonody, Ph.D, MSW, LCSW

Professor, School of Social Work

Jill M. Chonody is a Professor of Social Work at Boise State University. She holds a PhD in social work and is a licensed clinical social worker. Her primary research interests include the study of attitudes toward older adults among social work students, faculty, and practitioners and how curriculum can address biases that promote social injustice against older people, those that identify as LGBTQ, and women. She is also interested in the way that creativity can be used in research, in particular photographic techniques, and scale development to measure negative attitudes toward those who may be vulnerable or oppressed.

Dr. Chonody has presented her research both nationally and internationally and has over 70 published articles and book chapters. Her first book, Community Art: Creative Approaches to Practice, provides an overview of different arts-based interventions that can be used by social workers, community organizers, and nurses, amongst others, and includes chapters on photography, street art, storytelling, and evaluation. As a textbook, students’ perspective on practice is expanded to incorporate creative methods.

Dr. Chonody’s second book, Social Work Practice with Older Adults, was co-authored with Dr. Barbra Teater (City University of New York, College of Staten Island). A novel framework is presented that merges social work values and ethics with the World Health Organization’s Active Aging policy and stresses a strengths-based approach that promotes self-determination. This book explores what it means to age and the role of generational effects as they relate to practice, challenges students to reflect on positive and negative aging myths that promote ageism, and addresses the six determinants of active aging, which are health, social, economic, physical, personal, and behavioral. The book concludes with a look to the future of practice with an eye toward technology, aging in place, and community driven services.

Contact Information

Office: Education Building 716A
Phone: (208) 426-3195
Email: jillchonody@boisestate.edu
Download Curriculum Vitae (PDF)

Areas of Interest

• Ageism and Aging
• Social Justice Issues for Oppressed Populations
• Participatory Photography as a Research Methodology
• Scale Development and Psychometrics