About

Diana Dawson is an Associate Professor of Instruction at the School of Journalism and Media at the University of Texas. She has a background of 17 years working as a reporter in newsrooms nationwide, where she covered social issues such as teachers' sexual misconduct, mental health system failures, and foster care abuse. Her investigative work also included narratives about life in a burn center, an old farmer battling Alzheimer's, and an Indian tribe’s efforts to combat poverty through education. Dawson's journalism has earned numerous awards, including being a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize as part of a newsroom team, the Ernie Pyle Award, and twice a finalist for the Livingston Award for Young Journalists. She has also received the Nieman Fellowship at Harvard University and has published a nationally syndicated column, with freelance stories appearing in outlets like the Los Angeles Times, Chicago Tribune, and Austin Monthly magazine. In her academic role, Dawson has taught the beginning newswriting course called Reporting Words since 1996, coordinated that course for several years, and often taught feature writing. She created the Moody Writing Support Program in 2013, which focuses on improving students' writing through one-on-one tutoring with peer coaches, workshops, and a speaker series. Additionally, she developed an innovative series of courses for Senior Fellows titled 'Communicating the Human Side of Social Issues,' which takes students into the city to explore topics such as gentrification and immigration. Dawson co-authored 'News Writing by The Texas Quartet' and has contributed significantly to journalism education through her teaching, mentorship, and program development.

Research topics

• Medicine
• Internal medicine
• Family medicine
• Emergency medicine
• Nursing

Selected publications

• African American patient perspectives on barriers and facilitators to tobacco-cessation treatment.

  Psychological Services · 2024-08-22

  articleOpen access1st authorCorresponding

  : Patients expressed a desire for more African American group-specific outreach, including targeted advertisement and culturally aware providers to combat mistrust of the health care system. Findings indicate that generating patient-driven implementation strategies such as tailored education and proactive outreach are necessary to increase engagement of African American patients in tobacco-cessation treatment programs. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2025 APA, all rights reserved).

  PublisherDOI

• Black veteran use of video telehealth for mental health care.

  Psychological Services · 2023-12-07 · 6 citations

  articleOpen access

  = 1,627,791) from electronic health records. Multilevel linear growth curve models examined the percentage of VTH use for non-Hispanic Black versus other races/ethnicities before and after pandemic onset. Black veteran-only subgroup analyses examined differences by ethnicity in percentage of VTH MH encounters since pandemic onset by age, rurality, and gender, using regression and analysis of covariance models. Despite significant increases in VTH during the pandemic, on average, VTH use was consistently lower for non-Hispanic Black veterans across both periods. During the pandemic, differences in VTH use between non-Hispanic Black and non-Black veterans accelerated over time. VTH use was greater during the pandemic for Black veterans who were Hispanic, younger, urban, and female. Adoption of VTH for MH was low for non-Hispanic Black veterans before COVID-19 and during COVID-19 compared to non-Black groups. Future VTH research and implementation efforts should question why adoption remains low, work to meet cultural needs, and promote equitable adoption for Black veterans. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved).

  PublisherDOI

• Delivery of Exposure and Response Prevention Among Veterans with Obsessive–Compulsive Disorder

  The Journal of Behavioral Health Services & Research · 2023-04-06 · 8 citations

  article
  PublisherDOI

• Weight Management Treatment Representations: A Novel Use of the Common Sense Model

  Journal of Clinical Psychology in Medical Settings · 2023-02-24 · 3 citations

  article1st authorCorresponding
  PublisherDOI

• Providers’ perspectives on the impact of culture in the recognition and diagnosis of anxiety

  Journal of Mood and Anxiety Disorders · 2023-09-29 · 2 citations

  articleOpen access1st authorCorresponding

  Objectives: We examined providers' perspectives about how culture affects diagnosing and recognizing anxiety. Methods: We interviewed providers about diagnosing anxiety ("How do you think culture impacts expression and diagnosis of anxiety?") and used inductive analysis, with open coding, to allow themes to emerge organically. Results: We identified three themes: (1) Impartiality toward Culture: downplaying culture in recognizing or diagnosing anxiety and not acknowledging necessary cultural diagnostic considerations; (2) Acknowledgment of Cultural Impact: detailed variations across different cultural communities in how patients present with and describe anxiety, with differing levels of stigma associated with expressing and treating anxiety; (3) Culturally Integrated Practice: implement culturally informed diagnosis and treatment, with training and self-directed processing on culture and bias. Conclusions: While most providers acknowledge that culture impacts accurate diagnosis of anxiety, they vary in how they integrate cultural information. It is important to deliver culturally informed care.

  PublisherDOI

• Perspective: Developing Future Veterans Affairs Scientists Through a Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Program

  Health Equity · 2023-05-01

  articleOpen access1st author

  For >95 years, the Department of Veterans Affairs Office of Research and Development (ORD) has been improving the lives of Veterans and all Americans through health care discovery and innovation. Scientists and trainees from diverse backgrounds and life experiences bring different perspectives and creativity to address complex health-related problems, which helps to foster scientific innovation, improve quality of research, and advance the likelihood that underserved populations participate in and benefit from clinical and health services research. In this study, we will discuss our experiences in developing future scientists through mentored research supplements supported by ORD.

  PublisherDOI

• Differences in Anxiety Sensitivity Among Black and White Veterans

  Journal of Racial and Ethnic Health Disparities · 2023-05-02 · 5 citations

  article
  PublisherDOI

• The efficacy of tobacco cessation treatment for African American adults: a systematic review

  Translational Behavioral Medicine · 2023-06-06 · 5 citations

  reviewOpen access1st authorCorresponding

  Despite proliferation of evidence-based tobacco cessation treatments, African American adults still suffer higher rates of tobacco-related diseases than White adults. Although tobacco cessation treatment is efficacious, there is a need to reassess the efficacy of tobacco cessation treatment for African American adults. Previous reviews of tobacco cessation treatment studies conducted through 2007 among African American adults highlight the limited research in this area and inconsistent findings on treatment characteristics impacting efficacy. This systematic review examined the efficacy of combined behavioral and pharmacological tobacco cessation treatment for African American adults. Database searches were used to identify studies examining tobacco cessation treatment for predominantly African American samples (>50%). Eligible studies were completed between 2007 and 2021 and (i) involved randomization comparing active combined treatment to a control comparison group and (ii) reported abstinence outcomes at 6 and/or 12 months. Ten studies met inclusion criteria. Active treatment groups typically consisted of a combination of nicotine replacement therapy and behavioral counseling. Abstinence rates for African American adults ranged from 10.0% to 34% in active treatment groups compared to 0.0%-40% in comparison control groups. Our results support the efficacy of combined treatment for tobacco cessation among African American adults. However, cessation rates for African American adults found in this review are lower than those in the general adult population (15%-88%). Additionally, our findings highlight the limited number of studies examining African American tobacco cessation rates and testing of tailored treatment for this population.

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• Common Sense Models of Obesity: a Qualitative Investigation of Illness Representations

  International Journal of Behavioral Medicine · 2022-04-20 · 2 citations

  article
  PublisherDOI

• Substance Use Disorders: Second Wave Approaches

  Behavior Therapy · 2022-01-01

  book-chapter
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Frequent coauthors

• Terri L. Fletcher

  81 shared

• Michael R. Kauth

  Baylor College of Medicine

  45 shared

• Michael K. Hole

  The University of Texas at Austin

  36 shared

• Alyssa Eason

  30 shared

• Avani Patel

  30 shared

• Chaya Prasad

  Western University of Health Sciences

  30 shared

• Shital M. Patel

  30 shared

• Aya Itani

  Ben Taub Hospital

  30 shared

Education

• PhD, Clinical Psychology

  The University of Texas at Austin

• MA, Department of Psychology

  San Diego State University

• BS, Psychology

  The University of Texas at Austin

Awards & honors

• Finalist for the Pulitzer Prize (year not specified)
• Finalist for the Ernie Pyle Award (year not specified)
• Nieman Fellowship at Harvard University
• Finalist twice for the Livingston Award for Young Journalist…