Jo-Ann Eastwood

Dr. Jo-Ann Eastwood is currently an Associate Professor at the University of California, Los Angeles School of Nursing teaching in the graduate program. She received her Masters and Doctoral degrees from UCLA and is both a Clinical Nurse Specialist and board certified Acute Care Nurse Practitioner. She holds leadership positions for the American Heart Association and is the immediate past President of the Preventive Cardiovascular Nurses Association. Dr. Eastwood’s research addresses mechanistic pathways for ischemic heart disease and interventions in support of cardiovascular risk reduction and prevention in young African American women.

Dr. Eastwood’s cutting-edge research program to improve cardiovascular health in minority populations is rooted in personalized, individualized community-based care. She has collaborated with the UCLA Wireless Health Institute to develop applications for wireless technology.  She engages young Black women in setting personal goals, collaborates with them to monitor progress, and offers individualized electronic support. Dr. Eastwood’s research, in which she partners with Women’s Health Ministries from Black churches, exemplifies a population health approach. She has engaged an underserved community, raised the level of awareness regarding cardiovascular health, and provided an ongoing forum for individual and group involvement.  Dr. Eastwood’s work will reduce costs by focusing on disease prevention, and implementing affordable interventions that touch entire families. A seminal finding of Dr. Eastwood’s research is that changing maternal behavior influences the whole family, especially young girls.  Dr. Eastwood’s innovative model has received national media attention in venues from mhealthwatch.com to the Los Angeles Times.