Advocacy and Expertise
Advocacy Activities
Volunteer for the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) in Minnesota as a co-teacher for Family to Family class
Hennepin County Adult Mental Health Advisory Council in Minnesota
Ambassador for Mental Health Connect at All Saints Lutheran Church, Minnetonka, MN
Expertise
Work experience in mental health and public health nursing
PhD in Family Social Science, University of Minnesota
31 years of teaching public health nursing at Bethel University, St. Paul, MN
Qualitative research design
Fulbright Awards to Norway and New Zealand for international research, teaching, and consultation
Completed evidence update on Public Health Intervention Wheel for the Minnesota Department of Health
Publications:
Journey Through the Mental Illness Maze: How Families Find Hope and Acceptance (2021)
Population-Based Public Health Clinical Manual (2019, 3rd edition)
Being Present: A Nurse’s Resource for End-of-Life Communication (2009)
Schaffer, M. A. (2020). Family perspectives of healthcare for relatives living with a mental illness. Perspectives in Psychiatric Care, 1-11. https://doi.org/10.1111/ppc.12718
Schaffer, M.A. (2021). Speaking up: How family members advocate for relatives living with a mental illness. Community Mental Health Journal. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10597-021-00775-z
Over 50 professional journal articles