Dr. Deborah Moon is an associate professor in the School of Social Work with a secondary appointment in the Department of Psychiatry at the University of Pittsburgh. Her research focuses on developing, adapting, implementing, and evaluating interventions designed to prevent Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) and promote mental health among marginalized families in under-resourced communities. Informed by Implementation Science and Health and Human Services Research, she is particularly interested in using stakeholder-engaged approaches to identify effective strategies to implement and sustain such interventions in community organizations that are traditionally underutilized in the promotion of mental health, including primary healthcare facilities, Federally Qualified Health Centers (FQHCs), schools, churches, and libraries, etc. Dr. Moon received a bachelor's degree in Biological Engineering from Handong Global University in South Korea, a master's degree in Music Therapy from New York University and in Social Work from the University of Maryland, and a Ph.D. in Social Welfare at the University of Kansas.
Accepting Graduate Students: Yes
Current Research Projects
- To learn more about Dr. Moon’s research, please visit the FLOURISH (Flourishing Lives through OUR Innate Strengths to Heal) research lab
Awards
- 2024-2026 National Institute of Health (NIH) Loan Repayment Program Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD)
- Doris Duke Fellowship for the Promotion of Child Well-Being. (2018-2020) | Doris Duke Charitable Foundation, Chapin Hall at the University of Chicago
- Social Work Healthcare Education and Leadership Scholars (HEALS) (2018-2019) | The New York Community Trust Robert and Ellen Popper Scholarship Fund. National Association of Social Workers & Council on Social Work Education (CSWE)
Selected Publications
Moon, D.J., Lee, H*, Faruque, J.A.*, & McGuire, E. A. (2026). Measuring Participant Responsiveness (PR) in Behavioral Health Interventions: An Expanded Model of Fidelity and Program Implementation. Global Implementation Research & Applications. https://doi.org/10.1007/s43477-026-00222-9
Moon, D. J., Jeon, J.*, Cruce, A.*, Lee, H.*, Ma, R.*, & Case, B. W. (2025). Measuring flourishing for transitional youth aging out of foster care in the United States: Factor structure and invariance of the flourishing index. SSM - Mental Health, 8, 100518. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ssmmh.2025.100518
Moon, D. J., Lee, H.*, & Jeon, J.* (2025). Household Challenges and Youth Flourishing: Mediating Effects of Parental Aggravation and Physical Health. Families in Society: The Journal of Contemporary Social Services, 0(0). Advance Online Publication. https://doi.org/10.1177/10443894251347326
Moon, D. J., & Cruce, A.* (2025). Child Flourishing Index: Confirmatory Factor Analysis and Measurement Invariance Between Youth of Color and White Youth in the United States. Families in Society: The Journal of Contemporary Social Services, 0(0). Advance Online Publication. https://doi.org/10.1177/10443894241295295
Moon, D.J., Nichols, B.*, Wallace, J., & Durham, A. (2024) Engaging African American Faith Leaders as Partners in Ethical Research. Journal of Community Engagement and Scholarship. 16(2), 6. https://doi.org/10.54656/jces.v16i2.517
Moon, D. J., Nichols, C. B., Zhang, Y., Cruce, A.*, Haran, H.*, Sgourakis, A., Lee, H.*, & Johnson-Motoyama, M. (2024). Engagement Measures in Maltreatment Prevention Studies: A Scoping Review. Trauma, violence & abuse, 25(2), 1551–1567. https://doi.org/10.1177/15248380231188070
Moon, D. J., Johnson-Motoyama, M., Nichols, B.*, Rolock, N., Haran, H.*, & Bai, R.* (2022). Collaborative fidelity assessment planning for the evaluation of a community-based maltreatment prevention model: The Family Success Network (FSN). Children and Youth Services Review. 137. 106457. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.childyouth.2022.106457
