Faculty180 - Vita and Individual Profile Data Sheet

Ozum Erkin, PhD, MSc

Fall 1980 - Fall 2120

Visiting Associate Professor

[email protected]

Current Position

Position: Affiliated Faculty

Biography

Assoc. Prof. Özüm Erkin serves as a faculty member in the Department of Nursing, Faculty of Health Sciences, İzmir Demokrasi University, Türkiye. She served as Head of the Nursing Department from September 2018 to July 2025 and as Vice Dean of the Faculty of Health Sciences between October 2023 and July 2025. She holds a Ph.D. in Public Health Nursing. Currently, she is a Postdoctoral Fellow at the Southern California University of Health Sciences, where she is conducting a postdoctoral feasibility study on yoga-based interventions for individuals with rheumatic diseases. With over 15 years of experience in public health nursing, her research interests include integrative health approaches such as yoga and laughter yoga, community-based mental health promotion, and disaster nursing.  Dr. Erkin is a certified yoga instructor since 2014 and has successfully integrated yoga into the nursing curriculum, advocating for its recognition as a nursing intervention. She is a member of the editorial boards of BMC Nursing and BMC Public Health. Dr. Erkin was an Erasmus exchange student; she trained in Belgium in 2007. Academically, she has extensive experience with staff mobility in several European countries, including Lithuania, the Netherlands, and the Czech Republic. 

Degrees

2015

Ph.D., Public Health Nursing, Ege University, Institute of Health Sciences, Turkey

Work Experience

2023 - 2025

Vice Dean of Health Sciences Faculty, İzmir Demokrasi University, Izmir, Turkey

2018 - 2025

Head of Nursing Department, İzmir Demokrasi University, Izmir, Turkey

2007 - 2018

Research Assistant, Ege University Faculty of Nursing, Izmir, Turkey

Scholarly Contributions and Creative Productions

Book

Completed/Published

Yoga as a Nursing Intervention; Erkin, O., Ed.; Nova Science Publishers, Inc.: New York, 2025; p 378.

Chapter

Completed/Published

Erkin, O. Sun Protection in School-Age Children. In Health Promotion and Prevention: School-Age Children; Nova Science Publishers, Inc.: New York, 2025.
Erkin, O.; Güler, B. Yoga as a Nursing Intervention; Nova Science Publishers, Inc.: New York, 2025; p 378.

Journal Article

Accepted

Erkin, O.; Dur, Ş.; Çetin, R. C. [Attachment]Healing with Laughter: The Therapeutic Power of Laughter Yoga in Pediatric Health – A Systematic Review. BMC Pediatrics 2025.

Poster Presentation

Completed/Published

Erkin, O. [Attachment]The Effect of Yoga on Mindfulness and Perceived Stress Levels in Nursing Students: A Randomized Controlled Study. 15th Annual IM4US Conference, August 14–16, 2025, UCI Susan Samueli Integrative Health Institute, California, USA., 2025.
Özsezer, G.; Erkin, O. [Attachment]Rebirth with Yoga: A Phenomenological Evaluation of University Students’ Perceptions of Happiness and Hope and Sentiment Analysis Supported by Machine Learning. 15th Annual IM4US Conference, August 14–16, 2025, UCI Susan Samueli Integrative Health Institute, California, USA., 2025.

Presentation

Completed/Published

Erkin, O.; Özsezer, G. Social Media Influencers and Nurse‑Led Yoga Tourism: An Exploratory Study of Online Engagement and Destination Branding. Global Conference on Technology and AI in Hospitality and Tourism (GLOTECH 2025), September 16–19, 2025, Black Fire Innovation Hub, University of Nevada, Las Vegas, Nevada, USA. Hybrid (onsite & online)., 2025.
Erkin, O. [Attachment]A Scientific Journey from Türkiye to America: The TÜBİTAK 2219 Research Grant Experience. 13th International Artemis Scientific Research Congress, May 28–30, 2025 Hybrid Format: Online (via Zoom) & In-Person in Bucharest, Romania, 2025.

Honors and Awards

Summer 2025 - Ongoing

2219 - International Postdoctoral Research Fellowship Program for Turkish Citizens, 2025, The Scientific and Technological Research Council of Türkiye, The Scientific and Technological Research Council of Türkiye grants fellowships

Fall 2025 - Fall 2025

Best Presentation Award, 2025, Global Conference on Technology &AI in Hospitality and Tourism, Held at the UNLV Black Fire Innovation Center, Las Vegas, on September 16-19, 2025

Interests

Public health nursing Health promotion and prevention Integrative health in nursing (yoga and laughter yoga), Nursing curriculum development , Disaster and community health nursing, Yoga-based and integrative health interventions Community mental health promotion Nursing education and curriculum integration Disaster preparedness in nursing, International collaborations and Erasmus exchange programs Alumni relations and accreditation processes Community-based health promotion projects Editorial service (BMC Nursing, BMC Public Health), Complementary and integrative therapies in nursing practice Rheumatic diseases and yoga-based interventions Preventive and early-detection approaches in public health nursing