Kelly Pretorius, PhD ’19, MPH, APRN, CPNP-A/C & P/C, BSN ’07, RN, clinical assistant professor, has come full circle. In 2024, she returned to the School of Nursing, where she once studied, as a faculty member dedicated to advancing pediatric safety, global health initiatives and policy advocacy. A passionate advocate for child health and well-being, Pretorius brings a wealth of experience from her research, international work and policy involvement to shape the next generation of Longhorn nurses.
Pretorius’ journey in nursing began at the School of Nursing, where she completed her BSN in 2007 and later returned in 2017 as a Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Future of Nursing Scholar, earning her PhD in 2019. During her doctoral studies, she was also a fellow at the Center for Health Communication—a collaboration between Dell Medical School and the Moody College of Communication. She continued her academic journey with postdoctoral studies at Indiana University in 2023–24, funded by the National Institute of Nursing Research.
Her research has centered on improving safety measures for pediatric patients, with a focus on preventing hospital-related adverse events and enhancing family-centered care. Her program of research specifically focuses on pediatric injury prevention, developing interventions through tailored messaging to influence parenting practices. She aims to enable parents to engage in behaviors that prevent leading causes of pediatric morbidity and mortality.
“I’ve seen firsthand the consequences of preventable injuries since I’ve been working as a front-line provider/pediatric nurse practitioner since 2010,” Pretorius said. “I’d say that my passion has slowly shifted to how I can better support families, however, because I realize we can only improve safety and injury prevention for children via their parents and caregivers’ actions.”
One of her first publications, during her doctoral studies at the School of Nursing, became a major milestone in her career, cited over 80 times. Her study, “An Integrative Review: Understanding Parental Use of Social Media to Influence Infant and Child Health,” was the first-known review to examine how parents utilize social media to obtain information about parenting or infant health. This led to her interest in social media analyses, specifically regarding safe sleep practices. Her subsequent Twitter and Facebook studies on the prevention of sudden unexpected infant death (SUID) have influenced both national and international experts in the field.
Notably, Pretorius’ research was cited by the American Academy of Pediatrics in its 2022 Updated Recommendations for Safe Infant Sleep, specifically the recommendation that media and manufacturers follow safe sleep guidelines, as social media impacts social norms.
In January 2024, she was selected as one of five Emergency Medical Services for Children scholars through the Pediatric Pandemic Network, making her the only nurse scholar currently in the program. This national mentorship opportunity has allowed her to showcase the abilities of a PhD-prepared nurse, leading to her recent success in securing a $100,000 pilot grant from the Pediatric Pandemic Network. This grant will fund her mixed-methods study on parental safety practices, which will take place at Texas Children’s Hospital in Austin, where she also practices as a pediatric nurse practitioner.
“My social media analyses on varying injury prevention topics direct future research by identifying what parents/caregivers are discussing—what’s important to them—and using more effective language when developing public health initiatives,” she shared. “My current study will hopefully inform future intervention studies to assist parents/caregivers in developing and/or modifying their safety practices to prevent some of the leading causes of pediatric injury and death.”
She has presented her research at the Cribs for Kids conference, the Global Injury Prevention Showcase and the International Society for the Study and Prevention of Perinatal and Infant Death conference. She continues to serve as a subject matter expert for the Austin Public Health Task Force for Safe Sleep. In February 2025, Pretorius was honored with the Early Science Investigator Award from the Southern Nursing Research Society, recognizing her contributions to the field early in her career.
Improving Global Health Through Nursing Leadership
Beyond her research, Pretorius has dedicated much of her career to international health initiatives. She spent nearly four years in Japan, where she volunteered with the Red Cross at the Naval Hospital Okinawa as a pediatric nurse practitioner and worked for a local university. In 2021, she was invited to give a guest lecture at a Japanese School of Nursing, further fostering relationships with the Japanese community. In addition, she helped establish a health care advocacy organization in Okinawa aimed at improving health care access for both active-duty military personnel and Americans stationed abroad. Her extensive volunteer work led to investigations by the Inspector General and Government Accountability Office, as well as funding through the National Defense Authorization Act to evaluate health care challenges in Japan.
Her advocacy efforts included engaging with legislators, including the Senate Armed Forces Committee and serving as a subject matter expert for the “Hire Oki Spouses” project, which addressed the employment challenges faced by health care professionals, particularly nurses, stationed overseas.
“Living in Japan for nearly four years and after personally experiencing their health care system—especially their maternal health care—broadened my perspective even further,” she continued. “I do not assume I understand someone’s experiences but strive to engage with communities to learn.”
Pretorius is deeply passionate about health policy and has contributed to legislative changes that enhance pediatric health care and nursing practice. She was selected as a National Association of Pediatric Nurse Practitioners advocacy scholar and has published a review on the perinatal mental health of active-duty spouses, calling for policy changes and highlighting nursing’s role in addressing this issue.
“As I continue in this area of research, I realize that policy is the most important aspect of improving pediatric safety, which is why I’ve gotten more involved in health care policy,” she said. “Nursing is uniquely qualified to lead this initiative because we care for people holistically and recognize that behavior is influenced by multiple factors. We are flexible, creative and are up to the challenge of working with and among communities to address some of these really complex issues and challenges.”
Inspiring Future Nurse Leaders
Now, as a faculty member at the School of Nursing, Pretorius inspires students to think beyond traditional nursing roles and consider the broader impact they can have—whether through research, advocacy, global health initiatives or policy reform. She mentors nursing students, emphasizing the importance of evidence-based practice and encouraging them to explore innovative solutions to health care challenges.
“I hope to educate nursing students and professionals on the importance of health care policy,” she added. “ I encourage nurses to get involved in health care policy and to create a seat at the table. Incremental change is still change; we still have a lot of work to do in the realm of pediatric health care and injury prevention.”
Her journey from student to faculty member exemplifies the strength of the Texas Nursing community and the profound influence alumni can have in the field. With her deep commitment to pediatric safety, international health and policy advocacy, Pretorius continues to be a leader in nursing, ensuring that children worldwide receive the highest standard of care.
“Nursing is such a beautiful profession that allows us to serve others in various ways; although we may have different paths, we will always impact people’s lives,” she concluded. “Engaging in meaningful research and informing policy allows us to achieve a wider impact. I hope to expose my students to a world of possibilities when they envision their future and hope to foster their professional growth however I can.”