Dama Cooley - Loewenberg College of Nursing
Dana El Hajj is a Nurse Scientist whose research focuses on health promotion and disease prevention among minority populations in the United States, with a particular emphasis on tobacco cessation. Her scholarly work centers on developing and evaluating innovative interventions to support individuals seeking to quit nicotine products.
Dr. El Hajj’s current research examines the use of Virtual Reality (VR)–based Cue Exposure Therapy (CET) combined with Motivational Interviewing (MI) to assist African American adults who use both traditional and electronic cigarettes. This work builds on her prior research evaluating alternative tobacco product use among Veterans at the Rocky Mountain Regional VA Medical Center.
Her research team has developed multiple immersive VR scenarios designed to identify and address smoking-related triggers. Through this VR-CET and MI combination approach, Dr. El Hajj aims to determine the effectiveness of technology-driven, culturally responsive interventions in supporting smoking cessation and reducing health disparities among underserved populations.
2007-2012 University of Colorado Denver, USA
PhD in Nursing Science
Dissertation Title: Health Behaviors and Health outcomes of Arab
Americans: A Socio-ecological perspective
2004 – 2005 University of Colorado Health Sciences Center, USA
Master of Science in Nursing
◼ Completed with Exceptional Pass
◼ Recognized for a high level of academic integration and clinical scholarship by
the Assistant Dean for Graduate Programs
1998 -2002 American University of Beirut Beirut, Lebanon
Master of Science, Population Studies and Public Health
Thesis Title: Smoking among students at AUB: prevalence and relation to
other life style factors.
1993 - 1997 American University of Beirut Bachelor of Science, Nursing
Signa Theta Tau
El Hajj, D., Haddad, L., & Ferrell, A. (2025). Replication of a culturally-tailored tobacco cessation intervention for Arab American men in North Carolina: An exploratory pilot study. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 22(9), 1453. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph22091453.
Dana George EL Hajj, Anastasiya V Ferrell, Linda Haddad, Matthew J Peterson, Joanmarie Lewandowski, Marc George Chelala, Elham Ebrahimi. Vaping among College Students during the COVID-19 Pandemic. International Journal of Addiction Research and Therapy, 2022, 5:29. DOI: 10.28933/ijart-2022-06-0505dge
Elham Ebrahimi, Dana El Hajj, Matthew Jarrett, Anastasiya Ferrel, Linda Haddad, Marc
Chelala.(2022). Designing virtual environments for smoking cessation. A preliminary
investigation. February 15,2022. HCI International 2022.
Catherine Bataglia; Dana El Hajj; Allan Prochazka. Helping Veterans quit the expanding
continuum of tobacco products (2020). Forum Translating Research into Quality Healthcare
for Veterans. U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs.
McCarthy MS, Stonecipher JJ, Gilmartin H, El-Hajj D, Battaglia C. An interdisciplinary postdoctoral fellowship model: Opportunities for nurse PhDs. J Nurs Educ Pract. 2020;10(2):10.5430/jnep.v10n2p33. doi: 10.5430/jnep.v10n2p33. PMID: 33117466; PMCID: PMC7590921.
Dana El Hajj, Patricia Valverde, Paul Cook, Catherine Bataglia & Allan Prochazka. Prevalence and perceptions of cigarettes, vaping and waterpipe among Veterans. International Journal of Addiction Research and Therapy, 2020, 3:23. DOI: 10.28933/ijart 2020-10-0905.
Dana El Hajj, Paul, F. Cook, Katherine A. James, Battaglia, C & Prochazca, A. Newer forms of tobacco products: Characteristics of poly users among adults living in Colorado: A secondary data analysis of The Attitudes and Behaviors Survey (TABS) on Health 2015. Tobacco Use Insights. (accepted August 26,2019).
El Hajj & Paul, F. Cook. Acculturation and Arab Immigrant Health in Colorado: A Socioecological Perspective. Submitted to Nutrition and Food Science (accepted on March 23, 2018).
Dana El Hajj, PhD; Paul F. Cook, PhD, et al. Tobacco Use among Arab Immigrants Living in Colorado: Prevalence and Cultural Predictors. Journal of Transcultural Nursing. 2015 (Published online before print November 18, 2015, doi: 10.1177/1043659615617512)
Paul F. Cook, PhD; Suzie Emiliozzi, RN, Dana EL-Hajj, Mishcha M. McCabe. Telephone nurse counseling for medication adherence in ulcerative colitis: A preliminary study. Patient Education and Counseling. 2010; 81(2): 182-186 This study was a preliminary test of telephone nurse counseling to address cognitive and emotional barriers to adherence in Ulcerative Colitis.
Paul F. Cook, PhD, Suzie Emiliozzi, RN, Corey Waters, MBA, & Dana El-Hajj. Effects of Telephone Counseling on Antipsychotic Adherence and Emergency Department Utilization. The American Journal of Managed Care. 2008;14(12):841-846 A telehealth nursing program used psychological counseling techniques to improve antipsychotic medication adherence, leading to reduced emergency department utilization in a managed care Medicaid Population.
R21: Project Title
A Clinical Trial of Virtual Reality Using Cue Exposure: An Innovative Technology
for Tobacco Cessation Among African American Dual Users