I am a clinical psychologist and researcher. In my patient care, I specialize in treating adolescents and young adults with conditions such as chronic pain and sickle cell disease. I seek to help them with managing their disease, treatment adherence and transitioning to adult healthcare.
I am the co-director of Innovations in Community Research in Cincinnati Children’s Division of Behavioral Medicine and Clinical Psychology. I also direct Cincinnati Children’s Center for Clinical and Translational Science and Training (CCTST) Community Engagement Core where I help the community and researchers work together on health projects.
I was inspired to work with young people after I lost a childhood friend to cancer. I chose to do research because I wanted to help as many children and families as I could. With my research, I strive to learn the best ways for the medical team and patients and families to work together to improve treatment and the family's quality of life.
My areas of research interest include self-management, treatment adherence, healthcare transition, recruitment and retention of minorities in research, integrating design thinking into research, implementation science and community engagement.
I hope to find answers to a number of questions with my research, including:
Engaging patients and communities allows us to develop innovative and feasible solutions to health challenges.
I am proud to be an elected fellow of the American Psychological Association (APA) and to have received their Division 54 Diversity Award. I’m also a committee member for the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine’s effort titled Addressing Sickle Cell Disease: A Strategic Plan and Blueprint for Action.
PsyD: Wright State University, Dayton, Ohio, 1995.
Residency: Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center, Cincinnati, OH.
Fellowship: Clinical Psychology, INTERACT Behavioral Healthcare Services Inc, Columbus, OH, 1995-1996.
Adolescents and young adults; sickle cell disease; transition to adult care; chronic pain; migraines; diversity and inclusion
Behavioral Medicine, Behavioral Medicine and Clinical Psychology
Community-engaged research; self-management; quality improvement; sickle cell disease; health disparities; patient centered outcomes; shared decision making; health services research
Clinical Psychology, Adherence and Self-Management
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Feasibility of a clinic-based, multicomponent hydroxyurea adherence intervention for adolescents and young adults with sickle cell disease. Pediatric Blood and Cancer. 2024; 71:e31144.
The pervasive influence of systems of power on transition readiness for adult care in sickle cell disease: A qualitative study. Pediatric Blood and Cancer. 2024; 71:e31156.
Attitudes, Beliefs, and Intention to Receive a COVID-19 Vaccine for Pediatric Patients With Sickle Cell Disease. Journal of Pediatric Hematology/Oncology. 2024; 46:e305-e312.
The Physician's Calling and Science Promote Health Equity and Outcomes-Reply. JAMA pediatrics. 2024; 178:729-730.
Development of a multimodal geomarker pipeline to assess the impact of social, economic, and environmental factors on pediatric health outcomes. Journal of the American Medical Informatics Association : JAMIA. 2024; 31:1471-1478.
Disease-modifying therapies for sickle cell disease: Decisional needs and supports among adolescents and young adults. Pediatric Blood and Cancer. 2024; 71:e30999.
A Health Equity ECHO Learning Series for Interdisciplinary Providers. 2024; 1.
Trajectory of Sleep, Depression, and Quality of Life in Pediatric HSCT Recipients. Transplantation and Cellular Therapy. 2024; 30:632.e1-632.e5.
Factors Associated With Racially and Ethnically Diverse Sample of Adolescents, Young Adults, and Parents' Intention to Receive a COVID-19 Vaccine. American Journal of Health Promotion. 2024; 38:672-682.
An Updated Equitable Model of Readiness for Transition to Adult Care: Content Validation in Young People With Sickle Cell Disease. JAMA pediatrics. 2024; 178:274-282.
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