Kevin A. Hommel, PhD

I am a pediatric psychologist and researcher, with a special interest in the use of health technology to improve self-management of pediatric chronic conditions. I’m also interested in improving access to care and enhancing care provision through the use of technology. I joined the Cincinnati Children’s team in 2008.

I became interested in health technology research early in my career, when I saw that while our interventions were helping our patients and families, many families could not take advantage of them. These families had barriers to care such as living too far from the hospital. This led us to find new and innovative ways to reach our patients so their needs could be met.

In my research, we develop and evaluate innovative technologies to help children and their families meet the demands of managing a chronic condition effectively. We are also using these technologies to improve the data clinicians can access to better inform patient care.

Our successes include licensing our “Migraine Manager” technology to Pear Therapeutics. This program provides evidence-based self-management assessment and intervention for adolescents with migraine.

We have also developed and continue to optimize the SMART IBD mobile app for use in iOS and Android operating systems. This app provides evidence-based self-management care for adolescents with inflammatory bowel disease.

Finally, we have developed a working prototype of an electronic adherence monitoring device for use across chronic conditions.

I’m honored that my colleague, Dr. Meghan McGrady, and I received the 2018 Journal of Pediatric Psychology Most Cited Paper Award for our article “Targeting Health Behaviors to Reduce Health Care Costs in Pediatric Psychology: Descriptive Review and Recommendations.” I am also a fellow in the American Psychological Association (APA), and I received the APA Division 54, Society of Pediatric Psychology 2008 Routh Early Career Award in Pediatric Psychology.