Abstract

Whitney P. Witt, PhD, MPH is a child health services researcher and a new faculty member at Northwestern University. This proposed NICHD KOI Mentored Research Scientist Development Award will provide the necessary support to facilitate Dr. Witt's successful transition from a junior to independent investigator in the field of child and family population health research. Her long-term goal is to develop an interdisciplinary research program dedicated to improving the health and mental health of children with chronic conditions and their families through better understanding how childhood chronic illness affects family members over time. This goal will be achieved through a 5-year program of didactic training and mentored research with two objectives: 1) to acquire new skills in behavioral biology, econometric and sociological research, and child and family demography and 2) to develop a framework of preliminary results to support an independent research proposal at the end of the award. The objectives of the award will be addressed through three specific aims corresponding to three phases of progress in Dr. Witt's career development.
Aim 1 seeks to determine the relationships among child illness level, family burden, and child healthcare use and costs.
Aim 2 seeks to characterize the pathways through which changes in family burden impact the health and mental health of children with chronic illness.
Aim 3 seeks to determine the feasibility, performance, and comparability of biological markers of psychological stress in caregivers and caregiver-reported survey measures of stress and how such measures are related to child health outcomes.
The aims of this award are designed to provide the additional experience and resources necessary to support the development of an independent R01 research proposal at the end of the award for a longitudinal study of parents and their children with chronic conditions to document the impact, both perceived and biological, of stress among caregivers, and likewise the impact of caregiver stress on the outcomes of the children they care for.

  Funding Agency

Agency
National Institute of Health (NIH)
Institute
Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health & Human Development (NICHD)
Type
Research Scientist Development Award - Research & Training (K01)
Project #
5K01HD049533-06
Application #
7622654
Study Section
Pediatrics Subcommittee (CHHD)
Program Officer
King, Rosalind B
Project Start
2005-06-01
Project End
2012-05-31
Budget Start
2009-06-01
Budget End
2012-05-31
Support Year
6
Fiscal Year
2009
Total Cost
$135,343
Indirect Cost

  Institution

Name
University of Wisconsin Madison
Department
Public Health & Prev Medicine
Type
Schools of Medicine
DUNS #
161202122
City
Madison
State
WI
Country
United States
Zip Code
53715

  Publications

Creswell, Paul D; Wisk, Lauren E; Litzelman, Kristin et al. (2014) Parental depressive symptoms and childhood cancer: the importance of financial difficulties. Support Care Cancer 22:503-11
Garbarski, Dana; Witt, Whitney P (2013) Child Health, Maternal Marital and Socioeconomic Factors, and Maternal Health. J Fam Issues 34:484-509
Litzelman, Kristin; Barker, Emily; Catrine, Kristine et al. (2013) Socioeconomic disparities in the quality of life in children with cancer or brain tumors: the mediating role of family factors. Psychooncology 22:1081-8
Pollock, Elizabeth A; Litzelman, Kristin; Wisk, Lauren E et al. (2013) Correlates of physiological and psychological stress among parents of childhood cancer and brain tumor survivors. Acad Pediatr 13:105-12
Wisk, Lauren E; Witt, Whitney P (2012) Predictors of delayed or forgone needed health care for families with children. Pediatrics 130:1027-37
Witt, Whitney P; Litzelman, Kristin; Spear, Hilary A et al. (2012) Health-related quality of life of mothers of very low birth weight children at the age of five: results from the Newborn Lung Project Statewide Cohort Study. Qual Life Res 21:1565-76
Litzelman, Kristin; Catrine, Kris; Gangnon, Ronald et al. (2011) Quality of life among parents of children with cancer or brain tumors: the impact of child characteristics and parental psychosocial factors. Qual Life Res 20:1261-9
Witt, Whitney P; Keller, Abiola; Gottlieb, Carissa et al. (2011) Access to adequate outpatient depression care for mothers in the USA: a nationally representative population-based study. J Behav Health Serv Res 38:191-204
Witt, Whitney P; Litzelman, Kristin; Mandic, Carmen G et al. (2011) Healthcare-Related Financial Burden among Families in the U.S.: The Role of Childhood Activity Limitations and Income. J Fam Econ Issues 32:308-326
Witt, Whitney P; Litzelman, Kristin; Wisk, Lauren E et al. (2010) Stress-mediated quality of life outcomes in parents of childhood cancer and brain tumor survivors: a case-control study. Qual Life Res 19:995-1005

Showing the most recent 10 out of 13 publications