Chronic Disease Management

Articles

• GI Psychology Partnership Q&A with Wendy Plante, PhD
  In 2004, pediatric gastroenterologists in Hasbro Children’s division of pediatric gastroenterology, hepatology and nutrition entered into a partnership with psychologists from the Division of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry. There was a recognition that kids with stomachaches, celiac disease, soiling issues and inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) could benefit from screenings for behavioral and emotional symptoms that might be making their symptoms worse or interfere with the treatment of their conditions. Read more.

Current Studies

• Development of an Illness Beliefs Questionnaire for Pediatric Illness
  This study is recruiting mothers whose children (ages 6-18) have either asthma, diabetes mellitus, inflammatory bowel disease, irritable bowel syndrome, or a seizure disorder. Some fathers and children themselves are also being recruited. Participants complete a variety of questionnaires at either one or two research sessions. Questionnaire responses are used to help us develop a new measure that can be used by medical and mental health providers.
  Principal Investigator: Jack Nassau, PhD

• Eating Pathology in Youth with Celiac Disease
  Funded by The Meyers Primary Care Institute in Worcester MA , the goal is to describe the prevalence and clinical manifestations of eating pathology in youth with celiac disease and to compare eating pathology of youth with celiac disease to normal controls.
  Principal Investigator: Jessica Edwards-George, PhD

• Psychosocial and Behavioral Factors of Gluten-Free Diet Adherence in Youth with Celiac Disease
  Funded by The Celiac Sprue Association, the study aims to describe the psychosocial and behavioral functioning of youth with celiac disease, determine the influence of these factors on gluten-free diet adherence, and refine and validate a family-based gluten-free diet adherence management assessment for youth with celiac disease.
  Principal Investigator: Jessica Edwards-George, PhD 

• Pediatric Food Allergy Education Groups
  This study is to get input from parents in order to design educational and supportive programs for families affected by food allergies. Parents of children with documented food allergies or documented Eosinophilic Esophagitis are being recruited to participate in focus groups and complete surveys about their experiences of living with food allergy, and their recommendations regarding what type of services would benefit families.
  Principal Investigator: Elizabeth McQuaid, PhD

• Development of the Pediatric IBD Behavioral Health Registry
  The purpose of this project is to develop a protocol for assessing the influence of psychological and behavioral factors (e.g., depression, medication adherence) on the disease course, treatment, and outcome of children and adolescents who have inflammatory bowel disease. The IBD Behavioral Health Registry is designed to intersect with an ongoing national inception-based registry investigating biomedical factors in pediatric IBD (e.g., disease severity, symptoms, genetics).
  Principal Investigator: Debra Lobato, PhD  and Neal LeLeiko, MD, PhD.