Research Centers - University of Pennsylvania School of Nursing

the well-being of children, especially those
who have survived brain tumors. “Cancer
survivorship research started with pediatrics,”
says Dr. Deatrick. “We now have 30 years of
data of children who have overcome cancer.
Children with brain tumors are the second
most-affected disease survivors and are more
susceptible to other diseases.”
And a child changed by brain surgery
can also affect caregivers. “The family’s wellbeing
as a unit has an impact on the child’s
ability to function. Oncology resources and
programs have been more family-oriented.
We need to learn from these programs
and develop similar resources for other
illnesses,” says Dr. Deatrick whose research
agenda is aligned with the NINR’s strategic
plan to “design intervention studies using
community-based approaches to facilitate
health promotion/risk reduction behaviors,
e.g. families with special needs such as
parents or caregivers of persons with chronic
illness or developmental disabilities.”
Center for Health Disparities Research
Established: 2005 (after merger of the Urban Health Center and
International Center for Research with Children and Families)
Director: Loretta Sweet Jemmott, PhD, RN, FAAN
Associate Director: Janet A. Deatrick, PhD, RN, FAAN
School of Nursing faculty members:
Jane Barnsteiner, PhD, FAAN
Christopher L. Coleman, PhD, MS, MPH, APRN-BC, ACRN, FAAN
Lisa M. Lewis, PhD, RN
Terri H. Lipman, PhD, CRNP, FAAN
William McCool, PhD, CNM, RN
Ann O’Sullivan, PhD, CRNP, FAAN
Mary Lou de Leon Siantz, PhD, RN, FAAN
Marilyn Sommers, PhD, RN, FAAN
Diane L. Spatz, PhD, RNC, FAAN
Marilyn Stringer, PhD, CRNP
Anne Teitelman, PhD, CRNP
Lorraine Tulman, DNSc, RN, FAAN
Pre-doctoral fellows (since Center’s inception): 22
Post-doctoral fellows (since Center’s inception): 21
Current active awards: 29
Current fellowships: Five
Fiscal Year 2007 funding: $1,748,411
AND ABROAD
The prosperous southern African nation of
Botswana, with a population of almost 1.8
million, has an estimated HIV prevalence
rate of 24 percent, according to the Joint
United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS. For
three years, Assistant Professor of Nursing
Christopher L. Coleman, G ’83, PhD, MS,
MPH, APRN-BC, ACRN, FAAN, has been
working with colleagues at the University
of Botswana School of Nursing and Penn
Nursing students to develop initiatives
that will teach Botswanans about HIV-risk
reduction behaviors. “Botswanans are better
educated than Americans about HIV and
AIDS and its causes and treatment, but there
is a cultural stigma with regard to taking
medication and discussing one’s HIV status
outside of a health clinic,” says Dr. Coleman.
“We’ve found that many of these people
won’t take their medications at work and
mothers will continue to breastfeed their
babies even though they can pass along HIV
to their children simply because they don’t
want others to know they are infected with
the disease.” Unprotected heterosexual
activity is the main form of HIV transmission
in Botswana. Dr. Coleman and his colleagues
are conducting the first surveys of the sexual
behaviors of Botswanan men. “From this
data, we will design a culturally-tailored
intervention program.”
“CHDR faculty members are involved in various
research projects aimed at improving the
health of vulnerable populations as a way to
reduce health disparities.”
FUNDING THE FUTURE
For the last five years, the Center has had one of
six P20 pilot grants from the NINR that support
pilot research between faculty from research
institutions with those from historically minorityserving
colleges and universities. “This grant
has allowed the School to form the Hampton
University-Penn Center for Reducing Health
Disparities partnership, which has developed
a cadre of researchers who will advance
nursing science by encouraging junior faculty
and doctoral students at both Hampton and at
Penn to bring their research ideas to fruition,
including studies exploring body weight changes
in African American and Caucasian adolescents,
the family influences on risky sexual behaviors
in African American college students and the
linking genetics and obesity to diabetes,” says
Associate Professor of Nursing Lorraine J.
Tulman, GRN ’84, DNSc, RN, FAAN, the Center’s
P20 study core director. “The results of many of
these studies have been published, accepted for
publication, or have led to further research.”
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