Research
The research conducted by the Health and Development Lab is primarily focused on sleep, pain, and other health outcomes in two populations: (1) Sickle Cell Disease and (2) Youth and Young Adults.
Sickle Cell Disease
SCD is the most common inherited red blood cell disorder in the world, affecting approximately 100,000 Americans and millions worldwide. Individuals with SCD can face a host of medical complications (e.g., pain, poor sleep, fatigue, and organ damage). Our work sheds light on the daily lives and experiences of individuals with SCD, with a focus on documenting both risk and resilience factors and processes within the population. We are also focused on testing and improving the implementation and dissemination of interventions for this population. Current projects in this area include:
- Characterizing the sleep experiences of people living with SCD.
- Exploring biopsychosocial factors (including sleep) and processes that influence SCD pain presentation, progression, and impact across the lifespan.
- Investigating SCD pain interventions, including those using ehealth technology and those focused on sleep and nutritional factors related to pain.
- Examining factors related to implementation and dissemination of sleep assessments and interventions for people living with SCD.
Youth and Young Adults
Pain and sleep problems are common for youth and young adults. Our team is focused on addressing gaps in our understanding of the pain and sleep experiences of youth and young adults as well as developing, implementing, and disseminating interventions to address pain and sleep problems for these populations. In addition, emerging research indicates that sleep plays a key role in maintaining poor health outcomes. Poor sleep puts individuals at higher risk for pain, obesity, heart disease, and a host of other poor health outcomes. Our projects in this area include:
- Characterizing chronic pain, related factors, and pain management strategies used by young adults
- Examining the role of disrupted sleep as mechanism for the influence of stressors on other health outcomes
- Investigating pain and sleep problems in the context of family relationships, including parent-child relationships