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Health Care Delivery Science
Nemours Children's Center for Health Care Delivery Science (CHDS) studies the many influences that can affect the outcomes, quality, cost, safety and value of children’s health care. Our goal is to build a strong base of scientific evidence about how health care can best be delivered so that children get exactly the care they need, right when they need it — and families feel that they have had an active role in that care.
We can achieve real gains in children’s health by learning how existing or new treatments can be selected and delivered efficiently to improve access, children’s outcomes and family satisfaction.
What We Can Offer
If you are a researcher, the Center for Health Care Delivery Science (CHDS) can offer you a wide range of assistance:
- Mentoring and career development toward a goal of earning external funding for your CHDS work
- Locating sources of funding for your CHDS research
- Helping you plan for the collection of preliminary data that could strengthen your CHDS grant applications
- Developing statistical analysis plans for your CHDS studies
- Consultation in preparing and refining your CHDS grant applications so they meet the Methodology Standards of the Patient Centered Outcomes Research Institute
- Assisting with queries to the Nemours Data Warehouse, either for research or for determining feasibility of research ideas
- Helping you find databases and patient registries that may provide opportunities for CHDS research in your field of interest
- Connecting you with experts at Nemours and elsewhere with research interests similar to yours
- Connecting CHDS researchers elsewhere with the right people at Nemours
- Consultation in writing journal articles that report the results of your research
Research Stories
Research Studies
Current Studies
Researchers with the Center for Health Care Delivery Science have been awarded research grants for a range of studies:
Trauma Informed Care for Children and Families in Pediatric Health Care
Toy Industry Foundation
This project will explore the impact of trauma-informed patient care and the role of play in helping children and families heal and cope while in the hospital. The multiphase research will gather perspectives of patients/families of diverse backgrounds and health care providers regarding the need for, and best ways to deliver, trauma-informed pediatric patient care — an approach that incorporates awareness of the potentially traumatic nature of medical events and aims to reduce or prevent traumatic stress reactions in children. Research findings will be used to develop an innovative, high-quality program focused on trauma-informed care, using play materials and related resources designed to support and comfort children experiencing stress reactions due to life-threatening illness, injury or painful medical procedures.
Principal Investigator:
Helping Families With Children With Autism: Identifying Psychosocial Stressors
The Caplan Foundation
The goal of this project is to adapt The Psychosocial Assessment Tool © (PAT) for use in the Autism population and pilot it in the Nemours Swank Autism Center.
Principle Investigators:
PedsNet Clinical Data Research Network
Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute
Nemours is one of eight major pediatric care organizations comprising PedsNet that together were selected by the Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute (PCORI) as one of its 11 Clinical Data Research Networks. Nemours’ partners in PedsNet include Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (the lead institution), Cincinnati Children’s Hospital and Medical Center, Boston Children’s Hospital, St. Louis Children’s Hospital, Nationwide Children’s Hospital, Children’s Hospital of Colorado and Seattle Children’s Hospital. PedsNet has combined de-identified electronic medical record data comprising 4.7 million clinical encounters and 2.3 million children from all eight organizations to create an exceptionally valuable resource for comparative effectiveness research on children’s health conditions.
During the 18-month Phase I of this grant support, which is complete, PEDSNet achieved a variety of technical and administrative milestones. In October 2015, PEDSNet was awarded Phase II funding that will enable completion of several research studies to demonstrate the network’s capabilities, to illustrate how other researchers can make use of this unique resource and to implement a sustainability plan over the next 3 years.
Learn More About This Initiative
Nemours Principal Investigators:
Timothy Bunnell, PhD
Ann Kazak, PhD, ABPP
PedsNet Principal Investigator:
Christopher B. Forrest, MD, PhD, Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia
Identifying Psychosocial Risk in Siblings of Children With Cancer: The Sibling Module of the PAT
Andrew McDonough B+ Foundation
Following guidelines for the development and validation of measures, this study will ensure that the PAT Sibling Module has internal consistency, concurrent validity and predictive validity.
Principal Investigator:
Screening for Family Psychosocial Risk in Pediatric Sickle Cell Disease
NIH Centers of Biomedical Research Excellence (COBRE)
Families of children with Sickle Cell Disease (SCD) face significant illness and life-related psychosocial adversity that can affect health outcomes and contribute to health disparities. There is currently a lack of validated and culturally-specific psychosocial screening measures for families of children with SCD. The purpose of this mixed methods study is to adapt the Psychosocial Assessment Tool (PAT) as a screening tool for psychosocial risk in families of children with SCD. The specific aims of the study include: 1) to assess caregiver perspectives on the acceptability and utility of the PAT in SCD, to help inform possible modifications to the measure, 2) derive risk factors from the PAT-SCD and evaluate the relationship between risk factors and relevant functional health and school outcomes; and 3) to establish the validity of the PAT-SCD and its psychometric properties. This study is one of several projects that are part of a 5-year funded grant from the National Institutes of Health Centers of Biomedical Research Excellence (NIH COBRE) to develop a comprehensive Sickle Cell Disease clinical and research center in the state of Delaware.
Principal Investigators:
Steven Reader, PhD
Anne E. Kazak, PhD, ABPP
Transdisciplinary Versus Usual Care for Type 1 Diabetes in Adolescence
Specific Aims (PDF)
Nationally, fewer than 25 percent of adolescents with type 1 diabetes achieve glycated hemoglobin levels below 7.5 percent, a widely accepted indicator of acceptable blood glucose control. This NIH-funded (1-DP3-DK113235) project will engage an online community of adolescents with type 1 diabetes, parents and diabetes professionals in developing and refining a Transdisciplinary Care model for adolescents with type 1 diabetes. The researchers will then compare Transdisciplinary Care to Usual Care in a 1-year, randomized controlled trial. In the Transdisciplinary Care model, adolescents' and parents' diabetes clinic visits will be conjoint encounters with a nurse practitioner, dietitian and psychologist who will train each other in the fundamentals and methods of their respective professions.
Principal Investigator:
Pain Management in Pediatric Cancer: Understanding Family Decision Making
Nemours Biomedical Research Fellows Grant
This study aims to characterize the ways in which children with cancer and their parents make decisions around pain management at home and explore how this joint decision-making impacts children’s pain.
Principal Investigator:
Aimee Hildenbrand, PhD
Mentor: Melissa A. Alderfer, PhD
Implementing Hydroxyurea Therapy Among Youth With Sickle Cell Disease: A Needs Assessment
NIH Centers of Biomedical Research Excellence (COBRE)
This pilot project aims to identify rates of Hydroxyurea use at Nemours and barriers to uptake from the perspective of patients, caregivers, and providers.
Principal Investigator:
Aimee Hildenbrand, PhD
Mentor: Melissa Alderfer, PhD
Integrating Parenting Interventions Into Pediatric Obesity Care
National Institutes of Health
This study intervention consists of brief, tailored, culturally sensitive videos on the use of evidence-based parenting techniques for managing a child’s obesity-related behaviors and evaluates the impact of the intervention on parental self-efficacy, child behaviors and child weight.
Principal Investigator:
Ly Phan, PhD
Mentor: Anne Kazak, PhD, ABPP
Surviving Cancer CAMPetently: Evidence Based Care Delivered at Family Camp
Alex’s Lemonade Stand Foundation
This project will adapt the empirically-based Surviving Cancer Competently Intervention Program (SCCIP ©) for delivery at Family Camp sessions of Camp Okizu, a camp serving the pediatric oncology community.
Principal Investigator:
An eHealth Psychosocial Intervention for Caregivers of Children With Cancer
Mattie Miracle Foundation
This project will translate the eSCCIP intervention into Spanish.
Principal Investigator:
Kimberly Canter, PhD
Mentor: Anne Kazak. PhD, ABPP
Community Implementation of a Psychosocial eHealth Intervention for Parents of Children With Cancer
American Psychosocial Oncology Society
The major goal of this project is to collect feasibility and acceptability data regarding the use of eSCCIP at a community mental health clinic focused on supporting individuals with cancer and their families.
Principal Investigator:
Kimberly Canter, PhD
Mentor: Anne Kazak. PhD, ABPP
Development and Evaluation of a Behavioral Sleep Intervention: SLEEP-CF
Cystic Fibrosis Foundation
The primary goal of this proposed project is to develop and pilot test a brief, individually-tailored sleep intervention for adolescents with Cystic Fibrosis.
Principal Investigators:
Kimberly Canter, PhD
Aaron Chidekel, MD
Caregiver Use of an Online Patient Portal in Pediatric Oncology
Hyundai Hope on Wheels
This study examines associations among socio-demographic factors, clinical characteristics, engagement in treatment, and patterns of medical record portal use among families of children with cancer.
Principal Investigator:
Corinna Schultz, PhD
Mentor: Melissa A. Alderfer, PhD
Improving Patient Portal Use for Caregivers of Children With Cancer
Nemours funded PEDSNet K12
This study utilizes a mixed methods approach combining electronically captured portal use data, quantitative measures, and qualitative interviews with caregivers of children with cancer to examine outcomes of portal use.
Principal Investigator:
Corinna Schultz, MD
Mentor: Melissa Alderfer, PhD
Mobile Phone Ecological Momentary Assessment in Adolescents Using Continuous Glucose Monitoring: A Feasibility Study
Nemours Biomedical Research
The goal of this study is to validate the use of mobile phone-based ecological momentary assessment to assess how adolescents use their continuous glucose monitors.
Principal Investigator:
Paul Enlow, PhD
Mentors: Melissa A. Alderfer, PhD
Stakeholder-Driven Intervention to Prevent Posttraumatic Stress in Parents of Children With Congenital Heart Disease
PCORI funded PEDSNet K12
This project will design and test a prenatal, family-based psychosocial intervention for parents expecting a child with CHD, in collaboration with parent partners from Mended Little Hearts of Delaware.
Principal Investigator:
Erica Sood, PhD
Mentor: Anne Kazak, PhD, ABPP
Serving Students Experiencing Homelessness in the Camden City School District
Institute of Education Sciences
This project will identify, understand, and serve students who experience homelessness. The grant funds research that uses information from different sources to recognize the scope of homelessness in the district and what students and their families experience.
Principal Investigator:
J. J. Cutuli, PhD
Psychosocial Care for Youth With Type 1 Diabetes: A National Survey
Delaware CTR
This project is a survey on the integration of ISPAD guidelines into standard care in partnership with a national sample of pediatric endocrinology clinics.
Principal Investigator:
Julia Price, PhD
Implementing Family Psychosocial Risk Screening for Pediatric Health Equity
American Cancer Society
The goal of this study is to create and broadly disseminate an implementation toolkit to facilitate acceptable, feasible and sustainable family psychosocial risk screening in English and Spanish. The PAT will be implemented across a national sample of 18 pediatric cancer programs in a comparative effectiveness study.
Principal Investigator:
Assessing Family Psychosocial Risk in Cerebral Palsy: Adaptation of the Psychosocial Assessment Tool (PAT).
Nemours
The goal of this project is to adapt a screener of psychosocial risk (Psychosocial Assessment Tool, PAT) for families of children with CP (The PAT-CP).
Principal Investigator:
Implementing Effective Psychosocial Care for Children and Adolescents With Type 1 Diabetes and Their Families
Jacqueline Badger Mars 2019 Charitable Lead Trust.
The goals of the study are to understand the complex, nuanced barriers to families engaging in and utilizing psychosocial care for T1D, and develop implementation strategies to address these barriers.
Principal Investigator:
Julia Price, PhD
Racial/Ethnic Disparities in Health Care Delivery among Youth With Type 1 Diabetes
Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation
The goal of this study is to understand the barriers and facilitators to accessing, and optimally using, diabetes technologies among racial and ethnic minority youth with T1D and to explore the resources and support needed to overcome these barriers.
Principal Investigator:
Diabetes-Specific Risk-Taking in Young Adults With Type 1 Diabetes: A Measure Validation Study
Society of Pediatric Psychology
This project proposes to launch a new area of research in Pediatric Psychology that integrates an extensive literature on general YA risk-taking behaviors into our understanding of risk-taking in YA with T1D and its impact on health and psychosocial outcomes.
Principal Investigator:
Rachel M. Wasserman Daniels, PhD
Home-Based Video Telemedicine to Reduce Parental Fear of Hypoglycemia in Young Kids With T1D
National Institutes of Health
This is a multisite randomized clinical trial to further evaluate the efficacy of a tailored video-based telehealth intervention to reduce fear of hypoglycemia in parents of young children with type 1 diabetes.
Principal Investigator:
Exploring Moderators and Mediators of the Association Between Postpartum Depression Symptoms and Infant Development
Nemours Biomedical Research
The study investigates parenting practices as a mediator of the relationship between postpartum depression and infant development during the first year of motherhood. It also explores the relationship of maternal “purpose in life” to the course of depressive symptoms, parenting, and infant development over this time.
Principal Investigators:
Danielle Hatchimonji, PhD
Mentor: J.J. Cutuli, PhD
Recently Completed Studies
Implementing Family Psychosocial Risk Screening in English and Spanish
CureSearch for Children’s Cancer
This project consists of a one-day workshop to facilitate the implementation of The Psychosocial Assessment Tool© (PAT) in centers that treat children with cancer in Florida. The PAT is a brief parent report web-based screener, available in English and Spanish, that assesses psychosocial risk across the child and family’s social environment. The PAT was developed by Dr. Anne Kazak, who will be conducting the workshop in conjunction with Helena Gutierrez Richards, LCSW and other social workers at Nemours Children’s Health, Jacksonville in Florida, who have been using the PAT in clinical practice since April 2015.
Principal Investigator:
Helena Gutierrez Richards, LCSW
Anne Kazak, PhD, ABPP (Co-Investigator)
Cross-Cultural Psychosocial Risk Screening in Pediatric Cancer American Cancer Society, RSG-13-015
The Psychosocial Assessment Tool (PAT) is a parent report screener of psychosocial risk for families in pediatric health care. This project studies English and Spanish versions of the PAT in pediatric cancer to describe changes over time in risk, particularly for Spanish-speaking families, in an effort to identify factors related to health disparities in this population. The study is being conducted at Nemours Children’s Hospital, Delaware, The Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP) and MD Anderson Cancer Center.
Principal Investigator:
Psychological Intervention Research in Pediatric Oncology
National Cancer Institute, K05CA128805
This is a senior scientist mentor award that provides for mentorship of multidisciplinary cancer researchers working on projects related to psychological intervention research.
Principal Investigator:
Trajectories of Sibling Adjustment to Childhood Cancer: The First Two Years Postdiagnosis
Previous research suggests that siblings of children with cancer experience various negative emotions including guilt, loss, fear, grief, anger and helplessness These symptoms are not unexpected — childhood cancer in the family is an extreme stressor — and, with time, most siblings find ways to cope with their negative reactions and return to their previous levels of functioning. For some, however, these symptoms persist and can develop into troublesome emotional and behavioral problems. In this two-year study funded by the Andrew McDonough B+ Foundation, principal investigator Melissa A. Alderfer, PhD, will partner with SuperSibs, a program of the Alex's Lemonade Stand Foundation, to recruit 200 families of children with cancer from across the nation into a longitudinal study of sibling adjustment. Data will be collected at three points, approximately six months apart. Findings from this study will lead to a better understanding of the adjustment of siblings of children with cancer, and will distinguish early in the adjustment process those siblings who will prove to be resilient without intervention from those who require more support and assistance. Offering a rare contribution for this underserved and often unacknowledged population, this information is vital to embracing and promoting Nemours' commitment to family-centered care — ensuring that siblings of children with cancer are getting the right level of care to meet their unique needs.
Principal Investigator:
Shared Medical Decision Making in Pediatric Diabetes (Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute)
Studies show that teens with diabetes benefit less than adults from new technologies such as insulin pumps and continuous glucose monitors. In this study, we will be developing and testing Web-delivered resources that are designed to help parents and teens with diabetes make better decisions about whether to add these devices to their care.
Principal Investigator:
Tim Wysocki, PhD, ABPP
Maintenance of Health Care Providers’ Clinical Proficiency: Transdisciplinary Analysis, Modeling and Intervention
Department of Defense — Telemedicine and Advanced Technology Research Center
This project will plan and test automated feedback supports as part of the electronic medical record system to help doctors make the best decisions about children’s care.
Principal Investigator:
Tim Wysocki, PhD, ABPP
Youth With Poorly Controlled Type 1 Diabetes: Do Behavioral Interventions Improve Health Outcomes and Lower Total Health Care Costs
American Psychological Association
This project addressed whether the delivery of behavioral interventions improved glycemic control and acute complications and whether health care costs lowered when behavioral interventions were part of care.
Principal Investigator:
Julia Price, PhD
Mentor: Anne Kazak, PhD, ABPP
Implementation of Psychosocial Interventions in Pediatric Cancer: An eHealth Adaptation of the Surviving Cancer Competently Intervention Program (SCCIP):
Nemours Biomedical Research Fellowship Grant
This study was an online adaptation of the Surviving Cancer Competently Intervention Protocol for facilitating coping with pediatric cancer.
Principal Investigator:
Kimberly Canter, PhD
Mentor: Anne Kazak. PhD, ABPP
Psychosocial Risk, Adherence and Outcomes in Pediatric Weight Management
NIDDK/American Pediatric Association
The goal of this study is to assess the impact of psychosocial risk on child weight, cardiometabolic risk, and visit adherence and to determine psychosocial predictors of child weight, cardiometabolic risk, and visit adherence, leveraging the capabilities of an EHR-linked patient portal for data collection.
Principal Investigator:
Ly Phan, PhD
Mentor: Anne Kazak, PhD
Incorporating Parent Perspectives in the Development of a Family Based Psychosocial Intervention in a Pediatric Cardiac Center
Mend a Heart Foundation
The study documented parent perspectives on the psychosocial needs of families of infants with congenital heart disease and the impact of a family based psychosocial intervention to prevent medical traumatic stress and enhance family functioning.
Principal Investigator:
Erica Sood, PhD
Mentor: Anne Kazak, PhD, ABPP
A Crowdsourced Social Media Portal for Parents of Very Young Children With Type 1 Diabetes
Taking care of children with type 1 diabetes who are under 6 years old is a huge challenge, and parental coping is a strong predictor of child health outcomes. In this three-year study, funded by the National Institutes of Health (NIH), principal investigators Jessica Pierce, PhD, will coordinate the design and evaluation of a "social media portal" that will provide medically accurate, "parent to parent" guidance and support in coping with the daily hurdles that parents must somehow handle. The project will use "crowdsourcing" to obtain input from a 200-member Parent Crowd and a 30-member Health Care Provider Crowd over time to gradually design and build this internet resource for parents. Once the social media portal has been built and is working, the team will complete a randomized controlled trial to evaluate effects of using this resource on child health and behavioral outcomes and on parents' coping, distress and quality of life. Parents' patterns of using the social media portal and their thoughts about how it could be improved will also be measured periodically during the trial.
Learn More About the Specific Aims (PDF)
Principal Investigators:
Screening for Psychosocial Risk Among Families of Children With Spinal Muscular Atrophy
Spinal muscular atrophy (SMA) poses significant challenges to families. Research documents that the burden of this disease is high and escalates throughout the child’s life as functional abilities decline and complications increase. The psychosocial needs of these families, however, are not systematically assessed, leading to gaps in the delivery of psychosocial care. Melissa Alderfer, PhD, and her co-investigators Matthew Butchbach, MD, head of the Motor Neuron Diseases Research Group, and Mena Scavina, MD, attending pediatric neurologist, received a one-year Clinical Care Pilot award from CureSMA to develop a brief, standardized measure of family psychosocial risks and resources, based upon the Psychosocial Assessment Tool (PAT) and tailored to the challenges and demands associated with SMA. This tool will eventually provide a way to screen families in an effective and inclusive manner, systematically identifying those in need so that appropriate psychosocial care can be provided.
Principal Investigator:
Melissa A. Alderfer, PhD
Screen to Intervene: A Family-Centered Approach to Identifying and Communicating Family Psychosocial Risk and Developing Evidence-Based Clinical Pathways in Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplantation
The delivery of psychosocial care to youth undergoing hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT) and their families lags behind existing scientific knowledge about the challenges experienced by patients and their families. This project will validate an adaptation of a brief parent report screener of family psychosocial risk — the Psychosocial Assessment Tool (PAT) for the particularly high-risk group of patients undergoing intensive treatments associated with HSCT, and integrate families in the development of clinical pathways of care for this high-risk population. This three-year project is funded by Alex’s Lemonade Stand and will be conducted at three sites: Nemours Children’s Hospital, Delaware, Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center and the University of Alabama-Birmingham's Division of Pediatric Hematology/Oncology at Children’s of Alabama Hospital.
Principal Investigator:
Anne E. Kazak, PhD, ABPP
Multiple Stakeholder Perspectives on Health Care Transition Outcomes in Type 1 Diabetes
Nemours Biomedical Research Fellows Grant
The goal of this project is to identify the content domain for a multidimensional measure of Diabetes Care Transition outcomes.
Principal Investigator:
Family Psychosocial Care Model for Congenital Heart Disease: A Crowdsourced Study
Delaware CTR Pilot Grant
A model of psychosocial care for families of infants with congenital heart disease is being developed using a crowdsourcing methodology.
Principal Investigator:
Erica Sood, PhD
Mentor: Anne Kazak. PhD, ABPP
Our Centers
Center for Health Care Delivery Science
The Nemours Center for Health Care Delivery Science (CHDS) is a research center across Nemours Children’s Health directed by Anne E. Kazak, PhD, ABPP, in Wilmington, Del. Founded in 2012, the center consists of an interdisciplinary team of research scientists, physicians and pediatric psychologists who apply scientific methods and principles to the analysis of variables and processes that affect the delivery, safety, outcomes, cost, quality and value of pediatric health care.
Key areas of research include clinical decision making, family adaptation to pediatric chronic medical conditions, health informatics, transition from pediatric to adult care, cancer care delivery research and family adjustment, including psychosocial risk screening in pediatric illness. Funding is provided by grants and contracts from the National Institutes of Health, Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute, American Cancer Society, the Department of Defense, Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, and private foundations.
A number of research studies are joint efforts with the Center for Pediatric Traumatic Stress (CPTS), a Center within the National Child Traumatic Stress Network that focuses on the development of empirically based screening and intervention for children and families who have experienced traumatic stress due to pediatric illness and injury. Center investigators provide mentoring and consultation to colleagues who may wish to conduct research in health care delivery science.
The Center for Health Care Delivery Science helps Nemours to be among the top 5% of all U.S. pediatric health care organizations by:
- Using Nemours’ advanced electronic health record system to show the quality and value of health care we deliver
- Teaching Nemours medical staff how findings from health care delivery science research can be applied in their practices
- Helping Nemours care teams identify research questions and design research that can improve the quality, cost and value of care
- Attracting skilled researchers to conduct health care delivery science at Nemours
- Obtaining more funding for Center for Health Care Delivery Science research, including studies based at Nemours and multisite national investigations
A number of studies are joint efforts with the Center for Pediatric Traumatic Stress (CPTS), founded in 2002 to address medical trauma in the lives of children and families. The center is colocated at Nemours Children’s Hospital, Delaware and Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia.
The Center for Pediatric Traumatic Stress (CPTS) addresses health-related trauma in the lives of children and families. The center's mission is to reduce medical traumatic stress by promoting trauma-informed health care, integrating practical evidence-based tools into pediatric medical care, and ensuring that health care providers are knowledgeable and skilled in trauma-informed care for culturally diverse youth and their families. CPTS has developed and evaluated acute and brief family-focused interventions, which can be integrated within pediatric health care.
The center’s current goals are to:
- Engage and provide national expertise to health care providers and health care systems in improving outcomes for children and families with medical trauma
- Adapt, disseminate and provide training to mental health providers in trauma-informed assessments and interventions for children and families experiencing medical trauma
- Ensure that children and families have access to evidence-based resources and interventions that address the impact of medical trauma
- Equip other child-serving systems with trauma-informed approaches to address injury, illness and medical problems in children and families
Activities to achieve these goals include:
- Promoting professional and public awareness of medical trauma via CPTS's active web presence and the CPTS partnership with national health provider organizations
- Supporting implementation of effective assessment and intervention for medical trauma in health care settings
- Delivering training on and tools for assessment and intervention with medical trauma to health and mental health providers
- Disseminating trauma-focused resources in English and Spanish to children and families experiencing medical trauma
The Center for Pediatric Traumatic Stress is co-directed by Nancy Kassam-Adams, PhD, at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia and Anne Kazak, PhD, ABPP, at Nemours Children’s Hospital, Delaware.
Our Team
Leadership
Anne E. Kazak, PhD, ABPP
Anne E. Kazak, PhD, ABPP is the Director of the Center for Health Care Delivery Science at Nemours Children's Health, based at Nemours Children's Hospital, Delaware in Wilmington, Delaware. She is also the co-Director of the Center for Pediatric Traumatic Stress, a Treatment and Services Adaptation Center in the National Child Traumatic Stress Network and the Editor-in-Chief of the American Psychologist. She is a past Editor of Health Psychology, the Journal of Family Psychology, and the Journal of Pediatric Psychology. Dr. Kazak is a licensed psychologist (in Delaware and Pennsylvania) and Professor of Pediatrics at the Sidney Kimmel Medical School of Thomas Jefferson University, Adjunct Professor of Psychological and Brain Sciences at the University of Delaware, and Professor of Pediatrics at the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania. Dr. Kazak's experience as a clinician, researcher and administrator has helped to advance integrated (medical, behavioral) care for children and families from a systems perspective. She is a frequent consultant and reviewer on national and international projects related to pediatric psychology. Dr. Kazak is the recipient of many research grants and several awards, including the Cummings American Psychological Cummings PSYCHE Prize for integrated care. Dr. Kazak received her PhD in Clinical-Community Psychology from the University of Virginia and completed her internship training at Yale University School of Medicine, Department of Psychiatry. Her undergraduate degree was awarded by Smith College in Massachusetts.
Learn More About Dr. Kazak
View Dr. Kazak's Curriculum Vitae (CV)
Melissa A. Alderfer, PhD
Melissa Alderfer, PhD is a Center Director in the Center for Health Care Delivery Science at Nemours Children's Health, based at Nemours Children's Hospital, Delaware in Wilmington, Delaware. Dr. Alderfer is a Principal Research Scientist at Nemours, an Associate Professor of Pediatrics at Sidney Kimmel Medical College of Thomas Jefferson University, an Affiliated Associate Professor of Psychological and Brain Sciences at the University of Delaware, and an Associate Editor of Journal of Pediatric Psychology. She is a licensed clinical psychologist (in Pennsylvania). Dr. Alderfer’s program of research focuses on how childhood chronic illness impacts families, how families adapt and learn to manage illness and the health care system, and how we can intervene to improve the experience. Dr. Alderfer has received funding for her research from the National Cancer Institute, Department of Defense, American Cancer Society, Alex’s Lemonade Stand Foundation and the Andrew McDonough B+ Cancer Foundation. Dr. Alderfer received her PhD in Clinical Psychology from the University of Utah, completed her internship training at Children’s Memorial Medical Center in Chicago, IL, and completed a postdoctoral fellowship at The Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia. She received her undergraduate degree and a Masters of Science in Education at the University of Pennsylvania.
Susana R. Patton, PhD, ABPP, CDE
Susana Patton, PhD ABPP is a Center Director in the Center for Health Care Delivery Science of Nemours Children's Health. She is based at the Nemours Children’s Health, Jacksonville, in Florida, where she also serves as a Principal Research Scientist. Dr. Patton is a licensed psychologist (Kansas and Florida) and a certified Diabetes Educator. Dr. Patton’s research focuses primarily on children with type 1 diabetes and the promotion of diabetes self-management, improved glycemic control and improved long-term outcomes for children. She has received funding for her research from the National Institutes of Health. Dr. Patton is board-certified in Child and Adolescent Psychology and her clinical interests include type 1 diabetes, adjustment to chronic illness in children and children’s continence issues. Dr. Patton received a PhD in Clinical Health Psychology from MCP Hahnemann University and completed internship training and a postdoctoral fellowship in Pediatric Psychology at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center. Dr. Patton received her undergraduate degree from Cornell University.
Faculty
- Kamyar Arasteh, PhD, Biostatistician, Del.
- Kimberly Canter, PhD, Clinical Psychologist, Del.
- J.J. Cutuli, PhD, Senior Research Scientist, Del.
- Paul Enlow, PhD, Clinical Psychologist, Del.
- Danielle Hatchimonji, PhD, Assistant Research Scientist, Del.
- Aimee Hildenbrand, PhD, Clinical Psychologist, Del.
- Shreela Palit, PhD, Clinical Psychologist
- Thao-Ly Phan, MD, Physician, Del.
- Jessica Pierce, PhD, Clinical Psychologist, Fla.
- Julia Price, PhD, Pediatric Psychologist, Del.
- Steven Reader, PhD, Psychologist, Del
- Corinna Schultz, MD, Physician, Del.
- Erica Sood, PhD, Clinical Psychologist, Del.
- Rachel M. Wasserman Daniels, PhD, Clinical Psychologist, Fla.
Fellows
- Christina Amaro, PhD, Postdoctoral Fellow
Staff
- Benjamin Bear, MSW, Clinical Research Coordinator, Del.
- Dana Berger, MPH, Program Manager, Del.
- Alyssa Decino, BA, Administrative Coordinator, Del.
- Joanne Jung, BA, Clinical Research Coordinator, Del.
- Amanda Lewis, MPH, Data Analyst, Del.
- Mary McElwain, Administrative Coordinator, Del.
- Amy Milkes, MA, Clinical Research Coordinator, Fla.
- Kristen Morga, MS, Clinical Research Coordinator, Fla.
- Kimberly Noriega, MS, Clinical Research Coordinator, Fla.
- Angel Munoz Osorio, BA, Clinical Research Coordinator, Del.
- Alejandra Perez Ramirez, BA, Clinical Research Coordinator, Del.
- Michele Scialla, MSN, Clinical Research Nurse, Del.
- Katherine Stenman, MSW, Clinical Research Coordinator, Del.
- Alison Taggi-Pinto, MEd, Senior Clinical Research Coordinator, Del.
- Courtney Thomas, MS, Clinical Research Coordinator, Del.
- Gabriela Vega, MS, Program Coordinator, Del.
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