Press Releases

Exploratory Center on Self and Family Management for Vulnerable Populations celebrates transition to one of only 9 NINR-funded core centers on self and family management at nursing schools throughout the country

New Haven, CT — October 28, 2004

The Exploratory Center on Self and Family Management for Vulnerable Populations at the Yale School of Nursing (YSN) is being expanded into a Core Center with funding from the National Institutes of Health/National Institute of Nursing Research.

On Wednesday, October 27, the Center on Self- and Family-Management for Vulnerable Populations celebrated its transition from an NIH-funded Exploratory Center to a Core Center with its first annual Symposium. Dr. Margaret Grey, Center Director, greeted attendees, described the Center structure, acknowledged the core co-directors, and introduced the keynote speaker, John E. Ware, Jr., PhD. Dr. Ware’s presentation was titled "Advances in Health Outcomes Assessment Methods for Chronically Ill Patients." The keynote was followed by a Plenary Session moderated by Dr. Gail Melkus, which focused on research conducted with funding from in the Exploratory Center.

Presenters included Drs. Marjorie Funk and Tish Knobf from YSN and Dr. Pauline Green from Howard University. The afternoon program featured Poster Presentations from the Feasibility and Pilot studies conducted through the Center on Self- and Family-Management for Vulnerable Populations and the Yale-Howard Partnership Center on Reducing Health Disparities.

Self management today encompasses a broad range of health, lifestyle, behavioral, and self assessment and treatment activities practiced by an individual, in the context of the family, and with the support of others, often nurses. Self management is a dynamic means of maintaining health rather than the submission to prescribed orders implied by the term compliance. The Center at YSN will make significant contributions to the understanding, development, and testing of self management interventions for people who are vulnerable to developing health problems through risky behaviors, age, gender, minority status, or the presence of disease or disability. The Center will promote synergy among investigators and multiple interdisciplinary collaborators through the use of shared resources, increasing communication, developing young scholars, and development of knowledge in self management interventions.

The Center will be under the direction of Dr. Margaret Grey, Associate Dean for Scholarly Affairs at YSN. Nursing faculty, as well as faculty from across Yale University and an External Advisory Committee will assist with the Center's development. The Center will house 4 Cores: Administrative (Margaret Grey, Director, with Co-Directors Gail Melkus and Lois Sadler for Vulnerable Populations); Methodologic Support (Marge Funk, Kathy Knafl, Co-Directors); Outcomes (Katherine Jones, Jane Dixon, Co-Directors); and Dissemination (Sally Cohen, Ruth McCorkle, Co-Directors).

Four pilot studies will be supported in the first year of the Center. These are

• Asymptomatic Myocardial Ischemia in Type 2 Diabetes, Deborah Chyun, PI
• Minding the Baby: Home Visiting for Teen Mothers, Lois Sadler, PI
• Women's Role in the Management of Advanced Ovarian Cancer, Dena Schulman-Green, PI
• Self-Management Behaviors Relating to the Metabolic Syndrome in Childhood Cancer Survivors, Stuart Weinzimer, PI

"The awarding of this grant recognizes the leadership of the YSN faculty in conducting research that will help individuals and families manage chronic conditions more effectively," said Center Director Margaret Grey. "The grant will help us to pool resources to more rapidly advance the science in this very important area, not only to intervention research, but also to dissemination to professional and lay communities."

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