Individuals living with chronic and catastrophic diseases face significant challenges including acute and chronic pain, difficulties with medication adherence, and anxiety. Psychological interventions are often effective in targeting these difficulties. However, access to such interventions is limited due to barriers such as cost, geographical distance, and lack of trained providers. Digital health interventions, including the use of electronic health (eHealth) and mobile health (mHealth), have the potential to address barriers to care and improve access to evidence-based psychosocial interventions. In this presentation, Dr. Alberts will provide an overview of her recent research aimed at improving behavioural health and psychological outcomes among youth and adults who have been impacted by chronic and catastrophic diseases via the use of innovative digital health interventions. Particular attention will be paid to those on-treatment or surviving childhood cancer as well as to youth with sickle cell disease. The application of user-centered design to the development of effective digital health interventions targeting specific problem areas will also be explored. Future directions for advancing behavioural health and psychological outcomes across the lifespan using engaging and sustainable digital health interventions will be discussed.
Dr. Nicole Alberts is an Associate Professor and Canada Research Chair (Tier 2) in Behavioural Health Intervention at Concordia University in Montréal. Following her graduate and post-graduate training at the University of Regina and the University of Washington School of Medicine respectively, she joined the Department of Psychology, St. Jude Children's Research Hospital in Memphis, TN as an Assistant Member and Attending Psychologist. In 2020, she joined the Department of Psychology at Concordia.
Dr. Alberts has established herself as an expert in pain and childhood cancer as well as in the use of digital health interventions among medical populations. She has been recognized through a variety of awards and honours including the Childhood Cancer Survivor Study Career Development Award, and the Canadian Association of Psychosocial Oncology Early Career Investigator Award. To date, her scholarly work has resulted in 49 publications, 3 book chapters, and 10 invited talks.
Dr. Alberts' research program aims to improve behavioural health and psychological outcomes among individuals across the lifespan - with an emphasis on those diagnosed with catastrophic and chronic diseases. She also leverages digital health approaches to answer key research questions and to develop and test innovative interventions targeting pain and psychological outcomes.
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