Monday, November 26, 2018
1:30- 2:30 PM ~ HPNP G-210
Sarah Westen, Ph.D.
Postdoctoral Associate
University of Florida
Department of Clinical & Health Psychology
Approximately 1.25 million Americans currently live with type 1 diabetes, including 200,000 youth (1:500). Each year, 40,000 people are diagnosed with type 1 diabetes in the U.S., with the prevalence in youth expected to triple in the next 30 years. The type 1 diabetes treatment regimen is complex and burdensome requiring several daily adherence behaviors to achieve optimal glycemic control and reduce acute and chronic health complications. This talk will focus on first, describe the type 1 diabetes treatment regimen; second, present the prevalence of adherence behaviors in youth, and third, discuss psychological factors that impact adherence behaviors and may be targeted for intervention..
Dr. Sarah Westen is a Postdoctoral Associate and Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation (JDRF) National Psychology Fellow in the Department of Clinical and Health Psychology at the University of Florida. She completed her doctoral training and pediatric psychology internship at The University of Florida following a two-year research fellowship in pediatric psychology at the NIH. Her research includes examining factors affecting adherence behaviors in youth with type 1 diabetes; the impact of sleep on adherence and glycemic control; perceived patients’ barriers to participation in clinical trials, depression screening in pediatric diabetes clinics, and the feasibility of telehealth psychological interventions for adolescents with type 1 diabetes. Dr. Westen, sees patients for intervention services in the UF Psychology Clinic and the multidisciplinary UF Pediatric Endocrinology Diabetes Clinic