Whitney P. Witt, PhD, MPH

Assistant Professor and Co-Director, BioPop: Integrative Biopsychosocial Research in Population Health

Email: wwitt@wisc.edu

Biography:

Dr. Whitney P. Witt is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Population Health Sciences at the School of Medicine and Public Health at University of Wisconsin, Madison and the Co-Director of BioPop: Integrative Biopsychosocial Research in Population Health. She holds a PhD in health services research and a MPH from the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and a BA in women's studies and law from Hampshire College. She completed a post-doctoral fellowship in the Pediatric Health Services Research Program at the Harvard Medical School, MassGeneral Hospital for Children.

Dr. Witt brings an interdisciplinary approach to studying the social, behavioral, and psychological factors that contribute to human development and disparities in family health and well-being across the lifespan. Her research addresses how familial relationships influence health behaviors, health and mental health status, and healthcare services use of individuals over time. Moreover, the goal of her research is to understand the physiological, behavioral, and social pathways by which health perceptions affect the health and healthcare use of family members and individuals living with illness.

She is currently exploring three primary lines of research: 1) the impact of childhood illness on the family; 2) maternal mental health and the impact on long-term health behaviors, health, and economic outcomes of mothers and children; 3) psychobiology of family caregiving across the lifespan. Dr. Witt is building a research program to examine mind-body interactions and how such interactions may help explain health disparities within and between families. Together, this information will help in constructing effective interventions for these families to improve patient health outcomes, reduce health inequalities, and address family burden.

Affiliations/Associations:

• Winter 2008-present: Wisconsin Public Health Association, Member
• Winter 2008-present: Member of the Executive Committee of the Research Committee of the Academic Pediatric Association
• Spring 2006-present: Population Association of America, Member
• Summer 2005-present: Buehler Center on Aging, Development Subcommittee, Member
• Spring 2005-Fall 2006: Cells to Society: The Center on Social Disparities and Health at the Institute for Policy Research, Executive Board Member
• January 2005-Fall 2006: Institute for Policy Research, Faculty Associate
• November 2004-2006: Robert H. Lurie Comprehensive Cancer Center, Member
• October 2004-present: The Buehler Center on Aging, Affiliate
• Spring 2002-2003: The Society of Pediatric Psychology, Member
• Fall 2001-present: Academic Pediatric Association, Member
• Fall 1997-Fall 1998: U.S. DHHS, Health Resources and Services Administration Women’s Health Research Committee, Member
• Fall 1997-Fall 1998: U.S. DHHS, Public Health Service, Office on Women’s Health Women and HIV/AIDS Cooperative Planning Group, Member
• Spring 1997-present: AcademyHealth, Member
• Spring 1997-1998: Maryland Public Health Association, Member
• Fall 1996: Expert Planning Committee on Medicaid Managed Care and Women with HIV/AIDS, Member
• Fall 1996-present: American Public Health Association, Member
• Fall 1995-Spring 1996: AIDS Legislative Committee, Steering Committee Member
• Fall 1994-Spring 1995: Deaf AIDS Project, Legal Representative
• Fall 1994-Spring 1995:GMHC Women's Caucus, Member

Recent Honors/Awards:

• 2011 Outstanding Mentorship Award from the Academic Pediatric Association (APA)

• Selected participant of the 2009 Young Women Faculty Professional Development Seminar, Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC)

• 2009 Population Association of America (PAA) Poster Winner
• 2006 World Parkinson Congress Junior Scholar Award
• Awarded the HPM Faculty of Health Services Research Student Conference Presentation Award, 1998-1999 and 2000-2001
• Awarded the National Research Service Award (NRSA), from the Agency for Health Care
• Policy and Research Training Fellowship Program
• Legal Department Representative for the Deaf AIDS Project Agency Forum (appointed), Gay Men's Health Crisis, Inc.
• Legal Department Representative to testify before the Council of the City of New York (appointed), Gay Men's Health Crisis, Inc

Select Publications:

Litzelman K, Barker E, Catrine K, Puccetti D, Possin P, Witt WP.  Socioeconomic Disparities in the Quality of Life in Children with Cancer or Brain Tumors: The Mediating Role of Family Factors. 2012. Psycho-Oncology (in press).

Garbarski, D and Witt, WP. Child Health, Maternal Marital and Socioeconomic Factors, and Maternal Health. 2012. Journal of Family Issues (in press).

Keller, A, Litzelman, K, Wisk, L, Cheng, ER, Maddox, T, and Witt, WP.  Does the Perception that Stress Affects Health Matter? The Association with Health and Mortality. 2011. Health Psychology. 2011 Dec 26. [Epub ahead of print].

Witt, WP, Litzelman, K, Spear, HA, Wisk, LE, Levin, N, McManus, BM, and Palta, M. Health-Related Quality of Life of Mothers of Very Low Birth Weight Children at Age Five: Results from the Newborn Lung Project Statewide Cohort Study.  Quality of Life Research. 2011 Dec 10. [Epub ahead of print].

Witt, WP, Wisk, L, Cheng, E, Hampton, J, and Hagen, E. Preconception Mental Health Predicts Pregnancy Complications and Adverse Birth Outcomes: A National Population-Based Study. Maternal and Child Health Journal. 2011 Nov 30. [Epub ahead of print].

Pirraglia, PA, Hampton, JM, Rosen, AB, Witt, WP.  Psychological Distress and Trends in Healthcare Expenditures and Outpatient Healthcare from 1997 to 2004. The American Journal of Managed Care. 2011 May; 17(5):319-28.

Witt, WP, Litzelman, K, Mandic, CG, Wisk, L, Hampton, J, Creswell, PD, Gottlieb, C, and Gangnon, R. Healthcare-Related Financial Burden among Families in the U.S.: The Role of Childhood Activity Limitations and Income. Journal of Family and Economic Issues. 2011 Jun 1; 32(2):308-326.

Litzelman, K, Catrine, K, Gangnon, R, Witt, WP. Quality of Life in Parents of Children with Cancer or Brain Tumors: The Role of Child Clinical Characteristics and Parental Psychosocial Factors. Quality of Life Research. 2011 Feb 2. [Epub ahead of print].

Witt, WP, Wisk, L, Cheng, E, Hampton, J, Creswell, P, Hagen, EW, Spear, H, Maddox, T, and DeLeire, T. Poor Pre-Pregnancy and Antenatal Mental Health Predicts Postpartum Mental Health Problems among US Women:  A Nationally Representative Population-Based Study. Women’s Health Issues. 2011 Jul-Aug;21(4):304-13. Epub 2011 Feb 24.

Witt, WP, DeLeire, T, Hagen, EW, Wichmann, MA, Wisk, LE, Spear, H, Cheng, E, Maddox, T, and Hampton, J. The Prevalence and Determinants of Antepartum Mental Health Problems Among Women in the USA:  A Nationally Representative Population-Based Study. Archives of Women’s Mental Health. Volume 13, Number 5 (2010): 425-37.

Witt, WP, Litzelman, K, Wisk, L, Spear, H, Catrine, K, Levin, N, Gottlieb, CA.  Stress-Mediated Quality of Life Outcomes in Parents of Childhood Cancer and Brain Tumor Survivors: A Case-Control Study.  Quality of Life Research. Volume 19, Number 7 (2010): 995-1005.

Witt, WP, Keller, A, Gottlieb, C, Litzelman, K, Hampton, J, Maguire, J, and Hagen, EW. Access to Adequate Outpatient Depression Care for Mothers in the US:  A Nationally Representative Population-Based Study. The Journal of Behavioral Health Services and Research.  Volume 38, Number 2 (2011): 191-204.

Seltzer, MM, Abbeduto, L, Greenberg, JS, Almeida, D, Hong, J, & Witt, WP. (2009). Biomarkers in the study of families of children with developmental disabilities (pp. 213 – 250). In L. M. Glidden and M. M. Seltzer (Eds). International Review of Research on Mental Retardation, 37. New York: Academic Press

Witt, WP, Gottlieb, C, Hampton, J, and Litzelman, K.  The Impact of Childhood Activity Limitations on Parental Health, Mental Health, and Workdays Lost in the United States. Academic Pediatrics.  July-August 2009; Volume 9, Issue 4:  263-269.

Witt, WP, Kahn, R, Fortuna, L, Winickoff, J, Kuhlthau, K, Pirraglia, PA, and Ferris, TG.  Psychological Distress as a Barrier to Preventive Healthcare among US Women. The Journal of Primary Prevention. Volume 30, Issue 5 (2009):  531-547.

Witt, WP and DeLeire, T. A Family Perspective on Population Health: The Case of Child Health and the Family. Wisconsin Medical Journal.  2009; Volume 108, No. 5: 240-245.

Hung, S, Pickard, S, Witt, WP, and Lambert, BL. Pain and Depression in Caregivers Affected Their Perception of Pain in Stroke Patients. Journal of Clinical Epidemiology. 2007 Sep; Volume 60, Issue 9, Pages 963-970.

Witt, WP, Gibbs, J, Wang, J, Giobbie-Hurder, A, Edelman, P, McCarthy, Jr., M, and Neumayer, L. The Impact of Inguinal Hernia Repair on Family and Other Informal Caregivers. Archives of Surgery. 2006. Sep; 141(9):925-30.

Witt, WP, Fortuna, L, Wu, E, Kahn, R, Winickoff, J, Pirraglia, PA, Ferris, TG, and Kuhlthau, K. Children’s Use of Motor Vehicle Restraints: Maternal Psychological Distress, Maternal Motor Vehicle Restraint Practices, and Sociodemographics. Ambulatory Pediatrics. 2006. May-June 6(3): 145-151.

Lyons, J and Witt, WP. Understanding the impact of mental health research on policy in the United States: Past, Present, and Future. In Choosing methods in mental health research. Slade M, Priebe S, (eds), Hove: Routledge. 2006. 202-211.

Witt, WP, Kasper, JD, and Riley, AW. Mental Health Services Use Among School-Aged Children with Disabilities: The Role of Socio-demographics, Functional Limitations, Family Burdens and Care Coordination. Health Services Research. 2003; 38(6), Part 1: 1441-1466.

Witt, WP, Riley, AW, Coiro, MJ. Childhood Functional Status, Family Stressors, and Psychosocial Adjustment Among School-Aged Children with Disabilities in the U.S. Archives of Pediatric & Adolescent Medicine. 2003; 157 (7): 687-695.

Witt, WP, Riley, AW, Kasper, JD. The Impact of Missing Linkage Data in Family Health Research: Results from the 1994-1995 National Health Interview Survey Disability Supplement. In: Altman, B.M., Barnartt, S.N., Hendershot, G. and Larson, S., eds. Research in Social Science and Disability, Using Survey Data to Study Disability: Results from the National Health Interview Survey on Disability. Elsevier Publishing, London, England; 2003; Volume 3, 73-86.

Wu, AW and Witt, WP. The impact of HIV infection on health-related quality of life. In: Badia, X and Podzamczer, D, eds. Calidad de vida asociada a la salud e infeccion por el VIH. Madrid, Spain; 2000.

Courses Taught:

• Principles of Population Health Science (PHS 795) 

• Introduction to Life Course Epidemiology and Family Health Services Research (PHS 650-067)

• Public Health and Human Rights:  The Case of Vulnerable Children (PHS 650-026)

Research Weblinks:

BioPop

Contact Details:

Address:
Department of Population Health Sciences
School of Medicine and Public Health
University of Wisconsin, Madison
610 North Walnut Street, WARF Office 503
Madison, WI 53726

Phone: (608) 265-6290

Fax: (608) 263-2820

Email: wwitt@wisc.edu