Whitney P. Witt, PhD, MPH
Keywords: Access to Care, Caregiving, Child Health, Family Health, Healthcare Utilization, Maternal and Child Health, Mental Health Services, Preventive Services, Psychosocial Determinants of Health Outcomes
Assistant Professor and Co-Director, BioPop: Integrative Biopsychosocial Research in Population Health
Email: wwitt@wisc.edu
Biography:
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:
- Selected participant of the 2009 Young Women Faculty Professional Development Seminar, Association of American Medical Colleges
- 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:
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)
Course Director
University of Wisconsin , Madison
School of Medicine and Public Health
Department of Population Health Sciences
Research Weblinks:
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
