Kathryn Whetten
Professor, Public Policy, Nursing, Community and Family Medicine and Global Health
Director, Center for Health Policy and Inequalities Research
Co-Director, Duke's Sexual and Gender Minority Health Program
Research Director, Hart Fellows Program
Appointment:
Topics:
Kathryn Whetten
Professor, Public Policy, Nursing, Community and Family Medicine and Global Health
Director, Center for Health Policy and Inequalities Research
Co-Director, Duke's Sexual and Gender Minority Health Program
Research Director, Hart Fellows Program
Kathryn Whetten is a Professor of Public Policy and Global Health with additional appointments in Community and Family Medicine and Nursing. They are the Director of the Center for Health Policy and Inequalities Research which is part of the Duke Global Health Institute. Whetten is the Co-Director of Duke's Sexual and Gender Minority Health Program Research Director of the Hart Fellows Program. Whetten's work focuses on the understanding of health disparities in the US and around the globe through deepening our understanding of life course events and social/environmental factors that influence health related behaviors and wellbeing. In addition, they use their research results to develop and test interventions that might improve wellbeing. The goal of their research is to provide empirical evidence to policy makers to improve systems of caring for marginalized populations.
Whetten's research examines the health behaviors and outcomes of disadvantaged communities and individuals. They seek to understand the interrelationships among individual and community psychosocial dynamics, health behaviors, health, provider characteristics and public policies. Whetten views these relationships as multidirectional. They examine and clarify underlying group characteristics that can be addressed to improve individual and community well-being. Whetten is one of a small group of researchers examining adult health outcomes as they relate to a life-course of events and influences starting with childhood experiences within families and communities and continuing through present-day conditions that may be manipulated through intervention. All of Whetten's research is grounded in the idea that public policies can make a difference in people's lives. Whetten has led more than 20 federally funded research grants and is the author of 3 books and over 100 peer reviewed articles.
Currently, Whetten and their intervention, service and research team have research projects that address issues surrounding sexual and gender diverse persons, mental health, substance abuse, being orphaned or abandoned, HIV/AIDS, social justice, and poverty in the US Deep South and in less wealthy nations. They and their team work with colleagues in: the US Deep South; Tanzania; Kenya; Ethiopia; India; Vietnam; Cambodia; and Brazil conducting research and interventions.
Projects
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Transforming and Sustaining: Wellbeing Practices for Teachers
Cambodia, Kenya, Qatar
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SNA - Pathways to Health and Well-Being: Social Networks of Orphaned and Abandoned Youth
Cambodia, Tanzania, Kenya, Ethiopia, United States
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CBT II - Improving Health Outcomes for Orphans by Preventing HIV/STD Risk
United States, Kenya, Tanzania
- A RCT of Ways to Improve OVC HIV Prevention and Well Being (JHU)
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Coping with HIV/AIDS in Tanzania
Tanzania
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HIV/AIDS & Orphan Care (POFO II); Positive Outcomes for Orphans (POFO)
Cambodia, India, Ethiopia, Kenya, Tanzania, United States
Publications
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Huynh HV, Proeschold-Bell RJ, Sohail MM, Nalianya M, Wafula S, Amanya C, et al. What processes or key components do teachers attribute to their well-being? A cross-cultural qualitative study of teacher well-being in Cambodia, Kenya, and Qatar (Accepted). Psychology in the Schools. 2023 Dec 1;60(12):4967–87.Kane JC, Figge C, Paniagua-Avila A, Michaels-Strasser S, Akiba C, Mwenge M, et al. Effectiveness of trauma-focused cognitive behavioral therapy compared to psychosocial counseling in reducing HIV risk behaviors, substance use, and mental health problems among orphans and vulnerable children in Zambia: a community-based randomized controlled trial. AIDS and behavior. 2023 Oct;Malta M, da Silva AB, da Silva CMF, LeGrand S, Seixas M, Benevides B, et al. Addressing discrimination and violence against Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, and Queer (LGBTQ) persons from Brazil: a mobile health intervention. BMC public health. 2023 Oct;23(1):2069.Ostermann J, Hair N, Grzimek V, Zheng S, Gong W, Whetten K, et al. How Poor Is Your Sample? A Simple Approach for Estimating the Relative Economic Status of Small and Nonrepresentative Samples. Glob Health Sci Pract. 2023 Apr 28;11(2).
See more publications at Scholars@Duke