Kathryn Whetten, Associate Professor of Public Policy and Community and Family Medicine and Director, Center for Health Policy; Director, Health Inequalities Program  

Office Location: 2812 Erwin Road, Room 403 & 120 Rubenstein
Office Phone: (919) 613-5430
Email Address: k.whetten@duke.edu
Web Page:http://globalhealth.duke.edu/chpir/
Web Page:pofostudy.org

Areas of Expertise

Geelea Seaford (919) 681-7718, (919) 345-5884 gseaford@duke.edu

  • Health Policy
    • Global Health
    • Health Disparities
    • HIV/AIDS

Education:
PhD, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, 1994

Research Categories: Global Health Disparities

Current projects: Positive Outcomes for Orphaned Children (POFO) , Coping with HIV/AIDS in Tanzania (CHAT), Cambodia Orphan Project Evaluation (COPE), Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Orphans (CBT), Monitoring and Evaluation in Malawi (MOVE), Adapting a Depression Treatment Intervention for HIV Patients in Cameroon (ADEPT), North Carolina Community AIDS Fund (NCCAF)

Research Description: Whetten’s research examines the health behaviors and outcomes of disadvantaged communities and individuals. She seeks to understand the interrelationships among individual and community psychosocial dynamics, health behaviors, health, provider characteristics and public policies. Whetten views these relationships as multidirectional. She examines and clarifies underlying group characteristics that can be addressing 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 18 federally funded research grants and is the author of 3 books and over 60 peer reviewed articles. Currently Whetten and her intervention, service and research team have research projects that address issues surrounding HIV/AIDS, mental health, substance abuse, being orphaned or abandoned, social justice, and poverty in the US Deep South and in less wealthy nations. She and her team work with colleagues in: the US Deep South; Tanzania; Kenya; Ethiopia; Cameroon; Malawi; India; Cambodia; and Russia conducting research and interventions.

Recent Publications   (More Publications)

  1. O'Donnell, K., R. Murphy, J. Ostermann, M. Masnick, R. Whetten, E. Madden, N.M. Thielman, K. Whetten. "A Brief Assessment of Learning for Orphaned and Abandoned Children in Low and Medium Income Countries." AIDS and Behavior (May, 2011). [doi]  [abs]
  2. Reif, S., M. Mugavero, J. Raper, N. Thielman, J. Leserman, K. Whetten, B. Pence. "Highly Stressed: Stressful and Traumatic Experiences among individuals with HIV/AIDS in the Deep South." AIDS Care 23.2 (2011): 152-162. [doi]  [abs]
  3. Whetten, K., J. Ostermann, R.A. Whetten, K. O’Donnell, N.M. Thielman, and the Positive Outcomes for Orphans (POFO) Research Team. "More than the loss of a parent: Potentially Traumatic Events among Orphaned and Abandoned Children." Journal of Traumatic Stress 24.2 (2011): 174-182. [doi]  [abs]
  4. Whetten, R.A., L. Messer, J. Ostermann, K. Whetten, B.W. Pence, N.M. Thielman, M. Buckner, and the Positive Outcomes for Orphans (POFO) Research Team. "Child Work and Labour among Orphaned and Abandoned Children in 5 Low and Middle Income Countries." BMC International Health and Human Rights 11.1 (2011). [doi]  [abs]
  5. Messer L, Pence BW, Whetten K, Whetten RA, O’Donnell K, Thielman NM, The Positive Outcomes for Orphans (POFO) Research Team. "HIV-stigma and attributes of institutional- and community-based caregivers of orphans and vulnerable children living in five less-wealthy countries.." BMC Public Health 10.504 (2010). [504]  [abs]

Curriculum Vitae

Highlight:
Whetten’s research examines the health behaviors and outcomes of disadvantaged communities and individuals. She seeks to understand the interrelationships among individual and community psychosocial dynamics, health behaviors, health, provider characteristics and public policies. Whetten views these relationships as multidirectional. She examines and clarifies underlying group characteristics that can be addressing to improve individual and community well-being. Whetten examines 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 improved 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 18 federally funded research grants and is the author of 3 books and over 60 peer reviewed articles. Currently Whetten and her intervention, service and research team have research projects that address issues surrounding HIV/AIDS, mental health, substance abuse, being orphaned or abandoned, social justice, and poverty in the US Deep South and in less wealthy nations. She and her team work with colleagues in: the US Deep South; Tanzania; Kenya; Ethiopia; Cameroon; Malawi; India; Cambodia; and Russia conducting research and interventions.

Bio/Profile
Kathryn Whetten is a Professor of Public Policy and Global Health with additional appointments in Community and Family Medicine and Nursing. She is the Director of the Center for Health Policy and Inequalities Research (CHPIR) which is part of the Duke Global Health Institute (DGHI). Whetten is the Research Director of the Hart Fellows Program.

Kathryn Whetten