The two studies in this dissertation identify and address two related research gaps in literature on healthcare virtual support communities. Study one suggested that the exclusive emphasis on social support behavior and its impacts on individual well-being in virtual support communities has led to the neglect of another type of social interaction…

A study design has been developed that employs a dual modeling approach to identify factors associated with facility-level cancer screening improvement and how this is mediated by the use of clinical decision support. This dual modeling approach combines principles of (1) Health Informatics, (2) Cancer Prevention and Control, (3) Health Services…

Objective: To pilot and test the feasibility of a novel technology to reduce anxiety and pain associated with an invasive medical procedure in children with cancer. Method: Children with cancer (ages 7-19) whose treatment protocols required access of their subcutaneous venous port device (port access) were randomly assigned to a virtual reality…