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Trief Lab

 

Paula Trief, PhDPaula Trief, Ph.D.
Distinguished Service Professor of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences
Professor of Medicine
Professor of Orthopedic Surgery



Lab Members

  • Jane Bulger, MS, Project Manager (Endocrinology, Diabetes, and Metabolism, Dept. of Medicine)

Research focuses on the psychosocial issues that affect persons with diabetes and those at risk for diabetes. This includes the development and evaluation of effective and practical interventions for persons with diabetes, and those at risk for diabetes, to help them achieve better physical health (e.g., control of blood glucose, weight) and quality of life. This was supported by an NIH grant studying the impact of a telephone-delivered intervention for those at risk of diabetes.

Another unique focus has been examining how relationships with partners affect diabetes outcomes, as well as how having diabetes affects one’s relationships with their partner. This led to an NIH-funded randomized clinical trial of a couples focused intervention. We have also looked at how depression and anxiety affect diabetes self-care and health outcomes. Our current NIH-funded project follows young adults with youth-onset type 2 diabetes to better understand factors that affect medication adherence and healthcare usage, both intrapersonal (e.g., depression, self-efficacy) and social/societal (e.g., social determinants of health). The longer-term goal is to use these findings to design more effective behavioral interventions for this highly vulnerable group. 

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