Congratulations to Assistant Professor Phoebe Tran.
Dr.Tran has received a 3-year American Heart Association (AHA) Career Development Award to conduct a project examining how social norms about health behaviors impact patients with cardiovascular disease (CVD) who participate in outpatient cardiac rehabilitation (OCR). Since patients often rely on informal caregivers, such as family or friends, for support, the study investigates how shared beliefs about diet and exercise influence both patients’ and caregivers’ confidence in maintaining healthy behaviors. The research will assess whether caregivers’ social norms help or hinder patients’ ability to sustain lifestyle changes after OCR. Findings from this study will guide future interventions that leverage social influence to improve long-term heart health outcomes. This project is a collaborative effort between the University of Tennessee, Knoxville (UTK), the University of Tennessee Graduate School of Medicine (UTGSM), and the University of Tennessee Medical Center (UTMC), and will take place at the UTMC Cardiovascular & Pulmonary Rehabilitation Program. Dr. Tran will receive mentorship on this project from Dr. Angela Pfammatter (College of Education, Health, and Human Sciences), Dr. Debra Moser (College of Nursing), Dr. Joel Anderson (College of Nursing), and Dr. Robert E. Heidel (UTGSM). Key collaborators include Andrew Sorey (UTMC Cardiovascular and Pulmonary Rehabilitation Program Manager), Yuliya Nemykina (UTGSM), Tamara Blaine (UTMC), and Kimberly Mowell (UTMC). Prior research on cardiac rehabilitation barriers that led to the development of this AHA grant was made possible through an internal CORNET award that was jointly funded by UTGSM, the University of Tennessee Health Science Center in Memphis (UTHSC-Memphis), and UTK.