About Me
Research focus: Advancing symptom science in pediatric cancer care with a family-centered approach to improve daily well-being and long-term outcomes.
As a pediatric nurse, Katherine Bernier Carney, PhD, RN is driven to improve the lives of children with complex care needs through a family-centered approach. Her specific research interests are focused on understanding why some children living with cancer experience higher symptom burden than others and identifying innovative team-based strategies that address these health disparities at the individual and systemic levels. As a doctoral student, Dr. Bernier Carney implemented advanced statistical methods to uncover relationships between psychological stress and pain sensitization during the transition of acute to chronic low back pain. She now seeks to further her training by investigating how the family context may influence the illness-related experiences of children living with cancer, with particular interest in pain-related outcomes. Exploring the biopsychosocial factors which contribute to the development of chronic pain and disease-related disability across pediatric cancer populations will help to identify the best methods for children and families to manage symptoms throughout the cancer care continuum.
Dr. Bernier Carney lives in Connecticut with her husband and their dog, where they like to find new places to hike and explore the local coastlines. In her spare time, she also an avid knitter and baker.
Faculty Advisor: Lauri Linder, PhD, APRN, CPON
Selected Publications:
Bernier Carney, K., Starkweather, A., Lucas, R., Ersig, A., Guite, J.W., & Young, E. (in press). Deconstructing Pain Disability Through Concept Analysis. Pain Management Nursing.
Bernier Carney, K., Polifroni, E.C., & Moriarty Daley, A. (2019). School-based health centers: A means to meet the whole school, whole community, whole child model. Collaboratory on School and Child Health. Found at https://csch.uconn.edu/wp-content/uploads/sites/2206/2019/05/School-Based-Health-Center-Final-Report-2019.pdf
Bernier, K. M., Strobel, M., & Lucas, R. (2018). Assessing the Effect of an Educational Intervention on Nurses’ and Patient Care Assistants' Comprehension and Documentation of Functional Ability in Pediatric Patients with Sickle Cell Disease. Journal of Pediatric Nursing, 41, 117-122. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pedn.2018.04.001
