September 25, 2020

Jodi Ford, PhD, RN, and Rita Pickler, PhD, RN, FAAN, (PIs) received a $1.1 million, three-year R01 grant from the National Institutes of Health/National Institute of Nursing Research (NIH/NINR) for their study, “Childhood Adversity, Biopsychosocial Pathways, and Telomere Length in Adolescence.” Ohio State researchers Alai Tan, PhD, from the College of Nursing and Christopher Browning, PhD, from the Department of Sociology, are co-investigators on this study, as is Darlene Kertes, PhD, from University of Florida Department of Psychology.

This study is a secondary analysis of data from two previous, linked studies of 1,018 adolescents: an R01 primary parent study, “Adolescent Health and Development in Context,” led by Browning (PI; co-I on the new study), and an R21 study, “Linked Biological and Social Pathways to Adolescent Health and Wellbeing,” led by Ford (PI). Both studies were funded by the NIH/National Institute on Drug Abuse.

“Both adverse childhood experiences and shorter telomere length have been associated with chronic disease in adulthood,” Ford said. “However, few researchers have examined the effects of adverse childhood events from birth through adolescence or at sensitive periods of development on telomere length, limiting opportunities for earlier and/or developmentally timed intervention.”

The approach will identify sub-groups of adverse childhood events across childhood and adolescence that increase adolescents’ risk for shorter telomere length as well as the extent to which biological and psychological stress pathways explain these relationships. The findings will inform the development of interventions targeted to specific exposure patterns.

April 17, 2018
Second largest gift in the college’s history will support faculty and PhD student research, as well as renovations for the center.

The Pitzer Family Foundation has pledged a transformational $3 million gift to The Ohio State University College of Nursing in memory of former faculty member and alumna Martha S. Pitzer, who earned her bachelor of science in nursing in 1974 and her master of science in nursing in 1976. In recognition of Pitzer’s passion for women and children’s health and pending The Ohio State University Board of Trustee approval, the family’s gift will establish the Martha S. Pitzer Center for Women, Children and Youth and fund cutting-edge research projects that target the improvement of health and well-being outcomes of vulnerable populations and its translation into real-world settings.  

“This generous gift will provide support to our world-class nurse scientists and PhD students for their innovative research that seeks to develop real-world solutions for some of the most prevalent health and well-being problems affecting women, children and adolescents,” said Bernadette Melnyk, PhD, RN, CPNP/PMHNP, FAANP, FNAP, FAAN, vice president for health promotion, university chief wellness officer and dean of the College of Nursing. “We are incredibly grateful to Martha’s husband, Russ, and the entire Pitzer family for their generosity and support of this important work. Naming the center in memory of Martha honors her legacy as a passionate advocate and specialist in women and children’s health.” 

The mission of the Martha S. Pitzer Center for Women, Children and Youth is to build outstanding research teams of expert faculty and doctoral students that generate new knowledge and develop evidence-based interventions that can be translated into lifesaving action. This gift will help the center emerge as the world’s leader in generating innovative research and scaling it swiftly to enhance population health and well-being for women, children and youth. 

The College of Nursing plans to celebrate the Pitzer family and their lifesaving investment with a special reception later this year.

October 02, 2017

A newly established endowed professorship at The Ohio State University College of Nursing will help improve the health outcomes of one of today’s most at-risk populations – children and adolescents.

Through a generous $1 million gift from FloAnn and John Easton, The FloAnn Sours Easton Professorship of Child and Adolescent Health will support the recruitment of a nationally recognized expert in pediatric nursing. This endowed professorship will provide resources to fund a distinguished faculty member's research and enable the professor to pursue rigorous intervention research to improve the health of children and adolescents. This position also will serve a leadership role within the college’s Center for Women, Children and Youth.

“Through this generous gift, our college can attract a nationally esteemed scholar whose cutting-edge work will serve to make a significant impact on the health and wellness of our nation’s greatest resource – our children,” said Dean Bernadette Melnyk, PhD, RN, CPNP/PMHNP, FAANP, FNAP, FAAN, associate vice president for health promotion and university chief wellness officer. “Furthermore, this individual will serve as a mentor to our faculty and students, and will further strengthen the strong community partnerships the college has with various healthcare networks. We are so thankful for FloAnn and John’s very generous support.”

Children and teens today face a multitude of health problems, making it the first time in history that children are predicted to lead a shorter lifespan than their parents. Approximately 500,000 babies are born prematurely every year, resulting in longterm, adverse health and behavioral outcomes. Overweight and obesity—commonly associated with diabetes, asthma and cardiovascular problems—are significant health problems that now affect approximately one-third of all children and teens. Additionally, mental health problems affect one in four children, yet less than 25 percent receive any treatment. The increasing prevalence of multiple chronic conditions in children and teens is also significant, especially among minorities and those living in poverty.

A strong base of intervention research is needed, yet funding for pediatric research has been limited compared to investments in adult and older adult conditions. The National Institute of Health’s (NIH) funding of pediatric studies recently declined to 11.3 percent of its total expenditures even though children represent 20 percent of the United States population. As a result, a recent report by the Institute of Medicine calls for more research with children and youth. The FloAnn Sours Easton Professorship of Child and Adolescent Health will support such research and help the college’s Center for Women, Children and Youth make a lasting difference in the care and health outcomes of today’s young people.

FloAnn Easton is a 1962 graduate of the College of Nursing, and both FloAnn and John serve as volunteers on the College of Nursing’s But For Ohio State capital campaign committee. As a campaign priority, this gift to support an endowed professorship will be the first of its kind for the But For Ohio State campaign within the College of Nursing.

September 13, 2016

A new speaker series in the College of Nursing will provide opportunities for discussion and collaboration among the nurse scientists and researchers in the college and other health sciences colleges. Hosted by the Martha S. Pitzer Center for Women, Children and Youth (MSPCWCY), the Lean-In speaker series inspires thinking, promotes discussion and stimulates research collaboration. The series will offer conversations that are “so good, you want to lean in and hear what is being said,” explained Karen Patricia Williams, PhD, distinguished professor of women’s health and director of the MSPCWCY.

The center is promoting several different programs throughout the year to encourage collaboration from mentoring junior faculty to help them understand the process of gaining tenure to providing regular opportunities for faculty to present recently published papers.

“We are trying to build more of a team approach to science,” Williams said. “Nurses in hospitals are accustomed to working in teams. Traditional academic nursing tended to be more independent, and that model is passé. With knowledge being generated so quickly, we have to engage in collaborative research. I think that understanding what others are doing helps build productive collaborations that will advance our research.”

The first Lean-In speaker of the year will be LeeAnne Roman, PhD, MSN, RN, associate professor in the department of obstetrics, gynecology and reproductive biology in the College of Human Medicine at Michigan State University. Roman will speak on “Improving the Health and Health Care of Medicaid-insured Pregnant Women and Their Infants” on Monday, Sept. 19, from noon to 1 p.m. in Room 198 in Newton Hall, located at 1585 Neil Ave. Roman specializes in health-services research primarily focused on maternal and child health and health disparities among Medicaid-insured families. Her research is conducted in collaboration with multiple partners, health systems, health departments and community agencies.

The second talk in the series "Can You Hear Me Now?"  will be presented by Karon F. Cook, PhD, research professor in the department of medical social sciences at the Feinberg School of Medicine at Northwestern University, on Monday, Oct. 3, from noon to 1 p.m. in Room 198 in Newton Hall. Cook has made substantial contributions to research of health outcomes, including the National Institutes of Health-supported Patient-Reported Outcomes Measurement Information System. Her work focuses on modern psychometric approaches and in recent years on the measurement of self-reported pain and its correlates.

April 30, 2015

On Children’s Mental Health Awareness Day, The Ohio State University Office of the Chief Wellness Officer will host an important discussion that every parent should hear.

“Depression and Anxiety in Children and Teens: What Every Parent Must Know” will be from 10-11 a.m. on May 7 in 168 Newton Hall, located at 1585 Neil Avenue.

The free lecture will be presented by Bernadette Melnyk, PhD, RN, CPNP/PMHNP, FAANP, FNAP, FAAN, Ohio State’s associate vice president for health promotion, university chief wellness officer and dean of the College of Nursing. Melnyk is a world-renowned authority and author on the topic of child and adolescent mental health and will share strategies for preventing, identifying and seeking help for depressive and anxiety disorders in today’s youth.

According to Melnyk, one in four American children and teenagers suffers from a mental health disorder that disrupts functioning at home, at school and with peers, yet less than 25 percent of affected children receive mental health treatment.

“If left untreated, mental health problems can lead to chronic illnesses that are more difficult to treat,” explained Melnyk. “Our ultimate goal is to prevent these conditions, but we also want to help parents identify the warning signs of anxiety and depression and give them the proper resources so that they know where to turn for help should their child develop a mental health problem.”

Participants may join via livestream at carmenconnect.osu.edu/mhd-talk. Ohio State users should log into CarmenConnect with their Ohio State account. Others may login as a guest. For detailed login instructions, visit go.osu.edu/carmenconnect-quickstart.

April 02, 2015

Bernadette Melnyk, PhD, RN, FAANP, FNAP, FAAN, was part of an expert panel during a recent workshop aimed at exploring how healthcare reform can serve to promote children’s behavioral health.

Opportunities to Promote Children’s Behavioral Health: Health Care Reform and Beyond was held April 1-2 in Washington, D.C. The event was hosted by the Forum on Promoting Children’s Cognitive, Affective and Behavioral Health – part of the Institute of Medicine. Melnyk, associate vice president for health promotion, university chief wellness officer and dean of the College of Nursing at The Ohio State University, was elected to the Institute of Medicine in 2013.

The Affordable Care Act has brought attention to health promotion, prevention and access to evidence-based care. These principles are especially important during childhood, when the foundation is laid for lifelong health and well-being. This workshop explores how healthcare reform can provide opportunities and support innovations to promote children’s behavioral health and sustain them over time. Funding streams, intermediary organizations and innovative programs and services will be considered. The workshop format is designed to stimulate discussion among experts, forum members and the audience and to enhance future collaborations.

March 13, 2013

Mentored kids lose weight, move more than those taught by adults

An obesity intervention taught by teen mentors in Appalachian elementary schools resulted in weight loss, lower blood pressure and healthy lifestyle changes among the younger students learning the curriculum, according to a new study. In contrast, children taught the same lessons by adults in a traditional classroom saw no changes in their health outcomes.

The results of the eight-week clinical trial conducted by The Ohio State University researchers suggest that school systems could consider using teen mentors to instruct younger children in select health-related programs.

In the study, all instructors taught lessons from a program called “Just for Kids!” that was developed by the University of California, San Francisco. For one hour after school each week, teen mentors met one-on-one with students in a large gym setting while another group of students was taught in a classroom by school system employees, such as librarians or administrative staff.

When the program ended, only the teen-mentored group showed a greater increase in physical activity and marginal decreases in body mass index (BMI) and diastolic blood pressure. Kids led by teens also showed slight increases in nutrition knowledge and plans to change their behavior. Children taught by adults showed no improved health outcomes.

Though the study was conducted in Appalachian Ohio, where research suggests people prefer an informal way of receiving information, teen mentors have the potential to help influence health behaviors of younger children in any school district, researchers said.

“Not only would this help schools deliver a curriculum, but this study supports the idea that this mentoring approach is a better way to impact younger kids, and it creates an infrastructure to improve health without it having to come from a classroom,” said Laureen Smith, PhD, RN, FAAN, associate professor of nursing at Ohio State and lead author of the study. “I focused on diet and nutrition, but there’s no reason this can’t be used to address other health issues that a school identifies. In order for this to be successful, there has to be good training and good support to the teens. But the right teens with the right help and support can make a big difference.”

The research is published online and will appear in a future print issue of the Journal of School Nursing.

In all, 160 schoolchildren in the third and fourth grades participated in the intervention, along with 32 teen mentors and five adult teachers. The study took place at three public schools in the same county, and teen mentors attended high schools affiliated with the participating elementary schools.

Each one-hour session with the curriculum included 45 minutes of structured activities and 15 minutes of noncompetitive physical activity. Weekly topics included keeping the body healthy, the importance of exercise, food groups, portion control, emotional eating, food cravings and building more activity into daily life.

Though “Just for Kids!” targets obesity, the researchers told the children the program promoted being healthier and making healthy choices. Among the third and fourth graders, 29.7 percent were obese based on a BMI ranking above the 95th percentile for their age group. Another 18.9 percent were overweight, 51.4 percent were normal weight and 0.7 percent were underweight. The kids ranged from 8 to 11 years old.

Smith collected baseline information on a number of measures and repeated assessments after the eight-week study. In addition to BMI and blood-pressure readings, health measures included dietary behaviors, physical activity, attitudes about healthy eating and exercising and intention to or having confidence in their ability to eat better and move more.

After the intervention, only the teen-mentored group showed a greater increase in physical activity and marginal decreases in BMI and diastolic blood pressure, the pressure in arteries as the heart fills with blood. Children mentored by teens also had a larger positive change in intention to eat healthfully than the adult teacher group and a marginal increase in nutritional knowledge.

Retention had an impact on student outcomes, Smith noted. The overall retention rate was 92 percent, and attending more sessions was associated with a greater increase in nutritional knowledge in both groups, and with an uptick in physical activity in kids mentored by teens.

“The findings reaffirmed what I suspected, that the teens impacted physical activity for the kids rather than their nutrition," Smith said. "That makes sense because most kids don’t have a whole lot of control over what they eat. They rely on parents to provide food at home and otherwise rely on what the school provides."

While individual teachers and mentors did not affect the kids’ outcomes, the school they attended did make a difference; children’s gains in intention and perceived support to eat better were highest in the school that had the most disadvantages based on such economic indicators as parental unemployment and student eligibility for free and reduced lunches.

The nature of the intervention – using members of the community to deliver information rather than having “outsiders” identify a problem and try to fix it – could make it attractive to “any school that’s under-resourced, or any school, really,” Smith said. And the results are not a knock on adult teachers.

“Younger kids look at older kids in their peer group as role models. Teens provide younger children perceived psychological safety and a social network,” she said. “And this is helpful to adults. Using teen mentors removes some pressure on the staff and teachers of a school to reach students and have an impact on their health.”

Smith, also director of the Appalachian Translational Research Network with Ohio State's Center for Clinical and Translational Science, is continuing the work to further analyze how teen mentors yield these results and to gauge the effects of mentoring on the teens themselves.

This work was supported by a grant from the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health & Human Development.

Smith conducted the study with Christopher Holloman of Ohio State’s College of Nursing.

Contact: Laureen Smith, 614-292-4578, Smith.5764@osu.edu

Written by Emily Caldwell, 614-292-8310, Caldwell.151@osu.edu

December 14, 2012

A statement from University Chief Wellness Officer Bernadette M. Melnyk (melnyk.15@osu.edu):

Today’s school shooting at an elementary school in Connecticut is a tragedy that has reportedly left 20 young children and six adults dead. Any time such a shocking and tragic event happens, it creates stress and anxiety for parents and children across the country. I thought it might be helpful to provide some tips for those of you who have children, regarding how to talk to them about this event.

  • For young children, it is good to only provide answers to questions they are asking and not to overwhelm them with too much detail.
  • Help your children to express how they are feeling; young children will often talk about how they feel by talking about what their dolls or stuffed animals are feeling.
  • Ask your children, “What is the scariest thing about this for you?"
  • Do not expose your children to visual images in the newspapers or on television that are potentially terrifying.
  • Tell your children that what they are feeling is normal and that others feel the same way.
  • Decrease anxiety for your child by telling them you and other adults will be there to help them through this time and keep them safe.
  • Use this event to help your children work on how to cope with stressful events.
  • As a parent, remember that emotions are contagious. If you are highly upset or anxious, there is a good chance that your child will feel the same way. So, please talk with someone about how you are feeling. Your child will most likely stay calm if you stay calm.

The attached handout may also help you and your children with this stressful event. Please feel free to pass it on to anyone who may benefit from the information.

Please keep all of the victim’s families in your prayers.

May 09, 2012

Women who are obese before they become pregnant are at higher risk of having children with lower cognitive function - as measured by math and reading tests taken between ages 5 to 7 years - than are mothers with a healthy pre-pregnancy weight, new research suggests.

In this large observational study, pre-pregnancy obesity was associated, on average, with a three-point drop in reading scores and a two-point reduction in math scores on a commonly used test of children’s cognitive function.

Previous research has suggested that a woman’s pre-pregnancy obesity can have a negative effect on fetal organs, such as the heart, liver and pancreas. Because fetal development is rapid and sensitive to a mother’s physiological characteristics, The Ohio State University researchers sought to find out whether a mother’s obesity also could affect the fetal brain.

“One way you measure the effects on the brain is by measuring cognition,” said Rika Tanda, lead author of the study and a doctoral candidate in nursing at Ohio State.

The research also supported findings in previous studies suggesting that several other conditions affect childhood cognition, including how stimulation in the home environment, family income and a mother’s education and cognitive skills.

“The new piece here is we have a measure associated with the fetus’s environment to add to that set of potential risk factors,” said Pamela Salsberry, senior author of the study and a professor of nursing at Ohio State. “If we have a good way to understand the risks each child is born with, we could tailor the post-birth environment in such a way that they could reach their maximum capabilities.”

The research appears online and is scheduled for future print publication in the Maternal and Child Health Journal.

The researchers used data from the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth (NLSY) 1979 Mother and Child Survey, a nationally representative sample of men and women who were 14-21 years old in December 1978. From that dataset, Tanda collected information on 3,412 children born to NLSY mothers who had been full-term births, were between 5 and almost 7 years old at the time of their interview and had no diagnosed physical or cognition problems.

In addition to documenting a number of characteristics about the mothers and the family environment, the researchers gauged the children’s cognitive function based on their performance on Peabody Individual Achievement Test reading recognition and math assessments.

The researchers calculated the mothers’ body mass index (BMI) based on their reported heights and weights. More than half of mothers had normal BMIs before pregnancy, and 9.6 percent were obese, meaning they had a BMI of 30 or higher.

Controlling for all other variables, the analysis showed that maternal pre-pregnancy obesity was negatively associated with math and reading test scores. Children of obese women scored, on average, three points lower on reading and two points lower on math than did children of healthy-weight women. The average reading score among all the children was 106.1 points, and the average math score was 99.9.

Though the score differences seem small, Tanda noted that these effects of pre-pregnancy obesity were equivalent to a seven-year decrease in the mothers’ education and significantly lower family income, two other known risk factors that negatively affect childhood cognitive function.

Tanda said clinicians could use these findings to help encourage women patients of childbearing age to maintain a healthy weight, especially if they plan to get pregnant.

“This is a large population study, so at the individual level we can’t say that one person’s decision to change her weight will change her child’s outcome,” she said. “But these findings suggest that children born to women who are obese before pregnancy might need extra support.”

Salsberry said, “It’s not only for their child’s sake. It’s also important for the health of the mother. But it is important to understand that maternal obesity during pregnancy could have implications for their children as well.”

Without actual measures of women’s and fetuses’ insulin levels, inflammation and blood sugar readings, scientists can’t say for sure how pre-pregnancy obesity might affect the fetal brain. But previous studies have suggested that a mother’s impaired metabolic processes affect the fetal brain-cell growth and formation of synapses.

The researchers also noted that obesity doesn’t automatically equate to unhealthy.

“There may be two obese moms that in fact have very different metabolic profiles. For the purposes of this study, her weight is a stand-in for biological data that we would like to have but don’t,” Salsberry said.

Socioeconomic data from the study supported previous findings that several post-birth conditions can have a positive association with higher children’s test scores. These include a stimulating home environment with plenty of books, a safe play environment and frequent family meals; higher family income; and higher maternal education levels and cognitive function. Girls and first-born children also performed better on the math and reading tests than did boys and younger siblings.

With all of this data combined, Tanda said, the study also reveals how health disparities can have long-lasting effects.

“Young females who grow up poor, who have less access to healthy foods resulting in diets that are of poorer quality, are at higher risk of having children with disadvantages and repeating this cycle,” she said.

The researchers are continuing to examine additional influences on childhood cognition, including race, sex and age differences among mothers.

This study was supported by a grant from the Ruth L. Kirschstein National Research Service Award predoctoral fellowship sponsored by the National Institute of Nursing Research.

Additional co-authors included Patricia Reagan and Muriel Fang of Ohio State’s Department of Economics and the Center for Human Resource Research.

—Written by Emily Caldwell, University Research Communications, 614-292-8310, caldwell.151@osu.edu