Enhancing Connections
A program to help the mother with breast cancer support her child

Helping Her Heal
A program for spouses of women with breast cancer

Family Functioning Research Team

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Family Functioning Research Team:

Patti Brandt, PhD, RN

Patti Brandt is a Co-Principal Investigator on the Enhancing Connections grant. Patti participated with Dr. Frances Lewis in writing the initial grant and its intervention. She is currently involved in monitoring the integrity of the intervention through the ongoing evaluation of the intervention that is audiotaped in each of the states involved. Patti also participates with the team in the ongoing data interpretation. In addition, Patti is conducting a substudy on the use of narrative as methodology to measure the children's experience of the mother-child relationship in the context of breast cancer.

Patti is a Professor in the School of Nursing. She has a clinical practice as a youth and family therapist at Children's on the interdisciplinary consult and liason service. Her clinical and teaching expertise is in the area of family interventions in the context of the parent or child having a chronic health condition.

Current publications & manuscripts submitted include:

• Kirsch, S., Brandt, P. & Lewis, F. (2003) Making the most of the moment when a child's mother has breast cancer. Cancer Nursing: An International Journal for Cancer Care 26 (1) 47-54
  
  
• Kirsch, S., Brandt, P. (2002) Telephone interviewing : a method to reach fathers in family research. Journal of Family Nursing, 8 (1) 73-84
  
  
• Magyary, D. & Brandt, P. (2002) A decision tree and clinical paths for the assessment and management of children with AD/HD. Issues in Mental Health Nursing, 23, 1-14
  
  
• Brandt, P., Kirsch, S., Lewis, F., & Casey, S. Intervention integrity of an educational program for mothers with breast cancer who have school age children (resubmitted to Oncology Nursing Forum, 2003)
  
  
• Lewis, F., Casey, S., & Brandt, P., Shands, M.E., Zahlis, E. A pilot study of the enhancing connections program: helping families with breast cancer (resubmitted to Cancer Practice, 2003)
  
  

• A strength based motivational interview approach to encourage adherence by teens with chronic health conditions, NAPNAP conference presentation, Seattle, WA 3/2003
  
  
• Narrative as a method: children's experience with maternal cancer. Presentaiton at the 7th National Conference on Cancer Nursing Research, San Diego, CA, 2/2003
  
  
• A strength based, family centered approach to the 12 month follow up of teens with newly diagnosed diabetes. Poster @ the 15th Annual Conference of the Pediatric Endocrinology Nursing Society, Chicago, Il, 2002.
  
  
• Lessons learned from a pilot study:enhancing the connections between the mother with breast cancer and her school age child. Moderator and presenter for the symposium @ Oncology Nursing Research Conference, 2/01, Jacksonville, Florida
  
  

UW School of Nursing