Monitor on Psychology - May 2012 - (Page 51)

PSYCHOLOGIST PROFILE Homing in on Monica Mitchell uses creative research and community strategies to make sure youngsters with sickle cell disease receive the treatment they need to lead normal lives. BY TORI D e ANG ELI S disease sickle cell ickle-cell disease affects one in every 500 AfricanAmerican children born in the United States, and one in 12 African-Americans carries the sickle cell trait. While there are highly effective treatments for the sometimes deadly condition, patients don’t always have access to or comply with the medical regimen, which includes regularly taking their medications and keeping clinic appointments. Monica Mitchell, PhD, is working to change that. As a pediatric clinical psychologist at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center, she is conducting innovative studies that involve families in children’s treatment plans, as well as through community events — such as Sickle Cell Research and Education Day — that promote family involvement and raise community awareness about the disease. Promoting adherence to medication and physician visits is vital because sporadic medication use can lead to a range of toxic reactions, and irregular clinic visits mean doctors can’t properly monitor these children’s health or medication tolerance. Mitchell’s aim is to maximize treatment effectiveness for the disease, which causes the body to produce abnormal, crescentshaped red blood cells that can impede blood flow to limbs M AY 2 0 1 2 • M O N I T O R O N P S Y C H O L O G Y S and organs. If untreated, sickle cell disease can cause pain, infections, organ damage and stroke. “While the disease is a prominent and important part of who these kids are, it’s not all of who they are,” Mitchell says. “My work is to understand sickle cell disease in the context of the entire family system so we can help these children lead normal lives. One way to do that is by helping them adhere to their medications so they can be in school more often, for example.” Mitchell is a pioneer in the way she has involved the community and families in research and treatment, says Michael R. DeBaun, MD, director of the Vanderbilt-Meharry Center for Excellence in Sickle Cell Disease at Vanderbilt University. “I don’t know of any other individual who has engaged the [sickle cell] community this successfully, not just in helping patients and their families understand the importance of research, but in getting them actively involved,” he says. “She has created a new paradigm, which says that individuals with this disease should be as informed as possible … and that they should see their interaction with the medical community, particularly the research community, as a partnership.” That’s especially important, he says, given African51

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Monitor on Psychology - May 2012

Monitor on Psychology - May 2012
Letters
President’s Column
Contents
From the CEO
Math + science + motherhood = a tough combination
The rights of indigenous people take center stage at AAAS meeting
Interdisciplinary programs that are leading the way
Good Governance Project moves into its next phase
APA publishes third edition of seminal ADHD book for kids
Government Relations Update
In Brief
Random Sample
Judicial Notebook
Psychology’s first forays into film
Time Capsule
Questionnaire
Presidential programming
Obesity researchers receive lifetime achievement awards
Top speakers for psychology’s top meeting
Science Watch
Homing in on sickle cell disease
Psychologist Profile
Alone in the ‘hole’
Public Interest
State Leadership Conference ‘12
Perspective on Practice
Education tops council’s agenda
Meet the candidates for APA’s 2014 president
Presidential election guidelines
Division Spotlight
American Psychological Foundation
Support for sexual miniorities
Personalities

Monitor on Psychology - May 2012