Teresa Ward RN, PhD

I am the Co-Director of the Center for Innovation in Sleep Self-Management (CISSM). My program of research is focused on obstructive sleep apnea and the design and implementation of interventions to promote sleep health in children with and without chronic conditions (arthritis, asthma, chronic pain) and their families. I study the effect of sleep deficiency (inadequate amount of sleep, poor quality) on caregiver-child dyad interactions, symptoms (pain, fatigue, anxiety, depression), and health outcomes (quality of life, cognition, healthcare utilization). I also examine noninvasive urine biomarkers that may predispose children with chronic conditions to develop sleep disorders such as obstructive sleep apnea.

Department

Family and Child Nursing

Education

• BSN, DeSales University
• MSN, FNP, Drexel University
• PhD, University of California, San Francisco

What classes do you teach?

• NURS 201 Growth and Development Through the Lifespan (undergraduates)
• NMETH 591 The Science of Therapeutics: Design and Outcomes (PhD)
• NMETH 801 Practice Doctorate Project/Capstone (DNP)

What do you love about the UW School of Nursing?

I really enjoy mentoring interdisciplinary undergraduate and graduate students. Currently I train and work with several undergraduate and graduate students from a variety of disciplines (psychology, biology, global health, pre-nursing) in the use of physiologic and behavioral sleep measures in children and their families. I also love working with families who participate in our research. They are fantastic and just as passionate as I am about translation research. Collaborating with children, families, and students is quite satisfying and rewarding.

Keywords

• Promotion of sleep health interventions for young & school-age children with and without with chronic conditions
• Sleep health in child-parent dyads
• Self-management strategies to treat sleep deficiency
• Obstructive sleep apnea
• Symptom management
• Patient-reported outcomes
• Urine Proteomics

Research Areas

• Symptom Science
• Lifespan Health

Research Centers

• Center for Innovation in Sleep Self-Management

Publications

• Ward TM, Beebe DW, Chen ML, Landis CA, Ringold S, Pike KC, Wallace CA. (2017). Sleep Disturbance and Neurobehavioral Performances in Juvenile Idiopathic Arthritis. J Rheum [Epub ahead of print].
• Ward TM, Chen ML, Landis CA, Ringold S, Beebe DW, Pike KC, Wallace CA. (2016). Congruence between Polysomnography Obstructive Sleep Apnea and the Pediatric Sleep Questionnaire: Fatigue and Health-Related Quality of Life in Juvenile Idiopathic Arthritis. Qual Life Res [Epub ahead of print] PMID: 27987106.
• Yuwen W, Chen ML, Cain KC, Ringold S, Wallace CA, Ward TM. (2016). Daily Sleep Patterns, Sleep Quality, and Sleep Hygiene Among Parent-Child Dyads of Young Children Newly Diagnosed With Juvenile Idiopathic Arthritis and Typically Developing Children. J Pediatr Psychol. 41(6):651-60. doi: 10.1093/jpepsy/jsw007. PMID: 26994855
• Pina LR, Sien SW, Ward TM, Yip JC, Munson SA, Fogarty J, Kientz JA. (2017). From Personal Informatics to Family Informatics: Understanding Family Practices around Health Monitoring. CSCW. February 25-March 01, 2017, Portland, OR, USA.
• Ringold S, Ward T.M., & Wallace C.A. (2013). Disease activity and fatigue in juvenile idiopathic arthritis. Arthritis Care Res. 65(3):391-7. PMCID: PMC4117647
• Ward, T.M, Archbold, K.A., Lentz, M.J., Ringold, S., Wallace, C.A., & Landis, C.A. (2010). Sleep disturbance,daytime sleepiness and neurocognitive performance in children with Juvenile Idiopathic Arthritis. Sleep, 33(2), 252-59. PMCID: PMC2817912
• Ward, T.M., Chen, M.L., Beebe, D.W., Ringold, S, Wallace, C.A., Landis, C.A. Obstructive sleep apnea and health-related quality of life in JIA.