Overview
Dr. Pollak is a social psychologist who designs and tests behavioral interventions to promote smoking cessation, reduce health disparities, and improve clinician-patient communication. She also is one of the Multiple Principal Investigators of the Palliative Care Research Cooperative that supports multi-site palliative care trials. Finally, Dr. Pollak serves as a Communication Coach where she teaches clinicians effective communication techniques.
Area of expertise: Health Behavior
Area of expertise: Health Behavior
Current Appointments & Affiliations
Professor in Population Health Sciences
·
2017 - Present
Population Health Sciences,
Basic Science Departments
Professor in the Department of Family Medicine and Community Health
·
2017 - Present
Family Medicine and Community Health,
Clinical Science Departments
Member of the Duke Cancer Institute
·
1998 - Present
Duke Cancer Institute,
Institutes and Centers
Recent Publications
Physician-dominated conversations: An analysis of illness understanding discussions among patients with advanced cancer.
Journal Article Patient Educ Couns · April 2025 CONTEXT: Effective communication between patients and oncologists is crucial, particularly around illness understanding. When this communication is asymmetric or imbalanced, it can hinder shared decision-making and lead to suboptimal clinical outcomes. OBJ ... Full text Link to item CitePerspectives on Implementing a Communication Facilitator Intervention From a Critical Care Setting.
Journal Article J Pain Symptom Manage · April 2025 CONTEXT: Critically-ill patients and their families often experience communication challenges during their ICU stay and across care transitions. An intervention using communication facilitators may help address these challenges. OBJECTIVES: Using clinician ... Full text Link to item CiteBuilding Surgical Character: A Dynamic Simulation Curriculum for Nontechnical Skills.
Journal Article J Surg Educ · April 2025 OBJECTIVE: Previous simulation curricula of nontechnical skills have focused on communication skills or empathy in isolation from technical skills, using feedback from one rater. We aimed to develop and pilot an expanded simulation curriculum focused on si ... Full text Link to item CiteRecent Grants
Nurse LEADS: Training in Nurse-LEd models of care ADdressing the Social Determinants of Health
Inst. Training Prgm or CMEMentor · Awarded by National Institutes of Health · 2024 - 2029Duke KURe Program
Inst. Training Prgm or CMEMentor · Awarded by National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases · 2013 - 2028Improving patient-provider communication and medication adherence in systemic lupus erythematosus
ResearchCo Investigator · Awarded by National Institutes of Health · 2023 - 2028View All Grants
Education, Training & Certifications
University of Houston ·
1996
Ph.D.