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Kathryn IIonka Pollak

Professor in Population Health Sciences
Population Health Sciences
Box 2715, Durham, NC 27710
2424 Erwin Road Suite 602, Durham, NC 27710

Scholarly Works - Conferences


When Words Matter Most: Language Proficiency and Goals of Care Conversations

Conference JOURNAL OF PAIN AND SYMPTOM MANAGEMENT · June 2026 Link to item Cite

Exploring Racial Differences in Family Expressions of Emotion and Clinician Empathy in ICU Family Meetings.

Conference CHEST Crit Care · December 2025 BACKGROUND: Critical care guidelines recommend that clinicians provide emotional support to families of critically ill patients during family meetings. Little is known about how family member race impacts how emotions are expressed and supported in meeting ... Full text Link to item Cite

COMMUNITY STIGMA TOWARDS CHILDREN WITH CANCER IN TANZANIA

Conference PEDIATRIC BLOOD & CANCER · November 2022 Link to item Cite

Improving Cancer Care in the HIV Population: Qualitative Research to Identify Provider Knowledge, Attitudes and Practices

Conference INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF RADIATION ONCOLOGY BIOLOGY PHYSICS · November 1, 2022 Link to item Cite

Implementability of a SLE Medication Adherence Intervention

Conference ARTHRITIS & RHEUMATOLOGY · September 2022 Link to item Cite

A web-based personalized decision support tool for patients diagnosed with ductal carcinoma in situ: development, content evaluation, and usability testing.

Conference Breast Cancer Res Treat · April 2022 PURPOSE: Patients diagnosed with ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS) face trade-offs when deciding among different treatments, including surgery, radiation, and endocrine therapy. A less chosen option is active monitoring. While evidence from clinical trials i ... Full text Link to item Cite

Assessment of parent understanding in conferences for critically ill neonates.

Conference Patient Educ Couns · March 2022 OBJECTIVES: This study aimed to characterize the use and impact of assessments of understanding in parent-clinician communication for critically ill infants. METHODS: We enrolled parents and clinicians participating in family conferences for infants with n ... Full text Link to item Cite

Abstract EP16: High Area Level Public Transportation Associated With Increased Body Mass Index In High School And Male Adolescents

Conference Circulation · March 2022 Overweight and obesity rates increased dramatically among United States youth from 1999-2016, particularly among adolescents. Promoting physical activity can reduce youth obesity rates, particularly among overweight adolescents, most o ... Full text Cite

Abstract PO-045: Experiences of oncologists treating cancer patients living with HIV: Opportunities to improve care and reduce disparities

Conference Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention · January 1, 2022 AbstractIntroduction: Prior database studies have demonstrated that cancer patients with comorbid human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) have higher cancer-specific mortality and are less likely to receive cance ... Full text Cite

Automated Empathy Detection for Oncology Encounters

Conference 2020 IEEE International Conference on Healthcare Informatics Ichi 2020 · November 1, 2020 Empathy involves understanding other people's situation, perspective, and feelings. In clinical interactions, it helps clinicians establish rapport with a patient and support patient-centered care and decision making. Understanding physician communication ... Full text Cite

Senior Career Break Out

Conference JOURNAL OF PAIN AND SYMPTOM MANAGEMENT · July 2020 Link to item Cite

Racial/Ethnic Disparities in Serious Illness Communication

Conference JOURNAL OF THE AMERICAN GERIATRICS SOCIETY · April 2020 Link to item Cite

Automated Empathy Detection for Oncology Encounters

Conference 2020 8TH IEEE INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON HEALTHCARE INFORMATICS (ICHI 2020) · 2020 Full text Link to item Cite

COUPLE-BASED INTERVENTIONS TO INCREASE PHYSICAL ACTIVITY

Conference ANNALS OF BEHAVIORAL MEDICINE · April 1, 2018 Link to item Cite

Text messaging and activity tracker motivation program to increase physical activity in cancer survivors.

Conference Journal of Clinical Oncology · March 1, 2018 92 Background: Cancer survivors have high rates of sedentary behavior leading to obesity and cardiovascular disease. Physical activity improves quality of life (QOL) and reduces morbidity and mortality. However, cancer survivors ... Full text Cite

Patient experiences of acute myeloid leukemia: A qualitative study about diagnosis, illness understanding, and treatment decision-making.

Conference Psychooncology · December 2017 BACKGROUND: Patients with acute myeloid leukemia (AML) face a unique, difficult situation characterized by sudden changes in health, complex information, and pressure to make quick treatment decisions amid sizeable tradeoffs. Yet, little is known about pat ... Full text Link to item Cite

Open notes: A qualitative study of oncology patients’ experiences reading their cancer care notes.

Conference Journal of Clinical Oncology · November 1, 2017 33 Background: Electronic medical record systems and patient portals increasingly allow patients direct access to their clinicians’ notes.While most believe that open notes benefit patients, some suggest negative consequences. Li ... Full text Cite

Bridging the Gap: PCP and Patient Needs in Head and Neck Cancer Survivor Care

Conference International Journal of Radiation Oncology*Biology*Physics · October 2017 Full text Cite

Survivorship needs after head and neck cancer treatment.

Conference Journal of Clinical Oncology · May 20, 2017 10062 Background: Head and neck cancer (HNC) survivors experience significant sequelae of treatment, including long-term physical side effects and ongoing surveillance for recurrence and secondary malignancy. Given the complicate ... Full text Cite

Bridging the financial assistance gap: A pilot study of a patient-facing app to identify drug financial assistance programs.

Conference Journal of Clinical Oncology · May 20, 2017 e18296 Background: Many cancer patients face high treatment-related costs and are often unaware of available financial resources. We designed “Bridge” as a stand-alone, smartphone app to reduce out-of-pocket treatment costs by co ... Full text Cite

Pilot study of an online app to reduce cancer patients' financial burden.

Conference Journal of Clinical Oncology · May 20, 2016 Full text Cite

THE IMPACT OF PRIMARY CARE WEIGHT ADVICE

Conference JOURNAL OF GENERAL INTERNAL MEDICINE · July 1, 2012 Link to item Cite

Expressions of emotion by oncology patients during outpatient visits

Conference JOURNAL OF PALLIATIVE CARE · September 1, 2006 Link to item Cite

Comparison of self-reported smoking status and anonymous urinary cotinine testing in pregnancy

Conference American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology · December 2005 Full text Cite