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Theresa Marie Coles

Associate Professor in Population Health Sciences
Population Health Sciences
DUMC 104023, Durham, NC 27701
215 Morris Street, Suite 210, Durham, NC 27701

Overview


Theresa Coles, Ph.D., is a health outcomes methodologist with a focus on measuring and evaluating patient-reported outcomes (PROs) and other clinical outcomes assessments (COAs), integrating PRO measures for screening of symptoms in clinical care, and improving interpretation of patient-centered outcome scores for use in healthcare delivery and clinical research settings to inform decision making.

My research program is comprised of 2 pillars:

  1. Enhance the assessment of function (e.g., physical function, cognitive function) to inform decision-making
  2. Design patient-reported screening questionnaires to improve patient-centered care by measuring what matters

Current Appointments & Affiliations


Associate Professor in Population Health Sciences · 2024 - Present Population Health Sciences, Basic Science Departments

In the News


Published August 10, 2023
Evaluating physical functioning using patient-reported outcome measures: how does the question form and recall period influence patients’ interpretation?
Published March 26, 2021
Centering Patients and Expanding Access in the Opioid Epidemic

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Recent Publications


Investigating themes in hearing quality of life with user-nominated goals on the Glasgow Hearing Aid Benefit Profile (GHABP).

Journal Article J Patient Rep Outcomes · July 1, 2025 BACKGROUND: The Glasgow Hearing Aid Benefit Profile (GHABP) is a patient-reported outcome measure (PROM) that was developed for the assessment of hearing aid efficacy using standard goals and user-nominated goals. The objective of this study was to describ ... Full text Link to item Cite

Utility of Existing Patient-Reported Outcome Measures for Identifying Non-Rhinogenic Facial Pain.

Journal Article Laryngoscope · March 22, 2025 OBJECTIVE: Facial pain/pressure is often non-rhinogenic and migraine-related in etiology. However, this is frequently misdiagnosed as sinusitis, leading to inappropriate antibiotic utilization and unnecessary procedures. We assessed the utility of the 3-It ... Full text Link to item Cite

Recalling what we thought we knew about recall periods: a qualitative descriptive study of how adults diagnosed with cancer use recall periods for patient-reported outcome items about physical function.

Journal Article Qual Life Res · March 2025 OBJECTIVES: In cancer studies, assessment of patients' physical function can provide insight into cancer-related symptoms and the side effects of treatment. Physical function can be assessed using patient-reported outcome measures (PROMs), which may or may ... Full text Link to item Cite
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Recent Grants


A Clinical Trial Readiness Study of Patient Reported Outcome Measures in Thrombotic Thrombocytopenic Purpura (TTP)

ResearchCo-Principal Investigator · Awarded by National Institutes of Health · 2024 - 2027

FDA - BAA Clinical Evidence on the impact of osseointegrated limb prostheses

ResearchCo Investigator · Awarded by Food and Drug Administration · 2023 - 2026

Optimizing the Management and Outcomes for Cancer Survivors Transitioning to Follow-up Care

ResearchCo Investigator · Awarded by National Cancer Institute · 2020 - 2026

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Education, Training & Certifications


University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill · 2017 Ph.D.