Teresa Thomas, PhD, RN

Summary

Dr. Thomas is a leader in promoting self-advocacy among patients with cancer. She has developed a model and measure of how patients advocate for their needs and priorities within the context of their cancer experience – the Self-Advocacy in Cancer Survivorship Model. Currently, her research evaluates the impact of a theoretically-based, patient-centered serious game (a motivational video game) intervention on women with advanced cancer’s self-advocacy skills, symptom burden, and use of health care services (R37CA262025 - NCT04813276). She also works with clinical nurses to understand how nurses can promote self-advocacy among their patients. Dr. Thomas’s other areas of interest include cancer symptom management, caregiver burden, instrument development and testing, and financial distress related to chronic health problems.