Karen S Lyons, Ph.D.
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- Phone:
- 503 494-3975
Background
Dr. Lyons’ research focuses on family experiences of cancer and other chronic illnesses with an emphasis on psychological, relational and methodological issues. Dr. Lyons has been primary investigator on an R03 study of covarying well-being trajectories in family care dyads, and PI or coinvestigator on several studies related to family care, including studies of rural couples. She is currently PI of a four-year study of families living with lung cancer funded by the American Cancer Society and an R21 to examine couples coping with fibromyalgia. She is also coinvestigator on an R21 intervention targeting couples with prostate cancer. She has published in the areas of family care and family relationships, most notably on the interface between family and formal service use, family incongruence, the effects of changing physical and mental health on relationship quality in the family care dyad, predictors of ten-year change in physical function, depression, and role strain in spouses of patients with Parkinson’s disease, and the use of innovative multilevel modeling (MLM) in family research to enhance understanding of the family care dyad. Her current research examines symptom incongruence, communication, decision-making and family relationships in both end-of-life and chronic illness contexts, involving both care dyads and couples.
Selected Publications
"Gender, health ambiguity, and depression among survivors of first stroke: A pilot study,"
"Pre-death grief in Parkinson's caregivers: A pilot survey-based study,"
"Relational Factors Associated With Depressive Symptoms Among Stroke Survivor-Spouse Dyads,"
"The Exercising Together project: Design and recruitment for a randomized, controlled trial to determine the benefits of partnered strength training for couples coping with prostate cancer,"
"Poststroke depression: Social workers' role in addressing an underrecognized psychological problem for couples who have experienced stroke,"
