ADVANCE Researchers Study Factors Associated with Stress, Resiliency Amid COVID-19 Pandemic
Emily Guseman, Ph.D., is an assistant professor in Primary Care in the Heritage College of Osteopathic Medicine. Dr. Guseman is a pediatric exercise physiologist with an interest in how stress responses are related to unhealthy weight gain and metabolic dysfunction in childhood and adolescence, and how physical activity and other lifestyle behaviors can help us be resilient to the negative health effects of stress. Her PhD is from Michigan State University, and she has been at OU since the fall of 2017. She lives in Athens with her husband, 10 year-old daughter, dog (Nova), and cat (Biscuit).
Joseph Bianco, Ph.D., is an associate professor in the Heritage College of Osteopathic Medicine and Chair of the Department of Social Medicine. Dr. Bianco is a clinical psychologist with specialized training in behavioral health in primary care settings. His research examines the effects of childhood adversity on adult health, narrative accounts of trauma and resilience, how traumatic stress in patients affects physician burnout, and designing trauma-informed care training programs for health professionals. His PhD is from Columbia University. Dr. Bianco is also passionate about narrative, storytelling and the arts and co-created and teaches a narrative medicine class (The Open Book Project) for first- and second-year medical students
When the COVID-19 pandemic started and researchers were trying to figure out how to work the pandemic into their research programs, Dr. Emily Guseman knew she would be interested in the long-term health outcomes resulting from new sources of stress. Now, Dr. Guseman, a pediatric exercise physiologist, along with two clinical psychologists, Dr. Joe Bianco and Dr. Peggy Zoccola, are working on a study examining stress and resiliency as we emerge from the active stages of the pandemic.
The study aims to identify social, family, and behavioral factors associated with resiliency to stress, a project Dr. Guseman says she has been looking forward to the results of since 2020. The study also advances health equity by helping us understand who is at risk for stress and the negative health outcomes associated with it. As Dr. Guseman puts it, “The COVID-19 pandemic was a significant stressor for families all over the world. This can help us understand who might be at greatest risk for the negative health consequences of stress and identify social and behavioral factors we can change to help kids and families be more resilient.”
The project, funded by the Ohio University Heritage College of Osteopathic Medicine, is truly interdisciplinary according to Dr. Guseman. Dr. Guseman describes the collaboration: “As mentioned, I’m a pediatric exercise physiologist. Joe Bianco and our third collaborator, Peggy Zoccola (in the Department of Psychology in the College of Arts and Sciences), are both psychologists. This project has been a fun way to bring together our different areas of expertise to really be sure we are evaluating things in a robust way, and I look forward to analyzing the data with our different perspectives in mind.” Ten medical students and two undergraduate students also contributed to the project through study visits, data management, and various logistical aspects. In addition, the participants were all school-aged children. “SO MANY students have contributed to this research. We absolutely could not have done it without their assistance,” says Dr. Guseman.
The study team presented a poster on the design and feasibility of the study at the American College of Sports Medicine Annual Meeting in 2023, but there is more to come soon. On behalf of the study team, Dr. Guseman also wishes to acknowledge other University staff who helped make the project successful: “Thanks also go out to members of the CTRU staff, particularly Megan Cochran and Stephanie Gyasi, for their invaluable help with scheduling visits and reminder calls.”
The Appalachian Institute to Advance Health Equity (ADVANCE) supports faculty research from multiple disciplines, methods, colleges, schools and departments across Ohio University to foster team science and facilitate clinical and community research partnerships. For information on membership, weekly writing group, or our monthly research seminars, visit https://www.ohio.edu/chsp/advance.