Lora E. Burke, PhD, MPH, RN
Professor
Department of Health & Community Systems

School of Nursing
415 Victoria Building
3500 Victoria Street
Pittsburgh, PA 15261

Email:  lbu100@pitt.edu
Phone: 412-624-2305
FAX:      412-383-7293

Prefer Research Study Website
CRE Research Abstracts

RESEARCH:
The focus of my research is compliance or adherence to cardiovascular risk reduction treatment strategies. More specifically, my research tests the efficacy of behavioral interventions to improve adherence to treatment modalities that use diet and physical activity to reduce cardiovascular risk, e.g., treatment of overweight or obesity, dyslipidemia, hypertension and diabetes. I am completing a clinical trial that enrolled 182 participants that tested treatment preference crossed with two dietary approaches: standard calorie and fat restricted weight reduction eating plan vs. a calorie and fat restricted lacto-ovo-vegetarain eating plan. This study included a 12-month intervention and 6-month maintenance/follow-up period. We are beginning a second phase to this study and plan to follow the cohort from this study (PREFER study to examine the effect of weight stability vs. weight regain on inflammation and the development of insulin resistance and atherosclerosis.

In the Fall of 2005, we are starting a second 24-month trial that will enroll 200 participants and will test the use of personal digital assistants (PDAs) for self-monitoring eating and physical activity behaviors. The three-group study will compare the use of paper diaries to PDAs without feedback and PDAs with daily feedback on weight loss and maintenance of the loss.

Smaller studies are focused on the methodology of self-monitoring and using mixed methods design to learn more about participants’ adherence to this important behavioral change strategy. My interests continue to include self-efficacy theory, its use as a theoretical basis for interventions as well as measurement of the construct. I am continuing to conduct further tests of the Cholesterol-Lowering Diet Self-Efficacy Scale that I developed earlier, and which was shortened more recently.

TEACHING:
I teach the Nursing Research Practicum course to the master’s level students and Quantitative Research Methods to the PhD students. In addition, I guest lecture in courses taught at the masters and doctoral level in the School of Nursing and the Graduate School of Public Health, Department of Epidemiology.

SERVICE:
Last year (2004-2005) I chaired the Research Curriculum Committee, a Dean appointed committee that was charged with reviewing the research courses across the three academic programs and making recommendations for the implementation of evidence-based practice in the three program’s curricula. This year I am chairing the Task Force for the Development of Critical Appraisal Tools, which will be used across the three programs for the critical appraisal of literature as well as treatment guidelines. I also serve on the PhD Curriculum Committee and the Research Task Force. Outside the School of Nursing, I serve on the Advisory Board of the General Clinical Research Center (GCRC) and on the Health Sciences Clinical Research Task Force.   Outside the university my service efforts are focused at the national level of the American Heart Association (AHA) and the Society for Behavioral Medicine (SBM). Currently, in the AHA, I am a member of the Sub-Committee on Prevention for the Council on Cardiovascular Nursing and I am serving as Chair of the Obesity Committee for the Council on Nutrition , Physical Activity and Metabolism (NPAM). I also serve on the Leadership Council for NPAM and on the Program Committee for the upcoming Scientific Conference on Obesity and Cardiovascular Disease. For SBM, I serve as the Chair-elect of the Membership Council and also chair an abstract review track.