Faculty & Staff

Diana J. Wilkie, PhD, RN, FAAN

Professor and Harriet H. Werley Endowed Chair for Nursing Research
Department of Biobehavioral Health Science

NURS 660
UIC College of Nursing
845 South Damen Avenue (MC 802)
Chicago, IL 60612-7350

Phone: 312.413.5469
Email: diwilkie@uic.edu

Research / Discovery
Dr. Wilkie is an internationally known pain specialist with a special emphasis on palliative and end-of-life care in cancer and other life-threatening illnesses. She has many publications about pain, and her research program on pain has been continuously funded since 1986. Currently, she is conducting two randomized clinical trials testing the effects of massage and effects of computerized pain tools on clinical outcomes and several pilot studies. The long-term goal of her research is to help clinicians effectively combine pharmacologic and nonpharmacologic therapies for management of acute, chronic, and cancer pain. More information about her studies is available at http://www.tneel.uic.edu.

Teaching / Learning
Dr. Wilkie lectures extensively on pain assessment and management topics such as new information available for safe, effective use of analgesics and end-of-life care. She is a member of the graduate faculty and a tenured professor.

Service / Practice
Dr. Wilkie has been a pain specialist since 1984. Dr. Wilkie was one of thirteen experts asked to join the "Caregiving for Individuals with Cancer" panel convened at the request of the Rosalynn Carter Institute for Human Development, part of the newly established Johnson & Johnson/Rosalynn Carter Institute Caregivers Program. She co-developed and coordinated the first Cancer Pain Management Program in San Francisco , and, recently, she led a team of experts in the development of a CD-ROM to teach end-of-life concepts (TNEEL).

Personal
Diana enjoys playing contract bridge, reading, watching movies, and going white-water rafting. Her husband, Barlow, called her a river-babe. They ran the Grand Canyon twice with private parties, each time spending 21 glorious days and nights on the river, rafting, camping, singing, reading, and some hiking. They aced Lava Falls both times but flipped once in Crystal, an experience that gave new meaning to her end-of-life work.

Current Research Projects and Web Sites:

• Computerized PAINRelieveIt Protocol for Cancer Pain
  Diana J. Wilkie (PI).
  A.J. Mundt, M. Kay M. Judge, & Shiping (Sam) Zong (Coinvestigators).
  The major goal of this project is to compare one-month effects of usual care and a computerized tool with pain report scales, multimedia education for patients and decision support for providers (PAINRelieveIt) on patient outcomes (pain intensity, satisfaction with pain intensity, misconceptions about pain) and clinician outcomes (clinic visit length, appropriateness of analgesics prescribed).
  Visit the Cancer Pain and Symptom Management Nursing Research Group Web site for additional information.
• Effects and Costs of Massage in Hospice Cancer Patients
  Diana J. Wilkie (PI).
  Jeannine Forrest, Judy Storfjell, Shiping (Sam) Zong, & Mike Marschke (Coinvestigators).
  The major goal of this project is to compare effects of usual care versus massage in adult hospice patients with pain related to cancer.
  Visit the Cancer Pain and Symptom Management Nursing Research Group Web site for additional information.
• Advanced Practice Palliative Care Nurse Training Program
  Diana J. Wilkie (Coinvestigator, author).
  Jeannine Forrest (PI), Karen Kavanaugh, Jean Berry, Sandy Burgener, Marybeth Buschmann, Gloria Henderson (Coinvestigators).
  The goal of this project is to develop and implement an advanced practice training program for nurses.
  Visit the Cancer Pain and Symptom Management Nursing Research Group Web site for additional information.
• Cognitive Testing of the Computerized PAINReportIt Program in Adult African Americans, Hispanic Americans, and European Americans with Sickle Cell Disease or Cancer
  Diana J. Wilkie (PI).
  Carol Ferrans, Robert Molokie, Divish Mehta, Marie Suarez (Coinvestigators).
  The goal of this project is to conduct cognitive testing with the PAINReportIt program.
  Visit the Cancer Pain and Symptom Management Nursing Research Group Web site for additional information.
• Testing the Feasibility of a Computerized Pain Assessment for Persons with Spinal Cord Injuries and Disorders
  Diana J. Wilkie (Co-PI).
  Fran Weaver (PI), Hines Veterans Administration Medical Center/Northwestern University.
  The goal of this project is to test the feasibility of the PAINReportIt program in people with spinal cord injuries.
  Visit the Cancer Pain and Symptom Management Nursing Research Group Web site for additional information.
• Toolkit for Nurturing Excellence at End-of-life Transition
  Diana J. Wilkie (PI).
  Inge Corliss-MGH Institute of Health Professions (Boston, MA ).
  Marie-Annette Brown, Sarah E. Shannon-University of Washington (UW) School of Nursing.
  Stuart Farber-UW School of Medicine.
  The Toolkit for Nurturing Excellence at End-of-life Transition (TNEEL) is an easy-to-access, learner-friendly package of tools for palliative-care education that is Windows 95/98- or NT-compatible. TNEEL-NE Version 1.0 is delivered on a CD-ROM and includes audio, video, graphics, PowerPoint presentations, photographs, and animations of individuals and families experiencing end-of-life transitions.
  Visit the Cancer Pain and Symptom Management Nursing Research Group Web site for additional information.
• Treatment of Psychological Distress Near the End of Life
  Diana J. Wilkie (Coinvestigator).
  Karen Brown (PI), John Anderson (Coinvestigator).
  The major goal of this project is to facilitate development and testing of a Web-based education program for mental health providers to improve their knowledge and skills regarding end-of-life care.
  Visit the Cancer Pain and Symptom Management Nursing Research Group Web site for additional information.
• Communication Grant for the TNEEL Project
  Diana J. Wilkie (PI).
  This grant supported production and distribution of brochures about the TNEEL CD-ROM and workshops to train educators with hands-on computer experience using the TNEEL CD-ROM to teach about end-of-life care.
  Visit the Cancer Pain and Symptom Management Nursing Research Group Web site for additional information.
• Computerized PAINReport and Nursing PAINConsult Protocol
  Diana J. Wilkie (PI).
  Donna L. Berry-UW School of Nursing.
  Charles Chabal, Stuart Farber-UW School of Medicine.
  This randomized, controlled clinical trial tested the effects of an innovative pain assessment tool and consultation for health care providers.
  Visit the Cancer Pain and Symptom Management Nursing Research Group Web site for additional information.
• Computerized Symptom Report-Consult for Cancer Patients
  Diana J. Wilkie (PI).
  Donna L. Berry, Anna L. Schwartz-UW School of Nursing.
  Dermot Fitzgibbon, Julie Gralow, Karen Lindsley-UW School of Medicine.
  This randomized controlled clinical trial tested the effects of an innovative symptom assessment tool and consultation for people living with cancer.
  Visit the Cancer Pain and Symptom Management Nursing Research Group Web site for additional information.
• PAINReportIt Adoption: Issues and Outcomes
  Diana J. Wilkie, M. Kay Judge (PI)—Nursing Consult, Ltd.
  The aim of this study was to assess implementation issues and outcomes that follow an agency's adoption of PAINReportIt. PAINReportIt is an interactive software program that enables patients to self-report and simultaneously document their pain using a personal computer with a touch screen monitor.
  Visit the Cancer Pain and Symptom Management Nursing Research Group Web site for additional information.
• Developing and Testing PAINReport for Nurses and Physicians
  Diana J. Wilkie, M. Kay M. Judge (PI)-Nursing Consult, Ltd.
  The aim of this study was to examine the feasibility of PAINReportIt with focus group feedback from cancer patients, nurses, physicians, and administrators.
  Visit the Cancer Pain and Symptom Management Nursing Research Group Web site for additional information.
  
  Funded Project Abstracts:
  
• Computerized PAINRelieveIt Protocol for Cancer Pain
• Effects and Costs of Massage in Hospice Cancer Patients
• Center for End-Of-Life Transition Research (CEoLTR)
• Computerized PAINRelieveIt for Adult Sickle Cell Disease
• Developing and Testing a Community-Based Mammography Intervention for AAW (Co-I)
• Advanced Care Treatment Plans (ACT-Plan) for African American Family Caregivers (Co-I)
• CHOICES: Tailored Education for Informed Reproductive Decisions by People with Sickle Cell Disease and Sickle Cell Trait
• Symptom Clusters in the Palliative Care Setting (Faculty Sponsor)
• Predictors and Pain Patterns Change over time in Outpatients with Cancer
• CaMKII as a Mechanism & Intervention Target for Sickle Cell Pain (co-I)