Education
| 1983 | Ph.D. , Ohio University |
My research interests center on factors contributing to cardiovascular risk and on prevention of cardiovascular disease.
Research Projects
Cardiovascular reactivity and cardiovascular risk
My research has also examined the cardiovascular risk factors, hemodynamic characteristics, metabolic syndrome rates, and target organ abnormalities of adolescents with elevated blood pressure compared with their normal blood pressure peers. Adolescents with elevated blood pressure have higher rates of clinically significant risk factors and target organ abnormalities than their peers. These findings indicate that elevated BP functions as an indicator of multiple risks in adolescents.
Prevention
My prevention experience includes involvement in two major multicenter trials, the ENRICHD trial and the Diabetes Prevention Program (DPP). In addition, I have extended my work with adolescents with elevated blood pressure by conducting a randomized controlled trial to improve lifestyle (related to nutrition, physical activity, and stress management) as well as lower blood pressure. The analyses indicated that a brief 1-session intervention that required parental involvement was more effective than the longer group-based interventions emphasizing adolescent self-management in lowering blood pressure.
This finding stimulated my current interest in brief interventions for youth as well as my interest in 'translating' the intervention to a field setting. In February 2010, I began data collection for a randomized controlled trial comparing a brief and novel intervention on cardiovascular health knowledge, readiness for behavior change, self-efficacy for behavior change, and behavior (pertaining to nutrition, physical activity, and stress management) in high school students. The centerpiece of the intervention is the 'Heart Smart' bilingual (English and Spanish) interactive exhibit that my collaborators at the Miami Science Museum and I have developed. The study investigates the extent that a museum-based health exhibit can lead to improved health-related outcomes and address a primary prevention need.
I conceptualize the exhibit as a community-based intervention that enhances health literacy and educates general museum visitors about the impact of behavioral choices (related to nutrition, physical activity, and stress) on heart health in a relaxed and nonthreatening setting. The exhibit extends my reach, as an investigator to more individuals than would be feasible in a laboratory-based study. A unique feature of the exhibit is that it also invites visitors to anonymously contribute their data on body mass index, blood pressure, waist circumference, and self-reported health habits to the exhibit database through a series of interactives.
Publications
Saab, P.G., Bang, H., Williams, R.B., Powell, L.H., Schneiderman, N., Thoresen, C., Burg, M., & Keefe, F. "The impact of cognitive behavioral group training on event-free survival in patients with myocardial infarction; The ENRICHD experience" Journal of Psychosomatic Research , 67, 45-56 (2009).
Cugnetto, M. L., Saab, P.G., Llabre, M.M., Goldberg, R., McCalla, J.R., & Schneiderman, N. "Lifestyle factors, body mass index, and lipid profile in adolescents" Journal of Pediatric Psychology 33, 761-771 (2008).
