Nathan F Dieckmann

• PhD Psychology: Focus in Decision Sciences and Statistical Analysis
• Professor at Oregon Health & Science University; Decision Research

Expert disputes can present laypeople with several challenges including trying to understand why such disputes occur. In an online survey of the US public, we used a psychometric approach to elicit perceptions of expert disputes for 56 forecasts sampled from seven domains. People with low education, or with low self-reported topic knowledge, were m...

In this article, we consider a novel criterion for evaluating representations of uncertainty ranges, namely, the extent to which a representation enhances motivated reasoning. In two studies, we show that perceptions of the distribution underlying ambiguous numerical ranges are affected by the motivations and worldviews of end users. This motivated...

Background: Communicating scientific uncertainty about public health threats such as COVID-19 is an ethically desirable task endorsed by expert guidelines on crisis communication. However, the communication of scientific uncertainty is challenging because of its potential to promote "ambiguity aversion"-a well-described syndrome of negative psycho...

Significance Large infrastructure projects such as highways, pipelines, and ports undergo formal impact evaluations to assess the likely impacts to social and cultural priorities, the economy, public health, and the environment. Several scientific and citizen groups have expressed concern that social and cultural impacts are not given sufficient co...

Non-reductive ideation is characterized by a tendency to attribute causality to non-physical powers and mysterious forms of intelligent agency such as conspiracist ideation, belief in specific conspiracy theories, and belief in the paranormal. Scholars have identified numerous individual correlates of non-reductive ideation but do not examine share...

Background Numerous studies have reported associations between environmental exposures and ADHD. However, whether environmental effects are causal or due to confounding with other familial factors, such as genetic risk, is still unclear. A more complete understanding of which environmental risk factors are causal remains crucial. Methods Using one...

PURPOSE Chemotherapy-induced peripheral neuropathy (CIPN) can have deleterious effects on mobility and quality of life in people with cancer. Vibration therapy shows promise as a CIPN intervention but is understudied. We investigated the feasibility and preliminary efficacy of low-intensity vibration (LIV) in cancer survivors with CIPN. METHODS We...

Context Individuals who walk regularly are more likely to meet recommended physical activity guidelines than non-walkers; however, rural US adults walk less than urban adults. The built and social environment, perceived walkability and walking are bidirectionally related with each other. Objective This study’s purpose was to assess the association...

Lung cancer is a leading cause of cancer-related mortality. However, few treatment decision-making resources exist. In this study, we evaluate a low literacy lung cancer treatment conversation tool to enhance shared decision-making (SDM). The Improving Decision-Making Encounters in Lung Cancer (iDECIDE) pragmatic, stepped-wedge cluster randomized t...

Prostate cancer survivors (PCS) treated with androgen deprivation therapy (ADT) have increased fall risk due to treatment-related side effects on musculoskeletal health. Fall risk is typically measured in the lab or clinic using objective assessments validated in community-dwelling older adults. It is unknown whether the same cutoffs will identify...

Men with prostate cancer may experience cancer-related loneliness (CRL) that impacts their mental and physical health, yet research in this area remains sparse. We explored the relationship between cancer-related loneliness, anxiety, depressive symptoms, social and physical functioning and the potential benefits of group exercise in a subset of men...

Although there is an active screening program for posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in Veterans Health Administration (VHA) primary care clinics and empirically supported treatments for PTSD are available, many patients who are identified through screening and receive a new PTSD diagnosis do not engage in cognitive processing therapy (CPT) or pr...

Background Methamphetamine-associated heart failure (MethHF) carries devastating individual and societal consequences; however, our understanding of this condition is limited. Objective The objective of this study is to compare the sociodemographic and clinical characteristics of patients hospitalized with MethHF with patients hospitalized with he...

Background Many adults with heart failure (HF) are physically frail and have worse outcomes. While the biological profile of physical frailty in HF has been examined, the behavioral profile remains unstudied. Physical frailty may impact self-care behaviors, particularly symptom monitoring and management (SMM), which in turn results in adverse outco...

Background: In chronic heart failure (HF), physical frailty is more prevalent in females than males, and studies have shown that frailty is associated with worse symptoms. However, sex differences in frailty at the time of HF diagnosis are not well understood, including associations with symptoms. Research Question: What are the relationships betwe...

Background Immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) exhibit impressive clinical response rates but also impose a high burden of treatment-related symptoms and toxicities on patients with cancer (i.e., immune-related adverse events [irAEs]). Retrospective studies suggest that women may experience a disproportionately higher burden of irAEs than men, in p...

Although health promotion is not the primary function of public libraries, it is well documented that many libraries engage in health promotion activities, even when resources are constrained. Less understood is the readiness of the public library workforce, particularly in rural communities, to implement evidence-based health promotion programs. T...

Background Adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) and suboptimal sleep both negatively associate with cardiovascular health. Although an association between ACEs and suboptimal sleep in youth has been reported, there has been no investigation for differential effects among ACE subdomains. Objective We examined associations between total and subdomai...

Purpose Individuals identified as high fall risk are expected to have high concern about falling. However, perception and individual factors that influence concern about falling have yet to be thoroughly studied. We aimed to understand factors that influence concern about falling among older adults with increased risk for falling. Patients and Met...

Objectives Little has been reported about the clinical relevance and trajectories of symptoms in end-stage liver disease (ESLD). The purpose of this prospective study was to identify trajectories of change in symptom burden over the course of 12 months in adults with ESLD. Methods Patients were recruited from hepatology clinics at two health care...

Purpose Lung cancer is a disease with high mortality and morbidity, impacting both the patient and their closest contact, referred to in this paper as their care partner. There is limited evidence on how to support mental health and quality of life (QOL) for patient-care partner dyads during cancer treatment. This pilot study examines yoga as an in...

Background Androgen deprivation therapy (ADT) increases the risk of frailty, falls, and, poor physical functioning in prostate cancer survivors. Detection of frailty is limited to self-report instruments and performance measures, so unbiased tools are needed. We investigated relationships between an unbiased measure – daily life mobility – and ADT...

Palliative Care (PC) is an interdisciplinary specialty focused on relieving symptoms and optimizing quality of life for people living with serious illnesses and their families. A great need for PC exists in Saudi Arabia due to its aging population and prevalence of cancer and other chronic diseases. Home healthcare can make PC more accessible to pa...

Parental chronic pain is associated with adverse outcomes in children, but the mechanisms of transmission are largely untested. Mothers with chronic pain (N = 400, Mage = 40.3 years, 90.5% White) and their children (Mage = 10.33 years, 83.3% White, 50.2% female) were recruited in 2016–2018 to test longitudinal pathways of risk transmission from mat...

Purpose To determine whether strength training or tai ji quan can reduce frailty in older, postmenopausal women treated with chemotherapy for cancer. Methods We conducted a secondary data analysis from a 3-arm, single-blind, randomized controlled trial where older (50–75 years), postmenopausal women cancer survivors were randomized to supervised g...

Objective We examined the associations among advance directives (ADs) completion, coping, uncertainty in illness, and optimism and pessimism in patients with end-stage liver disease (ESLD). Background Although associations among ADs, coping, and uncertainty have been studied in patients with other life-limiting illnesses, these concepts have not b...

Background Chronic liver disease is a significant global neglected public health problem. End-stage liver disease is associated with substantial symptom complexity, disability, and care needs that require assistance from informal family care partners. Research on these care partners’ caregiver burden or strain, symptoms, and quality of life is spar...

Background: The number of adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) is associated with suboptimal sleep duration in children; however, the differential association of types of ACEs with sleep duration in youth is unknown. Given the known associations of both ACEs and sleep duration with cardiovascular health, such an investigation will provide insights...

The lack of sex-specific variables, such as reproductive system history (RSH), in cardiovascular research studies is a missed opportunity to address the cardiovascular disease (CVD) burden, especially among women who face sex-specific risks of developing CVD. Collecting RSH data from women enrolled in research studies is an important step towards i...

Background Chemotherapy-induced peripheral neuropathy (CIPN) is a debilitating and dose-limiting side effect of systemic cancer therapy. In many cancer survivors, CIPN persists after treatment ends and is associated with functional impairments, abnormal gait patterns, falls, and diminished quality of life. However, little is known regarding which p...

Background: Adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) and short sleep duration are both negatively associated with cardiovascular health. However, there is limited knowledge on the association between ACEs and sleep duration in children. Objective: We investigated if sleep duration was associated with the number of reported ACEs. We also evaluated the t...

Purpose: To determine whether strength training or tai ji quan can reduce frailty in older, postmenopausal women treated with chemotherapy for cancer. Methods: We conducted a secondary data analysis from a 3-arm, single-blind, randomized controlled trial where older (50+ years), postmenopausal women cancer survivors were randomized to supervised gr...

Background Rural residents generally lack adequate physical activity to benefit health and reduce disparities in chronic diseases, such as cardiovascular disease and certain cancers. The Socioecological Model describes physical activity as involving a dynamic and reciprocal interaction between individual, social, and community factors. Community gr...

Background: Adults with heart failure (HF) experience a constellation of symptoms; however, understanding of gender differences in HF symptoms remain elusive. The aim of this study was to determine whether there are gender differences in physical and depressive symptoms and symptom patterns in HF using 2 different analytic techniques. Methods: W...

Uncertainty that arises from disputes among scientists seems to foster public skepticism or noncompliance. Communication of potential cues to the relative performance of contending scientists might affect judgments of which position is likely more valid. We used actual scientific disputes—the nature of dark matter, sea level rise under climate chan...

Aim: This study had two aims: to determine initial career intention of nursing students and to assess whether nursing education variables predict career intentions toward public health/community health nursing. Background: Nursing graduates are expected to be prepared to work in community settings. However, there is uncertainty in whether studen...

Purpose: To compare the efficacy of tai ji quan versus strength training to prevent falls after chemotherapy in older, postmenopaual women. Methods: We conducted a three-arm, single-blind, randomized controlled trial where older (50+ years), postmenopausal women cancer survivors participated in one of three supervised group exercise programs (ta...

Introduction: In 2010, the American Heart Association (AHA) began using 7 indicators to measure cardiovascular health, known collectively as Life’s Simple 7. In June 2022, the AHA added an 8 th indicator: sleep duration. Although earlier studies have examined whether/how the indicators in Life’s Simple 7 might be impacted by social determinants of...

This study characterized the patterns and predictors of pre-post changes in knowledge, attitudes, beliefs, behaviors, and intentions (KABBIs) among 641 youth who completed evidence-based teen pregnancy prevention programs. At follow-up, 64.0% of youth showed changes knowledge, communication, and attitudes; 22.5% showed changes in knowledge, attitud...

Background: Nontuberculous mycobacteria (NTM), predominately Mycobacterium avium complex (MAC), cause chronic pulmonary disease (MAC-PD). Improvements in symptoms and health-related quality of life (HRQoL) are important treatment outcomes, but no validated patient-reported outcome (PRO) measure exists. Research question: What is the validity and...

Proper diagnosis of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is costly, requiring in-depth evaluation via interview, multi-informant and observational assessment, and scrutiny of possible other conditions. The increasing availability of data may allow the development of machine-learning algorithms capable of accurate diagnostic predictions u...

Among married couples living with breast and prostate cancer, positive perceptions of relationship quality by both survivors and their spouses were associated with lower inflammation or insulin resistance in their partner. Our data support evidence that health within couples is both interdependent and transactional and suggests that one member’s pe...

Introduction: Obesity is a major risk factor for cardiometabolic disease . Research shows that children living in grandparent-headed households are more likely to have obesity compared to children living in two-parent headed households. However, little is known about modifiable risk or protective factors that influence that association. Purpose: To...

Introduction: There are a number of gender differences in heart failure (HF) care and outcomes; yet there remain gaps in our understanding of gender differences in HF symptoms. The aim of this study was to use propensity matching to examine gender differences in physical and depressive HF symptoms between women and men. Methods: Data from 6 studies...

Objective Evidence-based decision support resources do not exist for persons with lung cancer. We sought to develop and refine a treatment decision support, or conversation tool, to improve shared decision-making (SDM). Methods We conducted a multi-site study among patients with stage I-IV non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) who completed or had on...

Background Studies assessing multiple symptoms and the distress of these symptoms in decompensated cirrhosis are lacking. Aims The aims of this study were to assess symptom prevalence and distress among patients with decompensated cirrhosis and to describe medical management of the most prevalent symptoms. Methods Patients were recruited from hep...

Research regarding daily acute pain and its correlates has primarily been conducted with adolescents who have had major surgery or musculoskeletal pain, restraining efforts towards adapting interventions for adolescents with other sources of acute pain. We explored the trajectories and correlates of pain intensity. Adolescents with an opioid prescr...

Background: Few quantitative studies have documented the types of research topics most commonly employed by nursing PhD students and whether they differ by program delivery (in-person vs. online/hybrid programs). Objectives: We examined a large set of publicly available PhD dissertation abstracts to (a) describe the relative prevalence of differ...

Objective To evaluate the prevalence and major comorbidities of ADHD, using different operational definitions, in a newly available national data set and to test the utility of operational definitions against genetic and cognitive correlates. Method The U.S. Adolescent Behavior Cognition Development (ABCD) study enrolled 11,878 children aged 9-10...

TPS193 Background: Many prostate cancer survivors are treated with androgen deprivation therapy (ADT), but these therapies may increase frailty, worsen physical functioning, and increase fall risk. While exercise may counter functional declines associated with ADT, no studies have tested whether and which type of exercise may reduce falls and frail...

81 Background: Androgen deprivation therapy (ADT) for prostate cancer may result in accelerated aging that increases the risk for falls. Falls are higher in men with a history of ADT use, even if treatment is discontinued, compared to men never on ADT. Less is known, however, about the specific patient characteristics that might be associated with...

Objectives To assess the reliability of using videoconference technology to remotely administer the Short Physical Performance Battery (SPPB), including the 5-time sit-to-stand (5XSTS) and usual 4-m walk (4mWT), and the Timed Up and Go (TUG) tests and agreement with in-person administration among adults with and without cancer. Methods Participant...

Background : Symptoms, which often cluster together, are a significant problem in heart failure (HF). There is considerable heterogeneity in symptom burden, particularly in the vulnerable transition period after a hospitalization for HF, and the biological underpinnings of symptom during transitions are unclear. The purpose of this paper is to desc...

Proper diagnosis of ADHD is costly, requiring in-depth evaluation via interview, multi-informant and observational assessment, and scrutiny of possible other conditions. The increasing availability of data may allow the development of machine-learning algorithms capable of accurate diagnostic predictions using low-cost measures. We report on the pe...

Background To explore how health care providers in the United States are adapting clinical recommendations and prescriptive practices in response to patient use of medical cannabis (MC) for chronic pain symptoms. Design Literature searches queried MeSH/Subject terms “chronic pain,” “clinician,” “cannabis,” and Boolean text words “practice” and “an...

Background Many prostate cancer survivors are treated with androgen deprivation therapy (ADT), but these therapies may increase frailty, worsen physical functioning, and increase fall risk. While exercise may counter functional declines associated with ADT, no studies have tested whether and which type of exercise may reduce falls and frailty. The...

Purpose: We evaluated children's cardiometabolic health (CMH) risk indicators and adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) stratified by family structure type (grandparent-headed, two-parent headed, and single-parent headed households). Separately, we assessed whether family structure type and number of ACEs were independently associated with the CMH...

Background & Aims Patients with decompensated liver disease have been categorized by disease severity. This analysis sought to classify patients with end-stage liver disease (ESLD) based on symptoms rather than disease state and to identify distinct severity classes of physical and psychological symptoms. Methods Patients with a Sodium Model for E...

Background Most cancer survivors are married, and cancer strains the physical and mental health of each partner and their intimate relationship. We created a partnered strength training program, Exercising Together©, where the survivor and his/her partner exercise as a team in order to improve physical and mental health of both members of the coupl...

Introduction. Estimates of prevalence and comorbidity of ADHD in the United States require additional national, multi-informant data. Further, it is unclear whether the polygenic, neurodevelopmental model of ADHD in DSM-5 is best modeled with a broad or restrictive phenotype definition. Method: In the Adolescent Behavior Cognition Development (ABCD...

Background : Primary care providers manage most patients with chronic pain. Pain is a complex problem, particularly in underserved populations. A technology-enabled, point-of-care decision support tool may improve pain management outcomes. Methods : We created an electronic health record (EHR)-based decision support tool, the Pain Management Suppo...

Introduction This study compared the relative efficacy of aerobic training to resistance training on physical functioning in older breast cancer survivors and determined whether benefits could be maintained by transitioning to unsupervised home-based training. Materials and methods Early-stage, post-treatment, older (≥65 years) breast cancer survi...

Background Most cancer survivors are married, and cancer strains the physical and mental health of each partner and their intimate relationship. We created a partnered strength training program, Exercising Together©, where the survivor and his/her partner exercise as a team in order to improve physical and mental health of both members of the coupl...

Purpose: Current literature indicates that childhood obesity is associated with family structure type. For example, children living in grandparent-headed households are more likely to be obese compared to children living in two-parent headed households. However, little is known about the conditions that might interact with family structure to influ...

12075 Background: Women treated for cancer are more likely to fall than women without a cancer history. Exercise is a fall prevention strategy for older adults that we are testing in the GET FIT trial as a fall prevention approach in women cancer survivors. Increasing physical activity, though, could acutely increase the risk of falls in inactive s...

12059 Background: Women with cancer are significantly more likely to fall than women without cancer but there are not yet any evidence-based fall prevention strategies that specifically target cancer survivors. The GET FIT trial compares the efficacy of two distinct types of exercise, strength training vs. tai ji quan, to prevent falls in women fin...

Background Many prostate cancer survivors are treated with androgen deprivation therapy (ADT), but these therapies may increase frailty, worsen physical functioning, and increase fall risk. While exercise may counter functional declines associated with ADT, no studies have tested whether and which type of exercise may reduce falls and frailty. The...

BACKGROUND Communicating scientific uncertainty about public health threats such as COVID-19 is an ethically desirable task endorsed by expert guidelines on crisis communication. However, the communication of scientific uncertainty is challenging because of its potential to promote ambiguity aversion —a well-described syndrome of negative psycholog...

Objective: Patients with lung cancer experience significant declines in psychosocial and physical function during and after treatment that impact quality of life (QOL) and survival. Yoga is a potential strategy to mitigate functional decline among patients with lung cancer. Methods: A single group 12-week pilot trial of low-moderate intensity yo...

Many interventions have been designed to leverage parent-caregivers as change agents for improving children’s cardiometabolic health (CMH), however very few have been designed to leverage grandparent-caregivers for that purpose. This is surprising since there has been a steady increase in children living in grandparent-headed households. As a first...

The treatment of the hepatitis C virus has been revolutionized by the discovery of direct‐acting antiviral medications, which offer more effective treatment with fewer potential side effects. Few studies have examined changes in patient‐reported outcomes in individuals undergoing treatment for the hepatitis C virus in the immediate time period afte...

Lay beliefs about scientist-employer relations may affect public attitudes toward science. A representative sample of US residents characterized scientists’ relations with one of four employers: federal government agency, large business corporation, advocacy group (nonprofit seeking to influence policy), or university. Overall, they held moderate v...

Purpose: Cancer survivors are now living longer giving rise to a new concept-chronic cancer as survivors continue to face long-term consequences of cancer and its treatment. For these survivors, QOL becomes a vital consideration in understanding their survivorship and the long-term impact of cancer and its treatment. The primary aim of this review...

Objectives: The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between personality traits (perfectionism and neuroticism) and the traumatic outcomes of reexperiencing, avoidance, and alcohol abuse severity of registered nurses (RNs) who have been involved with a patient safety incident (PSI). We hypothesized that higher scores for perfe...

The goal of this pilot study was to explore health benefits for couples participating together in an existing community-based self-management workshop for Parkinson’s disease (PD). A quasi-experimental two-wave design explored the effects of the Strive to Thrive program in comparison to a wait-list control condition. Preliminary data ( n = 39 coupl...

Background & Aims Management of end-stage liver disease (ESLD) has implications for not only patients’ quality of life (QOL), but also their caregivers’. We aimed to identify characteristics of patients with ESLD and their caregivers that are associated with QOL. Methods We obtained cross-sectional baseline data from patients and their caregivers...

Background Observing how experienced nurses assess and manage complex situations may assist students in developing clinical judgment. Method Evaluation of a combined learning activity including an audiovisual simulation demonstrating expert nurse care of a patient with delirium delivered across three international programs. Participants responded...

Background: Lung cancer survivors are at risk of accelerated declines in physical functioning attributed to cancer treatment. However, it is unknown whether patients experience the same rate of functional decline and how symptoms may contribute to different trajectories. Objectives: The aims of this study were to identify interindividual differe...

Accumulating wealth is one of the main concerns for consumers. Higher education is widely associated with higher wealth, but the underlying reasons for this association remain unclear. Using data from a field study conducted with 218 adults in agrarian communities in Peru's Andean highlands, we explored the extent to which education, non‐numeric fl...

Objective: Among U.S. children, ADHD epidemiological estimates (3%-5%) vary significantly from case identification rates (over 11%), leading to confusion about true incidence and prevalence. We investigated the extent to which this discrepancy could be resolved by definitional issues through reexamining the most cited U.S. survey of case identifica...

Motivational Interviewing (MI) is an evidence-based approach for fostering behavior change and holds potential to engage patients in behavior change related to fall prevention. A two-arm, unblinded, pilot randomized controlled trial was conducted in a hospital setting to determine the feasibility (recruitment and retention), establish suitable proc...

The perception of choice in the caregiving role has emerged as a key theme in qualitative gerontological caregiving research but few studies have examined choice quantitatively. The aim of our study was to test whether perceived choice moderated the relation between level and duration of care and the health impact of caring for a parent over the ag...

Scholars have not examined public views of scientific motivations directly, despite scientific authority implications. A US representative sample rated 11 motivations both descriptively (they do motivate scientists’ work) and normatively (they should motivate scientists) for scientists employed by federal government agency, large business corporati...