Addressing Women’s Wellbeing Across the Lifespan (2026-2027)

Background

Chronic health conditions are increasingly common among women, and many women experience multimorbidity — living with more than one chronic condition at the same time. Multimorbidity can negatively affect day-to-day functioning, emotional health and overall wellbeing. Yet, women’s experiences of managing multiple chronic conditions remain under-addressed in research, clinical care and health policy.

For middle-aged and older women, multimorbidity often involves the intersection of such conditions as cancer, diabetes and age- or treatment-related menopause. These overlapping conditions create complex care needs, increase symptom burden and reduce quality of life. Support groups and shared learning environments have the potential to reduce isolation and strengthen coping skills, but these approaches are not widely available or incorporated into standard care.

For postpartum women, multimorbidity presents distinct challenges. Sexual wellbeing — a critical dimension of postpartum recovery and quality of life — is often overlooked in clinical practice. Women managing one or more chronic conditions may face additional difficulties, yet some also draw on prior experiences coping with illness as a source of resilience. Understanding this diversity of experiences is essential for ensuring that clinical tools and health systems accurately capture women’s needs and support healthier, more holistic postpartum care.

Project Description

This project includes two interconnected studies addressing multimorbidity and wellbeing among women at different life stages.

Project 1: Psychosocial support for women with comorbid cancer and diabetes
Building on the work of the previous teams, this team will establish an Onco-Endocrinology Support Group for 10–15 Duke Cancer Institute patients and caregivers. This monthly, therapist-led group will focus on the lived experiences of managing cancer, diabetes and menopause simultaneously.

The team will:

• Prepare and refine materials for the support group sessions
• Observe and participate in meetings
• Collect pre- and post-group questionnaires to track symptom changes and psychosocial needs
• Conduct and analyze semi-structured interviews with patients and providers
• Contribute to ongoing research on the use of continuous glucose monitoring (CGM) in this patient population

Project 2: Refining a measure of postpartum sexual wellbeing
This study will extend earlier work on developing a measure of postpartum sexual wellbeing, ensuring it is relevant for postpartum individuals living with chronic conditions, including those with a history of cancer.

The team will:

• Conduct 16-20 virtual cognitive interviews assessing the effectiveness of the measure
• Incorporate expert feedback from clinicians and community stakeholders
• Revise the measure and recruit up to 250 postpartum participants to complete the updated measure online
• Conduct psychometric analyses (item analysis, internal consistency, factor analysis)
• Explore how system-level features such as timing and structure of postpartum visits influence sexual wellbeing

Together, these two projects aim to improve clinical tools, support services and policy discussions relevant to women’s health across the lifespan.

Anticipated Outputs

• Therapist-led support group for women with comorbid cancer and diabetes
• Refined and psychometrically validated measure of postpartum sexual wellbeing
• Manuscripts and poster presentations for academic and professional audiences
• Policy- and practice-oriented reports to inform clinical guidelines and health policy

Student Opportunities

Ideally, this team will include 2 graduate students and 8 undergraduate students from such fields as psychology, sociology, nursing, neuroscience, biology (pre-med), global health, health policy or gender, sexuality and feminist studies.

Students will gain experience in research methods such as survey design, semi-structured interviews, cognitive interviews and psychometric testing. They will learn how to analyze and interpret various types of data and communicate their findings through poster presentations and academic manuscripts. Students will also benefit from participating in broader discussions of women’s health policy and advocacy. Graduate students will take on leadership roles in project coordination and mentorship.

A graduate student will be selected to serve as project manager. Two advanced undergraduates will be selected to act as subteam leaders.

In Fall 2026, this team will meet on Tuesdays from 3-5 p.m.

Timing

Summer 2026 – Spring 2027

Summer 2026 (optional)

• Project 1: Conduct semi-structured provider interviews; complete literature reviews
• Project 2: Prepare cognitive interview guides

Fall 2026:

• Project 1: Prepare support group materials; observe group meetings; collect and analyze early data
• Project 2: Conduct cognitive interviews and revise measure items

Spring 2027:

• Project 1: Prepare manuscript; present at conferences
• Project 2: Conduct psychometric testing; disseminate findings

Crediting

Academic credit available for fall and spring semesters

See earlier related team, Promoting Wellness Across the Lifespan for Cancer Survivors (2025-2026).