Nancy E. Avis
Professor
Section on Social Sciences & Health Policy
Department of Public Health Sciences
Wake Forest University School of Medicine
Piedmont Plaza II, 2nd floor
Winston-Salem, North Carolina 27157-1063
Telephone: 336-716-6974
Email: navis@wfubmc.edu
Education:
B.A., University of Wisconsin, Madison, 1969, Psychology;
M.A., University of Illinois, 1971, Social Psychology;
Ph.D., University of Michigan, 1980, Social Psychology;
M.S., University of Pittsburgh School of Public Health 1982, Epidmemiology.
Research:
Dr. Avis is a health psychologist/epidemiologist whose primary research interests include psychosocial aspects of breast and ovarian cancer, cancer survivorship, health related quality of life, menopause and mid-aged women's health, sexual functioning, and health communications.
She has been a Principal Investigator on numerous NIH grants and has developed a number of media products for patients, physicians, and the general public. Dr. Avis is a Fellow of the American Psychological Association, active in the North American Menopause Society, and a member of other professional organizations. She serves on several journal editorial boards.
Recent Peer-Reviewed Publications:
Burwell, S.R, Case, L.D., Kaelin, C., Avis, N.E. (in press). Sexual problems in youngr women following breast cancer surgery. Journal of Clinical Oncology.
Gold, E.B., Colvin, A., Avis, N.E. et al. (in press). Longitudinal analysis of vasomotor symptoms and race/ethnicity across the menopausal transition: Study of Women's Health Across the Nation (SWAN). American Journal of Public Health.
Avis, N.E., Smith, K.W., Link, C.L., Hortobagyi, G.N., Rivera, E. (in press). Factors associated with participating in breast cancer treatment clinical trials. Journal of Clinical Oncology.
Foley, K.L., Farmer, D.F., Petronis, V.M., Smith, R.G., McGraw, S., Smith, K., Carver, C.S., Avis, N.E. (2006). A qualitative exploration of the cancer experience among long-term survivors: Comparison by cancer type, gender, and age. Psycho-Oncology, 15:248-258.
Avis NE, Johannes C, Ory M, Brockwell S, Greendale G. (2005). Correlates of sexual functioning among mid-aged women. Menopause,12(4):385-398.
Avis NE, Crawford SL, Manuel J. (2005). Quality of life among younger women with breast cancer. Journal of Clinical Oncology, 23:3322-30.
Walsh SR, Manuel JC, Avis NE. (2005). The impact of breast cancer on younger women’s relationships with their partner and children. Family Systems & Health, 23:80-93.
Avis, N.E., Brockwell, S., Colvin, A. (2005). A universal menopausal syndrome? American Journal of Medicine;118:37S-46S.
Avis, N.E., Smith, K.W., McGraw, S., Smith, R.G., Petronis, V.M., Carver, C.S. (2005) Assessing quality of life in adult cancer survivors. Quality of Life Research, 14:1007-1023.
Avis, N.E., Smith, K.W., link, C., Goldman, M.B. (2004). Increasing mammography screening among women over age 50 with a videotape intervention. Preventive Medicine, 39(3):498-506.
Avis N.E., Assmann,S.F., Ganz, P., Kravitz, H., Ory, M. (2004). Quality of life in diverse groups of midlife women: The role of menopausal status and other health, psychosocial, and demographic factors. Quality of Life Research, 13 (5):933-946.
Avis N.E., Crawford, S., Manuel, J. (2004). Psychosocial problems of younger women with breast cancer. Psycho-Oncology,13;295-308.
Bromberger, J. Harlow, S., Avis, N., Kravitz, H.M., Newton, E., Cordal, A. (2004). Prevalence and correlates of depressive symptoms in middle age African American, Chinese, Hispanic and White women. American Journal of Public Health,94(8):1378-1385.
Avis, N.E., Ory M, Matthews, K.A., Schocken, M. Bromberger, J., Colvin, A. (2003). Health-related quality of life among a multi-ethnic sample of middle aged women: Study of Women’s Health Across the Nation (SWAN). Medical Care, 41(11): 1262-1276.
Cain, V., Johannes, C., Avis, N., Mohr, B., Schocken, M., Skurnick, J., Ory, M. (2003). Sexual functioning and practices in a multi-ethnic sample of midlife women: Baseline results from SWAN. The Journal of Sex Research, 40 (3):266-76.
Bromberger, J.T., Assmann, S.F., Avis, N.E., Schocken, M., Kravitz,H.M, Cordal, A. (2003). Persistent mood symptoms in a multiethnic community cohort of pre- and perimenopausal women. American Journal of Epidemiology, 158(4):347-356.
Avis N.E. Depression during the menopausal transition. (2003). Psychology of Women Quarterly, 27:91-100.
Avis, N.E., Stellato, R.K., Crawford, S., Longcope, C. (2001) Longitudinal study of hormone levels and depression among women transitioning through menopause. Climacteric, 4(3), 243-9.
Avis, N.E., Stellato, R., Crawford, S., Bromberger, J., Ganz, P., Cain, V., & Kagawa-Singer, M. (2001). Is there a menopausal syndrome? Menopause status and symptoms across ethnic groups. Social Science & Medicine, 52, 345-356.
Avis, N.E., Stellato, R., Crawford, S. L, Johannes, C. (2000). Is there an association between menopause status and sexual functioning? Menopause, 7(5), 297-309.
Duke, S.S., McGraw, S.A., Avis, N.E., Sherman, A., Renick, K. (2000). The use of focus groups in the development of a DES awareness intervention. Psycho-Oncology, 9(5), 439-444.
Crawford, S.L., Casey, V.A., Avis, N.E., McKinlay, S.M. (2000). Weight change during the menopause transition: A longitudinal study. Menopause, 7 (2), 96-104.
Duke, S.S., McGraw, S.A., Avis, N.E. Exposure to DES: (2000). Design of a multi-level community intervention. Health Promotion Practice, 1 (2), 188-195.
Rebar, R.W., Nachtigall, L.E., Avis, N.E., Kronenberg F., Santoro, N.F., Sowers, M.F., Archer, D.F. (2000). Clinical challenges of perimenopause: Consensus opinion of the North American Menopause Society. Menopause, 7, 5-13.
Avis, N.E. Sexual function in men and women: Community and population-based studies. (2000). Journal of Gender-Specific Medicine, 3(2), 37-41.
Sommer, B., Avis, N.E., Meyer, P., Ory, M., Madden, T., Kagawa-Singer, M., Mouton, C., Rasor, N., Adler, S. (1999). Attitudes toward menopause and aging across ethnic/racial groups. Psychosomatic Medicine, 61(6), 868-875.
Book Chapters:
Avis, NE, Coker, L, Naughton, M. (2003) Women’s health issues. In Anderson, N. (Ed.), Encyclopedia of Health and Behavior. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications.
Avis, N.E., Crawford, S., and Johannes, C. (2002) Menopause. In Wingood, G. and DiClemente, R. (Eds.) Handbook of Women's Sexual and Reproductive Health. New York: Kluwer Academic/Plenum Publishers.
Avis, N.E. (2001) Sexual behavior in aging women. In Hof, P. and Mobbs, C. (Eds.). Functional Neurobiology of Aging. New York: Academic Press.
Avis, N.E. (2000). Menopause and stress. In Fink, G. (Editor-in-Chief) Encyclopedia of Stress. New York: Academic Press.
Avis, N.E. (2000) Is menopause associated with mood disturbances? In Lobo, R.A., Kelsey, J, and Marcus, R (Eds.) Menopause : Biology and Pathobiology. New York: Academic Press.