Labs
Cohn Lab
Headed by Dr. Lawrence D. Cohn
I conduct both applied and laboratory research. I study issues related to risk perception, risk taking, risk communication, and injury control. I have a particular interest in issues related to adolescence and end emerging adulthood.
PATCH Lab
Headed by Dr. Theodore V. Cooper
The Prevention and Treatment in Clinical Health (PATCH) laboratory is located in the Department of Psychology at the University of Texas at El Paso. Supervised by Dr. Ted Cooper, the lab researches several areas related to disease prevention and health promotion including tobacco use, sedentary behavior, diet, food intake, and cancer prevention. Many current research endeavors focus on Hispanic populations in the El Paso/Ciudad Juárez region.
Field Lab
Headed by Dr. Craig Field
My primary focus in health psychology is addressing alcohol related health disparities among Hispanics. I have conducted four comparative effectiveness trials of brief motivational interventions for drug and alcohol use funded by the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, National Institute on Drug Abuse and the Patient Center Outcomes Research Institute. These studies apply the principles of motivational interviewing in the health care setting to reduce the public health impact of alcohol use disorders particularly among Hispanics. Through funding by Paso del Norte Health Foundation, we facilitate the dissemination and implementation of screening and brief motivational intervention in the health care, judicial and community settings in the Paso del Norte region.
HAPPY JDM Lab
Headed by Dr. Osvaldo F. Morera
Research at Health, Applied Psychometrics and Judgment/Decision Making Laboratory is conducted by Dr. Osvaldo F. Morera at the University of Texas at El Paso. By training, Dr. Morera is a quantitative psychologist and his research covers three general areas, (1) Human judgment and decision making, (2) Applied psychometrics, and (3) health psychology.
Research in this lab often connects two of these areas of inquiry. For example, one primary focus of research interest involves the use of decision aids to help patients make informed decisions about cancer screening decisions.
Tertiary Prevention in Behavioral Medicine Lab
Headed by Dr. John S. Wiebe
Our lab is involved in issues of health-related assessment and tertiary prevention in behavioral medicine. We believe that the advancement of theory and strong research in health psychology requires sound measurement of the concepts involved. We work to develop new measures of concepts that are difficult to quantify, and to evaluate existing instruments. We are especially interested in issues of cross-cultural and cross-language assessment. In addition, we work to understand and prevent complications of chronic physical illnesses through efforts to treat depression and increase medication adherence among patients.