Sociology student publishes cross-collaborative research with pediatric faculty

Sarah Watson, an East Carolina University graduate student in the Thomas Harriot College of Arts and Sciences (THCAS) Department of Sociology, is applying her studies to important cross-collaborative, clinical research. Her work with faculty in the Brody School of Medicine Department of Pediatrics led to a recently published article in the journal Children’s Health Care.

Watson’s article, “Employment and well-being among caregivers of children with autism spectrum disorder,” is co-authored with pediatrics clinical instructor Dr. Fritz Stine, research associate professor Dr. Dmitry Tumin, and clinical associate professor Dr. Karen M. Stiles.

Sarah Watson, sociology graduate student, collaborated with health sciences faculty to publish research on the well-being of caregivers of children with autism. (Contributed photo)

The research team used the 2016-2018 National Survey of Children’s Health to assess health and work patterns among caregivers of children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and special health care needs (SHCN). They learned that parents identifying their children as having ASD and SHCN were the group most likely to report that they avoided changing jobs to keep their health insurance and also were more likely to cut back on work hours. Additionally, the study found that caregivers in single-parent households were less likely to report good overall physical or mental health.

“With population health, access to care, and health disparities being major areas of focus for our research and clinical practice, I have been working with graduate students in THCAS to develop and conduct studies addressing these issues in collaboration with ECU pediatricians, resident physicians and medical students,” said Tumin. “These projects offer graduate students an opportunity to reinforce study design, writing and data analysis skills — learned through their coursework and thesis work — while contributing to applied research in the health sciences.”

“I was lucky to be offered this opportunity during my first semester of the graduate program,” Watson said. “Dr. Tumin was recruiting [graduate] students in sociology to do original research with him. I was nervous but interested in this application of sociology to medical research.”

Using knowledge she gained in a sociology course taught by assistant professor Dr. Colin Campbell, and Tumin’s tutelage of research software and best practices for writing a research article, Watson said she was able to expand her understanding of data sorting, cleaning and application.

“Dr. Tumin treated me as a full member of the research team,” Watson said. “Writing the article with a team of highly trained professionals was an amazing experience. They were so encouraging and helpful. As each section was drafted and completed, I felt more confident in my own writing and research abilities.”

At the completion of the article, Watson said she gained knowledge she would not have acquired without the support of Drs. Tumin, Stine, Stiles and Campbell.

“I am so grateful for this opportunity to learn and was incredibly proud upon the initial completion of the article. Having it accepted for publication was just icing on the cake,” she said.

In the past semester, ECU’s Department of Pediatrics has submitted six graduate student-led projects for publication in peer-reviewed journals spanning topics in rural health, pediatric primary care and subspecialty care. Several projects that include undergraduate students in Harriot College also have been accepted for recent publication.

Hannah Morris, a current research coordinator in pediatrics, was an undergraduate when she co-authored two research articles — one on the impact of medical financial hardship on children’s health and one on data of children’s unmet health care needs. She is now working on a graduate degree in sociology.

Lindsay Cortright, who received her graduate degree in anthropology in 2016, served as project manager from 2018-2020 on research that led to a published article dealing with fathers’ visitation of low birthweight infants in the neonatal intensive care unit.

“The social science perspectives and techniques used in these projects have helped diversify the range of studies undertaken in the Department of Pediatrics and have created new opportunities for clinical trainees to participate in scholarly writing and the publication process,” Tumin said.