BSN, University of Kansas
MS, University of Kansas
PhD, University of Texas
Email: spopkess@kumc.edu
Phone: (913) 588-3373
Sue Popkess-Vawter, RN, PhD, has dedicated 26 years to nursing education and research, 20 of which have been spent at the KU School of Nursing.
In her latest research project funded by the National Institutes Health-National Institute of Nursing Research, Professor Sue Popkess-Vawter, RN, PhD, focused on weight cyclers' psychological relationships with food, such as eating for reward, comfort and anger control. Popkess-Vawter developed a weight management program that can put an end to yo-yo dieting. She used Apter's Reversal Theory, which holds that people naturally move among eight specific but mutually exclusive mental states, as a basis for cognitive restructuring to identify negative self-talk that can lead to overeating.
Now Popkess-Vawter is applying her research findings to a new weight management practice at a KU outpatient clinic. Her three-pronged individual approach, called holistic self-care, is designed to help clients make lasting changes in healthy eating and regular exercise. Participants learn to discover and conquer triggers within themselves and in relationships that result in weight management failures.
Dr. Popkess-Vawter, who has taught nursing courses in the traditional classroom and via the Internet through KU Medical Center's Virtual Classroom, has served as thesis advisor for more than 45 master's students and as project advisor for 26 master's students.
After earning both her bachelor of science and master's degrees in nursing from the University of Kansas, she received her doctorate degree in nursing from the University of Texas.
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The University of Kansas Medical Center