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Cleveland Shields, Ph.D.

Cleveland Shields

Associate Professor of Marriage and Family Therapy
(Ph.D., Purdue University)

Research Interests

Families and health, healthcare, couple and family interventions in health, patient-centered care in medical settings, couples and cancer, interventions for couples returning from military deployment

Contact Information

Fowler House, Room 101
Purdue University
1200 W. State Street
West Lafayette, Indiana 47907-2055

Phone: (765) 496-8372
Fax: (765) 494-0503

E-mail: cgshield@purdue.edu

Web site: http://www.clevelandshields.com/

Biography
Research Interests
Recent Publications
Education
Courses Recently Taught
Honors
External Grants
Professional Service

Biography

 

Research Interests (continued)

Coping with Medical Illnesses  
This research examines how couple and family functioning affect outcomes of patients diagnosed with chronic illnesses. Most of Dr. Shields' recent research has been with breast cancer patients and their partners.

Interventions for Couples Coping with Military Deployment
Dr. Shields is working with colleagues at Purdue's Military Family Research Institute (MFRI) and at UCLA to develop interventions for couples reunited after a deployment. 

Healthcare-provider Communication 
Dr. Shields has been involved in studies examining physician-patient communication. These studies have found that eliciting and validating the patient's concerns is associated with greater patient satisfaction, trust, and lower diagnostic and testing costs. One study found that the use of emotion words by physicians is viewed positively by patients. One of his studies demonstrated that the presence of family members at a medical encounter does not disrupt the physician-patient relationship. Studies of cancer patients have found that more highly educated patients prefer a more active role in treatment decision making, but that their preferences are not stable over time. Dr. Shields is finishing up an NCI grant that examined physician-patient communication with cancer patients in which he and his graduate students developed methods for measuring the depth of physician pain assessment and the thoroughness of prognosis discussions.

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Recent Publications

Epstein, R.M., Hadee, T., Carroll, J., Meldrum, S.C., Lardner, J., & Shields, C.G.

   (2007). “Could this be something serious?” Reassurance, uncertainty and empathy in

   response to patients’ expressions of worry. Journal of General Internal Medicine, 22,

    1731-1739.

Griggs, J.J., Sorbero, M.E.S., Mallinger, J.B., Quinn, M., Waterman, M., Brooks, B., &

   Shields, C.G. (2007). Vitality, mental health, and satisfaction with information after

   breast cancer. Patient Education and Counseling, 66, 58-66.

Epstein, R.M., Shields, C.G., Franks, P., Meldrum, S.C., Feldman, M., & Kravitz, R.L.

   (2007). Exploring and validating patient concerns: Relation to prescribing for

   depression. Annals of Family Medicine, 5, 21-28.

Duberstein, P., Meldrum, S., Fiscella, K., Shields, C.G., & Epstein, R.M. (2007).

   Influences on patients' ratings of physicians: Physicians' demographics and

   personality. Patient Education and Counseling, 65, 270-274.

Burwell, S.R., Brucker, P., & Shields, C.G. (2006). Attachment behaviors and

   proximity-seeking in cancer patients and their partners. Journal of Couple and

   Relationship Therapy, 5, 1-16.

Mallinger, J.B., Shields, C.G., Griggs, J.J., Roscoe, J.A., Morrow, G.R., & Rosenbluth,

   R.J. (2006). Stability of decisional role preference over the course of cancer therapy.

   Psycho-Oncology, 15, 297-305.

Mallinger, J.B., Griggs, J.J., & Shields, C.G. (2006). Family communication and mental

   health after breast cancer. European Journal of Cancer Care, 15, 355-361.

Franks, P., Jerant, A.F., Fiscella, K., Shields, C.G., Tancredi, D.J., & Epstein, R.M.

   (2006). Studying physician effects on patient outcomes: Physician interactional style

   and performance on quality of care indicators. Social Science & Medicine, 62,

   422-432.

Epstein, R.M., Shields, C.G., Meldrum, S.C., Fiscella, K., Carroll, J., & Carney, P.A.

   (2006). Physicians' responses to patients' medically unexplained symptoms.

   Psychosomatic Medicine, 68, 269-276.

Bayer, W., Mallinger, J.B., Krishnan, A., Shields, C.G. (2006). Attitudes toward life-

   sustaining interventions among ambulatory black and white patients. Ethnicity and

   Disease, 16, 915-920.

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Education

1987-90     Post Doctoral Training, Family Therapy Training Program, Division of
                 Family Programs, Department of Psychiatry, University of Rochester
1987          Ph.D., Marriage and Family Therapy Program, Purdue University
1980          M.Div., Wesley Theological Seminary, Washington, DC
1976          B.S., Pennsylvania State University, State College, PA

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Courses Recently Taught

CDFS 688: Internship in Marriage and Family Therapy
CDFS 678: Externship in Marriage and Family Therapy
CDFS 685E: Interventions in Families and Health
CDFS 685F: Families and Health
CDFS 430: Human Sexuality and Family Life

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Honors

2005, 2006, Susan H. McDaniel Graduate Teaching Award, Awarded by Graduate Students in the Marriage & Family Therapy Masters Degree Program, Department of Psychiatry, University of Rochester.

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External Grants

2007-2009, Principal Investigator, National Cancer Institute, "Responses of Physicians to Patients’ Inquiries." $330,434.

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Professional Service

American Psycho-Oncology Society, Member of the Disparities Special Interest Group (SIG).

New York Association for Marriage and Family Therapy:
1992-1993 Member-at-Large, Board of Directors
1993-2003 Member, Legislative Task Force
1994-1995 President-Elect, Board of Directors
1996-1997 President, Board of Directors
1997-1998 Past President, Board of Directors

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Contact Information

Child Development and Family Studies
Purdue University
101 Gates Rd.
West Lafayette, Indiana 47907-2020

Phone: (765) 494-2932
Fax: (765) 496-1144
E-mail: cdfs@purdue.edu

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