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A surprising move across the country resulted Denise Charron-Prochownik, PhD, RN, CPNP, Develop a counseling program for adolescents with diabetes that would eventually become a model for the American Diabetes Association.
“I was a registered nurse and was very happy to be the clinical nurse at Boston Children’s Hospital for the rest of my life,” Charron-Prochownik told Healio. “Then my husband said he was going to take a new job in Michigan and I thought, ‘What should I do?’ My position was already taken there. So I got my PhD and that got me into research. I never expected it; it all just happened and I kept seizing opportunities and trying as hard as possible to seize those opportunities. My professional life is very fulfilling. “
Charron-Prochownik is Professor and Chair of the Department of Health Promotion and Development at the School of Nursing at the University of Pittsburgh.
Prochownik, Professor and Chair of the Department of Health Promotion and Development at the University of Pittsburgh’s School of Nursing, is a leader in educating and caring for adolescent girls and women with diabetes, with a particular focus on reproductive health in teenagers with diabetes. She will receive the “Outstanding Educator in Diabetes 2021” award at this year’s Scientific Sessions of the American Diabetes Association. The award recognizes a respected medical professional who has done outstanding educational work in the field of diabetes.
Prochownik’s research focuses on theory-based intervention studies to improve cognitive / psychosocial factors that influence health behavior and outcomes in children and adolescents with diabetes. Prochownik conducted multiple instrumentation, program development, and evaluation, and survey design projects, and received funding from NIH, ADA, and Eli Lilly to develop, implement, and evaluate online educational counseling intervention studies on reproductive health and preconceptual counseling for adolescents and young adults with women Diabetes. Her current sponsored projects target Latinas, Native American and Alaskan indigenous people, and Hawaiian indigenous people.
Healio spoke to Prochownik about her passion for raising adolescent girls with diabetes, her love for nature and what she would like to ask the Pope.
Healio: What was the crucial moment that led you to your area of expertise?
Charron-Prochovnik: I was a registered nurse and became a specialist in diabetes clinic at Boston Children’s Hospital – the first person to get the job – so I had to develop the role. I was there for about 4 years and we had a youth clinic. At the clinic, we didn’t talk to the girls about the risk of complications during pregnancy or pregnancy counseling. I didn’t know about it and it wasn’t something you did.
I later moved to the University of Michigan and began my PhD in public health. I was the project leader on a CDC grant to provide pre-conception counseling in women with diabetes, and we looked at what factors predicted women seek pre-conception counseling before pregnancy. We learned that if a doctor told them they might be at risk and that if they had normal blood sugar at conception they could prevent these risks, they were much more likely to have a healthy pregnancy. They had to seek medical attention prior to pregnancy in order to achieve good metabolic control. That was when it hit me – all these missed opportunities with the teens at the Boston Children’s Clinic.
That became my passion in life. When do we talk to women about it? Once you have reached puberty, you can get pregnant anytime. I could only think that when women are “ready” to conceive, it is too late to talk about it. We need to get this message across to growing girls. We need to prevent unplanned pregnancies and let girls know they need to plan their pregnancies. For this young age group, however, there was neither literature nor development-oriented programs.
Healio: Which area of diabetes care are you most interested in right now??
Charron-Prochovnik: Pregnancy care for adolescent girls is my mission. I want these programs to be available to everyone for free. I left our READY-Girls program to the ADA so that it could be published and distributed online for free. In a sense, mission accomplished. In another, it needs to be adapted for underrepresented groups. There is an increase in type 2 diabetes and a higher risk of developing gestational diabetes in black, Latin American, and indigenous girls. We want to continue to create culturally relevant programs and tailor them to these communities.
Healio: What do you think will have the greatest impact on your field in the next 10 years?
Charron-Prochovnik: There are two ways in diabetes research: care and healing. So much happens on the healing path and I think there will be a healing one day.
In my area of reproductive health and, more generally, behavioral research in diabetes care, many advances in technology have transformed diabetes management. We now have continuous glucose monitoring, insulin pump therapy, and even the option of telemedicine visits. The behavior is of course related to all of this, but that’s where the field moves fastest and it’s very exciting.
Healio: Who do you admire most and what would you ask if you had 5 minutes with them?
Charron-Prochovnik: Pope Francis. I’m a lifelong Catholic, and he’s our first Jesuit Pope, so he’s more open and questioning everything. I want to ask him how we can all push for more change to increase diversity and inclusion of all genders and races at all levels, not just in the Church but in society as a whole. What else can he do and how can we help? The pandemic has fundamentally changed us all and underscored how much we are all global partners who can work together for the better. This is really our moment.
Healio: What are your hobbies and interests outside of medicine?
Charron-Prochovnik: My family is very important to me and my philosophy is to bring body, mind and soul into harmony. With that in mind, I enjoy the outdoors, swimming, cycling and gardening. We have a spot on Lake George in the Adirondack Mountains where we hike and kayak. I also enjoy cross-country skiing. Most of all I like to cook and meet family and friends, which luckily we’re finally starting again. I’m also looking forward to going to the theater and concert again.
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