Dr. Nelson's research interests are in pediatric psychology. Specifically, his work focuses on the intersection between health and behavior with an emphasis on health promotion in children and adolescents. He is interested in understanding the factors that influence pediatric health and key health behaviors (e.g., sleep, diet, physical activity) as well as interventions to improve health through behavior change. In his current work, he is pursuing these interests by studying a variety of pediatric populations (e.g., children who are overweight, low-income families, youth in residential treatment, adolescents with chronic daily headache, infants with congenital heart disease and their caregivers, rural adolescents) using a variety of methods (e.g., electronic daily diaries, momentary assessment using smart phones, actigraphy, performance-based cognitive tasks, medical record review, blood analysis, surveys). Below is a brief description of projects currently underway or in preparation in Dr. Nelson's lab.
Pediatric Sleep and Psychopathology Project.
Stress, Sleep, and Minority Health Disparities.Residential Care and Health.
Pediatric Dentistry Project.
Pediatric Health Technology and Telehealth.
