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Add Brown School News on Google (opens in a new tab)Christi M. Lero, a doctoral candidate at the WashU Brown School, has received a two-year, $106,228 Ruth L. Kirschstein National Research Service Award (NRSA) Individual Predoctoral Fellowship (Parent F31) from the National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health, part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH). The award will support her dissertation research on the well-being of individuals who care for people living with ALS, also known as Lou Gehrig’s disease.
As ALS progresses, caregiving responsibilities can become increasingly complex. Lero said caregivers may experience significant personal strain and diminished well-being as they navigate those challenges. Her study will examine the associations between role strain, self-compassion and well-being among caregivers of people with ALS. The study also will examine whether self-compassion mediates the relationship between role strain and well-being.
Lero’s research aims to better understand the factors that contribute to caregiver well-being. The findings may inform clinical practice and the development of guidelines and targeted interventions to improve support for caregivers.
Lero’s dissertation co-chairs are Nancy Morrow-Howell, the Betty Bofinger Brown Distinguished Professor of Social Policy at the Brown School, and Karla Washington, associate professor of medicine in the Division of Palliative Medicine at WashU Medicine.
“I am grateful to NCCIH, my mentors and the participants in this study for their support in the critically important work of understanding how to best support caregivers and reconceptualize what it means to be well during difficult times,” Lero said.