Email

susanrw@bcm.edu

Positions

Assistant Professor

H. Ben Taub Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation
Baylor College of Medicine
Houston, TX, US

Investigator

TIRR-Memorial Hermann Spinal Cord Injury and Disability Research Center (SCIDR)
Houston, TX

Education

MA from Washington University

01/1989 - St. Louis, MO, United States

BS from Louisiana State University

12/1984 - Baton Rouge, Louisiana, United States

PhD from Washington University

08/1993 - St. Louis, Missouri, United States

Websites

Selected Publications

• Hughes RB, Robinson-Whelen S, Taylor HB, Petersen NJ, Nosek MA. " Characteristics of depressed and nondepressed women with physical disabilities. " Arch Phys Med Rehabil. 2005 Mar ; 86 (3) : 473-9.
  Pubmed PMID: 15759231.
• Hughes RB, Nosek MA, Robinson-Whelen S. " Correlates of depression in rural women with physical disabilities. " J Obstet Gynecol Neonatal Nurs. ; 36 (1) : 105-14.
  Pubmed PMID: 17238955.
• Hughes RB, Robinson-Whelen S, Pepper AC, Gabrielli J, Lund EM, Legerski J, Schwartz MS. " Development of a safety awareness group intervention for women with diverse disabilities: A pilot study. " Rehabil Psychol. 2010 Aug ; 55 (3) : 263-71.
  Pubmed PMID: 20804270.
• Morgan RO, Byrne MM, Hughes RB, Petersen NJ, Taylor HB, Robinson-Whelen S, Hasche JC, Nosek MA. " Do secondary conditions explain the relationship between depression and health care cost in women with physical disabilities? " Arch Phys Med Rehabil. 2008 Oct ; 89 (10) : 1880-6.
  Pubmed PMID: 18929016.
• Robinson-Whelen S, Hughes RB, Powers LE, Oschwald M, Renker P, Swank PR, Curry MA. " Efficacy of a computerized abuse and safety assessment intervention for women with disabilities: A randomized controlled trial. " Rehabil Psychol. 2010 May ; 55 (2) : 97-107.
  Pubmed PMID: 20496965.
• Robinson-Whelen S, Hughes RB, Taylor HB, Colvard M, Mastel-Smith B, Nosek MA. " Improving the health and health behaviors of women aging with physical disabilities: A peer-led health promotion program. " Womens Health Issues. ; 16 (6) : 334-45.
  Pubmed PMID: 17188216.
• Nosek MA, Robinson-Whelen S, Hughes RB, Petersen NJ, Taylor HB, Byrne MM, Morgan R. " Overweight and obesity in women with physical disabilities: Associations with demographic and disability characteristics and secondary conditions. " Disabil Health J. 2008 Apr ; 1 (2) : 89-98.
  Pubmed PMID: 21122716.
• Hughes RB, Robinson-Whelen S, Taylor HB, Hall JW. " Stress self-management: an intervention for women with physical disabilities. " Womens Health Issues. ; 16 (6) : 389-99.
  Pubmed PMID: 17188222.
• Hughes RB, Taylor HB, Robinson-Whelen S, Nosek MA. " Stress and women with physical disabilities: identifying correlates. " Womens Health Issues. ; 15 (1) : 14-20.
  Pubmed PMID: 15661583.
• Nosek MA, Hughes RB, Robinson-Whelen S. " The complex array of antecedents of depression in women with physical disabilities: implications for clinicians. " Disabil Rehabil. 2008 ; 30 (3) : 174-83.
  Pubmed PMID: 17852240.
• Tan G, Jensen MP, Robinson-Whelen S, Thornby JI, Monga TN. " Coping with chronic pain: a comparison of two measures. " Pain. 2001 Feb 1; 90 (41276) : 127-33.
  Pubmed PMID: 11166978.
• Cook KF, Teal CR, Engebretson JC, Hart KA, Mahoney JS, Robinson-Whelen S, Sherwood AM. " Development and validation of Patient Reported Impact of Spasticity Measure (PRISM). " J Rehabil Res Dev. 2007 ; 44 (3) : 363-71.
  Pubmed PMID: 18247233.
• Curry MA, Renker P, Hughes RB, Robinson-Whelen S, Oschwald M, Swank PR, Powers LE. " Development of measures of abuse among women with disabilities and the characteristics of their perpetrators. " Violence Against Women. 2009 Sep ; 15 (9) : 1001-25.
  Pubmed PMID: 19622789.
• Robinson-Whelen S, Kim C, MacCallum RC, Kiecolt-Glaser JK. " Distinguishing optimism from pessimism in older adults: is it more important to be optimistic or not to be pessimistic? " J Pers Soc Psychol. 1997 Dec ; 73 (6) : 1345-53.
  Pubmed PMID: 9418282.
• Curry MA, Renker P, Robinson-Whelen S, Hughes RB, Swank P, Oschwald M, Powers LE. " Facilitators and barriers to disclosing abuse among women with disabilities. " Violence Vict. 2011 ; 26 (4) : 430-44.
  Pubmed PMID: 21882667.
• Robinson-Whelen S, Bodenheimer C. " Health practices of veterans with unilateral lower-limb loss: Identifying correlates. " J Rehabil Res Dev. 2004 May ; 41 (3) : 453-60.
  Pubmed PMID: 15543463.
• Robinson-Whelen S, Rintala DH. " Informal care providers for veterans with SCI: who are they and how are they doing? " J Rehabil Res Dev. ; 40 (6) : 511-6.
  Pubmed PMID: 15077663.
• Powers LE, Renker P, Robinson-Whelen S, Oschwald M, Hughes R, Swank P, Curry MA. " Interpersonal violence and women with disabilities: analysis of safety promoting behaviors. " Violence Against Women. 2009 Sep ; 15 (9) : 1040-69.
  Pubmed PMID: 19608856.
• Robinson-Whelen S, Tada Y, MacCallum RC, McGuire L, Kiecolt-Glaser JK. " Long-term caregiving: what happens when it ends? " J Abnorm Psychol. 2001 Nov ; 110 (4) : 573-84.
  Pubmed PMID: 11727947.
• Tan G, Jensen MP, Robinson-Whelen S, Thornby JI, Monga T. " Measuring control appraisals in chronic pain. " J Pain. 2002 Oct ; 3 (5) : 385-93.
  Pubmed PMID: 14622742.
• Nosek MA, Hughes RB, Robinson-Whelen S, Taylor HB, Howland CA. " Physical activity and nutritional behaviors of women with physical disabilities: physical, psychological, social, and environmental influences. " Womens Health Issues. ; 16 (6) : 323-33.
  Pubmed PMID: 17188215.
• Nosek MA, Hughes RB, Petersen NJ, Taylor HB, Robinson-Whelen S, Byrne M, Morgan R. " Secondary conditions in a community-based sample of women with physical disabilities over a 1-year period. " Arch Phys Med Rehabil. 2006 Mar ; 87 (3) : 320-7.
  Pubmed PMID: 16500164.
• Mahoney JS, Engebretson JC, Cook KF, Hart KA, Robinson-Whelen S, Sherwood AM. " Spasticity experience domains in persons with spinal cord injury. " Arch Phys Med Rehabil. 2007 Mar ; 88 (3) : 287-94.
  Pubmed PMID: 17321818.
• Rintala DH, Robinson-Whelen S, Matamoros R. " Subjective stress in male veterans with spinal cord injury. " J Rehabil Res Dev. ; 42 (3) : 291-304.
  Pubmed PMID: 16187242.
• Robinson-Whelen, S., Hughes, R. B., Gabrielli, J., Lund, E. M., Abramson, W., and Swank, P. R.. " A Safety Awareness Program for Women with Diverse Disabilities: A Randomized Controlled Trial. " 2014 ; 20 (7) : 846-868.
• Robinson-Whelen, S., Taylor, H. B., Hughes, R. B., Wenzel, L., and Nosek, M. A.. " Depression and depression treatment in women with spinal cord injury. " 2014 ; 20 (1) : 23-31.
• Robinson-Whelen, S., Taylor, H. B., Hughes, R. B., & Nosek, M. A.. " Depressive symptoms in women with physical disabilities: Identifying correlates to inform practice. " Archives of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitat. 2013 ; 94 (12) : 2410 - 2416.
• Oschwald, M., Leotti, S., Raymaker, D., Katz, M., Goe, R., Harviston, M. Wallington, A., Howard, L., Beers, L., Nicolaidis, C., Robinson-Whelen, S., Hughes, R. B., Lund, E. M., Pwers, L. E., and the Partnering... Consortium. " Development of an audio-computer assisted self-interview to investigate violence and health in the lives of people with developmental disabilities. " Disability and Health Journal. 2014 ; 7 (3) : 292-301.
• Nosek, M. A., Robinson-Whelen, S., Hughes, R. B., Porcher, E., Davidson, G., & Nosek, T. M.. " Self-esteem in Second Life: An inworld group intervention for women with disabilities. " Journal of Virtual Worlds Research. 2011 ; 4 (1) : 4-9.
• Robinson-Whelen, S., Hughes, R. B., Taylor, H. B., Hall, J. W., & Rehm, L. P.. " Depression self-management program for rural women with physical disabilities. " Rehabilitation Psychology. 2007 ; 52 : 254-262.
• Hughes, R. B., Robinson-Whelen, S., Taylor, H. B., Swedlund, N., & Nosek, M. A.. " Enhancing self-esteem in women with physical disabilities. " 2004 ; 49 : 295-302.
• Hughes, R. B., Robinson-Whelen, S., & Knudson, C.. " Cancer disparities experience by people with disabilities " Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2022 ; 19 (15)
  Pubmed PMID: 35954534.
• Hughes, R. B., Robinson-Whelen, S., Goe, R., Schwartz, M., Cesal, L., Garner, K. B., Arnold, K., Hunt, T., and McDonald, K. E.,. " "I really want people to use our work to be safe"... Using participatory research to develop a safety intervention for adults with intellectual disability " J Intellect Disabil.. 2020 ; 24 (3) : 309-325.
  Pubmed PMID: 30101664.
• Hughes, R., B., Robinson-Whelen, S., Davis, L. A., Meadors, J., Kincaid, O., Howard, L., Millin, M., Schwartz, M. & MdDonald, K. E.. " "We learned how to say NO"... Evaluation of a violence prevention program for adults with intellectual disability. " Am J Intellect Dev Disabil. 2020 ; 125 (4) : 304-317.
• Nosek, M. A., Robinson-Whelen, S., Ledoux, T. A., Hughes, R. S., O’Connor, D. P., Lee, R. E., Goe, R., Silveira, S. L., Markley, R., Nosek, T. M., & the GoWoman Consortium. " A pilot test of the GoWoman weight management intervention for women with mobility impairments in the online virtual world of Second Life. " Disabil Rehabil. 2019 ; 41 (22) : 2718-2729.
• Nosek, M. A., Robinson-Whelen, S., Hughes, R. B., & Nosek, T. M.. " An internet-based virtual reality intervention for enhancing self-esteem in women with disabilities " Rehabil Psychol. 2016 ; 61 (4) : 358-370.
  Pubmed PMID: 27709978.
• Silveira, S. L., Winter, L., Clark, R., Ledoux, T. A., & Robinson-Whelen, S.. " Baseline dietary intake of individuals with spinal cord injury who are overweight or obese " ; 19 (2) : 301-309.
  Pubmed PMID: 30393077.
• Rigot, S. K., Worobey, L. A., Boninger, M. L., Robinson-Whelen, S., Roach, M. L., Heinemann, A. W., & McKernan, G.. " Changes in internet use over time among individuals with traumatic spinal cord injury " Arch Phys Med Rehabil. 2022 ; 103 (4) : 832-839.
  Pubmed PMID: 34062118.
• Robinson-Whelen S, Storandt M. " Factorial structure of two health belief measures among older adults. " Psychol Aging. 1992 Jun ; 7 (2) : 209-13.
  Pubmed PMID: 1610510.
• Korulpolu, R,, Malik, A., Radcliff, C., Robinson-Whelen, S., & Taylor, H.. " Feasibility, acceptability, and efficacy ofmindfulness training in people with upper motor neuron disorders: A systematic review " Arch Phys Med Rehabil. 2022 ; 103 (12) : 2410-2428.
  Pubmed PMID: 35760105.
• Hughes, R., B., Beers, L., & Robinson-Whelen, S.. " Health information seeking by women with physical disabilities: A qualitative analysis " Disabil Health J. 2022 ;
  Pubmed PMID: 35123921.
• Robinson-Whelen, S., Hughes, R. B. Alhusen, J. L., Minard, C. G., Beers, L., & Davidson, D.. " Health information seeking in the digital age: A national survey of women with disabilities " Disabil Rehabil. 2022 ;
  Pubmed PMID: 35916449.
• Robinson-Whelen S, Storandt M. " Immediate and delayed prose recall among normal and demented adults. " Arch. Neurol.. 1992 Jan ; 49 (1) : 32-4.
  Pubmed PMID: 1728260.
• Robinson-Whelen, S., Taylor, H. B., Feltz, & Whelen, M.. " Loneliness among People with Spinal Cord Injury: Exploring the Psychometric Properties of the 3-item Loneliness Scale. " Arch Phys Med Rehabil. 2016 ; 97 : 1728-1734..
  Pubmed PMID: 27178096.
• Silveira, S. L., Ledoux, T. A., Robinson-Whelen, S., Stough, R., & Nosek, M. A.. " Methods for classifying obesity in spinal cord injury: A review. " Spinal Cord. 2017 ; 55 (9) : 812-817.
  Pubmed PMID: 28695902.
• Wen, H., DeVivo, M. J., Heinemann, A. W., Krause, J. S., Robinson-Whelen, S., & Chen, Y.. " Mortality beyond the first year after spinal cord injury: Does body mass index matter? " 2021 ; 103 (4) : 711-721.
  Pubmed PMID: 34800475.
• Nicolaidis, C., Raymaker, D., Katz, M., Oschwald, M., Goe, R., Leotti, S., Grantham, L., Ploude, E., Salamon, J., Hughes, R., Powers, L., & the Partnering with People with Disabilities to Address Violence Consortium. " Participatory research to adapt measures of health and interpersonal violence for use by people with developmental disabilities. " Prog Community Health Partnersh. 2015 ; 9 (2) : 157-170.
  Pubmed PMID: 26412758.
• Robinson-Whelen, S., Hughes, R. G., Taylor, H. B., Markley, R., Vega, J. C., Nosek, T. M., Nosek, M. A.. " Promoting psychological health in women with SCI: Development of an online self-esteem intervention " Disabil Health J. 2020 ; 13 (2)
  Pubmed PMID: 31757776.
• Wen, H., Chen, Y., He, Y., Bickel, C. S., Robinson-Whelen, S., & Heinemann, A. W.. " Racial differences in weight gain: A 5-year longitudinal study of persons with spinal cord injury " Arch Phys Med Rehabil. 2018 ; 99 (10) : 1957-1964.
  Pubmed PMID: 29247628.
• Hughes, R. B., Robinson-Whelen, S., Raymaker, D., Lund, E. M., Oschwald, M. M., Katz, M., Starr, A., Ashkenazy, E., Powers, L. E., & Nicolaidis, C., & the Partnering with People with Disabilities to Address Violence Consortium. " The relation of abuse to physical and psychological health in adults with developmental disabilities " Disabil Health J. 2019 ; 12 (2) : 227-234.
  Pubmed PMID: 30655190.
• Orts K, Sheridan JF, Robinson-Whelen S, Glaser R, Malarkey WB, Kiecolt-Glaser JK. " The reliability and validity of a structured interview for the assessment of infectious illness symptoms. " J Behav Med. 1995 Dec ; 18 (6) : 517-29.
  Pubmed PMID: 8749983.
• Platt, L., Powers, L., Leotti, S., Hughes, R. B., Robinson-Whelen, S., Osburn, S., Ashkenazy, E., Beers, L., Lunda, E. M., & Nicolaidis, C.. " The role of gender in violence experienced by adults with developmental disabilities " J Interpers Violence. 2017 ; 32 (1) : 101-129.
  Pubmed PMID: 25979536.

Show 48 more publications

Memberships

American Psychological Association

National Spinal Cord Injury Association

American Congress on Rehabilitation Medicine

Funding

Loneliness and Its Relation to Health in People with SCI
#W81XWH1910735

Grant funding from Department of Defense