Wendy S. Looman, PhD, APRN, CPNP-PC

My research focuses on the promotion of family health in the context of childhood chronic conditions. I study family interventions to improve quality of life for children with medical complexity, with an emphasis on keeping family goals at the center of care coordination across multiple systems of care. I advise and teach undergraduate and doctoral students in nursing and am certified as a Pediatric Nurse Practitioner

• Center Memberships:
  Center for Child and Family Health Promotion Research
  Center for Children with Special Health Care Needs

Social capital and family health; Quality of life among children with neurodevelopmental conditions; Children and youth with special health care needs

Research and Education Grants:

Title of Project: School Nurse Beliefs and Practices in Caring for Children with Asthma and ADHD: The I-SNAAP Project
Funding Agency: School of Nursing Foundation
Role: Principal Invesigator
Project Dates: 1/1/2015 – 12/31/2015

Title of Project: Telehealth Nursing Intervention for Children with Complex Health Care Needs
Funding Agency: NINR (R01NR010883-01A2)
Role: Co-Investigator (PI: Stanley M. Finkelstein, PhD)
Project Dates: 2009-2015

Title of Project: A Comparison of the Roles of School Nurses in Coordinating Asthma Care for Pre-adolescents and Adolescents in Iceland and St. Paul, MN
Funding Agency: School of Nursing Foundation
Role: Co-PI (Looman, Garwick)
Project Dates: 07/01/2008 - 07/01/2009

Title of Project: Correlates of Quality of Life for Rural and Urban Families of Children With Velocardiofacial Syndrome (VCFS)
Funding Agency: P20, NINR (Minnesota Center for Health Trajectory Research)
Role: Principal Investigator
Project Dates: 05/01/2008 - 04/30/2009

Title of Project: Arabic Translation and Testing of the Social Capital Scale with Egyptian Families of Children with Learning Disorders
Role: Co-PI
Project Dates: 2004-2007

Title of Project: Health Promotion Through Civic Engagement: A Partnership for the Evaluation of a Community Initiative to Prevent Obesity in Youth
Funding Agency: COPE (Council on Public Engagement) grant, University of Minnesota
Role: Principal Investigator
Project Dates: 2005 - 2006

Title of Project: Hmong Translation of the Social Capital Scale for Children with Special Health Care Needs
Funding Agency: Midwest Nursing Research Society (MNRS)
Role: Principal Investigator
Project Dates: 04/01/2005-03/31/2006

Title of Project: Validation of the Social Capital Scale for Families of Children with Chronic Conditions
Funding Agency: Grant-in-Aid, University of Minnesota Graduate School
Role: Principal Investigator
Project Dates: 01/2004-06/2005

Title of Project: Predoctoral National Research Service Award, Project Title: Development of a Tool to Measure Family Social Capital
Funding Agency: National Institute of Nursing Research, National Institutes of Health
Role: Principal Investigator
Project Dates: 2000-2003

Selected Peer-Reviewed Publications

• Looman, W. S., Hullsiek, R. L., Pryor, L., Mathiason, M. A., & Finkelstein, S. M. (2018). Health-related quality of life outcomes for a telehealth care coordination intervention for children with medical complexity: A randomized controlled trial. Journal of Pediatric Health Care, 32(1), 63-75.
• Brown, C., Looman, W. S., & Garwick, A. E. (2019). School Nurse Perceptions of Nurse–Family Relationships in the Care of Elementary Students With Chronic Conditions. The Journal of School Nursing, 35(2), 96–106. https://doi.org/10.1177/1059840517741944

• Svavarsdottir, E. K., Looman, W., Tryggvadottir, G. B. & Garwick, A. (2018). Psychometric testing of the Iceland Health Care Practitioner Illness Beliefs Questionnaire among school nurses. Scandinavian Journal of Caring Sciences, 32(1), 261-269.

• Isaacson, K. & Looman, W. S. (2017). Strategies for developing family nursing communities of practice through social media. Journal of Family Nursing, 23(1), 73-89.
• McKissick, H. D., Cady, R. G., Looman, W. S., & Finkelstein, S. M. (2017). The impact of telehealth and care coordination on the number and type of clinical visits for children with medical complexity. Journal of Pediatric Health Care, 31(4), 452-458.
• Brown, C., Looman, W. S., & Garwick, A. E. (2017). School nurse perceptions of nurse–family relationships in the care of elementary students with chronic conditions. The Journal of School Nursing. PMID: 29161978.
• Isaacson, K., & Looman, W. S. (2017). Strategies for developing family nursing communities of practice through social media. Journal of Family Nursing, 23(1), 73-89.
• Svavarsdottir, E. K., Looman, W., Tryggvadottir, G. B., & Garwick, A. (2017). Psychometric testing of the Iceland Health Care Practitioner Illness Beliefs Questionnaire among school nurses. Scandinavian Journal of Caring Sciences. PMID: 28851060.
• Finkelstein, S., Celebrezze, M., Cady, R., Lunos, S., & Looman, W.S. (2016). Strategies to maximize data collection response rates in an RCT focused on children with medical complexity. Telemedicine and e-Health, 22(4), 295-301. doi: 10.1089/tmj.2015.0069. PMID: 26484851.
• Cady, R. G., Looman, W. S., Lindeke, L., LaPlante, B., Lundeen, B., Seeley, A., & Kautto, M. E. (2015). Pediatric care coordination: Lessons learned and future priorities. Online Journal of Issues in Nursing, 20(3). 10.3912/OJIN.Vol20No03Man03.
• Looman, W.S., Antolick, M., Cady, R., Lunos, S., Garwick, A., & Finkelstein, S.M. (2015). Effects of a telehealth care coordination intervention on perceptions of health care by caregivers of children with medical complexity: A randomized controlled trial. Journal of Pediatric Health Care, 29(4), 352-63. doi: 10.1016/j.pedhc.2015.01.007. PMID: 25747391.
• Cady, R., Kelly, A., Finkelstein, S., Looman, W.S., Garwick, A. (2014). Attributes of advanced practice registered nurse care coordination for children with medical complexity. Journal of Pediatric Health Care, 28(4), 305-312. doi: 10.1016/j.pedhc.2013.06.005. PMID: 23988611.
• Looman, W.S., Presler, E., Erickson, M., Garwick, A., Cady, R., Kelly, A., & Finkelstein, S. (2013). Care coordination for children with complex special health care needs: The value of the advanced practice nurse's enhanced scope of knowledge and practice. Journal of Pediatric Health Care, 27(4), 293-303. doi: 10.1016/j.pedhc.2012.03.002. PMID: 22560803.
• Looman, W.S., Erickson, M., Garwick, A., Cady, R, Kelly, A., Pettey, C., & Finkelstein, S. (2012). Meaningful use of data in care coordination by the advanced practice registered nurse: The TeleFamilies Project. Computers, Informatics, Nursing, 30(12), 649-54. doi: 10.1097/NXN.0b013e318266caf2. PMID: 22948406.
• Looman, W.S. & Flannery, A. B. (2012). Evidence-based care of the child with deformational plagiocephaly, Part I: Assessment and diagnosis. Journal of Pediatric Health Care, 26(4), 242-250. doi: 10.1016/j.pedhc.2011.10.003. PMID: 22726709.
• Flannery, A. B., Looman, W.S., & Kemper, K. (2012). Evidence-based care of the child with deformational plagiocephaly, Part II: Management. Journal of Pediatric Health Care, 26(5), 320-331. doi: 10.1016/j.pedhc.2011.10.002 PMID: 22920774.
• Drummond, A., Looman, W. S., & Phillips, A. (2012). Coping among parents of children with special health care needs with and without a health care home. Journal of Pediatric Health Care, 26(4), 266-75. doi: 10.1016/j.pedhc.2010.12.005 PMID: 22726711.
• Looman, W. S., Thurmes, A. K., & O’Conner-Von, S. K., (2010). Quality of life among children with velocardiofacial syndrome. Cleft Palate-Craniofacial Journal. 47(3), 273-83. doi: 10.5555/09-009.1. PMID: 20426676.
• Looman, W. S., & Farrag, S. (2009). Psychometric properties and cross-cultural equivalence of the Arabic Social Capital Scale: Instrument development study. International Journal of Nursing Studies, 46(1), 44-53. PMID: 18783773.
• Looman, W. S., O’Conner-Von, S., Ferski, G., Hildenbrand, D. S. (2009). Financial and employment problems in families of children with special health care needs: Implications for research and practice. Journal of Pediatric Health Care, 23(2), 117-125. PMID: 19232928.
• Looman, W. S., O’Conner-Von, S., Lindeke, L. L. (2008). Caring for children with special health care needs and their families: What advanced practice nurses need to know. The Journal for Nurse Practitioners, 4(7), 512-517.
• Looman, W. S., & Lindeke, L. L. (2008). Children and youth with special health care needs: Partnering with families for effective advocacy. Journal of Pediatric Health Care, 22(2), 134-136. doi: 0.1016/j.pedhc.2007.12.003.
• Looman, W. S. (2006). Development and testing of the Social Capital Scale for families of children with chronic conditions. Research in Nursing & Health, 29(4), 325-336.
• Looman, W. S. (2006). A developmental approach to understanding drawings and narratives from children displaced by Hurricane Katrina. Journal of Pediatric Health Care, 20(3), 158-166. PMID: 16675376.
• Looman, W. S., & Lindeke, L. L. (2005). Health and social context: Social capital’s utility as a construct for nursing and health promotion. Journal of Pediatric Health Care, 19(2), 90-94. PMID: 15750553.
• Looman, W. S. (2004). Defining social capital for nursing: Experiences of family caregivers of children with chronic conditions. Journal of Family Nursing, 10(4), 412-428.
• PUBMED Link to Publications

Tools and Measures

Family Nursing Assessment and Intervention Map: A Tool for Formulating Nursing Actions at the Individual and Family System Levels

© Looman 2018

The Family Nursing Assessment and Intervention Map is a tool to help students formulate family nursing actions with a focus on the family as context and family as a unit of care. Designed for use by graduate nursing students in family nursing courses, the tool may be used with a case study, family simulation, or based on a clinical encounter with a family.

To request a copy of the The Family Nursing Assessment and Intervention Map, email Dr. Looman at looma003@umn.edu.

Social Capital Scale (SCS) for Families Raising Children with Special Health Care Needs © Looman, 2003

The Social Capital Scale was developed to measure social capital as a resource for health for families raising children with chronic conditions. The SCS is a set of 20 objective indicators of an investment by families and communities in their relationship with each other, as perceived by a parental caregiver.

To request an examination copy of the Social Capital Scale, send an email to Wendy Looman at looma003@umn.edu.

The following publications describe the development and psychometric testing of the SCS:

Looman, W. S. (2006). Development and testing of the Social Capital Scale for families of children with chronic conditions. Research in Nursing & Health, 29(4), 325-336.

Looman, W. S. (2004). Defining social capital for nursing: Experiences of family caregivers of children with chronic conditions. Journal of Family Nursing, 10(4), 412-428.

The Arabic language version of the SCS is described in the following paper:

Looman, W. S., & Farrag, S. (2009). Psychometric properties and cross-cultural equivalence of the Arabic Social Capital Scale: Instrument development study. International Journal of Nursing Studies, 46(1), 44-53. PMID: 18783773.