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

• E. Louise Grant Award, School of Nursing, University of Minnesota, 2016.
• Innovator’s Award for Advancing Teaching and Learning Excellence Series. School of Nursing, University of Minnesota, 2011.
• Densford Clinical Scholar Award, Katherine J Densford International Center of Nursing Leadership, 2009 – 2010.
• School of Nursing Mission Advancement Award, University of Minnesota, 2006 – 2009.
• Certificate of Commendation for Service in Providing Needed Relief to Victims of Katrina, University of Minnesota, 2005. 

• 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: Development of an Online Curriculum for the Leadership and Education for Advanced Practice Providers in Cystic Fibrosis (LEAPP-CF) Fellowship Program
Funding Agency: Cystic Fibrosis Foundation
Role: Principal Investigator
Project Dates: 2021-2023

Title of Project: "Tip Top Kids 2": A Polit Test of New Strategies to Measure Trajectories of Pediatric Quality of Life
Role: Principal Investigator
Project Dates: 2020-2022

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 Investigator
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., Park, Y. S., Gallagher, T. T., & Weinfurter, E. V. (2020). Outcomes research on children with medical complexity: A scoping review of gaps and opportunities. Child: Care, Health and Development, 46(1), 121-131. https://doi.org/10.1111/cch.12725
• Looman, W. S. (2020). Teaching systems thinking for advanced family nursing practice: A theory-based tool. Journal of Family Nursing, 26(1), 5-14. https://doi.org/10.1177/1074840719891439
• Looman, W. S., Mathiason, M. A., & Gallagher, T. T. (2020). Interpreting nonsignificant results in a randomized controlled trial of telehealth care coordination for children with medical complexity. SAGE Publications. https://dx.doi.org/10.4135/9781529713527
• Looman, W. S. (2020). Book Review: Bird’s eye view: Stories of a life lived in health care. Journal of Family Nursing, 26(3) 282–283. https://doi.org/10.1177/1074840720934815
• Antolick, M. M., Looman, W. S., Cady, R. G., & Kubiatowicz, K. (2020). Identifying and communicating postdischarge goals for hospitalized children with medical complexity: A Process improvement pilot in a specialty pediatric setting. Journal of Pediatric Health Care, 34(2), 90-98. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pedhc.2019.07.006
• Neerland, C. E., Avery, M. D., Looman, W. S., Saftner, M. A., Rockwood, T. H., & Gurvich, O. V. (2020). Development and testing of the preparation for labor and birth instrument. Journal of Obstetric, Gynecologic & Neonatal Nursing, 49(2), 200-211. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jogn.2019.12.006
• Pruinelli, L., Farag, A., Looman, W., McKechnie, A. C., Monsen, K. A., Van Gelderen, S., & Dunn-Lopez, K. (2020). The Symbiotic collaboration between family nursing and data science. CIN: Computers, Informatics, Nursing, 38(8), 375-380. https://doi.org/10.1097/CIN.0000000000000675
• Myers, L., Karp, S. M., Dietrich, M. S., Looman, W. S., & Lutenbacher, M. (2020). Family centered care: How close do we get when talking to parents of children undergoing diagnosis for autism spectrum disorders? Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 1-12. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10803-020-04765-0
• 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
• 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.
• 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.                                               
• 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.
• 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). doi: 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.

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, send an email to Wendy 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.