Dr Nicola Brew-Sam

Contacts

BA, MA, PHD
Postdoctoral Fellow

Biography

Nicola joined the OHIOH Health Experience Diabetes Team as a Visiting Research Fellow in February, 2020 (DAAD postdoctoral scholarship), and as a Research Fellow in August, 2020. The focus of her research at ANU is on children and adolescents with Type 1 Diabetes. Diagnosis and management of Type 1 Diabetes during childhood and adolescence brings many challenges to both young people and those around them. She aims to identify how sensor devices for managing diabetes can meet the values and needs of young patients with Type 1 Diabetes and their supervising health professionals and carers, so as to inform engineers and designers. Nicola holds a Ph.D. from University of Erfurt (Germany) in cooperation with Nanyang Technological University in Singapore. Her PhD studies focused on Type 1 and Type 2 diabetes patient empowerment and on factors influencing technology use for diabetes self-management. She worked with diabetes patients in Singapore and in Germany, and used both qualitative and quantitative social science research methods. She was awarded several scholarships for her research, and successfully applied for EU and German grant applications on diabetes management together with her research team (e.g., EU Connect2SEA, German Ministry of Education and Research: DIAPPOWER). Her BA is from Ludwig-Maximilian-University in Munich, and her MA from University of Zurich. She has previously worked as a Research Fellow in the field of mobile health technology for Type 2 diabetes (in cooperation with ROCHE Diagnostics, University of Mannheim), and as a Postdoctoral Research Fellow in the field of health promotion in community settings at University of Regensburg in Germany.

Publications

  • Brew-Sam, N. (2020). App Use and Patient Empowerment in Diabetes Self-Management. Wiesbaden: Springer. DOI: 10.1007/978-3-658-29357-4

  • Brew-Sam, N., Chib, A., Rossmann, C. (2020). Differential influences of social support on app use for diabetes self-management – a mixed methods approach. BMC Medical Informatics and Decision Making. doi: 10.1186/s12911-020-01173-

  • Brew-Sam, N. & Chib, A. (2020). Theoretical Advances in Mobile Health Communication Research: An Empowerment Approach to Self-Management. In J. Kim & H. Song (Eds.), Technology and Health: Promoting Attitude and Behavior Change. San Diego, CA: Elsevier, 151-178. DOI: 10.1016/B978-0-12-816958-2.00008-3

  • Loss, J., Brew-Sam, N., Metz, B., Strobl, H., Sauter, A., Tittlbach, S. (2020). Capacity building in community stakeholder groups for increasing physical activity: results of a qualitative study in two German communities. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 17(7), 2306. doi: 10.3390/ijerph17072306

  • Strobl, H., Brew-Sam, N., Curbach, J, Metz, B., Tittlbach, S. & Loss, J.. (2020). ACTION for men: Study protocol of a community capacity building intervention to develop and implement gender-sensitive physical activity programs for men 50 plus. Frontiers in Public Health. 8(4). doi: 10.3389/fpubh.2020.00004

  • Rossmann, C., Riesmeyer, C., Brew-Sam, N., Karnowski, V., Joeckel, S., Chib, A., & Ling, R. (2019). Appropriation of mHealth for diabetes self-management: Lessons from two qualitative studies. JMIR Diabetes, 4(1), e10271. doi: 10.2196/10271

  • Brew-Sam, N., & Chib, A. (2019). How do smart device apps for diabetes self-management correspond with theoretical indicators of empowerment? An analysis of app features. International Journal of Technology Assessment in Health Care, 1-10. doi: 10.1017/S0266462319000163

  • Vorderer, P., Krömer, N., & Schneider, F. (2016). Permanently Online – Permanently Connected: Explorations into University Students’ Use of Social Media and Mobile Smart Devices. Computers in Human Behavior, 694-703. doi: 10.1016/j.chb.2016.05.085