Research

Harvard-wide Pediatric Health Services Research Fellowship Program

Donna Luff, PhD

Associate Program Director; Instructor in Pediatrics, Harvard Medical School

Dr Luff joined the Program in 2007 after a decade working in health services research in the UK. Dr Luff has a PhD in Sociology and experience as a health education practitioner within the UK National Health Service (NHS). Dr Luff’s UK research included several studies of complementary and alternative medicine provision in primary care, funded by the UK Department of Health. She was also co-PI on a joint Medical Research Council (MRC) and Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) funded project exploring use of the national telephone triage service, ‘NHS Direct’, and part of a team of researchers awarded a 5 year program by the Leverhulme Trust, entitled ‘Changing Families, Changing Food’, to explore various aspects of changing family food consumption, lifestyle and weight management.  In Boston, Dr Luff has conducted a qualitative research evaluation of the IHI fellowship and she is currently working with Karen Kuhlthau on the Lance Armstrong Foundation study of quality of life in youth and young adult survivors of CNS tumors. With Dr Richard Yu (Urology, CHB), Dr Luff is also developing a qualitative study of a study of pre-pubertal fertility preservation in childhood cancer patients.Dr Luff previously served as Academic Course Director for the Master’s Program in Health Services Research and Technology Assessment at the University of Sheffield UK, and Academic Course Director for an innovative undergraduate program in health and human sciences. Her focus in health services research is on patient-centered care, notably patient voices and perspectives, and on the development of qualitative methodologies. Dr Luff is responsible for the overall day-to-day management of the Program, including advising and supporting program trainees in all aspects of their fellowship, curriculum planning and development, and liaison with all faculty, sites and institutions. She has mentored several past and current trainees in qualitative aspects of their research projects.

Peer-Reviewed Publications

  1. Isong IA, Luff, D, Perrin JM, Winickoff JP, Ng, MW. Parental Perspectives of Early Childhood Caries. Clinical Pediatrics. 2011, Sep 7 [epu.ahead of print]
  2. Lipstein E, Nabi E, Perrin J, Luff D, Browning M, Kuhlthau K.  Parent decision-making in newborn screening: Opinions, choices and information needs.  Pediatrics, 2010: 126: 696-704.
  3. Gidengil CA, Rusinak D, Allred NJ, Luff D, Lee GM, Lieu TA. Financial Barriers to Implementing Combination Vaccines: Perspectives from Pediatricians and Policy Makers. Clinical Pediatrics, 2009, March 24.
  4. Hanlon G, Goode J, Greatbatch D, Luff D, O’Cathain A, Strangleman T Risk Society and the NHS: From the Traditional to the New Citizen. Critical Perspectives on Accounting, 2006; 17:2-3, 270-282.
  5. O'Cathain A, Goode J, Luff D, Strangleman T, Hanlon G, Greatbatch D. (2005) Does NHS Direct empower patients? Social Science & Medicine, 2005;61:8, 1761-1771.
  6. Hanlon G, Goode J, Greatbatch D, Strangleman T, Luff D and O´Cathain A (2005) Technology, Knowledge and Nursing: The Case of NHS Direct´. Human Relations, 2005; 58:2, 147-172.
  7. Greatbatch D, Hanlon G, Goode J, O´Cathain A, Strangleman T and Luff D. Telephone Triage, Expert Systems and Clinical Expertise. Sociology of Health and Illness2005;27:6, 802-830.
  8. Goode J, Greatbatch D, O´Cathain A, Luff D, Hanlon G and Strangleman T. Risk and the Responsible Health Consumer: The problematics of entitlement among callers to NHS Direct. Critical Social Policy, 2004; 24:2, 210-232.
  9. Goode J, Hanlon G, Luff D, O´Cathain A, Strangleman T and Greatbatch D (2004) Male Callers to NHS Direct: the assertive carer, the new dad and the reluctant patient. Health: An interdisciplinary Journal for the Social Study of Health, Illness and Medicine2004; 8:3, 311-328.
  10. Luff, D. ‘The Downright Torture of Women’: Moral Lobby Women, Feminists and Pornography’, The Sociological Review, 2001; 49:1, 78-99
  11. Luff D. Review Essay: Queers, Dinosaurs and Citizens. Psychology, Evolution and Gender2001; 3:1, 107-113.
  12. Luff D, Thomas KJ. ‘Getting somewhere’, feeling cared for: patient perspectives on complementary treatment in the NHS. Complementary Therapies in Medicine2000; 8: 253-259.
  13. Luff D, Thomas KJ. Sustaining complementary therapy provision in primary care: lessons from existing services.Complementary Therapies in Medicine2000; 8:173-179.
  14. Luff, D. British ‘Moral Right Women and Feminism. Sociological Research Online 2000; 5:1
  15. Luff, D. Dialogue Across Divides: “Moments of Rapport” and Power in Feminist Research with Anti-feminist Women.  Sociology1999;33:4, 687-703.
  16. Luff, D. An HIV facilitator in General Practice. British Journal of Sexual Medicine1993; 20:1, 4-6.
  17. Luff, D. General Practice and HIV - in need of a facilitator? Health Education Journal 1991; 50:3, 146-48.