Kathleen Knafl, PhD

Dr. Knafl served YSN through June 2005. This page remains for archival purposes only.

About

Dr. Knafl is a professor at Yale School of Nursing where she teaches family and research design courses in the doctoral and pediatric nurse practitioner programs. Her research focuses on family management of childhood chronic illness and she has completed a series of studies describing distinct patterns of family response to the challenges presented by a child's chronic illness. Her work sets the stage for developing and testing nursing interventions that meet the unique needs of diverse families and support optimal family and child functioning. Dr. Knafl is widely published and her work has been funded by both private and public sources. As an expert on family research, she serves as a consultant to the National Institutes of Health as well to other universities and researchers.

Research interests

Family management of childhood chronic conditions, normalization of family life in the context of chronic illness, qualitative research, concept analysis

Selected publications

Knafl, K., Breitmayer, B., Gallo, A., & Zoeller, L. (1996). Family response to childhood chronic illness: Description of management styles. Journal of Pediatric Nursing, 11, 315-326.

Knafl, K., & Ayres, L. (1996). Managing large qualitative data sets in family research. Journal of Family Nursing, 2, 350-364.

Deatrick, J., Knafl, K., & Murphy-Moore, C. (1999).Clarifying the concept of normalization. Image, 31, 209-214.

Rodgers, B., & Knafl, K. (2000). Concept development in nursing: Foundations, techniques, and applications (2nd. ed.). Philadelphia: Saunders.

Knafl, K., & Deatrick, J. (2002). The challenge of normalization for families of children with chronic conditions. Pediatric Nursing, 28, 49-56.

Knafl, K., & Gilliss, C. (2002). Families and chronic illness: A synthesis of current research. Journal of Family Nursing, 8, 178-198.

Selected awards and honors

Honorary Fellow American Academy of Nursing, 2001

Citation for Outstanding Contributions to Nursing and Health Care, American Academy of Nursing, 1997

Alumni Association University of Illinois Award for Teaching Excellence, 1997

Fellow, Academic Leadership Program, Committee on Institutional Cooperation (Big Ten Universities), 1993-94

Honorary Membership, Society for Pediatric Nurses, 1993

Graduate Student Organization Award for Faculty Excellence University of Illinois College of Nursing, 1990, 2000

Honorary Membership Sigma Theta Tau International, 1989

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