Christine McKibbin, Ph.D.

Professor

Aging Serious Mental Illness Health Promotion Intervention Development

Clinical Psychology

  *   Dr. McKibbin is currently accepting graduate students *

Ph.D., University of North Texas 1997

M.S., University of North Texas 1994

B.S., Michigan State University 1991

 

cmckibbi@uwyo.edu • (307) 766-2719 • Bio Sciences Bldg 132

                              

Research Interests

I am the Director of the Wyoming Center on Aging (WyCOA) and a majority of work is in the area of aging. My primary research aim is to improve health, mental health and functional outcomes among rural older adults and family care partners. Research studies are conducted with older adults themselves, with caregivers, and with health and mental health care providers who serve these populations. Research studies in my lab are planned at multiple points along the translational spectrum from foundational research, to development and testing of interventions, to the spread of these programs to real-world health service settings. We use a community-engaged research approach whereby we take the lead from and partner with communities to develop our research. Recent foundational studies have examined needs of primary care providers when addressing mental health symptoms experienced by older adults with chronic illness. We are also collecting data to examine factors influencing resilience among certified nursing assistants who provide care to older adults in nursing home settings. The goal of these studies is to develop programs to improve preparation and wellbeing of the workforce to serve older adults. Other studies have been conducted to test new intervention programs for rural family care partners of older adults with dementia. For example, we incorporate a telehealth platform and an expert, interprofessional team to provide consultation to family caregivers of older adults with dementia. We will examine impact of this novel intervention on caregiver mental health, self-efficacy, and caregiving mastery. Finally, at the far end of the translational spectrum, we conduct research on how to increase the use of evidence-based programs in rural practice. For example, we are examining factors associated with high quality implementation of Medicare’s Chronic Care Management and Behavioral Health Integration within rural primary care settings. We have interviewed multiple members of primary care teams across Wyoming and have examined their practice data to identify which factors lead to a successful program implementation. Among older adults, themselves, we are working to identify latent groups of older adults who engage in our chronic disease self-management programs across Wyoming and are examining how group membership predicts outcomes of program engagement.

Health and Aging Lab

 

Academic Positions

2012-present Director, Wyoming Center on Aging

2015-present Project Director, Wyoming Geriatric Workforce Enhancement Program

2018-present Professor, University of Wyoming, Department of Psychology

2013-2018   Associate Professor, University of Wyoming, Department of Psychology

2012-2015 Project Director, Wyoming Geriatric Education Center

2007-2013   Assistant Professor, University of Wyoming, Department of Psychology

2003-2007  Assistant Professor of Psychiatry, University of California, San Diego, Veteran's Affairs San Diego Healthcare System

2000-2003   Assistant Project Scientist, Department of Psychiatry, University of California, San Diego

 

Click here for Vitae (Complete listing of Publications, Grants, Teaching, Etc.)

               

Teaching

Introduction to Clinical Supervision

Summer Clerkship

 

Publications

Representative Publications

Carrico, C. P., McKibbin, C. L., Waters, L., Thompson, K., Graupner, J., Cotton, S., Faul, A., Clark, P, Telonidis, J., Helm, F., Caprio, T., & Bennett, K. A. (2024). Growth and impact of Project ECHO for workforce development in age-friendly care. Journal of the American Geriatrics Society. Doi.org/10.1111/jgs.18959.

Barry, R.A., Longstreth, M.E., Benson, L., Cannon, C.J., Gomez Batista, S., Worth, A., Bell, J.H., & McKibbin, C. L., (2021). Testing a self-determination theory perspective of informal caregiving: A preliminary study. Psychology and Aging, 36, 855 – 869.

Quinlan, C., McKibbin, C., Cuffney, C., Brownson, R., Clark J., & Osvold, L. (2020). Barriers to aging in place for rural, institutionalized older adults: A qualitative exploration. Clinical Gerontologist, 1 – 13.

Longstreth, M., McKibbin, C., Steinman, B., Slosser Worth, A., & Carrico, C. (2020). Exploring information and referral needs of individuals with dementias and informal caregivers in rural and remote areas. Clinical Gerontologist, 1 – 13.

McKibbin, C., Glaser, D., Lee, A., Dawson, N., Sajatovic, M. (2019). Functional health status in adults with serious mental illness and diabetes mellitus. A latent profile analysis. International Journal of Psychiatry in Medicine.

Longstreth, M., Duhamel, D., Carrico, C., Barry, R. & McKibbin, C. (2018). Implementing the chronic disease self-management program in rural and remote areas. Innov Aging, 2, 497.

Kitchen-Andren & McKibbin, C. L. (2017). Rural clergy and geriatric depression: predictors of providing counseling versus referring to mental health providers. Journal of Psychology: Research and Practice, 1 – 9.

 Wykes, T. L., Lee, A. A., Bourassa, K., Kitchen, K. A., & McKibbin, C. L. (2017). Diabetes knowledge among adults with serious mental illness and comorbid diabetes mellitus. Archives of Psychiatric Nursing, 31, 190 – 196.