Charles Jonassaint, PhD

Dr. Jonassaint is a practicing clinical health psychologist with an MHS in cardiovascular epidemiology. He has clinical expertise in chronic disease self-management and cognitive behavioral therapy, and has had extensive experience working with patients from under-represented minority groups. He has primarily focused on working with adolescents and adults living with sickle cell disease (SCD), a condition that disproportionately affects those of African descent and is associated with significant disparities in both funding and treatment.

In Dr. Jonassaint’s research, their group has been working on understanding how mobile phones can be used to improve patient mental health and pain outcomes. He is the co-inventor of an SCD specific self-management app called SMART: The Sickle Cell Disease Mobile Application to Record Symptoms via Technology. Testing of SMART has led to three publications and is now being used in four funded studies at three institutions.

Representative Publications:

Understanding patterns and correlates of daily pain using the Sickle cell disease Mobile Application to Record Symptoms via Technology (SMART)

A systematic review of the association between depression and health care utilization in children and adults with sickle cell disease

The association of smartphone-based activity space measures with cognitive functioning and pain in sickle cell disease

Video Links:

SickleShare App Developed by Students Working With Dr. Jonassaint at UPMC

SMART CBT App Concept