Matthew Gurka

Professor/Director | University of Florida

Gainesville, FL, UNITED STATES

Matthew Gurka is a biostatistician who has focused his collaborations on child health research.

Biography

Matthew Gurka is a member of the Anita Zucker Center for Excellence in Early Childhood Studies and a professor in the Department of Health Outcomes and Policy. He is a biostatistician who has focused his collaborations on child health research. His area of statistical expertise is longitudinal data analysis, which has been especially useful in evaluating trajectories over time in children. Matthew is a professor and director of Education and Training.

Areas of Expertise (2)

Biostatistics

Early Childhood Education

Media Appearances (1)

UF study: Florida waistlines expanding even quicker than anyone thought

Florida Today online

2018-07-24

Researchers say the main reason for the discrepancy is the simple fact that people tend to paint their physical attributes more favorably when taking surveys by phone. "The data make all the difference," said Matthew Gurka, the study's senior author, in a statement. "People responding to surveys tend to over-report their height and underreport their weight."

Articles (5)

Using Mobile Health to Improve Asthma Self-Management in Early Adolescence: A Pilot Randomized Controlled Trial

Journal of Adolescent Health

David A Fedele, et al.

2021-12-01

Early adolescence is an important developmental period where youth take primary responsibility for asthma self-management. Helpful caregiver support during this time is pivotal in determining whether early adolescents successfully develop asthma self-management behaviors. AIM2ACT is a dyadic mobile health intervention designed to increase helpful caregiver support as early adolescents engage in asthma self-management behaviors.

Democratizing type 1 diabetes specialty care in the primary care setting to reduce health disparities: project extension for community healthcare outcomes (ECHO) T1D

BMJ Open Diabetes Research and Care

Ashby F. Walker, et al.

2021-07-01

Project ECHO (Extension for Community Healthcare Outcomes) is a tele-education outreach model that seeks to democratize specialty knowledge to reduce disparities and improve health outcomes. Limited utilization of endocrinologists forces many primary care providers (PCPs) to care for patients with type 1 diabetes (T1D) without specialty support. Our goal was to demonstrate the feasibility of an ECHO program focused on T1D and improve PCPs’ abilities to manage patients with T1D.

Cluster Randomized Trials in Pediatric Research

The Journal of Pediatrics

Matthew J Gurka

2021-06-11

Hymel et al described the findings of the effectiveness of the PediBIRN (Pediatric Brain Injury Research Network) 4-variable clinical decision rule (CDR), aimed at improving abuse evaluations and reducing rates of missed abusive head trauma in pediatric intensive care settings. The CDR was assessed via a randomized trial, but as a cluster randomized trial (CRT). Burka attempts to provide additional clarity to the motivations, advantages and challenges of CRTs within the context of the report by Hymel et al.

A feasibility trial of parent HPV vaccine reminders and phone-based motivational interviewing

BMC Public Health

Stephanie A.S. Staras, et al.

2021-01-09

We assessed the feasibility and acceptability of a sequential approach of parent-targeted HPV vaccine reminders and phone-based Motivation Interviewing (MI). In 2016, we selected all 11- to 12-year-old boys and girls seen in one clinic whose vaccine records did not include the HPV vaccine . By gender, we individually randomized parents of adolescents to an interactive text message , postcard reminder or standard care group. Reminders were sent with medical director permission and a HIPAA waiver.

The influence of selection bias on identifying an association between allergy medication use and SARS-CoV-2 infection

EClinicalMedicine

Lindsay A. Thompson, et al.