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Susan Veldheer, DEd, RD, LDN

Susan Veldheer, DEd, RD, LDN

Associate Professor, Department of Family and Community Medicine
Associate Professor, Department of Public Health Sciences
Assistant Professor, Department of Family and Community Medicine
Assistant Professor, Department of Public Health Sciences
Scientific Program:Cancer Control
SJV152@psu.edu

Research Interests

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Dr. Susan Veldheer’s research broadly focuses on behavioral health interventions for the prevention and treatment of cardiovascular disease.

Using an interdisciplinary and community-engaged research approach, Dr. Veldheer has designed and tested interventions related to improving dietary intake of fruits and vegetables; assessing barriers to treatment for both smoking cessation and obesity; and understanding perceptions of public health interventions among patients, providers and community members.

Dr. Veldheer recently led a gardening intervention at the Hershey Community garden to improve dietary intake of fruits and vegetables among patients with risk factors for cardiovascular disease. In addition, she has conducted randomized trials to assess the effectiveness and potential health effects of tobacco cessation interventions and novel tobacco products such as electronic cigarettes and reduced-nicotine-content cigarettes.

Finally, using qualitative research methods and supported by a Clinical and Translational Science Institute Bridges to Translation award, she is conducting studies to understand the perceptions of screening for social determinants of health among both patients and clinical care team members.

Dr. Susan Veldheer is a Penn State Clinical and Translational Science Institute KL2 Scholar (2022-2024). 

  • Tobacco Products
  • Smokers
  • Electronic Nicotine Delivery Systems
  • Nicotine
  • Randomized Controlled Trials
  • Vaping
  • Health
  • Smoking Cessation
  • Smoking
  • Tobacco
  • Gardening
  • Vegetables
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Recent Publications

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2024

Yingst, J, Midya, V, White, A, Foulds, J, Cobb, CO, Veldheer, S, Yen, MS & Eissenberg, T 2024, 'Effects of liquid nicotine concentration and flavour on the acceptability of electronic nicotine delivery systems (ENDS) among people who smoke participating in a randomised controlled trial to reduce cigarette consumption', Tobacco Control, pp. 1-10. https://doi.org/10.1136/tc-2023-058282
Wang, K, Li, Y, Chen, X, Veldheer, S, Wang, C, Wang, H, Sun, L & Gao, X 2024, 'Gardening and subjective cognitive decline: a cross-sectional study and mediation analyses of 136,748 adults aged 45+ years', Nutrition Journal, vol. 23, no. 1, 59. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12937-024-00959-9
Yu, Z, Li, Y, Ba, DM, Veldheer, SJ, Sun, L, Geng, T & Gao, X 2024, 'Trends in Calcium Intake among the US Population: Results from the NHANES (1999–2018)', Nutrients, vol. 16, no. 5, 726. https://doi.org/10.3390/nu16050726

2023

Burse, NR, Weng, X, Wang, L, Cuffee, YL & Veldheer, S 2023, 'Influence of social and behavioral determinants on health-related quality of life among cancer survivors in the USA', Supportive Care in Cancer, vol. 31, no. 1, 67. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00520-022-07534-0
Veldheer, S, Whitehead-Zimmers, M, Bordner, C, Watt, B, Conroy, DE, Schmitz, KH & Sciamanna, C 2023, 'Participant Preferences for the Development of a Digitally Delivered Gardening Intervention to Improve Diet, Physical Activity, and Cardiovascular Health: Cross-sectional Study', JMIR Formative Research, vol. 7, e41498. https://doi.org/10.2196/41498

2022

Tate, DF, Kraschnewski, JL, Martinez, C, Diamond, M, Veldheer, S, Hwang, KO, Lehman, EB, Yang, C & Sciamanna, CN 2022, 'A cluster-randomized controlled trial of automated internet weight-loss programs in primary care: Role of automated provider feedback', Obesity, vol. 30, no. 12, pp. 2363-2375. https://doi.org/10.1002/oby.23506
Foulds, J, Cobb, CO, Yen, MS, Veldheer, S, Brosnan, P, Yingst, J, Hrabovsky, S, Lopez, AA, Allen, SI, Bullen, C, Wang, X, Sciamanna, C, Hammett, E, Hummer, BL, Lester, C, Richie, JP, Chowdhury, N, Graham, JT, Kang, L, Sun, S & Eissenberg, T 2022, 'Effect of Electronic Nicotine Delivery Systems on Cigarette Abstinence in Smokers With No Plans to Quit: Exploratory Analysis of a Randomized Placebo-Controlled Trial', Nicotine and Tobacco Research, vol. 24, no. 7, pp. 955-961. https://doi.org/10.1093/ntr/ntab247
Fan, T, Yingst, JM, Bascom, R, Tuanquin, L, Veldheer, S, Branstetter, S, Foulds, J & Muscat, JE 2022, 'Feasibility of Patient Navigation-Based Smoking Cessation Program in Cancer Patients', International journal of environmental research and public health, vol. 19, no. 7, 4034. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph19074034
Veldheer, S, Tuan, WJ, Al-Shaar, L, Wadsworth, M, Sinoway, L, Schmitz, KH, Sciamanna, C & Gao, X 2023, 'Gardening Is Associated With Better Cardiovascular Health Status Among Older Adults in the United States: Analysis of the 2019 Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System Survey', Journal of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, vol. 123, no. 5, pp. 761-769.e3. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jand.2022.10.018
Yingst, JM, Lester, C, Livelsberger, C, Allen, SI, Hammett, E, Veldheer, S, Hummer, B, Bordner, C, Zhu, J, Sciamanna, CN, Trushin, N, Tan, HS, Wilson, SJ, Twining, RC, Foulds, J & Grigson, PS 2022, 'Pilot randomized controlled trial evaluating the effect of random nicotine delivery on cigarettes per day and smoke exposure', Brain Research Bulletin, vol. 188, pp. 30-37. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.brainresbull.2022.07.017
Foulds, J, Veldheer, S, Pachas, G, Hrabovsky, S, Hameed, A, Allen, SI, Cather, C, Azzouz, N, Yingst, J, Hammett, E, Modesto, J, Krebs, NM, Lester, C, Trushin, N, Reinhart, L, Wasserman, E, Zhu, J, Liao, J, Muscat, JE, Richie, JP & Evins, AE 2022, 'The effects of reduced nicotine content cigarettes on biomarkers of nicotine and toxicant exposure, smoking behavior and psychiatric symptoms in smokers with mood or anxiety disorders: A double-blind randomized trial', PloS one, vol. 17, no. 11 November, e0275522. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0275522

2021

Zhang, X, Liu, Y, Li, S, Lichtenstein, AH, Chen, S, Na, M, Veldheer, S, Xing, A, Wang, Y, Wu, S & Gao, X 2021, 'Alcohol consumption and risk of cardiovascular disease, cancer and mortality: a prospective cohort study', Nutrition Journal, vol. 20, no. 1, 13. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12937-021-00671-y
Randomised Control Trial Methods Workgroup of the Center for the Study of Tobacco Products 2021, 'Effect of an electronic nicotine delivery system with 0, 8, or 36 mg/mL liquid nicotine versus a cigarette substitute on tobacco-related toxicant exposure: a four-arm, parallel-group, randomised, controlled trial', The Lancet Respiratory Medicine, vol. 9, no. 8, pp. 840-850. https://doi.org/10.1016/S2213-2600(21)00022-9
Veldheer, S, Scartozzi, C, Bordner, CR, Opara, C, Williams, B, Weaver, L, Rodriguez, D, Berg, A & Sciamanna, C 2021, 'Impact of a Prescription Produce Program on Diabetes and Cardiovascular Risk Outcomes', Journal of Nutrition Education and Behavior, vol. 53, no. 12, pp. 1008-1017. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jneb.2021.07.005
Krebs, NM, Zhu, J, Wasserman, E, Kuprewicz, R, Martinez, DJ, Veldheer, S, Livelsberger, C, Modesto, J, Reinhart, L, Trushin, N, Reilly, SM, Liao, J, Fazzi, A, Bascom, R, Richie, JP, Foulds, J, Horn, K & Muscat, JE 2021, 'Switching to Progressively Reduced Nicotine Content Cigarettes in Smokers with Low Socioeconomic Status: A Double-Blind Randomized Clinical Trial', Nicotine and Tobacco Research, vol. 23, no. 6, pp. 992-1001. https://doi.org/10.1093/ntr/ntaa247

2020

Veldheer, S, Scartozzi, C, Knehans, A, Oser, T, Sood, N, George, DR, Smith, A, Cohen, A & Winkels, RM 2020, 'A systematic scoping review of how healthcare organizations are facilitating access to fruits and vegetables in their patient populations', Journal of Nutrition, vol. 150, no. 11, pp. 2859-2873. https://doi.org/10.1093/jn/nxaa209
Veldheer, S, Winkels, RM, Cooper, J, Groff, C, Lepley, J, Bordner, C, Wagner, A, George, DR & Sciamanna, C 2020, 'Growing Healthy Hearts: Gardening Program Feasibility in a Hospital-Based Community Garden', Journal of Nutrition Education and Behavior, vol. 52, no. 10, pp. 958-963. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jneb.2020.07.006
Yingst, J, Foulds, J, Veldheer, S, Cobb, CO, Yen, MS, Hrabovsky, S, Allen, SI, Bullen, C & Eissenberg, T 2020, 'Measurement of Electronic Cigarette Frequency of Use among Smokers Participating in a Randomized Controlled Trial', Nicotine and Tobacco Research, vol. 22, no. 5, pp. 699-704. https://doi.org/10.1093/ntr/nty233
Winkels, RM, Artrip, R, Tupinio, M, Veldheer, S, Dandekar, SC & George, DR 2020, 'Opportunities for Growth: Evaluating the Feasibility of a Community Gardening Intervention Pairing Adolescent and Young Adult Cancer Survivors with Experienced Gardeners', Journal of Adolescent and Young Adult Oncology, vol. 9, no. 1, pp. 115-119. https://doi.org/10.1089/jayao.2019.0035
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