Pamela A. Kisala, M.A., Associate Scientist
Ms. Kisala has been an Associate Scientist at the Center for Health Assessment Research and Translation (CHART) since it was founded in 2014. She works primarily on the validation and clinical application of the Spinal Cord Injury – Quality of Life (SCI-QOL) and Traumatic Brain Injury Quality of Life (TBI-QOL) measurement systems, both of which she co-developed with CHART director Dr. David Tulsky. Prior to her current position, Ms. Kisala worked closely with Dr. Tulsky at the New York University Langone Medical Center/Rusk Rehabilitation (2013-2014), the University of Michigan, Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation (2010-2013) and the Kessler Foundation (2006-2010).
She has expertise in patient reported outcomes measurement (including assessment of health-related quality of life) in rehabilitation populations. Her research interests include the use of item response theory and other psychometric techniques to improve patient reported outcomes measurement, use of participatory action research and grounded-theory based qualitative techniques to inform outcomes measure development, combining qualitative and quantitative approaches to outcomes measure development, improving outcomes measurement in individuals with disabilities, including spinal cord injury and traumatic brain injury, and psychosocial adjustment following traumatic injury. She is currently the principal investigator of two foundation-funded studies (Rick Hansen Institute and Craig H. Neilsen Foundation, respectively) to develop clinically relevant scoring standards for the SCI-QOL item banks.
Ms. Kisala obtained her B.A. in Psychology with Highest Honors from Rutgers University – Newark College of Arts and Sciences and her M.A. in Quantitative Methods in the Social Sciences from the Columbia University Graduate School of Arts and Sciences. She is also a member of the American Congress on Rehabilitation Medicine.
Selected Publications
Cohen, M.L., Kisala, P., Dyson-Hudson, T., & Tulsky, D.S. (2018). Measuring Pain Phenomena after Spinal Cord Injury: Development and Psychometric Properties of the SCI-QOL Pain Interference and Pain Behavior Assessment Tools. Journal of Spinal Cord Medicine.
Tulsky, D.S., Kisala, P., Victorson, D., Carlozzi, N., Bushnik, T., Sherer, M., Choi, S., Heinemann, A., Chiaravalloti, N.D., Sander, A., Englander, J., Hanks, R., Kolakowsky-Hayner, S., Roth, E., Gershon, R., Rosenthal, M., & Cella, D. (2015). TBI-QOL: Development and Calibration of item banks to measure patient reported outcomes following traumatic brain injury. Journal of Head Trauma Rehabilitation; 31(1), 40-51. doi: 10.1097/ HTR.0000000000000131. PMID: 25931184. PMCID: PMC4697960
Tulsky, D.S. & Kisala, P.A. (2015). The Spinal Cord Injury – Quality of Life measurement system: Development, psychometrics, and item bank calibration. Journal of Spinal Cord Medicine, 38(3), 251-256. doi: 10.1179/2045772315Y.0000000035. PubMed PMID: 26010961; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC4445017.
Kisala, P.A., Tulsky, D.S., Kirshblum, S.C., & Choi, S. (2015). Development and Psychometric Characteristics of the SCI-QOL Pressure Ulcers Scale and Short Form. Journal of Spinal Cord Medicine, 38(3), 303-314.doi: 10.1179/2045772315Y.0000000017. PubMed PMID: 26010965; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC4445021.
Kisala, P.A., Victorson, D., Pace, N., Heinemann, A.W., Choi, S.W., & Tulsky, D. (2015). Measuring Psychological Trauma after Spinal Cord Injury: Development and Psychometric Characteristics of the SCI-QOL Psychological Trauma Item Bank and Short Form. Journal of Spinal Cord Medicine, 38(3), 326-334. doi: 10.1179/2045772315Y.0000000022. PubMed PMID: 26010967; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC4445023.
Tulsky, D.S., Kisala, P.A., Victorson, D., Choi, S., Gershon, R., Heinemann, A.W., & Cella, D.F. (2015). Methodology for the Development and Calibration of the SCI-QOL Item Banks. Journal of Spinal Cord Medicine, 38(3), 270-287. doi: 10.1179/2045772315Y.0000000034. PubMed PMID: 26010963; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC4445019.
Heinemann, A.W., Kisala, P.A., Hahn, E.A., & Tulsky, D.S. (2015). Development of Item Banks to Measure Ability to Participate and Satisfaction with Social Roles and Activities. Journal of Spinal Cord Medicine, 38(3), 397-408. doi: 10.1179/2045772315Y.0000000028. PubMed PMID: 26010974; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC4445030.
Tulsky, D.S., Kisala, P.A., Tate, D.G., Spungen, A.M., & Kirshblu, S. (2015). Development and Psychometric Characteristics of the SCI-QOL Bladder Management Difficulties and Bowel Management Difficulties Item Banks and Short Forms and the SCI-QOL Bladder Complications Scale. Journal of Spinal Cord Medicine, 38(3), 288-302. doi: 10.1179/2045772315Y.0000000030. PubMed PMID: 26010964; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC4445020.
Kisala, P.A., Tulsky, D.S., Kalpakjian, C., Heinemann, A.W., Pohlig, R.T., Carle, A., & Choi, S. (2015). Measuring Anxiety after Spinal Cord Injury: Development and Psychometric Characteristics of the SCI-QOL Anxiety Item Bank and Linkage with GAD-7. Journal of Spinal Cord Medicine, 38(3), 315-325. doi: 10.1179/2045772315Y.0000000029. PubMed PMID: 26010966; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC4445022.
Kisala, P.A., Tulsky, D., Pace, N., Victorson, D., Choi, S.W., & Heinemann, A. (2015). Development of a Stigma Item Bank for Individuals with Spinal Cord Injury. Journal of Spinal Cord Medicine, 38(3), 386-396. doi: 10.1179/1079026815Z.000000000410. PubMed PMID: 26010973; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC4445029.
Tulsky, D.S., Kisala, P.A., Victorson, D., Tate, D.G., Heinemann, A.W., Charliefue, S., Kirshblum, S.C., Fyffe, D., Gershon, R., Spungen, A.M., Bombardier, C.H., Dyson-Hudson, T.A., Amtmann, D., Kalpakjian, C., Choi, S., Jette, A., Forchheimer, M., & Cella, D.F. (2015). Overview of the Spinal Cord Injury – Quality of Life (SCI-QOL) Measurement System. Journal of Spinal Cord Medicine, 38(3), 257-269. doi: 10.1179/2045772315Y.0000000023. PubMed PMID: 26010962; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC4445018.
Tulsky, D.S., Kisala, P.A., Kalpakjian, C., Bombardier, C.H., Pohlig, R.T., Heinemann, A.W., Carle, A., & Choi, S. (2015). Measuring Depression after Spinal Cord Injury: Development and Psychometric Characteristics of the SCI-QOL Depression Item Bank and Linkage with PHQ-9. Journal of Spinal Cord Medicine, 38(3), 335-346. doi: 10.1179/2045772315Y.0000000020. PubMed PMID: 26010968; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC4445024.
Tulsky, D.S., Kisala, P.A., Lai, J.S., Carlozzi, N.E., Hammel, J., Heinemann, A. (2015). Developing an Item Bank to Measure Economic Quality of Life for Individuals with Disabilities. Archives of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, 96(4), 604-13. doi: 10.1016/j.apmr.2014.02.030. Epub 2014 Apr 13. PubMed PMID: 24736400.
Tulsky, D.S., Kisala, P.A., Victorson, D., Tate, D., Heinemann, A., Amtmann, D., & Cella, D. (2011). Developing a Contemporary Patient Reported Outcomes Measure for Spinal Cord Injury. Archives of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, 92(10 Suppl 1), S44-S51. doi: 10.1016/j.apmr.2011.04.024. PubMed PMID: 21958922.
Kisala, P.A., & Tulsky, D.S. (2010). Opportunities for CAT applications in medical rehabilitation: development of targeted item banks. Journal of Applied Measurement, 11(3), 315-330. PubMed PMID: 20847478.
Slaven, M.D., Kisala, P.A., Jette, A.M., & Tulsky, D.S. (2010). Developing a contemporary functional outcome measure for spinal cord injury research. Spinal Cord, 48(3), 262-267. doi: 10.1038/sc.2009.131. Epub 2009 Oct 20. PubMed PMID: 19841635.