My research sits at the intersection of pediatric chronic condition management, family informatics, and human-centered design, anchored by the theoretical framework I developed and applied across conditions.
The Sonney Lab leads projects that co-design health technologies and care models with the children, families, and clinicians who use them. The work spans theory development, human-centered design, and multicenter clinical trials.
Pediatric chronic condition research overwhelmingly focuses on parental perspectives, which can marginalize children from their own care. The Common-Sense Model of Parent-Child Shared Regulation (CSM-PC), which I published with Insel in 2016, frames management as shared management, a dynamic responsibility held by parent and child together as the child grows. It has since been adopted across pediatric cancer, epilepsy, concussion, spinal muscular atrophy, and other rare diseases by research teams in the US, Canada, Germany, Netherlands, and Portugal.
From that foundation, my work extends into family informatics, using human-centered design to build technologies that support shared management, alongside system-level pediatric nurse practitioner workforce research that has informed national position statements, federal testimony, and Title VIII advocacy.
A theoretical framework that reframes pediatric chronic condition management as a dynamic, shifting responsibility shared by parent and child as the child grows. Reformulated for sleep and asthma self-management in subsequent papers led by student mentees.
Foundational · 2016 →An asthma shared-management solution co-designed with children and parents. A wearable pairs with a companion app to track symptom trends and deliver tailored, gamified interventions that engage parent and child together.
PI · NIH/NINR R21A nature-based VR stress intervention designed with and for adolescents, the first known no-contact VR study, deployed during COVID. Co-PI with E.A. Bjorling at UW Human Centered Design & Engineering.
Co-PI · NIH/NIMHNational research with Dr. Jessica Peck documenting COVID-19 impacts on children and the PNP workforce, published before the declaration of a national pediatric mental health emergency. The findings informed two NAPNAP position statements, federal testimony to HHS Secretary Becerra, and a request from Congressional leadership and the White House Office of Management and Budget for recommendations on child health and the pediatric workforce.
Best Article 2021 · INANE Hall of Fame · President's Choice 2023Three concurrent multicenter site principal investigator roles across pediatric pulmonary populations.
Study of pulmonary function following pediatric acute respiratory failure, examining prevalence, risk factors, and clinical significance. PI: E. Killien. NHLBI 1R01HL183628.
Site Principal Investigator on a multicenter randomized controlled trial of pulmonary exacerbation management for children with cystic fibrosis. MPIs: D.B. Sanders & M. Rosenfeld. CFF 006811A124.
Site Principal Investigator on a longitudinal characterization of respiratory tract exacerbations and treatment responses in primary ciliary dyskinesia, within the Genetic Disorders of Mucociliary Clearance Rare Diseases Clinical Research Network. PI: J. Hatch. NIH/NCATS & NHLBI U54HL096458.
Improving spirometry quality, interpretation, and uptake. Education for health professionals has reached 13 countries, with Russian, Vietnamese, and Dutch translations. Current research focuses on home and remote spirometry.
spirometry360.org →Students in the lab compete for and hold their own research funding.
A mixed methods exploration of how neurodivergent nursing students experience simulation-based learning environments.
An exploratory study of pediatric empowerment and shared management for school-aged children with cystic fibrosis.
An exploratory cross-sectional study.
Owner: University of Washington. Founder: Dr. Jim Stout. Director: Jennifer Sonney. Covers spirometry training modules, patient and family training and support, and the spirometry methods core for research.
US provisional patent application, filed April 2020. Inventors: J. Sonney and F. Weng.
Peck, J.L. & Sonney, J. (2021). Journal of Pediatric Health Care, 35(4), 414–424.
View on PubMed →Sonney, J. & Peck, J.L. (2023). Journal of Pediatric Health Care, 37(6), 658–672.
View on PubMed →Sonney, J., ★Cho, E., ★Zheng, Q., & Kientz, J.A. (2022). JMIR Pediatrics & Parenting, 5(1):e34117.
View on PubMed →★Steidl, A., ★McHale, J., ★Harmon, S., & Sonney, J. (2026). Journal of Pediatric Health Care. Articles in press.
View on PubMed →★Taylor, Q. & Sonney, J. (2025). Journal of Pediatric Health Care.
View on PubMed →Sonney, J.T. & Insel, K.C. (2016). Nursing Science Quarterly, 29(2), 154–159.
View on PubMed →★Steidl, A. & Sonney, J. (2024). Journal of Pediatric Nursing.
View on PubMed →Including all peer-reviewed articles, book chapters, methods papers, and conference proceedings, updated continuously as the work evolves.