About

Anamara Ritt-Olson, PhD, is an Associate Professor in Residence in the Department of Health, Society, & Behavior at UC Irvine Wen Public Health. Her expertise lies in mental health as a public health issue, with a focus on factors that promote mental health, resiliency, and well-being among culturally diverse adolescents and young adults. Her recent work has expanded into digital approaches, utilizing social media and technology to improve health outcomes. She participated in the NIH-funded mHealth Training Institute to advance transdisciplinary approaches to mobile health research and serves as the director of training and engagement for the CERES (Connecting the EdTech Research Ecosystem) initiative, a multi-site international collaborative aimed at leveraging digital means to enhance educational opportunities and well-being for young people globally. Her research includes understanding risk factors and designing community-based interventions, especially for cancer survivors, to connect them with care through digital technologies. Dr. Ritt-Olson's work emphasizes engaging social media platforms to address unmet needs and promote mental health, resiliency, and health behaviors among vulnerable populations, including cancer survivors and middle school students. She has designed and evaluated numerous health-promoting programs worldwide and teaches across undergraduate, graduate, and medical education levels, guided by social determination theory.

Selected publications

• Exploring Tobacco Use in Young Childhood Cancer Survivors: the Role of Social Acceptance, Workplace Environments, and Stress Reduction

  Journal of Community Health · 2025-07-18

  articleOpen access1st authorCorresponding

  Recent advancements in childhood cancer treatment have significantly improved survival rates, yet survivors continue to face considerable morbidity and mortality, rendering them a vulnerable population. Tobacco use, linked to heightened cancer risk, is discouraged among survivors for long-term health preservation; however, many persist in its use, mirroring rates among their non-cancer peers. Through 25 in-depth interviews, we explored the interplay of perceived risk and social integration on tobacco use post-treatment among both Latine and non-Latine young adult survivors. Sixty percent of respondents were male, 44% identified as Latine, with ages ranging from 22 to 38 years (mean age 30 years; mean age at diagnosis 9 years), representing diverse cancer types. Despite awareness of tobacco-related health hazards, including general and respiratory health impacts, addiction potential, and financial burdens, survivors consistently cited stress alleviation as a primary motive for tobacco use. Fearof cancer recurrence was seldom cited as a deterrent, rather survivors identified tobacco as a means to foster peer connections, particularly in workplace settings, where smoking norms prevailed. Co-workers influenced initiation, and smoking breaks served as crucial socializing opportunities, endorsed as acceptable coping mechanisms. Notably, generational factors overshadowed cultural influences on tobacco use. These insights underscore the need for targeted interventions, in which clinicians can emphasize alternative stress management strategies over risk-centric messaging, prioritize social skill development, and address workplace environments as high-risk settings.

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• Single Session Personal Narrative-Based Intervention Increases Health Care Self-Efficacy and Intent to Seek Survivorship Care in Young Adult Cancer Survivors

  2025-06-02

  preprintOpen access1st authorCorresponding

  Childhood cancer survivors (CCS) face elevated risks for long-term health complications, making continued follow-up care essential. Yet many remain disengaged from survivorship services. This randomized controlled pilot study tested a brief, phone-based narrative intervention aimed at increasing health care self-efficacy (HCSE), posttraumatic growth (PTG), and intent to seek care among adolescent and young adult CCS not currently in follow-up. Thirty-three participants were randomized to either the intervention or a control group. Intervention participants completed a single one-hour phone call in which they reflected on their cancer experience, identified strengths and growth, and considered how these could support re-engagement with care. All participants received a survivorship brochure; intervention participants also received a personalized summary. The intervention was feasible and well-received, with high participation and full survey completion. Compared to controls, intervention participants showed significant increases in HCSE and intent to seek follow-up care (p < .05). PTG increased in both groups with no between-group differences. No differences were observed in appointment-making behavior at four weeks. A single narrative-based session may be sufficient to boost motivation and self-efficacy, but additional strategies may be needed to translate these gains into action. This low-cost, scalable approach merits further exploration in larger, more diverse samples.

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• Clinical, demographic factors, and substance use among Hispanic and non-Hispanic young adult childhood cancer survivors

  Journal of Psychosocial Oncology · 2024-03-21 · 2 citations

  articleOpen access

  PURPOSE: The purpose of this study is to examine the protective and risk factors of substance use behaviors (tobacco, marijuana, e-cigarette, and alcohol) among young adult childhood cancer survivors. The study focused on clinical (receipt of cancer-related follow-up care, treatment intensity, late effects, depressive symptoms, self-rated health) and demographic (race/ethnicity, neighborhood socioeconomic status) factors and their associations with substance use. METHODS: = 25.1 years) were recruited through the Los Angeles Cancer Surveillance Program (Cancer Registry covering Los Angeles County, California). Multivariate path analyses were performed with substance use as the outcome variables and clinical and demographic factors as independent variables. Covariates included age and sex. FINDING: Substance use was positively associated with depressive symptoms, and inversely associated with cancer-related follow-up care, female sex, age, Hispanic ethnicity, treatment intensity, and self-rated health. Neighborhood SES was inversely associated with tobacco use, while being positively associated with binge drinking and e-cigarette use. The results highlight the interrelationship between the clinical and demographic variables and their associations with different substance use. CONCLUSION: Findings support the need for effective interventions targeting substance use behavior among CCS. This will help improve long-term outcomes and mitigate the risk for early morbidity.

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• What does Open Science mean for Educational Technology Research? Challenges, Opportunities, and a Call for Research

  2024-03-19

  preprintOpen access

  Educational technology (EdTech) research should champion the values of open science in order to be robust, methodologically rigorous, collaborative, inclusive, and transparent. ‘Open science’ is, broadly, an approach to scientific scholarship that adopts tools to promote openness, mitigate against bias, enhance opportunity for collaboration, and reduce questionable research practices. EdTech research often involves collaborative empirical work with partnerships between academia, industry, and policymakers, often with competing stakeholder timelines, agendas, and expectations. It also employs a diversity of methodologies and epistemologies, given the broad goals of EdTech as a field. Taken together, these unique features of EdTech research mean there is a distinct set of contextual and methodological challenges for engagement with open science tools and initiatives. Here, we write as a collective of academics, scholars, and industry representatives who all work in the EdTech space and hope to envisage a future for how EdTech researchers can meaningfully engage in calls to ‘open up’ science. We share insights from a stakeholder workshop event, hosted by CERES (Connecting the Educational Technology Research Ecosystem). We summarize four main open science practices: (1) open data, (2) study pre-registration, (3) positionality and conflict of interest statements, and (4) CRediT taxonomy of contributorship. For each of the practices, we summarize the key opportunities for EdTech research and highlight the unique disciplinary challenges that academics and industry must negotiate when integrating open science into EdTech research. We show how open science is an ally to EdTech research, but careful consideration about its implementation is needed.

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• Reducing Risk of ADRDs: Innovative Framework to Inform Behavior Change

  Alzheimer s & Dementia · 2023-12-01 · 1 citations

  articleOpen access

  Abstract Background In the United States alone, more than six million individuals are living with Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias (ADRDs), with minority groups disproportionately impacted. An estimated one‐third of ADRD cases is associated with eight modifiable risk factors: physical inactivity, smoking, depression, low education, diabetes, midlife obesity, midlife hypertension, and hearing loss. With the ADRD pandemic fast approaching, there is greater urgency to identify and adopt risk reduction behavior changes. Lifestyle interventions have shown efficacy in reducing risk for ADRDs and delaying the onset of symptoms. These interventions are often grounded in traditional theories of health behavior change; however, few intervention frameworks exist that combine constructs from multiple discrete theories, or incorporate concept of stigma, a powerful influence in setting the foundation of risk reduction behavior change. Methods A review of the literature identified health behavior models from which risk reduction interventions are developed. Insights from these studies informed the development of a new framework to inform ADRD risk reduction interventions. This new framework seeks to leverage constructs from the Social Ecological Model (SEM), Health Belief Model (HBM), Transtheoretical Model (TTM), and the Health Stigma and Discrimination Framework (HSDF) to better inform and understand the factors that influence ADRD risk reduction behaviors. Result This framework contains several concepts that predict why individuals will take action to reduce risk of ADRDs: individual factors, social‐environmental factors, self and public stigma, and perceptions. Our model also includes stages of change to integrate processes and principles of change, offering a temporal dimension for understanding behavior change. This novel framework can be utilized to inform both individual and community‐level interventions. Conclusion This new framework provides an innovative and alternative foundation for new ADRD risk reduction interventions. Applicable across a range of risk reduction behaviors, the model highlights the domains and pathways common across ADRD research and intervention implementation. This crosscutting approach will support a more efficient and effective response to addressing preventable risk factors for ADRDs, with the goal of application and realization. Further research is needed to assess the strengths and limitations of this framework in real‐world settings.

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• Association Between Clinical, Demographic Factors, and Substance Use Among Young Adult Survivors of Childhood Cancer

  Cancer Epidemiology Biomarkers & Prevention · 2023-06-01

  articleOpen access

  Purpose of the study: Childhood cancer survivors are at risk for late effects related to their cancer treatment, but little is known about clinical, and demographic associated with substance use behaviors. The purpose of this study is to examine the associations between substance use behaviors (tobacco, marijuana, e-cigarette, and alcohol) and cancer-related follow-up care, treatment intensity, late effects, depressive symptoms, self-rated health, race/ethnicity, and neighborhood socioeconomic status (nSES). Methods: Participants were from the Project Forward cohort, a population-based study of young adult survivors of childhood cancer. Participants (N = 1,166, Mage = 25.1 years) were recruited through the Los Angeles Cancer Surveillance Program (Cancer Registry covering Los Angeles County, California). Multivariate path analyses were performed with substance use as the outcome variables and clinical and demographic factors as independent variables. Covariates included current age and sex. Results: Substance use was positively associated with being at risk for clinical depression, and inversely associated with cancer-related follow-up care, female sex, current age, Hispanic ethnicity, treatment intensity, and self-rated health. Neighborhood SES was inversely associated with tobacco use, while being positively associated with binge drinking and e-cigarette use. Conclusions: The results highlight the interrelationship among the clinical and demographic variables and their associations with different substance use. Findings support effective interventions targeting integrative care and health promotion efforts for polysubstance use behavior among CCS. This will help improve long-term outcomes and mitigate the risk for early morbidity.

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• Codesign and the Art of Creating a Global Research-Practice Network Built for Impact

  interactions · 2023-02-28

  articleSenior author

  The Interactions website (interactions.acm.org) hosts a stable of bloggers who share insights and observations on HCI, often challenging current practices. Each issue we'll publish selected posts from some of the leading and emerging voices in the field.

  PublisherDOI

• Association Between Clinical, Demographic Factors, And Substance Use Among Young Adult Survivors of Childhood Cancer

  2023-03-01

  preprintOpen access

  Childhood cancer survivors are at risk for late effects related to their cancer treatment, but little is known about clinical, and demographic associated with substance use behaviors. The purpose of this study is to examine the associations between substance use behaviors (tobacco, marijuana, e-cigarette, and alcohol) and cancer-related follow-up care, treatment intensity, late effects, depressive symptoms, self-rated health, race/ethnicity, and neighborhood socioeconomic status (nSES). Participants were from the Project Forward cohort, a population-based study of young adult survivors of childhood cancer. Participants (N=1,166, Mage=25.1 years) were recruited through the Los Angeles Cancer Surveillance Program (Cancer Registry covering Los Angeles County, California). Multivariate path analyses were performed with substance use as the outcome variables and clinical and demographic factors as independent variables. Covariates included age and gender. Substance use was positively associated with depressive symptoms, and inversely associated with cancer-related follow-up care, female gender, age, Hispanic ethnicity, treatment intensity, and self-rated health. Neighborhood SES was inversely associated with tobacco use, while being positively associated with binge drinking and e-cigarette use. The results highlight the interrelationship among the clinical and demographic variables and their associations with different substance use. Findings support effective interventions targeting integrative care and health promotion efforts for polysubstance use behavior among CCS. This will help improve long-term outcomes and mitigate the risk for early morbidity.

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• Plan For Tomorrow: The Experience of Adolescent and Young Adult Childhood Cancer Survivors as they Transition to Adult Care

  Proceedings of the ACM on Human-Computer Interaction · 2023-09-28 · 5 citations

  articleOpen access

  Access to and understanding one's medical history is crucial to maintaining long-term care. As adolescents and young adults childhood cancer survivors age, they must transition and transfer their health care from their pediatric to an adult care institution. In this study, we provide empirical evidence reporting on the after-cancer treatment experiences of childhood cancer survivors through their transition. We report findings from 24 semi-structured interviews with adolescent and young adult cancer survivors participating in a childhood cancer survivorship program that prepares them for adult care. Our findings reveal three parts of their after-cancer treatment experience: the assumption of responsibility for their complex care needs and medical information and the overall transfer and maintenance of the continuity of their care to an adult clinician. Our findings suggest that survivors may play an essential yet unrecognized role in the patient hand-off. Thus, we introduce patient-mediate handoffs and suggest design opportunities.

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• Beyond depression: correlates of well-being in young adult survivors of childhood cancers

  Journal of Cancer Survivorship · 2022-02-21 · 12 citations

  article
  PublisherDOI

Awards & honors

• Cancer Fellow at National Cancer Institute (2003–2004)
• Outstanding Graduate Student, California State University, L…
• H-Index Score: 38 (2020)