Heather Leutwyler, PhD, RN, NP
Professor
Physiological Nursing
School of Nursing

My program of research focuses on the identification of factors associated with poor physical health among older adults with schizophrenia in order to design effective interventions.

Education & Training

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• Ph.D. Nursing University of California, San Francisco 2009

Interests

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• Videogame-based Physical Activity
• Mobility
• homelessness
• smoking cessation
• Cognition
• Physical Activity
• Schizophrenia
• Gerontology

Grants and Projects

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• PARQuit Smoking Cessation Program for Adults with Serious Mental Illness, Tobacco-Related Disease Research Program, 2022-2025
• UCSF Street Nursing, Rita and Alex Hillman Foundation, 2021-2022
• VIP smoking cessation intervention for adults with serious mental illness, Tobacco-Related Disease Research Program, 2019-2022
• Factors Associated to Poor Mobility in Older Adults with Schizophrenia, NIH, 2013-2016

Publications (61)

Top publication keywords:
Smoking CessationPlay TherapyVideo GamesRespiration, ArtificialMusic TherapyMotor ActivityExerciseMental DisordersLonelinessVocational EducationSocial EnvironmentRecidivismSchizophreniaGeriatric NursingAttitude to Health

• Immersive Virtual Reality for Pain and Relaxation in Older Adults Following Elective Inpatient Abdominal Surgery: Single-Arm Study Examining Feasibility and Acceptability.
  JMIR perioperative medicine 2026 Keny C, Shafiq U, Lorenz K, Russell M, Leutwyler H, Wagner LM, Tang V, Park LG
• Building a nurse scientist collaborative to advance research within academic health systems.
  Nursing outlook 2026 Yefimova M, Kennedy L, Fazio S, Williams C, Cavanagh SJ, Lewis KA, Phillips JM, Zhan L, Abrahim HL, Baggett M, Davidson J, Bueno M, Wilhelm L, Lazenby M, Staveski S, Leutwyler H, Schell-Chaple H, …
• Preventing Adverse Childhood Experiences: A Framework for Culturally Responsive Home Visitation.
  Journal of transcultural nursing : official journal of the Transcultural Nursing Society 2026 Ballard J, Asiodu IV, Dawson-Rose C, Leutwyler H, Waters CM
• Immersive Virtual Reality for Postoperative Pain Among Older Adults: A Scoping Review.
  Annals of surgery open : perspectives of surgical history, education, and clinical approaches 2025 Keny C, Maheta B, Lorenz K, Russell MM, Leutwyler H, Wagner LM, Tang V, Park L
• Social and environmental factors during the smoking cessation process: The experiences of adults with serious mental illnesses.
  Schizophrenia research 2025 Leutwyler H, Mock J, Hubbard E, Bussell T, Zahedikia N, Vaghar N, Balestra D, Wuest S, Wallhagen M, Okoli C

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• A Pilot Randomized Controlled Trial of a Multicomponent Smoking Cessation Intervention for Adults with Serious Mental Illness.
  Games for health journal 2024 Leutwyler H, Hubbard E, Bussell T, Balestra D, Cooper B, Souza RB, Humfleet G
• Personalized music for cognitive and psychological symptom management during mechanical ventilation in critical care: A qualitative analysis.
  PloS one 2024 Menza R, Howie-Esquivel J, Bongiovanni T, Tang J, Johnson JK, Leutwyler H
• Music-Based Interventions for Symptom Management in Critically Ill, Mechanically Ventilated Adults: A Scoping Review of the Literature.
  Journal of integrative and complementary medicine 2024 Menza R, Bongiovanni T, Leutwyler H, Tang J, Johnson JK, Howie-Esquivel J
• The Whole Package: A Multi-Component Smoking Cessation Intervention for Adults With Serious Mental Illness: A Qualitative Study.
  Tobacco use insights 2024 Leutwyler H, Hubbard E, Humfleet G, Souza R, Balestra D, Wallhagen M
• Associations of Systemic Inflammation and Senescent Cell Biomarkers with Clinical Outcomes in Older Adults with Schizophrenia.
  medRxiv : the preprint server for health sciences 2024 Chui MKK, Schneider K, Miclau K, LaHue SC, Furman D, Leutwyler H, Newman JC
• SOCIAL DETERMINANTS OF SMOKING CESSATION IN MIDDLE-AGED AND OLDER ADULTS WITH SERIOUS MENTAL ILLNESSES.
  Innovation in Aging 2023 Heather Leutwyler, Erin Hubbard, Theodore Bussell, Negin Zahedikia, Dennys Balestra, Margaret Wallhagen, Chizimuzo Okoli
• Social connections as determinants of cognitive health and as targets for social interventions in persons with or at risk of Alzheimer's disease and related disorders: a scoping review.
  International psychogeriatrics 2023 Joshi P, Hendrie K, Jester DJ, Dasarathy D, Lavretsky H, Ku BS, Leutwyler H, Torous J, Jeste DV, Tampi RR
• Role Identity Transition: A Conceptual Framework for Being the Spouse of a Person With Early Onset Dementia.
  Journal of gerontological nursing 2023 Binford S, Wallhagen MI, Leutwyler H
• Review of Major Social Determinants of Health in Schizophrenia-Spectrum Psychotic Disorders: I. Clinical Outcomes.
  Schizophrenia bulletin 2023 Jester DJ, Thomas ML, Sturm ET, Harvey PD, Keshavan M, Davis BJ, Saxena S, Tampi R, Leutwyler H, Compton MT, Palmer BW, Jeste DV
• Sociodemographic and social network characteristics influenced feelings of loneliness in older adults during the COVID-19 pandemic.
  International psychogeriatrics 2023 Jester DJ, Leutwyler H
• Theory of Symptom Management.
  2023 Sandra J. Weiss, Linda S. Franck, Heather Leutwyler, Carol S. Dawson-Rose, Margaret I. Wallhagen, Sandra L. Staveski, Kord M. Kober, Christine A. Miaskowski
• The Epidemiology of Smoking in Older Adults: A National Cohort Study.
  Journal of general internal medicine 2022 Hunt LJ, Covinsky KE, Cenzer I, Espejo E, Boscardin WJ, Leutwyler H, Lee AK, Cataldo J
• A Group Videogame-Based Physical Activity Program Improves Walking Speed in Older Adults Living With a Serious Mental Illness.
  Innovation in aging 2022 Leutwyler H, Hubbard E, Cooper B
• Telephone based smoking cessation intervention for adults with serious mental illness during the COVID-19 pandemic.
  Tobacco use insights 2021 Leutwyler H, Hubbard E
• Group-Based Smoking Cessation Program for Older Adults with Serious Mental Illness.
  Innovation in Aging 2021 Heather Leutwyler, Erin Hubbard
• Group-Based Smoking Cessation Program for Older Adults with Serious Mental Illness.
  Innovation in Aging 2021 Heather Leutwyler, Erin Hubbard
• Education Mediates Racial Disparities in Cognitive Impairment Among Older Adults With Schizophrenia.
  Clinical gerontologist 2021 Dobbins S, Hubbard E, Leutwyler H
• Impact of exergames on psychiatric symptoms in older adults with serious mental illness.
  Aging & mental health 2020 Heinbach M, Block A, Hubbard E, Cataldo J, Cooper B, Leutwyler H
• Direct-to-consumer genomic testing: Are nurses prepared?
  Nursing 2020 Flowers E, Leutwyler H, Shim JK
• The Lived Experience of Older Adults With Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus and Diabetes-Related Distress.
  Journal of gerontological nursing 2020 Hernandez L, Leutwyler H, Cataldo J, Kanaya A, Swislocki A, Chesla C
• Tools You'll Have for the Rest of Your Life: A Qualitative Evaluation of a Fitness and Vocational Training Program for Substance Use Recovery.
  Substance use & misuse 2019 Stevens M, Hubbard E, Leutwyler H
• Symptom Experience of Older Adults With Type 2 Diabetes and Diabetes-Related Distress.
  Nursing research 2019 Hernandez L, Leutwyler H, Cataldo J, Kanaya A, Swislocki A, Chesla C
• "Looking Forward": a qualitative evaluation of a physical activity program for middle-aged and older adults with serious mental illness.
  International psychogeriatrics 2019 Dobbins S, Hubbard E, Leutwyler H
• Play provides social connection for older adults with serious mental illness: A grounded theory analysis of a 10-week exergame intervention.
  Aging & mental health 2018 Dobbins S, Hubbard E, Flentje A, Dawson-Rose C, Leutwyler H
• Impact of a Pilot Videogame-Based Physical Activity Program on Walking Speed in Adults with Schizophrenia.
  Community mental health journal 2017 Leutwyler H, Hubbard E, Cooper BA, Dowling G
• Serum BDNF Is Positively Associated With Negative Symptoms in Older Adults With Schizophrenia.
  Biological research for nursing 2017 Binford SS, Hubbard EM, Flowers E, Miller BL, Leutwyler H
• A review of the literature on symptom clusters in studies that included oncology patients receiving primary or adjuvant chemotherapy.
  Journal of clinical nursing 2017 Ward Sullivan C, Leutwyler H, Dunn LB, Miaskowski C
• Case management helps prevent criminal justice recidivism for people with serious mental illness.
  International journal of prisoner health 2017 Leutwyler H, Hubbard E, Zahnd E
• Stability of Symptom Clusters in Patients With Breast Cancer Receiving Chemotherapy.
  Journal of pain and symptom management 2017 Sullivan CW, Leutwyler H, Dunn LB, Cooper BA, Paul SM, Levine JD, Hammer M, Conley YP, Miaskowski CA
• Differences in symptom clusters identified using symptom occurrence rates versus severity ratings in patients with breast cancer undergoing chemotherapy.
  European journal of oncology nursing : the official journal of European Oncology Nursing Society 2017 Ward Sullivan C, Leutwyler H, Dunn LB, Cooper BA, Paul SM, Conley YP, Levine JD, Miaskowski CA
• Review of lattice results concerning low-energy particle physics: Flavour Lattice Averaging Group (FLAG).
  The European physical journal. C, Particles and fields 2017 Aoki S, Aoki Y, Becirevic D, Bernard C, Blum T, Colangelo G, Della Morte M, Dimopoulos P, Dürr S, Fukaya H, Golterman M, Gottlieb S, Hashimoto S, Heller UM, Horsley R, Jüttner A, Kaneko T, Lellouch L,…
• A Qualitative Study Exploring Community Yoga Practice in Adults with Rheumatoid Arthritis.
  Journal of alternative and complementary medicine (New York, N.Y.) 2017 Greysen HM, Greysen SR, Lee KA, Hong OS, Katz P, Leutwyler H
• Characteristics associated with inter-individual differences in the trajectories of self-reported attentional function in oncology outpatients receiving chemotherapy.
  Supportive care in cancer : official journal of the Multinational Association of Supportive Care in Cancer 2016 Shih J, Leutwyler H, Ritchie C, Paul SM, Levine JD, Cooper B, Wright F, Conley YP, Miaskowski C
• The Impact of a Videogame-Based Pilot Physical Activity Program in Older Adults with Schizophrenia on Subjectively and Objectively Measured Physical Activity.
  Frontiers in psychiatry 2015 Leutwyler H, Hubbard E, Cooper B, Dowling G
• The Impact of a Videogame-Based Pilot Physical Activity Program in Older Adults with Schizophrenia on Subjectively and Objectively Measured Physical Activity
  Frontiers in Psychiatry 2015 Leutwyler H, Hubbard E, Cooper B and Dowling G
• Associations between cytokine genes and a symptom cluster of pain, fatigue, sleep disturbance, and depression in patients prior to breast cancer surgery.
  Biological research for nursing 2014 Doong SH, Dhruva A, Dunn LB, West C, Paul SM, Cooper BA, Elboim C, Abrams G, Merriman JD, Langford DJ, Leutwyler H, Baggott C, Kober K, Aouizerat BE, Miaskowski C
• Review of lattice results concerning low-energy particle physics.
  The European physical journal. C, Particles and fields 2014 FLAG Working Group, Aoki S, Aoki Y, Bernard C, Blum T, Colangelo G, Della Morte M, Dürr S, El-Khadra AX, Fukaya H, Horsley R, Jüttner A, Kaneko T, Laiho J, Lellouch L, Leutwyler H, Lubicz V, Lunghi E,…
• Adherence to a Videogame-Based Physical Activity Program for Older Adults with Schizophrenia.
  Games for health journal 2014 Leutwyler H, Hubbard EM, Dowling GA
• Cytokine gene associations with self-report ratings of morning and evening fatigue in oncology patients and their family caregivers.
  Biological research for nursing 2014 Dhruva A, Aouizerat BE, Cooper B, Paul SM, Dodd M, West C, Wara W, Lee K, Dunn LB, Langford DJ, Merriman JD, Baggott C, Cataldo J, Ritchie C, Kober KM, Leutwyler H, Miaskowski C
• Association between schizophrenia symptoms and neurocognition on mobility in older adults with schizophrenia.
  Aging & mental health 2014 Leutwyler H, Hubbard E, Jeste D, Miller B, Vinogradov S
• Cytokine candidate genes predict the development of secondary lymphedema following breast cancer surgery.
  Lymphatic research and biology 2014 Leung G, Baggott C, West C, Elboim C, Paul SM, Cooper BA, Abrams G, Dhruva A, Schmidt BL, Kober K, Merriman JD, Leutwyler H, Neuhaus J, Langford D, Smoot BJ, Aouizerat BE, Miaskowski C
• Identification of patient subgroups and risk factors for persistent arm/shoulder pain following breast cancer surgery.
  European journal of oncology nursing : the official journal of European Oncology Nursing Society 2014 Miaskowski C, Paul SM, Cooper B, West C, Levine JD, Elboim C, Hamolsky D, Abrams G, Luce J, Dhruva A, Langford DJ, Merriman JD, Kober K, Baggott C, Leutwyler H, Aouizerat BE
• Variations in potassium channel genes are associated with breast pain in women prior to breast cancer surgery.
  Journal of neurogenetics 2014 Langford DJ, West C, Elboim C, Cooper BA, Abrams G, Paul SM, Schmidt BL, Levine JD, Merriman JD, Dhruva A, Neuhaus J, Leutwyler H, Baggott C, Sullivan CW, Aouizerat BE, Miaskowski C
• Association between an interleukin 1 receptor, type I promoter polymorphism and self-reported attentional function in women with breast cancer.
  Cytokine 2013 Merriman JD, Aouizerat BE, Cataldo JK, Dunn L, Cooper BA, West C, Paul SM, Baggott CR, Dhruva A, Kober K, Langford DJ, Leutwyler H, Ritchie CS, Abrams G, Dodd M, Elboim C, Hamolsky D, Melisko M, …
• Physical activity and sedentary behaviour in outpatients with schizophrenia: A systematic review and meta-analysis.
  International Journal of Therapy and Rehabilitation 2013 Andrew Soundy, Martien Wampers, Michel Probst, Marc De Hert, Brendon Stubbs, Davy Vancampfort, Cecelia Attux, Heather Leutwyler, Andreas Ströhle
• Associations between cytokine gene variations and severe persistent breast pain in women following breast cancer surgery.
  The journal of pain 2013 Stephens K, Cooper BA, West C, Paul SM, Baggott CR, Merriman JD, Dhruva A, Kober KM, Langford DJ, Leutwyler H, Luce JA, Schmidt BL, Abrams GM, Elboim C, Hamolsky D, Levine JD, Miaskowski C, Aouizerat …
• Associations of schizophrenia symptoms and neurocognition with physical activity in older adults with schizophrenia.
  Biological research for nursing 2013 Leutwyler H, Hubbard EM, Jeste DV, Miller B, Vinogradov S
• Differences in morning and evening fatigue in oncology patients and their family caregivers.
  European journal of oncology nursing : the official journal of European Oncology Nursing Society 2013 Dhruva A, Aouizerat BE, Cooper B, Paul SM, Dodd M, West C, Wara W, Lee K, Dunn LB, Langford DJ, Merriman JD, Baggott C, Cataldo J, Ritchie C, Kober K, Leutwyler H, Miaskowski C
• "It's good for me": physical activity in older adults with schizophrenia.
  Community mental health journal 2013 Leutwyler H, Hubbard EM, Slater M, Jeste DV
• Medication adherence among older adults with schizophrenia.
  Journal of gerontological nursing 2013 Leutwyler HC, Fox PJ, Wallhagen M
• Videogames to Promote Physical Activity in Older Adults with Schizophrenia.
  Games for health journal 2012 Leutwyler H, Hubbard EM, Vinogradov S, Dowling GA
• "We're not just sitting on the periphery": a staff perspective of physical activity in older adults with schizophrenia.
  The Gerontologist 2012 Leutwyler H, Hubbard EM, Jeste DV, Vinogradov S
• Games for Health Journal
  Video Games to Promote Physical Activity in Older Adults with Schizophrenia. 2012 Leutwyler, H., Hubbard, E., Vinogradov, S., and Dowling, G.
• The impact of symptomatology on response to a health promoting intervention among older adults with schizophrenia.
  The Diabetes educator 2010 Leutwyler HC, Wallhagen M, McKibbin C
• Older adults with schizophrenia finding a place to belong.
  Issues in mental health nursing 2010 Leutwyler HC, Chafetz L, Wallhagen M
• Understanding physical health of older adults with schizophrenia: building and eroding trust.
  Journal of gerontological nursing 2010 Leutwyler HC, Wallhagen MI