PhD, Quantitative Psychology
MA, Clinical Psychology
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC
BS, Mathematics and Psychology
Duke University, Durham, NC
Sheri Fehnel, PhD, is a Vice President of Patient-Centered Outcomes Assessment in RTI-HS. Since joining the Health Solutions staff in 1988, she has combined the study of clinical psychology and psychometrics with practical research and clinical experience. She specializes in the development, psychometric evaluation, and regulatory support of patient-reported outcome measures and other types of clinical outcome assessments used in clinical trials. This work has involved a wide range of therapeutic areas, including dermatology (e.g., psoriasis, eczema, acne), psychiatry (e.g., depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia), urology (e.g., urinary incontinence, nocturia, erectile dysfunction), gastroenterology (e.g., irritable bowel syndrome, chronic constipation, gastroparesis), oncology, cardiovascular disease, women's health (e.g., endometriosis, uterine fibroids, menopause), diabetes, respiratory (e.g., asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, cystic fibrosis), sexual dysfunction (male and female), obesity, chronic pain, and sexually transmitted diseases (e.g., herpes, human papillomavirus, HIV/AIDS). An expert in qualitative research, Dr. Fehnel has conducted countless focus groups and interviews with patients, caregivers, health care providers, and key opinion leaders. She has also evaluated the psychometric properties of many survey and clinical outcome measures using techniques such as factor analysis, structural equations modeling, and item response theory.
Dr. Fehnel routinely develops briefing documents and supports clients through negotiations with the Food and Drug Administration's Division of Clinical Outcomes Assessment and various medical reviewing divisions. She frequently publishes in both clinical and methodologically oriented journals, completed a 4-year term as a co-editor for Value in Health, and serves as a peer-reviewer for numerous scientific journals.