Tsui-Sui Annie Kao

Dr. Tsui-Sui (Annie) Kao, Assistant Professor

Tsui-Sui Annie Kao, PhD, FNP-BC

Assistant Professor
Division of Health Promotion and Risk Reduction (Div. II)
Room 3347

University of Michigan School of Nursing
400 North Ingalls Building
Ann Arbor, MI 48109-5482

Telephone: (734) 615-8209
Fax: (734) 647-0351

Scholarly Expertise / Activity

Interests:

  • Adolescents’ perceived parental expectancy
  • Parent-child interaction
  • Family influence
  • Homelessness
  • Adolescents’ risky behaviors
Dr. Kao is a tenure track Assistant Professor whose primary research is focused on understanding parental influences on adolescents’ development in health behaviors with her aim being to develop family interventions to maximize positive interactions between parents and adolescents. Recognizing the essential role of one’s familial culture, Dr. Kao’s research emphasizes adolescents’ familial cultural values and strengths.  She currently serves as a principal investigator (PI) on a research project titled "Family Collective Efficacy: An Underdeveloped Mechanism to Minimize Adolescent Risk Behaviors" to explore parental expectancies from both parents’ and adolescents’ perspectives, and to further evaluate how these expectancies are associated with adolescents’ perceived family collective efficacy and how this is associated with their intentions to engage in risky behaviors. Additionally, Dr. Kao has five years of experience as a Family Nurse Practitioner.  She has the distinction of currently serving as a Nurse Faculty Scholar for the prestigious Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. Her current practice is at the Shelter Association of Washtenaw County (SAWC) in the Delonis Health Clinic, where she provides primary care for clients who are homeless or do not have health insurance.    

Current Research Grants and Programs:

  • Health Opportunity for Parental Expectancy (HOPE), $15,000.00, PI: Tsui-Sui Annie Kao
  • “Maternal Influences on Adolescents’ Sexual Initiation: AAPI and Whites”(grant number F31NR010174). $43,444.00, 2007-2008 (PI: Tsui-Sui Annie Kao)
  • Family Collective Efficacy (FCE) Project, $350,000 (PI: Tsui-Sui Annie Kao)

Teaching

Dr. Kao's teaching philosophy is that all students can learn using their own unique styles. Because she believes that in order for nursing professionals to advance they need to be skilled leaders, collaboraters, and independent thinker, Dr. Kao sees a great teacher is someone who motivates, believes in, guides, and challenges his/her students. During her own time as a teacher, Dr. Kao has embodied this pedagogy through teaching two core courses and mentoring Masters Students as well as undergraduate Honor students.  In particular, she advised an undergraduate honor group (2008-current), a few honor projects, and several scholarly projects (N699) for Maters students. She also serves as a prelim or dissertation committee member for a few doctoral students and mentors NP students in her clinical practice.

Affiliations / Service

  • Member, Sigma Theta Tau International Honor society of Nursing, 1999-present
  • Member, Asian American Pacific Islander Nurses Association, 2004-present
  • Member, American Nurse Credentialing Center (ANCC), 2005-present
  • Member, Midwest Nurse Research Society, 2005-present
  • Member, National Coalition of Ethnic Minority Nurse Associations, 2006-present
  • Member, National Association of Pediatric Nurse Practitioners (NAPNAP), 2008-present
  • Member, American College of Nurse Practitioners (ACNP) 2010-present
  • Co-Chair, Adolescent Health Section, Midwest Nurse Research Society, 2010

Notable Awards / Honors

  • Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Nurse Faculty Scholar Program, 2011-2014
  • Provost’s Research award for New Faculty, Eastern Michigan University, 2006
  • Rackham Merit Fellowship, University of Michigan, Rackham Graduate School, 2006-2007
  • Individual NINR pre-doctoral award (grant number F31NR010174)
  • Summer Fellowship Program in Applied Multi-Ethnic Research, Emerging Scholars Interdisciplinary Network, June 21-July 17, 2009

Education

  • PhD, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, 2008
  • MS, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, 2005
  • BSN, Eastern Michigan University, Ypsilanti, 1999
  • Diploma in Nursing and Midwifery, Foo-Yin Junior College of Nursing and Midwifery, Taiwan, 1983

Publication Highlights

  • Kao, T. A., Guthrie, B., Loveland-Cherry, C., & Caldwell, C., (in press). Maternal influences and adolescents’ sexual initiation: AAPI and other ethnic groups, Journal of Transcultural Nursing
  • Kao, T. A., & Manczak, M. (in press). Family influences on adolescent sexual behaviors: Birth control and condom use, likelihood of sexually transmitted infections, The Journal of School Nursing
  • Lin, Y. P., Kao, T. A., McCullagh, M. C., Edington, D. W., & Larson, J. L. (in press). Translation and psychometric properties of the Chinese version of the perceived workplace environment scale in Taiwanese information technology professionals. Journal of Occupational Health
  • Duffy, S., Munger, A., Karronen-Gutierrez, C., Piette, J., & Kao, T.A. (in press). Post-discharge tobacco cessation rates among hospitalized veterans with and without diabetes. Diabetic Medicine.
  • Kao, T. A., Loveland-Cherry, C., Guthrie, B., Caldwell, C. (2011), Acculturation influences on AAPI adolescents’ interactions with their mothers and their initiation of sexual activity, Western Journal of Nursing Research, , 33 (5), 712-73. doi: 10.1177/0193945910382242
  • Kao, T. A., Loveland-Cherry, C., & Guthrie, B. (2010). Maternal influences on Asian American Pacific Islander adolescents' perceived maternal sexual expectations and their sexual initiation. Journal of Family Issues, 31(3), 381-406.
  • Kao, T. A., Guthrie, B. & Loveland-Cherry, C. & (2007). An intergenerational approach to understand Taiwanese American girls and their mothers’ perception of sexual health, Journal of Family Nursing, 13 (3), 312-332
  • Kao, T. A. (2006). Ask Expert Column: Sexual health education disparities in Asian American adolescents. Journal for Specialists in Pediatric Nursing, 11 (1), 57-60