Bruce Barrett MD, PhD

Bruce Barrett received M.D. and Ph.D. (Anthropology) degrees from the University of Wisconsin - Madison in 1992, then did an international health fellowship with Johns Hopkins University at a World Health Organization research institute in Guatemala. A 1997 graduate of the Eau Claire residency program, Dr. Barrett completed the Madison-based primary care research fellowship in 1999. Over the past several years, Dr. Barrett has been supported by grants from the National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine at the National Institutes of Health, and the Generalist Physician Faculty Scholars Program from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.

Completed research projects include:

1. cross-cultural health care for Hmong patients in Eau Claire,
2. village-based primary health care for ethnic minorities in the Vietnam Highlands,
3. a qualitative study of complementary and alternative medicine in Madison,
4. a randomized double-blind placebo-controlled trial of echinacea for upper respiratory infection,
5. use of benefit harm trade-off methods to assess "sufficiently important difference," and
6. development and validation of a questionnaire instrument for measuring common cold outcomes (Wisconsin Upper Respiratory Symptom Survey.

A recently completed randomized controlled trial funded by the National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine (NCCAM) tested echinacea, placebo, and doctor-patient interaction on the common cold. Results will be submitted for publication soon. A newly funded trial sponsored by the NCCAM seeks to to determine whether mind-body practices such as mindfulness meditation or moderately strenuous exercise can reduce the public health burden of acute respiratory infection (cold and flu). A major secondary goal is to determine whether meditation or exercise can enhance immune processes such as antibody response to influenza vaccination (flu shots). Finally, we want to investigate the influence of stress, optimism, anxiety and positive and negative emotion on immunity and resistance to respiratory infection.

Bruce is a steering committee member of the Madison chapter of Physicians for Social Responsibility, working for universal health care and against environmental pollution, war, landmines, and nuclear weapons. When not busy with clinical care, community service, research or teaching, Bruce can be found playing with his children and/or running, biking, swimming, skiing, hiking, climbing, canoeing or sailing.