Hometown: Tehran, IranUndergraduate school and major/minor: Tehran University of Medical Sciences/MedicineProgram at Brown: MPHAnticipated graduation date: May 2024Three things you have with you at all times: My smartphone, black tea bag, and antiseptic hygienic stuff What are your hobbies or activities when you aren’t studying or working?Trail jogging, Watching a wide array of films including […]
Drew Crenshaw (he/him) is a doctoral student working as a Research Assistant with Peg Allen on the Public Health Accreditation Board (PHAB) Accreditation Success Stories project. He grew up in Birmingham, Alabama, where he earned his Bachelor of Science in Public Health and Master of Public Health with a concentration in Environmental Health from the […]
The PRC’s Maura Kepper, Allison L’Hotta, Thembie Shato, and Ross Brownson, along with other collaborators, officially launched the new D4DS Planner at the 16th Annual Conference on the Science of Dissemination and Implementation in Health, held in Arlington Virginia December 10-13, 2023. The planner was a collaboration between researchers at Washington University in St. Louis, […]
Peg Allen recently received a new grant funded through the Public Health Accreditation Board, titled “Small Health Department Accreditation Success Stories.” The purpose of this short-term project (October 2023 through May 2024) is to develop public health department success stories for the Public Health Accreditation Board that describe facilitators of successful preparations for national accreditation […]
Dixie Duncan grew up in the town of Van Buren, MO, population 800, a dot on the map adjacent to the scenic Current River in Southeast Missouri. Now, she’s promoting public health coalitions in the rural region, where the PRC has been working to eliminate health disparities there and other rural regions.. “I’ve found the […]
A new study by researchers at the Prevention Research Center at Washington University in St. Louis and the National Association of Chronic Disease Directors (NACDD) surveyed public health departments in the U.S. to understand current health equity-related work practices and identify ways to bolster equity-focused work in chronic disease prevention and control efforts. Recently published […]
Sarah Pritchard’s training is in system dynamics, but her passion is equity and systems change. So her position on the PRC’s leadership team on Equity, Diversity and Inclusion is a perfect fit. “My focus is on using Community Based System Dynamics to help people on the committee understand how the system of structural racism operates […]
Hometown: Weston, MissouriUndergraduate school and major/minor: Bachelor of Fine Arts-Painting, Minor in Philosophy and ReligionProgram at Brown: MPHAnticipated graduation date: May 2023Three things you have with you at all times: Chapstick, water bottle, nice pens What are your hobbies or activities when you aren’t studying or working?Gardening (fruits, veggies, and flowers), quilting, hanging out with […]
With health departments scrutinized now more than ever, now is the time to fully integrate evidence-based decision making (EBDM) into public health practices. EBDM applies the best available research and evaluation evidence to select, adapt, implement, and evaluate policies and programs that work. While training helps individuals build skills, our earlier work found skill attainment is necessary but not enough to move EBDM forward and sustain EBDM use. Organizational supports within health departments are important as well.
As public health departments across the U.S. face increased scrutiny, the Brown School’s Prevention Research Center has partnered with the Brookings Institution in a groundbreaking investigation to identify ways to improve decision making and more effectively use health department resources. The study’s latest findings, published in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine, used information from […]
Ana Luiza Favarão Leão hasn’t been in St. Louis long, but she’ll well remember the city when she returns to Brazil later in the year, thanks to the PRC. A research student at the PRC under a Fulbright Doctoral Dissertation Research Award, she’s in the U.S. for the first time. “It’s been a great cultural […]
The PRC and the Washington University Implementation Science Center for Cancer Control (WU-ISC3) are excited to announce the official start of a new grant funded by the National Cancer Institute titled, “Advancing Health Equity through the Development of a Scholars Program in Implementation Science.” WU-ISC3 is collaborating with researchers at Harvard University, University of Colorado- […]
We are excited to welcome Vianca Cuevas Soulette as the new Implementation Science in Cancer Control (ISC3) Center Manager. Vianca Cuevas Soulette is passionate about reducing health disparities and improving disadvantaged communities’ general well-being. She has a Master of Public Health from WashU with a concentration on Epidemiology and Biostatistics. She is also a part-time […]
Jess Gannon was in Tanzania when she realized that public health research might be her calling. Gannon, MSW ’18, was on a 4-5- month practicum as part of her concentration on international social and economic development, charged with working for an organization doing hands-on educational water sanitation and hygiene programs in rural Tanzania. Her work […]
Hometown: Lagos, Nigeria and grew up in Chicago, Illinois Undergraduate school and major/minor: Anthropology (Global Health & the Environment) Major and Psychology & Urban Studies Double Minor Program at Brown: 3-2 MPH Anticipated graduation date: Undergrad in May 2023; Graduate in May 2024 What are three things you have with you at all times: Waterbottle, Lip gloss, Phone What […]
One of the top medical journals in the world, The Lancet Global Health, recently launched a new initiative focused on urban design, transport and health. Several PRC members have taken on a lead role. Deborah Salvo presented during the launch of the 2022 Lancet Global Health Series on Urban Design, Transport and Health and was […]
Congratulations to our PRC Faculty, Maura Kepper and Steph Mazzucca, for receiving new grant awards. Details about the grant awards are below. Maura Kepper Funder: Wash U Center for Dissemination & Implementation and Implementation Science Center for Cancer Control Title: Adapting and Implementing a Novel Digital Health Tool to Promote Behavior Change and Improve Cancer Risk […]
Sarah Pritchard and Karina Marin presented during the conference plenary session in Frankfurt, Germany Thurs. afternoon, July 21. “Presenting at the conference was a fun experience and great opportunity to continue growing as a modeler and newly graduated student. The overwhelming positive feedback I received from more experienced system dynamists on our project was amazing […]
It wasn’t the toasted ravioli that drew Diana Parra Perez to St. Louis. Parra Perez began her journey in public health and to the PRC in Bogota, Colombia, where her interest in physical activity led to becoming a physical therapist who aimed to work with athletes. As she was introduced to the endeavors of public […]
Abstract Mental health parity legislation can improve mental health outcomes. U.S. state legislators determine whether state parity laws are adopted, making it critical to assess factors affecting policy support. This study examines the prevalence and demographic correlates of legislators’ support for state parity laws for four mental illnesses- major depression disorder, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), […]
In fall 2020, the PRC established the Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion (EDI) Committee focused on developing a plan to advance racial equity in our center and its work. The Committee formed as our PRC members were grappling with the numerous injustices and violence inflicted on Black, Indigenous, and People of Color, on top of the […]
Public health agencies are increasingly concerned with ensuring they are maximizing limited resources by delivering effective evidence-based programs to enhance population-level chronic disease outcomes. Despite the focus on use of effective interventions, ineffective programs too often continue at public health agencies. This analysis provides insight into how experienced state health department practitioners recommend ending ineffective […]
Abstract Background: The COVID-19 pandemic resulted in public health and policy measures to reduce in-person contact and the transmission of the virus. These measures impacted daily life and mental well-being (MWB). The aims of this study were to explore the MWB impacts of COVID-19 on children and assess the associations among perceived changes in physical activity […]
This study found that physical activity promotion strategies need to be aligned with climate action commitments, incorporating the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change scenarios in physical activity action plans. The promotion strategies must consider equity a core value and promote physical activity to the most vulnerable populations so that they are protected from the ill-health […]
School feeding programs (SFPs) can play a crucial role in the emergency food and nutrition response, but there is a dearth of information on how SFPs operate during emergencies. The Results of this study showed that during the pandemic, all SFPs continued (although continuation plans varied from a few days in Chile to > 1 […]
Hometown: Skokie, IL Undergraduate school and major/minor: Double major in Anthropology and Spanish Program at Brown: MSW Anticipated Graduation Date: May 2022 Three things you have with you at all times: Snacks, headphones, a book What are your hobbies or activities when you aren’t studying or working? I love reading books for fun! I’ve been […]
Zoe presented at the Brown School’s annual “Research without Walls” event. You can learn more about the research symposium and see other students’ posters here.
Renee Parks got a first-hand glimpse of the importance of evidence-based public health practice just after graduate school, when she became the health educator for Missouri University of Science & Technology. “It was a really important position for me,” she said. “I saw how challenging it was to actually engage in evidence-based practice and put […]
This seminar will feature Maggie Padek, who has a decade of experience as research staff at Washington University and is an integral member of many research teams. She will discuss her career path and share lessons learned, including her roles and responsibilities in different positions, when and how to take the next steps, and more. […]
Hometown: Benin City & Apa, Nigeria Undergraduate school and major/minor: University of Lagos: Medicine & Surgery Program at Brown: MPH/MSP Anticipated Graduation Date: May 2022 Three things you have with you at all times: Phone, purse, glasses What are your hobbies or activities when you aren’t studying or working? I enjoy tinkering with recipes, watching […]
Background: Reduction or elimination of inappropriate, ineffective, or potentially harmful healthcare services and public health programs can help to ensure limited resources are used effectively. Frameworks and models (FM) are valuable tools in conceptualizing and guiding the study of de-implementation. This scoping review sought to identify and characterize FM that can be used to study de-implementation […]
Purpose of review: Improving care of individuals with familial hypercholesteremia (FH) is reliant on the synthesis of evidence-based guidelines and their subsequent implementation into clinical care. This review describes implementation strategies, defined as methods to improve translation of evidence into FH care, that have been mapped to strategies from the Expert Recommendations for Implementing Change (ERIC) […]
Hometown: St. Louis, MO Undergraduate school: Washington University in St. Louis Majors: Political Science and Philosophy-Neuroscience-Psychology Minor: History Graduate school: Brown School at Washington University in St. Louis Program: MPH (Graduated May 2021) Three things you have with you at all times: A good pen, a notebook or scrap of paper, and a hair tie. […]
Got data? Rebekah Jacob is your go-to person at the PRC.Jacob is the PRC’s Data Manager, helping researchers to analyze data whenever needed. She’s worked in a variety of roles at the center and elsewhere since graduating from the Brown School in 2013 with a joint MSW/MPH degree: Project manager, evaluator, analyst. But whatever her […]
Female authors are underrepresented as sole and first authors and as members of authorship teams in readings for undergraduate college courses, finds a new analysis from the Brown School at Washington University in St. Louis.
The PRC’s faculty, staff, students and alumni are featured authors on 10 of the 18 posters at this year’s Institute for Public Health 13th Annual Conference Poster Session! Check out all of the posters and a short video about each poster on the IPH conference page. Be sure to tune in on Wednesday, October 28 […]
The Brown School is pleased to present our Foundations of Pandemic Preparedness & Response program. This five-part, 20-hour program provides a self-paced, online tool kit to help public health and social service professionals respond, mitigate, and prevent infectious disease outbreaks, focusing on the COVID-19 pandemic. The course is a foundational experience designed to build basic understanding and skills in: Epidemiology Surveillance […]
Five of our students at the PRC graduated this May!
Samuel Yang, MPH student (graduating Spring 2018)Hometown: Gainesville, FLUndergraduate school and major/minor: University of Alabama (ROLL TIDE), Environmental Science/Public Policy Three things you have with you at all times…Headphones, a water bottle, and a navigation tool!This makes me sound much more athletic and adventurous than I am. Really, I’m terrible with directions and easily dehydrated, which would […]
Public health experts find their passion for the field in different places. For Amy Eyler, it was a Discount Drug Mart in Independence, Ohio. Eyler went to college intending to be a physical therapist but found the one-on-one work wasn’t what she had imagined. “I hated it,” she said. “I became almost lost.” She dropped […]
Understanding the contribution of public- and restricted-access places to overall and domain-specific physical activity among Mexican adults: A cross-sectional study. Understanding the contribution of public- and restricted-access places to overall and domain-specific physical activity among Mexican adults: A cross-sectional study.Jáuregui A, Salvo D, Medina C, Barquera S, Hammond D.PLoS One. 2020 Feb 7;15(2):e0228491. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0228491. […]
The Healthcare Innovation Lab and the Institute for Informatics hosted a “Shark Tank-style” pitch session on February 28, 2020. Ten project teams requesting up to $50,000 in funds at BJC HealthCare (BJC) and Washington University School of Medicine’s (WUSM) competed in the second Big Ideas Competition. Our own PRC faculty, Maura Kepper, presented with her […]
Erwin PC and Brownson RC (Eds). Scutchfield and Keck’s Principles of Public Health Practice. 4th edition. Boston, MA: Cengage Learning. 2016. PRINCIPLES OF PUBLIC HEALTH PRACTICE, Fourth Edition explores how public health departments offer and manage services through community and government organizations, along with related careers. Written and edited by seasoned public health professionals, this […]