Author: PRCSTL

Renee Parks and Peg Allen’s work on the AIM-LH study was featured on JPHMP Direct (Links to an external site)

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.

How Health Departments Can Offer More Programs That Work

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 […]

Visiting Scholar Spotlight: Ana Luiza Favarão Leão

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 […]

New Health Equity Training Grant Funded Through NCI

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- […]

Vianca Cuevas-Soulette named ISC3 Center Manager

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 […]

Staff Spotlight: Jess Gannon

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 […]

Student Spotlight: Tinuola Adebukola

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 […]

PRC faculty awarded new grants

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 […]

Staff presented at the International System Dynamics Conference during plenary session

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 […]

Faculty Spotlight: Diana Parra

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 […]

Findings in new study highlight the importance of better disseminating evidence about anorexia/bulimia and can inform dissemination efforts about mental health parity laws to state legislators. (Links to an external site)

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), […]

Advancing Racial Equity in the PRC by Building the Capacity of the Individuals Who Comprise It

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 […]

Recent Study by PRC Researchers Provides Approaches for Ending Ineffective Programs in Public Health Agencies (Links to an external site)

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 […]

Associations of Physical Activity and Sedentary Behaviors with Child Mental Well-being During the COVID-19 Pandemic (Links to an external site)

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 […]

PRC Researchers, Rodrigo Reis and Deborah Salvo, Examine in Recent Publication What the Physical Activity Community Can Do for Climate Action and Planetary Health (Links to an external site)

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 […]

PRC Faculty, Diana C Parra, Recently Published a Paper on School Feeding Programs in Latin America and the Caribbean during the COVID-19 Pandemic (Links to an external site)

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 […]

Student Spotlight: Karina Marin

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 […]

Staff Spotlight: Renee Parks

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 […]

Maggie Padek Kalman to give talk describing her decade of research staff experience at WashU.

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. […]

Student Spotlight: Ebuwa Evbuoma-Fike

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 […]

New study by PRC doctoral student provides overview of frameworks and models to reduce ineffective healthcare services and public health programs

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 […]

New study looks at how applying implementation science can improve care for familial hypercholesterolemia

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) […]

Staff Spotlight: Aine O’Connor

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. […]

Staff Spotlight: Rebekah Jacob

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 […]

The PRC has a big presence at this year’s IPH Conference!

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 […]

Brown School launches pandemic initiative (Links to an external site)

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 […]

Student Spotlight: Samuel Yang

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 […]

Faculty Spotlight: Amy Eyler

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 […]

Public and private places contribute to PA among Mexican adults

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. […]

PRC faculty wins 3rd place in “Shark tank” style competition

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 […]

Principles of Public Health Practice, 4th edition

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 […]